Bev said, “We have to think this through. No one will leave tonight.”
Carson stood looking over Charles’ shoulder. He turned the journal shelves around, took the journal with the missing page from the shelf and tapped it. “Charles, if we decide it is safe for you to go, just come back to us safe and sound.”
“I plan on it.”
Carson flipped through the journal until he came to the page that had directions on how to get back from the other side of the clock. He tapped it with his pointer finger, and then placed a hand on Charles’ shoulder. “If you find that it is too dangerous or something goes wrong, stop the mission and come back. What you are doing is a noble gesture but you could get yourself killed over there. Todd made a mistake by doing what he did but that doesn’t mean you need to pay the price for him.
“Charlie, I don’t know what is on the other side of that cuckoo clock. I’m not sure how it works exactly… I wish I could tell you what to expect but I can’t. I can’t tell you where you should go to find him or the date you will travel to. Once you get there you will have to rely on your instincts. Don’t forget to talk to Airabelle. We are hoping you will still be able to communicate with her. If you can then she will help, and you won’t feel alone. If we have to come after you, having the information you send back will help. Tonight we will research and gather as much information as we can. If we feel confident this is safe, then we should consider executing this plan tomorrow morning. I still feel like I should be the one to go. He won’t know you. I don’t know if you will be able to convince him to trust you.”
He turned to Bev with sad eyes and said, “Bev, if I had just turned the books around before I left the office this never would have happened.”
She shook her head. “How could you have known? No one knew he came from a Sojourner’s family. Maybe they don’t even know. For all we know this could have been an accident.”
Carson shook his head. “It all makes sense now. Todd and his family knew all along. They knew we are Sojourners too.” He recounted for Bev and Charles the times Todd and his family had visited in the home library.
“They must have sensed it during their visits. Remember after Todd disappeared, his mother and father came to visit? We noticed during the visit that his mother left the library. You came across Mrs. Schluter upstairs wandering around. Do you remember what she said? ‘I am looking for a way out.’ She was looking for a Passageway. That is why she looked so lost and confused. She was looking for an Incident Passageway. That is what this is. The journal entry says there are several types of Passageways; one of those types happens to be an Incident Passageway.
Charles asked, “What is an Incident Passageway?”
Carson turned to him and said, “It is a Passageway that is very specific. It takes you to a specific incident in time where you can participate in events. When you have finished the adventure you are then transported back. Few Sojourners dare to do this because you are without a safety net. You are actually put into a real life situation that you can’t plan for. You can actually stay for long periods of time in order to participate. It isn’t like our primary Passageway over here, where you have a specific goal and you choose a specific time period that you can plan for and research. An Incident Passageway chooses for you randomly, where you will go and what the situation is. It is all based on the luck of the draw.
“Mr. and Mrs. Schluter probably thought I could pull off having such a Passageway because I was a history teacher. When they didn’t find an Incident Passageway in the house, they must have believed our farm wasn’t the correct place to look. They didn’t want to risk telling us their suspicions in case we weren’t Sojourners. They’d seem crazy and worse yet they’d attract the attention, in the worst possible way, of the Sojourners’ Council. They just assumed they were on the wrong track. They stopped coming fearing something else must have happened to Todd.
Charles rubbed his head. “I’ve never heard of an Incident Sojourner. I haven’t seen anything written about them.”
Carson put his hand on Charles’ shoulder. “Some secrets are not written; they have just been passed down verbally from generation to generation. If they are written down, you have to know where to find them. Many things haven’t been discovered yet. It is confusing. It seems this particular Passageway was one of the originals. Not many of them are still around, for obvious reasons. You don’t have control over the outcome.”
Bev said to Charles, “That is the beauty of Sojourning. Many things aren’t always what they seem. There are still plenty of mysteries to be discovered. No two families approach Sojourning in the same way. Each family receives something different from Sojourning.”
Carson said, “Time is wasting. I’ve decided I must be the one to go.”
“Carson Jones, I understand what you are saying but you don’t know what it is like on the other side. I don’t think it is wise for you to go,” Bev said.
Charles agreed. “I don’t think you should go. This is my vision, the cuckoo talks to me, and I am going.”
“No, I want to go. I think I should be the one. When you find Todd he won’t recognize you. It is doubtful he will listen to someone he doesn’t know. He might run away or worse yet attack you. Plus we have not heard back from Dimitrios. Going without permission may get you in serious trouble.”
Charles said, “That is a chance I will have to take. Todd’s life may be in danger. The clock suggests that time is running out for him to return. If he wants to come home he will listen. If it is too dangerous, I will come back. I have no intention of being caught and held in that dimension.”
Carson sat down at his desk. Bev and Charles pulled up chairs and together they researched what they could find about Incident Passageways. They went over the instructions in the journal for coming back several times. Then Carson looked through the family journals to see if he could locate entries where someone had dared to use an Incident Passageway.
