s3.e8

Old Newness

           Fifty minutes into a rousing laser tag session that was in its third round, Jace was sent on a quick solo mission that brought him to the butterfly garden in Laurie’s backyard, which her parents maintained. Emiko, an enemy soldier fighting for the insidious Silver team, had been spotted wandering about on her own in the area.

           Now having quite a bit of experience with one old variation of the block-wide team sport, Jace crept through the gate and silently rounded the back of Laurie’s house all professional-like and spotted his dangerous foe. She was menacingly… watching a butterfly go by with a smile on her face, her laser pistol down at her side.

           Jace couldn’t pull the trigger, not when she was looking away. It would simply be too mean. So instead, he purposely stepped on a twig, snapping it and attracting her attention. She looked at him for a full two seconds before bringing up her weapon, but fumbled it about in her hands before managing to even just point it in his direction.

           Maybe that’s fair enough, Jace thought, and then hit her vest with a quick draw.

           “Aw, Jace… You got me,” she muttered, and got right back to watching another butterfly flutter about. “Oh, well. It is an okay spot to be frozen. And very safe for you.”

           “Sorry about that, Emiko,” Jace said, his face slightly flush as he approached.

           “It is fine! My head should have been… um, in the game. Right?”

           She laughed her infectious laugh, and it reminded Jace of someone else’s chortle. He was suddenly mad at himself that he had forgotten to check.

           He took out his phone, minimized the walkie-talkie app, opened a web browser, and did a search for Ash Teller. He breathed a sigh of relief after tapping on the third result and finding out that she was a veterinarian, running a pet clinic in Los Angeles.

           “Oh, who’s that?” Emiko asked, leaning over to peek at Ash’s portrait.

           “Um, one of my uncle’s school friends,” Jace answered.

           “I see. You know, your uncle is very funny.”

           “Yeah, I’m not sure if I’d put it like… Hey, Emiko, would you ever want to—”

           “Jace, what are you doing back here?” Toby shouted as he and Austin came running around the corner of the other side of the house, their pistols out. “Wooow… did you sneak up on Emiko when she was all alone? What a jerk!”

           “N-no! It’s not like that!” Jace said and took off in the opposite direction, just before Toby and Austin’s laser guns started emitting sci-fi sounds from their speakers.

           He bugged out without taking a hit, ran down to the sidewalk, and got to safety. He hadn’t played on this block, at least that he could remember just yet, so he had mostly relied on his team for shortcuts and setting up ambush points.

           Chad’s voice came in on his phone, “Jace, what’s the sitch? Did ya find Emmy?”

           Jace held down the button in the app and replied, “Yeah, but Austin and Toby came in and saved her. So I ran away. Oh, and I haven’t seen Warren in a while.”

           “Copy. Head back to Firebase Inkling. Jamie’s cooking up something.”

           “You know the other team can’t listen in on us. Just remind me where that is.”

           “… Bruh, it’s Jamie’s place.”

           “Right. Okay, on my way.”

           He turned around and headed back to his team’s current base: the second-floor patio of Jamie’s house. It was a totally legal spot since it had outdoors stairway access.

           After running up those steps and feeling the fatigue from being awake for so long, Jace rejoined his team. Laurie had her back against one of the railings, playing it cool with crossed arms, while Jamie and Chad were running over a plan by looking over the Google map of the area, on Jamie’s well-armored battlefield iPad mini.

           “I’m telling you, it’ll never work,” Chad told him. “Not unless we know their location. You’re always revamping this ‘Delta-Pinch’ strat, but someone on their team is always holding back. Hiding and waiting. That’s what they do. Then we get taken out.”

           “Hey, Jace,” Laurie said casually. “How was the butterfly garden?”

           “Emiko really likes those bugs and their pretty wings, Laurie,” he panted back.

           “Mm-hm, yeah… So they used her as bait again, huh?”

           “Y-yeah… I think that’s what it was. But she plays it so naturally.”

           “They’re probably regrouping back at Austin’s place again by now,” Jamie said, tapping at his iPad’s screen. “That’s one of the two houses we can access through the backyard of another. I say we go there from two different sides and pinch ‘em.”

           “Jamie, please stop trying to make ‘pinch’ a thing,” Chad grumbled. “Let’s at least get sitrep before we pull anything this time. Your drone still has some battery, right?”

           “Er, thirty percent last I checked. But you know its start-up buzz will expose our position, and we’re up here in the open. It’s better to use it from behind cover.”

           Laurie checked the time on her phone and replied, “We’re running up on another parent check-in, guys. Whatever we’re doing, let’s do it now before we get interrupted.”

           “You all need a smart watch, like mine,” Jamie said as he took out a small foldable drone from its case, dangling off his side from a snap hook. “Mom and Dad don’t need me to text ‘em every half-hour when they can just always see my location.”

           “Uh, nah, bro,” Chad scoffed. “Total privacy invasion. I’d even call it creepy. If my dads knew where I was 24/7, I’d rather just not leave the house. Hey, Jamie… Say it.”

           “C’mon…” Jamie grumbled as his drone came to life and he went into the flight app on his landscaped tablet. “Don’t you think that’s getting a little old by now?”

           “No. It’s badass,” Chad insisted, and the four little propellers began spinning.

           As the drone took to the air, Jamie relented and said, “Fine… Ugh. UAV online.”

           “Ha, yeah! I love that!” Chad chuckled and struck a few combat poses.

           “You are so lame sometimes, Chad,” Laurie remarked, rolling her eyes.

           “No, I’m not!” he argued while Jace came up to Jamie and looked at the flight footage on the screen, showing live bird’s-eye feed of the neighborhood. “I’ve gotten to at least rank level 40 in over five Call of Duty games, Lor. I even got a really rare weapon skin in CS:GO that someone wants to buy from me for a hundred bucks!”

           She laughed. “Oooh, I’m so impressed. This is real combat. You can’t just do 360-no-scopes and knife quick kills out here. You gotta move and shoot in smart ways.”

           As they bickered, Jace asked Jamie, “See anything?”

           “Hm…” Jamie adjusted the camera orientation with the touch screen controls and studied the ground between houses and trees carefully. “Not yet…” He suddenly swung back on a spot in the sky. “What’s that…? Oh, not good! That’s Toby’s drone!”

