Final Exam by Rob Astor (free novel 24 .TXT) 📕

bed. He slowly came to Xack’s side, placing his right around him, holding Xack close. Rob took it as a good sign that Xack didn’t pull away. “That’s not true. I do want you to be happy.”
“You don’t like any of the choices I make, Rob.”
“No, sometimes you make the wrong ones. I tried to warn you about a few of them. But, I let you make your own choices so you will be a stronger, wiser Xack if they don’t turn out right.”
“I was happy there. They’re my brothers, Rob. My only family.” Xack wiped his face. He stayed close to Rob, needing the sense of comfort. He needed to feel like he belonged somewhere.
“No, Xack, they aren’t.” Rob’s voice was just a bit too heavy. “You know it. They’re from a parallel world. Your family existed in this reality. You didn’t grow up with them, Xack. You only knew them for however long you’ve been there. But you didn’t live with them the whole first part of your life.”
As much as Xack wanted to push Rob away or accuse him of once again having all the answers, he couldn’t find the strength. Xack knew the truth. Rob was right. As much as it felt like his family, those people really weren’t the ones he loved in the past. They belonged to a Xack who had died in that reality. Rob’s tactic worked. The anger within Xack towards Rob had dissolved.
“I know you’re suffering through many losses.” Rob’s voice was comforting. “I want to help you through the separation anxiety you’re feeling. You’re the closest thing I have left to family, Xack. I need you.”
Xack forced his sadness deep down. “I really was happy for a short period of time. It was so good to be back home. To be with them.” His voice cracked. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks.
Rob waited, giving Xack time to keep his composure. “How long were you there?”
Xack shrugged. “Weeks, I guess. I didn’t keep track. All my memories of my family came back. I got to see friends and family I haven’t seen since before the New Zs showed up.”
Rob smiled, leaning his cheek against Xack’s head. “Believe it or not, I’m really happy for you, Xack.”
“You’re not spoofin’ me, are you?’
“No. I could feel how happy you were, searching for you in the dream world. I can’t imagine what I would do if I took that kind of chance. I can see it did you a lot of good to be there.”
“How did you find me? I thought we were goners for sure.”
“We found your calculations in the computer at the center. Later, we found the Tachyon Manipulator you used. Puck helped us come up with the fifth dimensional spatial coordinates. I figured out why your math wouldn’t line up for you. There was a time signature variance between dimensions.”
“What do you mean?”
“In this reality, you’ve only been gone one day, Xack.”
Stunned, Xack turned, searching Rob’s face for any sign this was a joke. “Get vertical. Are you serious?”
Rob nodded. “After we used the warp hole, I zeroed in on your mind using my telepathy.”
Several minutes passed in silence before Xack shared his thoughts. “I kept thinking I was responsible for the New Zimlliaans coming there. Somehow, I thought they followed me.”
“Don’t blame yourself for the invasion. You had no control over it there, any more than you did here. There’s no way you could have known they were going to show up on either world.”
“Then why do I feel so guilty?” Xack wanted Rob to give him an answer this time. He needed to have it with Rob’s clarity.
“Remember how you said you would change the past?” Xack did remember. He didn’t even try to warn anyone as he’d said he’d do, because he didn’t know the parallel Earth would suffer the same fate as this one. “It might be impossible to effect those kinds of changes all by ourselves.”
“I didn’t even try,” Xack whispered. “I didn’t know the New Zs would show up there, too.”
“We’re going to study up on the issue of parallel realities with Puck. He’s agreed to let us research everything he’s been able to gather from the restricted data on this ship.”
“I wonder if elements of this reality would have followed me no matter where I went,” Xack mused.
“Realities in close proximity to one another share a lot of similarities,” Rob said. “You have to skip a whole bunch to really get away from basic and major events.”
“Even if I can’t really go home again, I did learn something, Rob.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, it’s more like an understanding I’ve come to. In this reality, I’m sure my family died trying to help each other escape. They were heroes.”
“We don’t know they’re dead for sure.” Rob wanted to keep Xack’s hopes alive.
“Until we know anything for certain, I can face this reality better believing that.” Xack remembered the happy times he’d recently shared with his doppelganger family. He had to believe his true family, from this Earth, were all in a better place.
Rob had no words. He hugged Xack closer. “I’m happy you’re back, Xack. For one day, I had to face the possibility you might be gone forever. The pain was unbearable. I can’t imagine what it would be like to face the rest of my life with you gone.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.” Rob understood this was the only part of Xack’s adventure he was genuinely sorry for. It was enough.
