Sandcastle for Pegasus

by Bob Avey

  Just before the jump was initiated, John, playing no games, deliberately changed his mind and concentrated on the predetermined coordinates he’d memorized.

  CHAPTER TEN

  MARTIN

  May 4, 2020, 2:20 p.m.

  Martin twisted the accelerator, and the Harley gained speed. He’d become comfortable with the bike, his riding skills easing in like an old friend.

  He wondered what might happen if the last few hours could be rearranged and whether his cares might disappear into the scrub oaks dotting the landscape on either side of the road, if things fell back into place the right way. The thought did not bring him comfort. If rearranging was in order, it would need to happen, as Tanner had indicated, in exactly the right time and place.

  And how would he go about doing such a thing? The incident with the shooter in the woods had happened, but Martin wasn’t sure if he or someone else had caused it. For all he knew, he had been caught up in a time slippage phenomena happening independently, completely out of his control.

  Tanner rode ahead, his gray hair twisting like ropes behind him. After overcoming disbelief, he’d slipped easily into accepting the circumstances. Mostly, it was because of his temperament. He was a loner, a biker, and being in trouble was probably second nature to him. He didn’t thrive on conflict, but he wouldn’t shy away from it either. Martin wished he could be more like Tanner in facing turmoil. Wishing it wouldn’t make it happen though. And Tanner wasn’t tasked with facing this problem.

  It’s all on you, Martin. And this time you can’t run away from it.

  Watching Tanner, Martin suspected the man actually thought he might solve things with the .44 stowed in the leather pouch of the Harley. Tanner hadn’t told him much about what else he planned on doing. Martin didn’t think Tanner, or anyone else, could shoot his way out of this one. Not unless the .44 doubled as a time machine. And even if it did, Martin inherently knew, even before Tanner had offered his warning, that tampering with time was no small problem, and doing so would most likely make things worse.

  Miles of asphalt and gravel road unfolded in front of Martin’s handlebars, and as he neared the neighborhood, he feared that whatever forces he had set in motion by changing the past would continue to get worse, eventually spiraling out of control. The only way to stop it was to get back to the starting point wherever that turned out to be. When they reached his house, he pulled halfway up the drive and shut down the Harley.

  The silence that engulfing him reinforced just how out of place Tanner and his bikes seemed in his world. The trouble was, at the moment he felt every bit as misplaced. As the seconds passed, Martin understood Tanner had his fears as well. He’d become uptight when they talked about his niece, Candy. And for him, being here meant facing the possibility that Martin was right about her.

  “Okay, champ. This is it. Now what are we going to do?”

  “I’d better let Susan know we’re here. Then we can have a look around.”

  Martin leaned the bike against its stand and climbed off. The continued silence of the neighborhood unnerved him. It was early afternoon and slightly overcast. By this time, Luke, if indeed he was inside the house, would typically have come out and admired the bikes. Luke had never ridden a motorcycle. The closest thing he’d ever experienced was his lawnmower. However, anything with wheels always intrigued him.

  Martin thought about the doctor’s appointment, and images of Luke still angry and sulking in his room ran through his mind. The incredible silence and seemingly abandoned neighborhood increased his anxiety. The lawn was still neatly maintained, and the hedges trimmed. Then again, he’d only been gone for less than a day. What did he expect, a welcome-home committee?

  What Martin didn’t expect was the apprehensive feeling that overcame him when the front door to his own home swung open. It was Susan who stood in the doorway. However, her hair had gone from reddish brown to blonde. He hadn’t noticed that this morning, which could mean just about anything, but he strongly suspected it had to do with his going back to save Tanner. A couple of steps behind Susan, Luke’s smiling face came into view.

  “Don’t lose your nerve now,” Tanner said, from behind. “Everything will be fine.”

  It wasn’t Martin’s way to display emotion in public or in front of company, though a desire to do so now overcame him as he leaned forward and gave Susan a kiss on the cheek.

  “It’s good to see you,” he said. “You too, Luke.”

  Once inside, Susan fought off a smile and regained her straight face. “Where have you been, Martin? We’ve been worried about you. Luke’s nearly beside himself.” With an expression, which did little to mask her concern, she studied Tanner. “And who is this?”

  “Name’s Tanner, ma’am, Tanner McIntosh.”

  Luke stepped forward. “Hey, Tanner. I like your place. I like the swings.”

  Glancing at Tanner with an I-told-you-so smile, Martin stepped out of the foyer and walked deeper into the house. Susan had met Tanner before, though she obviously didn’t recognize him now. It wasn’t like her. She was good with people and ordinarily had no trouble remembering names and faces.

  “Tanner is a friend, Suze. He goes to our church. We painted houses together during the Day of Caring. You’ve probably forgotten.”

  She gave Martin one of those looks. That hadn’t changed.

  “You could have called,” she said, and then added, “We were worried about you.”

  It was the second time Susan had said that, and Martin wondered why she hadn’t called him. Then again, he guessed it shouldn’t surprise him under the circumstances. Everything was more or less out of sync.

  “Luke’s been asking about his skates,” Susan said.

