"We need to leave now," Hannah said. "You need to open a portal to R501PS, November 3, 2039, at 3:00 pm. Do it." She motioned toward his wrist terminal, and he suddenly saw her wrists were bare.
To arrive here, she must have had a different version of herself open a portal. How many versions of Hannah were out there?
"Why R501PS?" Wyatt asked.
"Don't waste time," Hannah urged, her voice growing slightly in volume.
"No," Wyatt said. He remembered that location code as the special warehouse the night before the big quake. It had recently been burned. "There must be somewhere else I can go."
Hannah sighed. "You can't let them see you here. We need to move."
Wyatt felt his insides twisting with anxiety as he watched her face in the darkness. "Is this like my having to drive that car in the business park?"
She looked at him quizzically. Evidently this was not the same version of her that had been there. How many versions of Hannah were working in his timeline? On top of that, how many versions of the others were working against him?
"If you want to save Brooke, we need to leave now," Hannah said, drawing him sharply out of his thoughts.
"You know where she is?" Wyatt asked.
"She was taken by Jarod," Hannah said. "But I think she was safe for the first bit."
"Safe?" Wyatt asked. "How could she be safe with Jarod? That man is out to destroy the Machina." He rolled his wrist terminal around to the time she had indicated, but before he could activate it, something moved behind him.
"Stay right there," Linda's voice said.
Wyatt glanced over his shoulder and saw the white-coated shape of Linda. She had found him.
"That drone was perfect," Linda said. "That made it easier to find you." She held something in her hand, and it took Wyatt several seconds to realize it was a small revolver.
"Are you going to kill me?" Wyatt asked as Hannah stepped closer beside him.
Linda shook her head once. "That would make a larger mess of all of this. I need you alive."
Wyatt felt a slight calming at that statement, but it only lasted a moment as Linda waved the gun toward him. "I need your wrist terminal," she said.
Wyatt glanced down at his wrist terminal and back up toward her gun. He felt stuck. His heart raced and he breathed hard as he looked back down at his wrist terminal again. He made a show of working with the latch of the wrist band, trying to determine if he could set the wrist terminal and activate a portal before Linda could shoot him.
"Are you really doing this?" Wyatt asked.
"This isn't the best way," Hannah said from his right side. Her words drew Linda's eyes away from Wyatt and her gun hand moved slightly in Hannah's direction.
"Wait," Hannah continued, raising her hands. "Why are you doing this?"
"Time must be preserved," Linda said, her eyes returning to Wyatt. "He and his group are causing a paradox."
"And Jarod is stuck?" Wyatt asked. His breath came out in a rush forcing the words with it.
Linda looked at him for a moment and he thought he saw her shake her head. When she finally spoke, her words were quieter. "How many changes have you made in your past?"
"None," Wyatt answered then thought better of it. "None of them on purpose."
"You drove that car," Linda said. "You stepped into it. You drove that car into the earlier version of your group."
Wyatt nodded and looked away for only a moment. He didn't know how she knew that. Had she been there?
"You also changed where you were when the Machina found you," Linda said. "Every change has caused loops to form. It's like a paddle in water. As it moves, the water flows in circles and eddies around it."
"No," Hannah said. "He didn't change that." She spoke as if she knew something about it but didn't elaborate.
"It's over," Linda said. "Hand me your wrist terminal." She waved the gun toward his wrist and Hannah stepped between them.
"Stop this," Hannah said. "This will only make it worse. You can't strand him here. There are others out there."
Wyatt glanced down toward his wrist terminal, now hidden from Linda's view by Hannah's body. As she spoke, he scanned the setting. He had no safe place to go. In that quick glance, he thought about randomly picking a location. The current time was 6:27 am.
As he looked over Hannah's shoulder toward Linda, he thought he saw something moving behind her. That scared him. Were there more Lindas coming after them?
"This is what needs to be done," Linda said. "That is how we stop the changes."
