by Em Pitts
"No one’s got me," I stated at the same time as Ollie spoke.
"I've got her." He said. "You definitely don't need to be seen with women in your home. I'll take her somewhere safe for now." He held up a hand at my protest. "Please." He added.
Mollified at being asked I decided to follow Ollie. It's not like I knew where I was anyway. Maybe I could figure something out on the way to...wherever we were going.
"Thanks for everything, Hector. Keep treating my sister well and I'll see you both soon." He shook the homeowner’s hand. Hector must be married to Ollie's sister Ellen.
"I'll see you out." The blonde woman originally holding the child spoke softly from behind Hector. We followed her towards the door.
"Will you stop in town and speak with Goodwife Bishop today, Willoughby?" Hector called from behind us before he followed as if leaving as well.
"Of course, husband." She smiled at him and he returned the gestured.
Hector left us on the porch without a backward glance. Ollie and Nick said their final goodbyes to Willoughby before the door closed and we headed off in the opposite direction of Hector. It wasn't a minute later, and I was voicing my question.
"I thought Hector was married to your sister Ellen?"
"He is," Ollie spoke plainly.
"Then why did Willoughby call him husband?" I questioned, not understanding how he didn't notice. Nick laughed.
"Hector is married to Willoughby, Ellen, and Jane. Why, are you interested in being his fourth wife? Consider it fair warning that he swore not to take another when he took Jane as his last wife." Nick winked at me.
Huh, well the Amish live a bit different than I thought. Unless I got it wrong. Maybe they were Mormon?
I ignored the men as they spoke ahead of me. Clearly, the two have known each other for a very long time. Ollie seemed to be annoyed and humored by Nick, like a younger brother. Nick just seemed to like hearing himself talk. I was worried he was going to try flirting with me the whole way, but luckily when I didn't talk to him, he kept busy speaking with Ollie.
We walked maybe a mile. I was surprised at the number of trees and land that was uncleared. I didn’t see any houses on the path the men took. It was relaxing to be out in.
Eventually, we came upon a small home not much bigger than the porch connected to it. It was a simple wooden home that looked barely big enough to fit the necessities in. The land around it practically swallowed the house. There were no neighbors to speak of in any direction either.
I got a queasy feeling in my stomach and stopped following the others. I wasn't expecting to be so secluded with two men that I didn't know. It was bad enough that I was outnumbered, but they also had magic mojo stuff going on too that I was still compartmentalizing instead of thinking too hard on. The men noticed my lack of movement and turned towards me.
"I'm good," I said.
Pretty sure there is a rule in the life guide about not following two strangers into a small home in the middle of...who the hell knows where.
"Honestly, I can just catch a ride home," I stated, proud of myself for not making the mistake so many make on horror movies. Hint, curiosity really did kill the cat.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Ollie asked in annoyance.
"I don't think it means what she thinks it means." Nick side whispered to him.
"Will you two stop with the holding conversations around me as if I'm not here thing?" I waved my hands gesturing to my body. "I'm right here and I hear you just fine." Nick held up his hands in a calming gesture like I am the wild animal right now.
"Look, you need to rest. You are saying words that make no sense and talking like...well nonsense." Ollie threw his hands up.
"Unless you are speaking another language. Which is fine. We've tried learning other languages before so I'm sure we could learn yours." Nick added helpfully.
It was my turn to be a confused person. I thought back on my conversations since I randomly appeared here. I've not spoken another language or said anything strange. Not like I could anyway, I barely passed Spanish and cheated with google translate most of the time. Ollie continued speaking oblivious to my internal struggle.
"It's safe here. You can rest and as soon as you feel better you can be on your way." He gestured towards the open door. "I'll even stay outside, and you can block the door inside if it makes you feel better." He sounded genuine. Both men stepped off the steps leaving the door wide open.
It felt good that they were leaving the decision up to me. I wasn't sure if it was a reverse psychology thing, but if so, it was working. I tentatively stepped towards the door and the men stayed put. They even started having another conversation ignoring the rest of the world again.
Feeling better about the whole thing I walked inside. Looking around, I saw that the inside was bigger than it looked from the outside. There was a small living room with a backdoor and a little hall leading to two other doors. I went to close the door when my hand stalled as my eyes fixed to the wall.
"Hey, Ollie!" I hollered outside but didn't take my attention off the wall. The men's feet pounded up the stairs as they met me at the door. "Why do you have that?" I pointed at the spot on the wall.
"What? A clock?" He asked me confused. "To tell time."
"Yes, but why do you have a seventeenth century clock? Do you collect them or something?" A thought was pinging in the back of my head and I really didn't like where this was going.
"You really need—" He started, and I shut him down.
"Forget the stupid fucking nap! Why do you have that clock, in this house!" I jabbed my finger at the offending item.
Because there, hanging innocently on the wall, was a perfect replica of an image that I googled just earlier today. A clock that Earl really wanted to look like this one, so he could try to make some cash. The one I looked at was listed for $2,000. So, it stands to reason that most people do not just go buying expensive clocks to put in small homes like this.
"Why does the clock offend you?" Ollie must have realized there was a problem as well.
