Chapter 22: A Story Complete

Sven knelt down beside Violet.

“Vi, you know that was one brave cat. She…” Violet glared at him through the tears. Sven looked down and picked at the sleeve of his filthy lab coat.

“Sven, how could you? Junior Mint meant the world to me…” Violet began crying again.
“Whoa! Hold on there a minute Vi, throwing your overweight fuzball over the collider wasn’t my idea! You seem to be forgetting that I have spent my entire career fine tuning this,” Sven gestured toward the collider “and that I have not only lost my job, but I have inhibited the progress of science!” Violet jerked her head up again. He was turning rather red in the face.

“What did you say?” her eyes were growing wider.

Sven thought it touching that she was so upset about his unemployment. “Did you really think I could keep my job after causing a billion dollars worth of damage?”
“Not that! What were you saying about Junior Mint?” Violet had locked eyes with her brother and wasn’t even blinking.

“Seriously Vi?” Sven looked incredulous. “After all we’ve been through do you think I’d do something like that to you on my own?” He sighed “she told Billy that she wanted to be the ‘monkey wrench’” Violet gasped. “I told Him you’d hate me if I hurt her, but he said you’d understand…”

“Oh Sven, did she really say that?” Violet looked more like a proud mother than a broken hearted cat owner. Sven nodded. She threw her arms around Sven again
“She was so brave!” Violet murmured. Sven patted her back, hoping she would finish with all this emotion soon. After all, they had already hugged once that day. Finally he worked up his nerve, “How about we go look for her? She might be waiting inside.”

“Do you really think so?” Violet looked hopeful again. “I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t be, it’s not like there were any portals left,” Sven winked at Violet “and if there were, we could always send Billy after her.” Violet laughed, “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

Sven and Violet began walking around the collider to the main entrance. Sven was muttering about the collider and Violet’s eyes darted everywhere looking for traces of her beloved feline. Both siblings had forgotten their friends.



Dr. Vanderslice was frantically writing on the back of his Red Lobster receipt as Junior Mint looked on and Sylvia sat smoking next to Billy. Of the four friends, the casual observer would have only seen two; Billy and Junior Mint had nearly faded away.
“Okay,” Dr. Vanderslice stuck his pen behind his ear and twirled his moustache. “I think I’ve got this. Now you two run on into that Collider.”
Sylvia looked up at Dr. Vanderslice, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke. “Do you really think you can do this Dr.?” Dr. Vanderslice glanced at the hazy figures flitting across the grass and into the collider then rose to follow them. “I don’t have a choice.” Sylvia sat alone on the curb. She pinched the filter off her cigarette and took a long drag, “Well, it looks like I don’t have one either. I was so hoping to find a rich man.”



“Hey Violet, guess what I just did?” Sylvia rested her elbows on the checkout counter and grinned.

Violet barely looked up from the book she was rebinding, “What now?”
Sylvia put her hands on her hips and her chin held high, “I see how it’s going to be ‘Miss My-Cat-Saved-the-World- and- I-Helped’ now that you’ve seen the future you think you can just ignore me.” Sylvia pretended to walk away.

“Come on now Sylvia, you know I didn’t mean it that way. That blasted doppelganger screwed so much up. This is the fifth book I’ve had to rebind because she decided just to give patrons only the chapters they needed.” Violet shook her head in frustration.

Sylvia stifled a laugh when she thought of the patron’s faces when they thought Violet Mahoney had just cut a book. Violet looked suspiciously at Sylvia, “You know I’m still not convinced you tried to stop her!”

Sylvia put her hands on her chest and looked horrified, “who, me?” Violet rolled her eyes and Sylvia continued, “So do you want to hear my good news or not?”

“Of course, what is it?” Violet hoped Sylvia wasn’t about to tell her something about one of the workers that she didn’t want to know.

Sylvia straightened her back like a contestant for Miss America, “I have now shifted every damn book in this library.” Violet dropped the book. “Seriously?”

“Every last book.” Sylvia glowed with pride.

“Sylvia, that is amazing! How did you- well I mean, thank you.” Violet hadn’t thought Sylvia would’ve worked while she was away, but the world is full of surprises.

A man in dusty coveralls came up to the desk. “Excuse me, Miss Mahoney?”Sylvia shot a glance at Violet and mouthed “too dirty.”

Violet stood “yes?”

“I just wanted to let you know we are finished with the renovations and you can start moving your books back in the morning.”

“Thank you!” Violet’s eyes light up as the man walked away. She turned to Sylvia, “Do you know what this means?”

“Yes,” Sylvia was visibly depressed, “That I have to shift ALL those again. I think I need a smoke break.”

“No!” Violet grabbed Sylvia’s arm so she couldn’t walk away.

“What the –” Sylvia looked at Violet like she was crazy.

“I mean this means we are going to Red Lobster tonight to celebrate! And in the morning I will move that Young Adult fiction section again.” Sylvia gaped at Violet for a minute. “I’ll go call Sven and Dr. Vanderslice so they can meet us there.” Violet walked back to the phone and Sylvia walked in a daze to the door.