           Jamie looked up along with the others, and they spotted the small white flying robot against the blue of the atmosphere. It was Toby’s fancier DJI Mavic Mini, a more sophisticated toy that was most likely already staring right back down at them.

           “The base is burned,” Jamie announced, swiping the ‘return home’ button for his robot and dropping his iPad into his backpack. “We gotta move. The porch is a lousy place when they already know we’re up here. No easy escape; little cover.”

           “You guys go,” Laurie said, prepping her pistol while Jamie’s drone returned to its launch spot on its own. “I’ll cover your retreat. We can still use a little high ground.”

           “Your funeral, Anakin,” Chad shouted as he, Jace, and Jamie ran down the stairs and she took up a defensive position. “Guys, let’s try to get to Tom Nook Outpost.”

           But they didn’t get far before Austin came charging from one side, shouting a battle cry, and Toby and Emiko came in running and gunning from the other. Caught in a pincer attack, the three members of the Gold team had no choice but to stand their ground on the sidewalk in front of Jamie’s house, exchanging laser beams with the others until someone took a hit. If Jace wasn’t so tired, he knew he’d be playing better.

           Just seconds after a firefight erupted, parental texts began coming through on everyone’s phones. There was collective groaning from all the players—except Jamie—who had to simultaneously text their parents and shoot; a sign of the times.

           “Agh, so annoying…” Austin complained, shooting wildly with one hand and tapping on his screen with the thumb of his other. “Don’t they know there are apps that do this sorta thing now? Why do we have to text that we’re okay? What a chore!”

           “GPS tracking,” Jamie flexed, pointing to his timepiece from further up the lawn.

           “Big deal, Jamie—you’re already out, anyway,” Chad exclaimed and took a hit.

           “My parents say they’re almost here,” Laurie shouted from the patio right before she took out Austin with a well-placed sniper shot. “Let’s just wrap this up.”

           Jace wasn’t sure what that meant—another plan for the day, most likely—but he saw a chance for a clutch win. From his crouching position on the sidewalk, he shook himself awake, breathed to steady his hands, and fired two consecutive shots. He hit Emiko, who as usual was taken by surprise when her vest lit up and buzzed, and then took out Toby a second too late, right after he counter-sniped Laurie up at her nest.

           “Dang…” Toby sighed. “And I just made a really good shot.”

           “Jace!” Laurie yelled from her perch. “Don’t let Warren sneak up on you again!”

           Jace looked around, but the sound of crunching leaves came from behind. He turned to see that his cousin had dropped from a nearby tree, where he’d been hiding all along. Back in the 90s, that wasn’t a viable tactic, as the trees were too small. But in the present, they were proving to be a menace when agile climbers like Warren were about.

           “Got ya,” Warren snickered and blasted Jace mercilessly before he could bring his pistol around. “Heh, yeah, fam! That’s two outta three. Silver beats gold today.”

           “Man, Warren…” Chad whined. “You’re like a freaking ninja sometimes.”

           Tired enough to need a seat, Jace exhaled and plopped onto the embankment in front of Jamie’s house as the combatants gathered up for the cool-down. Jamie went into his house and emerged with an eight pack of water bottles for everyone, who wiped sweat away and refreshed themselves under the hot sun while removing their gear.

           “Hey, easy,” Jamie muttered after Chad pretty much tossed his vest and pistol into his friend’s big backpack. “These are mine, you know. I take good care of each set.”

           “Remind me again… why we, uh, play this so much?” Jace asked Laurie.

           After gulping down half her water, she looked at him curiously and answered, “Don’t you remember? Your uncle got us into it last year. I admit that it’s fun, though.”

           “But it was a little awkward that he ran around playing that first game with us,” Austin said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my head.”

           “Ugh, don’t remind me,” Warren groaned. “That was so embarrassing.”

           Emiko noticed a butterfly go by and held out her hand, hoping it would land on it. She looked disappointed when it didn’t, and commented, “It is sad that all the climate change is making the beautiful buggies disappear… One day, they will all be gone.”

           “Thank you, Em,” Laurie replied. “Very uplifting. Like my parents don’t show me enough pity at home when they go on about the ‘world they’ll be leaving me.’”

           Jace watched a familiar silver minivan pull up to the curb, with Laurie’s folks up front, right on cue. Lex, in a pair of shades, rolled down the window, slapped the side of the door, and grinned. “Hey, kids. Did you fulfill your bloodlust? Ready for the mall?”

           “Mall…?” Jace breathed out.

           “Did you forget that, too?” Laurie asked. “New school clothes? Ring a bell?”

           Jace fell back against the hillside. Man. Why’d I have to come back on such a busy day?

           Knowing he had to keep his questions about a day that was clearly planned in advance at a limit to avoid looking like an amnesiac, Jace tried to just go with the flow of things as they had no problem finding a parking space and walked into Westfield Royal Valley Mall. The place had seen better days, but it was still chugging along.

           Jace was surprised to see Millie, waiting for the group by the tattoo parlor just past the entrance near the JCPenney. Even into her thirties, she still wore a gray hoodie, although her glasses were nowhere in sight—she must’ve switched to contacts.

           A gruff, big guy with a goatee stood outside the tattoo joint, watching un-inked mall walkers go by before greeting the group. “Yo, Lex. Take my shift today?”

           Lex looked around the nearly-empty part of the mall and replied, “Sorry, Sam. I gotta give our local intrepid reporter here a tour of the place.” Lex went over to Millie and turned to the kids. “Okay, Laurie’s dad will supervise you guys. Try to get nice stuff, preferably on sale. And be gentle with your parents’ money. See ya soon.”

           Millie took out a notepad and set off with Lex, without saying a word to Jace. But just before she rounded a corner, she did look back at him, smirk, and give him a wink.

           “All right, kids…” Laurie’s dad, a taller man who always wore colorful and rather eccentric clothing, said and started leading the way. “Let’s hit the Swedish place first.” 

           “So, IKEA?” Chad replied, earning his fourth eye-roll of the day from Laurie.