* * *
Sitting in the right rear passenger spot of Rob’s hovercar, Xack browsed through the photographs Jessica had taken at his party. Linka was to his left, sharing the details. “Here’s one of my whole family, with Uncle Mike over here,” Xack pointed to a figure on the left, “and Lo’s girlfriend, Jessica.” He made a second indication to the only female in the picture besides his mother with his index finger.
“Klasno.” Linka gave her approval in the Russian equivalent of ‘cool’.
“Here’s one of me, Lo, and Tandem after they dumped me in the lake.” Xack chuckled, looking at he and his brothers all soaking wet. Linka laughed some as well.
“Looks like they tried to drown you, X-man,” Kip said. He was to Linka’s other side, casually looking at the pictures.
“You should’ve been there that day, Rob. Uncle Mike made the best barbequed ribs.”
“Don’t mention food,” Matt groaned from the front. He flashed a teasing smile at Rob. “I think he cleaned out the freezer last night.”
As Kip laughed, Rob became playfully defensive. “I did not. It was only half the freezer!” Everyone else joined in the laughter. “It takes a lot of energy to do a psycho-kinetic blast.”
“What’s your excuse for every other day, Peacock?” Kip ventured.
“Yankee, you are insufferable.” Linka playfully slapped Kip’s leg.
“That means she can’t stand to live with you, Rich Kid,” Xack jumped in.
“She can’t stand to live without me,” Kip corrected him, leaning closer to Linka. He turned her chin with his fingers, kissing her lips tenderly.
“Eww, gross!” Xack laughed in protest. “Rob, you’re gonna have to sterilize the back seat!”
Kip edged a hand up Linka’s shorts. She grabbed his wrist with a giggle. “Have you walked out of your mind? We have an audience.”
Xack turned away from the make-out session back to his pictures. The next one was of his mother. He paused, ignoring everything around him. Carol stood near a tree on that distant sunny day. Her smile was bright, her pale blue eyes warm, and her jet-black hair a stark reminder to Xack of where he got his looks. Xack suddenly remembered the reason he’d gone in the first place.
Closing his eyes, Xack remembered their embrace in the kitchen. Thinking about it, he could feel her arms wrapped around him. He could smell the scent of her light floral perfume.
Opening his eyes and looking at the picture, Xack willed his thoughts off to her spirit, somewhere in the universe. I love you, mom.
* * *
Working on his exam in Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry, Xack was faced with a question he found all too familiar. The instructions called for a set of calculations to support a ‘theory’ of traveling in extra spatial dimensions.
Xack held down a chuckle in spite of the irony. He really had traveled to another spatial dimension. Calling up his equations from his laptop’s holographic display, Xack simply rewrote the math he’d used to take the trip for real.
* * *
Standing in the empty school corridor the following week, Rob opened his exam folder first. “I did better than I thought,” he reported, sounding pleased.
“What did you get?” Xack asked curiously.
“A b plus.”
“Great work, Rob!” Xack opened his folder. His eyes were wide with surprise as he saw his grade marked in red. “Get vertical, I got an a plus!”
“Super!” Rob was happy. “I always knew you’d be smarter than me.” Xack blushed, too modest to agree. He simply smiled. “Apparently, Mrs. Barry thinks so, too.”
They walked outside. The sun was brilliant. For a minute, Xack had forgotten where they were. Life was livable when he could concentrate on school, friends, and a normal teenage life. Seeing the New Zimlliaan ship perched beyond the city’s protective electromagnetic shield brought harsh reality back. “You know, this exam and the trip I took was also like an exam of my past for me.” Xack spoke slowly, softly.
“In what way, Xack?”
“I was able to reconnect with it. I got to recover some memories and see my family again. I know I can’t go back to stay. I know I can’t change the past in our reality. I have to keep moving forward. Because of the trip, I can do that now and I’m okay with it.”
Rob offered a smile, rubbing Xack’s shoulder. The walked across the campus toward the parking lot where Rob’s red hovercar floated silently in the air. “I feel like celebrating.”
Rob had Xack’s full attention. “What do you say we go to the mall and spend the night on the beach with the wave pool?” Rob suggested.
“Oh, I’m so ready to go and just zone out all summer long,” Xack gave his endorsement.
“I think I hear a roller coaster calling my name, too!” Rob grinned.
“I’ve always liked the way you think!”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rob sprinted ahead.
Xack caught up to his best friend in the parking lot. They hopped into the boat-like vehicle, left the domed cover open, turned on some music, lifted higher into the air, and flew off.