Part 18 (1/2)
”It's an instinctive response when we are startled or threatened.”
”The slugs jumped at you.”
”Exactly.”
”I suppose I would have dispersed if I could have. So everyone from your realm does this?”
”All animals do in my realm.”
”Must be hard to throw a good surprise party.” She eyed Sam. ”What about you? If your mind tricks aren't part of your evolution, what strange mutation have you brought into the world?”
”We don't fart.” He stayed straight-faced for a second, then cracked up.
She looked at Ping.
He shook his head. ”That's definitely not true. The boy is noxious.”
Mara smiled, looked away from them in an effort to maintain her composure. When she was sure she would not laugh, she turned back to Sam. ”Seriously, no slugs, dispersing, nothing?”
”As far as I can tell, I'm just like everyone else around here,” he said.
”So all of the pa.s.sengers who survived the plane crash were replaced by someone from another realm?” She looked to Ping.
”That would be the logical conclusion.”
”Do you think a lot of them have these unique hereditary traits?”
”I would imagine virtually all of them have something unique to them. They are from completely different worlds. If nothing else, they have unique memories and experiences. Many of them could be radically different, even dangerous, like the slug man. Some could be worse.”
”That's over a hundred people running all over the place doing G.o.d-knows-what.”
”That's just the beginning of the problem.”
”What do you mean?”
Ping nodded at Sam.
”More people might be able to cross over if we can't find the Chronicle and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands,” he said. ”Remember, that's how all those people got here in the first place.”
”You mean all of you people,” Mara corrected. ”You guys aren't from around here either.”
”If we can find and secure the Chronicle, we might be able to prevent more people from crossing over,” Ping said. ”As far as those already here, we may need to deal with them if they turn out to be dangerous.”
”What do you mean, 'we may need to deal with them'?” Mara asked. ”What are we going to do, call the alternate-reality border patrol? I'm not interested in getting involved with these people.”
”You may not be interested in them, but it appears they are interested in you for some reason. Why do you think Mr. Reilly and his friends showed up in your shop? And do not forget, the police want to know why yours is the only body not recovered from the accident. They may not be able to prove anything, but they suspect you of something.”
”I'm not sure what I can do about the cops, but I think I know why Reilly showed up at the shop.” Mara reached down and placed the DVD carrier on the table. ”He came looking for this.”
”What is it?” said Ping.
”Open it up and see.”
Sam unzipped the case, looked inside and his jaw dropped.
Ping sat up straighter in response, peeked into the case. ”What is it?”
”It's the Chronicle.” Sam said it with awe. ”Where did you find it?”
”I had it all along. I thought the Chronicle was a ball of blue light. I had no idea it was a copper medallion that turns into a ball of light.”
”So you've activated it?” Sam asked, excited.
”Well, no, not really.”
”Then how did you know it was the Chronicle? You had to activate it to know what it was. That's the only way you could have known this medallion can become a ball of light.”
”Okay, Mr. Prosecutor, I fixed it up, and it began to flip and glow, and it made this huge bubble in the shop, and it displayed a bunch of lines. But I didn't do anything with it. Nothing got blown up. The skies are safe for air travel.”
Sam looked at Ping. ”If she activated it, you know what that means.”
Ping nodded, s.h.i.+fting his eyes to Mara. ”She's a progenitor.”
”A what?”
”Later,” Ping said. ”How do you know Reilly came for the Chronicle?”
”He said, if I gave it to him, he would leave me alone. He said he wanted to go home.”
”How did he know you have it?”
”I have no idea. I didn't even know I had it until I fixed it on Monday and it started glowing. And, believe me, I didn't tell anyone about that.”
”Well, someone knows you have it, and I suspect you are going to have more strange people knocking at your door, hoping to find a way home.”
”You're wrong about one thing,” she said.
”What's that?”
”I don't have it anymore. It's yours. I don't want it.” She grabbed a doughnut and bit into it. Pulling it away from her lips, she scowled at Sam. ”Did you do that?”
”No way, sis. Last time I tangled with a progenitor, we took down an airliner.”
She pointed the doughnut at him. ”I am not your sis.”
CHAPTER 29.