MOMENTUM Page 3

  ~

  As Rupert put the cell phone on the coffee table, it rang again. He picked it up while motioning Kellan to answer the knock on the door. He was relieved to hear Harry’s voice.

  “Dad, what’s going on?” Harry sounded distant and strained.

  “Arizona has disappeared.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. How? When?”

  “Harry, I’ll explain when you get here. I need you home now. Gramadea will be over to collect you, so be ready.”

  “Yeah, of course. Can you tell me anything at all? I feel sick about this.”

  “I’d rather wait. It will just be a few minutes before you get here. The Elders have just arrived, so I’m going to get off the phone. See you soon.”

  “Right. Bye, Dad.”

  Kellan led the Wanderer Elders into the Darley living room where Ali and Maria were waiting with Rupert and David. The large wood-paneled room suddenly seemed much smaller as the group of five–Inez, Constance, Lars, Javier, and Morgana–entered.

  “Rupert? What’s going on?” Constance inquired. “You said it was urgent.” She was the current Wanderer leader.

  “Constance, I’m waiting for Amadea to bring Harry back and for Larry to arrive. They’ll be here soon. Shall we start without them?”

  “Where is Olivia?” Inez asked. “And Ella?”

  “Ollie is on her way, and I’ve arranged for Ella to go home with her friend, Sally, after school.”

  Kellan got up to answer the door again. “I think that’s Dad.”

  Kellan brought Larry in, and they sat down next to each other. Rupert looked around the room at the concerned faces. He would have liked to wait for Olivia and Harry to arrive, but they’d be a while, so he decided to begin without them. He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his dark hair. “Ali, Maria, please tell us exactly what happened.”

  Maria, Harry’s girlfriend, sat next to him holding his hand. “We were in the gym talking, when she just disappeared. One moment she was there, and then she just faded away. There was nothing we could do. We were on our way to the school office to report it when we bumped into Kellan and David. They insisted we go with them, and they brought us over here. I’m glad we didn’t report it. When we described it to Kellan and David, it seemed exactly like what Harry had told me happened to Arizona before with the Sigma-W-Pi wandering.”

  Rupert nodded. “Thanks, girls. You’re right, of course. This does sound like a Sigma-W phenomenon. I know you are really worried, but I promise, we’ll take care of it. If you don’t know anything more, then you should probably go back to school. We’ll call you as soon as we hear anything.”

  “Do you think we should call the cops?” Ali asked. “Surely we should if Raj is in–”

  “Let me deal with it, Ali,” Rupert said firmly. “I’ll call them if we need to, I promise. I want to keep the police out of this if I can. There's not much they can do if the Wanderers are involved anyway. I’ll call you later to let you know what’s going on.”

  Once the girls left, Kellan stood up. “There’s something I need to–” He stopped.

  “Yes?” Rupert prompted.

  “Arizona doesn’t seem to be Arizona,” he mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Arizona called me earlier this morning,” Inez interceded. “She was looking for David. Apparently, they had arranged to meet at the coffee shop.”

  Rupert nodded. “Yes, I remember her rushing out to do that this morning. When did you get back, David?”

  “I came back when Mom called to tell me about Arizona’s call. We did have a coffee date, but that was a year ago.”

  Rupert shook his head in confusion. Where was Olivia? He picked up his phone and tried her again, still no answer. Then he looked back at David. “You had a date at the coffee shop, but a year ago?”

  “Yes. I was going to ask her out to the Orionid Ball.”

  Rupert noticed Kellan clenching his fists.

  “It seems that Arizona Darley is back.” Kellan’s voice was low and almost desperate, his eyes red. “She doesn’t seem to remember the past year at all,” he rasped, his voice breaking.

  Rupert stared at Kellan. “How?”

  “Could it have something to do with Gertrude leaving?” Constance mused softly.

  Kellan nodded. “That’s what I’m guessing. Arizona and I talked about that possibility before Gertrude left yesterday. When I talked to her earlier today, she seemed kind of distant... it was hard.”

