Timelines

by Bob Blink

  “Down,” hissed Mike. “Hit the lights.”

  We had done our best to reduce the lighting in the center to help hide the modifications. Unfortunately, there was a lighting control near the lock door, so the aliens would be able to adjust them. Since we had been unable to access the lights in the ceiling, most had been painted over masking the light they would normally produce. We had brought our own lighting, which was now extinguished, making our end of the complex dark and shadowed.

  There was no time any more. If I tried to make it across to the ramp there was a good chance I would be seen which would give away our presence prematurely. At least the rest had made it down to the lower levels and hopefully out the tunnel to the relative safety of the cave where Naiya and Doc should be waiting with the rest of the support team. I slipped down behind the barrier and crawled back into the room behind the plasma device. It would offer a bit of additional protection, as I wasn’t wearing body armor like the rest. From the darkened room, I could look down the long hallway where the large door was now almost fully open.

  Then there they were. Just like in the video we had all watched a few weeks ago. More of them than we had expected. Already four were in the hallway, two up front walking side by side and engaged in animated conversation, with more of them bringing up the rear. This wasn’t looking good. We had hoped for a small group like we had seen before. Three, maybe four of them all together. Already I could see six of the hairy creatures, with another coming through the door as I watched. That meant at least seven, and perhaps more depending on how many might still be behind the door. Now the first two had walked almost all the way to the ramp. It was a good thing they were distracted by their conversation, otherwise they would have already seen the changes we had made to the center. Initially we had planned not to let them get so close to the ramp. In a few seconds they would have reached the key box, and then they would realize the keys had been removed. I knew that Mike was waiting to get as many in the deadly hallway as possible, but there wasn’t any more time.

  Suddenly, all hell broke loose. Two, no three of them reacted quickly and launched themselves down the ramp. Incredible reflexes I noted. They were safe from the firestorm above. For just a second I thought I heard the guns from below open up, but then everything was lost in the sounds of battle in front of me. Mike’s men had launched the bombs into the open doorway behind the advancing aliens first. As soon as these were released, all of the rifles started firing, followed by a series of detonations as the planted charges were fired in succession along the length of the hallway.

  It didn’t seem possible that anything could survive in the middle of the horrible punishment being delivered into the confined space in front of me. Moments later I could see we had been partially successful. Of the four aliens that had remained in the hallway, three were clearly out of the fight. One of the downed aliens was still alive. I couldn’t tell about the other two, although a growing puddle was forming under one of them. The forth was still functional. He was nestled back against one of his buddies, and was firing back with his weapon. Two of Mike’s men were dead, another down and clearly in pain. Somehow the alien was able to continue to fight as round after heavy round was fired at him by our remaining fighters. Carol had been right about the shields. A pale glow surrounded him, and the heavy rounds were unable to penetrate the barrier. The rounds jolted the alien when they struck, but did no real damage. An anti-tank rocket had no more effect. Meanwhile, the alien was causing serious damage with the weapon he had managed to bring to bear. It seemed to fire through his shield, and had devastating effect where it struck. Had it not been for the double re-enforced walls, I suspect we all would have been taken out by now.

  Off to the side, I could see that a couple of the men wanted to slip in and man the positions left vacant by our casualties. They would never make it from where they now huddled. Where they were located, they had no shot at the remaining enemy. It didn’t matter. They had only the 50 caliber rifles that were not having much effect. At least no additional enemy had emerged from behind the open door at the far end of the hallway. One of the men made a try despite the small chance of success. As the alien turned and shot him on the run, I was able to quickly slide over behind the laser. It was powered and ready. I knew I would only get the one shot. Once I triggered the device, he was going to be aware of me. Without body armor I wouldn’t have a chance. Even with it, the position was too exposed for his weapon.

  It was time. He was turning back our direction, convinced he had removed the threat coming from his left side. The coarse sight of the laser settled on his head. I was about to pull the trigger when I had a thought. I quickly shifted my aim and waited. Just as he seemed ready to fire again I touched the large firing stud on the side of the laser. It was set to fire a burst of frequencies, each frequency releasing the energy stored in separate super efficient uptime energy storage arrays. The beam caught the alien right where I had aimed. There was a bright flash, the result of releasing a large amount of stored energy. When we could see again, the alien had been blasted and burnt beyond recognition. He was finished.

  But was it over? The sudden silence was shocking. We heard nothing downstairs. What had happened to the aliens that had slipped down the ramp? At least no more were coming down the hallway. The large door remained open, with no sign of further adversaries. I looked around. Half of Mike’s men were dead. Two more were seriously wounded. That left Mike, Jeff, myself, and three of Mike’s men functional. Of the weapons we had available, only the laser appeared effective, and I wondered if my shot had been lucky, or whether it would have worked regardless of point of aim.

