Anna growled and ate more of her cheesecake. She knew he was right, even though she didn’t want to admit it. She still didn’t know how to navigate in her dreams. She couldn’t fight him. But she was terrified by the idea that they were going to get face to face with this guy. She knew him. She knew how merciless he was. What if they didn’t make it? What if he hurt them? Where would that leave Anna and Andrew? Where would that leave this town?
CHAPTER 73
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
Stephanie and Mandy both sounded so calm when sleeping, so it was hard to imagine they were about to face the terror of their lives. Anna listened to their breathing while standing in the middle of the room. It was her idea to do the experiment at Whispering Pines, the mental institution right outside of town because she knew some of the patients here were like her. They had traveled too and come back and talked about it, then probably been deemed insane and drugged to an extent that they didn’t wake up in this world anymore. But they would be very much alive in the other. It gave Mandy and Stephanie a chance to have some help, in case they needed it, she thought. And if they really managed to find Umbrella Man, then they sure needed all the help they could get.
Mandy’s hand was twitching in her sleep now; Anna heard it like an inconsistent drum on the sheet. Soon, she was also moaning lightly. Anna spoke to her dad.
“Something’s happening,” she said. “To Mandy. Her hands are shaking.”
Anna had given them the it’s like a house explanation that her own grandmother used to give her. And now she only hoped that they had found the same room as each other, that they walked through the same doors. It worried her that it seemed to be only Mandy’s heartbeat she could hear, only Mandy’s hands that were shaking, drumming on the sheet. Why wasn’t Stephanie in distress? Weren’t they together?
Anna’s dad walked to Mandy’s bed. She could tell he was agitated by the sound of his heavy breathing.
"How are they doing?" Anna whispered behind him. "Are they both doing all right?"
"I think they're fine," he lied. She knew by the tone of his voice.
"Do you think they succeeded? Do you think they managed to find each other?" she asked.
"There is no way of knowing for sure. Let's just hope they have," he said.
She heard his steps cross the floor as he walked to Stephanie’s bed. She guessed he now realized too, that it was only Mandy who was in distress.
Her dad walked to the chairs they had put up against the wall and sat down. She knew he worried when to wake them up, when would be the right time and when would be too late?
Anna sat next to him with a sigh. "You should have let me go," she said. "I know more about this world than either of them."
She felt his eyes on her and wondered what he was thinking. She felt like a coward for not going with them…well, for not going back at all. Deep down, she knew she could if she really wanted to, but that she was too scared.
Would she ever see Igoshi and Lucas again? Would she dare to?
Suddenly, she missed her mother so terribly. Even though her dad was trying hard, it was still like he didn’t fully understand or maybe even believe. Her mother had. Igoshi did.
Anna barely got to think the thought to an end before Mandy’s body was shaking heavily in her bed. The sound was deafening.
“Oh, my God,” Andrew said. “She’s being hurt.” He got up. She heard the light switch be turned on and she could hear him storm to Mandy, then yell:
“Oh, my Lord, is that blood?”
“What’s going on, Dad? Daaad?”
“Wake up, Mandy, wake up!”
Her dad’s voice was shrill as he yelled.
“I can’t wake her up, Anna. What do I do? There’s blood coming from her head. I think she hurt it. Like really bad.”
“Keep trying,” Anna said, her heart racing in her chest. She stood up, leaning on her cane, feeling helpless and useless. She was sick of having no eyes to see, of being unable to do even the simplest things.
“Wake up, Mandy,” Andrew yelled again and again. She could even hear him slap Mandy’s face.
“WAKE UP!”
Oh, my God, he’s going to kill her, isn’t he? She is going to die and I will have to live with the fact that I did nothing to help her for the rest of my life.
Seconds later, something happened. Anna didn’t know exactly what, but her dad’s voice sounded happy.
“Mandy, Mandy?” Andrew said, a sigh of deep relief in his voice. “It’s me, Andrew.”
“Did she wake up?” Anna said.
“Yes, yes, she’s awake. She’s looking at me, but she’s hurt,” he said. “I’m trying to stop the bleeding.”
Anna breathed out a sigh of relief, but it didn’t last long. Barely had Mandy woken up before Stephanie’s body suddenly started to shake. It made the headboard slam against the wall behind it, causing a terrifying sound.
“What’s going on?” Anna shrieked. “Dad?”
“She’s in trouble; Stephanie is in trouble,” he said.
She heard him fumble over something and hurt himself, then some other loud sound followed and she imagined he was by Stephanie’s bed by now. Then there were gurgling sounds, the sounds of someone being strangled.
“Oh, my God, I can’t get to her. He’s got her, she’s…she’s lifted up from the bed. I can see the bruises on her neck. What do I do? Oh, dear God, why did we have to do this? I knew we should have never agreed to this. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into. It’s all my fault.”
“Wake her up, Dad, wake her up!” Anna screamed. “Please, Dad, wake her up NOW!”
“I’m trying, I’m trying! Oh, my God, the sounds coming from her throat. She’s being strangled. And I can’t do anything to help her. Dear God, don’t let her die, please don’t let her.”
