My mouth goes dry, and I swallow to coat my tongue. “Excuse me?”
He shifts his weight, resting his right arm on the chair. “How old do you think I am, Miss Phillips?”
Is this a trick question? He’s older, but not ancient. He has gray hair and plenty of wrinkles, but his bones don’t appear frail and he walked around the desk without the shuffled gait of my great-grandfather. “I don’t know. Sixty?”
He smiles. “Awww…flattery. No. I’m seventy-two.”
My eyes widen.
“You look surprised.” His smile turns to a grin. “Thank you. If you do the math on that, what does that tell you in regard to the war?”
“You were in your twenties when the bombs fell.”
“Correct. So I was old enough to remember how things used to be before the world went to hell. Most people my age are dead and gone. The new generations don’t remember a different life where we didn’t have to scrape for every morsel of food that we eat. But a select few of us remember people before and do you know what I remember, Miss Phillips?”
I shake my head, wondering where this is going. “No.”
“I remember people with the color of your eyes.” He leans closer. “You see, the UR has your eyes listed as green, but they’re not. They’re a shade we used to call hazel.”
“Used to call?”
“I haven’t seen anyone with hazel eyes in over fifty years and the remaining colors—blue, green, brown, gray—they’re all much brighter. More brilliant. Why? Genetic mutations? Who knows? But the fact remains that in the last fifty years, no one with hazel eyes has been born.” He straightens in his chair. “And so I’ll repeat my question. Where are you from?”
I take a deep breath. “I’m from Springfield.” Which is true. Just not Evan and Reece’s Springfield.
His eyes darken. “I’m not very tolerant of liars, Julia. May I call you Julia?”
My heart races out of control. “Yes.”
His smile is indulgent. “Let’s back up, shall we? Have you ever wondered about the anomaly of Kansas City?”
Again, my mind scrambles to gauge his new line of questioning. “You mean your city underground?”
He smiles, the patient smile of an indulgent parent. “Yes, my city is an anomaly, but I’m talking about the site of the previous city.”
“Plenty of cities were bombed.”
“But none have the high levels of radiation that Kansas City does. Do you know why?”
“The United Regions says everyplace outside the sanctioned cities is full of radiation. We expected Kansas City to have high amounts.”
“Good point. They do that to keep their good citizens contained, but if you research nuclear testing and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, the cities were habitable in a few short years. So why is Kansas City so radioactive fifty years later?”
I’m too frightened about my own fate to think about the physics of a bombed city. “I don’t know.”
“Such a high level of radioactivity can only be highly radioactive if there’s an active source of nuclear fusion.” He sees the confused look on my face. “It means that the bomb not only went off but created some type of nuclear reactor.”
“Can that happen?”
“Frankly, no. That’s the anomaly.”
I force myself to concentrate, my fingernails digging into the leather arm of my chair. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me all of this. What does this have to do with me?”
“I was young when the war hit, but I knew about the caves. When I realized what was happening, I headed here. So did other people. They were scared and confused and needed leadership. I have no idea why they listened to a twenty-two-year-old kid, but before I knew it, I was in charge of fifty people. I didn’t take the responsibility lightly and soon the people started calling me Deacon. The city grew and we needed an energy source. We figured out solar power, which is how we provide electricity for an underground city that sometimes houses four or more thousand people at a time when we account for the migrant scavengers. But nuclear energy intrigues me, and if Kansas City had become a nuclear reactor as I suspected, I had another energy source at my disposal. So a year ago, I sent men to investigate the hot spot.”
Jo’s warned us that the radiation levels in Section Two were dangerous. How much more so would they be close to Ground Zero? “But wouldn’t the radiation kill them?”
“Sacrifices must be made for great advancements.”
Did those men feel the same way? If he has so little regard about the lives of his own people, he’ll have even less regard for us.
“My plan is to harness the energy for our own use. But whenever the men get close to the areas of high nuclear concentration, the stranger things become. In certain places, the men see glimpses of cities. Lots of different cities. They see lights and hear noises. Sometimes there are flying machines. In other places there are cars. And yet in others, they see shimmering sights of a landscape like our own. Fifty-two different sites in all, every single one of them different. They are hazy images without solid form. The men were spooked at first and thought they were seeing ghosts. When they reach out to the images, it’s like a reflection in a puddle of water. The image is there, but they can’t touch it. Finally, I realized that they were describing futuristic cities, like science fiction writers in the forties and fifties used to describe. What were they seeing? Perhaps other universes? Parallel dimensions?”
My pulse pounds in my ears and I strain to hear him.
“My men have deciphered coded messages from Springfield about a portal to another universe. A portal that someone has come through. A girl.” He picks up a glass on his desk and takes a sip, watching me over the rim. “I may be old, Julia, but I’m not senile. You’re that girl.”
I bite the insides of my cheeks and look away. “And if I was? Would you turn me over to the military for the reward?”