           She chortled and said, “That’s the furniture store, genius. He means H&M.”

           “They got some nice, cheap stuff,” Warren said. “But let’s get in and get out.”

           Laurie’s dad added as they started walking, “Remember, Cookton doesn’t exactly have uniforms, but they only allow plain shirts; no logos. That’s what you stock up on.”

            “Toby, are you Instagraming again?” Laurie asked, watching him strike cool selfie poses for his phone camera. “You know that can be addictive, right?”

           “Hey, I’m posting about laser tag,” he said and began tapping at his screen. “And sharing post-game thoughts. I got subs who get a kick outta this kinda thing and do their own games. Don’t worry about me, Lor. I could totally delete my account any time.”

           “King Arcade used to have a laser tournament,” Jace mentioned. “Wes told me about it. It was at sunset, since the guns were weaker and sunlight messed with them.”

           Stretching, Austin added, “Yeah, it’s an all right way to get some exercise, if our parents are all ganging up on us and making us go outside, anyway.”

           “They need to add it as a sport in the Olympics,” Chad said half-jokingly.

           “Hey, Em, are you gonna watch any of that, since it’s in Japan?” Toby asked.

           Emiko replied, “Some. My dad’s old university roommate is on the swim team.”

           “Cool.” Chad tried to show off the arm muscles he didn’t even have, in his latest efforts to convince Emiko that he was hot stuff. “Yeah, I might compete someday.”

           “Give it up, Chad,” Jamie said with a huff. “Toby’s been doing the same thing for months, but he’s a lot better at it. And Emiko still just barely thinks he’s ‘neat.’”

           “Warren, why do you hate the mall? It’s not even busy,” Austin wondered.

           “I don’t care how busy it is, Austin,” he answered. “In fact, it’s actually worse when it’s emptier. It’s too bright and open. You know what a liminal space is? They’re creepy, that’s what they are. That’s why I don’t like playing that old Mario 64 game.”

           Jamie laughed. “Oh, yeah. You went into the castle’s basement and nope-d out.”

           “Kids really have some high-concept fears these days,” Laurie’s dad remarked.

           They arrived at the H&M, which had a few dozen shoppers inside, and partook in browsing and shopping for middle school. Of course, Jace’s mind was elsewhere, and he was disinterested to begin with. He wasn’t even certain of the permanence of the day; if he went back and saved Wes, they’d likely use the door again and reset the present.

           Still, he did grab a couple of basic shirts, and like he remembered doing from last summer, he used his phone to pay for them, as did his buds. A quick tap at the register, and a chunk was taken out of the twenty dollars his mom had loaded onto an account. Warren got a brand-new dark shirt that no doubt looked like the rest of his wardrobe, while Laurie purchased another skort, which she was fond of, this one in a dark navy.

           Afterwards, they hit the Aéropostale at the other end of the mall, not far from the long-closed arcade. Jace wasn’t feeling the need to get anymore clothes, so he left the store before the others were done. He wandered up to the roller shutters and looked in, thinking about the fun, noisy days once had inside. And then Laurie came up to him.

           “Jace, is something up?” she asked as he stared at the old arcade space, and the cosmic carpet that had sat there for years. “You aren’t your usual self today.”

           “I’m not?” he murmured and looked at her. “How do you want me to be?”

           “You’re usually so confident around us! But today, I dunno, it’s like you just got back from a long vacation and you’re afraid to talk to us or something, you know?”

           Jace was thankful that the others hadn’t seemed to notice, but Laurie always was perceptive. And he understood where she was coming from. For Jace, it had been a long time since he’d last been amicable with his friends. Bad memories were pulling on him.

           He replied semi-honestly, “Sorry, Laurie. I’m kind of worried about my uncle. He’s been, um… acting weird recently, and it’s looking like no one’s seen him today.”

           “Oh. I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just taking another of his ‘nostalgia trips.’” She gazed into the abyss as well, asking, “So… there used to be an arcade in there, right?”

           “I guess I got the past on my mind too,” Jace murmured. “Er, just thinking about what the 90s were like, you know? Laurie, did you know your mom… Um, I mean—”

           Laurie blinked and corrected him, “My zari, Jace.”

           “R-right. Sorry, still forget that sometimes. Did they ever tell you that they used to run a, well… a literal trash club back when they went to DTE?”

           Laurie grinned and slid her hands into her skort pockets. “Heh, yeah. Mentioned it a few times. How do you know about that? That something your mom’s talked about?”

           Jace shifted his bag of clothes to his left arm and replied, “Sure. And Wes. Crazy, right? The hottest place to be at school used to be a hangout by a dump? Heh, yeah…”

           “You’re a good kid, Jace. There’s a ‘softness to your spirit,’ know what I mean?”

           Before he could ask her what she did mean, they saw Lex and Millie approach and stop nearby as Millie concluded her notes and pocketed her little record-keeper.

           “And this is the food court, obviously,” Lex to said to her. “Holding strong at half occupancy for, I dunno, I guess ten years now? Not much to say about it.”

           “That’s okay, Lex, I think I got enough,” Millie replied, glancing at Jace. “It’s the recent store-stories I’m more interested in. Hey, I think I’ll take Jace home, if that’s all right. The two of us need to catch up on a few things, ah, concerning his uncle.”

           Jace gave Lex a nod to affirm that it was okay, after which Laurie gave a farewell wave and returned to the store to finish the shopping expedition with her parents. Once the two were gone, Millie smiled and raised a fist in a friendly way, looking for a nudge.

           “Hey, 90s bud!” she said cheerfully. “Oh, uh, wait… This is the right day, isn’t it? I mean, um… You did just get back from a ‘vacation,’ right?”

           He tiredly completed the fist-bump and replied, “Yep… Back from 1996 land…”

           “Good. That could’a been awkward. So… Buy you a pretzel, weary time-traveler?”

           Needing a change from soda, Jace asked for lemonade to go with his pretzel, and Millie copied him. The two were soon enjoying their drinks and twisted salty bread, catching up like old friends from years back—but just keeping it casual at first.

           “Yeah, my dad’s still doing okay,” she continued on. “He wasn’t sad when they tore down The Flamingo. Actually volunteered to help demolish it. He moved back up north, lives in rural Washington now. I stuck around, partly for your family.”

