The Prophecies Trilogy (Omnibus Edition): A Dystopian Adventure

by Linda Hawley

  “Really? You’re coming here?”

  “Yeah, just a little stopover. Wanna pick me up at the Salt Lake Airport at nine tonight?”

  “Of course. Eliott and I will be there. Just call me on my cell when you land, and we’ll tell you where we are in the airport.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll talk to you then. I love you, Elinor.”

  “I love you, too, Mom.”

  “I’ve gotta get packed. Sinéad, dial Aunt Saundra from the home phone and send it to my cell.”

  “It’s ringing, Ann.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Aunt Saundra.”

  “Oh dear, it’s so good to hear from you.”

  “Aunt Saundra, I need a little favor.”

  “Of course, Ann. What do you need?”

  “I’ve got to pop on a flight in the next hour. I’ll be back tomorrow night. Can Lulu stay with you?”

  “Of course, my dear, anytime. You know I just love her.”

  “Okay, I’m gonna be tight to catch the flight in time, so I’ll just swing by on my way to the airport and run her up to the front door. Is that okay?”

  “Of course, dear. You just make sure you catch your flight. Don’t worry about bringing anything for her. You know I have everything here.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes.”

  “See you then, dear.”

  After hanging up, I grabbed a change of clothes, pajamas, and toiletries and then stuffed them in my overnight bag. I quickly looked through my purse to make sure I didn’t have anything that wouldn’t pass security. That’s when I noticed the GOG backpack sitting on my bed.

  I really should put it in the ground safe under the house.

  After calculating how much time it would take me to put it there, I contemplated whether I could store it in the bedroom wall safe for now.

  If anyone gets hold of it, I’ll go to jail, and they’ll throw away the key. It’s gotta go in the ground safe.

  Opening the drawer next to my bed, I pulled out a flashlight. I grabbed the backpack off the bed and then a towel from the bathroom, and I placed all three items on the floor of the bedroom closet, to the side of the access hole. Lightning fast, I stripped off my outer clothes to keep them clean, peeled away the carpet, and then pulled up the flooring, exposing the earth under the house. Shining my flashlight into the hole and towards the location where I buried my safe in the ground, I hopped down into the hole. I then reached up to retrieve the small backpack.

  After finding the X on the ceiling, I pulled up the plastic and cover over the area to reveal the safe. I quickly got into the safe and inserted the backpack. After closing the safe, I re-covered it. When I reached the access hole into my bedroom closet, I shined the flashlight back to the safe area to ensure that everything looked as it should. It’s disguised well enough, I thought. After spreading the clean towel over the carpet next to the access hole, I jumped up through the hole, landing on the towel. After cleaning off the dirt from my feet, I dumped the towel into the dirty-clothes hamper. I headed into the bathroom, washed my feet in the shower, dried them with a clean towel, got dressed in my flying clothes, and closed up the access hole.

  The safe project took fifteen minutes, and it would be tight to make my flight. I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my overnight bag and purse, and threw in my Kindle Elements while calling Lulu. I quickly grabbed her beloved Kong ball, unsure whether Aunt Saundra had one.

  “Come on, girl,” I called in an excited voice. Lulu’s bottom wagged.

  Chapter 11

  SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

  The Year 2015

  I was the last passenger on the flight out of Bellingham, nearly missing it. The whole flight, I considered what I would say to Elinor and Eliott. We needed to meet somewhere with electronic privacy. The only choice I could come up with was to speak with them at the recording studio on campus; maybe I could rent the studio for an hour. Modern sound studios were designed to block incoming electronic noise, and since the University had just built theirs the year before, I could assume it had the latest technology.

  My flight arrived just after nine. When I called Elinor, she told me where to meet them. I waited at the pickup zone, and Eliott drove up shortly after I got there.

  Elinor came barreling out of the car. “Hi, Mom!” she exclaimed while we reached to each other for a hug.

