Sem- Adventures Across Time

by T S Wieland

  Ally’s stomach sank. Her own heartache was momentarily forgotten, having been replaced by worry and anxiety. The thought of her newest friend in danger threatened to chip away at the wall of protection she was trying to rebuild. She didn’t want to lose anyone else today.

  “Uh… Why don’t you put those clothes up in your room and rest for a while, dear,” said Vila, glancing at the stairs to the basement.

  “Uh…Okay,” murmured Ally as Vila hurried after Otto and Merek.

  Ally stood in the main foyer by herself. She could hear the conversation downstairs escalating. She considered rushing downstairs herself but knew there was nothing she could really do.

  “What did you do, Merek!?” yelled Otto.

  “Nothing! I just did what he told me to!” Merek replied. Ally couldn’t stand and wait. She dropped her clothes to the floor and darted over to the basement stairs, hurrying down to where she could see the commotion from the railing. Vila stood on the stair landing, watching Merek and Otto hover over the computer.

  “Jesus, Merek! How long has he been in there? He only has five minutes left!”

  “I don’t know, thirty minutes, maybe? He only had forty to start! Whatever we did must have shortened the time!”

  “Forty minutes?! That’s hardly enough time at all!”

  “I told him not to, but he said he had to go. He said he wasn’t going to abandon anyone while he could still at least try to do something!”

  “Ugh! I’m going to kill him when he gets back!” grumbled Otto as he ran to the ARC and began searching the power lines frantically. “Which one of these did you patch into the amplifier, Merek?”

  Merek typed rapidly at the computer, desperately trying to undo what he had done. “I don’t know! Sem did it before he left.”

  The computer beeped. Otto ran back over to the computer and reached passed Merek to press the accept button.

  “Merek! Open the damn doorway right now! This kid’s dying on me! He’s not gonna make it if you don’t hurry up!” yelled Sem over the speakers.

  “We’re working on it, kid! Just hold on!” yelled Otto into the microphone. Otto ran back over to the ARC and frantically searched for the right cord to unplug. Merek typed in a series of numbers on the keyboard, grunting as the computer continued to give him a red error message each time he finished. Vila and Ally watched in dread from the stairs.

  Vila held her hands close to her face, trembling. “Hurry, Otto!”

  “I’m going as fast as I can!” he yelled back as he frantically sorted through the colored cords. “I have to find the right one, or this won’t work at all!”

  “He’s got a minute and a half left,” yelled Merek.

  Otto looked around the back of the ARC, fumbling through the vast bundle of cables. A new red cable stuck out from the others. Grabbing it, Otto hesitated for a moment, knowing that if it was the wrong one, Sem’s life, the life of the kid he was trying to save, and all those innocent people living in a distant world would be lost forever.

  Otto worked his hands to the end of the cable plugged into the back of the ARC. He stood up and grabbed hold of the end of it. “Merek! Did he use a red cable?” asked Otto, clutching the cord in his hand.

  “I don’t know, I think so.”

  “Don’t think! Did he or did he not?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Vila! What was Aria’s favorite color?” shouted Otto.

  “What? Why does that matter?” asked Merek, still typing.

  “Vila!”

  Vila lowered her hands from her mouth and yelled out the answer.

  “Red! Red! She loved red!”

  Otto took a breath. He tugged on the red cable and unplugged it from the ARC. He stepped back and watched in anticipation.

  The small starlight in the middle remained unchanged while rings around it continued to spin. Otto took in a relieved breath. “Okay, it’s good! Now change the code back,” said Otto, knowing there was still one last thing to do before the problem was solved.

  “I’m trying! I can’t remember the last four-lines.” Merek desperately typed away at the computer as once more it beeped. Merek hit the accept button again.

  Sem’s voice came on over the speakers. “Otto! Hurry!”

  Otto ran over to the computer and shoved Merek out of the way. Merek toppled to the floor with a loud thud and lay there watching Otto jab at the keyboard, his teeth grinding as he watched the screen. The lines around Otto’s face furrowed into grooves. His fingers trembled over the keyboard with clear and haunting memories.

