Final Exam
By
Rob Astor

Foomp! The blanket jerked away, interrupting Xack’s warm, peaceful world of sleep. It can’t be morning already. “C’mon, Xack. Rise and shine. We gotta get goin’.”
Squeezing his eyes tight, the younger teenager rolled onto his side, embracing his pillow. Cool air caressed his bare back as he fought to return to the quiet blackness. Xack had never been a morning person.
“I let you sleep in.” Rob was persistent. “Now you just got enough time to get up.”
Xack moaned. “Man, Rob, we can skip homeroom and first hour,” he tried to bargain.
“Not today. Exams.” Xack sighed. “Matt’s waiting.” Lazily, Xack rolled onto his back. His pale blue eyes focused on Rob standing near the end of the bed. Rob fluffed his wavy blonde hair, which was highlighted with red streaks. Rob’s expression betrayed impatience.
Rob picked up a plastic cup covered with condensation in his left hand. “Okay. Ice water or tickling. How do you want to die this morning?” Rob grinned, hazel eyes gleaming. His right hand clasped Xack’s left ankle. Water sloshed as ice rattled in the shaking cup.
Sudden adrenaline snapped Xack out of his slumber. He swung off the bed. What a choice! Assassination by freezing or laughing.
Rob smiled with satisfaction, setting the cup down. Grudgingly, Xack quickly pulled on a sky blue t-shirt and exchanged his gray sweat pants for blue jeans. He combed his straight black, red highlighted hair. Stepping socked feet into loose sneakers, Xack picked up his backpack and looked up at his taller friend. “What’s taking you so long?”
They filed from their dorm room to the youth center’s makeshift cafeteria. “‘Bout time.” Arms crossed over his chest, brown hair sculpted in a long spiked cut, Matt leaned against the breakfast counter. His angular features looked harsher than normal. Blue denim legs were crossed as well. “Kip and Linka caught the Byrail.”
“Not my fault, Matt.” Rob made a pointing motion toward Xack. He picked up a bunch of bananas, a jug of orange juice, and a bottle of water.
“X-Man sleeping late again?” Matt looked at Xack, annoyed. Xack blushed, plucking up a pair of oranges. He spooned cream and sugar into a hot coffee and looped an index finger around a bottle of water. The trio made their way to the exit. “I noticed you’ve been staying up late,” Matt said.
“Studying, okay?” Xack’s wasn’t in a good mood. He walked stiffly, scowling. “I wish you guys would quit picking on me.” Xack roughly shoved the door open. It’s not like I do drugs or something.
The bright sun stung Xack’s eyes as they walked into the parking lot. Rob put on red rectangular glasses. Matt squinted. Xack took a long sip of coffee.
Stepping up to his domed red hovercar, Rob touched a control pad, unlocking the New Zimlliaan manufactured vehicle. Rob sat behind the steering console. Matt took the passenger seat. Xack tossed his bag in back, plopping onto the plush red cushion. He put the water between his legs, the coffee into a holder on the right, and the oranges to the left.
“Set altitude to fifteen meters,” Rob said. The boat-like vehicle lifted high over the pavement, hovering until Rob joined a lane of sparse air traffic. Xack leaned back, pulling out his iPod. He put the earbuds in and turned on the holographic projection. Listening to Mozart and watching a display of geometric shapes and musical notes, Xack peeled and pulled apart an orange, eating a slice.
While Rob drove toward school, Xack gazed at the cityscape of Albany, New York. It had been dramatically altered twice. First by the New Zimlliaans. Second by a battle to drive them out of the city.
Damage was evident among some of the kilometer high structures. Skyscrapers suffered shattered windows, ugly black gouges, or were missing half their original stature. Parts of the once spaceport city lay in complete in ruin.
Floating cars and trucks, powered by a superconductor technology called hyperpulsion, weaved silent courses through the fractured cityscape. The city’s newest municipal transportation system, the New Zimlliaan Byrail, swooped along below dual tracks, making stops at every tourist destination.
Surrounding Albany was a powerful invisible electromagnetic shield, keeping the invaders at bay. Other cities were protected as well, most in this part of what was left of the United States. Estimates of two years to close off all North America were given by their military squad, a small band of resistance fighters they joined.
Safe inside Albany, the young men were under strict orders to try to lead normal lives by their many surrogate parents. Strange they still had to practice self-defense and using weapons, Xack thought. But the shadow of the New Zimlliaan threat was ever prevalent.
Outside the force field, floating high in the azure sky, one of the alien ships waited, perched like a vulture. The X’hal Minor. Its dark gray, rectangular bulk was a constant reminder of the threat the New Zs posed to Earth. Cold tritanium bulk glimmered in the sunlight. The sides of the craft were bent down at a seventy-degree angle. A conning tower and bridge loomed over a small city of buildings along the top of the gargantuan construction.
Xack felt cold, unmerciful alien eyes watching them. Waiting for them to lower their guard. Size belying the New Zimlliaan ship’s true power, the viper was poised to strike. As it had before, raining destruction and terror down upon the city.
* * *
Standing in the entry line of one of Albany’s newer educational institutions, a New Zimlliaan built school with seemingly impossible lines of construction, the group of five best friends formed a close knot. Rob dumped banana peels into a green trashcan. “Being born in the year of the monkey doesn’t mean you have to eat like one, Peacock,” Kip chided the blonde. Kip had handsome Irish features and a large, playful grin. Xack nearly spit out a mouthful of water holding down a laugh.
At Kip’s side, a young woman with long blonde hair caught up in a white banana comb slapped his bicep. “Not nice, Yankee,” Linka scolded.
“Smack him for me, Linka,” Rob added.
“X-Man liked it,” Kip chuckled. He turned to Xack. “So, we gotta change your bedtime to like seven at night?”
Xack’s eyes rolled. “I was studying, okay? Not that you would know anything about it.”
“Torched you, Rick Kid,” Matt chuckled at Kip.
“Someday, Xack will be just as smart as me.” Linka giggled.
They moved up to the entryway. A tunnel of metal flanked by security guards awaited them. Scanned as they entered, right down to the bone marrow, the security device found nothing threatening. The bored guards waved them in.
* * *
Sitting next to Rob in class, Xack studied the holographic projection floating over a bowl-like depression in the floor. There was a map drawn in multiple colors, a highly sophisticated star map, depicted as a Rhombic Dodecahedron in fifth dimensional space. Stars floated before his eyes, dancing, shifting positions in the void. This reminds me of Astronomy class back home, Rob’s thoughts entered Xack’s mind telepathically.
Xack gave a slight smile. If only the world hadn’t gone to hell, Xack reflected thoughts back to his best friend. Rob was a brother in every sense to him, except biologically. Sharing private conversations with Rob telepathically was special. Something Xack enjoyed doing.
“Keep in mind, this exam lasts all week,” their instructor, Mrs. Barry, was saying. Dressed in a white lab coat, she paced behind students seated around the holographic display. She wore round glasses, her dark hair caught up in a bun on top of her skull. The booming voice she used to address the class contrasted her petite figure. “You can use your books, your notes, and your calculators.” Xack glanced at her as she passed near he and Rob. “Answer the questions completely and show your work for every equation. Time starts now.”
Xack opened his black “Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry” textbook. Taking a course in the mathematics the New Zs used to travel through space was exciting. Discovering answers to reality he never considered was thrilling. Solving his questions about creation could prove phenomenal. Life altering. Xack was compelled to know how the aliens came from the other side of the galaxy’s center to Earth’s position in space.
Writing his name at the top of the page, Xack glanced at his watch to copy down the date. They were simple numbers, hovering silently in the liquid crystal display. But those numbers gave Xack pause. Troubled him. Memory flashed through his mind.
All the air in Xack’s lungs exhaled in a long, silent whoosh. His heart sank. He lay his black pen down. Body stiff, Xack felt guilty. Ashamed.
What’s wrong? Rob’s voice entered his mind. Xack’s anxiety had spilled over to Rob. Rob could feel sudden rushes of emotion. Sometimes, it annoyed Xack not having total personal privacy.
Xack’s eyes watered. He pulled back on the sadness. Held it in. Today is my mom’s birthday, Xack sent his thoughts back to Rob. I forgot my mom’s birthday.
Pausing, Rob set his pen down, glancing sideways at his younger companion. Xack felt Rob’s left hand rubbing his back and shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Xack nodded, choking up. Hot tears slid down his cheeks. He lowered his head. Wiped them away. Fighting for control, Xack took a deep breath. Held it. Swallowed. Regaining composure, Xack diverted his attention back to his exam. Rob’s comforting hand withdrew.
Reading the first question, Xack was instructed to name the basic object used to described fifth dimensional space. Picking up his pen, Xack wrote, “Tesseract or Hypercube.”
The next question asked him to explain, in his own words, the two extra spatial directions in fifth dimensional space. Xack wrote, “Objects can move forward and backward, up and down, sideways, freely through points in time, and freely across alternate planes of reality.”
Xack reread his own answer several times, focusing on moving through time. If only he could go back to his family. If only he’d never been sent to Rob’s house through the Intercity Exchange Student Program hosted by the New Zs. If only everyone in his hometown hadn’t turned up missing. What he wouldn’t give to spend one more day with them.
The next question Xack paid attention to was a calculation. He had to plot a course through hyperspace from Earth’s solar system to Proxima Centauri using a wormhole. The end point in time had to be one week from the departure of Earth, as opposed to the four point three years it would take traveling at the speed of light.
Drawing out diagrams and listing equations, Xack leaned on his left hand, focused. Deep in thought. He tapped on his calculator, glancing up at the holographic map floating in the middle of class.
The void between stars was like the void in his life. His family was gone. He didn’t know if they were dead or alive. Simply vanished without a trace. All thanks to the New Zimlliaans. The same people who created the math he was working on now.
The next problem Xack tackled was a theoretical problem. However, the math implied otherwise. He was instructed to plot a course through time by way of skipping past at least five alternate realities. Xack stared at the words, grasping their possible probabilities.
If this was the same math the New Zs used to travel through space, Xack could theoretically plot a course back in time to rejoin his family. The implication was staggering. Even The Theory Of Relativity explained once an object reached the speed of light, it was possible to appear anywhere in the universe. Xack’s heart pounded in his brain. Excitement swelled within his chest.
Every part of Xack’s being told him it had to be true. Going home was a very real possibility. Rob had been captured by the New Zimlliaans. They sent him to a future time where he underwent a physiological transformation. Rob was sent back to nearly the same point in time as his departure. This equation was the same basic concept. Xack could plot a course home. If only he had the equipment to open his own personal wormhole!
