“Jeremy has a point,” Matt said thoughtfully. “We’re at a crossroads. Outside the Safe Haven right now is our fathers’ time line. Inside the Safe Haven, we’re on our time line. There’s no guarantee you would be on our time line if you went to Gandoral from here.”
“I’m going,” Steve announced. He picked up the urn and shoved his arm as far inside as he could until the opening of the urn was up against his armpit. Most of his arm should have come out of the bottom, but the bottom stayed intact. Steve looked at the others as if to say, “Nothing is happening,” and pulled his arm back out.
“That was pretty stupid, even for you,” Jeremy said. “What would we have done if you disappeared and didn’t come back? We would have had to stay here in the Safe Haven for who knows how long.”
Steve laughed.
“We’re lucky you didn’t get sucked into the urn,” Jesse said. “The reason it didn’t work is probably because the urn didn’t know which time line to send you on.”
“It’s really not funny,” Matt said. “There are some things we have to agree on before we act on them. This is one of them.”
“Okay, okay,” Steve said, putting up his hands to stop the criticism.
“Are we in agreement that we’re ready to exit into present time?” Jesse asked as she began to get up from the Visualizer.
“Yes,” all three said at the same time. They got up and followed Jesse to hatch number one.
Matt noted the time on the clock. “Thursday, the one hundred ninety-third day of our Alliance: one hundred ninety-three days, two hours, twenty-three minutes, and seventeen seconds. Let’s go.”
Steve opened the hatch, his foot broke the plane of the hatch, and . . .
~~~
A champion diver frozen in the middle of her most difficult dive instantly springs back into action and finishes a two-and-a-half forward pike with a one-and-a-half twist, perfectly.
~~~
The camper frozen in place with a terrified look on his face suddenly jumps into action, picks up a shelf, and hits the grizzly bear between the eyes. The camper runs to the safety of his minivan, and the grizzly bear walks off into the forest shaking his head.
~~~
The newspaper stuck in midair suddenly completes its trajectory and hits the girl right between the eyes. The paperboy runs to her aid. She slaps the boy and goes inside. The paperboy sits on the step shaking his head. Well, that finishes my chances with Barb.
~~~
The two New York cabs hurling toward each other spring into action. The squealing of braking tires and the smell of rubber fill the air as the two cabs slide sideways toward each other. Both cab drivers hit the gas just at the right instant, and the two cabs careen off in different directions, missing each other by inches.
~~~
The Alliance, followed by the three fathers, exited into present time.
Chapter 5
Torron’s Secret Weapon
“Torron left you in charge,” Kondyk said. “You’re to make sure the soldiers and supplies go out in the right order and on time. I know you feel like you got left behind, but making sure everything gets to the right place at the right time is critical.”
“I can’t do anything until time on Earth starts back up,” General Tyd lamented. “We’ve been waiting for more than five months.”
The general and high priest stood on the queen’s balcony looking out over thirteen black clouds in the distance, five leaving the forest region and eight leaving the Longline Region. The clouds that were normally billowing and rolling into the distant sky now stood still, frozen in place until the Alliance would leave the Safe Haven into present time.
“It was really strange,” Tyd said. “We began to move to Earth. The queen left about ten hours after the first wave of soldiers went into the clouds. Three days later, the clouds froze. Torron said they would, but then after waiting two months, the gateway opened again for eight hours. Then it closed. It’s been closed for another four months. How long do you think we’ll have to wait for it to open again?”
“Torron explained it to me this way,” the high priest answered. “When the Alliance comes out of the Safe Haven into present time on Earth, the gateways will open again and the rest of her army will continue to flow through the gateway to Earth. Once it opens, it will take at least another eight days to get the entire Torron army out of Gandoral. Once they’re all there, she’ll have over five hundred thousand soldiers at her disposal. The Locals, as we call them, will bring almost another twenty-four thousand. She will surely defeat the Alliance and take control of the West Coast of the United States. With the advancements in technology and the recruitment of the earthling army, they’ll be taken by surprise. Once that’s completed, she’ll start sending more soldiers and equipment to finish the job of taking the rest of the world.”