  Ally continued clutch on to the stair railing with unbearable anticipation.

  Merek stood up and looked at the clock on the computer. Thirty-six seconds left… Thirty-five… Thirty-four…

  Everyone stood quietly holding their breath. Only the hum of the ARC and Otto’s desperate typing could be heard throughout the room. Vila covered her mouth again with her hands, as Merek stood staring at Otto, afraid of getting in his way again.

  Twenty-nine seconds… Twenty-eight… The computer beeped again.

  “OTTO!”

  Twenty-five . . .

  Twenty-four . . .

  “Got it!” Otto yelled as he looked over at the machine.

  The ARC groaned as the mechanical arms began to stretch out, and starlight filled the room. The ARC’s buzzing grew louder as everyone covered their eyes and turned away from the blinding aura of light that engulfed them.

  A faint shadow stumbled into the room and onto the floor, accompanied by a loud thud. The light faded. Everyone could see Sem on the floor and a little boy unconscious next to him, wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. Sem lay with the goggles wrapped around his neck, out of breath, covered in blood.

  “Kid! You alright?” Otto cried as he ran over to him and knelt down on the floor.

  Sem let out a wet cough.

  Otto turned and looked over at Vila. “Vila, quick!”

  Merek and Vila hurried over to Otto. Together they lifted the boy up off the floor using the blanket as a gurney and carried him over to the desk. Vila cleared away the papers and made a space for the boy to lay on.

  “Merek, grab the aid kit off the wall next to you,” said Otto, gently unfolding the blanket to examine the boy's injuries. “Ally, help Sem.”

  Ally looked over at Otto from the stairs, unsure of what to do. Fear snuck up behind her and wrapped its doubtful arms around her. She felt the urge to turn and run away from the tragedy below her. Her chest grew tight, her heart racing. She took a step back up the stairs and stopped . . .

  This was her moment. The time had finally come. Now was the moment she had to stop living in fear and act. She had been afraid of what could happen every day of her life, and now she knew what would happen if she didn’t help. She was still trembling with fear, but she wasn’t going to run anymore.

  Ally ran down the stairs to Sem and knelt down at his side. His left pant leg was covered in blood, shredded and torn by what appeared to be large bite marks, as if something had been gnawing at him.

  “I need a tourniquet. He’s bleeding out!” she called out.

  “Use this,” Otto replied. He grabbed a piece of wiring from the floor and threw it over to her.

  Merek ran back over to the desk with the aid kit in his hands. Otto grabbed it from him and placed it on the table next to Vila. Vila removed her sweater and pressed it to the boy’s side, trying to stanch the bleeding.

  Otto pulled his hands away, allowing Vila more room. He grabbed Merek by the collar and stared at him with a deep scowl. “You endanger Sem’s life or this machine like that again, and I’ll make sure you never get back to your brother in one piece.”

  “Otto! Stop! Let him go,” yelled Vila. “It’s no one's fault.”

  Ally watched Otto let go of Merek as she finished tying the wire around Sem’s leg. Otto turned around and bent down to help Sem, still shooting glares over at Merek. Merek stood looking at him still, his face crestfallen.

&nb
sp; “You alright, kid?” asked Otto calmly, looking over at Sem’s leg.

  “No, I’m bleeding,” Sem chuckled.

  Otto lifted away the pieces of torn pant leg to get a better look. “You get mauled by a dog or something?”

  “A mountain lion,” said Sem as he coughed in exhaustion.

  “A lion?” replied Otto. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t manage just one mangy house cat?”

  Sem laughed and dissolved into another coughing fit. “Please, no dad jokes. They hurt more than my leg at the moment.”

  “Well, it doesn’t look too bad. Luckily for you and unfortunate for us. Ally, can you take him upstairs, and I’ll be up in a minute to clean those bites? Merek, help her out.”

  Ally nodded and stood up to grab Sem by the arm. “Allow me to return the favor,” Ally said to Sem, draping his arm over her shoulder. Merek grabbed him by the other arm and helped carry him over towards the stairs.

  “Sorry, Sem,” muttered Merek.

  “It’s not your fault, Merek.”