  I motioned for one of the men to take over my position at the laser. I pointed another toward the large plasma device. It didn’t seem to make too much sense manning the rifles. Big as they were, they hadn’t been effective once the surprise was over and the aliens had been able to hide behind those shields. If any more were coming, they would already have their shields powered on. I relinquished my post when the man took my place. Making sure they were ready with the trigger for the timed delay explosives, I slipped quickly down the hall to the ‘head’ where I had seen additional body armor stored. It didn’t seem to have helped some of the others, but it certainly couldn’t hurt. I felt stupidly exposed in blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and wondered how I had managed to survive when the others hadn’t. In truth, I didn’t feel much better after slipping into the protective gear.

  It had been quiet now for more than a couple of minutes. Just then Mike reappeared at the top of the ramp. I hadn’t realized he had even gone to check down below.

  “Jim!” he said urgently. “I think one of them killed Carol!”

  Chapter 37

  Time Complex

  Effective Date: Friday, 29 September 2006

  Carol made her way quickly down the ramp stopping at the bottom where she turned and looked back expecting to see Jim coming down right behind her. He was no better prepared to be in the thick of the battle than she was. Surprised, she realized he had not followed her down. She was just starting back up when the lights suddenly went dark and she realized the aliens must have cut off Jim’s exit. Knowing she would only make things worse by returning up to the control level, she returned to the floor of the tunnel room, heading over to the position manned by Roger, one of the younger men to have joined their group. He had only been on the project for a couple of years, and was now part of the first line of defense. Hoping that Jim had the sense to move back into a secure position upstairs, she slid behind the barricade with Roger. She had seen Chris and John exit the tunnel back to the 21st century, so she knew they were out of immediate danger. Knowing she should have followed, she wasn’t willing to leave having the only weapon she knew would be effective against the aliens. She would leave after expending the last full charge in the rifle. If Mike was right, it wouldn’t even be necessary, but Carol wasn’t as confident things would go as smoothly as everyone had hoped.


  “You should leave,” insisted Roger in a whisper, clearly uncomfortable with her presence here. “You aren’t wearing any protection.”

  “Shhhh,” she whispered back. “No time now.”

  And she was right. Suddenly the battle began upstairs and just as suddenly three of the aliens came hurrying down the ramp to the tunnel room. Two of them made their way into the small room at the base of the ramp, clearly expecting to find the personal flying tripods that the team had removed weeks before. The third had stopped to scan the room and had spotted the fortifications. Tim wasn’t waiting. He already had fired several rounds at the alien, and Carol saw the glowing shield spring up around the alien that she had feared might exist. However it worked, the glowing shield seemed to react automatically, as if detecting incoming threats. The shield wrapped more than halfway around the body of the alien, and was centered on the direction of the incoming rounds.

  Tim’s shots from the heavy 50-caliber rifle were having little effect. Other than causing the alien and shield to jerk as each round hit, no real damage was being done. The shield wasn’t deflecting the rounds. There were no ricochets bouncing around the room. Somehow the shield was doing something to the bullets themselves. They were not reaching their target, but neither were they continuing to exist. It was as if they were being destroyed on contact with the pale barrier.

  The alien reacted without hurrying, as if it knew there was no danger. He brought one of the short stubby weapons Carol had seen once before up from the left side and swung it around towards Tim’s position. The alien fired, and despite the fact Tim had ducked down behind the heavily shielded barrier, the blast took him anyway. He simply collapsed in place, falling the rest of the way to the floor, dropping the heavy Barrett rifle as he fell. He hit with a solid thump, his head bouncing off the floor, and didn’t move.

  The barrier wasn’t real protection, Carol realized. Well, too late for that. The alien’s attention on Tim had given her the chance to get into position. For the second time in her life, and probably the last she realized, she centered the sights of her brother’s rifle on the alien. She fired just after the alien shot Tim, her shot penetrating effortlessly through the shield and killing the creature, which also dropped to the floor.

  The other two emerged from the small storage room just as Carol’s shot killed the first one. Shocked, they watched as their fellow crashed to the floor. One of the two made an immediate leap to the left, jumping into one of the tunnels and disappearing. The other raised his own weapon and prepared to shoot. Just before he shot, Roger ran from behind the barricade drawing the alien’s attention. He was more than ten feet away when the shot came. Fully exposed, Roger hadn’t a chance. Carol, still down behind the marginally effective barrier, caught the edge of the shot. The fact she was off center and partially protected by the barrier reduced the strength of the blast that hit her significantly. The impulse was still more than enough to shock and overload her nervous system, causing her to collapse. The alien never knew she was there or it would probably have fired again. Having eliminated the obvious threat, it turned and made it’s way to one of the tunnels. Reached up to the wall, the alien activated a control panel, made a couple of adjustments, and disappeared into the entrance.

  -------------------------------

  Naiya stayed behind with Doc while Carol, Jim, John and the others hurried through the tunnel into the complex. She wasn’t in a hurry. The fact that one of the alien tunnels had completed today wasn’t necessarily an indication of their immediate return. It could be a long time. Besides, there were still two of the tunnels that hadn’t completed. Perhaps after all the tunnels had finished she would be more expectant of a return. Once they did come, she wouldn’t be in the complex anyway. The battle would be fought by Mike and his team.

