by Jan Eira
“I don’t feel it now,” said younger Brent, slowly looking at William and then back at her.
“Me, neither,” said William.
“I already know about Valerie,” she said. “And I’m so sorry, William.” She got up. “Now, you two realize old Brent has died. Then we all hug.” She looked around the cave. “Right there.” She pointed to the entrance to the cave. The boys appeared confused.
Younger Brent began to speak. “Today was the—”
“Worst day ever.” Ellie said. “That’s what you say, Brent. Then you say that we didn’t even accomplish our mission. Somebody, I think it was me, says it was a day we all will want to forget. Brent, you say that older you and Valerie died in vain. Don’t you remember?” The boys shook their heads. “I do. Vividly. It just happened.”
“Does that mean Ellie from the future has traveled back in time to here and now?” asked Brent.
“But Ellie from the future supposedly died, remember?” said William. “Old Brent told us that.”
“Valerie’s death will have changed the future,” said Brent.
“So, that means somehow I don’t die in the year 2059,” said Ellie.
“So where did future Ellie land?” asked William.
“By the way, William,” said Ellie. “Before he died, old Brent wanted you to have this. It’s a video from future Valerie. You need to watch it. Press the button on—”
A bright flash momentarily illuminated the night sky. The brilliant rays reached a few feet into the cavern’s mouth. The teens walked outside. A muffled deep thump interrupted the calm of the night and made the teenagers shudder. A wave of air rippled through the campsite, tousling the teenagers’ hair and ruffling their clothes as it passed.
Everyone looked at one another. Brent was the first to run in the direction of the phenomenon.
CHAPTER 46
The three teenagers arrived at the river, but everything looked normal. Several yards upriver, around a bend and beyond a cluster of large trees, they spied a rounded vessel partially hidden.
“That must be the time-travel ship,” said Ellie. “Future me must be around here somewhere.”
“Or is this the time-travel machine Brent from the future had used?” asked William.
“His capsule should have self-pulverized by now,” said Brent.
They slowly and cautiously walked toward the capsule. Brent touched its walls lightly and then knocked on it. “Anybody in here?”
No response.
“There’s a door,” said Ellie.
William walked to it and gave it a yank. “It won’t budge.”
“Let me try,” said Brent. He scrutinized the latch from several angles then pulled on it hard. “It’s locked.”
Intrigued, Ellie took a few steps toward the vessel. She had barely touched its entryway handle when rushing air escaped from the door as it opened by itself.
“The door must be programmed to open automatically when Ellie approaches it,” said William.
“It makes sense,” said Ellie. “So Ellie from the future is here. But where?”
“Let’s peek inside,” said William.
Ellie did for a long moment and then stepped in.
“Be careful,” said Brent.
Ellie sat down on the single bench inside the vessel. The boys peered inside from the doorway.
“There’s nothing in here,” said Brent.
“Yeah, I noticed,” said William. “It’s a time-travel machine. I expected to see computer screens and lots of levers and knobs. But in actuality, this thing is pretty bare.”
“There is this red button with words etched on a metal plate over it,” said Ellie.
“What does it say?” asked William.
Ellie strained her eyes to see in the dark container. “Administrative Control.”
“There’s a small latch outside,” said Brent. “It seems like a small storage bin.” The three teenagers walked to the opposite side of the capsule and saw a latched door about ten inches by twenty inches. Ellie touched the latch, and the door unlocked. Brent looked inside.
“There’s some sort of a spacesuit thing in here.”
“Bring it out,” said William. “Let’s take a look.”
Brent pulled the jacket out into the open.
“Definitely a woman’s size,” said Ellie.
“Put it on,” said William. “See if it responds to you somehow.”
The jacket was initially a few sizes too big for Ellie. But as she donned the garment, its material instantly shrank to her body.
“Cool!” said Ellie. “I’m really going to like the future.”
“If there is a future,” said Brent.
Several pockets lined the front of the jacket. Over the left breast was a silver button showing a black-and-red symbol with wavy lines.
“What’s this button for?” asked William.
“I don’t know,” said Ellie.
“I don’t recognize the gizmo on it,” said William. “Press on it.”
“Wait!” shouted Brent. “It can be dangerous.”
Ellie shrugged. “Do we have a choice?” She took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing. Or all.” She nodded and pressed the button.
In front of the teenagers, a woman in her sixties materialized on a screen that wasn’t there.
“Brent,” said older Ellie, her voice agitated. “A few seconds after you left, matters actually got much worse around here. The war accelerated somehow. Whatever you did in the past needs to be undone and quickly.”
The kids looked at one another, perplexed.
Older Ellie continued. “I’m not detecting you or your ship’s presence here, but that may be because the quadrating app doesn’t work in 2013. If you receive this message, contact me right away.”
Brent looked at younger Ellie and William.
