I scrambled back, unable to speak, already lost in the fog.

  “What’s wrong, buddy? Why were you looking for me?”

  I tried to run, but it was too hard on the cloudy ground. I have to go faster.

  I stopped to draw a race car in the dirt, but nothing happened.

  My powers in Eleven don’t work here. But Fleck said I could use all the powers—maybe I can float like the girl? Isn’t that the power here?

  “Why don’t you show me your smoke, buddy? What are you trying to hide?”

  I scampered behind one of the tall trees as I tried to remember how the Princess—no, the Smoke Keeper—had made her bubbles.

  She just blew, didn’t she?

  As quietly as I could, I tried to blow out. To my amazement, a flood of smoke followed, creating a cloud that floated away.

  I didn’t have any bubble liquid like she did, but maybe I could still find a way.

  I kneeled on the ground and blew a new cloud of smoke, then I stepped on it.

  “Whoa.” It was wobbly, but I was rising.

  Now what? How am I going to get the Smoke Keeper’s smoke?

  “Your smoke looks strange. Why does it look strange?”

  I looked up to find the Smoke Keeper hanging upside down right above me.

  “You’re not from around here, are you?” she hissed, pushing me off my smoke cloud. I screamed as I plummeted.

  Seconds before I hit the ground, she caught my wrist.

  “You’re naughty, not a buddy.”

  I could feel her long nails digging into my skin.

  “I will take you to the Wall, naughty girl.”

  I flailed. I had to get away. If Jeremiah and I both got trapped in the clock world, then no one would be able to save us.

  In a last-ditch effort I threw my body up and managed to clamber onto the swing behind her.

  She howled, trying to throw me off.

  I reached for something, anything, to keep me up, but all I could grab was one of her bubbles.

  I fell backward and hit the ground hard.

  “Ow.”

  I felt very dizzy. I have to get her smoke. How do I get her—

  “Clumsy, wumsy Rosey,” she sang. “Where did you goesy?”

  She was getting closer.

  SHHK.

  The sound reverberated in my head. I was feeling dizzier. This wasn’t just from the fall, it was how I felt before I was about to wake up in the real world.

  But I have to get smoke before I go back.

  I looked at the bubble. Bronze smoke swirled inside.

  I wonder…

  “Rosey, Posey, Wosey? Where are you hiding?”

  Whoosh. A loud sound filled the landscape. Someone’s waking me up.

  I pulled out the watch—relieved to see it was a Smoke Ball in this world as well—and held the bubble in front of it. I squeezed hard, popping the magic bubble. Smoke poured out—and was sucked straight into the glowing energy of the watch.

  I did it!

  “There you are! I found you,” the Smoke Keeper said. Then she gasped. “What is that—”

  Whoosh.

  I screamed as the creature’s face zoomed right in front of me. I could feel her hand on mine, struggling for the Smoke Ball.

  “No!”

  WHOOSH.

  THE PLAN

  Rosey! Wake up!”

  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The blankets rustled as my mother shook my shoulder.

  “Mom?” My voice was hoarse. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. My room was so bright compared to the foggy forest of One.

  “You were having a nightmare, bubala.” Mom’s eyes were wide.

  Suddenly, I felt very awake.

  “How do you know?”

  “You were screaming.”

  I was screaming in the real world too?

  “Like screaming screaming?” I asked.

  “Well, quietly,” Mom said. “But it was screaming. You were muttering about something too.”

  “What did I say?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

  “Oh, you said ‘ow’ and something about smoke.” Mom waved her hand. “What were you dreaming about?”

  I thought about the Princess and her horrible, long teeth.

  “I don’t know,” I muttered.

  “Sheesh, with that kind of screaming, I thought for sure you’d remember.” She ran a hand through my hair. “Sure you’re feeling all right?”

  I nodded, aware of how sweaty my hair and blankets were. It had been a scary dream, so scary that I thought about it all day. Maybe I only thought about it because I couldn’t bear to think about Jo.

