“I don’t see why not. Aren’t you here for the same reason?”
“But!” Mars stuttered, and then put his hand over his face.
Jeremy took over.
“To go on, my name is Jeremy,” he said, bowing again. “And you are?”
“You can call me Ffefferpip.”
“Ffefferpip?”
“You sound skeptical about my name.”
“I’m thinking no one would name their child ‘Ffefferpip’.”
“You’re right, of course. Mostly I’m called ‘Ffip.”
“Your parents named you ‘Ffip’?”
“Oh, all right then. They actually named me ‘Fillip’, but I prefer ‘Ffip.”
“If you prefer ‘Ffip’ and your real name is ‘Fillip’, then why did you say your name was ‘Ffefferpip’?”
“Jeremy, what’s going on, really?” Mars interrupted. “Sorry to stop the flow of such a fascinating conversation but I can’t accept any of this! Please tell me something that makes sense!”
Jeremy responded to the desperation in the man’s eyes. Mars actually looked a little bit afraid. He moved away from both of them, sat down to pull on his boots, walked up to the coat rack and then pulled on the magnificent garment with the usual amount of pleasure. He turned triumphant to face them.
“Well then?” asked Mars.
“First I’ll have your answer, my old friend. Are you coming with me, or not?”
“Blast it! What choice do I have as long as your only other companion on this journey is this fellow, no offence,” he growled to the side.
“None taken,” said Ffefferpip.
Jeremy smiled and revealed the only secret he knew he was allowed to tell his teammates.
“I’m the new Time Mechanic,” he said. “And, if my senses are correct, I believe we’re about to meet one other person, who’ll join us on our journey.”
The others looked puzzled but he nodded when, with perfect timing, they heard another knock on his door.
“Are you the most popular man in town, Jeremy?” Mars complained, “With oceans of friends showing up to unending parties?”
“Was I ever that?”
“Just answer the door.”
Jeremy stepped forward and swung it open and there, with no surprise, finally stood the wealthy-looking girl who’d run away from him earlier. She glanced behind him and saw the room had other people and her dark blue eyes darted from side to side.
“Good evening,” he said to her, but she shook her head. “Was there something I can do for you?”
“Just let me go,” she said at last. “Whatever it is you’ve done to cause this pounding need to visit you, release me!”
“I haven’t done anything, but if you want to be released just walk away and declare you won’t stay by my side for anything. Once you decide that you’ll be set free.”
She looked stubborn.
“I don’t follow advice given from… well, people in general.”
She said the word ‘people’ as if all humanity were something smelly caught in her shoe. Jeremy chuckled.
“If you decide to stay by my side, I’ll expect you to follow my advice— or commands if I deem them necessary. On every mission there must be a leader or things won’t get done. And, if I’m the leader, you’ll have the benefit of not being responsible if mistakes are made or you won’t be first in line for danger if I must face trouble in front of you. Besides, I’m paying for everything.”
She huffed and glared at him.
“I despise wealthy businessmen who think they can own whatever they want, or overlords who crush those that get in their way,” she said.
“I’m not either of those.”
Mars stepped forward.
“Jeremy, just a moment,” he said. “I know I’m interrupting again but this is important. I know this girl. Trust me that you don’t want to talk her into going with us. If, as you say she has only to reject us and then another of whatever service she provides will arise to take her place then let her go.”
“What do you mean? If she’s the first one compelled then she must be the most suited, of course,” Jeremy said.
The girl only glared more, unrepentant and unafraid, right into Mars’ eyes.
“She’s a criminal, Jeremy,” he stressed. “She sneaks into businesses in the marketplace and no one knows how— sometimes while the shop is crowded and the safe is only five-feet away. All of us shopkeepers have been warned to refuse her entrance if she comes along. She has a lot of money but many items fall into her purse as she passes. They say she’s diseased with the need to steal that which she doesn’t need.”