"Time travel is out," Wyatt said, speaking loudly over Hannah's shoulder. She glanced back at him as he continued. "Stopping me from making changes will only bring more. The cat is out of the bag. Nothing we do will return it to what it was. You would have to stop the Machina from being created."
His words seemed to have some effect on Linda. Her gun hand lowered, and she stepped back a step or two. The motion Wyatt had seen behind her happened again. Clearly there were figures approaching.
It was time to get out. He glanced down at his wrist terminal and rolled the time. Extending his left arm toward Hannah's back, he tried to determine the best way to activate the portal and get away. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the other versions of Linda surrounding Avery, Aldan, Jeremy, and his earlier version. If he came back earlier, would he have the chance to save them? Would it cause a larger issue?
He didn't have time to worry about it. The experience in the business park in 2089 had shown him how fluid time could be. They had to get to a safe area, and the only place that seemed safe right now was the dirt road. His wrist terminal was already set to R720RS, Saturday, November 3, 2040. He rolled the time around to 4:45 am., angled his wrist terminal toward the ground behind where he stood, and activated the portal.
The resonance blossomed as the portal opened and he grabbed the belt of Hannah's pants and pulled her back through it with him.
"Wait," Linda called after them as Wyatt fell through the portal.
The dirt road was cold, and the darkness surrounded them. Along with the resonance, Hannah's pleasant warmth impacted his chest as she fell on top of him. The portal closed. As Hannah rolled off him, she began to laugh.
Wyatt looked at her, and for a moment surprise filled him. Bright lights illuminated her face. A rumble accompanied the sound of rocks being kicked up by tires.
"Get up," Wyatt said, coughing out the words as the resonance subsided. He grabbed her left arm and pulled her toward the edge of the road as he struggled to catch his balance.
The fact that he never regained his balance probably saved their life. A large, pale blue box truck raced by where they had stood. Wyatt pulled Hannah over the edge of the dirt road's embankment. He tripped and they rolled through the sagebrush.
The needles of the sagebrush hurt as they dug into his arms, but he protected his face as he rolled to a stop.
"Ouch," Hannah said.
"You once told me we had to keep moving," Wyatt said. "Sorry about that. I guess jumping blindly into time is dangerous."
"Was that the first time you have done that?" Hannah asked.
"The first time today," he said, brushing himself off and rising to his feet. "We've got about fifteen minutes before one version of me comes here." He stopped short of telling her that version was one that spoke with an older Aldan. Instead, he asked her a question. "Do you recognize this place?"
"It's the same dirt road," she said. "But other than that, I don't think I can see enough to know."
"This place must be important," Wyatt said. "Do you know if Aldan ever came here?" He folded his arms and tried to watch her. All he saw was her dark shape as an outline against the starry night sky. He thought she might be shaking her head.
He sighed and glanced along the road in the direction he had traveled earlier. He thought about the way Aldan had looked all those times he had come back from his haven. The dirt of this road and the fact that the older version of Aldan lived he
re all seemed to point to this being Aldan's haven.
"You told me once that you lived in central Utah," Wyatt asked. "What town?"
Hannah seemed to shake her head again. "We lived near Delta, Utah. But that was later than this." She raised his left hand and looked at his wrist terminal as she spoke. "This is 2040. I didn't live in Utah until 2042."
"That's not confusing at all," Wyatt said. "I used to visit you in the warehouse back in 2039."
"Let's not get caught up in the subjective realities," Hannah said. "I don't see any lights from a city, so we must be out in the middle of nowhere."
Wyatt nodded and looked back along the road. She brushed her pants off as she stood there waiting. He had no idea what she was waiting for. Part of him wanted to take her to Aldan, but he had no idea if that was what had already happened. Causing more changes could ruin what he remembered.
He thought back to that experience for a quick moment and realized he had heard noises around the home. Was it possible he had heard their current versions hiding in the brush and low trees near the prefabricated house?
