Touching the Surface (6 page)

I whispered into his shirt, “Oliver? He’s your brother.” I had to see his face. “You’re here because of me. Trevor didn’t do anything.”

This time there was no Yoda wisdom. He bit his lip, confusion darting across his face before it returned to its usual level of boisterous confidence. “Everybody does something, Elliot. I’m here because I made you a promise.”

“You made me a promise? What does that mean?” I wanted to sneak a peek at Trevor, to see his reaction, but I was afraid. It felt twisted to still have Oliver’s attention and loyalty.

Oliver shrugged. “I’m not a Third Timer like you and Trevor. I’m a Passenger. The only thing I remember is that I came here to help you, Elliot. I don’t remember anything about him.” He nodded in Trevor’s direction. “From the vibes he’s been giving off, I really can’t imagine how we ended up being brothers.”

I’d heard talk about Passengers. The phenomenon is rumored to happen at the Basin, the Grand Central Station of the afterlife, where souls travel between one life and the next. When a soul decides to become a Passenger, he makes the choice to journey with another soul, a Tandem, into a third life, to be a catalyst for their growth. The idea is to have an impact on that person—to make the Tandem look at things
differently
. The Passenger tries to help the Tandem avoid returning to the Obmil as a Third Timer. It’s very altruistic. By being
present in someone else’s life, the Passenger is passing up an opportunity to work toward a new growth plan of their own. I’d never actually run into a Passenger or a Tandem on my visits at the Obmil. Obviously, they weren’t very common. I groaned. Knowing that I’d failed at my third life even with special assistance only made me feel like a bigger loser.

“You’re my Passenger? Are you sure?” I asked.

“I’m sure. I came here to help you because—well—I love you.”

Oliver’s words were a vacuum, sucking all the noise out of the room. My skin began to prickle. I could feel everyone focused on me.

“How do you know that you don’t have your own growth plan to figure out?” Mel asked.

Everyone else in the room leaned forward in unison. It surprised me that Mel seemed to have never met a Passenger either. She’d worked here a long time, but was clearly seeking information.

Oliver gave me one of his enchanting little smiles. “I know because—I just feel it.” He crossed his arms, satisfied as a cat with a feather sticking out of its mouth.

“So we’re supposed to bow to your expertise based on what? Warm and fuzzy feelings?” Trevor grunted for a finishing touch.

Oliver took a step in his direction. “Oh, and I suppose immature, violent tantrums are the true pathway to enlightenment.” He let his gaze drift to where the Plexiglas had been.

“Boys, boys.” Mel put up one palm in each direction. “This isn’t helping—”

“You love me?” I interrupted, then clasped my hand get out of here.lo before over my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Of course he doesn’t love you.” Trevor sneered. “That whole soul mate, deep-connection sappiness is a bunch of crap.”

“Don’t get all freaked out about the
L
word. I didn’t say I was
in
love with her, just that I love her.” Oliver stared pointedly at Trevor. “But maybe someone is protesting a little too aggressively. Maybe someone is a little bit”—Oliver brought his thumb and finger together—“jealous?”

“What?” Trevor and I shouted in unison.

“That’s bullshit,” Trevor responded.

“You’re an ass,” I shot off, staring at Trevor.
Grrrr
—he brought out the very worst in me, every time.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Mel’s voice was getting louder. Despite the noise, I heard the door open. I wondered if someone was fleeing the chaos.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mel.” I knew that voice. Julia’s head peeked into the room. “David wanted to know—”

Like we needed this right now. Not that Oliver or Trevor had even noticed Julia’s arrival.

“Hey, Elliot, are you okay? What’s going on in here?”

I ignored her, irritated by her god-awful timing. She never managed to show up when I needed her. Now I had other things to worry about. Sparks were flying between the two brothers again.

“Guys, what’s the matter?” Julia’s soft little voice didn’t even penetrate the thick wall of hostility between the brothers.

“Now is
not
a good time.” I glared at her.

“I can see that. Despite what you think, I’m not an idiot.” Julia’s eyes welled up.

I looked from her to the guys. Both brothers were waving their arms and shouting. “Sorry, I’m just a little stressed right now.” I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I had my first Delve and it was—it was unpleasant.” That was putting it mildly.

