Wood Sprites(91)
April shrugged and added rum to the new soda. “I don’t know. My folks are in it. They mailed me that copy as a hint to call more often. Maybe the reason Tim Bell’s phone stopped working was because they moved to Earth.”
“No, on the application to CMU, Alexander said she lived on Elfhome.” Louise flipped to the “W” section. “Maybe Orville is listed.”
“Well?” April asked as the twin frowned at the only Wright listed.
“There’s an Oilcan Wright. Who names their kid Oilcan?” Louise stared at the simple listing of name, street address and phone number. “How are you supposed to cross-reference this?”
Jillian gave a small scream of frustration. “We can’t call him and say ‘if you have a cousin named Alexander, Sparrow is going to try to kidnap her and kill the Viceroy.’ What if it isn’t him and we just told a stranger this secret that could get him killed?”
April motioned for her to stay calm. “Are you really, really sure that you understood what they were saying—in French?”
“Quelle est la part de parler couramment le français n’êtes-vous pas trouvé?” Jillian shouted.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” April said. “Look there’s nothing we can do today. It’s probably too late for me to get train tickets to Elfhome; normally the seats are booked months in advance. I can try, but we shouldn’t count on it. Usually if I want to go home for Christmas, I have to get the tickets before March. I’ll probably have to drive down a few days before Shutdown and hope I can get through.”
“Couldn’t you fly in?” Louise knew that the airport still operated but she’d never heard of flights into Pittsburgh. Airports equaled planes, though, didn’t it?
“No. Passenger flights aren’t allowed in the airspace during Shutdown. Everything in and out is either cargo or military planes and that’s only after dawn. There’s always some residual magic in the zone and it wreaks havoc on mechanical systems. The risk is too high for passenger flights.”
“They have to let you through, don’t they?” Jillian asked. “You’re a native Pittsburgher!”
April added more rum to her drink. “Yes, but this isn’t driving across the river to New Jersey. This is going to another planet. Elfhome. The world of elves. Different stars. Different moon—well—looks the same but it’s not the same moon. Totally different sun. Not on our world.”
“Yes, but you can drive to it.” Jillian pressed.
“It’s like going to another country,” April took a drink and shuddered slightly. “Canada or Mexico—if they dropped off the face of the planet for thirty days at a time. There’s only four highways still connected to Pittsburgh. A concrete trench and three fences topped with barbed wire surround the rest of the area. Even returning residents need a passport, and all vehicles are searched for stowaways. Trucks start to line up two days before Shutdown in special parking lots and they have first priority for getting in and out. EIA new employees are second level clearance and scientists are third. I’ll be last in line.”
“So you might not get in?” Jillian started to cry. Louise struggled not to start too.
“Oh, oh, don’t do that. Here, have ice cream.” April pulled out several pints of Hagen-Daz, three bowls, and half a dozen spoons.
Louise couldn’t see how ice cream could help, but April did have exotic flavors like banana foster, caramel cone, and midnight cookies and cream. The last proved to be fudge and chocolate wafer cookies in chocolate ice cream. The twins were distracted by sampling each of the flavors.
“I have one edge: I’m a native Pittsburgher.” April hunted through the freezer and added dulce de leche and rum raisin to the selection. “Normally the last hour or so, the only vehicles they let through are the returning residents.”
Louise gasped as she realized that if April went to warn Alexander, she probably would have to stay until the next Shutdown to come back. “What about your work?”
“I might lose my job over this.” April took a big swallow of her Coke and rum and winced. “Oh, that’s strong.”
“I’m sorry,” Louise said.
“It’s okay. It’s a crappy job. I’ve been meaning to look for another.”
“We could call…someone,” Jillian said. “There’s Esme’s sister, Lain. She’s in Pittsburgh. She could warn Alexander.”
“I don’t know if Lain knows about Alexander.” April waved her spoon loaded with banana foster. “Esme didn’t want me to tell her family. And phones are very unreliable during Shutdown. All of Pittsburgh tries to call out to do business that one day a month. You basically start dialing at midnight and listen to ‘all connections are busy, please try again later’ for a couple of hours. No, no, don’t cry! I’m going to drive to Pittsburgh!”