The Temporal Key

by Adam Benson

  Before he could finish one of the horses suddenly whinnied and kicked hard and loud in the stables.

  Dhregh! Dayk thought. That didn’t take long!

  They both froze just behind the barn as the spooked horse continued to raise a ruckus. The nervous animal quickly caused all three horses to suddenly raise an alarm, creating all kinds of commotion just behind them. The rickety stable shook terribly when one of their powerful hooves met with wall, cracking loudly into the night. Their eyes quickly glanced over at the ranch house only a few meters away. The glowing figure laying prone on a bed suddenly sat up and looked out the window.

  Dayk couldn’t tell if the man inside had seen them out there in the dark, but as for himself their eyes seemed to lock as the man stared back at him in the dark. Cloaks! He thought to Thalia and in a flash, they both disappeared into the dark. The man inside suddenly jumped to his feet and started moving through the house toward an opposite wall.

  Did he see us? Thalia asked.

  I have no idea. He was looking right at us, but I don’t know if his vision is good enough to have actually seen us. Dayk said loudly through the cloak’s dampening effect.

  They watched his glowing avatar as the man grabbed something from across the room and then stormed out toward them in the night. He was wearing long underwear and holding another primitive projectile weapon, different than the one he had left at the crash site. “Who’s out there?” Mack yelled into the dark.

  Dhregh! I think he saw us! Thalia thought loudly as they watched him scouring the area around the barn. The horses continued making a ruckus as Mack stepped off his porch and moved cautiously into the night.

  Dayk almost jumped when he felt Thalia’s hand grab his shoulder. What should we do? She asked him.

  Stay calm. He said. Let’s not panic and kick up a bunch of dirt.

  Mack stepped up to the barn and looked inside. It was too dark to see much of anything inside the barn. “Whoa now,” he said quietly to the horses. They calmed down a little when they heard his voice, but they were still quite agitated by Dayk and Thalia’s presence. “Who’s out here?” He yelled again. “I seen ya’ out here. C’mon out!” He yelled.

  Dayk could see Mack’s heart rate elevating as he made his way slowly around to the back of the barn. He felt his own heart beating faster in his invisible chest as Mack came around the corner of the stable and came almost face to face with him.

  Dayk! Thalia said loudly. He’s coming this way!

  I know that! He replied.

  Shouldn’t we move?

  Not yet. He might see us kick up dirt and at this range he’s not likely to miss us with that weapon. Dayk said as Mack got closer and closer to them.

  Ok…Thalia thought loudly. When, then?

  Suddenly, Mack stopped less than two meters away from where they were standing frozen and invisible. He looked all around his land, trying to see who, or what had spooked his horses, but there was nothing for him to see. “Hello!” He yelled out into the dark. There was no reply and he heard no sounds. He turned and looked around behind him and then marched off back the way he had come.

  Dayk and Thalia stayed frozen, holding their breath, watching him as he went back around the barn and started looking around his truck. He looked into the truck bed, then glanced in the window of the cab, and finally glanced underneath the vehicle. They couldn’t see him directly, but his glowing avatar showed up easily in their sight. They watched him as he left his truck and walked back and around the back of his house. He was only gone for a few chrons when he finally returned and slowly, cautiously went up to the front porch.

  The horses were still agitated, and Mack stared nervously out toward the barn. He swore he had seen a figure out in the dark. They seemed too small to be an adult, or someone from the military. Perhaps if they were down on their knees, or maybe it was a child, or maybe… Maybe it was something else! Mack started to shiver in the cool night air. He didn’t feel cold, so it must have been the nerves that were making him shake as he gripped his shotgun closer to his chest. He took a few more steps back toward the barn, but then hesitated when one of the horses let out a terribly frustrated whinny. Mack froze, expecting to see one of the monsters from that crash site suddenly come after him with some kind of ray gun, but nothing happened.

