Vortex of Evil

by S D Taylor

  “Do you think Doug and Erin will be on that thing?”

  Tom didn’t have time to answer when the hover vehicle door opened and Erin stepped out of the hover vehicle door holding a small dog. Quickly following behind her with three small children and a unknown dark skinned woman in a white dress. Jelk had not shared his thoughtlink photo gallery with Tom so he didn’t recognize Olunda.

  As Olunda stepped on of the hover vehicle and into the meadow, couldn’t believe how many trees there were around them. She had lived her whole life in the world of the twenty-fourth century and the ravages of climate change had left a landscape where the trees were present but only in certain places. But this island had many sections that were totally covered in thick trees and shrubs. She was glad that the children would have a chance to see the world the way it had been before the climate changes really took hold in the second half of the twenty-first century.

  Bealma came out next, leading Julti, Jinnee, Jontu and Larn.

  “Well, I guess we were probably not expecting that whole group.” Tom laughed as he put the rifle down and stood up. “Over here, Erin.” He waved his hand over his head. Megan and Rin started down the hill towards Erin and her entourage. They were going to hug her, but the dog was barking at their sudden approach so they stopped. For formal introductions as it turned out.

  “Hello, Erin. It is wonderful to see you. Ah, is this everyone who made it back?” Rin was wondering the same thing as Tom and Megan. Where was Doug?

  “Yes. I will fill you in on everything, but first let me introduce everyone. This is Olunda, Jelk’s wife. And this is Jinnee, their daughter.”

  Tom still found it hard to believe that Jelk had a wife and daughter, but they all shook her hands and he said “hi” to the tiny, smiling girl who waved at them from behind her mother.

  “And these fine looking boys are Jontu and Larn. They are Dara’s children. And this is Balla, their dog. And this is Bealma, Dara’s sister, and her daughter Julti.”

  Rin was completely stunned by this news. She hid her reaction as she knelt in front of the four children and greeted them. But she was in disbelief that these boys could be Dara’s children. Evil Dara had children? How could that have happened? And a sister that looked like her, only taller? She actually came from a family? Not hatched in a cave somewhere?

  She was still kneeling there with dog and kids when Erin said a combination of the words she was praying for with the words she feared most. “We found your Doug alive. But we were attacked and had to leave him behind my Doug, Jelk and Dara. Peter and Gaby stayed with them as well.”

  “Why did you leave him behind? Were they dead?”

  “We had to leave quickly to protect the children from the attack. That was the most important thing. And I honestly don’t know if Doug was alive when we left. He had been hit by a grenade blast and was down on the ground. I am very sorry. My Doug went to rescue him and we had to leave or we might have all been killed or taken prisoner.”

  Rin didn’t look at her, but bowed her head into her hands. The mild shaking that seemed to be all over her body was the only visible sign of how devastating this news turned out to be. The children were confused and Bealma quickly stepped in and distracted them by pointing out some birds that were nesting nearby. Erin bent down and briefly hugged the woman who was a slightly older version of herself, then picked up the dog and waited for the news to sink in for a few moments.

  Rin could not focus her thoughts. After two years of thinking Doug was dead, having a report that he was still alive an hour ago but may be dead now was a torture as bad as anything she could imagine. Tom started toward her but Megan grabbed his arm. “Let her have a moment to digest this. In the end, the news that he was still alive will probably win some positive space in her psyche.”

  Tom stood in front of Erin and offered his hand to the pup. She was growling softly but wagging her tail at the same time. Tom took a chance and petted her on the head. She was immediately licking his hand and wagging her tail even faster. “Nice dog. We need to keep an eye on her with all the big birds around here.”

  “Don’t worry. I promised Dara I would look after her sister, the kids and the dog. On my solemn honor. I just hope we have something she will like to eat.”

  Olunda stepped out of the hover vehicle where she had just disappeared for a minute. “Dara sent along a bag of dog food.” She carried a large bag of futuristic kibble and the children’s small backpacks. Erin smiled. Whatever you might think of her methods, Dara was highly competent and organized. But that also meant that she planned to ‘rescue’ the dog all along. Erin shook her head at this woman of contradictions that was proving impossible to trust.

  “Let’s get back to the shelter and get something to eat. I bet the children are starving.”

  Rin was the most experienced mother in the bunch. Before anyone could respond, she had taken Jontu by the hand and was walking towards the shelter with Larn and Jinnee following behind. Julti reached out and took her mother’s hand and then tried to hurry the two of them to catch up. Olunda brought up the rear, smiling to Erin as she walked by her. “Come on. Bring the dog.”

  Erin knelt down and scratched Balla behind the ears. “What do you think of this whole thing, Balla?” The little pup sniffed the air and the ground as she encountered new smells in this new world. She was soon trotting along behind Erin as they headed up the trail, oblivious to the fact that she was in another time and place. She just wanted to catch up with the children who couldn’t get enough of her licks and wags.

  Rin and Erin were both emotionally devastated by what had happened, but they kept their feelings to themselves. Tom wanted to say something or do something, but he realized this was a deep sorrow that nothing was going to fix. At least not right at this moment. Both of the women had feelings that needed to sink in for a while before they could be expected to say much about it.

