

## Dimensions

by Cy Bishop

Copyright 2014 Cy Bishop

Smashwords Edition

With special thanks to:

God, my patient family, Google,

and Jessica Dodson for the fantastic cover

Chapter 1

The Man in the dark suit sat down with a smooth, precise motion, not a wrinkle, not a line out of place, flaws as unacceptable in his appearance as in his work.

Across a desk from him sat a man with a balding head made all the more shiny by his nervous state. An imposing nameplate on the desk identified the businessman as Sterling Warner, CEO of DEC. It, like everything else on the desk, was carefully designed to communicate opulence and importance.

The Man was unimpressed by such trappings. He returned his attention to the steadily growing quantity of sweat on Warner's brow. It wasn't entirely unexpected, nor was it unfamiliar. Most people naturally felt some degree of anxiety over a meeting of this nature.

The Man flicked an imaginary piece of lint off his slacks. "A girl, you said?"

"They say she's the last one. It won't be easy to bring her in. Even harder to get her to cooperate." Warner shoved a folder across the desk. "You'll have every resource available to you. We have a whole contingent of trained men who will follow your every order, and—"

"I won't require their assistance."

Warner's nervousness diminished into a frown. "Perhaps you don't understand the vital nature of this job. We must have her. This will take precision. You can have as many on your team as you want, but this isn't something you can handle alone." His frown deepened. "I can't begin to express how crucial—"

The Man stood.

Warner's nervousness returned with fresh drops of brine near his temples.

"I understand well how crucial this is to you. I know what you need from her. And I do not require the assistance of your men in order to obtain it." The Man put his hand on the folder. "You wouldn't have called me if you did not feel confident in my ability to get the job done."

"Yes, but—"

"Then there is no need for further concerns." He picked up the folder, gave the contents a cursory glance, then tucked it under his arm in preparation to leave.

Warner's already thin lips tightened even thinner. "Our men will continue to search, whether you want their assistance or not. If they're the ones to bring her in and obtain her cooperation, you won't get any compensation from us."

"I find your terms acceptable." The Man strode to the door. "You'll get what you need. I guarantee it."

Chapter 2

Gray. Pulsing. Too bright, too glaring. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut in protest.

The ground felt jagged beneath her, clothes rough against her skin, and everything seemed too cold. A thundering roar pounded through her ears, slowly distinguishing itself into a cacophony of varied sounds. Engines zooming past. Horns honking. Distant voices jabbering. Her nose twitched in protest at a nauseating blend of refuse and cooking food.

She tried her eyes again. The glaring mass of gray cooled, morphing into an overcast sky with edges of buildings jutting into it. She lay on her back in a narrow alley between tall buildings, surrounded by dumpsters and black bags emitting the smell of garbage. Odd, foreign colors flashed and intruded from time to time, creating a dancing psychedelic effect.

Nicole. That was the name she'd settled on.

Details trickled back in as she worked on sitting up. It took some practice, figuring out which muscles to engage in which order. The sensation was so utterly foreign that she would have emptied her stomach if there'd been anything in there to empty. Her arms trembled as they pushed her upright. She found her balance and allowed them to rest in her lap for a moment.

Black streaks covered her hands, her shirt sleeves, her pants. Scorch marks from the transition. The thought made her feel sick again, though she wasn't sure why. Broad holes gaped in her mind where she knew information should have been. She'd never made the transition before, but she'd known this could happen as a result.

She closed her eyes again, trying to get a handle on the world around her which insisted on being too much. Too bright, too loud, too smelly, too cold. It would take time for her to adjust, to adapt to this new sort of body. She flexed and bent her fingers, curling and uncurling them a few times, testing the movement. Practiced moving her arms again. Legs.

She opened her eyes again. It was already getting better, clearer. Still, some things had an odd shine to them, and as she looked at the walls around her, she could see faint images of orange and red moving around in vaguely human shapes. They'd theorized her vision would be different than the normal, seeing spectrums of light that humans couldn't. It appeared the theory was correct.

Who were 'they'?

She put her hands on the ground and felt each pebble, each uneven mote of pavement dig into her flesh. Clenched her teeth against the sensation and pushed herself up, engaging her legs in concert with her arms in an attempt to get upright.

Failed. Her hip struck the pavement hard, forcing her eyes shut as she focused on blocking the pain for a moment. If only the adjustment process could be instantaneous. But no. She'd have to grit her teeth and power through it. Because she had to...

Had to what?

The list came to mind. The important list.

1. My name is Nicole.

2. I have to blend in. I can't do anything that will make me stand out.

3. I have to find a place to live where I will be safe and cared for.

4. I am a child in this place, a young person, and I must behave as one.

5. I must not let them find me.

She repeated the list to herself twice out of habit. With all the holes in her mind, it was a small miracle that the list had come through intact. But they'd made sure of that, repeating it time and again before she left. She vaguely remembered that part of number five was the importance of not calling for help unless it was absolutely necessary. If she called for help, it could help them find her faster.

Who was 'them'?

A different group. Those who must not find her, no matter what.

She shivered and felt each muscle move through its contraction, though the sensation was decreasing. She was already adjusting to some aspects of this new form. She opened her eyes. Things still swirled oddly, but it wasn't as bad now. She felt like she could see straight enough, at least.

Taking a deep breath, she made her second attempt at standing. By grabbing onto the wall beside her, she managed to work her way to unsteady legs. They didn't want to hold her, but she focused hard, forcing the muscles there to remain engaged.

A window on the opposite building looked into a busy kitchen, people rushing about, calling to each other. A restaurant. The light filtering through the heavy clouds above turned the glass reflective, and Nicole caught a glimpse of herself in the sheen. The face looking back at her looked absurd, unfamiliar. Curiosity pushed her to get closer, to see what this new form looked like.

She nudged one leg forward, then the other. Both failed at once, sending her tumbling forward. She caught the edge of a dumpster and managed to avoid landing on the ground again, supporting most of her weight with her arms. The dumpster rattled loudly in her ears at the collision, and the painfully loud sensation battled with the reverberations through her body from striking the heavy object. She shuddered and closed her eyes again, taking slow breaths until her body calmed down.

Odd. Her arms were supporting her well enough, but her legs weren't working right. A lance of fear spiked through her system. They'd said her eyes might work differently, but that the rest of her body should adapt. What if they'd been wrong?

She quieted the whispering fears. Her legs were probably just taking longer to adjust than the rest of her, that was all. She hoped.

She used the dumpster for support and worked her way closer to the window, letting the dim daylight reflect her face into the glass. Average, she saw with relief. Medium build and height. Lightly tan skin. Plain face, not particularly beautiful but not noticeably ugly, either. Straight, shoulder-length hair in a dark brown tone. Unkempt and dirty, but that could be fixed without too much trouble.

She leaned a bit closer to examine her eyes. To her relief, light-brown irises reflected back at her. Her vision was different than the humans around her, but it didn't manifest as any sort of physical difference. Once she got herself cleaned up, her appearance shouldn't attract unwanted attention. Good.

One of the reddish blobs on the other side of the wall came to a stop at the window. Nicole blinked and realized that a matronly woman with hair tied back in a bun stood on the other side of the glass, smiling out at her. She backed away, but the woman already crossed to a nearby door. It opened, bringing a new rush of smells to overwhelm Nicole's senses.

"Good morning," the woman said, her voice sweet but still clanging and harsh to Nicole's new ears. A bright-colored apron covered her tidy clothes. "My name's Jeanie. Do you need something to eat?"

Nicole managed to shuffle a few steps back, still using the dumpster for support. She couldn't run in this state. No, running would call attention. What did a normal human do when offered food from a stranger? She wasn't quite sure.

"It's okay," Jeanie pressed. She looked like she wanted to step closer, but was holding back. She put her hands out in a friendly, peaceful gesture. "I own this place. I can give you something to eat if you want. You don't have to pay for it, and I won't call anyone unless you want me to. I saw you looking in the window. You must be hungry."

That's right. The window looked into a restaurant kitchen. The woman had seen Nicole's self-evaluation and had thought she was looking in at the food. Nicole glanced around, still uncertain how to respond.

The door on the other side of the alley banged open, making Nicole cringe in surprise and pain. A large, red-faced man stood in the doorway, glaring at the woman. "Lady, I keep telling you, stop giving handouts back here! Your street brats keep stinking up this alley, and I had two break-ins last month. Two!"

Jeanie's friendly expression turned cool as she regarded the man. "You know good and well that had nothing to do with my kids."

The man turned his glare on Nicole. "If you don't start running right now, you rotten little brat, I'm calling the cops."

The lance of fear returned. She couldn't run, not with her legs the way they were. Cops? What were those? It sounded bad, whatever it was.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jeanie said. She took a step toward Nicole, offering a hand. "I'm inviting a guest into my restaurant for some food. There's nothing illegal about that."

The man's face grew redder, and he kept glaring at Nicole.

Nicole glanced from the man to the woman. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but it was easy enough to see the difference between someone who wanted to help her and someone who didn't. And like number three on the list said, she needed to find someone to care for her. She worked her way closer to Jeanie.

The man grunted a few unfamiliar but impolite-sounding words and disappeared back into his building with another bang of the door.

"Don't worry about him." Jeanie smiled and stepped back for Nicole to pass through the door. "He's always grouchy."

Nicole nodded, not fully paying attention. She was focused on her legs. She was going to have to let go of the dumpster to get into the restaurant. She funneled all of her attention to her leg muscles, coaxing them to remain firm, upright. Let go of the dumpster.

Her legs dropped, and she staggered against the wall, catching herself.

Jeanie caught her arm, helping steady her. "Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?"

Alarms flared in Nicole's mind. It wasn't normal for legs to behave like this. She was calling attention to herself. "No." Her voice came out rough, grating against her throat. The sound was oddly high to her ears. "I mean, I'm okay. Thank you."

Jeanie looked skeptical, but didn't say anything further. She helped Nicole to a chair at a small table just inside the door. "Sit here. I'll get you something to eat. You like soup? We've got a fantastic minestrone today."

Nicole didn't have the first idea what she liked, but she nodded.

"Great. I'll be right back." Jeanie disappeared in a swirl of her apron.

Nicole took the time to regroup. It was hard to focus with all the new sensations. Warmth that sank into her skin and chased away the cold that had permeated her being moments before. Food smells, the droning hum of conversation, clanging utensils against cookware, the cooks giving occasional shouts at each other. The smooth plastic of the chair she sat on. The squeak of shoes on linoleum.

She closed her eyes. Why did words like 'plastic' and 'linoleum' come so easily to her mind while 'cops' still drew a big blank? She'd studied this world so closely before coming, but the transition had left those holes behind. She could only hope the holes would close up on their own, and fast.

Jeanie had retorted to the man that nothing illegal was happening. The legal system. A tiny smile of triumph pulled Nicole's lips upward. That's right, 'cop' was the slang term for their law enforcement officers. It was only a small hole, but it felt good to see it close.

Now if she could just convince her legs to work right.

"Smells great, huh?" Jeanie's voice returned. She beamed at Nicole as she set a steaming bowl on the table. She placed a napkin neatly beside the bowl and a spoon on top of the napkin. "What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

Caffeine. They'd drilled into her the need to avoid any potentially altering substances, at least until she fully adapted. "Water?"

Jeanie paused. "You don't want something hot to drink? It's awful cold out today."

"I..." Nicole looked down at the soup. Would it be too abnormal for her to turn down the hot drinks? "I can't have caffeine."

"Oh, that's no problem. How about a nice chamomile tea? No caffeine in that."

Nicole hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Jeanie beamed. "Aren't you just polite and sweet? I'll have that for you in just a moment, honey. Dig in."

While Jeanie retrieved the drink, Nicole tested the soup. The heat burst through her mouth in a potent flame mixed with the competing flavors and odors that danced across her taste buds and filled her nostrils. She swallowed and felt the heat race all the way down to her belly. It was almost too much, but wonderful all at the same time.

"Isn't it fantastic? Vincent makes the best Italian food this side of the Atlantic. Not that knock-off stuff you find at Olive Garden. This is the real deal." Jeanie set a mug of steaming liquid in front of Nicole, then sat down in a chair on the other side of the table. "Mind if I sit with you for a minute?"

Nicole nodded, then connected the wording. "No, I mean. Go ahead."

"Thanks. This job keeps me going full speed all day long, I swear. It's nice to get an excuse to just sit." She glanced over. "How's the soup?"

"Delicious." Nicole took a few more bites.

"Mind if I ask your name?"

That one was an easy answer. "Nicole." Number one on the list. My name is Nicole.

"Nicole, have you been on the streets for long?"

No, not long. Ten minutes, perhaps. Nicole sipped the tea and found the delicate flavor intriguing, almost distracting her from the need to think up a good answer. On the streets. Jeanie thought she lived on the streets. That's what she and the man had been arguing about, kids who live on the streets.

"A while," she finally said, setting her mug down and returning to the soup.

Thankfully, Jeanie didn't press for details. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

Nicole filled her mouth with soup so she didn't have to give an immediate answer. Jeanie seemed genuinely concerned. Maybe this was the answer to number three on the list. Find somewhere to live where she'd be safe and cared for.

"I'm not going to pressure you into anything," Jeanie said quickly, misunderstanding Nicole's silence. "I know a lot of people your age who've had trouble and don't want to put themselves into that sort of situation again. Like I said, I'm not going to call anyone unless you want me to. It's just that it's not much longer before winter gets here, and these streets get awful cold. I know some safe places you can keep warm if you need."

Nicole met Jeanie's warm, caring gaze. This woman wanted to help. But well-meaning people might accidentally offer the wrong kind of help, the kind that could end up giving her more exposure than she could afford. They'd said she'd end up with her name in some systems. She was a youth, and she'd have to go to school. But she had to avoid the law enforcement systems, the nationwide databases that could make it easier for _them_ to track her down.

"It's okay if you want to think it over," Jeanie said softly. "I know how hard it is. I was on the streets myself for most of my teen years. How old are you, fifteen?"

Nicole nodded without really thinking. It sounded about right for what they'd told her.

"I left home when I was twelve and didn't find a new home until I was almost eighteen," Jeanie continued. "I know what it's like. But I also know how good it feels when you can find somewhere safe. I can help you, if you let me."

Something in the woman's voice, the conviction behind her words, sealed it in Nicole's mind. This was someone she could trust. Jeanie could help her. But she had to proceed with caution. She took a sip of tea, carefully formulating her approach. "I can't be in the system."

Jeanie eyed her. "Did you have a bad experience with a placement?"

Nicole took another sip, longer this time, trying to decide how to answer.

The silence was apparently answer enough for Jeanie. "I understand. I won't let you end up back in the system, I promise."

A good start, with no signs of suspicion in the response. Nicole tested a little further. "I can't go to the police, either. I... I can't be found."

Jeanie blinked, and a look of realization, followed by fierce protectiveness, crossed her face. She put a hand on Nicole's arm. "Was it a relative that hurt you? It's okay, I understand. That's why I left my home, too. I promise, I won't let them find you and hurt you ever again."

It felt strange, this make-believe game, but Nicole took the opening offered her. As much as she hated the thought of deceiving this kind woman, it seemed the best way to make sure she was protected without being found. Besides, there was no way to avoid deception. She couldn't let anyone know who she really was, after all. She looked down and nodded.

Jeanie gave a gentle squeeze. "No police. I promise."

Nicole believed her. She cautiously opened up a step further. "I don't have a home. I need somewhere safe."

The older woman looked somewhat surprised. "You want a home? Somewhere to stay long-term?"

Nicole nodded.

The surprise melted into a wide smile that creased friendly lines into Jeanie's face. "Of course." She paused. "Let's see. We'll have to avoid any official channels if we want to keep you out of the system. We'll have to keep this on the down-low." She laughed. "I'm sure you have no problems with that."

Down-low. Nicole searched the edges of the holes. Colloquialism meaning to keep something secret, away from public attention. Perfect. "Yes, thank you."

Jeanie seemed lost in thought. "Well... Gil won't be happy, but I'm sure he'll get over it. He'll come around."

Nicole felt lost again. She finished off the soup, hoping Jeanie wasn't expecting some particular response out of her.

"It's settled." Jeanie planted her hands on the table with that same big smile. "You'll come and live with me. I'm a licensed foster parent, so the state'll drop in from time to time, but we'll just tell them that you're my niece. From... Seattle, we'll say. They won't bother you if you're a relative. Well, they may ask you a couple questions, but it won't be about you, it'll be about me. So don't worry."

Unfamiliar terms blew through Nicole's mind before settling in some semblance of order and understanding. "I can stay in your home?"

"If you like. It's no Ritz, but we only have one kid with us now, so you'll have a room to yourself. And you'll like Andrea. She's about your age. Sweet girl."

Nicole stared, hardly able to believe it. This seemed too easy, too simple. She'd only just arrived here, and already someone was ready to care for and protect her?

A memory slipped in through a closing hole. They had researched, studied, and calculated it out to make sure she landed near someone who frequently offered help to strangers, especially youths. Of course. Jeanie was that person. No wonder it felt so easy: it had been planned out ahead of time for her to be near the one person most likely to help her. Now she dimly remembered them describing Jeanie, telling her to seek out that woman, but she'd lost those directions until just now. Luckily, she'd ended up in the right place despite her confusion.

She smiled. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Jeanie squeezed her arm again. "Of course. Do you want anything else to eat? And when you're done, we can head out and get you cleaned up and settled in. Do you have some things we need to pick up? A bag somewhere?"

It would be normal for her to have possessions, Nicole realized. "I... I lost it."

Jeanie gave her a sympathetic look. "That happens on the streets. It's a hard life. But no more of that for you! We'll get you some new things. It's no problem at all."

Nicole relaxed. "Thank you," she said again.

"I'm just happy to help. You want something more to eat?"

Nicole shook her head.

"You sure?" At Nicole's nod, Jeanie stood. "Okay. Let me go talk to my staff, and then we can head out as soon as you're ready."

Nicole worked on flexing and relaxing her leg muscles while she finished the tea. She needed her legs working as soon as possible. It wouldn't do to keep hobbling around on dumpsters and Jeanie's arm.

"All set?" Jeanie asked as she approached. The apron had been replaced with a long, bright yellow coat, and a large green purse hung over her arm. Her hair swished around her ears in bouncy curls.

Nicole nodded and pushed herself to a standing position. Her legs wobbled. No, she told them. You can't do that. You have to work.

But they still refused to cooperate. She sank back down into the chair, unsure how to proceed.

Jeanie stopped and sat back down in the chair opposite Nicole, a serious look on her face. "Honey, if you're going to be staying with me, then you need to trust me enough to help you. Did you hurt your leg? I can take you to the doctor. There won't be any police involved. I promise."

Nicole shook her head, unsure how to answer. "It's not hurt. I just... I haven't been doing so well lately." It sounded lame, and she searched for a better way to word things.

Jeanie frowned.

"I'll be fine once I've had some rest," Nicole added. With any hope, that was true. Her legs would adapt, and she'd be able to walk fine. Anything less, and she'd stand out as unusual. She couldn't draw that sort of attention to herself.

"Does this happen often?" Jeanie asked.

Nicole weighed her answer. "No, not really. But I... I've had a rough time." She left it vague, hoping Jeanie wouldn't press for details.

Jeanie still looked skeptical, but she nodded. "We'll find something for you to use for now, and in case you have a 'rough time' again. For the meantime..." She looked around, then crossed to a bucket next to the door and pulled out an umbrella. "Will this do?"

Nicole accepted the umbrella and made a new attempt at standing. With the umbrella to lean on, she was able to keep herself upright without clinging to the table, though her legs wobbled slightly with each step. "It's perfect. Thank you."

Jeanie looked like she might say something, but shook her head. "All right. My car's this way."

The next hour passed in a blur of bumper-to-bumper traffic, blaring horns, and Jeanie's continuous chatter. The older woman cheerfully patted her own horn from time to time, but spent more of her focus on Nicole than on the road as she explained the rules of her home, emphasizing how the rules weren't there to 'come down' on anyone, but to make sure everyone stayed safe, healthy, and legal. Jeanie seemed almost hesitant when she mentioned that regular school attendance was included in the house rules, as if afraid of how Nicole would react, but Nicole only nodded. She'd been prepared for that before coming here. They'd long debated the matter and ultimately decided that it was better for her to seem younger and in need of a safe home, even if that meant being in a school registry, rather than to be older and expected to be independent.

Nicole was almost asleep when the car pulled into a small parking lot carved into the backside of a building, the second floor jutting out over the parked cars. Jeanie led the way through a narrow alley between buildings to the front, where a wash of colors and smells almost overpowered Nicole.

"Isn't it lovely?" Jeanie asked, eyeing the flower shop that spilled from the face of the building out onto the sidewalk before she fumbled with keys at a small door to the side of the store entrance. "Our apartment is the floor just above the shop, and we get the most wonderful smells all day long. Nothing starts the morning so sweet as walking out to this!"

She led the way up a narrow set of stairs to the second floor, where she fumbled with more keys before pushing a scratched door open into an even narrower hallway. "This is us!"

Nicole stepped in, leaning a bit heavier on the umbrella now. She dimly registered arches on either side of the hallway around her, one leading to a kitchen and the other to a room filled with couches and dominated by a large TV screen. Her body was adapting better, with her clothes no longer irritating her skin and sounds no longer pounding her senses so violently, but a new sense of exhaustion was setting in. The transition had taken a lot out of her.

To her relief, Jeanie seemed sensitive to that much, at least. "Why don't you just rest for tonight? We can worry about the full tour tomorrow when we get you settled in a bit better."

"Thank you."

Nicole's room was barely big enough for a twin bunk bed, a dresser, and a small desk, but it was painted in cheery sunset tones that made it feel comforting and homey. Lacy yellow curtains covered a small window that boasted a view of the dirty bricks forming the adjacent building.

"You'll be sharing a bathroom with Andrea, right across the hall," Jeanie said, opening the door on the other side of the hall to show the little bathroom decorated with seashells. "We've got some extra toothbrushes and combs around. I'll gather what we have. For now, go ahead and get all the rest you need."

Nicole thanked her again, shut the door, and was asleep almost as fast as she could collapse onto the creaking bed.

* * *

The smell of bacon woke Nicole. Reflected light from the dirty bricks outside the window suggested it was sometime late morning. She swung her legs off the bed, firmly commanded them to cooperate, and attempted standing.

Her legs held no better than yesterday. She scowled at them, trying to cover the growing fear knotting in her chest. What was wrong with her? Normal people's bodies worked correctly. She'd stand out, call attention to herself, if hers didn't.

She stretched and tensed her legs a few times. They responded to commands well enough; they just refused to support her full weight. She searched her mind as she continued to work on her legs, peering at the rims of the holes, pleased to note there were fewer now than there had been last night. She was adapting to her new form well.

The thought clicked into place, birthing a new one. Of course. This body was an entirely new form. A lower form, so to speak. Most likely this problem was because her consciousness wasn't a perfect translation into this plane of existence. It couldn't quite communicate right with her body, or more likely, it overwhelmed the system's normal functioning, restricting its usual processes.

And preventing her legs from working right.

She'd assumed her vision was the only lasting difference between her experience and the typical experience on this plane, but obviously that had been an incorrect assumption. She blew out a steady breath between thin lips. Nothing to be done about it now. As long as her higher consciousness fully inhabited this form, her legs wouldn't work right. She'd have to adjust her approach.

She grabbed the umbrella from where it had fallen on the floor when she tumbled into sleep last night and used it to get herself to the bathroom. A glimpse of the mirror in passing told her she was still a mess. She'd been too exhausted to properly clean up last night, and she looked all the worse for it.

A toothbrush, mini tube of toothpaste, comb, washcloth, soap, and deodorant waited in a tiny basket beside the sink, a little purple bow decorating the basket's handle. Nicole assumed that this was what Jeanie had collected for her and put all of the products to good use.

It was nearly forty minutes before she emerged from the bathroom feeling significantly better. She aimed herself in the direction of the bacon smell and followed the hallway to the kitchen.

Jeanie was bustling around the kitchen with a frilly pink apron over a light green dress. She beamed as Nicole entered. "Good morning! I was beginning to wonder if you planned to sleep all day."

"Sorry," Nicole said, feeling sharply embarrassed.

Jeanie laughed. "Nothing to be sorry for, honey. You needed your rest. You're looking much better now, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Thank you." Nicole glanced around the kitchen, better able to take it in now that she was fully awake. Off-yellow counters and cabinets accented light beige countertops that filled every available space except for the nearest corner, into which a table with six chairs was crammed. She leaned on the umbrella to get to the closest chair.

Jeanie watched her intently. "Your legs are still bothering you?"

Right. New approach. Nicole fiddled with the umbrella, keeping her gaze low. "Uh..."

Jeanie sat down in the chair next to Nicole and faced her, serious expression in place. "Honey, you don't have to be afraid to be honest with me. I only want to help you. But you have to tell me the truth for me to do that. I won't get mad, and I won't kick you out, no matter what. You have my word."

Nicole fidgeted a moment longer, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I was afraid..."

Jeanie nodded for her to go on.

"My legs don't work well. They've always been this way." Truth, seeing how this was the first time she could be described as having anything so physical and material as 'legs.' "I can get around fine if I have something to help me."

"A cane?" Jeanie suggested.

Nicole nodded.

"And you didn't have one on the streets?"

She looked down again. "I... I lost all of it."

Jeanie gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Honey, that's nothing to be ashamed of, and certainly nothing to hide. We'll find you a cane while we're out today getting you some new clothes and things."

"Thank you so much." Nicole drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it yesterday."

"I understand. Being out on your own, it's hard to know how much you should tell people." Jeanie swept across the room, then back again, bearing a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. "Eat up. Then, if you're up to it, we'll get you some new things and enroll in school. You just missed Drea by an hour or so. Gil leaves a bit before that, and they both got in after you were asleep yesterday. But you'll get to meet them this evening. They're both eager to meet you."

Nicole smiled and took a bite, already feeling better.

The outing with Jeanie started flew past in a blur of canes, clothes, shoes, personal items, and constant chatter from Jeanie. The hardest part was enrolling at the school in the middle of the trip, complete with a placement test, since Nicole didn't have any prior school records. It wasn't so much that the test was difficult, but rather it was difficult for Nicole to remember what a fifteen-year-old girl in this plane of existence would know and understand. She did her best to keep from going above an age-appropriate level, but in the end, she wasn't entirely sure she'd accomplished that. Or perhaps she'd made the opposite mistake of making too many errors and scoring lower than she should have. It was impossible to tell from the administrator's bored expression and flat instructions to come to the office tomorrow morning for her class schedule.

Nicole was starting to feel worn out again when the sky darkened and Jeanie finally navigated the constant stream of traffic back home.

"That took a little longer than I thought, but that's okay," Jeanie declared as she parked. "Drea and Gil won't mind dinner being a few minutes late."

The two of them loaded up the various bags of new possessions and lugged them upstairs to the apartment.

"We're home!" Jeanie sang. She wrestled the key back out of the lock and pushed the door shut behind them.

A tall, gangly man in a crisp button-down shirt appeared in the opening to the living room, a pink-hued space that teetered on the border between cozy and cluttered. He looked over a pair of glasses to examine Nicole like a specimen of bacteria under a microscope. "Who is this?"

"Nicole, silly. Remember? I told you about her yesterday." Jeanie shoved a mass of bags toward his hands. "Gil, meet Nicole. Nicole, my husband, Gil."

"That's Mr. Wilkerson," Gil snapped in Nicole's direction without accepting the bags. He turned back to Jeanie. "I thought we talked about this."

"Yes, and you were fine with it."

"I said," Gil said, his tone dark, "you need to find her somewhere else to stay."

"No, you said that I need to find her somewhere to stay, and there are plenty of good homes to choose from. I couldn't agree more. I chose ours."

"We agreed that we can help people through the state, remember? At least when it's through the state, we get money out of the deal. What are we getting from... this?" He eyed Nicole, looking as if he wanted to spray her down with sanitizer.

"We can talk about this after—" Jeanie started.

"No, we can talk about this now. We've always said that we can provide shelter to those who have made bad choices and need assistance only if we go through the proper channels. If we bring in every stray off the streets and care for them without the government's money to support our work, we'll end up bankrupt and requiring help ourselves. So I'll ask again, what are we getting from this?" He thrust a bony finger at Nicole.

Jeanie stepped in front of him and put her hands on her hips. He stood a head and a half taller than her, but she was far more intimidating. "We are doing the right thing and showing God's love by giving someone in need a safe place to stay."

He glared a moment longer, then shifted to the side, grumbling something under his breath about hating it when she used that line on him.

Jeanie turned back with a beaming smile. "Don't worry about him. He's just grumpy today."

Nicole got a distinct feeling that his grumpiness lasted for more than just a day, but chose to keep her mouth shut, instead following Jeanie down the hall to deliver her new purchases to her room.

The door at the end of the hallway groaned open just enough for a girl to lean in the doorframe and give them a cool once-over. The girl was a bit taller than Nicole with black hair cut short around her ears, black clothes, and heavy black eyeliner. Spiky jewelry decorated her neck.

"Oh, there you are," Jeanie chirped. "Nicole, this is Andrea."

The girl's voice was deeper than her appearance would suggest, and it came out as cold as her expression. "My name is Drea." She drew out the name with special emphasis, dray-uh, as if this correction had been made many times before.

"Nicole will be attending Glacier High with you," Jeanie said as if she hadn't heard what Drea said. "I'm counting on you to help her learn the bus system to get to and from school tomorrow."

Drea cast an irritated glance at Jeanie, then returned her dismissive gaze to Nicole. "Stay out of my room and stay out of my way, and we'll get along fine. Got it?"

Nicole nodded.

Drea vanished back into her room with a slam of the door.

"She gets cranky sometimes," Jeanie said in a confiding tone, her bright smile undiminished by Drea's sour approach. Again, Nicole suspected that 'sometimes' was a bit more regular than Jeanie let on. "Do you need any help getting your new things settled?"

Nicole shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm pretty tired."

"Of course. I'll be just down the hall with Gil, so you let me know if you need anything at all, okay?"

"Thank you."

Jeanie gave her one last brilliant smile before leaving.

Nicole shut the door and put her new things away before dropping onto the bed. Gil and Drea didn't seem too interested in helping her, but they didn't strike her as the type who would do anything against her, either. Jeanie would make sure she stayed safe and hidden. That was all that mattered.

She relaxed and let sleep take her. She would be safe here. Everything was going to be okay.

Chapter 3

Nicole jarred from blissful slumber to the sound of horns blaring outside. She gave the clock on the dresser a bleary squint and determined it was a bit earlier than she'd planned on waking, but not early enough to be worth falling back asleep. She yawned and stretched, pleased to find the gestures feeling entirely natural. She'd adapted to her new form.

The cane resting beside the bed reminded her that the adaptation wasn't perfect. She used it to leverage herself to her feet. How much of an impact would this have on her ability to stay hidden? The cane and limp made her stand out, no question. But any normal person in this world could have a leg injury requiring such accoutrements. Having a limp wouldn't clue anyone in to who—and what—she really was. That was all that mattered. And she'd just have to be careful to avoid calling any other attention to herself. She could manage that.

She dressed quickly and headed into the bathroom. The door thumped after only a few minutes. "I'm almost done," she called.

An unintelligible grumble came from the other side of the door. Drea, most likely. Nicole hurried through the rest of her morning cleanup and hurried out the door.

"Took you long enough," Drea scowled, shoving past her.

"Sorry," Nicole said, but the bathroom door already slammed shut. She returned to her room and finished getting ready for the day, loading up a blue backpack with all the items Jeanie had insisted she'd need for school.

Jeanie buzzed around the kitchen amid the smells of waffles and berries. She paused long enough to gush, "You look fantastic! I knew that sweater would be perfect with your eyes. Have a seat and chow down. I'll have to leave in a few minutes to get things going at the restaurant, but I wanted to make sure you got a good breakfast before your first day at school."

Nicole sat at the table. Drea joined her minutes later, looking almost exactly like she had the day before. The taller girl made a point of ignoring her.

"Andrea, you'll be able to show her the bus route, right?" Jeanie asked as she delivered plates of berry-covered waffles to the table. "I want you two to stick together the whole way. I've been so worried since Lisa was placed with an adoptive family and you didn't have anyone with you anymore. You know how these streets get."

Drea rolled her eyes and didn't answer, digging in to the food.

"We'll stay together," Nicole said, as it seemed Jeanie was waiting for some sort of promise.

The older woman beamed. "Good. Eat up and head out. I'll see you tonight. Oh, I almost forgot." She handed Nicole a ring with two keys and a small mobile phone. "The big key is to the door on the street, and the smaller one is our front door. The phone is on our family line. My number's already programmed in, so you call if you need anything, anything at all, honey. And the restaurant's number is in there, too. And if you get lost, just flag a taxi and tell it to bring you to the Mincing Meatball. And—"

"You're going to be late," Gil's voice rumbled from across the hall.

Jeanie sighed, then reached across the table to squeeze Nicole's arm. "You're going to be just fine."

Nicole nodded.

Jeanie bid them farewell and whisked her way out the door in a whirlwind of coat and bags.

Drea scraped the last bite off her plate and dropped her dishes into the sink. "Let's go."

Nicole managed to scarf down most of her meal and hurry after Drea as fast as the cane would allow. "Do we need to lock the door?"

"Gil can get it," Drea said loudly enough that it seemed more like a reminder to him than information for her. "He just sits on his lazy butt until his shift starts, anyway." She yanked the door shut behind them, muting an angry retort from the living room.

Nicole followed her down the stairs and out to the bus stop, which was only a couple blocks south of the flower shop below the apartment.

"The next bus to stop here will be the three-twenty-six," Drea said, pushing a plastic card into her hand. "Tell the driver you're going to Glacier High. He'll tell you when to get off." With that, she turned and began walking down the street.

"Where are you going?" Nicole asked.

"To school."

"Not on the bus?"

Drea let out an impatient sigh. "I have my own way of getting there."

"Jeanie said—"

"Jeanie says a lot of stuff." Drea turned and faced Nicole. "Free advice. Jeanie comes across all sweet and folksy, but she's in it for the money, same as Gil. Don't let her trick you into thinking she actually cares. Don't think anyone actually cares. Because they don't." She turned and marched away.

Nicole almost called after her, but stopped. It didn't seem that it would do any good. A cold wind picked up leaves and swirled them around her feet, making her shiver and pull her new coat tighter. Unfamiliar faces bustled past on the sidewalk behind her, caught up in their own worlds. She suddenly felt alone.

Cars of all shapes and sizes crawled past on the road, voracious honking further punctuated by rude hand signals. Nicole edged closer to the bus stop pole, keeping her eyes down and trying to be invisible.

A massive bus lurched to a stop in front of her, and the doors swung open, emitting a few people that brushed past Nicole without a glance her way. The last person stepped off, and she hesitated, unsure if it was her turn to get on.

"Coming or going?" a large, dark-skinned man behind the wheel asked.