Xack suddenly appreciated the irony of studying the New Zimlliaan mathematics of Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry.
* * *
Dressed in his body hugging red and gray team uniform, Xack sat on the edge of the bed, pulling hyperpulsion powered skates on over his white socks. Matt and Kip were engaged in a friendly rivalry over a holographic video game. Linka read from a book of poetry. She occasionally glanced at the pair, smirking. Rob was working on exam problems at his desktop computer. An inverted triangular holographic display, spreading two meters by two meters, hovered in the air in front of him.
Xack stood. He touched a control on the belt, causing him to lift off the floor by six inches. “I gotta get to practice.” Xack started for the door, Kip waving a hand without looking at him.
“Hey!” Rob’s voice caused Xack to jump. He was painfully nervous. Equations filled Xack’s head, their possibilities creating a tantalizing tangle he needed to unravel. Xack paused, not looking back. He didn’t want Rob to see what was going on inside
Rob came over to Xack. He was at eye level thanks to the hoverskates. “You okay, Xack? You’ve been quiet all day. I feel a little put off.” Rob’s lips turned up slightly in the corners.
Xack nodded. But his expression was less than convincing. “You’re not shutting me out again, are you?” Rob ventured. Rob tired to imply humor to mask his anxiety.
“No,” Xack said. “It’s the Spatial Trig. exam. My brain is running in a million directions.” That was true. Equations and diagrams slipped through his mind’s eye on a never-ending scroll.
Rob studied Xack’s face. Xack didn’t feel Rob’s telepathy working into his mind. “What about it being your mom’s birthday?”
Xack took a breath, looking down for a moment. “I need to deal with it myself. Thanks for not probing into head, Rob.”
Rob smiled. He didn’t understand. Rob wanted to support Xack. Right now, letting Xack deal with his troubles himself was all the support Xack needed. “I need to go to the ship later. You want to tag along?”
Sudden excitement rushed through Xack. He had to fight to hold back the visible effect of the jolt pulsing through him. Here was Xack’s chance to see if he could find the technology to send himself home! Xack’s face grew bright with anticipation. “Yeah,” he stammered. Xack had to force the emotional level down. Rob could feel Xack’s emotions when they were too strong. And if Rob peered into Xack’s thoughts and motives, Xack hopes and plans would quickly unravel. “I’ll be back in about three hours.” Xack added the information quickly, hoping to divert Rob’s telepathic instincts.
Rob gave Xack a brotherly hug. Xack returned the embrace. Xack pulled back, almost too quickly, and skated down the corridor. He was as excited as he had been in class that morning. Xack had to seize this opportunity.
* * *
Seated next to Rob in the hovercar, Xack concentrated on the holographic image projecting from his laptop. Xack had his math book open to the left. He flipped between pages to check a problem he scribbled in a notebook held in his right hand. Frustrated, he sighed. Xack crossed out part of his work and wrote down another series of symbols and numbers.
Keeping an eye on air traffic over the freeway, Rob glanced in Xack’s direction. “Need help with something?”
“I can only get one set of coordinates to agree in this probabilities equation. I should be smart enough to figure out a few more.” Xack sounded disgusted with himself.
“Why don’t you take a break for awhile, Xack? You’ve been staying up late studying. You probably just need some rest to clear your mind.”
Xack placed the notebook inside of his textbook. He closed it. Xack shut down the computer. Rob rubbed his left shoulder, but Xack didn’t respond. Xack watched the passing landscape as they neared the city’s perimeter.
“We could’ve waited to leave till you changed.” Rob smiled at him.
Xack chuckled. He still wore his hoverskate team uniform and hyperpulsion boots. “I was in a hurry to get out for awhile.”
Much like when they first arrived in Albany, New York by way of Cleveland, Ohio, Rob’s vehicle passed through a New Zimlliaan Boom Tube, a miniature warp hole. In a split second, they exited Albany and neared Lake Placid. All the cities the New Zs picked as spaceports were connected by warp holes. This made trading easy. And they kept the general human population from knowing exactly what had happened between those lucky chosen cities where life continued with some sense of normalcy. Between them, life was anything but normal.
Exploring some of the New Zimlliaan’s interconnecting trade lanes, Xack and his friends accidentally wound up in Tokyo not long ago. They also made regular runs into Florida. Much of their travel time involved helping create more resistance fronts against the aliens before all human civilization was completely replaced.
Xack grew nervous with excitement. They were close. He wanted to know how long Rob planned to stay this evening. Xack needed to find out if there was a smaller version of the tachyon drives powering the mammoth alien vessels. “What did you need to pick up that couldn’t wait until this weekend, Rob?”
“Some software.”
Xack spoke slowly, feeling Rob out without the benefit of telepathy. “Would you mind if I did some research in the ship’s main database?”
“Of course not. We can always stay the night if it gets too late.” Rob smiled at Xack. Xack grinned because of Rob’s pun. Xack felt like he was very close to accomplishing something he never dared dream possible.
* * *
Quiet inside the hulk of the New Zimlliaan mothership was total, final. Part of the reason was the sheer size of the triangular craft. At rest, there was no humming from internal mechanisms. No vibrations from the repulsion and propulsion systems. The other part of the reason was because the ship was submerged below Lake Placid, hidden from the New Zs.
An alien turncoat named Puck had captured this mothership. Puck didn’t want to see Earth turned into a vast agricultural colony. He was the single biggest asset the resistance front had. Without Puck’s help, Albany might never have been liberated, let alone some of the other cities currently free from New Zimlliaan occupation. This ship offered the resistance group a secure base of operations. It was their safe retreat and kept them out of danger.
Transparent alloy viewports shimmered with dark, shadowy colors. Light filtered down through the water in long shafts, ethereal curtains dancing slowing in the airless liquid. Xack felt like he was in a reversed aquarium whenever he was here. The fish held them captive and watched their activities, fascinated by human behavior.
Alone at the moment, Xack studied a list of equipment on board this spacecraft from the computer’s holographic display. He searched with various keywords, growing frustrated when results came back with something other than what Xack sought.
Trying a new tactic, he cleared the screen. Xack ran through keywords related to Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry. He then searched equipment logs. Xack’s heart skipped a beat when he found there were smaller Tachyon Manipulators. From what he read, these were used to create the warp holes connecting spaceport cities.
Excited, he frantically called up a map. To his surprise, there was a storage area near the small landing bay Puck had flooded for he and Rob to use as a pool. Xack wanted to cheer. He wanted to jump up and down. But, if Rob felt Xack’s excitement, Xack was certain Rob would try to talk him out of this idea of going back home.
Xack couldn’t tell Rob his plans and Xack felt badly for it. What if he asked Rob to come with him? His thoughts raced with ways to try and explain this to Rob. Xack couldn’t simply leave his best friend and not tell Rob goodbye. If only he could feel Rob out, convince him to go back in time to just over a year before. Xack knew things could be different. The dangers didn’t matter. Xack only knew he needed to go home. He longed to see his family. There was no other rationale for him.
Leaving their spacious room, Xack walked down the corridor toward the large bay serving as a huge swimming pool. The water was calm and clear, filtered by one of the ship’s many environmental systems. Heart hammering in his chest, Xack kept watching over his shoulder. He felt like a criminal, sneaking around and keeping this huge secret.
Finding the storage bay, Xack pushed the entry button on the side of the bulkhead. The metal door slid open. With the schematic firmly etched in memory, Xack knew what he was looking for. He searched racks and crates, coming to the end of a row. Sitting there on the floor in the corner was the device he sought.
Its metal surface was polished. Control pads rested in the top, around a circular perimeter. A crystal-like device poked from the center along the side. Holding his breath, Xack reached out, placing his fingertips on the Tachyon Manipulator. Here was his ticket home.
* * *
Blowing out a huge sigh of relief, Xack pushed the cart back into the storage area and sealed the door. He’d managed to transport the heavy device to Rob’s hovercar and safely pack it away into one of the many storage compartments in the side. Now, if only Xack could get the math perfect.
Standing at the side of the pool, Xack stared into the water. Footsteps sounded, rushing up to him. Xack turned, just in time to see Rob, grinning at him, pushing him over the side. “Whoa!”
Xack tumbled into the water with a big splash. At the surface, he saw Rob looming close, cannonballing him. “Ah!” The water churned, washing over him and sending him further out. When Rob surfaced, they laughed.
“You should have said you wanted to take a swim before we left,” Rob sputtered.
“I didn’t know I was going to.”
They splashed and dunked each other a few moments before holding a railing at the side. “Did you get your research done?”
“Mostly. I need to work on the problem awhile when we get back.”
“It’s good to see you focused on something, Xack.” Rob smiled.
“Rob, can I ask you something?” Xack’s tone was no longer playful.
“You know you can ask me anything.”
Rob’s assurance felt good. But, Xack still didn’t know how to explain his intentions. “Have you ever thought what it would be like to go back in time, before the war, and change the past?”
Pausing, Rob took a deep breath and shrugged. “Not really. My life wasn’t so good. You were the best thing to happen to me.”
Guilt crushed Xack’s center. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Especially today being my mom’s birthday.” Rob’s expression hinted his understanding. “If you had a chance to go back, a real chance, would you take it?”
“It would change a lot of things. Knowing what we do now about the New Zs, I wouldn’t go home. I’d try to warn the world somehow. I’m sure you wouldn’t leave your family. We’d be separated, Xack. I like having you as a part of my life. I don’t want to lose your friendship.”
Lowering his head, Xack nodded. He didn’t want to lose Rob either. “I don’t see how it would do any good going back. This invasion would still happen.”
“What about a parallel dimension, Rob? One where there’s a possibility the New Zs never show up?”
“I don’t know. I never had the normal family life you did. It’s conjecture anyway. I don’t think it would be worth risking.”
Not worth risking it to see my family again? Xack shifted from shocked to angry. How could Rob think the risk wasn’t worth taking? “Are you jealous of me?”
“No, Xack, of course not.”
“But, you’d be selfish enough to keep me here so I couldn’t go back and be happy?”
Rob stared deeply into Xack’s eyes. “Where is this coming from? Xack, what’s bothering you?”
“I thought you were going to help me be my own person.” Rob was clearly confused by Xack’s lashing out. Xack wasn’t even sure why he was suddenly trying to push Rob away.
“You’re getting upset over a hypothetical question.”
The question was no longer hypothetical. “What if your mom wasn’t so mean in a parallel dimension? What if your dad was still alive? Wouldn’t you like having a normal family?”
“Xack, I honestly don’t know.”