  Olunda didn’t feel so constrained. Her life experience and her confidence in Jelk’s ability to survive any challenge comforted her. “This island is beautiful. I love all the trees. You must enjoy it here.”

  Megan was walking next to her, holding little Jinnee’s hand as the girl’s tiny legs carried her along with the adults. “It is beautiful, but most of us miss where we came from. There were modern cities and conveniences that we have to do without here.”

  “So you are ‘roughing’ it? I believe that is the phrase that is used in English for this situation.”

  “Yes. Roughing it is a very appropriate description. But we have also had to fight to survive since there were pirates and Vikings on the island that didn’t want us here.”

  “Yes, Doug told Jelk some of the adventures you have been through. Did you fear for your life?”

  “Yes. I am not used to such things and it was very frightening at times. But I think we have things under control now. I don’t want you to be afraid.”

  Olunda laughed at that thought. “Don’t worry about me, Megan. I was in the third Transarctica War with the Asian Block. I saw things that you would not believe, but I can’t describe them now with Jinnee here.”

  “Why, Momma? Do you think I would be scared to hear about the war?”

  “Yes, love. I believe you would be. Mostly, it is a story of people who are not nice and I don’t want you to hear about those kind of people. There is time when you grow up to learn about those bad people.”

  Megan looked at her with a sense of embarrassment, having thought Olunda was a young mother who spent her time taking care of this beautiful child. She now wondered what horrible things Olunda had witnessed. Maybe there would be a time they could talk about it. For now, she thought how nice it was going to be to have Olunda and Bealma and these children with them on the island. It made her wonder if she and Tom should postpone their plans to build that cabin by the eastern shore. At least for a little while until Doug returned. If he returns she thought, wishing immediately that she hadn’t thought it.

  Erin, much like Ri
n, felt emotionally drained as she contemplated what came next for all of them. Maybe worse since she had seen the real danger that was there for Doug and the others. She hoped they had all been able to get to the hover vehicle and escape the attack. It was hard to know if the Yir-Lak Command had ordered the attack, or if it was just the local police, led by that lieutenant that had driven the shuttle bus after she and Doug had been captured. Maybe he suspected something was wrong and took initiative. Wherever the soldiers came from, they were well armed and meant business. She just hoped they didn’t have any hover vehicles or other heavy weapons.

  She thought about Doug. This man had been a stranger to her less than a month earlier and now she could hardly imagine a life without him. Maybe he fulfilled some inner fantasy she had never admitted to herself, but he was all she ever wanted in a partner to share her life with. The heightened emotions of the adventure they had shared surely had an impact on her feelings as well, but she liked to think that even if she had met Doug at a coffee shop in Boston they would have connected with each other. She had to find a way to help him. Or at least go back and join him now that the children were safe here on the island.

  The group arrived at Rin’s shelter within an hour. Alannah and Katelyn were there, along with Ying. Erin was the last one to arrive since she had been going slower on the trail, walking with little Balla and lost in her thoughts. Everyone had gone around the corner except the two sisters who waited to meet Erin. They had heard of the younger version of their mother and the identical temporal twin of their new aunt Megan, but they had to see for themselves.

  Erin wasn’t paying attention as she walked along and thought about a possible rescue plan. But she sensed that she was being watched and stopped, glancing up the trail. She saw the two girls and instantly recognized that they must be related to her. There was a sense of looking in the mirror as she glanced at Alannah’s face, then Katelyn’s. The two girls and the woman holding the little cream-colored dog stood perfectly still, staring at each other and trying to think what to say. Rin came up behind the girls and solved the problem.

  “These are my daughters, Erin. They usually talk nonstop, but I think they are a little unsure about what to say to you. Go give her a hug, girls. She’s had a tough day.”

  The girls didn’t make it to Erin since Balla ran forward to meet them. However interesting it would be to meet the younger version of your mother, who had just travelled through time, it was impossible to resist a cute little dog. At least they both managed to say “Hi.”

  Erin put this first meeting with her future “daughters” on top of the growing pile of emotional challenges she was working on today. There would be time to work through that later. For now, she needed to get back to reality. “Hi girls. Your mom told me about you. The pup’s name is Balla.”

  The girls had never seen a dog before. Growing up on the island had its drawbacks. Erin hoped little Balla was ready for all the love she was going to receive from the children and dog lovers in the bunch.

  Katelyn stood up and faced Erin. She could see the pain in Erin’s eyes and saw that there were tears on her cheeks. She leaned forward and hugged her. “Don’t worry, Erin. Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

  Erin smiled at her as she stepped back and Alannah hugged her as well. “I believe it will, girls. I believe it will. But there is some hard work ahead of us.”

  Chapter 45

  Rin immediately took on the task of organizing the household to provide for the new additions. All would need places to sleep and food to eat. And they would need figure out what to feed Balla once the dog food ran out. She wondered how much fuel the hover vehicle had and whether it would be a way for all of them to escape someday. Or at least make a run to a grocery store somewhere in space and time.