  They watched in fear as Mack turned and went back into his house. He marched back inside with purpose as though he was searching for something. Dayk wasted no time. Go! Now! He yelled. Head back the way we came. I think these animals can smell us! He started walking back toward the open field, and immediately bumped into Thalia.

  Dayk! Our footprints! Thalia thought.

  Dhregh! Start following our path back, I’ll cover our tracks! He watched as new invisible footprints started making their way back into the grassier part of the dessert. Taking large backward steps, Dayk leaned over and brushed their footprints away with his hand as he made his own way back along the trail.

  Suddenly, a dim light flashed on from inside the house. Dayk looked up just in time to see the match-light start the lantern that was on the table inside. The lamp lit up brighter than he expected, and a warm glow burst out into the night. The man was coming back outside!

  Hurry up! Thalia yelled! You’re kicking up too much dust! Let’s go!

  I’m almost behind the grass line! Dayk replied. She was right about the dust. Everywhere he wiped a cloud of red dust hung in the air. There was no more time for wiping up foot prints. They had to disappear. I’m up! Let’s go! He yelled. They started running as quickly as they could back along their original path. Behind them, the man was peering into the stables, holding his lantern in one hand and his shotgun in the other. They ran almost thirty meters and then stopped to watch the man searching for them in the dark.

  Mack looked all around each of the horses but found nothing in any of the stables. The horses had begun to calm down, and nothing seemed to be stirring anywhere around the barn. He started to think maybe he had imagined the figure. Paranoia from the previous days’ events had set in and infiltrated his sleep, giving him lingering apparitions that briefly haunted his wakeful self. It was gone almost as soon as he had seen it, and he did see it right after he was startled awake.

  He made his way around to the back of the barn where he thought he had seen a shadowy figure lurking in the dark. The lamp light caught a thin haze of red dust, but that might have been stirred up by the horses. He saw no animal prints, or footprints of any kind immediately behind the barn. He held the light high and looked as far off into the night as he could see. Nothing was moving, and nothing seemed to be anywhere in sight. Whatever had spooked and upset the horses was gone. Chances were that it was some critter and it was long gone now anyway, but Mack still felt trepidation about the goings on outside of his house. He searched around for a little while longer and then slowly went back into his house.

  Ok. So, that didn’t go as well as planned. Dayk said as he watched the glowing red avatar set the shotgun upright by the door and then extinguish the lantern on the table. Everything went dark and the man made his way back over toward the bed. He looked out into the night through his window one last time before laying back down. I didn’t really think the animals would have been such a problem. Dayk admitted.

  Neither did I, Thalia said. Nocta would have.

  That was his job. They both continued watching the man and his vital signs as they stood there some distance from the ranch house. He’s not going back to sleep. Dayk thought.

  He just laid down. It’ll give us a chance to rethink this strategy.

  Good. Then you’re still on board. Dayk thought with a smile.

  Of course, I’m on board. Thalia thought. We need to get closer to that vehicle. I have no idea how it even works.

  I thought you were an engineer! Dayk taunted.

  I am an engineer! And I understand combustion based mechanical engines better than anyone in this time period, but this particular kind of technology was lost two mill
ion years ago. Thalia said defensively. I’m going to need a little time to figure out how it operates.

  Calm down, Dr. Thalia. I know. You’re going to have to learn when I’m kidding with you. Dayk smiled in his thoughts. He was beginning to calm down himself when things began to quiet down around the ranch house. Let’s make a wide arc around to the front of the house. Keep our current radius from the vehicle and we’ll walk around until we get directly on the other side of it. Maybe if we keep it between us and the horses, they won’t make any more noise.

  Agreed. Thalia said. Can we drop the cloaks?

  Might as well save the power. Dayk said and then he instantly reappeared in front of her. Thalia decloaked a chron later and they both nervously smiled at each other from behind their rebreather masks.

  They started walking carefully around the ranch house, out from directly behind the barn, and around to the other side of the truck. When they found a good spot to stop with the truck between them and the horses, they sat down on a large boulder and looked on at their quarry.