Xack was stunned speechless. When he finally found his voice, he said, “Are you going to go on hating your past forever, Rob? Aren’t you ever going to make peace with it?”
Something in Rob’s expression changed. Xack knew he’d found a line and crossed it. Without a word, Rob pulled himself up from the water and slogged across the deck. Xack’s expression hinted his embarrassment. His shame. “I’m sorry, Rob. I didn’t mean it.”
Rob paused. He took a deep breath, keeping his back to Xack. “I know you didn’t. But it hurt. I wish I knew what was bothering you, Xack. I want to help. But, you have to let me in. You can’t keep pushing me away.” Rob silently left the pool area.
Staying in the water, Xack lowered his head. I’m getting too good at saying the wrong things at the wrong time. He wanted to let Rob help him. What he knew now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, was that Rob would never understand Xack’s desire to go home. It would hurt so much not having his surrogate big brother around when he left.
* * *
The ride with Rob back to the Albany Youth Center was spent in silence. Xack sat in the hovercar for a while by himself, thinking. He also needed to wait until he could safely move the alien device inside. When the others all turned in for the night, Xack stayed awake, working on his calculations. He felt isolated.
Sitting in the darkness, looking at the inverted triangular holographic image, Xack was illuminated by the soft glow. Still wearing his team uniform, patterns of light played over his face. Xack swore under his breath a few times, coming up with incorrect figures. He scratched out his work and recalculated, trying to join points in the simulation.
So far, he’d only been able to plot a course to one parallel dimension. Xack couldn’t get his work to match coordinates to a point in his own past. He also couldn’t get any other dimensional points to line up. There was something in the math he was missing. Xack wasn’t at all sure what it was.
Having read some information he found in the New Z databanks aboard the ship, Xack gathered dimensions in close proximity to one another were nearly identical. Some changes in continuity were to be expected. The probability of other anomalies also existed. However, all detailed information on the subject gathered by the aliens was restricted.
Glancing over his shoulder, Xack saw Rob stretched out in his bed. Xack considered waking him to talk. Fear quickly made him reconsider. Xack also thought about writing Rob a note to explain things. There was so much to say.
Returning to his equation, Xack downloaded the information he’d completed to a crystal chip. The set of calculations for this dimension would have to be close enough. It would be real enough to be his own family, Xack was sure. Real enough for him to never notice the difference.
He switched the computer off. Quietly, Xack stood and put his books into his backpack, along with a few other things. Carefully, he zipped it closed and pulled it over his back. Xack stopped by Rob’s bed. He smiled, a lump forming in his throat. He touched Rob’s arm, wondering if Rob was seeking him out in the dream world. Xack would miss their nightly adventures.
Down the main corridor to the left was a janitor’s closet. The Tachyon Manipulator was safely hidden there. Xack crept in, closed the door and turned on the light long enough to activate the device. He slipped the computer chip into the programming slot. He turned the light back off. Xack touched the activation button on his control belt. His hyperpulsion boots came to life. Xack felt the sensation of magnets turned in the wrong direction sliding over one another under his feet.
The squat New Zimlliaan device hummed to life, glowing a soft blue from the crystal projection. Purple lights flashed. Xack wondered what would happen. Not knowing what to expect, when there wasn’t any visible indication the device was working, Xack slid forward on his skates, standing in front of the crystal. Without warning, he felt as if he’d been yanked backward. Arms and legs flailing, Xack tumbled through space and time.
All around him, lights spiraled in patterns of neon. Xack found he couldn’t breathe, his lungs pulling against a vacuum. The world grew into a dizzy array of colorful patterns. Blues, pinks, and purples in the shapes of buildings settled on his right, perpendicular to the natural plane of existence. In a flash, the world became real.
Tumbling wildly, Xack spun over and over on himself as he breached this new dimension. If he hadn’t been wearing the hyperpulsion skates, which wouldn’t allow him to crash, Xack would have been seriously battered. Gaining his balance, Xack himself on the floating skates looking around, breathing heavily.
The midday sun was bright. Xack was in the center of University Of Michigan football field. He saw birds and people. There was traffic. A jet flew overhead. He was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was home! Xack lunged forward, skating as fast as he ever had.
* * *
What felt like hours later, Xack found himself standing in front of his home. Not the dark and unwelcoming home he’d seen when he discovered his family was missing. This home was vibrant and alive, the way he remembered it when he’d first gone to stay with Rob. Xack paused long enough to take in the sight.
Racing up to the front door, Xack turned the hyperpulsion unit off. Feet contacting the solid surface of the concrete, Xack walked inside. His breathing was ragged. His heart pounded in his ears. The living room was exactly as Xack remembered it. So was the dining room. The stairs were to his right, next to the entryway to the kitchen. Xack slid his backpack off. He failed to notice a family picture on the wall. There were four figures; a handsome man with brown hair and glasses, a woman with black hair, a boy with blonde hair and brown-rimmed glasses, and a boy with brown hair.
In the kitchen, a figure stood at the sink, her back to Xack. She was a silhouette against the white light. Water ran from the faucet. Xack’s eyes watered. He trembled. He tried to find his voice. “M-mom?” Xack’s words came as soft as a whisper. “Mom?” He was finding strength. The pack slipped from his hand with a thud. Xack gained her attention.
The world seemed to move in slow motion. She turned, holding a glass bowl. Her face was as pretty as Xack remembered, her black hair neatly combed. There was sadness in her expression, until her blue eyes focused on him. Her features seemed to melt. Anything stern left her. She gasped his name. The bowl shattered against the floor.
“Mom.” Xack walked forward. They embraced, holding each other tightly. They stood there, crying. Overjoyed. “I’ve missed you so much, mom. I never thought I would see you again.”
She kissed his head. She rubbed his back. She said his name over and over and over. “Oh, Xack, you’re home. You’re home.”
“I love you, mom.” He couldn’t stop the tears. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
* * *
Leaning his arms on the wooden railing of the dock, Xack took in the sight of the lake as he ate barbequed ribs. The bright sun glittered across waves. The fresh clean smell wafted through the air on a slight breeze ruffling his hair. With a sense of déjà vu, he recalled his fifteenth birthday party, held at a pool the summer before going to stay with Rob. The summer before the world changed drastically under the oppressive weight of extraterrestrial occupation.
Xack received gifts today. Tokens of love. Trinkets expressing how much he was missed. He wore brand new red and black high top sneakers, like those given to him on his last birthday. Xack also wore white swim trunks, socks, and a white button down shirt. Around his neck was a gold chain with a ring.
A celebration was in progress on the beach. For him. A white banner with cheery blue letters read, “Welcome Home Xack”. Family and friends had gathered. There was food, drink, and a vanilla sheet cake waiting to be cut into neat little squares.
Many of the things Xack was slowly forgetting in the time since he’d left home were coming back. Watching everyone, details returned. At the end of the table was his dad, Andrew Kydd, although Xack never remembered anyone addressing him so formally, ever the consummate salesman. Andy had shaggy brown hair and thick glasses. His ever-present smile was capable of lightening every dull mood. Andy was dressed in khaki shorts, deck shoes and a white Polo shirt. Smiling, Xack thought he must have been trying to unload some sale priced jetskis, or possibly some four wheelers.
Moving with grace and elegance, Xack’s mom Caroline chatted with many of the women, as happy as if she was attending some grand ball. Carol wore a bright sundress. She made subtle gestures with her arms. Xack had forgotten how beautiful he always thought she was. Mom always was angelic.
Uncle Mike, with his wavy brown hair and handsomely sculpted face, sipped from a bottle of beer, turning ribs over on a grill. He wore a red baseball cap, denim pants and a t-shirt. Xack always liked how casual his uncle was, from dress to mannerisms. Uncle Mike was a brotherly contrast to Xack’s dad. Xack wished he’d come home on a hyperpulsion jetski. Uncle Mike would’ve had a blast.
A spirited game of volleyball took place on the sand. Still eating, Xack’s attention was drawn to his two brothers. Xack was the youngest of three. The middle brother, Tandem, pranced around in victory, his arms raised in the air. He was the family jock, the apple of his father’s eye. Xack remembered the number of trophies Tandem collected for football, baseball, and track. Mussed brown hair often hid brown eyes. Strong and lean, Tandem wore only a pair of red swim trunks.
On the opposing team, the eldest brother, Logan, clearly wasn’t impressed with being beaten by Tandem. Logan knew he was the best and often exerted a pack-like mentality towards his brothers. Of course, he himself was the alpha male. Logan took up the sports Tandem engaged in. He failed to bring home the same number of awards. Filled with angst, he readily looked forward to leaving for college later in the year.
Xack remembered happier times, in the distant past. He recognized and remembered Logan’s constant glowering. Logan’s angular face was framed with brown-rimmed glasses, his short blonde hair curling and spiking over a scowling expression. Logan wiped sand from his white t-shirt.
In spite of Logan’s attitude, Xack was home. He’d never felt so good. He might be at the bottom of the food chain in his family, but Xack was content.
Cautious footsteps sounded on the wooden dock. Xack turned, seeing a young woman approach. Self-consciously, he put the rib bone on his paper plate and wiped his hands with a picnic napkin.
Jessica was as pretty as he remembered. Almond hair flowed over her bare shoulders and back. Jessica’s ears jutted out slightly, accented with small dots of gold and diamonds. Large, languid brown eyes were capable of seeing directly into a person’s soul. Her soft, creamy face expressed happiness. Jessica’s chin formed a triangle under her rose petal lips. She held a small plastic box in her left hand.
“You’re so quiet.” Jessica’s voice sent shivers through him. Xack’s stomach started turning flip-flops. “Don’t you even want to be part of your own party? I have this whole camera full of pictures to use up.” She smiled, raising the hand holding the disposable camera.
Xack grinned, chuckling uneasily. “I wanted to stand back for a second. To take everything in.”
Jessica drew close, pinching Xack’s left cheek playfully. “Who knew you could be so deliciously cute and sentimental all at the same time?” She smiled, a dazzlingly brilliant white smile.
Giggling, Xack blushed. “It’s just that I haven’t seen everyone in so long. I kinda wanted to frame it in my mind or something. I really want to remember it.”
“You’ll get a set of pictures.” Noticing the necklace, Jessica reached forward, fingering Xack’s ring and the glittering blue tinted diamond. “Ooo, you have a girlfriend now?”
Giggling at the observation, Xack nearly blushed. “No. This was given to me as a gift. The diamond came from Neptune.” His crush on Jessica had never faded.
“Neptune? What kind of drugs are you doing?” She smiled.
