Jenna and Zachary looked at each other and both raised their eyebrows. Of course. Why hadn't they guessed? This was a Mimic Bird. At this point it wasn't any crazier than anything else that had just happened.
The bird continued. “We're so sorry it’s taken us so long to find a way to get a message to you, but we've done the best we could.”
Zachary’s eyes widened. So long? They had disappeared just four or five minutes earlier.
“We're guessing we've been gone about ten days—”
“Ten days!” shouted Jenna in shock.
“—But we're not exactly sure,” continued the bird. “And we don't know how long it’s taken the bird to find you. We've been worried sick. But Catherine, we just know you’ve been doing a fantastic job taking care of Zachary and Jenna while we’ve been gone. We’ll never be able to thank you enough—or tell you how sorry we are that this happened.”
The siblings glanced at each other in confusion. Catherine? Aunt Catherine? They hadn’t seen her in a few weeks.
“We miss you so much,” continued the bird. “And we can only imagine how worried you must have been all this time not knowing what happened to us. And the worst of it is, we're still not sure exactly what happened to us.” The bird paused, twisting its head around and using its beak to attend to some feathers on its left wing.
When the bird spoke next, it was using their father's voice. “All we know is that a strange hole somehow appeared in our kitchen and we fell in. Well, we didn’t really fall. I guess we passed through it—like a door or a portal. One moment we were in our kitchen and the next . . . and the next we weren’t even on Earth anymore. We can’t say what world we landed on, but it definitely wasn’t Earth.”
The bird paused. “Since then we've gone through many more of these portals, trying to find our way back to you. As far as we can tell, each one leads to a different place, on a different world. Some of the places look like they could be on Earth, but they're all inhabited by the strangest people and creatures you can imagine. This talking bird in front of you is only one example. But no matter how much we try to question the intelligent beings we run into, no one or no-thing can explain to us what's going on. We don't know if we're somehow traveling between different planets, or if we're traveling to other dimensions from our own. Or it could be something else. Something we can’t even begin to imagine.”
The bird paused for air. “Each world is much different from the others,” it continued. “And each is unbelievably strange. Most of the worlds are treacherous; containing hostile environments or even more hostile natives. But even the worlds that appear harmless have not been—by any means. Surviving each day has been a constant challenge. It’s taken all of our physical strength and wits to stay alive.”
The living tape recorder switched again to their mother's voice. “Unfortunately, after all this time, we haven’t made much progress. We’re not sure we’re any closer to understanding what’s happening or to making it back than when we started.” The bird paused. “But please don't worry about us. We will discover a way out of this and come back to you. In the meanwhile, you are both fantastic kids, and we’re counting on you to stay strong and look out for each other. You know how very much we love you,” said the bird, exactly copying their mother's voice when she had spoken these words, soft and choked-up with emotion.
The bird continued in their father's voice. “Unfortunately, we think the bird is running out of memory, so we can't say much more. Before we go, though, we have one more important message for all of you. Whatever you do, don’t come in after us! We can't stress this enough. Do not come in after us—under any circumstances. It's far, far, too treacherous.” The bird paused. “And Catherine, we just want you to know that— ”
The bird stopped in mid sentence.
Zachary looked at it in annoyance. “Go on,” he urged.
“Go on,” said the bird, sounding exactly like Zachary. It was eerie.
“I think it ran out of memory,” said Jenna. “Like Mom and Dad guessed.”
“I think it ran out of memory. Like Mom and Dad guessed,” repeated the bird, this time using Jenna's voice.
“Interesting,” said Zachary. “It must have erased Mom and Dad's message and is memorizing what we say.”
“Interesting,” said the bird. “It must have erased Mom and Dad's message and is memorizing what we say.”
Zachary looked at his sister and rolled his eyes. Let’s get rid of this thing, he mouthed silently so the bird wouldn’t repeat him. It's really starting to get on my nerves.
His sister nodded in agreement as Zachary extended his hand toward the bird and it dutifully jumped onto his arm.
That was easy, he thought. He walked to the edge of the portal and shook it off gently. The bird took the hint and in seconds it had disappeared through the ever-shimmering portal.
Jenna and Zachary gazed through the portal and watched the bird's awkward flight for several seconds.
With the bird gone they retreated from the portal, both deep in thought. Jenna broke the silence. “Zack, how could Mom and Dad have been gone for ten days?”
Zachary shook his head. “I don't know,” he mumbled. “It’s impossible. But I guess it’s no more impossible than this hole appearing in our kitchen. Or getting a visit from a living tape-recorder.”
“Why did they think Aunt Catherine was with us?”
“Because if they really had been gone as long as they thought, she would’ve been. They knew that Aunt Catherine would’ve been the first person we called. And if they weren’t back in a few days, she’d have moved in with us.”
Jenna nodded. That made sense. “Well, now that you mention it, we should call her. Right away. We have to let her know what happened. And then we should call the police.”
