An Altered Course

by R A Carter-Squire

  Cheering sounds drifted into his consciousness as he looked around; embarrassed and bloodied, sure; but he’d won. He was also convinced the teacher’s shadow had been what tripped him. Gentle hands jerked him off the ground, and the face of Miss Belfridge appeared. She was smiling and wiping the dust off his face and then held his hands while leading him to the side of the racetrack.

  “I’ll just clean out these cuts on your hands and knees before you go home. We don’t want your parents thinking we abused you. This is going to sting, but it’ll feel better once I’m done.” Her hands were soft and warm. He watched her tip a bottle of some clear liquid onto a cloth and dab his cut and bleeding palms. Each touch of the material sent fresh glass shards of pain shooting up his arms.

  Her eyes reflected her compassion, letting him know she cared. For some reason, knowing she cared eased his suffering and by the time she had stopped dabbing his bloody knees, the pain was gone. When the last bandage was applied, she reached around him and gave him a tight hug; he was pressed firmly against her chest. His dad’s comment about ta-tas on a woman surfaced in his mind, and he blushed.

  She let him go with a smile. Mike mumbled his thanks and turned to find his friends. Something stirred in his head and tingled on his chest where her breasts had pressed against him. He smiled. A girl in his class was going in the opposite direction and returned his gesture. Nancy Allen was her name, and he kind of liked her. He caught her staring at him almost every day; any time he would look out the windows in the classroom. The idea of having her as his girlfriend didn’t seem gross anymore.

  The second race, which included Billy and Joe was lined up and ready to start. He glanced down at the finish line in front of him and noticed the smudge in the chalk where he’d slid through. Shadows of those around him reached across the track. The gun sounded, and he turned to watch the race.

  Billy came off the line first. Joe was always in third or fourth place when the three friends ran together. Today, though, he was even with Billy all the way down the track. No way, Mike giggled. Joe was wearing the new high-tops Billy had brought to school. The shoes really were making a difference. They were close to the line, but the result was never in doubt. Billy won as usual. He collected his blue ribbon from Mr. Fredrickson with a sheepish grin.

  “Michael,” Mr. Fredrickson hollered across the track. “Come and get your ribbon.” How is he able to keep everybody’s name straight in his head, he wondered as he walked toward the principal. “How are the war wounds,” he asked kindly as Mike stopped in front of him.

  “Not bad, Miss Belfridge did a good job of patching them up.”

  “Well, you ran a heck of a race, young man, and deserve this ribbon. Wear it with pride.” Mr. Fredrickson reached forward and pinned the brightest and most glorious blue ribbon on Mike’s shirt he’d ever seen. His chest swelled with pride. The pain in his palms was gone, and all around him was silent. He bent his head trying for a better view of the ribbon.

  “Thanks,” he managed to mumble and walked away, still gazing at the prize on his chest.

  “Hey, you finally won. Way to go, buddy.” Joe came running to catch him. Billy joined them, and they went to sit on the bleachers.

  “That was sure one hell of a spill you took at the finish line. Billy and I thought you were gonna look like Fred for sure.”

  “Me too. All I could think of was keeping my face off the gravel. Jeepers, I only needed a couple more steps, and it would have been perfect. Oh well, I won, and that’s all that matters now. I’ve got war wounds and a ribbon to show for my efforts.” He hoped they wouldn’t say anything about Miss Belfridge’s chest. “Who was that kid running beside me?”

  “Don’t know.” Billy shrugged. “He’s in the other class. You know, the brainy kids.” His lip curled.

  Michael nodded. Those kids were a bit snotty just because they thought they were smarter. It didn’t seem right to separate kids like that. They learned the same stuff and read the same books in both classes.

  “Why don’t we leave now? There isn’t any reason to stick around, and nobody is going to miss us,” Joe asked.

  “What about the ice cream?” Billy whimpered. “We always get ice cream after the races. Let’s wait ‘til then and we can still go over to the ditch before supper.”

