“Oh? What’s that?” Jhahnahkan asked curiously.
“Helen told me about my future,” Kate said, pausing for a moment. “She said a strange and mysterious man would come into my life from out of nowhere. She said his name would be very different, we would fall in love, and that my life would never be the same again. I really never believed her, but now, here you are. You do fit that description of a strange and mysterious man. You just came into my life from out of nowhere. It does kind of make ya wonder.”
Rex entered the back room in a rush. “Katie, Katie,” Rex shouted.
Kate let go of Jhahnahkan’s hand and stood, “What’s wrong, Rex?”
“There’s no time to explain. We need to get moving on outta here now!” Rex said, shaking.
“John here is in no shape to move anywhere right now. Just tell me what’s wrong?”
“Its Sheriff Matson, he’s come back to find our friend here,” Rex said, gasping for air.
“Calm down, Rex. I’ll go stall the sheriff.”
Jhahnahkan lifted up from the table and propped up on his elbows. “No, Kate, you shouldn’t go out there.”
Jhahnahkan almost didn’t finish his sentence when the sheriff burst into the back room. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Sheriff Matson said, holding his hands on his belt.
Kate moved and stood between Jhahnahkan and Matson. “Sheriff, you need to back off. He’s injured.”
“Now you needn’t concern yourself, ma’am. He’s nothin’ but trouble. You should stay as far away from him as you can,” the sheriff said with a stern voice. “Now stand aside. I’m takin’ him in.” He then pushed Kate aside.
Rex and Katie both tried to hold the sheriff back from getting to Jhahnahkan, but he shoved them back.
“Don’t try to stop me. I’ll take you both in for obstructing justice.”
Just as Sheriff Matson grabbed Jhahnahkan by the collar, Glenda came around the corner swinging an empty beer bottle over his head. The bottle smashed and sprayed glass over the entire room, stopping Sheriff Matson cold in his tracks. He stood just long enough to turn to see his assailant and then spun around and fell to the floor unconscious. Rex, Katie, and Jhahnahkan all stared at Glenda as the room fell silent for a few moments. After they recovered from the shock of what Glenda had done, Katie stepped over the unconscious sheriff and started to collect her things from one of the chairs in the room.
“Come on. Guess we had better get on outta here,” Kate said in a hurry, “John, you going to be all right?”
“Yes, I will be fine,” Jhahnahkan said with a wince as he lifted himself off the table.
Rex and Kate put his arms around their necks and assisted Jhahnahkan up the rest of the way.
“Glenda, get rid of the rest of the customers and lock the front up. You’re coming with us,” Kate said with a concerned look. “Hurry on up now. We’re all in big trouble. We need to get moving before he wakes up.”
Glenda rushed up to the front of the bar and announced the early closing to the reluctant patrons and shuffled them out the door. She locked the door, turned the sign to closed, and shut off the lights.
Jhahnahkan now stood on his own two feet and turned to Kate and Rex. “I have an idea. Get the sheriff up and sit him in this chair.”
The two complied and set the now dazed and confused Matson in the chair. Jhahnahkan moved over and stood before the sheriff and put his hands on the sides of his temples. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a few moments and then stopped and turned back to the others.
“There, that should buy us some time,” Jhahnahkan said with a half smile.
“What did you do to him?” Kate asked as the four rushed out the back door.
“I planted the thought that the Russell brothers were the ones that hit him over the head.
Rex chimed in, “Oh good one, more of them parlor tricks. How long will that one last?”
“Not that long. I am still fairly drained.”
The four made their way to Katie’s station wagon. Her car was a 1968 Chevrolet Caprice in two-tone green with wood sidings. She opened up the door with her key and reached over and pulled up on the handle to unlock the passenger and back door. Jhahnahkan climbed in the front seat, Glenda and Rex entered the backseat. They all closed the doors while Kate started the engine. The car roared to life as Kate gunned the throttle. She pulled down the shifter on the column and placed the car in reverse and pulled the switch to turn on the headlights. As she backed out of the stall and turned the car forward, she placed the car in drive. The lights of the car shined on two bikers blocking the exit of the back lot. The Russell brothers had returned to revenge their pride.
