Fair Coin (22 page)

Nathan looked at him. “We'd have to get rid of him,” he said.

“How do you mean?” Ephraim said.

“That's the deal, Eph. The way I see it, you have two options. You can try to talk to him, convince him to take the coin and leave this universe with me. Then you can step in and enjoy the fruits of his labor with Jena. It looks like he's already gotten farther than you ever did. But hopefully not too far yet, eh? Maybe you can learn something.”

So here was Nate's test of loyalty, sooner than he'd thought it would come. Ephraim was tempted—he could just pass the responsibility to someone else. It would be easy to tell himself that it wasn't his problem, but he didn't believe that anymore. There was no distinction between
him
and
them.
All the Ephraims in all the universes, good and bad, were him. But he was the only one with the coin.

“And the other option?” Ephraim asked. He already knew what it would be.

“We could just kill him and you could reclaim your rightful place here. With her.” He cracked his knuckles. “It might be kind of fun; I've never killed an Ephraim before.” He cocked his head. “Directly. It's nothing personal. My grudge isn't with you, you know.”

Ephraim leaned forward and stared at the other Ephraim. “The coin swapped us before. Couldn't we do that again?”

“That's not how this works,” Nate said. “I need a partner. I'd rather it be you, honestly. I don't want to have to go through this all over again.” He licked his lips. “You know, if you really prefer this universe, I could also replace this universe's Nathan so we could both live here. This place has a lot going for it compared to mine. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the wormhole.”

Ephraim remembered the first time he'd met the Nathan of his home universe, when he boldly challenged the bullies harassing him—drawing their attention and taking a bad beating in his place. They'd been inseparable since. Ephraim couldn't let Nate hurt his best friend. Some habits were hard to break. There'd be nothing to stop him if Ephraim decided to stay here after all; that would just give Nate a fresh universe to play with.

Ephraim picked up the controller. Nate didn't seem to care. He flipped it open, but there wasn't the tiniest flicker of activity from it. What he'd been told about the biometric security feature was true—it was useless to him without Nate.

What if Ephraim just destroyed the controller? Keep Nate here so he couldn't get back to his own universe to take revenge on Zoe. Of course, there would be the little problem of a second Ephraim—he wouldn't be able to go back to his life while another version of himself was around. There'd also be two Nathans in this universe, one of them armed and deranged.

“What do you think, Eph?” Nate asked. “No pressure.” Despite his light tone, Ephraim was aware that Nate's hands were now in his pockets, and that one of those pockets held his gun.

He had no choice but to keep playing along, and stick close to Nate until he could make his move, whatever it might be. There had to be a way to get to him, something he was overlooking.

Ephraim closed the controller. Remembering Nathaniel, he was suddenly struck by an idea. What Nate really wanted was total control over the coin. He needed an Ephraim around to activate it for him, but what if he thought he didn't need a partner after all? His desire to be in charge could be the best way to get to him.

“What if there's another option?” Ephraim asked.

“Like what?” Nate asked suspiciously.

“Hear me out. I was wondering if there might be a universe out there where you can use the coin instead of me?” Ephraim said. “Say there's another universe with a coin and a controller, but our roles are reversed?” Just imagining it filled Ephraim with dread. He hoped there was no such place, but he needed Nate to believe there could be.

“I don't know. You think that's possible?” Nate looked intrigued, though. Ephraim could practically see the wheels turning. Nate pulled his hands from his pockets.

“In an infinity of universes, isn't anything possible?” Ephraim asked.

“I should have thought of that before,” Nate said. “If we could find a universe like that, sure. We could part ways, if that's what you want.”

Ephraim realized he'd made a mistake. Nate seemed so taken with the concept, he might want to look for that universe right away. Ephraim assumed such a universe didn't exist. The coin seemed unique so far, but if he was wrong and Nate got one of his own, there'd be no way of stopping him from spreading his hate and anger throughout the multiverse.

Ephraim needed more time to work on his plan, and he would definitely need some help to pull it off. In the meantime, he had to convince Nate that he didn't want to give up the coin and access to all those universes after all. That shouldn't be too hard for Nate to buy, considering how attached he'd become to his travels.

Ephraim pursed his lips. “Did you mean what you said before? That you like partnering with me?”

Nate look surprised, but he covered for it quickly. “Well, yeah. I feel like we're starting to get each other. It's kind of like having my best friend back.” He lowered his eyes. That might have been the first completely honest thing Ephraim had heard Nate say.

For all his bravado, maybe Nate just missed Ephraim, the way Ephraim had when he thought he'd lost Nathan. Being betrayed by your partner had to hurt, and with all of Nate's anger and frustration, it was easy to see how that might turn to hate. Nate had spent his whole life being mocked and kicked around, it made sense for him to snatch at power wherever he could. Nate wasn't a good guy by any stretch of the imagination, but Ephraim thought he was beginning to understand him.

