Timelines

by Bob Blink

  “We follow them,” I indicated, pointing up the side trail that would take us away from the alien.

  A few miles further down the trail, we found where they had set up their ambush. Gene found empties from the .308, and another from Naiya’s .300 WinMag. Tracks were still sparse, but we found where the alien had come up from below, and where he had headed along the edge of the cliff, eventually heading back down into the valley below. We hadn’t seen any tracks from Dix or Naiya, but they were probably taking care to remain hidden. The ambush had showed them their rifles were useless against the creature. At least we hadn’t found any bodies.

  We were trying to decide which way to proceed. There were no tracks to show they had descended below after the alien. The ground was soft enough in places that it would have been difficult to pass here without leaving some indication. However, we had found no sign they had continued up here either. They might be hiding in the hills off to the side, or they may have continued on. While we discussed the options for continuing the search, the sound of gunfire cracked in the distance. Two rapid shots. That had to be the .308. A few minutes passed followed by a long string of rapid fire shots. The .308 again. I listed hoping to hear the sound of the .300 WinMag, indicating Naiya was still in the fight. Sadly, so far we had heard nothing.

  I thought I heard the sound characteristic of the alien rifle, but the ATVs were making too much noise. We were moving quickly now, headed in the direction of the shots. We had moved down into the ravine. Travel up above was more difficult, and time had become the most important factor. We also wanted to spread out, so a lucky shot wouldn’t be able to get all of us. The alien’s weapon was able to affect humans over a wide angle off the main beam. Especially out in the open like this.

  As we hurried across the flat, a sudden large boom echoed down the valley. Explosion. That had to be them. What were they doing?

  We continued racing down the valley. Nothing shot at us. It had been quiet for several minutes since the explosion. Then I heard the sound of Naiya’s rifle. A single sharp crack sounded down the valley that would not be mistaken for the lighter .308. My heart raced. She was still alive. The last shot had sounded like it was close. The closed in ravine may have channeled the sound masking the true distance. Then another crack could be heard. She was still alive, but the fact she was still shooting meant the creature was still alive. I was bothered by the fact I hadn’t heard the sound of the .308 for a while. Something had happened.

  We heard no more shots. I could see the man across from me scanning to his left looking for the alien. I knew the man on the back of the bike to our right would be watching the other direction. Nothing!

  It took us longer than I would have thought. The way was blocked by rough ground, covered with boulders. Five minutes later we managed to break through and reach the spot where the alien lay dead. Battered and broken, the body had been blasted when the rifle it carried had exploded. I was noticing the head. The damage there had been caused by a bullet. Which meant she had shot after the creature was down. She was near. Somewhere within rifle range. Just let her be okay!

  “Dead,” said Gene unnecessarily. “Where are they?”

  I suspected they were up on the ridge. I could see a path to our left, half buried in rock and debris. I knew what the explosion had been. They had ambushed the thing. I was sure someone was up above. The shot that had blown apart the alien’s skull had come from the other direction. Naiya was on the other side. We split forces, half going either way. I ran across the flat, finding the way up and scrambling to the top.

  It didn’t take long to find her. For a moment I thought she was dead, but then she opened her eyes. Despite the pain I knew she recognized me. George gave her the shot, while the other man went for the ATV. We had a stretcher mount and would be able to carry her back. The drug put her under while we waited. Once she was secure, I picked up her rifle and strapped it down in the back as well.

  The other man had told us what they found on the other side. I was saddened to learn that Dix had died bringing down the alien. Three more dead. I owed Dix. He had given his life saving Naiya. I felt I should wait while they brought down his body, but Naiya needed attention. We headed back while the others completed the sad task of bringing him home.

  Chapter 48

  Texas

  1877

  Thomas looked down on the body of the rancher. The dead man lay just outside the back door of his ramshackle home, apparently killed by the person he had surprised. Except it didn’t fit. The shotgun had been fired. Both barrels. Thomas had checked the scratched and worn weapon after picking it up a few feet from the dead man’s hands where it had landed after being dropped as the man collapsed. There were no wounds on the man. Nothing to indicate how he had died. It could have been a heart attack or some such. He knew the local doctor would probably chalk it up to something like that. But this wasn’t the first. Besides, he had an advantage over the doctor. He knew exactly what kind of weapon would cause death in such a manner. He had one just like it on his horse just a short distance away.

  “No one else,” said Carl as he returned from checking the house. “Looks like he lives alone.”

  A short time later the others returned from their check of the barn and workshed, reporting the same. Only the one this time, he thought. Yesterday they had found five dead on the small farm just the other side of the valley, maybe ten miles from here. The family had been systematically eliminated. He assumed that one of them had surprised the intruder, but had managed to shout a warning before dying, which had brought the others to help. They hadn’t had the means to provide any help. The alien had taken them all down.

  “Same as the others,” the older of the two men that rode with them asked. “Nothing to show how they died.”