“William is back in the hospital,” said older Ellie. “His sanity seems to have deteriorated rapidly since you left. I’ve never seen him quite this bad, Brent. He keeps repeating, ‘I killed her, I killed her.’ I’ve traveled back to join you in 2013, Brent. I’ll meet you where we had our first official date—the place we had our first dinner alone. Let’s meet there at that same time and on that same day. Together, we have a better chance to stop this global war from ever starting. Hopefully, we can save Earth from self-destruction. We don’t have much time.”
Older Ellie vanished. The hoot of an owl disrupted the silence.
“Now I’m really confused,” said Brent.
“No mention of Enoxadin or the deadly virus,” said Ellie.
“But what?” asked William. “World War III?”
“Either way, the world ends,” said Ellie. “And even quicker now.”
“I guess the world is doomed to end in four decades regardless of what we do here and now,” said Brent.
“Now what?” asked William.
“I promised my older self I would get rid of my body, and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Brent. “I’m going to make good on my promise.”
“After that, let’s go home and get some sleep,” said Ellie.
“Let’s meet at my house tomorrow morning,” said Brent. “We’ll think this through and decide what our next step should be.”
“We need to look for Ellie from the future,” said Ellie. “Brent, where and when will we have our first date?”
Brent shrugged. “Got me.”
William looked at Brent and then Ellie. Then he returned his gaze to Brent. “I want the two of you to think about this. If you were to ask Ellie to go out to dinner on your first official date, who would be likely to pick the when and where?”
“Let’s sleep on it,” said Ellie.
The teenagers placed the jacket back in its place and closed the latch to the shuttle. They returned to
the cave.
They stopped a few feet away from the cave’s mouth.
“Where are the twins?” asked William.
Brent looked all around outside and then inside the cave. “They’re gone.” He fished out the pulverizer from his pocket. The red light on the instrument glowed in slow pulses. “I got this!” He clenched the gadget in his hand and disappeared into the dark cavern.
Ellie and William comforted each other with a hug. Soon, Brent emerged from the cave. His eyes were riveted on something behind the others. Ellie and William turned around. All three saw the young girl standing quietly a few feet away.
She was an exceptionally beautiful little girl with very pale skin. Her red dress and black shoes provided the only color on her. She stared at them. Her long silvery-white hair waved in the passing breeze. For a long moment, the universe seemed to have come to a complete halt. Utter silence descended on the teenagers and their world.
Brent, Ellie, and William dropped to their knees and put their hands around their heads. A strange and very intense sensation somewhere in between pleasure, harmony, and euphoria overwhelmed them. The little albino girl turned around and walked into the dense forest and the dark night.
The teenagers looked all around, at the cave’s mouth, and then at one another.
“What are we doing here?” asked Brent.
“Where are we?” asked Ellie.
They stood up and walked around the clearing.
“We were smoking weed at Brent’s birthday camp party,” said William. “And drinking beer?”
“Yeah, I remember that,” said Brent. “I remember this cave but not how we got here just now.”
“It looks like we’ve been meandering through the woods in the dark,” said Ellie. “God knows for how long.”
“I may have gotten some bad weed,” said William. “I’m never smoking that shit ever again.”
“Yeah,” said Brent. “Let’s go home.”
They found their campsite, grabbed their gear, and left the woods.
CHAPTER 47
The events of the previous few days had been mystifying, to say the least. Zach and Mackenzie had agonized over the realization that Earth was on a path to self-destruction. The prospect of their untimely demise in their early twenties was absolutely mortifying. Attempts to change the world from its track to annihilation involved Uncle Brent traveling back in time forty-six years, when, it seemed, changing the least would provide the greatest likelihood of accomplishing the most. That didn’t work. So, the next step was to modify something drastically to influence the flawed future outcome. Unfortunately, this change involved their mother’s death. Without her, there would be no them.
“Something had to give, that’s true enough,” said Zach. “But why did it have to be our mom? Our family?”
The twins had decided to time travel to 2013 to disallow this part of the plan. They’d been unsuccessful, and now their mother was dead. Uncle Brent, who was responsible for her death, was also dead, thereby robbing the twins of their right for revenge. But somebody had to pay dearly for the assassination of their mother and, by default, their nonexistent future.
“I’m so confused,” Mackenzie said. “Why do we still exist?” She threw another handful of branches into the fire. The crackling sounds intensified for a moment. The wind howled through the trees, and the chill of the early evening air announced autumn had arrived. “Why do we live if our mother was killed before we were born?”
“I don’t know. Her death affected people and things only going forward. But we are here and now. We were here before her death. So I guess…” Zach’s words dwindled.
“Another thing,” said Mackenzie. “When we left the future, the world was self-destructing because of a viral pathogen. Now it seems the reason is global war?”
“Things have definitely changed and become more complicated. And confusing.” Zach looked up at the sky. The moon was full and bright, daring the sun to vanish. “The future has been changed by what happened this weekend—by mom’s death.”
