As Jon thought about what to do next, the phone suddenly rang. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed it. "Hello?"
"Jon, thank god you're there." It was Zoe. Jon suddenly felt ten times better. "I know this will be hard to believe, but ..."
"I know. You got sucked into the TV. I heard you scream and tried to get to you, but by the time I got to the family room, you were already too far in."
There was a pause, then she said "Well, at least you tried. Now help me get the fuck out of here. I don't want to be a reporter. I don't know the first thing about ..."
"Zoe? You okay?" Jon asked.
"Uh, yeah. I don't know. I just felt a little strange there for a moment. Like I was saying, I don't know anything about ..."
"Zoe?" Jon asked, definitely getting more concerned now.
"I don't know," Zoe finally said, after a long pause. "It's strange, but I think I do know about being a reporter. God, Jon. What the fuck's happening to me?"
"I ... I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you replaced Lisa Strong ..."
"I was thinking the same thing," Zoe interrupted.
"... but maybe you actually merged with her instead. Have you seen your reflection? Do you look like her?" Jon remembered that when he saw Zoe on the TV, she looked like herself, but it wasn't a close-up shot. He may not have seen details about her that set the two of them apart.
Zoe paused for a moment, then said "No, I look like myself ... except ..."
"Except what?"
"I look older. Maybe like twenty-five?"
"I think that's Lisa Strong's age," Jon said.
"So I'm ten years older? What happened during all that time?"
"Maybe that's why you think you know how to be a reporter. Maybe some of Lisa's experiences were used to fill in those ten extra years."
"I don't think I know about being a reporter, Jon. I know I do. I mean, you don't get a job being a news anchor if ..."
"Zoe? You still there?"
"Oh god, Jon," she said, after a short pause. "For a moment there, I thought I really was a reporter. You ... you don't think that Lisa is still here, do you? I mean, trapped in my head."
"I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Jon, you have to come here and get me. I don't want to lose myself to this woman."
"Where are you?" Jon asked.
"Uh, it's the Channel 15 news studio. Wait a minute." Jon heard shuffling in the background. "According to my business card, it's ..." She gave him the address, then she added "That's twenty miles away from home. God, Jon. It'll take you forever to get here. Who knows if I'll still be me by then?"
"Zoe, just hang in there. I'll be there as soon as I can." Jon hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" his mother asked.
Jon jumped and spun around, obviously startled. "Uh ... it was Zoe."
"Zoe? Zoe who?"
"My sister Zoe."
"Jon, you don't have a sister," she said.
Jon's eyes went wide. He never thought about that. Even if he got to Zoe at the news station, he couldn't bring her home. She was Zoe Strong now, not Zoe Gibson. He ran up to her room and saw that all her belongings were gone. Now it looked like some sort of guest room.
He ran to his room and grabbed the wishing stone. He wanted it with him if he needed it. And with Zoe slowly becoming more like Lisa (mentally), he figured that he would. He just hoped that enough of Zoe was left when he got there.
"I'm going out," Jon said, walking towards the front door.
"Jon, it's after nine."
He groaned, realizing that this could be a problem. But then he remembered that he had the wishing stone. "I wish my mom would be okay with me leaving for a few hours," he whispered to himself. The stone glowed, granting his wish.
"Just be back before midnight, okay?" his mom said.
"Okay, Mom."
Then he left, got in his car, and drove to the news station ... twenty miles away.
