by P. G. Thomas
“Can’t do that—”
“The bastard arrested my wife. Let him rot down here for all I care!”
“Ryan, just help Mirtza. I’ll stay...Try to explain what’s happening.”
After Lauren, Mirtza, Ryan, and Logan had left the workshop, John stared at the stroller, which he had seen last week when it was brand new. What am I going to do?
Seeing the confused look on John’s face, Eric imagined his shared the same. “Go upstairs to help Logan. We’ll figure this out somehow.” After he had left, Eric pulled up a crate and sat down beside Steve. “You have two choices: cooperate with us or stay down here. Something just happened, and I have no idea if it’s good or bad, but detective, you’re going to need our help, so I don’t want to hear anything else about laws or fugitives for the next few days. At present, you have the right to remain silent, and that is the only right you have.”
“You’ll be in a lot of trouble for this.”
“Okay, let’s consider these two choices. We let Ryan handcuff and gag you, leaving you down here, or if you remain quiet, we take you upstairs.” Eric paused, “Look, just trust me, because you’re not going to believe anything we tell you right now, but you will in a few days.” Then he walked over to the stroller, shaking his head. What the hell’s happening? John and Logan, entering with a large sheet, interrupted his thoughts, and he returned to the detective. “We’re going to roll you onto this so we can carry you upstairs.”
“I want to know what the hell’s happening!” demanded the agitated detective.
“We all do, but for now, remain silent,” began Eric. “If you don’t, every time you say something, one of us will drop their corner. You’re the least of our problems, and if you don’t shut up, we’ll leave you where we dump you, just to make Ryan happy.”
Rolling Steve onto the sheet, they carried him up to what would have been a grand dining hall where only spiders feasted now. Large windows, having their drapes pulled closed, were on the outer walls of the room, but one partially open set showed they had arrived at night. Finding some dusty cushions, John took them over to Steve so that he could prop himself up. Turning, he saw Lauren and Ryan standing in the open patio door. Mirtza was pushing in a cart, which was preceded by an aroma they all remembered.
Filling two mugs with the hot bean juice, John took one over to Steve, “It isn’t coffee, but it’s a liquid flavored from a caffeine-like bean. It takes some getting used to, but it’ll grow on you, especially if you drink enough.” Then he walked over to a chair, brushed off the dust, sat down.
Accepting the mug, Steve sipped the strange liquid, and at the same time, visually drank in the odd surroundings, including the change in his abductor’s behavior. While uncertain of how they had transported him out of the university stairwell and into the damp basement, the most concerning difference was their individual personality shifts. Kid lawyer has gone quiet. I thought he was the leader of the pack, but now the big one is suddenly in charge. My suspect back at the station, she was despondent. I thought it was because I had caught her, but even her mood has changed—like she has met an old friend that she owes money to, both relieved and scared. Her husband, holy crap, he’s not afraid of the law anymore, and her brother, why’s he rubbing his forearms? It’s like they’re in shock. Like when you tell a family that one of them has been hurt in a serious accident, but they need lifesaving surgery to stay that way. Good and bad news delivered in the same sentence, but in a few hours, they don’t know if they’ll be smiling or crying. People don’t change this quick without a damn good reason, and that stroller, it was the same as the picture that witness gave me, but it was so old?
“Mirtza, why did you bring us back?” asked Eric.
He shook his head, his voice tired, old, “I did not. I was trying to fix it. I think lightning struck the house. Then the machine flared to life, buzzed, beeped, belched, and suddenly, everything went black. I slipped, knocked over the lights, and then I heard strange voices, familiar voices. John, what is happening?”
“You didn’t bring us here?”
“No, I was trying to fix it but thought it broken.”
When Lauren and Ryan heard Eric start to question Mirtza, they walked in from the patio, and he passed them the translation ointment, which they applied.
Mirtza scanned his old friends, “How long ago did we first meet?”
“For us,” Lauren began, “it was about four years ago.”
