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I glance over my shoulder at him. “Are you okay?”

His eyes look sad, but he nods. “Let’s go.” He grabs my arm and pulls me up.

“
I’m sorry.”

He twists his mouth into a grimace.

I rub my hands up and down my arms.

“
Here.” Reece takes off his jacket and hands it to me. “Put this on.”

“
I’m not taking your coat. You’ll get cold.”

He pushes my hand into a sleeve. “You need the hood. If people recognize you, we’ll be in a bigger mess. I should have thought of it sooner.”

I slip into the other sleeve and pull the hood over my head, pointing. “My parents are over there. We’ll have to avoid them.”

“
That must be weird.”

“
Tell me about it.” I cast a glance back to the happy family as we move away. Sadness billows. They aren’t my family. This isn’t my world.

We drift to the opposite side, where Evan’s sitting. Reece leans into my ear. “We’ll have to wait until it’s over and try to grab him then.” He takes a deep breath. “We should just go to the road and send you back now. Later there’ll be more guards and it’ll be next to impossible. We stopped Monica, so the danger’s over.”

He’s right that now is our best chance to get away, but Monica will still tell them about Evan and Reece’s involvement when someone finds her. Reece might not be around to suffer the consequences, but Evan will. “No, we wait for Evan. I won’t leave without him.”

“
I knew you’d say that,” he grumbles. “You might be killing us all.”

“
Then I’ll do it myself.”

But he stays by my side as we push through several more people. A woman grabs my arm. “Julia?”

I freeze, my eyes widening in fear. She has dark brown hair, flecked with grey, but her face has fewer wrinkles than I’d expect. In any case, I don’t know who she is.

“
Oh, my goodness, it
is
you!” She says, her face animated with excitement. “You’re supposed to be
dead!
”

“
Uh…I…” I stammer trying to pull out of her grasp.

Reece pats the woman’s hand holding my arm. “I’m sorry. You have Theresa mistaken for someone else,” he says in an apologetic tone, as though she’s senile.

The blood in my veins has turned to sludge. I can’t think straight.

“
No,” she shakes her head. “I’d know her anywhere. It’s Julia.” She turns to me, tears in her eyes. “Where have you been all this time?” She pats my cheek with her free hand.

Reece shoots me a dark look.

I find my voice. “He’s right. I’m Theresa. I’m sorry for your loss, though.” I manage to jerk my arm from her hand.

“
Yes, we’re very sorry,” Reece murmurs as he sweeps an arm around my waist and pulls me away.

“
Julia!” she calls after me.

“
Do not look back at her,” Reece sneers into my ear.

“
I’m not.” I say, although I was tempted until he said it. My whole body shakes from the encounter. I can’t believe we were so close to getting caught.

“
We’ve been careless.” Reece hisses. “We’ve got to get you out of this crowd before someone else recognizes you and alerts the guards you’re here.”

The president finishes her speech and the people cheer. She graces them with her crystalline smile and returns to her seat.

“
It’s almost over,” Reece says. “Maybe we can catch Evan before your long lost friend tells the whole world you’re alive.”

“
I don’t even know her. That wasn’t my fault,” I grumble.

“
If you just went to the portal already it wouldn’t have happened,” he growls. “I say we go now.”

I pull the hood further down my forehead. “Well, that’s not happening. If you don’t want to deal with it, go ahead and take off and I’ll find Evan myself.”

He swears under his breath.

We’re still a good distance from the stage. “What will Evan do when it’s done? Where will he go?”

“
There’s a private reception for the Committee. He’ll go to that. We need to intercept him before he goes.”

I groan in frustration. “This would all be easier if you had cell phones! We could just text him.”

“
That might actually mean something if I knew what it meant.”

I feel like kicking him but refrain. I need him to be able to run.

The Committee files off the stage while patriotic music blares. We border the edge of the audience.

“
We need to hide,” he says. “They’re going to spot us this close and we don’t need that woman to be able to point us out. This is a suicide mission as it stands. No reason to tip the balance more to their side.”

We move behind giant speakers and sound equipment boxes close to the platform. Reece’s eyes narrow as he scans the people. “We need to get someone to take him a message.”

“
How do you plan to do that?”

His mouth lifts into a cocky smile but his eyes are cold. “With the power of persuasion.”

“
Which one of us is going to be persuasive?”