She stared blankly. "Um, I'm supposed to go to Glacier High."

"Sidewalk won't get you there." He grinned, revealing gleaming if not slightly crooked teeth. "Come on in."

It took some work to navigate the higher steps of the bus with her cane, but a tight grip on the handrail helped. She reached the top of the steps and held out the plastic card Drea had given her.

"Tap it there," the driver said, pointing to a small box.

She tapped the edge on the box. Nothing happened.

He chuckled and took the card from her, touching the flat of it against the box. He was rewarded with a tinny beep. "There you go, love. Have a seat."

"Thank you." She turned to find a handful of grouchy faces watching her. Her cheeks burned as she stuffed the card into her pocket and dropped into the only empty seat she saw, near the front. The bus rumbled its way back into the flow of traffic.

"That seat's for disabled," an older woman on the other side of the bus snapped at her, glaring fiercely. "Not for fakers looking for attention."

Nicole blinked, unsure how to respond.

"Leave my passengers alone and mind your own business," the driver said, blasting the horn twice before navigating a turn.

"Punk kids think they can get away with anything these days," the woman grumbled, but she let the matter drop.

Nicole hugged her bag close and cast a brief glance around. The people who'd glared at her a moment before no longer seemed interested, having retreated back into their own worlds, staring ahead or out the windows or even napping. She returned her gaze forward, fighting a cold sense of loneliness. This was a good thing. She was supposed to avoid attention. Being surrounded by people who didn't even look twice at her just meant she was fulfilling that goal.

It took a little over half an hour before the bus driver spoke to her again. "Glacier High, love. This is your stop."

She looked up and realized that the bus was already stopped. "Sorry." She slid her bag on her back and worked her way off the bus as fast as she could before giving the driver one last wave. "Thanks again."

He grinned and waved back through the closing doors, then drove on.

Nicole turned to face the dirty brick building she'd be spending most of her day in. Students filled the sidewalk, some walking alone, others chatting loudly with groups of friends. Someone threw an orange ball over several heads, and someone else jumped up and caught it.

She took a deep breath, adjusted her bag, and joined the current of people streaming into the building. A few people glanced at the cane and gave her extra space, but most of them ignored her, to her relief. The lady on the bus had made her wonder if the cane would draw more attention than she could afford, but it looked like people's dedication to staying in their own worlds overrode any attention the cane would have otherwise attracted.

She stopped at the office. The same bored administrator thrust a class schedule into her hands. "Room numbers are to the right of each class name. First number is floor level, the other two numbers tell you where on the floor it is. Think you can find your way around, or do you need me to find someone to show you the way?"

A personal escort would make her stand out more. She shook her head. "I can find my way."

The lady eyed her cane, then handed her a key on a chain. "For the elevator. Don't let anyone else ride it with you, or they'll take it away and you'll be stuck with the stairs. Got it?"

She nodded.

"Then have a nice day." It was more a dismissal than a sincere wish.

Nicole accepted the dismissal and left the office, working on juggling the paper and the key.

Someone ran into her from the side, knocking her into the wall. The paper, key, and her cane all tumbled to the floor. "Watch where you're going!" he snapped before vanishing back into the rush of humanity.

"You watch where you're going," another boy retorted, stopping at Nicole's side and glaring after the guy. He crouched and picked up the cane. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her cheeks burned fiercely. So much for avoiding attention. "Thank you." She reached for the paper.

He grabbed the paper and key, pushing them into her reaching hand. "Sorry about that. Some guys here are real jerks." He smiled as he straightened. "You're new here, right?"

She nodded.

"I thought so. I mean, not like I know everyone here, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone using a cane. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he quickly added, running a hand over his short brown hair. "It just, you know, stands out."

Her face felt even hotter. Stands out? She glanced around, feeling cold doubts slither through her veins. Was that how everyone saw her? If they came looking for her, would the students around her be all too eager to point out the strange new girl with the cane? She couldn't let that happen. If they found her, they'd use her ability and wreak destruction on this plane as well as her own.

No. She forced herself to breathe. She was being silly. A girl with a cane at a school wouldn't be identifying enough to help them track her down. She still wasn't in any national databases. For all she knew, they didn't even realize she'd made the transition at this point. It was going to be okay. She just had to stay calm and keep her head down.

"I'm sorry," the boy said, looking pained. "I said that all wrong. Can we start over?" He flashed her a friendly smile that broadened his square face and held out a hand. "Hi. My name's Aaron. Are you new here?"

A flutter of relief danced through her chest. He wasn't interested in calling any special attention to her. He was just trying to be friendly in his own sweet, awkward way. She shook his hand. "Nicole. And yes, I'm new."

"It's nice to meet you. Can I walk you to your class?"

She dug her paper back out and checked the room number of her first class. "I'm supposed to be on the third floor, but I'm not sure where the elevator is."

"I can help with that." He took a step back and gave a half bow as if escorting the queen. "Right this way, Miss Nicole."

She couldn't help but smile as she fell into step beside him.

"Did you just move to Springfield? Or did you transfer from one of the other high schools?" Aaron asked.

"I just moved." What was the story Jeanie had given her? "From Seattle. I'm staying with my aunt."

"Seattle, huh? So you're used to a lot of rain. That's good. The weather here's always crazy."

She smiled to cover the blank look trying to invade her face. She'd better do some reading about Seattle if she was going to tell people she was from there.

"Here you go." Aaron stopped beside the elevator. "Anything else I can do to help?"

"No, but thank you. You've been very helpful." She put her key in the lock beside the doors and turned it. The elevator opened with a strained chime.

"Sure thing. See ya." He gave a sharp salute before walking on.

The elevator rattled its way to the third floor, the doors opening just as a jarring bell clamored. The mass of students rapidly dispersed into different rooms, emptying the hallways.

Nicole checked her paper for the room number again, then set off down the hallway to find her class. The hall was empty by the time she found the right door, and she stepped through it just as a second bell shrilled.

Students sat in rows of desks, all staring at her, as was the teacher at the front, a balding man with an unkind face. He turned to her. "Is there a reason you're disrupting my class?"

Heat returned to her face. "I'm new. I'm supposed to be in this class."

His eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to his desk to check something. "You're Nicole Wilkerson?"

"Yes."

"Then take a seat. And in the future, I expect you to arrive in a more timely manner. You're expected to be in your seat by the first bell. Anything after that is late." He launched back into his lecture without another word in her direction.

Nicole looked around the rows for an empty chair but only saw faces staring back at her. The heat spread. Ducking her head, she worked her way toward the back, hoping for a better angle to spot empty chairs. And hopefully it would get her out of the public scrutiny.

You're new and you have a cane, she reminded herself. Of course there will be some curiosity. But stay calm, act normal, and try to fit in. It'll be okay.

She spotted an empty seat halfway back and worked her way over to it, sliding into the chair as quickly as possible to keep from blocking the view of the students behind her.

A girl with overly styled curls and too much makeup watched her from the next desk over. Her sparkly necklace identified her as Ruby. "Wilkerson? You're one of those trashy foster kids the Wilkersons keep shoving on the school?"

Nicole set her backpack beside the desk and, for lack of a better option, leaned her cane on it. "I'm Jeanie's niece. From Seattle."

"Oh." Ruby eyed the cane. "What's the deal with that thing?"

"I need it to walk."

The girl wrinkled her nose, looking at Nicole a bit like Gil had. "And you couldn't find something nicer than that ugly stick?"

Nicole glanced down at the cane. It was plain and black with smooth lines. She hadn't really thought of it as ugly. "It gets me around."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "No need to be all snooty about it."

Snooty? Nicole raised an eyebrow. "I'm not."

"Are you thick as well as crippled?" Ruby glared. "I've had it with you new girls who come in thinking you can just own the place. I guess you're going for the sympathy vote with the whole cripple act. Well, it's not going to work. I—"

"Am I interrupting something, Ruby?" the teacher asked, giving her a look.

Ruby quickly straightened. "No, nothing."

He glared a moment longer, then resumed.

Nicole exhaled and dug out a notebook and pen. This 'fitting in' thing looked like it might be harder than she initially thought.

* * *

Nicole finished her lunch alone at a table full of chatting students, keeping her eyes down. At least here she managed to go unnoticed. Everywhere else had been too much like that first class: lots of stares, a few blunt-to-the-point-of-rude questions. It didn't help when her cane fell over twice in the second class, making a horrible clattering noise on the floor and drawing every eye on her. She finally found a way to wedge it under her desk so it wouldn't fall.

At least she hadn't been late for any more classes. She checked the time and noted that if she wanted to maintain that record, she'd better head for her next class. She needed to be in her class and seated before the first bell, though not too early before it rang. She'd learned that in her third class when she found a seat only to be told to move by the person who usually used that seat. She'd ended up in three different desks before she gave up and waited at the back of the classroom for most of the other students to arrive.

She found her way to her science class and walked in, steeling herself for another round of stares.

The science classroom featured tall tables with stools lined behind them instead of the shorter desk and chair combinations in the other rooms. The teacher was the only one there. He looked up and smiled. "You must be Nicole."

The friendly tone startled her. None of the other teachers had seemed quite so happy to see her. "Yes."

"Fantastic. I'm Mr. Zimmerman. I saw your placement test. It'll be nice to have someone like you in my class."

Nicole hesitated. "Someone like me?"

"I know this is supposed to be advanced placement chemistry, but most of these students can't even wrap their brains around the basics of physical chem. You, on the other hand, were just about dipping into the theoretical. Heck, you wouldn't even be in a science class at all if it wasn't a grad requirement. You're way ahead of what we'll be doing in here. But I'll see what I can do to keep you from being too bored. And maybe you can help me teach these know-it-alls a thing or two?" He grinned.

Oops. She'd tried to keep her answers age-appropriate, but apparently she'd failed. "Uh, sure," she faltered.

Her lame answer was apparently good enough for him. "Great. Go ahead and have a seat." He gestured to a couple different tables. "I think there's extra space in either of those."

Nicole chose a stool at the end of a table, just across a small aisle from one of the other tables. She'd just gotten settled as other students filed in. To her relief, she didn't draw the same number of stares, probably because she was sitting instead of leaning and limping on her cane.

Once the first bell rang, Mr. Zimmerman started in. "First off, I want everyone to say hi to Nicole. She's new, I expect those of you at her table to fill her in on the current experiment."

All eyes fixed on Nicole. She focused on the table in front of her. The one time she'd managed to avoid drawing a lot of attention, spoiled by an over-eager teacher.

Mr. Zimmerman continued on. "All right, let's get into it. You should all have your results from yesterday's work. Today I want you to start in on the second set of experiments." He paused. "Oh, and our grand total of shattered beakers is now eighteen. You've blown past all the other classes."

A couple of boys gave sarcastic cheers.

"Yes, congratulations. Come on, you guys are supposed to be the smart ones," Mr. Zimmerman said, a teasing jab in his voice. "But we're going to run out of materials soon if this keeps up. The next person to break a beaker gets a zero on that assignment."

The announcement was met with groans and protests.

Mr. Zimmerman raised his hands. "I know, it sucks. But that's how it's gotta be. So just be careful around your beakers while you're doing your work, got it? Now get to work."

A few more groans followed, but the students grudgingly dug out books and retrieved supplies from the cupboards surrounding the room.

Nicole leaned on her cane to stand, facing the other students at her table. "What do I need to do?"

One girl with a tight ponytail seemed to have taken charge of the group. She eyed Nicole's cane. "You just hang out for a minute. We'll get the stuff. Um, Mark, why don't you fill her in?"

"Sure," the boy who must be Mark said without looking up from a skeleton he was doodling on the margin of his paper.

Nicole waited for him to proceed with explanation, but he didn't say anything further as the others scurried away to get the needed items.

Someone bumped her from behind, and she stumbled a step closer to the table to catch her balance. She glanced back and saw the same boy who'd run into her in the hallway.

He wasn't paying any attention to her, though. He was talking to a petite redhead at the next table over. "Come on, Tara, I'm just asking for a quick peek, that's all."

"I told you, do your own work," the girl said, busy measuring liquids into her beaker. "Leave me alone, Ethan."

Ethan leaned closer, scowling. "You know I'll get kicked off the team if I don't keep my grades up. You want me in trouble?"

"You wouldn't be in any trouble if you did your own work." Tara measured the next liquid and prepared to pour it.

Ethan shoved the beaker to one side. It sloshed and tipped.

Tara squeaked in protest and lunged for it, but it was too late. The glass rolled off the edge of the table and shattered on the floor, the sound swallowed in the still-shuffling feet and stools around the room.

"Ethan!" Tara hissed, horrified.

"Your own fault," the boy retorted, already hurrying away. "Better not say anything to Mr. Z about this. You know what'll happen."

Tara looked pale and nauseated. She crossed to the other side of the table and began picking up the broken glass with shaking fingers.

Nicole stepped closer and crouched. Her legs wobbled in protest at the action, and she bumped into the other girl's table, catching the edge for balance. She picked up one of the larger pieces. "Are you okay?"

Tara turned her face away and answered with a tight voice. "Yeah, fine. I've got this."

"What's going on here?" Mr. Zimmerman asked, striding up.

Nicole hauled herself upright, feeling too many eyes on her once more. She started to duck back to her own table, but paused. She'd already failed to avoid any attention. What would a little more really hurt?

"My beaker," Tara started. She glanced back at where Ethan sat.

Nicole followed her gaze. Several boys as big and muscular as Ethan huddled close together, shooting dagger looks in Tara's direction. Nicole wasn't sure what the nameless threat was, but it was clear that if Tara told the truth, she'd face some sort of social consequence for it.

Tara looked down. "I dropped it."

Mr. Zimmerman sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to give you a zero for this assignment."

Tears pooled in Tara's eyes, but she still didn't say anything.

Something cautioned Nicole not to speak up. She was supposed to be staying under the radar. Unnoticed. Blending in.

"It wasn't her fault," she said, ignoring the cautioning voice.

Mr. Zimmerman raised an eyebrow. The students stared, waiting. She could feel the same dagger glares from Ethan and his friends on her now.

Nicole looked down at the broken glass, thinking fast. "I lost my balance," she finally said. "And I accidentally bumped her table. I didn't mean to." She kept her eyes down.

Mr. Zimmerman glanced at her cane, then Tara, then back to the cane, then nodded. "It's your first day, so I'm not going to punish you because everyone else in this class breaks everything they touch. Just be careful from now on. Help Tara clean it up, and Tara, go ahead and start over."

Both girls quickly resumed cleaning the glass while the teacher moved on. Once he was out of earshot, Tara looked up with amazement in her eyes. "Why did you say that? It wasn't your fault the beaker fell."

"It wasn't yours, either."

Tara smiled. "Thanks. You saved my neck."

Nicole smiled back.

The rest of the class passed quickly, and Nicole hurried to her next one. Two more classes, and she'd be done for the day. It couldn't come fast enough.

The English class was already mostly full, and she sat in an empty seat near the back. Several girls immediately turned to her with hostile glares. Caught off-guard, she was about to ask if something was wrong when someone stopped beside her.

"That's my chair," Ruby said, glaring with open venom.

The now-familiar heat warmed Nicole's cheeks. "Sorry." She stood, reaching for her things.

Ruby gave Nicole's bag a little kick, knocking it aside as she shoved her way into the desk. "Yeah, you should be."

Nicole hurried her way across the room to the next empty seat, hoping it wasn't someone else's. Loud whispers came from the corner she'd departed, and the girls looked back at her and started giggling.

She did her best to keep her eyes forward. More attention. What was wrong with her that she couldn't follow a simple directive to lie low? This whole idea to hide in this place had been foolish. Or maybe the mistake was in thinking she could handle it.

She pulled out her notebook and forced herself to take deep breaths again. She had lost perspective. These were just children, after all. It wasn't like one of them was going to run off and tell the world that a girl with a cane had sat in the wrong seat, and the people after her would magically be able to know that it was her. It didn't matter if some students noticed her or not. She just had to avoid anything major, anything that might get any official systems involved.

She blinked at the realization. That was right. She'd been so focused on the directive to avoid attention that she'd forgotten the scale. The gaps in her mind must be closing for her to have remembered that. She suddenly felt immensely better.

She glanced over to see the girls staring and giggling again. She smiled and gave them a friendly wave. Their giggles turned to scoffs and scowls as they quickly turned their backs on her. They whispered some more, but didn't stare at her again.

Nicole felt herself relaxing as tension washed out of her body. She'd been getting worked up over nothing. In reality, everything was just fine.

Chapter 4

The Man in the dark suit glanced at the buzzing phone with mild irritation. He debated his way through a pro/con analysis before reluctantly accepting the distraction. "What?"

"As your employer, I expect regular updates. And perhaps a bit more respect when being addressed." The last sentence was delivered with an excessively clear warning tone.

He kept his eyes forward, navigating the interstate with ease, only giving the phone a sliver of his attention. That was all it deserved. This speck of a man might be the head of DEC, but he amounted to little more than an obnoxious bumblebee flitting about. "You expect an update after two days on the job?" He didn't bother masking the disdain in his voice.

He could visualize Sterling's purple face on the other end of the phone line as the answer came through a tight voice, barely controlled. "I _expect_ to be kept in the loop! Our end of the project is nearly completed, and need I remind you that we are working with some very powerful—"

The Man interrupted, already bored of the unnecessary drama. "I verified your theory that she crossed into our plane of existence. She's here."

The businessman let out a tiny gasp. "You found her? Where? Where is she?"

"I don't make a habit of expounding on mere hunch. You'll receive my report once I've confirmed my suspicions." He reached for the button to terminate the call, but paused before pressing it. "Don't call me again unless you have some information vital to my work."

Sterling's furious response cut off in a beep. The Man tossed the phone back into the seat beside him and continued on his route toward Springfield.

Chapter 5

Nicole's legs ached as she worked her way through the crowded halls toward the gym locker rooms. Last class of the day. Though she felt better about the whole attention matter now, she still couldn't wait for it to be over. The quietness of her room would be a welcome relief from all the petty arguments, silly drama, and foolish behavior she'd been surrounded with for the last several hours. It would also be nice to rest her legs.

She entered the girl's locker room to find Ruby staring at her.

"Figures we get stuck with the freak in our class," the girl groaned, marching over to stand by several other girls, different from the ones in the previous class. They might as well have been the same, though: same hairstyles, same overdone makeup, same fawning over Ruby.

Nicole sighed and set to work changing into her gym clothes. One more class. Just one. That was all. She could do it.

The other students in the gym lounged on the bleachers, chatting as they waited for class to begin. Nicole found a seat at the bottom a polite but not anti-social distance from the others. Loud whispers floated her way from Ruby's cluster a couple rows above her. She contemplated another friendly wave, but was distracted from the idea when someone stepped in front of her.

Aaron smiled down at her. "Nice to see you again. Mind if I sit by you?"

She couldn't help but smile back. As odd as she found these humans, especially these young ones with their obsession with drama, she couldn't help feeling warmed by the few that offered kindness. "Go ahead."

"Aaron!" Ruby's voice shrilled out. She cast a large smile down at him, sitting in an odd pose with her back overly arched and upper body twisted at an angle that couldn't be comfortable. It took Nicole a moment to realize that the girl was attempting to look alluring. "Come sit with us."

"Thanks, but I'm going to keep the new girl company," Aaron replied in an easy tone as he sat beside Nicole.

Before Nicole turned around, she caught a brief glimpse of cold fury on Ruby's face.

"I was hoping I'd get to see you again," Aaron said. "How were your other classes?"

Nicole took a moment to contemplate the question. "It takes some getting used to."

He laughed. "And here I thought every school had the same numbskulls. I take it Seattle's a bit nicer?"

"Not so much nicer," she said, choosing her words carefully. If she ran into someone who really had been to Seattle, she could end up in trouble if she said the wrong thing. "Just... different."

"How?"

She was rescued from answering by a sharp whistle. A bulky man with a square jaw who seemed to have enjoyed an overabundance of testosterone in his life glowered at the students on the bleachers. "Everyone up and start your laps, now!"

"But the bell didn't ring yet," someone near the back protested.

"Do we tolerate excuses in this class?" the teacher thundered.

Grumbles worked their way through the group, but everyone shuffled to their feet and trudged down to the floor.

Aaron stood and offered Nicole a hand. "I'm glad you're in this class, but sorry you got stuck with Welling. He's a real slave driver."

"Less jawing, more jogging!" Mr. Welling barked.

Nicole leaned on her cane as she followed the mass of students in a slow lap around the outer edge of the gym. A few jogged, but most of them walked or trudged along, still chatting with friends. Aaron strolled amiably at her side.

"Hey," a girl said, slowing as she passed Nicole. "You're new here, right?"

Nicole nodded.

"Well, let me know if you need any help." She smiled and jogged on.

Nicole glanced at Aaron, unsure how to respond. That certainly hadn't been normal to her experience so far in this school.

Before either of them could say anything, a muscular boy slowed and leaned close. "If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know. I'll deal with it."

She opened her mouth but he was already continuing on.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You make friends fast."

No, I don't, she wanted to say. "I'm not sure why—"

"You're all right," a boy said as he passed, extending a fist toward her.

It took her a moment to remember the significance of the gesture. She lightly tapped her own fist against his.

He grinned as he continued past them. "That was gutsy, sticking up for Tara like that. Ethan's a real putz."

Vague traces of understanding crept at the edge of Nicole's mind, but she wasn't entirely sure she really got what was going on. She hadn't seen the boy in the science class. How did he know she'd helped Tara?

"Tara and Ethan? You got mixed up with them?" Aaron asked, looking part surprised and part impressed.

"I guess?" She gave him the simplified version of what had happened. "I just didn't want to see her get in trouble for something that wasn't her fault—either with the teacher or with those guys."

"No wonder everyone's heard about it," Aaron said, watching as another girl gave Nicole a thumbs-up in passing.

Nicole raised her eyebrow, hoping for further explanation.

"Most people know Tara. She's one of those people who's nice to everyone, you know? And Ethan—well, people only put up with him because he wins football games for us."

Some semblance of understanding clicked into place. She'd helped a popular girl, Tara, and had therefore gained some degree of popularity herself. She just hoped it wouldn't result in any major attention on her. No, this wouldn't make a difference, she reminded herself. People didn't end up in newspapers or national databases for making it look like a broken beaker was their fault.

Aaron flashed her that smile again. "I don't think you're going to have too much trouble fitting in here."

Fitting in was good. "I'm glad."

The school bell shrilled, and Mr. Welling blew another sharp blast on his whistle the instant it stopped. "You hear that, ladies? That means the real work begins now! Anyone moving slower than a jog does a hundred pushups."

More groans arose as the students picked up their pace. Nicole tried to walk faster, but couldn't manage more than a slight increase in speed. Her legs wouldn't allow for anything faster than that.

The whistle blasted again, this time almost right in her ear. "Did you hear me?"

She looked up, startled, and saw Mr. Welling glowering at her and Aaron. "I'm sorry, but I can't go any faster than this."

"'Can't' isn't allowed in this class," he barked.

"Sir," Aaron began cautiously, glancing down at Nicole's cane, "I don't think—"

"You want to say something, Banks? I don't see you jogging, and you can't say there's something wrong with your legs, can you?"

Aaron gave Nicole an apologetic look and jogged ahead.

"As for you," Mr. Welling returned his glare to Nicole, "no lollygagging. Your other teachers might let you get away with wimping out, but that ends here. Get to it!"

"Sir," she started.

"Now!"

She exhaled and did her best to push harder into a fast walk. Her legs wobbled with each step, and she had to grip her cane with both hands to maintain her balance. A few students gave her sympathetic looks as they passed. She hardly noticed; her focus was caught up in just staying upright.

She'd only made it a few feet when her right leg decided it'd had enough and turned to rubber without warning. She scrambled to adjust her cane to catch herself, but the next thing she knew, she was on the floor, palms stinging from catching herself.

Ruby and her clones jogged past, snickering, but others slowed. A couple boys helped her back to her feet, and a girl retrieved the cane.

Mr. Welling blew his whistle. "Did I say stop? Keep moving."

"Mr. Welling, she can't go that fast," the girl said, folding her arms, ponytail swishing.

"I don't recall this being any of your business. Keep moving. You—" He turned to Nicole and consulted his clipboard. "Wilkerson. Get over here."

Nicole gave a quick 'thanks' to the other students before they jogged off and she made her way to face Mr. Welling.

"I don't put up with slackers in my class. If you can't jog, then you're doing sit-ups." He pointed to the floor in front of him.

She sat down, thinking fast to remember how to do the ordered exercise. "How many?"

"Until I say stop." He turned and blasted his whistle at a pudgier student whose ambling shuffle apparently wasn't deemed fast enough. "Wallace, a hundred pushups, now!"

Nicole set to work on the sit-ups. It took her a couple tries before she remembered how the exercise went, then a couple more to find a good rhythm.

The whistle blasted in her ear again. "You can do better than that. Faster."

She gritted her teeth and sped up. Was this really considered normal amongst humans? She panted, trying to push herself fast enough to get the teacher's attention off her.

"Faster!" he thundered.

Her breathing came ragged, painful, like tiny knives slicing their way out of her chest. She gasped, trying to get a clear breath of air, but her lungs only seemed to constrict in response.

"I said, faster!"

Her body shook as she struggled to keep control. Her throat closed spasmodically, and she dropped back, gasping and struggling for air. Terror shot through her system. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she breathe?

"Get up! Keep going!" Mr. Welling shouted.

She trembled, trying to tell him that something was wrong, that she couldn't breathe, but the words wouldn't come out. She couldn't do anything but choke and gasp. White edged the border of her vision, bringing a fresh burst of panic. She was going to die, stuck in this defective body on this smaller plane of existence, and no one would ever know.

An arm slid under her shoulders and pulled her back into a sitting position. "Listen to me," Aaron's voice came steady, gentle. "Breathe with me, out through the mouth, in through the nose. Out first. Out, two, three. In, two, three. Out, two, three."

She wanted to smack him and tell him that she was trying to breathe. The whiteness threatened to take over her vision.

His hand remained steady on her back, his voice quiet and calm in her ear. "In through the nose, out through the mouth. In, two, three."

Out. She tried to follow his lead and push air out through her mouth as he counted. In through the nose. The panic softened as she followed his calm coaching.

The tightness in her chest eased, just a little bit.

"There you go. You're doing great." He continued counting.

The grip on her throat and chest finally relaxed. Her muscles still trembled with shock, but she could breathe again. She blinked to clear her vision and found herself face to face with Aaron.

"You're okay. Do you have an inhaler?" he asked.

She stared blankly. Inhaler?

"What's her problem?" Mr. Welling demanded.

"She had an asthma attack," Aaron said. He cast a sideways look at the teacher, almost accusatory. "Asthma can be triggered by heavy exercise."

"Ashma?" Ruby's snide voice rang out.

Nicole saw her standing a few feet away, in the midst of a ring formed by the whole class, all of them staring down at her. She felt her cheeks warm again. Even though she knew it wasn't so bad to draw attention on such a minor scale, it still felt awkwardly unpleasant to have so many eyes fixed on her.

"It figures," Ruby continued. "I had her pegged for a skinny-neck geek."

Aaron straightened, keeping his hand on Nicole's back. "My younger brother—captain of the JV team? He's got asthma. Are you calling him a skinny-neck geek?"

Ruby's face turned as red as her namesake.

But Aaron's attention was already back on Nicole. "You ready to stand up? I'll take you to the nurse."

"Hold up," Mr. Welling snapped. "I haven't dismissed anyone from my class."

"You just made a student have an asthma attack," the girl who had helped Nicole earlier said. "Can't you, like, get sued for that, or something?"

"Yeah," a boy called. "Ruby's dad's a lawyer."

Ruby seemed displeased, giving Nicole the 'I'm in the presence of a lesser being' look again, but she tossed her hair and fixed her gaze on the teacher instead. "He's sued for less."

Mr. Welling's face turned a couple shades redder, but he flicked a hand in Nicole's direction. "She didn't tell me she had asthma. I can't be held liable if I didn't know." He cast a scowl at Nicole and Aaron. "Banks, take her to the nurse. Wilkerson, I don't want to see you in my class again without your inhaler, got it?"

Nicole managed to nod.

The teacher turned his scowl on the other students. "I don't recall telling anyone to stop jogging." He blasted his whistle. The class quickly dispersed back to the outer edge of the gym.

Aaron helped Nicole to her feet and picked up her cane. "Do you need to lean on me?"

She took the cane and tested her footing. Her legs held. "I'm okay." She drew in a slow breath. "Thank you."

"I take it this hasn't happened before." He led the way out of the gym, holding the door for her.

She shook her head, her mind buzzing with the implications. Her legs weren't the only things that didn't quite work right in this place. Now it seemed that physical exertion left her completely helpless, unable to breathe. How would she get away if they found her?

"Guess you were lucky not to get a tyrant for a PE teacher before now. My brother's got the same problem. 'Exercise-induced asthma,' they call it. But he's on a daily inhaler that keeps it under control. Like I said, he's captain of the JV football team." He held the nurse's office door open and let her lead the way through. "It's not too bad once you've got the right meds for it."

The nurse, a harried-looking woman with more hair out of her hairclip than in it, eyed them. "What happened?"

"She had an asthma attack and doesn't have an inhaler."

"All right, I'll take care of it. You head on back to class."

Aaron paused, turning to Nicole. "You'll be okay?"

"Yes. Thanks again."

He grinned and gave her another salute, then left.

"Have a seat. Is someone at home to pick you up?"

Nicole sat on the edge of a stiff cot. She wasn't entirely sure what Gil's work schedule was, but even if he was home, she doubted he'd be interested in going out of his way to pick her up. And she didn't want to interrupt Jeanie's work at the restaurant again. "No, but it's okay. I'm fine now."

The nurse eyed her. "You don't want to go home early?"

Nicole shook her head.

The woman snorted. "Well, that's a first." She dug into a drawer and handed an L-shaped object to Nicole. "I'll still give your parents a call to let them know what happened. You'll need to see a doctor and get a prescription inhaler. Until then, use this if you have another attack." She gave Nicole a quick lesson on the inhaler's use. "Any questions?"

"I think I got it."

"When you see the doctor, get a note to excuse you from PE, and they'll change your schedule in the office. Change back into your clothes and go to the library for today."

Nicole thanked the nurse and followed her directions. She explored the library and found a quiet, secluded corner that was empty, free of any students goofing off or making out away from adult eyes. She sat in a sagging armchair and closed her eyes. This was only the first day, she reminded herself. Of course it was more than just her body that required adapting. This was a whole different way of living, a whole different plane of existence. It was going to take some getting used to. As much as her mind insisted the day had been a disaster—drawing attention everywhere she went, making it worse by getting involved with Tara's broken beaker and even worse by having a breathing fit in the middle of gym class—it could have gone much, much worse.

When the final bell rang, she reluctantly pushed out of the cozy chair and worked her way back out to the front of the school. She paused at the bottom of the steps, looking at the busy street ahead. Was she supposed to catch the same bus to get home? Would she stand in the same place? Or was she supposed to cross the street? She hesitated, then turned to go back inside. Maybe someone in the office could help her.

Instead, she spotted a familiar black-clad figure amongst the students pouring down the stairs. She waved. "Drea!"

Drea cast a dark look in her direction, then angled toward her. "It's the same bus to get home, moron."

"I wasn't sure. I'm not used to—"

Drea rolled her eyes and pointed to a bus stop on the other side of the street. "Just go stand there. The bus'll be here in about seven minutes."

Nicole craned her neck to see the stop, then turned back. Drea had already vanished down the sidewalk. Nicole adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and joined the mass of students headed toward a nearby crosswalk. Drea wasn't particularly friendly, but that was okay. She'd gotten the answer she needed. She wasn't there to make friends, after all. She was there to hide.

The mass of students split off into various directions on the other side of the street. Only a few headed toward the same bus stop as Nicole. Her legs shook, and she leaned heavier on the cane than she had in the morning. She'd have to work on her stamina. She only hoped that practice would help her last longer on her feet. With any hope, her lungs would grow stronger, too. For now, if she found herself in trouble, she'd have to focus on defense techniques that minimized her own exertion.

A hand caught her arm, fingers digging sharply into her skin.

Panic shot through her system. They'd found her. She spun, twisting her arm sharply to break the grip while shifting her feet into a fighting stance.

Ruby stared at her, startled by the quick reaction. Her normal scowl quickly returned. "Look. I'm going to make this easy for you. Stay away from Aaron."

The burst of adrenaline and fear vanished as quickly as it had come. It wasn't a threat. Just Ruby. What was she fussing over now? "What do you mean?"

The other girl's eyes narrowed. "You know. Don't play all innocent with me. You've got everyone else thinking you're just some sweet, helpless little girl, but you can't fool me. You're just playing the game. And I'm the one who invented that game." She took a step forward, jabbing a finger at Nicole's chest. "You're nothing but a manipulative little cow trying to weasel in on my turf. And I'm warning you: back off."

Nicole blinked. "People think I'm sweet?" Here she was thinking she'd made herself into the school freak today.

"What?" Ruby looked taken aback, then her scowl deepened. "Are you even listening to me? You don't stand a chance here. You're in way over your head. So get out now before you end up in real trouble."

It took some doing to interpret the other girl's words, but Nicole was fairly sure she understood. Ruby felt threatened by Nicole's presence, possibly relating to the attention and kindness Aaron had shown Nicole. This wasn't anything to be concerned about, just more of that drama these teenagers seemed so enamored with. And Nicole had no patience left for it. "Excuse me. I need to catch a bus." She turned and resumed walking to the bus stop.

"Why, you little—"

Something in the girl's tone, something in the movement of air around Nicole, set off a tiny warning bell. She pivoted as well as her tired legs allowed and caught Ruby's hand before it struck her.

Ruby stared, shock on her face.

Nicole released the other girl. "Please don't try that again." She turned and resumed her walk toward the bus stop.

Ruby sputtered a minute before shouting after her. "You're going to regret that! You better believe you'll regret it!"

Nicole ignored her, instead leaning against the bus stop pole and waiting. She saw Ruby storming away out of the corner of her eye and relaxed. She wouldn't put it past Ruby to try to enact some sort of petty vengeance on her, but it was unlikely the girl would do anything that actually mattered. This school thing looked like it would work out.

She smiled. People thought she was sweet. She liked that.

The bus featured a different driver this time, but she knew what to do now, climbing on board, tapping the flat side of the card against the box, and finding a seat. It dawned on her she hadn't told the driver where she was trying to go, but it looked like no one else did, either. After a few stops, she determined that passengers signaled their desire to get off by pulling on a cord that ran the length of both sides of the bus.

She spent the ride watching closely out the windows and front, searching for any familiar landmarks. She was staring to worry that she'd gotten on the wrong bus when she spotted the flower shop ahead. Relieved, she pulled the cord and waited until the bus reached the stop.

Nicole's legs wobbled a little more as she stepped down onto the sidewalk. Three blocks, and she could collapse in bed and let the day melt away. Bolstered by that thought, she pushed onward, crossing the street with the crosswalk and heading north.

