Excerpt
Torn andlt;link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../styles/9781442426450.css"andgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;a id="page_1"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;andlt;a id="ch01"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;andlt;img src="../images/f0001-01.jpg" alt="Images"andgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;We didnand#8217;t know what we were doing,and#8221; a voice whispered near Jonahand#8217;s ear.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah struggled to pay attention. He and his younger sister, Katherine, had just traveled through time, from one foreign era to another. He was becoming an experienced time travelerand#8212;a thirteen-year-old expert, you might even say. So heand#8217;d learned that when he first landed in a new place and time, he just had to expect his brain to be a little fuzzy.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And his eyes.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And his ears.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And and#8230; Really, for all Jonah could tell, he and Katherine might be seconds away from being burned at the stake or tortured on a rack or trampled by stampeding horses fleeing a war. And he wouldnand#8217;t be able to see andlt;a id="page_2"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;or hear or notice any of those things until it was too late.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Anything was possible now.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;No, no,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah told himself. andlt;Iandgt;Itand#8217;sandlt;/Iandgt; history. andlt;Iandgt;Everyone knows how itand#8217;s supposed to go. JB wouldnand#8217;t have sent us here if we were going to be in danger. Not right away, at least.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;JB was the true time-travel expert. It had taken a while, but Jonah trusted JB. The problem was, Jonah didnand#8217;t have a very high opinion of the past. Twice now he and Katherine had gone back in time with other kids. Theyand#8217;d been sent to fix history and save endangered children. Each time, their mission had gotten a little complicated and#8230; and endangered andlt;Iandgt;them.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah could have drowned.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Katherine could have died in battle.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Their friends could have been murdered.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Near misses,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah thought. Those two words, together, had more meaning than Jonah could bear to think about at the moment.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;And whatand#8217;s supposed to happenandlt;/Iandgt; now? Jonah wondered. andlt;Iandgt;I donand#8217;t know anything about what happened in and#8230; 1611.andlt;/Iandgt; He was proud that he could remember the year theyand#8217;d been sent to. But the pride was followed by a shiver. andlt;Iandgt;What if this is the year that fate catches up with us?andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;That wordand#8212;andlt;Iandgt;fateandlt;/Iandgt;and#8212;prickled at his brain. It was too much for him to think about right now. He blinked and andlt;a id="page_3"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;squinted, trying desperately to bring his vision into focus. A moment ago heand#8217;d managed to read a paper held close to his eyes. But beyond that range everything was just a gray fog around him. The only thing he could hear was a muffled andlt;Iandgt;thump-thump, thump-thumpandlt;/Iandgt;, off in the distance. He could feel some cold, hard surface beneath himand#8212;wood, maybe? andlt;Iandgt;Wetandlt;/Iandgt; wood? Why would he be lying on wet boards?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Jonah? Katherine?and#8221; The voice spoke again, sounding so tinny and distorted that Jonah could barely understand. Jonah wasnand#8217;t sure if the problem was his ears or the fact that the person was speaking to them from another time. and#8220;We tried. We really triedand#8230;.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;JB?and#8221; Jonah moaned.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Who else would it be?and#8221; the voice said.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Maybe and#8230; Second,and#8221; Jonahand#8217;s sister Katherine whimpered nearby. and#8220;Second was talking to us on the way here.and#8230;and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;andlt;Iandgt;Secondandlt;/Iandgt; was talking to you again?and#8221; JB asked, clearly alarmed. and#8220;Oh, noand#8230;.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Once upon a timeand#8212;well, once upon a time in the distant futureand#8212;Second had been JBand#8217;s most trusted employee. Theyand#8217;d worked together restoring history to its proper course after unethical time travelers had messed it up.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Then Second himself had decided to change the past.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Heand#8217;d sabotaged Jonah and Katherineand#8217;s trip to return andlt;a id="page_4"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;their friend Andrea to the year 1600and#8212;and to her original identity as Virginia Dare, the first English child born in North America.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Second had set up a reckless scheme to shift time from its intended pathand#8212;to improve it, he said. Heand#8217;d manipulated Andrea and Jonah and Katherine and their new friends Brendan and Antonio. Heand#8217;d risked their lives.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And heand#8217;d achieved everything heand#8217;d wanted to in 1600.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Heand#8217;d even managed to break down the barriers protecting time after 1600, so the results of his changes had rippled forward, changing everything along the way. Now all of timeand#8212;and history itselfand#8212;was in danger of collapsing, unless Jonah and Katherine could keep 1611 stable.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;No pressure,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah told himself. andlt;Iandgt;Nothing to worry about.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;It was too overwhelming to think about saving all of time, all of history, all of humanity from the year 1611 on. Jonah focused his thoughts a little more narrowly, on just one person:andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Andrea.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Second promised,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah thought. andlt;Iandgt;He promised if we fix 1611, we can rescue Andreaand#8230;.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Actually, it was a package deal. Second had promised that Jonah and Katherine could rescue Brendan and Antonio and JB as well. andlt;Iandgt;Allandlt;/Iandgt; of them were stuck in the past. And, sure, Jonah wanted each of his friends to be safe. But andlt;a id="page_5"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;it was Andrea he thought about the most: Andrea with her soft gray eyes, her gleaming brown hair, her stubborn hope that and#8230;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Katherine slugged Jonah in the arm.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Stop daydreaming about Andrea,and#8221; she said. and#8220;We donand#8217;t have time for that.