Zachary frowned. He had come to a conclusion that he didn’t like, but one that was inescapable. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and faced his sister. “No, Jen. You and I have to go in after them,” he said as bravely as he could. “It’s the only way.”
“What!”
“We have to Jen.”
“But you heard Mom and Dad. That’s the one thing they told us not to do,” she reminded him. “No matter what.”
“I know that. They also told us they’d make it back and not to worry. But that’s because they don’t want us to panic. They're in big, big trouble.”
“I know. But if it’s so dangerous, how can we help? We’re just kids. We need to call the police. Maybe even the army.” Her face brightened. “That’s it. The army. They can bring Mom and Dad back if anyone can.”
“That’s true,” said Zachary. “But there’s no time. Think about it. The bird came back through the portal about five minutes after they disappeared. Time for us is running at a different speed than time for them. Ten days for Mom and Dad is only four or five minutes for us. That means that while we've been listening to that bird and talking, ten or twenty more days have already gone by for them.” Zachary lowered his eyes. “And they’re not back,” he continued somberly. “How much longer do you think they can last? And even if they find a safe world, at the rate time is running for them, if they haven't made it back by tomorrow, they'll have died from old age.” He shook his head. “By the time Aunt Catherine or anyone else gets here it could be too late. We have to act now.”
Jenna felt sick to her stomach as his point hit home. He was right. It might be too late for their parents already. She and her brother had experienced the same events, and both had the same facts, but he had been able to see so much more.
She pointed toward the portal. “But if Mom and Dad can barely survive these worlds and can't figure out how to get back—how can we?”
“I'm not sure. Maybe the natives that gave Mom and Dad such a hard time will give us a break because we’re kids. Maybe this will give us a chance to find Mom and Dad and figure out a way to return. I don't know. I only know that we have to try,” he finished, determined.
Jenna
lowered her eyes. “Then you should go alone. I’ll just slow you down.”
“What?”
“Look, Zachary, let’s face it, I’m pretty much of an idiot. You’ll stand a better chance alone.”
“Come on Jenna, we don’t have time to kid around.”
A tear escaped from the corner of Jenna’s eyes and rolled slowly down her cheek. Zachary rarely noticed the emotions or body language of those around him, but it was impossible to miss what this meant. Jenna was serious. “Jen, you really think you’re stupid? How could you be so stupid as to think you’re stupid?” he added in exasperation.
“Yeah. I wonder,” said Jenna as another tear escaped her eye. “It’s not like you haven’t been reminding me a hundred times a day since I was born. You just said an hour ago that you couldn’t think of anyone on the planet more stupid than me.”
Zachary shook his head as if to clear it. It was true he teased her a lot, but he never thought she took him seriously. Didn’t all brothers tease their sisters? “Jenna, don’t be crazy,” he said. “I think you’re very bright. I mean your grades are only okay, not great, but that’s because you’re lazy. If you can’t figure something out in a few seconds you just stop trying. But I live with you, and I see how you solve problems. You get puns and jokes faster than anyone in my class. And you even beat me at Boggle sometimes.” Zachary grimaced. He was so competitive that even the memory of these losses was painful. “And no-one else ever has. Not even Mom or Dad.”
“Zachary, this is too important for you to lie to me. Yeah, I get lucky at Boggle sometimes, but you know you’re a ton brighter than I am. You’ll do much better alone.”
Zachary stared into her eyes. How had he not seen how little she thought of her own abilities? His insults must have been even sharper than he had thought. And the poor kid was in his shadow at school. And if he did say so himself, he was an incredibly tough act to follow. It would be hard on anyone, no matter how impressive, to be compared to him every day, he thought.
But he had made this even harder for her by telling her she was an idiot so often. A sick feeling gripped his stomach. How badly had he messed her up? Was he totally responsible for her lack of confidence?
Maybe he was. His parents had told him recently they worried he was arrogant—which meant that he had a lot of confidence, but in a bad way. They worried he was too full of himself to even notice the struggles of others. This sure seemed to be true in Jenna’s case. And it had taken a disaster—the disappearance of their parents—for him to see it.
His parents had also used the word “smug,” and said that this quality could cause people not to like him, even though he was clever and the star pitcher on the baseball team. He had thought they were crazy, but maybe there was some truth to what they had said. Jenna had been right after he had won the card trick bet. He didn’t have many friends. And he never seemed to keep the ones he had for very long. Which was surprising, since you’d think everyone would want to be friends with someone as impressive as he was.
He wanted to think about this longer, but there was no time. “Okay,” he said to his sister. “I get why you’d have trouble believing what I say. But what about Mom and Dad? They’re always telling you how talented you are. All your life.”
Jenna frowned. “Yeah, but they don’t really mean it. Saying stuff like that is just their way of trying to be good parents.”
“Come on, Jen. That laser you built with Dad won the science fair competition at school. What about that?”
“Big deal. With Dad’s help, of course I’m gonna win.” She shook her head. “Look, Zack, even if I’m not a total idiot—and I can’t believe I’m about to admit this—I’m not even close to being in your league. Come on Zack, you know I’m not.”