All of a sudden, the sky turned from orange to dark purple, and a huge display of white electrical arcs and lightning crossed the entire expanse, accompanied by a great and thunderous sound that echoed across the whole planet of Gandoral. The display lasted several minutes. Once it stopped, the sky returned to orange and the thirteen black billowing clouds began to move. The Torron army cheered as they continued their march to Earth.
“We’re moving again!” Tyd exclaimed.
“Finally, we’ll implement the queen’s plan,” Kondyk said. “It’s brilliant. She has amassed the largest army in the history of Gandoral, and you’re in charge of getting it to Earth on time.”
“After her defeat in Africa, her eyes were opened to a new strategy,” Tyd said. “As soon as she recovered, she began to prepare for the next meeting of the Alliance. Her goal was no longer only the elimination of the Alliance, but the total and complete takeover of Earth. She’ll first take care of the Alliance and then begin the takeover of the North American continent. It’s a brilliant strategy. The Alliance will never see it coming.”
General Tyd and High Priest Kondyk watched from the palace balcony as the army flowed into the thirteen black clouds.
“The queen has streamlined the gateways so that each can move thirty-five hundred soldiers and their supplies per day,” General Tyd said. “So in the eleven days we’ve planned, we’ll move more than five hundred thousand warriors to Earth. Two of the gateways will be landing in two separate locations outside of Seattle. That puts seventy-seven thousand warriors there. Their objective is the Alliance. The queen knows the Alliance is vulnerable there. They have no army. The Alliance will be on their own. You and I will go with the last to leave for Seattle.”
“General Warsett is in charge of four of the portals,” Kondyk said. “He’ll have a hundred fifty-four thousand soldiers at his disposal. They’ll be divided between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland. General Wormlet will be using three of the gateways to take a hundred fifteen thousand soldiers into the San Francisco area. And General Haflyf will be using six gateways to get two hundred thirty-one thousand soldiers into the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. Torron has given them instructions to follow.”
“The plan is to lock down the West Coast of the United States and then recruit the willing and build an even larger army of Torron soldiers combined with recruited human soldiers,” Tyd said. “We’ll be invincible. We can’t lose.” He smiled. “We really got lucky when Smalik found Mr. Hill’s notes.”
“Smalik was trying to find a cure for Torron after she returned from Africa,” Kondyk recalled.
“In his effort to save the queen, he stumbled on the way to recreate the Wand of Torron,” Tyd said. “The first one was lost in the battle for Africa. Now she has a new wand, and the Alliance doesn’t know she has it. She’ll destroy those who oppose her and convert those willing to follow us.”
“Are you aware of the issues with Hagred?” General Tyd asked.
“Yes,” Kondyk said. “She called her high priests to her chamber. Panard, Smalik, and I were present when she confronted Hagred and Margot.”
“Isn’t Hagred some kind
of wizard himself?” Tyd asked. “With powers of his own?”
“Yes, he wanted to be in charge of Africa. He was making such a fuss over that continent that Torron thought there must be a good reason for his ambitions there and decided to keep the entire world, leaving him with nothing. We watched as the two battled. It was fierce. In the end, Torron’s wand was too strong for Hagred. He and Margot left, but on their way out, Hagred promised he would help the Alliance defeat Torron on Earth.”
“So where are Hagred and Margot now?” Tyd asked.
“I’m not sure. The only way from here to Earth is through one of the thirteen portals. We’re watching every one of them to see if we can catch them.”
~~~
Once the Alliance and the fathers were on the ground, the giant tree holding the Safe Haven faded away.
“The camp is back,” Jesse said. “Nothing has been destroyed.”
“The destruction of the camp was on the fathers’ time line,” Steve said. “We’re now on our time line.” He walked up and put his hand on the tree stump sticking up out of the ground. “Dead is dead.” He clenched his jaw.