“Me too,” Ephraim said. “These last few days have been good. It's not just the coin.” He swallowed. “It's hanging out with you. I don't like a lot of what you've done, but we can work on that.” He smiled.

Nate's eyes widened. “Really?” he said.

Ephraim handed him the controller. “I've made up my mind. I want to continue working with you, and working on our friendship. I don't think I belong here anymore. I can't give up all those other universes.” Ephraim pulled out the coin. “I can't give this up again. I tried to once…. You were right—it's the only thing I have going for me.”

Ephraim thought regurgitating Nate's words back to him—telling him what he wanted to hear—might make his lies sound more like the truth.

“Are you sure?” Nate asked. He frowned, betraying skepticism, and maybe disappointment. He flipped the controller open with a flick of his wrist, training his eyes on Ephraim the whole time.

“I'm sure,” Ephraim said.

“What about Jena?” Nate said.

Ephraim looked past Nate to the Jena on the library stairs. She seemed happy, there with her Ephraim. “There are more of her out there,” Ephraim said. “Besides, I sort of have a thing for Zoe.” As soon as he said it, he was disturbed to realize it was actually true. Nate bought it.

Nate started typing with his thumbs on the keypad, like he was texting someone. “Then I'm deleting the coordinates of this universe from the controller,” he said. “If you want to do this, there's no going back, Eph. The odds of us finding exactly this one again randomly…well. I've never been very good with math, but it's a long shot. Are you really okay with that?”

Was Nate bluffing him? He hoped so. If he was wrong, Ephraim might never see this universe again. Could he make that sacrifice?

It was worth it if he could shut Nate down, once and for all. And what better way to prove that he was being genuine?

“Go ahead,” Ephraim said.

The controller beeped three times, and he saw the ten-digit string of numbers disappear from the screen. He suddenly felt faint. It was too late to change his mind now. He just had to hope his plan would work, that all of this wouldn't be for nothing.

“Good man,” Nate said. “Let's go home.”

Ephraim slotted the coin into the controller and took one final look at his home universe before it disappeared forever.

“You did the right thing. You know that,” Zoe said.

“That doesn't make me feel any better.” Ephraim said as he leaned back against the dusty bookshelf. They were sitting in the first-floor stacks of the shuttered Summerside Public Library. The building was closed and many of the books were gone, but Zoe still had the keys, and it seemed like a perfect place to meet. It was the last place Nate would look for them.

Zoe sat across from him, an electric lantern between them. Sitting here with her in the dark made him think about those stories of couples fooling around in the library stacks.

“So when will you tell me what your big plan is?” Zoe asked. “You seem pretty excited about it.”

“I want to wait for the others to get here, so I don't have to repeat it all.” He grinned. “Besides, it's more fun to keep you in the dark.”

“Ha ha.” She flicked the switch on the lantern, and they were plunged into darkness. “See how you like it.”

“Hey!” He waited for his eyes to adjust, but the windowless room stayed black.

“Come on, Zoe. Turn the light back on.”

“I didn't know you were afraid of the dark,” she said.

“Yes, you did. Your Ephraim was probably afraid too. Unfair advantage.”

“Did you also have a little nightlight to help you sleep?” Zoe said. Her voice sounded closer.

“Not since I was six,” he lied.

“Ephraim always wanted to keep the lights on, when we…” Her voice was definitely closer.

“What are you up to?” Ephraim asked.

Zoe giggled, and he felt warm breath on his cheek.

He heard a shuffling noise a few aisles down.

“What was that?” he said. He turned his head but still couldn't see.

“Never mind,” she whispered by his ear. “It's probably just a rat.”

“A rat!” he said.

Suddenly a bright light shined on both of them.

“Guys! Get a room,” a girl's voice said.

Ephraim squinted in the glare of the flashlight and shielded his eyes with a hand.

Zoe pecked him on the cheek.

“Got ya. That's what you get for teasing me,” she said.

“It's hardly the same thing,” he said.

Zoe turned on the lantern on the floor. At first he thought it was Mary, but she would never wear a skirt that short and snug.

“What're
you
doing here?” Ephraim said. Just like that, their whole plan was ruined before it had even started. If Shelley was here, Nate knew they were up to something. He might even be skulking in the stacks.

“What's your problem?” Shelley said. “Zoe said you wanted my help.”

“I'm just a little paranoid because your boyfriend wants to kill me.”

“He's not my boyfriend anymore. He just doesn't know it yet.” Shelley sighed. “Look, I don't know what's going on. But if you don't want my help, I'll just go.”

Ephraim whispered to Zoe. “I asked you to call Mary,” he said.