Xack forced a chuckle. In this reality, there were no aliens to mine diamonds from the gas planets. He kept forgetting not to talk about that part of his life. Biting at her lower lip, Jessica’s eyes twinkled. “Do you still walk on your hands?”
Xack grinned. He bent over, placing his palms on the dock. Lifting himself up, Xack’s legs dangled over his head. Jessica laughed some as Xack walked around the dock upside down. He smiled at her, turning at the end to make his way back. “I can still juggle, too.”
“A regular court jester. I always wanted to do that kind of stuff,” she said.
Returning, Xack flipped over on his feet. “Now that I’m back, I can teach you.”
She smiled warmly. “I’d like that.” Jessica folded her arms around him. Her embrace was gentle. Warm. Xack hugged her, smelling her perfume, feeling her breasts pressed against him. “It’s good to have you back,” Jessica said. She pulled back with a smile, ruffling Xack’s ebony hair. “So, when did you start doing all these red highlights?” Nervous energy caused him to chuckle and his face to brighten. “It’s so cute how you get all embarrassed so easy,” she teased.
“You like it?”
Before Jessica could answer, heavy, thudding footfalls sounded on the dock. They turned to see who was coming.
Expression stern, Logan assessed the situation. Tandem was right behind him. “Getting reacquainted, I see.” Logan’s tone was sour.
“I had to come over and see your precious baby brother.” Jessica said it almost baby talk-like, pinching Xack’s cheek again. Xack’s eyes rolled as he chuckled nervously and blushed. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen him.”
“Looks like the same little runt to me.” Logan leaned his back on the rail across from the pair, Tandem quietly positioned to the side. Tandem was the tallest of the three at six feet four inches. Logan stood six feet tall. Xack always felt dwarfed by them at a mere five foot six.
Logan’s remark dampened Xack’s mood. “Lo, that’s not very nice.” Jessica tried to scold him. She smiled, eyes lowered from making direct contact to Logan’s
“Punish me later.” Logan smiled at her, clearly flirting. She returned the smile, eyes meeting his.
Quickly sliding between Jessica and Xack, Logan put his right arm around Xack’s shoulder. “He’s used to it, aren’t you, short stuff?” Logan poked a finger in Xack’s armpit, making Xack yelp and twist.
Tandem laughed, coming to Xack’s other side. His left arm came around Xack’s head, turning him into Tandem’s armpit. Xack coughed and gasped from the smell, Tandem giving him nuggies. Xack fought to pull away.
“Xack, you’ll have to explain the Neptune thing to me. You two. Don’t beat him all up in one day.” Jessica walked back toward the beach.
“Tandem....” Xack gasped. “Quit. You need a shower!”
Logan and Tandem laughed. “I think Xackster needs a cold bath,” Logan said. “What do you think?” He kept tickling Xack under the arms.
Tandem agreed with a big smile. “He was really turned on.”
“Stop it!” Xack was gasping, laughing and fighting for air. “Lemme go!”
Letting Xack’s head free, Tandem quickly hooked Xack’s legs as Logan caught him under the arms. The older pair carted Xack down the dock. “Hey, no! Don’t!”
Xack’s protests came on the heels of the memory of the last time this had happened. He was talking with Jessica at his birthday party, wearing his band new sneakers. Logan and Tandem dumped him into the pool. Xack was upset, thinking his shoes were ruined.
At the end of the dock, Tandem and Logan began swinging Xack toward the water. “C’mon, you guys!” He might as well have not said anything. It would have done as much good.
For a second, Xack was airborne and weightless. He landed with a splashing crash in the water, surrounded by a million little bubbles. Swimming with his big shoes on was difficult, but he managed to surface in short order. Xack looked up at Lo and Tandem, laughing at him and pointing, right before they pummeled him with cannonballs.
In spite of the bad memories the tormenting had marked on him, Xack laughed. Logan and Tandem would never change. Being in their company after so long made their behavior tolerable.
Pulling himself up to the dock, Xack stood in a puddle of water, dripping. Tandem followed, Logan taking up the rear. “Isn’t the little baby gonna cry that his shoes are all wet and ruined?” Tandem imitated Jessica’s baby-like voice. Clearly, Tandem remembered Xack’s last birthday. Logan doubled over in laughter. Xack’s face twisted, suggesting he was above such immaturity.
In an act of newfound kindness, Tandem put his arm around Xack. The wet trio walked back toward the beach. Xack’s shoes squished loudly, leaving wet footprints with every step.
* * *
Laptop opened between himself, Logan, and Tandem, Xack concentrated on the holographic Chess game hovering in the air between them. Several triangular shaped boards slowly rotated in the air, changing positions. Fully animated game pieces moved through input commands given by the players. One of Xack’s Knights galloped up to a Rook. It cleaved the castle-like structure with his flaming sword. “Got that Tower!”
Grunting, Logan countered by concentrating on working a Bishop into attack position. Xack laughed, tapping keys with alien symbols on the keyboard. With a calvary charge, all of Xack’s Pawn’s ran across the grid, leaping. The Bishop wore a shocked expression, as did Logan. “There goes your Pope!” Xack announced.
“You little cheater!” Logan picked up an empty pizza box and whacked Xack over the head. Xack simply continued laughing.
On another board, Tandem moved his King. From above that grid, Xack’s Pawns leaped over the side, deploying parachutes, easily overpowering Tandem. “Ha! One Emperor down!”
“Okay, I see how it is!” Tandem grinned, typing. In short order, a line of Tanks appeared. They fired, blowing holes through the grid and blasting various pieces into glittering fragments.
“You catch on quick!” Xack’s observation was a compliment.
Tandem’s Tanks managed to break through frontlines created by both Xack and Logan. “Hey!” Logan protested. “You’re supposed to get Xackster. Not me!”
“Sorry, dude!” There was no sincerity in Tandem’s apology. He snickered at his older sibling.
Withdrawing from the crumbling playing field, Xack’s pieces leaped up onto the nearest passing triangular grid. “Chicken!” Tandem taunted.
Logan tapped in commands, creating a new figure on the center of the lowest board. Draped in midnight blue robes covered with stars and crescent moons and wearing a long pointed cap, the figure held out a wand, zapping some of the Tanks with magic. Instantly, half of Tandem’s assault force transformed into exploding bouquets of yellow and purple flowers.
“Take that!” Logan announced victoriously. Logan’s Wizard shifted stance, delivering another bust of transformation magic.
Xack finished imputing his data. He sat straighter, grinning. On one side of the board, a brownish-red and black tiger striped Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped into play, emitting a metallic shriek.
“Get vertical! Major league awesome!” Tandem was impressed.
“More like grand scale cheating,” Logan said. He poked at Xack’s armpits, making Xack jolt and wiggle around with laughter. “I see you’re as skittish as ever.”
Xack’s dinosaur chased pieces that suddenly ran in retreat. The T-Rex bent over, swinging its massive head from side-to-side, knocking characters off the grid, sweeping a clear path for itself. At the edge, it jumped, landing on the field Tandem controlled. The side of the board cracked from the weight of the dinosaur and crumbled away as it charged the remaining Tanks.
“Yeah, get Tandem for a change!” As long as Logan wasn’t being attacked, he was supportive.
Impervious to their fire, the Tyrannosaur scooped one Tank up in its mouth, chomping down. Crushed metal wreckage was tossed off the side. Next, the left leg raised, hooking a second tank. With a powerful kick, the Tank tumbled from the screen.
“You better write something fast before Xackster totally wipes the floor with you!” Logan urged Tandem.
“I wouldn’t know what to bring in to attack a T-Rex!”
In short order, Xack cleared the board of Tandem’s Tanks. The dinosaur roared, causing more pieces to flee away as it charged wildly toward the edge nearest Logan’s controlled board.
Tandem laughed. “He’s coming after you now!” Logan frowned.
The T-Rex leaped. Logan’s Wizard created an ice patch. He grinned at Xack. The dinosaur skittered across the ice. It’s forearms flailed around like tiny propellers. The animal barely gained balance before reaching the far side. Eventually, the T-Rex stood straight and stomped after Logan’s Wizard.
“Game over!” Xack said with a grin. The dinosaur picked the up Wizard with its smaller arms and drop kicked Logan’s character over the edge. Tandem burst out laughing at the utter absurdity of the spectacle. Xack raised his arms victoriously in the air as the T-Rex danced around, bobbing its head and sliding on huge hind feet as if doing a shuffle.
Irritated, Logan glanced at Tandem. “Let’s get him!” He was over Xack and had his fingers in Xack’s armpits. Xack bellowed in laughter. Tandem tickled Xack’s stomach. When Xack was completely breathless, they let him up.
“What other cool stuff did you bring home?” Tandem inquired, sipping from a bottle of clear soda.
Straightening his shirt, Xack pulled books from his backpack. “Nothing much.”
Tandem picked up Xack’s iPod, tapping it on. The holographic display hovered in the air, creating musically themed images as he listened to Mozart.
Logan picked up one of Xack’s textbooks. He opened it, reading a chapter title. “Economics Of Intergalactic Trade?” Logan’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“That class is really boring.” Xack attempted to brush him off.
Pulling another book over, Logan again spoke the title with skepticism. “Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry?”
“That one’s my favorite. It’s a super cool Astronomy course.”
“I know you skipped two grades in school. But, did you go to some kind of Star Trek college since you were gone?”
“No, these are normal classes I’m taking.” Xack’s reply was matter-of-fact. Logan opened the book, glancing through many color photographs of objects in the universe.
* * *
Xack remembered the ruins, the destruction. The nightmarish form of the X’hal Minor firing indiscriminately into Albany. All of it was gray, smoky and misty. Black scars and shadows followed him. Pulling away, he found himself amid a city seemingly abandoned. There was no debris here. It was sad and empty. The darkness surrounded Xack close, pulling him into their blanketing chill of fear.
A voice was calling him, ringing out in the distance at the back of his mind. The sound was a simple whisper, curling, coiling, and struggling to reach a destination. Xack…. Where are you?
Xack recognized the tiny sound. It was familiar to him, a sound he had heard in his dreams countless times. Usually, it wasn’t so distant and small. Never before had it sounded so worried. So pleading.
The voice belonged to Rob. Xack felt the anxiousness of Rob’s search. He was probing for Xack telepathically through a dream. Xack and Rob shared endless adventures while dreaming. Since leaving Albany and Rob behind, Xack’s nights were filled with privacy and peace. Rob had been absent. At first Xack missed their nightly encounters. As time passed, he missed them less and less.
In this dream, Xack wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even trying to hide. Xack was neutral to Rob’s emotions. He responded to Rob’s voice. I’m home….
