Dimension Drift

by Christina Bauer

  My gaze snaps to the wall clock. 8:00 a.m.

  There’s time to meet with the Scythe and cut a deal. He’ll want some extra work from me in exchange for hiding this crime, but it’s not like I have a choice here. Closing my eyes, I picture the path from the factory to the Scythe’s secret lair on the other side of town. If I leave now, I won’t get back to school until after lunch. Missing that much class will get me reported for sure. The other option is to have Mom call me in sick.

  “Mom, do you think you can—”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie.” Mom slumps as the faraway look returns to her eyes. “I’ve done all I can do. I’m ready for my kitchen chair. That’s my favorite spot, you know.”

  “I know.”

  Damn. If I have Mom call school now, she’ll only slur her words or grunt out a few sounds. The school will report her as mentally unbalanced to the Authority. There’s no choice. It would be better if I go to school, check in, and then get asked to leave officially somehow…and fast.

  My heart lightens. Getting kicked out of school is pretty easy. My best friends Chloe and Zoe can help me. We all go to the same high school and have made an art form out of avoiding trouble while doing what we want. I check the clock again. 8:03 AM. No time to waste.

  “I gotta run, Mom.”

  She gives me a sad smile. “See me to my chair first?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Now, I’d love to bolt, but when Mom’s like this, there’s no way she’ll get back to the kitchen on her own. I have to get Mom settled, take off for school, and then break away to meet the Scythe… And all before the noon science crime sweep for our area.

  Maybe this isn’t as easy as I first thought.

  It’s too bad I’m an expert in probability theory, because sadly, the odds really aren’t with me on this one.

  Chapter Three

  Leaving the lab behind, I guide Mom back to the main factory floor. All the while, she grips my hand and stares off into space. Every so often, Mom meets my gaze and frowns or grins. Sometimes, she’s close to tears. Other times, it’s like she’s forgotten all about our failure this morning, and that’s for the best. Even though I’m freaking out about being late for school and getting reported to the Authority, I still can’t be too disappointed.

  I saw Mom smile again. That makes everything worth it.

  After navigating Mom through the maze of massive vats, I lead her toward our kitchen. The place is a lot of empty shelves, along with a rusted stove and refrigerator set from the old United Americas days. The electronics are ancient, but they do the job.

  As we near the door, rustling noises echo out from the kitchen. I pause, thinking through who could be here. The only option is Mrs Littlefield. She’s the woman who I pay to watch Mom during the day. Without help, Mom forgets to eat, drink, and hit the bathroom. But it couldn’t be Mrs L. She can’t get inside without my help.

  So who is here?

  My heart thuds hard against my rib cage. One bad thing about living off the grid is that we can’t call the Merciless when we need them. I pull Mom closer and whisper. “You need to go hide. I’m going to get Dad’s old gun and—”

  At the mention of the word gun, Mom squints hard. She’s forcing herself to be more alert again, but that’s clearly an effort for her. “You don’t need a gun,” says Mom. “He’s here!”

  “You mean your friend is here? How do you know just from kitchen noises?”

  “Who else could it be?” Mom’s entire body starts to tremble. “Plus, you don’t know how to shoot a gun.” She heaves in some slow breaths. “Now, whatever happens, I’m begging you to be polite. My friend is a rather large, old, and imposing fellow.” She moves her hand over her face. “Lots of scars, poor thing. You may be tempted to stare. Don’t.”

  With that, Mom marches forward and pulls open the kitchen door. She seems so clear-headed, I don’t try to stop her. Besides, I want to see a massive alien guy.

  I follow her, ready to meet a behemoth inside our kitchen

  That’s not what I see.

  Sitting at our small steel table is a young guy wearing black body armor. He looks about eighteen, tall and lean with a whip-strong physique. He also has brush-cut, military-style hair, a square jawline, and soulful brown eyes. Scientifically speaking, he’s handsome.

  That’s my only interest in his appearance. Science.

  Mom pauses. “You look like Cole.”

  “He’s my father.” The boy stands and bows slightly. “Thorne Oxblood, at your service.”