"We need to go and see someone," Wyatt said. "I think it could help us." He reached out and touched her right wrist before gently grabbing her hand and leading her back toward the road.
"Who are we going to see?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of her worry.
"Can you trust me?" Wyatt asked, not sure if he wanted to tell her who they would see. But he didn't think they had any better options.
"Who are you taking me to see?" Hannah asked. She shook her head and glanced in the direction of the large delivery or moving truck that continued along the dirt road in the opposite direction.
"Someone important to all of this, but I'm not sure he will be excited," Wyatt said. The younger version of Aldan had been quite upset that he had continued to visit Hannah in the past.
"I don't like this," Hannah said. "I like it even less after you say that." She pulled her hand back from him and rubbed her hands together. "Are you taking me to see Aldan? How angry is he going to be?"
Her words sent a thrill down his spine. "I'm not sure," Wyatt said after a moment. When she let go of his arm, he began walking. "We just need to get there before my previous version. I think that is how it worked out."
He turned to move along the road and was pleased to hear her moving behind him. When he began jogging, she kept up with him. Maybe Aldan could help them.
CHAPTER thirty-Four
ALDAN'S HOME, NEAR R720RS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2040, 5:25 AM
They moved quickly in the darkness. Without looking back, Wyatt felt good about their distance from the curve. After twenty minutes jogging at a fast pace, he couldn't help thinking Lenny would be proud of him.
His breath came quickly, but he forced himself to keep control of it. The distance from the dirt road's corner to the small, rutted jeep trail that wound around the hill seemed to be around two miles. As he led Hannah off the road, he slowed his pace and started walking. With the hill in the way, he couldn't see his earlier version, which was good.
"We may need to hide," Wyatt said as he struggled to catch his breath. "Aldan's house is just around this hill and my previous version is coming."
He watched her nod as she took several deep breaths. The running had been more than they had done in the last week, or was it longer, that they had known each other?
It didn't matter. Hannah followed him along the rutted trail until the white pickup and the small house came into view. None of the lights were on.
Wyatt glanced toward his wrist terminal. "We've got about thirty minutes before my previous version gets here," he said. "I don't want him to see us, because I don't remember seeing us."
"Makes sense," Hannah said. "Should we just knock on the door?" She stepped around the white pickup, making her way toward the front door of the house.
Wyatt wanted to stop her, but she was right. He didn't remember being noticed by Aldan previously, which meant they either talked with him now, or they never talked to him.
"Go ahead," Wyatt said as Hannah knocked several times on the door.
The house remained silent.
Wyatt stepped toward the door and knocked more loudly. This time he thought he heard cursing inside but didn't see any lights comes on. Hannah stepped away from the door and stopped near the large kitchen window.
Wyatt knocked once more on the door. His knuckles stinging from the force. At the same time, Hannah knocked on the kitchen window.
That drew the lights from the house. The kitchen light spilled out over Hannah and the cursing, whatever it was Aldan had been ready to say, died off. Hannah pointed toward the door and stepped back beside Wyatt as Aldan opened the door.
He looked like he just roused himself from bed. His dark hair hung in a mess, pressed tight on the right side of his head. His eyes blinked several times as if Aldan were trying to shake the sleepiness.
"What are you doing here?" Aldan asked, his eyes shifting from Hannah to Wyatt. "Oh. No. What paradox have you caused this time?" He didn't wait for an answer but scanned the hills and the rutted jeep trail behind them as he stepped to the side and motioned for them to enter.
"Hi," Hannah said. "I think it has been a while since I last saw you." She smiled and reached out to hug Aldan.
He didn't reciprocate her hug until he had the front door closed and latched. "What kind of a mess are you making?" he asked, releasing her from the hug. "I thought I had all of this"—he pointed between Wyatt and Hannah—"cleaned up. You weren't supposed to meet each other. I should have known that would still happen."
"What would still happen? "Wyatt asked. "Me and Hannah?"
Sure," Aldan said, without really answering the question. Something else seemed to bother him.