The scene changed. Passage of time between the images wasn’t important, or something Xack was even aware of. Just that it changed.
The new setting was daytime. The sun was bright. Xack found himself within a group of people. Everyone was dressed in white. He didn’t know where they were or why they were there. The figures shifted between one another, ghosts in a dream world dance. Some faces he recognized; his parents, his brothers, Uncle Mike, Jessica, faces of school friends long forgotten, some more recent and strangely familiar. Others were creations of his sub-concious mind.
Xack was drawn to the perimeter of the group, to the very fringes where a fog enveloped everything. Hidden faces drifted past one another. For a moment, Xack thought he saw two faces he recognized. Matt and Kip. His heart leaped in his chest. Was that Linka over there?
They didn’t notice him. Xack was safe. Undetected. Anonymous. Then he noticed one figure facing away from him. Wavy blonde hair with red highlights became clear. A surge of adrenalin shot through Xack.
The face turned. Xack was greeted with hazel eyes, a bulbous nose, and a wider cheekbone. The face belonged to Rob. Xack’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide with shock. His heart raced, beating a thick rhythm in his head. The corners of Rob’s lips turned up. He was happy to see Xack.
Panicked, Xack pulled back, withdrawing with such power, he recoiled from the world of sleep.
* * *
Short of breath, his chest tight, Xack sat straight up. The details of his surroundings took a little time to dissolve into his awareness. Breathing ragged, Xack realized he was in a bedroom. He was on the floor, between two beds. A blanket covered him. Dim early morning light filtered through the windows. Tandem and Logan were sound asleep.
Regaining composure, Xack guessed he must have fallen asleep in their room last night. The trio was watching a movie. Xack remembered feeling content. He was home. He wanted to spend time with his brothers. This was where Xack belonged.
Suddenly filled with dread, Xack’s thoughts shifted to Rob. Rob knew Xack was missing. Not just missing in the normal sense. Rob’s telepathic abilities afforded his knowing Xack was no longer in his normal reality. Rob knew Xack was in another. For reasons he didn’t begin to understand, Xack was suddenly very fearful of Rob at that moment. Will he come looking for me?
* * *
The clinking of spoons in glass bowls eventually drew Xack from his slumber. Lazily, sleepily, he sat, stretching. Tandem and Logan sat on the ends of their beds eating cereal, watching some sporting event on TV. Tandem was the first to notice Xack. “Finally awake?”
Logan glanced at Xack. “You have your own room, you know.” He turned back to the screen.
The comment hurt. How could Logan possibly understand Xack’s desire to spend as much time with them as possible unless Xack told the fantastic story of how he arrived here? He didn’t think they would believe it. “Sorry. I just miss you guys.” Xack’s words were soft.
“Is baby going to cry?” Logan harshly acknowledged the sentiment.
Xack stood. He remembered this treatment all to well. He suddenly wondered why he missed it in the first place. “Lo, why do you always have to be such a jerk?” Xack left the room for his own. He changed clothes and headed to the kitchen, pouring a bowl full of apple flavored loops. He also grabbed an orange. Alone, he ate his favorite breakfast.
* * *
The expressions they wore were priceless. Wide eyes, gaping mouths; pure astonishment. Xack almost laughed in spite of it.
Turning acrobatically, Xack performed a series of flips and tricks using his hoverskates. “Look at him go.” Tandem’s voice was soft.
“What did you say the technology is called again?” Logan asked, his voice equally as soft.
“Hyperpulsion.” Xack zipped between his brothers and Jessica, hovering about six inches off the ground, skates holding him effortlessly aloft.
“How does it work?” Jessica’s curiosity was a refreshing change from Logan’s analytical probing.
“I can’t explain it completely. It’s electromagnetic, from really small superconductors. They create a push that counteracts Earth’s magnetic field.”
“Xack, The Wonder Kydd,” Tandem joked, making a play of their last name. Xack grinned.
“So, where can I get some?” Logan asked.
How do I explain it came from an alien race? Xack suddenly realized it wasn’t such a good idea to show off.
Fortunately for him, a car pulled into their driveway. Logan, Jessica, and Tandem shifted their attention to the group of excited teenagers climbing out. Xack pressed a green button on the belt control. He contacted solid ground, joining his brothers.
“One just came in across the Grand Canyon!” The girl squealed with delight, talking to Jessica.
“Hey, squirt! Heard you came back all in one piece.” Xack’s hair was playfully ruffled by one of the guys. His attention shifted to Tandem. “Did you see the shot from Cairo? Gorgeously artistic!”
Confused, Xack listened. A rushing feeling radiated through his body. He was nervous, sensing something wasn’t right. “What’s going on?”
“He wasn’t by the TV,” Logan brushed Xack off.
Xack heard locations around the world mentioned. He caught snippets of enormous vehicles. All sound faded. The only thing Xack heard was his own fearful heartbeat. The blood drained from his face. No! This can’t be happening!
A tremor rumbled up through the ground. The intensity grew with a slow, steady pace. They looked around. Trash dumpsters vibrated and rattled. Parked bicycles fell over. Cars began shaking.
“What the hell…?” Logan held his arm out to steady himself, looking all about. “What’s going on?”
“It’s them….” Xack’s voice was a whisper. “They followed me.” Inquisitive glances were momentarily exchanged between the group of friends and Xack.
Objects inside houses began shifting. Things toppled and glass broke, hitting hard floors. The tremor swelled from a mild rumble to a shaking Xack guessed could only be matched by the intensity of an earthquake. Except that the intensity grew even more violent.
Far in the distance to the south, a sound similar to a jet engine reached them, however, the sound was amplified, and a thousand times more intense. A wall of wild orange-yellow flame filling half the sky approached, trailing inky black smoke. Undulating blossoms of fire, created by atmospheric friction, blew backward from the object’s velocity.
Xack fell backward, landing on his butt, holding his pained stomach. His pale blue eyes never left the unimaginable spectacle.
Pavement cracked, mailboxes fell over, windows shattered, houses swayed, shifting on their foundations. Walls buckled. Utility poles fell, snapping power lines. The live ends crackled with sparkling electricity. Tree roots popped through well-manicured lawns, ripping up grass and rich soil. What began as excitement for the group of teenagers was no longer a curious anomaly. It gave cause for confusion. Fear.
As the craft slowed, the fires dissipated like Moses parting the Red Sea. The ship’s shielding systems protected it from searing heat. Breaking thrusters vibrated loudly through the atmosphere, slamming the area with sonic blasts shattering every remaining window in every house and every car. Xack blocked his face with his arm while the others dropped to their knees and tried to shield each other with their bodies. A dark shadow cut off the sunlight.
The leading edge of the ship was a split arrowhead shape, charcoal black in coloration with a central flashing red light. It was impossibly huge. Impossibly real. Utility buildings lined the mammoth undercarriage. Ports and openings created a surreal pattern of alien construct. Beyond the forward section was a netted webbing of superstructure wrapped around a series of cylinder-shaped storage tanks placed in sections of four.
Immensely long, the mothership floated high above, a parade of devastation. The rumbling drowned out all sounds. Xack held his hands over his ears as it intensified. They didn’t touchdown in Ann Arbor before. Why are they here? It’s not even one of their warships.
The ground, squeamish below them, buckled and rippled. Water jetted high in the air from fractured lines. The snap-whoosh of exploding gas from ruptured mains belched orbs of orange-red fire high into the air. And still, the ship crawled endlessly overhead.
Amid the insanity, people ran. Vehicles tried to navigate slithering lanes. In a denser residential district, Xack watched in horror as taller apartment buildings toppled over or collapsed in on themselves like deflated accordions. He scarcely grasped people had just perished.
At long last, the stern of the ship passed above, a split wedge widened at the tip of the stern. The sun was allowed to shine as the sound gradually lessened. Exhaust ports glowed a brilliant gray-green.
Eventually, other sounds combined with the titanic rumble. Car alarms wailed, horns were blowing, sirens screamed; even the weather alert alarm howled in the distance. Above that, people cried; injured, scared, or both.
The New Zimlliaan ship vanished from their line of sight leaving behind a blue sky filled with towers of billowing black smoke and a populace racing around in utter confusion. Eyes wide, Xack looked at Logan, Tandem, Jessica, and the others. Logan’s eyes were cold, trying to find a way to blame this on Xack. Tandem came over to Xack. “You okay, dude?” He helped pull Xack to his feet. Xack barely nodded. But, he wasn’t okay. Somehow, he knew he was responsible for the aliens being here.
* * *
“How did you know about them?” Logan demanded. “You even knew what their names are.” He was right on Xack’s tail as Xack raced down the lopsided stairs, clad in his hoverskate uniform, backpack strapped over his shoulders.
In the wreckage of the living room, Tandem was waiting with Jessica. Xack’s parents were seated on a couch. Andy tried to tune in a transistor radio. “Andy, is there any news about what’s happening?” Carol asked.
He turned the dial, ear pressed to the back boom box. “I can’t get anything in, dear.”
Xack and Logan reached the landing. Jessica came over to Logan, placing her arms around his neck. She began crying. “My mom and dad aren’t home yet.”
Logan’s expression went soft for a second. He hugged her. Stroked her hair. Then he pulled away, going after Xack once again. He grabbed Xack’s shoulder, forcing him around. “Tell me what you know!”
“Lo, that’s enough,” Andy said forcefully.
“He’s holding out. He knew everything. Let me beat it out of him.”
“Logan Kydd, we do not resort to violence in this house,” Carol said firmly.
Xack turned to his parents. His voice was pleading. “Why aren’t you guys packing? We have to leave.”
“Honey, everything’s going to be all right.” Mom was reassuring.
“You don’t understand. They came through the atmosphere that fast to cause as much damage as possible. When the clean-up crews are dispatched, a lot of people disappear.”
“See? Xackster’s full of nonsense,” Logan pleaded his case.
“No. It’s true. It happened before.”
“Xack, this has never happened before.” Andy was calm, searching for a way to make sense of everything. “We never talked about it because we’re so happy you’re back home, but, maybe you better tell us what happened to you while you were gone.”
Confused, Xack wasn’t sure how to continue. “Dad, you have to trust me. We have to leave. Now!”
“Where would we go?” Andy asked. Something in the way his father spoke made Xack think Andy was just humoring him.
“What about Uncle Mike’s cabin. It’s far away from any major cities.”
“Let me knock him out. Pretty please?” Logan was jittery, too anxious.
“Logan!” His father’s voice made Logan back down. Logan’s expression towards Xack was seething. “Xack, I think you better tell us what’s going on.” Andy’s fatherly voice was now calm.