Julia wrapped her fingers around my wrist, anchoring me to her. “You can tell me anything. . . .” Julia’s voice was just a whisper, but it came in the only pocket of silence the room had seen since this fiasco started. Everyone stopped, but I couldn’t be sure if it was because they were listening to Julia or it was because everything was beginning to fade and we were all dropping into a Delve . . .

•  •  •

My first reaction to the Delve was that I felt small. Minuscule, in fact. I was in the Basin. I felt certain of it. There just aren’t many rooms that are a cross between the Roman Coliseum and New York’s Grand Central Station. I tried to turn my head and nothing happened. Wasn’t my Delve. Trevor’s again? Suddenly I was looking at myself—sort of. It was me, but back when I was Samantha. Whoever’s Delve this was had fixated on me. Despite the fact that I was all grown up, I appeared nervous. I guess change had never been my thing.

“God, this place is huge. I don’t remember being here last time, do you?” Emma’s voice sounded just as nerv

We were in Julia’s Delve. I mean, she wasn’t Julia yet, she was Emma, but I’d know that soul anywhere.

“It’s epic,” Samantha said.

Weird. Being in Julia’s Delve meant that I was now watching myself. The Samantha version of me kept right on talking. “I think they don’t want you remembering this part. Actually, I think we aren’t supposed to remember Basin stuff at all. Isn’t it supposed to be deep, emotional internalization or something?”

“Yeah, I heard something like that too,” Emma said. Her gaze began to wander around the room. In the center of the marble floor was a placid pool. The water was so blue, it seemed as if the tile below it was a vibrant cerulean. Yet, that couldn’t be the case—there couldn’t possibly be a shallow bottom because a head was slowly breaking the surface and a body was rising upward through the pool like it was on a platform elevator. This was the doorway into
the Basin and the elegant gentleman with the silver hair and tailored vest who emerged was dry. His feet glided ankle deep through the water as he strolled to the edge of the pool. Then he righted his already straight bow tie and stepped out onto the floor.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching that,” I listened to Samantha say.

“Yeah, me either, but . . .” Emma’s voice trailed off. Her eyes searched the outer walls of the round room. The whole place was ringed with archways, one floor stacked on top of the other. There was a pinprick glow of light at the top, but I wasn’t able to see the upper floors. Layer after layer of arches: these were the exits.

“Samantha?”

Emma was watching Samantha again, but Sam’s focus was on the room. I wondered what she was thinking.

“Sam, there’s kinda something that I wanted to talk to you about,” Emma said, focusing on nothing but me.

“Yeah, sure,” Samantha said. “What’s up? Oh, wow. It looks like the guy who just came out of the water is set to leave already. That’s kind of a quick turnover, don’t you think?”

“I guess. But that’s kind of what I wanted to ask you about. I need to talk to you before we step onto the ring.”

“That’s right, I forgot about the ring. Oh, check it out—he’s stepping on it now.”

Emma finally turned her head away from Samantha and focused her
attention on the dapper guy getting ready to jump streams. He placed his toes right up to the hairline break that separated the largest part of the room from the last ten feet of space near the archways: the outer ring. No sooner did his toes make their intentions clear, than the outside loop began to glow. Dapper Guy crossed the line, stepping over onto the ring. That’s when the wind picked up. A rush of air came from both above and below us at the same time. The two forces counterbalanced each other, making it feel as if we were in zero gravity, but gently incapacitated. We couldn get out of here.lo before’t move. I mean, Emma could turn her head and move her arms, but it was like being in slow motion or encased in clear jelly. It was pleasant enough, but that wasn’t its purpose. It was a safety measure designed to keep other souls off the ring when someone else was in transit. No last-minute, highly emotional, snap decisions could be made as you watched someone else pick a life choice. You were only supposed to move forward when you felt the pull.

“Seems like he figured out his growth plan pretty easily,” Samantha said, as the ring rose like an elevator.

He traveled at least fifteen levels before the upward momentum stopped. It was replaced by a slow spin, like a geriatric roulette wheel.

