Page 17 of The Otherworld

“Okay, let me get this straight,” he says. “You live in this lighthouse on this uninhabited island, and you have no clue where you are in relation to the rest of the San Juan Islands.”

“I do know where we are. It’s just I don’t have exact coordinates at the moment.”

“Whatever. I don’t even care about that right now. I just need to know if you found any evidence of a person. Footprints or anything like that?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Anything at all. THINK!”

“No!” I snap, my face growing hot. “I didn’t find anything except the sack.”

“Well, you have to look for him. You have to search the island—you have to find him. He’s alive. I know he is! Everyone thinks he’s dead. The coast guard quit the search, and my parents are giving up. They think he’s dead, but he’s not, he’s not—”

“Okay, calm down,” I tell him, my heart pounding faster. “If your brother is here, I can find him. I know this island like the back of my hand.”

“When can you start looking? Now?”

“Uh… it’s getting kind of dark,” I say, pointing out the obvious. “But I suppose if I told Papa, we could search with flashlights—”

“No. Don’t tell your father. Don’t tell anyone. Nobody can know that I asked you to look. They think he’s gone, and that I’m just going crazy and won’t accept it. Your father won’t let you search the island, and then Adam really will die, and—”

“All right,” I cut in, “I won’t say a word. It’s probably better that way. Papa’s leaving for the mainland tomorrow, and he’ll be gone for a few days. I can search the island while he’s gone, and he won’t be here to stop me.”

Superman doesn’t reply. I hear him gasping for breath on the other side of the phone like he’s halfway to a breakdown.

“It’s okay,” I try to comfort him, though my voice is unsteady. “If Adam is here, I promise I’ll find him. I’ll start looking as soon as Papa leaves in the morning, all right?”

“All right… Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“What did you say your name was?”

“Orca.”

“Like the whale?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s just… uh… unusual.”

“Not as unusual as Superman.”

He breathes a sad little laugh. “My name’s not Superman. That’s just what Adam calls me. I’m really Jack. Jack Stevenson.”

A little glow warms up my heart. “It’s nice to meet you, Jack.” I can’t help but smile. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that. You’re the first person I’ve ever spoken to… from the Otherworld.”

Jack falls silent for a long moment before saying, “You’re shitting me.”

4

A World Without Video Games

JACK

This is by far the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had, and it’s only getting weirder by the second. The girl with Adam’s phone is talking to me like I’m an alien from another planet—but really, it’s the other way around. She’s the one from another world.

“So let me get this straight,” I begin slowly. “You’re telling me that you’ve never… met another person in your life?”

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