by Tim O'Rourke
Karl got the distinct impression that Sergeant Shaw was trying to goad him in some way. He glanced at Lisa and Selina, who were still by the workstation. Selina still had the constant smirk on her face. Lisa was watching him intently. As if being able to sense Karl’s rising frustration with Sergeant Shaw, Lisa slowly shook her head. It was as if she was telling him not to let himself be riled.
Heeding Lisa’s silent warning, Karl looked at Shaw. “I’m quite happy with my new posting.”
“Good,” Shaw said, still watching him—appraising him. “So, did you meet Chief Tracer?”
“Yes,” Karl said.
“What did he say?” Shaw asked, her eyes still fixed firmly on him.
“Not much,” Karl said nonchalantly. “He seemed to be busy. Too busy to invite me in and show me around.”
“And why would he?” Selina asked from the other side of the office.
Karl glanced at her.
“Chief Tracer is a busy man,” she continued. “Too busy to show you around, but I’m happy to do so.”
No thanks, Karl was tempted to say, but bit his tongue.
“Yes, that’s a good idea, Selina,” Shaw said with a smile. “Perhaps you would like to show Officer Potter about the station. Show him where everything is and make him feel at home.”
Karl glanced at Lisa. He would have much preferred to have had her undertake his guided tour of the station. As if being able to read his thoughts, Lisa simply shrugged her shoulders as if the decision was out of her hands.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The year 2067…
Annora was thrown from her seat and landed with a thump in the aisle. “Ow! That hurt!” she cried out.
“Give me your hand,” Noah yelled, staggering to his feet. He stooped forward at the waist and reached for her.
Annora curled her fingers around his and he pulled her to her feet. The carriage rocked violently to and fro. A deafening wail came from beneath the train. It sounded like the Scorpion Steam was screaming in pain. There was a scraping sound as if the wheels beneath the train were dragging against something other than tracks. The windows on both sides of the carriage illuminated as sparks flew up from beneath the train and then rained down. The train shook again, and Annora was thrown into Noah’s arms. She clung to him as the carriage lurched and nearly toppled over. The Scorpion Steam began to slow, and again it made a high-pitched wailing sound as the brakes were applied. Cutlery, along with cups, saucers, and teapots, were thrown clear of the tables and smashed against the walls and the floor. The lanterns flickered, throwing the carriage into darkness, then light again.
Gradually, the train came to a shuddering and grinding halt. The carriage listed once more before settling. Still holding Annora close, Noah cocked his head, listening for any further sounds. When none came, he smiled at Annora.
“See? That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
“That was terrifying,” she moaned. “I thought I was going to die—again!”
“Get used to that feeling,” he said, easing her out of his arms.
As Annora went to straighten her skirt and blouse, Noah raced out of the carriage and into the vestibule. While he was gone, Annora realised that she was no longer wearing her flared denim skirt, flower-power shirt, and knee-high boots. Just like her clothes had changed when she had stepped into the Night Diner and into 1973, she was now wearing something completely different—a long, black leather coat. Although the leather was soft to touch, and a bit like the strange material that covered her umbrella, it creaked as she moved her arms and twisted at the waist. Beneath the coat she wore a black T-shirt with a V-neck. On her legs she wore black trousers, which were similar to denim, but not quite the same. The material was softer and clung to her hips and thighs so tightly that she could be mistaken for wearing nothing more than a pair of tights. On her feet she wore boots that stopped at the ankles.
“I think we got away with it,” she heard Noah say.
Annora glanced up to see Noah at the end of the carriage.
“Got away with what?” she asked.
“Pushing into 2067 without causing too much damage to the train.” He disappeared out of the carriage, then suddenly reappeared. He looked Annora up and down. “You look very nice, by the way.” Then he was gone again, disappearing back into the vestibule.
Snatching up the umbrella, Annora headed down the aisle. As she reached the vestibule at the end of the carriage, she discovered that Noah had thrown open the door and was climbing out. When he was standing on the ground, he opened his arms and looked up at Annora.