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Sheesh, how did she know?andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah wondered. He stopped himself from looking again at the drawing of Andrea on the paper he was holding in his hand. The drawing was torn from a book that had dropped on him only moments after theyand#8217;d arrived in 1611, and it proved that Secondand#8217;s changes had arrived too. But it also proved that somewhere back in time Andrea was still okay.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah realized Katherine was waiting for an answer.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;I wasnand#8217;t daydrand#8212;,and#8221; Jonah started to protest, but Katherine interrupted.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Yeah, you were,and#8221; she said. and#8220;Youand#8217;re looking all lovesick and gloopy again.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;You mean, the way you look any time youand#8217;re around Chip?and#8221; Jonah taunted. He was trying to think of a better put-down, when something else struck him. He managed to raise himself slightly on trembling arms and turn his head toward his sister. and#8220;You can see my face already?and#8221; he asked. and#8220;Youand#8217;re getting over the timesickness that fast?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;He squinted but could see Katherine only as splashes andlt;a id="page_6"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;of color in the general fuzziness. Was that blur of yellow her hair? Pink, her T-shirt? Blue, her jeans?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;It seemed wrong, all those bright colors in the midst of the gray haze.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;We donand#8217;t belong here,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah thought, shivering. andlt;Iandgt;Katherine doesnand#8217;t. I donand#8217;t.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Which would make fixing 1611 even harder.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Iand#8212;,and#8221; Katherine began, but stopped, because JB was talking again.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;I see that we made even more mistakes than I thought,and#8221; JB said.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Now Jonah could tell where JBand#8217;s voice was coming from: a small metal box that had fallen between him and Katherine. It looked like some antique meant forand#8212;what? Jonah wondered. Holding a candle? Scooping flour?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;It didnand#8217;t matter. Jonah knew that the box was anything but antique, and that its appearance was completely fake. If it was transmitting JBand#8217;s voice, it was actually an Elucidator, a device from the future that could camouflage itself to fit any time period. In Jonahand#8217;s timeand#8212;the early twenty-first centuryand#8212;it always looked like an ordinary cell phone.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Having it look so primitive now probably meant that the technology in 1611 would be really, really lame. But Jonah was just glad to andlt;Iandgt;haveandlt;/Iandgt; an Elucidator. On their trip andlt;a id="page_7"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;to 1600, Second had made sure they lost it. Theyand#8217;d been entirely cut off.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;And exposed.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah managed to hold himself back from grabbing the Elucidator and clutching it like a little kid with a security blanket. But he did interrupt JB to ask, and#8220;Shouldnand#8217;t we set the Elucidator to make us invisible? Right away?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Invisibility was one of the Elucidatorand#8217;s best apps.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Um and#8230; no,and#8221; JB said nervously. and#8220;Not just yet.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;This was odd. Usually JB was all about being cautious, not taking chances. Staying hidden.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Listen,and#8221; JB said. and#8220;We donand#8217;t have much time. We really messed up.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;We andlt;Iandgt;knowandlt;/Iandgt;,and#8221; Katherine said. and#8220;We saw what happened in 1600.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah shivered again, practically trembling. This was odd tooand#8212;he didnand#8217;t remember shivering as a symptom of timesickness before.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Thatand#8217;s not what I mean,and#8221; JB said. and#8220;What we thought about time itselfand#8212;a lot of andlt;Iandgt;thatandlt;/Iandgt; was wrong. You have to understandand#8212;time travel was so young then. We were as confused as all those early European explorers in their Age of Discovery. All their crazy notions and#8230; Did you know they thought that in the summertime the North andlt;a id="page_8"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;Pole would be as hot as the equator, because of the constant sunshine?and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;So then someone went there, saw the glaciers, and figured out they were wrong,and#8221; Katherine said impatiently. and#8220;Just like you guys went back in time, figured out what it was like, andand#8212;and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;No.and#8221; JBand#8217;s voice was hard suddenly, almost angry. and#8220;We didnand#8217;t find out that quickly. Time travel is not like geography. There are so many complications. So many extra variables. Things that donand#8217;t show up until youand#8217;ve made mistake upon mistake upon mistake.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah realized that his vision was clearing. He could see past the Elucidator now, past Katherine. Beyond her a thin layer of ice shone dully on a weathered wood floor and a cluster of equally weathered-looking barrels. And beyond thatand#8212;Jonah squintedand#8212;was fog.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;So I still canand#8217;t see everything,andlt;/Iandgt; he thought. He snorted, because the salt water in the air was stinging his nostrils. andlt;Iandgt;No, waitand#8212;thatand#8217;sandlt;/Iandgt; real andlt;Iandgt;fog! Thatand#8217;s why I canand#8217;t see anything!andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;He sat all the way up, swaying only slightly. Now he could see the spot where the wooden floor met a wooden wall of sorts. But the wall rose up only about three or four feet. After thatand#8212;Jonah looked toward the gray, foggy skyand#8212;there was an intricate arrangement of ropes leading up to billows of dingy, tattered white cloth.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;a id="page_9"andgt;andlt;/aandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Sails,andlt;/Iandgt; Jonah thought. andlt;Iandgt;Rigging. Weand#8217;re on a ship.andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;The ropes also had a sheen of iciness. Icicles hung from the side of the ship.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Jonah finally understood why he couldnand#8217;t stop shivering: He was wearing only jeans and a T-shirt, and it was absolutely freezing here. The world around them seemed like the kind of place that never thawed.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;He gasped.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8220;Are you sending andlt;Iandgt;usandlt;/Iandgt; to the North Pole?and#8221; he asked.