“Leaving extradimensional travel,” the craft announced, as though it wasn’t obvious. The cabin heated as they rocketed through the atmosphere, melted air pouring over their boiled-egg skin. They strapped in, and Reg chewed on his lower lip while he flipped switches. Rosa glanced sideways at him but didn’t want to break his concentration.
They hurtled toward alien Earth, and there was the sun and the moon, and North America spread below them. The ride was smoother than Rosa expected. Maybe the advanced Earth had perfected shocks.
“Do you wish to reestablish communications?” the craft asked.
“No,” Reg said. “No, I sure don’t.”
They were lower now, able to pick out rivers and forests.
“Damn it, Reginald!” Reg muttered, shaking a toggle.
“Okay?” Rosa asked.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Reg?” Trevor said. “When you crashed one of these, it wasn’t on landing, was it?”
“Sure was,” Reg said. “But I keep telling you, it wasn’t one of these. It was a simpler model. And I didn’t have a chatterbox in the cabin.”
None of them said a word until they could see the IA facility spread out below them, and Reg aligned the vehicle with the runway.
“If they can’t already see us, they’re about to,” he said, and pulled back on the throttle and hit two switches overhead.
“Push the black button,” he said to Rosa, nodding toward a control in the middle. Rosa pushed it. “You just flew an alien spacecraft,” he said, which was an exaggeration, for sure, but still made her flush. She hoped they’d let her tell her dad about that.
Then they were hurtling like a plane down the runway, straight toward the IA Flight Control Room, just like the alien teams had done when they visited Earth. Of course, the aliens knew how to stop the craft.
“Engage brake!” Reg shouted as he shoved a lever down.
The craft braked hard and spun as it slowed, shedding the excess momentum in torque. It moved like a top down the runway, shot off the end, and dug a shallow trench in the ground between the launch area and the building. It came to rest fifty yards from the brick wall.
“Well,” Reg said, “that worked pretty well.”
Rosa unsnapped her belt and stood, wobbly from the carnival ride down the runway.
Eddie high-stepped away as Trevor’s vomit splashed over the seat and dripped, heavy, onto the floor. Eddie threw open the door and fled the vomit. Reg and Rosa jumped down after him. Trevor grabbed the case of bacteria and hopped out last.
“They’ll think it’s their own teams returning,” Reg said. “We should have a minute before they scramble after us.”
Eddie took off running toward the building.
“You crazy?” Trevor shouted, but he followed.
“We’ve got to go on the assumption that we’re trainees here,” Eddie called over his shoulder. “It’s our best bet.”
“Where would we be, Reg?” Rosa said.
They passed a woman carrying some folders. She smiled at them and moved out of the way. She didn’t understand yet—but Rosa bet the people in the Flight Control Room were starting to process it.
Reg caught Eddie and pointed around the corner. “Kirkwood Hall,” he said. “If those guys hadn’t shown up today, I’d have had you working on symmetry problems. Room 319.”
That’s where they’d been before, where they’d talked about the Gordian knot.
“I always thought aliens would be little green men,” Trevor said. “But we’re not.”
Rosa looked at him as they dashed through the door. We are aliens to this world. “You were green a minute ago,” she said.
“Ha,” Trevor said. “Good point. But I have nary a tentacle.”
“Speak for yourself,” Eddie said. “My tentacle is just fine.”
“Seriously?” Rosa said. “Now?”
“It’s always time to defend Edward the Great.”
“Oh my god,” she said.
Reg pulled them aside in the third-floor stairwell so they could catch their breath. “Hope this is a good idea.”
They were quiet for a moment, hearts slamming in their chests, wondering if someone was already pounding down the steps from the Flight Control Room.
“How much do you trust yourself?” Rosa said. “That’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Reg said. They looked at each other, silent, then he said, “Let’s go find ourselves.”
They walked down the hall, quickly and quietly, Reg in the lead. Rosa wasn’t sure if she was more scared that they wouldn’t be in Room 319 or that they would be. Reg grasped the doorknob, inhaled, then pushed the door all the way open, and they stepped inside.
In the room, another Reg looked over from the marker board, his hand suspended in midair, half a problem written on the board. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then he adjusted. Eddie2 had already scraped his chair back and was standing, his elbows tilted out at his sides. Trevor2 had taken a step backward. Rosa registered all of it, but she was staring at a small girl with her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. The girl looked up at them, then calmly smoothed her skirt and stood.
“What the hell?” Reg2 said, slowly capping his marker with a click.
Eddie stepped forward and tilted his head at his counterpart. “Nice ass,” he said.
“Yeah, you, too,” their Eddie said. “I mean, I knew it was good. I just didn’t realize it was that good.”
“Welcome,” Rosa2 said. “What an unexpected pleasure.” She laid down her pencil and walked over to them, stopping a couple of feet away.
“Don’t touch it!” Trevor2 said.
“It?” both Rosas said, each of them raising an eyebrow. Eddie smirked. Rosa2 extended a hand and Rosa looked her in the eye and shook. She had no idea what to say, but figured that meant Rosa2 didn’t, either, so she’d understand. Finally she said, “It’s very nice to meet you.” Rosa2 smiled.
“I’m wearing makeup,” Trevor said. “Why am I wearing makeup?”
It was true. Trevor2 had on smudgy black eyeliner, and it looked kind of good on him.