  Mom’s eyes narrow. That’s the face she makes when she isn’t sure about something. “Cole was the one I had the agreement with.”

  I lean against the doorway, trying to take this all in. Mom made a deal with some huge, scarred-up guy named Cole from another world. And now his scientifically handsome son, Thorne, is here to make good on everything. My friends Chloe and Zoe are going to freak when they hear this. Our lives are never this interesting.

  Thorne lifts one armor-clad shoulder. “Cole doesn’t keep his promises. I’m here to make good on your pact with my father.” For the first time, the boy glances around the kitchen. After a few seconds, his gaze finally lands on me.

  All of a sudden, it’s as if the rest of the world melts away.

  Okay, as a scientist I know that my environment doesn’t actually lose its inner structure, but still. A bubble of awareness forms between me and Thorne. Some kind of crazy energy fills the air. It’s powerful, palpable, and strangely familiar. Then again, this guy is from another world. Maybe this sort of thing happens to him every day.

  I’m not sure how long Thorne and I stand around staring at each other, but the next thing I know, Mom moves directly into the line of sight between me and Thorne. The bubble of connection breaks.

  I shake my head. That was weird.

  “This is my daughter, Meimi,” says Mom slowly. “She’s not the reason I’ve called you here, though. I need help with my oldest daughter, Luci.”

  Thorne refocuses on Mom. “Luci. She’s the DNA sample you sent.”

  “Yes, I need you to find her,” says Mom. “That will fulfill your father’s obligation to my family. Can you do it?”

  I step out from behind Mom. “Hold on a second.” I look at Thorne again. “Not to be rude, but I’ve never heard of you before, and this is my sister we’re talking about.”

  A small smile rounds his full lips. Not that I find his mouth attractive or anything. This is just a scientific comment on the ratio of mouth to face.

  Mom gasps. “Meimi! We summoned Thorne here from another world in a different dimension. It’s rude to ask for credentials now.”

  Rude. Right. This is Luci’s life, not a debutante ball.

  I step closer to Mom and flash my palms. “I get all that. But this guy showed up in our kitchen wearing body armor.” I return my gaze to Thorne’s. “Before we go any further, I’d like to understand exactly what’s going to happen here.”

  Thorne tilts his head, considering. “Fair enough. How about I give you a demonstration?”

  “That would be fine, so long as it’s quick. I really need to get to school ASAP. You see, I—”

  Mom interrupts me before I can finish. “Thank you, Thorne.”

  Now, that marks the second time Mom’s stepped between me and Thorne. The first time was a physical movement to stop us from staring at each other. The second was that verbal block. I’d think Mom was trying to keep us apart, but this isn’t drift science, it’s social interaction. Not my strong suit. Most likely, this is just Mom being Mom. I try to think back to any of the million times boys stopped by to try and talk to Luci. Did Mom block any of them? I don’t think so, but it’s not like I paid really close attention. Most of my focus was on whatever project I had on my bedroom floor.

  Thorne steps back from the table. “First things first.” He snaps his fingers, and some really strange stuff starts to happen.

  When I first saw Thorne, he was wearing heavy black body a
rmor. Now, that covering starts to shimmer with a silver glow. The structure changes until Thorne is no longer wearing body armor at all. The covering morphs into jeans, a black Henley, and heavy boots. Thorne gestures across himself. “Better?”

  My eyes widen. That shiny look to the fabric; I’d bet it’s not fabric at all. I’d theorized about stuff like this, but I’ve never even mapped out a schematic, let alone built a prototype. “Nanobots.” These are microscopic machines that can take different forms. In this case, Thorne must be using them to create different clothing.

  “Yes, I designed these myself.”

  Now that’s really impressive, considering how Thorne simply ordered the nanobots to take a new shape without even speaking a verbal command. Even so, I’m not sure how nanobot fabric will help find Luci.

  I rub my chin. “Is that your whole demonstration?”

  Thorne grins, and it’s the type of smile that makes girls wobbly in the knees. Other girls who are not me, obviously. I’m a serious scientist who’s immune to something as superficial as cute smiles.