He releases a derisive laugh. “God, no. I’d never give the United Regions something they wanted no matter how much they offer. They tend to leave us alone, but every so often they like to show their muscle and cause some kind of trouble. We’re about due for another round. I’m sure not giving them something they so desperately want.”
“Then why do you care?”
He takes another drink. “Are you telling me that I’m correct?”
Is there any point in denying it? “I want my friends to be safe. I’ll tell you what you want to know, but I have a few requests.”
He laughs. “You’re not in a position to negotiate.”
“Yet I’m doing it anyway.”
He rubs his jaw. “What are your requests?”
“First, you don’t hurt my friends. You let them go. And second, you give them the antibiotic we were looking for. Three, you don’t follow them or try to take our truck.” I hesitate.
He looks amused. “Is that all?”
Should I ask the final request? If I do, they’ll know where we’re heading, but they know Reece has been asking about the rebels, so they’re smart enough to figure it out anyway. “One more. I want you to give my friends a map to the rebel compound.”
He belly laughs and chokes. “Are you serious?”
I lift my chin. “Yes.”
His shoulders shake with his laughter for several more seconds before he settles down. “You are a rare treat. Most people cower and shake in front of me. Since I find you so entertaining, if you answer all of my questions, I will agree to your requests.” He lifts an eyebrow. “I’m curious that you didn’t ask to be let go.”
“Will you let me go after I answer your questions?”
“No.” His answer is blunt and matter-of-fact, as though he hasn’t just sentenced me to a life in prison. “But you will be safe. I have more foresight than the UR.” He rests his hands on the table in front of him. “Someday their lack of it will be their undoing. And I’ll be there to swoop in for the spoils.”
I try to hide my disappointment, but I
suspect not much escapes this man’s notice.
He winks. “Perhaps you want to rethink sending your friends away? You can keep them with you, and I can promise their safety as well. But you my dear, are much, much too valuable to let go. I assure you that as long as you cooperate, you’ll always have a home here in Deacon City, and I can make you quite comfortable.”
My hope sinks. The fact he doesn’t want to kill me or hand me over to the UR gives me small comfort. But what kind of life will I live? Is living in an underground prison better than being dead? But if I’m alive, I can search for a way to escape. I only have to survive the moment. “I hope you’re a man of your word, Mr. Deacon.”
“I am.” He takes a deep breath, and his face glows with excitement. “How did you get here?”
I don’t have to tell him everything. “You’re right. I’m not from your world. There’s a portal to my universe in Springfield. In the middle of a road leading out of town. Evan, the other boy, came through three weeks ago and found me. Then he brought me here.”
“Did you know you were coming to another universe?”
“No.”
“Why did the boy search you out?”
“The Julia of this world—who looked like me—died in a car accident six months ago. Julia was Evan’s girlfriend.”
His eyes light up with the implications. “And what year is it where you’re from?”
“It’s the same year. Time remains the same. Evan says my world is a universe that split off at one point. He says there are infinite numbers of universes.”
Some of his excitement fades, and I wonder if he had hoped to go back in time and change things. “Why does the UR government want you dead?”
Good question. One I’ve asked myself many times over the last few days. “Because the citizens of Springfield can’t know about my world. My world isn’t like yours. It’s…well, it’s different. And the people in Springfield might see it as a way to find the people they lost to death. Like Evan when he came to search for me. The officials are worried that a mass exodus could collapse the worlds.”
He’s silent.
“But I’m not the person the other Julia was here. And Evan’s not the same there either. Nor anyone else I know. We’re our own person in each world. Finding the person you lost doesn’t work. They’re not in the other universe.”
He looks away, as though he’s pondering the truth in my words. “So what is your world like?”
I hesitate and my voice wavers. “Different.”
Anger contorts his face and catches me by surprise. “While I have assured you that you will be kept alive and that you can have a comfortable life here, the degree of comfort directly correlates to your level of cooperation.”
I have no choice but to tell him the truth. Or is it my own cowardice that tells me that? “There was no nuclear war in my world.”
His eyes glass over. “Kansas City still stands?”
“Yes.”
His excitement returns and his mood swings make me question his mental stability. He leans forward. “We’ve tried to figure out a way through the openings that the men see in the blast site. We can’t seem to find one. How did the UR do it?”
“I don’t know. I simply passed through a portal and now the road it’s on is so heavily guarded that I can’t go back.” I pause. He thinks we have something to give the rebels. “That’s why we’re looking for the rebel compound. Since they are enemies with the United Regions, we hoped they would help us figure out how to send me back.”
“Not to worry, Julia. You don’t need the rebels any longer. I’ll help you.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“You said your friend came and got you. Evan?”
I can’t tell him about the black box. The one that doesn’t exist anymore. At least in this universe. “He said he tried several times and one day it just worked. He could walk through.”
“I find that difficult to believe. I need to speak to your friend.”
“Reece doesn’t know anything about it. And Evan’s not here.”
His gaze narrows. “Where is he?”
“Not here.”
“So you said.”
“You said you’d let them go. You gave your word.”
