Equilibrium (10 page)

I
had never been so happy to hear the word
Poppet
. The only word that could have made me any happier would have been
Shrimp
. I looked into the calm blue of David’s eyes and threw myself into his arms, feeling the warmth of his body. I could feel everyone else gasping in surprise and I heard several guffaws. But, I didn’t care. I felt right again, in a safe place.

“Nice to see you too, Poppet,” David whispered into my ear. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head against his chest.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered reassuringly.

How could it be? I wondered unconvinced. Everything was out of synch.

“Do you two know each other?” Christian asked surprised, from behind me. “Everything okay,
A
?”

I turned around to him. “I’m okay. David and I are old family friends. I’m going to hang with him for a bit. See you guys at school tomorrow.” I had become quite good at making up stories on the go.

Christian nodded, “Great job on the ice today,
A
. Glad you joined the team, David. Coach seems very impressed with you, can’t wait to see you in action. Thursday, right? See you guys tomorrow at school, I’ve got to go.”

“David, how did you get here?” I asked, not quite sure whether I was imagining him or if he really was here.

“How did
you
get here, Poppet?”

“I don’t know!”

“I’m not going to ask you a bunch of questions right now, since my dad’s on his way and he’ll have plenty for you.”

“Your dad?” I asked puzzled.

“Kevin Sanderson from Ames. You spoke to him? He’s on his way.”

“Yes, I did speak to him. But wait, he’s your dad?” I repeated.

David laughed, “Yup, that’s right.
Twilight Zone
, right?”

“No kidding,” I agreed. “I don’t get it. Explain!”

“No, let’s wait till Dad gets here. He’ll be here soon enough.”

“Have you seen Kellan, David?”

“Poppet, no. Look really, let’s wait with the questions. Dad
needs
to be here.”

“Okay,” I replied unsatisfied. However, I stank. A shower would be good. I was quick. There were no showers so I made do with my baby wipes. We met back up by his bike in the parking lot.

“Where are you meeting my dad?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I said that I’d wait at my friend Monica’s house for him. He’s going to call me once he lands.”

“Gotcha. It would be awkward for me to turn up at you friend’s house, so how about you call her and tell her that something’s come up and you can’t make it?”

I nodded and called Monica. Then I turned back to David again. “So, what do you want to do while we wait for your dad? Seeing that you don’t want to
talk
talk. Though I think we should.”

He shook his head firmly. “Let’s go and hang out at your place. Your dad around?”

“Nope.”

“Perfect.”

It was a surreal feeling speeding through the streets of Princeton on the back of David’s bike. It wasn’t his regular bike, though, this was a different one.

Had he come through the portal to find me? Why? Why hadn’t Mom come? Why send David? I thought the portal had been closed. Had I somehow been chucked through it just before it closed? I wish I could remember more, but it was all a blank.

So, David’s dad, Kevin, worked at Ames–bit of a coincidence. I’d have to get to the bottom of this, though apparently not now. I would have to wait until David’s dad got here. Not long, hopefully. David seemed to know exactly where to go and we arrived at my driveway in no time. I got off the bike and handed David my helmet. We wandered inside to the empty house. I was so glad that David was with me. Seconds after we closed the front door behind us, the bell rang.

“Mrs. Golden, hi!” I said, opening the door.

“Hi, Arizona. I saw you arriving. I know your dad’s away, so I brought over a casserole,” she said, as she handed it to me.

“Thanks, Mrs. Golden. This is really nice of you.”

“Who’s the boy?” she asked, staring at David suspiciously.

“Oh, this is David, a friend from school,” I said winking at David.

“Well, make sure you don’t stay too long,” she said eying David. “Maybe I should come in and wait until you are ready to go. Arizona shouldn’t be entertaining young men in the house on her own,” she said, as she firmly stepped inside.

“I was just dropping Arizona off. I’m heading off right now, Mrs. Golden,” David smiled. He grabbed his helmet and winked at me before he left on his bike, throwing me a reassuring nod as he drove off.

“Why don’t you come over and have dinner with us, Arizona?” Beth said, taking my hand.