Mackenzie followed his stare heavenward. “Do you think she’s up there looking down on us? Do you think she blames us?”
“I don’t know if mom’s looking down on us,” said Zach. “But I do know she can’t possibly blame us for her death.” He wiped a fallen tear. “The one to blame is Uncle Brent first. Second is young William Baten.”
“No, not dad.”
The fire crackled, radiating some warmth.
Zach interrupted the silence. “We need to find a way to fix the world so mankind doesn’t end up destroying the planet in a few decades.”
“But how? Who starts up this global war in the new future?”
Zach shrugged and shook his head. “All I know is the four of them seem to be involved, and somehow, only Valerie—our mother—was killed.” He sniffled. “If the future can do without Valerie Rovine-Baten, it can do without William, Brent, and Ellie, too. They will all pay for her death. They will pay with their lives.”
The End
The Traveler Series
The story continues with
Traveler’s Quest, Book Two
then
Traveler’s Return, Book Three
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EXCERPT FROM
TRAVELER’S QUEST
The Traveler Series
Book Two
CHAPTER 1
Ellie and William walked around Brent’s backyard looking for a small object to throw at his second-floor bedroom window. The house was brownstone with a dark-tiled roof, and many windows adorned its facade. The cold spell of the past few days had already begun to give the grass a brownish hue.
William tossed a little rock, hitting Brent’s windowpane. Ding.
Within seconds, Brent opened the window. “Is it morning already?” He gazed into the hazy distance and squinted. “Be right down.”
In no time, the three teenagers were on their way to school, merely a short bike ride away. The sun was already shining brightly through the morning clouds. Despite this, the small town remained in its perpetual drowsy state. A car cruised by. An old man walked his dog as he petted and talked to a tabby cradled in his arms. A woman strolled across the street, with a small child in her arms. An older man with a thick mustache waved at the kids as he turned a sign on the window: Yes, We’re Open!
The caravan proceeded. No words disrupted the rhythmic pedaling.
The teenagers arrived at the parking lot near the main entrance into Austin Academy Boarding School, the home away from home for Ellie and William. William straddled the bike and removed an object from his pocket. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. It’s something really weird.” He produced an iPhone, which he held out so the others could see.
“Whose cell phone is it?” asked Brent.
“I don’t know her, but…” He pushed some buttons on the device. “It’s this girl.” The iPhone displayed a smiling, beautiful girl wearing a cheerleader outfit. “Her name is Valerie Rovine, but I have no idea who she is or how I got her phone.”
Ellie and Brent shrugged. The boys secured their bikes to the rack.
“Let’s find out more about her,” said Ellie. “Let me see.” She took the device from William and fiddled with it a short while. “It says on her Facebook page that she goes to Mullen High School. Lives here. Rich part of town.” She tinkered further. “Lots of friends. Extracurricular activities. Cheerleader.” She showed the others a boy’s picture. He was wearing shoulder pads and holding a helmet. “Sorry, guys. She’s taken. Meet her boyfriend, Douglas Payner, a football star at Mullen High. Quarterback.”
“Are you jealous?” Brent asked her. “You know you’re the only girl for us.” He smiled.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said William. “Valerie’s k
ind of cute.”
“Well, too bad for you, William,” said Ellie. “She’s taken—”
The cell phone dinged. William took it and read the text message. “It’s from Doug.”
“What does it say?” asked Brent.
William read out loud. “I heard you might have died last night. I heard some kids killed you. Please tell me it’s all a really bad joke. Call or text me back right now. I can’t make it without you, Val. Without you, my life is worthless. If you’re gone, I’ll be with you really soon. Call me and end this nightmare.”
CHAPTER 2
When Sgt. Scott Tomlinson walked into Memorial Hospital, he was clueless about the potential health consequences of his present status. At that time, he was more concerned about the unrelenting cough, sniffles, terrible body aches.
“Susie, put Sergeant Tomlinson’s chart on the top of the pile,” said the head nurse. “We can’t have our policemen waiting around to be seen.” She winked at him and Officer Hines, who was behind him. “They got lives to save.”
“This way, gentlemen,” said Susie, guiding the two officers down the hall.
“I feel so foolish,” said Sergeant Tomlinson. “This is just the flu.”
“So now you’re a doctor?” asked Officer Hines. “The flu doesn’t cause you to have chills this bad.”
“Actually, it does,” said Susie. “We’ve seen several police officers over the past couple of days with god-awful chills. Our doctors say it’s all due to an unusual strain of some weird bug they haven’t seen before.”
“Yeah, all the guys who were in the cave,” said Officer Hines. “I wasn’t in on that raid, but I know I’m going to get it, too, after riding in the car with this fool all day.”
“Don’t be such a baby, Hines,” said Sergeant Tomlinson. “You heard her. It’s just the flu.”