Carol leaned close to her husband, keeping her voice very low. “Do you think he…?” She couldn’t finish her thought, scared by its implication.
“I don’t know, Carol.”
“I came here to escape them,” Xack began. “I didn’t know they’d follow me.”
“You haven’t been home for over a year, Xack.” Carol presented only a fact. “They’ve never been here. How can they follow you?”
Xack’s mind raced as he paced nervously around. “What year is this?”
“He’s crazy,” Logan interjected softly.
Logan gained a scolding glare from his father. “It’s twenty fifty-two,” Andy said.
“I… I…” Xack fumbled. How are they ever gonna believe this? “I came from two thousand fifty-three.”
Logan sighed loudly.
I came here to escape what the New Zs did to my planet. I figured out how to do it with their technology. I missed all of you so much. I needed to be back home. None of the words would leave Xack’s mouth. “I’m not from this Earth. I came from another one where the New Zs have caused a lot of trouble.”
Not a sound came from anyone. Their expressions were blank, trying to get a handle on Xack’s words. After a few prolonged moments, Andy spoke softly. “I think you need to see a doctor, son.” Xack recoiled, shaking his head, his emotional state escalating. “We never had you checked out when you came home.”
“No! I don’t need a doctor!” Xack pulled his wallet from a pocket and took out his driver’s license. He handed it to his dad. “I’m sixteen. I just got this in the spring of two thousand fifty-three. Look where it’s issued from. The State of New York.”
Studying the plastic card and the information, Andy turned it over in his hands before handing it back. His face was expressionless. “I didn’t make some kind of fake,” Xack insisted. He pulled his Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry book out. “This is one of my classes. Have you ever heard of this one being offered anywhere? What about my hoverskates? You’ve never seen those anywhere before either.”
Xack put the book away. “On this other Earth, one of the ships landed in Jackson. The New Zs made it a spaceport city. You guys enrolled me into the Intercity Exchange Student Program they hosted. When I left, I never got to see any of you ever again.” Xack’s words suddenly slowed. “When I could come back home, everyone was gone. I never knew what happened.” Xack was on the verge of tears. His throat was tight. “I’ve missed you all so much. I had to come back.” He wanted to embrace them. Xack needed their comfort. He needed their understanding. He needed their love. “I didn’t think they’d come here. I thought I could change things somehow.”
“You changed things all right.” Logan was bitterly sarcastic.
“Please… Mom. Dad. You have to believe me. We have to pack up and leave. They’ll come and take us all away or worse.”
Sounds from outside filtered into the tomb-like quietness of the house. There were loud voices, yelling and screaming. Xack followed his dad and brothers to the porch. Xack gasped.
Smaller saucer shaped New Zimlliaan ships had landed at the end of the block. Soldiers in black uniforms and elongated helmets advanced on men and women set to defend their neighborhood. Shots rang out. Laser blasts of purple energy outlined in green, tiny orbs connected to one another, cut through the first line of defense.
People began running, terrified. “It’s too late,” Xack whispered. He bolted through the room, heading to the back. “C’mon, we gotta go!”
Xack paused in the backyard, frantic. He quickly looked in both directions. Andy, Tandem, and Logan caught up to Xack first. Jessica and Carol were close behind. The next street over underwent the same chaos. A wall of people and alien soldiers drifted by, leaving the broken street clear.
“Oh my God, what are we going to do?” Xack’s mother was filled with fear. Andy gazed, dumbfounded. He had no quick answers.
“We can get one of their ships and get out of here,” Xack said. “I know enough to get it airborne.” Xack hadn’t really thought the plan through before he began sprinting.
“Xack, no!” Andy’s words echoed after him.
From the corner of his eye, Xack saw a group of New Zimlliaans. They spotted him. One fired. Red colored rings of energy rushed at Xack, expanding. They stuck him with numbing force, breaking apart as they knocked Xack to the ground.
Mind whirling, Xack couldn’t think. He could barely breathe. Xack’s whole body was wracked with pain. It took great effort for Xack to roll to his side. The world moved in slow motion. Xack saw his dad charging at the aliens. He tried to yell. Xack couldn’t make a sound.
Purple and green energy blasts struck Andy, instantly burning charred holes through his body. Carol screamed as Andy fell. Tandem raced forward in a rage. A blast struck Tandem in the left shoulder. Tandem spun to the ground, holding the wound. Carol and Jessica fell next, hit squarely by alien gunfire. Xack’s heart stopped, the emotional pain now purely physical. He tried to reach out to them with his left hand. Everything blurred. Blackness surrounded Xack.
* * *
Consciousness returned in the form of pain. Xack’s head pounded. His eyes refused to focus right away. He was being dragged by his arms, legs limply sliding across a smooth floor.
Sounds were jumbled confusion. Xack heard voices, begging, pleading. There were screams, crying, and shouts of profanity. He heard thudding sounds. The sounds of struggling. The sounds of fighting.
When Xack’s vision cleared, he discerned he was in a corridor of some large building. Dusky light filtered through windows. There were people everywhere, being herded by figures clad in black. New Zimlliaan soldiers!
Memory rushing back, Xack fought to pull his arms free. He couldn’t get his feet to secure a grip on the floor from his position. As Xack struggled to stand up, backward motion kept him from getting loose. A soldier held him firmly by the wrists, dragging him. Xack remembered he was wearing his hoverskate uniform. If only he could get one hand free….
The journey ended with Xack being forcibly pulled up and shoved through a set of open doors into a library. He fell, stopped mid roll by his backpack. Scared, battered figures stood around, or sat in chairs at tables. Others propped themselves against stacks of books, or sat on the floor in secluded corners. Confusion, whimpering, and angry shouts filled his perceptions.
Slowly, Xack stood. Every joint ached from the stun blast. He’d barely gained his balance when a larger male tackled him, embracing him. “Oh my God, you’re alive! Lo, Xackster’s alive!”
Xack realized it was Tandem who was holding him. He wrapped his arms around Tandem. “You were shot.”
“Just a flesh wound. I’ll live.” Tandem broke the embrace first, leading Xack back toward the juvenile section. Logan regarded Xack with his usual scowl, sitting against the wall. Logan’s glasses were bent slightly, his chin and cheek bruised, scraped and crusted with dry blood. Xack wondered if Logan wished Xack had been killed instead of stunned.
Before Logan could say anything, Xack looked up to Tandem who was holding a hand across his injury. “What’s happening? Where are we?”
“We thought you’d tell us.” Logan’s words were bitterly cold. “You knew everything else.”
“I told you, they didn’t land here in my reality.”
“Cut the bullshit.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
Logan stood, lunging for Xack. He placed his hands against the shorter guy’s chest and shoved with all his strength. Xack reeled backward, stumbling and falling to the floor. “Lo!” Tandem shouted at him, placing his body between Logan and Xack.
Logan greeted Tandem with a look of hatred. “He knew! He knew! I don’t want to hear anything about parallel worlds!” Logan turned away, setting himself heavily back in his spot near the books.
Xack stood, unsure. His chest was tight and a lump formed in his throat. Tears brimmed his eyes. “It’s my fault,” he said softly, cautiously approaching his brother, taking a seat between the two.
Logan glared at Xack a second before turning away. Tandem leaned against the bookrack, his face pale and beaded with sweat. “I should never have come here,” Xack continued. “I put you all at risk. Endangered your lives. All because I missed my family. All because I was so selfish to want to come home.” Xack’s head lowered and his tears were no longer restrained.
Tandem sat beside Xack, putting his arm around him. Logan’s expression softened slightly. “You’re such a little cry baby.” He sighed, looking at Xack. “Look, we missed you, too,” Logan said. He placed his arm around Xack as well. “It’s been so long since you’ve been gone. There’s been a big hole in our family. Mom and dad were never quite the same. I haven’t seen them so happy since you came home.”
“It’s my fault they were shot.” Xack wiped his eyes.
“No, it’s not.” It was Tandem who spoke. “Whoever these aliens are, it’s their fault.”
Apprehensively, Xack continued. “Where I come from, I didn’t know what happened. Everything was empty by the time I came back. People were just gone.”
“If it’s true….” Logan chose words carefully. “If you really came form some other world, what happened? What’s going to happen?”
Xack paused for a moment to get his emotions under control. “The New Zs came here to take over the planet. They want the water. Most of the land they want to convert into huge agricultural colonies. Some cities are spared. They build them up as spaceports to trade with other planets.”
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know. Some were attacked. People were taken away. We know some were used as slave labor. I guess the rest were killed.”
“Who’s ‘we’, Xack?” Tandem asked.
“There are pockets of resistance. People fight them.”
“Is there any chance we can survive?” Logan’s intense curiosity hinted deep concern. Perhaps for he and his brothers. Perhaps for the entire world.
Xack nodded. “There’s a military project. They set up a defense system of impenetrable force fields. Slowly, we were sealing off places to keep the New Zs out.”
“So, there is a chance.” Logan’s voice was as soft as a whisper.
“Where are we?” Xack glanced between Logan and Tandem. “What’s going on?”
“They brought us to the college,” Tandem explained. “They didn’t say anything.”
“They’ve got everyone separated,” Logan added. “I saw the youngest kids taken to the gym. Most of the adults were put on their ships.”
Xack glanced around as he listened, realizing there were only males in the library. “Where are the girls?”
“I didn’t see where they went.”
“I guess they don’t want us to breed.” Tandem’s tone was dry.
Xack looked at Logan, his breath caught in his throat. “Is…. Is Jessica…?” He couldn’t finish.
Logan turned away. “She was killed. So were mom and dad.”
Xack’s tears returned in silence. I should never have left Albany.
Time passed agonizingly slow. Tandem gradually fell asleep. Xack stayed next to Logan, dazed. For the first time since coming to this parallel world, Xack regretted leaving Rob and his friends. In all the times he’d been injured, they were there to cover for him. Rob never let anything serious happen to Xack. Xack missed that protection now, now when he truly needed it.
When Xack broke the silence, his voice was soft. “Lo? What happened to me? Where am I in this reality?”
Logan looked down, biting at his lower lip. “It’s not really important.”
“I don’t have amnesia or something. Please… Tell me.”
“We had a big fight,” Logan began slowly. “It was something stupid. It was always something stupid.” Xack remembered a fight. He remembered how he wanted to run away to Uncle Mike’s the next day. In his reality, Xack didn’t.
“The next day, you were missing. You never showed up at school. None of your friends knew where you were. Mom and dad were really freaked out. The police issued an Amber Alert. Everyone searched for days. It was like you vanished without a trace.”
