Moving hand over hand, Sabina swung herself fearlessly along the bar until she reached the highest point. Manoeuvring herself around to face Raven, she let go of the bar and fell. Marcus felt his own muscles tense, then she hit the water beneath it with a splash.
Some of the adults around the naturally heated pool clapped but they didn’t break from their conversations; it seemed that many of the children had achieved the feat already this evening. Now that Sabina was no longer blocking the queue, Marcus saw that the next child was eagerly climbing the ladder.
He saw Sabina resurface, grinning and splashing with the other children. None of them were physically similar to her, or each other, but gene differences didn’t seem to matter to anyone in the pool.
“Gee-gee,” Sabina waved to him, “Did you see me?”
“You were amazing,” he smiled back at his great-granddaughter.
“Hi Megan!” Sabina waved.
Marcus had been so focused on the pool that he hadn’t spotted Megan returning. Without a word, she placed the inhaler in his hand.
“Hi Sabina,” Megan waved back.
“I just did the drop again!”
“I must’ve just missed it,” Megan smiled, “You’ll have to do it for us again later.”
With a nod, Sabina departed to play with her friends.
As Raven and Nathan greeted Megan, Marcus took a dose from the inhaler. Although the relief was immediate, it didn’t quite go far enough.
Over the following hours, he and Megan must have talked with everyone in the building. People had listened, as they’d told them of the time they’d first met. By return, they’d heard the experiences of other people, and the often unlikely circumstances that had led to their being here today.
His fabricode news had been greeted with great applause. Although Fai’s program was truly gone, the useful technology she’d once developed could finally be accessed. The price of progress was that a human would now have to do more of the mental work. Like computers of old, the program would not be able to think for itself.
Unsurprisingly, the conversation had turned to the various older versions of Fai, and whether they too would have fallen silent. Several years ago, he’d learnt of the Icelandic Discovery Centre and the exiling event that had inspired its construction. He still wondered if the other Node occupants had ever emerged and found Fai’s display room, or used the Discovery itself. Though, as several people had sadly touched upon in their own stories, it no longer mattered; the Earth they’d left behind was two million years in the past.
Not all of the talk had been about Earth. Eri itself was beginning to lay down its own history. Some of the winter tales had held people enthralled, but other stories had made everyone laugh so hard that their chests had hurt from the effort. Eventually, he’d found that the inhaler was unable to keep up.
Placing it back in his pocket, he leaned over to Megan.
“I think I need to get some air,” he whispered.
Megan nodded and, without disturbing the ongoing web of chatter, they quietly withdrew to the terrace side of the room.
The open area that faced the sea was just as occupied, but the slight breeze provided him with a little comfort. All around him, the people he knew were talking on into the night, warmed by small glowing heaters and enjoying the last of the Founders Day food.
Megan busily cleared some plates and cutlery off one of the benches.
“Just let me sort the…” she swept her hand over the bench to clear some crumbs away.
“You gotta stop fussing,” he only partially meant it, “I’m -”
“I know, you’re bloody indestructible,” she smiled and helped him sit down.
Anticipating the constricting sensation that would follow, he put his arm around her waist as she sat down next to him. As expected, her warmth eased the sharply rising discomfort.
For a moment, they both took in the ocean’s rolling hush and the tranquil burble of the conversations nearby. It had been a long day, he thought, it would be good to rest.
“Love you, old man,” she gave his hand a squeeze.
“Back at you, old lady,” his heart ached.
Resting his head on her shoulder, he felt the inevitable moment drawing near and breathed in the sea air.
On this perfect night, he felt something greater than momentary happiness. It was a deep and warm contentment with the life he’d led.
Surrounded by those he loved, Marcus Blake closed his eyes and slowly released his breath.
Overhead, the new stars turned, and a bright moon rose over the horizon.
[>>>>].
EPILOGUE
The stars themselves continued to shoot at tremendous speed around the surface of the transparent bubble that surrounded them. Outside, the rain had frozen in mid-air, but the view itself was changing; the dark night was being replaced with a blue glow.
Marshall felt an intense twisting sensation fill the space around him, as though the air had taken on a liquid-like viscosity. Instinctively, he held his breath and attempted to steady himself. The sensation quickly passed though and he saw day-lit ocean around them. For a fraction of a second the sea remained frozen, then time’s forward motion resumed. The surrounding bubble simply evaporated and the sound of rolling waves crashed in.
Regaining his conventional senses, he now became aware of the sandstone platform under his feet, and of Cassidy’s bright pink hair on the periphery of his vision.