“Feels more like eighty,” was his tired reply.
Eric, looking at their first protector, was surprised at the changes, “I don’t mean to be rude, but what happened to you?”
“After you had returned home, Gayne, and I returned to the Bright Coast. I was at the school about four years when he asked me to go to Darkpaye. Missing the adventures we shared, I accepted his offer. Traveling through those bland lands for three years, I was unable to find what he sent me to look for, so I headed back to the main port city. Having arranged passage to Calicon, I was just waiting for the ship’s final preparations. One day the City Watch arrived, kicked in my door, and dragged me down to the court. I was not there fifteen minutes when a judge sentenced me to life in prison. Eric, I never did anything worthy of such punishment. Nonetheless, I found myself in a cramped cell. At first, there were the beatings, but I will not talk of that. After a few years, they sent me out with work gangs. I have no idea why, but it was a change, and occasionally you might find small things you could trade. Like a cruel joke, citizens of Darkpaye would toss you coins. When I became too old to work, they left me inside, or occasionally let me out for exercise with the other prisoners. Sometimes it was good, but other times, it was a nightmare.” He turned to John, “I always marveled at how you were able to apply magic.”
“Did he just say magic?” asked Steve.
“Silence or I’ll stuff a gag into your mouth!” replied Eric.
Mirtza started again, “I always marveled at how you were able to apply magic. I traded for charcoal, a sewing needle, and made a small forge and bellows—like we saw at Ironhouse. Then I managed to melt my little bit of gold into a bracelet. After filing the last gold coin smooth, with a piece of iron, I inscribed the image of the magic school doors on it.”
“Did he just say magic school?”
Eric held up a cloth napkin from the table, “Last warning!”
“When done, I dropped it through the bracelet, hoping it would open a portal. Twice a day, if lucky, they pushed something that looked like food under my door. The rest of the time I was awake, I would just let the coin fall through the bracelet with the image of the school doors vivid in my mind. I have no idea how many times I felt it fall into my lap. My cell was dark and with no sense of time, I just sat there for years wishing to get out.” Mirtza pulled off the thin bracelet, “I was unsure if I had enough gold, or if it was pure enough, or if it would work. Those nights when I fell asleep, tossing and turning, I would lose the coin in the dark, and a few times it would take me days to find it. Then, one day about a year ago, I did not feel it hit my lap. Scared that I may have lost it, I started to check my cell, but in the light, I was unable to see it. That is when I looked up and saw the illumination coming through the portal. Seeing it, I summoned all of my might as I ran to it. More like hobbled and then stumbled through,” He took a long drink from his hot bean juice, “but it was different than I expected. The frame was there, but the doors were gone, as was most of the school. Maybe that is why the magic had so much trouble locating it. I wandered through the carcass of the old building, but they had scavenged everything, and only a wooden skeleton remained. However, the Bright Coast was no longer bright, so I came here hoping to find Gayne, but he was gone. Before I had left, he placed wards and guards to protect it, showing me how to enter, so I have stayed here ever since.” He stood, wandered over to the desk, and then back to his chair. “I knew of the workshop, and that was where I came across your machine with that strange contraption. I found a picture of Earth
Mother inside the satchel. On your machine, there was a letter from Gayne that I have read so many times it lives in my memory. Seventeen years after I had left for Darkpaye, I had failed to return, so he went looking for me. He also mentioned the changes happening here—not good ones, but he also spoke of a break-in at the school, which happened four years after I had left. Investigating the next morning, he found the odd contraption with Earth Mother’s satchel. With all of the changes happening on the Bright Coast, he moved the machine and anything of value to his house, but I have no idea how long ago that was. Since I knew your machine best, over the last year, I have been trying to fix it, but I am old, and time slows me down. Much like the last day of the great battle, once again, my actions are too late.”
Lauren was fighting to hold back her tears, “Why were you trying to bring us here?”