  Thomas nodded. They would bury this one, then move on. Not that they would find much this time of day. It was already mid morning, and he suspected their quarry had run to ground until this evening. During the five days they had been seeking the alien, the only indications of sightings had been early morning or evening. Nothing during the daytime. It fit with what he had expected. The alien didn’t want to attract attention. That meant it had to be careful about being seen. The reports they had been able to gather had all been similar. Some kind of animal. Large. Moved quietly. Well, people saw what made sense to them. The fact the alien was covered with hair made it seem like an animal. The fact it walked on two legs seemed to go un-noticed. Perhaps it crouched to hide its true appearance.

  Eventually, concern and fear would start to spread. The deaths were mostly unknown so far. They had not taken the time to report back to the authorities. Eventually the graves would be discovered. People would miss neighbors. The odd sightings would be talked about. The alien would find it harder to move about. It would have to move on.

  Trying to locate it now was difficult enough. The miles of open prairie, sparsely populated gave too much area to search. There were thousands of places where it could hide. He knew the creature was smart. It might have discovered by now that it was being sought, but he didn’t think so. They were always too far behind. Take this death, for example. As best he could tell they were more than a day late.

  When he reported in the previous night he had been forced once again to tell them of their lack of success. He learned that Dix had been killed but Naiya had been found alive. He was glad. She had seemed nice the couple of times he had talked with her. He would miss Dix though. They had traveled together on more than one exploration mission. Another thing he could try and payback if he could ever catch up with the damn creature.

  More help was offered, but he had declined for now. Thousands of people might help. Then again maybe not. Unless they were properly armed, they would only get themselves killed. Although he had been told that Dix and Naiya had somehow managed to bring one of the aliens down with rifles and explosives. When he got back he would have to find out if that was true. For now, until they could locate it, more people wo
uldn’t help.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the map he had brought with him. A contour map, it showed detail that would have surprised the locals had they seen it. He marked their location on the map as best he could. Too bad GPS wouldn’t work. He looked at the marks he had made the past week. Small “x’s” for sightings, a box where they had reports of break-ins or unusual activity, and small circles where they had found the bodies. The was a lot of scatter, but then not all of the reports had to be real, nor did they have to be the alien. Still, a pattern was starting to appear. It looked to him that the alien might be making a very large arc, gradually working its way back toward the tunnel entrance. While he wanted to move ahead, perhaps wait somewhere along that pattern, he knew it was too soon. He would track it a while longer. See if the pattern he thought he saw was more than his imagination. One thing was certain. Sooner or later he would find it. Then it would be his turn.

  Chapter 49

  Northwest Africa

  52000 BC

  It had been Monday afternoon when we learned that Jeff Cohen had checked in with the residence. He was pleased to report that his success was better than he had anticipated, and there were half a dozen representatives of various organizations that would be coming with him to view the facility and talk to us about the situation Jeff had briefed to them. Jeff had warned us in his message, if in a circuitous manner, that there were those that had reacted as he had warned. Certain groups were more interested in bringing us in to answer for various actions we had taken in the past than they were in addressing the real problem facing us. The final outcome and the actions taken would depend on the reaction of the team he was bringing. Jeff would be arriving with his team at the residence early Tuesday morning.

  Naiya’s odds for a full recovery were very good. She had made it through the twenty-four hours of induced sleep the uptime medicines triggered when first applied without a hitch. That was a good sign. The others who had suffered wounds from the alien weapon had all recovered completely which was another. Now she was asleep again, at least for a while. Normally the body drifted in and out of sleep the second day, with follow-on days starting to return to the normal sleep pattern. I knew she would be hungry though. I’d had my own experiences with the medicines in the past.

  Doc had chased me out a few hours ago insisting that I get some sleep. I’d been staying close to her bedside since bringing her back yesterday. Carol had been a regular fixture as well. After Naiya woke and we had a chance to talk briefly, he insisted I get some rest.

  Tomorrow was an important meeting and I had been up far too many hours. In addition to the long hours, the emotional drain had left me fuzzy brained. I wondered about sending Carol in my place, but this seemed something I should do. Despite her long years living in our era, some of the subtle aspects of the political game, especially where the military was involved might be lost on her. Not that I was an expert myself. I also wondered a bit about the gender issue. Carol is smarter and tougher than anyone I know. However, there is a certain kind of male that can’t accept a woman might be their equal, let alone their superior. Our visitors were all unknowns to us. Given they mostly came from a military background it might be best to err on the side of caution.

  The three of us had discussed it briefly during the short period that Naiya was awake. After initial tears and hugs, and a brief recount of what had happened on either end, Carol raised the issue. If I went, Naiya would still be under treatment, and would probably wake to find me gone. I needed her to be okay with this. If necessary we would delay the meeting a day. We seemed to have the time. There was some initial concern about the possible responses of our visitors. I still wasn’t convinced they wouldn’t try to grab the facility, and Carol was certain there would be a faction that wanted nothing more than to arrest us for crimes committed. We all agreed the first meeting would be safe enough. No matter what the real objectives were, no one was going to try and detain any of us at the first meeting. They would want to see the facility before taking any kind of action, even if they had something planned. That was the reason they were coming. We were convinced part of the reason for the large number that was visiting was to get a variety of opinions on the validity of our claims. They would also want an assessment of how much potential technology could be wrung from the facility and how easy it would be to take control. More experts meant more opinions. I had seen it before in a consulting role with the military.