“I’ve heard of such cases,” Ffefferpip spoke up. “The scientific term is called…”
“I am not diseased,” the girl said. “And I’ve never come into your shop, have I?”
“Or Nemeth’s,” put in Jeremy.
“Yes, and I’ve often wondered about it,” said Mars. “You don’t steal from every shop in Tonturin. Only particular ones, as if you were targeting them.”
“Keep annoying me and I’ll visit your shop next,” the girl sneered, “while you’re not there to see, perhaps.”
“Don’t bother threatening me. I’m not afraid of you,” Mars returned. “You steal but don’t attack, like a sneak who thinks she’s not hurting anyone. Well, your gain is some shopkeeper’s loss.”
“Oh, and I was under the impression you thought I was powerless to stop myself!” she cooed in a falsetto voice, looking, underneath the pout she put on for him and the batting of her eyes, more rebellious than ever.
“The need to steal for some victims is pathological- meaning…” continued Ffip.
“That’s the only reason you’re not arrested,” Mars spoke over him, “is because the sheriff believes you can’t help yourself and your stepfather pays back the losses.”
“That’s all you know,” she snarled.
“I see what it means then,” Jeremy smiled. “Your appointment to our group, I mean. Every team like ours has had one in the past. You’re our thief.”
“I’m not anyone’s thief but my own, and if I join you I want that to be clear,” she stated.
“And are you joining us?” Jeremy took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips. He felt authority settle on him like a mantle, and it wasn’t because of his magnificent coat. “If you stay by my side, you follow my orders,” he added. “Not because I want to rule you but because it’s up to me to get the job done, before any of you. So choose. Will you refuse or will you journey with us?”
All of a sudden, like she’d done when he’d first encountered her on the path, her bravado melted away. She bit her lip and glanced at Ffip before shaking her head with a sigh.
“I guess I’ll go with you,” she conceded after a long moment, curtsying a bit with reluctance. “I’ve got nothing keeping me here anyway. But if you turn out to be worthless fellows,” here she glared at Mars, “I’ll steal your wallet and that coat off your back when I leave you,” she said to Jeremy, stepping into the room. Jeremy shut the door after her and rubbed his hands together. Inside he knew that no one else would be coming tonight. For now anyway, the team was complete.
Chapter Seven - (In Which Jeremy Skips the Acquaintance Stage)
“We just completed introductions right before you arrived, but I’ll do it again,” Jeremy said to the new girl after a few moments of silence between his guests. “Mars stand up proper,” he added.
“Don’t see why I need to be courteous to a girl that glares at me,” Mars grunted under his breath, but he stood up.
Jeremy looked at the circle of four of them and a sudden shiver struck him between the shoulder blades. He sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. An instant vision flashed in his mind- four pictures of the past flipping one after another; the previous Time Mechanics forming their teams for the first time, he realized. He saw them standing in a circle with their groups, just the same as now. One of the Time Mechanics
had only two on his team, while another had eight. But those people of the past, several of whom died on their quests, their stories were changed forever after they’d formed their circles. Should he study their ancient faces now while he saw them so clear? Read the old legends and find out what their names had been? He tried to hold on but the flashing visions of the four teams faded. He blinked and remembered to focus on his own room and his guests.
“Uh… sorry,” he said, getting up again. “Where was I?”
“A good question,” said Mars. “You blanked out on us for several moments. You’d have fallen over if I hadn’t sat you up.”
“Is he always like this?” demanded the new girl. “Is there more to him than that coat he wears?”
“He’s able to lead us, so don’t insinuate otherwise,” said Mars.
“Oh, I don’t bother insinuating anything, unless it’s my person into your shop when you’re not looking,” she sneered.
“Stay out of my shop unless you intend to come in by the front door.”
“What do you care? Aren’t you soon to leave your shop behind, so you can follow your bemused friend here? And are we all crazy, after all, to consider the same?”