A hand grabbed her arm, fingers digging in tightly.

Surprise flickered through her mind. Ruby had followed her all the way here?

But the thought vanished in a swirl of panic as other hands joined in and bodies pushed into hers, knocking her off course and into a tight alley between two businesses. She staggered to keep up with the rushed pace, but stumbled and fell. Her shoulder hit a metal garbage can, and she landed hard next to a pile of trash on the dirty, cracked pavement.

She struggled up, eyes darting rapidly to take in her situation. Five men, dressed in fraying clothes with overly extravagant displays of status in the forms of gold chains and fancy shoes. Two stood blocking the way they'd come, two others blocked the other way out of the alley. The fifth stood over her, sneering.

Her heart pounded. They'd found her. How had they found her so soon? They couldn't have. It wasn't possible. But here they were. Terror flooded her system, paralyzing her.

"Hey, _chica_ ," the man in front of her said. He leaned his face uncomfortably close. "That's a nice bag you got there. I think you're gonna share it with us."

She blinked. The terror vanished so fast that she almost laughed out loud. Her bag? That's what this was about? So these men weren't with the people after her. They were just common street thugs. "Okay," she said, sliding it off her back and holding it out. It was just a bag, after all. Better to let them take it and be on their way so she could continue on to the safety of home. "There you go."

The lead thug stared at the bag for a moment. He looked thoroughly taken aback. Then a dark look crossed his face, and he snatched the bag out of her hand.

"Excuse me," she said politely, brushing off her pants and walking back toward the alley entrance.

The two thugs blocking her path looked uncertain of how to react. They looked past her to their leader.

"Get back here!" the leader snapped.

Before she could protest, the two shoved her back toward him. Her legs wobbled and almost deposited her on the ground again before she caught herself with her cane.

She exhaled, unable to hide the sliver of irritation working its way under her psyche. "Why? I already gave you my bag."

His eyes narrowed. "Maybe this bag isn't enough. You know, _chica_ , we Trip-Twos own these streets, and you gotta have enough to pay the toll, if you know what I mean."

She didn't, not really. She also wasn't sure why he kept calling her ' _chica_ ,' a Spanish term, when he didn't seem to be a native Spanish speaker. Then she remembered her tan skin. He must think she spoke Spanish.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish very well. But I need to get home now. Excuse me." She turned to leave again.

He caught her arm, yanking her back in front of him and shoving her hard enough to knock her into the wall. "You don't leave until I say you can leave, got it?"

He looked furious now. She clutched the wall behind her, suddenly afraid she'd misread the situation. He'd asked for her bag, and she'd given it to him. But now he seemed angry at her. What had she done wrong? Best to play along, she decided. "Okay. May I please leave now?"

That only seemed to anger him more. He yanked out a small, oblong object. A gleaming metal blade flew out of it, and he waved the sharp point in her face. "I think you're holding out on us. I think you got something more for us."

Her heartbeat jumped back into high gear, her gaze fixed on the knife. She had misread the situation, and badly. These thugs expected something from her, and were willing to hurt her for it. She dug into her pockets. "Here. This is all I have." She held out the plastic card for the bus and smiled, hoping to calm the man with the placating gesture. "You can have it. Go ahead."

He slapped her hand away, sending the plastic card tumbling into the pile of garbage beside her. "I don't want your bus pass, you stupid _puta_."

He was practically seething now. She'd somehow made things worse, though she still wasn't sure what she'd done wrong.

"Come on, Trips," the leader continued, still glaring at her but speaking to the other thugs now. "We got us a girl who needs to learn a little respect."

The others pulled out their own knives and closed in.

The fear returned, sharp and cold through her whole system. "Please, don't. I do respect you. All of you. If you would just tell me what you want, I'll get it for you. I only want to go home. Please."

The leader sneered again. "Yeah, now you see us as a threat, huh? Maybe next time you'll think twice before acting like you're so much better than us." He paused, dancing the blade tip inches from her face. "I think you still need a lesson, just to be sure you remember next time." He swung.

Her arm moved without conscious orders. The leader let out a yelp of pain as her cane smashed into his hand, sending his knife flying across the alley.

"You stupid—" The back of his hand flew at her face.

She ducked under it and jabbed with her cane, catching him in the midsection.

He reeled backwards, face mottled between red and purple. "Get her!"

The other men lunged forward, knives outstretched.

Panic clouded her mind, but her body responded with practiced ease, still leaning against the wall for support as she ducked, blocked, and sent two more knives clattering to the ground with sharp blows from her cane.

She saw the movement to her side a moment too late. One of the thugs kicked viciously, knocking her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard and rolled over to raise her cane in defense, but hands already tore the stick from her grasp. Another kick struck her side. She curled in, gasping at the sudden shock of pain rocketing through her body.

Then she was on her knees, held up by painful, twisting grips on her arms, pulled at a sharp angle to keep her immobilized. She looked up as the leader approached, his eyes dark. He backhanded her, momentarily blinding her with stinging pain. She tried to tug free, but the thugs twisted her arms harder, drawing a cry of pain.

"Please," she said. How had this gone so wrong? She'd messed up somehow, and now she was helpless in their hands. "Please let me go."

The leader retrieved his knife and crouched in front of her, pressing the tip against her cheek. "You messed with the wrong gang, _chica_." His voice before had been taunting, mocking. None of that light-heartedness remained now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

He moved the blade to her neck. "Yeah, you're sorry." The point of the knife pricked her skin. "No one messes with the Trips and lives to tell about it."

She sucked in a breath, her body trembling. They were going to kill her.

Chapter 6

"Please," Nicole tried again, looking up with imploring eyes.

"Gut her," the thug holding her right arm grunted. He had a nasty bruise developing on his wrist from her cane. The others joined in, egging the leader on.

The leader's cocky grin returned. He turned the blade sideways along the curve of her throat, pressing until a drop of blood appeared.

She tried to flinch back away from it, but the grip on her arms kept her from moving. The coldness in his eyes pierced the cloud of terror fogging her mind. He wasn't bluffing. He really would kill her.

She had no choice.

She closed her mouth, stilled her trembling. Found the right frequency and drew it out in a deep, resonating hum.

She'd heard the note before, of course, but never in this new form. The sound was generated by vocal cords that were human enough, but the sound was anything but human. It was otherworldly, ethereal. Beautiful and chilling all at once. It grew in volume and intensity as she pressed harder into the sound, willing it to do its work.

A flash of uncertainty crossed the leader's face. "What—"

She felt rather than saw the shadows around her grow larger and darker, spreading out across the alley as the barriers between dimensions thinned. Felt the shadows solidify as the gate opened.

The uncertainty became terror, and then the leader was gone, flying backwards in a powerful tackle by two dark figures.

Nicole ended the note and closed her eyes in relief. The srye would protect her.

Screams and shouts rang through the alley as the other thugs turned to face the new threat emerging from the shadows. The men holding Nicole released her arms as they leaped away from the attackers lunging at them.

A pair of strong arms scooped Nicole up and pulled her away from the fight, then gently seated her on a broken crate. An almost-human form crouched in front of her. "Are you injured?"

It took her a moment to recognize him through the dark distortions. Srye Ornez. She felt immediately better just knowing he was there. He'd always been close to her, particularly protective, more like an older brother than a bodyguard. She gave him a relieved smile. "I'm okay."

He gave a sharp nod and pivoted to stand between her and the fight, long weapon ready in his hands, braced to protect her should any of the thugs try to come after her again.

The gesture proved unnecessary. Three of the thugs had already fled. The remaining two, the leader and one of the subordinates, still lashed out at the defenders, their expressions frozen between anger and terror. The subordinate was already edging toward the end of the alley, ready to follow his friends and abandon his leader.

Nicole exhaled slowly, letting herself relax. It was okay. She was safe now.

Now that she could, she took in the appearance of her srye. No wonder the thugs looked so terrified. From a distance, the dark figures probably looked human enough, men and women in some sort of dark military uniform, their appearance slightly obscured by shadows.

But up close, it was clear they weren't anything natural to this plane of existence. They still looked vaguely like humans in dark military clothes, but it was as if a thin layer of muddy water rested between them and this world. Their appearance was slightly distorted, slightly murky. Not quite there.

Which was accurate. Unlike her, they couldn't fully cross into this dimension. Their movement through the gate she held open allowed them to be solid enough to interact with this world, but they weren't actually here, not in a real sense.

"Get back here, you coward!" the leader shouted as the other man bolted.

The srye faced the leader, forming a wall between him and Nicole, their weapons ready. The weapons hadn't quite translated right. In their home dimension, these were aphotic blades of crackling energy. Here, they were more like long staffs, solid and powerful but not cutting. For the best, she thought. If they'd sliced these thugs open in the alley, there would be an investigation.

The leader postured, waving his knife at the shadowy, rippling figures in front of him. The terror in his eyes battled with vanity and fury at being bested. Self-preservation won out, and he fled.

Exhaustion dropped over Nicole's being like a visceral weight. She swayed and almost fell off the crate, catching herself on the wall beside her.

Srye Ornez grasped her shoulders and pulled her upright again. His eyes searched hers through the dimensional distortion. " _Kseri_ , what's wrong?"

"I can't hold the gate much longer. It—it's been a long day."

"Return, with haste," he said to the others. He picked up her cane and pressed it into her hands. "Close the gate. They will be able to trace the activity." He gave her shoulders one last squeeze. "Stay safe."

She nodded. The others had already faded back into the shadows. He followed suit, his image growing blurrier until there was nothing but darkness left.

She released her grip on the energy resonating through her body. The shadows around her shrank back to their normal size as the gate closed, the barriers between dimensions returning to their normal, impassible depth. It no longer drained her as it had, but she still felt the weariness deep inside, to her bones and joints.

Part of her just wanted to curl up in the dirty alley and sleep, but she forced herself to move. Planting the cane in front of her, she struggled to her feet. By some small miracle, her bag and bus card were still there. Her legs shook, but she pressed herself onward to retrieve her things.

The street looked no different than it had when she left, people bustling past with no awareness of what had just transpired in the alley. She shook her head in wonder as she headed home. How did these people remain so oblivious to the world around them?

The smell of the flower shop bolstered her spirits some, which was needed as she faced the stairs that seemed longer and steeper than they had been that morning. She worked her way up one step at a time, keeping herself going with promises of rest once she made it to her room. Her fingers trembled a little as she unlocked the door.

Gil craned his neck to see around the oversized armchair in the living room as she walked in. "You're late."

She hadn't realized he'd be home, but apparently he'd been expecting her. And she couldn't very well tell him the truth. 'Sorry I got held up, Gil, but some guys tried to kill me, and I had to summon my guardians from another dimension to save my life.' She decided to keep it simple and direct. "I'm sorry."

He stood and folded his arms, glowering. "What were you doing?"

"I got caught up with some... people. After school." She headed down the hallway, eager to collapse on her bed.

"I'm not done speaking with you." His voice rang out sharp and almost nasal as he marched after her, into the hallway. He scowled down at her. "I don't tolerate druggies in this house."

Druggies. He was referring to illegal drug use. "Jeanie told me it isn't allowed. I don't use illicit substances."

Something in her statement seemed to catch him off-guard, like he hadn't expected her to say that. Or maybe it was her wording. She tried again. "I'm not a druggie."

"Right," he snorted, eying her shaking legs.

"It's been a long day," she explained.

He snorted again. It didn't seem like he believed her, but he turned toward the front door. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

She paused. "What?"

"Jeanie called. I have to take you to the doctor for your 'asthma,' or whatever it is you're pretending to have." He looked over his shoulder. "You know they don't give prescription drugs for asthma, right?"

She'd almost forgotten that the nurse had called Jeanie. "Can I go tomorrow? I'm really tired."

"No, you can't go tomorrow. Move it."

Nicole sighed and obediently stepped back out the door.

Gil ignored her as they drove to the doctor's office, checked in with a distracted receptionist, and sat in the waiting room for an hour, which was fine by her. She dug out her notebook and got a start on some of her homework while they waited, though what she really wanted to do was take a nap. She was tempted when she saw a couple of other patients dozing, but she didn't quite feel safe enough to sleep here. Perhaps if Jeanie had been here. She somehow doubted Gil felt much of a pressing need to watch over her.

When they were finally escorted back to see the doctor, Nicole felt a sliver of fear as the nurse entered information into a tablet computer. "What's that for?"

"Let the lady do her work," Gil scolded.

The nurse smiled. "It's okay. We store our patient files in a database. This way, we can track your treatment and prevent some basic mistakes, like medication errors. And if you go to a different doctor, it's easy for us to send your files."

The skin at the back of Nicole's neck tightened. "Is it a national database?" Would they be able to access it? Use it to find her?

"National?" The nurse looked puzzled by the question. "It's not publically available, if that's what you mean. Under HIPAA, all of your information is protected. No one can access it without your guardian's permission."

Her guardian. She glanced at Gil, who looked bored and irritated. Would he let other people see this file? She doubted he cared enough to bother.

"Can we hurry this up?" Gil asked.

Nicole had to fumble her way through a few questions about her legs, but what she said was apparently satisfactory enough. Once the nurse finished, they waited another twenty minutes for the doctor. He seemed as interested as she and Gil were in finishing quickly. After Nicole described what happened in gym class, he asked, "Has this ever happened before? Or when it was cold out, or when you were around certain smells?"

Remembering what she'd discussed with Aaron afterwards, she shook her head. "No, but I've never worked out that hard before, either."

He nodded and listened to her lungs. "No rattle or wheeze. Sounds like exercise-induced asthma." He scribbled on three pieces of paper which he handed to Gil. "This one's a daily inhaler to keep her symptoms from flaring up. This one's an emergency inhaler for if she does have trouble. And this one's a note for the school."

The doctor turned back to Nicole. "The note will excuse you from PE, but you should follow some mild exercise plan, like a daily walk or light bike ride. Any other questions or concerns?"

Nicole shook her head.

"No. We're done here?" Gil asked, standing.

"You can pick up the prescriptions downstairs." The doctor wished them both a good day.

Gil already strode out of the room.

Nicole thanked the doctor and followed after him.

Gil resumed his ignoring of her as they picked up the prescriptions, then shoved the bag into her hands. "Told you. No prescription drugs. You can't get high off an inhaler."

"I didn't want prescription drugs."

He snorted and led the way back to his bulky car.

Nicole woke up as they pulled into the parking area behind their building. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep. She followed Gil into the building and up to their apartment. He returned to his armchair and flicked the TV on. She locked the door behind her and stumbled her way down the hallway to her bedroom to collapse in bed.

Drea materialized in front of her. "Did you go through my stuff?" she demanded.

Nicole shook her head wearily. "I just got home."

The girl squinted at her for a moment, then stomped past her. "Gil, I told you to stay out of my room, you creepy pervert!"

Nicole stepped into her bedroom and closed the door on Gil's indignant roar. Dropping her bag on the floor, she tumbled onto the bed. It'll get easier, she told herself. It has to get easier.

* * *

Nicole hadn't really believed her own assurances, but to her surprise, they proved true the next morning as she climbed the steps to the school. More students than not greeted her with friendly smiles, gave her thumbs up or other signals of approval, and offered her their help. As she neared her first class, she got the impression that it wasn't just the Tara and Ethan thing that had earned her this treatment. Apparently someone had seen her encounter with Ruby near the bus stop. More students than she could count congratulated her for 'telling that ice queen off' or 'finally putting Ruby in her place.'

Ruby sat with a group of preening clones toward the back of class, the clones giving Ruby sympathetic looks and pats. All of them cast frigid glares at Nicole.

"Enter the freak," Ruby said, just loud enough for Nicole to hear.

She ignored them, finding it easier with each encounter, and headed for an empty seat along the side of the class.

"Nicole!" a girl whose name she couldn't remember called, patting the desk next to her. "Come sit with me."

Ruby and her squad turned their glares on that girl, but no one seemed to notice or give them any attention.

Nicole settled into the offered chair, feeling immensely better. Even the teacher seemed slightly more pleasant in demeanor, though not by much.

The next few classes followed a similar pattern, and Nicole was surprised to the point of uncertain how to react when she picked up her lunch from the cafeteria counter and was immediately faced by several people calling her over. She spotted Tara's waving arm and made her way in that direction. The others at the table grinned at her before resuming their normal chatter, drawing her into the conversation. It felt strange, pretending to care about some celebrity figure she knew nothing about, but the discussion was easy enough to follow, and Nicole was able to pick up on the others' impressions well enough to give the appearance of familiarity.

"And he invited fifteen women along," one of the girls said, her tone dripping with scandal. She glanced at Nicole. "Did you hear about that?"

Nicole swallowed a bite of food. "I found his behavior appalling."

The girl paused, then laughed. "You're so funny! I love the way you talk. It's so cute. Anyway, his wife was in Europe the entire time, and she didn't even know what was going on until she got back..."

Nicole finished her food, feeling a new sense of security. Jeanie wasn't the only one who would look out for her. It seemed that these students had accepted her, even liked her. She smiled. As superficial as popularity might be, it felt oddly nice, being liked. "I better get to class."

"Okay, I'll see you there in just a minute," Tara said.

"See you here tomorrow?" one of the boys asked.

She nodded and gathered her things. More students waved in greeting as she headed down the hallway. She had plenty of time, but this meant she could stop at her locker near the office and drop off some of the books from her bag before continuing to her science class.

She turned the corner toward the office. Her feet came to a sharp stop.

Two men in crisp suits stood outside the office, watching the students pass. They stood out in their business attire surrounded by students in far more colorful wardrobes, but that's not what held her attention. Something wasn't right about them. The lines of their faces and their bodies seemed too sharp, too stark, as if they stood under overly bright, bare light bulbs.

Her heart stopped as sharply as her feet had, then jumped into double time. These humans had meddled with dimensional barriers. They had found her.

She spun and hurried back toward the cafeteria, moving almost faster than her legs could handle. No, not the cafeteria. This was her lunch break. The cafeteria's the first place they would search. She turned down an intersecting hallway, fear driving her feet even faster. Voices swam around her, accompanied by puzzled expressions, but she barely noticed, taking another corner as fast as she could. She tumbled and almost fell, but caught herself and kept going. Had to get away. Had to find somewhere safe to hide.

DEC. The acronym leapt into her mind through a closing hole. Dimensional Exploration Coalition. A group of humans in this dimension collaborating with a nasty group of dissidents in her home dimension. Dissidents. The Pack, the ones that had been hunting after her so violently that her srye had no choice but to send her here to hide. She still couldn't remember what it was they wanted, why they were after her. It wasn't good, whatever it was. She couldn't let these men find her.

Her legs gave out without warning. She crashed to the floor, gasping. She hadn't noticed her throat and chest tightening, but now she couldn't breathe. No time for that. She had to hide.

Her body wouldn't cooperate with her attempts to stand. She scooted herself into a drinking fountain alcove, pressing her back against the wall beside the fountain, curling her legs in close. Couldn't be seen. Couldn't be found. Couldn't breathe.

Unwelcome tears streaked down her face as she fumbled for her emergency inhaler. Curse this body, this weak form with its bad legs and bad lungs and tears that start up without her consent.

"Nicole? What's wrong?" a boy said, crouching in front of her.

Her hands shook as she uncapped the inhaler and sucked in the medicine. The pain in her throat and lungs subsided, but the tears kept coming.

"Get the nurse," the boy called.

She shook her head. No nurse. No getting anyone. "No," she whispered through a raspy throat.

The boy leaned in closer, and she saw through tear-blurred eyes that it was Aaron. "What happened?"

"Yeah, tell us who to beat up," a muscular boy behind him said.

Tara jabbed him. "Quit joking. This is serious." She crouched beside Aaron. "What's wrong, Nicole? You can tell us."

Nicole sucked in a clear breath of air. She still shook, but being able to breathe helped her calm down some, enough to think clearly again. These people cared about her. They would help her. "There are men at the office. They—they're after me." She thought fast, searching for the right wording. "They're pretending to be legitimate, but they aren't. They're going to hurt me."

The students glanced at each other, expressions ranging from shock to disbelief.

Nicole took another deep breath. Her voice trembled. "Please. They can't find me here."

Aaron stood and offered her a hand up, then turned to Tara. "Take her to the back corner of the library."

"I'll go with," the larger boy offered. A couple others joined in.

Aaron nodded his approval. "The rest of you, spread the word. You see those guys, send them the wrong direction. We'll run them all over this school—everywhere but the library. I'll start them off toward the labs on the top floor."

"We can keep tabs on each other by texting," Tara suggested.

A slightly pained grimace crossed Aaron's face. "My parents took my cell away after they got the last phone bill. But it's okay. Just stay hidden in the library. We'll make sure they don't find you." He saluted Nicole before jogging off.

The other students quickly dispersed to their task, leaving Nicole with Tara and the smaller cluster of students. Tara put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. I know a corner where they'll never find us."

Tara led the way to the library and down a circuitous path between shelves, around study rooms, and behind stairs, finally stopping in a dim corner marked with cobwebs and a few dingy beanbag chairs.

"Sit here," Tara directed, pointing to one of the chairs toward the inside of the corner. "No one will be able to see you from the outside." She and the others sat as well.

Nicole perched on the chair, clutching her cane. What if they found her here anyway? What lengths would they go to in order to get her? She glanced at the students around her. Would DEC hurt these students if they got in the way? She couldn't bear the thought. "Maybe you shouldn't wait here with me. I'll hide here. I don't want you getting hurt if they find me."

The students looked at each other with wide eyes, then turned back to her. Her heart sank at the eagerness and excitement she saw there.

"We're staying here," the muscular boy said. "We're not afraid of some punks in suits."

"Why are they after you?" Tara asked.

Nicole searched the gaps in her mind again, but came up empty. Either they hadn't come up with a reasonable explanation for why people were after her, or she'd lost it in one of the holes. Of course, the main goal had been for them to not find her so fast. How had they tracked her down so quickly? Was it because of the asthma attack in gym class? The doctor visit?

The other students stared, waiting.

She sighed. "I can't tell you."

One of the girls gave a little gasp and leaned closer. "Are you, like, in the witness protection program?"

"I..." Nicole paused. From what she remembered of that term, it was a plausible enough explanation. She'd have to be careful about how she worded it, though. "I'm not supposed to talk about it."

The girl gave the gasp again, this time with more excitement behind it. "You are!"

"So what, did you see someone get killed or something?" the boy asked. "Are those guys in the mob?"

Nicole looked down. "I'm sorry. I really can't talk about it. But I can't let them find me."

A new expression of determination spread across the students' faces.

"We won't let them," Tara promised, peering over her shoulder, craning her neck to check around them. Her phone buzzed, and she dug it out. "The guys are heading back downstairs. Julie's going to steer them toward the cafeteria."

They sat and talked quietly, occasionally getting text updates on where the men were searching. To Nicole's relief, the others accepted her word that she couldn't talk about these men or why they were after her, though she saw the questions in their eyes from time to time.

A loud voice echoed through the library. "I know she's hiding in here somewhere." Ruby's voice.

Nicole's chest locked up. She shrank into the chair, holding her cane close.

"So," Ruby's voice continued, "is she in trouble? Like, did she break the law? Is there some sort of reward for helping you catch her?"

The men's response came back as a low rumble that Nicole couldn't make out. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to open the barriers here. What would these students do if they saw the srye emerging from the shadows in the middle of their library? They'd think her an alien or something. Which wasn't too far off the truth. She shivered.

"I've got this," the boy whispered. He slid out from the corner behind a set of shelves, working his way through a different route than the one they'd taken.

Nicole forced herself to steady her breathing and prepare herself. She didn't want to call for help here, but she would if she had to. The most important thing was to stay out of DEC's hands. She'd do whatever it took to make sure of it.

"What's going on?" the boy's voice floated back to them.

"Stay out of it," Ruby snapped.

A rumbly male voice. "We're looking for a student, Nicole Wilkerson. She uses a cane. She just started attending your school yesterday."

Nicole winced as they continued listing other identifying traits. How did they know so much? That part almost bothered her more than anything else. She'd stayed out of official records, stayed away from police or anything that would put her into any national database or registry. Srye Ornez had reminded her that the DEC could track when she opened the barriers, but she hadn't held them open long enough to be traced. Had she?

A chilling thought crossed her mind, and she huddled tighter into the chair. The srye knew that DEC had rudimentary technology to track openings between the dimensions, though they couldn't tell what exactly passed during those openings, which is why they believed she'd be able to hide safely here—there was no way DEC could know that she had crossed into this dimension. But what if they were wrong? What if DEC had improved their technology? Had been able to trace her movement better than they thought possible?

"Yeah, I know her," the boy said. "She's nice. I saw her in here a few minutes ago, hanging out with Tara and her friends. But they said something about the cafeteria and headed out. She's probably there now. Why, is she in trouble or something?"

Nicole couldn't help but smile at the boy's cleverness. The cafeteria had already been searched, but long enough ago that she could have feasibly gotten there undetected. It was realistic enough that the men just might be fooled.

"The cafeteria?" Skepticism marked Ruby's tone. "I don't buy it. He's lying to hide her. I heard everyone talking about keeping you guys away from the library."

"What are you talking about?" The boy's tone suggested he was looking at Ruby like she was crazy. "Right. This school that can't even agree on whether the new paint in the cafeteria sucks or rocks is all conspiring to hide some chick who just started going here—what did you say, yesterday?" He laughed.

The men rumbled a moment.

"Wait a minute!" Ruby squawked in protest. "He's lying, I know he is. She's here. She has to be!"

A question rumbled in her direction.

"Because... because she has to be! I _know_ she's here!"

More rumbles, then the library doors opened and shut. Ruby's voice faded behind the closed doors.

Nicole remained still, listening, waiting.

The boy reappeared, grinning. "They're gone."

Tara and the others laughed and gave him high fives and fist bumps.

Nicole finally relaxed. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

They remained waiting another hour before Tara's phone buzzed a final time. She looked up from the text with a grin. "They're out of here. Matt just saw them walk out the front doors, pile into a van, and take off."

The group didn't bother restraining their celebrating this time, cheering and going through another round of high fives.

Nicole sank deeper into the beanbag chair and closed her eyes in relief. She hadn't had to call for help. They hadn't found her.

But in a real sense, they had. They knew her physical limitations, when she'd arrived, where she attended school. What else did they know?

Tension returned in a flash. She dug out her phone and dialed the home number, hoping to catch Gil before he left for his work shift.

Gil answered after the fifth ring. "Hello?" His tone was cordial.

"It's me, Nicole. Has anyone come to the apartment looking for me?"

"What are you talking about? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" Anger marked his tone. "Are you skipping class? I won't stand for that sort of behavior—"

"Please," she interrupted. "I just need to know if anyone came asking about me."

He paused. "Who would be asking about you? Is someone after you?" His voice turned suspicious. "Are the police after you? What did you do?"

"It's not police." Though they could be masquerading as police, she realized. It would explain why the school allowed them to search the building. Her chest tightened again.

"If you've broken the law, don't think we're going to hide you. We're law-abiding citizens here." With that, Gil hung up.

Nicole clutched the phone a moment longer, trying to steady her breathing. No, she thought. No one came to the apartment looking for her. Gil would have been even angrier from the outset if that had happened. They hadn't found her home yet.

"So what now?" Tara asked.

It was a good question. They'd already found her school. It probably wouldn't take them long to find her home. She was going to have to find a way out of town.

"You're gonna call the cops now, right? The real cops, I mean," the boy said. "Tell them the people you're hiding from found you."

"Don't be dumb," one of the others scolded. "The cops don't deal with the witness protection program. That's the feds." He turned to her. "You've got a handler, right? Someone you call if you get found?"

She relaxed. It was so much easier when the others around her gave her the answers she needed. "Yes. But I need to get somewhere safe first. Those men may come back, now that they've verified I go to school here."

"Where are you going to go?" Tara asked.

Nicole stood and brushed her clothes off. Time to make the best of a bad situation. "I've got a hidden place I'm supposed to go to," she lied. "Thank you so much, all of you. I wouldn't have made it without your help." She looked toward the library doors. "I probably shouldn't go out the front of the building."

"I know a way out," the boy said, heading toward the rear library exit.

"You aren't taking her through the side alley, are you?" Tara wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah."

"That place reeks from all the potheads sneaking joints."

"Right." The boy gave Tara a look that was half a 'duh' and half a grin. "Because no adults ever go that way. Those guys might be watching the front doors, but I bet you a million they don't even know about the side passage."

Nicole kept her head down as she followed the boy through the halls, though the gesture was largely meaningless, as the cane was a pretty significant giveaway to her identity.

"Here we go." The boy pushed a side door open into a bluish cloud of smoke.

A greasy-haired, lanky teen coughed and hid something white behind his back before staring up at them with red-rimmed, bleary eyes. It took a long moment before recognition crossed those eyes. "Du-ude. Don't... don't scare me like that."

Nicole stepped out the door and tried not to cough. The alley was narrow to the point of almost being non-existent. Junk piled up at one end, toward the street. The other direction vanished into darkness.

The boy pointed her toward the dark end. "This alley dead-ends into another one. Go left, and you'll find yourself on Broad. You can find your way from there?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Want me to come with?"

She shook her head.

"Good luck." The boy vanished back inside.

Nicole started to take a deep, steadying breath, but the clouds hovering around her made her think twice. She turned and hurried her way down the narrow alley as best as she could, thinking through her new plan. She had to find a way out of town, quickly and covertly. An airline ticket would require identification. She couldn't drive, and certainly wouldn't get far on foot. The bus system had potential. Perhaps one of the buses ran to a nearby town. Of course, that town would be the first place DEC would look once they determined she was no longer in Springfield, but with any luck, she'd already be on her way elsewhere by that time.

She slowed as she neared Broad Street, taking a moment to check the area. No signs of people waiting in cars, watching for her. They probably were watching the school entrance, but apparently weren't as concerned about the rest of the area. She hoped they assumed she was no longer at the school when their search turned up empty.

She took another moment to brace herself, taking the deep breath she'd denied herself moments before. She regretted not being able to say goodbye to Jeanie, especially after everything the generous woman had done for her, but it had to be this way. Besides, she hated the thought of DEC showing up at the Wilkerson's apartment. She didn't want to see any people placed in danger because of her. This was how it had to be. She would find her way out of town, disappear, find another city to hide in. If she was careful and smart, DEC would lose the trail quickly. And if she was lucky, it'd take them a long time before they figured out they'd lost her.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed north, away from the school. The sidewalk wasn't as busy in the middle of the day, but she did her best to blend in with the few people walking here and there, keeping her eyes forward as if lost in her own world just like they were.

She spotted a bus stop a few blocks ahead and fixed her eyes on it. A bus would get her further from the school faster than her legs could. It didn't matter which bus it was or where it took her. And she could ask the driver about other bus routes, like one that would take her out of the city.

This bus stop featured a bench that was mostly intact and partially free of unknown food and animal deposits. She sat on the cleanest end and waited, watching down the road for the next bus. How long until one arrived? She glanced back at the pole beside her and gave up her seat to investigate the sign bolted at eye level listing bus times.

Brakes screeched behind her, followed by a sound like metal rolling on wheels. She turned as hands grabbed her. She didn't even have time to scream before she landed on the floor of a van. The door slammed shut, and the engine roared as the vehicle took off down the street.

She shoved herself up, heart pounding, and stared at the men surrounding her in growing terror.

Dark suits. Overly-crisp lines.

DEC had caught her.

Chapter 7

"I repeat, we have her," a man in the front said into a cell phone.

Someone grabbed Nicole's arm. She yanked it free, scooting back.

The same man reached for her again, a syringe in his other hand. "Help me hold her still," he ordered the others.

Fear tried to lock up her throat, but she fought past it and sought the note. She had to call for help. Couldn't let DEC have her.

"We're going forty-five," another man said, grabbing her other arm. "You really want to open the dimensional barriers here? You know what happens to people without seatbelts when a van crashes?"

A moving vehicle. She hadn't thought of that. What effect would a dimensional opening have? Kill the engine, at the least. Physics calculations shot through her head.

Before she could decide, a sharp pain jabbed into her arm, followed by a cool sensation that tingled its way through her veins. Drowsiness weighted her eyes.

"Clear," the man with the syringe said. "She's out."

The announcement was met by cheers and celebrations not unlike the ones the students had gone through when they heard their trick had worked.

"Heading for the freeway now," the one in the driver's seat said.

Nicole tried to summon the note, but her vocal cords remained still and uncooperative, like her other muscles. The world drifted around her in a swirling mess.

"No, not the freeway," someone behind her said. "Go through Canyon Heights."

"Residentials? Why?" the driver asked.

"It's game day. The freeway'll be a mess with all the commuters sneaking out of work early. Residentials will be a ghost town. Won't even be cops, so you can still take it at sixty if you really want."

The driver laughed and apparently followed the man's advice, the van accelerating.

Something about the laugh sounded sharper, clearer. Nicole sought the note again, but her body still wouldn't cooperate.

"How big of a bonus you think we'll get for bringing her in before that fancy-pants contractor?" someone asked.

The conversation still swirled as it went on above her head, but the swirls were gradually gaining definition. Whatever was in the syringe was beginning to wear off, slowly but surely. She tried the note again and failed.

"Hey," one of the men beside her said. "Did she just move?"

"Nah," the other one replied. "She'll be out for hours. Relax."

She forced herself still and waited for control over her voice to return in full. She'd counted out nine minutes before she could feel the slightest vibration in her throat. Another four minutes before she could make a solid sound, carefully timed with the engine sounds in order to avoid detection.

"Are you sure she's out?" the man asked. "I swear I saw her move again."

"Would you relax? This isn't my first party, you know." The second man snorted on a laugh.

Nicole drew in a deep breath, found the note, and hit it hard, resonating it through her body so loudly that the sound seemed to shake the entire van. Light vanished from the interior.

Someone yelled and swore. Hands grabbed at her.

The engine died as the van screeched to a sharp stop, pinned in place by the metaphysical aberration going on within. The grips on her arms vanished as she sailed through the air toward the windshield. She curled in on herself, covering her head with her arms.

The air thickened around her, cushioning her, carrying her over the dashboard. She heard glass shatter, but felt nothing but soft warmth and many pairs of arms wrapping around her, bodies curling over her like a cocoon. The cocoon disappeared as she passed through the windshield, the srye too injured to maintain their presence on this side of the barrier. Broken glass bit into her leg as she slammed into the hood, jamming her left shoulder at a painful angle.

More arms caught her, tumbling with her in a new protective chrysalis, carrying her unhurt across the asphalt until momentum released its grip on her. She dimly heard shouting and fighting coming from inside the van as other srye prevented the DEC from pursuing her.

The srye around her vanished back into their home dimension, leaving behind a world that dipped and swayed as she tried to push herself up. Had to get away. Her shoulder and leg screamed in pain. She clenched her teeth and pressed on, crawling and dragging herself away from the van and the men inside.

