The Secret

Chapter 11

"Can you come in here?"

"That's probably not a wise idea. We wouldn't want to upset the balance," Adelynn pointed out.

"It's got to be pretty upset already for this to be happening," New Hampshire said. "Besides, I would rather discuss this in a more private environment."

New York couldn't understand. Who the hell were these people? And more importantly, why did New Hampshire seem to know them so well, and he had absolutely no idea about them or how they were in the hall closet.

"I'm not leaving the states here alone."

"Bring them in as well."

"You really want to expose them to each other?"

New York looked to the man beside Adelynn. He seemed just as confused as he felt. The last question that shifted through his head (which probably should have been his first) was, where did the closet go?

"I don't think we have much choice at the moment. We can put your seven in another room so they don't try killing each other," New Hampshire suggested.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I don't see any other way, unless you want to leave them there by themselves."

"No," she said firmly. She turned to the man. "Michael, how about you tell the others to get ready to leave."

"What? We don't know these people! What the hell are you talking about? They probably took Launa!"

"We don't have much of a choice right now. Now, go get the others and come back here," she commanded. He glared at her before leaving.

New York heard New Hampshire start to speak before he cut her off with his own questions. "Who the hell are you? Why was he asking about Alaska?" he growled.

"We'll do introductions later," New Hampshire said. He immediately turned when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Go get everyone else in the living room. Tell them to stay there."

"I'm not doing anything until I get answers."

"You'll get them, but right now we need to focus on getting Rose back and we can do that best with their help."

"And there you go! Who are they?" he shouted. Why was she being so secretive? Why hadn't she ever told him about- whoever these people were?

"Do you want to get Rose back?" she asked in a calm tone that annoyed him.

"Of course-"

"Then, listen to what I'm saying and stop thinking of your own needs. Go get the others and get them in the living room."

Like it was that easy. New York left and called through the house for everyone to meet in the living room. How did she even expect him to accomplish that, anyways. I wasn't like they were some of the younger states. Everyone who lived here were part of the original colonies. They were all about the same age; physically in their late teens or early twenties. They were all adults, and although they usually listened to him, New Hampshire hadn't given him any valid explanations and improv had never really been his strong suit.

"Why do we have to be in here?"

"Look, you've got TV and the game consoles. Be grateful." The seven of them all gave him irritated looks. "You guys can have a tournament or something."

"I call first round!" New Jersey shouted.

"No way!" Connecticut objected. "You always cheat!"

"Not true!"

"Liar."

"Jackson," Massachusetts said quieter, standing beside him. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," he said without thinking. "Just keep everyone in here." He turned around and left the room through the small doorway. He walked past the music room to see several others walking in, all sounding generally displeased that they were there. The last one that went in stopped to stare at him. He looked like Jersey, though his hair was much darker and freckles were scattered over his face. He sent a glare New York's way before going into the music room. The Adelynn girl closed the door, the other guy beside her, talking quietly to her.

"Jackson." He turned around to see New Hampshire.

"Are you going to answer my questions now? It wasn't exactly easy getting them in there without being able to answer any questions."

"And yet, you still managed it," she pointed out. "We'll talk in the dining room. Come on."

He followed her into the dining room, followed by the other two. New York held his hand in a fist at his side. He couldn't understand how she managed to be so infuriating sometimes. The four of them sat at the table. New York sat beside New Hampshire while the other two sat across the table. "Am I going to get answers, now?"

"Yes," Adelynn answered. "My name is Adelynn and this is Michael, also known as New Hampshire and New York."

"What."

"And you?" Michael asked.

"I'm New Hampshire and my name's Dakota." New York watched his eyes widen. "This is Jackson, he's New York."

"That's not possible. I'm New York."

"Explanation." New York turned to New Hampshire. "Now."

"They're from a sort of parallel universe. Their universe is opposite to ours."

He waited for her to continue. "That's it?"

"I don't know what else you want me to say?"

"So, he's me, and she's you?"

"In a way," Adelynn said.

"And I never knew about this, why?"

"Didn't think you needed to know."

"That's not for you to decide!"

"Can you two sort out your problems later?" Michael asked. "I'd like to find my sister."

"Sorry," New Hampshire. "Jackson's got a bit of a temper sometimes." New York glared at her. "I'm assuming that Alan doesn't know you're here."

"If he doesn't, he will soon."

"Who's Alan?"

"America."

He still found all of this confusing. There was another him named Michael, another New Hampshire named Adelynn and another America named Alan. When exactly did this become a thing that he did not know about? He tried to keep up with the conversation, but he knew too little to follow everything. By the looks Michael kept giving Adelynn, he he didn't know much more than New York.

"We have to tell America about this. We-" she stopped when her phone started to ring. She pulled her phone from her pocket and looked over the screen before answering. "Alfred?" She kept silent for a few moments. "Yes, you should probably get over here. Right." She put her phone back in her pocket. "Can you get Alan?" Adelynn nodded, pulling out her own device.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Michael asked.

"Not sure."