The Puzzle of Escher Bradley: Chapter Four

« < » > Entire Story

Tauno and I pass the creepy slowmo statues, and walk into the house, without a word. We walk up the steps without a word, and then into the room without a word. Once we’re in the elevator, Tauno suddenly starts to want to speak.

“Is this your house?” he asks.

“No. I came here looking for someone. I have no idea who owns this place, if anyone. Is this not how you got lost?”

“I’ve never been here before,” he answers.

“Did you say this wasn’t your first time being in this other...world?”

“No, it happens all the time. Ever since I was little. But I think only since we moved to Kansas. I was born in the other Springfield.”

“Well, there are actually several other Springfields in the country. In fact, I believe that most, if not all, states have one.”

“I think it was the big one, the one that’s not very far away.”

“Probably Missouri.” It’s likely a good thing that the magical elevator takes so long, because he’s going to need some time before he trusts me enough to really explain himself. I’m just trying to take it slow and be patient so he doesn’t get spooked.

“I’ve never seen anyone else in that other world,” little Tauno says after a few moments of silence.

“It must be scary for you.”

“You kind of get used to it. I don’t know why it happens. Sometimes I wake up and I’m there. Sometimes I walk through a door, or I trip. Sometimes I just blink and it happens. It wants me. You can take me back home all you want, but it will always take me back.”

“How do you normally get home?”

“Same way. I keep walking, and eventually, it switches me back.”

I nod, because I have some idea what’s going on, but I’m new to all this, so I don’t actually know.

“What?”

I don’t know that I should tell him, because it could help immensely, or it could makes things worse. So I just move on, “your parents never realize you’ve gone?”

“No. Time doesn’t always do what it was doing outside. Sometimes I’m gone for days, and my parents just pretend like they don’t have a son. I watch them moving around the house. They can’t see me, and they never look for me. I think my baby sister notices, but she can’t talk yet, so I dunno.”

“When you go back home, what do they think you’ve been doing for the last few days?” I ask him.

“They act like I’ve been there the whole time. They remember driving me to school, and asking me to do my chores.”

“But the chores weren’t done, because you weren’t there to do them?”

“No, they were,” he corrects me. “They did them. When I come back, they just think it was me instead. I’ve never been in trouble before, but I’ve also never done any chores, because I’m always gone when I’m supposed to be doing them.”

I nod again, because this only enforces my theory.

“What?” he presses. “What is it?”

“I don’t think this...dimension is pulling you to it. I think you’re coming here on purpose.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Have you ever heard of the subconscious?” I ask, pretty sure he hasn’t.

“Is that like a submarine?”

“It’s part of your brain that you have no control over. It’s when you feel a certain way, but you don’t really know it. It still makes you do things, but you don’t realize why.”

“So...I’m like two people?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“And this other part of me wants to be in this—what did you call it—dimension?”

“You say that time isn’t always going in slow motion. What are you feeling when it does go in slowmo?”

“Tired. And busy.”

I crack a smile, because now I’m almost a hundred percent sure I’m right. “You need time to sleep, so this dimension gives you that. It may not even be the same dimension as the other times. Maybe you’re going to a lot of them, but they all look pretty much the same.” I’m a bit proud of myself for understanding some of this stuff, even though I’m much not into scifi. Then again, I’m talking to a seven-year-old, so maybe my grasp of the material isn’t all that impressive.

He thinks about all this for a while. We continue to wait for the elevator to reach its destination, eventually sliding our backs against the wall and sitting down.

“Do you think I might be able to control it?” he questions me.

“I think, for now, you need to learn to stop it from happening. If you want to travel to other worlds in the future, you should wait until you’re older.”

“Why?”

“You’ve never done chores, right?”

“A few times,” he clarifies, “but not for a long time.”

I try to find the right words to explain to a child what worries me about his situation. I don’t want to make it overly complicated, or make it sound like I’m judging him. “You know how rich people have maids and butlers.”

“Yeah...?”

“Well, they don’t do anything themselves. They don’t ever fold their clothes, or clean the floors.”

“Okay...?”

“They don’t know how to do anything. I don’t know if you like school or not, but it’s important. Knowing how to do things for yourself makes you a better person. If you go your whole life slipping into another world every time something is too hard, or too boring, you won’t learn to get through it. You might never be able to make friends. Not only will you always be in this other world, but you won’t have anything in common with them, because they always had to do their chores when their parents asked them.”

“So I have to just be normal, even though I have these powers?”

