by Sable Hunter
“Alaska is a mountainous state and the light show put on by the aurora borealis plays a huge role there. Surely, some of those missing went through a portal like Reno,” Journey said, her face drawn with worry.
“I think they did,” Lou agreed. “Then there’s the account of the man who was hunting elk at 10000 feet in Colorado. He was walking through the woods when he heard something that sounded like a loud hum. He kept walking, then realized the space in front of him began to look blurry, like looking through a pair of glasses that didn’t belong to him. He lifted his foot to take a step and was shocked when he stepped into nothing. Part of his leg just disappeared. He pulled it back out as quickly as he could and ran the other way.”
Reno was hanging on her every word, so Lou continued, “Here’s another. A well-documented case that dates back to 1873. James Worson, a shoemaker from England made a bet with several of his friends that he could run non-stop from his home to Coventry, a distance of sixteen miles. His friends took the bet and James began jogging at a moderate pace while his friends followed him in a horse-drawn carriage. He did okay for the first few miles, then his friends saw him trip on something, stumble, and fall forward – but he never hit the ground. He just disappeared right in front of their eyes. The police investigated but no trace of him was ever found.”
She barely paused to take a breath before launching into the next example. “In 1878, a sixteen-year old boy named Charles Ashmore was sent out to fetch a bucket of water from the well at his home in Quincy, Illinois. The weather was cold, and snow blanketed the ground. After he was gone longer than his family expected, they went to check on him. They saw his footprints in the fresh snow leading halfway to the well – then the footprints just stopped. He’d walked into oblivion, never to be seen again.”
She held up her hand. “One more. On September 23, 1880, a farmer named David Lang from Gallatin, Tennessee vanished into thin air while walking through a field right in front of his home.”
Journey looked frustrated. “But anything could’ve happened to him.”
“Let me finish,” Lou said gently. “His wife, children, and two neighbors who were passing by all witnessed him vanish in full view. His wife screamed and his children were speechless. They, along with the neighbors, all rushed to the spot where he disappeared. This was a plain open field with no trees, bushes, or depressions. He was just gone. People searched frantically for him but found nothing. The really odd thing was that the grass died in a fifteen-foot circle around the spot where they’d last seen him, as if burned by some sort of energy. For days after, his wife said she could hear him faintly calling her. She would answer, but his voice eventually faded away.”
“That was seriously creepy,” Journey shuddered.
“I’m not sure those stories contain any information of value we can use,” Reno muttered in an even tone.
“Other than indicate that people disappear more often than we realize,” Lou defended her research.
“Maybe.” Folding his arms over his chest, Reno stared out the window. “Did you gain any insight with Sculler? Anything we can use?”
Lou nodded slowly. “Yes, I think so. Unfortunately, the information I gained was both encouraging and frightening at the same time.”
“In what way?” Reno sat down and pulled his chair close to the table.
Lou pressed her lips together. “I’ll explain everything, but I want you to realize how dangerous this could be. I can offer you no assurance of any kind.”
Reno took a sip of coffee, then held his cup in both hands. “I don’t believe I’ve ever asked or expected a guarantee from you. I know you can’t give me one.”
“All right. We’ll work through this together. I don’t want you to rush into a decision.”
“I’ve already made my decision.” Reno’s statement was matter of fact as he took Journey’s hand. “We both have.”
“What do you mean? We?” Lou looked from one to the other.
“I’m going with him,” Journey announced evenly.
Lou’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“How do we know?” Journey asked, determined to push the issue.
Abruptly, Lou stood and patted her papers. “I need you to know that this isn’t just about a paper I’m writing. Or an earth-shattering scientific discovery. Those things are both true – but this is about you.” She indicated them with her hand. “My friends. This is about your life. Your existence. I can’t stress what I’m about to say enough.”
“Well, say it.” Journey encouraged.
“All right.” Lou sat down again. “After meeting with the research group and looking at their data, I was hit by how random and volatile this might be. We’ll go over the data I gleaned, but this is the main point I want to get across.” She paused, took a deep breath, making sure that both of them were listening to her. “Yes, I believe there have been other people who, like you, have traveled through a portal. The crux of my concern is that, other than you, we have no idea where these folks are or where they’ve gone. We don’t know if they went into the past, into the future – or somewhere else.”
“We know where I came from, Lou,” Reno wasn’t arguing, he was just trying to point out the obvious. “We also know where I want to return.”
Lou hit the table with her fist, then soothed over the spot as if to apologize. “We do know where you came from and where you ended up. What we don’t know is how. How to control it. If we’re going to send you back, we not only have to figure out how to activate the portal, we also must figure out how to control your destination. If we don’t, you might find yourself facing down a T-Rex.”
Reno looked to Journey for help. She responded automatically. “A T-Rex is a huge, flesh-eating dinosaur that lived seventy million years ago.”
“Damn. I see what you’re saying.”