Arms scooped her up off the ground, and then trim houses with manicured lawns flew past on either side as the srye holding her bolted down the street. His face was all the more distorted by the last of the drugs still working in her system, but she knew him. Srye Ornez. She clung to him, unable to do much else. He was bizarrely soft, mostly solid but fuzzy at the edges. Another aspect of his only partial presence in this dimension.

He turned left at the next intersection, right at the next, then another left. A couple of blocks later, he slowed to a stop. She felt herself sink into his form. "We are too far from the opening," he said, his blurred face growing translucent.

She looked around and spotted greenery just a bit further. A park. "I'll hide there."

Uncertainty marked his features. "I cannot protect you there."

She felt weariness dragging her down. Holding the barrier open over such a distance, and for so many srye to pass through, took its toll. Not to mention the drugs and pain. "I can't keep the barrier open much longer. Help me find something so I can walk."

He lowered her to the ground, then looked around before retrieving a child's baseball bat from a collection of toys scattered across a nearby lawn. It almost passed through his hands as he examined it. "Too short. I'll find something better."

"It will do. I can't..." Words vanished from her mind as the exhaustion tried to overpower her. She steadied herself. "I can't keep the barrier open. I have to close it."

"They'll have seen which way we went."

"I'll move fast and find somewhere to hide." She reached for the bat.

He helped her regain her feet to lean against the crude cane. "Be safe."

She nodded and almost fell over. If she held the barriers open any longer, she might pass out before she could reach safety. Srye Ornez put a comforting hand on her uninjured shoulder before dissolving back into shadow. Any other srye still on this side would get a rude and painful jolt back into their own reality when the gate closed, but she had no choice, no way to warn them. She released her grip on the gate, letting the barriers fall closed once more.

Nicole pressed her weight into the small bat, drawing protests from her legs, and set off down the street. Just make it to the park, she told herself. Make it there before the DEC come running around the corner. Find a place to hide.

She looked over her shoulder and saw no one. Perhaps the srye had neutralized the threat. She could only hope. But there would be more coming before long, she was sure of it. With any hope, Srye Ornez's serpentine route through the streets would make it harder for them to track where she'd gone. With hope.

Only a block more to the park. Her body shook, but she pushed herself all the harder, making herself go faster and faster until she started feeling the twinges of pain in her throat and lungs that forced her to slow down again. Another peek over her shoulder proved her still safely alone.

Youthful laughter reached her ears as she stepped off the sidewalk into the park. The grounds sprawled over two blocks, mostly grass, bushes, and trees, but the far end boasted a playground set over a spread of wood chips. A handful of women chatted on benches while their wards clambered over the equipment, screeching and shrieking all the way.

Part of Nicole wanted to aim for the far end of the park, instinctively seeking to put more distance between herself and the source of danger. But she steered for a denser cluster of trees and bushes at this end instead. If DEC found her here, she would open the barriers again, drawing a fight. Those people would be endangered. She couldn't let that happen.

She leaned against one of the trees and thought fast. Humans tended to search within a relatively small range of eye level. They were less likely to observe the very low or very high. High would be safer—they rarely looked up—but she wasn't in any shape to try climbing these trees. Even if she wasn't injured and exhausted, she doubted her legs would have managed the shimmy, as there were no low-hanging branches on these trees. It appeared they'd been cut off, most likely to prevent people from doing exactly what she contemplated.

Low it was, then. She pushed her way through the bushes to the heart of the cluster, then lowered herself to the dirt and scooted around until she found a location well-buried beneath heavy leaves while still retaining some view of the world around her. She'd only see the feet of anyone who approached, and might not see them until they were only within a few yards of her hiding place, but she'd at least have some warning.

Fear of discovery faded, taking with it most of the adrenaline that had been driving her. Her shoulder and leg renewed their protests, demanding her attention. The leg wound was filthy now, with dirt and plant debris clinging to the sticky blood coating her pant leg. She tore some of her shirt sleeve and used it to wipe the wound as clear as she could, then used the other sleeve to bind the gash tightly. She'd need to find a way to get it treated before infection set in, but staying hidden and safe was a higher priority for now.

She turned her attention to her shoulder and found it badly bruised, probably strained due to the angle she'd landed, but it didn't seem to be broken or dislocated. It griped in protest over her position on the ground. She ignored it, having little other choice.

Exhaustion made her eyelids heavy, coaxing her toward sleep, but the last traces of fear kept true rest at bay. She dozed more than once, but every sound, every rustle, every child's shriek from the other side of the park snapped her back into full awareness, her body tense and ready to flee from the perceived threat.

A couple hours passed before new sounds invaded, a loud rumble of a large vehicle followed by many voices. Nicole lifted her head, alert, eyes searching between the bush roots. DEC had come in force to find her. She waited to hear orders being given, heavy feet storming through the park, men asking the women at the other end of the park if they'd seen a girl with a limp. Had any of the women spotted her? She didn't think so, but wasn't sure. Her heartbeat sped up, adrenaline returning in a new flood.

"Sorry, I can't hang out. Zimmerman loaded us down with a ton of homework," a familiar voice said.

Nicole blinked. Tara? And the voices that responded were those of teens, not armed men. She cautiously reached out and pushed some of the leaves down, giving her a clearer view.

A school bus pulled away from the curb and lumbered off down the road. A cluster of students from the high school bid each other farewell and walked off in different directions toward their respective homes. She recognized a few of them, including Tara.

Tara hefted her schoolbag and headed across the park, crossing only a few yards from where Nicole hid.

Nicole hesitated, pushing a few more branches around, examining the situation. No dark vans, no men in suits with overly sharp features. No signs that DEC had begun the search or even knew she was in this park. They must still be searching a tighter perimeter around the van. They would know that her srye couldn't take her far from the opening between dimensions. Knowing she couldn't move very fast on her own, they must have underestimated how far she'd gotten. But if that was the case, it couldn't be much longer before they expanded their perimeter. She needed somewhere safer to hide.

It only took seconds for her to decide on her new course of action. She pulled herself up, having to use both the bat and a nearby tree to help her stand. "Tara." Her voice came out weak.

The girl jumped and spun, eyes wide. The startled expression shifted into one of surprise and recognition. Then her gaze took in the dirt, twigs, torn clothes, and bloody wrap on Nicole's leg. "Nicole? What happened to you?"

"They found me, but I got away. I need somewhere safe to hide."

Tara's eyes went even wider, and she looked around the park. "Are they gone?"

"For now. I don't think it'll be long before they reach the park."

Tara looked around once more, then nodded. "Come on. You can stay in my house until it's safe."

In her house? If DEC found out this girl was hiding her... "They can't know I'm there."

"It's fine," Tara promised. "My mom's used to friends crashing with me. We won't tell anyone you're here, even if those guys come looking."

Reassured, Nicole took a shaky step forward. She must have swayed more than she realized, because suddenly Tara was at her side, holding her up.

"You need a doctor." Tara helped her walk toward the street. "We'll take you to the hospital, and—"

Nicole shook her head. "No hospital."

"But—"

"I'm okay." Nicole took a deep breath and tried to take on more of her own weight, but her legs wouldn't hold her, even with the bat's help. "I just need rest."

Tara looked skeptical, but nodded. She helped Nicole across the sprawling lawn to enter an overly cute two-story house. They passed through a spotless living room, a formal dining room, and then down a side hallway to a small bathroom.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Tara said, helping Nicole sit on the closed toilet. She eyed the leg wound. "Are you sure you don't need a doctor?"

"It's just a scrape," Nicole said. "I—I wore myself out running away from those guys. Really, I just need to get some rest." She took a deep breath. "I can take care of this myself. Do you have bandages?"

Left alone with bandages, ointments, and a washcloth, Nicole cleaned up as best as she could and emerged from the bathroom looking much better. The dark color of her pants hid most of the bloodstain, though the pale color of the bandage peeked out from the hole in the fabric. But her hair no longer hosted a mass of twigs and leaves, and she'd gotten most of the dirt off her skin and clothes.

Tara helped her across the hall to a cozy den, the first room in the house that actually looked used and lived in. As Nicole settled onto a well-loved couch, Tara picked up the bat. "Where'd your cane go?"

"They have it. I..." Nicole winced. "I think I stole that from someone's yard."

Tara giggled. "Really?"

"I needed to get away, and I couldn't walk without it." Nicole thought back, trying to remember what the house had looked like. "It was a two-story house, and there were a lot of toys in the yard."

Tara turned the bat over in her hands, then pointed to dark letters staining the side. "MCR. That's Mickey Rollins, down the street. I babysit him sometimes. I'll get this back to him."

"Thanks," Nicole said. She couldn't be sure, but the word seemed a little slurred as it came out. She leaned back, feeling exhaustion take over. Now that the immediate threat was gone, a new plan formed in her mind. Rest here until after dark. See if they had something she could use as a cane. Then find her way out of town under the cover of night.

The door swung open, and a woman stepped in, her appearance deliberately styled and trim. "Tara? I didn't know you were having friends over today."

"She's just crashing here for a little while," Tara said. "Mom, this is Nicole Wilkerson."

"You can call me Momma Jo." Momma Jo shook Nicole's hand. "Wilkerson. Are you one of Jeanie's kids?"

"Her niece." It was a struggle to keep her eyes open.

Momma Jo raised an eyebrow. "I thought Wilkerson was Gil's last name, not Jeanie's."

A faint alarm sounded behind the weight of sleepiness trying to drag Nicole deeper into the couch. She'd missed some familial naming nuance that this lady had picked up on. But the truth would be the best way to go this time. "Jeanie told me to use the name Wilkerson while I'm staying with her."

"Ah. Well, it's nice to meet you." She paused. "Is everything okay? Do you need anything?"

"She just needs to rest for a while," Tara said. "You go ahead back to your soaps, Mom. I'll take care of things down here."

Momma Jo let out a shrill laugh as if Tara had just told a joke. "My soaps! What a silly thing to say, as if that's all I do or something." She gave the laugh again, then turned. "But I see you have things under control. Let me know if you girls need any snacks or anything."

"Sure thing." Tara waited until her mother left, then handed Nicole a blanket. "Don't worry. Mom'll stay upstairs watching TV for the rest of the day. Go ahead and rest. I'll make sure no one bothers you."

Nicole thought she mumbled another thanks, but wasn't entirely sure it had come out. She barely had enough strength left to pull the blanket over her body before she fell asleep.

It seemed like only seconds had passed when Nicole woke, but renewed energy told her it had been much longer. Approaching footsteps and voices grew louder, startling her into further wakefulness.

"Thank you again for watching her," Jeanie's voice said.

Nicole sat bolt upright. What was Jeanie doing here? This wasn't part of the plan.

The door swung open, and Tara hurried to her side. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize my mom would call her," she whispered.

Jeanie and Momma Jo walked in, chatting away with each other. Jeanie looked oddly strained. She gave Nicole a tight smile. "Are you doing okay, sweetie?"

Nicole nodded, distracted by racing thoughts trying to form a new plan.

"Where's your cane?"

That jarred her thoughts back to the moment. She glanced at Tara, who avoided eye contact. How much had the girl told the adults about the situation? "I lost it."

Jeanie raised an eyebrow. "Lost it?"

"Some guys were picking on her at school," Tara supplied. "They followed her after school. That's why she came here with me, to stay clear of those guys." She gave Nicole a sidelong look.

Nicole hid a smile and nodded. Tara had come to her rescue much the way she had done for Tara in class yesterday.

"I'll have to call the school and have a word about that," Jeanie said, but she seemed unfocused on that thought. "I've got an umbrella in the car you can use for now. Here." She held out her hands to help Nicole up.

Nicole's brain resumed its racing. She couldn't very well refuse at this point. It would only bring up questions. And she could work with this. As far as she knew, DEC still didn't have her home address. They'd be searching Tara's neighborhood, not Jeanie's. It'd be easier for Nicole to slip out after Jeanie and Gil went to bed and find her way out of the city undetected this way.

Her mind made up, she let Jeanie help her to her feet.

"Thank you again for calling me," Jeanie said to Momma Jo. She glanced down at Nicole.

"Thank you for letting me stay," she said politely, then added to Tara in a more meaningful tone, "Thanks."

Jeanie remained uncharacteristically quiet on the way home. Nicole tried to rest again, but her nerves felt on edge at the woman's odd behavior. Part of her wanted to ask about it, but she kept her mouth shut. If she started up a conversation, it could lead to Jeanie asking too many questions about what had happened today. Instead, she settled in the seat and sought comfort in repeating her new plan. The sun was already setting; it would be dark by the time they got to the apartment. She could slip into her bedroom with the excuse of needing to go to bed, pack up a few things, and leave undetected. This would work.

Gil and Drea were waiting in the living room when they got home. Gil jumped to his feet and folded his arms. "Well?"

"Just give her a minute," Jeanie scolded, pushing the door shut behind them. She put a hand on Nicole's shoulder. Her voice sounded strained. "Gil mentioned an odd phone call from you today. Something about someone looking for you."

Fear spiked its way through Nicole again. Something was wrong. Had DEC tracked her down after all? Come looking for her? "Did someone come here?"

"No." Jeanie glanced at her. "Nicole, if we're going to help you stay safe, then we need to know the truth. You told me that your parents were abusive, but there's something more than that, isn't there." She said it as a statement rather than a question.

Nicole didn't answer. What might Jeanie know? She had to find the right answer to settle Jeanie's concerns, but without revealing too much.

"Honey, Andrea told us about the agents who came to school looking for you. And that you left school early. Now, I'm not going to turn you over to anyone until I know the full story. But without the full story, I don't know how to best help you. Do you understand? You need to tell me what's going on."

"I'm telling you, she's on the run from the law," Gil growled. "See that guilty look on her face? We need to call the authorities. They'll straighten out what's going on here."

Jeanie gave him a look, then turned back to Nicole with a gentler expression. "We aren't calling anyone until we hear your side of the story. I promised I would keep you safe, and I intend to keep that promise. Now, why were federal agents looking for you?"

Every muscle in Nicole's body tightened, her legs feeling ready to flee in spite of their own weakness. She forced herself to stay still, to breathe evenly. Gil and Drea both looked ready to hand her over to the police, but Jeanie was still an ally. She just had to find the right words to say.

"Those people weren't federal agents," she finally said. Truth, mixed with a hefty dose of vagueness. "I'm sorry I misled you. I'm not hiding from abusive parents. I'm hiding from some bad people who will hurt me if they find me."

Jeanie's eyes widened as Gil's narrowed in the same proportion. He started to speak, but Jeanie cut him off. "Honey, if bad people are trying to hurt you, then we need to call the police. The police will protect you from those bad people."

Fear sharpened its grip on Nicole's chest. She shook her head emphatically. "You can't call the police. These people are watching the official lines. They'll know if you call the police, and they'll get here first. Even if they don't, they'll claim to be federal agents again to take me out of police custody. Please, you can't go to any official authority. That's how they'll find me."

Gil snorted. "Yeah, right."

Jeanie had her phone in hand, but she didn't dial. "If someone's pretending to be a federal agent in order to hurt you, the police should hear about it. If we tell them, then they can protect you from those people."

"You aren't buying this, are you?" Gil demanded. "Bad people after her? I'll bet. Ask her why they're after her. What, did you steal their drug stash or something?"

Jeanie pressed buttons on her phone. "I understand you're scared, but the police are the only way to keep you safe."

Nicole's plan and any remaining hopes of convincing these people to help her fell shredded to the floor. She grasped at one last chance, appealing to Jeanie's protective instincts. She pulled her shirt collar to the side, revealing the massive bruising on her shoulder. "They did this to me before I escaped today. They'll do worse if they catch me again."

Jeanie gasped. Gil looked startled. Even Drea raised an eyebrow.

"They did that?" Jeanie asked, reaching out as if to touch the injury but keeping a respectful distance from the tender skin.

Nicole nodded, feeling a renewed hope. Her words had the desired effect.

Jeanie finished dialing and lifted the phone to her ear. "We're definitely getting help, then. The police need to know about these monsters and what they're doing."

Panic overwhelmed Nicole's senses. She wanted to lunge forward, to snatch the phone away, but something inside said it was too late. Before she'd crossed into this dimension, they'd told her what happened when someone called the police. It immediately went into the system, the location marked clearly for anyone on the system—legitimately or otherwise—to see.

Nicole spun and scrambled for the door.

"Hey!" Gil barked out, but she was already out the door, skittering down the stairs, rushing outside. The cold air hit her like a slap. A few people glanced at her, startled by the way she'd burst from the door. A man in a dark suit stepped toward her. She ignored them all, focused on the need to get away. She leaned heavily on the umbrella as she blindly rushed down the sidewalk, pushing herself faster than she really should have.

"Hey," a voice called, spiking her anxiety again, but this call was friendlier in tone. A bike came to a stop beside her, and Aaron smiled. "Hey. Um, I was in the area, and I remembered the Wilkersons lived somewhere around here, so I thought maybe I could swing by and, um, see how you were doing. You know, after what happened..."

"Nicole!" Jeanie called, emerging from the door beside the flower shop with her phone still pressed against her ear.

Nicole's grip on the umbrella handle tightened. "Can you get me out of here?"

Aaron's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I have to get out of here. Now."

Jeanie spotted them and jogged forward. "Nicole, come back inside."

Aaron glanced back at Jeanie and seemed to make a decision. "Climb on the handlebars." He helped her mount the narrow metal bar, then cycled away before Jeanie could reach them.

Nicole looked back and felt pain at the stricken look on Jeanie's face. "I'm sorry!" she called. Jeanie had been so kind, and she felt horrible leaving her like this. But it had to be done.

Tires screeched and horns blared. Nicole looked over to see a large black van making a U-turn. Someone in a suit sat in the passenger seat, pointing in her direction. Her chest tightened. "They're after me!"

Aaron glanced back at the van, then turned down a side street. "Hang on." He made another sharp turn into a narrow alley. A street woman barely yanked her legs out of the way to avoid getting hit and screeched curses after them.

Nicole peeked back over Aaron's shoulder. Loud honks preceded the van roaring past. She turned back around. DEC hadn't seen them turn down the alley. Aaron's trick had worked.

They came out the other end of the alley and turned left, working their way further from Jeanie's apartment along an even busier street.

A black van came to a stop beside them, men shouting and scrambling at the doors.

"Aaron!" she gasped.

He stood up on the pedals to go faster, swerving on a wider path around the van at the same time.

She felt fingers brush her arm as the DEC tried to grab her, but the men were too slow. One chased after them while the others piled back into the van, shouting madly at the driver.

"How'd they get around the block so fast?" Aaron panted.

The answer came in a screeching of tires at the next intersection. There were two vans.

Aaron took advantage of a changing light to weave his way across the street before traffic could start flowing normally again. The van honked madly, stuck at the light behind an old woman in an excessively large car.

The bike tires rattled over the curb hard enough to almost unseat Nicole. She gasped and clutched the bar, wobbling for balance.

Aaron put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her, then quickly returned it to the bike handle. "I have an idea, but it might be a rough ride."

Nicole tightened her grip. "Okay."

He took a sharp right, bumping down a short set of steps and cutting across a stylized restaurant entrance. A couple of patrons yelped and jumped out of the way, shouting insults and threats. He took another right, then a left, and stood on the pedals again for a burst of speed. "Almost there."

She saw it now, a sprawling park looming ahead, larger than the one she'd hidden in earlier that day. Perfect. The vans couldn't drive there.

An engine roared loud behind them. She glanced back to see one of the black vans only a couple blocks away.

Aaron pushed even harder. The instant they reached the first corner of the park, he steered off between two bushes, the bike jolting and jerking over the rough terrain. Nicole almost lost her balance again, but managed to keep her seat.

"Hang on!" he panted behind her, steering around a tree. A steep-edged, oblong body of water dominated the center of the park, with periodic bridges crossing its expanse. He aimed for the first of those bridges.

The engine roar came again, accompanied by metallic clunks. The van skipped the curb and plowed through a smaller grove of flowers, lurching out onto the grass after them.

"Holy—" Aaron grunted and pedaled faster.

She clung to the bar beneath her. The bridge was too narrow for the van to fit. All they had to do was get across the bridge. They'd make it. They had to make it.

The van's door slid open as it loomed closer, men poised to grab for her.

She cringed, bracing herself. The note hung ready on her vocal cords. She didn't want to call for help, to put Aaron in danger by starting a brutal fight around him, but she would if she had to.

The bike's tires jumped as they hit the upraised curve of the bridge. The van screeched to a stop before it plowed into the wood. DEC poured from inside the vehicle.

"We did it," Aaron panted in relief, though he didn't slow down as they crested the bridge.

The second van screeched to a stop at the other end of the bridge, blocking their escape.

Aaron let out a sharp cry of surprise and hit the brakes hard. The bike wobbled and dropped to one side, sending both of them tumbling across rough wooden planks. Nicole hit the railing hard enough to drive the air out of her lungs.

He scrambled back to his feet and pulled her upright, then stood in front of her, arms tensed in a protective gesture.

She managed to suck in a breath as she clung to the railing. The DEC that had been behind them strode calmly, arrogantly, toward the crest of the bridge. The ones in the second van took their time stepping onto the other end of the bridge.

Her eyes searched for any alternative route, any way of escape, but all she saw was the dark, glistening water below her. Something about the sight filled her with an unspeakable dread. Could she swim in this form? She wasn't sure, but her body's instincts said to avoid that water at all costs, and she was inclined to believe it. Especially with her injuries slowing her down.

Which meant she had no other options. She was trapped.

"Stay back!" Aaron shouted in a tone that might have been threatening if his voice hadn't cracked at that moment.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Go."

He looked back at her, perplexed. "What?"

"They aren't interested in you. They'll let you pass. Take your bike and go."

He hesitated, eying the approaching men. "But you—"

She pushed him toward his bike. "They'll hurt you if you try to help me. But they'll let you go free if you leave now."

He straightened his bike and took a testing step toward the DEC. The men parted slightly as if to confirm her words.

Aaron looked back at her with a helpless expression, then mounted his bike and took off. "They're not going to get away with this!" he shouted back as soon as he was clear. "I'll call for help!"

Nicole turned her attention back to the DEC, relieved that Aaron was safe. Calling for help was exactly what she had in mind.

One of the DEC raised his hands in an almost peaceful gesture. "Now, if you come quietly, then we won't—"

She found the note and let it resonate through her once more.

The man swore and lunged at her. Shadow materialized between them before he could reach her, and he found himself on the receiving end of a srye's blunted blade.

The DEC shouted and charged, struggling to force the srye aside and reach her. Nicole sank to her knees, focusing her energy on keeping the barriers open. Her srye maintained a solid semi-circle around her, a protective border to keep the DEC at bay.

Srye Ornez stood at her side, his weapon ready. His eyes moved swiftly over the chaos writhing on the bridge, watching for the first opening, the opportunity to get her clear of the fray. "How did they find you?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. Jeanie called the police, but they couldn't have tracked it that quickly. They must have gotten my address from the school's records."

"We have to get you out of this city."

"It's my next goal."

One of the DEC broke through the ring and charged at her. Srye Ornez stepped in the man's path and swung. The man ducked under the staff, lashing out at her guardian with his fists, landing a punishing blow.

Nicole pushed herself back to her feet, holding the railing for support, ready to fight as much as she could in her condition.

It proved unnecessary. Srye Ornez brought his weapon back around with lightning speed, sending the man staggering back. Another DEC lunged from the other side, and Srye Ornez barely managed to bring the staff around in time to block his strike.

Nicole's grip on the railing tightened. There were too many DEC. With more rest, she could have widened the gate so more srye could come through, but she was barely keeping hold of the gate as it was. A few srye vanished, overwhelmed by the DEC's attacks, and more took their places. Weakness pressed in against her, threatening to prematurely close the gate and force her protectors back home. She clenched her teeth, refocusing her strength. Had to maintain her hold. Had to keep the gate open.

Two more DEC joined in after Srye Ornez, forcing him further back away from her. The circle around her widened as the battle raged on, the srye fighting with all their might to overcome the superior numbers against them.

Someone grabbed her arm. DEC. He yanked her toward him, pulling her along the railing to escape the fight and drag her to the waiting van.

She yelped, slapping at him, struggling to keep upright and maintain her hold on the gate. He grabbed at her free hand, but she pulled away, then swung it again in a swift, sharp strike at his midsection. He grunted in pain.

Someone shouted behind her. Srye Ornez. She struggled to pull her arm free, to work her way back toward him.

The man holding her yanked again, pulling her off-balance. He reached for her other arm again.

She didn't have enough strength left for a coherent defense. She thrashed wildly at him, letting her legs sag the way they wanted to, doing everything she could to make life more difficult for him. He swore and tripped. His grip on her arm loosened as he flailed for balance.

She grabbed at the railing to pull herself away. His flailing arm lashed in her direction, his elbow smacking solidly against her temple. Bursts of light shot behind her eyes as she staggered. The railing hit her hip. Hands scrabbled at her. The ground vanished, replaced by shimmering water rushing for her face.

Chapter 8

The Man in the dark suit watched in silence from the shadows as the small form tumbled from the bridge and vanished into the water below. Shouts of dismay rose from her protectors. They changed their tactics, surging to leap after her.

The DEC thugs were stuck in their mindset of defeating these other-dimensional beings, however, and continued fighting, preventing them from pursuing the girl. The Man rolled his eyes. Morons.

He checked in with the timer steadily marking the seconds inside his brain. Ten. Eleven. His gaze roved over the battle on the bridge with partial interest. The beings were skilled, no doubt, and gave the thugs a real challenge in spite of the thugs' superior numbers. He adjusted his shoes and rolled his eyes again. With an ounce of tactics, the fools DEC had hired would have beaten the beings long before now. But DEC hadn't hired these men for tactics. They'd hired them for muscle. And that was all they were. Muscle in their bodies, muscle in their brains.

One of the beings, a man standing a deal taller than the others, seemed particularly concerned to reach the water, but the DEC thugs kept blocking his path, forcing him back into the fight each time. It seemed as if this one was driven by something stronger than duty, something more akin to genuine concern for her. He was the same one that had stood at her side instead of joining the fight when she'd initially summoned them across the dimensions. More than devoted to the job, he was devoted to _her_. The Man filed the information away. It could prove useful in the future.

He checked the timer. Forty-five seconds. A human being could last approximately one hundred eighty seconds, three minutes, without air. It seemed her form wasn't a perfect translation, with her weakened legs, but it was likely the basic functions remained essentially the same. He found himself curious to see if that proved true.

The beings were winning now. Thugs dropped to the bridge, killed or unconscious, deserving whichever fate they received. If they had an ounce of brains in their thick skulls, they'd have let the beings go after the girl. Leave her protectors to do the work of rescuing her from drowning, then ambush them when they returned to shore, take the girl, and go. Simple. And yet obviously too complicated for these insensate slugs.

The beings scrambled toward the railing, but their substance thinned into vapor. The gate between dimensions was closing.

The tall one let out a cry of alarm. He bashed at the few remaining thugs with a sudden brutality that The Man couldn't help but admire. The thugs fell quickly, and the being leapt over the railing.

Too late. His form faded into shadow, vanishing completely before he reached the water's surface. A single ripple disturbed the liquid, nothing more.

The Man already strode to the water, shoes left behind in the grass. He dove in and cut through the water with efficient speed. Even as part of his brain had continued tracking the time—a hundred twenty seconds—another part had tracked the girl, working through the calculations. The girl's weight, the pond's depth, the temperature of the water, she should be...

His hand brushed cloth. Here.

He pulled her to surface and returned to shore, lifting her limp form onto the concrete edge that bordered the water. He knelt beside her and gave her a quick but thorough examination. Pulse weak. No major injuries visible. No respirations.

He tilted her head back, pinched her nose, and forced air into her lungs. No response. He repeated the act, waited, and leaned in a third time.

She choked, a stream of dirty liquid rushing from her mouth. She coughed and spat up water a moment longer before her breathing steadied. She didn't wake. Good. That made the next part easier.

He retrieved his shoes. Water squished from his socks and pooled in the toes as he slid into them, but he hardly noticed it, leaving a smaller, more secluded corner of his brain to worry about physical comfort. He'd once been told that most men could only attend to one thing at a time. He couldn't fathom what a narrow life they must live.

He picked up the girl and walked past the bridge toward his car, tucked out of sight behind a trim row of hedges.

"Stop," a dull voice called.

He didn't bother turning to investigate the source. One of the thugs had regained his feet and was calling for attention. Had the thug been deserving of any attention, The Man would have already given it.

"Stop!" the thug called again. Stumbling feet thudded on the bridge's planks. "Hand her over. She's ours."

"Yeah," a second voice chimed in. "We're taking her in. We earned it."

Irritation set The Man's teeth on edge. The only thing these witless buffoons had 'earned' was a bullet in the head. Something tempted him to deliver precisely that, but he quelled the impulse. A bullet would actually be far more merciful than what these sniveling apes deserved. If it hadn't been for his presence, the girl would have drowned and DEC's aims would have been singularly defeated. These thugs had been so focused on their immediate goal, defeating the girl's other-dimensional guard, that they'd completely neglected the much larger, more important goal: capturing the girl _alive_.

He reached his car and set the girl in the backseat. Feet moved on the grass behind him. Five—no, six—thugs surrounded him. He ignored them, focusing instead on securing the girl.

"I told you," the first one said, his voice stronger now that he was joined by so many of his comrades, "she's ours." His voice carried a clear threat.

The Man didn't bother looking as he drew his gun and shot the speaker in the forehead.

The other men jumped, letting out gasps of alarm as their leader's body crumpled to the ground.

The Man shifted his aim to the next thug, finally straightening and turning to face the group. "I'm not particularly interested in drawing more attention with five more gunshots."

The thugs put their hands up, faces pale with fear. "She's all yours," one said in a pinched voice.

"With your gracious consent." He didn't bother muting the sarcasm. He holstered the gun, climbed into his car, and drove away into the night.

Chapter 9

Nicole woke to peaceful sunlight illuminating the wall beside her with a warm, comforting glow in an odd striped pattern. She lay on a simple twin bed, covered by a thick white comforter. The only other furnishings in the room were a small, bare nightstand beside the bed and a stool on the other side of the stand. She blinked a couple of times, trying to piece together where she was and how she'd gotten there.

That was when she saw the window on the other wall. Bars. She sat up, her chest tightening in alarm. She'd been captured.

Her shoulder and leg ached some at the sharp movement, but the pain didn't seem as bad. Something felt tight against her leg, though. She checked and discovered a fresh, tidy bandage in place of the hasty job she'd done the previous night. She pried up a corner. Someone had cleaned and stitched the wound, too. Whoever had captured her had tended to her wounds.

Before she could puzzle that one out, a metallic, scraping sound came from the doorknob. A key in the lock. She hastily pulled her clothes and blanket back in place before the door swung open on silent hinges, admitting a Man in a dark suit. He carried a small tray, which he set on the nightstand beside her. A cup filled with clear liquid sat on a lacy doily with a slender vase beside it. A budding rose extended gracefully from the vase.

"Where am I?" she asked, cautiously testing the situation. He didn't have the stark lines of someone who'd been involved in DEC's work with the dimensional barriers. But if he didn't work with DEC, then who was he?

He didn't answer her, instead taking a moment to adjust the rose. He paused to admire his work, then picked up the cup and extended it toward her. "Drink."

"Please, can you tell me where I am?" she tried again.

Moving too fast for her to defend herself, he grabbed her hair with his free hand and slammed the cup into her face, crushing it over her mouth. She gagged as her mouth filled with liquid and blood. The top of the glass mashed tight under her nose, keeping her from drawing in air. She choked, struggling, but his grip was like solid rock.

"Drink," he repeated.

She clawed at his arm to no avail and finally had to swallow. He applied steady pressure on her hair, forcing her head back so she couldn't get to the air left in the glass. She fought again. White fog invaded her vision. She swallowed another mouthful, then another.

"Good." He released her and set the cup back on the tray.

She coughed and gagged, gasping in air. When her vision cleared, she saw his hand reaching for her, and she flinched away.

He remained patiently still, extending a handkerchief.

She sucked in a couple more breaths before she finally accepted it and wiped her mouth clean of the liquid. The cloth came away stained with blood.

"That's better, isn't it?" He took the handkerchief, folded it, and set it on the tray.

"What was that?" she asked. Her voice didn't come out right.

He pulled the stool closer and sat. Leaning closer, he shone a bright light in her eyes. She winced and tried to turn away, but the fingers of his free hand caught her by the chin and forced her to look at him.

"Very good." His ever-calm tone had barely changed, but now it carried a faint note of pleasure. He put the light away. "What is your name?"

She shouldn't answer, shouldn't talk to him. Yet she heard her own voice responding in a thick slur. "Nicole Wilkerson." She felt like she was floating, her body drifting lazily in a current that swept her brain away.

He smiled patiently. "What is your real name?"

Her mouth moved, but she managed to clamp down on the words before they came. The current beckoned invitingly, but she resisted its call. "Nicole Wilkerson," her voice repeated.

He waited a moment longer before one eyebrow raised. "Where are you from?"

"Seattle."

"No, that's not correct."

The current slowed, reluctantly beginning to loosen its hold on her. She blinked hard, trying to maintain her grip on reality. What had been in that drink? "It's not," her voice agreed without her consent.

He studied her for a moment, then shifted his position and raised his eyebrows in alarm. "You're in danger, Nicole. The DEC are coming for you. You must open the barriers, quickly, before they get here."

Okay, a voice inside her said. Her throat found the note, her lungs drawing in a deep breath to give it life.

No, that wasn't right. She resisted her body's attempt to call for help. The list. The list said she should only call for help if she absolutely needed it. Did she need it now? No, no one was threatening her here. The Man in the dark suit must be some sort of ally, the current whispered to her from its receding form. He's warning you of danger.

She blinked again, struggling to stop floating and leave the current behind. She couldn't think straight while in it.

The Man gripped her arm painfully. "Do you understand? You must open the barriers immediately. They'll capture you if you don't."

Couldn't be captured. That was part of the list.

She saw the striped sunlight beside her. Alarms went off in her mind. She was already captured. This Man had captured her.

The current faded further, leaving a growing clarity in her mind. Why was The Man who'd captured her so eager to see her open the barriers? Cool mistrust replaced the sensation of floating adrift. The world returned to her with a sharp gasp. She was his prisoner. She couldn't trust him. If he wanted her to open the barriers, then that was the last thing she should do.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "You must hurry."

She shook her head, drawing away from him.

His grip on her arm tightened. He brought out the light and flicked it across her eyes again. "I see." He released her arm and leaned back. "I had suspected this might be the case after what happened when they captured you in the van. Your body doesn't quite process things the same way a human body does." The faint smile returned. "Pity the serum still wasn't strong enough for a lasting effect. That means this next part will be much more difficult for you."

Ice washed over her skin.

"Curious," he continued. "So much of you is remarkably human. Your need for air, sleep, food. And yet you are not quite human, either. I find it fascinating. I look forward to learning what else you have in common with us lower beings and what else is different. Metabolism. Brain activity." He stood and adjusted his suit. "Pain tolerance."

