The Traveler's Return (Traveler Series 3)

by Dr L. Jan Eira

  “She’s communicating with her computer,” whispered Ellie to the parents. “She’s giving it thought commands.”

  “Her computer is analyzing William’s present neurologic condition,” murmured Brent.

  A moment later, Alexandra opened her eyes. She gasped and collapsed on the bed, her consciousness again wavering.

  “Let’s get her back on the wheelchair and take her to the cave,” yelled Ellie.

  Monroe came to Alexandra and held her hand. “We want to help you. Tell us how to do it.”

  Alexandra opened her eyes and spoke softly, “I found out that my avatar is deteriorating at a fast rate. It is losing integrity, and my essence will not be able to persist for more than an hour.” She struggled to speak, her frailty abounding. “But I can get a little more time if I reintegrate with the rock.”

  “Please push our wheelchairs and get a vehicle to take us all to the cave,” yelled Ellie.

  “We’ll show you where to go,” said Brent.

  “Alexandra doesn’t have much time,” continued Ellie. “We need to get there fast.”

  Parent, doctors, nurses and technicians helped place Alexandra on the wheelchair and soon the little girl, Brent and Ellie were being taken outside where a special ambulance was waiting to rush them to the cave. The three wheelchairs were secured in the back of the vehicle, while two nurses, two paramedics and a driver hopped in and soon the rig was on its way.

  Brent provided directions to the driver during the trip, which lasted forty minutes. The wheelchairs were pushed slowly through the rough terrain outside and inside the cave and soon the three were right in front of a huge rock formation. Two of the nurses who accompanied them held up powerful flashlights providing illumination. With assistance, Alexandra walked to and then leaned flat against the large stone. On contact, portions of the rock began to liquefy into a gelatinous material matching the avatar’s size and shape. Soon, her little body was engulfed, save for her face which remained uncovered.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Integrating my avatar with the rock center will help me rejuvenate and regain my strength and abilities.”

  Brent and Ellie tossed a wan smile and looked down.

  “How long can you go on like this?” asked Brent.

  “Not long.”

  With new tears in her eyes, Ellie said, “Walk us through this once more, Alexandra. You’ll erase our memories of any and all events concerning you and the other travelers.”

  “Planet Earth’s atmosphere will begin changing in about five hours,” said Alexandra. “A new gas will enter your air, which you are unable to detect or perceive in any way.” Alexandra scanned the area, her gaze momentarily connecting with every eye in the cave. “This gaseous element is now part of your ozone layer, but it has been slowly dissipating into the breathable air around your planet.”

  “What will this new gas do?” asked Brent.

  “All human brain cells, computer data, and recording equipment on this planet have been tagged with a molecule. This was done when we first arrived on your planet. When the new gas and this molecule interact, it will cause your memories, your computer data, and so forth to be modified so as to cause you to forget about us, the changes in weather pattern we caused, the virus that caused sterility, your dreams…” Alexandra stopped to catch her breath, her little face revealing signs of profound fatigue and weakness. She looked at Ellie and Brent. “The two of you will not remember the alternate worlds we had created for you while we studied you and learned to communicate with you.”

  “So, everything will go back to the way it was before you travelers arrived?” asked Ellie.

  Alexandra nodded. “Yes!”

  “But all these processes were left here when you first left with the others?” asked Brent.

  “Yes. This process of erasing all memories was prescheduled to occur today. In four and a half hours.”

  There was a long period of silence.

  “So, what will happen to you?” asked Ellie.

  “I want to say good-bye to Valerie,” said Alexandra. “Then I will be no more.” Alexandra’s face began to morph into a beautiful smile. “There, I did it. I wanted to accomplish a happy face before I—”

  “And it is a beautiful smile,” said Ellie, her face in a beam, too. Brent nodded.

  With this, Alexandra stepped away from the rock, her features again changing into the avatar body, her long white hair long to her shoulders. Behind her, the large rock remodeled and resolidified to its initial appearance. She moved her legs and arms and took a deep breath. “There. As good as new. At least for a little while longer.”