“You don’t have to be normal,” I explain. “Just pretend to be.” It’s a bit harsh, but I feel like I should say it, because no one ever taught me this lesson, and I could have used it when I was his age. “Adults will tell you that you’re supposed to be special, and really you are. You’re supposed to be special, and you, Tauno Nyland, are indeed special. But when you grow up, you’ll realize that people don’t really want that from you. Special people make normal people feel bad, because. They don’t understand why adults kept telling them that they were special, but then they turned out not to be. They want you to be just like them, because then they don’t have to worry about whether they did something wrong. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” he replied unconvincingly.

I get a little bit more serious. “You can’t tell anyone about your powers, and you can’t use it again until you’re older.” Yes, calling them powers I think will help him. Kids already know they can’t use powers however they want. Comic books have done a pretty good job of showing what happens when people with powers go unchecked. “Think of it this way. You can’t learn another language until you understand your first language. Earth is your world, and you should get to know it better before you start running off to other places.”

“Okay,” he says, partly resentful about being told what to do with his powers, but partly relieved there may be a way to stop it.

We spend the next twenty, or so, minutes just talking. The topic of the dimension we’re hopefully in the middle of escaping only comes up a few more times. Mostly he tells me about the kinds of things he likes; dinosaurs, astronauts, and drawing. He says he’s not very good at art, but he likes to do it anyway. I tell him that he may be able to get better, that not everyone is just born with the talent. I say this even not knowing if it’s true. I also talk about myself; about my mentor, Detective Pender, and why I decided to become a police officer. I obviously don’t get into specifics about how it all started when a gangbanger shot Pender up with a fully automatic, and I killed the banger to stop him from finishing the job.

Finally the elevator doors open, and we exit. It’s nice to be home, sort of. I think he may be okay walking on his own, because he’s a little precocious, but he feels different. He finds comfort in holding my hand, so we walk down the steps like that, and leave this terrible house.

“That is not my son,” Tyler Bradley says as we’re coming out.

“No,” Cheryl agrees, “it’s not. Where’s Escher?”

“I thought you didn’t remember him,” I say.

“I do now!” she cries. “I don’t know how I could have forgotten him, but I remember! I remember everything!”

“Okay, okay,” I tell her.

“This is Tauno,” I say of the little boy hiding behind me from the screaming woman. “I didn’t find Escher, but I found him. Your son is not the only who’s missing. There may even be more. I can’t do this alone anymore; I’m going to need to call for backup. I go over to my car and get on the radio. “Temple Oxenfree, this is Nautical-eleven, requesting backup at four-two-five-six Purple Rose Lane. Missing child found; at least one still missing.”

“Copy that, Nautical-one-one,” came the reply. “Racecar-two-four, please respond.”

“Racecar-two-four, go ahead.”

“Please proceed to four-two-five-six Purple Rose Lane.”

“Copy that, Oxenfree.”

Cheryl comes up from behind and asks, “are you going to find my son?”

“I’m going to do everything I can,” I respond, and then turn around. “Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.”

“What is it?” she asks frantically. “What’s happened?”

“The house...it’s gone. I can’t see it anymore.” All I see is grass and bushes.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” I answer, and I really don’t. If I can’t get back to the other dimension, I’m never going to find Escher Bradley.”

“I don’t see it anymore either,” Tauno says. “You may need it, though, but I don’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said I have to learn to do things for myself. And I’m the only one who can do this, so I have to go.”

“Tauno, no! Don’t! It’s too dangerous; we don’t know where he is.”

“I’ll find him,” little Tauno promised. “Wherever he is...I’ll find him.”

“Tauno, sto—!”

“Who’s Tauno?” Tyler asks?

I jiggle my head, trying to remember. I have no idea why I just said that. Who is Tauno? And what the hell am I doing here?

« < » > Entire Story

Microstory 640: Indulge a Summit for Patience

< > Table of Contents

It hasn’t been long now since the Lightseers executed a plan to take control of the galactic economy, but rivals are already feeling the pressure. A new council composed of corporate executives, military officers, and other world leaders was recently formed to see if there was anything they could do about the “lightseer problem”. They deliberated for a considerable amount of time before ultimately determining their best course of action was to simply discuss matters with us directly. They could tell right off that they, even when combined, would be no match for the true leaders of Fostea. They proposed to meet for what they called a Summit For Patience. Of course, we knew right away that they were doing this in order to gain some goodwill from us, seeing as that a Summit for Patience is mentioned in the Book of Light. But that just proves that Sacred Savior, Sotiren Zahir was and is more than a mere prophet. He did not simply predict the future, but through his actions, created it. He was able to convince a group of leaders he had never met, thousands of years in the future, to do exactly what he wanted. By calling for this summit, and by even calling it what we would have, our rivals have proved that there is no stopping the taikon. Even those who do not believe in our ways cannot escape the light. Ye, blessèd is the light, and all who see it...and all who hide from it, but feel its warmth. Of course Highlightseers from all over the galaxy agreed to the summit, but only if it could take place on Narvali. Predictably, the rivals agreed to our terms, and also that it would be moderated by the unbiased thirty party of the dodulkori refugees. This was perfect for us, because the dodulkori were in debt to us for having graciously given them our paradise planet. The rivals walked away from the summit believing it to be a success, but we knew better. We would not only continue with the conquest, but ramp up our efforts. But then something happened we never thought could, even while hinted at in the Book of Light.