“One moment, Miss,” Jeremy inserted. “I apologize for appearing inept. Let me tell you what these two have just learned about me, about us, I mean. I’m the new Time Mechanic. I was chosen, just like you, to take on an important mission. We’ll journey, risk our lives, and perhaps never return. But we’ll save this present time from encountering wreckage so catastrophic that history is shattered here. We’ll save many lives.”
Her bravado flew away again and the girl’s dark blue eyes blinked at him.
“You’re the new Time Mechanic,” she repeated.
“Yes.”
“And you know this how?”
“You’ll have to take my word for it.”
“And we’re supposed to follow you without question?”
“Without expecting to have many of your questions answered, anyway. If you’ll recall the Time Mechanic legends, they were always mysterious and avoided telling specific details.”
“Who chose you?” the new woman demanded as if he hadn’t said anything. “What’s so special about you? And who chose us? Why were we compelled, and how did that happen? How are we supposed to know what to do next? How are you going to…”
“Excuse me,” put in Ffip.
The woman stopped her flow of demanding questions and stood breathing hard. She glared now at Ffip, who, Jeremy noticed, was even shorter than she was. The small fellow bowed at her.
“To engineer time, one must proceed methodically,” Ffip said. “Let the master speak and perhaps he’ll tell us more of his mission.”
“He won’t ‘master’ me!” she exploded. “Time Mechanic or no!”
“I’m not trying to master anyone,” said Jeremy. “I’m just trying to make introductions.”
“Go on then!”
“My name is Jeremy. This is Mars, our guardian. This fellow has several names; I believe we’ve settled on Ffip. He’s our engineer as he said. And you’re our thief. May we know your name, please?”
She sighed out loud.
“I’m Kannikey.”
“Kannikey, is it? Good. Well met, everyone.”
A few seconds passed as they all stared at each other. Then Jeremy cleared his throat. He’d noticed something in the vision he’d had of the past four teams.
“We’re supposed to hold hands,” he added, his cheeks reddening.
“What for?” demanded Mars.
“Believe me that I’m going to ask for a lot more from you than this. We just are.”
“I never held your hand back when I liked you.”
Jeremy chuckled.
“Well do it anyway.”
He reached out and took hold of Mars’ hand on one side and Ffip’s far smaller hand on the other. Ffip picked up Kannikey’s hand and that left one other pairing. Mars and the girl glared at each other some more.
“Do it now,” Jeremy commanded, and felt satisfaction when the two of them obeyed. Kannikey’s fingers were thin and elegant and they fit well into Mars’ lean grip.
At last the four of them were connected. As strength seeped into strength something happened that Jeremy didn’t expect. They froze together like statues, their hands the bond unbreakable. And they all four saw the same vision.
First they saw Jeremy as a child, running along behind his parents in the marketplace. He gasped in pain now at the clarity of his parent’s faces. As they walked the boy Jeremy aged and slowed, not jumping about like a child but holding himself like a surly teenager. His mother, serene as he remembered her, turned and made a joke to him, and his face dissolved into laughter; she’d always been able to bring out that response in him. And then suddenly the loss of them; to flow from one scene of laughter to the next scene of pain hurt him in a visceral way. There was Jeremy by their gravesides, his head bowed with a weight of sadness heavy for his teenaged shoulders.
Although he was frozen with the others while they experienced the vision he felt his heart pounding. There was something related to this time in his life that he’d hidden for so long it was second nature to him. He’d never even told Mars about it. He hoped that the vision wouldn’t reveal his secret now… but wait. The vision was changing.
