Anna dreamed of a distant plain. She stood in waist-high grass that swayed in rolling waves with the soft wind. Next to her stood a figure twice her height—the figure with the round white hat from the other world. Anna stood in its shadow. Its bone-like hand reached down to Anna as if it were beckoning her to follow. She looked up into its face and saw its eyes for the first time. What she thought were two empty holes were actually round discs filled with tiny spinning lights. No, not lights—galaxies were spinning in its eyes. Billions of stars, endless and outside of time. Without speaking, the figure told her:
It is time to go.
Anna opened her eyes and blinked.
A campfire burned bright in front of her. She was lying on her side on the softest pillow she had ever felt. There was a sudden pop from the fire, and sparks shot upward to slowly fade in the night sky. At the base of the fire, embers glowed red, and Anna smelled the most pleasant scent of cinnamon and cedar. At first she thought she was still dreaming. But then she felt small hammers take turns pounding her forehead. Nope, only reality could feel this bad.
Mara sat across from her. Silent. Her arms crossed and her expression set like stone. Without moving her head, Anna scanned the area to figure out where she was. It took a second. Her head was still blurry, but she finally recognized the deck and fire pit outside Mara’s home that overlooked Tyson Lake. She just had no idea how she’d gotten there. Anna knew she may be safe, but from the expression on Mara’s face, she was still in trouble.
Anna went back to gazing at the fire in silence. Mara continued to stare straight ahead. Neither of them spoke for several moments. Both waited for the other to start. SID broke the silence, its voice bright over Anna’s iCom.
<Your readings indicated you suffered oxygen deprivation, but fortunately no cerebral hypoxia or heart and brain damage. I gave you a treatment of concentrated oxygen while you slept. You should be fine except for the severe headache and nausea. Isn’t that good news?>
Anna’s head hurt so badly that tears welled up in her eyes and rolled gently down her cheek to be soaked up by the pillow.
“What part of straight up and straight down didn’t you understand?” Mara finally spoke. Her voice wasn’t angry or elevated, just tired. “I’m so mad at you.”
“I know.”
Anna looked up. Mara’s eyes shimmered in the firelight. The two sat in silence for another minute.
“I don’t know if it means anything to you, but I was worried sick,” Mara said quietly. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t think I’d feel like this, but I do. I’ve been alone for so long I’d forgotten what it’s like to care about someone. To have a friend. To have something to lose.”
“A friend?”
Mara smiled as a slightly quizzical look crossed her face. “Of course, a friend. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still mad at you. You’re all I have, Anna.”
Anna smiled. The pounding in her head started to fade. The ice had broken.
“How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t hard. I just looked for a girl falling from a hole in the sky. There aren’t too many of those around,” Mara said. “Your boots slowed your descent just like I said they would.”
“Yay,” Anna said meekly.
“Once your system was back online, I took over control of your boots and guided you back here.”
Anna smiled. The idea of her floating around the countryside upside down in the dead of night made her want to laugh, but her head still hurt too much. “I wonder what the cows must have thought seeing me float across the fields?”
“‘Oh, look. What an obstinate, thick-headed child.’ If I’d known you were going to fly around the entire valley instead of straight to the wormhole like I told you, I’d have wrapped you in a cloaking device. I’ll need to work on that.” Mara paused for a moment, then sighed. “Was it worth it? Going through the wormhole to the other side?”
Anna thought about what to say next, then smiled broadly. “Yeah. Yes. A thousand times. There is so much I want to tell you—so much that was different in the world I saw. I’m afraid I can’t remember it all.”
“Was it beautiful?”
“It was the most amazing place I’ve ever seen. Oceans like our world, with giant animals just below the surface of the water. They had to have been three or four times as big as a whale. There were dense forests and craggy mountains. I saw trees the size of skyscrapers.”
“I may be mad, but I’m also envious. I wish I had been there with you.”
“I’m sorry I made a mess of things. Were you able to get what you needed, at least? The data you were looking for? I’d hate to think the whole night was a waste.”