“Cass!” he turned and hugged her, “You OK?”
“Yeah,” she kissed him, “You?”
“I think so,” he rubbed at his temples, but it did little to aid the pain in his head.
“Anyone else got a headache the size of the Node?” Scott groaned.
“Yep,” Roy squinted in discomfort, holding Neil close and rocking him, “I think he’s got the same thing.”
“Want me to take him?” Gail offered, “I’m alright.”
As Roy proceeded to transfer Neil to his wife, Marshall looked around at the others standing on the circular platform. Some were from the Node, others were from Atka and Najo’s tribe. Across both groups there seemed to be an equal number of people massaging their heads.
After a few seconds, the pinching sensation in his head subsided and he heard Neil’s cries diminish to a slight whimper. People began to stand slightly more upright and relax their shoulders. It seemed the worst of the effects were over.
“What the hell just happened?” Scott voiced the group’s thoughts.
“Did we just skip over the night?” Roy looked up at the bright-blue sky.
Scott pointed down the long causeway that extended away from the circular platform.
“Can we get that computer on the phone? What’s-her-name?” he said.
Marshall could picture the small black cubes he’d been placing on their way out here. Like a long line of breadcrumbs, the cubes maintained a data relay path back to the Discovery shuttle and its computer.
“Worth a try,” he pulled the remote hub from his pocket and held a button on its side, “Fai?”
For a second there was no response from the large cube in his hand.
“Yes,” the tinny voice replied.
Marshall pictured the shuttle and turned to look down the causeway.
“Fai, what just happened?” he said as the others began to gather around.
“Unknown. Owing to a break in the recube relay, I have lost connection to the Discovery.”
Marshall frowned, “Then how are you able to reply?”
“To aid efficiency, this remote hub was designed to process locally acquired data, before submitting it for detailed analysis. This facet has limited functionality.”
“Great,” Roy exhaled loudly, “We needed a computer to tell us that we don’t know anything.”
“Er,” said Cassidy, looking beyond the circular platform, “The causeway.”
“What about it?” said Scott.
“It looks brand new,” she said, “It was
old when we walked out here.”
Marshall suddenly saw that she was right.
“What the hell?” Roy murmured.
“There’s no lunar debris ring either,” Gail pointed out, “Even during the day, it should be faintly visible. There’s nothing up there.”
Marshall had a fleeting thought about the chronology of things but decided he’d keep the impossible idea to himself for now. One thing was certain though, they wouldn’t find answers standing here.
He looked at Cassidy, still wearing the ‘No FeAr’ T-shirt.
After escaping the Node and its tyrannical regime, their lives had only become more complicated. Every step they’d taken had reduced their options until, right here, they’d been left carrying only the clothes on their backs.
“No fear,” he looked into her eyes.
“Always forwards,” she looked at the pristine-looking causeway.
In the middle of the sapphire-blue sea, there was only one direction they could go.
On the long walk toward land, there was no sign of the recubes he’d placed earlier. However, he did spot small structures on the horizon. The closer they got, the clearer they became.
When they’d left the equatorial launch site a few hours ago, they’d passed rusted aircraft, fractured buildings half-buried in the ground, and dilapidated rockets that had seemed to merge into the surrounding silt.
This wasn’t the view he was seeing now. There were still rockets standing amid the trees, but the buildings and winged craft nearby seemed completely intact.
Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, Cassidy looked out from beneath her hand.
“Is that…?” she narrowed her eyes.
He wasn’t sure if he was simply looking at some sort of heat distortion, but he could definitely see movement. Between the buildings. The longer he looked, the more recognisable the motion became.
“Come on,” he smiled and took her hand.
Doubling their pace, they headed towards the people on the shore.
[CONTINUE>]
AFTERWORD
Hi,
Just a quick note. As it’s likely that you’ve already completed the Field Series main arc, I wanted to say a massive thanks for your past support and for reading The Bridge.
For me, it was great to explore a hidden series thread and its characters in more depth than the original novels would have allowed. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did revealing it.
If you have enjoyed it, please consider leaving a short review/stars for this or any of the Field Series books. As a relatively new author, getting a good review really helps - in addition to being a great motivator for me to keep writing, it also lets people know that the series is worth their time.
Many thanks and I hope you’ll join me on the next adventure… wherever that turns out to be…
Best wishes,
Simon Winstanley
For info on the Field Series and my other books, please join me at:
www.futurewords.uk
The Bridge Page 41