Microstory 639: Consumption of the Spoiled

< > Table of Contents

Centuries ago, there was one thing people worried about that we don’t these days. Food. Sure, there are plenty of people without enough food, but that’s always avoidable, and to their own mistakes. When they can get their hands on the food, though, it’s always perfect. Through study in fields like genetics, preservation, and logistics, we now know exactly how much food we’ll need, and how to handle it. The fact of the matter is that food no longer goes bad anymore. We make only as much as we need, when we need it. At the same time, the animals that provide us with half of this food always live in perfect conditions. There was a time when these animals were abused and neglected, because it was cheaper to do so, but this made the meat dangerous, and sometimes, inedible. We’ve learned since to take care of our livestock, and we’ve also cured the majority of diseases that plagued them in the past, and caused the humans that feed on them to suffer their same fates. We no longer fear food poisoning, or other food-borne pathogens. If any animal incurs any sort of medical problem, it’s quickly detected, and immediately resolved. Our ancestors would be astonished and confused by the way we live today. But it is we who are shocked and perplexed right now. Though all of us have lived our entire lives not knowing anything but the utmost health in our food, Lightseers have been preparing for the day when this dynamic would change. Hopefully temporarily, and/or on the plates of our enemies, but we knew someone would eventually experience some kind of pathogen from food. The Book of Light calls it Consumption of the Spoiled. It says of this taikon, a day will come when a vessel will find itself in unknown territory. It will encounter the most despicable of foods; the most heinous of crimes against nature. The crew of this vessel will turn in horror, but be unable to leave, for they will succumb to its damnation.

Though as poetic as any passage in the Book ever is, the writings seemed to be rather clear. Sometime after Guardian Appreciation Day, a ship will land on a planet in the midst of dealing with an epidemic that’s killing all of the livestock, and possibly those who were partaking in its meat. As it turned out, this was only half right. A ship did land on a planet, and this planet was literally new territory, since it had not been mapped before, but that was not the worst part. Researchers have estimated that our galaxy contains about three trillion of what are known as rogue planets. These celestial bodies can no longer be referred to as orbitals, for they no longer orbit any star. They were, at some point, ejected from their system, and have been darting across the firmament ever since. They are dark, cold, and lifeless. Most of them, anyway. It’s nearly impossible to know every single rogue planet, and no one has bothered trying, because they are difficult to detect. Since they generally offer so few resources—and we have all we need from other orbitals, which have the added benefit of a parent star—we just don’t worry about them. From time to time, however, travelers come across a rogue planet, and occasionally visit them...just for fun, essentially. After such promising data, this last adventure turned out to take a terrible turn. When the starship Ninkase found a new rogue planet, the crew was excited.

Though most rogues are dead, this one carried with it a subtle atmospheric shell, perhaps due to having been quite recently, cosmically speaking, released from orbit. They were about to land on one of the poles when they noticed an energy reading from under the frozen ocean’s surface. After drilling through the ice, they found the remnants of a submarine civilization. Curious, they pressed on, but soon discovered that these were more than just remnants. People were still living there. More to the point, people were still dying. After resources had run out, the inhabitants of this unnamed world turned to a different way of life. They started eating that which must never be eaten. The poor were the most numerous, the most violent, and the most hungry...so they started eating the noble rich. They did not become savages, tearing into their victims with cries of wicked joy. They placed them in cages, took detailed inventory, and rationed what they had across all survivors. They were just about out of this inventory when the crew of the Ninkase arrived, and instead of asking for help, they simply attempted to replenish their stores. Only one Ninkase crew member made it out of the fight, and flew off to tell the tale. When a paramilitary operation went down to investigate, all inhabitants of the planet were dead, along with most of the crew that had been left behind. Two had survived the battle...their brethren, though, had been torn to pieces. It was this terrible tragedy that reminds all Lightseers of the care that must be taken regarding the text of the Book of Light. Simply the ambiguity of the words consumption and spoiled were enough to make it so that no one could see this one coming.