“How long do you think it will take us to get to that level?” Samantha asked, nudging her chin upward.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think that maybe this time around you could do me a favor?” Emma’s voice wavered, shaking like a child who’d spent a little too long in the swimming pool.

“Hey, you okay?” Samantha directed her attention back on Emma. She
very slowly moved her arm through the column of air and draped it around Emma’s shoulder, pulling her in close and rubbing her hand up and down Emma’s arm—mistaking the moment for a real chill instead of an emotional one. “Look! He’s getting ready to go.”

“I’m not cold—” Emma’s voice was low, more like an mumble from under her breath, but while it may have been hard for Samantha to hear, being in Julia’s Delve made her words distinct to everyone who was a witness in her head. “I want you to be my Passenger.”

I felt topsy-turvy. It was like I’d taken a swig of sugared coffee, expecting it to be light and sweet, only to find out I’d grabbed the salt by mistake. She’d wanted me to be her Passenger? No, this couldn’t have been how it happened . . . could it?

Oblivious, Samantha pointed up to Dapper Guy. My stomach coiled, tightening around this ugly piece of information.

The ring had stopped moving and Dapper Guy was standing in front of an archway glowing with light. “He’s getting ready to jump streams,” Samantha said. “I love this part—particularly when it’s someone else making the leap into the unknown.”

Without glancing back, Dapper Guy walked into the light and disappeared. The ring dropped back down into place and the wind died away.

Emma took a deep breath, but it was Samantha who jumped in first. “Emma, I think I need your help. I mean—I think I need your help again. You were amazing in our last life and so supportive at the Obmil. I hate to think about the choices I might have made if you hadn’t been nudging me
in the right direction.” Emma started to interject, but Samantha held up her hand. “Please, just listen. I know how much you’ve helped me and I think I was close—really close—to figuring out my growth plan. Don’t make that face. You can’t blame yourself, you did everything you could. I’m so lucky to have you, but now there’s
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font-size: 1g before something else you can do that might really make a difference . . .” Emma leaned backward as if she was trying to get out of the trajectory of Samantha’s words. I could feel myself leaning with her, wanting to get as far away from my own self-absorption as I could. There was nowhere to run.

“Emma, I know it’s crazy to ask you this, and I haven’t really thought it through, but there isn’t time. This is my last chance. I don’t want to be stuck back at the Obmil or worse. You know what they say, that some people don’t get to come back.” Samantha’s voice dropped several octaves but her face was puppy-dog eager, like she was waiting for someone to throw her a tennis ball or scratch her behind the ears. Like she knew that the answer to something was just within reach. I could feel Emma shrinking in on herself and I wanted to switch the channel. I didn’t want to watch this stupid show anymore.

“I—I don’t know what to—” Emma paused and took a deep breath.

Before Emma could continue, Samantha’s head shot up and whipped to the side, like she was privy to the frequency of a dog whistle. Emma’s attention tore off in the same direction, wondering what had caused the reaction.

I would have rubbed my eyes if I could have made Emma’s arms do my bidding. Coming out of the water were two identical guys. Mid-forties, salt and pepper hair, the kind of guys you’d see walking the red carpet at the
Oscars. Oh, this was double trouble. As they stepped out of the pool, they were shoulder bumping each other and bantering back and forth. Mid-jab they froze, as if they’d heard the same dog whistle as Samantha. Emma rubbed her eyes after all, but it didn’t make my double vision disappear. The twins were headed our way and I could feel my own displaced heart racing faster as they drew closer. They stopped directly in front of Sam, watching her like she was the sun, the moon, and the stars—all rolled up into one little universe. Both of their hands reached out to touch her at the very same moment. All I could think was that they had long fingers, nimble like a pianist and then—
BOOM!
The moment they made contact with Samantha, my head exploded like a firecracker in a tin can.

•  •  •

I don’t know how I knew it so instantaneously, but I did—we’d switched Delves. These were my memories now. It was as if the magnetic surge of energy from the twins’ touch had to be experienced firsthand. My head throbbed from the sudden jolt of switching roles. I felt like a time traveler. I was in Samantha’s head, but now that I’d watched her, I didn’t know if I wanted to be.