When I straighten up, I pull the map from my pocket and unfold it. I show it to the girl and point to the time gate. “We need to go here.” I jab my finger at the spot a few times for emphasis.
She nods and studies the map briefly before taking the alley to the right and gesturing for us to follow. Her pace has thankfully slowed and we’re able to keep up this time. I try not to keep looking back, but it’s hard not to worry about our pursuers. Viznir pulls a T-shirt from his pack and uses it to wrap the vase in an effort to conceal it. I don’t bother to remind him what had been in the vase. He’s doing that laundry.
We’ve begun to climb a hill, and when we pass through intersections, I can make out the tops of roofs at the waterside. The girl steers us into an alley that appears to have no exit, and at first I think she’s made a mistake, but she pivots and points to a rough-hewn ladder that leads to the roof of the adjacent building. She gestures for me to climb it. I pause, not having any way to tell her that I’m not a fan of climbing things, least of all rickety, four thousand year old ladders, but she looks expectantly at me and I put my foot on the bottom rung. Luckily the ladder only reaches up one story. I climb dutifully onto the flat rooftop, making a point not to look down, and move away from the edge. Viznir and the girl follow me up. She walks to the opposite side of the house and looks toward the river. Something she sees in the street attracts her attention. Viznir joins her at the edge and follows her gaze. “Well, I’ll be damned. Never thought I’d see that . . .”
Curiosity gets the better of me, and despite my nervousness, I inch my way closer. Looking over Viznir’s shoulder, I can view the crowd in the street. They are all fixated in one direction, but instead of growing excited, they’re lapsing into silence, and people farther along the street begin falling to their faces, prostrate on the ground. I stretch to see, expecting to spot some sort of lord, or even the Pharaoh, but instead, to my amazement, I see the green-skinned alien from the race banquet. He’s striding confidently along the street carrying an ornate walking staff. He’s followed by a group of soldiers who keep their heads bowed and won’t look directly at him. The people in the street likewise don’t look up, but keep their faces low in submission as he passes.
“They don’t even seem scared.” Viznir frowns. “You’d think they’d be out of their minds about him, especially seeing how they reacted to us. It’s almost like they’ve seen someone like him before.”
“Maybe they have.” I feel the smile growing on my face. “You ever see that TV show, Ancient Aliens?”
Viznir shakes his head.
“My friend Megan used to make me watch it with her. If I had a camera right now, I could take a photo that would vindicate one of her favorite conspiracy theories. All we’d need to do then is capture Bigfoot on the way home and we’d really be in the club.” I smile at the memory.
“Look at those horns on his head. Who would have thought he’d have it that easy?” Viznir shakes his head.
Apparently finished watching the spectacle below us, the girl walks to the other side of the house and casually leaps over the gap to the veranda of a house next door. She turns and gestures for us to follow. My stomach sinks. Viznir is about to follow her over when he sees my face.
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t do heights very well.”
Viznir laughs as if I’m joking. “Seriously? After a run-in with a giant crocodile? You’re scared of falling? We’re doing really well on time. If this girl can get us to the time gate quickly, we may even advance in the rankings.”
I nod and exhale forcefully, trying not to think about what comes next. I step to the edge of the building but keep my eyes straight ahead to where the girl is standing. If she can do it, I can do it.
I stall for a moment and swing my pack off my back. I toss it over the gap to lighten myself for the leap. I use one hand to steady my canteen and force myself forward. I clear the distance easily, but my heart is hammering in my chest after my landing. I don’t look back as I pick up my pack. A moment later, Viznir is standing next to me. The girl says something and Viznir responds, but for some reason I can’t hear what he’s saying.
“Benjamin!” The voice is sudden and loud but it doesn’t sound like Viznir. I turn around and glance behind me, but see no one.
“What?” I say to Viznir.
He looks at me in confusion. His mouth is moving, but I still can’t hear him.
“Benjamin Travers!” This time I recognize the voice, but there’s no need to look for its source. I drop to my knees and topple over to my side, my vision of Viznir’s ankles slowly diminishing to black.
12
“Chronometers were my greatest invention, but they can change your life in unexpected ways. Like, another-self-steals-your-wife unexpected. Be ready for that.”–Journal of Dr. Harold Quickly, 1958
When I open my eyes, a wrinkled Egyptian woman is peering down at me. Viznir slowly comes into focus as well. While the expression on the woman’s face seems like concern, Viznir just looks annoyed.
“What happened?” I mutter.
“That’s what I was going to ask you.” He frowns. “You just keeled over for no reason.”
The old woman is dabbing a wet cloth on my forehead and muttering things. She doesn’t seem to have any of her teeth left. I slowly prop myself up to my elbow. I’m lying on a reed mat on the floor. It’s cushioned slightly by a blanket and someone has put a lumpy, linen pillow under my head.
“Where’s the girl?” I survey the room, checking for anyone else I’m missing.
“She’s gone. Wouldn’t stay any longer. She apparently told this old woman to look after you, then took off.”
“Where are we?”
“Still on the roof. We just dragged you in from the veranda to this upper room. This woman lives here. You’ve been out for over two hours.” He says the last sentence with obvious irritation.