“We’re going to need some kind of explanation,” Reg2 said.
“Roger that,” Reg said. “But I suspect Flight Control is after us by now, and I’d like to move to a secure location.”
“Why is Flight Control after you?” Reg2 said, lifting his chin.
“They tried to release a killer bacteria on our world. We’re returning it to yours.” Trevor raised the case, and Reg2’s eyes widened.
“You armed?” They shook their heads. He hesitated. “Yeah, come on.”
He led them back into the hallway and down the stairs to the back door. They trotted along with him. They knew the building.
“You’re from another world?” Rosa2 asked.
“Yeah. It looks just like this,” Rosa said.
She nodded, taking that in.
“I should probably be turning you in,” Reg2 said. “Don’t know why I’m not.”
“Yeah you do,” Reg said. “We have the bacteria. Besides, you know if I’d do this, you would, too.”
“I know no such thing,” Reg2 said sharply. “I don’t even know if you’re human.”
Eddie pulled out his pocketknife, flicked out a small blade, held Reg2’s eye, and stabbed the tip into his own forearm. Blood gushed out and he held his arm away from his body.
“That could get infected,” Trevor said at the same time Trevor2 said, “That is so unsanitary!”
“You’re leaving a trail,” Rosa said, nodding to the floor.
“Crap.” Eddie felt in his pocket, then pulled his shirt off and wrapped it around his forearm.
“It’ll clot soon,” Rosa2 said to Rosa. “It wasn’t deep.” Rosa nodded.
“I’m willing to believe you’re human,” Reg2 said. “Also stupid.”
Eddie grinned. “That sounds like Reg.” Both Regs scowled at him.
They exited Kirkwood Hall and hesitated. “We should get off campus,” Reg said. “They’ll look for us here.”
“I’ve got a car …,” Reg2 said.
“Yeah, but we park by the command building,” Reg said. “We don’t want to go that direction.”
“This is not comfortable.”
“I’m parked near the gate,” Eddie2 said.
Eddie’s head snapped up and he stared at the guy. He opened his mouth, but Reg2 said, “Tell me about the bacteria before I take you off this base.”
They followed Eddie2 toward the parking lot inside the main gate, on the opposite end of the compound from the launch pad. He had a set of keys in his hand, and they jingled as they jogged.
“Your Teams 1 and 2 showed up on our planet, after sending out deceptive signals to draw our teams away,” said Reg. “They had orders to release a bacteria that causes a mutation in the food supply. It would kill almost everyone.”
“I heard about that bacteria,” Reg2 said, “but it’s supposed to be antifamine research. Who gave the order to release it on a populated world?”
“Lamar Sensenbrenner,” Rosa said. “Your director.”
Reg2 was silent. His mouth twisted, as though Sensenbrenner’s name tasted sour.
Eddie2 buzzed open a red pickup and climbed behind the wheel. The Regs slid in beside him, and the rest of them clambered into the bed. Eddie2 started the ignition, backed out, and stopped. A moment later Reg got into the back.
“Too many Reginald Davises for the guard booth,” he said by way of explanation.
The Trevors unrolled a tarp and they all lay under it as Eddie2 pulled through the guard booth and out onto the road. Had he ever walked down it swinging a bottle in a brown paper bag? Had Rosa2 tried to figure out what to do about it? They stayed down until the window on the cab slid open and Reg2’s voice said, “You can come up now.” The truck stopped long enough for Reg to climb back up front so he could confer with himself.
Rosa was starting to fix her ponytail when the other Rosa smiled a little shyly and said, “Here, let me.” Rosa handed her the elastic. “Do you want a French braid?” asked Rosa2.
“Sure,” Rosa said, then, “You’re better than a mirror.” Rosa2 smoothed Rosa’s hair, gentle hands moving over her scalp. Rosa’s own hands.
“This is deeply strange,” Rosa said.
“Are we the same person?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Do you have a scar on your right knee?”
“No,” Rosa said, twisting to look at her. “But I have one on my left knee.” Rosa2 snapped the elastic into place and leaned back against the side of the truck bed.
Across from them, Trevor kept sneaking sideways glances at Makeup Trevor. Rosa caught Rosa2’s eye and jerked her head, and Rosa2 suppressed a smile. She seemed … nice. Like someone who could be a friend. This was the craziest thing ever, Rosa thought—she wanted to make friends with herself.
Eddie pulled his T-shirt off his arm and inspected the small wound where he’d stabbed himself.
“Is your Eddie crazy?” Rosa asked.
“Oh yeah,” she said.
He scooted up to the cab window and rapped on it to get the other Eddie’s attention, then slid the bloody shirt back over his head.
“That’s disgusting,” the Trevors said together, then looked at each other with surprise.
“So how’d you get wheels?” Eddie called through the window.
“I got the truck when I was coming out here, for the tryouts. Seemed like I needed one.”
“Okay,” Reg2 called back. “We’ve decided to hide out for a little bit while we make a plan, and I decide if I really believe all this.”
“Believe it,” Trevor said.
“We’re going to hole up in Oolitic,” Reg said.
Eddie2 grinned into the rearview mirror. “You guys haven’t lived till you’ve tasted my grandma’s biscuits.”
“Oh,” Rosa whispered. “I think we just found another difference between our worlds.”
Eddie looked like he’d been slapped. “Wait,” he said. “What?”