  One by one, Alexandra shook hands with all those present in the cave, leaving the two teenagers for last. Tears spilled copiously as the little girl visited with each of the people in the room.

  “Thank you for everything, Alexandra,” said Ellie as she received a long embrace.

  Alexandra next moved toward Brent, her arms wide open. “I now realize you willingly gave your life to save Valerie,” he said. “You knew you wouldn’t ever be able to return to your planet, didn’t you?”

  Alexandra stood still a long moment and then said, “Yes, I knew.” The two held each other a long while, new tears flooding all eyes. “I’m sorry about Valerie and William. I wish I could have done more.”

  “Well, you did what you could,” said Ellie.

  “And for that we thank you profusely,” reiterated Brent.

  Alexandra walked out of the cave, slowly. As soon as she was out of the cave, she gave a thought command. “Computer, I need air transportation to Boston. I need to see Valerie as soon as possible.” She began walking fast at first then broke into a sprint.

  “Computing, Commander. Please explain your trip to Boston so that I can help you with efficiency and speed.”

  “There is one more task I would like to finish, though I’m not sure it will work. I must try. Maybe there’s some hope for Valerie and William.”

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  The 2008 Eclipse 500 small jet was designed to provide a maximum speed of 425 miles per hour, but Alexandra was able to rig the engine and enrich the fuel, which resulted in an average velocity from Indy to Boston of 550 miles per hour. Like before, she was able to dupe the radar units on the ground, thereby remaining undetected. The jet’s wheels touched the runway at Norwood Memorial Airport imperceptibly, and soon Alexandra deplaned again, leaving the plane by the perimeter fence. She scaled the barrier with ease and located a suitable vehicle in the airport’s parking lot. She gained access into the car and drove to the hospital.

  “Computer, I realize this task has never been accomplished,” said Alexandra. “But what is the likelihood of success?”

  “Extrapolating what is known about transferring your essence from your body into an avatar, I believe it is feasible to likewise transfer from an avatar into a human.”

  Alexandra scurried from the rear parking lot, where she parked the appropriated car, to the main hospital building’s back entrance. “Computer, compute the safest way to accomplish this task.”

  She entered the large edifice and moved swiftly, trying all along to avoid contact with people. A small child wandering the halls of a big medical center would raise questions and obstacles for her and end up delaying her arrival at her destiny.

  Already she was beginning to experience early tingling sensations in her feet, a sign she realized this time around heralded the onset of the complete dematerializing of her avatar.

  Delilah’s shift was coming to an end, and she couldn’t wait to rush home today. It was her birthday, and a surprise party by her family was surely in preparation. She stood by the machine that would allow her to clock out at 5:00 p.m., her timecard in hand. She paced in place, her anxiety bubbling.

  “Come on, come on.” She enticed the clock to go faster. “Four fifty-eight. Four fifty-eight; can I get four fifty-nine?” More marching, side to side. Delilah yelped when the clock finally acceded to one minute to f
ive.

  “Happy birthday, Delilah,” a voice said from behind her.

  “Oh, hi, Harriett,” said Delilah. “Thanks!”

  “What are you doing for your birthday?”

  “I think my family is throwing me a surprise party, but I’m not sure. They all played it nonchalantly this morning.”

  Harriett nodded her head a few times. “I’m sure they’re up to something. Have fun, whatever it is they got planned for you this evening.”

  “I sure will,” said Delilah. “Finally, five o’clock.” She punched her timecard and placed it in the appropriate slot.

  Harriett did the same thing. “Hey, what happened to that young woman’s dead body?”

  “I don’t know,” said Delilah, pushing through the door to the parking lot. “I put her in the fridge door myself earlier today. When pathology came to get her ready to be taken to the mortuary, she was gone. Whoever took her left a whole bunch of rock pieces all over the floor. Weirdos!”

  “Well, she didn’t walk out on her own.”