A stab of fear shot through her. She forced it back. She would withstand whatever she had to. "You work for DEC," she said, partly a question, but mostly a statement.

"I'm a contractor, after a fashion. I have been hired by them to achieve results, but I do not answer to them in the same manner as a traditional employee."

She searched the gaps in her mind. Most of them had closed. If she hadn't been captured, she'd have felt some relief at that realization. "We know DEC wants to pass items between the dimensions. It's simple to create items your kind value, like gems, in our dimension. They want to make themselves wealthy by drawing such items through the barriers, but it won't work. Items from the higher dimensions cannot last for long within this dimension, and they become dangerous, toxic, when their forms fail."

He chuckled, then laughed aloud. "Is that what your allies believe of DEC's aims? Truly?" He laughed again.

It was only one of several theories they'd formed before electing to hide her here. She'd hoped that one was correct. It bore the least dire threat. "Then they want to bring more people from my dimension to study the dimensional barriers and the effects of dimensional travel. But I'm the only one who can pass between the barriers in full."

"Charming theory." He adjusted his suit again. "Your cooperation will facilitate the ease of your experience here. You do understand that, don't you?"

She turned to the last theory, the one she hoped against hope wasn't true. "Your employers realize that it's not possible for anyone from your dimension to cross into the higher dimensions. It simply can't be done." She watched his face closely for some sign of confirmation. "And they must know what will happen if they try. The person attempting the crossing would be destroyed the instant he touched the higher dimension. Your minds simply couldn't handle the higher form. Whoever tried it would implode, in a near-literal sense. And that implosion would unfurl on both your dimension and mine. Thousands in both dimensions would die."

"Conversely, your lack of cooperation will result in a far more unpleasant experience."

She searched his face and found nothing there. No confirmation of the theory. No kindness. No mercy.

It took her a moment to find her voice again. "I want to beg you to let me go. But I know you won't."

He smiled. "I'm pleased we understand each other so well."

Then he lashed out with the same impossible speed as before. She barely had time to cry out before the world plunged into darkness.

* * *

Nicole woke with a pounding head and an echoing pain in her throat. She winced and blinked, trying to reorient herself. The room had changed around her. The bed was now a thin cot secured to the wall. A metal cuff dug into her right wrist. A chain led from the cuff to a bolt in the ceiling, just long enough for her to rest comfortably in the bed and reach the rest of the room. Not that there was much else to reach in the cramped space, just a sink that protruded from the wall beside a low partition that hid a toilet.

She lifted her head a few inches and stared at a wall of bars with a similarly barred door set in the middle. A bare wall rested on the other side of the hallway from the bars. A cell. She'd woken earlier a captive, but now she'd been moved to the true prison.

Footsteps approached. She struggled to sit up, heart pounding. She took deep breaths. They'd known this could happen. This was the risk of hiding her here, that she'd be found, that the DEC would try to force her into compliance with whatever they had planned. It was a far kinder fate than what awaited her if the Pack had gotten their hands on her. That knowledge didn't make this process any easier, though. She did her best to brace herself.

"Sir!" a voice called, lighter footsteps rushing to catch up with the first set. "Sir, Mr. Sterling wanted me to remind you that we're on a sensitive timetable here. We only have—"

"Silence," a stronger voice ordered. The Man in the dark suit. His footsteps resumed, walking toward her cell.

Nicole dropped back down on the cot and closed her eyes, forcing her muscles to go limp and her breathing to steady.

The feet stopped on the other side of the bars, remained still for a minute.

She fought the impulse to peek and focused on her breathing, counting it the way Aaron had coached her in the gym. In, two, three. Out, two, three.

The footsteps retreated back down the hall a short distance. When The Man spoke again, his voice was quieter. Nicole strained to hear.

"I am fully aware of the deadline in place. Did you have any relevant information for me, or did Mr. Sterling simply see fit to waste time with unnecessary rehashing?" The Man's voice remained calm, but a hint of irritation colored the tone.

"I, uh," the other man stammered.

"Then be on your way." The lighter footsteps began to retreat, but were stopped by The Man's voice. "Wait. Did Mr. Sterling review the findings on the artifact?"

"Uh, artifact?"

The irritation returned. "The Hlonfet Pyramid. He has taken no steps to guarantee it is secured, I gather?"

"He, uh, he said he's still checking."

Now the calmness all but vanished, swallowed up in a sharp, biting tone. "Does he not comprehend the implications?" His voice dropped even lower. Nicole had to crane her head upward and tilt her ear toward the hallway, and she still almost couldn't make out his words. "If her protectors realize its use in this situation, if they find a way to pass it to her, then—"

He broke off sharply. His heavy footsteps started in her direction. She quickly dropped flat again, forcing herself to go limp once more.

"Tell him to make this his first priority. His plans will not be safe until his allies have secured that item." The Man's tone was cool now, dismissive.

The lighter footsteps scurried away down the hall.

The heavy footsteps stopped outside the cell once more.

She focused on her breathing. Couldn't let him know she was awake, that she'd overheard his conversation. She channeled in on her focus, letting the outside sensations drift away into nothingness around her. A loud clang barely registered to her ears. She dimly thought that he must have struck the bars in an attempt to startle her.

Another long silence passed, then the heavy footsteps walked on past her cell and vanished down the hall.

She released her focus and tried to make some sense of what she'd overheard. The Hlonfet Pyramid. The human words felt strange, but she knew what they referred to. A particular artifact back home, one of two items that had traveled into the lower dimension and remained intact. One had been destroyed by some primitive humans, but the other had returned to their home dimension to be kept as an oddity to be examined and admired. But that was all it was, a solid piece of matter that had somehow made it into this dimension and back home without devolving into a toxic mass. 'Pyramid' was an odd term for it, but she supposed that must be what it had looked like to human eyes, much in the same way that most humans would refer to her as a teenage girl when in fact she was technically neither.

Yet The Man spoke of it as if it bore some great power. His tone and the words he hadn't spoken suggested that something about the artifact could bring DEC's intentions, whatever they might be, to a premature end. Something about the srye giving it to her. So it needed to be in this dimension to endanger DEC's plan.

She wasn't entirely sure what the artifact could do to frustrate DEC's plans. She wasn't entirely sure what DEC's plans were, for that matter. But she knew one thing: if bringing the pyramid here could stop DEC, then that's what she needed to do.

Only she couldn't do it. She'd have to open the barriers to pass the information to her srye, and then she'd have to open them again once the srye had secured the artifact. And opening the barriers was what DEC needed of her for their plans to work. Without knowing why DEC wanted her to open the barriers, she didn't dare take the risk.

Escape, then. Escape was her first priority, and then retrieving the pyramid. And The Man had mentioned a deadline. She wasn't sure what was time sensitive about the issue, but it certainly explained why the Pack had so abruptly increased the frequency and ferocity of their attacks on her, forcing her to turn to hiding. DEC had to force her cooperation before a certain deadline passed. And with any luck, once she escaped, she could evade them long enough for the timer to run out and their plans to be ruined.

Bolstered by a solid plan, she took a cautious peek at the empty hallway, then reached over to examine the cuff on her wrist. The metal was locked solidly in place. It could tighten a fraction of an inch, but she couldn't coax it to loosen.

With enough srye helping, she might be able to pull the chain free from the ceiling and break the door open. But that came back to the exact same problem: she couldn't open the barriers, not here in DEC custody.

So she'd need to find another way free. She sat up. The world swayed around her for a moment, and she had to close her eyes and take deep breaths until it agreed to stop dancing. Once her vision was clear once more, she searched the room as best as she could without standing.

The heavy footsteps returned, moving at a faster clip this time, though still steady and controlled. She quickly dropped back down into her sleeping position.

Metal scraped against metal, then the door to her cell swung open. She drew her focus inward to hide her wakefulness again.

Icy water tore her back to reality in a gasping rush. She bolted upright, coughing and shivering as water dripped from her hair and clothes.

"Good morning," The Man said in his ever-polite way. He set a bucket on the floor beside him. "Pardon the rude awakening, but you'd slept quite long enough." He took his jacket off and draped it over the partition.

"Where am I?" she asked, once again testing as well as trying to show the disorientation she should feel if she were just now waking.

He ignored her, didn't even look her way, his focus on his shirt sleeves. He unbuttoned the cuffs and methodically rolled the sleeves upward to his elbows. "Do you know what DEC wants of you?"

She set her jaw. "I won't open the barriers."

He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that's what they want?"

"You tried to drug me and trick me into thinking I was in danger and had to open the barriers."

He finished rolling his sleeves and finally looked at her. His lips curved in the slightest trace of a smile. "You are a clever one. Lovely. I always appreciate a challenge." He sighed. "Alas, certain factors prevent me from using my usual, more time-consuming methods of gaining cooperation. That would be far simpler on both of us. So I'm afraid I must take a different approach."

"I won't do it," she repeated.

"Of course you won't." He ran his fingers along the chain hanging from the ceiling, stopping about a foot above her wrist. He pulled hard, lifting her clear off the bed by her wrist, and secured the chain to a hook in the ceiling.

She gasped in surprise and pain. Her legs instinctively scrabbled at the floor to ease the burden on her wrist, but only her toes touched the surface. Not that her legs provided much support even if she could reach the ground.

The Man wrapped something around his hand, some sort of fighting tape. "You understand that you will be able to end this at any point you desire."

She wanted to whimper, to beg and plead, but she forced her mouth to stay shut. As she'd told him before, she knew it would do no good. He wouldn't be swayed from his intentions so easily. Instead, she channeled her focus inward once more, disappearing within herself. She barely felt the first blow, a strike to her side that sent a shockwave of pain through her body and threatened to tear her back to reality. She counted her breathing and refocused, letting the pain join with the other sensations in the dim blur surrounding her.

She repeated the list to herself over and over again, along with the occasional repetition of her new list. One, escape. Two, call her srye and tell them to secure the artifact. Three, bring the artifact fully into this dimension. Four, figure out what it could do that would destroy DEC's plan. Four simple steps that were remarkably easy to say. The execution would be far less straightforward. The foremost being the first step, escape. How exactly would she accomplish that?

She wasn't sure how much time passed as she repeated her lists, occasionally pausing to contemplate escape plans which all fell apart with any degree of rational thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by a bright light intruding into the fog of oblivion she'd buried herself in, accompanied by a steady, jarring sensation on her cheek, too light to be a slap but too heavy to be a pat.

She blinked and found The Man shining his light in her eyes again. She sucked in a sharp breath at the aching pain tearing through her body. Her right shoulder hurt worse than her left now, joining with her wrist in supporting her body's weight. The wrist itself was mercifully numb, as were her fingers, but she knew they would be in agony once feeling returned. The rest of her body felt like she'd been a speed bump for a convoy of trucks. Her ribs burned, her midsection screamed, her throat ached. Her jaw, nose, even her lips shrieked. Her eyes instinctively squinched shut in protest against the pain.

"Fascinating," The Man said, and it sounded like he really meant it. "And problematic." He leaned back against the barred wall and began unwrapping his hands. Blood stained the material. "I don't believe I'm going to be able to force you to open the barriers, am I." He said it as a statement, not a question.

She shook her head anyway, feeling a need to move, a need to feel something other than the pain wracking her body.

He sighed, his expression only mildly disappointed. "Pity. Which means I shall have to turn to plan B." He finished unwrapping his hands and rolled his sleeves back down, then slid his coat back on, neatly buttoning it up and adjusting it in its proper place, every line in order. He withdrew a gun and removed the clip, examining the row of bullets inside. "Are you familiar with the term 'scorched earth'?"

She didn't answer, trying to focus on keeping herself together and breathing steadily. Her chest heaved and those unwelcome tears returned, streaking down her cheeks.

"It's a military term, a tactic to frustrate and possibly even defeat the enemy by eliminating the enemy's resources, not through theft or pillaging, but through total destruction. In a more general sense, it refers to a decision that if you can't acquire what you want, then no one else can have it, either." He chuckled and slid the clip back in place. "It's always struck me as the most childish of tactics. You see it, don't you? The immaturity inherent to the strategy."

He pulled the slide to chamber a bullet. "But sometimes immaturity is required in such matters. If I can't get what I need, then I must destroy it so no one else can get it." He lifted the gun to her forehead. "Or, rather, if you won't open the barriers for DEC, then you won't open any barriers ever again."

The tears forced a choking sob from her throat. The desire to beg returned, to plead and reason, at the very least buy some time. Another part of her screamed, demanding that she call for help, bring the srye down upon her enemy to tear him to pieces and free her. The note settled itself in her chest. All she had to do was voice it.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. She couldn't call for help. She had to face this alone. Besides, she'd known this was possible. She'd prepared for it.

She opened her eyes, feeling her breathing calm. The tears stopped. She was prepared.

"It's a pity, if you ask me," The Man said. "There are so few opportunities to examine something genuinely new in this world. But as much as I would love to take the time to study you, I was hired to do a specific job. And I always complete the job I was hired to do."

A momentary hope beat against the solid resolution in her mind. He didn't really want to kill her. Perhaps she could talk to him, work out some sort of arrangement.

No. She saw in his eyes that he felt as resolute as she did. Talk would do no good. He was going to kill her, and that was that. She met his eyes and waited, ready.

He pulled the trigger.

Chapter 10

The shot deafened Nicole, adding a new pain ringing in her ears to compete with the pains still gripping her body. She blinked at the realization. She still felt pain. She still heard. She still saw.

She wasn't dead.

The Man lowered the gun, a new glint of delight in his unshakeable face. "You truly are remarkable. Few humans manage the bravery you've displayed today."

Her body shook. The bullet he'd fired at her was a blank. It had been a ruse. Probably an attempt to get her to call for help and open the barriers. It frightened her how tempted she'd been to do exactly that.

He put the gun back away and withdrew a syringe. "You're turning into quite the challenge. Fortunately, I admire a challenge." He plunged the needle into her arm and released its contents.

Blissful numbness swept through her, silencing the pain and plunging her into darkness.

Then an arm wrapped around her side, lifting her slightly. The chain rattled as it came free of the hook and dropped loose. Another arm joined the first, lifting her and laying her on the cot.

She wanted to blink, but her eyelids wouldn't respond. She'd thought she was unconscious, but apparently not. Had he used the same substance as the DEC in the van had? It felt similar, leaving her paralyzed and unable to see, but still aware of her surroundings. It was different in other ways, though, deeper, hazier. She didn't remember the same numbing effect with the previous substance.

She felt pressure on her arm, then something cool under her skin. She'd been injected with something else. Water ran. A warm, wet cloth cleaned the blood and tears off her face.

Footsteps approached. "I wish you'd stop terrorizing my employees." An officious, harried voice.

"I am doing the job you hired me to do."

"Are you? Because I didn't receive any report that any barriers were opened, or that the machine was activated to hold them—"

"You would be wise to mind what you say," The Man said, his tone holding a sharp warning.

The newcomer fell silent. "Is she—can she hear us?"

A finger lifted one of her eyelids, and a bright light shone in her eye. The process repeated on the other eye. "I don't believe so. I gave her a much higher dose and followed it with a secondary medication. She should be unaware of her surroundings, at the least. But you may prefer not to take chances."

The newcomer harrumphed. "Back to the subject of the job you were hired to do. When precisely can we expect some results?"

"Patience." The cloth finished its work on her face. A hand removed the cuff, then the cloth returned, cleaning the blood from her wrist.

A hand smacked against the bars. "You were supposed to be the best in your field. I was told that you were the one, the man who could make things happen. Perhaps your reputation overstates your abilities?"

The Man's tone regained that irritated edge. "It takes time to discern a person's exact motivation. It is simply a matter of working through the most common to the least common until I find the correct one. Pain is not a motivator for her, nor is fear of death. When she wakes, I will be prepared with the next step." Sarcasm colored his voice. "Unless one of your hired thugs has some particular insight into the other-dimensional psyche? Perhaps you feel that one of your other employees would be better suited to this task than I?"

The other man grunted a curse word. "Do what you need to do. But hurry it up. Skip a few steps if you have to. I want results." He paused. "As far as that artifact—"

The Man cleared his throat. "In regards to the item I warned you about, you mean?"

She couldn't see his face, but was fairly certain he was casting a significant look at his employer, reminding him of the slim possibility that she could hear what was being said.

"Yes. In regards to that matter. How certain are you about this theory?"

"Completely certain."

"Because if you're wrong—"

The irritation returned. "You've never worked with me before. As such, I will overlook your error. I do not throw terms about idly, as you may be accustomed to with your other employees. If I say that I am completely certain, then there is no doubt."

The other man remained silent for a long moment. "I contacted our..." He paused. "Our friends. They will find the item and secure it in their strongho—"

"That is satisfactory." The Man finished his work and tightened the cuff back on her wrist. "So long as... certain others do not know of its significance or its location. That is all that matters."

An impatient sound. "No, what matters is getting her to open the barriers. Just once, and we can be done with her. The machine will do the rest after—"

"As I said, I will get what you need." Water ran again. The door opened and clanged shut, The Man's footsteps now on the other side of the bars. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"Don't take that dismissive tone with me." The other man sounded angry now. "Our—our friends are poised and ready on the other side, both to meet our end and to unleash a final strike to eliminate—" He cut himself off. "They are not patient beings."

"But I am. And that is why you will achieve the results you seek." The Man's heavy footsteps strode away.

The other man muttered something under his breath, then turned and left the other direction.

Nicole tested her muscles and found them still unresponsive. She accepted her helpless position and turned her thoughts to the conversation she'd overheard.

New puzzle pieces locked with the ones she'd already held. DEC had spoken with the Pack about securing the pyramid, then, in some sort of—what had he been saying? Stronghold? She wasn't entirely sure what exactly that would refer to. They operated out of many bases, last she'd heard. Which one would be the 'stronghold'?

Perhaps the srye would know. As soon as she could escape and contact them, she'd tell them everything she'd heard. With any luck, the activity around the artifact would have already caught the srye's attention. They wouldn't know the significance, but they might at least track whatever ended up happening with it.

She frowned internally as her mind turned to other parts of the discussion. What did 'unleash a final strike' mean? To eliminate—who? The srye? She'd have to warn them of that, as well.

Just once, the employer had said. They just needed her to open the barriers once, and the machine would do the rest. What machine? What would it do? She searched back through everything she'd heard. The employer had said something about the machine being activated to hold them. Hold what? Hold her? Her srye?

The barriers themselves?

The thought sent an instant chill flooding through her system. No, that wasn't possible. She was the only one, the only thing in existence that could hold the barriers open.

Her traitorous brain wouldn't let go of the thought, though. What sort of machine would it take to do such a thing? Calculations, ideas, mechanisms danced around her, fighting their way into some semblance of order. She felt colder with each passing second as the possibility gained new ground in her mind. Maybe there was a way for a human-made machine to hold the barriers open, to wedge the gate, so to speak, and prevent it from closing. It would require a far stronger power source than anything currently available to humans, but perhaps that was the Pack's role in this. Perhaps they had helped these humans uncover an energy source previously undiscovered in this dimension.

But it was the implications of such an act that left her frozen, even more numb with shock than the drugs had left her. Her srye had been concerned that DEC would try to send humans through the dimensional barrier she held open and thousands would die as a result. But this...

She tried to turn from the thoughts, but they pressed in, forcing her attention. The area immediately around the machine would likely see little to no real effects, protected in the shell of the opened gate between dimensions. But outside that space, the very nature of physics would be shattered. The resulting shockwave would kill not thousands, but millions.

She clamped down on the horrific thoughts. No. That wasn't their intent. It couldn't be.

And yet it made sense with what she'd heard.

She must have misheard or misunderstood. She could only hope that was the case, though a foreboding sense pitting her guts said her hope was wrong.

It didn't matter. She pushed the thoughts away, sealing them tightly within a new, stronger resolve. It didn't matter because she wasn't going to open the barriers, not until she was far from here, far enough that this machine couldn't activate. Regardless of what The Man in the dark suit threatened or did to her. No matter what.

Hours floated past around her before she felt a tingling sensation in her fingers and toes, followed gradually by sensations returning to the rest of her body. She winced as she tried her muscles. Everything hurt. Even just lying still and breathing hurt.

Footsteps approached, many this time. She opened her eyes as a dozen DEC came to a stop outside her cell, all in those tidy suits with the overly crisp lines. She studied the group, looking for The Man, but he didn't seem to be with them.

One of the DEC opened the cell door and stepped in. He reached for her arm with a syringe.

She pulled back instinctively, even though she knew it likely wouldn't have the desired effect.

He rolled his eyes and held up the syringe. "It's a pain reliever, to take the edge off. But if you don't want it..."

She hesitated. If he was telling the truth, then she should accept it. It'd be easier to focus without so much pain accompanying every little movement. But if he wasn't telling the truth...

If he wasn't telling the truth, then what? Their compliance serum had failed to affect her. The substances designed to render her unconscious similarly failed, leaving her aware of her surroundings. And they weren't planning on killing her, she was fairly certain of that now.

"Okay," she said.

He injected her, and the pain subsided. She relaxed, relieved. Much better.

A man rolled a wheelchair up to the door, and two men helped her up off the cot and into the chair. The first man removed the cuff and secured her wrist once more with a new cuff connected to the chair.

She tested the cuff as surreptitiously as possible. It was designed like the other one. No chance for escape there.

The DEC surrounded her closely as the leader wheeled her down the hallway. They passed a few more cells, each one empty. The blank wall on the other side was occasionally interrupted by windows into what looked like a large factory floor. In the small glimpses she caught, she saw the massive space below dominated by a huge machine. Workers scurried around, swarming the floor and the machine, carrying out their designated tasks.

Then the windows were gone. They'd reached the end of the hallway. Two wide doors opened up into a freight elevator, which they all piled into, keeping her in the middle of the group. She let her mind process as the elevator descended. Her cell was remarkably close to the machine. Did she have to be in a certain range in order for it to work? How far from it could she go before safely calling for help? She didn't want to take any chances, especially if her fears proved true.

The elevator came to a shuddering stop, and the doors creaked open. The DEC brought her out onto the factory floor.

The machine was even more formidable from the ground view. Nearly the size of a small house, it overshadowed most of the floor. A whistle blew, and the workers gathered their things and flooded out of the room. A few cast glances in her direction, but she saw no sympathy or hope of help there. Most of the glances were purely curious. A few were smirks.

Nicole eyed the men around her. They'd taken careful positions surrounding her, like they were protecting her. Odd. "Please let me go," she tried, gauging their reactions.

They acted like they hadn't heard her.

"I can't do what your employer wants me to do. You'll have to kill me." She watched even closer, scrutinizing their faces for a twinge of conscience or similar opening.

Nothing.

"Are you really prepared to kill a kid?" she tried.

One of them finally glanced her way. "Only if the guy who signs the paychecks says to."

She gave up and watched the last of the workers clear the room. These men were mercenaries, caring only about money. There would be no reasoning with them.

Heavy footsteps clanked on a metal walkway above, about halfway up the height of the machine. The Man in the dark suit appeared, looking down at her over the railing of a broad platform. If she craned her neck slightly, she could see some sort of control panel behind him.

"The scientific method is a matter of precision," he said. "If one method fails to achieve the desired results, then one must alter the approach. Find a new method. Try from another direction. It is the only way to uncover the correct path to the needed outcome."

Part of her wanted to ask if he planned on getting to his point anytime soon. The other part of her, though, felt a deepening sense of dread at his words. He'd already tried physical torture and the threat of death. What would he try next? She didn't really want to find out.

So she tried a different tactic. "What is this machine?"

"Shut up," one of the DEC beside her said.

"It's going to hold the barriers open once I open them," she said, watching The Man's face closely as she voiced the theory she feared the most.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before his usual control returned. "That's hardly relevant."

"It is relevant." The sense of dread thickened. "Do you know what will happen if it works? It will release a shockwave on a metaphysical plane, the kind that can tear matter apart on an atomic level. Millions of people will die."

A few of the DEC shot her uncomfortable glances. They apparently hadn't been briefed on the potential consequences. Either that, or the coalition itself didn't know what their meddling could unleash.

Another flicker passed The Man's eyes, one she couldn't quite identify. He exhaled. "Enough of your stalling tactics. We have work to do." He nodded to someone around the corner of the machine where Nicole couldn't see.

Two DEC marched onto the platform, leading a struggling figure between them.

Nicole caught a glimpse of short, unnaturally dark hair. Her stomach clenched in recognition. Drea? What was Drea doing here?

The DEC brought her to the front of the platform beside The Man in the dark suit. A purple bruise marred one of her cheeks, and dried blood crusted under her nose. A rag tied around her head gagged her. Furious eyes glared at her captors. She saw Nicole, and her eyes narrowed slightly before she went back to glaring.

"What's this?" The Man reached over and pulled the gag loose. "Hardly necessary."

Drea made a face and spat at him. "Let me go, you creep!"

Nicole's heart finally decided to restart, jumping into double time. "Let her go. She has no part in this."

"But she does." The Man placed a heavy, too-tight grip on Drea's shoulder. "Because if you don't cooperate, then I'm afraid I will have to kill her."

Nicole felt the blood evacuate her face. She felt light-headed as her heart pounded harder as if to make up for it. "Don't," was all she managed to say.

Drea spat at him again. "Don't give this dickweed anything," she yelled down to Nicole.

The Man's patient smile returned. "Open the barriers."

He was insane. Absolutely insane. Horror threatened to swallow Nicole up. He really would kill Drea if he thought it would get him what he wanted. She had to convince him that it wouldn't. "I won't. Not even for her." She hoped her statement sounded more convincing to his ears than it had been to her own.

"Very well." He caught Drea by the throat and yanked her against himself. She choked and clawed at his hand to no avail.

"Don't do this," Nicole said, fighting the rising panic inside of her, struggling to keep her voice level. "It won't change anything. You're committing murder for no reason."

"So be it."

Drea swung her fist backwards at him, flailing madly. He caught both of her hands in his free hand, trapping them tightly. Her face was turning blue.

"Let her go," Nicole cried, losing the fight for control. "Please, just let her go!"

"Open the barriers, and I will."

Drea shook her head fiercely, struggling, but her fight was growing weaker.

Nicole clenched her fists, focusing on the pain, trying to fight back her impulses. She couldn't open the barriers. So many people would die. Logically, there was no argument. She had to let him kill Drea.

But something deeper inside, something stronger than logic, captured her in a violent tremble. Tears streaked down her face. She couldn't sit here and watch him murder an innocent girl because of her.

"I'd hurry up if I were you," The Man said quietly.

Drea's eyes fluttered. She sagged against The Man, her struggles fading into weak twitches.

"Stop!" The word clawed its way from Nicole's throat. "I'll do it, just let her go!"

"Open them," The Man ordered. His grip didn't loosen.

Don't, a voice inside her shrieked. You can't. But it was drowned out by the note already resonating through her, thinning the barriers between dimensions, opening the gates.

The DEC around her tensed into fighting positions as the shadows around them thickened.

The Man smiled and grasped a piece of red plastic on the control panel behind him, turning it like a key. The building shook as the machine rumbled to life. He dropped Drea on the metal grating. She choked and coughed, curling in on herself as she gasped for air.

Nicole immediately slammed the gate shut, sending a mental apology to the unprepared srye who were flung back into their own dimension.

The machine rattled, the ground shaking harder as its movements grew more intense.

Nicole stared at it, her breathing shallow with fear. Had she been too slow? Had it achieved its desired effect? No, it couldn't be. She could feel the solid barriers, shut tight as normal. The machine had failed.

The Man yanked Drea upright, his eyes narrowed in cool displeasure at Nicole. Drea hung from his arm, still coughing weakly.

"Let her go," Nicole said. She knew he wouldn't, but she couldn't stop herself from trying.

"The scientific method is a matter of precision," The Man said.

"Please," Nicole begged. He was going to kill Drea, this time for real.

"When one method fails, a new one must be tried."

At that moment, Drea exploded in movement, tearing free of The Man's grip. She grabbed a discarded tool from the grating and threw it into the machine.

The Man seized her, eyes dark. His other hand reached for her throat.

A painful screeching sound came from inside the machine, and the entire thing shuddered all the more violently. Nicole clutched the arms of the wheelchair as it rattled and bounced beneath her.

The Man barked out an order, hauling Drea back along the walkway. The DEC on the platform with him scrambled to the control panel in a frenzy.

Deafening thunder rolled through the room to join the quaking. Nicole winced and tried to cover her ears. Someone shouted something.

Blue lightening danced across the machine's surface. A heavy metal strut flew across the room, then another. The DEC around Nicole cringed. A couple of them bolted for the nearest exit.

The lightening intensified, and the lights blew out, plunging the room into darkness. A sound like a helicopter propeller starting up was barely audible above the thunder, the clanging, the screeching, but it grew in intensity, threatening an oncoming disaster. The rest of the DEC fled. One of them grabbed the handle of her chair almost as an afterthought, dragging the chair awkwardly behind him.

Nicole clutched the chair's arms, searching the ink around her for some sign of Drea. Then it clicked. The machine was broken. Not working.

She found the note and gave it life, pushing harder than before. She couldn't see the change in shadows in the pitch-black room, but she knew the gates were open. The chair stopped moving as the DEC pulling her went tumbling across the floor. The cuff snapped off her wrist, then hands were lifting her, carrying her.

"Drea!" she called. She grasped at the hands around her. "My friend was captured, too. You have to find her."

Doors flew open ahead of her into a dim hallway, faintly lit by evening light angling in from a few windows at the other end. The space was filled with DEC. To her relief, none seemed interested in her, focused instead on the exits. The ground shook so violently that they all lost their footing. Even the srye wobbled and had to stop, clutching the walls to keep from dropping.

A thunderous roar came from the other room, and a rush of air blasted through the doors as the tool finished wreaking its havoc. The ensuing silence seemed to carve its way into Nicole's ears, so thick and heavy she wondered for a moment if she'd gone deaf.

Another door further down the hallway flew open, its squeal proving that she was still able to hear. The Man appeared, still dragging Drea with him. His eyes narrowed at Nicole. "Stop her."

The DEC regained their feet, seeing her and her srye for the first time. The srye faced them, ready.

Nicole glanced back at Drea, feeling a sharp pang of fear for the girl in the madman's hands.

The door beside The Man flew open once more, and a flood of srye rushed him. He let out a shout, triggering the DEC to attack. The hallway came to life in a sudden, violent clash that seemed to shake the air as harshly as the machine had moments before.

The srye holding Nicole quickly set her down and joined the fray even as the doors open and more people rushed in, the workers that had evacuated the room minutes before, shouting and waving weapons as they charged the shadowy figures defending their prey.

Nicole clung to the wall, trying to stay low, out of sight. One of the DEC grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away. She twisted her arm free and lashed out with her other arm, catching him squarely in the solar plexus. He doubled over and dropped, gasping.

Someone caught her other arm. She spun, but Drea was already pulling her up, wrapping an arm around her for support. "Move!"

Instinct and training told her not to leave the protection of her srye, but she saw the struggle around her and knew her defenders were outnumbered. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated and she was recaptured—unless she escaped before her srye could be defeated.

Drea dragged her back into the factory floor. The front face of the machine slumped as if a giant club had smashed it in, the joints that had once been held together to keep it upright shattered in the chaos. They picked their way through the debris littering the floor.

"How did you know that would destroy the machine?" Nicole asked, struggling to keep up with the other girl.

"I didn't. I just hoped it would cause enough chaos that they wouldn't notice I'd stolen the key."

Nicole looked at the other girl, surprised.

Drea shot her something that almost looked like a grin before returning her attention ahead. "Come on, keep moving."

The doors at the other end of the room flew open. Drea yanked Nicole behind a mass of overturned boxes as more DEC streamed in, rushing toward the fighting in the hallway.

Nicole closed her eyes, feeling the barriers. Her srye still held strong. For now.

The last of the reinforcements vanished into the hallway. Drea started to rise.

Nicole spotted a blur of red ahead. She caught Drea's arm and kept her down. "Shh."

Drea raised her eyebrow and started to speak, but then the doors opened again and another handful of people darted past.

"Woah," Drea said, pulling Nicole to her feet once they were gone. "How'd you know they were coming?"

"We'd better hurry while the way's clear," Nicole said. There wasn't much point in hiding any longer after what Drea had already seen, but habit kept her from saying, _because I can see a broader light spectrum than your human eyes can_.

They hurried into the next hallway, watching for any indication of an exit out of the building.

"This way," Drea said, pulling her down a side hall.

Nicole stumbled. It drained on her, being so far from the gate she'd opened. And so many srye passing through, new ones pouring in to replace their fallen comrades, doing everything they could to keep the DEC busy and give her the chance to escape. She wouldn't be able to keep it open much longer. Though DEC's continuing stream of reinforcements suggested it wouldn't be an issue for long, anyway. They had to get out of there, fast.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway ahead of them. They ducked into another side hall, pressing flat into a doorway as more DEC ran past.

Another shout came, closer than the distant ruckus of the battle waging inside the building. Nicole froze, perking her ears to distinguish it more clearly. It wasn't a shout of alarm or a battle cry. It sounded like a cry for help.

"We have to go," Drea said, tugging on her.

Nicole resisted. "There's someone else here."

"I'm sure there is. That's why we gotta get out of here."

"No, it's someone who needs help." Nicole pushed away and tried to pull herself along the wall. Her legs wouldn't hold.

Drea caught her and pulled her back to her feet, sighing in exasperation. "Come on." She headed down the hall with Nicole.

The shouts became clearer as they drew closer. "Hello? Let me out of here! You can't hold me here. I know my rights!" A boy's voice, youthful. Almost familiar.

"Hey, doesn't that guy go to our school?" Drea asked.

Nicole drew in a sharp breath. "Aaron?"

"Nicole? Hey, get me out of here!" A thudding sound came from a nearby door.

Nicole grabbed for the doorknob. It rattled in her hand, locked.

"Hang on," Drea said, helping her lean against the opposite wall. The girl knocked on the wall beside the door, then kicked, her foot breaking through the drywall. She reached inside the hole, and then the door swung open.

"Thank you," Nicole said, staring in wonder.

Drea grinned for real this time. "Saw it in a movie. I love Bruce Willis."

Aaron stepped into the hallway, staring at both of them with wide eyes. "What in the world is going on here? I went to the police to get help, and suddenly these guys showed up and hauled me off. I've been locked in this room for almost a day."

"No time," Drea barked, hauling Nicole to her side again. "We gotta get out of here."

Voices echoed down the hall. "Check this way. She can't have gotten far."

Nicole's chest tightened. They were already searching for her.

"Move!" Drea hissed. She pulled Nicole the opposite direction down the hallway, Aaron right behind them.

The world bobbed around Nicole. It was getting harder to keep her feet moving in the correct order.

"What's wrong with you?" Drea demanded. She gave Nicole an impatient tug.

"Here," Aaron said, sliding under Nicole's other arm. "We'll move faster if we're both helping."

