The Traveler's Quest (The Traveler Series 2)

by L. Eira

  “There they are,” said a man.

  “Springfield Police Department,” said another. “Put the machine gun down. Hands in the air. Now!” Both men wore police uniforms, both carried handguns, and both barrels faced the teenagers menacingly.

  “The detective was right,” said the first cop. “The teenagers were involved in this shooting. One down. Call EMS and Sparks.”

  “You are all under arrest!”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Jacob McCloud walked into the emergency room, hoping to see a doctor quickly. His work duties as the director of the local Boy Scouts of America kept him too busy. Especially too busy to get sick.

  Despite his sixty-four years, his physical condition and health had remained tip-top. But he had always known the genes he inherited from both his parents would one day haunt him, though he hoped that would be in many more years to come. For the last few weeks, his chest pressure had been a warning sign that he should see a doctor. At first, the discomfort didn’t affect him until he was physically active, but the amount of activity necessary to flare up his pain decreased repeatedly, and lately just doing light housework bothered him.

  Yesterday, he had visited his son, Josh, at a family gathering. As a cop, Josh had participated in a raid in a cave looking for some bad kids. Somehow, all the cops on that assignment had come down with the flu, and Josh had been no exception. And wouldn’t you know it; Josh had passed on the damn virus to him. This flu, though mild, had escalated his chest pains in both severity and frequency. Now the gripping sensation across his chest woke him up and became associated with a cold sweat, the heart-attack signs he knew would one day plague him, just as it had so many members of his immediate family.

  “I think I’m having a heart attack,” he said to the greeter behind the desk by the main entrance.

  “Have a seat,” said the triage nurse. She quickly produced a wheelchair and signaled for him to sit. “I’ll take you back right away and get an EKG on you.”

  “Thanks,” he whispered. “I appreciate that very much. This pressure in my chest—”

  “Is it there now?” she asked. “The chest pressure?”

  He nodded, and then sneezed. He wiped his runny nose.

  “Looks like you got the flu too?”

  “Yes.”

  “This may not be a heart attack then,” she said. “You may just have the flu. I’ll get the doctor to look at your EKG and see you in a few minutes.” She gave a big grin.

  Harvey proceeded cautiously down the walking path through the woods, fearing what he might see. He hadn’t heard gunfire for several minutes. In fact, all seemed at peace in the forest again, the cheerful chirping of birds once more infusing the air gleefully. He walked slowly, analyzing his surroundings with each stride.

  Several minutes earlier, loud footsteps came up from behind him. He quickly stepped deeper into the trees and ducked behind thickets. Two cops ran by, their attention on the path ahead.

  Harvey’s heart thumped loudly in his ears, and his hands trembled. When he regained some form of composure, he stepped once more onto the path. All was quiet again. A long moment elapsed before he ventured on. After a few minutes at a vigilant, slow saunter, Harvey came across the bodies.

  Those five kids killed Doug and the two cops, Harvey reasoned as he ran to his downed friend.

  As the nurse performed an EKG on McCloud, worry lines materialized on her face. She analyzed the tracing printing on the paper that exited the machine. “I’ll be right back.” She left the cubicle at once.

  Within minutes, a doctor walked in.

  “I’m Dr. Rovine.” He shook McCloud’s hand. “I’m a cardiologist. Your EKG is showing a heart attack. That means one of your coronary arteries is blocked off. We must open it up right now to restore blood flow to that area of your heart muscle. We have a new medicine with a lot of promise that we could use, though it’s experimental. It’s called Enoxadin. Let me tell you more about it.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  When Detective Sparks and the others arrived, they found the three bodies strewn throughout the walking path.

  “Here’s Rogers and Kaiser,” said one of the cops.

  “I told them to wait for backup, dammit,” roared Sparks. “Are they dead?”

  “Not sure,” said the cop. “I think I can feel a faint pulse, but I’m not sure if they’re breathing. But no bullet holes. No bleeding or bruises.”

