Chapter 22 – "Thinking Outside of the Box"

Kendall wanted to go home. She couldn't understand why she was still at Wildwind. She couldn't understand why Zach refused to leave, or why he had kissed her Mother, or why the walls were fading in and out of sight in time to an old Tony Orlando song, or what was making that loud ticking noise that was driving her crazy.

"Is that a bomb?" Myrtle was asking Zach.

"And then some," he replied evenly. "Myrtle, why don't you escort my wife and the rest of our friends out of this place before it blows sky-high?"

Myrtle didn't have to be asked twice. But Kendall wasn't going anywhere without her husband-in-name-only.

"I'm not leaving without you," she informed him, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I'm not sure I can stop this thing from going off," he told her. "You aren't safe in here, Kendall."

She thought that through. "Will I be safe out there?"

Zach didn't answer, so Kendall tried again.

"Will any of us be safe anywhere?"

Wildwind had begun to shake.

"Brooke, I think this is it," Edmund was saying. "Kids, forgive me! Maria, forgive me! Opal, forgive me! Stuart and Marian, forgive me! Lily, forgive me!"

But Lily refused to admit defeat.

"There has to be a solution," she told Sam. "Every mystery has a solution!"

The ticking got louder.

"Kendall, come on!" Erica yelled, as Jack dragged her to the front door.

"I'm not going anywhere, snookums," Kendall told Zach. "Wanna make something out of it?"

He wanted to tell her she was nuts and kiss her. He wanted to tell her he had fallen in love with her the second he laid eyes on her and hadn't stopped falling since and kiss her. He wanted to tell her he needed to save all material reality mostly because he needed to save her. And kiss her.

Instead he made time stand still.

"The room has stopped shaking and that song and ticking has stopped!" Marian was the first to notice.

Actually, EVERYTHING had stopped. Erica and Jack stood motionless at the front door, Adam, Di(xie) and JR stood motionless behind them, and behind them were Bianca, Miranda, Greenlee, Ryan, Tad, Aidan, Reggie, Derick, Krystal, Babe, Jamie and Mrs. Tiwiliger. Kendall sat motionless on the red chair.

"Boy howdy, that's some trick!" Opal marveled. "Edmund, did you do that?"

He shook his head. "I'm not Galioscian enough these days to pull off a Time-Stop."

"Well, luckily, I still am," Zach said, sounding more cheerful than he felt. "At least this gives us some space to figure this thing out. But I've only postponed the inevitable, unless we can unplug this damn thing."

Stuart looked with concern at his twin brother and nephew, as they stood frozen. "Why can we move and talk, and they can't?"

"We're not a part of time," Lily explained with a sigh. "Not anymore."

"Edmund, concentrate," Zach urged. "You designed this damn thing. How is it wired? Where's the detonator?"

But it was no use. The memory would not resurface.

At least not for Edmund.

"It's in the walls," Maria realized. "When I renovated years ago, after we first got married, you told me to leave the walls alone. Edmund, you wouldn't even let me hammer in a nail to hang a picture!"

"That's not good," Zach said. "If the device that crashes matter into antimatter is diffuse, how can we --"

Lily knew. "Erica's real age. It has to be said another three times."

"That would only accelerate the detonation," Sam reasoned. "We'd blow up faster."

But Lily was thinking outside of the box. "The trigger accelerates the detonation if it isn't already underway. That's probably what kicked it off. Even though Erica's age was only said twice, it was enough to start things going. But what would happen if the trigger was pulled during the detonation sequence?"

"The detonation would speed up?" Zach guessed.

"Possibly," Lily granted. "Or else the system would be overloaded and it would shut down."

"The trigger was designed to be used when the detonation isn't already underway," Edmund said slowly. "Maybe using it now would be overkill."

"You wanna rephrase that?" Opal requested, not liking his choice of words, given their precarious situation.

"Lily might be right!" Edmund decided.

"Yes," Lily agreed, "I might be."

"And what if you're wrong, honey?" Opal had to ask.

Zach and every ghost in the room knew the answer to that.

"I think we should try it," Zach said. "What have we got to lose? Besides all material reality, I mean."

Maria cleared her throat. "You know what? We're already dead. If Lily's wrong about using the trigger to stop the time machine from exploding, we'll only wind up a little deader. I say, go for it!"

Edmund remembered why he had loved her. "That's the spirit, Maria!"

Lily turned to Sam. "I want to say good-bye to you, Sam. Just in case."

He nodded. "It won't be good-bye, Lily. It can't be. We've just said hello to each other."

Marian looked fondly at the young couple. "Stuart, whatever happens, we've been lucky to find each other. You are the love of my life, you know."

He wished he could hold her one last time. "Marian, you ARE my life!"

Opal thought sadly about Palmer and Petey. "I love you, you old coot," she whispered. "And you too, Petey. No matter how old they make you!"

Maddie smiled at Maria. "I'm glad we made up, Mom! I'm glad we got our family back!"

Maria blinked back tears. "I'm glad too, sweetie. Whatever happens, we're together!"

"I love you, kids," Edmund said to Sam and Maddie. "Thank you, Maria, for the life we shared!"

Brooke looked down at the floor, not wanting to intrude on what might well be Edmund's last moments with his family.

Zach knelt before his wife. "You can't hear me, Kendall, but this is the last chance I may ever get to tell you I love you. So I'm telling you. I love you, Kendall Hart!"

Although he knew it wasn't possible, Zach thought Kendall's face changed, as if she had heard him somehow.

When Brooke looked up, Edmund was beside her.

There was nothing left for her to say to him in the last moment they might ever have. But there was something he needed to say to her.

"For always and ever," he said. "For as long as long is!"

She smiled. "Always," she echoed.

"Always."

Zach sighed and made time move again.

The crowd at the door continued to run outside, except for Erica and Adam. Erica wouldn't leave without Kendall and Adam wanted answers.

The ticking was a roar.

"Zach!" Kendall screamed. "Do something!"

"I'll try," he told her.

"What the hell is going on?" Adam demanded, shaking in his boots. "Slater, is this your doing?"

Zach smiled and said Erica Kane's real age.

"What did you say that for?" Erica screamed. "Kendall, let's get OUT of here!"

Wildwind began to shake apart.

"Nothing personal, Erica," Zach wanted her to know. "A man couldn't have a better mother-in-law than you!" He took a deep breath and repeated Erica Kane's real age.

Wildwind's roof blew off.

"Kendall!" Erica screamed at the top of her lungs. "Come on!"

"Kendall, your Mother's calling," Zach told her. "Time to go home."

"I can't leave him, Mother!" Kendall cried out as she fell into Zach's embrace.

"Why can't you leave me?" Zach asked her.

"Because I love you, Zach Slater," she replied, clinging to him for dear life as Wildwind came apart at the seams. "Now say what's on your mind already!"

Zach hugged Kendall like there was no tomorrow, which he was fairly certain was true, and said Erica Kane's real age for the third time.

Was Lily be right? Can Erica's real age save all material reality from going BOOM? A couple of chapters, lots of surprises still to come! Please read on! Your review would be cherished!