He snorts. “Very funny. Watch and learn.” He saunters toward a girl in the crowd who looks like she’s a little younger than us. He leans into her ear and points toward Evan, who’s about to exit the stage. She looks up at him with a hopeful expression and nods eagerly. Reece bends toward her and lifts a strand of her hair.

A ping of jealousy pricks my ego.

He kisses her cheek and a blush follows, making her face an adorable shade of pink. Poor girl. She’s going to be majorly disappointed when she comes back and finds him gone.

The girl walks toward the platform and Reece stands in place, watching her go. She turns around at the corner and he gives her a wave until she disappears.

“
You’re quite the heartbreaker,” I say when he returns.

“
You should know.” It’s meant to be funny, but there’s truth under the surface.

An overwhelming sorrow fills me. No matter what I do, it won’t be right. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugs.

We wait an eternity before Evan appears at the back corner of the platform, scanning the audience. He wears a smile, but his eyes look worried.

I tense at the sight of him. “What did you tell that girl?”

“
I told her to find Evan and tell him: every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.”

My eyes widen as I look over my shoulder at him. “
It’s a Wonderful Life?
”

“
It’s our code for ‘only God can get us out of this mess.’ We’ve used it a zillion times before. Amazingly enough, we’ve gotten out of all them so far. Let’s hope our luck holds up.”

Now seems like a bad time to point out that my luck sucks.

Evan moves toward us, his eyes growing more frantic the farther he gets from the stage. A group of guards approaches him and stop. Evan casts a glance over his shoulder toward the platform then gives them a smile. He says something and starts to walk past, but one of the men grabs Evan’s arm. Two guards flank him on either side. Evan’s eyes narrow as his shoulders square. A fifth guard approaches with the woman we encountered.

I suck in a breath as Reece tenses behind me.

The guard says something to Evan before he leans down to talk to her, patting her arm. The guards give them their full attention. His eyes soften with a sympathetic look as he shakes his head. His mouth is moving, but he’s too far away to hear what he says. The woman points to the area we encountered her. The guards turn their heads to where she points.

“
We need to be prepared to run,” Reece whispers in my ear.

I want to argue, but we’ll get Evan in more trouble if they find me here. I stuff down my fear and dismay.

Evan is talking to her in earnest, his eyes filling with tears. He grips both her arms in his hands. Her shoulders slump and he pulls her into a hug. She breaks free and wanders back into the dispersing crowd.

Indecision wavers over Evan’s face for a split second before stern resolve replaces it. Evan talks to the guards, and half rush off to the area the woman pointed. The other half toward the stage. Evan stands in place, watching the guards hurry off into the crowd, his eyes narrowed with concern.

Reece steps around the corner of the equipment box we’re hiding behind and catches Evan’s attention. Evan moves in our direction, murmuring apologies to the people he jostles into. When he rounds the corner, he pulls me into an embrace. “What happened? Why are you still here?”

Reece and I fill him in on Monica.

“
Crap.”He runs a hand through his hair and slumps his shoulders. “How could you let your aunt see you?”

“
My aunt?” I ask in shock. “I’ve never seen her before.”

“
She’s your dad’s brother’s wife.”

“
My dad’s brother died when they were kids. He drowned swimming in a pond.”

“
Well, he’s very much alive here and very much married. Your Aunt Barbara is sure it was you and not some girl named Theresa. She came to me because she knew how devastated I was over…she thought I should know you were still alive.”

“
I’m sorry,” I mumble even though I don’t know how I could have prevented it.

“
Now we have two people who’ve seen you. Monica and Barbara. Unfortunately, neither of those issues is our biggest worry.”

My back stiffens as Reece’s head jerks up. How could this get worse?

“
General Ghertner is sending a surveillance team through the portal tonight. Around ten o’clock.”

“Why?”

His eyes harden. “They want what your world has.”

I sag against the boxes, leaning back my head as I take deep breaths.

“
How can we stop them?” Reece asks.

Evan shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I
do
know we have to beat them through before they realize I stole the box. First we need to figure out how to get out there. They’re heavily guarding the road. I think we should park as close as we can and hike through the woods.” He looks at me.

“
Like we did in my world?”

He nods. His eyes pierce mine, as though he’s trying to tell me something.

“
Okay.” Reece squares his shoulders. “Let’s stop wasting time and get this show on the road.”