“Oh crap!” Kate exclaimed.
“What are we going to do now?” Glenda asked with panic.
“Why don’t ya do one of your mind tricks on them?” Rex asked.
“I don’t have enough strength left to concentrate,” Jhahnahkan said as he stretched out his hand in front of him. “Nope, nothing is happening. I need some time.”
“We’ll have to make a run for it,” Kate said as she slammed on the gas.
The passengers held on to whatever they could as the car raced forward toward the two angry bikers. The Russell brothers held their ground until the very last moment, when they gunned their bikes and darted to each side, allowing Kate’s speeding car between them. She shot out of the parking lot and turned left, squealing around the corner. The brothers turned and began to chase them down the road, catching up to them without any trouble.
Kate swerved to the left and then over to the right to keep them from overtaking her car. The Russell brothers once again attempted to pass Katie’s speeding car. Her car erratically moved from side to side and sped up and slowed down to try and confuse their pursuers. The left bumper connected with the front tire of Tim’s bike, causing him to nearly lose control. Tim backed off a few feet in order to regain his control over the speeding bike. Chuck tried to take advantage of the narrow passage on the right and sped up to the side of Kate’s car. Rex rolled down his window and picked up a tire iron that had been lying on the floor of Kate’s backseat. He swung the bar at Chuck’s bike, but he dodged the strike. Rex swung once more. Chuck reached out and grabbed the tire iron from Rex’s hand and began to smash the windows on her car one by one.
Kate decided that she had had enough of this, so she swerved the car to the right, knocking Chuck off to the shoulder of the road. Losing control of his bike, he flew off the road and into a field of mud where he came to a sudden stop. Chuck was tossed over the handlebar and fell face-first into the mud. He lifted his head up slightly and then gave up in exhaustion and flopped in the mud.
Tim kept up with the racing car until he noticed his brother had fallen to the wayside. Deciding that he didn’t want to face the four solo, he slowed down and turned around to go back and help his brother.
Katie’s car sped off into the night, putting a good distance between them and the Russell brothers.
“That’ll teach ’em, ma’am!” Rex said with triumph in his voice.
Glenda let out a big whoo-hoo! “Boy,” she said, “that was more fun than I’ve had in forever!”
“Based on my past experience with them, I do not think the Russell brothers can be taught anything,” Jhahnahkan said in a serious voice.
The others snickered at Jhahnahkan as he made the statement.
Jhahnahkan burst out laughing at his friends. “You see? I can have a sense of humor.”
“Very funny, John,” Kate said as she poked Jhahnahkan in the ribs. Jhahnahkan let out a yelp. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, John. I forgot about your ribs.”
“That’s okay. I’ll get over it,” he kidded back as he rubbed his side.
“So John is your name?” Rex asked.
“His name is Jhahana-something-or-other, so I decided to call him John for short,” Kate said, looking over and giving him a wink.
“Jhahnahkan… and John is okay with me,” he said,
giving a wink back to Kate as he smiled slightly.
“So,” Glenda asked, “how much farther is this old woman’s home?”
“About another half an hour or so outside of Phillmore, and I wouldn’t exactly call it a home really; more like a shack in the desert is all it is,” Kate answered.
Glenda looked back to see if the Russell Brothers had decided to follow them. She peered down the dark highway and saw what appeared to be flashing lights speeding toward them.
“Don’t look now, but looks like the sheriff is barreling down on us,” Glenda exclaimed in panic.
Katie adjusted her rearview mirror to get a better view. “Yep, that would be Sheriff Matson coming down on us like an angry hornet’s nest that was just kicked.”
“I was right,” Jhahnahkan said. “That didn’t last long. I was too weak for that to last much time at all.”
