Cherry Picking

by Tim Heath

  Smoke was now visible on the horizon as they neared the village, flames even seen lifting into the sky, some distance away. Tommy and Jessica looked at each other a little concerned, Tommy asking the question that they were both thinking at that moment.

  “But once you’ve gone through, it’s going to take you some time to sort things out again. It could take you months! What happens if all this escalates and one of us, or both of us are killed?”

  Robert looked out into the distant smoke that Tommy had been referring to. The truth was he really didn’t know but the one piece of hope he’d clung to he offered them, trying to sound as knowledgeable on the subject as possible.

  “Look at it like this,” he started, trying to organise his thoughts. “If you both were killed by these bombs, what was it that had killed you?”

  “The war, the missiles? What do you mean?” Jessica said, not quite knowing if she’d answered correctly.

  “Exactly that, the war, Nigel’s war. Until today, this never happened. Now, when I arrest Nigel by getting back before him and then waiting for his arrival through that first Door, there would never be a war, right? But you two were both alive when he first came back, therefore you both would be around when I arrest him. You were both only young back then, but importantly you were around. My thinking is that whatever happens, it all goes back to that point again, like the ‘Undo’ option on the computer. Though there have been many changes made, because we can revert to a previous version, it’ll all get undone in the end.”

  “Sounds like you’re clutching at straws there a bit, Robert,” Tommy offered, “but it’s all we’ve got so let’s get it done.”

  They were now on the edge of the village, the fires in the distance now closer than they once had seemed. None of them commented aloud about it though. Robert indicated them to pull over a bit, as he had spotted something ahead down the road, though his view was blocked a little by a large clump of trees. At that moment another helicopter came racing over them, not more than fifty feet above them, before starting to turn as it dropped behind a group of trees on the raised hill marking the north side of the village. Up ahead there was a clear sound of some heavy vehicle starting, Robert spotting it now slowly moving from behind the trees and towards them. It was Tommy who spoke first:

  “You two, go, make cover. I’ll drive off and take their attention. Clearly that chopper spotted us and has alerted their friends ahead. It’ll be back over us in a minute so go now and make your own way to the house.”

  He kissed Jessica quickly on the lips before pushing her on, encouraging her gently to leave. She looked intently into his eyes one last time.

  “I love you Tommy. Keep safe and we’ll see you soon.”

  Robert had her door open and was helping her out, up ahead now out of sight again due to the turn in the road, a truck was clearly coming towards them at some speed. They rushed into a small patch of trees, climbing a fence, and headed into a thick bush that gave them great cover. Tommy had the car round as the army truck emerged at speed from around the corner, coming straight for him. The helicopter was now coming back, a sniper visible at the open door. Orders were shouted from the truck as Tommy sped away, shots now clearly being heard, one hitting the back windscreen as he opened up the engine a little, pulling away from the truck, the helicopter keeping track from up above.

  Jessica sat there shaking with a hand over her mouth.

  “He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”

  “Jessica, he’ll work something out.” Robert knew things didn’t look good, but at least Tommy’s bravery had given them some time to get to the house.

  “But I didn’t even get time to tell him…,” she broke off, tears now rolling down her face. They both stopped, Robert holding her as she wept on his shoulder. A minute later she’d composed herself a little, her words sounding mumbled as she tried to figure out what she was saying:

  “I mean I don’t know, can’t figure out what it means, what’s changed, why now?”

  “What is it, Jessica?”

  “I’m pregnant, Robert, that’s what it is! I took a test when we last stopped as I just didn’t know what was wrong with me. The chemist suggested I did it to be sure. I told him it wasn’t possible, that I couldn’t...I mean, I thought I couldn’t? You said...”

  Robert didn’t know what to say. The reality had been that they never had been able to have children. And yet, if what she was saying was true, then whatever problems they’d had before must have been later on in life, when they’d got around to trying for a child having spent so long in the public spotlight up to then.

  “Look, Jessica, I really don’t know what to say. Believe me, that’s great news, it means there’s hope for you. What I told you though was the truth. You were both known for your public position in helping people after you’d announced that you couldn’t have children. I guess it was something that came on later in life.”

  “That’s what I’ve been struggling with this last hour, Robert. At this moment I have a little child in me. Tommy and I therefore now have all we were never able to have. If things go back to as they were, I’d effectively be killing my child, my only chance to actually have a child. Have you any idea what that feels like? To finally have what you want and know that you’ll never be able to enjoy it?”

  Robert had no idea what to say. The silence was broken by some gunfire in the distance.

  “Tommy!” Jessica said, looking up in horror, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Come on, we have to get moving. There’s nothing but trouble here for you now, you have to see that. We have to get this done, there’s no other option. Millions are dying today and will continue to.”