           “I guess that’s one way to make your own path. But, seriously, the newspaper?”

           “I know. ‘Investigative journalism,’ we call it. It’s not so bad. Some days, I get to talk to some interesting people. Others, I have to write up dreck, like about the state of the local mall. I wouldn’t call the job ‘secure,’ but…” she eyed her iPhone, face down on the table, and leaned back with a smile. “I can always dip into my Apple stocks.”

           “So… how close are you with everyone? And have you just been, like, watching over me? That’s gotta make today weird, when my personality suddenly changed…”

           “Well, I have my own friends on the side, but I’ve stayed something that’s a little more than an acquaintance to the gang over the years. I’ve always been careful not to steer their lives in any directions—and walked on eggshells whenever I was around you, so that I didn’t stop ya from going to the past in the first place. But now, I finally feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief and get on with my life. Maybe I’ll even try to get tighter with some of Wes’ old gang. I held off on that a bit for a long time, Jace.”

           “I know… And I thought the earthquake version of you had it rough.”

           “I’m okay. I’ve never been great at making friends, anyway. If I got too close to any of ‘em, I probably would’ve just scared them off. But enough about me. Welcome back, Jace. Now…” she leaned back in and asked excitedly, “still got the snacks?”

           Jace noticed that his modern-day friends were heading out, so he waved to them, and they did the same. It looked like Chad was annoying the others again as they disappeared past the corner. Jace then looked down at the table and shook his head.

           “Sorry, Millie… I left them behind. I went through the door kind of suddenly.”

           She frowned some and asked, “Is everything all right?”

           Jace took a breath and replied, “Could you tell me about Warren first?”

           “Um, sure. I guess you must’ve just found out that he’s your cousin.”

           “Yeah… But now a lot of things about his older-self make sense to me.”

           “From what I’ve heard, you two are quite the duo. That it’s ‘sweet’ how you have each other’s backs, and when you sometimes get upset, he calms you down. Sally is a quiet kid, but she’s smart for her age, and Warren is really protective of her, too.”

           “The teenage version of Warren back in ’96 didn’t even mention her.”

           “Yeah. Yeah…” Millie grimaced. “I don’t know how Warren got stranded back then, but I don’t think Sally went with him. If she… stopped existing, it would’ve been so hard on him. And, you know, I wasn’t even certain of what was going on until Sadie announced she was having a boy in this… ‘corrected’ timeline. Just like that, everything snapped into place for me. Next thing I know, yep… they’re going to call him Warren.”

           “Since I’m not going to ask Sadie… Just… how did she end up with Wes?”

           “Ah…” Millie gulped in air. “The way I understand it, they went on a camping trip when they were kids. Now, they swore they didn’t kiss or anything, but… Okay, so, the two weren’t close in high school. The gang sorta drifted apart, as you might know. But by senior year, they all gravitated towards each other again, and then after college… something just clicked between Sadie and Wes. My guess is that the camping trip planted a seed of childhood longing between them; a shared nostalgia that sealed a partnership. I can’t be totally sure. I’m also not great when it comes to matters of the heart. Can’t even keep my own relationships. Oh, and they went to prom together, so maybe that helped.”

           Jace took a minute to process all of that, and then added, “My dad’s… different.”

           “I thought that might be the case. Wes gave him a few good talking-tos after the divorce, and old ‘Rad-Con’ changed some for your sake, for the better. I think Wes was trying to soften the situation between you two, wanting to avoid how things went with his own dad. But… seriously, where is Wes? I thought I’d be talking to both of you.”

           Jace shook his head, felt himself get teary-eyed, and then buried his face into his palms and replied shakily, “T-there… There was a time cop waiting for us when we went to check the door in the apartment… Wes was… He got left behind…”

           Millie looked at him sympathetically and replied, “Oh… Jace, that’s terrible. But don’t you have your quartz with you? Can’t you try going back and…”

           He huffed. “It doesn’t work. I tried. And if I go through the door, everything resets. Even if I can warn him, the cop will still be there, and I just don’t… I…”

           “Okay, buddy. Okay. That’s rough… Come on, let’s get you home for now.”

           Jace followed Millie out to her car, a beat-up old black Chevy Volt from one of the model’s early years, and got into the passenger seat. After she started up the electric motor and got some air going, she turned to him and tried to offer a reassuring smile.

           “You look exhausted, Jace. I was going to tell you all about the rest of Ms. Porter’s students, but that can wait. You need sleep first. For now, I’ll just say that Jared’s also married, but no kids yet. Ash has a daughter your age, and Celeste a troublemaking five-year-old boy. Now, they’re on a big vacation together with their families, but I stay in touch with Colin and Arthur, too. I’ll tell ‘em that Wes is in trouble, and I just know they’ll be here within a week. As for Zach… Yeah, no one really knows where he is at any given time. But I’ll definitely put together a rescue team with who I can.”

           “How…?” Jace said despondently. “How are we supposed to save Wes?”

           “We’ll figure out a way together. Adults are problem-solvers when they want to be. The hard part is just at the beginning… Convincing them of what happened.”

           “Thanks, Millie. It means a lot that you’re here to help…”

           “Welp,” she backed out of her parking spot, “I still remember what Warren told me all those years ago. I have an important role to play. And maybe this is why.”

           Jace had his first dinner back with his mom in a glum mood, and couldn’t really give her a good reason for it. Eventually, she seemed to assume that he was just having one of those days and let him be. He took a quick shower, then fell into bed by eight, feeling physically and emotionally drained after being awake for nearly twenty-four hours. But while it felt safe and warm inside his room, he wasn’t able to sleep right away.

           Still coming to terms with how worried he was about his uncle, despite how selfish and aggravating he could be, Jace sought some comfort by going over to his jacket, hanging off his computer chair, and taking out the old creepy finger puppet with the googly eyes, that Wes had gotten him at The Queen on their first day in 1995.

           He slid it onto his left index finger, and then with his other hand, looked up a vaporwave radio channel on his phone, and left it charging on his bed as the melodic soft tunes played, designed to convey a sort of retro-futuristic, hopeful version of the 90s that never was. Wes had often listened to it in his room late at night, from his iPad full of downloaded tracks. It made Jace feel a little closer to him as he fell asleep.