Nicole clung to both of them as they jogged down the hall, her feet barely skimming the floor. Gratitude for their help mingled with a heavy sense of guilt and dread. She'd gotten two innocent humans tied up in this mess. The Man had nearly killed Drea, and if he had, Aaron would likely have been next. And Aaron, the boy who had been so kind from the first moment they'd met, didn't even know she was anything but an ordinary human. He probably thought she was struggling just because of her weak legs and asthma. She would have to tell them the truth of who she was, the reason she'd put both of their lives in danger.

Drea said something, and they ducked into a small room, hiding in silence as footsteps passed.

Nicole felt another wave of srye pass through the gate, draining away more of her strength.

Drea nudged her. "Did you hear me? Is it clear or what?"

Nicole looked at the closed door. No red blurs. "Clear."

They darted back into the hall and continued on.

"There," Aaron said, pointing at a green glow lighting a side passage. Sure enough, a wide door sat at the end of a short hall, the word EXIT set into a sign above it.

They hurried through the door into a bare expanse of concrete. City sounds echoed from just a few blocks away, but there was nothing but warehouses lining the street here.

"This way." Drea headed toward the city noises. "And fast. If they start looking outside the building, we'll be in plain view."

Nicole tried to get her feet to work, to help propel them further, but they wouldn't cooperate.

Buildings melted past around her as her energy stretched to breaking point, still tied up back inside the compound where the gate still hung open, where the srye still battled to give her a clear escape. She fought to keep her vision clear. Her grip on her friends weakened.

"Hang on a second," Aaron called, slowing to a stop. He carefully settled her on her feet, watching her face. "What's wrong?"

She looked back. They'd made it a few blocks. Far enough for a solid escape. And she couldn't hold on any longer, anyway. She released the energy, closing the gate.

The last of her strength vanished with it. Aaron and Drea weren't braced for her sudden collapse and lost their grips on her. She landed hard on her hands and knees, coughing a red mist on the sidewalk.

"Hey!" Aaron crouched beside her, clutching her shoulder. "Nicole? What happened?"

"I'm fine," she said. Her voice trembled in a thin whisper. She closed her eyes. "I'm all right. I just need rest, that's all. Just rest."

She opened her eyes and blinked, disoriented. The world had changed in the space of a moment, city sounds replaced by quiet thumping. She'd been on her hands and knees, but now she was sitting up against something hard and cold.

She shifted her weight and felt a low groan rise as her muscles reminded her of the abuse she'd endured. Her leg and shoulder throbbed from the previous night's injuries, aggravated by everything that had happened today. Before the groan could fully voice itself, though, a hand clamped over her mouth. She tensed, adrenaline shooting through her in preparation to face the new threat.

Chapter 11

Aaron shook his head and pressed a finger over his lips, his other hand still covering her mouth.

Nicole exhaled slowly, the adrenaline ebbing, but only slightly. The hand wasn't a threat, but something here was. She saw it in his pale face and wide eyes.

She gave him a small nod, and he lowered his hand. She looked around, trying to get her bearings. They sat on a rough and pocked floor littered with deteriorating papers and refuse and vile odors. The wall she leaned against was probably white once upon a time, but not for many decades now. If she had to guess, this was probably an office in a warehouse that had been abandoned long ago.

They hid in the corner, a large, upturned desk hiding them from most of the room. A few broken cardboard boxes and garbage bags covered their exposed side. A few planks that had once sealed a nearby window had fallen down, resting crosswise against the desk and providing some cover from above.

What held her attention the most, though, were the red blurs moving swiftly through the building around them. The quiet thudding sound was footsteps mixed with murmuring voices.

The full burst of adrenaline returned to its former sharpness. She tensed, watching as a handful of red blobs drew nearer. Her eyes searched the area, seeking out anything she could use as a weapon. Her gaze fell on a long metal pipe, probably once part of the plumbing system in the building. It lay at a broken angle, half-buried under a mass of garbage.

Louder footsteps tore her attention back to the approaching blobs. They paused in the doorway, then stepped into the room.

"Alpha team already cleared this level," one said, apparently trying to keep his voice muted but failing miserably. "Let's go."

"Are there any other exits from here? A closet?" The other one turned slowly in place.

Nicole eyed the pipe again and inched her fingers closer. If they were discovered, she had to be ready to grab it and start swinging. She wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious, but it had only been long enough to recover some of her strength. She was still too weak to call for help again. They were on their own.

"We need to check in at base level," the first speaker pressed.

Nicole inched closer to the pipe again. A board creaked under her weight.

Aaron gripped her arm, shaking his head frantically.

At that moment, another creak sounded just above them. She glanced up and watched a red blur cross the floor in the room one story up.

The second searcher grunted. "Don't know how they expect us to find anything in this rathole." The two blurs turned and faded down the hallway.

Nicole exhaled and relaxed. She waited until all the blurs were far enough away for her to risk making noise, then leaned over to pull the pipe free.

Aaron squeezed her arm again in warning as the boards creaked beneath her once more.

"It's okay," she whispered. "None of them are close enough to hear."

"There's others. They're all over the building," he whispered back. "We can't risk it."

She shook her head. "I can tell where they are. We're safe for now." 'For now' being the key phrase. She scooted closer to the garbage and tugged on the pipe until it slid clear. It proved solid enough to replace her cane, perhaps a bit long for the job, but functional nonetheless.

Aaron withdrew his hand. "How can you know?" he whispered, eyes wide.

"She can see through walls." Drea's voice came out low, almost quieter than Aaron's whisper.

His eyes widened a bit farther.

Nicole clutched the pipe with both hands, dread seeping through her bones. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to be having this conversation. She didn't even know how to say it. Her srye had counted on her blending in with the humans, not on her having to explain herself.

Drea's fingernail jabbed into her arm. "You aren't going to pass out again, are you?"

"No." She opened her eyes, still grasping for words and failing.

"We need to get her to a hospital," Aaron said.

She shook her head again. "I'm just... worn out."

"Besides, would they even know how to treat you if we did?" Drea eyed her as if trying to sort out something alien.

Which she was, in a technical sense of the word. If only Drea hadn't been there, hadn't seen the barriers open...

She'd been too worried about escaping before to dwell on questions about Drea's presence in the warehouse, but now they sprang to life and clamored for attention in her mind. "How did those people capture on you?"

Drea's eyes narrowed briefly, then she leaned back against the wall. "I followed you when you took off. I saw them attack you on the bridge and figured there was some serious crazy going down. So I snagged a pic of their license and tracked it back to that warehouse. I was checking the place out when they found me. They were starting to call the police, but one of them looked through my wallet, and he said not to. They took me inside instead."

Nicole nodded, her mind already putting together the rest. "They had my home address—they got it from the school, I think—so when your ID showed the same address, they knew you were connected to me." She looked away, burdened by a fresh load of guilt. "I'm sorry. I should have been more careful instead of letting you two end up involved and in danger."

"Those punks are the ones that dragged us into this, not you. But you're changing the subject." Drea scooted her position to face Nicole more squarely. "What exactly is going on here?"

Drea had seen too much for Nicole to get away with vagueness. She gave up on attempting subtlety and plunged straight in. "I'm not from this dimension."

Four raised eyebrows answered her declaration.

"This... dimension?" Aaron asked. His tone and expression suggested he was looking for a straightjacket.

"The full explanation is a bit technical. The main thing is, I'm from a higher dimension. That's why my legs and lungs don't work quite right."

"And why you can see through walls," Drea supplied.

"I can see a higher spectrum of light. I can't see through walls, but I can see heat sources, like the heat given off by humans."

"Infrared?" Aaron asked.

She nodded.

"So how many of you are there, running around in our dimension?" Drea asked. "Is this an invasion thing?"

"I'm the only one who can pass between the dimensions."

Drea scoffed. "So what were all those shadow dudes? Swamp gas?"

Nicole had the feeling there was a specific reference there she wasn't getting. She discarded it and focused on the main point. "I can open up the barriers between dimensions to allow a sort of partial travel into this dimension. Those people you saw were my srye—my bodyguards."

"So you could zap us into another dimension anytime you want," Drea said.

"No. It's tricky enough translating a more complex being into a simpler form. To try to force a simpler being into a more complex form... It would destroy you."

Drea opened her mouth again, but Nicole caught a glimpse of growing red behind her. She put her finger to her lips and gave a sharp shake of her head. Drea slouched, shrinking tighter against the desk to stay out of view.

The DEC were moving slower this time, quieter. Their footsteps barely made a sound. The red paused outside the door, lingered for a moment, then moved on.

Nicole let out her breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it. She kept her voice quiet, still watching the slow but distant movements of red around them. "They're sweeping the building again. We need to move before they start looking any closer."

She looked at them and saw a few too many questions still on their faces. She took a deep breath and summed it up as best as she could. "They want me to open the barriers so their machine can hold them open. I'm not sure what they think they'll accomplish by doing so, but millions of people will die in both dimensions. I can't let that happen. So I need to get as far away from here as possible. If I can get to another city, I could use the bus system to get far enough away that they won't be able to track me, at least not for some time. It sounds like they're operating on a deadline, so I may be able to avoid capture until time runs out. And you'll be safe then, too—there'd be no point in threatening you if they can't find me."

The two teens stared at her.

She'd gone too far. They saw her as an alien now, a freak of nature for dissection rather than a sentient being in need of their help.

"I guess we could hotwire a car or something," Drea said.

"Yeah, that would work." Aaron glanced at her. "You know how to hotwire cars?"

"Oh. I figured you did. Don't all guys know that kind of car stuff?"

He shook his head, then paused. "My older brother has a car and doesn't ask a lot of questions. I bet he'd help us get out of here. We just have to get over to his place."

Relief overwhelmed the fear so potently that Nicole almost collapsed against the wall. "Thank you."

"So that machine thing is really going to kill millions of people?" Drea asked.

Nicole nodded.

Drea gave her a fierce glare. "Then you have to promise me something. If they get us again, and they say they're going to kill me, let them. I don't want that many people dying because of me."

Nausea twisted Nicole's stomach. Protests sprang to her mouth.

"I'm serious. Look, despite the goth look, I don't really have a death wish or anything. But a choice between me or millions of people is kind of a no-brainer. Don't give them what they want, no matter what they do to me. Swear it."

"Same here," Aaron said. "I don't want to live knowing that tons of people died because of me."

"Swear it," Drea pressed.

Nicole sighed. "I swear."

Drea nodded, satisfied, then craned her neck to peer above the desk. "Are we clear?"

Nicole took a look around. It appeared that most of the DEC had moved on to the next level up. "Let's move."

Her body ached, but once Aaron helped her to her feet, she was able to use the pipe to help her walk steadily enough without needing any further aid. She led the way through the unfamiliar hallways, using the red blurs as a guide. Wherever the red blurs were, they went the opposite direction, all the time looking for some sort of stairway.

Drea tugged at Nicole's arm and pointed to the window they were passing. Some sort of metal framework rested outside the shattered glass. A fire escape.

Aaron nodded and took the lead, laying his coat over the remaining jagged shards of glass and climbing out first, then turning to help the other two out. As Nicole stepped onto the metal grating, it groaned under the added weight. They froze. Nicole turned and checked the red blurs.

The blurs had stopped moving.

Nicole kept her eyes on them, motioning for Aaron to climb down first, quietly. He tried to keep quiet while moving quickly, but the aged metal rattled as he descended. Thankfully, they only had one level to climb down. The blurs resumed their search before he reached the bottom, but seemed to be moving slower than before. Listening, most likely.

Once Aaron reached the bottom of the stairs, Nicole turned to give Drea a hand.

"I'm fine," Drea whispered, waving her on. "One at a time will be quieter."

Wise, Nicole realized, especially with all the noise she would inevitably make. She was either going to have to lean on the fire escape's handrails or on her pipe. Either way, she'd be making a lot more noise than Aaron had.

"Toss me the pipe," Aaron stage-whispered from below.

She leaned it over the edge of the rail, lowering it as far as she could before she dropped it. He caught it before it thudded on the ground.

Nicole gave the blurs another check. Most were on the higher or lower level, but some on this level walked faster than the others. Heading toward this hallway.

"They're coming," she hissed, beckoning Drea. "Hurry."

Drea climbed out with no further prompting, grabbed Aaron's jacket, and hurried to follow Nicole down the steps. They still tried to keep somewhat quiet, but not enough to sacrifice speed. The key thing now was to get clear of the building before DEC could reach the fire escape.

Aaron handed Nicole her pipe and accepted his jacket from Drea. "This way."

They hurried down the alley between the warehouse and an adjoining one that looked in somewhat better shape, possibly still in use. They reached the end of the buildings and ducked around the side, taking a moment to catch their breath.

Nicole glanced back around the corner. The DEC had reached the fire escape. She turned her eyes forward again, searching for the nearest hiding place. Aside from the buildings behind them, a majority of the area was bare pavement, most likely once home to all manner of storage crates or trucks, but now deserted. She turned toward the city and spotted another building just a bit further down. Numerous cars filled the parking lot.

She hesitated. If they went there, would she only end up putting more people in danger? Or would being surrounded by witnesses slow DEC down?

"There," Drea said, pointing to the building. "Let's go." She and Aaron started off.

Nicole followed, pushing herself a bit faster now. If they made it into the building before DEC was able to spot them, then the question would be moot. They could get through the building and escape out the other side with DEC none the wiser.

She focused on her feet and her breathing, trying not to let the fears invade. Any moment she would hear the shout, the running feet coming after them. Or perhaps screeching tires. Any moment.

"Come on," Aaron said, holding the building's door open.

Nicole blinked. She'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized they'd reached the building. She looked back over her shoulder.

The red blurs emerged from between the two warehouses.

She spun back around and ducked into the building, Drea at her side. Aaron quickly followed, pulling the door shut behind him. The doors opened into a wide lobby with a single hallway extending back through the center of the building.

A receptionist at a desk glanced up, her eyebrow raised. "Can I... help you?"

Nicole saw a window a few steps away and hurried to it to peer out. "Did they see us?"

Aaron caught her arm and redirected her to the hallway. "They're coming. We have to go."

"I can't let you back there without an appointment," the receptionist said. "And shouldn't you be in school?"

They ignored her, hustling past into the hallway.

"Hey!" she called after them, but they didn't bother looking back.

The hallway dead-ended on a T-shaped intersection. Nicole looked one way, then the other. "Which way do we go?"

"Aaron?" a girl's voice asked.

They turned to see Ruby approaching down the hallway. She slowed at the sight of Drea and stopped when she spotted Nicole. Her lip started to lift in its familiar sneer, but stopped, apparently taking in the dried blood on Drea's face and the trio's ragged appearance. Disgust wrinkled her nose. "What happened to you?"

"We need to get out of here," Nicole said. "Is there a back exit?"

"I wasn't talking to you." Ruby turned to Aaron. "See what happens when you hang out with freaks? Come on. My father is in a meeting just around the corner. You can wait with me."

He shook his head. "We need an exit, now."

She scowled. "You really want to run around with that reject instead of hanging out with me?"

"This is serious, Ruby." He pushed past her and started down the hallway to the left, checking down side halls as he went. Drea and Nicole stayed close behind him.

Ruby trailed after them. "Are you guys running from the cops? Because I'd be an accessory if I didn't report you."

"It's not the cops. Some guys want to hurt her," Aaron said, still focused on searching for an exit.

"Who wouldn't?" Ruby muttered under her breath. She rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. "If you're so determined to stick with the creep queens, there's an exit off the stairwell. Take a right at the next hallway and go to the end."

Nicole looked back at the girl, surprised at the help. "Thank you."

"I'm not doing it for you. If those guys catch you in here and cause a big racket, it'll interrupt my father's business meeting." She examined her fingernails. "He hates being interrupted."

Aaron looked like he might say something, but Drea pushed him and Nicole forward to the next hall.

There had been so many blurs of red filling the building that Nicole didn't see the mass of red in the hallway until it was nearly too late. "Hurry, they're coming!"

They sped up just as DEC poured in.

Ruby rolled her eyes again. "Great." She faced the DEC and waved toward Nicole. "There she is. Just keep it down, will you?"

One of the DEC eyed Ruby. "Take them all."

The DEC surged forward. One grabbed Ruby.

"Hey! What are you doing? Let me go!" she demanded.

Nicole swung her pipe, knocking the man back. Aaron pulled Ruby along with him as he darted toward the exit, Drea helping Nicole behind them.

"Are they insane? That was assault! They can't do that to me!" Ruby fussed as they ran down the hall, DEC close behind them. They pushed through the doors into the stairwell, then through the emergency exit out the side of the building.

A massive semicircle of DEC waited there.

Nicole's legs tried to give out, but she forced herself to stay upright. Sought out the note.

It wouldn't come. She still didn't have enough strength to open the barriers.

Hands grabbed her, yanked the pipe from her hands, tore her away from Drea.

"Hey!" Drea barked, but other DEC already grabbed her. Aaron swung at one, but was quickly overwhelmed.

"I have nothing to do with this," Ruby said, her tone clipped and indignant. "I'm not with these people. Let me go, and I won't bring any legal consequences against you for your actions."

A rumble of laughter passed through the DEC. One reached for her arm.

She pulled back, eyes flashing. "I'm warning you, my father is a lawyer. He will take you for every last penny you've got."

The laughter grew. Two men seized her and dragged her, struggling and screaming, to the waiting van. Drea tumbled in after her, then Aaron. The door slid shut, and the van took off.

Nicole stared after it, terror clawing at her throat. "Where are you taking them?"

"Same place you're going." A second van pulled up, the door sliding open to accept her. The DEC shoved her inside, piling in behind her. "But if you try anything fancy, they won't get there in one piece."

She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling ill. Was there no limit to how low these people would sink?

The drive was short, and the van door opened once more at the warehouse. The DEC piled out, surrounding her again. Two of them half-carried, half-dragged her into the building, providing no chair or cane for her to support herself with and leaving her reliant on them to keep her upright. They wove through a few hallways, then entered the massive factory floor.

Nicole gasped, staring at the massive machine. It was as if nothing had happened. Nothing at all. Her mouth worked, searching for questions, words that wouldn't come. "How..."

A portly man with thinning hair stood on the higher platform, gloating down at her. "You really thought that with something this important, we wouldn't have any backup plan?"

She recognized the voice. The boss, the one The Man had spoken to when they thought she was unconscious.

He looked back at the machine with obvious pride. "Obviously there were some materials too rare to replicate. Fortunately, your friend's efforts failed to cause any real damage to any of those materials. It was a simple matter to transfer them to the secondary machine."

It clicked. They weren't in the same warehouse as before. It looked the same and had the same basic layout, but this was one of the adjacent warehouses, one where they had built a second machine in case something happened to the first one. Her stomach sank. She'd hoped to that the destruction of the machine would mean the end of DEC's efforts. She'd been wrong.

A shrill voice called her attention to the upper walkway. The Man in the dark suit strode around the corner toward the control platform, followed by several DEC dragging Aaron, Drea, and a vehemently protesting Ruby.

"Every last one of you is going to jail! You'll never see daylight again!" she shrieked as the group came to a stop on the platform, The Man in the dark suit standing beside the boss with the three teens lined up along the railing, held securely by DEC.

The Man sighed, clearly unimpressed. "Shut up."

She glared fiercely at him. "My father—"

He backhanded her across the face.

"Leave her alone," Nicole cried. "She's just frightened."

"How dare you!" Ruby screamed, face turning purple with fury. "That's assault! My father will see to it that you—"

The Man grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the railing.

Ruby crumpled, gasping and sobbing. She didn't say anything further as a couple DEC pulled her back to her feet, blood trickling down her hairline.

"Let them go," Nicole tried again. "It's not going to do you any good, anyway. I can't open the barriers so soon after holding them open like that."

"We shall see," The Man said. He reached for Ruby again, his eyes on Nicole's face.

"It's the truth," Nicole pressed. "Keeping the barriers open drains me. I have to rest before I can open them again."

"Is that so." He lowered his hand and walked over to Drea, reaching for her instead, still watching Nicole.

"Please, I'm telling the truth. I even tried it already, before we were recaptured, but I couldn't. I simply can't."

He pulled the red key out of Drea's pocket. "Thank you for returning this." With that, he stepped around her and reached for Aaron.

Nicole felt an abrupt jolt of fear. "I swear, I can't. It won't work. You can threaten them as much as you want, but it won't happen if I don't have the strength for it."

His lips curled in a faint smile. "We have a winner." He lashed out, punching Aaron in the side with a vicious strike. Aaron grunted in pain and folded into the blow, but the DEC yanked him back upright, keeping his arms immobilized.

"Stop!" Nicole cried.

"Open the barriers."

"I told you, I can't!"

He punched again, this time hitting Aaron's jaw. A painful crack echoed through the space.

"Stop it," Ruby wailed. "Don't hurt him!"

The Man lashed out at Aaron's face again. Aaron sagged against the men holding him.

"I can't open them. I would, but I can't," Nicole shouted.

"Then he's of no use to me." The Man drew his gun.

Nicole's breath caught. "No. Please, don't. I swear, I'm telling the truth."

The Man leveled his gun at Aaron's head.

Nicole's throat found the note, tried to give it life. But it wouldn't resonate. She tried again, desperate to stop the madness above her.

Aaron looked at her through bleary, pain-dulled eyes. He shook his head. Then she remembered. She'd promised.

Something inside her rebelled in panic. She couldn't let an innocent boy die. He'd done nothing but help her. She couldn't let him die when she could do something to save his life.

But she had to. She forced the note away. Tears slipped free of her eyes as she looked down. Her arms shook at the effort to keep her desires at bay, but she held firm against them. No. She had to stay silent. She had to let them die.

"Get on with it," the boss said, his tone impatient.

The boss. The Man hadn't been willing to listen to reason, but he was simply a man hired to do a job. She'd been trying to reason with the wrong person.

"Listen to me," she said, looking up at the boss. "You don't understand what will happen if you activate this machine. It'll tear reality apart. Millions will die on both sides of the gate. I don't know what you hope to accomplish, but all you'll do is bring death to your world and mine."

The boss laughed and waved a dismissive hand. "Science has never cowered in the face of sacrifice. Besides, the area around the gate itself will be unaffected. The eye of the storm, so to speak. We'll be perfectly safe in here." He glowered down at her. "Now, open the barriers or watch your friends die."

Hope shattered to the floor. Not only did the boss already know the consequences, but he didn't care. "Why? What could you possibly gain from this that would be worth the death of so many people?"

"I said, open the barriers," he repeated, his voice cool. He gestured toward The Man.

The Man still held the gun on Aaron, but he was looking at the boss. If Nicole hadn't known better, she'd have sworn he looked almost ruffled, disturbed.

"I believed she was bluffing when she said that before. It's true?" he asked, his calm voice carrying a faint edge.

"That's not your concern," the boss replied.

"How many will die?"

The boss' scowl grew. "I said, it's not your concern. I hired you to do a job. So do it. Kill the boy and move on to the next one."

The Man eyed the boss a moment longer, then turned back to Aaron, adjusting his aim on the teen's forehead.

"Please," Nicole said. She thought she was shouting it, but all she heard was a faint whisper. The tears came again, helplessness, frustration, desperation all rolled into one and pouring out in liquid over her cheeks.

"You can't do this," Ruby wailed. "Don't kill him!"

Two gunshots split the air. Ruby screamed.

Chapter 12

Nicole gasped and cringed, a fresh wave of tears spilling over her cheeks, horror numbing her system, the sounds around her muted by the painful shots. She had caused this. Aaron was dead, and it was all her fault.

The men holding her had gone suddenly rigid. A cry of alarm cut into thickness that stuffed her ears. Something was wrong.

She looked up at the platform. Aaron knelt at the railing, one hand on the bar to keep from falling over. The DEC that held him both lay on the metal grating, blood dripping to the floor beneath them.

"What are you doing?" The boss stared at The Man's gun, now leveled at him. His trembling face had turned bright red. "Are you insane?"

"You violated the terms of our contract. I was hired to capture and gain compliance from an other-dimensional being for a scientific endeavor. I was not hired to participate in the murder of millions of people."

The boss' face twisted in rage. "Stop him!"

One of the DEC holding Drea lunged at The Man just as he fired. The boss fell, clutching his shoulder and screeching.

Pandemonium erupted on the platform as the DEC charged The Man. Drea scrambled to Aaron and pulled him to his feet, hauling him toward the side walkway. She hesitated as she passed Ruby, then grabbed the girl's arm and yanked her along behind them.

Nicole twisted free of one man's grip. He shouted, alerting the others.

She jerked her head up toward the platform. "The guy who signs the paychecks is bleeding to death."

They paused.

She took full advantage of the moment, tearing herself free. Her legs gave out, depositing her on the floor, and she scrambled along at the fastest crawl she could manage toward the nearby stack of boxes, eyes searching for something, anything she could use.

"Hey!" Footsteps pounded behind her.

She spotted a toolbag just as a hand caught her arm. She lunged, her free hand closing around a handle. Spinning, she swung the tool with all her might. The heavy end of a wrench hit the man's elbow with a stomach-twisting crunch, and the whole arm seemed to turn in an unnatural direction. He screamed and dropped.

Another man swore, slowing down his approach. But he was close enough. She swung again in a mad frenzy, catching the side of his knee. His fall was quieter but no less incapacitating.

The others backed off, glancing at each other for any hints of a strategy.

One of the DEC drew a gun and leveled it at her. "Drop it, kid."

She clutched the wrench handle tightly, feeling a surge of manic desperation. Let them kill her. Then they couldn't unleash death on two worlds. And her friends would be safe. Win-win.

Drea landed on the DEC's back with a wild scream, grabbing his wrist and pulling upwards hard. He yelled as he tumbled forward.

Ruby skittered around and tore the gun from his hands, then jumped back to Nicole's side, clutching it with two shaking hands and pointing it at the men. "Back off!"

One of the men took a step forward.

Ruby screamed. The gun exploded in her hand, and the man fell, clutching his thigh.

Ruby winced and twitched her head in pain, lifting one hand to rub at her ears.

"Are you nuts?" Drea demanded. She scrambled up, not bothering to be careful of where she stepped on the man she'd tackled, and took the gun, pushing Ruby aside. She aimed it at the remaining men with much steadier hands. "Get out of here, or I'm giving this back to her."

The DEC spun and ran.

Nicole spotted a discarded pole just past the toolbag and used it to pull herself to her feet. "Thanks."

Ruby glared at her. "Don't think my father won't sue you just because you're a kid. It's your fault I almost got killed."

"Get over yourself," Drea said, stepping past her. Aaron sat on one of the boxes in the pile, holding his side. Drea helped him to his feet and supported his weight. "Let's go."

Ruby scowled, but obediently followed to the nearest exit.

The door burst open before they reached it, a handful of DEC charging in.

Drea lifted the gun before the men could react. "Get out of our way."

The men paused, sizing up the situation.

Another gunshot tore the air, and one of them fell, blood spraying from his head.

Nicole winced, but this one deafened her less than the previous ones, as if her ears were getting used to the assault.

Ruby gasped. "What's wrong with you?"

Drea looked as pale as Ruby. "That wasn't me."

The Man in the dark suit brushed past Nicole, gun still outstretched. "Step aside."

The DEC turned pale. "You're supposed to be on our side!" one protested.

The Man shot him. "Anyone else?"

A few of the men bolted, followed quickly by the rest.

The Man pulled the door open and fired a shot behind them. One of the DEC hollered in pain as he fell. "Through here."

Drea hesitated, but shouts from more oncoming DEC made the decision for them. They hurried through the door.

The Man fired a few more shots, then followed them in. "Hurry. This way." He started down the hallway to the left.

Drea pointed her gun at him. "Why should we go anywhere with you? You really think we're going to trust you after everything you did to us?"

The Man looked back, clearly neither concerned nor impressed. He gestured to the opposite hallway. "Very well. If you wish to go the direction from which most of the reinforcements will be coming, by all means, go that way. But I have no interest in being captured and killed, so I will be proceeding to the closest unguarded exit." With that, he turned and resumed his path to the left.

Drea looked back at Nicole, uncertainty on her face.

Nicole wasn't entirely sure what to make of The Man's actions, but there wasn't time to sit down and sort it all out. He'd shot the head of DEC, and that was good enough for her right now. She set out after The Man. "Let's go."

"But he's the guy that hit me," Ruby protested, rubbing at her forehead.

"And he almost killed me," Drea said. She adjusted her grip on the gun. "If he so much as twitches out of line, I'm taking him out." She glanced back at Ruby. "Stay put and whine until those guys catch you again, or follow us and find the way out. I really don't care either way."

Nicole glanced back.

Ruby didn't move for a moment, then stomped her foot and hurried to catch up with them.

The Man led them to the end of the hallway, then to the right. "We should be able to—"

Nicole saw a mass of red ahead and pointed. "They're coming!"

The Man quickly changed directions, ducking into a side hall. He swore. "There's no way out from here." He grabbed a door and jiggled the knob. Locked.

Nicole tried the only other door in the short hall and found it similarly locked. "Drea?"

Drea helped Aaron lean against the wall, then turned to kick in the drywall.

DEC poured around the corner, trapping them.

"Stand down," one said, glaring at The Man.

He answered by firing in rapid succession, dropping one after another. These DEC were braver than the others, however, and responded by charging forward in a mad rush.

Drea grabbed Aaron and pulled him back away from the attackers. Ruby screamed and cowered, bringing her arms up in an ineffective attempt to protect herself as a DEC swung at her.

The Man caught the attacker's arm and sent him flying back.

Nicole braced herself against the wall and raised her pole, jabbing it wildly at any DEC that dared to get near. The teens quickly worked to her side, finding shelter in the limited protection she offered.

Someone caught the pole and tore it from Nicole's hands. A DEC grabbed her arm. She twisted free, giving him a palm strike to the face at the same time. She felt his nose break under her hand. He reeled back, howling.

"Get back!" Drea shouted, lifting her gun.

A DEC caught her wrist from the side and twisted the gun out of her grip. He turned it on her, cocking it.

The Man in the dark suit shoved into her, knocking her aside as the gun bucked. He fell back against the wall, blood spurting from his abdomen.

The DEC slowed their attack. The primary threat had just been eliminated.

Nicole stared in mute horror, ears pounding. There was no escape. And now they were all going to die, just like he had. First the other teens in an attempt to force her to open the barriers, and then her when she refused to give them what they wanted.

The Man drew in a steady breath. He removed a fist-sized object from his jacket, pulled out a thin metal rod, and tossed the rod aside. He thrust his fist into the air, showing off the grenade he clutched.

The DEC froze. Backed up a couple steps.

The Man struggled his way upright and took a shaky step forward.

The DEC backed up further.

"Come on," The Man rasped without looking back.

Drea shoved Ruby onward and helped Aaron and Nicole. Nicole spotted the pole discarded on the ground. She grabbed it to lean on once more.

None of them spoke as they followed The Man back into the main hallway, toward the exit. The DEC remained equally silent, keeping a careful distance, eyes fixed on The Man, who walked backwards to keep watch on them. His steps grew shakier with each second.

They'd nearly reached the door when he stumbled and sagged against the wall.

Nicole hurried forward to pull him up again, but he gripped her arm instead. "The Hlonfet Pyramid. You..." His voice broke off in a ragged grunt of pain.

"I'll find it," she promised.

"If you get it here... you can..." He winced again. His eyes were beginning to droop. He sucked in another breath, clenching his teeth, and shoved her toward the door. "The graven stronghold. Hurry. Without it, they could still—"

"Stop them!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

"Come on," Drea barked, already holding the door open. Ruby scrambled outside.

A couple of DEC took a step closer. The Man hauled back his arm and flung it toward the crowd. The DEC shouted in alarm, backpedaling frantically.

"Go!" Drea yelled, catching Nicole's wrist and tugging her onward.

Nicole spun and darted outside, leaning heavily on the pole. The door slammed shut behind Drea and Aaron. The four of them scrambled as fast as they could, heedless of direction, only focused on getting away from the building.

The deafening gunfire before had been nothing compared to the explosion that roared behind them, lifting them clear off their feet and sending them tumbling across the empty pavement. Nicole lay on her side, gasping, trying to coax the world to stop moving, to stop blurring, to come back into some semblance of order. Tiny flecks of debris rained down over her body, scratching at her cheeks. She thought someone was yelling. The sound was lost in the continuing roar thundering through her eardrums.

The world floated back into focus. Sounds began to emerge from the chaotic roar.

"Get up," Drea snapped, sounding almost angry. "We have to keep moving. Help me with them."

"I almost died!" Ruby sobbed.

Nicole pushed herself up with shaking arms. The ground still teetered beneath her as if trying to knock her flat once more.

Then Drea was in her face. "I found your pole. Can you walk?"

Nicole let the other girl help her to her feet and took the pole. The horizon swayed a couple of times before she managed to gain a secure position, the makeshift walking stick providing most of her stability.

Drea helped Aaron up. His shoulder was bleeding, and he leaned heavily on Drea for support.

"We have to call the police," Ruby whimpered. She was still lying on the ground. "Those people tried to kill me. I almost died."

"I said, get up," Drea said, giving Ruby's leg a kick.

Ruby curled in on herself, her eyes wide with shock. "I need an ambulance."

"That might be best," Nicole said. Her voice didn't come out right. She cleared her throat and repeated it, better this time, then turned to Drea. "You should take them to the hospital. All three of you need tending. I'll find a way out of town."

Drea snorted. "Yeah. You're gonna get real far in your condition. And we already know they think killing us will get you to cooperate. How safe do you think we'll be in a hospital?"

Nicole gripped the pole a bit tighter as the ground threatened to unseat her again. She hated to admit it, but Drea had a point. The three of them wouldn't be safe until after she was long gone. "You're right." She glanced back at the building. Flames and thick black smoke poured from the door they'd exited only minutes earlier. "We better get out of here."

"This way." Drea hurried toward the city sounds once more.

Nicole stopped beside Ruby and offered her a hand. Ruby stared straight through her.

"We have to get out of here," Nicole tried, but Ruby still ignored her. She sighed and bent to grab Ruby's wrist and pull the girl up.

Ruby yanked her arm back. "Don't you touch me!" She glared, but struggled to her feet. At least some of the shock seemed to be wearing off.

Nicole gestured to the burning building behind them. "That will only keep them occupied for so long. They'll come after us again soon."

"This is all your fault," Ruby snapped.

The truth in the accusation stung, but Nicole set it aside. "That's right. That's why I'm not willing to let you stay here and get captured again. Let's go."

Ruby started after Drea, copying the taller girl's rapid stride toward the nearest warehouse. She glanced back and made a face. "They'll see us as soon as they come out."

"There isn't much other option." Nicole was already scanning the area as she struggled to keep up with the others' faster pace, searching for any different route they could use to avoid detection. None were apparent.

"Where are we going?"

Nicole hesitated, glancing ahead at Drea, hoping the other girl had some sort of answer.

"The nearest bus stop. We'll work our way to the four-eighty-seven and take it to dirt row."

"Dirt row? That's your grand plan?" Ruby demanded, wrinkling her nose.