  “No,” says Thorne. “That was just so you’d feel more comfortable.”

  It takes me a few seconds to realize what he means. “Right, I didn’t like how you showed up in body armor.” My face blazes with heat. A guy—a very good-looking guy with super-cool science aptitude for building nanobots no less—just did something to put me at ease. Whoa. That realization makes me uncomfortable in the extreme. And when I’m feeling awkward, I babble. “You look fine now. Great. Yup. Jeans. Boots. Everything. Fine.”

  Help.

  I clear my throat and try to get back on track. “Please. Go on with your demonstration.”

  “As you like.” Thorne raises his arm, palm upward. Nanobots from his Henley seep onto his palm. It’s like he’s holding liquid silver. After that, they lift into the air in a fine mist. Thorne closes his eyes.

  Interesting. Thorne is doing more than ordering his nanobots around. He must be having a two-way conversation with them about something.

  Thorne lowers his arm, and the cloud of nanobots speed toward the floor. After that, they pass right through it, which is a pretty neat trick. Maybe I can talk Thorne into letting me examine some of his nanobots in my lab. I’d love to look at their structure.

  Almost a full minute passes before Thorne opens his eyes once more. “There’s an old data line running under the factory.”

  That was definitely a two-way conversation between Thorne and his nanobots. The little machines must have found our underground internet cables. My brows lift. Those lines are buried more than twenty feet down.

  Mom squares her shoulders. “That’s right.” There’s a distinct note of pride in her voice. “The system was installed back in the United Americas days. It still works.”

  Now, I use this data line all the time. Lately, I’ve mostly been hacking into Authority systems in search of news about Luci. Not that I’m sharing that information with Thorne. He said he could find my sister. For the time being, he needs to show his skills without my help.

  Throne raises his arm, and a small silver cloud rises from the concrete floor. The nanobots are back. He snaps his fingers, and the nanobots take the shape of a large and semi-transparent square. The shape is as tall as I am and silver in color. Thorne snaps his fingers once more. An image appears on the huge square. It’s Luci and Josiah. They’re walking through a security line. Overhead, the sign reads “New Boston Dome.”

  “How did you do that?” I ask.

  “When did Luci enter the dome?” adds Mom.

  Thorne looks to me. “Hacking requires systems to be connected. My nanobots can jump between unrelated data stores.” He then turns to Mom. “The time stamp reads April 23, 2612. 1:43 p.m. Second entry.”

  “So this was six months ago,” I say.

  Thorne nods.

  Mom closes her eyes and exhales a long breath. “My daughter was alive and well six months ago. That’s excellent news.”

  I step around the massive picture, examining it from all angles. “You pulled this from a security feed at the New Boston dome.”

  “That’s right.”

  I kneel down to get a better look at Luci. She’s wearing a fitted suit and fashionable heels. Her hair is styled into gentle waves that fall down her back. Even though the picture is grainy, I can see that she’s wearing make-up. She stands beside Josiah, who looks just as fancy as Luci does. They’re standing in one of those switch-back queues, where the line snakes back on itself a few times, waiting for their turn to re-enter the city.

  It’s really true. Luci was fine six months ago—this image confirms it. Plus, Thorne has super-cool nanobots that found the picture in the first place. Clearly, the guy is legit. An image pops into my mind: the Merciless guards pacing my school’s main yard. On reflex, my gaze flicks to the door. I can’t stay here any longer than I have to. The Merciless will haul me off if I’m too late. My insides twist with worry.

  Although fear pulls me to leave, this image of Luci locks me in place. Something about it just isn’t right.

  I look down at my own frayed jeans and ratty T-shirt. More of my concerns come into focus. Outside of a dome, people don’t get new clothes. We only get to keep what we liberate from a junkyard or landfill. Finding usable make-up and hairstyling stuff is really hard. Mostly, you have to look for someone who cleaned out a storage area a hundred years ago…and left new makeup…and it didn’t get ruined. Not easy. My friend Zoe is one of the few people I know who bothers with it. And yes, you can buy stuff on the black market, but it’s super-expensive. People save their money for things like medicine.