  She set the box of supplies she had brought for Doc on the table in the large medical tent. She still wasn’t convinced having the people stay in tents just outside the tunnel was such a great idea. Admittedly, it allowed them to be close to the complex while out of the direct line of fire. It also had the advantage that in the event the aliens did shut down the complex, they wouldn’t be stranded in an uncertain time era, but would be here at home. But they were at immediate risk if any aliens came through the tunnel. They were right there, in plain sight. She knew the argument. If they got that far, all was lost. Perhaps, but at least the base was hidden from view even after one came through the tunnel. She would rather be there. But these people made their own choices.

  “One more load,” she told Doc.

  He was busy putting supplies away, but looked up as she spoke. Once again she was reminded how little his looks corresponded to the label people used for him. ‘Doc’ made her think of an old country doctor. At least someone who was in their later years. But Doc wasn’t old at all. He was really more of a research medical doctor than a someone who specialized in the treatment of patients. Not that he didn’t excel in that role as well. Most of them had at one time or another relied on Doc for treatment. Time travel exposed them to a variety of hazards. She was alive because of his skill and the prompt actions of her best friend.

  A couple of others followed her back to the cars for the rest of the supplies. At least a half dozen cars were parked at the base of the hill adjacent to the cave. She couldn’t remember that many cars here at one time ever before. So different than the care they had taken just a few months earlier. But she didn’t like it. With the tents they could pretend to be a camping group if anyone checked. So long as any investigators didn’t look to closely. Or take note of some of the people here. This was a blatant violation of the security rules. It was the kind of action that could expose their carefully kept secret. Perhaps she could get some of the people here to take most of them back to the residence. The excitement surrounding the news that Mike had sent them earlier had resulted in the decision to come straight to the complex rather than following protocol. Grabbing her backpack and rifle from the rear of the BMW, she decided she would ask Donna if she could see to it when she got back to the cave.

  “Do you need that?” a voice asked her as she walked up the slope to the cave. She recognized Dix as he walked onto the trail from the side where he had been exploring.

  “Probably not,” she admitted. “But if there’s to be a battle, I feel better having it handy.”

  “I know what you mean. Everyone inside has the big 50’s, but I have my .308 and shotgun up in my tent.”

  Back in the cave she checked on Doc’s progress. He indicated he would be a while getting set up, so she decided to go on ahead and see what Jim and the others had learned. She had just thought of something that she wanted to ask Carol. Besides, if something was going to happen, she wanted to be sure that Jim got out of the way in time.

  Dix and another of Mike’s defense team decided to go with her. She had a key, which they didn’t, so they had been waiting for someone who was going inside. She noted that Dix had grabbed his rifle and pack as well. Unfortunately, the two had just missed John and Cindy, who had returned from the complex but hadn’t yet spread the word of the alien’s return.

  As soon as they passed through the barrier she knew something was wrong. They were still in the tunnel section, but sounds of the battle rang through the area. She heard five rapid shots that had to be one of the big 50’s in the tunnel room. That meant at least one of the aliens must have made it that far. Jim, she thought with a touch of fear! He shouldn’t be in there.

  Dix was already readying his rifle. Ted looked uncertain what to do. He was unarmed.

  “Let’s take a quick look. We have to know what to tell the others outside.” Naiya wasn’t going anywhere until she knew if Jim and Carol were okay.

  Ted held back, but she and Dix slipped up to the mouth of the tunnel together. She was just in time to see the shot the alien fired at Carol and Roger. Roger was slammed to the ground, and Carol dropped as well. Before Naiya or Dix could do anything, the alien slipped into one of the tunnels at
the other end and disappeared.

  Naiya ran from her concealed position over to Carol. Checking her neck for a pulse, she found nothing. Her friend was dead! Lips pressed into an angry line, she loaded her rifle and started towards the tunnel used by the alien to escape. She realized that Dix was following along with her. The others needed to be warned, she realized. Upstairs the battle continued. She doubted Jim was alive. He hadn’t prepared for battle, and the defense of the complex had obviously not gone as planned. Even if he was still alive, she knew she couldn’t go up there. She would just get herself killed. Turning back to the tunnel, she located Ted and explained to him that the doctor was needed along with all of Mike’s backup team. As he headed back to get them, unaware the warning had already been given by John, she turned back towards the tunnel she had been about to enter.

  “I’m going after it,” she said to Dix. “You should stay and help Mike’s team.”

  “We should wait,” he cautioned. “We know where he went. Let’s just hold until things are under control.”

  Naiya shook her head. She wasn’t waiting. That thing had killed Carol. If Jim was alive, he would see from the video records where she had gone. He would follow. If he was dead, or if they lost, then it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that she killed that thing. Without another word she entered the tunnel and made her way uptime. She knew where this one led. It was a favorite of the aliens for some reason. Cautiously, she exited, realizing that Dix had followed after her.