“Two hours?” I check the timer on my wrist. It’s ticking into the fourth hour of the level. “Damn it.”
“Yeah. Exactly. We were doing so well, too. We would have had a shot at the lead. Now the city is in chaos from all the other racers coming through. It’s going to be a mess. We need to get out of here. If we’re lucky we still won’t be dead last. What the hell happened to you?”
I think about the voice I heard before I blacked out. The same voice as my dreams. My voice. I think better of disclosing that information. “It was probably just the heat, or maybe I got lightheaded. Kind of been running on empty in the food department today.”
Viznir frowns again, but rummages in his pack and hands me a granola bar.
“Thanks.” I unwrap the end and take a bite, then get to my feet. I bow to the old woman and she smiles at me. I feel around in my pockets but realize I have nothing to offer her in payment. I opt to just give her a hug instead. She laughs like a little girl at this and smiles another toothless grin at me. Viznir bows to her and we step back onto the veranda. I check the rooftops around us. “Which way did the girl go?”
“I don’t know, but she told me we needed to go that way.” Viznir points north along the street. “As best I can tell from the map, the time gate shouldn’t be far from here. The rooftops will still be the best way to avoid the guards.”
I nod in resignation as I finish the last of my granola bar. I look for somewhere to put the wrapper, but finally just stuff it into a pocket of my pack. Didn’t travel four thousand years to start littering future garbage. I straighten the pack on my shoulders and follow Viznir to the next rooftop. Fortunately, most of the houses are so close together that I can step easily from one to the next. I do my best not to look down and utter a silent prayer of thanks for being born of tall parents.
We make it a couple hundred yards until we finally arrive at a plaza at the intersection of four streets. In the center of the plaza is a stone-rimmed well. A wooden pulley system has been arranged near it, but there are no Egyptians around. The plaza is instead littered with vehicl
es from the future. The Humvee is parked next to a stone extension to the cistern that has a hinged metal lid on it. I recognize the other racers’ vehicles also. Dirt bikes and ATVs and Jonah’s dune buggy are all parked chaotically around the well. One of the vehicles must still be running, because I can hear the distinct sound of an engine and smell a whiff of exhaust.
“Where are all the people?” I scan the plaza from our position on the rooftop.
“Hiding.” Viznir points to a doorway on the far side. I can just make out a few faces peering around the edges of the frame. They appear to be watching something in the plaza. After a moment, I see a large man stumble from behind the Humvee. His hands keep going to his head and he’s looking around the plaza frantically. I recognize him as one of the racers who went through the gate ahead of me. He’s lost his hat, but his sled is pulled up next to the metal lid to the side of the cistern.
Viznir watches the man scrambling around for a few seconds, then looks for a way off the roof. “We need to get down there. I don’t know why the place isn’t crawling with palace guards, but we’d better hurry if we want it to stay that way.” He slides over the edge of the house and drops to the back of a wooden cart parked adjacent to the wall. From there he jumps easily to the ground. I toss my pack down and follow him over.
Once we’re on the ground, we trot quickly through the plaza. I keep scanning the buildings, on lookout for soldiers. I see more commoners clustered into corners and peeking out windows, but no one seems anxious to stop us.
The overweight man in the flowing clothes is dripping with sweat. He jerks on the metal lid of the repository in frustration, but gives up and runs to look down the well again. He curses and is turning to repeat the process when he spots us. He staggers toward us with his arms open and panic on his face. “You! You have to open it! You have to get me through!”
Viznir and I approach him slowly.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“The gate won’t open for me! I deposited my item but the gate won’t activate.”
“Where’s your guide?” Viznir looks around the plaza at the scattered vehicles.
“She’s hiding with a group of women in the market.” He points to one of the doorways. “We’ve been here for half an hour but the gate won’t open!”
“You put your object in the repository? What was it?” Viznir gestures for me to join him by the lid of the repository.
“It was just a rock. A big, black rock. I had to retrieve it from the limestone quarry.”
“You sure you got the right one?” I ask.
“Yes! Yes, it was right where the map said it would be, but I put it inside and now it’s gone. It just vanished! Look for yourself!” The man points to the lid of the repository. “I tried to get back in again but it locked me out!”
I place my bracelet hand on the handle of the lid and hear a clunk. I pull it open and reveal the contents. The repository has been divided into various compartments that match the shapes of the objects they hold. The compartments are labeled with our names. I recognize the ornate staff the alien was carrying in the longest compartment. The nametag reads ‘Mooruvio Bozzlestitch’. My name is written in a compartment just large enough for our vase.
“Mine was right there!” The sweaty man points to an empty hole that says ‘Dennis Perry.’
Viznir leans over and places the vase gently in the repository, then motions for me to close the lid.
“See, I did it just like that!” The man’s eyes are wide. “Just the same, but the gate didn’t activate.”
I step to the well and look into the hole. The sunlight penetrates the depths and reflects off water at the bottom, but after a moment, the view begins to change. Halfway down, the light begins to take on different colors.
“Is it working?” Dennis asks. “Did it open?”
