Time-Travel Duo

by James Paddock

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “Ya in Joshua Nelson’s wagon, Miss.” He put his hand on her forehead. “And ya burn’n up.”

  “I mean... what road is this?”

  “This one seven six they say.”

  Anne saw his lantern-lit face. Very black. Lots of wrinkles and white teeth. One seventy-six! Where? “Where is Monck’s Corner Road?”

  “The road Monck’s Corner? Why, Miss, that be soon. I turn there. My mama live on the road Monck’s Corner.”

  “What time is it?” Anne tried to ask in the middle of a flash of pain.

  “Ya relax, Miss. Don’t worry about time. We get ya inside and warm soon.”

  “Important,” she gasped and then said, “What time is it?”

  “Abouts seven I would guess,” he said.

  About seven! About seven before, or after? Anne tried to work her right hand free but knew there was no way to reach her watch. She focused on clearing her head, making her voice sound coherent and understandable. “Joshua. Could you help me sit up?”

  “Ya just lay quiet, Miss. We be there soon.”

  Lightning flashed beyond the trees. Thunder followed within two seconds. “It’s very important, Joshua. I need to sit up. This is very uncomfortable.” More lightning – quick thunder.

  Joshua looked at her and then loosely tied the reins. The horses kept on walking.

  “Thank you, Joshua. My left shoulder has been... dislocated so I cannot use that arm. Give me your hand so I can pull myself up.”

  Joshua gave her his hand. She started to pull herself from the half sideways position when the wagon bounced. She fell back and stifled a scream. Suddenly, Joshua was looming over her, pushing both hands under her armpits. Thunder roared.

  “No!” she screamed and lightning flashed a little closer.

  Joshua froze.

  “Not my left shoulder. Just grab my right, please.” She gripped his arm, gritted her teeth and he lifted her upright. “Thank you,” she breathed and long needles of fire ran from her right rib cage to her left shoulder. She took fast, shallow breaths and Joshua dropped back into his seat. “Thank you,” she said again when she felt she had complete control of her voice. The pain that was everywhere eased to a roar. She concentrated on blocking it out and then diverted her thoughts to Elizabeth Anne. The pain subsided some more. She looked at her left hand, which lay useless on the bench beside her. Will I ever be able to use it again? If I don’t make it home, I don’t care. To be with my daughter again I would give up both arms. She picked up the left hand with her right and gently placed it in her lap, but the effort to do so was nearly beyond what little energy she had left. Stay coherent, she told herself. Keep your mind as clear as you can for as long as you can. You can’t die when you’re this close. A blast of cold wind blew her hair around her face.

  “I need another thing, Joshua.” Her voice was so soft she worried that he didn’t hear her above the building wind. She slowly turned her head to see he was looking at her. “I’m dying. You must give this dying woman her last wishes.”

  His big black face looked kind but scared.

  “How far to Monck’s Corner Road?”

  Joshua looked across the heads of the two horses. “It right here, Miss. We turn just now.” Without a signal from their master, the horses turned off Hwy 176 onto Monck’s Corner Road, straight into the wind. “But ya not die. I get ya help, quick!”

  Less than a mile now, Anne knew, but she didn’t have enough energy to get excited. “No, Joshua. Too late. I need you to remove my watch.” Thunder and lightning split the night, one right after the other. Spit of rain hit her face. Joshua stared at her in incomprehension.

  “On my left wrist.” He looked in her lap. “See the band? That’s my watch. Undo the buckle.”

  Joshua looked at the watchband and then back up to her face. Lightning struck nearby and a simultaneous crack sent the horses into a near panic. Joshua grabbed the reins and coaxed them down.

  Anne lifted her voice as far as her hurting lungs would allow. “Please! There’s no time to think about it. My life is ebbing away, almost gone. You must do this.”

  Panic overcame him and he looked away. “I get you help. We must hurry.”

  “No!” Anne’s voice rose, firm and strong. “In God’s name, and I sense you are a man of God, you must do this.” She considered her words and then added, “Reverend Nelson would accept nothing less.”