  Mike nodded, considering all options. He was the leader, and the choices were up to him. “We’ll go see if we can get some now. Tell our parents I’m not feeling too good and you guys are taking me home,” he smiled at them.

  They had to wait until three for the ice cream, but twenty minutes and a quarter mile later, three young boys stopped at the edge of a gravel and dirt slope leading to the bottom of a drainage ditch.

  “What are they doing this for anyway?” Michael asked.

  “Dad said the city needs to drain water from the north side to the river on the south side. I can’t remember how many miles it is, but he said they’d take months to complete the job.” Work had ceased for the day, but they saw a man in a truck parked among the heavy equipment.

  The boys stood together, looking down at the maw of the unfinished end of the drain. At first glance, they figured the tunnel was big enough to carry a train. They took tentative steps toward the opening, tense with anticipation and dread at being stopped any second. When no shout came from above, Mike led them single file into the darkness of the tunnel.

  “Torches; we’re gonna need torches if we want to go further,” Michael decided, his voice echoing down the pipe. The smell of concrete and damp earth filled their noses after walking a few yards into the drain. Strange noises echoed out of the darkness.

  “How far do ya think it goes?” Billy wondered, his voice quavering back to them as he stared into the gloom.

  “Probably all the way to the ocean,” Joe said. “If they’ve got that end done, we should be able to hear the waves like when you hold a shell up to your ear.”

  “Maybe we’re too far away, ‘cus I don’t hear any waves. I’m not going further without some light. Who knows what’s living in here? We could come face to face with an alligator if it does go all the way to the ocean.”

  “Don’t you know anything, Billy?” Joe scolded from behind. “Alligators don’t live in the ocean. Besides, that’s gotta be at least a hundred miles away. There wouldn’t be any way out for an alligator and it sure as hell wouldn’t be hangin’ around where there isn’t any food.”

  “Where did you learn to swear like that, Joe?” Mike asked. His voice was a mixture of awe and contempt.

  “Mom’s always talking like that. It’s ‘sure as hell’ this and ‘sure as hell’ that. This morning she told me to clean up my room because ‘it sure as hell wasn’t going to clean itself.’”

  Maybe they were afraid or because of how normal the words sounded coming out of Joe’s mouth, but they laughed. The sound rippled down the tunnel into the solid blackness. The noise of a vehicle engine starting came to them from the open end of the pipe.

  “Let’s get out of here and get some flashlights or something, so we can see.” Mike turned around as he spoke. Once they’d scrambled back up the slope of the ditch, he noticed the truck with the man had gone.

  “There isn’t anybody here now. They’ve probably all gone for the weekend. Either of you two got a flashlight at home?” Joe acted very determined to explore the tunnel, nodding his head eagerly, frantic almost.

  Mike and Billy shook their heads no.

  “I do…two. They were ones my dad had in the army. It’ll take me about ten minutes to run there and back. You guys stay here.” Joe didn’t wait for them to answer. Michael stared at him running away.

  “I’m supposed to be home by five, what time is it?”

  Billy looked at the watch on his left wrist. “Aw, shit,” he moaned. “I forgot to wind it this morning. It stopped at two o’clock.” He shook his wrist as if that was going to change the time.

  “It had to be almost three o’clock when we left the school grounds,” Mic
hael reasoned. “That was about an hour ago, so it’s gotta be nearly four by now. If it takes me half an hour to get home, it’ll be four thirty. I’ve gotta get going, Billy, and so do you.” Mike cringed as he stood from sitting on the ground. The scrapes and bandages on his knees were tight.

  “What about Joe? He’s going to be mad when he gets back if we aren’t here,” Billy whined as he brushed the dirt off his legs.

  “Yeah, he’ll be mad, but I’d sooner take him being mad at me than my mom. We can always come back tomorrow. You can wait for him if you want, but I’m leaving.” He turned and started walking toward home. A sense of guilt kept him looking over his shoulder in a vain hope that Joe would return before they had gone too far.