“Yes, I was able to find data. Lots of it. I just don’t have a clue what most of it means. There were no energy signatures. No gravitational waves. Nothing. Based on what I saw, there is no reason the wormhole should’ve ever existed in the first place. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to open a wormhole, and even more to keep it stable.”
“I don’t understand,” Anna said.
“I’m beginning to think my time travel here didn’t cause the wormholes after all. Which means some other force caused it.” Mara’s voice drifted. “And made it disappear almost at the exact moment you fell from the sky. But I had nothing to do with it, and that’s what concerns me.”
Mara stared absently at the fire in front of her as if she were still processing that last sentence. Anna used the pause in the conversation to work up the nerve to sit upright. She took in a deep breath and pushed herself up to a seated position. She was still lightheaded, but the pounding had stopped. She held the pillow close to her chest for comfort.
“Onto other good news. Do you remember once asking me what we might find on the other side of these wormholes? Well, I think we found out tonight.” Mara leaned forward. “SID? Can you pull up the video posted to social media earlier?”
A large rectangle of light, translucent and slightly curved like a TV screen, floated feet off the ground between Mara and Anna. On the left side of the screen, a large browser window appeared with a blurred image and a Play button.
“What is this?” Anna asked.
“It’s footage captured earlier tonight from a local girl named Katie Summerfield. SID, can you play the video please?”
It took a moment for Anna’s eyes to adjust to the dark and blurry image. But as the video started to roll and the image cleared, the almost pitch-black figure snapped into view. Humanlike but definitely not human. Pie-sized eyes. A round head with no perceivable mouth or nose. Black skin that seemed to absorb light. Feather-like structures swept back from its round head. Anna jumped when the figure hurtled toward the video camera. The picture froze then went blank.
“Close screen, SID,” Mara asked.
“Ohhh, that’s not good,” Anna whispered. “What are we going to do?”
“I’ve scanned your town’s police channels, phone lines, and social media feeds. It looks like some of the locals are already on the hunt for the creature as we speak. If it’s found, it will change your world in profound ways.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“No.” Mara shook her head. “All I know is that it’s not of this world.”
“So it’s an alien. A real-life alien and proof that life exists elsewhere. And we’re not going to get a chance to learn more about it because half the town is hunting for it! Have you seen the road signs around here? They’re covered in bullet holes. That creature doesn’t have a chance.” Anna jumped up. “We have to find it before it gets hurt.”
“Or someone gets hurt. We have no idea what this creature can do or how it thinks. It could be dangerous. I’m not letting you continue this on your own,” Mara sighed. “It’s time I join you on the other side of this wall.”
“What about all that ‘putting the future at risk’ stuff?”
“Considering this video already has ten thousand views, I’d say chances of stopping changes to your timeline are . . . zero. I’m more concerned about the future of you at this moment,” Mara said. “It’ll be much more efficient if we work together anyway. And safer.”
“Awesome! It’s about time.” Anna smiled. “But wait. What happens if someone sees you or tries to talk to you? This is a small town. People will notice. My uncle will notice. And, no offense, but your future-girl outfit doesn’t exactly blend in.”
“Hmm.” Mara frowned.
“You could wear a disguise?” Anna offered.
“A disguise doesn’t explain why an adult is spending a good part of the day hanging around a child. That would look suspicious.”
“Yeah, good point,” Anna said.
“I need a reason to spend hours of time at your house without causing suspicion,” Mara said.
“How about being my tutor?” Anna offered. “No one would be surprised if I were working with a teacher.”
“A teacher?” Mara worked it around in her head. “That’s not a bad idea. It would explain why I’m around. But what kind of teacher?”
“Hopefully a patient one. You can just say you’re tutoring me for college prep.”
“Perfect. I’ll work on a story tonight. Then we should get started in the morning.” Mara’s voice trailed off.
A silence floated between them—a different silence than before. Mara looked expectantly at Anna, not sure what to say. Her face filled with something Anna hadn’t seen before: doubt.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked.
“Yes, I just . . . can’t remember.” Mara shook her head as she stood from her chair. “I can’t remember what it was like to be outside. I mean really outside. With other people.”
Anna smiled. “I’ll be there with you.”
Mara sighed deeply, then returned the smile. “Yes you will.”