  The horses’ pace picked up, the wagon rocked and Joshua’s mouth dropped open. Anne locked her eyes on his. Lightning cracked and the rain began.

  “Remove my watch, Joshua. Quickly!”

  Joshua reined in the horses with a, “Whoa,” tied off the reins and reached for the watchband. Even under his thick, calloused fingers, the band came loose easily. He held it out to her.

  “You hold it, Joshua. I need to know the time. You have to push the button for the light.”

  He looked at the watch and then at her.

  “It may already be too late.” She raised her right hand and pointed at the side of the watch. “Put your finger there and press. Tell me what you see.”

  Joshua did so. “Nothing.”’

  “Press harder. Squeeze the little button and hold it.”

  Joshua squeezed and his face changed to a mixture of wonder and shock.

  “What do the numbers say?”

  “I don’t read numbers good.”

  “Try!”

  Joshua pressed hard again. “There’s a seven...”

  Anne closed her eyes and lightning flashed through her eyelids. The torrent of rain came down harder, washing the tears from her face.

  “... a zero... and... and...”

  “Show me, Joshua. Show me.” He held the watch in front of her face. No light. She couldn’t see it. “Push it!” she snapped. “Push it hard.”

  It lit.

  7:04.

  “It’s time!” she screamed. “Go! Go!”

  Joshua grabbed the reins and started the horses trotting.

  “The graveyard!” Anne couldn’t have been any more wet if she was standing at the bottom of Niagara Falls. Water ran in rivulets down her face and back despite the blanket draped over her, sending her into shivers. The wagon bounced and she wondered if the lightning she saw was in the sky or in her head. She closed her eyes to the rain and tried to scream, “Turn at the graveyard,” but it barely reached beyond the pounding rain. “Stop close to Reverend Nelson’s grave.” She opened her eyes and saw his scared face – or was it just the reflection of lamp light in the rivers running off his brow? She took another stab. “The reverend, your father, expects this of you. This is your test of faith.”

  His head jerked toward her.

  “Do you hear me, Joshua Nelson? This is your test of faith. Do not let your father down. Don’t let God down.” She saw the turn toward her cabin and the Thigpen place. “Now! Turn now!” She managed to yell it above the roar of rain. He obeyed and then she saw the glow, the huge bubble of light. “It’s time, Joshua! It’s time! Hurry!”

  Jerry paced back and forth. The cord from his headset tangled in his feet. He kicked it away. “What does it mean?”

  Robert made several adjustments. “Not sure. There’s a lot of base interference. Can’t imagine sun spot activity, although I wouldn’t rule it out. Whatever it is I don’t think it’ll interfere. If she steps into the bubble, it’ll be obvious.”

  “Rain?” Steven said. “Could it be rain?”

  Robert looked again at his oscilloscope. “I guess it could be. Yes. That would make sense. Must be one hell of a storm.”

  Joshua stopped the wagon and stared at the glowing light nearly on top of his father’s grave. Rivulets of water ran off his nose and open mouth.

  “Don’t think about it, Joshua. Just do it. You have to carry me there. I can’t make it by myself.” Joshua didn’t move. Anne could see his fear frozen in the light from the lantern. She wanted to reach out and grab him, maybe slap him in
to motion, but she didn’t have anything left. This close and she was going to die right here, in a South Carolina gusher, in the presence of a man she didn’t know, the south end of a couple horses the last thing she sees, only fifty feet from going home. At least, Lord, let me die in my time, not here. “Joshua!” She tried to scream. He bent forward to hear her. “You’ve been chosen to do this. Carry me to the light. Do not be scared.” She managed to move her foot against his. He looked at her. “Now, Joshua.” She said softly. “Take me to the light, now.” Joshua’s face began fading and she knew it wasn’t the lamp going out.

  Not yet! And then for the final time she brought forth images of Elizabeth Anne but this time not as a baby but as a little girl in her Easter dress, running among fields of flowers. She grabbed hold of that vision with all her might, determined not to let it go for it was that, and only that, that would keep her alive.