Logan paused. Even in Logan’s profile, Xack could see the pain. “Finally, we got a call. To go identify your body.” Tears rolled down Logan’s cheeks. “We were so sure… But, here you are.” Logan pulled Xack close, holding him tight, crying. “I was so glad you came back home. Everyday, I’ve wanted to tell you how sorry I was for that fight.”
Xack held him. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s okay.” When Logan pulled back, he smiled, taking his glasses off to wipe his eyes.
“Do you remember when I was little?” Xack asked. “Those were happy times for me. I really missed having you take care of me when mom and dad worked late hours. I looked up to you like a hero.”
Logan grinned, chuckling nervously as he placed his crooked glasses back on his nose. “I guess I really let you down.”
“I think you wanted me to stay little forever. So you could take care of me.” Logan was surprised by Xack’s insight. “You never really said what you wanted to do in college. But, I always thought you’d make a good teacher. You liked all the little kids in the neighborhood.”
“You know, I did think about being a teacher from time to time.”
Xack leaned his head in the crook of Logan’s arm. “Read me a story.”
Unsure at first, Logan gave a shrug. Xack needed him. Logan leaned forward far enough to take a book from the shelf in front of him. He smiled. “This one was always your favorite.” Logan began reading Winnie The Pooh And The Thousand Acre Wood. Xack listened, content. His pale blue eyes grew heavy. The comfort of Logan’s voice put him to sleep.
* * *
Xack woke to the sounds of yelling. Voices demanded to know what was happening. “Where are you taking us?”
Fully alert, Xack raised from his place against Logan. Tandem and Logan were awake as well, watching the New Zimlliaan soldiers as they pulled and shoved people through the library’s main entrance.
“Let’s try not to get ourselves hurt,” Logan said softly to Xack and Tandem. Logan reluctantly stood. Xack and Tandem followed suit. “Stick together.” Logan’s command was soft. He walked forward without prompting from the black uniformed aliens.
Xack’s heart raced as he traced Logan’s footsteps. He imagined all sorts of New Zimlliaan interrogation techniques. Xack knew from Rob the New Zs were capable of scanning a person’s mind. If they peered into his and saw where he came from and how he came here, Rob and the others could potentially face worse trouble. He wished he could explain it to Logan and Tandem. He wished desperately he had Rob’s telepathic ability.
As the trio of brothers approached the entrance, Logan held his hands up in an effort to display submission. Xack and Tandem did as well. They were waved through, given a less severe shove than many in front of them.
The prisoners were led to the cafeteria. Here, the girls and the children were reunited with the male captives. Bins were set out holding supplies pilfered from campus vending machines. Faceless helmeted New Z soldiers hoarded the limited supplies, distributing them as they saw fit. Everyone was given a bottle of water, fruit juice, or soda without the benefit of choice, as well as a bag of Chips, pretzels, or cookies, and a candy bar of varying varieties.
Walking, eating and drinking in silence, they were taken outside, escorted toward the university’s football field. Xack remembered how thrilled he was the day he came here through the warp hole. Today was sunny, like then. However, there were no planes flying overhead, no traffic, no pedestrians. There were buildings left in shambles. Windows needed replacing. Even the stadium seats were bent and buckled in places from the force of the ship’s entry into the atmosphere.
“Everyone get into a line!” The booming voice belonged to one of the New Zimlliaan soldiers stalking the ground where some form of alien equipment was set up. “Single file! Move it!” The youngest kids were easily kept to the side.
“What are you doing to us?” someone further ahead of Xack, Logan, and Tandem asked.
“You’re all getting vaccinated. Where you’re going, we don’t want you to die a week after your arrive.”
“Slave labor,” Xack said softly. Logan and Tandem turned back to stare at him. Logan gazed at the line of frightened and crying little kids. Xack glanced around, hoping for some opportunity to escape. His mind raced as his pulse quickened. How are we going to get out of this?
As the lines started moving forward, Xack grew more and more fearful. Many accepted their fates. Those who tried to get away were beaten with the butts of riffles and forced back into place.
Scanning the helpless faces, Xack’s eyes landed on one. This face he recognized. His breath escaped with a start. Standing in the line next to his, face stern, was Matt. Matt greeted Xack, expressionless, giving a very slight nod. Matt pulled an alien handgun from under his shirt behind his back, holding it low and against his leg. Xack noticed Matt was wearing hoverskates. He floated on a cushion of air.
Up ahead of Matt, Xack spotted Kip, also in hoverskates. He felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Xack leaned close to Logan and Tandem, speaking only as loud as he dared. “Calvary’s here, guys. Get ready.” Logan gave Xack a questioning glance while Tandem went rigid with readiness, his head swinging around to assess the situation. Xack activated his own skates, hovering silently in the air.
Near the line of tables where they would get an injection, something exploded. A fiery red plume shot up in the air, followed by dirt and smoke. A second and third detonation went off before the New Zimlliaans had time to react. Matt and Kip pulled their weapons up, shooting at the black uniformed guards, sprint skating past confused prisoners, some of who were running for escape.
With the aliens caught off guard, Logan charged one, tackling him around the legs. Tandem wrestled the gun from the soldier’s grip, pulling off a shot to the large black helmet. “Take that, you bastard!” They charged another similarly, so that Logan was armed as well.
Human figures had scattered everywhere, making their break for freedom. Confused New Zs didn’t know whether to chase down their captures or find the cause of the disturbance. The kids, helpless and confused, stumbled around. They were terrified. Logan caught one young girl by the hand and shouted for others to follow him.
By this time, gunshots sounded regularly. Several more small explosions ripped ugly gouges in the green turf. Xack stayed close to Logan and Tandem, helping lead kids out of the direct line of fire. Logan pressed himself against a building trying to keep cover, looking around confused. “What’s going down, Xackster?”
“My friends are here. They probably came looking for me.” Xack spotted Kip making a break for an exit. Matt was covering him. Where’s Rob?
“How’d they get here?” Tandem asked.
“Same way I did. Through a wormhole connecting our dimensions. The New Zs use a generator harnessing particles traveling faster than the speed of light to make them.”
Catching the trio by surprise, another figure charged up, stopped, and slumped by them. “Linka!” Xack gasped. He smiled.
“Chort poberi,” she swore. “Getting out of here is not going to be as easy as it was to get it.” Linka stood long enough to hurl another grenade at a group of New Zimlliaans.
“Where’s Rob?” Xack asked anxiously. Linka’s bomb scored, throwing half a dozen soldiers to the ground.
“He is covering the warp hole to take us back to our world. Let’s mix it up!” Linka skated through the air toward the exit.
“C’mon, guys.” Xack quickly followed. The small group of children ran, some stumbling. Logan and Tandem covered their tails with wild, sloppy aimed shots.
Once outside of the stadium, the chaos multiplied. People who weren’t running for their lives were fighting the black clad invaders. A hail of purple and green gunfire pierced the air in cris-crossing angles. Instantly, the kids stopped, ducking for cover. Xack stayed as low as he could while running toward the parking lot. Vehicles with riffle mounts raced around, shooting at anything in their path.
Clearing the heaviest of the flack, Xack’s spirits soared when he spotted Rob floating on hoverskates by a Tachyon Manipulator. He charged forward, quickly embracing the blonde. Rob returned the mid-air embrace. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you,” Xack said.
“So, who are your new best friends?” Rob chided with a grin, referring to the New Zs. “Can’t wait to get to know them.”
“Same crap, different world,” Xack replied.
Linka, Logan, and Tandem reached them as Kip and Matt came in from the right. “Everyone here?” Rob asked. “Then let’s go.”
“Wait!” Logan yelled. “The kids!”
Laser blasts slammed into the pavement in front of the group. As the debris and smoke clear, they saw a group of advancing soldiers and a white vehicle with a cannon mount. “This gets better every minute,” Matt said sardonically.
“Get down!” Rob shouted.
Xack knew what it meant. Tandem and Logan needed no further urging as they saw Linka, Kip, and Matt drop. Rob stood statuesque, focusing his mind. He drew upon his emotions, his incredible will power, and the bottomless well of rage he felt toward the New Zimlliaans.
All around Rob’s body, crackling pink-orange energy glowed. Flashing lightning bolts cleaved the air spasmodically. The energy swelled and exploded thunderously out into a perfect circle, slamming into the aliens. They were blown backwards like scattered toys tossed by a tantrum-throwing child. The white truck smashed headlong into Rob’s psycho-kinetic blast, toppling over backwards, rolling across the pavement.
Psycho-kinetic energy faded, it was safe for the group to stand. “Haul ass, everyone!” Rob ordered, watching to see if any soldiers were advancing on them. Kip and Linka skated toward a fallen light pole, vanishing into thin air. Matt quickly followed.
“Logan, Tandem, let’s get out of here!” Xack said.
“Xackster, we’re gonna stay behind,” Tandem reported.
Xack’s eyes grew wide. He couldn’t speak.
“Somebody’s got to help the little kids,” Logan said. “They need us.”
“I need you,” Xack said softly, his heart breaking.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find people to fight them.”
“Or we’ll start a movement ourselves,” Tandem added.
“Can you guys take care of shutting this thing down?” Rob asked, gesturing to the alien device responsible for creating the invisible hole in time and space.
“Not a problem,” Tandem assured.
“No!” Xack embraced Logan and Tandem. “I want to stay with you guys.”
“Listen to me, Xackster,” Logan said firmly, “you’re needed on your world. We’re needed on this one.” Xack’s tears slid down his cheeks. He held on tight. “You did manage to change this world. In a good way.” Logan held him back by the shoulders. Xack looked at Logan, trying hard to be brave. Then, Logan hugged him close. “You made our family whole again. You helped to start the movement to save this planet. I’ll never forget you.”
“C’mon, Xack, we gotta move,” Rob urged. A group of New Zimlliaan soldiers were organizing at the far end of the lot. They were charging in their direction.
“Go on,” Logan said softly.
“No.”
“Xack!” Rob called. Laser fire crackled through the air near them.
“No.” Xack was defiant. “You’re the only family I have left.”
“Your friends are your family,” Tandem said.
“You belong with them,” Logan added. He looked at Rob, pleading, sending some mental signal through his expression.
“No!”
The New Zs cleared half the distance between them. Rob lunged forward, taking Xack by the waist, pulling him backward, out of his brothers’ collective embrace. Crying fully, Xack beat his fists against Rob’s back and abdomen, trying to get free. Rushing forward, Rob propelled them into the warp hole.