  Chapter 2

  Mike’s mind snapped back to the present. “I know, but if I could just figure out what happened, then I’d get some peace. I’ve blamed myself all these years and nothing anyone says is going to take that away.” Mike responded.

  “You..." Billy sat up in the chair and leaned forward, anger darting from his eyes. “You weren’t the only one responsible. I’m just as guilty as you for not being there to stop him when he got back. I didn’t need to be home that night; my parents were working late or something. Anyway, he was old enough to know better. What do you think you’re going to accomplish by going back there? If you stop him, the whole history of the planet could change. We’d certainly change and never be where we are now. You’ve always been a determined guy, even before Joe disappeared. The closer you’ve gotten to actually traveling in time, the more selfish you’ve become. You’re pushing everything and everyone aside. Nothing matters anymore, except what happened thirty years ago. I’m afraid of what might happen to you, Michael…to us. God, we might be poor and living on the street.”

  He ended with a smile as he poked at Mike’s old insecurity about having been poor. Billy watched his best friend return a weak smile, which quickly faded into a frown as his eyes dropped to the blank pad on the desktop. They had been partners in this business since the beginning back in high school.

  Suddenly, the scowl disappeared as Mike snatched the pen and started scribbling on the pad. His hand moved back and forth making chicken scratches, which only he could read. Billy watched, fascinated at how Mike worked. Four minutes later, he put the pen down and picked up the notes, reading each line. His eyes brightened. Looking over the pad at Billy, he beamed. “We need to test this, but I think it should work.”

  “Great! Do you want to do that now or wait until morning?” Sarcasm tinged Billy’s voice. “Aw, screw it, let’s go get a drink and celebrate.” He chuckled and stood up.

  “Yeah, let’s take the night off and relax. Starting tomorrow, the next two weeks are going to be the toughest fourteen days of our lives.” Mike threw his arm over Billy’s shoulder as they walked out of the office.

  An elevator ride, two blocks walking in silence, and they were seated in a booth and had their drinks. Billy lifted his and proposed a toast.

  “Here’s to completing the project on time.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Mike grinned back as their glasses clinked. “But I still need your help with tying up the other project.”

  “I haven’t forgotten about that, but you better promise you won’t do anything until the code is perfect. No kidding, Mike. If there’s even one thing wrong, you could be trapped or killed in another time. What happens then? How do I explain that to the press? Oh, he’s just on an extended vacation, but he’ll return in thirty years or so. That’s if I had some way of knowing for sure you were trapped back then. What happens if you’re killed somehow? Mr. Eldridge died today in 1957. I’m not sure of the details because there’s no way of knowing what happened. Yes, he was here up until the time he disappeared, and then he died. How do I know he died? An obituary notice appeared with cards of condolence in the paper at my house that morning in 1957; all of them had Michael Eldridge as the person who died.” He gulped down his drink and waved to the bartender to bring them more.

  Mike stared into his glass, nodding his head slightly in agreement. Billy didn’t think Michael understood how angry and frightened his project made him feel. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to hold back the harsh words boiling in his mind. Other groups of people were laughing and talking or watching basketball on television. They all seemed happy and carefree compared to him and Michael.

  The drinks arrived, and Billy grabbed his, tossing it back in one gulp. Mike stared up at his friend. Billy could see emotions drifting across his face, and the hard swallow before his friend spoke.

  “I’m sorry, Billy. I didn’t realize how much this was affecting you, but you know I can’t quit. I don’t intend to take chances with my life, and nothing will happen until I’m certain the program is completely safe. I give you my word. I would never lie to you.” His fingers twirled the glass on the table.

