JACKIE:

“Back off, Jackie. You need to chill.” Grace shot me a forceful glare.

I was acting too intense again, so I released my grip on her shoulders and softened.

“Sorry, but you need to take me with you back to Bennu.”

“If you don’t like my boyfriend, why would you want to be there when he proposes to me?” Grace stepped back, creating an intentional distance between us. She turned off the video camera and went into her closet to hide it.

The fact that she showed me such top secret evidence proved she trusted me to some extent. Time to switch tactics to avoid getting sidelined again.

I called to her from the living room.

“You’ve been so kind to me, Grace. I’d like to support you during this major milestone. Help you pick outfits, take pictures, whatever you need.”

“You can help me pack.” She walked back into the living room.

“I’d like that.”

“That reminds me. I need to pick up my dry-cleaning. What time is it?” Grace looked at a clock hanging on her wall. “Oh no! I’m late. He hates waiting.”

“Who? Feraz?”

Grace ignored my question, pulled her hair into a ponytail, spritzed herself with perfume, and looked in the mirror.

“I look, and smell, dreadful.”

She raced around the dorm, pulling herself together. “I need to meet up with Feraz, then get my nails done and pick up my dry-cleaning. I think it’s best if you stay here, at least while I head to his place. You two are like oil and vinegar. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long.”

“No problem. I’ll clean up the place while you’re gone.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

Grace put lipstick on and grabbed her purse and keys. “No need. I’ll pay someone to clean while I’m on spring break.”

“When do you leave for the big trip?”

“Tomorrow morning. So much to do, so little time!” Grace walked to the door.

“Tomorrow? Oh wow… Then I insist. This place will sparkle by the time you get back.”

“Are you sure, Jackie? You can come to the nail salon with me if you want. My treat. I don’t think of you as a… janitor.”

I waved her off. “You’re late. Go run all your errands. I’ll take care of everything here. It’s my way of paying you back for all your help. Seriously, it’s not a problem.”

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Grace smiled on her way out. “Thanks, Jackie. I’ll be back in a bit. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”

“Awesome, see you later.” I waved her on.

She double-backed before leaving. “The video I showed you…”

“I wouldn’t tell a soul,” I promised.

Grace nodded and left.

Now alone in her dorm, I slouched onto the couch, closed my eyes, and took a much needed break. Exhaustion hit, but Firestorm kept me awake.

“Jackie, we’re running out of time,” he said in my mind’s eye.

“I know. I feel the stream tugging on me.”

“What were you thinking bringing Grace into the slipstream? That was risky.”

“She tried to ditch me again. I didn’t have a choice. What was that monster we saw in the most probable future? I’ve never seen a creature like that.” A shiver ran down my back.

“Me neither,” he said. “We’ve got work to do. We’ll fail our mission if we don’t figure things out soon. I don’t have eyes on Alpha yet. There’s nothing more dangerous than an unseen enemy.”

“Yeah, there’s been no mention of any drone yet. I need to convince Grace to take me on her spring break trip back to Bennu.”

“No, let’s fly there now. Maybe being on Bennu will strengthen our powers to stay in this probability longer. Beatrice will be close enough to help us.”

“I need to go to Bennu with Grace to stay in her inner circle. If she doesn’t take me, and I randomly show up, she’ll flip.”

“True…” Firestorm agreed. “Do you think you can convince her to take you?”

“I think so. She’s opening up to me, but I’m scared, Firestorm. Mark, Grace, and that snake Feraz together on Bennu? A ticking time bomb is about to explode, isn’t it?”

“You’re right, it’s all coming to a head. Stay close to Grace. Keep her safe.”

“Will do. You should fly. I’ll meet you back on Bennu tomorrow. Love you, dad.”

“I love you too, Jackie.”

Sleep tugged at me, so I indulged in a quick nap. Then I raided the fridge to keep my strength up. After all, the food would go bad when Grace left for spring break anyway.

Despite being extremely wealthy, her fridge was pitiful; only lettuce, tomatoes, and olives. Time travel worked up my appetite, so I inhaled the simple salad.

Then I got to work, cleaning the dorm as an excuse to look for more clues. Anything to get an advantage over the mysteries of this probability. I found the video camera Grace stashed away, but the only other thing resembling a clue was a photo album tucked in the back of the closet.

I poured through its pages, filled with photos of Grace with family and friends at fancy events. At first, the Claudi family wore genuine smiles, but as time and Beatrice’s muscular dystrophy progressed, their impeccable clothes masked their tense body language and tight lips. The final page contained a photo of Grace with Beatrice in her wheelchair in front of Camp Claudi on Bennu Island. In her final days, Beatrice could no longer keep her head held high.

“This must be their last picture together before Beatrice died.”

Tears glided down my cheeks for all Grace had lost. I had to be with her when she returned to Bennu Island, to the place she said goodbye to her mother.

I wiped my tears and got back to work. I did the dishes, swept and mopped the floors, picked up the trash; receipts, notes about the Grid and a biology exam, empty candy wrappers. Grace’s dorm was soon clean, but no additional clues surfaced.

“Time to take out the trash.”

I grabbed the full garbage bag and made sure the door was unlocked behind me.

“Now where to dump it?”

I walked to the back of the building in search of the bin. The afternoon sun shone through the Grid, casting a soft red glow over the pavement. Parked luxury cars lined the back lot, but there were no trash cans.

My search continued down an alleyway.

“Ah, there it is.”

I whistled and walked to the bin, tucked away to keep the pristine look of the high-class neighborhood.

As I lifted the heavy garbage lid, a male hand grabbed me from behind. I gasped and dropped the trash bag, spilling its contents across the alley.

Another gloved hand slid over my mouth to keep me from screaming. I tried anyway.

“Shut up,” the man said to me through gritted teeth.

Before I had the chance to defend myself, the man slammed something hard into the back of my head. My heart stopped as the world went black.