  Everything was scary. Everything was going wrong. If she were here, it would all be okay.

  When night came, I didn’t dare sleep again—long teeth filling my memory.

  I stayed up all night, and when Mom came to wake me up in the morning, I was already dressed for school.

  * * *

  I trudged out of the Dino-Wagon feeling like a zombie, my feet made of lead.

  I must have looked silly, dragging my feet through the grass, because people were staring. Whatever. Let them think what they want. It’s not like they have to worry about a boy trapped in an evil wall that’s draining the life out of him like he’s a Capri Sun, thank you very much.

  And, of course, who was standing there right by the front doors of the school? None other than Samantha Plank and her posse. She was wearing lip gloss today. Whenever she wore lip gloss, she always had little bits of hair and other things trapped in it. She snarled a shiny lip at me as I passed by—apparently too close for her liking. Under her breath I heard the “ew” she muttered to her friends.

  “Must be nice to only have to worry about how many dead bugs are stuck to your lips.” The stress must have been getting to me because I really hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

  I pushed down an evil smile when Samantha gasped and her friends giggled. Maybe I should say things out loud more often.

  * * *

  Class was just as boring as usual. In history Mrs. Lee was talking about the Crimean War. It was hard to focus, however, because there was a war going on right now in the watch in my pocket.

  I looked around. Everyone was boring.

  The real world felt so gray compared to the watch world. I found myself itching to take a nap, to slip into a place that was different, where I was different.

  Plus, I’d already wasted one day—I only had until Wednesday to save Jeremiah.

  “If you want to win, you need a plan.” It was like the memory of Jo was mocking me.

  Fine, all right, I’ll make a plan.

  I had six worlds left and little more than two days. That meant I’d have to fall asleep, like, three times a day! I didn’t even know if that was possible.

  Maybe I could…, I started thinking, scribbling on my notepad, set my alarm every hour? Then I could knock out Five, Six, and Seven…. But what if I haven’t collected the smoke within the hour? Then my alarm would wake me up and a whole other half day would be lost.

  So maybe I can signal someone outside the world to wake me up. Mom heard me when I talked, right? Yeah, I’ll just have to do that.

  I tapped my pencil, lost in thought. This was hard. Aside from Five, Six, and Seven, I also had to get smoke from Ten, Eleven, and the unknown Twelve.

  I didn’t want to go back to Eleven until I had all the rest, though. It would be a wasted trip. Plus, that Smoke Keeper scared me the most. He had already seen me. He knew I wasn’t supposed to be there, and he would try to throw me into the Wall the second he saw me again.

  I would have only one shot to steal his smoke, and I wasn’t ready yet.

  Then maybe—I picked up my pencil, jotting my thoughts in my journal once again—I could go to Ten tonight, Twelve tomorrow night, and Eleven on Wednesday morning.

  I’d have to work really, really fast, though. If I was too slow, then, poof, Jeremiah would be gone forever.

  And what about Five, Six, and Seven?

  The pressure started to overwhelm me.

  This wasn’t a game or a riddle, it was reality. I had only the rest of today, tomorrow, and part of the next day to save someone’s life.

  My breathing got faster, and my chest felt tight. What if I can’t do it? I put a hand to my chest, feeling my heartbeat. I was sweating again. I was panicking. It’s too many worlds—

  “Psst.”

  I spun around. Alejandro was behind me, sharpening his pencil at the counter. Today he wore a tie-dyed shirt that said BYTE ME on it.

  “You feeling okay?” he whispered.

  I nodded, realizing how strange I must have looked breathing so hard and clutching at my chest.

  I looked around; others were staring at me too.

  “You sure? You look pale—”

  “Ms. Marks and Mr. Fuentes! Do you have something you’d like to share with the class?” Mrs. Lee barked.

  “No, ma’am. Just asking Rosemary if I could borrow a pencil.”

  As Alejandro answered, I scribbled a note on a scrap of paper: Lunch? Need your help.

  Mrs. Lee raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you sharpening a pencil as we speak?”