“Don’t worry yourself, honey. We’ll get outta this one too,” Kate said reassuringly.
Kate floored the gas pedal, sending the passengers backward into their seats. Sheriff Matson’s patrol car headed down the road at a high speed as he tried to catch up to his fugitives. His siren blaring and light flashing, he noticed their car gaining distance. He stomped on his gas as if the pressure from his foot would cause his car to travel even faster than it could.
Jhahnahkan held his hands up to his temples, touching his first two fingers, and to the sides and began to concentrate on confusing the sheriff once more.
After a few moments, he stopped and looked over at Kate and his friends. “I am too far away to get an effect. I have an idea. You will all need to hold on and bear with me. I do not know how I know I can do what I am about to do. It is just coming to me,” he said with confidence.
“Kate, I need you to keep putting as much distance between us and the sheriff. Everyone else, do not look back. Just hold on and do not be frightened.”
He held his hands out in front of him with his palms facing straight out, one hand higher than the other as if he was shooting a basketball. He began to slowly roll his hands back and forth as if he was rolling an invisible ball.
“Kate, I need you to take your hand and press it on my temple and concentrate on the location of Helen’s place. Don’t think of anything else. Clear your mind. Trust me.”
Katie followed Jhahnahkan’s instructions and placed her hand on his temples and tried to mimic the way he held his fingers in that same position. Jhahnahkan continued to roll his hands around the invisible ball, and as he did, he started to separate and expand his hands to form a larger invisible ball. His face took on a stone-cold look as he continued to concentrate on his task. His forehead furled down, eyebrows dropped, and he held his head slightly down and closed his eyes. Once he was satisfied with the size of his invisible ball, he acted like he tossed it out in front of the speeding car. Glenda and Rex sat motionless and wondered what their new friend was going to do. Kate continued to concentrate on Helen’s location while she kept her foot on the gas and steered her car ahead with her other hand.
A bright light flashed in front of Kate’s speeding car, which revealed a very large vortex that had opened up before them. The fast-approaching sheriff was gaining on Kate’s station wagon as they were outmatched by the power of his squad car. Sheriff Matson, seeing the vortex before him, slammed on his brakes and careened off the road and out into the open field.
Katie’s car passed through the open vortex and exited on the other side at Helen’s location. The vortex abruptly closed with the sound of a violent wind passing through a narrow passage.
Kate let out a scream and slammed on her brakes, causing her car to slide sideways in the desert sand and stopped just before the entrance to an old run-down shack.
Jhahnahkan slumped over against Kate from the sideways skidding of the car. The other passengers, in shock, slowly opened up the car doors and got out.
Standing before them was a wrinkled old woman with tattered clothes. She held a crooked cane in her left hand and stood all of about five feet tall and was slightly hunched over.
“Come on now; let us get him out of there. He is going to be out for a spell,” Helen said with a crack in her voice. “It took you long enough to get here. I have been here waiting for you all day.”
The three stood out under the dark night sky only illuminated by the bright stars above them. “Well,” Kate began, “we sort of ran into a little trouble.”
“Do you not know that I already know that?” Helen said with irritation in her voice. “I need him to give me the crystal. Do you know where it is?”
“No… no, he never mentioned any crystal,” Kate said.
“How about you Rex? Do you remember seeing him using his crystal?”
“No, ma’am, I picked him up on the road between Phillmore and Rosemont, mostly on the Rosemont side,” Rex said as he stroked his chin. “He hit his head out there somewhere. He doesn’t remember too much right now.”
“Humph,” the old woman said with a huff. “He must have had a bad landing. I really do not have time for this. Get him inside so I can have a good look at him.”
The three carried the unconscious Jhahnahkan inside the old shack and sat him down in a chair by the old woman’s table. The old woman paced around the small room, tapping her cane on the floor as she walked. She stopped at one end, paused, turned, and slowly hobbled to the other side, pausing again. Then she came over to Jhahnahkan and stood before him.