  Trying to read her expression, Martin stepped closer. They had talked about the skates. Luke was to get them at the party. “It was supposed to be a surprise, remember?”

  “Today’s his birthday, Martin. How long were you going to prolong it?”

  “Until the weekend. We were going to have a double party.”

  From somewhere in the background, Martin heard Luke say, “It’s okay.”

  Avoiding confrontation was at the core of Martin’s behavior, a skill with which he had become adept, and yet he now struggled with feelings of anger, something that was becoming more common lately, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. In fact, he knew he did not. Even Luke, who was, for all practical purposes, a child and therefore self-centered by nature, was stepping forward with a willingness to forego a birthday present, an act of love beyond his understanding to keep the peace.

  “Hey, Luke, do you like motorcycles?”

  It was Tanner. The grisly old biker had pitched in to ease the tension.

  “I like motorcycles.”

  “Well then, come on, sport. I left a couple of good ones sitting on your driveway. I’d be glad to show them to you.”

  “I like motorcycles.”

  “Luke Taylor, you stay right where you are.”

  Martin stepped closer to Susan. Then, in typical fashion, he softly put his hand on her shoulder and gently ran it down her arm, finally grasping her hand. “It will be okay, Suze. Tanner’s all right, and Luke will enjoy seeing the bikes. You know how he is with things like that.”

  Susan didn’t answer, but pursed her lips, cocked her head slightly, and nodded. When Luke and his new friend closed the door, leaving Martin and Susan alone in the house, she pulled her hand free from Martin’s grasp and took a step back.

  “Okay, Martin, you have some explaining to do.”

  “All right,” he said, “but where do I start?”

  “Telling me who the tattooed hippie is might be
a good place. And while you’re at it, explain why you’re hanging around with Sam Elliot’s evil twin and not at work where I thought you were.”

  Given his circumstances and what he’d been through, Martin was surprised when a smile crossed his lips, but Susan’s description of Tanner delighted him. He, too, had always thought of the biker as looking like Sam Elliot, only much tougher.

  “Like I said, he’s a friend from church. I know he looks a little rough, but Pastor Meadows always said that Jesus didn’t hang around with the saints.”

  She put her hands on her hips, never a good sign. “What about the rest? Why were you not at work?”

  “I called you after I’d dropped Luke off here at the house, remember? I told you I was going to pick up a gift for Candy.”

  “But you didn’t do that did you? You went to God knows where and picked up a Hell’s Angel. I’m surprised you don’t have a couple new tattoos running up your arm. And I still don’t know who Candy is.”

  Martin’s head swirled. He could barely keep it straight, and he was the one causing it. “That’s the problem, Susan. Nobody remembers her, except for me.”

  Let’s not forget about Luke. His memories seem to be a little crossed-over as well.

  “And Tanner only thinks she’s dead. He showed me her grave.”

  “For God’s sake, Martin, isn’t that enough? What are you putting that poor man through, and why?”

  Trying to calm himself, Martin took a moment to answer. He loved Susan with all of his heart, and he didn’t want to scream at her, but that’s just what he felt like doing.

  “Because,” he said, much more calmly than he thought possible, “Candy is not supposed to be dead. She’s Luke’s friend. We were planning on going to her party in a couple weeks. It was to be held at Tanner’s place. He’s her uncle. Luke loves the playground equipment Tanner has on his property. You’ve been there, too, Susan. You have met Tanner before.”

  “No, Martin, I haven’t. And Chris and Jennifer don’t have children.”

  “Then how do you explain the grave? Who is buried there if Candy Barnes is not their daughter? Even Tanner, Jennifer’s little brother, admits that much—that they had a child, even if it’s in a world where she died a few days after being born.”

  “I haven’t seen the grave, Martin. Like everything else you’ve thrown at me, the only thing I have to take for it is your word.”

  With that, Martin lost a few degrees of confidence. If he couldn’t convince his wife that everything had been turned upside down, how would he ever explain it well enough to gain even a small amount of understanding from others?

  “My word used to be enough,” he said, “but I guess that’s changed.”

  “No,” she said, “It hasn’t. “But how am I supposed to believe you when you’re speaking incoherent babble? Come on, Martin, telling me this morning that you’ve already taken Luke to his appointment when you hadn’t, children that don’t exist, spooky gravesites, and friends I’ve never met, what am I supposed to think?”

  Martin walked to the large windows that looked over the back patio and yard. Even though he’d known it was too early, he’d let Luke convince him to put out the hummingbird feeders. It would probably be another month before the tiny birds showed up. He put up a feeder last year for the first time because a friend had given it to him and Susan. Had he known the birds would fascinate Luke, he would have done it years ago.

  “I’m not crazy, Susan, though I can’t say I blame you for thinking as much. I suppose, if I were in your shoes, I’d think the same thing. I wish this hadn’t happened to me, wasn’t happening to me. But it is. God knows why, but it is.”

  Knowing he should stop there, but not being able to because he’d opened the gates, Martin continued. “Worse than that, I think I’m responsible or at least involved in some way. Luke and I did go to his appointment, Susan. We were talking, Luke telling me some disturbing things that had happened with Doctor Stewart. I guess I let him take too much of my attention.”