“Look,” Matt said as he pointed into the distant sky. “Torron has created one, two, three . . .” He continued counting under his breath. “ . . . twelve, thirteen. Thirteen portals. She’s bringing everything she has.”
“When you left to go on your treks, she was only coming into the forest with one portal,” Marcus said.
“She wouldn’t do this if she thought she could be defeated,” John said. He took Jeremy by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. “This is troubling. She would never take the risk of leaving Gandoral unguarded unless she was confident she would be victorious.”
“Does she think you’re weak?” Ed asked. “Why would she think you’re weak?”
Matt sighed and looked at the others. “Well, it could be that our successes were more luck than skill. We put a lot of plans in place for our last trek into Africa, but even then, we got lucky. We’re not convinced we have the skills to defeat her when faced on the battlefield.”
“You know the definition of luck, right?” Ed asked. “Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet. If you prepare yourself well, you will see the opportunities as they pass by. Other people seeing your success will say your just lucky. But, you will know that luck comes to those who are well prepared and then, clearly see the opportunities as they present themselves.”
“Well, our preparation has been sparse and opportunities few,” Steve said. “I think it’s been pure luck, the kind you have without preparation. Pure luck.”
“Steve’s not far off the mark,” Jesse said. “We’ve been really lucky. I’m not sure we can get this done. We’ll definitely need your help and guidance.”
“We can’t help you,” John said. “You’re on your own. We have to get back to Seattle to protect your mothers. Torron will come after us and our wives to use us against you. You don’t need the distraction, so we’ll head back there.”
“Here, you’ll need these,” Ed said as he laid their cell phones and tablets on the picnic table.
The fathers left in the RVs.
Steve threw up his hands in disgust. “Well, there you go. It’s the same ole same ole. We’re on our own without any real help.” He started to laugh. “This is really funny. It’s a Greek tragedy. We’re the heroes in a Greek tragedy. We’ll go down in history as the Alliance that failed the world. We’ll be famous, all right.”
“We need to figure this out,” Jeremy said. “We have the tools. We need to figure out how to use them.”
“You’re real funny, Jeremy,” Steve said. “Look into the sky. Torron’s bringing tens of thousands, if not millions, of her soldiers. She’s in it to win it.”
“Look,” Jesse said as she pointed into the distance.
Four F-18s came into view from behind the distant mountains. It only took fifteen or twenty seconds for Torron to respond to the oncoming aircraft. A beam of laser light and fire streaked across the sky and took down the first plane. The other three darted in several different directions, then hit their afterburners and jumped to supersonic speed. Three sonic booms were heard as they tried to get away. The beam quickly crossed the sky and took out two more planes. The last plane was escaping as the beam hit it and carved out a chunk of the mountain at the same time.
~~~
Several miles northeast of Big Bear, California, three hunters were on their annual hunting vacation.
This is my most favorite place in the whole world, Gary thought as he stood looking over a small valley in front of his mountain cabin. He was holding on to the barrel of his hunting rifle, perched on his shoulder. This is the best part of the year, hunting with my two best friends for two whole weeks, he thought. We’re far enough away from civilization that sometimes I believe it doesn’t really exist.
On any other day, the crisp pine air, the deep blue sky, the three puffy white clouds, and the slow breeze would warm his heart. But today, there were six strange black clouds overhead, four headed toward Los Angeles and two headed south toward San Diego.
That’s strange, he thought.
“Why did you bring your hunting rifle, Gary?” Johnny asked as he came out of the cabin. “It’s extra baggage.”
“I always have it with me when I go hunting,” Gary said. “You know that.”
“Yeah, but it’s bow season,” Johnny said.
“You know me,” Gary said. “I’m a good Boy Scout. I’m always prepared.”
“If the rangers catch you with it, they’ll have a lot of questions,” Sammy said.