Next they saw a shack out beyond the poorest part of Tonturin. The road came close to the door here, and the vision walked them down the street past the entrance and they saw the tiny back yard. A string was tied between the edge of the shack to a nearby tree and on the line hung a faded shirt, a patched pair of pants, and a few under garments. Now Jeremy noticed movement behind the line and the vision went through the clothes to see. A person was sitting on a stump scrubbing clothes in a metal bucket. There were very few items left to hang for this poor person had a scant wardrobe. Blond-brown hair was tied back and they focused on the person’s working shoulders. The material of the shirt he was wearing was worn so they could see every nuance of the person’s back as he leaned over the bucket, although the clothes were baggy and too large to reveal much else. The spinal cord made an elegant line down the middle of his back and on the sides every rib could be counted. Finished scrubbing and the person stood up and half-turned… Jeremy realized who it was. Suddenly the vision jolted, and Ffip dropped the wet clothes on the ground. He held up his hands in defense, for bullying children started throwing things at him. Jeremy flinched as a rock struck Ffip on the cheek and an egg splattered against his side. More items rained around him before the unpleasant urchins laughed and ran away. Ffip’s head remained in profile as he stilled and tried to accept the abuse in silence. Then the thin shoulders shrugged. He put the wet clothes back in the bucket. Rooting around, he sorted through the missiles that had been thrown at him. He came up with a limp carrot, two hard potatoes, and an unbroken egg. The vision faded as he carried the food into the shack with him to prepare it; since it was obvious he had nothing else but this cast-off food to eat. Jeremy was worried when the vision changed again for this time he recognized the person in the scene right away.
It was Mars. Jeremy saw the familiar yard of the village school they used to attend. The children were stood all in a line. Jeremy himself stood at the far end and he was bored while he waited. It looked like he and Mars were about twelve years old. As the vision traveled down the line of children one boy stood out- or rather he towered above, all the others. It was Mars, and he’d been placed next to the most popular set of girls in the village school. He had his silent face on, and it was obvious he felt awkward and embarrassed about his size. He was too tall for twelve, and his arms had muscles like a man’s- due to the fact that his parents owned a farm and he had to work hard. Jeremy’s heart pounded again in anger as one of the girls pointed to Mars and made some comment. If the large boy could’ve shrunk, he would have. But instead one of the instructors came forward at just the wrong moment to examine him. The woman joked about his differe
nces too, pointing out even the hair under his armpits. The girls were red with laughter. Jeremy had always wondered why Mars remained to this day shy and uncomfortable around women. Now he could see the answer.
The last vision showcased a very pretty woman. She was dancing in a line with three other women performers but she was singular among them. The delicate ankles were revealed, for the woman was barefoot. Traveling up the line of her figure it remained perfect, slender and curvaceous at the same time. Her hair was thick but soft, her lips were full but rosebud and her eyes were long lashed and clear. After the performance a man came up to her. He was polished from head to toe, and his expression was one of a man who never took no for an answer. Jeremy recognized him, in fact, as being one of the richest men in Tonturin. Soon the pretty woman was swept away, and the vision flashed parties and fast horses, rides in steam-powered carriages, and then an elegant wedding. The woman’s face on her wedding day was both captivated and confused at the same time. At last the next scene in the vision was of an austere and elegant room. Quiet servants stood off to the side, near two doors. The pretty woman sat at a burnished table and next to her was an older schoolgirl. It was Kannikey. For a moment the pretty woman looked like mothers everywhere as she leaned forward to help with the studying. But the wealthy man stormed in the room enraged. He roared and with a swipe of his arm the papers flew off the table to the floor. He charged right for the schoolgirl and wrenched her to her feet but the schoolgirl twisted away from him. The wealthy man’s eyes widened in fury and he looked almost about to strike the girl but her mother clung to his arm and begged him. He was breathing hard while she stroked at him, lifting her winsome eyes to his to plead. His chin came up proud. He threw a few comments at the girl about the errors of her ways. Then he stormed out of the room again, taking her mother with him. The girl was left alone, the servants at the doors still silent and unmoving. At last she sat back at the table and wept.
The visions of the four of them began to fade away and then they were released. Jeremy noted as his eyes blinked open that they were all panting. They let go of each other’s hands.
The Time Mechanic Page 5