           The last night of camp, while Bailey shared another messed-up story, Marianne pouted, and Celeste showed off her rope burn battle scars at the amphitheater, Jace snuck away to find some needed solace. Wessy’s reaction earlier upon hearing that he’d be leaving town was not the last memory of summer camp Jace wanted to keep.

           Keeping in the dim glow of the camp lights, but avoiding Mr. Jasper as he went around collecting trash from the bins, Jace found the old, shrub-obscured path to the lake, which the campers had avoided throughout their stay. Still, they all knew it was there, lurking in the background, and a boat could sometimes be heard bobbing up against the dock on windier days. After risking some tick bites, he found the water.

           The moon was out and reflected off the serene pool of a still night—but the noticeable smell did dampen the mood some. The boat was half-submerged near the shoreline, and the dock looked old and rickety in the pale light, so Jace stuck to the rocky shore and found a nice, big piece of driftwood to use as a chair.

           He sat for a few minutes, listening to a gentle breeze ruffling the pines and the faint laughter and gasps of the campers reacting to scary stories. It was nice to be alone out in the wilderness at night, a setting far removed from what he was used to.

           “Jason?” a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “That you?”

           He turned around to see Ash, emerging through the bushes, the moonlight reflecting in her glasses. She looked genuinely surprised to see anyone else out.

           “Oh, uh… Hi…” Jace stammered. “Were you looking for me, or…”

           “I, um… I come out here to be by myself sometimes. I like it.”

           “Oh. Okay. I’ll leave and let you be—”

           She sighed and shook her head. “You don’t gotta. I wouldn’t mind the company. Actually, it gets a little frightening, even if it’s a good spot to be alone. Sometimes I start thinking that every little sound I hear is a bear sneaking up or something.”

           She walked over to the water’s edge and looked out at the dock.

           “… Um, you know, the old book I was reading about the camp mentioned swimming and fishing,” Jace said to break the silence. “I wonder what happened.”

           “Oh, they were running out of room in the water to hide all the bodies.”

           “W-what?” Jace exclaimed, then eased up his tense muscles and huffed. “Yeah, you don’t need to say things like that. I hear enough of it from Millie. And Felicity.”

           Ash laughed. “Heh. Nah, I heard about it. The water is too stagnant—it wasn’t gettin’ replenished enough or something. They started worrying about parasites.”

           “Hm. Probably a good idea, then… Hey, Ash… How are things with Arty?”

           “Oh, oh, is it my turn to be helped?” she replied in jest.

           “I don’t think you need any,” he said—you’ve been helped already, you’ll just never know it. “But I’m serious. He’s been feeling kind of down recently.”

           “Aw, he’ll grow out of it. Don’t worry. I see it at home and get what’s going on. He was the same way when we stopped sharing a room. What are we going to do, stay attached at the hip forever? We’re two separate people, not, like, mirrors of each other.”

           “I bet everyone thought you two were so cute together when you were younger.”

           “Nature of being twins,” she murmured. “But it’s too bad you’re another of the only kids in our group. Having a sib around can be nice. What about cousins? Got any?”

           “Nah…” Jace sighed. “Might’ve been cool, though. I kinda regret not coming here before. I thought I’d hate it. Now I wish I could come back a second time.”

           Ash got a bit closer, and then without asking, sat near Jace on the driftwood log.

           “So… You’re really leaving, aren’t you?” she asked.

           “Afraid so. But, you know, there really is a chance I’ll see all you guys again.”

           “You’re kind of mysterious, Jason. It’s like, where did you come from, and why did you help a bunch of kids with their problems, only to leave afterwards? Oooh, know who you remind me of? All those old westerns my dad likes.” She imitated his voice as best she could, “The dusty drifter, roaming from town to town, making things right but unable to ever settle down… Is that what you’re gonna do in some other school?”

           “I… I, uh, dunno…” Jace tried to respond as he suddenly found himself and Ash staring at each other. “I never… thought of myself like that.”

           “Yeah…” she murmured. “Yeah, you’re not rugged enough to be that kind of character. But I always thought you were pretty smart, and… cute.”

           Jace blushed and stuttered, “R-really? I mean… W-well, I, uh… Uh…”

           It was barely a perceptible moment; it happened so quickly. It almost looked like Ash had fallen forward. But there was no doubt that, for just a second, her lips touched his. She recoiled in shock, eyes wide on Jace as he gazed back.

           “Did you just…” he tried to ask as his cheeks burned, and she vacantly nodded.

           They continued to peer into the other’s eyes, both of them trying to find the right words or think up just the right way to quietly respond to the moment. After a few seconds, they heard a faint splash from the lake. A jumping fish, maybe.

           Ash turned toward the water, suddenly took on a look of horror, and shrieked, “What is that?” She grabbed onto Jace and hugged him tightly, “Jason! Save me!”

           Not prepared to play the role of brave hero, Jace looked over to see a glowing specter hovering over the water, with chains around his legs trying to pull him down into the depths. The pale ghost who had appeared on the lake took the form of his Uncle Wes, his eyes black and hopeless and as he reached out towards his nephew.

           “Jace…” he moaned. “Jace… Why did you leave me… behind?”

           He woke up early in the morning, his heart pounding and his sheets sweaty, with the vaporwave radio channel still playing on his nearby phone. He took deep breaths, remembered when and where he was, and then fell back onto his pillow, sighing.

           “Come on…” he exhaled. “That’s not how it went…” He covered his eyes with his arm to keep the rising sun coming through his windows away. “I mean… not quite…”

           After a few minutes, he realized he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep, and a quick look at the clock told him that he’d gotten over ten hours, anyway. It was just past seven in the morning, and the start of what would need to be a busy day. He hoped that his friends didn’t have any other big plans in store, because he had things to focus on.

           He leapt out of bed, changed into his modern clothes, went over to his work desk, and opened up his MacBook Air, serious about committing to a full day of research. He ended up grabbing his Nintendo Switch and checking on his island in Animal Crossing first, true, but only to help wake up his still-tired mind.