“And so I shall. After I talk to Evan. You said he’s sick. We can give him the medical care he needs.”
“He has nothing to tell you. He walked through a hole and walked out. If you want a portal, you only have to go to Springfield. It’s right there waiting for you.”
“Can it really be that easy?”
“How could a teenager do it if it wasn’t?”
We spend the next fifteen minutes with Deacon asking me about life in my universe compared to his, and he seems more determined than ever to cross worlds.
“Thank you. I haven’t been this excited in years. Do you realize the implication of such a discovery? Your world is full of resources ours doesn’t have.” He raises a hand to his temple. “Hell, we can go live there.” He’s quiet for several seconds then sits back in his chair. “I have a million more questions, but we’ve both been robbed of sleep so we’ll put it off until later this afternoon. The sun is about to rise and although traveling is better done at night, I think it’s best if we send your two friends on their way.” Deacon smiles. “See? I am a man of my word.”
His announcement isn’t a surprise, but I want to burst into tears. I can’t imagine that Reece will agree to walk out of the cave without me. My only hope is that Jo will convince him that it’s pointless to put up a fight. “You have to leave Evan out of it. When Reece and Jo leave, you promised not to follow them.”
He releases a long sigh and nods.
The tension in my shoulders falls away. Maybe I shouldn’t trust Deacon, but I do.
He calls out to the guards to bring Reece and Jo back in. The door opens seconds later and Reece rushes in, his gaze covering every inch of me. He relaxes when he sees that I’m unharmed.
“Mr. Collins, I’d like to ask you a few questions about the portal in Springfield.”
Reece’s eyes widen, and he shoots me a look of disbelief.
“He already knew, Reece. They intercepted communications from Springfield. He knows that Evan tried to cross over multiple times until he one day he just walked through.”
“Enough.” Deacon’s voice booms.
Reece’s expression doesn’t change, but I hope he caught my meaning. If Jo’s surprised by portal talk, she doesn’t let on. But I suspect she doesn’t let on much to anyone.
Deacon leans forward, resting his arms on his desk. “What do you know of the portal?”
“Not much. This was all Evan’s thing. I got pulled in when he realized what a mess he’d made.”
“I’m going to have my men show you a map and the two of you separately will show us where the portal is located.”
I’m worried. If the map were of my Springfield, I could locate it using roads and landmarks, but I’m not sure what a map of this world will look like. A minute later, a man brings in a scroll, unrolls it, and sets it on Deacon’s desk. Deacon beckons me forward and waves to the map. The guards turn Reece so that his back is to me.
Leaning forward, I search for some identifiable landmark. The map shows most of what used to be Missouri. I find Kansas City with my finger and then scroll south. Most lakes and rivers are gone, but Springfield is marked. The problem is finding the road on a map with no roads. The church is in the same location in both worlds. I just need to figure out where it is. When I think I’ve located the spot, I point. “Here. I think it’s here.”
“You think?”
“There are very few landmarks on this map to help me. It’s the best I can do.”
“Let’s hope that it’s good enough.”
Reece looks next, and it doesn’t take him long to locate the area. “Here. It’s right here.”
“Very good.” Deacon smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Mr. Collins, you and your friend
can leave.”
Reece extends his hand toward me.
“Not Julia. She’ll be staying.”
“The hell she will.”
“That will be all, Mr. Collins. You may go.”
Reece’s face hardens and every part of him tenses. “Not without Julia.”
I turn to Reece and take his hand. “It’s okay. Deacon has promised to give you medicine for Evan.”
Fierce determination fills his eyes. “I’m not leaving you, Julia.”
“Reece.” I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a hug. “Go find your mom.”
“Reece, we need to go.” Jo’s voice is so low I can barely hear her. “Trust me?”
He looks at her and nods, leaving me to wonder what transpired outside the door while I was talking to Deacon.
Reece clings to me for several more seconds then takes a step back.
“My men will see you two out and give you the items I promised—antibiotics and a map to the rebel compound.”
Reece’s eyes widen in shock as he turns to me.
Deacon continues, “Julia, you’ll remain in this room until we can figure out your accommodations.”
I don’t answer, fear clawing at my insides.
“Don’t give up, Julia.” Reece says as he and Jo are taken out.
The door shuts and Deacon stands. “Don’t worry, you won’t be here long. I’m assembling my best men and we will take the road in Springfield by force.”
Horror steals my breath and makes me lightheaded. What have I done? “But…you said I’d live here…”
His eyes narrow. “I thought the reason you were going to the rebel compound was an attempt to return to your world. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you look disappointed.”
I shake my head with too much enthusiasm and force a smile. “No. I’m just surprised. I knew you’d work on it, but I didn’t expect to go home so soon. Thank you.” I can’t let him see my horror until I know Reece and Jo have had enough time to get away.
My answer seems to appease him and his excitement returns. “I’ll take you to your portal, and you can return home and take me with you. But the preparation will take several days to a week. In the meantime, we’ll make you as comfortable as possible. I’ll have someone come and get you in a short while.”
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