enthusiasm. Her mom scooted over and Josie sat down on the edge of the bed. “I hear you’re feeling better?”
“Much.” Her mom’s smile was genuine, but her eyes lingered suspiciously on Dr. Cho.
“You two have a good visit,” Dr. Cho said, closing the door as she backed out of the room. “I’ll be back soon.”
Josie was all smiles until she heard the security door click into place, then her Mouseketeer persona vanished. She leaned close to her mom and dropped her voice to little more than a whisper. “Are you okay?”
Her mom let out a deep breath. “Better. They seem excited with my ‘progress.’” She used air quotes.
“Good; let’s keep it that way. Dr. Byrne needs to have a miraculous recovery. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way I can get you out of here.”
“A recovery?”
“Pretend it’s all coming back to you. From what I understand you were conducting an experiment, using laser-generated micro black holes.”
Her mom laughed drily. “That’s ironic. That’s almost exactly what I was doing when I ended up here.”
“Really?”
“Controlled creation of micro black holes using ultradense deuterium and laser-generated fusion.” Her mom shook her head. “Apparently not so controlled. We had a small explosion in the lab. I blacked out for a moment, and woke up here. In this world.”
“That would explain it. If you and the other Dr. Byrne were doing the same experiment at the same time.” Josie made an explosion motion with her hands. “Boom.”
Her mom nodded. “Any idea what composition of deuterium they were using?”
“No, only that it was an injectable compound.”
“An injectable? That’s amazing. I’d love to see the formula.”
“Do you think it would help?” Josie asked. “If you knew what was in the formula, maybe how it caused the explosion that sent you here, do you think we could figure out a way to get home?”
Her mom thought for a moment. “Maybe. Do you have the injectable?”
Josie bit her lip and gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Then she cleared her throat. “No. No, I don’t,” she said loudly, in case anyone was listening.
There was a commotion outside the cell and Josie heard hurried footsteps clicking across the floor. They didn’t have much time.
“We’re trying to figure a way to get you out of here,” Josie said quickly.
Her mom’s face went blank. “We?”
“Some friends of mine.”
Josie’s mom gripped her arm tightly, digging her fingers into Josie’s flesh. “Don’t trust them. You can’t. Josie, you can’t trust anyone here, do you understand me?”
Dr. Cho rushed into the room. “I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I’m afraid your mother is due for her medication now. We’ll need to cut your visit short.”
Josie forced the sunny smile back onto her face. “Oh, that sucks.”
“Hospital regulations,” Dr. Cho replied.
More like prison regulations.
Josie stood up, but her mom pulled her back, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck.
“You can’t trust anyone,” she whispered frantically.
A cold sensation spread down Josie’s spine, like an ice cube melting against her skin. All of her hope in getting her and her mom home rested in the trust she’d put in people: Nick, Penelope, even Mr. Byrne in his ignorant way. Had she been wrong? Was she placing them in even worse danger?
“I love you too, Mom,” she said out loud, pulling away. The image of her mom’s haunted, bloodshot eyes followed her from the room.
3:59 P.M.
“Wait!” Josie screamed.
The car swerved. “Whoa,” Nick said, both hands firmly gripping the wheel. “What the hell?”
She’d fallen asleep in the car. “Jo,” she said breathlessly.
Nick’s head snapped in her direction. “Did you have another dream?”
“She opened the portal.”
“What?”
“She put a note through.” Josie pounded on the dashboard. “Fuck! Why wasn’t I there?”
It was too much. The portal, her mom. Too much. Josie hung her head in her hands and cried.
FORTY-ONE
4:21 P.M.
“HEY,” NICK SAID SOFTLY. HIS HAND CARESSED her shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
Josie wasn’t sure how long she’d been crying, but apparently Nick had pulled the car off to the side of the road and killed the engine. She looked at him, his face sad and calm, and tried to control herself. After a few moments, her sobs, though still erratic, were less frequent, but she felt weak and helpless.
“If only I’d been there,” she said, wiping tears from her cheek. “I could have—”
“You could have what? Beaten the crap out of Jo?”
Josie smiled. “Maybe.” The thought was appealing.
“But it wouldn’t have done your mom any good. She’d still be in that hospital, and it’s not like you could force Dr. Byrne to go back and clear everything up.”
The boy had a point.
“You said it yourself: your best chance is to replicate the experiment that landed your mom here in the first place.”
Josie nodded. He was right. She knew he was right.
“And I’m going to help.” His eyes swept over to her face, down to her neck, and fixed on something there. The necklace. He shook his head, as if snapping himself out of a dream, and quickly sat up straight. He started the car and pulled back onto the highway. “Let’s see what Jo had to say, huh? Now I’m curious.”
4:40 P.M.
