“Congratulations,” Corey snarled. “That’s exactly what we think.”
“Enough, Corey,” said Mrs. Hudson. “Mateo is your brother, no matter what.”
“No, he’s not,” Corey said. “He’s an impostor. Don’t you get it? He’s manipulating us! He’s like a master puppeteer. Quine made sure you adopted him, somehow, so he could infiltrate our family, right from the beginning, and tear us all apart.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Mrs. Hudson breathed.
“It is horrible,” Corey said. “But it’s true. We have to face the facts.”
“No,” Ruby cried in a small, quivering voice, so unlike her usual confidence. “Matt would never do that to us.”
“Maybe not Matt,” Corey said. “But Quine would. Because he already did. And one day Matt will become Quine. Maybe he has already. You’ve been working with him, haven’t you? Sneaking behind our backs, having secret meetings.”
Matt shook his head. “I haven’t. I only saw him that day in Asilah . . . and just once before that, but he was invisible, so I didn’t really see him!”
Corey huffed a laugh. “You’re such a liar. You’ve been traveling behind our backs. I’ll bet the compass was never broken at all. You just wanted to be able to travel on your own, plotting who knows what with Captain Vincent while we all sit here and freak out.”
Everyone looked to Matt, waiting for an answer, for him to refute what Corey were saying. But he had no answers. He felt like a mouse being backed into a corner by a bunch of feral cats. He had no defense, no way out. He looked for anyone who might be on his side, but everyone was looking at Matt like he’d just had a mask removed, revealing something grotesque and alien. Even Jia was looking at him with her lips pursed, her brow knit. She hadn’t said anything through all of this. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking or feeling, if she was angry or confused. Maybe both. Albert was the only one who did seem surprised or angry. He just stared at Matt with curiosity rather than accusation.
Matt wished he could disappear. He could, he realized. He had his compass. He could disappear right now, leave all this mess until he could figure things out. He started to reach for it, then stopped. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t just leave his family like that. They had to work this out together. That’s what families did. Corey, however, noticed only the movement Matt made for his compass, unaware of his inner thoughts.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Corey rushed at him. There were screams and shouts as Corey attacked. Matt fell back and had the wind knocked out of him. They rolled on the floor, knocking into chairs and walls.
“Corey, stop!” Ruby shouted.
Matt tried to shove Corey off, but Corey had always been bigger than him, and stronger. All Matt could do was try to protect himself. And the compass. Corey grabbed the chain and tried to tear it off Matt’s head, maybe tear his head off too. Matt grabbed on to the chain. He wouldn’t let go of the compass, no matter what Corey or anyone believed. He’d built it. It belonged to him.
Corey gave up on the compass and went directly for Matt, punching him in the ribs and stomach, shouting rage-filled insults and curses that under any normal circumstances would have gotten him grounded for life.
“Matthew, get Corey off him,” Mrs. Hudson shouted.
Mr. Hudson tried to pull Corey off, but he was in such a rage he flung his elbow back, hitting Mr. Hudson right in the nose.
“Traitor!” Corey shouted as he punched Matt in the chest and stomach. “You’re nothing but a lying, traitorous . . .”
There was a strange sound, a kind of humming or a buzz, like a beehive. At first Matt thought it was inside his head, an effect from Corey’s punching, but then Corey suddenly stopped hitting him. He looked around as though he heard the noise too. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere in particular. It grew louder.
The door flew open and Haha and Uncle Chuck came running in the door. “We didn’t find him, but—” Uncle Chuck’s eyes landed on Matt. “Oh good, he’s back. Listen, there’s something strange going on. Things appearing and disappearing all over the place. I think it might be wise for us to—”
Haha cut him off. “What in the name of Peter, Paul, and Mary happened to you?!” He was looking at Mr. Hudson. His nose was bleeding from Corey elbowing him in the face, but that’s not what Haha was referring to, Matt was pretty sure. He was referring to his hands. Mr. Hudson held up his hands, and Mrs. Hudson gasped. They were blurry, like someone had taken an eraser and smudged them.
“What’s happening to Dad?” Ruby said in a trembling voice.
The apartment started to vibrate, the walls and ceiling, rattling the table and dishes.
“It’s Captain Vincent,” Albert said. “He’s taking him now. He’s changing things. In the past.”
“No,” Mrs. Hudson breathed. She reached out and grasped for her husband’s fading hands. Her fingers moved right through him, like he was a ghost. “No, no, no. Matthew.”
“Belamie . . . ,” Mr. Hudson said, reaching out a fading hand.
“I told you,” Matt said, pushing Corey off him. “I told you something was going to happen! We have to get out of here!” Matt pushed himself up from the floor and teetered as the ground continued to shake.
“If you knew something was going to happen it’s because you caused it!” Corey shouted. “This is your fault!”
“Stop fighting!” Mrs. Hudson shrieked. “Stop it right now! We have to go!” Mrs. Hudson grabbed Mr. Hudson by the arm, which was still solid, and pulled him to the door.
“You can’t run from this,” Albert said. “It’s going to happen no matter what.”
But Mrs. Hudson didn’t listen to Albert. “Everybody, let’s go!”
They didn’t pause to take anything. They all ran out