“In other words, going through one of these portals can make a person virtually disappear off the face of the Earth. As we’ve learned from the scarce data, cases like yours are virtually unheard of. If the portals on Earth are connected to the ones in our magnetosphere, there could be bodies of the vanished floating hundreds of miles above the Earth – and we’d never know it.
Journey gasped at the starkness and bluntness of Lou’s commentary. “Floating above earth?” She could imagine a scene from some space odyssey nightmare. “Why is this happening?”
Reno covered her hand with his. “Nothing’s happening. Lou’s just talking to us, that’s all. Go ahead, Lou.”
“I believe I told you that NASA had sent up four unmanned space probes to collect data on the interaction between the Earth’s and the sun’s magnetic fields. The portals Dr. Sculler observed in the data they collected were completely unpredictable. They opened and closed in an instant.”
“Well, that makes sense,” Journey commented, trying to find something positive in what was being said. “The opening disappeared right after Reno went through. Right?” she looked at him to see what he thought.
“Yea, that’s true. Kinsella and his raiders weren’t able to follow me.”
Lou rubbed her hand across the papers as if testing the texture of the fibers. “Correct. Just like with Morgan Heimer, the men he was with didn’t even realize he was gone for a few seconds. It’s so quick. So complete.” She hesitated, searching for what she wanted to say. “It’s one thing when you’re talking electrons, quite another when you’re speaking of a human being. Very risky.”
“What if I’m willing to take the risk?”
“That’s up to you.” Lou glanced from Reno to Journey. “You’ll have to decide that if or when the time comes.”
Reno scooted his chair back so he could prop his foot up on the back of Journey’s chair. “Just tell me anything you can. The more I know, the more informed of a decision I can make.”
“All right.” She opened her notes. “The most recent studies by NASA’s Themis spacecraft and Europe’s Cluster Probe tell us that these magnetic
portals may be opening and closing dozens of times every day. Typically, they’re located tens of thousands of miles above earth where the solar winds interact with the earth’s geomagnetic fields. It’s believed that most of the portals are small and short-lived. There are a few that are vast, yawning, long-lasting things. What I found unsettling was the fact that these portals are unstable, invisible, and elusive. They open and close without warning.”
“So, there’s no way of controlling what Reno and I would be going through.” Journey was beginning to get the picture.
“No. Many of the other planets have magnetospheres that interact with the sun’s solar winds to varying degrees. Who’s to say how many thousands of portals open and close across our solar system each day? Hell, who knows where someone could end up walking through one of these things. Or walking out? Reno, it’s a one in a million wonder that you ended up here. There’s a possibility you could’ve stepped out on the surface of the moon, for God’s sake.”
Reno was listening, but he said nothing. His eyes were eating Journey up. The thought of putting her into danger made his heart sink. But how could he turn his back on his responsibilities? People’s lives were at stake. He felt sick. Torn.
“So, what are you saying? What do I do? Just give up?”
Lou shook her head, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “No, I wouldn’t recommend stopping our research or our preparations. Despite the data I’ve accumulated, we'll keep looking at possibilities and study every aspect. Plus, I’ll integrate what I’ve learned into the process. We’ll also analyze what happened to you to determine if there’s anything about your specific situation that could give us hope that your journey through time could be repeated. Safely.”
“How are we going to do that?” Reno asked, feeling discouraged.
“I don’t know.” Lou picked up her pen and tapped the end on the table. “Somehow, we need to get back to basics. Focus more on you and the place where this happened. I just wish there was someone…” She brightened and snapped her fingers. “There is someone. I don’t know much about him. He’s an authority on local legend and lore.” Lou began searching for a note in one of her files, her voice a low mutter. “One of my students gave me a paper that quoted him…something about people vanishing from Enchanted Rock. I planned to speak with him to ascertain if he knows anything relevant. Only problem – I lost the second page of the damn article. So, I don’t have a phone number, just a name. To complicate matters, I can’t get another copy of the article because my student is doing an internship in the wilds of Borneo. She’ll be off-grid for weeks.” She searched some more.” Ah, here it is. His name is Kota Blue. Have you ever heard of him?”
Journey smiled at Reno. “We have. He happens to work for Aunt Myra.”
“Seriously?” Lou was shocked. “See? A good sign. This is encouraging.”
“Possibly.” Reno rubbed the scruff on his chin. “To make this more interesting, I think he knows something.”
“Yes? About time-travel? About the past?” Lou encouraged him to elaborate.
“About me. He made some comments that lead me to believe he knows I’m from the past.”
Lou didn’t dispute his conclusion. “Interesting. Can you set up a meeting?” she asked Journey.
“He may be here now.” Journey pushed away from the table and moved to the window. “Yea, his truck is outside. Do you want me to ask him to join us?”
Lou looked at Reno as she spoke. “No time like the present.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Journey hurried away, grateful for a few moments to clear her mind.
Once she was gone, Lou rounded on Reno. “What are you thinking? Asking Journey to go back in time with you?”
Reno’s face grew stern. “I love her. She loves me.”
“If you love her like you say, you’d want to protect her. I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous this could be!”