Microstory 638: Celebration of Guardian Appreciation Day

< > Table of Contents

The successful achievement of the thirty-eighth taikon was less about fulfilling it as it was fulfilling all the ones before it. There are very few holidays in this galaxy that are observed across more than one or two star systems. Only one of these is observed in all systems. Sotiren Zahir’s extraordinary gifts manifested themselves at a very early age. He was able to see and know things that no one could explain. He was not an amber, or an anomaly. He was no witch, time traveler, or basic old world prophet. He was something different; in a class of his own. People around him rarely believed his truths, even as he proved them before their eyes. They chalked it up to coincidence, refusing to see reality, and reject their old religions. His parents were not like them, though. They supported him in everything he did, they always believed him, and they encouraged him to explore his shocking understanding of the universe. He speaks of them at length in the Book of Light, and how beneficial their reactions to his—sometimes disturbing— visions of the future. He demanded a Guardian Appreciation Day, to be celebrated annually all across the galaxy, on the day that splits the difference between his parent’s respective birthdays. Though a few worlds have attempted to ignore this tradition, they always end up falling in line the following year after their trade deals suddenly turn sour. It is one of our founder’s few commandments, so the least anyone can do is be part of it. And for the most part, even planets dominated by rival religions continue the tradition. As with any year, Guardian Appreciation Day was set to be observed during the taikon year. It cannot be moved up or down the calendar, and if all of the previously thirty-seven taikon were not reached by the time this day rolled around, the entire prophecy would be forfeit. It was positively vital that the taikon be experienced in the right order, and under this deadline, or everything Lightseers and general Fosteans alike worked for would be meaningless. Fortunately, now-Eido Wurnti Kaddow presented herself in just enough time to let this happen. Guardian Appreciation Day was observed, and all was well.

Microstory 637: Replace Eido Bertok

< > Table of Contents

As described in the earlier taikon, Eido Bertok was his own man. He didn’t play by anyone else’s rules, and he didn’t let anyone tell him what he was meant to do. The role of eido, though extremely important, was often largely a symbolic one. People followed them, and Sacred Savior, because the eidos were able to convince them to. Without these public figures, we may not be living in the greatness that is the galaxy of Fostea we have today. Still, celebrity was not all there was to being one of the leaders of the new worlds. A lot of logistical work goes into making things run smoothly, which is why leaders always deserve more pay than the proverbial worker bees. Bertok was unlike the other eidos in that he focused the majority of his time on this behind-the-scenes work. He was instrumental in the establishment of standard practices and general structure. It was he who came up with our class system, and determined the initial value of Arkeizen thralls. Though Sotiren had already instantaneously analyzed each and every planet in the galaxy, he did not provide this data for his followers. Bertok, therefore, took it upon himself to lead preliminary mapping efforts. He and his teams gave the pioneers in the exodus ship an idea of where they could live, and where they might want to go. He helped organize the construction of infrastructure on the central worlds, so that people would actually have some civilization before things even got started. He was nicknamed the Hardest-working Man in Fostea, and this designation has not since been passed on to someone else. Until now. Perhaps the second hardest worker in Fostea is the cofounder and current Chief Executive Officer of Kaddow-Anmelton Industries,  Wurnti Kaddow. Kaddow was only thirteen standard years of age when she found herself literally on the ground floor with her recent schoolteacher, Pier Anmelton. He had always considered her to be his best student, and thought she might be interested in working part time at his new startup organization. She quickly proved herself to be an unmatched asset to the company, which was renamed to reflect her contribution. Together they transformed their small business into the leading realty solutions experts for single-occupancy planets. And she hasn’t stopped working since. It was no surprise when she decided to volunteer to help capture the wandering Bellcone, and was just as invaluable in this endeavor as she has been in previous projects. Her dedication and strength earned her the right to be chosen as the replacement for Eido Bertok.

Microstory 636: Capture the Wandering Bellcone

< > Table of Contents

About thirteen years ago, a previously unseen animal appeared on a random planet called Iusel. A ship of soldiers of fortune touched down to hunt for any useful resources, of which they found little. As they were in the middle of loading the cargo hold with the few things they found, a small animal crawled up the ramp as if it belonged there. It found a spot it desired against the bulkhead, and just sat there, waiting for the humans to take off. When they reopened the doors on the Hiereune dock, the animal walked right back out, apparently having reached its destination. It has been wandering the galaxy ever since, stopping only to casually look for food, explore, or transfer vessels. It has become a bit of a staple of the Fostean galaxy, never causing any problems. A survey ship later traveled to its world of origin, and found no evidence than any other animal of its kind ever existed. They did, however, discover a secret laboratory built into the side of a canyon. Not much of the original research was there, but they did find some information. The unnamed scientist based out of there genetically engineered the creature not long before it was found. She designed it as a gift to an also unnamed individual, the identity of which does not go beyond the fact that he is an Earthan. People of Earth often assign themselves, or each other, what they call spirit animals, a practice our ancestors on the old worlds sometimes enjoyed as well. Apparently this Earthan boy was assigned a mythical animal that was a cross between a bovine called a bull, and a lagomorph called a coney. For the last decade, no one thought much of this.

