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Master shakes his head and barks at the wall of doors again. I think he’s insisting we leave.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe we should go. The people who can help me, like Alwar, are only dead here—in this time. If I go home, they will not have been born yet.
If I go back and figure out a way to warn Alwar before things change, maybe he’ll figure out what to do.
But will he act on a note from a woman who lived thousands of years ago, one he might not even remember?
I have nothing to lose if I try, right? “Which door will take us to the River Wall Manor—it’s the place where all the water comes from?”
Master barks at the blue door. At least, I think that’s the one he wants me to go through.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
So there is another doorway on the property, and it’s in the unlikeliest of places.
There’s this tree on the estate, deep in the forest, where I used to climb as a little girl. In the summer, I would read, eat, and sometimes nap there—not very smart. But its thick trunk is divided into two, perfect for perching all day. I loved sitting high in the trees, pretending to be one of the birds. I dreamed about flying away to another land.
Guess I got my wish.
When I walk in the house, nothing seems different. I find Dave passed out on the couch with his hand in his shorts. Porn is playing on his laptop.
Yeah, I can see how worried he was after I took off to scuba dive in the river.
Master comes in behind me, limping after falling from the tree when we arrived. I go into the kitchen and make him an icepack. I start cooking us up some eggs, too.
As I’m heating the frying pan, my mind whirls with questions. I know something changed after I came home the last time, but I don’t know what. That something clearly altered the future of Monsterland, which in turned changed my life.
One big loop. The past feeding the future. The future feeding the past.
In the end, though, the invasion still happens. When? Maybe in a few days. Maybe months or years from now.
But if I don’t know what changed, the best I can do is get a message to Alwar and tell him everything I know. How things were, how they are now, and all of the information I’ve collectedalong the way. I need to explain why he has to fight to keep the wall from falling.
So how do I get such a long message to him when he won’t be born for thousands of years?
After breakfast, I shower and change into jeans, a warm black sweater, and a red coat. I put on my boots and go for a walk. Master tags along despite his limp. I’m looking for a place or a thing on the property that might withstand the elements, the passage of time, and the events on the horizon—monster invasion and a nuclear war.
The only thing I know of that still exists in the age of monsters is the river rock wall itself, but how would I record such a complicated story on piles of stones? How would Alwar even know to look?
“Fuck!” I stop next to my favorite tree and stare up at the spot with the window. I can’t see it from down here, but I know it’s there. The doorway was left open. I don’t have a key to lock it. “Master, I have to leave a record of what’s coming so Alwar can figure out a solution. I just don’t know how.”
Master looks at me.
“What?”
He barks.
“I seriously wish I spoke your language. It would make life so much easier.”
He barks again, like he agrees.
“If you ever get home, make sure to tell the Scholar People they need to create a decoder ring.”
My mind suddenly trips on my own words.The Scholar People.
“Wait. Don’t the Scholar People pass on their knowledge from scholar to scholar?”
Master nods.