  Ying was very interested in the hover vehicle technology and Olunda showed her how it was operated and how the time/space locator worked. Olunda was concerned about the amount of fuel left on the hover vehicle, especially since the time/space locator took lots of energy. It was likely that they could make a return trip to the future, but multiple trips to other locations were probably out of the question without a new power source.

  Tom sat in one of the hover vehicle seats and looked around at the interior. “We need to load up some weapons and go help Doug and Peter. As soon as they get their systems back online the rebellion that Dara started is going to be in trouble. Maybe our guns and missiles could help turn the tide.”

  Erin leaned against the console. “I don’t know how much it would help the overall effort, but I know a rifle would have been helpful when they were attacking us just before we left. The hover vehicle has a high powered pulse weapon but I don’t know how much energy it takes. Olunda said Jelk didn’t explain much about the weapons.”

  Olunda stuck her head out from under the console. “He didn’t think I would be doing any fighting. I have seen these vehicles in action, but they usually make swift, local attacks and then return to their boats off-shore. They were used to support raids on targets near the shore. I doubt they remain in the air more than forty five minutes on most missions.”

  “Do you know how to read the gauges to determine how much energy is available?” Erin stared at the panel that featured a variety of displays that only became visible when you held your hand over the section you wanted to view. There were limited labels on the gauges but most of the symbols were understandable. Olunda and Erin were studying the energy level as Tom walked over and joined them. “It seems to indicate that we have sixty one percent of the power left. We flew about an hour after we took off, and then used the time/space locator to get here. I don’t know how much it was flown to get to where we got on.”

  Erin turned and looked at Olunda as she said that. “That brings up an interesting point. Who flew the hover vehicles up there? Was it Peter and Gaby?”

  “Maybe. Jelk never told me. He was very concerned about revealing anything about the plan in case we were monitored. He wouldn’t even thoughtlink about it.”

  “What’s a thoughtlink?” Megan entered the flight deck after checking out the rest of the hover vehicle.

  “It is a system they developed in the future that allows two people to hear each other’s thoughts as long as they are physically touching.” Erin reached out and grabbed Tom’s arm. “Can you hear me?” she thought to him. She wondered if it still worked, and she knew that Jelk had thoughtlinked with Tom before. But Tom had never swallowed the capsule full of nanobots. It must require that only one of the two people have the capability to hear and project thoughts.

  “Yes. I can hear you.” He thought back to her. “Show Megan and Ying how it works.”

  Erin walked over to Ying who was studying the underside of the control panel. She grabbed her ankle lightly. “Can you hear these thoughts, Ying?” It took Ying a few seconds to understand what was happening. Since she didn’t usually think in English, it was more difficult for her to understand and link with Erin. “Yes. Yours thoughts now I hear. Yes. My thoughts hear you also?”

  Erin let go. “It works for Ying, but it is more difficult since English is her second language. It would be interesting to try it again sometime. Especially with Arny. Hey, Megan. Come here and give me a hug.”

  Megan complied, but she thought it seemed a little weird. Erin thought, “I was always the better looking one.”

  “In your dreams. Wait a minute. I did hear your thoughts. That’s really strange.”

  “Don’t speak, Megan. Just think your answer.” Erin still hadn’t said anything out loud.

  “Can you hear me? Can I do something to help find Doug? I felt so impotent waiting here with Tom while they carried you away for whatever they did to you.” Megan’s thoughts were easy for Erin to understand.

  Erin replied through their thoughtlink. “It wasn’t all bad. It was interesting to see the future. I only wish it had been under different circumstances. For now, we need to get Doug back.”

  “Ok, you two
. Let’s go back to verbal communication. I have enough trouble figuring out what women are thinking without telepathy. We need to get this thing loaded with weapons and get back to the future to help get our people back.” Tom wanted to do something beyond talk about the technology.

  Olunda turned to face him. “Jelk said we should wait here and stay safe until the rest of them could join us. He told me that under no circumstances should I try to come back and help him.”

  “I understand and I agree you should stay here with the children. But that doesn’t mean I have to follow those orders. If there is any chance to help out, we need to take it.”

  Megan spoke up at that. “I am not so sure I agree, Tom. Somebody needs to stay here and provide protection for our people. You are the only person with the military skills to keep everyone safe. What if somebody evil shows up and tries to take us prisoner or worse. We just got done fighting off a group of pirates a couple of days ago. If any more show up, you need to be here.” Megan was standing next to Erin, but they had the same look on their faces. It was a look that Tom had come to know and he didn’t need the telepathic link to realize that he probably wouldn’t be the one leading the cavalry charge to help the Dougs, Dara and Jelk and the rest.

  “Fine, I will stay here, but we need to come up with a plan before you take off. What do you think we can do to help them?”

  Erin tried to fill in the story as she understood it. “The Yir-Lak Command puts nanobots inside everyone in Transarctica. That allows them to monitor everyone’s conversations and location. Dara and Jelk were working with people that developed the thoughtlink system. With it, they were able to come up with a plan to escape using the time/space locator. They didn’t want to die at age thirty-six and they were running out of time. The plan was to bring everyone, including the children, to this time and place. Then they would continue the escape from here, using the salmon to confuse any pursuers.