  Alejandro looked down at his now-sharp pencil as if surprised.

  “Oh! Look at that! I forgot.” The class giggled. I heard Samantha whisper, “Dummy,” to Jackson sitting beside her, but Alejandro didn’t seem to care. He walked back to his desk, and as he passed me, I slipped him the note.

  I saw him unfold it at his seat, then he looked back at me with a smile and a thumbs-up. I smiled back. Maybe, just maybe, if I had help, I could save Jeremiah after all.

  I tried to listen to the lesson after that, I really tried, but it was impossible with the watch in my pocket. Nothing else seemed important. Instead, I listened to another piece of Jo’s advice: “If you’re not sure what to do, draw it out.”

  So I drew. I drew everything I knew about Five, Six, and Seven in my notebook.

  I drew a big stone head from Five, surrounding it with sandy smoke. I drew what I thought the person inside the big stone head might look like, with spindly little legs.

  I drew the farmer holding his giant apple in Six and the matchbox farmhouse behind him. I wondered if all the people in The Thirteenth Hour were the Smoke Keepers, as the girl on the swing had been. This farmer looked so nice, though, like a grandfather. I couldn’t believe he was a monster.

  Then again, the cute little Princess was.

  Then I drew the woman in Seven, who was covered from head to toe in metal: jewelry, pots and pans, doorknobs. They were all stuck to her. The book had said she could attract metal like a magnet. I could only just barely see her face through the mass of gold, bronze, and iron—a silvery smoke making everything glow.

  Just as I finished a diagram of the massive metal building behind the woman, the bell rang.

  I tossed my notebook in my backpack and stood to leave when Mrs. Lee raised her hands.

  “One moment, students. One moment, please.” The class groaned, sitting back down.

  “I have an unfortunate announcement I’d like to make.” Now everyone went quiet. “You may have noticed that our dear Jeremiah and Fallon are out today.”

  I looked up. I hadn’t even noticed that Fallon’s chair was empty too.

  “I have been informed that Jeremiah will be out sick for some time. Tomorrow I think we ought to spend some time writing him get-well cards, yes?”

  The class nodded along, still quiet.

  “All right, now you may go.”

  And then everyone stood all at once, a chorus of voices filling the room. I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, but I figured they were talking about what had happened to Jeremiah.

  If only you knew, I thought.

  * * *

  Alejandro and I met in the church at lunchtime. I couldn’t tell him about the watch. (Rule #1.) Instead, I asked him, “So do you really want to make a game together?”

  “Absolutely!” he said a little too loudly, his voice echoing up the steeple of the church. “What do you want to make?”

  I laughed, nervous, before pulling out my notebook. “Funny you should ask. I have an idea, actually, but I need your help in figuring out the, uh, gameplay.”

  I told him that in this game we’d travel among worlds with different powers. “But I don’t know how to beat the bosses of them, see—”

  “I can help!” he interjected, spilling his chocolate milk.

  I showed him the pictures I’d drawn and explained everything I could about Five, Six, and Seven.

  “And all I have to do as the player is get the bosses to release their magic out of their ears?” he asked.

  “Or get them to use enough of it that you can steal some. It looks like a cloud, I think, when they use a lot of magic.”

  “Hmm. A cloud will be tough in terms of the graphics, but for the farmer guy I would probably find, like, a big wheat stalk, then I’d make it really big so that I could tickle his nose from far away until he sneezed. Boom. Magic everywhere!”

  I winced, imagining how gross a Smoke Keeper’s sneeze would be, but I nodded along, writing Alejandro’s idea down in my notepad. “Good, good.”

  “For the metal lady I think I’d just keep throwing metal at her, since she automatically attracts it, and it’d eventually smack her in the face. At some point she’d have to exhale a big cloud of magic.”

  That’s not a bad idea. I’d just have to find enough metal.

  “And what’s the deal with this strong-looking dude?” he asked, picking up the drawing of Five. “Is the big stone face hollow? Or is the guy flattened underneath it? Or is the rock face his actual face?”