  Outside Seattle: Tuesday, 3 October 2006

  Now, after six hours of sleep, I felt better, but not yet my normal self. It wasn’t the best condition to be heading into this meeting, but it would have to do. I had passed by to check on Naiya, who was awake but still sleepy. She had started to drift off, so I just stayed a minute. Carol would guard the fort while I was gone. Hell, maybe we judged them wrong. Just in case, we had elected to keep most of the team where our new friends couldn’t lay hands on them. Besides, Carol would be busy finishing organizing the tour we had planned.

  Walking down the incline from the tunnel cave, I was amused to see half a dozen cars parked at the base of the incline. After years of trying to keep the place hidden, the need for secrecy was now over. After today, the people we had hidden from would know where the entrance was. If things went against us, that would potentially be troublesome, but there wasn’t much choice any longer. Someone had brought the X5 from the residence garage, and as I slipped behind the wheel I thought about how long it had been. Most of my time had been in the complex for the past couple of weeks. Fall was coming on, and I hadn’t even realized. A gust of wind shook the car and whipped the dry leaves across the ground where they rustled and clattered until falling still on the ground. Winter would be coming in a month or so. It wouldn’t be the best time for dealing with the alien’s return. I hoped it would be a tame winter. I looked into the mirror as I drove away. I could see no one else was outside. Too much to do I realized.

  I parked out front of the residence rather than driving into the garage for underground parking. I could see that the others had arrived. A number of rental cars were parked along the circular driveway. Glancing at my watch, I noted that I was still early. That meant they had either landed early, or had made good time driving in from Seattle. Jeff had told us to expect them around ten, and it was only a quarter of now. I was surprised to run into Jeff as I entered the house and started back to the living room where I assumed everyone would be. He was alone, and dressed in his uniform. It was Major Cohen I realized. Somehow I had never thought about his rank before, even when I learned he was a career officer. I wondered if the uniform signified anything. Perhaps a signal on where he stood. But he smiled and took my hand, and said a bit self-consciously. “Dress code isn’t optional,” he informed me. I smile back and relaxed. He seemed like the same Jeff.

  “Where are the others?” I asked.

  “Your resident is showing them around. From what I got back from Carol the other day, I gathered we will be staying the night here?”

  I confirmed his assumption. “The tour should take all day. It will be too late to drive back, and it’s likely after seeing what we have planned, they will want to see other specific things after having a chance to think about it. So the second day we can finish up, and start some serious discussions on how to proceed.”

  “No Carol?” he asked.

  “Carol and Naiya are back at the base.”

  I had forgotten Jeff couldn’t know what had happened yesterday. When he left to pitch this meeting to his superiors we thought Naiya was lost forever. The surprise on his face was obvious.

  “Naiya? Your wife? She’s back? How?” The questions came rapidly, but the genuine interest and concern was plain in the way he reacted.

  “She’s back,” I confirmed. “Wounded, but Doc says she is going to be fine. That’s another story, but we learned something important about the uptime gate. It allowed us to re-open the pathway and go after her.”

  He wanted to ask the details, but j
ust then we could hear voices coming from the back. Mary was returning with our guests. No time for bringing Jeff up to speed now. I prepared myself for the first meeting of the people who could well determine the fate of our upcoming battle. I wished there had been a bit more time to talk with Jeff. I might have been able to pump him about the personalities I was going to have to deal with.

  As they filed into the room, I was surprised by the variety in the uniforms. All the major branches of the military were represented. Somehow I had assumed that most of the people would be from the same branch, but I hadn’t counted on the inter-service rivalry. Not wanting to be left out, each of the branches had managed to wangle a representative. I didn’t like what I saw. It told me that this thing had already become a political issue. I had hoped for someone with real power, a general or two with a couple of experts as aides. Instead I was being given a bunch of colonels. Maybe it made sense. Until our claims were verified, the generals weren’t going to show an active interest.

  Only one of the people that entered the room was in civilian attire. From the style of the dark suit, I could guess the organization he represented. The FBI was here as well. Maybe I was biased, but for as long as I could remember, the FBI had come across as an organization that abused its power and worried more about its image than it did about the important issues. I was interested to note that there was no representative from the NSG, the bunch that was responsible for killing Kurt and his daughter. I’d have to ask about that.

  Jeff introduced me to each of the men in the order they made their way across the room. First was the representative from the Marines, a Colonel Jerry Spangler. He looked like a marine. Shorter than the others, he was solidly built and had his hair cut so short it was almost non-existent. The uniform was perfect. I couldn’t see how he could move without wrinkling it, but somehow he managed. Closer up, I could see a number of faint scars on his face and neck, and his left hand showed signs of having been badly burned at some time in the past. Well, from the number of medals on his chest, this man had seen a lot of combat. His handshake was firm and businesslike. I had expected a knuckle grinder. His eyes sized me up carefully as we were introduced. There was no question this man was used to command. This man wanted control. I could sense he was looking for the opening that would hand this opportunity over to the marines. I didn’t see the situation as a marine mission, but the mysterious politics of the military were above me.