The Journal of Curious Letters (The 13th Reality #1) (43 page)

She looked at him, her eyes revealing that she was trying to think of a smart-aleck remark. She finally gave up and pulled Tick into a hug, squeezing tightly. “E-mail me,” she said.
“Tonight.”

Tick awkwardly patted her on the back. “Remember our bet—you have to come visit me in America. And I want some more free spaghetti sauce, too.”

“Count on it.” She pulled away, not bothering to hide her tears.

Tick turned to face Master George again, relieved the good-byes were over.

“Master Atticus, my dear friend,” the old man said, his ruddy face beaming with a smile. “Your family will be so proud of you, as well they should. Quite a puzzlement you’ve given us to figure out, I must say. Busy, busy we’ll be.”

Tick nodded, not knowing what to say.

“Very good, then.” Master George held up the Barrier Wand, having already set the controls. “Put your hand on the Wand. There we are.”

“Bye everybody,” Tick said, closing his eyes, hurting inside.

Master George had one final thing to say, though, whispering in Tick’s ear. “Atticus, never forget the inherent power of the Chi’karda. Never forget the power of your choices, for good or for ill. And most importantly, never forget your courage.”

Before Tick could reply, he heard a click.

He felt the now-familiar tingle.

Then came the sounds of birds and wind.

~

Edgar Higginbottom sat on his favorite chair next to the window, staring at the floor, wringing his hands together as he wondered for the millionth time what had happened to Tick.
He’s lucky,
Edgar kept telling himself.
All those times as a kid—something’s protecting him. He’ll be fine.

But it had been almost four full days since the boy vanished, and the worry ate at Edgar’s heart like a hideous disease. Lorena was no better; they could barely look at each other without bursting into tears. Even Lisa was worried.

And yet Edgar knew it had been the right thing to do. Somehow, someway, he
knew.
Atticus Higginbottom was out saving the world, and when he was done, he’d come back home, ready for a new game of Football 3000. But when—

Edgar heard someone shouting outside. A kid’s voice.
Tick’s
voice.

He looked up, his heart swelling to dangerous sizes when he saw Tick running down the street toward the house. For a second, Edgar couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, practically choking as he tried to yell for his wife.
It was him. It was
really
him!

“Lorena!” Edgar finally managed to scream, squirming to get his big body out of the chair. “Lorena! Tick’s back! I
told
you he’d be back!” He found himself laughing, then crying, then laughing again as he ran for the front door.

Lorena thumped down the stairs, faster than he’d ever seen her move in his life. Kayla and Lisa bolted out of the kitchen, eyes wide in surprise.

“He’s really here?” Lorena asked, her hand on her heart as if she didn’t dare hope Edgar had been telling the truth.

“He’s back, he’s back!” Edgar yelled with delight as he ripped open the door and ran outside.

Tick ran into his dad’s arms, then, almost knocking Edgar down. They hugged each other, then parted to bring Lorena and the girls into the group. In one big tangle of arms, the Higginbottom family hugged and laughed and jumped and generally made complete fools of themselves. The world had suddenly become a very bright and cheerful place to be.

Finally, Tick pulled away, looking at each of his family members in turn.

“I’ve had a crazy couple of days.”

~

Later that night, well after dark, Tick stood in the front yard under a sky thick with black clouds, not a star or moon in sight, thinking.

He thought about everything that had happened to him, but his thoughts kept returning to the bizarre incidents of the letter reappearing in his
Journal of Curious Letters
after Kayla had burned it, and how he’d made the Barrier Wand work even though Mistress Jane had broken it. Somehow, the two events were linked, but Tick couldn’t begin to understand why or how. Did he have some kind of weird, freaky power? Or did Mistress Jane do something to the Realities, altering how the Chi’karda functioned?

Master George’ll figure it out,
Tick thought, trying to ignore how much it scared him.

He turned to walk back inside when the ground around him brightened, the slightest hint of a shadow at his feet. To the east, the full moon appeared, shining through a brief break in the clouds.

As if it were a sign, Atticus Higginbottom, Realitant Second Class, pulled out the Barrier Wand pendant from beneath his shirt and squeezed it in his fist.

~

Reginald Chu, the second best inventor and greatest businessman of all time, looked at his skinwatch again. He sat atop a park bench made from the new Plasticair material his company had created, growing more furious with every passing second. The person who’d asked to meet him here was
late.

And no one was ever late for the founder, owner, and CEO of Chu Industries.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the odd note that had been mailed to him several weeks ago, without any kind of return address or postmark. He unfolded the wrinkly paper and read through the handwritten message once again.

Dear Mister Chu,

You don’t know me, but we must meet very soon. I know you are aware of the Realities, but that you have never had much interest in them because the Fourth is so much more advanced than the others. But I have a proposition for you that I am certain you will accept. I know of your love for power.

As a measure of my sincerity, I will come to your Reality. Meet me in Industry Park by the Lone Oak at noon on the thirteenth of May.

Your future partner,

Mistress Jane

Reginald crumpled the note up into a ball, squeezing it in his fist. The audacity of this woman. Commanding him to meet her like he was some errand-running schoolboy—and then having the nerve to not even show up? Who called themselves
Mistress
anyway?

