Chapter 26
Royden woke up and stretched. He felt much better. Alice sat on the end of the bed.
“I took the liberty of fixing you up.” She said happily.
“Where have you been?” He asked, yawning.
“I evacuated with the rest. I was very surprised to hear what happened. All of us from the building want to thank you. We never imagined that the Tezera’s were behind all that.”
“What about the building? Pooly destroyed it.”
“Yes,” she said slowly, “It took a bit of explaining for that. The DSD is still trying to figure out what to do now. Pooly’s been sent back to his dimension. It turns out Beth didn’t have a permit.”
“What about Mr. Bringum, is he mad?”
“He hated that building. He always wished that he could go back to taking care of a bed and breakfast like his family used to. Having to hide all those beings really wore him out. Trust me, if anything he’s ecstatic that the place fell down. Thankfully nobody died.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What about that dimension? Did it die?”
“Yes, it’s gone now. You got out of there just in time. The DSD went back in and found that a lot of Smurg Smurgles were still there.”
“You mean they were real? I thought Jessa was just trying to trick me when she talked about them. She took me to the dimension down the trash chute and pretended to be attacked by them.”
“She was trying to trick you. She was a Smurg Smurgle, all the Tezera’s were. When the dimension started dying the DSD sent a few people in to investigate. They never came out. The Tezera’s invaded their minds and took their bodies. They found the Discovery Apartments and moved in. When they found that humans were perfect tools to get their fellow Smurgs out they sent bodies in there for the Smurgs to use. Only the Smurgs never accepted the bodies. Most were nobler than the Tezera’s. They decided that they would rather die than steal the bodies of other beings. Of course after taking over a body, the Tezera’s could no longer communicate with their fellow Smurgs.”
“How do you know if you can’t talk to them?” Royden asked.
Alice smiled. “It turns out the DSD is always prepared. There are other dimensions with similar beings. They were able to go into the dying dimension as it died and get them out. They told all about what happened when they got out.”
“But how did they get out without bodies?”
“Here, let me show you what the DSD did to get them out.”
They went to the hospital wing. It wasn’t as frantic as it was before. Doctors milled about checking on patients. Royden saw his parents in neighboring beds and ran up to them. They stared around nervously at everything around them. They lit up when they saw Royden.
“I’m so glad you’re safe.” Mrs. Doble said, embracing her son.
“You have a lot of explaining to do.” Mr. Doble said. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Did they explain everything to you?” Royden asked.
“Yes, but it still doesn’t make any sense.”
Alice came up behind them. A human shaped robot stood beside her. It waved.
“What?” Royden said, pulling himself away from his mother’s hug.
“The DSD have a line of robots with facsimile minds that allow beings without bodies to live inside them. If only the Tezera’s knew this. Of course if they let Milton get to the dimension long enough to do research the DSD would have helped much sooner.
“Wow, if only.” Royden mused thoughtfully. “That would have saved everyone. What about the humans? How did their minds come back?”
“All the minds floated around our world unconsciously. When the bodies came back they all found their bodies again and woke up.”
“So that’s it then, it’s all over?” Royden asked hopefully.
“For now.” Alice said with a smirk. “You know better than anyone that there’s something strange around every corner. But don’t let that stop you from exploring.”
She said goodbye to the Doble’s and went away somewhere.
Royden spent the next few minutes trying to explain how he got wrapped up in everything. His mother cringed with almost every word and his father looked really confused about the whole thing. It would definitely take time for them to understand it all, if they ever did.
Mr. Bringum came by and asked to see Royden alone. They went out into the hall.
“What you did was very courageous.” Mr. Bringum said seriously. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I’m sorry about your building.” Royden stared at the floor as he talked.
“Buildings can be rebuilt.” Mr. Bringum said simply. “For years I wanted to find a way to introduce the idea of other dimensions to humans. I thought I could do it slowly. Maybe a strange sighting here, a portal being captured on video there. That’s why when your parents showed up looking for an apartment I let them have one. I thought if one family can exist harmoniously with all the weird beings that lived there then every family could. Well you blew my slow plan away in one night. Footage of Pooly fighting a giant man has been seen all over the world. The DSD wants to say we were filming a movie. That’s ridiculous. How stupid do they think humans are? No, this is it. It’s time for them to know. But it’s up to you.”
“Me? How is it up to me?”