"So, you did stop her from working in the warehouse," Wyatt said, not wanting to let his question hang unanswered. He nodded his head and watched the older version of Aldan.
That older version ran his right hand through his thinning gray hair and shook his head. "I wish I could have," he said. "Everything I did to prevent you"—he looked at Hannah—"from getting mixed up in this seems to have failed. Now it may play out the way I've already seen it."
"Do we stop it?" Wyatt asked.
"I don't remember you stopping me," Hannah said, interrupting Aldan's start of an answer.
"Maybe," Aldan said. It might have been an answer to Wyatt's question, or just a comment about Hannah's statement. With a breath, Aldan continued. "I remember both stopping you and allowing you to work inside the warehouse." He shook his head. "Linda must have caused a paradox."
"And you just remained here hoping it was the first scenario?" Wyatt asked.
"What paradox?" Hannah asked.
"No," Aldan said. "We made things better." He paused to take a breath. "At least we did what we could to make things as close to what they were when we started."
"Are you saying we found a way to stop this all from occurring?" Wyatt asked. "I need to know. Did you change our past? Why would you do that?"
"Everything changes," Aldan said, but his cousin, Hannah, drew his attention. He watched her. "I never thought I would see you again, this young."
"I guess I haven't seen the same changes you have," Hannah said.
"Time is messed up if you are here," Aldan said.
"I know," Wyatt said, forgetting he hadn't already met the older version in this timeline. "We've got a problem with Linda still." He said her name smoothly and waited for any response from Aldan.
"I realize that." Aldan shook his head and stepped into the kitchen. He retrieved a small glass and filled it with water from the tap. It was the same glass Wyatt would see him drinking out of in just a few minutes. That thought spurred Wyatt into keeping Hannah from stepping into the sightline of the kitchen window.
"Linda is central to a lot of this," Aldan said, waving his hand. "It's because of her that I lost one of my havens."
"But this is one of th
em, right?" Wyatt asked.
Aldan took another long drink from the glass, before filling it again from the tap. This time he drank a little before setting it on the counter. "I don't think you are here to speak to me about my havens," Aldan said. He turned his gaze back to Hannah. "What problem has he created this time?"
"I don't think he is the one causing all of them," Hannah answered. "But it seems like a lot of them happen around him."
"I didn't ask for this," Wyatt said. "And we're running short on time. I have another version of myself that will be coming here in"—he looked at his watch, which stated it was 5:48 am.—"ten to fifteen minutes. We can't be seen by him."
"So, you came here just to tell me that?" Aldan said. He placed both palms down on the countertop and stared at Wyatt.
"No," Wyatt said. "We came here to warn you. Something really strange happens today to you. You said there were paradoxes caused by our actions. Can you help us fix them?"
"Don't start that kind of talk," Aldan said. "I think I remember telling you I disliked the way everything was changing around you. Every person that disappeared was close to you." His eyes shifted toward Hannah.
"Did you ever find Avery, Jeremy, or Brooke?" Wyatt asked, seeing the way Hannah stiffened with his words.
Aldan sighed and took another long drink of water.
"Are they still lost?" Wyatt asked. "Or did you give up?" He couldn't shake the frustrated anger that welled up inside him and drove his questions to come out more as accusations.
"Quiet," Hannah said. She had stepped near the kitchen window as Wyatt spoke. "Your other self is coming."
"Well," Wyatt said, forcing his voice to a loud whisper. "You had better listen to what I have to say." He watched the way Aldan glanced toward the window or Hannah then focused back on him.
"Tell me," Aldan said. "I'll listen."
Wyatt explained how he had seen Avery and Jeremy try to get away from Linda, only to have Linda display what she said were their wrist terminals. "And Brooke was taken," Wyatt said. "When you head back to that corner in the road near noon, you take my earlier version with you. Something happens and Jarod takes you and Brooke."
Dissonance (The Machina of Time Book 2) Page 30