  They came to another clearing, where the road had gone back around on itself in a half circle. Jessica looked on the far side in terror as she spotted their car, the one Tommy had been driving moments before, trashed and dented, its front having gone into the stone wall so that the metal was all crushed up and a few of the stones from the wall now sat on the car. There was no sign of Tommy as they approached, but having both looked in the car there was blood visible, especially on the steering wheel where clearly he’d hit his head on impact. Jessica had her hand to her face again, hiding from the shock of it, her crying silent as she stood there, fearing the worst. Robert pulled her into some more trees again, as once again the army truck could be heard approaching. Twenty metres down the track they both spotted Tommy’s legs as he lay half hidden in the bushes. Jessica went running on, bending down and hugging her Tommy, who smiled up at her, though there was pain in his eyes, and concern now that they’d be caught.

  “Go!” he said. “I’m done here, but I’ll give you all the cover you need. Now get moving.”

  Jessica couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the baby because she knew there was not much future for him here now anyway. The soldiers would be there very soon, and even if he survived that, she didn’t have to be a nurse to know his wounds were serious, a lot of blood staining his shirt, a sizeable cut on his head and blood visible in his mouth.

  They started to trot down the path again, working their way towards the house, before Tommy called one last time to Robert, his voice strained, pain clearly kicking in.

  “Now, you hear me right. You’d better succeed, you know. Don’t fail us now!”

  Robert thought of nothing to say, struggling to hold even his own emotions in now, needing to stay focused, simply nodding his head, turning and running with Jessica, needing to get to the house as quickly as possible, everything now resting on his shoulders to get back through the Door and undo all this mess that Nigel had made.

  Chapter 32

  The house stood large and quiet as they approached from the rear and looked much as Robert had always remembered it. He wanted to take no chances, though all signs were that the village had been evacuated sometime earlier, clearly the presence of the army a sign that they were there to stop any looters who might fancy their chances.

 
Robert led Jessica to the back door, which he hoped was still unlocked, that having been the last thing he’d done before he’d raced clear of the place with Katie in tow.

  Reaching for the handle, Robert turned it gently, the catch opening with little noise, the door following, leading them into the darkened room. Jessica started to reach for the light but Robert stopped her, putting a finger to his lips while he listened carefully, the silence now all consuming. He reached over to a large kitchen drawer and pulled out a savage-looking butcher’s knife, passing a large wooden rolling pin to Jessica as he ushered her on, moving quietly through the room towards another door that stood open a little bit.

  In the lounge it was clear that someone had been sleeping there, trousers lying around, the furniture scattered in a messy fashion. Still Robert couldn’t hear anything, Jessica some three feet behind him, heart pounding and arms raised high with weapon ready.

  Robert took a scan of the place and realised that it seemed quiet. The front door was locked from the outside and that confirmed to him that whoever had been there clearly wasn’t at that moment, presumably gone with the rest of the folk in the evacuation. Getting to the cellar door, Robert pulled the key from the string that he’d hung around his neck and opened it, leading her down after him, only now turning the light on so that they could see where they were going.

  The Door was left as Robert had remembered it, clearly the old damp cellar not worth any investigation by the home’s uninvited guest, which he could only assume had been Katie’s beast of a husband. Jessica watched on as things were set up and Robert was soon ready to walk through the Door himself.

  “Are you sure I can’t come with you?”

  “No, Jessica, I’m sorry, we’ve talked about this already. If you are through the other side when the changes happen then I don’t know what would happen.”

  “But what happens to me in the meantime? I mean, I don’t stand a chance here on my own, do I?”

  “You’ll find a way, sweetheart. Just get as far away from here as possible and avoid London completely.”

  “But what about my baby?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that ever since you told me. Look, I don’t know how but I’ll find some way of letting you both know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I will be around in your time. I’ll see you again, even though you won’t remember me.”

  “What will you do then?”

  “I figure I’ll have about ten years to wait before Nigel shows up. It’s a long time but it’ll be worth it. I’ll have lots of time to think about things. You would only be a teenager, if that, when I go back, but with Nigel out of the picture you should go on to do all the things that you were capable of doing. I’ll somehow be there for your parents maybe, I don’t know. Somehow I could make sure that you both try for children earlier.”

  “But how?”

  “I don’t know. I will figure something out.”

  “So you just have to wait?”

  “Of course. I’ll use the time to fill in all the gaps, nailing down exactly when it is that Nigel first came through his Door. Lost in everything is what happened to Austin himself. Maybe in my time waiting I’ll find where the man was buried and make sure he gets the recognition he deserves, as well as his brothers. For all it’s worth, I might as well make it home. I mean I’ll have many years there where I need to get on with something. Maybe I’ll meet someone and have what you and Tommy shared.”

  “Okay, Robert,” Jessica said, giving one last hug to the man that everything now rested on. “You be careful and keep safe. I guess you don’t even know what kind of world you’ll find back through that doorway, but above all things, make sure you survive and pull this off, for everyone’s sake. And when you do, make sure you get to know us and help us. I know I’d really want to know about the pregnancy issue so I’ll leave you to work out how!”