  He’s still not asleep. Thalia said.

  We can’t wait around for him to fall asleep. Dayk thought back to her.

  Thalia opened her palm and scanned the truck in every way that her cybernetic systems allowed her. In an instant, a holographic model of the truck and its inner workings floated above her fingers.

  Dayk saw her looking the model over, following every mechanical connection and moving part as quickly as she was able. Figured out anything on the vehicle yet?

  Yeah. I built toys that were more complex than this. She said cockily. It’s literally a few pistons turning a crank. They’re combusting a hydro-carbon compound to cause the piston expansion. It’s got the most simplistic chemical electrical source I’ve ever seen with a crude electrical conduction system. She said as she looked over the truck both through her hologram and her enhanced vision. They’re using a lead acid battery and copper wires. It’s so incredibly inefficient. I’m surprised they’re getting anything from it.

  So, how do we operate it? He asked.

  Well, you were right about our height being an issue. She said. This thing has some controls here in the floor that appear to be controlling some sort of fuel intake manifold, probably the power distribution, and another that moves through these pipes, Thalia pointed to a diagram floating in her hand, into a network of cylinders that appear to be applying friction force to the wheels. Undoubtedly, some sort of dampening system. She went on. This foot control seems to drive a flywheel in this gear transmission system, which is also acted upon by this control lever, and that whole thing makes me think that this is some drive control mechanism. You can see this long cylinder here extending beyond the gear transmission assembly, and directly into the rear wheels, here. Lastly, this large wheel here is directly connected to this assembly here which appears to control the vector of the….

  Dr. Thalia. Please. Dayk stopped her. How do we control it?

  One of us will have to be up in the seat controlling our vector with this wheel and controlling the power train with this control lever here. The other one of us is going to have to be down in the floor simultaneously controlling these pedals here. She said pointing to the cramped space under the steering wheel.

  How do we power it up?

  Some kind of catalyst ignition controller right here. That seems to trigger the primary combustion reaction with an electrical discharge. Then, one of us should have to engage this flywheel control here, while the other engages the gear control lever into the appropriate drive sequence. That leaves these two pedal controls for forward thrust and stopping power.

  And we pilot it from up here. Dayk said with a smile. That shouldn’t be hard at all.

  Now, we just have to get up to the thing and sneak it away without getting shot by the primitive lying awake just ten meters away. Thalia smiled sarcastically back.

  And without freaking out the horses again. Dayk added.

  They sat there for a moment watching the ranch house from their seat on the boulder. Thalia closed her palm and her hologram disappeared. The man inside continued to lay there awake, but not stirring. The horses had calmed down and weren’t making any further noise, but how long would it be until the rancher fell back asleep, and would he startle awake easier now?

  So, when should we do this? Thalia asked.

  I wish he would fall back asleep. Dayk said. Let’s give him a few more hectoChrons and then I guess let’s see how far we can make it. They sat there for a while longer, watching as nothing changed. Then with a nod they stood up and started creeping toward the old truck.

  Every footstep was taken with care, and they watched to see if anything stirred after each one. All remained quiet and the man stayed peacefully in bed. As they got closer, they moved slower and slower, cringing at the slightest noises that they made. Dayk felt a cool breeze blow across his face. It was coming from up wind of them, and he hoped that it would help keep the horses’ noses from picking up their scent again.

  At last they made their first contact with the cold metal truck. Thalia was the first to put her hands on the ancient machine and a sense of wonderful intrigue washed over as she did. This strange clunky object in front of her now was how people used to get from place to place. It was so primitive, and so rustic, and yet still had its own peculiar beauty. Shall we? She said as she reached up for the door handle.

  Very carefully! Dayk reminded her. They both held their breath as she started pulling down on the cold chrome knob. Cloaks at the first sign of trouble! Dayk said. Thalia nodded and then pulled the handle all the way down.