Sylvia and Violet arrived at Red Lobster before the two men. Sylvia had found a lawyer who was serious about her. She tried not to look at the waiters. Their waiter came and Sylvia asked for something fruity and alcoholic.
The waiter fixed his steely eyes on Violet, “and what can I get for you?”

Violet could hardly tear her eyes away from his. “A margarita. That is unless you can suggest something better…” She glanced at his name tag and gasped, “Billy?”
The waiter laughed, “It’s a common name you know.” Violet laughed but felt her ears turning red.
“Hey, what about me? I’m here too” Sven had come in while Violet was ogling the waiter. “Forgive my foolish sister, she doesn’t get out much. Ah, I want a glass of wine.” Violet kicked his shin, “it’s good to see you too, Vi!”

“Sven, Violet, Sylvia it’s so good to see you all!” A young woman came in with Dr. Vanderslice. She was leaning on his arm and had an engagement ring on her hand. They sat down with Sylvia and the Mahoney’s and began perusing the menu.

“Ah, Sven I nearly forgot to tell you, they have decided to call the boson ‘the Mahoney-Boson’ in honor of your discovery.”

Sven smiled, “really? Why that’s amazing, especially since all my time is spent keeping them from restarting that collider!”

“I’m so proud of you Sven, you’ve really made you mark for science,” Violet grinned. “I knew you’d find a way to keep that job!”

A different waiter came with their cheesy biscuits. Violet knew she’d been too forward. Billy returned to take their order though and Violet chose the Admiral’s Feast.
“Very daring of you Vi” Sven laughed when the waiter left.


In the parking lot Violet found a number scribbled on the back of her receipt. Sylvia peered over her shoulder “Oh la la! Violet got a number!”

“Violet, I think for your safety’s sake you should let me have that telephone number” Sven said with mock concern. When Violet shook her head he reached to snatch it from her hand.

Violet stopped laughing, “I think I hear something.” She looked across the lot and saw movement in one of the shrubs. She ran forward and Sven followed close behind. When they were a few feet away Violet screamed. An animal had emerged from the bushes. It was ragged and rather thin but Violet knew at once, “Junior Mint!”

The young woman on Dr. Vanderslice’s arm looked up inquisitively, “But I’ve been here all along.” Dr.Vanderslice smiled and began explaining.

Violet had taken the frazzled and dirty cat into her arms and was crying again.
“I told you there was no reason for her to go through a portal,” Sven said. But Violet didn’t hear him over her kitty’s roaring purr.

They walked back to their cars, Sylvia blowing streams of smoke, Dr. Vanderslice with his fiancé, Sven laughing at his sister, and Violet with Junior Mint on her shoulder.

From the window of Red Lobster Billy was the only one who noticed the faint purple glow around the cat.

Chatper 4: Walks Along the Sand

"Sven I'm stopping to empty my shoes, half the beach is in them." Sven didn't slow down as he replied, "Seriously Violet, half the beach?" Violet was beginning to regret wearing her slip on grasshoppers to work, but she really could imagine piles of sound pouring out of them like a cartoon. “Yes, Sven, and if I don’t empty them you can enjoy scientific research on blisters worthy of the Guinness book!” Sven began to retort, but something in the sand caught his attention and he went forward to investigate. Violet balanced on one foot as she emptied her shoe. Sand poured out in a steady stream. It wasn't quite the piles she had expected, but it was still a lot. When both shoes were emptied she glanced back at Sven. He was still darting around like an excited puppy. She could her clips of his mumbled exclamations "This is amazing!...growing in the sand!....unbelievable!...." Listening to him she couldn't help smiling, his childish enthusiasm did have its charm.

Their parents had taken them to the beach like this (minus the giant wave of course) when they were kids. Sven had told her the pH level of the water and she had told him about literary figures bewitched by the sea. He ran about with that same excited glow in his eyes, except back then they both ran about with that glow. Once they had found a giant jelly fish washed ashore. Sven said it was still alive and he wanted to take it home as a pet, but Violet had put it back in water. It stung her arms when she lifted it. Her parent's had scolded her: "Its just a dumb jelly fish it doesn't care about life. And besides now it will sting someone else instead of dying in the sand like it should." Sven had been hurt that she let it go. "I would have taken good care of it Vi, it would have been safer than in the ocean," Sven had actually cried after he said that. Violet looked across the sand at her grown brother and wondered if he would find some creature here that he would want to bring home to study.