  “Where’s the damn EMS crew?” Sparks yelled. “I’ve seen this before. They may just be in a deep coma.” Sparks walked toward the third body. “And here’s our bad boy. Who’s this punk?”

  “His name is Douglas Payner,” said one of the cops. “He’s a senior at Mullen High. Their star quarterback.”

  “What the hell is he doing shooting a machine gun?” said Sparks. “Speaking of which, where is the machine gun?”

  “Haven’t found it, Detective,” said one of the cops. “It seems somebody took it.”

  “You gotta be shittin’ me. Somebody walked away from here with a machine gun? Send out an alert about this. Now!”

  “Yes, sir,” said the patrolman, who retreated to make a phone call.

  “Where are those damn ambulances?” yelled Sparks. “And where are those damn kids? Get the dogs and the chopper. We’ll find them.” He kneeled down near Rogers’s and Kaiser’s unmoving bodies.” Let’s go, people. No time to waste!”

  The five young adults entered the deep cavern, their eyes adjusting to the darkness.

  “No one will find us here,” said Brent. “We found this cave last weekend during our camping expedition.”

  “Are you kidding?” said Zack. “This is the first place they’ll look. We can’t stay in here long.”

  “This is where the police found you guys when they were looking for you,” said Mackenzie. “They simply tracked Valerie’s phone signal.”

  William gawked intently at the twins. “I can’t remember any of this crap. And I’m not buying any of this time-travel story.”

  “Do you have a better explanation for what we saw at the police headquarters?” asked Brent, his gaze on William. “We were there! We took the girl to that EMS station before she died.”

  “So why would anyone want to erase our memories?” asked Ellie.

  Zack shrugged. “If we figure that out, we’ll have half the puzzle.”

  “We don’t know who or why,” said Mackenzie. “We need to figure that out. With your help, I think we can.”

  “Ellie and Brent, I can’t believe you two are buying this bull,” said William. “What, these two are my kids from the future and—”

  “That’s right,” said Zack. “What can we do to prove it to you?”

  “Let’s get in your time-travel ship right now and take us to see the dinosaurs,” said William. “Then I’ll believe you.”

  “We can’t,” said Zack. “We’re trapped here.”

  “How did you get here?” said Brent.

  “We traveled in a time capsule that was a prototype designed exactly like the one Uncle Brent traveled in,” said Mackenzie. “But when Uncle Brent died, his capsule and ours disintegrated. Both ships were designed to self-destruct when his vital signs ceased, to avoid the ships being discovered by—”

  “I’m out of here,” said William, walking toward the cave’s mouth. “Who’s coming with me?”

  “Wait, William,” said Brent. “It’s obvious something very weird is going on. As farfetched as their explanation is, it’s the only one that makes any sense right now. Let’s hear them out.”

  “Time travel?” said William. “Really?”

  “Let’s hear them out,” said Ellie. “Nothing to lose, right?”

  William returned to the group and leaned against a prominent rock. He crossed his arms.

  “Let’s start from the beginning,” said Mackenzie. “There’s something all of you should see.” She removed a small device from the purse at her waist and pressed a button on it. She placed the unit on t
he cavern’s dirt floor. Within seconds, a video projected on a virtual screen that wasn’t there before. “This was recorded a few days ago. It’s you, William, as you spoke to our mom, Valerie, in the year 2059. You’re there too, Brent. Listen.”

  As the video came alive, there was a man in his sixties who bore some resemblance to William. “This is not your fault, Valerie,” he said. “When your father passed away, you took on his dream. Your invention allowed the manufacture of Enoxadin in pill form. You saved millions of people worldwide from having heart attacks and strokes. If it wasn’t for the vasculopathic human virus—”

  “I know, William. I know,” said an older woman.

  “This is our mother, Dr. Valerie Rovine Baten,” whispered Zack. “Listen.”

  The video continued as the woman spoke again. “Still though, if Enoxadin wasn’t around and taken by so many, this pandemic would not be occurring today.”