"You got a better idea? Those guys have fake fed IDs, remember? If we go anywhere official, those guys will find out, flash their badges, and we're screwed. There's only one area in town I know of where I can pretty much guarantee no one will want to talk to any feds, and that's dirt row. If we're lucky, we'll get there while the clinic's still open, and we can get cleaned up."

"It's a good plan," Aaron said. His voice sounded strained.

Nicole nodded. She hoped 'clinic' meant there would be medical treatment available. He needed it.

Distant sirens wailed, announcing the coming fire department.

Drea adjusted her grip on Aaron and sped up. "We better be out of sight before they get here."

Ruby sighed in exasperation, but didn't say anything more.

They reached the next warehouse and ducked around the other side of the building. Drea took a moment to check back around the corner. "They're still focused on the fire. There might be a few out searching for us, but it'll take them a while to get this far."

Nicole nodded. "So we'll find a bus to dirt row?" She still wasn't entirely sure where 'dirt row' was—it wasn't on any official maps of the city—but she gathered it was some sort of nickname for one of the less desirable areas.

"That's the plan." Drea turned to Aaron. "You gonna make it that far?"

He nodded. His face was pale and marked with bruises and dried blood, but he was holding himself a bit stronger now. "I'll be okay."

Nicole regarded him, then glanced at the others, who were almost equally disheveled. "Won't they call the police if we get on a bus looking like this?"

Ruby laughed.

Drea smirked and shook her head. "This is tame for half the stuff I've seen when riding the busses. You have no idea."

"I see." The idea that someone could ride the bus in worse shape than this and go unnoticed made Nicole cringe internally, but there was no time to dwell on such things. "We better get moving, then. Dirt row."

"I'm not going to dirt row," Ruby declared.

"Of all the..." Drea muttered. "Fine. Stay here and get caught. We're going."

"No, you aren't." The whimpering Ruby had been replaced by the normal imperious, demanding Ruby. "If these guys are the type to flash fake credentials in legit places, then what makes you think they aren't the type to slide a handful of fifties around dirt row to get information about four beat-up kids who don't belong there?"

Drea blinked. She clearly hadn't considered that.

"We're going to my house," Ruby said with a long-suffering sigh, as if it somehow personally offended her to be bringing them anywhere near her home. "My father works with all types. He knows how to get injuries tended without involving any formal authorities."

"I think our homes will be among the first places they check," Nicole said. "They took Drea's ID so they'd know where she lives."

"They took my wallet," Aaron said. "They have mine, too."

"Well, they don't have mine. My purse was in the office where my father was meeting." Ruby gave them a smug look. "So they don't know where I live. It's perfectly safe."

"And how are we getting there?" Drea asked. "Don't you live out in the 'burbs?"

"We'll drive there."

Drea lifted a hand to indicate the bare alley around them. "In what car?"

"I know where to get one." Ruby checked the corner, then headed for the back alley behind the warehouse. "Let's go."

They only had to walk a few blocks before they reached a greasy auto shop. Nicole kept her eyes and ears alert for any signs of pursuers, but it seemed that the grenade had done the trick of keeping DEC too occupied to spare enough searchers to recapture them.

"Look who's here!" a gruff voice called as they walked up to the massive, upraised door. A bear of a man with the fullest beard Nicole had ever seen ducked under a raised car and walked toward them, wiping his hands on a rag that looked dirtier than his skin. "To what do I owe the honor of a visit from Miss Ruby Stiles?" He paused, taking a good look at them for the first time. "What happened to you kids?"

"We got in a scrape. But that's not important right now." Ruby folded her arms. "Have you talked with my father about settling your account recently?"

He chuckled, but a note of discomfort hid beneath the laughter. "Now, you know it's rude to talk business in front of guests." He nodded toward the others. "But don't you worry about a thing, little missy. Chuck McMillan always pays his debts, no question there."

Ruby's expression and stance didn't change, waiting for an answer with one eyebrow raised.

His chuckle turned into an awkward cough. "Funny thing, you dropping by just now, because I was about to give him a call. I've got a check right here." He abruptly grinned. "Well, now, this worked out nice, see? You can take it to him for me, with my fondest greetings, of course."

"How many days late are you this time?"

The grin vanished into another cough. "Just a little bit."

She sniffed, then eyed the garage behind him. "I need to borrow a car. I don't suppose you know anyone I could speak with about such a thing?"

Chuck blinked, taken aback, then the grin returned as if he'd just had a marvelous idea. "Say, why don't you borrow one of mine? I've got a sweet little sport model in the back—"

"Do I look like I want a sport model?" Her tone took on that vaguely threatening tone Nicole had heard more than once before.

"Right, right, you've got your friends with you. An SUV, then." He jabbered fast, sweating drops of nervousness as he scurried back inside the building. He emerged a moment later, holding out a check and set of keys to Ruby. "A nice Ford Escape around back. Blue, real clean, great condition. She'll treat you nice."

Ruby sniffed again. "It will do."

Chuck shifted his weight, a forced smile on his face. "You'll let your father know how I helped you out, right? Because Chuck McMillan, he's the kind of guy who helps people out in a pinch. He's a handy guy to know, wouldn't you say? So you'll tell your father?"

"I'll see if it comes up." She folded up the check and stuffed it in her pocket. "One more thing. Some guys might come around flashing some fed badges or cash, asking about four kids who look beat up. But you haven't seen anything like that today, right?"

Chuck looked over the others again, his face paling behind his beard. He swallowed. "I don't mess with no feds, Miss."

"They aren't real feds."

"Oh. Then no, I haven't seen any kids here today. None what-so-ev-er." He drawled out each syllable for emphasis.

"Good. Then I'm sure I'll remember to mention to my father how helpful you were." Ruby strode toward the back of the shop, not bothering to look back to see if the others followed.

Nicole mumbled a quick thanks and followed, Drea just behind her with Aaron. They found the blue Ford in the small lot behind the shop and piled in. Somehow Nicole ended up in the front with Ruby. Ruby's expression made it excessively clear that she wasn't pleased with the arrangement, but she revved the engine and pulled out of the alley, joining the flow of traffic on the road.

"So you're, like, a mini-Godfather or something," Drea remarked as the auto shop disappeared behind them.

"No," Ruby snapped, giving the other girl a fierce glare in the rearview mirror. She returned her attention forward to honk at a car merging in front of her. "My father is an attorney, not some mob boss thug."

"Right. So that guy was sweating all over himself because a ninety-pound blonde girl is so, so scary."

Another glare. "My father's business has... certain perks. Especially if gutter creeps like that guy end up owing him money." She adjusted the radio. A sugary pop tune blared through the speakers.

"Ugh. You like these guys? That explains so much about you right there," Drea said.

"If you've got a problem with the music, feel free to get out and walk." Ruby began singing along to the song.

Drea groaned just loud enough to be heard, but Ruby only sang louder.

Nicole looked over her shoulder, partially expecting to see a black van barreling after them, but there were no signs of pursuit. Aaron rested back against his headrest, his color looking a little better now that he was off his feet.

He saw her looking at him and gave her a half smile. "Doing okay?"

She nodded, finding it strange that he was asking her after what The Man had done to him. "You?"

"I'll live." He exhaled. "That guy was psycho."

"Understatement of the year," Drea muttered, lightly rubbing at her neck.

Nicole nodded again and turned back around. Sociopath would be the more accurate term, but she knew he was using the vernacular term to mean the same thing.

Except it wasn't. A sociopath wouldn't have turned on his employers upon learning that so many people would die. The Man was cold, calculating, murderous, evil. But he'd saved their lives, helped them escape. He'd even gotten shot protecting Drea. Something inside him was still good.

Had been, she reminded herself. He'd blown himself up to help them escape. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold. She had to find a way to get out of this city, to disappear somewhere else, before anyone else got hurt on her behalf.

Exhaustion overcame the anxiety, and Nicole dozed until the SUV came to a stop and the saccharine music abruptly terminated. She sat up slowly, feeling every old bruise and injury join with the new ones in a discordant symphony. Groans from the backseat showed that Drea and Aaron felt about as good as she did.

Ruby climbed out of the vehicle. "You guys coming, or what?"

Nicole pushed the door open and carefully climbed out, taking in her new surroundings. Some parts of the area reminded her of Tara's neighborhood: rows of houses, lawns, most of the area fairly tidy. But these houses were much bigger, the lawns more sprawling, and there was far more space between each property. They were parked in a circular driveway in front of a massive three-story house with an imposing front porch.

Aaron was well enough to walk on his own now, though he moved slowly with a painful wince. They followed Ruby through the front doors into a grand entryway with dual staircases rising to the next floor. She led them down a side hallway to a pair of ornate cherry wood doors.

"Let me do the talking," she said. Her expression and tone suggested she thought they would do irreparable damage if they dared to utter a word in her father's presence.

She pulled the right door open, and they walked into a stately office decorated in dark greens and browns. A slender man with artificially darkened hair sat behind a massive desk, his focus on the stack of papers in front of him.

Ruby opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the man held up one finger in a sharp, irritated gesture. She quickly closed her mouth again and waited.

After a moment, the man set aside one paper and picked up the next, still not looking up. "What is it?"

"I got the McMillan check." She held out the folded paper.

"What were you doing in that area?"

"I can't divulge all the details, sir."

He let out a little snort and moved on to the next paper.

Nicole shifted her weight, feeling distinctly awkward. She'd never seen Ruby so stiff, polite, submissive. Though the way Mr. Stiles spoke in flat, uninterested tones and didn't even bother looking at his own daughter went a long way in explaining her behavior.

"I have some friends who need medical attention. No questions, no police."

He sighed and lowered the paper to write something on it. "Which laws did you break?"

Ruby seemed to bristle, but her tone didn't change. "None."

"I'll remind you that a misdemeanor is still technically a law. I can't help you if I don't know the details of what occurred."

For the first time since entering the office, an edge of irritation grated Ruby's voice. "I'm aware of what constitutes a law. We didn't break any laws."

He muttered something under his breath, then set the paper aside and reached for his phone. "I'll get Dr. White."

"Dr. White's services shouldn't be necessary," Ruby said quickly. "None of the wounds are too severe."

Mr. Stile's hand froze on the phone, then slapped it back into the cradle. He looked up at Ruby for the first time, the corners of his eyes twitching with restrained anger. "Then what possessed you to interrupt my work over it? I'm disappointed in you. I raised you to be self-sufficient, not to go disrupting important work over a few scrapes. Go find Miss Gomez. She'll give you whatever help you need." He shook his head, his attention already back on the papers in front of him.

Ruby's shoulders remained straight and high, but she still seemed to shrink with each word. She spun on her heel and marched out of the office without another word. The others hurried after her.

Nicole felt like she couldn't quite breathe until the heavy door slid shut behind them. She exhaled in a rush.

"Wow," Drea said. "Your dad—"

"My father was correct," Ruby interrupted, still stiff. "This is something I can deal with myself. There was no need to disrupt his work." She paused. A flash of the normal Ruby returned. "Not that you'd understand anything about self-sufficiency or responsibility." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked down the hallway.

This time she led them to a kitchen. It was sleek and modern with stainless steel appliances and dark marble counters, but bright-colored vegetables and the smells of richly spiced meat made it seem warm and cheery, especially in contrast to the frigid office they'd just left.

A short woman with black hair tied up in a clip on the back of her head turned with a smile as they came in. The smile vanished into a look of concern. " _Mija_! _Madre de Dios_ —"

"My father's still in his office, Suzanna," Ruby said.

The accent disappeared as fast as the smile had. "What happened to you?" Suzanna bustled to a drawer and dug out some towels, which she soaked with water at the sink.

"We got in a scrape."

Suzanna shooed them toward another door off the side of the room. "Go on, we can't be cleaning up bloody wounds in the kitchen. It isn't sanitary."

The door opened into a sort of den populated by multiple couches, loveseats, and armchairs. Once they were seated, Suzanna fussed over each of them, examining their injuries. "Go get my kit from the bathroom upstairs," she ordered Ruby as she handed out the towels. "Wash up, but be gentle about it. We'll have to clean these up with peroxide before we bandage them." She leaned back, eyeing them. "Let me guess. You lost a fight with a monster truck."

Aaron scrubbed the towel across his face and winced. "Something like that, yeah."

She crouched beside him, inspecting his shoulder. "Well, that was stupid. Everyone knows monster trucks fight dirty."

Even Drea cracked a smile at that.

Nicole felt a fresh sting in her cheek as she rubbed the towel across it. A large mirror rested in the wall, and she shifted her position to get a better view of herself in it. Lost a fight with a monster truck wasn't a half-bad guess. She looked even worse than she felt. She did her best to clean up, moving slowly to accommodate the sharp pains that still followed each movement.

Ruby returned with a large box of various medical supplies. Suzanna helped Aaron while the others mostly tended to themselves, occasionally joining in Suzanna's running stream of light chatter and banter.

Nicole's mind drifted back to the more important matters at hand while salve and pills did their work to take the edge off the pain. It seemed like things were finally looking up. She was in a safe place where DEC wouldn't know to look for her, and they had a vehicle that couldn't be traced back to her. It should be a fairly simple matter to make their way out of town. Once she was far from this city, then the others could safely return. This was going to work.

Something kept bothering her, though. The last thing The Man had said. Without it, they could still—still what? She wasn't sure. It had sounded like things were on a deadline, and a tight one at that, so she should be able to just get clear of DEC's grasp and stay hidden until the deadline passed, right?

But something in his tone had been too urgent, too desperate. It was vital that she get her hands on the artifact. Because otherwise, DEC could do something. Still do something.

Still. Regardless.

A growing fear nestled in the pit of her stomach. Did he mean that DEC would somehow still be able to use the machine regardless of the deadline?

They were working with the Pack. Perhaps that was the push for certain timing at this point, a need to coordinate with their allies. But that wouldn't make the machine unusable if those plans failed. It would just mean that they risked harming the Pack along with all the others destroyed by the machine's work. And based on what she'd seen of the boss, he wouldn't shed many tears over those deaths.

Ice sank through her skin, prompting a shiver. She couldn't just wait out a deadline. She had to either return to her home dimension or find a way to get the artifact here, figure out its secret, and use it to stop DEC's work. Where would the artifact be? He'd said something about a graven stronghold, but she had no idea what that meant.

The simplest solutions were always the best. It was still dangerous for her back home, but things had spiraled out of control here. Her srye had never thought she'd be found so quickly. And if she was the key to DEC's machine, then the best thing would be for her to go to the one place they could never find her. It wouldn't matter if she found the artifact or not as long as she was out of their reach.

She tuned back into the conversation around her to find Suzanna gone and Ruby, Aaron, and Drea staring at her. Her cheeks warmed at the unexpected attention. "What?"

"Seriously?" Ruby snorted. "You're spacing out at a time like this? Figures, a total brain case. You really think you can make people believe you're from another dimension?"

"I am."

"Right." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look, you don't have to lie. Believe me, we've had every kind come through this house. So what's the deal? Mob princess? Drug mule? Escaping a bad pimp?" She paused. "Scratch that last one. You're too dumb to be a hooker."

"Gee, why don't you say what you really think?" Drea said. "No, really. Don't hold back."

"I've seen her see through walls," Aaron said. "And Drea's seen a lot more than that. It's true."

Ruby sighed. "Whatever. My father knows a lot of important people who can help you get out of whatever you're caught up in. He just has to make the call."

The girl didn't believe her. Nicole didn't entirely mind. She wouldn't be there much longer anyway. Might as well give them all something to talk about, something to justify a small degree of the pain she'd put them through. "I'll make the call." She found the note and was pleased to see she had regained enough energy to voice it.

The room dimmed, but this time only one shadow solidified.

Ruby squeaked and scrambled to stand on the chair she'd been sitting in, cringing away from the murky figure standing in front of them.

Srye Ornez turned to Nicole. Even through the distortion, she could see the lines on his face and tension in his body. "You are not threatened here. Why did you call?"

"I have to return home," she said. "It's too dangerous here. I—"

He waved a hand, cutting her off. His head tilted as if listening. "You cannot."

She stared. "What?"

"The compound is under attack. They are—we were not prepared for so many."

"But—"

"Find a safe place to hide. If we can, we will..." His head jerked upward again as if hearing something, and he broke off. "I must return. Be safe, _kseri_." He dissolved back into shadow.

The finality in his voice sent a chill through her system that left her numb as she released the gate. The boss had said something about his allies unleashing a final strike. He hadn't finished his sentence then, but her mind finished it for him. They would unleash a final strike to eliminate the srye. She'd wanted to warn them, but hadn't had a chance in her escape. And now they were facing that final strike, an attack designed to wipe them out.

Her protectors were dying. She was alone.

Chapter 13

The Man in the dark suit dragged himself to the grimy window and peered outside. The fire trucks were long gone, as were the ambulances that carried the injured away. Not as many as there might have been. He wasn't squeamish about causing damage when needed to get the job done, but it was always a good day when unnecessary destruction could be minimized.

While the entire endeavor had taken quite the turn, and he couldn't say this was exactly how he'd wanted this job to go, his new plans were going better than expected so far. No one had seen him switch out the live grenade for the other, unarmed one. By the time DEC had figured out he'd thrown a dummy and charged once more, the children had been far enough from the building to avoid getting torn apart by the blast. And by then, he'd worked himself just outside the door, perfectly positioned to throw the live grenade, slam the door shut, and find some semblance of cover around the corner. It hadn't spared him from injury entirely, but it had been enough to keep his form mostly intact. Intact enough to crawl to the next building and hide before the emergency vehicles arrived.

One of the background sections of his mind alerted him that his bandages were already soaked through again. He'd need to find a better solution soon, or he wouldn't be of any further use to anyone.

He checked in with another part of his mind, the part responsible for forming and tracking plans. A new list had already appeared. Stop the bleeding. Regain some strength. Get to the next location. Watch for the girl. She was the key to everything.

And everything now hinged on her understanding his last words. He knew where he had to go next. If she understood, then she would, too.

Chapter 14

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" Ruby gasped.

Nicole blinked, clearing her liquid-blurred vision. Ruby still perched on her chair, clinging to the back of it. Aaron kept blinking hard and staring at the spot where Srye Ornez had stood a moment before.

Only Drea appeared unfazed. "Told ya so."

"What just happened?" Aaron finally asked.

"That was the thing I told you about. The dudes from the other dimension thing," Drea said.

"I thought I could go home." Nicole's voice shook more than she could control. "The DEC can't harm anyone if I'm no longer in this world to open any barriers. But..." Her voice broke. "My protectors... my friends..."

Aaron crossed the room and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his gentle, empathetic expression.

She nodded and took a deep breath, soothed by his kindness. She pulled herself back together. Her first plan wouldn't work, but that still left one other option. Find the pyramid. Figure out the secret. Stop DEC.

"Graven stronghold," she murmured.

"What?" Ruby demanded. She slowly climbed down off her chair, still staring like she expected Nicole to sprout tentacles at any moment.

Drea and Aaron looked at her with much kinder eyes, waiting.

"I overheard them talking about a certain artifact from my home. I believe it has some sort of power or trait that could ruin DEC's plans."

"What does it do?" Aaron asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. But they were anxious to make sure I never find it and bring it into this dimension. That's enough for me."

"Me, too," Drea said. "So where do we find it?"

Good question. She exhaled. "The graven stronghold."

"Great. Where's that?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

The others stared at her a moment longer as if waiting for more, but she didn't have anything else she could say.

Ruby made an irritable sound. "Isn't that just perfect. You know what we need, but you don't know what it'll do or where we can get it. Got any other good news for us?"

"Back off," Aaron said.

Ruby made a face, but didn't say anything further.

"At least we're safe here," Drea offered. "We can chill until we figure something out."

Suzanna chose that moment to reappear, pushing through the door from the kitchen with a large tray. Delicious smells wafted from the bowls on the tray.

Nicole's stomach made an odd noise. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, but it had probably been more than a day, at least. She would have expected the lack of food to bother her more than it did, but perhaps that was another difference between herself and a normal human. Still, she couldn't deny that the smells brought saliva to her mouth and eclipsed her thoughts of hidden artifacts with somewhat more urgent thoughts of shoveling whatever was making that amazing smell into her mouth.

"You kids need anything else?" Suzanna asked, handing out bowls, spoons, and napkins.

"This looks great, thanks," Aaron said, plopping back into a chair and digging in.

An intercom crackled. "Miss Gomez." Mr. Stiles' frosty voice.

Suzanna hurried to a speaker box on the wall and spoke in a heavily accented voice once more. " _Sί_ , _Señor_ Stiles?"

"I believe I requested chilled water, not iced."

"Oh, _perdón_ , _perdón_ ," she quickly replied. "I be there _un_ _momento_."

"See that you do." The intercom crackled again.

Suzanna glanced back at Ruby with a playful roll of her eyes. "Master calls."

"We're good here. Thanks, Suzanna."

Nicole turned her attention back to the food as Suzanna left. The thick, hearty mixture was unfamiliar but exquisite. She made it halfway through the bowl before slowing down and savoring the rest.

Her mind returned to the question of the pyramid as she finished. What could 'graven' refer to? A specific shape? A carving?

She went through the various places she knew her enemies used as bases. None stood out as having any special carvings or shapes that would classify them as 'graven.' She went back through the list, carefully picturing them in her mind.

Then she laughed. She almost dropped her bowl as a second, harder laugh caught her.

The others stopped and stared at her.

"What's wrong with you?" Drea asked.

Ruby waved a hand in irritation. "She's flipped. Dump some water on her or something."

Nicole shook her head, working to gain control over the last trailing giggles. "No, I—I figured it out. I know where the artifact is. It's not a 'graven' stronghold. That was a poor translation into human terms. The Pack—DEC's allies in my dimension have a base near the house of the passed form. That's the place the artifact's being kept."

Blank stares.

"House of the passed form?" Aaron asked.

"It's..." She paused. "It's hard to explain exactly."

"Well, try," Ruby said. "We're not idiots, you know."

"True, but bring a drawing of a stick figure to life and try to make him understand the nature of a sphere." Nicole shook her head. "Some things just don't translate. But the point it, it's similar to your cemeteries. Where the dead are placed."

More blank looks from Drea and Aaron. A look of disgust from Ruby.

"Cemeteries. Graves. Graven stronghold." Nicole put her bowl down and picked up her pole, using it to push herself into a standing position. "Like I said, it's a poor translation, but that's what he was referring to. They're keeping the artifact there."

"But that's in your dimension. How are we supposed to get it here?" Drea asked.

"Yeah, didn't that guy say you can't go back in your dimension or something?" Ruby added without any pressing need for tact.

"I won't be protected there." A fresh chill swept through her at the thought. If the Pack discovered her within their reach...

She squared her shoulders, tightening her resolve. "I have reason to believe that the Pack will be occupied elsewhere, either in preparation to meet DEC or in the battle." She had to clear her throat before she could continue, refusing to dwell on thoughts of the fight her srye were caught up in. "If I move quickly, I can retrieve the item and return here before they realize I'm there." She hoped.

"Great. So go get it," Ruby said.

Nicole paced the floor between her chair and the coffee table. "It's not that simple. I have to be in the right place."

"You can't just blink in and grab it?" Drea asked.

"Stick man/sphere. Things don't translate the same between dimensions. Not concepts, not bodies, not places. I could go two steps in one direction and come up the equivalent of miles away in my home dimension. Two steps another direction might be more like an inch. It just doesn't translate."

"So how are we going to find this place?" Aaron asked.

Nicole looked around the room and eyed the picture windows at the far end. "Do you have something I can use to write on glass?"

Ruby looked at her as if she was crazy, not that it was anything new. "I guess?"

"And maps. Lots of maps."

Ruby returned with a dry-erase marker and a laptop, the latter of which she used to pull up Google Maps. "There. What are you trying to find?"

"Coordinates." Nicole took the marker and set to work, consulting with the mapping program from time to time.

Ruby made a face as one window pane filled with equations. "What is that supposed to be? Calculus or something?"

"Something like that." It was more akin to what the humans had established as quantum mechanics, but there was no benefit to explaining that. Nicole filled a second pane and checked the map again. She knew the coordinates of where she'd left her dimension and where she'd landed in this dimension. That was her starting point. Those calculations were the last part of anything straightforward in these calculations, but it was a good foundation to work from.

Drea eyed the figures. "Is this going to take long?"

"A while, most likely."

Ruby let out a loud, long groan. "I'll put a movie on."

Nicole let the movie and chatter fade into the background as she worked. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when the distinct feeling of an audience drew her back to reality.

Drea leaned against the back of an armchair, head tilted, studying a set of equations on the second window.

"I think I almost have it," Nicole said. Some of the factors weren't quite coming out right, but once she figured out where she'd gone wrong, she should have the correct coordinates nailed down.

Drea pointed. "Aren't those numbers inverted?"

Nicole stared at the other girl, then examined the equation.

"It's based on Bohr's work, right?" Drea asked. "Copenhagen interpretation?"

Nicole wasn't entirely sure what that referred to, but Drea was right; she'd inverted one of the figures. That was the error. She corrected the numbers and went back through the rest of the equations to adjust for the correction. "Thanks."

Ruby and Aaron stared. "How did you know that?" Ruby demanded.

Drea shrugged, looking distinctively uncomfortable. "What? I know a few things about math."

"No, you don't," Ruby said. "I'm in your math class, remember? Pre-algebra, and you're always goofing off on your phone during class."

Drea let out an irritated noise. "So maybe I'm not into the whole 'sit down and listen while the teacher crams specific, functionally useless information into your skull that you only have to remember until the next test' deal. Doesn't mean I'm an idiot." She abruptly turned back to Nicole. "So you figure it out yet?"

Nicole typed the new coordinates into Google Maps. "I think so."

The satellite view showed a cluster of massive storage warehouses bordering a large body of water, a line like a fence snaking around them and a few docks jutting into the water. The rest of the area around looked fairly empty, save a few dilapidated buildings a short distance away.

"Where is that?" Drea sat at the computer and scrolled the view back. "Hey, that's just a few miles from downtown, on the other side of the lake."

Ruby stood, one skeptical eyebrow elevated. "So that's it? We go there, you do your freaky thing and get this artifact thing, and then... what?"

"We'll figure that out once we have the artifact," Nicole said, her voice conveying more confidence than she felt. What if she brought the pyramid here and couldn't figure out what to do with it?

"Great. You have no idea what you're doing," Ruby grumbled.

"We'll figure it out," Aaron said, giving Nicole a nod of support. "Let's go."

"Hold up," Drea said, still studying the laptop. She turned it around to show them a new page she'd pulled up. "Those warehouses? All DEC property."

Nicole felt her stomach drop. "DEC?"

"Looks like there hasn't been much activity there for a while, though," Drea continued, tabbing through a few other pages. "Seems like they just use them for storage."

Nicole sat down, mind racing. She didn't want to risk being captured again before she could get the pyramid. But she couldn't reach it unless she went to this DEC-owned area. The only other way to get to the artifact would be to go to her home dimension and travel through there, but she couldn't do that, not without her srye to protect her. She was taking an enormous risk as it was by going after the artifact in Pack territory. She was counting on the Pack being too occupied with DEC and the battle to be guarding the artifact closely, but if she was wrong...

"So what's that mean?" Ruby asked. "I'm not going back to those creeps."

"If it's just storage, I doubt they'll have more than a guard or two at the gate, maybe a couple patrolling the area," Drea said. She returned to the map screen and tapped the dilapidated buildings. "If we go here, we can try to scope it out and see what the situation is. If there aren't too many guards there, we should be able to sneak in without being seen. Then you can do your thing, and we'll sneak back out."

Aaron nodded. "It could work."

"I'm not getting grabbed again," Ruby said.

"Then stay here," Drea said. She stood and held out a hand. "Give me the Ford keys. It's not like DEC is going to be watching those other buildings. It won't hurt anything to go check it out."

Ruby scowled. "Whatever. I'm not giving you any keys."

"Then we'll find another way to get there." Drea turned for the door.

"Fine, I'll go," Ruby snapped. "But we're taking MY car."

Suzanna saw them off with snacks and an umbrella for Nicole to replace the industrial pole she'd been leaning on. Ruby led them to a sleek BMW in glossy silver tones. As they headed out, Nicole kept a close watch on the road around them, but it seemed DEC hadn't been able to track them to Ruby's home. She took comfort and hope in that. DEC had resources, but not enough to be omnipresent. Once she knew how to use the artifact, odds were good they could get close to DEC's headquarters using Ruby's car without DEC even realizing it was them before it was too late.

She relaxed, though she still kept an eye on the road. It felt like the first good news in a long time. She only hoped it was the beginning of a trend.

The trip took a little over an hour, the suburban area melting away into barren fields of dead grass and concrete long abandoned for nature to reclaim. Skeletal buildings hinted at former attempts to bring some life to this area, but a growing stench suggested the reason why such attempts had failed.

"That reeks!" Ruby whined, covering her mouth and nose with her hand.

"It's the chicken processing plant," Drea said.

"I thought that was miles away." Ruby scrambled with some of the controls, and somewhat clearer air blew in through the vents.

"It is. Be glad we're this far away," Drea replied. "It's a lot worse up close, believe me."

The road they were on ran between the fenced compound and the decaying buildings. Ruby found a half-crumbled driveway that turned off the road long before reaching the compound. The cracked and pitted drive ended behind the buildings. With any luck, they'd turned off the main road early enough that the guards hadn't seen the car coming.

Ruby parked the car and covered her mouth again. "I'm not getting out."

"Then stay here." Drea shoved her door open and climbed out, letting in a fresh wave of stench.

Nicole and Aaron joined Drea. It looked like some of the buildings had been destroyed by fire long ago, charred wood and a few black streaks of ash and grime stubbornly refusing to be washed away by the seasonal rains. Only the building nearest the road had escaped in one piece, though the back of it was coated in black evidence of the fire's attempts to bring it down with the others. Debris covered the walkway between the buildings; no one had bothered to even go through the most basic cleaning processes.

Drea led the way to the intact building and tried the misshapen door at the back. It rattled a few times before swinging open. Aaron stepped in and peered around.

"Shouldn't we have the one who can see through walls go first?" Ruby asked, her voice muffled by the scarf she'd wrapped over the bottom half of her face.

Nicole jumped. She hadn't realized the other girl had changed her mind and followed them.

"Well?" Ruby demanded, glaring at her.

"I can't see through walls. I can—"

"Whatever. Just do your weird thing and tell us if anyone's in there."

Nicole sighed and studied the structure. The inside looked only slightly better than the outside. The room bore evidence of more than one transient having used this place as a home in the past—and not all of those human—but there were no signs of anyone being there now. "It looks clear."

The smell of excrement and garbage overpowered the plant's smell from outside, but it somehow was an improvement. Ruby kept her scarf firmly in place, making faces behind it as they piled into the room.

Drea pulled the door shut behind them. "Let's get up to one of the higher floors. Third, if it's stable enough. We'll have a better view from there."

It took some careful maneuvering to work their way through the mess. Most boards creaked and sagged under their feet, but nothing gave as they worked their way to the stairwell near the front of the building. Nicole kept watching the walls around them, searching for any trace of red to show that they weren't alone in there. Though it wouldn't likely be too much of a threat if there was, she reminded herself. DEC wouldn't leave someone in these deplorable conditions when they had a facility right across the street.

The stairs produced even more protest than the floor had, and Nicole turned her attention to her footing, carefully placing her feet closest to the wall and not in the center of the boards as she followed the others up.

Ruby shrieked as her foot went through a board, her arms flailing for balance.

Nicole caught her and pulled her back a step, steadying her. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Ruby snapped, snatching her arm back. She glared up at Drea. "I don't see why I'm the one who broke the board instead of lard a—"

A creak came from above.

"Quiet," Drea hissed, crouching.

Nicole searched above them and saw nothing. "I don't think there's..." She broke off at a dim, faint movement above. That's why she hadn't seen anything. Whatever it was must be on the third floor and hadn't moved until now. The heat signature was too small for her to notice when it was motionless. "There's something up there."

Ruby squeaked and clamped a hand over her own mouth. "Is it them?"

"I can't tell. We need to get closer."

"Closer? Are you insane?"

"I'll go," Aaron whispered, offering a hand to help Nicole over the broken step. She accepted his help.

Ruby glared. "Don't leave me alone here." She held out a hand toward Aaron expectantly.

Drea grabbed the girl's wrist and yanked her up over the step, then led the way to the next set of stairs.

As they crept upward, staying as quiet as possible, the red shape grew and distinguished its form. A person, one who hadn't moved much since Ruby screamed.

"I don't think DEC would have one person stay here," Nicole whispered after relaying that information. "If they wanted to position people here to catch me, they'd have several people, not just one. If it was for surveillance, well, why stick a person in a rotting building when they could set up a camera instead?"

"We should go back to the car," Ruby whispered, looking distinctively unhappy.

"It's probably just a homeless guy trying to stay warm," Drea replied.

"Like I said, we should go back to the car."

Drea rolled her eyes. "Stay here. I'll check it out."

"No, all of us together. Strength in numbers." Aaron glanced around, then back at Nicole. "Which way?"

She pointed to the door that seemed to house the unknown person.

He nodded and led the way to the door. He paused, glanced back at the others to make sure they were ready, then flung it open and barged in, Drea and Nicole just behind him, Ruby cowering in the doorway.

The Man in the dark suit held his gun steady on them from where he reclined against the wall in the corner.

They stared. Drea recovered her voice first. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

The Man's eyes flicked across the group. He lowered his gun, wincing in pain as he did so. "Pardon the less than civil greeting. I heard you downstairs and thought DEC had come to investigate."

Ruby glared at him. "So what now, you're going to shoot us unless she does her freaky barrier thing?"

He looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Even if I were still assisting DEC with their aims, opening the barriers here would provide no benefit. It must be done within a hundred meters of the machine for their plans to work. Give or take."

He paused, tilting an eyebrow upward in Nicole's direction. "Though, if you intend what I hope you intend, gaining some extra assistance would be beneficial for your cause."

Aaron put up a hand before she could say anything. "What are you even doing here? How did you know we'd come here?"

This time The Man did roll his eyes. "You are under the impression that your friend here is the only one capable of mathematical computations?" He turned his attention to Nicole again. "I hoped you were clever enough to understand. On that hope, I waited here to see if I could assist you in retrieving the artifact." A faint smile traced his lips. "Or at least observe. The humor inherent to the fact that, in order to defeat DEC, you must invade DEC—and in the one place they have not bothered to post a heavy guard—is not lost on me. On the contrary, I find it delightful."

"You tried to kill us!" Ruby protested.

At the same time, Drea demanded, "So what, you're on our side now?"

"Who said we wanted your help?" Aaron snapped.

The Man sighed and stood, wincing in pain once more and moving slowly.

Aaron took a step back, arm extended to push the others back, as well, watching The Man with suspicion.

