Royden sat up and rubbed his eyes. His hands immediately went to his ankles, which felt fine.
“You sent me back at the perfect time.” A friendly and familiar voice said.
Royden looked for who the voice belonged to. He sat on a couch in a house that looked similar to the one he was just in. It must be the real Carol house. Alice from the Discovery Apartments sat next to him. She always seemed to be exactly where she was needed. Susanna Carol sat on his other side.
“The thing’s gone.” Alice said. She held up the black ring. “It sealed itself in this ring. It’s too weak to do anything. Someone must recharge it somehow in the future. So now we know what controls the suit. Where did your family get this, Susanna?” She asked the little girl.
“My mom used it when she delivered medicine in other dimensions.”
“You’re not human?” Royden asked.
“My dad is, my mom’s not.” She looked at the floor sadly.
“Hey,” Alice said, “one day you’ll see them again. You know where I work there are ghosts all around. Come by sometime and see them.”
Susanna nodded without looking up.
“But that demon thing—where did that come from?” Royden asked, shaking at the thought.
“I don’t know, it just appeared.” Susanna said.
Royden took the ring and handed it to Susanna. “I want you to keep very good care of this ring, alright? Make sure you don’t let anyone else take it. And be extra careful when you sleep.” He turned to Alice. “Can’t we take it back with us? That’ll change the future, won’t it?”
Alice shook her head. “You don’t want to mess with things like that. We keep that ring and you might not ever be born. Time is tricky like that.”
Royden held out his hand for Susanna to shake. “My name is Royden Doble, we’ll see each other again one day.”
Susanna shook his hand. “I hope so.”
The front door of the house opened and the bellhop appeared next to a dark tube. “Royden Doble of the fifth floor Discovery Apartments, your time is up. You must return to your own time now.”
Royden hopped off the couch. “See you in fifty years, Susanna. And sometime much sooner, Alice.” He nodded encouragingly to Susanna and left 1965 behind.
“I would like to create a time slot.” Royden told the bellhop when he arrived in the Time Room.
“A time slot for Alice of—I don’t know—room 106 Discovery Apartments for—let’s see—tomorrow morning? Does that sound right?” The bellhop asked.
Royden chuckled. “That sounds great.”
The bellhop disappeared.
Royden made his way down to room 106 and knocked. Alice answered. He told her that he made a time slot for her and said everything she might need to know. He then went down and talked with Ms. Carol for a while.
“It really was something meeting you here the other day.” She said. “I remembered that you said fifty years and figured it should be around now.”
“So what did you do with your life?” Royden asked.
“Alice took me to a relative’s and I stayed there until I was an adult. I moved in here in eighty-two. That’s when I made the time slot for you.”
“So what do you think someone might want with your ring?”
She shrugged. “I never thought someone would be able to control Badchi. I have no idea. Of course for years I hoped that I would find a place to hide it away forever, but none ever came up. I guess I shouldn’t have had it on me.”
“I wonder how anybody knew you had it.” Royden mused.
“I probably told someone about it. I talk a little too much with some of the people that come down here to do their laundry.”
“Do you really live here?” Royden asked, wondering why anyone would ever want to live in a laundry room.
“It’s always bright in here. I’ve never really gotten over Badchi. I feel like a bright public place like this is a better place to live than a dark little apartment.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. And then, “Wait, did you say that you told someone about the ring here?”
“Yeah, sometimes I talk too much about my life. I really should stop that.”
Royden jumped up, excited that a clue about whoever Hofrora worked for finally presented itself. “Did you talk to anybody else outside of this building about it?”
“I doubt it. I haven’t left in years. Well sometimes I go up to see my parents on the thirteenth floor, but nowhere else.”
Royden slapped his hands together. “That proves that whoever is controlling Badchi lives here. I have to go tell Mr. Bringum about it. Thanks, Susanna.”
“Sure.” She said, a little hurt that he had to leave already.
Royden knocked excitedly on Mr. Bringum’s office door. He answered and Royden came right in and sat down.
“I got a clue about who’s telling Badchi to make people disappear.”
Mr. Bringum sat down slowly in his chair. His clothes were disheveled and he looked more tired than ever. “What’s that now? Who’s got bad chi?”
“No, Badchi, it’s a demon creature I fought.” Royden said, for the first time feeling exceptionally proud about the weird things he had done. “It sealed itself in a little black ring fifty years ago. Somehow its being told to put people in a coma, remember? Its boss is the ‘them’ Mr. Hofrora talked about. I don’t know who they are or what they’re up to but I now think that they live in the building.” Royden nodded, greatly impressed by his sleuthing abilities.
Mr. Bringum blinked slowly and stared at Royden. “I think you should leave the building now.”
“What? But I’m on the case. I’ve never been closer. I think if we interrogate the groups of people living here—”
“You were right.” Mr. Bringum interrupted. “You don’t belong here. I feel terrible that I let your family move in. This building isn’t for normal humans.”
“Normal? I’m not normal anymore.” Said Royden mightily. “I was when I moved in, but I’m not anymore. It’s the knowledge that I have now that makes me different from a normal human. Remember my friend Millie? He was born a normal human but his knowledge and job make him more now. I’m the same way.”
“No, no, you were right before.” Mr. Bringum sighed, he sounded really exhausted. “I’m going to get Alice to wipe your memory and then you can leave. I’ll get you a better apartment somewhere.”
Royden stood up suddenly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Mr. Bringum put his face in his hands. “Hofrora put a lot of people in a coma last night. The news is all about how these people disappeared by the time the police got to each house. People saw them disappear. I’m going to evacuate the building. We can see if that stops it.”
“Nothing can stop Hofrora in that suit. He can break out of anything and travel through dimensions. It doesn’t matter where he is. Unless of course you can get him into some high security jail for a while in some other dimension until we find out who’s responsible. Did you take his dimension crystal away?”
“He doesn’t have one. It’s the suit itself that can do it.”
“That suit is really powerful.”
“Whatever, I’m going to evacuate the building. Everyone is going home and your family is going to go back to a normal life.”
“I can’t!” Royden shouted. “I’m this close! We can find out who’s responsible.”
Mr. Bringum stayed very calm. “Go get your stuff packed. I’m going to tell your parents to see me and Alice will wipe their minds in the morning.”
“NO!”
“Royden!” Mr. Bringum roared with such authority that the boy instantly lost all confidence. “Go get your stuff packed now.”
Royden
reluctantly left the office. He went up to the fifth floor and sat on his bed. His parents weren’t home yet. They must have had to stay late at work.
He had no intention of packing anything. He did however have intention to find out who was behind everything. He jumped from his bed and went out to investigate.