The scent of burning sugar returned. Violet looked back just in time to see the dim green swirls of a vortex opening in the direction of the city. "The patrol" she gasped and ran towards Sven. Running on sand was hard, much harder than she remembered. When Violet reached Sven each breath seemed to rattle her insides. She grabbed his shoulder and pointed down the beach toward the opening vortex. "Yes Violet, that is the way we came and no I don't think the beach looks fuller since you emptied your shoes," he said barely glancing up from something in the sand. Violet glared at him and between heaving breaths manged to say "vortex" and "patrol." Sven jumped up and looked down the beach. The swirling green portal was fading and Sven smiled. "Ooh, so you think er should use that to run away from the patrol," he laughed at the idea. For the first time since she began running Violet looked back. It was true, the portal had not opened for an angry patrol, but for a rusty pickup truck instead. Violet blushed then hurriedly said "lets just keep moving." "Fine by me, you're the one who wanted to stop," Sven said as he pocketed the object he had been ogling. "Well, you didn't seem too upset about the chance to document new species 'for science!' "Violet snapped back. Punching Sven really seemed like a good idea at the moment, so she began walking again.

She walked fast and didn't look back. Not that she needed to because she could here Sven get up and begin following her. Violet glanced around her thinking, "this new wonderland might be a pretty nice place if Sven and I could just get along." But as that seemed about as likely as getting back to the library to help Sylvia shift books, walking in silence was nice too. She could hear the water gently lapping at the sand, though she couldn't see it moving. All manner of noises came from the forests. It was like walking in the Sahara next to a rain forest. (Not that Violet had been to either place, but it was certainly the way she imagined them from her books and movies.)

Screeching, chirping, cooing, chattering all distracted her so that she didn't notice the great wave seemed to be closer. Then there was a noise she knew very well but just couldn't place. It came again, a deep rumbling roll, and Violet realized it was her stomach growling. "It must be getting late" she thought and looked down at her watch. It was time to feed Junior Mint and put in her foreign film for the day, she had just gotten an Aishwarya Rai film. It looked amazing, something about thieves , not that it matter now though, she'd never get to see it. "I hope Sylvia thinks to feed Jr. for me, I've never left her before," Violet said aloud, forgetting that Sven was with her."Come on Violet, its a cat. It can find something to eat in and apartment building," Sven rolled his eyes. "Yeah but --" Violet began to express her doubts but decided she liked silence better. Walking in silence, Violet had time to realize that she too was hungry. "I wonder what sort of food they eat here. Do the trees produce fruit?" With a quick glance to her left Violet did see that the trees had bright shapes hanging from them. On a tree near the border she saw what looked like kiwano melon and dragon fruit dangling in clusters from the root-like branches. It looked so perfectly lush. Violet remembered a poem she had read once read, about a story she'd never read, "Perfect and Poisonous," the world had looked great there too. She bit her lower lip, perhaps the man in the clearing would have food for them.

Sven suddenly stopped and grabbed Violet's shoulder. "What is it now?" she began, but he motioned for her to be silent. She hadn't been paying attention to her surrounds and now it seemed different. Everything had gone silent, all the creatures in the woods had shut up and even Violet's stomach was respecting Sven's command.Then she heard it too: voices. They both turned expecting to see people further back on the sand. Then Violet saw what she had feared since entering this wonderland, the tidal wave was coming in. A few waves were already washing up high onto the sand. When the water receded each time it brought back parts of humans hands, arms, legs Violet had to look away. But she couldn't advert her eyes for long. When she looked back she noticed that the waves were not effecting the objects, her mailbox and Sylvia's bench looked as if the water had never come near them. The tidal wave was closer and she and Sven just stared. Then she saw one of the smaller waves come back with a living person. The person was struggling to escape like a fish trying to flip back into the water. Violet started forward but stopped suddenly, "Sven, is- I mean could this be the patrol?"

Sven just started at the waves coming in. "Sven, we are going into that forest right now," Violet grabbed his hand and began running. The waves seemed to be following at their heels, but Violet knew better than to look back. The wet sand stuck to their legs and the water weighed down their shoes as if the beach desired to keep them out of the forest. Violet's legs began to ache, but she just knew that wave was the patrol. The scent of burning sugar cookies was overwhelming now as Violet and Sven reached the forest. "Sven, if I ever get home I'm never eating another sugar cookie" Violet panted. They took a few steps into the forest and sat down for a moment. Violet looked back at the beach and saw the tidal wave come rushing in closer and closer. "Billy said to go to the forest, we'll be safe here right?" Violet had her eyes on the approaching wave as she spoke. "I thought you were the one listening" Sven retorted. Then they were buried under the wave.

Violet listened to the gurgling water in her ears and remembered Billy's words"lose them in the forest." She opened her eyes to the blurry world, there was Sven next to her a tree beside them. She could cling to it, yes that was the answer. Sven had opened his eyes too and had a funny look on his face "The fool is probably trying to breath in the water for the sake of science" Violet thought. She motioned him toward the tree and they began to climb up the trunk. Violet's chest felt tight and her ears popped, she needed to breath again. Just a little further and they'd be above the water and in the oxygen filled canopy above. Was this the way the jellyfish had felt in the sand? The waters began to move. Violet felt like she was caught in a giant rip tide, one that would take her into the hands of an unknown people. What would she do if it carried her away? She closed her eyes and clung tighter to the tree.