CHAPTER 83
The next morning Charles woke up, dressed, and ran downstairs to eat breakfast. Bev and Carson were already sitting at the table. The three sat and discussed, one more time, the dangers of an Incident Passageway.
Bev said, “Charlie, we are having a hard time sending you on this mission. It’s not that we don’t think you can. We are worried about you going to a time and place we have not been able to research. We still have so many questions. Paw Paw is an experienced traveler and we think he should go with you.”
“I understand. That’s fine if we go together.”
After he finished breakfast they headed over to the office. Carson and Charles went down to the clothes closet and dressed in nondescript plain clothes. They headed back to the office and went over the instructions again. Carson had already packed a small leather bag for each of them, which had everything they might need.
Charles slung his over his shoulder and said, “We are traveling light, that’s just the way I like it.” They put their glasses on.
They discussed the possibilities of what could occur on the other side of the Passageway while they waited. Charles took hold of Carson’s hand.
When the hour struck the cuckoo emerged and said, “Only the chosen one may pass.”
It happened so fast… Carson turned to talk to Bev and released Charles’ hand. They were discussing whether Charles should go or not. They had just agreed he shouldn’t go, when a flash of light shot through the room. Bev and Carson covered their eyes from the brightness. In the same instant, during the confusion, Charles’ raised his left hand to shield his eyes as he looked toward the clock.
When Carson and Bev opened their eyes, Charles was gone.
The boy at the end of the line had called out to him, “Don’t be afraid.” As the boy came closer to Charles, he grabbed ahold of Charles’ left hand and held on tight. The children were all laughing and running; singing an unfamiliar song. They ran toward a house that was the exact replica of the cuckoo clock.
The leader said, “Fo
llow me, here we go-o-o-o!” He entered through the door and disappeared. The children in front of Charles laughed as they disappeared one by one into the darkness. Charles was dragged into the pitch black. He heard a scream. He didn’t realize that he was the one screaming. When the boy in front of him let go of his hand Charles had the sensation of tripping on something and stumbling. As he was falling forward into the darkness, he awkwardly tried to reach out for something to stop his fall. His awkward movements sent his body into a head-over-heel spin. He was free falling through the darkness with nothing to stop him. It wasn’t until he stretched out his body that he positioned himself to a forward descent. His eyes were open as he fell. Memories flashed in his mind causing him to miss home and his family. The images were mirrored like reflections crashing all around him breaking into thousands of pieces. His body seemed to plummet through the shards of broken glass creating a kaleidoscope effect. At one point Charles wondered why he had been chosen to leave his family behind. He wondered what kind of mess he had gotten himself into. Was a mistake made or had he actually chosen to go? He couldn’t remember…
Charles wondered if Todd had felt the same way. He worried the fall could continue forever. Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop, landing on his stomach on a dirt floor. He scanned his body to make sure nothing was broken or sprained. When Charles realized he was fine, he raised his head to look around. He adjusted his glasses. His eyes were blurry as he tried to focus on objects and make sense of what was surrounding him. He moved his body but it was numb. It started to tingle as the feeling came back to his limbs. Charles decided it was safe to slowly roll over and sit up. When he thought he was ready he stood. His legs were wobbly. He bent over because his head throbbed. He rubbed his temples and tried not to think about what had just happened to him. He finally stretched his back and straightened his body. Charles slowly began to feel better.
He looked around. The sun was casting a dim light in the cellar. Charles felt for the bag that Carson had given him. He was glad it was still on his body. The light was just bright enough to make his way to the door and unlock it. He opened it and walked up the steps to the street. He looked around. Charles knew enough to take note of his surroundings. He looked in the bag, took out a pencil and pad of paper. Charles wrote “588”, the number on the building. He headed in the direction of the nearest street sign. Once he reached it, he wrote: Quimby Street.
Charles looked around. Across the street was a park. He wasn’t sure in which direction he should head to begin his journey. All he knew was he needed to find Todd fast because it was going to be dark very soon. Down the street a short distance away he saw a young man walking toward him. Charles tried to get his attention by flapping his sore arms.
The lad darted across the street before he reached Charles and headed toward the park running. Charles ran after him. As fast as the young man ran, Charles ran even faster. He felt like he was running for his life. This was the only person he had seen since he arrived and he was determined to catch up with him. The young man ran toward a stone bridge that took him to a lamp-lit path. Charles felt that if he could muster just a little more speed he could catch him. If only the landing from the Passageway fall had been less abrupt and hard, making his body ache. Charles legs weren’t quite ready for chasing someone. He felt the urgency to catch up. He willed his body to give this race all he had. Up ahead was a lit fountain. Just as Charles reached him, the young man took something out of his pocket. At this point Charles was now close enough to see what it was. As he tossed a shiny coin into the fountain the young man stood mouthing something silently.
Charles bent over holding his side, “Man what are you doing? You’re killing me! Why did you run from me?”
The young man also out of breath looked at Charles and said, “I’m making a wish. What are you doing?”