"I keep telling him to get the newer ones with a minute hand. They are much more accurate." Nick was trying to be helpful again.
"Newer ones?" My voice went small again as I came closer to a truth I really did not want to hear.
"Yes, Ollie is old fashioned still. He hasn't even tried to make himself a brick home." Nick smacked Ollie's arm. "Just imagine what the clocks will be like in five years. Zounds, ten years from now it will be another century! This man here will be stuck in the same home with no glass windows." Nick was oblivious. I looked right into Ollie's eyes. He hadn't taken his eyes off me since I started freaking out.
"What year is it?" I demanded. Or tried to anyhow. My voice was not as strong as I needed it to be. Hell, I was practically whispering in a shaky voice right now.
"1692," Ollie answered. He was looking curious and worried.
I'm sure he was thinking about how he might have fucked my brain up if I couldn't even remember the date. But neither of them realized that the date was the least of my problems. I was definitely not where I was supposed to be. I wasn't even when I was supposed to be. I looked around at the home and the men and really took in everything.
Speaking strange words.
What is a cellphone?
Salem Village and Salem Town.
There was only one word that could sum up this disaster.
"Fucking clock!" Okay, two words.
I sat on the couch not moving or speaking to the guys. My mind kept circling around the fact that I somehow time traveled hundreds of years in the past. Add to that, my sister was hundreds of years in the future. Alone. There was not anyone to take care of her. She has been alone before, but I promised her it wouldn't happen again if she came with me. Never again. I left her alone though. I broke my promise. I must get back to her.
"Call out to Ellen or Willoughby and send them over," Ollie demanded before lowering in front of me.
"You kno
w I can't. It only works that far with you guys." Nick was fidgeting.
"Gadzooks! Then run and get one of them," Ollie demanded. Nick was out of my sight a minute later. Ollie lowered his voice to a gentler tone when he spoke to me. "Hey, talk to me. What happened? Is it the clock? I can put it away." He was trying to appease me. I snorted.
I wish Earl would have thrown the clock out. It's the only thing that makes any sense. One minute I'm tinkering with a clock and the next minute I'm in the time zone where the clock was made. No, wait. I was bleeding on the clock. Did that make a difference?
"I shouldn't have cut myself," I mumbled. Everyone knows that blood makes stuff more...I don't know, just more.
"Hey, no one is cutting themselves." He grabbed my hands as if to make sure. "You can't change the past, but you can the future." He said.
I caught him sneaking looks at my arms. I realized he thought I was talking about self-harm. Huh, guess that is a thing in the past too. Or, now. I'm so confused.
"Can you change the past if you go back?" I contemplated my new reality.
I watched the butterfly effect movie one time. Creepiest thing ever. I'm living it now though.
"You can't go back in the past.” He spoke firmly. “Let's not focus on the past, we will focus on the future." I caught a look in his eyes. Was that sadness? Is he speaking from experience?
"Not even with magic? Like what makes your gifts."
I absently touched his arm over his shirt where his symbols were. He shook his head and I didn't imagine the grief lingering in his expression this time. I focused on those brown eyes holding sorrow.
When I was little, I went to a fair and saw a horse that I fell in love with. One of the bright spots of my childhood. I remember the horse vividly because its coat was like chocolate and shined golden in the light. I saw that color in Ollie's eyes as he held mine and showed me his pain. Is it strange to see beauty in him now while he is aching?
I'm not sure if what I was about to tell him would hurt him or help. Hope has a funny way of making a person act. There's a big chance that the hope that he might get from knowing that I time traveled could be washed away if we can't find a way to do it again. What point would it be, giving him optimism that there may be a way to fix whatever sadness lies in the depth of his eyes, only to crush that expectation? And yet, I selfishly recognize that without help I may not get back where I'm needed. Not to the past, but to a future where someone is relying on me.
"I'm from the future, Ollie," I admitted. "I'm from the twenty-first century. That's where I belong right now."
I watched him search my eyes for the truth. His brows scrunched as he chose whether to believe me or not, probably focusing on my make-believe head injury again. Cutting through his doubt, I placed his hands on the side of my face, fingertips on my temples.
"Here, check and see. I'm not injured. I'm not crazy. I'm from a time in the future and I somehow got dragged back to the past. Hundreds of years back." I chuckled without humor.
He didn't waste any time, closing his eyes and concentrating on my head. It took him longer than it took for my arm because he was refusing to accept that I was fine and therefore telling the truth. When he finally gave up, he rocked back onto his heels and stared, dissecting me and my story.
"You're from the future?" He asked.
"I'm from the future," I replied. Then I laughed at the absurdity. I sagged into the couch cushions mentally exhausted.
"How?"
"A clock. I think. I'm learning as I go, but I was messing with a clock before I appeared on the hill. How else would it have happened?"
"John." He sounded like he was still clinging to that excuse by a thread.
"Yeah, you mentioned that name before. Who's John?"
Ollie sat down beside me and leaned back closing his eyes. "John Proctor. He can shift things. Objects can be moved from one place to another with a thought. I've only ever seen him move objects though, not people. And his limit is pushed anytime he moves something from Salem Town to Salem Village."