  “I missed you, my darling,” I spoke to her while we hugged tightly.

  “Oh, Mom, I missed you too,” she gushed.

  Eliott put my things in the car, and I released Elinor so that I could hug him too.

  “I see you’re taking good care of our girl,” I said to him with a big hug.

  “Of course. It’s good to see you, Ann,” he said and then flashed me that gorgeous smile. “Everyone ready?” Eliott asked.

  “Yeah,” both Elinor and I said in unison and then looked at each other and chuckled.

  Elinor got in the front alongside Eliott, and I took the backseat.

  “I didn’t book a hotel—I was in too much of a rush—but I can find something quickly,” I said, starting a search with my phone.

  “No, Mom…we’ve got room for you,” Elinor said, looking over the seat at me.

  “I’m not sleeping on the floor in your dorm room, Elinor,” I replied sternly, looking down at my phone. “I did that once when you were a lonely freshman, remember?”

  She laughed while leaning over the seat to look back at me. “It’s better than that, and you’ll even have your own bathroom.”

  Engrossed in my hotel search, I replied, “Come on, now, spill it. Where is it? I really don’t mind getting a hotel room—”

  “Mom, will you trust me?” Elinor said, interrupting me.

  I put down my phone and finally looked up at her. “You know I trust you.”

  “Okay then. Let’s enjoy the ride back to Provo, and you’ll see when we get there.”

  “Aren’t you full of mysteries this evening?” I said to her and then paused. She didn’t respond, only grinned.

  I loved seeing her so happy.

  “So tell me how school is going for the both of you and what you’ve been up to lately.”

  During the forty-minute drive, they updated me in detail about academics, but not much more than that. It was clear they were still madly in love. Then Eliott took the exit from the interstate, and the road started to turn residential. About ten minutes later, we pulled up to a house.

  “Who lives here, and are they going to mind me staying with them tonight?” I said to both of them with my eyebrows raised.

  “They’re not gonna mind, Mom,” Elinor replied confidently.

  We got out of the car, and Eliott brought my bag up to the door. He then pulled out keys to unlock the door to the dark house.

  “Whoever they are…are they out of town?” I asked.

  “Just come in the living room, Mom.”

  We both sat down in the living room, while Eliott flipped on lights. Eliott and Elinor sat next to one another, facing me and holding hands.

  “You two are starting to make me nervous. What’s going on?”

  “Just tell her,” Eliott said softly to Elinor while looking at her.

  “Okay.” Elinor looked from Eliott to me. “Mom, we eloped.”

  “What?” I said sharply, jumping off the couch spontaneously.

  They both stood in reflex.

  “Settle down, Mom. I know I promised to wait, but we just couldn’t,” she said, stepping to me and taking my hands in hers.

  “I just couldn’t,” she said softly to me. “I didn’t want to spend another minute without him,” she said passionately, looking into my eyes.

  “Okay, okay,” I said compassionately, pulling her to me in an embrace.

  I could feel her tears on my shoulder. I pulled her away to look in her face. “Tears of joy?” I asked her.

  “Yes, Mom. Of course. I had hoped you would understand, and you do.”

  “Well
, don’t forget, I couldn’t wait either, with your dad,” I said, smiling.

  “Welcome to the family, Eliott,” I said, opening my arms to him for another hug.

  “Ann, thank you for being so gracious.”

  I winked at Eliott. “Okay then, will someone finally tell me whose house I’m staying in?” I asked playfully.

  “Ours,” they said in unison.

  “Yours? Did someone hit the lottery?”

  Eliott replied. “It was a gift…from my family…”

  “Huh?” I said, dumbfounded.

  “The reason we’ve been out of contact the past two weeks is because we flew to Brittany and eloped.”

  “And your parents bought you this house as a wedding present?”

  “Oui, the whole family did. They handed us the deed right there. They bought it online after watching a virtual tour.”

  I laughed out loud. “I have always loved the French,” I exclaimed with joy.