  He held her for a moment, looked her in the eyes one last time and saying his goodbye, walked through the Wentworth Door and was gone from her for good, the Door shutting down a moment later so that she was alone again in the dimly lit room, her eyes adjusting again to the light. Overhead, she could hear many jets flying, the sound of heavy trucks moving some way off.

  Running back up the stairs, she looked out the front windows, the smoke and fire now only about ten miles away, if that, the missiles still raining down, no end it seemed to the destruction.

  **********

  Robert Sandle emerged through the Door, many years into the future in a time that had once been his own, though now nothing precious was left for him there. Walking into a room, the light that flooded through the windows told him things had probably changed beyond recognition.

  Outside, the city, while still modern and bustling, offered a far smaller scale to things. He would learn eventually how far Nigel had gone. Things had escalated seemingly beyond control but then he was captured and others he had worked with had turned on him, all greedy for the same power that Nigel had.

  One of the major changes, which followed the fall of London, and then the UK after that, was the uniting of the whole of Europe into one nation, with no borders and one common language. Though Robert could have stayed and learnt a lot, the events from back then, still so recent in his memory, only drove him on through Europe. The lack of borders helped his progress amazingly, though he quickly learned who to avoid, twice narrowly escaping the hands of mobile hit squads that seemed to roam around completely freely, stopping anyone they liked, demanding all sorts of fees and fines. The fabric of society was clearly struggling to remain intact, such had the changes been. But just three days after walking through the Door, Robert found himself on a boat crossing over Lake Geneva, docking on the eastern side before he got a bus for five miles. This took him to the foot of the mountains, up on which he hoped Vers-Cort still remained. It was clear that most of Europe had remained undamaged by the conflict, as the scale of destruction in the UK had shown everyone what was possible.

  Robert spent the morning climbing up the mountain road, charmed by the place again and delighted to see it still looking just like he’d last seen it, nothing seemingly changed. He’d picked up some necessary tools that sat in his backpack, its weight now digging into his shoulders and starting to cut off the circulation to his arms. He also had his computer and so far he had made an effort not to look up details of what, for most people, had happened in the past but for him only a few days ago. But he did want to see how things had worked out for Jessica and Tommy, figuring that while things were progressing, he’d get the chance to check.

  Sixty minutes later, having made his way past Vers-Cort, he found the same abandoned building, now in an even worse state, clearly at some point damaged by a fire, and he worked his way into the dense trees and came finally to the shed that housed the final Wentworth Door, the first one of the lot. The thrill that rushed through him as he broke open the rotting but still strong wooden doors was electric, and standing before him, far bigger than his own Door, stood Austin Wentworth’s very first version. Robert stood there relieved yet speechless, caught up by this significant moment in the peace of the Swiss Mountains. Apart from a few minor differences, like the metal work being thicker so that the Door seemed deeper, it was much the same as the other Door.

  He pulled a flask of hot tea from the front of his bag, and after drinking that, collecting his thoughts in the process, he focused on getting things up to speed as quickly as possible, knowing that for every moment he wasn’t back through the Door, there was danger that something might happen to him at this end.

  **********

  Robert had been in the mountains for one week and things were finally seemed to be taking shape. He’d stayed low, relying on only taking a few trips into the village to get food, going at times when the fewest number of people would be around. The fact that everyone seemingly now understood English, was one of the most revealing facts as to how things had changed over the years.

 
; Taking a break in the constant mess that surrounded him, Robert reflected on what he’d read about Jessica and Tommy. Jessica must have made it out of the house as she was mentioned sometime later being in Cornwall, though there was no report of a child being with her; Robert could only imagine the worst as there would be no way to ever actually know. As much as he had checked though, there was no sign of Tommy who had clearly not made it through that fateful day. Either his wounds or the missiles had got him, if indeed it hadn’t been the soldiers. Not that it mattered any more, Robert kept reminding himself, but he used their memory to keep himself focused and pressing on, no longer doing it all because it was his job, but doing it for them, for Tommy and Jessica.

  The following day he had all he needed to start the Door up. The process was helped greatly because of his involvement in getting the previous Door working, in what now seemed like a different life, another time. And it had indeed been that in many regards, because nothing remained for him in what had once been his own time, and his own life. He’d held onto what he’d said to Jessica as he left, that maybe he’d settle down and make his home back there in the past. The thought sounded good in his heart. Having loved and lost, he could meet someone and marry, changing the world back for the better at the same time. That is what he hoped anyway and now that he was ready, there was no need to wait around any more. This was it, the time had come to start the machine up. He’d leave it a couple of hours before heading back, wanting some cover of darkness so as to minimise the risk of being spotted by anyone out walking, who might therefore stumble across his little operation.

  **********

  Two hours later, the machine was racing with power, Robert having tapped into the local power-lines two days before as the machine’s thirst for electricity was quite alarming. The same hazy screen covered the Door as on all previous occasions, a low pitched tone being heard, followed by an intermittent much higher pitched noise, which he always imagined would have the neighbourhood dogs awake.