“
I’m going to go back and make up a story for my dad. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I shake my head. “No. No way. We’re like the Three Musketeers. All for one and one for all. We stay together.”

“
Julia, we’ll look too conspicuous together,” Reece says. “We need to split up.”

Evan glances toward the stage. “Reece, take her and meet me behind the church. If I’m not there in an hour, go without me.”

My chest tightens. “No. I’m staying with you.”

Evan grabs my arms and leans into my face. “Julia, I’m recognizable. You can’t be seen with me. You just can’t. Go with Reece and I’ll meet you there.”

Tears fill my eyes. “No. You said if you didn’t show up, to go without you.”

A gust of wind blows a chunk of hair into my face. He reaches up and tucks it behind my ear. “You always need a backup plan. That’s all it is. Don’t worry. I’ll be there. I traveled through a universe. I can make it behind a church.”

I throw my arms around his neck. “Promise?”

“
Promise.”

I turn my face and my lips find his. As he kisses me, I soak in the rightness I feel when I’m in his arms. With Evan, I’m safe and cherished.

He gently pushes me way. “An hour, Reece. Don’t wait a minute longer.”

Reece purses his lips. “Okay.”

Evan disappears into the crowd, and Reece grabs my hand and leads me toward his car. We walk in silence as foreboding creeps up my spine, spreading tendrils of dread in its wake. I’ve never been a believer in premonition, but I can’t ignore the apprehension burrowed in my gut.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“
How much longer?” I ask, stomping my feet. The wind has a bitter bite, but the church blocks most of it. Nevertheless, I’ll wait here all night if I have to. If I can convince Reece to.

“
Five minutes.”

I step around the corner of the church to get a better view of the road and Reece drags me back. “Julia, don’t be stupid. If he’s out there, he’ll get here. Walking out where people can see you won’t make him magically appear.”

I jerk my arm out of his grasp. He’s right and it pisses me off. At least it’s better than standing behind a building in the shadows like a coward.

I take deep breaths to sooth my anger and look out into the cemetery. It’s weird being here, even weirder knowing there’s a headstone out there with my name on it. Ironically enough, it’s where Monica’s is in my world.

I sulk in silence, kicking dirt as I look out behind the church. Dead tree limbs litter the forest, or what’s left of it. I can’t imagine a world without trees. Or animals. Or being in sunshine. Evan’s world wants that. What will they do to get it?

Reece lets out a loud exhale. “It’s time.”

“
We can’t go. You don’t have the magic box.”

Reece pats his backpack. “Evan brought it in this morning when you were in the shower.”

I cross my arms. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“
You heard Evan.”

“
Five more minutes.”

We glare at each other in a show down. I lift my chin refusing to back down.

“
I’ll carry you if I have to.”

“
Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you,
player
.”

“
What the hell does
that
mean?”

I make my glare more penetrating, furious that the reference is lost on him.

“
What are you still doing here?”

Reece and I whip around. Evan sneaks from the trees behind us.

“
Evan!” I run to him, throwing my arms around his neck.

“
Hey, I told you I’d be here.” He looks over at Reece. “But you’re not supposed to be. Why are you still here?”

“
Your girlfriend’s a pain in the ass.”

Evan grins. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

I smack his arm. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Reece shrugs off his pack and opens it, handing Evan the black box and two guns. I look away, the sight making my stomach roll. I hope they don’t have to use them. Evan slips something into my pocket, the weight pulling down the hem.

My eyes widen as I look up at him.

“
It’s real, not a tranquilizer.”

I shake my head violently. “No. No way. Get it out.”

“
I hope you don’t need it, but it’s there if you do. Consider it insurance.”

Before I can protest, he turns back to Reece as they rearrange packs. He slings his over his shoulder. “Okay, let’s go.” Evan grabs my hand and squeezes, his warmth seeping into my cold palm.

“
You’re coming back with me now, right?”

He looks down at me with a soft smile. “Yeah.”

I lean my head into his arm. I have no idea what we’ll do when we get to my world, but we’ll figure it out then. We just have to get there first.

Leaving the shelter of the church, the wind is sharp and cuts through my coat as we traipse through the woods, following the path we took the night Evan brought me here. Only in another world. The rays of the sun fade into the horizon. We’re protected from the sunlight, but now we walk in semi-darkness, the crescent moon our only source of light.