  “Uh…” I tapped my pencil, trying to remember what I could from the book. “I’m not sure?”

  “Well, in that case, there’s only one thing to do to a face.”

  “What’s that?”

  He shrugged. “Punch it really hard until it explodes.”

  Ah. I shivered. That… was not something I wanted to try.

  “Where did you get these ideas, anyway?” he asked, looking at the drawings closely. “They look so real.”

  “Yeah, well, um, I dream them up mostly. When I’m sleeping.”

  “That’s really cool! I wish I could do that.” Alejandro’s face fell. “I don’t actually have dreams I can remember.” He perked up a moment later. “Anyway, when do you want to start creating the game?”

  “I was actually wondering if we could meet here again at five?”

  “Five a.m. or five p.m.?” he responded. Before I could ask who the heck is up at 5:00 in the morning, he continued, “Because I’m free at five a.m. tomorrow, but I have a Future Coders Club meeting from four to six p.m.”

  “Wait, what? You’re actually up at five a.m.?”

  “Yeah, my mom drops me off really early every morning on her way to work. I’ve been coming here and doing homework and playing games and stuff before school starts. But you’re free to join me!”

  I grimaced. I didn’t think I’d ever gotten up that early, but then I remembered what would happen if I didn’t have someone to wake me while I hopped hours.

  Only a few days left to save Jeremiah…

  “Let’s do it.”

  THE INVITATION

  That night I ate my grilled cheese in three bites. I did my homework, all of it, even the essay we were assigned, in one hour. I convinced Mom that it was a good idea to take me to school at 5:00 a.m. so that I could join the Game Development Club. Then I sat in front of Mom’s laptop, watching every action movie compilation I could find for inspiration.

  After all the planning I did at school, it felt like a switch had been flipped and my blood started running hotter. I was prepared for anything.

  “Rosemary? Are you here?”

  Except for that.

  I dropped the broom handle I was using to mimic a fighting pose in Rambo III and poked my head out my bedroom door. “Dad?” I called, stepping into the hall.

  What was he doing here? He had never come to Mom’s house before.

  An excited thought popped into my mind: Maybe he’s found Jo.

  I hurried into the living room. Jo would help me save Jeremiah—she’d know exactly what to do.

  But the second I saw my parents on the couch, their faces drawn and gray, I knew it wasn’t good news.

  “Oh, Rosemary!” Wes launched up, taking big strides to me. I backed away—but then he hugged me. I didn’t know what to do with my arms. My dad never hugged.

  “We still haven’t found her,” he said, letting go. “I’ve run out of ideas.”

  I glanced over his shoulder at Mom, who shrugged, obviously as weirded out by Dad’s unusually messy appearance as I was. Normally, his hair was slicked back perfectly, and his suits were pressed. He was wearing sweatpants, for crying out loud. I had never seen Wes Marks go outside wearing something without buttons before!

  “But I do have some good news,” he said, guiding me back to the couch. “I managed to get footage showing that Joanne sent a letter from the postbox outside the hospital the day she disappeared. You didn’t happen to get anything, did you?”

  I shook my head. I wish. It was good to know that Jo was still out there somewhere, though.

  “Oh, well, I’d just hoped.” His face looked sad again. He looked tired, too. “I drove around the city today, visited all of her old hangouts—no one has seen her. I’ll drive around Globe tomorrow.”

  He peered up at me, uncertain. “Do you want to come with me? Look for her together?”

  My eyes went wide. I’d never expect my father to ask to spend time with me when he didn’t have to. What was going on?

  He took my small hand in both of his big ones. His hands were soft. I hadn’t expected that, either.

  “I was hard on Joanne because I wanted her to be happy. But when she didn’t want to see me in the hospital and then just disappeared without a word, I realized”—he paused, sighing—“I realized maybe I made a mistake. I think I’ve made a number of mistakes.”

  I had no idea what to say. To see Wes acting so… warm and fuzzy was strange.