ONCE MORE INTO THE PAST
Natalia blinked as the first rays of sunshine poured through the blinds. She stretched as she looked around the hospital room. It still smelled like a spring garden, even though some of the flowers were starting to droop while others had lost their petals.
The days were starting to bleed together, but Natalia was scheduled to go home this week, so her spirits were high. She pulled back her sheets, threw her legs over the side of the bed, and then slid into her fuzzy slippers.
Natalia stretched once more, rising to her tiptoes before walking over to raise the blinds. Then she went to work, trimming the flowers with a pair of scissors she found in the nurses’ closet. Natalia hummed a tune as she went from vase to vase, stopping to read each card along the way.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Just a minute,” Natalia said. She kicked off her slippers and jumped back under her sheets, doing her best to look exhausted.
“What’s going on in here?” Raven asked as she walked into the room.
“Sorry. I thought you were my nurse. I’m not supposed to get out of bed without supervision.”
“Then why did you get out of bed?”
“Because I’m fine, see?” Natalia said, bending the arm that had been hurt. “I don’t know why I’m still here.”
Raven shrugged. “What do doctors and nurses know, right? I mean, it’s not like they went to years of school or anything.”
“Okay, I get the point,” Natalia said.
Raven plopped into the chair next to Natalia’s bed. “Have you read any more of Windham’s books?”
“I’ve tried, but they’re kind of…”
“Boring?”
“You could say that,” Natalia said. “He spends as much time talking about his brilliance as he does about time travel. I did a search using my DE Tablet, but there wasn’t much we didn’t already know.”
“How about Paragon Engines?”
“Oh, there’s all kinds of information out there,” Natalia said. “Of course, most of it is garbage. You can even download blueprints that show you how to make a Paragon Engine using stuff that you can buy at a hardware store.”
“I bet the Toad brothers already tried it.”
“Probably.”
“So what’s next?”
“I have some homework that I need to finish,” Natalia said. “After that I might try another one of Windham’s books. I’m afraid it’s going to put me to sleep, though.”
“Good luck.”
Natalia glanced over at the door before turning back to Raven. “Did you bring it?”
“Yeah.” Raven reached into her purse to pull out a bundle wrapped in cloth and tied with a string. Once she unwrapped it, Natalia could see the worn leather cover that had once protected Otto Von Strife’s journal.
“Perfect,” Natalia said. She threw her blanket to the side before sitting cross-legged on her bed to make room for Raven.
“Do you still think Smoke is right about Von Strife?”
“I never said he was right,” Natalia said. “I just think there’s more to what’s going on than we know. I mean, what if Von Strife is doing all these terrible things, but he really thinks that he’s helping people?”
“That just makes him a lunatic,” Raven said.
“Maybe he just misses his daughter.”
“If you think he’s such a great guy, why don’t you ask the parents of all those missing kids what they think? I’m sure they’d have an opinion.”
“Look, I’m not trying to justify what he’s done,” Natalia said. She paused, biting her lower lip as she contemplated what to say next. Raven’s friendship meant a lot to Natalia, and she didn’t want to push her away. “It’s just that… I don’t know. If we can uncover Von Strife’s motivation, maybe we can stop him before he hurts anyone else.”
Raven sighed. “I still say he’s a nut job, but since I’m already here…” She tossed the journal cover onto the bed, closed the blinds, and locked the door. Then she sat down at the foot of the bed and placed her hand on what was left of Von Strife’s journal.
“Okay, we have to be missing something,” Natalia said. “He has to mention where he sent Sophia.”
“It’s called the Shadowlands,” Raven said, though Natalia ignored the sarcasm.
“You might be right,” Natalia said, “but we need proof. I mean, what if he sent her to a parallel world where they have the technology that could save her life?”
“Let’s just get this over with,” Raven said. “If I’m late for first period, Nipkin is going to put me in detention for the rest of the year.”
“The nurse isn’t supposed to be here for another half hour, so we should be okay.”
“What about Brooke?” Raven asked. “Are you sure that she won’t be upset if we do this without her?”
“We’re fine,” Natalia said, placing her hand on top of Raven’s.
The hospital room faded as Von Strife’s study came into view. A haunting melody played from the phonograph on his desk as Von Strife gazed into what looked like a Paragon Engine that was the size of a large monitor. He was taking notes with a fountain pen, occasionally stopping to adjust some of the knobs on the machine.
“I’ve heard that song before,” Natalia said, “but I’m not sure what it is.”
“I think it’s Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto number one,” Raven said.
“Wait, how did you know that?”
“I grew up on that kind of music. My mom’s a composer.”
“That’s amazing,” Natalia said.
“I guess,” Raven said with little enthusiasm. “Now shhh…”
The door opened and a clockwork researcher stepped into the office and saw Von Strife. “Sir,” the clockwork said, “you have studied nearly a thousand worlds. The odds of finding Sophia are—”
“Thank you, but I have no interest in the odds,” Von Strife said. His eyes never left the machine in front of him.
“Why is that?”
“One day you’ll understand that nothing can come between a father and his child. Not mathematics. Not even physics.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Von Strife said. “You were merely trying to help.”
“Thank you, sir,” the clockwork said. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“What will happen once you find Sophia?”
“I’ll go to her.”
“Will you take us with you?”
“That’s the plan.”
“What of the Templar?”
Von Strife sighed and massaged his forehead. “They’ll pay for what they have done, but all in due time.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”
“No, Johnny,” Von Strife said. “You may go.”
“Wait, did he just call that clockwork Johnny?” Raven asked.
“I thought we were supposed to stop talking,” Natalia said.
“As you wish,” the clockwork said.
When it turned to leave, Natalia saw the name JOHNNY GEIST engraved on its chest.
“You know who that is, don’t you?” Natalia asked.
“The first changeling who went missing,” Raven said.
Once the door was closed, Von Strife sat up and cocked his head as though he was listening for something. “Who’s there?” he asked.
No one responded.
Von Strife slid his chair back and stood up. He walked over to look behind the door, and then he checked the space behind his desk. “I know you’re there,” he said. “Show yourself.”
Still nothing.
He spun around on his heels before looking up. Natalia could feel his eyes boring into her. “Who are you?” he asked. “What do you want?”
“I think he’s talking about us,” Natalia said. “But he couldn’t be…”
There was a flash of light as the girls were ejected from the scene. Natalia’s head slammed against the wall. Raven flew off the bed and slid across the floor and into the dresser. The impact sent Ernie’s carnations crashing to the ground. The vase shattered, covering the floor in tiny shards of glass.
“Are you okay?” Natalia asked.
Raven struggled to stand. “I think so. What about you?”
“I’m going to have another headache, but I’m fine.”
There was a knock on the door before someone tried to turn the doorknob. “Is everything okay in there?” the nurse asked. “Natalia?”
“Oh. Um… just a minute,” Natalia said as she stood up. Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. “What should I tell her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Natalia,” the nurse said, “what’s going on?”
“I’ll be right there.” Natalia went to hand Raven the cover to the journal.
“No way,” Raven said. “I’m not touching that thing.”
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
“You can burn it for all I care.”
“Has that ever happened before?” Natalia asked.
“Never.”
“How do you think he saw us?”
“All I know is that this is over our heads.” Raven grabbed her purse before opening the door and storming past the surprised nurse.
The nurse surveyed the mess on the floor with an open mouth. “What happened?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”