“I’m exhausted, Mrs. Golden. I need to get to bed. Can I come by over the weekend?”

“That sounds splendid. We can bake something together. Maybe a lemon tart?”

“Wonderful!” I said, trying not to explode with laughter at the way she said
tart
–rolling her
r
in a comical Scottish accent and then spitting out the
t
with resound. She wasn’t the least bit Scottish; I wondered where she’d picked up this funny way of saying
tart
.

 “Well, if you’re okay being on your own, I’ll head back,” she said. “I haven’t seen Gertrude around. Is she all right? She usually comes up to the door to greet me?” Beth remarked.

“Yes, she’s fine. She’s at a doggie sleep over for a few days. Dad was going to be away and I was going to be busy, so we’re having someone else look after her for a few days.”

“You know, I’m always happy to help, Arizona. I love Gertrude, she can always come and hang out with me,” Beth offered. “How was camp? Did you go?”

“Um, okay,” I mumbled. I had decided not to go to that weekend girl’s hockey camp, however, it was a convenient excuse for not having been around. So I decided to be vague. I hugged her. “Thank you for the casserole, Mrs. Golden. I’ll make sure to ask you to look after Gertrude the next time.”

She nodded and made her way back home. Five minutes or so after she left, there was a knock at the window and I let David back in.

“All clear?” he joked.

“Yup, get in. Want some chicken casserole?”

“Sounds good! I’m starving.”

I served up two heaping plates.
I was hoping that David had changed his mind and would talk, but he didn’t say much during our dinner. He had, for whatever reason, decided to wait for his dad to arrive. We listened to some music to help us while away some time and then turned on the TV. I made myself comfortable on the couch, with my head on David’s shoulder. I closed my eyes enjoying the feeling of peace. I was so relaxed and tired, I could feel myself drifting off.

~

David looked down at Arizona lying peacefully, thankful that she had fallen asleep. She needed answers, but he was uncomfortable talking to her before he had spoken with his dad. As soon as her phone rang, he answered it, hoping it wouldn’t wake her.

“Hello?”

“I’m calling to speak to Arizona.”

“Dad, it’s me,” David replied.

“David! What are you doing here?” Kevin asked astonished.

“Long story, Dad. We should probably talk before you see Arizona. I’m with her at her house. You’ve landed, I’m guessing. Drive over, I’ll meet you a couple of houses down, she has nosy neighbors.”

“What are you doing at her house? I didn’t even know that you two knew each other,” Kevin said mystified.

“I’ll explain when you get here,” David whispered. “Text when you arrive.”

“Okay, David. See you soon, Son. I’ve missed you.”

“Me, too, Dad.”

David had not seen his father for about three months. Their lifestyles made more frequent visits tricky. However now that he could wander on his own, this would change. It was going to be great to see him, but it made explaining this whole situation to Arizona more difficult.

Just under an hour later, a text came through and David left Arizona sleeping peacefully on the couch with a blanket that he had carefully wrapped around her. He snuck out to meet up with his dad. David looked fondly at his father. He was a slightly older version of himself. They grabbed and hugged each other tightly.

“Son, so good to see you. How are Lena and your mother?”

“They’re good.”

“David, what are you doing here?”

“I have been assigned to Arizona, so I came over to make sure she is okay.”

“And is she?”

“She seems to be all right physically. She played well at hockey this evening. I can’t imagine the turmoil within her, though,” sighed David.

“What’s she doing back
here
?” Kevin asked.

“She doesn’t know. She suddenly woke up here, I assume from the little we have talked so far. She went missing from Mountain View along with Kellan, Harry and Ella.”

“You’re kidding? Right?” Kevin said incredulously. “I had a very brief conversation with your mom, but she didn’t mention the other kids. Have they come through the portal as well?”

“We don’t know. I heard that Kellan had been found just before I left, but I don’t know any of the details. I can head back and find out.”

“Let’s talk to Arizona first,” Kevin suggested.

 David nodded. They walked over together, quietly, and let themselves in through the patio doors.

“I’ll go wake her, the kitchen’s through there. There’s some food in the oven if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks, David,” Kevin said, as he walked over to the kitchen.