“Jump down,” he said.
Annora tucked the umbrella under her arm, then dropped down out of the carriage doorway. True to his word, Noah caught hold of her in his arms, before setting her down on the ground. She looked back along the length of the train and could see that the carriages had come out of alignment and now formed a zigzag shape across the dark and featureless landscape the train now stood on. The very end carriage had almost toppled over onto its side. From where she stood, Annora could see much of the underside of that particular carriage.
“Well, we got here safe enough, I just hope I can get the train back,” Noah said, taking off his cap and scratching his head. “Just as I said, there aren’t any tracks.”
Looking off into the distance, Annora could see the outline of a mountain range, the peaks highlighted by moonlight. She could also see a cluster of twinkling lights that were some miles away. Apart from the mountains and the distant lights, the landscape was barren and remote.
“I don’t remember any of this,” she said, more to herself than Noah.
He stepped away from the side of the train, stopping next to her. He followed her stare in the direction of the lights. He knew it was Outpost 71 they could see far off in the distance. “You won’t remember,” he said. “As far as the layers are concerned, you were never here. The past life you had in 2067 has been wiped away—any trace of you will have been forgotten.”
Annora looked at him. “Will Karl Potter have forgotten me, too?”
“Maybe, but in time he will for sure,” Noah said. “When you meet again, it will be like for the first time.”
“Which direction should we head in?” Annora asked.
“We aren’t going anywhere. I’m not coming with you, Annora. This is as far as I go.”
“But—” Annora started, sounding shocked.
“My job was to push you into 2067,” he said. “I’ve done that now—eventually.”
“But where should I go? What should I do?” Annora asked, heart beginning to race at the thought of being stranded nearly fifty years from home.
“Head that way, toward Outpost 71,” he said, pointing in the direction of the far off lights that shimmered in the dark. “Find the Night Diner and you’ll find Karl Potter.”
“And what then?” she asked.
“The rest is up to you and Karl from that moment on,” Noah said. “Even I don’t know what the future holds for you now. You travelled backward, not forward, remember? Everything that once was has now changed.” Without saying another word, Noah began to climb back onto the train.
“Will I ever see you again?” she called up to him.
“I hope so, Annora Snow.” He smiled back at her. “I would be really glad if we did.” He then climbed into the carriage, swinging the door shut behind him.
Almost at once, smoke began to tumble for the train’s funnel. It roared like a wild beast before slowly chugging forward across the hard-panned ground. The rear carriage rocked before falling back onto its wheels. Steam blew out from beneath the wheels, blinding Annora. She momentarily closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the Scorpion Steam had gone.
Annora stood alone in the vast and barren wasteland. She felt the gentle patter of rain against her. Shaking open the umbrella, she raised it above her, then set off in the direction of Outpost 71. It wasn’t long before she came across a road sign that floated above her in the air
. Some of the neon lights were broken and others spat sparks into the night sky. Despite the broken lights, she could clearly see that the sign read Welcome to Outpost 71. But she could also see that written beneath this were a faded set of words that also read Welcome to Rock Shore.
A shiver rippled down her spine as she realised she had seen that sign before—fifty years ago as she had headed into Rock Shore in search of a new life and adventure. She had certainly now found both. With the umbrella protecting her from the rain, Annora continued to head toward the outpost. She hadn’t gone very much further when she heard a sound above her. At first she thought that perhaps it was the sound of thunder and an approaching storm. But when she looked up, she was startled to see two winged people swooping out of the night sky toward her.
Not knowing who they were or if they wanted to cause her any harm, she instinctively held the umbrella before her like a makeshift shield, just like she had done in the cloakroom when fighting off Nik Seth. Sheltering behind the umbrella, she watched the two winged creatures land on the ground just feet from her.
“You’re Annora Snow, right?” one of them said.
Confused as to how anyone in 2067 could possibly know her, as she had been told that her previous life here had been wiped away, she peered around the edge of the umbrella. She could see that one of the winged strangers was male, and the other was female. Even in the pale moonlight, Annora could see that they were both very beautiful.