           “Jace. Up early again, I see,” his mom said from his door around an hour later. “What are you working on? You look pretty serious over there.”

           He turned in his seat and replied, “Um, Mom? I don’t think Uncle Wes…”

           “Hm? What about your uncle?”

           He shook his head. “Never mind. Can you log into Amazon so I can order a book? It’s kind of rare, but not that expensive. It says it’s coming from Iowa for some reason, but I kind of need it as soon as possible, so… fast shipping would be better.”

           She raised an eyebrow and then walked over. “What book?”

           “Well, uh… you always say I should keep my brain strong over summer…”

           Lucy leaned over and examined what was on the screen. “The Possibilities of Time? Huh. Malcolm Corathine… Why does he sound familiar?”

           “I think he used to be a professor at the university in the 80s.”

           “Ah, right. I remember his portrait in the faculty hall. But why do you want it?”

           “I’m interested in time travel, I guess… Me and Wes watched that ‘one trilogy’ not too long ago, and… I know it’s a little pricy, but would you buy it for me?”

           “Sure, sure,” she sighed. “Whatever gets you to read. Move over. I’ll order it.”

           Jace left his seat, letting his mom log in and choose a credit card and shipping option. After he replied to a text from Chad to tell him he was busy today, Jace asked his mom, “Hey, is it true that Desert Tree Elementary used to have… a trash club?”

           Lucy let out a small laugh and replied, “Where’d you hear about that?”

           “Wes reached the point in his epic saga where he started talking about it.”

           She let another laugh as she clicked the mouse. “You’re really funny sometimes, Jace. Yes. It’s true. We called it The Dump. I probably wouldn’t have gone there as much as I did if not for Lex. We weren’t exactly friends yet, but back in fourth grade, Lex was the coolest—the one kid my own age I really looked up to.”

           Thinking about his dad and why exactly his mom had become enamored by the “cool rebel kids,” Jace was about to ask another question, but his mom beat him to it.

           She spun around in the chair and said, “Done. It should be here in a few days. Jace, I meant to ask yesterday, but you looked so tired. Why did Millie bring you home?”

           “Is that bad or something? She’s not a social outcast, right?”

           “Well, no, but I always found her a little strange. She sort of hovered around Wes and his old friends for years, but never showed up anytime they invited her to anything.”

           “Wow, Mom. You sound like a gossip.”

           “I’m not trying to be mean. It’s more that I’m just surprised she suddenly, like, interacted with you. I always felt kind of bad for her, honestly…”

           “She just wanted to ask me a few things about Wes while we were at the mall.”

           “Ah. Maybe she wants an interview, or is writing an ‘exposé.’ He’s been getting requests, what with his upcoming game… Anyway, keep up the good morning routine!”

           Now really curious about how much his uncle’s profession had changed, after his mom left the room, Jace Googled Wes Colton and quickly found his company’s website. The latest piece of truth was the biggest shock since the dual cousin and Sadie surprises yesterday. Wes had made his dream come true, with Jared as his business partner.

           The two ran RV Indie, founded in 2013. Its logo was a recreational vehicle with a crown on top, referencing both a small mobile home and the city where the company was headquartered. Working with a “talented and fun-loving” team of forty, they had three independent titles out so far, and the newest one was a surprise hit that was now getting a Nintendo Switch port. Their upcoming fourth game was still under wraps.

           After clicking on the About page, Jace was greeted by both the typical company philosophy spiel—and a photo of the employees in their modern, free-roaming office, with Jared and Wes in the front, looking proud but easy-going about their success.

           “Huh…” Jace crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, smiling a bit. “Good job, Wes… You did it… I just wish I could go back and tell you all about it.”

           As a small gaming company that needed funds, the website also featured some ads. One of which was a side banner with a game-themed clickbaity Top 15 list that stood out to Jace, and reminded him of his task: “Best-Ever Third-Party Nintendo Games”. He was sure that #2 would shock him, but he wasn’t planning to click. What stood out was the Chrono Trigger artwork, from the classic SNES RPG time-travel epic.

           I need to find my own time egg and save Wes… Jace thought, and closed the window.

           Millie was the only person he could rely on for help. He was certain that she was doing her best to get Colin and Arthur back in town, but he wasn’t about to sit around and play video games until then. Needing to make himself useful, he got to researching.

           And two hours quickly flew by. He had a browser open with twenty Wikipedia tabs, for articles on everything from Royal Valley itself, to quantum physics, time crystals, and urban legend time travel stories. The scientific aspects were too advanced for him, but he scoured the pages anyway, looking for any topic that might lead to an inspired new idea about ways to rescue Wes. In another window, he searched for information on Malcolm and André Corathine, along with collections of local stories and history, hoping for answers to other lingering questions. But nothing was really helping so far. Jace and Wes’ time spent in the past left no lasting mark on the city.

           Feeling strained by his mostly-fruitless search, Jace fell back in his chair again and tried to think of anything else that might prove helpful. His thoughts returned to Malcolm, and he suddenly remembered the night he and the guys watched a little bit of his public access show before Wes’ mom came in and ordered the lights-out.

           Though he wasn’t hopeful, Jace got onto YouTube and typed in Dr. Corathine’s name and “Royal Valley show” into the search. And, surprisingly, someone out in the world had uploaded over twenty episodes. After quietly thanking whomever had done so, he looked through the playlist and managed to spot a thumbnail with Malcolm in the exact outfit that Jace remembered seeing him wearing in the desired episode.

           The video only had nineteen views and a single comment that simply said, “weird old dude lol”. But Jace now had a chance to check out the rest of an obscure show he’d last seen twenty-five years ago, the VHS banding and poor sound quality making it only more authentic. He skipped over the intro for Quantum Wisdom: Expand Your Knowledge, and advanced a few more minutes until he found the spot where he had left off.

           “I’d like to tell you a story,” Malcolm said. “About when I actually saw a time traveler. You don’t have to believe it, but I’m going to share it anyway. It happened last year, when I was approached by a man perhaps only a few years younger than me, who wore rather peculiar clothes—all in dark, looking as if they were made of tiny, perfect threads, a material I had never seen before. And he seemed to know all about me.