But The Man only crossed to the grimy window and peered outside. "I was hired to do a job under a specific understanding. I have no interest in causing so much death. And I do not take it kindly when an employer misleads me to the true nature of my contract. But if you don't seek my assistance, so be it. I'm sure you'll sort out the timing of the guard patrols on your own. And the flaw in the fence security. And the access codes to enter the buildings."

Aaron shot a glance at Nicole. She could see the mixed feelings on his face, split between mistrust and hatred for the person who'd caused them so much harm and the need for allies who knew the area they'd be entering.

She asked the first question that hung in her mind. "How did you escape?"

"I threw a dummy grenade to delay them, then the live one when they realized what I'd done. It spared me enough time to get out of immediate danger."

"And how do we know this isn't some sort of trick?"

"You don't." He turned back to them and spread his arms. A shudder of pain passed through his body, and his arms dropped once more, one of them reaching for his midsection where he'd been shot. "Accept my help or not. It's your choice." He coughed and sat back down. "I'm afraid I won't be much aid to you in this condition regardless. But as I understand it, your crossing between dimensions involves a certain degree of vulnerability. The more allies you have to guard you during that time, the better."

His words send a shiver down Nicole's spine. He was right. If the DEC guards came around while she was transitioning, she'd be in serious trouble.

Drea glanced at Aaron, then Nicole, clearly just as torn.

Nicole looked to the window, then The Man. "Why are they doing this?"

"I don't know. I don't ask for motives when hired, only money and enough information to complete the job correctly." He nodded toward the compound. "Hence, building access codes."

"Why would you need access to these buildings?" Drea asked.

"You haven't guessed? This is where they store the extra parts for their machine."

Nicole walked to the window, squinted through the grime, and rubbed a spot clear. "How do we know they haven't made another machine in there?" They'd had two in the other compound. If she opened the barriers here, and they had another machine ready...

"They have a specific agreement with their allies in your home," The Man said. "Their choice of that warehouse district wasn't random. They'll be opening the barriers into a very specific location."

"Where is that?"

"I'm not certain of the precise terminology, but I believe the name has something to do with flight."

She felt blood rush from her face. "The Aeronium?"

"Yes, that was the term."

Aaron put a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

The power exchange housed in the Aeronium would amplify the shockwave's effects. And its location, so close to her home...

She closed her eyes. Everyone she knew would be wiped out.

"It's a part of their agreement," The Man said. "The machine must be activated to coincide with this Aeronium to satisfy the terms."

"What did DEC get out of the deal?" Nicole asked, her voice strangely flat.

"The knowledge of how to build the machine, of course. You don't believe those simpletons came up with this through their own primitive brainpower, do you?"

DEC was being used, then. They probably thought they could establish some sort of power or authority here in this dimension with the machine, but that was of little concern to the Pack. The Pack was getting everything they wanted by this: unfettered access to the lower dimension and the total obliteration of their enemies. And, likely, the capture of Nicole herself.

She shivered and held herself tight.

Aaron's grip on her shoulder tightened. "We're not going to let it happen," he said. "Remember? We're going to get that artifact and stop them."

She spun to The Man. "How can the pyramid stop them?"

"Its twin is what powers the machine."

She stared. "That's impossible. The other one was destroyed."

"So they say." He pushed himself up again. "Or perhaps the Pack saw to it that it was hidden for future use. The two pyramids were forged from the same block of matter, as I understand it, and their division is what permits them to remain intact on this plane of existence. I won't pretend to understand the mechanics, but I do understand this: if they are brought together again, both will be destroyed. Without the artifact to power it, the machine will be useless."

Nicole leaned on the windowsill, suddenly not quite able to support her own weight. It was impossible. But his words made more sense than she cared to admit.

"I'm afraid this means you'll likely have to allow yourself to be captured again in order to gain access to the machine. And I won't be able to assist you directly. But I may be able to provide a large enough diversion so that you can get close to the machine."

Aaron examined Nicole's face. "I don't know what he's talking about, but is he right? This thing will stop the machine?"

She nodded mutely. If the artifact's twin still existed, and it was what powered the machine, then bringing the pyramid here should do the trick.

"Then let's get it."

The Man eyed the window. "You'll need to move quickly. The guards will patrol the grounds soon. If you go now, you'll have enough time to get in and out before they pass through. Otherwise, you'll have to wait here a few hours."

Nicole regained her composure and straightened. "You said you know how to get in?"

"I'm not given to idle chatter. Or repeating myself."

"Then you're coming with us."

Drea scowled. "Seriously?"

"I'm not a fan of trusting him," Nicole admitted, "but I don't see what choice we have."

Drea eyed her, then stuck her hand out toward The Man. "Give me your gun."

His eyebrow inched upward, but he handed it over.

She stuffed it down the back of her waistband and pulled her jacket over it. "You try anything, anything at all, and I'm getting payback for my bruised throat. Got it?"

He had that vaguely amused expression again. "Of course."

Chapter 15

Aaron led the way back downstairs, and The Man directed them toward a side door. "The guards at the gate won't see us from this angle."

Drea pushed through the door first, examined the area, and turned back with an almost begrudging look on her face. "He's right."

The Man showed no offense, instead limping past her to slide along the side of the building toward the front corner. They lined up behind him, Nicole craning her neck to try to see the gate. She couldn't see much more than the corner of the fence from this angle, though.

Aaron slid past her for a better view next The Man. He gave the adult a look that conveyed his thoughts clearly: I don't trust you, and I'm watching you.

The Man gestured to a metal device on the fence corner. "Security camera," he said quietly. "If we stay low and to the outside angle, it won't detect us. We simply have to wait for the correct moment. The gate guards are watching the road for the moment, but it won't be long before they grow bored and become less attentive."

"How long's that going to take?" Ruby asked.

"Patience," The Man replied.

Ruby made a face.

Nicole craned her neck again, further this time, and managed to catch a glimpse of the small booth at the fence's entrance midway along the expanse. She couldn't see the guards from here, but if she squinted, she could detect a trace of movement.

"I can't see the guards," Drea said. "How are we supposed to know when they aren't looking?"

"I can sort of see them." Aaron squinted.

"I can see them," The Man said. "And I know their routines. One will be retrieving coffee shortly. That will be our opportunity."

"'Retrieving coffee'?" Ruby snorted. "Who even talks like that?"

The Man showed no reaction to the jab, keeping his focus on the guard post. "He's moving."

Drea and Nicole looked to Aaron.

He squinted harder and nodded.

The Man bent slightly, waited a moment longer, then strode across the road at a scurrying crouch made lopsided by his limp.

"Go," Drea hissed, pushing Aaron forward. He scuttled after The Man in a similar ducking manner. Nicole followed and heard the other two scurrying behind her.

The Man passed the camera in a wide arc, then crouched beside the fence and waited for the others to catch up.

"You could've given us some warning instead of just taking off," Ruby complained as they gathered around The Man.

Nicole eyed the camera above them. "It can't see us here?"

"It's focused on the road." The Man straightened, but stopped, wincing and pressing a hand over his stomach wound again.

"If you're trying to delay us and get us caught," Drea said, a threat in her voice.

He shook his head and stood, wincing harder as he did so. His hand came away bloody. "I'm afraid I'm not operating at peak condition. But speed is of the essence."

He led the way along the fence. They had to pause and crouch low from time to time as guards appeared between buildings, wandering lazily and chatting with each other. Finally, almost at the next corner, The Man stopped and tugged at a corner of the chain links making up the fence. The corner lifted free with only a small noise of protest.

"Go, hurry," he whispered.

They climbed through the small opening one at a time, Aaron giving Nicole a hand getting through, then The Man followed them in.

"Hey!" a voice barked, startled. A guard strode toward them. "You can't be in—" His eyes widened in sudden recognition, and he reached for his radio.

The Man shot forward, knocking the guard flat before he could say anything further. A sickening crack brought an end to the other man's struggles.

Ruby squeaked, the sound cut off by Aaron's hand over her mouth.

The Man rejoined them. "That guard shouldn't have been there. They may have altered their—"

A loud rumble from the road cut him off. They hurried to the nearest building, one of the massive structures they'd seen in the satellite view, and hid around the far corner.

The Man and Aaron peered around the corner as the ground began to vibrate.

"What is it? What's going on?" Ruby demanded in a too-loud stage whisper.

"Trucks," Aaron whispered back. He glared at The Man. "What's going on here?"

The Man's eyes narrowed, still watching the trucks. Then he nodded. "They're collecting the parts they need to fix the first machine. They haven't much time left. They can't risk another..." He glanced at Drea. "... _malfunction_ impeding their progress. They need both machines operational and ready, in case."

The ground trembled harder as the trucks rumbled past.

Nicole clung to the side of the building. "What's that mean for us?"

The Man turned and limped past her. "It means we need to move faster. This whole place will be crawling with DEC's thugs in a matter of minutes." He glanced back. "You have some manner of GPS device, I presume? If I understand correctly, your location needs to be precise."

Nicole paused. She hadn't thought of that.

"I've got it," Ruby said, pulling out her smartphone. "I'll link to my laptop and pull up the map again. Just give me a minute."

Voices approached from the other end of the building.

The Man hastened forward, stopping at the corner.

The guards seemed to turn a different corner, just shy of seeing them, and continue on a new direction.

Nicole exhaled, then turned around in place, looking at the buildings, trying to remember what the map had looked like. She pointed. "It should be inside that building."

"Let's go." The Man checked around the corner, then led the way.

"I've almost got it," Ruby said, still focused on her phone.

Drea pulled the other girl along. "You're worse than those people who fall into fountains because they were texting, you know that?"

They reached the front of the building, the ground under their feet rattling once again from the massive trucks pulling into the compound. Nicole and Aaron kept a close watch on the area around them while The Man entered a code into the numeric panel beside the door.

The lock clicked open. The Man smiled as he pushed through the door. "They didn't change their access codes the instant I turned on them. Foolish oversight on their part."

"Lucky for us," Nicole said as she hurried through the door. Once everyone was inside, she pushed the door shut and turned around. It was a massive space, twice the size of the factory floor in the other warehouses. Rather than being filled with a machine, though, this was filled with shipping crates stacked from the floor almost to the ceiling. Light trickled in through a series of dirty windows above. A layer of dust on the floor hinted at how long it had been since anyone had set foot inside this particular building.

Ruby disturbed that dust now, walking slowly forward with her phone extended in front of her, looking like a science officer scanning a strange planet in some sort of science-fiction TV show. "Almost there..."

The rumbling intensified, an engine roaring closer until it came to an idling stop just outside the building.

The Man's eyes narrowed. "I was afraid of that."

"What?" Aaron demanded.

Nicole got it. "The spare parts they need. They're in here."

"Some of them." The Man looked around as if searching for cover or a weapon. His gaze rested on Nicole. "It wouldn't do for them to enter this building while you're transitioning."

She shook her head.

He turned and limped to the door. "I'll hold them off as long as I can. Be quick, if you please."

Voices came from outside, barely audible above the steady rumble that vibrated the floor beneath them.

"There's too many of them," Drea protested.

"Never underestimate what a patient man is able to accomplish." He locked eyes with Nicole, gave her a sharp nod, and vanished out the door.

"I've got it!" Ruby hissed from the center of the space, stacks of crates towering on either side of her.

Nicole hurried to her side just as shouts came from outside. She turned, but Aaron gently nudged her back. "Hurry," he said.

Right. The Man was buying time, but that would only last for so long. She had to get the pyramid and return before DEC discovered them here.

She turned back to Ruby, who was extending the phone toward her. The screen showed that the phone's GPS had lined up with the exact coordinates. Nicole stepped forward to place herself in those coordinates. She glanced around at the others. "Be careful. If anyone comes in, hide. Don't get caught."

"We'll be fine," Drea said. "Hurry it up already."

Nicole nodded, found the note, and let it resonate through her system, feeling it as acutely as the trembling beneath her feet from the truck outside. The warehouse darkened. She stretched the note further. It would take more than a simple gate for her to pass through, but she had to establish the opening quickly.

Wind struck her face, whipping her hair behind her. She squinted against the sudden onslaught. She didn't remember this from when she'd crossed before, but the passage could have a different effect on the environment in this dimension than it did in her home. She pressed in harder to finish the task.

The wind picked up, sending needles of ice through her skin. Something was wrong. The gate wasn't widening, wasn't responding to her.

She dimly saw Ruby and Drea clinging to some of the crates, struggling to stay upright in the gale. Aaron stumbled, torn off his footing, and caught himself against the crates on the opposite side.

The crates collapsed like a card tower, crumbling down on their heads.

Drea charged away from the collapse, dragging a screaming Ruby along. Aaron caught Nicole's waist and lunged after them. The ground shook all the harder as the false crate fronts crashed around them. One slammed into them from behind, knocking them flat. Nicole's world seemed to crumble in on itself, breaking into a million pieces that all screeched in agony as some unseen force ripped into her psyche, tearing her in two.

Then Aaron was pulling her up from the fetal position she didn't remember curling into, shouting in her face. "Nicole, answer me!"

A consuming emptiness clawed through her system, devouring her. Her hands balled into painful fists. "It's gone..."

Another crate front pinwheeled at them. Aaron yanked her up and out of the way, and the sheet of metal rolled past, barely missing them.

"Nicole! Aaron!" Nicole could barely hear Drea's voice over the clawing wind. She looked over where she had stood moments before and saw the widening darkness gaining form. And there, where the stack of crates had been, was the machine.

Horror and shock collided with the pain and emptiness tearing her to pieces. She sank to her knees.

Men scurried over the walkways along the machine's face. The balding boss stood on the control platform, his arm in a sling, shouting out orders to the DEC operating the control panel. Behind the boss stood The Man in the dark suit, watching the undulating portal in the center of the building with a mixture of curiosity and triumph.

Drea and Ruby reached her side. "Is that..." Drea stared at the machine. "No. It can't be." She grabbed Nicole's arm. "Close it. Like you did before. Close it!"

She'd been trying since the moment the crates fell. A sob welled up from the pit inside. "I can't." The gate was no longer secured inside of her, held open by her energy. It was in the control of DEC's machine.

"I said, reduce the power by three percent!" the boss' voice thundered over the wind. The darkness settled into a steadier pattern. The wind died down into a light gust.

"Are you nuts?" Drea screamed at the men on the platform. "You're gonna kill everyone!"

"Secure those four," the boss ordered.

"Better to be rid of them. It's not as if you have any further use for them at this point," The Man said.

The boss glared at him. "You're in no position to tell me what to do after that stunt you pulled. You're just lucky it worked."

The Man shrugged, unconcerned. "You hired me to complete a task. I completed it. You provided no specifications for the manner in which the goal was to be accomplished."

"You can't do this!" Ruby hollered.

"Think about what you're doing," Aaron chimed in. "You don't really want to kill that many people."

But the pleading tone in his voice seemed to have no effect. The boss waved a dismissive hand in their direction. "Deal with them however you see fit."

The Man nodded briskly, adjusted his suit, and limped around the corner of the machine.

"We have to go," Drea said, tugging Nicole's arm. "We have to get out of here."

Nicole couldn't move, shock keeping her muscles numb and useless. Dark figures materialized in the center of the space. A spark of hope appeared in the midst of the void consuming her as they solidified into familiar, murky forms.

No, not familiar. Something was unstable about these forms, like a jagged edge in motion.

The spark vanished. These weren't her srye.

They were the Pack.

"We have to go!" Drea repeated. She and Aaron pulled Nicole up, but DEC already blocked the exit.

The Man limped steadily toward them, politely avoiding the Pack. "I must thank you children for your cooperation. You were most helpful."

Drea yanked out the gun she'd taken from him and leveled it at him. "Stay back!"

"Or you'll shoot me? I doubt it." He continued forward.

Drea took half a step back, then yanked on the trigger. The gun clicked.

"You really thought I'd let you take a loaded gun from me?" He chuckled and shook his head. "This job, while remarkably entertaining, was by far the easiest I've had for some time."

"You said they couldn't use the machine here," Aaron protested.

The Man laughed out loud this time, the laugh ending with a slight cough, a hand pressed against the bullet wound in his torso.

"He was lying." Nicole's voice came out too flat again. She tried to force herself to feel something, anything, but nothing came. She could already feel the bonds of reality slipping away just outside, feel the world tearing itself apart as violently as she had been torn moments earlier. Speaking seemed to help, though, providing some sort of distraction from the mire that drew her deeper in by the moment. "I don't understand what the Pack wants with a gate near the house of the passed form."

"Give the clever girl a hand. Had it been one of your dull-minded companions, I'm certain you never would have sorted out my clue about the 'graven stronghold.'" The Man smiled. "It's so much more realistic when you have to figure it out yourself, though. As for what good the gate will be..." He glanced back at the machine. "The gate isn't open at the house of the passed form anymore, now, is it."

She'd opened it while standing in the correct coordinates for that location. But now the gate was secured by the machine. Not the same coordinates. And two steps in this dimension could translate into miles back home.

"There it is," The Man said, his mouth widening into the most terrible smile Nicole had ever seen, delighting in the horrified understanding on her face. "Yes, the Aeronium. Well, not precisely, but close enough to affect it and generate the desired results. Not as precise as our former location, but we can't always get what we want."

The Pack and the boss were speaking, but Nicole heard nothing but a dull roar in her ears. Everything grew distant around her. She was the last one who could travel between the dimensions, the last one who could open the barriers. The machine had taken that ability from her. It had taken her, in a real sense, and left behind nothing but this stilted, small form.

"Nicole!" Drea's fingers dug into her shoulder. "You have to shut this down. You can do it!"

"Quit sniveling. It's not in her control any longer." The Man drew a gun and pointed it at them. "You four are no longer necessary."

Aaron pushed in front of the others, arms spread in defense.

"Don't," Nicole whispered. She struggled to give life to her voice. "They have no part in this. Let them live."

The Man tilted his head, listening. "As I understand it, killing them now may be the greater mercy, rather than letting them live in what will be left after DEC is finished."

Nicole heard it, too, but more than that, felt it, felt the world tearing apart at the seams outside the shelter offered by the opened gate in the center of the room. Despair sank her deeper into the pit, smothered her, tore aside her last fragile grasp on her being and allowing the nothingness to swallow her. She crumpled to the floor, the bonds of this form falling apart as thoroughly as she herself had.

"Nicole!" Drea cried.

The Man smirked and watched, looking amused and fascinated and thoroughly entertained.

Nicole's hollow eyes shifted from him to the Pack filling the room, to the darkness of the gate. The gate that should be hers to control.

Hers. It was hers. Technically, it was her.

The thought rattled through the remaining traces of her mind. She struggled for control over her dissolving muscles. Found the note.

Her chest wouldn't contract, wouldn't give it voice. She pushed harder. A weak note emerged from raw vocal cords.

Aaron, Drea, and Ruby's faces floated over her, talking to her in voices incomprehensible.

She pushed again, pouring all of her focus, all of her remaining self into the one act. The note rang through the space, carried onward by the lingering wind, directly into the open gate.

The room fell silent, staring at her, watching the gate, uncertain what would happen next.

The machine trembled and rattled.

"What's happening? What did she do?" the boss demanded.

The Pack stared, confusion on their distorted faces.

"I believe she's attempting to regain control," The Man said, sounding even more amused now.

The boss scowled. "Why are they still alive?"

"No reason at all." The Man lifted his gun once more.

The ground shook hard enough to nearly knock him off his feet as the machine gave one more violent shake, then the note burst out from the heart of the machine, so strong and clear that it shook the air in the room and shattered the windows above.

Nicole found herself on her feet, running on legs that now worked as naturally as if she'd walked in this form all her life. Her higher-dimensional form, in its wholeness, had been too much for this physical body to handle, crippling her legs. But her whole form was no longer there. Half of her had been torn away to power the machine, and now her legs moved unhindered. The emptiness clutched at her, struggling to draw her back inside, but the note carried her onward, the lost half of herself screaming out from within the machine.

People shouted around her. Hands swiped at her as she passed. The Pack's jagged edges tore at her skin. But they staggered and stumbled, unable to keep their balance as the machine's violence increased, its very being rebelling against its functioning as the missing part of herself fought with all its might.

"Stop her! Grab her!" the boss' voice carried above the chaos unfurling throughout the room. The ground pitched sharply, and he tumbled over the railing, barely catching himself on the metal grating.

Nicole leapt onto the machine and scaled the face of it, barely noticing the moving parts that could easily crush her as she nimbly climbed her way toward the control platform. One of the Pack jumped after her, clawing for a grip, but the machine bucked him off even as it seemed to pull her onward, lifting her closer with each second.

The boss kicked and spun in place, sweating as his fingers barely clung to the platform. "Help!"

Nicole jumped and caught the edge of the platform only inches from the balding man. Her momentum carried her up and over the railing.

The platform was clear of DEC. Those that hadn't been thrown off like the boss had fled the tumultuous machine. The platform kicked and jerked beneath her more violently than the floor had, but she found herself adapting to the rhythms as easily as if she herself controlled the movement. In a sense, she did.

She saw it then, encased in glass above the control panel. He hadn't been lying when he said the pyramid powered the machine. The note swept around her, buoying her rush toward the panel, hands reaching out to tear the glass cover aside.

"Stop."

The calm authority in the voice cut through the wind, the screams surrounding her, even made the note pause for a brief moment, threatening to deposit her back into a non-functioning blob on the floor. She turned, hands still grasping the cover.

The Man stood beside the dark gate, one arm wrapped across Drea's neck, the other holding a gun to the girl's temple. Blood streaked down the side of her face, and she clawed ineffectively at his grip. Aaron lay behind them, not moving. Ruby huddled over his still form, her nose bloody and her cheeks streaked with tears.

The Man's eyes were narrow with that same coldness, that calculation she'd come to know from him. "You have the count of three to get down from there before your friend's brains get the privilege of visiting another dimension."

Nicole couldn't move, her body locked in place by icy fear.

"One."

"Let her go," she tried.

Drea fixed her eyes on Nicole and shook her head. The promise. Nicole had promised. Her goal had to be stopping the machine, not saving Drea's life.

She felt sick.

"Two."

"I'm sorry," Nicole whispered. She yanked the cover off and tore the pyramid free from the base that connected it to the machine.

The Man's face twisted in cold rage.

Ruby screamed and tackled him as he fired. Drea fell from his grip to the floor, and he reeled, struggling to push Ruby off him. The gun flew into the gate and seemed to separate into individual pieces before vanishing into the other dimension.

The machine jerked and roared like a wounded animal. The edges of the gate blurred once more as the machine's grip on it weakened. The wind returned with a violent howl.

The Man staggered and fought for balance, the wind tearing at him. Drea caught Ruby and pulled her off The Man as the wind won the battle, knocking him into the open gate.

His eyes widened in wonder, his limbs torn outward in a ragged star shape. But the gate was already closing, and the edge caught him before he could pass through. The wonder turned into a silent scream of terror and agony before his body was torn to shreds and vanished.

The Pack scrambled over each other to reach the gate before it closed, their bodies rapidly fading back into shadow.

Ruby screamed as the wind lifted her off the floor, trying to sweep her after The Man, but Drea kept her grip on the other girl. Aaron crawled closer and caught Ruby's other arm, and the three of them clung to each other.

Nicole wanted to cry out to them to hold on, to rush down to them and help them, but her feet remained rooted in place, the wind whipping her hair around but not daring to touch her otherwise as the note resonated stronger, more powerfully, the stolen part of herself seeking its way back to her and tearing the machine to shreds in the process.

She should climb down, she realized, as a massive chunk of metal flew past her head. The boss screamed as something slammed into him and carried him across the room into the stack of solid crates. He tumbled to the ground and didn't rise again.

But her feet still wouldn't obey, instead answering a much stronger call, the one thing keeping her together and upright. She felt it break free of the machine in a thunderous crash of grinding metal and breaking joints more horrible and destructive than what Drea had done to the first machine. It swallowed her whole, enveloping her with a warmth that superseded any fear for her physical safety. The emptiness fled as the note sank back into her chest, rejoined her body, drowned out the sounds of panic and terror and destruction below.

The remaining Pack shrieked as the gate slammed shut, dissolving them painfully back into their own dimension. The tearing shockwave working its way through the fabric of reality outside the building similarly dissolved away into nothing. The machine groaned and wailed as it struggled to cling to life. And then Nicole was falling.

Chapter 16

Nicole opened her eyes to incredible stillness around her. No wind, no shaking machine, not even rumbling trucks. She sat up and winced as her body complained in response to the movement, but it seemed mild compared to what she'd been subject to in the last couple days. The pyramid rested in her hands. It looked smaller now, somehow. She stuffed it into her pocket and looked around.

She was on the floor of the building, machine parts strewn about her, the machine itself sagging behind her in a sad lump of failure. A few DEC struggled their way out from under the debris, shot terrified looks in her direction, and bolted for the nearest exit.

New awareness jolted her system. She tried to push herself up, eyes searching the mess for her three friends. Her legs wouldn't support her, and she crumbled back to the floor. Figured they'd go back to their previous uncooperative ways.

A large panel of metal shifted to one side, uncovering Aaron and Drea's upper bodies.

Nicole scrambled across the floor toward them. "Are you okay?"

"No," Ruby's angry voice came from underneath another panel. "Are you kidding me? Are we okay? We just had a freaking building fall apart on us! And—"

"She's fine, obviously," Drea grunted.

Nicole helped Aaron move the other panel off Ruby. Ruby sat up shakily, trying to restore order to her torn and dirty clothes. "Stupid creeps. I hope they rot in jail for the rest of their lives."

Nicole saw a patch of red and turned her attention to Drea. "You're hurt."

"I'll live. It was just a graze." Drea examined the bloody gash across her arm, then shot a look in Ruby's direction. "You know, it works a lot better if you push the gun _upward_ , not _downward_ so you pretty much guarantee the person gets hit."

"Whatever. I saved your life. You're just mad because you owe me now."

Aaron managed to get the rest of the metal clear and helped Ruby stand. "Seeing what happened to that guy when he got sucked into that gate thing, I think her catching you makes it more than even."

Ruby rolled her eyes, but she didn't deny it.

Nicole helped Drea wrap the wound. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't trusted him—"

"We all fell for his act," Aaron said. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, you beat them in the end, and that's all that matters, right?"

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Aaron crossed to the far door and opened it. "Woah."

Ruby joined him at the door. Drea painfully stood and shoved a broken rod at Nicole before following. Nicole found the machine part a suitable enough cane and joined the others.

A wide circle of earth remained intact around the building, testifying to the outer limits of the gate's protection. Beyond that, the smooth pavement looked like it had been run through a meat grinder and spat back into place. The lake still boiled, the surface resting several feet lower than it had before. The city beyond that was alive with lights and sirens. It seemed that, by some small miracle, she'd managed to stop the machine before the shockwave could reach the city.

Nicole stepped back inside and sat down on a crumpled object that might have once been a full-sized crate. She didn't want to see out the other side. She was only relieved that there was nothing out here, no people, just the DEC storage facilities.

"We should get going," Aaron said. "They'll be sending out cops to check out what happened."

"More like the National Guard," Ruby corrected. She turned toward the front door, then froze. "Oh, no."

"What?" Drea asked.

"My car. My car!" Ruby bolted, jumping over chunks of metal in her mad scramble to the other door.

Aaron groaned and jogged after her. "Ruby, slow down!"

Drea rolled her eyes and offered Nicole a hand up with her good arm. "I do believe the princess is about to have a royal fit."

Nicole picked her way across the room more carefully and emerged out the door to find another mess of chaos waiting. The other buildings had gone through the same meat grinder as the pavement beneath them, resulting in a relatively flat surface like a rock path made of chunks of pavement and building parts. She had to use a lot more concentration on her footing to keep both feet and the makeshift cane relatively stable. "Do you think her car made it?"

"Doubtful." Drea eyed Nicole. "You familiar with the term 'karma'?"

"I'm familiar with it."

"I guess you guys have your own perspective of how the universe works, being all 'higher dimension' and all."

Nicole shrugged in a deliberately noncommittal way. "We have our own understanding, yes. It's a bit more... complicated than the concept of karma would put it."

"Imagine that." Drea shook her head. "Anyway, I was just thinking. I can't tell exactly how far the damage goes, but I think there's a good chance it didn't quite reach her car before it got cut off. So here's what I think: if the universe decided that she's a decent enough person, then her car survived. If it decided she isn't, then her car got trashed like everything else."

"I doubt it's really that simple."

"Probably isn't, but it's funny to think about."

The only way they were able to tell when they'd crossed the road was when the chunks of building in the ground under their feet became slightly more charred in appearance. The cluster of burned buildings hadn't all been destroyed, though, and a couple of skeletal walls remained upright at the far end of the property, testament to where the shockwave had died out.

"What do you know," Drea mused. "If those are still up, her car must've made it. Go figure."

A shrill voice reached their ears, hurrying them onward. "I can't believe this! I can't BELIEVE this! I almost get myself KILLED, and I come back to THIS?"

Nicole panted slightly as she approached the car. Aaron stood to the side, fighting to keep a sympathetic expression on his face.

Ruby was stomping around the back of the car, arms waving in furious tirade. She spotted Nicole and jabbed a finger at her. "You! This is all your fault! I swear, you're going to pay for this!"

Nicole was so distracted by Ruby's flailing arms that it took her a moment to see what had the girl so upset. An inch of the car's rear bumper was missing. The angle Ruby had parked at had left just that one small corner of her car exposed to the shockwave, and it was completely gone, dissolved into tiny chunks of silver melded with the chunks of pavement and building in the ground.

Drea stared at the damage for a long moment, then looked at Nicole. Her lips twitched in a snicker.

"What are you laughing about, you freak? You planned this, I know you did! You're going to pay! You're all going to pay!" Ruby shrieked.

Drea couldn't hold it back any longer. She doubled over with laughter. Aaron lost it in that moment, as well. Ruby shot a betrayed scowl at him.

A giggle escaped Nicole before she could stop it.

Ruby spun and planted her fists on her hips. "Don't you dare. Don't you even dare."

Nicole was helpless to stop it. She dropped to her knees, laughing too hard to stay upright.

"Stop it!"

They laughed all the harder.

"Come on, you guys..." Ruby glanced down at the damaged bumper. Her lips twitched, and she quickly pushed them back into a scowl. "I hate you guys. I really do. Every one of you."

But she was smiling as she said it.

* * *

Ruby pulled the car off the road and cut the engine. "Are you sure you don't want to come back to my house? You can rest, get patched up. And Suzanna makes this amazing coffee drink with these crazy spices in it."

"Thank you, but no." Nicole got out of the car, looking around. Ruby had taken them far enough away from the site to avoid the emergency vehicles coming out to investigate matters, far enough even to escape all but the faintest traces of the stench that had been so prevalent beside the lake. Like the area by the compound, this place was barren, devoid of any potential witnesses. She wasn't entirely sure where it lined up with her home dimension, but after what had just happened, she doubted it made much difference.

Drea climbed out of the car. "Are you sure it's okay to go back now?"

"It should be. The reason I was in danger was because the Pack was working with DEC to make that machine work. But the machine's destroyed—all of them, and all the extra parts to make them with—and I think it's safe to say DEC is no longer an issue. And they no longer have what they need to make it work." Her hand rested on the pocket holding the pyramid.

"But your dudes, that guy you talked to. They said not to go back."

Nicole felt a slight pang, but pushed it aside. No point in fretting in fear when she was about to learn the truth for certain. "I believe the Pack will have stopped their attack when their plans failed. But I'm about to find out." If she was wrong, she'd be surrounded by the Pack instead. But that wasn't too big a threat. All she'd have to do is close the gate on them.

"You sure you can't hang out?" Aaron asked. He leaned on the open car door beside him.

She turned, taking in all three of them. "I don't really belong here."

"No kidding," Ruby said under her breath, but her lips curved in a tiny smile.

Nicole couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you. All of you. I couldn't have made it without all of your help." She glanced at Drea. "Tell Jeanie thanks, too."

Drea gave her a thumbs up.

Nicole walked away from the car, leaving them there, watching. She stopped in the middle of the field, found the note, and let it resonate through her. The air around her darkened, and then she was surrounded. She tensed, ready to slam the gate shut.

" _Kseri_ ," Srye Ornez said, taking her hands. "Are you injured?"

She nearly collapsed in relief. "I thought—I was afraid... You were under attack, and I was afraid you'd been defeated."

He shook his head. "We were taken by surprise, but not defeated. We lost track of you. Why did you not remain hidden like I told you?"

She closed her eyes. "I thought you were being killed. I thought I had to stop them on my own." But that had been a lie, just like almost everything The Man had said. "It's over now. DEC was defeated."

"So we gathered from how hastily the Pack retreated." He smiled. "You did well. Are you ready to return home?"

She nodded. She'd never been more ready. Still, she looked back at the car. "Send the others through first."

Srye Ornez nodded, and the other srye faded back through the gate.

Nicole expanded on the note, stretching the gate open wider to permit her return. Colors of iridescent shimmer rolled through the darkness as it expanded, like a pearly rainbow over a storm cloud in the sky. She turned and waved to her friends.

* * *

Drea lifted her hand in response to Nicole's wave, then leaned across the car to poke the back of Ruby's head. "Wave, you dip."

Ruby made a face, but waved.

The girl in the field and the man beside her faded away into nothing just before the darkness vanished, leaving nothing in the dry grass but a broken rod from the destroyed machine.

Ruby got back into the car and fired it up, renewing the blast of Beiber's overly feminine vocals. Aaron stared out into the field a moment longer, then climbed into the car.

Drea felt a faint temptation to run out into the field and grab the rod, part as a souvenir of what she'd survived and part as a memento of the weird, naïve, doe-eyed girl who turned out to be from another dimension. She smirked and dropped into her seat. Not like she was going to forget what had happened anytime soon.

Ruby shoved the car into gear and pulled away, putting the field behind them. They rode in silence for a long moment.

"So," Aaron finally said. "Who's up for ice cream?"

THE END

About the Author

I enjoy life with my life-mate and little sprout in the Pacific Northwest. I obtained a degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University in Kirkland, WA, which I use to create fully dimensional characters with unique personalities and quirks. In fiction, I'm a huge fan of all things speculative: anything where the rules of reality need not apply. My books include traditional fantasy, space fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and more. When not writing, I can usually be found reading, watching movies, or wasting entirely too much time on the internet.

Connect with me at

cybishop.com

**The "Pay What You Want"** **Quarantine Deal**

It's hard to know where to begin. Most of us have never faced anything like this, not on this scale, and it can be an odd mixture of scary, frustrating, uncertain, and boring as we all do our best to stay secluded and help defeat COVID-19.

In light of this (and the increased need for entertainment options it has presented), I am offering a new payment structure for my books during this time. All of my ebooks are now available at no up-front charge. That's right; you can now download any of my ebooks completely free.

After you have read the book, you then get to decide for yourself what that ebook was worth. Was the entertainment you experienced worth a dollar? Three? Five? More? Whatever you decide is what you get to pay.

For your convenience, there are two options for how to make this payment: through my website, cybishop.com, or through paypal.me/cybishop.

So stay home, stay hydrated, wash your hands, and enjoy some time reading!