Tandem turned to go and protect stray children. A tear rolled down Logan’s cheek. He took careful aim and pulled the trigger of his weapon. Actinic purple energy outlined in green cut into the Tachyon Manipulator. The unit sparkled in a shower of orange-red flame. Logan hurried over to Tandem to help the youngsters.
* * *
“You can’t stay mad at me forever, Xack.” Rob’s voice was monotone. He sat on the edge of a bed in their room aboard the New Zimlliaan ship hidden under Lake Placid.
Xack sat in the corner, knees tucked up to his chest, his arms around them, his head lowered. “You had no right to take me against my will.” Xack’s tone was low and bitter. “You kidnapped me.”
“You said you were happy to see me.” Rob shifted position, laying back on the mattress. “Was that another lie?”
Xack’s head rose. He was angry, eyes narrow. Rob was goading him to get all the anger out. “I didn’t lie to you, Rob.”
“You never said you wanted to run away. That’s a lie by omission.”
Xack sighed loudly, lowering his head once again. Like always, Rob thinks he knows it all again! “I don’t want to do this. I tried to talk to you about the possibility of going home. You didn’t want to take the risk. You want me to apologize for leaving, but I’m not going to. I’m not sorry.”
The silent pause lasted for several seconds. Rob considered his next move. “So, Xack thinks he’s a mind reader all of a sudden.” Rob sat. “You think I make too many assumptions?” Xack looked at Rob with a glowering disgust. “That isn’t what I was thinking at all. I don’t want you to say you’re sorry.”
Xack lowered his head again. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to have this discussion with Rob. Hurt and angry with Rob, Xack intentionally tried to push Rob away using any means possible. “Why couldn’t you just leave me where I was happy?”
“You used to be happy here, Xack. What happened? What changed? What did I do to you?”
Xack’s thoughts started racing. A lump formed in his throat. He cried silently. “You didn’t want me to be happy.”
Rob slid off the bed. He slowly came to Xack’s side, placing his right around him, holding Xack close. Rob took it as a good sign that Xack didn’t pull away. “That’s not true. I do want you to be happy.”
“You don’t like any of the choices I make, Rob.”
“No, sometimes you make the wrong ones. I tried to warn you about a few of them. But, I let you make your own choices so you will be a stronger, wiser Xack if they don’t turn out right.”
“I was happy there. They’re my brothers, Rob. My only family.” Xack wiped his face. He stayed close to Rob, needing the sense of comfort. He needed to feel like he belonged somewhere.
“No, Xack, they aren’t.” Rob’s voice was just a bit too heavy. “You know it. They’re from a parallel world. Your family existed in this reality. You didn’t grow up with them, Xack. You only knew them for however long you’ve been there. But you didn’t live with them the whole first part of your life.”
As much as Xack wanted to push Rob away or accuse him of once again having all the answers, he couldn’t find the strength. Xack knew the truth. Rob was right. As much as it felt like his family, those people really weren’t the ones he loved in the past. They belonged to a Xack who had died in that reality. Rob’s tactic worked. The anger within Xack towards Rob had dissolved.
“I know you’re suffering through many losses.” Rob’s voice was comforting. “I want to help you through the separation anxiety you’re feeling. You’re the closest thing I have left to family, Xack. I need you.”
Xack forced his sadness deep down. “I really was happy for a short period of time. It was so good to be back home. To be with them.” His voice cracked. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks.
Rob waited, giving Xack time to keep his composure. “How long were you there?”
Xack shrugged. “Weeks, I guess. I didn’t keep track. All my memories of my family came back. I got to see friends and family I haven’t seen since before the New Zs showed up.”
Rob smiled, leaning his cheek against Xack’s head. “Believe it or not, I’m really happy for you, Xack.”
“You’re not spoofin’ me, are you?’
“No. I could feel how happy you were, searching for you in the dream world. I can’t imagine what I would do if I took that kind of chance. I can see it did you a lot of good to be there.”
“How did you find me? I thought we were goners for sure.”
“We found your calculations in the computer at the center. Later, we found the Tachyon Manipulator you used. Puck helped us come up with the fifth dimensional spatial coordinates. I figured out why your math wouldn’t line up for you. There was a time signature variance between dimensions.”
“What do you mean?”
“In this reality, you’ve only been gone one day, Xack.”
Stunned, Xack turned, searching Rob’s face for any sign this was a joke. “Get vertical. Are you serious?”
Rob nodded. “After we used the warp hole, I zeroed in on your mind using my telepathy.”
Several minutes passed in silence before Xack shared his thoughts. “I kept thinking I was responsible for the New Zimlliaans coming there. Somehow, I thought they followed me.”
“Don’t blame yourself for the invasion. You had no control over it there, any more than you did here. There’s no way you could have known they were going to show up on either world.”
“Then why do I feel so guilty?” Xack wanted Rob to give him an answer this time. He needed to have it with Rob’s clarity.
“Remember how you said you would change the past?” Xack did remember. He didn’t even try to warn anyone as he’d said he’d do, because he didn’t know the parallel Earth would suffer the same fate as this one. “It might be impossible to effect those kinds of changes all by ourselves.”
“I didn’t even try,” Xack whispered. “I didn’t know the New Zs would show up there, too.”
“We’re going to study up on the issue of parallel realities with Puck. He’s agreed to let us research everything he’s been able to gather from the restricted data on this ship.”
“I wonder if elements of this reality would have followed me no matter where I went,” Xack mused.
“Realities in close proximity to one another share a lot of similarities,” Rob said. “You have to skip a whole bunch to really get away from basic and major events.”
“Even if I can’t really go home again, I did learn something, Rob.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, it’s more like an understanding I’ve come to. In this reality, I’m sure my family died trying to help each other escape. They were heroes.”
“We don’t know they’re dead for sure.” Rob wanted to keep Xack’s hopes alive.
“Until we know anything for certain, I can face this reality better believing that.” Xack remembered the happy times he’d recently shared with his doppelganger family. He had to believe his true family, from this Earth, were all in a better place.
Rob had no words. He hugged Xack closer. “I’m happy you’re back, Xack. For one day, I had to face the possibility you might be gone forever. The pain was unbearable. I can’t imagine what it would be like to face the rest of my life with you gone.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.” Rob understood this was the only part of Xack’s adventure he was genuinely sorry for. It was enough.
* * *
Sitting in the right rear passenger spot of Rob’s hovercar, Xack browsed through the photographs Jessica had taken at his party. Linka was to his left, sharing the details. “Here’s one of my whole family, with Uncle Mike over here,” Xack pointed to a figure on the left, “and Lo’s girlfriend, Jessica.” He made a second indication to the only female in the picture besides his mother with his index finger.
“Klasno.” Linka gave her approval in the Russian equivalent of ‘cool’.
“Here’s one of me, Lo, and Tandem after they dumped me in the lake.” Xack chuckled, looking at he and his brothers all soaking wet. Linka laughed some as well.
“Looks like they tried to drown you, X-man,” Kip said. He was to Linka’s other side, casually looking at the pictures.
“You should’ve been there that day, Rob. Uncle Mike made the best barbequed ribs.”
“Don’t mention food,” Matt groaned from the front. He flashed a teasing smile at Rob. “I think he cleaned out the freezer last night.”
As Kip laughed, Rob became playfully defensive. “I did not. It was only half the freezer!” Everyone else joined in the laughter. “It takes a lot of energy to do a psycho-kinetic blast.”
“What’s your excuse for every other day, Peacock?” Kip ventured.
“Yankee, you are insufferable.” Linka playfully slapped Kip’s leg.
“That means she can’t stand to live with you, Rich Kid,” Xack jumped in.
“She can’t stand to live without me,” Kip corrected him, leaning closer to Linka. He turned her chin with his fingers, kissing her lips tenderly.
“Eww, gross!” Xack laughed in protest. “Rob, you’re gonna have to sterilize the back seat!”
Kip edged a hand up Linka’s shorts. She grabbed his wrist with a giggle. “Have you walked out of your mind? We have an audience.”
Xack turned away from the make-out session back to his pictures. The next one was of his mother. He paused, ignoring everything around him. Carol stood near a tree on that distant sunny day. Her smile was bright, her pale blue eyes warm, and her jet-black hair a stark reminder to Xack of where he got his looks. Xack suddenly remembered the reason he’d gone in the first place.
Closing his eyes, Xack remembered their embrace in the kitchen. Thinking about it, he could feel her arms wrapped around him. He could smell the scent of her light floral perfume.
Opening his eyes and looking at the picture, Xack willed his thoughts off to her spirit, somewhere in the universe. I love you, mom.
* * *
Working on his exam in Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry, Xack was faced with a question he found all too familiar. The instructions called for a set of calculations to support a ‘theory’ of traveling in extra spatial dimensions.
Xack held down a chuckle in spite of the irony. He really had traveled to another spatial dimension. Calling up his equations from his laptop’s holographic display, Xack simply rewrote the math he’d used to take the trip for real.
* * *
Standing in the empty school corridor the following week, Rob opened his exam folder first. “I did better than I thought,” he reported, sounding pleased.
“What did you get?” Xack asked curiously.
“A b plus.”
“Great work, Rob!” Xack opened his folder. His eyes were wide with surprise as he saw his grade marked in red. “Get vertical, I got an a plus!”
“Super!” Rob was happy. “I always knew you’d be smarter than me.” Xack blushed, too modest to agree. He simply smiled. “Apparently, Mrs. Barry thinks so, too.”
They walked outside. The sun was brilliant. For a minute, Xack had forgotten where they were. Life was livable when he could concentrate on school, friends, and a normal teenage life. Seeing the New Zimlliaan ship perched beyond the city’s protective electromagnetic shield brought harsh reality back. “You know, this exam and the trip I took was also like an exam of my past for me.” Xack spoke slowly, softly.
“In what way, Xack?”
“I was able to reconnect with it. I got to recover some memories and see my family again. I know I can’t go back to stay. I know I can’t change the past in our reality. I have to keep moving forward. Because of the trip, I can do that now and I’m okay with it.”
Rob offered a smile, rubbing Xack’s shoulder. The walked across the campus toward the parking lot where Rob’s red hovercar floated silently in the air. “I feel like celebrating.”
Rob had Xack’s full attention. “What do you say we go to the mall and spend the night on the beach with the wave pool?” Rob suggested.
“Oh, I’m so ready to go and just zone out all summer long,” Xack gave his endorsement.
“I think I hear a roller coaster calling my name, too!” Rob grinned.
“I’ve always liked the way you think!”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rob sprinted ahead.
Xack caught up to his best friend in the parking lot. They hopped into the boat-like vehicle, left the domed cover open, turned on some music, lifted higher into the air, and flew off.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 22.03.2010

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