  But the image slipped away as though someone gradually turned down the lights.

  No!

  No longer could she feel the rain, nor hear it pounding around her. She did not feel her body being lifted from the wooden seat of the wagon. Nor did she feel it when Joshua ran into the grave maker, same as she did only weeks before, and hit the ground with her still in his arms; nor did she hear him crying and praying to his father in heaven and his father in the grave.

  Nor did she feel the pain from it all.

  All eyes were on Robert.

  “What’s happening?” Abigail asked in James’ ear.

  “They’ve sent out the bubble. It’s like a sphere of light about the size of the glass cage. If anything moves into it, such as Anne, Robert will know because it’ll cause an interference in the bubble’s field.” James was perched on the edge of his seat, as was every person in the room who wasn’t standing. Abigail’s fingers were entwined in James’. James released the grip, put his ear protection on and told Abigail to do the same. “There will be a loud whine. As soon as that starts, pull on your goggles.”

  Abigail felt the goggles pointing out the top of her head, saw that everyone else was equally prepared, and then took James’ hand again. What if nothing happens? How long will they wait? “The white ring glows but Robert suspects it’s raining. He can see that on his little screen?”

  “The bull’s-eye is just a rough visual for the team,” James said. “Robert’s monitor is a hundred times more sensitive. Any one ring has a range of 20 kilograms, overlapping with those on each side, for a total of 40. The only really important thing about the bull’s-eye is the green light in the center. There’s a circuit that’s sensitive to the size and movement of whatever is in the bubble. It’s the same circuit that supplies information to Robert’s monitor and to the bull’s-eye. When the contents remain stable for ten seconds, in other words don’t move and don’t change size by more than a half a kilogram, the green light will come on and the word stable will show on Robert’s monitor. He’ll signal Jerry and Jerry will give the order.”

  Abigail looked at the clock. 7:12. Not a person moved except Jerry who paced slowly. But his eyes never left the cathode ray tube in front of Robert.

  7:13.

  “Maybe we should disengage and then reengage,” Howard said.

  “No!” Robert and Steven declared simultaneously. “I’ve got a signal,” Robert added. “If we weren’t engaged it would be flat.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  Robert’s hand shot up – thumb out. The illumination of the bull’s-eye went from the white outer ring to the bright-red inner ring in barely more than a second. Sam and James came off their chairs, followed by Henry, Wilson, Gracy, Francine, and then Abigail. Howard’s words hung unfinished in the air while Jerry, Sam, and James peered over Robert’s shoulder. “It’s too big! Way too big!” Robert yelled.

  “What does that mean?” Abigail asked.

  Gracy touched her arm. “Dr. Hair can measure the size of the person entering the bubble. Apparently whoever just stepped in is much larger than Anne.” She pointed to the bull’s-eye.

  “At least 200 kilograms,” Robert blurted.

  “That’s over 300 pounds,” Sam said.

  “Too much,” Howard said. “We can’t take anyone that large.”

  “Got to be two people,” Jerry decided.

  “Someone’s helping her,” Sam said. “Has got to be.” He looked at James and then six more pairs of eyes followed.

  James shook his head. “She never made contact with me. The last time I saw her was when you and I fought. Why on earth would I hide it? I have no more secrets. I’ve been as much in the dark as everybody else for the last two days.”

  “It dropped,” Robert yelled. “70 kilograms!”

  Abigail watched the bull’s-eye drop to a light pink.

  “Stand by,” Jerry yelled. He keyed his mike and then said it again.

  “Holding,” Robert said.

  “Holding...

  “Holding... okay... counting...”

  “Ten seconds,” Gracy said, squeezing Abigail’s arm, and everyone held their breath.