Swallowing a sharp retort, Reno wheeled around and knocked one of the kitchen table chairs across the room. He watched it land, a little surprised it didn’t break into pieces. Lou was right. He knew she was right. “I’ll have to consider the best way to handle this. Just give me time.”
“Give you time?” Lou marched to the window. “Time is the most uncertain factor in this whole strange ordeal.” As she watched, she could see Journey returning. “Here she comes. You’d best pick up the evidence of your temper tantrum.”
Reno did as she suggested, willing himself to calm down. There was much to be done.
When Journey rejoined them, she sensed tension. “What’s going on?”
“Not a thing.” Reno came to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Just waiting for you. What did he say?”
“He’s almost through with his work. Kota doesn’t want to meet here, though. He’s asking that we meet him at his camp.”
“Where would that be?” Lou asked. “Should I change clothes?”
Journey eyed Lou’s suit. “Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. He said his camp isn’t far, just about a mile from the park on Sandy Creek.” She looked at Reno. “We were close to his place where we picnicked earlier.”
“All right. Give me a minute.” Lou hurried from the room to change into something more casual.
When she left, silence pervaded the room. Long moments past before Journey spoke up. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know.” He dry-scrubbed his face with both hands. “The clock is ticking. I’ve been having such a glorious time with you it seems I haven’t been aware of the passage of time.”
“What if Lou is right? What if your attempt at returning is as dangerous as she says it is?”
“I can’t think that way, baby. My arrival here was painless. Hell, I didn’t even know it had taken place. I was in the past one moment and the future the next. I can’t let fear keep me from honoring my responsibilities.”
She held her head high, her chin jutting out with strength and determination. “I’m not afraid, either.”
As Lou hurried back, Reno wasn’t required to comment on her bravery. “Are we ready?” he asked.
“Let me get my recorder.” Lou jogged to her bedroom.
“I think we should drive instead of walk.” Journey found her purse. “It might be dark when it’s time to start back.”
They agreed and followed Journey from the house. As they approached the Subaru, she handed the keys to Reno. “You can drive.” She wasn’t trying to give him practice, she was just too shaken to be on the road.
“Just tell me where to go.” As he climbed behind the wheel, she moved to sit beside him, while Lou crawled into the back seat.
Journey gave him the directions Kota had given her. Since the distance was short, they were there in no time. “Well, I have to say I’m surprised. This camp looks nothing like I was expecting.” In truth, this was no camp at all. Sitting high on a hill overlooking the creek, the house was small, but it was obviously a hill country dream home. Made of native stone and hewn logs, it looked to have been designed by a famed architect.
Reno had to chuckle. “I bet you were expecting him to live in a cave like Ela, weren’t you?”
Journey didn’t admit it, but Reno was right. “What does that say about me?” she muttered under her breath.
Reno came around to hold the doors for the women. “I think the word you’re looking for is stereotypes. You’ve bought into stereotypes.”
“What I don’t get is why he has the two houses. The modest one on the main road and this little jewel back in the brush.” Journey was still worrying about Kota’s situation as they made their way to the entrance. Before they could climb up on the porch to knock at the massive
front door, Kota came out to greet them. Unable to hold back her question, Journey just blurted it out. “Why do you have two houses?”
Kota gave her a sly grin. “To throw white men off my scent.”
Reno threw his head back and laughed. “I love it.”
Undeterred, Journe
y pressed on. “And why do you work for Myra?” She held out her hands. “You obviously don’t need the job.”
Kota ignored her question and bade them to enter. “Join me, please.” He held out his hand to Lou. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”
Lou blushed, finding the old man to be charming. “I’m Louisiana Evans. Call me Lou.”
“She’s Dr. Evans, Mr. Kota. Lou is a physicist and an anthropologist.”
“A woman who wears many hats.”
“Yes, I guess you could say that.” She opened her purse to peer inside. “Can I have your permission to record our session?”
“No. You cannot.”
Lou seemed shocked at his refusal. “Why not?”
He answered her question evenly. “I don’t want that new-fangled white man’s machine to capture my soul.” He chuckled and led them down some sturdy rustic steps to a sunken living area that featured a huge stone fireplace. “You may take notes if you wish. Now, please have a seat. I’ve been expecting this meeting.” Kota waited until all three of them were comfortable before he settled onto the hearth. “To answer your question, Journey, I work for your great aunt for several reasons. First, she is my friend. Second, she is an attractive woman.”
Reno chuckled at his second reason, but Kota just kept speaking.
“Third, honest work is good for the soul. But lastly, and most important is that it put me into a position to meet the journeyman when he arrived.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“The journeyman?” Journey asked, perplexed. “I don’t understand.”
Without directly responding to her question, Kota turned his focus to Reno. “I know who you are.”
Reno returned the old man’s assessing look. “I picked up on that fact the other day. Who do you say that I am?”
“You are the journeyman. You were foretold.”
Journey’s body shook as shivers rose from deep inside. She glanced at Lou for reassurance. Her friend acknowledged the moment, nodding, her eyes wide with anticipation.