I’m about to answer when Viznir steps between us. He has his pistol drawn and aims it toward Dennis.
The oversized man shrinks at the sight. “No! Please. You have to let us through with you. You can’t leave us like this.”
“The gate only opens for two.” Viznir says. “You know how the system works.”
I try to calm the man down. “When we get through we can let the officials know you’re having trouble. They’ll be able to send someone to help you.” I look to Viznir. “Right? We can do that, can’t we?”
“Yes.” Viznir hasn’t taken his eyes off Dennis. “Now back away.”
The expression on Dennis’s face begins to change from anxiety to anger. His cheeks redden and he clenches his fists. A sudden noise from behind me makes me turn. The rear door of the Humvee flies open and the Asian woman erupts from inside. She launches through the air with a knife clenched in one hand.
“Oh shit!” I duck and dive sideways. Her knife catches the corner of my pack and she lands on all fours. I clamber back to my feet and scramble toward Viznir. He’s kept his pistol aimed at Dennis. I fumble through my pack and yank the revolver out with the holster still attached. I pull the gun loose and point it at the Asian woman.
“We’re going!” There’s anger in Viznir’s voice now and he backs toward the well. “Ben, I have to be the first through. It will close behind you. Hold them back.”
It takes me a moment to realize I still need to cock the gun. I pull back the hammer and aim again. The Asian woman scowls at me but backs up a step. Behind her I see commotion in the street. A line of soldiers is filing into the plaza. They are no longer disorganized as they were in the shrine. Someone has given them orders and they begin to encircle our position in an unbroken but expanding line.
Fear has crept back into Dennis’s eyes. He looks imploringly at Viznir, but Viznir steps onto the edge of the well with his gun still pointed at Dennis’s midsection. “Get out of here. Someone will be back for you.” He looks at me. “Ben, it’s time to go.”
As I keep the pistol aimed at the woman with the knife, my eyes drift to the display on my bracelet. The number 19 is beginning to flash rapidly. Viznir holsters his gun and secures the strap over it. “Don’t think this stunt will be forgotten.” He gives Dennis one last venomous glare and steps into the well. He vanishes soundlessly into the depths.
I exhale slowly and step onto the edge, still keeping the pistol aimed towards the couple, but I realize I don’t want to be taking any kind of fall with a cocked weapon. I aim the gun at the sky and pull the trigger. The noise sends a flock of pigeons fluttering from one of the buildings. The constricting ring of soldiers falters in their movement in sudden insecurity. Dennis uses the momentary confusion to grab the hand of the Asian woman and direct her toward the Humvee. She clambers inside and he follows her, slamming the door and locking it. I peer into the void below me and take a step, my heartbeat thudding in protest. I hold the pistol pressed to my chest and drop.
The flash of color heralds a change in scenery, but to my horror I’m now plummeting even farther than I would have been in the well. Fortunately my destination is still water. I have just enough time to see Viznir swimming toward the edge of the underground lake before my feet hit the surface. The water is frigid after the heat of the plaza, and darkness engulfs me as I’m submerged into the depths. Underwater, my pack is now an anchor, resisting my efforts to claw my way back to the surface. Not willing to let it go, I stuff the pistol into the waist of my pants and use my one free hand to struggle upward.
My face barely breaks the surface long enough for a gulp of air before I’m pulled under again. Struggling to keep near the surface, and encumbered by jeans and sneakers, I have a sudden recollection of Charlie and fumble for the side pocket of my pack. I unfasten the flap and tug at the yellow nylon life vest stashed inside. The plastic buckle for the vest is in my hand; I clip it through a strap of my pack so I don’t lose it. In the darkness of the water I can see next to nothing, but my fingers find the pull cord and I yank it forcefully, hoping I’m pulling it the right direction. The CO2 canister deploys the vest and gives my pack enough buoyancy
to start rising. I resurface into the dim light of the cave, splashing and sputtering.
Viznir has crawled out of the water onto a rock ledge. The open mouth of the cave lets enough sunlight in for me to see my way to him. The sound of crashing water at the cave mouth clues me in to the presence of the falls on the other side and I kick harder to steer well clear, dragging my pack behind me. Once I reach the rocks, Viznir wades in to give me a hand. His tunic is gone. Like mine, it’s now floating at the bottom of an Egyptian well, unable to pass through the gate with us.
I emerge dripping and waterlogged and throw my pack onto the rocks. “I guess that’s one way to keep up the excitement.”
Viznir wrings out the front of his shirt and gestures with his head toward the wall of the cave. “All for the entertainment of the fans.” I look up and see a rigid metal cage bolted to the cave wall with a camera inside.
“So how does that work? They can stream that somehow?”
“Someone here has to send the footage back. They play it to the crowd to make it seem like it’s live, but they have the footage beforehand.”
“Before? So when we left Ireland for Egypt, they already had the footage of what was going to happen, even though for us it hadn’t happened yet?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s bizarre. What if we had done something different than what was on the recording?”
“We couldn’t have, or it wouldn’t have been recorded. The committee is very strict about the timestream staying linear in this race.”
In Times Like These Boxed Set Page 65