The creature grew up, and became much larger, but continued to remain pleasant and innocuous, unless threatened. A few people periodically attempted to trap or lure it, for various ends, but were always unsuccessful. It never let itself be in a situation where it couldn’t hop away, or rampage through a barrier. It was only recently when a Lightseer noticed that this must be the Bellcone of the taikon, even though it wouldn’t have existed at the time the Book was written. This was unverifiable, but linguistically possible, and eventually, the idea caught on. Since that time, there have been more attempts to capture the Bellcone, though not by true Lightseers, who all know that the fulfillment of any one taikon cannot happen until the completion of its predecessor. For every one of these hunting parties, however, there is a separate party in a position to protect and assist the Bellcone, and let it travel to its next world. However, following the ascension of the resurrected Sotiren Zahir as First Judge, the capture of the Bellcone was unavoidable. Presumably sensing this danger, the Bellcone instinctively changed tactics. It happened to be on Protanr at the time, and there it remained, never getting on any ship where it could be cornered. As it turned out, it’s one of the fastest, strongest, and most durable animals recorded. It always exerted very little energy evading capture during other attempts, but now it wasn’t taking any chances with these taikon attempts. Dozens of people were injured, though none was killed, like it knew that it didn’t want to cross that line. They would have used technology to accomplish their goals, but the Book of Light specifically demands that the Bellcone be captured by hand. The physically strongest Lightseers were brought in from all corners of the galaxy, and after hours of chasing and fighting, the Bellcone was pinned down. It submitted and allowed itself to be placed in a cage. The primary driving force in this feat would go on to be even more important.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: July 23, 2138

« < » > Table of Contents

Last year, Arcadia warned Mateo and Leona that they would be better off getting all their sleep in that evening, because the expiation would start immediately. Of course, they heeded her advice, and were in bed before the sun set.

The next day, a little after midnight, they found themselves having been moved. The two of them were now waking up in separate jail cells. There was a third cell near them, but it was completely dark inside. Not even the starlight was shining through. The couple could see each other by torchlight.

“Mateo,” Leona said to him.

What?

“Mateo,” she pressed, a little louder.

I’m here! I don’t understand what we’re supposed to do.

“Mateo! I can’t hear you!”

“Hello?!” Darko’s voice came from the third cell.

Darko?

“What is it?” Leona asked of Mateo. If she couldn’t hear, then she probably had no idea that Darko was with them.

“Leona? Where are you? I can’t see anything.”

She’s right here, but she can’t hear anything.

“Leona, hello?” Darko asked. “It’s completely dark in here, but I can feel engravings on the back wall. They’re numbers. I think it’s a combination.”

Okay, read them to me!

“Did you hear me, Leona!” Darko asked.

I heard you, Darko. Leona can’t hear anything.

“Mateo, what’s going on!” Leona asked, upset.

“Mateo’s here?” Darko asked. “Why isn’t he saying anything?”

What the hell are you talking about? I’ve been trying to talk to you! Okay, Mateo needed to figure this out. There was a huge gap in the communication, and it didn’t make any sense. Leona couldn’t hear, and Darko couldn’t see. This much was obvious, but every time Leona said something, Darko would react to it. Yet neither of them were reacting to what Mateo was saying. Maybe he wasn’t saying anything at all. Leona couldn’t hear, and Darko couldn’t see. That just left...speaking. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. They were each left with a disadvantage. Great, how were they going to get through this one?

“Leona, what’s happening?” Darko yelled after too long in silence.

He would have to play charades with her if anything was going to get done. He reached his arms through the bars, and excitedly pointed towards the third cell, while maintaining eye contact with Leona. He then mouthed the word speak, and waved his hand from his chin to mimic sound coming out of his mouth.

“What am I supposed to say?” Leona asked.

Mateo just gave her the thumbs up, because that was good enough for now.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Darko answered. “I think I’ve figured out the numbers. Should I read them out to you?”

Mateo perked up, waved his hand from his chin again, and mouthed the word yes.

Leona turned her head slightly to the side, a little unsure that she was understanding him right. “Yes!”

“Okay,” Darko began.

Mateo hastily reached through the bars and presented Leona with his combination lock, of which she had none.

Leona nodded that she understood.