  Joshua limped into the light, shaking, praying, hardly noticing the rain pounding upon him. He laid the woman down gently onto the grass and mud. Everything inside him said that he should take her straight to Mama’s, not set her here in the cold, wet night to die. But there was the light and her speaking the name of God and the name of his own father, and then she said that he was chosen and that this was his test of faith. He covered her with the blanket, and despite his reluctance at leaving her, backed away into the dark where he remained, hunched over, crying and shaking. He would wait and watch and in due time was certain that after her soul was taken, he would carry her back to his wagon and bring her to Mama to find out what to do. He worried that someone would blame him and for a very brief second he considered running, getting in the wagon and taking off. He took one step toward the wagon and then the light became brighter, like someone turned up the wick on a lantern. He stumbled back, tripped and fell flat on his back. The light flared, treetops glowed for a split second, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and then all turned dark except for the light coming from the lantern hanging on the wagon. He scrambled to his feet, but couldn’t see anything. He ran forward, dropped his knees into an inch of water, and felt where he knew the woman should be. She was gone. He remained on his knees, his hands clasped together, his eyes closed.

  “Our Father who art... in... in... heaven, hallow be... thy name.”

  He rocked back and forth, shaking – tears joining the rivulets of rain running down his face.

  “Oh, Lord. Tell me what I done... if I sin I beg Your forgiveness. I only help. I try help – do the right thing. If... if I was chosen... why? Did I fulfill Your wishes? Did I pass the test?”

  Thunder roared and Joshua fell forward onto his elbows.

  “Tell me I’ve done the right thing, Lord. Tell me please.”

  He opened his eyes to see that the thing he had taken off the woman’s wrist was still in his hand and he was squeezing it.

  7:17 it glowed at him.

  He launched it into the trees and prayed some more.

  Jerry continued to watch over Robert’s shoulder. The spike that grew out of the jagged, active baseline, held steady. At the end of his own ten-count, he placed his finger on the mike key and waited for Robert’s signal. Did he rush his count or was Robert being over cautious? Each additional second seemed an eternity. He looked at the bull’s-eye and in that second it turned green.

  What are they waiting for? Abigail wondered. Gracy still held her arm and she placed her other hand on Gracy’s. Their eyes met briefly, just before Jerry shouted...

  “NOW!”

  Steven nearly forgot what he had to do; he had been so focused on his father-in-law, the screen, and imagining Anne sitting in a downpour, waiting. She was shot, or at least Sam was certain of that. But that was 44 years ago and he was now an old man. She drove away in his car and now, in a few seconds, she’ll be here; she’ll be home.<
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  He saw Robert’s thumb come up and heard Jerry yell, “Now!” and Steven froze. He felt Jerry’s hand grab his shoulder.

  “Steven! Take her now!”

  “Okay.” His tongue stumbled across the syllables. The hand that had been resting on the button for the previous two minutes, for some reason drifted away. He fumbled for the button, looked at the waiting glass cage, found the round spring-loaded switch, and pressed it.

  The high-pitched sounds suddenly grew in volume. Abigail pulled the goggles down over her eyes and then grabbed James’ arm. A tingle of excitement and apprehension seemed to trigger all the nerve endings in her body and it felt as though every hair on her arms was standing on end. At first, James did not acknowledge her presence and then he placed his hand on top of hers.

  A very bright white glow, no more than a foot in diameter, appeared just above the floor of the glass cage. This isn’t so bad, Abigail thought and then in a split second the light grew to encompass the entire cage. Abigail instinctively covered her eyes and started to step back but James held onto her. She looked again into the cage. In the white light a dark form appeared – not Anne – or maybe Anne covered by something – a blanket. The light went out along with the whine and the team started moving.

  Jerry threw off his headset and goggles and was first into the cage, followed immediately by Steven. There was no room for Anne’s father to get in. Jerry pulled back the blanket.

  “No! No! No!” Steven started yelling over and over again. Robert tried to force himself in and then Jerry was shoving them both out yelling for Howard to dial 911. Steven and Robert pushed past Jerry, and then Henry and Wilson stepped in and forced them away. And then Thomas was in the cage.

  Both Sam and James were held back by their wives, as they huddled together with Gracy.

  “Let’s get her out of here,” Thomas ordered and he and Jerry moved her out of the cage and laid her on her back. Thomas started pumping on her chest as Jerry positioned her jaw. When Jerry stopped, he breathed into her mouth. And so they continued until...