Story Wormholes: My Sister the Spy, Reboot

“I’ll follow Katerina,” I say, already pushing my way through the crowd.

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Join us as we help Mitchell save his sister, Olivia, from the dreaded Tejuristan embassy. She might be the spy, but this barber is going to have to step up and save the day. With a bomb about to go off in the park crowded from the Freedom Fest, can Mitchell and Olivia save the day? Need to catch up? Find your part here.

“I’ll follow Katerina,” I say, already pushing my way through the crowd. I glance back over my shoulder, and I see Olivia crawling under the bush to retrieve the bomb, the bandages on her hands catching on the bushes.

I’m sure she has everything under control, so I focus back on Katerina. She is nearing the edge of the park, and I break into a jog so that I don’t lose her. I dodge around small children with balloon animals and hot dog carts, past the fountain and the statue of an old war hero on a horse. All the time I never take my eyes off the hunched figure.

Thanks to her shuffling footsteps, I’m catching up to her. I’m only a hundred feet away or so as we reach the street at the edge of the park. I’m sure I’ll be able to get Katerina as she slowly putters her way across the road.

I rush up to the crosswalk, but just then the light changes. My heart sinks as I watch her make her ponderous way down the sidewalk. A bus passes between us, and as it clears I realize that Katerina is gone, vanished into thin air. I cross the street when the light changes anyway, hoping to find her in a shop or something. But nothing. She’s just gone. Clearly, I was never a match for her spy skills.

Dejectedly, I trudge back toward the park to find Olivia and figure out how to get dispose of a bomb (that was certainly not something they taught at barber school, though perhaps it should be). I’m almost back into the park, when I hear Olivia’s voice ring out over the crowd.

“Bomb! Bomb! Everyone, get out of the park! Now! Bomb!”

People start screaming, stampeding out of the park. I watch the crowd, waiting for Olivia to appear along with the rest. But she doesn’t come. I start to push my way through the rising tide of people that threaten to crush me. Finally, I make it through and see Olivia limping towards me, her broken toes clearly hampering her again.

I sprint toward her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. I start to pull her as quickly as I can toward the exit. I can hear her muttering under her breath.

Suddenly, she looks up at me with real fear in her eyes. “There’s no time! Get down!”

I pull her behind a tree, and we both cover our heads. An explosion louder than a jet plane shakes the very ground itself, sending a wave of destruction crashing into our tree. I lay there for a minute stunned but pleasantly surprised that I’m still alive.

With my ears ringing, Olivia and I gingerly get up. With a lump forming in my throat, I survey the park. Gone are the fountain and the statue. Hot dog carts lay in twisted heaps. A huge crater stands where we were only minutes before. Everyone seems to be okay, but our city isn’t. And Katerina got away.

“My hands…I couldn’t…” stammers Olivia, staring down at her torn and dirty bandages. I feel the weight of the disaster descend on my shoulders, and I wonder what I could have done differently that could have prevented this...

The ringing in my ears starts to get louder. I put my hands up to them, and my head starts to spin. What’s going on? I close my eyes, wondering if I got a concussion or something.

When I open my eyes, I’m back in Olivia’s apartment. “Olivia?” I say. “Are you here? What’s going on?” No answer. I’m alone in my sister’s apartment – what in the world?

I pull out my phone to give her a call but stop dead when I see the time. It’s evening. Two days ago. I realize this was when I first came to Olivia’s apartment. Is it possible that I have another chance? That I could make a different decision? That things could turn out differently. Even as I wonder this, it all starts to feel like a dream. The memories start to fade, and I wonder if any of it ever happened at all.

My heart starts to race at the possibilities, and I wonder what I should do. Should I try to break into the embassy after all? Or should I wait until tomorrow to see what I might learn from the ambassador?

What should I do?

Break into the embassy won! Keep reading here.

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