“I told you to wait until that Monday to tell me if you wanted to leave it all behind. We never really got a chance to talk about it.” He shook his head and sighed. “I trusted Mr. Tezera. I evacuated the building because I thought he had everyone’s best interest at heart. Everything looked to be falling apart. I didn’t think I had any other choice. Anyway, if you choose to go back to a normal life then I’ll have Alice wipe your memory and you can do that. I’ll go along with the movie idea and hopefully we can get everything to quiet down. What do you say?”
Royden thought for a second, and only a second. “I want to remember. I don’t want to lose what I’ve learned. I don’t mean about demons and dimensions, I mean I want to remember what I learned about myself. This probably sounds really corny, but I learned that limits don’t really exist. I did more in that week, or however long it really was, than I could have ever dreamed of doing in a lifetime without the Discovery Apartments. I don’t ever want to forget that I helped people—that I risked everything I had to risk just so I could help. I couldn’t save everyone: the tiny soldier, the painter, Hofrora. But I did help some beings. I never want to forget that.”
Mr. Bringum smiled slightly. “I think you have a bright future, Royden. With that attitude you can be the greatest ambassador Earth has to the rest of the multiverse. And I thank you with all I have.”
Royden felt better in that moment than he had in his entire life.
Mr. Bringum was called away to discuss something.
Royden leaned against the wall, wondering if he should tell his parents that he went back in time fifty years. It sounded cool even if he didn’t get to see outside.
Millie came up and leaned on the wall nearby. “So how about it?”
“How about what?” Royden said, not even trying to suppress his grin.
“How about you come work here?”
“I think I’m too young.”
“Yeah for now, but we could use someone like you.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s good enough for me. I’ll be waiting.”
“Milton.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled broadly. “Thank you.” He drew a circle in the air and a portal appeared. “I’ll be seeing you.” He disappeared inside.
Later that day Mr. and Mrs. Doble were released from the hospital. Mr. Bringum paid for them to stay at a hotel until they found a new apartment. The city was all abuzz with all the monster talk. Everywhere they went television crews asked people if they knew anything.
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Royden went back to school. A few fake doctors’ notes claimed he was in a coma and would be able to finish the year out. School wasn’t that fun, but at least nobody tried to kill him there.
Mr. and Mrs. Doble had constant questions about other dimensions. Royden answered everything he could. Before long they were comfortable with the answers and stopped asking.
They got an apartment a few blocks away from the Ocean. It was still close enough for Mr. Doble to be able to walk to work. Before long everything returned to normal.
Mr. Bringum became an expert on other dimensions. He told the world about the multiverse and showed proof that it really existed. He was an instant celebrity. No beings from other dimensions were allowed to stay until things settled down a little. That didn’t stop some from visiting. Some came to try to help explain the multiverse, and some came just to see what Earth was really like. The planet suddenly had a reputation and humans were seen as tough beings not to be messed with.
Royden stayed out of it all. Mr. Brinum never mentioned his name and he managed to go back to a relatively normal life. Sometimes Royden missed the craziness of the Discovery Apartments.
A year later Mr. Bringum showed up to the Doble’s new house they just moved into.
“How have things been?” Mr. Bringum asked. He no longer looked tired and worn as he had when he had to take care of the Discovery Apartments.
“Very boring.” Royden laughed. “But I guess that’s not such a bad thing.”
“I have something for you.” Mr. Bringum pulled a small crystal out of his pocket.
Royden took it and let it roll around in his hand. “Are you sure?”
“It’s only connected to the DSD headquarters. Milton made it specifically for you. I told him not to contact you until you were older. But I realize now that if anyone has a right to have one of these it’s you. With this you can go and learn all about the different dimensions and beings in a safe environment.”
“Wow, thank you. I wondered if I would ever go back to that sort of thing.”
Mr. Bringum nodded slowly, deciding something. “I’m sorry, Royden. I wanted to try having a human family be exposed to other dimensions, but I never realized it could get so out of hand.”
“It was better for everyone.”
“Yes, but I still worry if it was good for you.”
“I wouldn’t change a second of it.”
Mr. Bringum got up and shook Royden’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure seeing you again.”
“And you. By the way, where is Ms. Carol living now? She did get out of the building, didn’t she?”
Mr. Bringum smiled a little guiltily. “She’s living with me now. With Badchi gone she’s gotten a little better with the dark. I keep trying to get her a place of her own but she seems to think I need the company.”
They said their goodbyes and Mr. Bringum left.
Royden sat in a chair and let the crystal roll around his hands. He smiled. For a second he wondered if he really wanted to go back. Hadn’t he been through enough?
He drew a wide ring in the air. A portal appeared. He took a deep breath. For just a second he worried that he might be dragged into another adventure. He shrugged it off and jumped in. What’s the worst that could happen?
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