  “I know what you’re going to say, Valerie,” said an older man, coming into view of the camera.

  “This is you, Brent,” murmured Mackenzie. “Uncle Brent.”

  Brent from the future continued. “And no, that’s not a scenario I’m willing to play out.”

  “Now hear me out, Brent,” Valerie said. “Use it, but only if you absolutely have to.”

  “What are you two talking about?” said William.

  “William, do you remember how you saved my life that first day we met?” said Valerie.

  “Yeah, go on,” said William.

  “Let’s say I died that day, none of this would—”

  “You have to be kidding,” William cried out. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”

  “Valerie, letting you die back in 2013 is definitely not part of the plan. Not an option,” said Brent. “You and William have a wonderful life together and two wonderful children.” He shook his head.

  “I’m not crazy about it either,” Valerie reiterated. “But it may become your only viable option.”

  “No,” said William. “There’s got to be another way.”

  Suddenly, the video disappeared, restoring the darkness of the cave.

  “That’s why we’re here,” said Zack. “We tried to stop our mother from dying, but we were unsuccessful.”

  “If your mom died, why are you here? Living?” asked Ellie.

  “When she died, the future was profoundly changed,” said Mackenzie. “We believe we are living since we were not in the future at the time. We were here and now.”

  “So what happened to Brent as he traveled to the now?” asked Ellie.

  “He died,” said Mackenzie.

  “He died right here in this cave a few days ago,” said Zack.

  “Valerie’s dad, our grandfather, invented a drug that prevents heart attacks and strokes,” said Mackenzie. “When he invented it, it could only be administered directly into arteries. Thirty years from now, our mother invented a way to give it in a pill form.”

  “Heart attacks and strokes are taking the lives of billions by then,” said Zack. “The risk begins at age twenty. Everybody wants to take this wonder pill. We took it!”

  “In the year 2057, a virus appears out of nowhere,” said Mackenzie. “The virus causes the flu and spreads out to everyone on the planet in a matter of a few months. Nothing humankind comes up with is able to stop the virus. But what’s worse, the virus interacts with Enoxadin and makes the inside of the arteries plug up and cause devastating vascular disease. Billions die of heart attacks and strokes. Most people over twenty begin to die off. Without leaders, the world begins a quick pace to the brink of total annihilation. And—”

  A sudden loud beep interrupted the conversation.

  “The proximity alert,” said Zack. “We have company.”

  “As expected,” said Mackenzie analyzing the screen of a rectangular device. A red light blinked synchronously to the beeping sound. “The police are here looking for us. They’ll be here in a little more than five minutes.”

  “Let’s go!” said Zack, already halfway into the cave’s mouth, all others right behind him.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Zack led the others away from the cave, and they ran parallel to the river’s edge. Mackenzie checked the proximity-alert app to ascertain that their paths wouldn’t cross with the cops’. When they were comfortable that they wouldn’t be discovered, they sat down and rested. An eternity seemed to have passed, and nightfall was well upon them now. The moonless night was mostly still, a slight breeze occasionally swaying the leaves and tree limbs.

  Mackenzie reanalyzed the small handheld app and scanned the area surrounding the cave. “Devoid of any and all life signs,” she told the others. “Of anything more than five kilograms, anyway.”

  William furrowed his forehead.

  “That’s about eleven pounds,” she explained.

  “They’re all gone,” said Zack. “We can go back to the cave.”

  The young adults made their way back to the cavern.

  “Do you think they’re ready?” whispered Mackenzie to Zack.

  He shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Ready for what?” said William.

  “Want to see the time-travel capsule?” said Mackenzie.

  “I thought you said it was destroyed when Brent from the future died,” said William.

  “His vessel and ours were,” said Zack.

  “But Ellie from the future traveled back in time too,” said Mackenzie. “She hid her vessel in here.”

  “We tracked it down,” said Zack, pointing into the cavern. “This way.” He held up a small object from which an intense and bright light emanated, revivifying the inside of the cave. The group walked deeper into the grotto, Zack leading the way as he clutched the intense light source.