  The two women got out to the parking lot, a few others behind them.

  “I just don’t know,” said Delilah. “The police were called to investigate.” She got to her car and fished out the keys from her purse. “We get a body snatched every couple of years.” She entered her car. “Crazy people.”

  “See you tomorrow,” said Harriett. “Have a cold one for me.”

  In a small conference room near the hospital’s morgue, Alexandra lay next to Valerie’s lifeless body. A white sheet covered the dead girl’s corpse.

  Alexandra took a deep breath and then her chest heaved in and out fast several times. She arched her back violently for a long moment then stopped suddenly.

  Small particles began to leave Alexandra’s being and concentrate a few inches over her. As more and more of these particles concentrated, a thick gaseous matter formed that wavered there for several seconds. As if commanded by a strong gust of wind, this smoke-like matter undulated toward Valerie and entered into her mouth.

  Valerie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Valerie sat up on the floor and looked next to her. Keeping the white around her, she grabbed at the small mound of powder and small particles of rock. And just like that, Alexandra was no more.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  “How much longer of this, Dad?” asked Valerie. “I was hoping I could go meet up with my friends at the mall.”

  “The third floor is next,” said Dr. Rovine. “You’re up to seventy dollars, and all you had to do was meet people, see what I do at work, ask questions, and have fun.”

  “I must admit it has been more fun than I’d anticipated. But I’m getting tired now.” Valerie’s eyes met her father’s. “Maybe I do want to be a doctor after all.”

  They walked a few beats in silence, a grin forming on Dr. Rovine’s face.

  “We have one young man on the third floor to round on,” said Dr. Rovine. “Then you can go. I have to stay since I’m on call for the ER. You can take the Lexus and pick me up later.”

  Valerie smiled. “So, who’s this young man we’re rounding on?”

  “William Baden is fifteen years old. The police shot him. Apparently he was in jail but for a crime he didn’t commit. We almost lost him several times, but he’s stable. I heard the surgeons talk about some albino child who blessed him and saved his life. They say the little kid was actually an angel.”

  “An albino child saved the boy?” asked Valerie. “An angel? Give me a break!”

  “That’s what the surgeons and the surgical nurses say. I say it just wasn’t his time to go.”

  “So, is he going to be all right?” she asked.

  “He’s stable, but he’s been in a coma for a few months. Not sure why!”

  “We need to get the little albino girl to come back and wave her hand,” said Valerie, rolling her eyes. “That’ll perk him up. Raise him from the dead.”

  They arrived on the third floor. Dr. Rovine sat at the nurse’s station. “Valerie, occupy yourself for a few minutes while I make a call and review Baden’s lab data. I’ll meet you in his room in a few….” He picked up the landline phone. “Three doors down on the left.”

  Valerie walked into William Baden’s room. Looking at him, you would just say he was slumbering comfortably, but Valerie knew it was more than that. He was unconscious, unaware, unable to be lifted from this deep sleep and had remained so for months. She looked around the room. On his bedside table, there was a picture of him and two other teenagers.

  Brent and Ellie, thought Valerie. How are you, my old friends?

  “Ellie, is that you?” Valerie heard a woman’s voice from behind her, and she turned to see who had spoken.

  “No, I’m Valerie Rovine. I’m shadowing my dad today.”

  “I’m Sonny, his nurse,” she said, pointing at William. “I thought you were someone else.”

  Valerie nodded. “Good friend?”

  Sonny smiled. “The very best. Ellie and Brent have been at William’s side almost his entire coma.” She looked down and then left the room.

  Valerie then placed her hands around William’s head and gave a thought command. “Computer, analyze why William Baden is in a coma and find the best way to reverse it.”

  A few minutes later, Valerie exited William’s room and took a right toward the nurses’ station. She stood in the hall and heard the elevator ding and the doors open. She looked back and saw Ellie and Brent stride toward William’s room and soon disappear into it. Sonny entered the room right after them. A long moment passed, and the nurse rushed out again.