“I saw the image of you holding three young ones. The strange wheeled contraption, its purpose was also for three. I failed to understand why it would be here with you being absent. So I tried to fix it, wanting to find you. I was uncertain of how I was going to do that, but I would never have just brought you here. I was even uncertain of how to find you. I am sorry my friends, but I am tired, tired beyond my years, and I need to rest now. The house is large, though unkempt, so please make yourselves comfortable where you wish, and we will talk more tomorrow.”
After helping Mirtza up the stairs, Ryan returned to the quiet room.
Lauren, no longer able to hold her questions back, looked at John, “What’s happening? That stroller, it’s a pile of rust. What does that mean for Samantha, Hope, and Brooke?”
Sensing a storm boiling on the horizon, Logan went into the kitchen.
“I don’t know. Did you see Mirtza?” began John. “He looked like crap, yet after years in a prison, he escapes, and his first concerns are for you. There’s going to be another puzzle here, which we just need to figure it out.”
“I don’t know what you just said, but you sure as hell never answered my question!”
He felt like a small child being scolded by a parent, “Please, I just need some time to figure this out. I don’t have any answers right now.”
Lauren’s anger was building. “How much time do you need? This morning, when that stroller went through a portal, I knew my daughters were in Calicon. I thought I had lost them forever, and the entire time I was at the police station, I prayed to Mother hoping she would hear me and bring me back. Well, I’m back. I don’t know how, nor do I care, but we need to find my daughters!”
“I just need some,” then John’s voice went quiet, “time.”
“Then make it! Like you did last time!”
“Look, fighting isn’t going to solve anything,” replied Eric, trying to act like a referee. “We need to get organized.”
Before the argument gained any intensity, Logan returned to the main room, carrying a tray of glasses in one hand, and in the other, a clear bottle with a rose-colored liquid. “Not sure what it is, but it ain’t bean juice.” Setting the items down on the central table, he filled the glasses. “Let’s toast Zack, that furry little bastard.”
Lauren reluctantly accepted a glass, toasted, but then headed out to the patio.
Quickly filling both glasses, Ryan followed her into the intermittent rain where she sat at the patio table. “I know you’re angry and confused. So am I, but right now, anger won’t do anything for us.”
“It worked for you the last time…Ryan, I’m sorry, but what the hell? The first thing I thought when the portal closed was how do we get to Calicon? Now that we’re here, are we too late? What happened? You saw it, and it was almost brand new, or it was a few hours ago, but now it looks like it should be in a junkyard.”
“We need to think of our babies first—“
Lauren shook her head, “Babies?”
“I know, look, we’re here now, so all we need to do is figure out how to make this right—and before you start, yes, none of us knows how to do that. I’m not going to lie to you because it’s going to be hard on us, all of us, but we have friends who love our daughters just as much as we do. They’ll help us find them, and you know it.”
Starting to stammer out a reply, Lauren was unable to find the desired words.
“One day at a time, that’s all we can do right now,” and then Ryan hugged her.
*******
John poured himself a refill and a second glass, which he took over to Steve. “You said you had implants. What happened?”
“Ten years ago, I was working in GCPD. I was involved in a high-speed chase, lost control of my cruiser, and shattered my hips and knee. After I recovered, they wouldn’t take me back, but being cleared for duty, I found a smaller town that cared more about experience than abilities.” Finishing the drink, he held the glass up for a refill, “Anything stronger?”
“I don’t know,” then John walked over to the table, grabbed the bottle, and refilled both glasses. “The implants? Any idea of what materials they used?”
He pounded his drink back, “GCPD was cheap. They were cobalt and chromium, but the hospital promised to upgrade them to titanium next year. Why the concerns for me?”
“What does it mean?” asked Eric.
“Cobalt’s the bulk of the material, but its five places off on the periodic table. Even though Chromium’s the plating, its only two positions away from titanium. In this world, it’s too close to call.”
“What should we do about him?” asked Eric, pointing to Steve.
