Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Between the Lines

Vance vaguely remembered being taken out of the truck and dragged into a small rickety house. They’d cleaned him, dressed his wounds, and given him water, which he’d drunk greedily. Then, he fell asleep...and now, he lay in a bed, with a strange, red-haired girl staring down at him from above.

"I said, who the hell are you?" he repeated, as his eyes flitted between the other inhabitants of the room. "You know what, on second thought, I don't wanna know."

Cliff moved forward. "Please tell me your name, and where you come from."

"Why should I? I don't even know where I am."

"Hey, enough with the attitude, kid!" Cliff shouted, his anger rising. "These people were nice enough to pick you up from the desert and save your life. The least you can do is let them know who you are!"

Vance eyed the cowboy. He looks ridiculous...but he also doesn’t look like he’s joking around.

"Fine," he grumbled, adjusting the long underwear he’d been given. "My name is Vance Darcouver. I live in Turtle Creek, PA. One minute I was sitting in my room slitting my wrist...and then I wasn’t."

Vance noticed Eden’s bright eyes staring intently at him as he explained himself. But before he could say anything, Robin spoke up.

"So that explains the blood." Robin raised an eyebrow. "Vance, I'm Sheriff Robin Cole. Them two guys found you out by the hills, covered in dust. Now why would you try and kill yourself, Vance?"

A long sigh escaped Vance’s lips as he formulated an answer. "I thought it’d help me find my mother."

Robin glanced at Cliff, then turned back to Vance. "What happened to your mother?"

"She disappeared," Vance said, looking away. "Everyone else thinks she’s dead."

Eden let out a gasp and put a hand on the old table in order to stabilize herself. "Vance..." She said the word slowly, feeling it out with her mouth, took a breath, and then continued. "You said you’re from Turtle Creek, right? Is your mother's name...Victoria?"

Vance froze. He felt a strange surge of emotion, like his heart was in his throat. Color returned to his face. "You know my mother?"

"I think used to...when I was very little," she said, struggling to catch her breath. "She had eyes just like yours...and I’ve never seen anyone else with eyes like that. Oh my God...she used to come over and play with me, when I was little. I'm from Pittsburgh, too..."

A chill ran up Vance’s spine. He looked over to the sheriff, as if waiting for some explanation, but everyone on that side of the room looked equally confused.

"So..." Cliff ventured. "You’re from Earth."

Vance’s face scrunched up. "What, do you think I just hopped off the moon or something? Of course I’m from Earth!"

"Let me explain," Eden said calmly. "Okay, Vance?"

Vance eyed the girl suspiciously. She knew my mother...so then why don’t I know her?

"Yeah," he said finally. "Go ahead."

"My name is Eden Gardener, and I'm also from Earth. Cliff saved me when I was in danger. It was a shock at first for me, too...but - "

"Let me guess," Vance said suddenly. "I’m in another dimension?"

Eden’s eyes widened, and she hesitated for a moment. "Um...yeah. That’s exactly it."

Vance let out a dark laugh. "So it did work...I guess Mr. Caskett wasn’t a total lunatic after all..."

Suddenly, he realized something, and frantically patted himself down. He flipped the covers up and looked to the table.

"Oh no..." he said. "The diary...hey, didn’t you people find anything with me out in the desert? A book? Or a clock?"

"A clock?" Cliff’s eyes narrowed, and he moved up to the side of the bed. "Hold on, I thought you came from Earth? How do you know about the clock?"

"I found it downtown last night," Vance said. "And then...when I was sitting on my bed with the knife...it struck 13. That must have been what did it!"

"Hey!" The old man hobbled over to the three. "Enough yappin’! Where’s my Kurt, boy?!"

"We’re trying to figure that out," Cliff said, impatiently. "Go on, Vance. What else do you know?"

"The clock brought me here," he answered, slowly wrapping his mind around the truth. "Just like Caskett wrote in his diary...with the clock, I was able to remove myself from the world."

"But...but how?" Cliff threw his hands out. "How did you use your clock? Was it linked to this one, somehow? How did you activate it?"

"What do you mean, activate it?" Vance looked equally frustrated. "It was already ticking when I found it...I think. But it was going slower than a normal clock..."

"You said you found it downtown, right?" Eden asked. "We were downtown too, that night..."

Cliff backed up slowly, fear in his eyes. "Scripture says that only the Daughter can unlock the power of the clocks. If you didn’t activate it...then someone else did." His eyes slowly shifted over to Eden.

"Scripture?" Vance winced. "What does God have to do with the clocks?"

Cliff’s eyes grew serious, and he hesitated a moment. "Scripture states that twelve clocks were created, each to represent a disciple of the son of God, the one who caused the initial collapsing of worlds. Scripture states that someday, a second child of God will descend - the Daughter, who may use them to travel through the universe unharnessed. If all twelve were to be used in unison...they could open the doors to the Space-Time Continuum."

"The what?" Vance furrowed his brow.

"The core of the entire universe...the first dimension, the framework that holds them all together. The place where God resides. Unlocking that door means..." Cliff's voice wavered uncertainly. "...unlocking the power of God."

The room was quiet for a while, until Vance grew impatient and spoke up. "Well, now what? I don’t have to go back home, do you?"

Cliff looked at Vance in confusion. "You don’t want to go back home?"

"Not until I find my mom, at least," he said, rising from the sheets. "There’s nothing left for me in that hellhole anyway."

"So be it," Cliff said, growing impatient. "But we need to check out the mine first. Vance, just stay here and wait. We’ll pick you up on our way back."

"No way," Vance said, looking at Eden with the hint of a smile. "I’m going with you."

Cliff clenched his fists and looked down at the teenager. He was only a few inches taller, but far outclassed the boy in terms of physique. After a few moments, Cliff turned to glance at Robin.

"I don’t want him here," she said with a shrug. "He’s weird."

Cliff shook his head. "This is such a bad idea, but...Vance, I’m Cliff Walden, Vice-Captain of the 4th Division of Dimensional Knights. If you can follow my lead, I will allow you to accompany us to the mine. But only if you’re willing to obey me."

Vance gazed up at Cliff with firm eyes. "Lead the way, captain."

Turning on his heel, Cliff looked back to Robin "Mind if we borrow your buggy?"

"Sorry." Robin shook her head. "I lent it out to Kurt this morning...and he ain't brought it back yet."

"Okay." Cliff bit his lip. "Is there any other vehicle we can use? I know that mine is about an hour’s walk from here..."

"What’s wrong?" she asked with a chuckle. "Not up to it, big guy?"

Cliff rubbed his aching body with chagrin. "Well, I suppose it’ll give us time to talk. Vance, get dressed and we’ll leave at once. We have a lot to discuss."

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