Anna screamed. “Stephanie! Wake up, Stephanie! WAKE UP!”
She didn’t. Something hard slammed against the wall not far from her and Andrew screamed. Anna feared it was Stephanie’s body. Anna tried to decipher the sounds to figure out what was going on, to create images in her mind, but she could only come to the fact that Stephanie was in serious trouble and no matter how hard her dad tried, no matter how much he yelled, he wasn’t waking her up.
You have to do something. You have to. You’re the only one who is a match for him. You’re the only one who can stop him.
It didn’t take her many seconds to make the decision. Anna knew exactly what to do. She sat down on the chair, leaned her head against the wall and—despite the noise—she was so exhausted that, seconds later, she fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 74
OCTOBER 2016
T here was nothing but darkness. Anna was used to that by now. She was living her life in darkness, but this was different. A different kind of darkness. An endless form of darkness and nothingness. Because there were no sounds. Sounds created images in Anna’s mind.
She knew exactly where she was. She had left and was now standing in front of the doors. The hundreds and thousands of doors all in different sizes and colors, leading to the many different worlds.
You have been here so many times, Anna. All of your life you have gone through those doors, back and forth, traveling in and out of worlds; you know this. You know this by heart.
“But how?” she mumbled, talking to herself anxiously. “How will I know which one to pick?”
You just have to. Try.
Anna sighed deeply, then walked to one, her hands held out in front of her until she touched it. She felt it, stroked it around the edges, then reached for the handle. This could easily be it. This could be the one. But then again, it might not be the right one, and then where would she end up? How would she find her way back out if she chose a wrong one? How much time would pass before she knew? Most of them looked a lot alike in the beginning until you noticed all the little differences.
The door leading to Lucas’ and her grandmother’s world was yellow. A bright
yellow, but you can’t feel yellow. She felt discouraged. This was too difficult.
Anna’s hand was trembling as she held the door handle, feeling it in her hand. Anna shook her head.
“No,” she said. “This is not it. It doesn’t feel right.”
She felt her way to the next door, then touched it, felt it to see if she could recognize anything on it. She put her hand on the handle. It felt kind of familiar, she thought, but then changed her mind and moved on to the next one.
I hate that I can’t see! I hate this darkness I am trapped in!
Anna felt yet another handle, but this one felt too small. Then she tried the next and the next again, but they were all wrong. Desperation rushed up at her, a slight panic. The fear of getting lost rising in her.
She thought back to the ones she had been by, the one that felt slightly familiar when holding it, then returned to it. She felt it again. The handle. It did feel familiar somehow. She stood for a long time in front of it, feeling it in her hand, wondering if this was the right one.
There are thousands, Anna. Hundreds of thousands of doors. How will you know if this is the right one?
Anna let go of it with a deep sigh. “I won’t,” she said. “There is no way.”
But you have to. You have to help them. Only you can stop him.
Anna stood still for a few seconds, wondering if she should just go back. She thought about Stephanie, about Bushlake, which was plagued by the Umbrella Man, of the young boy, Julian, only a few years older than her, and now he was gone. This has to stop, she thought. I have to stop him.
She took in a deep breath, choking every bit of insecurity and fear, stepped forward, grabbed the one handle that had felt slightly familiar, and turned it.
CHAPTER 75
OCTOBER 2016
A nna woke with a gasp. She lay quiet for a few seconds, trying to figure out where she was. There were sounds. She was awake. But where was she?
Anna felt the bed she was lying in, then listened to the sounds around her. She wasn’t alone in the room. There were machines, some pumping, some making a low rumbling noise, another beeping. The beeping had a familiar rhythm to it.
My heart rate. I’m in a hospital bed.
Anna sat up. She heard a gasp and recognized the small voice.
“Anna?”
Lucas.
I did it.
Anna smiled. Lucas shrieked. “Grandma, Grandma, she’s back. I knew she would come back.”
Igoshi mumbled something, then spoke. “Anna? Is it true, child?”
Anna felt a hand in hers. Anna nodded and felt Igoshi’s face with the other hand, recognizing its every feature from her childhood.
“You came back. You found your way back,” Igoshi said.
“I knew it. That bad man didn’t get his way,” Lucas said.
Anna grabbed her grandmother’s shoulder. “Stephanie,” she said. “She’s in trouble. I need to find her.”
“Who is Stephanie?” Igoshi asked.
“A friend. She’s in Bushlake.”
“Bushlake? But that’s so far from here,” Igoshi said.
Anna exhaled, disappointed. Of course. She hadn’t thought about how far away she would end up. There was no way she could make it to Bushlake from here in time to save Stephanie. She felt like crying but held it back. “It’s a long story,” she said. “But when I couldn’t get back, I tracked the man there, the man with the umbrella. He is killing people there, in their dreams. We need to stop him.”
“But how?” Igoshi asked. “Bushlake is at least four hours from here.”
“I know,” Anna said. She swallowed hard. “We might not be able to save Stephanie, but we need to stop him. He’s torturing people, Grandma. We have to do something.”