~

“Poppet, wake up. My dad’s here,” David whispered gently into Arizona’s ear.

“Where?”

“He’s in the kitchen,” David replied. “He called when you were sleeping, so I answered the phone and told him to head over. He parked a street down, so that the Goldens won’t feel it necessary to come and check in with you.”

“Thanks, David,” I said, and headed through to the kitchen with him.

“Dad, this is Arizona.”

Peas in a pod
was the expression that came to mind when I saw David’s dad. They were practically identical; David’s dad was just an older version. I trusted him immediately.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Sanderson, or I’m guessing
Dr.
Sanderson?” I said, extending my hand to shake his. “David, isn’t your last name Skoog?” I asked, suddenly mystified.

“Yes, I use my mother’s last name.”

“Oh, okay,” I accepted. “So, I don’t know where to start. I have so many questions.”

“As do I,” replied Kevin. “May I ask the first one?”

I nodded. May as well take turns.

“How did you get here?” Kevin asked.

“I have no idea. My friend, Kellan and I were abducted in Mountain View. We were taken to what I think was a storage area in a basement. After a while someone came to get me from there, I don’t know what happened, I blacked out. Then I woke up here.”

“Do you know who abducted you and why?” Kevin asked.

“It’s my turn to ask a question, so hold that one for a moment,” I said firmly. I was going to demand answers. Someone had to know something. “Do you know if Kellan’s here?”

David looked at me and said, “Kellan was found in Mountain View. He’s been taken to the hospital there. I don’t have any other info.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Can I see him?” I asked hopefully.

“He didn’t come through the portal, he is not
here
in this dimension, so you can’t see him right now,” David said reluctantly.

“Arizona, do you know who abducted you?” Kevin asked again.

“No, but we did find Justin’s hockey stick where we were being held. Okay, my turn again. David, how come you’re here?”

“Poppet, I knew you were going to ask me that and that’s mainly why I was reluctant to get into it before. I’ve been wondering how to answer that one. I can’t at the moment. You just have to trust in me. I came to make sure you’re all right.”

“That’s no answer! Did you come through the portal? How?” I asked frustrated. “Look, if you guys won’t level with me, I won’t talk to you, either.”

Kevin sat up and looked at me sternly. “Arizona, I came over because
you
contacted
me
. So, I’m here now to help you. In order to do so, you have to talk to me. We can’t give you all the answers you seek, but we can try to help you. If that’s what you want. If not, I’ll head back to Ames.”

“No, please stay,” I said swiftly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m so frustrated.”

“I can imagine,” David murmured.

“Arizona, to help you, what I first need to know is what is it that you
want
?”

“Well, answers mostly. And I want to see Kellan,” I said.

“Do you want to head back to your Darley life or stay here?”

“See, that’s the thing–I don’t know any more. I was so sure that I wanted to be back here. Nothing has changed here. I just woke up right back into my regular routine. So, why am I so unhappy? I miss Kellan terribly and I’m so worried something bad has happened to him.”

“Would things change if you knew he was okay? Would you stay here then?” David asked.

“I don’t know.” I genuinely didn’t. I sort of missed my whole Darley life. “David, I miss Harry and even Ella.”

“Are you aware that they are missing as well?” Kevin asked carefully.

I felt like someone had punched me. “Missing? Harry and Ella? When? How? They weren’t with Kellan and me. Why would anyone take Ella?”

“I don’t have any details at all, but will try to find out more,” David said.

“David, how would
you
be able to find out anything more? You mean your dad, right?” I asked, once again wondering what David’s story was.

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded.

“So I was taken with Kellan. I ended up here. Kellan is still in Mountain View. Harry and Ella are missing?”

“As far as we know, Arizona. However, we are here to help
you
,” Kevin repeated. “I can get a word back to your mother that you are okay and happy to be back in Princeton, if that’s what you want me to do.”

“How would you do that? I thought the portal was closed,” I asked curiously. “Can you open it? Is that how I came through?”

“I have no idea how you came through, I can only assume it was through the portal. Who controlled it, I have no idea. I do need to get back to Ames to look into it. I’ll take the first flight back in the morning.”