“Yes, I’m Annora Snow. Who wants to know?” she said.
“We do,” the male said, his voice blunt and direct.
“Who are you?” Annora asked.
“My name’s Potter,” he said.
Hearing this, Annora lowered the umbrella. She narrowed her eyes at him, and with her heart racing, she said, “Are you Karl?”
“No, we’re Karl’s parents,” the beautiful young woman said. “I’m Kiera Hudson.”
To be continued…
Karl Potter (The Man Who Loved Snow)
Kiera Hudson Series Four: Book 2
Now Available to Pre-order!
More books by Tim O’Rourke
Kiera Hudson Series One
Vampire Shift (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 1
Vampire Wake (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 2
Vampire Hunt (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 3
Vampire Breed (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 4
Wolf House (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 5
Vampire Hollows (Kiera Hudson Series 1) Book 6
Kiera Hudson Series Two
Dead Flesh (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 1
Dead Night (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 2
Dead Angels (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 3
Dead Statues (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 4
Dead Seth (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 5
Dead Wolf (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 6
Dead Water (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 7
Dead Push (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 8
Dead Lost (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 9
Dead End (Kiera Hudson Series 2) Book 10
Kiera Hudson Series Three
The Creeping Men (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 1
The Lethal Infected (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 2
The Adoring Artist (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 3
The Secret Identity (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 4
The White Wolf (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 5
The Origins of Cara (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 6
The Final Push (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 7
The Underground Switch (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 8
The Last Elder (Kiera Hudson Series Three) Book 9
Kiera Hudson Series Four
Annora Snow (The Girl Who travelled Backward) Book 1
The Kiera Hudson Prequels
The Kiera Hudson Prequels (Book One)
The Kiera Hudson Prequels (Book Two)
Kiera Hudson & Sammy Carter
Vampire Twin (Pushed Trilogy) Book 1
Vampire Chronicle (Pushed Trilogy) Book 2
The Alternate World of Kiera Hudson
Wolf Shift
The Beautiful Immortals
The Beautiful Immortals (Book One)
The Beautiful Immortals (Book Two)
The Beautiful Immortals (Book Three)
The Beautiful Immortals (Book Four)
The Beautiful Immortals (Book Five)
The Beautiful Immortals (Book Six)
The Laura Pepper Trilogy
Vampires of Fogmin Moor (Book One)
Vampires of Fogmin Moor (Book Two)
Vampires of Fogmin Moor (Book Three)
The Mirror Realm (The Lacey Swift Series)
The Mirror Realm (Book One)
The Mirror Realm (Book Two)
The Mirror Realm (Book Three)
The Mirror Realm (Book Four)
Moon Trilogy
Moonlight (Moon Trilogy) Book 1
Moonbeam (Moon Trilogy) Book 2
Moonshine (Moon Trilogy) Book 3
The Clockwork Immortals
Stranger (Part One)
Stranger (Part Two)
The Jack Seth Novellas
Hollow Pit (Book One)
Black Hill Farm (Books 1 & 2)
Black Hill Farm (Book 1)
Black Hill Farm: Andy’s Diary (Book 2)
Sidney Hart Novels
Witch (A Sidney Hart Novel) Book 1
Yellow (A Sidney Hart Novel) Book 2
The Tessa Dark Trilogy
Stilts (Book 1)
Zip (Book 2)
The Mechanic
The Mechanic
The Dark Side of Nightfall Trilogy
The Dark Side of Nightfall (Book One)
The Dark Side of Nightfall (Book Two)
The Dark Side of Nightfall (Book Three)
Samantha Carter Series
Vampire Seeker (Book One)
Vampire Flappers (Book Two)
Vampire Watchmen (Book Three)
Karl Potter Series
Vampire Outpost 71 (Part One)
Unscathed
Written by Tim O’Rourke & C.J. Pinard
You can contact Tim O’Rourke at
www.facebook.com/timorourkeauthor/ or by email at [email protected]