  “Here,” said Zack after about twenty-five yards. “The capsule is behind this rock.”

  The teens scrutinized the cave’s wall. At first glance, the huge boulder appeared to be part of the wall, but on closer observation, the rock formation was visibly separate from the rest of the cave.

  “There’s an enormous compartment behind this rock,” said Mackenzie, her hand on the boulder.

  “How are we going to move…” started William. He thought a second. “For that matter, how did Ellie from the future move this rock?”

  “The gravify!” said Mackenzie.

  “The gravity-defying app, of course,” said Zack. “Observe.” He removed a small device from his pocket and aimed it at the boulder. The gadget hummed. “Go ahead and slide it over now.”

  Ellie grabbed on to the side of the rock and pulled it away with ease.

  “Wow!” the teens said in unison.

  The half-sphere time-travel vessel came into view, light reflecting from its shiny, silvery surface.

  “We can’t open it,” said Zack. “All ports are secured.”

  Brent and William approached the capsule and gave the door handle a good pull.

  “Locked,” said Brent.

  “But, Ellie, if you touch it, we believe all doors will open automatically,” said Mackenzie. “It should be designed to be opened by you, since you and Ellie from the future have the same DNA signature. Give it a try.”

  Ellie came close to the round ship and touched the door. A hiss of air escaped as the doors unlocked. Brent and William looked at one another, and then at Ellie, all eyes wide open with astonishment, mouths agape.

  “Let’s look inside,” said William. He entered, followed by Ellie and Brent, their curiosity piqued.

  “There’s a red button,” said Ellie. “It reads ‘administrative control.’ What’s it do?”

  “It controls everything,” said Mackenzie standing at the door. “You touch it to activate it, and then give it thought commands. It operates the whole ship.”

  “But what we need right now is actually out here,” Zach said. “I need you to open this latch, Ellie.”

  Ellie touched a button over a compartment door outside the capsule. As she did, the flap
unlocked. Zack opened the side latch and produced a jacket. “Put this on.”

  “It’s way too big for me,” said Ellie as Mackenzie helped her don the coat. She fastened up the zipper, and the garment suddenly shrunk to match her body’s size and shape flawlessly.

  “It fits now, doesn’t it?” said Mackenzie.

  “Perfectly,” said Ellie, admiring the attire.

  Mackenzie pushed a silver button with a black-and-red symbol and wavy lines over the left breast. “This is a message Ellie from the future sent out to Brent from the future.” In front of the teenagers, an older woman in her sixties, wearing the same coat Ellie was wearing, materialized onto an invisible screen. She had long brown hair and big brown eyes. Her face was smooth, but her frown had deep furrows. Mackenzie continued her explanation. “We saw her record and send out this message earlier.”

  “This woman is you, Ellie,” said Zack. “You from the future.”

  “But here’s the interesting part,” said Mackenzie. “In our future, before we left, Ellie had died. That’s why Brent traveled back, even though Ellie was supposed to have been the first traveler.”

  Zack continued. “So, whatever you three and Uncle Brent changed this past weekend altered the future so that Ellie is now alive and here in this time.” Zack looked into William’s eyes. “And you, William, transformed from a respected world-renown microbiologist to—” He clenched his teeth. “Well, let’s listen. Computer, resume.”

  “Brent,” said the virtual image of Ellie from the future, her voice agitated. “A few seconds after you left, matters actually got much worse around here. The war accelerated somehow.” She took a deep breath. “Whatever you did in the past needs to be undone—and quickly.”

  The kids looked at one another, a perplexed look in their eyes.

  The image continued. “William was finally apprehended. He’s in the hospital. His insanity seems to have deteriorated rapidly since you left. I’ve never seen him quite this bad. He keeps repeating, ‘I killed her, I killed her!’ I think he’s talking about that girl with the peanut allergy. Valerie?”

  Zack paused the recording, all eyes on William. William took a deep breath and signaled for Zack to allow the message to continue.