  “So, she’s back to how she was a year ago?” Rupert was stunned. He had really missed his daughter but, at the same time, he had grown to love his new Arizona. How could she just disappear? But she had disappeared in more ways than one.

  “Well, whichever Arizona we are now dealing with, we need to find her,” Inez interrupted, refocusing them on the task at hand. “How long ago did she disappear?”

  “It’s been less than an hour,” Kellan said.

  “And Olivia has confirmed that Raj has her?” Constance asked.

  Rupert nodded, still unable to take it all in.

  Constance pursed her lips. “We’ve not been able to find out who’s involved yet. We are working on it. David, can you track her? Do you feel her at all?”

  Rupert had been amazed at David’s ability to feel Arizona, even to track her. That had come in very useful when Potomal’s group–the subversive Sigma-W-Pi–had taken Arizona. David had managed to track her so they could rescue her. It was hard to believe that it had been just a few days ago, and it was now happening all over again. “David?”

  David shook his head. “It’s too confused... busy in here. I’ll need to try to connect with her somewhere calm. If you don’t need me for anything else right now, I’ll step outside and meditate.”

  “Yes, go. David make sure to get her passports before you go.” Constance held David’s gaze meaningfully.

  David blinked in silent affirmation before he left.

  Constance turned to Rupert. “What does Raj want?”

  “The blueprints,” Rupert replied.

  “Did she send them to him?”

  “I assume so.” He shrugged and looked down at his watch. “She should have been here by now.” He got out his phone again and speed-dialed her as the doorbell rang. There was no reply, so he went to answer the door instead.

  “Mr. Darley?” a grave-looking policeman inquired.

  “Yes?”

  “There’s been an accident. Please come with us.”

  I ran and ran, each step sinking into the warm soft sand. It was like running on fine powder that had been sieved through a colander. The beach seemed to be never-ending, miles of soft sand stretched in front of me as far as I could see. I had no real plan as I ran along the shoreline, the warm breeze whipping across my face. I had no idea how long I would have to run before I came across someone who could help me. Someone with a cell phone would be perfect. I kept going until I crashed into something hard and fell backward, landing butt-first in the sand. What the heck was that? I was sure there hadn’t been anything in front of me. Yet, I had crashed into something… an invisible wall? I shook my head. I looked up and found myself staring into the piercing blue eyes of a smirking boy about my age.

  “Hi, Arizona. Where are you going?”

  He knew my name. How? “Um… hello,” I said cautiously. “Who are you?”

  His eyes narrowed, and his smile turned into a frown. “Arizona?”

  “Yes, that’s my name. Who are you?”

  “Surely you remember me?”

  I shook my head. I was fairly sure I had never seen him before.

  “I’m Stan, Luna’s brother. We met in Paris.”

  “Stan? Luna?” I shook my head again and raised my shoulders. “I don’t remember meeting you in Paris. When?”

  “Arizona, come on!”

  “Really. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m Stanford.” He sighed heavily and flailed his arms. “Potomal’s s
on!”

  “Pota… what?”

  “Poto–mal!”

  “Look, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Do you have a cell phone?”

  “Yes,” he replied, glaring at me.

  “Well, can I borrow it?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m here to make sure you stay here. I’m not here to help you.”

  “I’m confused.” I shrugged.

  “I’m helping out Raj.”

  “Why?”

  “Dad and Simla asked me to.”

  “Simla?”

  “Raj’s daughter–”

  “Yeah, I know who she is,” I snapped, frustrated. “And I know who Raj is. I just have no idea who you are or why I am here. How did I get here?”

  “I brought you over.”

  “You did? How?”

  “I am Sigma-W-Pi, remember?”

  I shook my head. Was there something wrong with me, or had everyone else lost their minds? I could feel a lump in my throat.

  His eyes narrowed again, and he ran his fingers through his brown hair. “Arizona, what’s going on? Are you for real? You don’t remember me at all?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know Spencer Darley?” he asked.