Zachary paused, deep in thought, for what seemed like an eternity. “All right,” he said, and a change came over him, as though he had finally decided to share the ultimate secret. “You’re right. You’re not in my league. But that's not because I'm better than you. It's because you're younger. And because— ”
He paused, as if searching for the right words.
“Because what?” said Jenna. “Because I'm a moron?”
“No. Because . . . well, because my natural abilities have been getting a little help the last few years. From one of Mom and Dad’s inventions.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, I don't have time for long explanations. You know Mom and Dad do top secret work. Well, I found out about one of their projects a few years ago. They discovered how to generate some kind of new electromagnetic waves—ones you can’t feel—just like radio and TV waves that are always hitting us but we don't know it. But when these waves hit you, they improve you. I convinced Mom and Dad to let me be one of the test subjects. I've been carrying around a tiny generator one day a week for two years now. That's why I do better than you in school and that's why you're not in my league.”
Jenna snorted. “I may be gullible, Zachary, but even I'm not that gullible. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”
“Look, I don’t care what you believe. I don't have time to argue. I'm going after them. Yes, if we run into trouble, I’ll probably be the one who figures a way out. But maybe not every time. Our chances are better if you’re with me. Really.”
Jenna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Finally, she nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this.”
“Great,” said Zachary. “Wait here.”
Before she could respond he bolted off at full speed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. In seconds he returned. He handed her a small sphere, the size and weight of a golf ball.
Jenna examined it. The outer surface was hard plastic and was transparent. Inside there were a number of what looked like miniature computer chips; tiny black squares with rows of pointy, silver, centipede legs sticking down from their edges. Attached to the silver legs of the computer chips was a complex spaghetti of delicate wires of every color.
“Put it in your pocket.”
“What is it?”
“Haven't you been paying attention? It's the wave-field generator Mom and Dad invented. If you carry it for a day the effect lasts the whole week, so I don't need it.”
Jenna rolled her eyes.
“Believe what you want,” he said. “I don't care. But put it in your pocket anyway. As a favor to me.” He pointed toward the portal. “We're headed into dangerous territory and we both have to be at our best to have any hope of finding Mom and Dad and getting back.”
Jenna was almost starting to believe him. He sure was taking this secret generator nonsense pretty seriously. And he wouldn't waste time scamming her now. Every second counted. “What does it do?” she asked.
“It broadcasts what Mom and Dad call Omega waves. Mom says these waves interact in some way with the electrical fields generated by our brains. Mom and Dad worked a long time to get the frequency just right. I don't know how, but when the waves hit your brain you can think more clearly, you get more relaxed, and for some reason you can produce adrenaline faster. You know, that's the stuff your body produces that can make you super-strong in emergencies. So it makes you stronger.”
“And you have no idea how it works?”
“No. Mom and Dad do, but it's too complicated for me. Something about the field being able to neutralize stray electrical impulses that can confuse your thoughts. Basically, it clears the electrical gunk away from the circuitry in your brain.”
“Is that the scientific term for it? Gunk?” asked Jenna sarcastically.
“Give me a break, will you! Whatever it does, it lets your brain operate faster, and helps you think more clearly. All I know is that it works.”
Frowning, Jenna shoved the ball deep into her front pants pocket and tried hard not to consider the implications of what her brother was saying. How incredible. It sure would explain why Zachary seemed almost superhuman sometimes. Why hadn't her parents told her about this generator? She decided t
o not waste any energy pondering this development. Far too many things were happening at the same time and she had reached her limit.
She took her brother’s hand. “I'm ready,” she said thinly as if she were going to her own funeral, which could well turn out to be the truth. “Let's go.”
They walked to the edge of the portal holding hands. “Let's jump on three,” said Zachary.
They squeezed their eyes shut and tried to control the butterflies in their stomachs, but without any success. “One. Two. Three,” said Zachary slowly as they jumped into the center of the portal, each holding their breath as though they were jumping into a pool.
There was no sensation of falling, just of firm ground under their feet. They opened their eyes.
They were through. They had made it. They were on the world they had seen through the portal, standing on the winding, two-lane road.
They were alive—and safe.
Just as they let out the breath they had been holding, relieved, they heard the screech of brakes behind them. They whirled to see a car that had been hurtling around a bend in the road only twenty feet away bearing down upon them.
And there was no way in the world that it could possibly stop before it hit them.
CHAPTER SIX
The Transparent Men
Jenna closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of the car.
Zachary reacted instantly, diving into his sister and pushing them both out of the car’s way as it screeched by them, missing them by mere inches. The dive sent them tumbling headlong down a large, grassy hillside that bordered the road, arms and legs flailing. They landed in a heap at the bottom.
“Owwww,” moaned Zachary, moving his sister's foot from its resting place on his neck. They rolled apart and tried to catch their breath while they took inventory of the minor cuts and bruises they had collected on the way down. They were both still slightly dizzy.
“Are you okay?” asked Jenna.
Out of This World Page 3