Mateo pointed towards Darko.

As Darko read each number out loud, Mateo tried to hold up his fingers so that Leona could see. “Eleven-twenty-four-forty-two-fifty-six-eighty-three!”

Shit! He didn’t have eleven fingers, let alone eighty-three. How could he indicate which two digits belonged in a pair? Not only that, but Mateo wasn’t great with numbers, and had already forgotten most of them. He pointed towards Darko again, and waved his hand in a circle.

“Again,” she requested.

“Okay!” Darko said. “Eleven-twenty-four-forty-two-fifty-six-eighty-three!”

Mateo closed his eyes and tapped the air with his finger, showing that he was doing his best to memorize the numbers. Once he felt he had, he reopened his eyes and looked back to Leona. He stuck one hand through the bars and showed one finger. Then he stuck his other hand out with a second finger.

“One-one,” Leona said out loud.

“No, eleven!” Darko corrected.

Mateo quickly pulled his fingers close together, so that she could get the right idea.

“Eleven,” she said.

“Right, can you not hear me very well?”

Five fingers on his right hand, and three on his left.

“Eight.”

“No,” Darko whined. “Eighty-three.”

Three on his left hand.

“Three.”

Mateo could hear Darko sigh as he was clapping his hands together

“Eighty-three? Okay, understood.”

Mateo nodded. They then continued this procedure until she had all the numbers in her own head. It got easier over time. After they were done, Mateo placed his hands on his combination lock, which he couldn’t actually see from this side of the bars.

“Okay,” she said to him. “We can do this.”

“We can do what?” Darko asked, literally in the dark as to what was going on.

Mateo pointed towards him, then swept his fingers in the air dismissively.

Leona was getting even better at understanding his meanings. “Mateo and I are working on it.”

“Oh, so he is here?”

Mateo placed his hands back in position and waited for Leona. She reached out as well and slowly moved her hands as he was meant to, holding up the international signal for stop when it was time to turn it the other way. Finally, they reached the last number. He heard a click, and some pressure release. As soon as he opened his gate, they were all three apported to a windowless room.

“Can you hear me now?” he asked.

“Oh my God, yes I can,” she replied. “That was infuriating, and frightening.”

“Have we been here the whole time?” Darko asked.

Arcadia’s voice suddenly rang out from the speakers in the corners, “congratulations, players, you successfully completed your first challenge. Aldona’s brother, Nestor was fascinated by this fad called escape rooms. Starting in the early 21st century, these rooms adapted similar video game scenarios to the real world, adding a level of excitement and urgency never experienced before. Over time, these adventures became more elaborate and expansive. Years after the first one appeared, people were no longer tasked with breaking out of a single room, but an entire building. Decades later, these buildings would grow to enormous proportions, allowing contestants time to eat and sleep while still on the clock, which was now measured in days, rather than minutes or hours. Advances in automation and access to resources were providing people with more free time, and less of an obligation to work. They were now free to entertain themselves in new ways. But we have an advantage over the designer of those petty escape buildings that they could only dream of. We have control over time and space. The possibilities are quite literally endless. You won’t be trying to escape a room, so much as you’ll be seeking the prize at the end of the rainbow. Your mission is to break out of this place, and all others after it, until you find the one where your friends live.”

And so that was what they did. They continued questing through room after room, but it wasn’t all there was to it. They had to walk up 328 flights of stairs to get to the top floor of something called an arcological megastructure. They had to solve a critical failure on a space station before life support ran out. In a real escape room, this would be a simulation, but Leona made sure they knew, if they didn’t actually fix this very real problem, they would really, actually, die on the station. After that, they just had to get to the other side of the Grand Canyon, survive the battleground during a short skirmish between two warring nations on an alien planet, and complete a continental scavenger hunt against contestants who were doing it for mere fun. They met up with Aura, Mario, and Lincoln after walking upstream for a couple miles in a creek, thinking that their game was finally over. It wasn’t, though, because then all six of them were thrust into the next challenge together.

Through the fatigue, Mateo remembered that he had asked Arcadia to see Horace and Paige again, to make sure that they were okay. He now knew that these tasks were the means to that end. Unfortunately, they never knew how much further they had to go, or if they would even get through everything. All in all, this was the most taxing and dangerous of the Aldona expiations. It might have been fun if it had last, maybe, a quarter of the time. But the full day just kind of ruined the whole thing. By now, even if they managed to pass it, they wouldn’t have much time with Horace and Paige. As happy as he was for them to have gotten off the island, and away from the expiations, he missed them both. Missing Horace Reaver. Who would’ve thought?