“I don’t give a flip what the rangers think,” Gary said. “It’s none of their business why I carry my rifle with me. The government needs to stay out of my face. Besides, we’re so far out in the wilderness, they would never bother coming out here. That’s why I chose this place to build my cabin.” Gary pointed his rifle at a target he had set up across a small valley and pulled the trigger. The target spun as the bullet hit the metal.
“We’re not as far into the wilderness as you think,” Sammy said. “Big Bear is only ten miles away as the crow flies. You know the sound of your rifle will bring a ranger, so why make the noise?”
Gary took another shot and laughed. “The only ones who get ticked off about me shooting are the other bow hunters, and I don’t think there are any around here.”
“Have you figured out what those trails of smoke are that streaked across the sky yesterday?” Johnny asked, changing the subject.
“No, yesterday I only thought they were interesting, but they’re still here today,” Gary said as he looked up at the six tubes of black smoke streaking across the sky. “You would think they would move with the wind, but they seem to be stable.”
“Is there anything on the web about them?” Sammy asked.
“There’s no bars up here,” Johnny said. “Our phones won’t work until we get closer to Big Bear.”
“Those smoke streaks are a little unsettling,” Sammy said. “Maybe we should head home.”
“There’s no way we’re going home,” Gary said. “This vacation is the only time I get to do what I want. We need three deer to meet our quota, and we haven’t missed our quota once in the thirteen years we’ve been coming up here. I built this cabin to get away. The two weeks we’re here is a break from the stress. We just got here yesterday. Come on. We’ve got some hunting to do.” Gary led them into the pine forest.
“He’s such a hardhead,” Johnny whispered to Sammy. “We should go home.”
“You know how he is,” Sammy whispered back. “He got that tough-guy attitude from when we were together in Afghanistan. We had to be tough. It was war.”
Chapter 6
Haste Makes Waste
“What do we do now?” Jesse asked. She looked directly at Matt.
Matt hesitated. “I . . . I’m not sure.”
“Well, someone needs to step up,” Steve said. “Apparently, Torron’s bringing a large
army to Earth, and we’re the ones that were supposed to stop her.”
“Let’s look at the map and scroll,” Jeremy suggested. “Maybe there’s something there that can help us.”
“Okay,” Jesse said as she pulled the leather pouch out of her knapsack and pulled out the map. She unfolded the map and spread it out on the picnic table.
Jeremy retrieved the scroll from beneath his shirt and removed the scroll from the wooden tube. It read as follows:
Danger is low right now but will increase rapidly to extreme in the next few hours. Torron has launched the largest attack ever against Earth. She has witnessed your weaknesses and has determined you are vulnerable. You are not as weak as she perceives. You must quickly join forces with the US military to face this attack. Remember what you’ve learned, leverage your talents, and use the nine Symbols of Power.
“Oh my gosh!” Jesse exclaimed as she laid the map on the table. “She’s invading the whole West Coast.”
“Use the nine Symbols of Power?” Steve said, shaking his head. “What does that mean? How do we use the nine Symbols? We don’t even have all nine.”
“We got two of them on our first trek, Jesse’s Symbol and the Dagger of Valdar,” Matt said. “We got my Symbol on trek two and Jeremy’s Symbol on trek three. We got three of the Symbols on trek four—Steve’s Symbol, the Shield of Innocence, and the Ax of Norrid. That’s seven of the nine Symbols.”
“Yeah, we only have two to find, the Wand of Wongate and the Bracelet of Witstal,” Jeremy said. “We know where the wand is. It’s in the Cathedral of Gardenel. The only one left to find is the bracelet.”
“All of that’s true,” Steve said, “but we don’t actually have the wand in hand. Torron could find it before we do.”
“Let’s get down to business,” Matt said. “From the looks of the map, Torron is attacking with thirteen armies all at once. If she started landing here yesterday, the day we left camp to go on our first trek, that means she started leaving Gandoral four days ago and started landing here yesterday. We don’t know how big her army is or how long it will take for her to get it all in place, but it will likely take at least a week, given what happened in Africa.”
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