  There was a muffled mechanical pop that seemed to echo across the desert. They both froze, cringing as the sound shot out into the dark. They looked over at the house and saw the man’s red glow stir ever so slightly, and the horses jumped, but said no more. They stood there stunned for a moment longer waiting for some sign that they had been discovered again. Everything around them seemed calm, and so once again Thalia started working on the door. She pulled back on the handle and the door slowly started to open. They both breathed a sigh of relief as it quietly moved on its hinges, but before they could inhale again the door let out a monstrous groan.

  It sounded exactly like an old rusty metal car door creaking open in the dead of night. The horses went back on immediate alert, and Dayk and Thalia didn’t have to wait long to find out the results of their poorly planned theft.

  “Who’s out there?” A yell came bellowing out into the night from Mack Brazel’s bed. They watched as his red glowing avatar jumped up and headed right for the front door.

  Cloaks! Dayk and Thalia thought in unison and in a flash, they simultaneously disappeared. As quietly as possible they started sneaking back from the truck, there was no time to mask footprints. Mack came bursting through his front door with his shotgun in hand.

  “Who’s out here!?” He yelled again. “I know you’re here!” His hands were trembling around the barrel of his shotgun as he stepped off the porch and walked around to the side of his truck. He stopped as soon as he got around and saw the driver’s side door half-way opened. “Sh…Sh….Show yer self!” He yelled out into the night. In a moment of threatened panic, he cocked the shotgun and fired a blast up into the air. BOOM! The horses screamed and started kicking wildly. Mack’s eyes started darting around, looking for something to flee. “C’mon out!”

  Nothing moved. He was hoping that the blast would spook something out into the open, but nothing stirred, and it made him more afraid than he was. That was no “apparition” that he had seen earlier, and it was no lingering dream. Something was out here. Truck doors don’t open themselves, and there’s not a raccoon or a coyote anywhere that could operate that handle. Then he saw the footprints in the dust moving around the door and heading off into the grass.

  Mack made his way slowly around to the back of the truck. It was still too dark to make out anything, and yet now he was too terrified to go back inside to light the lante
rn.

  Dayk and Thalia watched him just a few meters away as he circled around the truck right past them. The blast from the shotgun had been a terrible shock and now both of them were wide eyed and turgid with fear.

  Ok. Now what!? Thalia asked anxiously.

  We need this vehicle. Dayk said.

  There’s probably another one somewhere else. Thalia argued.

  We’re in the middle of nowhere. It could take us days to find another. We’re exposed out here. We need to get to the ship. We’re wasting resources out in the desert. Dayk said.

  That’s not a plan, Dayk! Thalia said.

  Alright, then let’s think. How do we get this guy away from this truck long enough for us to take it? Dayk asked aloud, but the answer came to him as soon as he thought it. Grass fire. He thought.

  What!? Thalia exclaimed. You cannot be serious!

  Nothing big. Dayk said. We find a place out behind the house, far on the other side that only has a little bit of grass. Someplace mostly rocky, and then we light it on fire. I promise you that man will rush to come put it out, and that will give us the opportunity we need to steal that vehicle.

  You’re joking, right? Thalia said again.

  Mack came back around from behind the truck and cautiously looked inside the cab. He pushed the door open a little further, but quickly had the shotgun pointed inside in case anything jumped out at him.

  No, I’m serious, said Dayk. This guy is never going to go to sleep now. Not after this. We need a distraction that will occupy him for a while.

  You could burn down this entire field! Thalia argued. That plan is insane. We can’t burn this guy out of his home!

  Mack came back from the cab and looked around himself. He looked directly through Dayk and Thalia as they stood there plotting against him. “I know you’re out here!” He yelled at them; his booming voice echoed in their ears.

  I’m not going to burn down the field, I’m just going to start a little fire. Dayk said, trying to reassure her. We’ll take precautions.

  And how do you intend to start this fire? She asked.