After helping solve the crime at a murder mystery dinner, they were apported to another windowless room. Arcadia’s voice returned, “wow, ya know, you did those first ones pretty well, but then you started slipping. I guess I underestimated how tiring this would make you.”

“Yeah,” Mateo said, barely able to think straight. “You think so?”

“Well, there’s only one left, so you can all calm down. This is a standard room. You have one hour to break out of it. I’ll be here to give you clues, if you need them. Each additional clue beyond three will cost you time, though. If it takes you longer than seventy-five minutes, well...if you look at your watches, you know what happens then.”

They did all know what would happen then. That was the moment of Mateo and Leona’s jump to the future. If they didn’t get through this, they would fail, and Aldona’s brother, Nestor would be lost forever. Things started getting bad pretty quickly. They misunderstood what the most important information on the newspaper clippings was. It took them a long time to figure out the right sequence of flipping the light switches on and off. And they failed to recognize one of the panels on the wall to be part of the game, and not just as a function of the room itself. Arcadia had to give them five clues altogether, providing them with only five minutes to win.

Mateo wandered around, looking for anything they didn’t see before. Darko took the metal bar they used to magnetically retrieve a key down a tube, and used it to start prying one of the chairs bolted to the floor. Lincoln was asleep in the corner from having been the one to last the longest in the stamina challenge earlier that day. Leona and Mario were trying to decipher a combination to a safe, but were having trouble reading Aura’s chicken scratch.

“Got it!” Darko cried. They had a minute left.

This woke Lincoln up from whatever dream he was having. “Gangs aren’t illegal; just the crimes they usually commit!”

“Is there something under there?” Aura asked.

“No, of course not,” Darko answered, wrenching the fourth leg from the floor. “This is not part of the game. Dad, come help me!”

Mario came over, and lifted one side, though he asked, “what are we doing with this?”

“Fast as you can, on three,” Darko said, leading them over to the door.

“You can’t do it,” Leona warned them, “if it’s not part of the game.”

“We need to get through that door,” Mateo said. “This is the only way we have.” He got behind the chair and prepared to help.

“One,” Darko said, swinging it back, and then forward.

“Two,” Mario said as they swung it a second time.

“Three!” they all three hollered in unison, then smashed the chair against the door. It moved, but not enough.

They tried again.

“thirty seconds,” Aura notified.

They tried again.

And again.

And again.

“Seventeen seconds!”

“The chair is too big,” Mateo complained.

“You need to focus the force on its weakest point,” Leona explained reluctantly. “Right at the door knob.”

“Get that fucking chair out of my way!” Mateo ordered.

Mario and Darko complied.

Once they were out of his path, Mateo stepped back, and slammed his shoulder against the door.

“Mateo, stop!” Leona begged.

Mateo hit the door again.

“Five seconds!”

In one last desperate attempt, Mateo pushed himself into the blood rampage, which was an adrenaline flowing technique he had learned from Vearden. He ran straight for the door as fast as he could, with as much power as he could muster. The lock broke, sending him flying through the opening. He caught a glimpse of Horace and Paige’s faces before landing on the sand.

“Did we win?” Serif asked, helping Mateo up. “Did we get through it in time?”

“We’re back on the island,” Mateo said. “I think it’s next year, and I don’t think we won, no.”

Leona walked over from behind them and sized Serif up. “Who the fuck are you?”

« < » > Table of Contents

The Puzzle of Escher Bradley: Chapter Three

« < » > Entire Story

When a detective hits a roadblock, something they often do is go back to the beginning. They start again where they started before, maybe a little further back, and try again. They’re hoping seeing it from a slightly more agèd perspective will shed some light on whatever they couldn’t see before. I’m doing that here, but not because I think I missed a clue, but because maybe I literally couldn’t see it before. Ideally, Escher would be sitting in his new bedroom, unable to interact with people in the real world. Then I could get him back and send him home. Unfortunately he’s not there, and it doesn’t look like the room is any different from this side of whatever separates these two worlds. That’s insane. Just yesterday, my life was normal. I had a good job, in a reasonable town. I drank tea in the mornings, and watched TV at night. I went to the gym for fifteen minutes every couple weeks, or so, or ten. I liked The A-Team, cute animal calendars, and hiking. I didn’t read or watch much science fiction, but now I’m walking through what I guess one would call another dimension. It’s only been five minutes, and this already feels like the new normal, though. I know I should be freaking out right now, but this place makes me feel at ease. It’s almost like I belong here; like it’s home.

I shake off my internal monologue and start trying to do some real police work. I wave my hands through some of the objects in the room. I’m not trying to touch them, because I know I can’t, but what if there’s something here? What if there’s something in here that’s different than everything, that straddles the worlds as I do? I don’t think I have that much chance, but I have to give it a shot, and in the end, it was a waste of time. There’s nothing special about the Bradley family’s new house. No, it’s all about that other house. My only choice is to go back, and hope my luck changes.