"Add in the fact that I have no idea who that guy is. I'm thinking it's the clock." I pointed a finger up like I just made a great point. There was no point right now though. Was any of this real?
"So, do we need to find the clock?" He asked.
"I'm learning as I go, remember." He snorted and chuckled at me. There was something else on my mind now that we were sitting down, and the situation was trying to sink in. "Why does 1692 sound so familiar?" I questioned out loud half thinking about the date and half still processing how this even happened.
Then it hit me. Like a train plowing into the car left on the track, I should have realized the whole time it was heading for me. The year sounded familiar because I lived in one of the places that attracted tourists from the events that happened this year.
"The witch trials." I spoke with dread not wanting to be a part of that awful time. "Have they happened yet?" I asked Ollie frantically.
"What?"
"The witch trials, damn it! You know hanging and smooshing and drowning a bunch of innocent people?" His hands gently pulling mine made me realize I had grabbed onto his shirt in my haste.
I was freaking out. I'm a woman and one of the most likely targets for accusing of witchcraft. Especially if I come out saying I'm from the future. It may already be too late.
"I have no idea what the witch trials are. Tessa, calm down. There are no witch trials."
"No witches dying?" I questioned unbelievably. Ollie shook his head slowly.
"I have no idea what a witch is, but I assure you there is no witch trial. People are hanged for their crimes. I haven't seen anyone drown or smoosh another person as a form of persecution either." He rubbed my arms up and down in a soothing gesture. "It's alright, you are safe here." He calmed me somewhat.
I don't understand. We sold the witch trials and printed it in all of our history books. It happened. So, maybe it just hasn't happened yet? I might be safe and can leave before it even takes place. My body relaxed with the knowledge that I didn’t have to witness or be part of that awful section of history.
Voices drifted through the door announcing Nick's arrival. He must have run the whole way there and made whoever he grabbed walk back quickly.
"Why did you have him go get Ellen?"
"Or Willoughby." He added then shrugged before standing. "You're a woman. Figured you needed a woman to fix the problem." He scratched at his beard.
I didn't know whether to find him adorable or be offended that he thought I was having a womanly fit that only another woman could handle. I'm going with adorable thoughts, because he sped out of the room as Ellen entered. Poor man was giving us girl time.
"Are you okay? Nick was worried." She came and sat beside me taking one of my hands. Nick must have stayed outside thinking along the same lines as Ollie.
"Yeah, just..." I trailed off.
I couldn't very well go around telling everyone I'm from the future. If the guy who heals and does something with fire found it hard to believe, I don't want to know how everyone else will react.
"Just a lot to take in quickly is all."
"I can imagine, getting attacked that way. I'm thankful that my brother was there to Heal you." She stated.
"Your brother who was part of the attacking parties," I responded dryly.
"Yes, well..." She patted her head in a nervous gesture. It was then that I noticed the bonnet covering her head that wasn’t there before. You've got to be kidding me, those are real? "Let's work on getting you fixed up. Look towards the future, it's much brighter." She smiled brightly. Wonder where she got that thinking from? I glanced towards the opened door where Ollie and Nick were in a heated discussion.
"Are you older or younger than him?" I gave a head nod outside.
"Older. He tries to be a big brother more often than not. Always has been." She chirped. I'm starting to think she was trying to build him up to sell him. "Raynor and him were always taking care of me."<
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All these names were going to get confusing soon. I didn't always have the best memory and so many new things were being thrown my way.
"Do you have something I can write with?" Maybe I could keep a list, to figure everything out?
"One moment." She went outside to ask her brother. He must have told her because she came back inside and headed towards one of the doors in the hallway.
"I could have gotten that." I stood and followed to help her. I saw she was grabbing some paper and a pencil from a desk beside a bed. "Oh, sorry. Didn't realize it was his bedroom."
"I've got it. Oh, but feel free to look around. He keeps his home clean, and there's nothing for him to hide."
Yeah, she was up to something. My bets are on her playing matchmaker. Judging by the smaller home, no one else was living here.
I followed her back to the living room, putting the papers on a table close to the couch. The pencil connected with the paper as I started to write, only to realize it was a stick that was hollowed out with no lead in it. It felt different too. Was this a quill?
Ellen then set down some ink that I didn't realize she had. I looked again at the pencil and noticed the stain on the beveled tip. I quickly figured out to dip the stick in the ink and write. That's when a sudden thought hit me; I was in a quill-and-ink situation and I didn't know calligraphy. That's a waste of a perfectly good opportunity.
I wrote out the names I could remember and put them in categories. Hector was with Willoughby, Ellen, and Jane. Ollie and Nicholas were grouped together separately and a line connected Ollie to Ellen's name.
"That's not quite right. We spell them differently." Ellen pointed out.
I then proceeded to have her tell me everyone's correct spelling as I tried to get my jumbled thoughts down. It turns out Ellen is spelled Ellyne, Jane is Jayne, Nicholas was close with Nickolas as the correct spelling, and I somehow got Willoughby right. It's the little things.
"And who is Raynor?" I asked remembering her use of his name previously.
"He is my brother's friend. There are four of them always together actually." Ollie and Nick walked up before we could continue our conversation.