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smart. A lawyer. The kind you don’t want working against you. She’s beautiful. We both love music. Especially some of the oldies. Anyhow, the air in front of me opened up, and before I knew what was happening, I got sucked through to here.”
    â€œThe air opened up?” Cole asked.
    â€œIt was a Wayminder,” Joe said. “I wasn’t part of her plan, apparently. Just a mishap. She wanted to cross over to the Outside, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    â€œDid you ask her to send you back?” Dalton asked.
    â€œYou bet,” Joe said. “And she told me the same thing you guys have heard. Once we cross to the Outskirts, we can return home temporarily, but we can’t stay there. And those who know us best forget us the most.”
    â€œGwen?” Mira asked.
    â€œBingo,” Joe said. “I ended up in Zeropolis, and my fiancée forgot she ever knew me.”
    â€œYou’re sure she forgot?” Cole asked.
    Joe scrunched his nose. “I’m sure. There’s more to the story.”
    â€œHow did a Wayminder bring you to Zeropolis?” Dalton asked. “I thought their shaping worked in Creon.”
    â€œOr Junction,” Cole said. “Like when we came through.”
    â€œTheir shaping messes with time and space,” Joe said. “The time manipulation only works in Creon. They open ways by tweaking space. That works best in Creon, but it can be done all over. A Wayminder could explain it better, but I think they can borrow space from Creon wherever they go.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Mira confirmed.
    â€œThe Wayminder felt bad,” Joe said. “She tried to make it right.”
    â€œShe was a girl?” Jace asked.
    Joe nodded. “Sallanah. When I came through the way she opened, I broke her concentration and the way closed. She couldn’t open a new one right there, so we moved. She sent me back as soon as she could—within four hours of me crossing over. She got me close to where I had departed from. I ran to my car, drove to Gwen’s place. She answered the door . . . and looked at me like a total stranger.”
    Cole’s insides twisted. He imagined getting a look like that from his mom. Or his dad. Or his sister. Is that what the future held? He glanced at Dalton. Based on his friend’s expression, the same worries were attacking him.
    â€œSallanah had warned me what to expect,” Joe said. “Since I’d only been in the Outskirts a short time, I kind of hoped the side effects wouldn’t take hold. I said Gwen’s name, and she asked if she knew me. I told her my name but got a blank stare. It was right out of a nightmare. The more I tried to talk, the more I hinted at details I knew about her, the more uncomfortable she became. Before things got out of hand, I walked away.”
    â€œDid you get sucked back here?” Dalton asked.
    â€œIn less than two hours,” Joe said. “After Gwen, I went to visit a good friend who also had no memory of me. I called in to work. Nobody knew me. I found a place to park my car and just sat there, trying to think. I felt like I was losing my mind. For a good while I couldn’t stop laughing. Not healthy laughter. Before too long, the air over the passenger seat started to ripple. A way opened up and I was back in Zeropolis.”
    â€œThat’s the worst,” Cole said.
    â€œNot yet,” Joe said. “The worst is coming. Sit tight. Sallanah came and found me not long after I returned to Zeropolis. She apologized again, and explained that I was stuck in the Outskirts. She helped me get a freemark, an identity card, and a place to stay. She gave me some money. I was in a daze at the time. I couldn’t appreciate how lucky I was to have someone to orient me.”
    â€œAre you still friends?” Dalton asked.
    â€œNot really,” Joe said. “In theory, I guess. I wasn’t overly nice to