As I’m walking across the lawn, I notice something strange. I see a man who appears to be jogging down the street. He’s moving in slow-motion, it just doesn’t look right. I look to the Bradley couple. They’ve moved since I last saw them, but not all that much. I look up and see a bird, flapping its wings so slowly that I almost die of boredom waiting for it to happen. This guy, though...this guy. Even at top speed, no human should be able to move that fast. Sure, it’s turtle slow from my perspective, but if I were in the real world, he would surely be nothing more than a blur. A person who could run as fast as The Flash wouldn’t be the first unexplainable thing I’ve seen today, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable just adding it to the pile. What’s next? Someone who can reverse their own age?

As fast as time is moving in my dimension, I still have a little trouble keeping up with the jogger, and I almost think he’s getting faster. I try to get his attention, but nothing works. My hand passes through his shoulder, which feels different than with other things, but not dramatically so. I know he’s connected to Escher’s disappearance, in some way, but there’s nothing I can do about it. He apparently can’t see me in this dimension, but I won’t be able to catch up to him if I go back to his. Then I realize I’m not certain I’ll ever be able to go back at all. Maybe I’m trapped here. Maybe this is just how I live now. “Goddammit!” I yell in the jogger’s face, frustrated by my own inability to figure out what I’m doing, and his inability to explain himself. This he reacts to. At least I think he does, but it’s so hard to tell. His right eye closes, holds a little longer than a blink, and then opens again...like a wink. He also begins smiling. I was looking right at him at the time, so it could be a coincidence, or it could be incredibly significant. He makes no further indication that he may know I’m there, and quickly speeds off. He somehow manages to run even faster than he was before, and he’s gone before I can catch my breath. I should probably start going to the gym a few times a week, and for thirty minutes.

I stare at the jogger’s wake for a minute, preparing myself to turn around and get back to the investigation. Before I can, I see something else move out of the corner of my eye. A little boy is walking up the cross street, looking around like he’s lost. I breathe a sigh of relief. I mean, he looks a little younger than his father said he was, but some people are like that, right? Though he’s a bit too far away right now for me to be certain anyway. He’s also wearing pajamas, which is weird, but I’ll take it. As long as we can find a way back to where we belong, we’re gonna be okay.

“Escher!” I call down to him, as I start jogging towards him.

The boy ignores me. Maybe he’s not really in this dimension, but is also a speedster.

“Escher!” I call again, drawing closer. “I’ve been looking for you.”

The boy seems confused. “Can you see me?” he asks.

I nod. “Yes. I’m here to take you home.”

“I don’t know how to get out of here.”

“I think I do,” I say, just hoping that magic elevator still works, and works going down. “My name is Detective Kallias Bran,” I tell him, showing my badge so he knows to trust me. I open my hand out from my hip, let him take it, and lead him back towards home. “Your parents are worried sick about you.”

“They are?” he asks.

“Why, of course they are. Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Wull...” he begins. “They usually don’t even notice when I’m gone.”

So he’s disappeared before? But they apparently just moved to the neighborhood. And the portal thing seems to be in the invisible house. If this isn’t the first time, then it could be that it’s just something he can do, or is done to him. Maybe the house itself is a product of his own power, which he does not yet understand. But why does his father remember him this time? What exactly has changed? The real question—the only one worth asking—is what the hell is going on here? These questions may or may not be answered once we get back to the real world, but if not, that’s okay. The important thing is that the family is reunited.

When we make it back to his block, I point to his near-frozen parents and smile. “See? Your parents have been waiting for you to come home?”

The boy looks around. Oh no, please don’t tell me people in this dimension also can’t see certain things in the other one. “Who?” he asks.

“Your parents,” I say. “See them standing on the lawn? They only look like they’re moving slow, but it’s my hypothesis that we’re just moving really fast.”

“Those aren’t my parents.”

“What?”

“I don’t know who they are, they’re not my parents.”

I stop and squat down to his eye level. “What’s your name.”

He looks like he’s on the verge of tears. “Tauno. Tauno Nyland.”

This isn’t the kid I’m looking for. I stand up and contemplate the house, the block, the neighborhood, and then the entire city. And then I start thinking about the planet, and the whole universe. How many other children like these two have fallen into other dimensions, and literally forgotten about by the people who are supposed to love them most? This investigation is nowhere near over, but either way, I have to take the child I have with me back home to his own family. Then it’s back to looking for Escher Bradley...and any others.

« < » > Entire Story