3:59

THIRTY-SIX

5:57 P.M.

“SHIT.” JOSIE SLAMMED THE BRANE MULTIVERSE book closed. What was the point in creating another portal if she or her mom might be killed in the process? They were so close to the answer. She felt like the rug had just been pulled out from under them.

“Do we know what caused the explosion?” Penelope said, scratching her cheek furiously.

Madison shook her head. “We have some of our parents’ notes from the experiment, but the findings of the investigation are in a file somewhere up at Fort Meade. Jackson and I have tried a few times to get our hands on it. No dice.”

“Too bad,” Penelope said absently. “If we knew how the experiment was set up, we might be able to tweak it so there’s no BOOM.”

Josie laughed. She couldn’t help it. All the science jargon in the last few hours boiled down to a good, old-fashioned BOOM. “If only Jo could show me that in one of her dreams.”

Penelope tilted her head. “You share dreams with Jo?”

“Kinda. I can see through her eyes when the portal’s open. Just for that one minute every twelve hours.”

Penelope let the pen fall to the table. “Whoa. That’s wild.”

Josie shook her head. Wild wasn’t the word she’d use. “I had another one last night. Dr. Byrne in my kitchen back home. Not my mom, see? Dr. Byrne.”

“Are you telling me that it’s your mom up at Old St. Mary’s?” Madison said. For the first time, there was no hint of sarcasm in Madison’s voice.

Josie nodded. “I was there. Today. It’s her.”

Penelope stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “So you think your mom and Jo’s mom have the same connection? That they can see through each other’s eyes?”

“Definitely. Dr. Byrne had a nightmare last week. Woke up screaming in the middle of the night. I’m pretty sure she was experiencing the torture my mom’s been going through at Old St. Mary’s.”

Madison sat up straight. “Torture?”

“Yeah.” Josie tried to keep her voice steady and her mind calm as the image of her mother’s scarred body flashed into her mind. “They’re using the Nox on her.”

“Shit,” Madison said.

Josie pushed the image out of her mind. The panic she felt when she thought of her mom trapped there in that hospital room was not going to help.

“Okay, so let’s summarize,” Josie said. She had to stay focused if she was going to get her mom out of there, and find a way home. “We have a working theory as to how to create a portal, but without the findings of the investigation into Tony’s death, we risk killing ourselves if we attempt it, right?”

“Right,” Penelope said with a nod.

“Then there’s only one thing to do,” Josie said. She smiled as a plan formed in her head.

“Your smile is freaking me out,” Penelope said, recoiling.

But Madison was intrigued. “What are you thinking?”

It was crazy, but it might work. “We’ll just have to get those notes.”

6:21 P.M.

A clanging noise from the back of the warehouse startled the girls, breaking the silence that had descended upon them. Josie jumped in her chair. “What’s that?”

“Just the rats, I bet.” Madison stood up and gazed into the back of the warehouse.

Josie snorted. “Yeah, I’ve noticed a lot of them around here.”

Madison turned to her. “Really?” she said in exasperation.

Josie couldn’t help herself. The words had just slipped out of her mouth. She was still having a hard time separating the two Madisons. “I’m sorry,” she said. And she meant it. “Really. It’s just . . .” Ugh. She so didn’t want to explain the tragedy of her personal life to the doppelgänger of the girl who had caused it. She felt the heat rising up from her chest to her neck, spreading across her face like a big neon sign flashing, There’s something I’m not telling you. She dropped her eyes to the notebook and pretended to examine equations, but Penelope didn’t miss a thing.

“Who is she?” Penelope asked. To the point, as always. “Who is Madison in your world?”

Josie glanced at Madison out of the corner of her eye. “She was my best friend. Until I caught my boyfriend cheating on me. With her.”

Penelope whistled. “Damn.”

“Nick,” Madison said. Her eyes were fixed on Josie. “Your boyfriend was Nick.”

Josie nodded. But for the first time, the topic of Madison and Nick’s betrayal seemed less painful, less vomit-inducing than before. She had bigger issues to deal with, and suddenly instead of anger, Josie just felt sorry for them both.

“What about me?” Penelope fidgeted with her fingers. Clearly the idea of hearing about her alter ego in another dimension made Penelope nervous.

Josie smiled. Just thinking about her old friend gave her a sense of comfort. “Penelope’s the best,” she said. “We’ve been friends since fourth grade. She’s a lot like you, actually. Smart. Practical. Loyal.”

“Interesting.” Penelope gave herself a shake, as if tossing off a bad memory, then glanced at her watch. “It’s late. We should get going.”

Six thirty. Yikes. Mr. Byrne was expecting her for dinner.

“I have an idea. About how to fix our little BOOM problem,” Penelope said simply, as she packed up her books and carried them to Madison’s car. “In case you strike out with the file. I’m going to borrow Mr. Baines’s laser rig from the lab. Can I set it up here?”

“Sure,” Madison said, her old swagger returned. “Knock yourself out.”

Josie paused at the door of the black BMW. “Thank you,” she said. “Both of you.”

Madison rolled up the door. She didn’t exactly smile at Josie, but there was something like a nod of acceptance. Whatever. Josie took it.

As she backed out of the warehouse, she felt more hopeful than she had in days. Her mom was here. She had friends. She wasn’t alone in this. She looked up as she turned the wheel to leave; something caught her eye. A shadow ducking around the side of the warehouse. She craned her neck as she drove around the building. She was sure she saw someone. Positive.

But there was no one there.