Zoe pushed her hair back, leaving a smudge of dust across her forehead.

“I did.”

“Believe it or not, I can tell the difference between them,” he said.

“Them? Ephraim, this is Mary Shelley Morales,” Zoe said.

Ephraim frowned. “Mary Shelley's one person? Her?”

“Yes.
Her,”
Mary Shelley said. “It turns out sound travels pretty well in a library. Maybe that's why librarians are always shushing people.”

“You don't have a twin sister?” he asked her.

“Nope. It's just me and myself,” Mary Shelley replied.

“In my universe, you're identical twins. Named Mary and Shelley.” Ephraim stared at the girl standing between them.

Mary Shelley pointed her flashlight down at her feet. “I always wanted a sister,” she said. “But it would be weird to have one who looks just like me.”

Nathaniel spoke from behind her. “Wait. It gets weirder.”

Mary Shelley jumped and screamed. Zoe spun, swinging her lantern around like a weapon. Nathaniel stepped back. He held a glow stick in one fist, like a tiny Jedi lightsaber, its green light feeble in the light from the lantern.

“Who the hell are you?” Mary Shelley demanded.

Nathaniel grinned. His face had a greenish tint from the glow stick. He did look a little frightening. “It's good to see you too, M.S.,” Nathaniel said.

She squinted at him. “Do I know you?”

Ephraim stood up and brushed dirt off the back of his shorts. “It's all right. He's a friend. His name is Nathaniel.”

“Nathaniel?” Mary Shelley asked. “I bet that isn't just an odd coincidence.”

“He's one of Nate's analogs, an older version of him from a parallel universe,” Ephraim said. He was surprised at how normal those words sounded to him now.

Mary Shelley shined her light in his face. “There's a resemblance, I'll admit,” she said.

Ephraim nodded to Nathaniel. “Thanks for coming. You know Mary Shelley, I guess,” Ephraim said.

“Just one of her in my universe too,” Nathaniel said wistfully. “I haven't seen her since high school.”

“And this is Zoe Kim,” Ephraim said. He indicated her with his flashlight.

“Zoe.” Nathaniel stared at her intently. “Nice to meet you.”

Zoe put a hand on Ephraim's arm. “Now that we're all here, time you told us your plan, isn't it?”

Ephraim sat and gestured that they should gather around him on the floor. Mary Shelley had some difficulty with that, given her miniskirt. He looked away politely as she arranged her legs the best she could. Zoe grinned at his discomfort.

“I think we all agree that Nate needs to be stopped,” Ephraim said. Each of them nodded in agreement. “I think he'll pretty much do whatever it takes to control the coin. He's already done terrible things and I don't see him changing anytime soon.”

“He's gotten worse,” Mary Shelley said. “A lot worse.”

“My Ephraim had been worried about him for a while,” Zoe said. “That's one of the reasons he finally decided to escape. It stopped being a game with Nate.”

Ephraim drew a circle in the dust next to his knee. “But without an Ephraim analog to use the coin, Nate is essentially powerless.”

Mary Shelley flicked her flashlight beam on and off nervously. “Nate was ripping pissed that he couldn't use the coin.” She pursed her lips. “If he could have, I think he would have taken it from Ephraim a long time ago.”

“I was never that rotten,” Nathaniel said. “But I will admit that sometimes I felt more like a sidekick than a real partner. I can see how that might get to him.”

“The Nathan analog I shared the coin with felt the same way,” Ephraim said. “So I think we can use Nate's feelings, greed, and ambition against him. What if he didn't need me anymore? What if he had a coin that he could use?”

“I'm sure he'd be thrilled,” Zoe said. “But how do we get him one?”

“And why would we give him that kind of power? We're supposed to be taking his power away,” Mary Shelley said. She pulled a cigarette out of a purse and put it between her lips. Ephraim made eye contact with her and slowly shook his head. If Nate smelled cigarette smoke in the library, it might make him suspicious, and they desperately needed the element of total surprise. Annoyed, she tucked the cigarette behind her ear and went back to flicking her flashlight.

“There aren't any other coins,” Nathaniel said.

“Are you sure?” Zoe said.

“Absolutely. But we did have a backup controller, safely in my universe.”

“I'm actually glad to hear that,” Ephraim said. “But I think Nate will grasp at any chance at all to get a coin of his own, one that he can use without a partner. He wants to believe it's possible, and we'll make him think it is,” Ephraim said.

“I have a radical suggestion,” Mary Shelley said. “Let's just kill him. Take the controller from Nate and give it to Nathaniel.” Mary Shelley pointed the flashlight at the older man. He blinked as the light centered on his face.

“That does sound tempting,” Zoe said.

“No,” Ephraim said.