He looked at his skinwatch one last time, then stood up. The lady was obviously not coming.

As he walked back toward his building, Reginald threw the mysterious note into a roving Recycabot, angry about the time he’d wasted. There was much to be done, things he’d mapped out and set in motion long before he’d received a letter from today’s no-show, Mistress Jane.

Reginald was a very busy man.

~

A Glossary of People, Places, and All Things Important

> Alterant—Different versions of the same person who exist in different Realities. It is extremely dangerous for Alterants to meet each other.

Annika—A spy for the Realitants who spends many months slowly gaining Mistress Jane’s trust.

Atticus Higginbottom—Also known as Tick, a thirteen-year-old resident of Deer Park, Washington. He is very smart and loves to play chess, and often suffers cruelty at the hands of bullies. He begins receiving very strange letters that lead him toward a dangerous destiny.

Barf Scarf
—A red-and-black scarf that Tick wears at all times to hide the ugly birthmark on his neck.

Barrier Wand
—The device used to wink people and things between Realities and between heavily concentrated places of Chi’karda within the
same
Reality. To transport humans, they must be in a place concentrated with Chi’karda (like a cemetery) and have a nanolocator that transmits their location to the Wand. It is useless without the Chi’karda Drive, which channels and magnifies the mysterious power.

Bermuda Triangle—For reasons unknown, this is the most concentrated area of Chi’karda in each Reality.

Billy “The Goat” Cooper—Tick’s nemesis at Jackson Middle School.

Chi’karda—The mysterious force that controls quantum physics. It is the scientific embodiment of conviction and choice, which in reality rules the universe. Responsible for creating the different Realities.

Chi’karda Drive—The invention that revolutionized the universe, able to harness, magnify, and control Chi’karda. It has long been believed that travel between Realities is impossible without it.

Chu Industries—The company that practically rules the Fourth Reality. Known for countless inventions and technologies—some that are helpful and useful, others that are malicious in nature.

Command Center—Master George’s headquarters in the Bermuda Triangle where Chi’karda levels are monitored and to where his many nanolocators report various types of information.

Edgar Higginbottom—Tick’s father. Though overweight and not exactly handsome, he is instantly loved by anyone who meets him. A very light sleeper.

Fangen—The sickening abomination of a creature created by Mistress Jane, utilizing the twisted and mutated version of Chi’karda found in the Thirteenth Reality. Formed from a variety of no less than twelve different animals, the fangen are bred to kill and ask questions later. They can also fly.

Fragmented—When a Reality begins losing Chi’karda levels on a vast scale and can no longer maintain itself as a major alternate version of the world, it will eventually fragment and disintegrate into nothing.

Frazier Gunn—A loyal servant of Mistress Jane, though he hopes to replace her one day.

Frupey—Nickname for Fruppenschneiger, Sofia’s butler.

Gnat Rat—A malicious invention of Chu Industries from the Fourth Reality. Releases dozens of mechanical hornets that are programmed to attack a certain individual based on a nanolocator, DNA, or blood type.

Grand Canyon—A satellite location of the Realitants. Second only to the Bermuda Triangle in Chi’karda levels.

Hans Schtiggenschlubberheimer—The man who started the Scientific Revolution in the Fourth Reality in the early nineteen hundreds. In a matter of decades, he helped catapult the Fourth far beyond the other Realities in terms of technology.

Kayla Higginbottom—Tick’s four-year-old sister. Loves to burn things and have tea parties.

Kyoopy—Nickname used by the Realitants for quantum physics.

Lisa Higginbottom—Tick’s fifteen-year-old sister. Horrible on the piano.

Lorena Higginbottom—Tick’s mother. Loves to cook, and could sleep through a raging tornado.

Mabel Ruth Gertrude Higginbottom Fredrickson—Edgar’s aunt, long since widowed, who lives in Alaska. Hasn’t seen any of her family members in years.

Master George—The current leader of the Realitants. Overwhelmed by the betrayal of Mistress Jane, he sets out to strengthen his forces, sending out a series of tests and riddles to help him find worthy candidates. Loves his cat, Muffintops.

Mistress Jane—A former Realitant and the biggest traitor the world has ever known. When she discovered the Thirteenth Reality and its twisted, mutated version of Chi’karda, she quickly realized the power she could have for herself and the potential for ruling the universe. Her plans are only beginning. Loves the color yellow and is bald.

Mothball—A Realitant from the Fifth Reality, she is fiercely loyal to Master George. Regrets her name, which was given to her without much forethought by her father. Realizes she fared better than her twin sister, Toejam.

Ms. Sears—Tick’s favorite librarian. Has funny hair that looks like a cleaning pad.

Muffintops—Master George’s cat. Can’t speak English, but loves milk.

Multiverse—A term used by Reality Prime scientists to explain the theory that quantum physics has created multiple versions of the universe.

Nanolocator—A microscopic electronic device that can crawl into a person’s skin and forever provide information on their whereabouts and Chi’karda levels, among other information.

Nitwit—The unfortunately named servant child of Mistress Jane. Like those before her, Nitwit has been given the ability to fly, based on a manipulation of Chi’karda. Replaced Jane’s prior child servant, Nincompoop.