“Come on, son, you need to wake up. It was not that hard for you to do that, was it?”
Glenda politely addressed the old woman, “Ma’am, what do ya mean? What was that we just went through? What is this crystal you are talking about?”
“Simple questions get simple answers,” Helen said, turning to Glenda. “That was a vortex. Every crystal-bearing Ackturrian can create one. That is why he has to have one. It has never been done before without one… nope, simply not possible.” She said this reassuring herself.
Glenda and the rest had a blank stare on their face. “Ah, I know, it is hard for Terrens to grasp this. Okay,” she said as she began to explain, “a vortex is a means of teleportation, transporting yourselves, objects, and the like from one point to another point. The traditional crystal is capable of teleporting two ways: one location to another. The crystal that he should have allows the user to teleport three ways: one location to another location and through time.” Helen spoke matter-of-factly.
“How do you know so much about him?” Rex asked.
“That is an even easier question,” Helen said, turning to Rex. “He is my grandson. His father is my son, Qiaoshan of the house of Sö’.”
Helen, now getting tired of waiting, poked Jhahnahkan with the end of her cane. “Come on, son, wake up already!”
Jhahnahkan began to stir. Kate knelt down by his side and held his hand. “John, John, wake up, John. It’s all right, were all here.”
He lifted his head up and slowly opened his eyes. Standing before him was the old woman; something in his memory began to spark, and he started to remember seeing her not long ago in a dark and damp cave.
“There you are. I thought you were going to never wake up,” Helen exclaimed.
He looked up at Helen. “I know you,” he said. “You were in the cave.”
“Hehe,” the old woman chuckled. “Yep, that was me. You still cannot remember, can you?” She raised one eyebrow as she said this.
“I’m afraid not.” Jhahnahkan paused. “I know that I know you, but I don’t…”
“Humph,” she said once again, “I see you have been around these humans too long. Already starting to talk like them too. Okay,” she said with a huff, “guess we have to do this the hard way.”
She rested her cane on the edge of the table and took his head in her hands and peered deep inside the core of his being. The room faded away, and images of his life began to flood in from the deepest part of his memory. He saw images of himself, from walking in the field to being tossed through a
vortex. Then he saw his brother standing in the council chamber, directing a path of energy at his father. He remembered the explosion and being thrown back into the vortex. He saw himself holding the sealed crystal from the chest and the old woman guiding him to the secret room, the memories of the Bant’tuuk competition, of his sister, Tamika, showing him her crystal and it bouncing off the ground and breaking a fragment off that was never found, memories of talking to his brother from the bridge of his ship, the Telenian, of the battle between the Ackturrian and Zelinite, memories of his journey to the outer rim and of making new friends, everything from his childhood.
Jhahnahkan jerked back. Jumping up, he letting out a cry of pain… pain caused from the method Helen used to bring back his memories and the pain of the memories themselves.
He held his head in his hands in exasperation as he absorbed the ache of the reality of the events that had taken place.
Helen stood up and took her cane once again in her left hand, “I know what you know through that transference. I know you dropped the crystal in the field where you landed. But I still do not know how you can do the things you have done without it,” Helen said as she thought about the memories she saw through her grandson.
She slowly got down on her knees before Jhahnahkan and began to examine his cloak. She felt all around the edges of it as if she was looking for something that did not belong.
“Aha!” she said victoriously, “there it is!”
She held the cloak up and examined a hard spot in the hem of the garment. She began to work it out of the fabric, and then taking ahold of the end of a sharp object, she removed it and exposed to everyone in the room a slightly green-colored crystal fragment.
“There! See, you did have one. This is the fragment that shattered off your sister, Tamika’s crystal. This all makes sense now. You must have partially aligned with it when she was showing it to you. When this broke off, it landed on your cloak and got imbedded. That is why she did not find it on the ground in that back room you were in,” Helen deduced with a crooked smile.
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