           “He visited me in my university office, and informed me that, two years from then, we would be working together on something important. But he needed us to start on this mysterious project sooner, so he was introducing himself earlier than he did originally. I wouldn’t have believed him, until he begins listing facts about my life that he never should’ve known. Before long, he has me convinced. I ask what he needs, and he gives me a scientific math problem to solve. He’d see me again in a year to check my progress. Well…” Malcolm took a breath, “the time for that visit is fast approaching. And I wonder if he’ll show up, having not aged, and confirm the validity of his story. I will, of course, let you know what happens, viewer. Okay! Let’s learn about black holes.”

           In the end, maybe it wasn’t worth the wait. Still, Jace would keep the professor’s story in mind. As Malcolm took out a pair of sock puppets that he, for whatever reason, needed as a black hole teaching tool, Jace’s mom’s phone rang, and he muted the video.

           It was the ringtone he recognized that made him do so, as it was set to Sadie whenever she called. Quietly, Jace left his room and went into the hallway, where he could hear his mom talking to her sister-in-law in the nearby living room. Lucy had a cordial tone at first, but she was soon bringing out her “calm down, let’s talk” stuff.

           “W-wait, Sadie, you’re talking too… Huh? … Yeah, but he’s done that before. He has a futon in his office for a reason—you know he sleeps there sometimes. He can work all weekend when it’s crunch time on one of his games, and… Hold on, what?” She listened for a full minute as Sadie went on about her worries, her voice sometimes just barely audible to Jace over the speaker. “Are you sure he never went to work Friday? He sneaks in sometimes, and… No, Sadie, I’m not trying to discount your concern, I’m just going through a logical… It’s fine. I’m not mad, I just… It doesn’t make any sense to me. Look, maybe you should just come over, and we’ll talk about this in person. We’ll find out where he is. Yes… Yes, try to get Jared over, too. Okay. Bye.”

           Jace waited another moment after his mom’s conversation was over before stepping into the living room, where he tried to look clueless about everything for the moment. He also needed more time to think about just how to say what he needed to.

           “Um, Mom, what’s going on?” he asked and came over to the couch.

           “Well…” She sighed and rubbed her neck. “It seems that no one quite knows where your uncle is at the moment. It wouldn’t be the first time, but… it’s always only been a few hours at most in the past. Your aunt talked to Jared, and found out that Wes never showed up to work yesterday. Of course, everyone over there is working so hard on their tasks right now, that they didn’t exactly notice Wes’ absence during the day.”

           “Is… Aunt Sadie worried? Are you?”

           “Buddy, I used to worry about everything when I was your age, so I really try to manage my stress by doing as little of it as possible. But, yes, this is unusual for your uncle to be gone this long without at least contacting someone. So… She’s going to be coming over with your cousins, and your uncle’s work pal Jared, and we’re going to try and figure this out. Maybe I should get Lex over here, too. I don’t want to go into some kind of full-blown crisis mode here, but Wes has been acting strange recently.”

           Jace’s stomach growled. He tried to hide it, but his mom clearly heard it.

           She forced a small smile and said, “How about we eat lunch before they arrive?”

           It had to be a quick lunch. Only about fifteen minutes later, Sadie was at the door and pressing Lucy’s Ring bell repeatedly in quick succession. Jace hid in the hallway as his aunt was let in, with concern all over her face. Her kids didn’t look as worried as they slid inside past her, likely neither of them thinking just yet that this was anything else but another little adult issue they weren’t ready to understand. Warren caught sight of Jace, waved, took out one of his two AirPods, and headed to his cousin’s room with Sally.

           “I just don’t know,” Sadie started as she and Lucy headed to the living room, their voices fading. “This time feels different. Something’s wrong, Luce…”

           “Hey, cuz,” Warren said as Jace followed him and Sally into his room. “Do you know something we don’t about our dad? You were asking about him yesterday, so…”

           “Um, no…” he replied. “He was just acting weird, is all.”

           “Yeah, he gets like that. Meh. He probably just ran off to some ‘nostalgia’ spot for some kind of spiritual journey or whatever. He… he can get that way.”

           “Oh, wow…” Sally murmured upon seeing the Avengers Lego set resting against Jace’s bed. “Um… Jace… Are you going to build that? I like Iron Man…”

           “Go ahead, have at it if you want… Sally,” Jace told the younger of his cousins.

           “Yay! Thanks,” she exclaimed and ran up to the box.

           “Jace, been meaning to ask,” Warren said as he meandered about the room and checked out the posters, perhaps for the hundredth time. “You okay, bro? You’ve been acting a bit strange, too. I bet Laurie said the same thing to you already, but, like, you’re quieter than usual. But also less worried about everything? You didn’t even look upset when we kicked your butt at laser tag yesterday,” he added with a half-laugh.

           “I don’t really… have as many outbursts as I used to, Warren.”

           “Really?” He came up and studied his older cousin. “You got pretty mad at Mario Kart the other night, when you weren’t winning. Did something change since then, or…”

           They heard the front door open again, and then three pairs of footsteps. The heavier ones belonging to the adults headed away, but Laurie’s grew closer until she stopped in the doorway and leaned against the frame in her usual, cool, “so, what’s up with you?” sort of way. She also looked unfazed by the recent parent problems.

           “Hey, Lor,” Warren said and gave her a fist bump. “Man, the old fam are starting to freak about this whole thing. But my dad’s not the type to just run away from us.”

           “What’s up, Jace?” Laurie asked him. “What do you think about all this? I’ve read up on it, and adults can legally disappear if they want. Also, I told them having to wait twenty-four hours to file a report is a myth, so… Yeah, I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

           “You’re not helping as much as you think,” Warren sighed. “I mean, I’m sure he’s fine, too, but when you start saying stuff like that, it can get people nervous, you know?”

           “I think I’m going to check on them…” Jace said and headed towards his door. “Why don’t you two, I dunno, help Sally put together that Lego set?”

           “Hm, I’d rather beat Laurie in Smash Brothers, but, yeah, we’ll find things to do.”

           Eying Jace’s Nintendo Switch, Laurie replied, “Fine. I’ll teach you a few moves.”