“Think about what he did to all the other Nathans.” Zoe's voice got harder. “To Jena. What'll he do when you take away the only thing he cares about? Whether you stay or not, this is our home. Nate can still do damage here. We need to get rid of him.”

The anger in her face scared Ephraim more than the thought of what she had in mind.

They were all silent for a moment. Ephraim glanced at Nathaniel before he spoke.

“I agree that he probably deserves to suffer for what he's done. But that still doesn't make it right,” Ephraim said.

Mary Shelley laughed acidly. “This is why Nate's going to win,” she said. “He doesn't care about what's ‘right.’ And I don't either. I want him to pay for hurting me. For making me hate myself.”

Ephraim looked at her. He hadn't known that Nate had crossed that line with her.

“I'm sorry he hurt you,” Ephraim said. “And I won't pardon him for it, because abuse is unforgivable. But look. Killing Nate won't change what he's done. We can't bring those people he murdered back to life.” Their analogs existed in other universes, they were right here in front of him, but that didn't mean the individuals were replaceable. Each was unique in his or her own way.

He had to believe that. He had to embrace the idea that his life mattered, that he had something to contribute that no one else could—and this was probably his moment to do it.

“So, my plan,” Ephraim said. “We have two challenges: get the controller from Nate, and neutralize him as a threat—preferably without killing him. Okay?”

“I don't particularly care about keeping him alive. Since he's an evil asshole and all,” Mary Shelley said.

“Well,
I
care. Now, we shouldn't try to overpower him while he's armed. I don't want to take a chance of someone else getting shot. So we have to trick him into giving up his gun, or catch him off guard. For that, I'll need your help.
Everyone's
help.”

Silence again. Zoe took his hand and squeezed it. Mary Shelley sighed.

“Whatever you need,” Nathaniel said.

Ephraim rubbed his hands together. “Great. Now first…does anyone have some spare change?”

After they'd gone over the plan a few times and everyone understood the parts they would play, Ephraim called Nate from a pay phone. Ephraim was nervous; he'd never been a good liar. But Nate agreed to meet him.

Ephraim waited near the library steps, lounging at the base of a lion statue. Finally, a shiny red Chevy roared up and parked by the curb. Nate climbed out and slammed the door.

Nate sauntered over to Ephraim, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Ephraim didn't know how he could stand wearing that thing in the summer, but he knew Nate wore it to conceal his gun.

“Hey,” Nate said.

“Hey.” Ephraim knocked on one of the lion's stone paws for luck and hopped down. “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. What's up?” Nate asked.

“Did you bring the controller?”

Nate patted his left pocket.

“Good,” Ephraim said. “Remember our conversation the other day, about finding a version of you who can use the coin?”

Nate nodded.

“I want to try it,” Ephraim said.

“Yeah?” Nate's asked. His voice was even, but Ephraim recognized his friend's restrained excitement and apprehension. “Why? You said you liked working with me.”

“I do. But…think of what we could do with two coins,” Ephraim said.

“Oh, I have been,” Nate said. Ephraim thought it was more likely he'd been thinking about what he could do if he didn't need a partner to use the Charon device.

“We'd be real partners then. Equals,” Ephraim said. “And let's be honest. I'm sort of holding you back.”

“That's true.”

“I might want to quit one day too, settle down with Zoe, and I can't do that with this in my life. But I don't want to screw you over either.”

Nate narrowed his eyes. “So why'd you want to meet here?”

“I needed a safe place to hide the coin. I can't leave it at Zoe's place. The other Ephraim abandoned her, and I'm worried she'll try to get rid of the coin to keep me in this universe.” He smiled. “Or just to spite you.”

“You should work on your taste in women,” Nate said. “No offense.”

“Well, I finally figured out that there's only one analog of Mary Shelley in this universe, and you've got dibs on her,” Ephraim said.

Nate glanced at him sharply. “Where did you hear that word?”

Ephraim swallowed. “What word? Dibs?”

“Analog. I've only heard one other person use it in reference to parallel universe doubles.”

“Oh.” Ephraim scratched distractedly behind his right ear. “Zoe, I think. She has a big SAT vocabulary.”

“What's an SAT?”

“A form of torture in my universe. Now I remember. That's what she calls Ephraim. My analog. She must have picked up the term from him.”

“Sure.” Nate dropped it, but he was still suspicious. “Anyway, if you're really worried about the coin's safety, I could hold onto the coin for you,” Nate said.

“I considered that. But it seemed better to keep it where no one would think to look for it. Thus, the library.”

“Certainly no one would think to look here, especially since it's been closed for ages, and Ephraim never liked it much,” Nate said. “How did you get in?”

Ephraim dangled his key ring. “I work here, remember? And the locks are the same as in my universe.”