  And here’s Luci and Josiah, all dressed up in fancy new things after one visit to the dome. How exactly did they manage that? I know life is supposed to be better under a dome, but I don’t think they hand out fancy clothes on your first visit. Luci and Josiah would need to have found good jobs that pay great, and fast. Trouble is, neither of them have really marketable skills.

  Gooseflesh crawls up my arms. Except for Luci. My sister knows drift science.

  My mind races. Sure, my sister could work the drift on the sly, but then the Scythe would definitely know about it. Or Luci might work the drift legally, too. Trouble is, all lawful drift science projects go through the government.

  A chill cools my blood. If Luci worked the drift for the Authority, then the government would wonder where she got her skills. Kids with any drift talent are pinpointed by age ten. After that, the Authority develops them for years. Luci could spin any lie she wanted about where she learned the drift. No matter what she said, the Authority would suspect that Mom taught one—and possibly both—of her daughters. That would paint a big target on both my mother and me. Luci would never do that, would she?

  Thorne moves to kneel beside me. “What do you see?”

  “That’s Luci.” I point to my sister. “Beside her is Josiah, Luci’s boyfriend.” I shake my head. “I just don’t get it. They were in the Boston dome six months ago. Why wouldn’t they reach out to me and Mom? And they’re all dressed up. I mean, this is my best outfit.” I pull on the neckline of my T-shirt. “I don’t know where they’d get the money, unless…” I can’t even bring myself to say the words.

  “Your sister is a drift scientist like your mother?” asks Thorne.

  I nod. “I’m one as well. It’s secret, though. The Authority would lock us up if they knew what we could do.”

  “But they might want your skills as well,” adds Thorne. “Wouldn’t they?”

  His words make me squirm inside. “I suppose so.” Before today, I’d never thought about that seriously. I mean, the Authority is someone you hide from. Every so often, I fantasize about sending a massive computer virus into their systems to take them down, but helping them? That’s disgusting.

  Leaning in closer, I take a more careful look at Luci’s beautiful face. She’s all dressed up and lovely, but I know that dead look in her eyes. I saw it only once before, when she and Jos
iah broke up for a week back in Junior year of high school. Luci is miserable.

  Could Thorne be right? Is Luci working for the government? And if she is, does she even want to help them?

  From across the kitchen, Mom glares at Thorne with the fire of a thousands suns. “Luci would never betray us and work for the Authority.” She folds her arms over her chest. “She must be doing freelance work for a criminal, like Meimi does.”

  Mom’s words sting, especially since I work for a criminal to keep my mother out of a mediprison. “If she’s doing freelance work for anyone in the Boston dome, then I’d know about it.” More accurately, the Scythe would know about it, but I’m not ready to share that part of my life with Thorne yet. I haven’t known him for more than a few minutes. Specifics on my criminal activities are on a need-to-know basis.

  Thorne stands up. “That gives me something to start with. If it’s all right with both of you, I’d like to stay here and do more searching around.” He looks down to where I’m still crouched on the floor and offers me his hand.

  I stare at his outstretched palm, confused. It takes me a few seconds to realize that he’s being a gentleman and helping me stand up.

  Now, I haven’t held a boy’s hand in a romantic sense since I was fake-married to Danny Odelson in the first grade. Turns out, all he wanted was an excuse to meet Luci. Talk about humiliating.

  If I were Luci, I’d bat my eyelashes, take Thorne’s hand, and slowly rise to my feet. That lovely bubble of awareness would form around us again.

  But I’m not Luci.

  So, I do what I do instead. Panic and stand up quickly without any help. “Thanks for offering, but I got it.”

  Thorne watches me carefully without saying a word. The look on his face is unreadable. Did I insult him? Act like a goof? This social interaction stuff is a pain. Guys should come with instructions or at least a book of formulas.

  Mom crosses the kitchen. “Stay as long as you like, Thorne. Just find Luci.” Mom settles into her chair. That faraway look enters her eyes.