“We need to realign the implants. The easiest way is to pull him straight, seeing if they pop back into place. If they don’t, we add weight to force them.” John turned to Steve, “I have good news. You should be up and walking within the week.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“It’s going to hurt. Eric, can you get Ryan and Lauren, as we’ll need them to help,” began John. “It’ll be better if we do it tonight than tomorrow.”
After he had headed out to the patio, they all heard Ryan, “Do we really care? Just let him lie there!”
“We can’t do that, and you know it,” replied Eric. After a few minutes, all three walked back into the room.
Steve was shaking his head, “You’re not a doctor, and I don’t even think you’re a lawyer!”
“Congratulations, you’re right on both counts.” John called out to Ryan, “Get something for him to bite down on; a piece of wood, a belt, or a chunk of hot metal if you want, because today I don’t care. Eric you’ll need to grab his left foot.” Then he handed the bottle of wine to Steve, “It’ll help kill the pain. Ryan, can you and Logan each grab an arm?”
Steve protested, “This is an assault on a police officer!”
“Can’t we knock him unconscious?”
Eric squeezed his temples with both hands, “Shut up, Ryan!”
“They might even consider it attempted murder!”
Eric shook his head, “Shut up, Steve!”
“What do—”
“Shut up, Logan!”
“Hey, I just wanted to know what I have to do!”
“Steve, drink that wine. John, what’s next?” The detective started to say something, but Eric interrupted him. “I swear to God if you say one word,” then he pointed to Ryan, “we’ll all leave but him,”
Steve, taking a long drink from the bottle, then took a second, and powered down a third. John quickly gave his instructions, and Logan with Ryan grabbed Steve’s arms. Lauren stuffed a dirty rag into his mouth, as Eric grabbed the left foot and pulled. Eventually, they all heard the knee socket snap back into place.
John looked down at Steve, whose clenched eyes screamed out in agony, excruciating pain written on his face, but still conscious. “Resetting your hips will hurt more. While you might not thank us today, you’ll be glad we did it in a few days. Do you want another drink?”
His shaking hand pulled out the gag, raised the bottle to his lips, and taking several mouthfuls, his eyes cringed in pain.
/> John advised that the detective needed to be flat on his stomach. As they rolled him over, Steve pushed his right foot under the cushioned bench. Eric, following John’s instructions, held the detective by the knees, and Ryan with Logan both pulled his arms. When the implants failed to snap back into place, John looked up to Lauren. “You’re the lightest. Gently step on his ass and wiggle your feet until I say so.” As she did, he guided her until hearing the implants relocate, and as she stepped down, the pain had overtaken Steve, who was unconscious.
“At least, we have quiet now.”
“Seriously, Ryan,” began Eric, “that’s enough from the peanut gallery! None of us have any idea of what’s happening, and for now, we can’t change that. Logan, start rubbing your forearms to see if you can get Sister’s attention to bring those tattoos back. Lauren, see if you can sense Mother. Ryan, you’re still filled with titanium, so I’m sure the magic will find you again. When you sense it, let us know, but try to control the rage. I know they’re your daughters, and you would kill for them, but we need to figure out what is happening here. Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Mirtza, seeing what else he can remember. Right now, let’s try to remain calm.” Then his gaze focused on Lauren and Ryan, “We’ll get Sam, Hope, and Brooke back. It’s just going to take some time.”
“John, before we went through, why didn’t you tell Mirtza to destroy the machine?” asked Lauren, who was glaring at him.
“I wasn’t even sure if it would work. There was quiet in Calicon. Hell, you issued an Earth Bond telling everybody to embrace peace. I don’t know. I knew they would move it back to the Bright Coast, but I never thought they would make it work again. I never thought this would happen. Lauren, I’m sorry. We’ll get Sam, Hope, and Brooke back.”
By that time, Lauren was already out of the room.
“John, it’s the first day before spring break. Does that mean anything?” asked Logan.
“I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the alignment of the two planets, or it doesn’t.”