           Letting Warren boot everything up, and hoping the two would take good care of his pair of expensive controllers, Jace went back to the living room—if not a little apprehensively. Personal dramas made him nervous, even just seeing it in movies.

           But that was definitely Jared, leaning against one of the walls as Lucy and Lex flanked Sadie on the couch, trying to keep her calm. Jared’s hairstyle was mostly the same, yet he was making up for a childhood spent around modest means; his fancy watch looked expensive, and even on the weekend and off of work, he was dressed to kill in some designer casual clothes and loafers with silver links.

           I wonder if Wes accuses him of spending too much money on all that, Jace thought.

           Jared was talking on his phone, but did notice Jace walking up and gave him a little smile and a wave. He really must’ve been on friendlier terms with Wes.

           “All right, well, keep an eye out, and thanks anyway,” Jared said with a sigh and ended his call. He turned to the others and informed them, “Brian’s a no. Remember how Wes sometimes goes to Galaxy Hub for ‘inspiration?’ I had some hope it was just that again, but Brian was at the park yesterday with our interns, and he didn’t see him.”

           “B-Brian?” Jace wondered aloud. “Brian Moreland?”

           “Um, yeah, Jace,” Jared replied. “You two hang out together sometimes when you visit the studio, remember? Guy with the long hair? Head of our art department?”

           Come to think of it, maybe I did see him in the company photo… Wow. I helped him get there.

           Jared added, “Don’t worry, Sadie. I’ve got plenty of other people to call. Mira’s getting word around, too. And she’s got more social media followers than our company.”

           “Thank you, Jared…” Sadie said quietly. “You’re always there for us.”

           Jace bit his lower lip and looked around at all the adults. Maybe there were enough of them around to break the big news. It could spare them the burden of the initial search, and going through all the steps that wouldn’t wield results, right?

           “I swear, Wes, if you did something stupid…” Lucy grumbled, then suddenly stood up and started pacing. “He’s always talking about the past like it’s something sacred. Trying to keep the ‘glory days’ around just a little longer. Bringing up stuff no one else even remembers because he wants to pack it into another game plot…”

           “Why do you think he’s like that, Luce?” Lex wondered.

           “For one, he’s cursed with one of the most… I don’t know, robust long-term memories I’ve seen in someone. I don’t mean to make light of mental health here, but there’s definitely something going on in his head that isn’t… He just has a different thought process than you and me, Lex. That’s all I’m saying.”

           “She’s not picking up…” Jared said and gave up on trying to call someone else. “Hey, ah, look… If it’s all right with all of you, I think I’ll take this public and ask on our Twitter if anyone’s seen Wes around. The company’s still got over ten thousand followers, many of them local. It’s a place to start. I just hope the media doesn’t pick up on this and sensationalize it. But I’ll try to keep it casual. ‘Hey, anyone see Wes today?’”

           “Jared…” Sadie sighed and shook her head. “You never completely changed.”

           “Um, guys?” Jace spoke up, after reaching a breaking point. He walked over and stood in the middle of the group. “I have something to say. You’re not going to believe me, but it’s true. And I can prove it, if you let me. I’m…” He tensed up and took a deep breath. “I’m… your old friend, who moved away. Jason Connor…”

           The four adults looked at one another. For Lex and Lucy, the claim didn’t mean much, but Jared and Sadie appeared mildly interested… or maybe disturbed.

           “Jace, where did you hear about Jason?” Jared asked him. “There’s, like, no pictures of the kid, and I bet your uncle barely ever brings him up, if at all.”

           “Yeah, I know. Because he moved away after only hanging out with you for a year. I get how it sounds, but me and Wes… We went back in time to 1995, and he had me become friends with all of you. Guys. I went to most of your birthday parties…” He looked at Jared. “But I missed yours, J. Sorry about that. Oh, I hung out at The Dump, I helped a lot of our classmates… I played in the big laser tag tourney with you two!”

           “Jace, is this something Wes put you up to?” Sadie asked him. “Is this his idea of a joke, some kind of elaborate… I don’t know, what’s it called? ARG thing he’s testing on us for the new game? Please, just stop. Even if he told you to do this, just, don’t. It’s only going to upset us further. God sake, if he’s pulling something again…”

           “Sadie, ease up,” Jared told her. “We’ve never run an alternate reality game campaign. Wes always thought that sort of thing was pretentious. I’m sure Jace has some reason for saying all this, but…” He looked at Jace. “Hey, buddy. What’s this about?”

           Now having really put himself on the spot, Jace had no idea what to say next—but then his phone vibrated, and with any luck, it would give him an easy exit. He took it out and looked at the number, to see that it was Millie calling, after having given him her digits on the way back from the mall. Before answering, he looked back up at the adults.

           “Um, yeah, you’re right… Wes just put me up to something…” he mumbled.

           “I knew it,” Sadie exclaimed. “He’s always getting all of our children involved with his retro nonsense, isn’t he? I just don’t know what to do with him.”

           “Sadie…” Lucy grasped one of her hands and made a lighthearted quip, “I know your patience is wearing thin, but, we have to find Wes before you can yell at him.”

           “… Millie?” Jace spoke into the microphone after taking his phone into the kitchen for some privacy, where he answered it on the last possible second.

           “Hey, Jace,” she replied. “Any luck over there yet?”

           “Not really, no. I just tried telling them the truth, and it kind of flopped. I want to ask Sadie about the door, but… I think she’s too upset right now.”

           “Ah, well, no big deal. Hey, at least you planted an idea in their heads. Give it a few days, and it might grow. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I got through to Colin and Arthur. They’ll fly in next weekend. Oh, but don’t tell anyone else just yet. We decided to keep it a surprise of sorts. If your mom and aunt find out we’re, well, escalating things, you’re only going to make them worry even more.”

           “Thanks, Millie… I’ll just… keep trying to find out anything at all until then.” He peeked back out into the living room. “By the way, what happened to Jared?”

           “Yeah, he mellowed out in high school. I think he and Sadie even kinda consider themselves best friends now. Big turn-around, isn’t it? Was that your handiwork?”

           “Could be.” Jace pondered. “But this new world… still isn’t quite right just yet.”