  Otto turned towards Vila, who stood next to the boy on the desk. “Can you help him?”

  Vila looked at him and gave a look of concern. “I think so. I’ve slowed down the bleeding, but we need to get him to the hospital soon for him to have any real chance of making it.”

  “Alright… I’ll call an ambulance and send Merek back down to help.” Otto ran over to the phone on the wall, hoping another life wouldn’t be lost on his hands.

  Chapter 11

  Haunting Pasts and Old Memories

  “Ah! Sheesh! What is that stuff? Acid?” said Sem sitting on the dining room table.

  “Only the best for you, kid,” said Otto, kneeling down as he cleaned out the bite marks on Sem’s leg.

  Ally stood in the kitchen around the corner, soaking a dish towel in hot water from the sink. She looked through the doorway over Sem’s shoulder to see Merek carrying the young boy with Vila close at his side to the ambulance waiting out front.

  “Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital, too?” asked Ally, looking over at Sem’s leg.

  “Na… He’s not that hurt, and he’s been through worse. No point in bothering a doctor over a few house cat bites,” said Otto.

  “A hundred-fifty-pound house cat,” Sem muttered.

  Otto chuckled as he continued to clean Sem’s wounds. “So, were you attacked before or after you found the boy?”

  “Neither. I found him while he was being attacked. I kicked the mountain lion off him and it took a chomp at my leg. Then it fell over a cliff next to us and disappeared.”

  “You kicked a mountain lion over a cliff?” asked Ally.

  “Okay… It was more like a steep hill.”

  Ally walked back in from the kitchen and handed Sem the wet towel. “Here, you look like you could use this to wash your face.”

  Sem took the towel from her and wiped away the dirt and blood from his neck and arms. He winced in pain. “Ah! Rub some rust and dirt in there while you’re at it!”

  “Whiner. I’d think you’d be used to it by now, kid,” Otto replied.

  “Alright. Why don’t you go out there next time, and I’ll patch you up after you come out? Assuming there’s anything left of you,” said Sem as he scrunched his face.

  “Thankfully, I never have to. No offense, kid.” Otto wiped the alcohol pad across the last bite mark.

  “None taken. Ah!”

  “Why is that?” asked Ally.

  “I’m not trained to go out, and Sem is. He’s the only one around here who knows how to blend in and survive. The last one now.”

  Sem glared up at Otto. Otto glanced up at him and continued to clean his wounds.

  “And you're trained to manage the machine?” replied Ally.

  “Yup. As best as I can. Merek’s meant to serve as my replacement one day if anything happens to me. Okay, you're done. You’ll need to stay off it for a little while,” said Otto, wrapping a bandage around Sem’s leg.

  “Hopefully there are no alerts till then,” said Sem hopping down from the table.

  “Who’s set to be Sem’s replacement then?” asked Ally out of curiosity.

  Sem and Otto sat quietly for a moment, clearly ignoring her question with shifting eyes. Sem handed Ally the now-dirty towel. “Think the kid will make it?” asked Sem.

  Otto took a deep breath and shrugged. He stood up and piled the dirty bandages together. “Maybe. Depends on how fast they can get him to the hospital. If you were even a minute later, I doubt he would have even had a fighting chance.”

  “Ah!” grunted Sem stretching his leg.

  “Careful, kid.” Otto grabbed Sem’s arm and lifted it over his neck. Ally placed the dirty rag down on the table and grabbed Sem’s other arm.

  “Ugh…I need sleep,” said Sem as they hobbled over to the stairs.

  The three of them worked their way up the stairs one step at a time. Sem winced with each step, feeling a sharp pain surge through his leg. They reached the top of the steps and turned the corner over to Sem’s room. Ally let go of Sem for a moment and opened the door to help him inside.

  Sem’s room was littered with clothes. Otto set Sem down on the side of the bed and let go of his arm. Ally looked around the room, noticing several paintings and artifacts resting on his shelves.

  Sem lay back on his bed and rested his head on his pillow. “Ah… Bed, did I ever tell you how amazing you are?” mumbled Sem closing his eyes.