“Okay, okay,” Igoshi said, surprisingly easy to convince. “Calm down. Let me call a nurse first and she’ll get you…”
“No. There is no time,” Anna said. “They’ll only ask questions. We have to go now. Can you get me out of these tubes?”
Igoshi took a few seconds to think. Anna didn’t have the patience. “Please?” she asked. “It took a lot of courage for me to get back here. Don’t let it be in vain. I need to stop him.”
Igoshi sighed. “But are you sure you can…I mean…you have…”
Anna grabbed her grandmother’s arm. “I know that I’m blind. I’ve learned to live with it for the past six months. It’s not too bad, actually,” she lied. “I’ve learned to guide my way by sounds. Makes me hear things others don’t. Like right now, for instance, I can hear your heartbeat. It’s very fast. You’re agitated.”
Igoshi chuckled. “Well, no wonder. I’ve been waiting for this moment for six months, child.” She pulled her into a warm embrace.
“Welcome back. We missed you.”
Anna shed a tear, while Igoshi removed the tubes from her nose and she could finally breathe on her own again. Anna swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Guided by Igoshi’s hand, she put her feet on the ground and stood up.
“It’s good to be back.”
CHAPTER 76
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
He was using every trick in the book. Everything he had trained for, everything E.T. had taught him to get to this woman, this feisty redhead that he remembered from his childhood.
But she was strong and saw through his illusions. He slammed his fist into her face. That was no illusion. She screamed and was thrown backward. Gubba grabbed her and pulled her close to him, then whispered in her ear, hissing as he spoke.
"I know all your fears, both big and small."
It was true. He had been watching her for weeks in her dreams and had been looking forward to killing her one day soon. Now more than ever since she had interrupted him while he was about to kill that girl, Mandy, and she had managed to wake up before he could finish.
"I…don't care…Leave me a…lone," Stephanie grunted, gasping for breath.
"I know you're terrified of snakes," he said, then reached out into thin air and grabbed a big snake. He placed it in front of her. The terror in her eyes made him shiver with delight.
That’s it. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
The redhead gasped and closed her eyes. Gubba looked annoyed at her. No, no open them again. Open your damn eyes!
When she finally did, the snake was gone, but he was holding a scorpion in his hand. He laughed. She gasped again as he changed to look like a clown from her memory that he had seen when she had dreamt about it a few days ago. Now he was just toying with her. Playing with her deepest fears. But he still had one left, one thing she feared the most, the last punch before he finished her off.
Her daughter.
Gubba knew she had a daughter somewhere that she had given away. He knew because Stephanie often dreamt about her, about seeing her, and even more often about her crying helplessly somewhere and Stephanie not being able to find her. He leaned over and whispered.
"I will hurt her, and I'll make you watch. Why? Because it'll be FUN!"
Stephanie screamed and cried, trying to hit him, when her body suddenly started flickering. Gubba looked perplexed at her as she slowly faded in and out, then disappeared between his hands, like people who weren’t travelers did when waking up and going back. They were alive in only one world, not multiple like Gubba.
Gubba screamed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the high school gym where he had found the girls.
“NO! NO!”
E.T. came up behind him. “She woke up. She’s no use to us anyway. You can deal with her later.”
Gubba grunted angrily, the feeling of being humiliated growing steadily.
“Let’s go home,” E.T. said.
They got out of the school and into E.T.’s truck and took off, tires screeching. As they parked in the driveway of E.T.’s old house and got out, Gubba suddenly felt something happening. He stopped and looked at his hands.
“What’s going on?” E.T. asked when she looked at him.
“I…I
feel different somehow. Something is happening to me.” His eyes met those of E.T. It felt like an electrical shock going through his body over and over again. “I’m scared, E.T. What is happening?”
“You’re flickering, boy.”
He looked at his hands, which were coming and going, sliding in and out of visibility. He remembered doing it before, but not like this. This felt odd. “But…but this is different, E.T. This feels like my body is…giving in or something.”
E.T. nodded. “You’re between worlds. Something is happening to you in another world. You’re probably dying. When a traveler dies in one world, sometimes he flickers in another. Just for a few minutes. You’ll feel a little uncomfortable for a few minutes. It’ll pass. It happens from time to time. You did it a lot when I first met you, but that was because you were in danger of dying in the world you came from. It stopped eventually. This will too.”
“But…but…but which world am I dying in?”
E.T. shrugged and lit a cigarette in the corner of her mouth. She reeked of alcohol. “Does it matter?”
Gubba nodded. “Of course it matters. What if it is in the world I came from? You know…my world?”
E.T. laughed, smoke emerging from the side of her mouth. “Then I guess you’re done killing people there, aren’t you?”
Gubba felt anger rise up in him once again. It felt like he was on fire inside, an electrical fire.
“Stephanie. The redhead. She found me. I can’t believe it. She killed me, didn’t she? Probably just turned off the life-support like it was nothing. I’m gonna kill that bitch. But first, I’ll torture her daughter.”
“And just how do you plan to do that?” E.T. asked, blowing out smoke. “You’re gone from that world. Can’t even look at them through the birds anymore. It’s over, buddy.”
He stormed past her, still flickering back and forth. “We’ll see about that. We’ll see about that.”