  “Dr. Rovine, William Baden woke up from his coma! It’s a miracle. William is awake!”

  The End

  Other books by this author:

  Still (a medical-murder mystery)

  Harmed series (a two-book series, medical-murder mysteries)

  First Do No Harm

  Seconds from Revenge

  www.amazon.com/author/JanEiraBooks

  www.facebook.com/JanEiraBooks

  EXCERPT

  Harmed, book one

  The air was cool, increasing the airplane’s lift characteristics. The takeoff had been accomplished with textbook precision, and the aircraft climbed effortlessly at a thousand feet per minute to seven thousand feet. Jack scanned the airspeed indicator to ascertain that the pull on the yoke was just right. It was. Once at six thousand feet, the warning buzzer alerted him that the time to discontinue the climb was near. He had filed this flight to seven thousand feet; seven thousand and one would be legal but in bad form, if you asked Jack. He made all the necessary yoke and trim changes, and soon the airplane stopped climbing. He leaned the fuel and air mixture and positioned the prop lever at its correct setting. Immediately beneath him, he could see the fluffy material of a large cloud being overtaken by the speeding aircraft.

  Being the senior cardiac electrophysiology fellow caused Dr. Jack Norris’s already busy daily schedule to become even more hectic and sometimes unbearably so. The time he could devote to fly the Beechcraft Bonanza became ever so scarce. His Bonanza was to him as a pacifier to a baby. He would make every effort possible to get up at five o’clock in the morning at least once a week so that he could take her for a flight into the clouds. He loved that best. To direct the Bonanza into the fluffy whiteness of a calm cloud relaxed Jack to the point where the expected troubles of the rest of the day would become meaningless. He would fly just above the clouds until it was time to return home. A plunge into the white swirls of cotton-like mass would make instrument flying necessary. He felt challenged but in control.

  His beeper vibrated. Then his cell phone. Then the beeper again. He had flown for forty-five minutes, though it seemed like only forty-five seconds had passed. Evidence of a busy day ahead was mounting as his cell phone quivered again. Better fly back, he thought.

  By the time the Bonanza came to a complete halt on the tarmac, Jack had received two more pages and another phone call. Although not
atypical for a busy doctor to be summoned so often during the workday, it seemed unusual for this to happen before seven o’clock in the morning. This piqued his curiosity. He had not had a chance to see who was trying so persistently to contact him. Now that the airplane was parked and secured on the tarmac, Jack examined his beeper’s numerical display first. Multiple pages from the same extension at the hospital appeared. His cell phone’s missed-calls display indicated the same number had tried him three times. He dialed it. An excited Dr. Stanley Mansfield answered on the first ring. Mansfield was a young-looking, thin junior cardiology fellow who Jack tolerated despite his constant nervous demeanor and obvious lack of confidence.

  “What’s up, Stan?” said Jack into the receiver.

  “Where the hell are you, Jack?” said Mansfield. “This place is going to hell in a handbasket. That patient we admitted yesterday—what’s his name, Butterfield or Butterhands or—”

  “Butterworth,” interjected Jack in a composed, controlled voice in an attempt to calm down the nervous young doctor on the other side of the phone call.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Butterworth. He just shot John Connor dead!”

  Jack gasped and squinted his eyes. “What?”

  “He shot a whole bunch of people at the hospital. Right here in our CCU. Oh my God! There’s blood all over the place,” continued Mansfield.

  “Is this a joke?” said Jack. “That can’t be!” He felt as if his heart had just dropped to his feet. “Are you sure?” Jack felt a growing lump form in his throat.

  “It’s like a war zone over here,” shouted Mansfield.

  Phone to his ear, Jack ran to his car and began his drive toward the hospital. This can’t be true!

  Mansfield was too disturbed and troubled to give any useful details of what had happened. Jack decided it was best to hang up and concentrate on the drive. The trip to the hospital seemed longer than ever. In the distance, he could hear sirens blaring. He was in shock, barely able to grasp what he had just been told.