  “Martin, please stop. This is nonsense. You’ve been under a lot of stress. Dear God, you’re having some kind of breakdown.”

  “We had a wreck, Susan, a head-on collision.”

  “Can’t you see how crazy that is? Luke is just fine, and you’re here aren’t you, talking to me, and what about your car? Your car was fine this morning. I saw it myself, watched you and Luke pull out of the garage. There was no accident, no car wreck.”

  Turning away from the window, Martin walked back to Susan. He gently took both of her hands in his. “We crashed, Susan, with enough impact to kill us both. I’m here because I wished so hard for it not to happen the way it was going to. I came back, Susan. I let the air out of Doctor Stewart’s car tires and prevented him from coming after us. I stopped the crash.”

  Susan’s face lost several shades of color. “I think you need to talk to someone, Martin. I think you need to see a doctor.”

  A feeling of helplessness snaked through Martin. Susan wasn’t buying it, not one bit. He let go of her hands. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. He turned away and started toward the door. “I’d better check on Luke, see how he’s doing.”

  “I love you, Martin. I’m just worried about you, and that’s all. Will you do what I suggested, get some help? This is serious, sugar. If you want, I’ll make a few calls and find out what we should do.”

  As he reached the door, Martin turned back. “Hold off on that for a while, okay? Let me make a few calls on my own. Just a few days, that’s all I ask.”

  Susan’s expression softened but not much; she was fighting to hold her emotions in check.

  “I don’t think that’s wise, sugar. This is serious. You could hurt yourself, maybe even harm others. I don’t know.”

  “I would never hurt anyone, Susan. You know me better than that. Give me the rest of the day. That’s not much to ask. I’ll take a day off tomorrow. We’ll search the Internet, make a few calls.”

  “All right, Martin. But I don’t like it. Seems to me this is pretty serious and nothing to play around with.”

  You’ve no idea, Martin thought. “Thanks,” he said. “It’ll all work out, Suze. I promise. I’ll get Luke.”

  Before Susan could mount another objection, Martin opened the door, stepped outside, and walked over to the driveway where Luke and Tanner were busy admiring the Harleys.

  “Tanner my friend.”

  “I can see that,” Martin said. “He’s an interesting fellow, isn’t he? What do you think of the Harleys?”

  “I like motorcycles. I like Tanner.”

  Martin motioned for Tanner to follow him a few feet away from the bikes. Luke glanced their way, but as Martin had hoped, he was too enchanted with the motorcycles to leave them just yet.

  “We’ve got some trouble,” Martin said. “I tried to tell Susan what was going on. She didn’t take it well. She wants me to see a doctor, and she’s serious, wanting to call around right now, but I convinced her to give me a few hours, maybe do something tomorrow. I can’t let that happen.”

  Tanner nodded. “If you hadn’t just saved my life, I might have agreed with her. She’s a good person, Martin. You’ve done well. You can’t blame her.”

  “I know, but visiting a shrink right now is not a good idea.”

  “We’ve got other problems,” Tanner said. “Luke asked me about the playground equipment, like you did. He also asked about Candy. I won’t go so far as to say he knows what’s going on, but he knows something up. I don’t know how much he’s told Susan. Could be why she’s so upset. She might even call the cops.”

  “I don’t think she’d do that,” Martin said, “but she is serious
about the doctor thing. It probably wouldn’t hurt to humor her and go along with it, but something tells me my time would be better spent elsewhere. No pun intended. But time matters, no matter what line you’re in.”

  “Candy scared. She told me.”

  It was Luke. Martin had no idea how long he’d been listening. “What do you mean, Candy is scared, Luke? Have you seen her?”

  “Not today. But the other day. I talked to her on my phone. She scared. She no want to go back. I scared too. I no go back.”

  Martin looked straight into Tanner’s eyes. “If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what would. What do I do? I can’t leave Luke and Susan alone like this, but I think I might have to. Tanner, if I’ve caused any of this, had a hand in any of it, I have no choice but to try to put things back where they belong, even if the end result is not to my liking.”

  Tanner rubbed his chin and nodded. “I reckon you could come home with me, stay there tonight. You’ve already done what you do once there. No reason why you can’t do it again. I’ve been thinking, though. You’ve got a good thing here, with the family and all. And my life’s not so bad. I’ve got Becker and a business I love, working on the Harleys. Why not leave things the way they are and just roll with it?”

  “That same thought has crossed my mind several times. How about I keep the Harley overnight, bring it back first thing in the morning?”

  “Not a problem, sport. Now you’re talking.”

  “It shouldn’t take much to smooth things over with Susan.”

  Tanner nodded. “See you tomorrow then.”

  Martin hugged Luke and then started toward the door. He decided he would stop talking about it for a while. Maybe everything would turn out okay.

  As Martin crossed the threshold, however, an odd sensation of walking through a fine mist, like walking too close to a waterfall, came over him. He turned to ask Luke if he had felt it too, but Luke was not there.