I think about the surveillance team wanting to follow us into my world. “Evan, your dad said there were other weak spots. Is that true? This isn’t the only one?”

“
Yeah, there’s others scattered around.”

“
So why choose this one to send people through? Why now?”

“
Well, first, they didn’t know how. My dad just developed the technology to do it a couple months ago. Second, they don’t know much about the portals, but they’ve always assumed there were parallel universes. You know, a universe almost identical, but slightly different. So the other worlds would be just like ours. Worthless. But then we told them about your world and everything it offers. Now they want it.”

“
But your dad said that your Julia and I were in the same exact spot in the road, at the same time. If our worlds are so different, how could that happen?”

He shrugs. “Every time you face a choice, or something happens, the opposite happens in another universe. It’s usually parallel though, because once the choice is made, the universe splits. Let’s say you get a job offer. In the original universe, you decide to take the offer. But in the universe that splits off, you don’t. It’s like the universe divides, kind of like cell division. In mitosis, the cells split with identical DNA. With universes, they split identically too, just the opposite result of the action that created the divide. Obviously, this means there are an infinite number of universes. That’s the theory, anyway. They’ve never been completely sure.

“
But in your case, you both were in the same place at the same time and the two actions happened in alternate universes. In our world, Monica lives and Julia died.” His voice softens and he clears his throat. “But in your world, the opposite happened. I don’t know how to attribute it. Fluke? Supreme bad luck? But whatever happened, it created a larger abnormality than any of the others.” He pauses and looks at me. “Remember when I told you I didn’t think the accident was your fault?”

I nod.

“
I really don’t think it was. The Julia of our world caused her accident, we know that as a fact. But I investigated yours. The police report says there were no skid marks. You simply ran off the road. I think that you both converged at the same place at the same time, which, I might add, has mathematically impossible odds. The weakness in the barrier between the worlds caused you to crash.”

“
So it really wasn’t my fault? I didn’t kill Monica?”

“
No, I don’t think so.”

I take a deep breath and it’s as though a boulder has been shrugged off my shoulders. For the first time in months, I’m shed of the tremendous guilt.

We walk in silence for a minute, Reece following behind.

“
Can we stop them from following us into my world?”

“
We can slow them down. I have the only box and I screwed up the equations to create another one. But eventually, they’ll figure it out and go through.”

We trudge through the forest. The quiet is eerie and I can’t figure out what’s wrong until I realize there are no birds calling in the trees. No rustling of leaves blowing the wind. No crunchy foliage underfoot to stomp through. They’ve been gone for years.

I’m freezing as we near the edge of the tree line. Several trucks, like the ones that took Evan and I away the night we came, are parked in the middle of the street. A small building sits on the opposite side of the road, close to the trucks. A light glows from the huge window overlooking the road and a man is perched at a desk. Large spotlights circle the road.

These oddities are the only things that alert me to the unmarked spot on the asphalt that holds a small tear in the universe.

We stop far enough away to hopefully avoid detection. I try to slow my galloping heart while the boys get a head count of the security team and decide how to proceed next.

“
There should be more than six guards,” Reece says. He pulls out his tablet and checks the security detail roster. “I don’t understand it. It only lists six.”

Evan sets his backpack on the ground. “Maybe we should just be thankful for our good luck.”

“
And ignore the fact we might be walking into a trap?”

Evan pulls binoculars out of his backpack and scans the road. “I’m only detecting heat sources from six bodies, as unbelievable as that is. We should just thank our lucky stars.”

“
I still think something’s off.”

Five guards patrol the edge of the road. The sixth is the man in the building. Evan and Reece discuss how to take out the guards so Reece can get inside.

“
Why does he need to get in the building?” I ask. “Why not just take out the other guards and go through the portal?”

“
There’s a security field around it. Reece has to shut it down. It was fairly easy last time, but we did it at shift change and Reece created a distraction. It won’t be so easy this time.”

Reece pulls a gun out of his backpack and gives me a tight smile when he sees my horror. “Tranquilizer gun. Trust me, I have no desire to kill anyone.” But he tucks another gun into the waistband of his pants.

They decide to sneak as close to the road as they can and shoot the guards with darts. Reece has a small explosive to get the door to the building open.

Evan checks with his binoculars again. “Reece, you go left toward the building while I go right. Julia, you stay hidden here until Reece has the field down.”