Charles still bent over, looked up and said, “I’m lost and I need help. I need directions to find an old friend.”
“Is that all? I thought you were going to rob me.”
“What? I just needed information.”
“Huh?”
Charles then understood that the young man hadn’t seen him on the street. “Oh okay, I get it now… I was on Quimby Street when I saw you walking toward me. I tried to get your attention, but you raced across the street to this park. I followed hoping you could help me find a friend.”
“I crossed the street because I always come here to make my wish at the fountain every day, rain or shine. Nothing is going to stop me. Some days I don’t have a coin so I toss in a soda top. Doesn’t really matter. Today I had a coin that I earned. Maybe someday I will get my wish.”
**********
Carson was frantic. He turned to Bev and said, “If I hadn’t let go… If I hadn’t turned my head and covered my eyes…”
Airabelle’s eyes were wide open. She was taking everything in. Finally she breathed, “He’s okay! He’s okay… Write this address down… 588 Quimby Street.” She repeated the address Charles was writing as he walked along the street. She began telling them everything as Charles was thinking it. She hadn’t tried to talk to him yet, too much was happening right now. It was like listening to a radio soap opera. Carson and Bev listened completely engrossed in Airabelle’s play-by-play of events. Airabelle was very animated in her version of the scenes as they took place. She had an audience that was glued to her every word...
CHAPTER 84
Joseph didn’t wait for his father. When he entered the office, he grabbed what he needed and entered the Passageway. Some thoughts had occurred to him last night and he wanted to check things out for himself. He stepped through to the other side of the Passageway. He went straight to his office, entered the combination to his safe and took out his forged paperwork. Without saying a word to anyone, he left the facility and crossed the border to the Hub. Once across the border he went right to work. He knew he didn’t have long to complete his mission. Seamore would be alerting Donovan to the fact he had already crossed over. His father hated when he went to the Hub alone.
Joseph looked around at his surroundings. Their pawns were in their strategic places. He had to be careful to avoid being spotted by them. He knew he’d have to answer more questions if they caught sight of him.
What he hadn’t counted on was Nxy following him. She was curious. What was he doing crossing the border? Joseph rarely came over to the Hub. It was risky and in the netherworld they rarely gambled unless they knew they’d win. It was just by chance she saw him from the reflection in a window. She was the only one who paid any attention to him stepping out of the door of their phony business. He must have forgotten she was a “Roamer.” He wouldn’t necessarily have been able to spot her because she, unlike the others, was a chameleon. Joseph on the other hand was not.
She smirked at the fact that he was so bad at changing his appearance. She rubbed the beads of her necklace as she stood and watched him. Nxy wondered what this bad boy was up to wandering so far away from where he was safe. From what she could tell he didn’t even have an assigned bodyguard with him. “Naughty, naughty,” she whispered to herself, “Big Daddy won’t like that one little bit.”
As the target moved she was aware that he was checking out the pawns in their assigned locations. When he went into the market it was time for her to catch up with him. It was just crowded enough to make it easy for him to escape. She didn’t want to let him get too far ahead. This was just too wicked of a game of cat and mouse for her to lose him before she discovered what he was up to.
Joseph stopped and looked around. Someone was following him he could sense their eyes on him. He was almost to his destination. He darted into an alley, waited and watched. He was losing patience because he had to get back across the border.
There she was. She looked into the alley. He stayed hidden behind the barrier and waited for her to enter the alley. She crept up on him. She drew closer. He was waiting for her to take one, more, step. As soon as her foot came down he snatched h
er and pulled her to him. Their eyes met and she grinned knowing he’d caught her. “So, you did know I was following you.”
“Now the table has turned and the hunter becomes the captured. The answer to your statement is no. I suspected someone was watching, but I wasn’t sure. It’s better it was you than some big ugly guy. My hiding space is close quarters.”
“I see that. Do you come here very often?”
“Only if a pretty lady is following me. Now what are you doing spying on me? Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I wasn’t. I just happened to catch sight of you. You don’t disguise yourself very well.”
He looked her over. “You do.”
She asked, “Now that you caught me what are you going to do with me?”
“That’s obvious isn’t it?”
CHAPTER 85
The two young men stood close to the fountain. The wind began to disturb the water’s spray, blowing a fine mist toward them. It felt good on their sweaty bodies.
The young man turned to Charles and said, “This is where it gets really good.” He hopped up on the wall of the fountain and walked around it, muttering a spell to relieve his homesickness. The wind picked up. Images began appearing in the spray of the fountain. Charles walked around the fountain watching each image as it formed.
The young man hopped down, leaned over the fountain wall and asked, “What do you see?”
Charles looked at him, and then looked back at the images in the spray. Charles pointed to the images. “Whoa. How did you do that?”
The young man looked at Charles with anticipation. “Do what?”
“That. The images around the fountain…”
“You see them?”
“Oh, I see them all right…”
The Xidoran Prophecy Page 63