  “What’s the point, Mike?” Billy hissed and leaned forward. “You can’t change what happened that day or any other day. If you’re trapped back then, you’ll be reliving the rest of your days repeating a history you already know. Which means you’ll need to bury your mom again, hear about your crazy brother being sent to prison, everything that hurt you in the last thirty years. Ultimately, you won’t be here to make a difference in what happens from this moment onward. I can’t run this company without you. If one would even exist because you’re the brains of this outfit. You were the person who came up with a program to detect missile launches on the other side of the world by monitoring deep earth sound waves. The military said your software was a stroke of genius. Eldridge Computing wouldn’t be where it is now without you. There would be no new inventions or ground-breaking discoveries unless someone else makes them. What happens to me?”

  “You have nothing to worry about there, but I promise I’m not willing to live my life over again. I’ve made provisions for the company in the event of my death or disappearance, Billy. Nothing is going to go wrong if I can help it, I promise.” He raised his right hand to make the commitment official and smiled.

  “Yeah, I know. You’ve taken care of all the details as you usually do, but if anything bad happens, I’ll be waiting for you with an ax when you reappear.” He chuckled and ordered more drinks.

  Heather Sykes walked through the door. Silence descended as all eyes turned, appreciating her. The sultry redhead strolled through the bar, her eyes locked on Mike. His heart beat a little faster as he watched her. I shouldn’t be having these feelings for my director of marketing, but she doesn’t do anything to turn me off, he thought.

  She slid into the booth next to Billy. Her perfume wafted like a cloud over Mike, adding to his arousal. Her red lips parted and she spoke to him. “I thought I’d find you two in here, so, unless you’re talking secrets, I’ll join you. Are we celebrating or drowning our sorrows?” There was a sly sparkle in her eyes and a sexy growl in her voice.

  Mike waved at the bar to order more of the same. “We’re celebrating,” he said, adding a forced smile. “I finished the computer code. Once we’ve completed the testing, the launch will happen on schedule.”

  “That’s wonderful. Don’t you agree, Billy?” Her eyes never left Michael’s face. Drinks appeared on the table, set in place by a disembodied hand from out of the gloom. Michael stared as her slender fingers with nails lacquered to match her lipstick gripped the glass, lifting it toward her mouth. The ruby lips closed around the straw in her drink. Her throat moved as she swallowed, then the delicate hand set the glass on the table, and she began to wriggle out of the suit jacket buttoned to her throat. As the buttons opened, a low-cut blouse revealed lovely cleavage, even in the dim light of the bar. Once she’d peeled away the coat, she leaned her elbows on the table.

  Michael’s eyes went to the swell of her breast for a second, even though his mind tried to stop them. He glanced at Billy, but his friend was ogling shamelessly. I can’t be doing this. She’s an employee. His mind whirled with thoughts of lust while his e
yes remained on her breasts. He remembered Miss Belfridge. Heather’s warm hand on his wrist broke the sexual fantasy.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” he stammered and sat back in the seat.

  “How long will it last?” There was a leering grin on her face as she slowly licked her lips. Michael knew her teasing was working, but he was determined to ignore it.

  “The testing will conclude in the next two weeks. It has to.” A cheer went up from the group watching the game.

  “Is there anything I can do to help? Should we put out a press release?” The teasing stopped as her mind shifted to her work.

  “We should hold off releasing any statements to the press until we get closer to the launch date just in case something goes wrong,” Billy blurted.

  “Nothing is going to go wrong,” Michael snapped and instantly regretted his tone. “What I mean is, that the testing will find the errors in the code and let us know if there are any other issues to consider. Tomorrow we’ll learn if it works and move forward from there.” He raised his glass and all three clinked in agreement.

  An hour later, Michael entered his house and dropped the keys on the table by the door. He flipped on the lights in the living room—discreet illumination set behind a mahogany valance around the ceiling. The drapes were open on the floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing him an unobstructed view of the city spread out through the valley below. Yellow, red, green, with a few blue lights thrown in, twinkled and glittered all the way up to the mountains. Moving toward the panes of glass, he slid out of his jacket and dropped it over the back of the leather sofa. Folding his arms across his chest, Michael stared out at the glittering scene and sighed.