  I shook my head again. “Is she related to me?” I figured it was reasonable to assume since she was a Darley, too. “Who is she?”

  “Not she… he. Spencer Darley is your grandfather, the leader of the Sigma-Ws.”

  “No, never heard of him or Sigma-whatevers. You must be mistaken,” I said firmly.

  “Nope, no mistake. Spencer is Rupert’s father, Amadea’s husband.”

  I was flabbergasted. “You’re kidding, right? How come Rupert or Gramadea haven’t mentioned him? And how do you know all this? Who the heck are you?”

  “Stan.”

  Whatever. I’d had enough. I got up and started running along the water again. Stan ran along beside me.

  “Go away!” I yelled.

  He didn’t say a word, just kept running beside me.

  After we’d been running for a while, I stopped. I was desperate for something to drink.

  Stan held out a bottle of water. “Here, drink some.”

  “How do I know that’s not poison?”

  “Poison?” he repeated, his brows nearly touching. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, I don’t want to be here at all. Just drink, will you? Last thing I want is for you to pass out or whatever.”

  I grabbed the plastic bottle and unscrewed the cap as I slumped down to sit on the sand. I closed my eyes and gulped down the tepid water. What I really needed was ice-cold water, but this was better than nothing. I drank half the bottle and handed the rest back.

  “Thanks.” Stan flopped down beside me. “It’s way too hot for running.”

  “Why are you here helping Raj?” I asked, as he lay back, shielding his eyes with the back of his arm. He was oddly dressed for a day at the beach with his dark dress trousers–rolled up to reveal his bare feet–and white shirt. He had to be dying in those clothes. I guessed he was a bit older than me, but not by much. “Well?”

  He rolled over onto his side and supported his chin on the palm of his hand, glaring at me. “Arizona, you really don’t remember me?”

  “No. I’ve already said that.”

  “Have you been in an accident? Are there other things you can’t remember?”

  “No. I haven’t been dropped on my head, if that’s what you mean! I don’t know who you are, that’s all. Now tell me why you’re helping Dr. Sen. And what’s with him, anyway?”

  “You know Simla, right?” he asked, his face tight.

  “Yes. How do you know her?”

  “My dad–Potomal–recruited her for a project. I got to know her while she was training for it.”

  “So?”

  “So, Dad wants me to do this for her, some kind of payback. I don’t know the details and don’t really care.” he grumped.

  “What do you owe her? What project? Simla’s just a student at my school.”

  Stan picked up a handful of sand and threw it toward the water. He got up and waded into it; I followed. The water was warm and clear. I had never seen such clear water before. I could see my toes right through it.

  Stan turned and looked me up and down slowly. “Arizona, you’ve obviously suffered from some kind of memory loss. I don’t even know where to begin to explain this if you can’t even remember who I am.”

  “How about you begin by telling me how I got here? You said you brought me. How?”

  “I am a Sigma-W-Pi.” He put his hand down the front of his shirt and brought out a pendant attached to a thin silver chain. “See this?”

  I nodded. It was a glistening silver pendant with a z and something else on it.

  “This is the Sigma-W-Pi insignia,” he explained.

  “So, what’s that? Like a cult or something? Is that it? Am I being held by a weirdo cult started by Dr. Sen?”

  “Nope. Not a cult. I’m a time traveler.”

  Perfect. A deluded cult. Drug induced, no doubt. Was Dr. Sen the head of a cult he had drugged into crazyland? I kept a straight face, though my lips quivered, and I was desperate to release a well-proclaimed snort. However, it was never a good idea to taunt the crazies. So I pursed my lips and nodded, while avoiding Stan’s eyes.

  He sighed. “You obviously don’t believe me.”

  “Well, it is a bit out there, don’t you think?” I couldn’t help but smirk.

  He rolled his eyes. “I guess. It’s true, though. I am a time traveler. I not only travel through time, but I can also travel through dimensions and geographically. That’s all I had to do to bring you here. I simply wandered you over from your gym.”

  Right. My head was starting to hurt. I put my fingers on my forehead and massaged it.