  “Me, too,” said Elinor excitedly.

  We all laughed together.

  “So give me a tour while you tell me about it,” I said, looking at them both arm in arm and full of joyful spirit.

  “Okay then,” Elinor agreed.

  After the tour of the 2,500-square-foot Tudor-style house and the elopement summary, we ended up in the kitchen, eating a snack.

  “So why are you here, Mom?” Elinor said curiously.

  “I need to talk to you both about something in private.”

  “We are private—we’re in our own house,” she said, giggling.

  “More private than this.”

  A look passed between them both.

  “Trust us, Mom, this is pretty private.”

  “Do you have a note pad and a pen?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Eliott said, reaching into a drawer on the outside of the island, curiosity lined into his face.

  I wrote on the pad:

  Ever heard of electronic peekers?

  “Yeah, Mom—”

  I put my finger to my lips to shush her and pointed to the paper instead. Eliott took the pad from me and wrote:

  When we got back from France, we had the entire house shielded. It’s safe now.

  “You’re kidding,” I exclaimed.

  “No, we’re not,” Eliott said.

  “I think I’m in shock…”

  “Mom, I’ve suspected for a very long time that our Bellingham house was shielded. Is that true?” Elinor asked.

  I nodded my head in the affirmative.

  “I knew it!” she shouted as if she had won something.

  It made me laugh, relief pulling the tension out of my body, and I breathed out heavily.

  “I told you,” Elinor said to Eliott, looking at him.

  “You did, my love, didn’t you?” Eliott said to her and then kissed her on the cheek.

  “How did you know?” I asked Elinor.

  “You and Dad indoctrinated me into the rights of the people. Mom, I could recite the Bill of Rights when I was in Elementary School. How many other kids could do that?”

  “Well—”

  “None, Mom. None,” she said, interrupting.

  “Well—”

  “Didn’t you think I would start to learn for myself what it all meant?”

  “Well—”

  “Mom—I learned—and then it all made sense,” she said, interrupting again.

  “What did?” I asked.

  “Everything you and Dad were always passionate about. The cause. GOG.”

  “GOG? You know about GOG?”

  “We’re members, Ann…” Eliott said softly.

  My eyes met his.

  “It’s the freedom of the people that matters,” he firmly said, staring into my eyes.

  “It is,” I agreed. “That’s why I came here, to talk with you both about freedom.”

  “What do you mean?” Elinor asked.

  “My role in the organization just changed. I’m moving into a new phase. They need my help, and it’s time. I can truly make a difference—”

  “What do you mean a new phase?”

  “You know about some of my extrasensory skills, right Elinor?”

  “Yeah. You sometimes have dreams and premonitions and things like that.”

  “Yes, I do. But I’ve never told you how my paranormal skills were used by the CIA.”

  “No,” Elinor said, shock registering in her face.

  “Let me tell you, and then you’ll understand more.”

  For the next hour, I explained my role as a trained remote viewer for the CIA. I also explained my dream of Shanghai, the earthquake, my success in remote viewing the destruction of digital records in Canada, and my most recent time travel on Raymond’s behalf, changing history. Both of their faces registered shock, alternating with dazed looks. They asked questions, and I answered.

  “I had no idea,” Elinor concluded as I finished explaining. “My mom’s a superhero,” she exclaimed.

  I looked at her, chuckling.

  “And what is this new phase in the organization?” Eliott asked me, serious.

  “I am to fly to Washington, D.C., this coming week for a GOG meeting. I assume we’ll be discussing operations against governments that I’ll take an active role in—”

  “It’s dangerous, isn’t it?” Elinor said, interrupting with a worried stare.

  “Yes.”

  “Very dangerous?” she asked.

  “Yes. I met with GOG earlier today and was provided with a passport and driver’s license under another name. I’ll travel this weekend on those papers.”

  “But if you’re caught…” Eliott blurted out.

  “If they can catch me,” I answered.