  “You going to be alright?” asked Otto.

  “Yeah. Just give me a few hours. Or maybe a few years.”

  Ally followed Otto out of the room, stopping briefly at the door to look at a picture on the end table that caught her eye.

  In a fine, decorated frame was a photo of an older man with pale blue eyes and long, dark-gray hair, smiling at the camera. Sem stood under his right arm, and a woman with red hair and green eyes was wrapped under the older man’s left arm. Ally gazed at the photo with a curiosity as to who the two people were.

  “I’ll be up again in a few hours to check on your leg. Try not to move too much,” said Otto.

  Sem’s eyes were already closed. He was snoring—or pretending to snore. Ally slipped out of the room, and Otto shut the door behind her. Otto and Ally both walked back down the stairs, as Otto breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

  “Ah, I need a good stiff drink,” said Otto as he walked back towards the kitchen. “Care to join me on the porch?”

  “Sure,” Ally replied, following him into the kitchen.

  ◆◆◆

  Ally leaned against the wood railing on the back porch, watching the suns set behind the sky of bridges and islands. She gazed at the two suns on the horizon, seemingly bound to one another for eternity. The side door to the porch opened. Otto walked out with a glass and a bottle in his hands.

  “Glad to see this was still in the cabinet. Best brandy in Asphodel. Although there is only one. Saved by an old friend especially for days like this. Care for some?”

  Ally shook her head. “I’m fine. Thanks, though.”

  Otto walked over to Ally and filled the glass of ice in his hand. He placed the bottle on the ground next to him and took a big sip from his glass. He leaned out over the balcony next to her. “Amazing sight isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. Surreal almost.”

  “That was my first thought, too. Thought I had died and gone to heaven at first. I kept asking myself every day when I woke up if it was all just one, big, extravagant dream. Some nights I even imagined I was home with my wife and daughters, only to wake up and still find myself here. Like waking up from reality into a nightmare.”

  “You had a family?”

  “Have… Still do, out there somewhere. A wife and two daughters.”

  Ally felt foolish for speaking in a past tense. She looked over feeling compelled to ask more. “What are their names?”

  “My daughters?” asked Otto as he took another drink.

  “Yeah.”

  Otto crunched
a piece of ice from his drink, looking out from the balcony with a smile on his face. “Zoe and Emma. My wife's name is Laura.”

  “How old were they when you . . .”

  Otto sighed and looked down at his drink.

  “I don’t mean to pry,” said Ally, glancing down.

  “No, it’s alright, kiddo. It’s good to talk about them. Keeps me motivated to get that machine working the way we need it to.”

  Otto took another sip from his glass and looked up from the railing. “Let’s see. Zoe was eighteen, just about ready to move off to college in Georgia. Emma was sixteen and still in high school.”

  “Sem mentioned something about everyone being from different periods in time. What—well, I guess I should say, ‘when’? No . . .”

  “You want to know what year I’m from?” Otto replied.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it was . . . 1984. No, ‘86. 1986”

  “Wow, that isn’t too far off from my own time.”

  “Twenty-first century, right?” asked Otto.

  “Yeah... How’d you…?”

  Otto took another drink from his glass and chuckled. “I could tell right away when you arrived. After a while, you start to learn people's habits and mannerisms. Some people say ‘hey,’ others might say ‘good morrow, friend.’ Some people walk with an old stick up their ass, and others walk slouched like they’ve been looking down at their phone for too long.”

  “You could make a career out of it, like guessing people's weight.”

  Otto laughed. “With the way things are going right now, that sounds like a decent career choice.”

  Ally snickered and gazed back out to the horizon. It was the first time she had enjoyed a good laugh since she’d arrived in Asphodel. So far, it had been nothing but heart-stopping sights and emotional roller coasters. “So, where did you guys live?”

  “Albuquerque. I worked at a research company down there. My wife is a middle-school teacher. Or at least I hope she still is.”

  Otto took long sip from his glass and sat down on the chair behind him. He grunted as the strong after taste ran across his tongue.

  “Ahh… I was forty-one when I disappeared. That day still haunts me more than any other.”