  “Arizona, sit down and drink some more water.”

  I did, walking back to the sand, sitting down, finishing what was left in the bottle, and then laying my head down on the sand. This day sucked. All that I had set out to do was to give David an opportunity to invite me to the Ball and, here I was, lying on a beach in the Bahamas with a guy who claimed to be some kind of time traveler. Gah. This was ridiculous.

  What was it Kellan had said? You’ve lost a year of your life. Could that be true? It certainly would explain why I couldn’t remember stuff. This guy–Stan–seemed to know me, yet I’d never met him before. Or had I and somehow forgotten it in the year I supposedly lost? How had I lost it? Had I been in a coma? In my bed? It was all too weird.

  “Stan, when did you meet me?”

  “Last week, in Paris. I don’t understand how you can’t remember.”

  “Can you tell me how we met?”

  “Sure, but I’ve just had a text from Raj asking me to bring you to him. He’s waiting where he met you before. Come on, let’s go.”

  “What if I don’t?”

  “Arizona, the man’s not stable. Let’s not make him mad. I’m going to keep you safe, but I have to deliver you to him.”

  “Why? Can’t you just take me home?”

  “Believe me, I want to. But I can’t. My dad and Simla would be really ticked.”

  “Simla’s sort of a friend of mine. She’d want you to take me home. How do you know her? What do you owe her?”

  “Come on, Arizona. Let’s get moving. He’s waiting,” he muttered, sounding frustrated. The weird thing was that I didn’t feel afraid of him, even though he was clearly one of the bad guys since he was helping Raj. But, he seemed to be doing it with reservations; he almost seemed to be protecting me while holding me captive. It was confusing. When he extended his hand, I took it without hesitation and was immediately rewarded by a warm, secure feeling. We ran back toward the lonesome figure in the distance–Raj, I assumed.

  “Your Highness, fear not, I’ll have your back,” Stan declared as we ran.

  “What? Your what?
I’m not coming across as that stuck up, am I?” I didn’t think I had been snobby in any way.

  “No!” he exclaimed, suddenly stopping. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “So, how did you mean it?”

  His face darkened, and he shook his head. “Never mind. Come on, we’re almost there.” He grabbed my hand firmly and pulled me along. We were back with Raj in no time.

  “Thank you, Stanford. I’ll take it from here.” Raj dismissed Stan with a wave of his hand.

  “I’m staying,” Stan said curtly.

  Raj crunched his teeth, twitching his nose. Then suddenly, he smiled. “Whatever. Arizona, I haven’t had a reply from your mother yet, so you’re going to have to stay here overnight.”

  “Let me call or email her. She’ll talk to me, and then we can get this straightened out.”

  “I’ll let you email her, but no calling.” I guessed he was afraid that the call would be traced somehow. “I’ve arranged a room for you at the motel. Come along.”

  “Dr. Sen, if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll arrange Arizona’s accommodations somewhere I can keep an eye on her,” Stan interrupted.

  “I can keep an eye on her at the motel. Her room is next to mine,” Raj replied.

  “What if Wanderers try to rescue her? Only I could stop that from happening.”

  Dr. Sen sighed. “Hmm, maybe. Where are you staying?”

  “At a private beach house, not far.”

  Raj perked up. “Does it have an extra room for me?”

  “I’m afraid not, but I’ll have Arizona meet you here again in the morning.”

  Raj dug his right black dress shoe into the sand, flicking it with the toe of his left one. He stood silently for a moment, and then looked up. “Okay. Have her back here at nine. I’ll send you an email for her to forward to her mother. Can you take care of that?”

  Stan nodded.

  “I’ll contact you if I need you to bring her to me any earlier. In either case, don’t be any later than nine.” He turned around and walked off.

  “Right, let’s go,” Stan said.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just a bit further long the beach to a place where you’ll be comfortable. You must be starving. I’ve called ahead and arranged to have burgers and fries ready and waiting. I assume you’ve not developed a fondness for escargot since Paris?”