  Elinor reached out and hugged me over the table. “Mom…”

  “Don’t forget, you two—I was trained as a clandestine CIA agent. I’m trained in everything from evasive maneuvers to hand-to-hand combat. I’m also handy with a Taser or two, and I’m a sharpshooter—”

  “You’re a sharpshooter?” Elinor asked, shocked.

  “Yeah,” I affirmed.

  “When you and Dad taught me to shoot, I didn’t know you were that good,” Elinor said uncertainly.

  “Darling, you know your dad was a terrible shot—”

  Elinor laughed out loud, interrupting me. “He was a horrible shot.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Well, I didn’t want to show him up, so when we all shot together, I brought my skill down a few notches. Every week, I went to the shooting range myself, for real practice.”

  “My mother-in-law is a sharpshooter,” Eliott announced loudly with a chuckle.

  Elinor and I laughed out loud.

  Then I said softly, seriously, “The thing is, the most likely scenario is that things get dangerous for me, and I’ll be forced to go underground. I’m valuable to GOG. They’re not going to let me be taken by the government. I know they’ve got advanced technologies to prevent me from being taken. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of backup support whenever I’ll need it. But I do need something from you.”

  “Whatever you ask, it’s yours,” Elinor nodded her head.

  “Well, let’s make sure your new husband feels the same way.”

  Eliott and Elinor looked at one another, Elinor nodded again, and then Eliott spoke.

  “My parents are GOG,” Eliott said, serious and sober tones in his voice.

  “You’re kidding. Now it’s time for my own shock,” I said.

  “My whole life. I was raised much like Elinor was.”

  “Wow.”

  “So when Elinor pledges her support to you and the cause, she speaks for me as well, and that of my parents too.”

  “Well, hallelujah,” I exclaimed with a smile. “If I have to go underground, it’ll happen quickly, and I’ll just disappear. So you won’t know if the government has me or if I’ve gone under.”

  “I’ll be sick with worry,” Elinor said flatly, eyes fogging.

  “Don’t worry, my darling,�
� I said, kissing her cheek. “I’ve figured out a way.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll send Aunt Saundra a dozen red roses every holiday, if I’m underground. Remember every holiday we celebrated when you were growing up, plus her birthday, of course. All you have to do is call her on those holidays, and you’ll know I’m safe in the underground.”

  “That’s a great idea, Mom.”

  “Thank you. I thought it up while I sat in the middle seat on the flight out here,” I said sarcastically.

  “And if there are no flowers? Then…” she asked.

  “Don’t think of that, my darling. Don’t forget, Elinor, Lulu is trained to defend me, too.”

  “I completely forgot about that.”

  “So Lulu is actually Killer?” Eliott asked, innocence filling his face.

  I nodded. We all laughed at that.

  Chapter 12

  BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

  The Year 2015

  We enjoyed the next day together, and the tears poured with our goodbyes, uncertain when we would next see one another. I arrived into Bellingham late and picked up Lulu.

  The next morning, she and I drove straight to Rebecca's Flower Shoppe in Fairhaven.

  “Stay, girl,” I directed her.

  The bell swinging from the door jingled as I entered the shop.

  The sweet and musky scents tickled my nose with delight.

  I’m in smell-heaven, I thought, as I closed the old door and turned into the small shop filled with color on every wall from floor to ceiling.

  “Ann, how lovely to see you,” Rebecca called out with a smile, coming out from behind the counter when she saw me.

  “Hi, Rebecca. It’s good to see you, too,” I said to my fellow redheaded friend, with a simple hug. “How’s business going?”

  “Good, about normal. We’re gettin’ by. How’re things going for you?”

  “I’m okay. Busy with work.”

  “I heard about Raymond,” she softly commented.

  The memory of it rattled me.

  “It’s been hard on everyone at AlterHydro.”

  “And the community. He was pretty plugged in.”

  “I know. We were good friends. The memorial is this morning.”