My heart pummels my chest. “How will I know it’s down?”

“
There’ll be a flash and I’ll tell you to come down.”

Reece reaches for Evan and claps his arm around his back. “Good luck,” Reece says.

“
You too, Reece.”

Reece and I stand several feet apart. I look into his face and try to smile as tears burn my eyes. He closes the distance and pulls me into a hug so tight I can’t breathe. “Don’t forget me.” I hear the tears in his voice. He steps back and touches my cheek, underneath the cut. “Take care of yourself, Newbie.”

“
Why do you call me, Newbie?” I ask, but already the memory is there, her memory. “Second grade.” My tongue trips on the words. “P.E. We had a soccer unit and your team was full of kids who played and I never had. You called me Newbie.”

His eyes are glassy. He nods, biting his lower lip. “And for another reason.”

“
What?” I choke out.

He smiles, his cocky smile that reminds me of a boy back home. “Come back sometime and I’ll tell you.”

And like that, the spell is broken. He turns to the road. “Time to go.” He slides the chamber of his gun and sprints toward the building.

“
He could have given me more warning,” Evan grumbles as he runs down the hill.

Gunshots fill the night. I fight the urge to close my eyes. I don’t think I can watch them get shot, but I need to know what’s going on. The guards are caught by surprise, and Reece and Evan take them out easily. Five bodies lying on the ground prove their success.

Evan follows Reece to the building. They try to open the door and fail. Reece puts a disc on it and they duck. There’s a small explosion and door swings open as the boys rush in and tranquilize the guard. Evan emerges out the door. Through the window, I see Reece shut the door and apply something from the inside to keep it closed.

Evan sprints into the road, looking toward the trucks. A sharp wind blows and the dead wood in the forest creaks.

The road glows in a ghoulish green light then fades.

“
It’s down!” Evan shouts and I bolt down the hill toward him, my chest so tight from fear I can hardly breathe.

As I reach the road, I’m amazed this is working so well, that it could be this easy. And then I see them. About twenty uniformed men run out from behind the trucks. Evan sees them, too.

“
What are we going to do?” I ask as Evan takes my hand and we run to the portal.

His eyes harden. “We go on with the plan.”

“
We can’t leave him like this, Evan. We can’t,” I cry as soldiers rush the guardhouse, trying to break down the door. Several others run toward us.

He looks at the building then back to me as we stop. His face is so hard it looks like it’s chiseled out of granite. “I know.”

There’s an electrical zap and a hum. A green glow surrounds us and disappears. Relief washes over his face. “Reece put the field back in place. You’re safe now.” He looks into my eyes, but he’s acting strange. There’s something he’s not telling me.

My breath comes in quick pants as I try to figure out what it is.

He pulls out the box he used to cross over before. “This box can’t leave this spot while it’s turned on. If it does, it could permanently damage both worlds.” His eyes burn into mine. “Do you understand?”

I nod, wondering why he’s telling me this.

He flips some switches, then his eyes penetrate mine. “Once the field is on, anything in the field can go out but nothing can come in.” The meaning of his words sink in and my legs tremble. He holds me up, bringing my body to his chest. He takes a deep breath and releases it in a ragged sigh. “I love you, Julia. God, I love you more than I could ever love anyone. Ever.” He takes a breath and casts a glance toward Reece. “But I love him too.”

I know
. I know before he says it. I’m screaming but it’s only in my head. The night only holds the hum of the field and the shouts of the guards.

The air undulates as the ground shakes.

He kisses me, full of love and false promise.

“
No, no, no.” I try to say as he kisses me goodbye. We can’t have gotten this close, this far, to lose each other. ”Let me stay. I’ll help you. Please, Evan.
Please!
” I’m begging but I don’t care. I have no shame, only a gaping wound where my soul is supposed to be.

“
It’s too dangerous for you here. You need to go home. I’ll try to figure out a way to keep them from following you. So you’ll be safe.”

Which means he can’t find me either. “No! I’d rather be in danger than lose you.
Please
.”

The air ripples and I can’t see anything around us.

“
No matter where we both are, I’ll always love you.” He kisses my forehead and drops his arms. He turns and dives out through the waves of air. I lose sight of him and I don’t understand why the ground is still shaking, why the air is sucking the breath out of me.

The box.