You cant, Oliver said. It will drain you.

Im strong, Esther countered. You said so yourself.

Oliver shook his head. Its too huge an undertaking. I cant ask you to do that.

Youre not asking, she argued. Im offering.

Oliver took her by the shoulders. Then I dont accept your help.

Esther remained fiercely stubborn. Im going to do it anyway, with your permission or without it.

Oliver sighed with frustration. I dont want you to risk your health for me.

And I dont want you to have no chance of getting back. I can do it. She gave him a decisive nod. I am doing it.

Oliver realized there was no arguing. Esther was not backing down.

Okay, he relented. But only while the timetables are off. Once theyre back online tomorrow youll be out of bounds. You could make the dimension unstable.

Esther looked distraught as she grappled with the reality of their situation. Professor Amethyst said theyd come back on after forty-eight hours. That gives you less than eight hours.

Oliver nodded gravely. He understood the stakes.

They turned back to the wall, both silent as they worked together to create a new opening. Esther ripped a seam through which Oliver used his crowbar hand to wrench it apart. Then Esther adjusted her position so that shed be able to keep the sides of the opening apart. Oliver could see the strain on her already.

Esther, he said, his voice barely a whisper. You dont have to do this.

Yes I do, she replied. Then she looked over briefly, her beautiful emerald eyes glittering with tears. GO.

Oliver didnt waste any time. He squeezed through the opening, feeling a strange coldness pass through his whole body. Once on the other side, he looked back, searching for Esther. But, of course, she was now concealed by the invisible wall.

Goodbye, he whispered, his voice cracking.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Suddenly, Oliver heard a honk. He turned sharply. A taxi was careening toward him.

His heart pounded as he jumped back, landing on a sidewalk. He was just in time. The car whizzed past him.

But as Oliver watched it go, he noticed it wasnt a taxi at all. It was a police car, with a little sign on top and the word sheriff emblazoned across its side. It had a strange rounded black body and large shiny fenders. It was an old-fashioned wartime police car.

Oliver knew then, without a doubt, that he was back in the past. He was back in 1944.

Oliver looked about him. The streets of 1944 New Jersey were exactly as hed left them when hed followed Ralph into the School for Seers. Hed come out at the exact same point hed gone in. He even recognized the same children playing hoop and ball in the playground, the same smartly dressed men driving shiny black cars. It was as if time itself had been paused while hed been inside the school, as if a second out here had been a day in there.