by R J Johnson
“Mr. Ash will be my point man here in the White House running things for me from now on and you will treat him as my proxy. He has my full confidence. Anything you say to him will instantly be relayed back to me.”
Kline stood, and brushed his suit off, the granite hand clicking softly against the buttons on his suit. “As for you Madame President, I believe Camp David will be far more comfortable for you while Mr. Ash takes care of the business of the country.”
“What of the rest of my staff?” the President asked.
“Oh, was it not clear?” Kline asked, waving a hand at the rest of the President’s staff. Their eyes glazed over, and they immediately stood, lining up to file out of the room.
Shauna felt her mind begin to slip away. Kline’s voice, which had been whispering in her ear ever since he had entered the room was turned up to full volume. Her body began to rebel as she felt the billionaire begin to take control of her thoughts. She didn’t want to lose herself, but it was like trying to hold up against a raging river. Her thoughts were muddied with Kline’s until she could no longer tell where he began and she ended.
Kline smiled, looking at Shauna, once so dutiful to the President. “I’m afraid your staff all work for me now. These two gentlemen will escort you to Camp David.”
Two of the Joint Chiefs of Staff loomed over President Carson, their medals clinking as they grabbed their boss under her arm, lifting her up not-so-gently from her seat.
“What are you doing? Release me!” The President cried out. “Kline! This is never going to work!”
Kline turned and smiled at the President. “My dear, it already has worked.” He moved to the doorway, lingering for a moment, “By the way, you will want to begin a search for a new vice-president.”
The billionaire snapped his fingers and disappeared out of the situation room, leaving the world’s leaders in chaos.
Just as he had planned all along.
Chapter Two
After nearly two hours of digging through snow and ice, Alex stepped into the crystal chamber, hoping to shake off the incredible cold brought on by whatever ice age currently sweeping the planet.
He had asked the time-travel stone to send him back to the point when the Patrons had first arrived on the planet, hoping that he might learn more about the stones and why the Patrons left them for humanity.
From the looks of things, the stone had sent him to a time when there wasn’t much of a civilization on the planet. The snow and weather made it clear enough that he had landed in the middle of some ice age, but beyond that, Alex was clueless as to his current situation.
At least the stone had brought him to a crystral chamber. Not that it mattered much.
From the looks of things, it was abandoned. Which meant, he was either too late to meet the Patrons, or too early. Perhaps the Chambers were just communication platforms.
Alex stomped his feet, trying to warm his body back up. Digging down in the snow had helped keep him warm while he had been outside, but inside the chamber, it was like an ice box that had been untouched for thousands of years.
He thought back to Emily’s description of her experience in the Chamber and how the lights had turned on once she had called out into the darkness.
He felt dumb for calling out into the void, but it was worth a try in case anyone might be listening.
“Hellooo? Patrons?” Alex called out in a sing-song voice. “I’m here for my gift!”
He looked around, still expecting the lights to turn on, and the mysterious pronouncements to begin, but, there was still no response. A small sense of dread began to well up inside Alex’s chest. What if he had thrown himself back in time for nothing?
That’s when he saw it.
The glow was faint, almost negligible, but Alex was certain it was there. He made his way over to the light, gasping slightly when he drew closer.
The stone he had worn around his neck for the better part of the last two weeks was floating in front of him above a podium. As Alex drew closer, the black onyx stone’s blue light began to glow brighter.
He approached the podium, almost reverentially, unsure of what he should do next. The closer he moved to the stone, the brighter it became, until it was almost too much for him to look at.
Alex shielded his eyes and reached for the stone.
The stone shook, the light growing even brighter. Alex cried out, drawing back, but it was too late.
A high-pitched whine filled the crystal chamber, and Alex clapped his hands over his ears to shut out the deafening whine, but it was too loud. It was almost as if it was coming from inside his head rather than any external influence.
He opened his eyes slightly to look at the stone that was now flashing bright blue light all around the chamber. Alex decided, he needed to make his move now lest the stone kill him.
Alex reached for the stone, and just as he touched it, there was an even brighter flash.
He felt himself being sucked into the stone, as if it were pulling him into some great gravity well. His body felt squeezed and bloated all at the same time.
That’s when he realized he had left the chamber and was traveling through a wormhole. He screamed, but no noise emanated from his mouth. He was floating through what looked like a river of blue plasma surrounding him on all sides.
A black dot appeared at the end of the tunnel. Alex felt himself rushing toward it.
He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that wherever he ended up, he would still be able to stop Kline.
Chapter Three
Scott and Christina had been walking along the highway for hours. Because of the paradox her father had created in Hong Kong after traveling back in time, Scott had cautioned Christina that they needed to keep a low profile unless they wanted to be the next ones to nearly destroy the universe. Unfortunately, that meant they couldn’t hitch their way to the nearest town. Scott didn’t trust himself to accidentally screw up history through a slip of the tongue.
Scott felt reasonably good about his theory that they should stay out of history’s way, but after fifteen miles of hiking up the mountain highway to his hometown of Onyx, Scott was beginning to question the merits of staying completely invisible and hailing a passing car.
“You’re falling behind,” Christina grumbled.
“I’m sorry,” Scott said, panting as they crested another hill toward town, “I’m not used to…”
“…Going outside?” Christina said. She instantly regretted the quip after seeing Scott’s face fall. “I’m sorry, that was unnecessary.”
“Well, it’s not as if you’re wrong,” Scott admitted. Ever since his fiancée had died at the hands of Charles Halprin, he hadn’t exactly done much outside at all. Instead he had mostly split his time between working at JPL and his home watching TV, playing video games or surfing the web.
“How much further until we get to town?” Christina asked.
“At least another two miles…” Scott said, pausing with Christina to catch his breath. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been at this altitude. Takes the wind right out of me.”
Christina turned, admiring the scenery. “It’s beautiful. You really grew up here?”
“Me and Alex both,” Scott confirmed. “He was always taking me out on some adventure I didn’t want to go on then either. So, I guess you two have something else in common.”
“Something else?” Christina queried.
“You both are loyal to a fault,” Scott replied. “What you did for your father in Hong Kong…”
Christina shook her head, “I failed in Hong Kong. My father died.”
“Your father was going to die anyway,” Scott said, leaning over still trying to catch his breath.
Christina glanced up at him, confused by what Scott said. It wasn’t until he saw his friend’s face that he realized - William had never told his daughter about the massive tumor in his head.
“What are you talking about?” Christina asked.
“I’m so sorry,
you had no idea…” Scott stammered. He felt like an ass.
“Had no idea about what?” Christina demanded. Her voice was low, but Scott could sense the emotion behind it. He needed to think carefully about what to say next.
But, really, the only thing he could tell Christina was the truth. It wasn’t his place, but there wasn’t anyone else in 1987 that could tell her.
“Your father, he…” His own voice caught, as he realized the impact her father had on him. He and William had grown close while battling Omega in Hong Kong and it was only now that he realized his friend would never return. “He’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors told him that he only had about six months left to live.”
“That’s why…” Christina’s eyes went wide as she put the pieces together. “That’s why the stone turned back time…” Christina whispered. “His wish was for more time.”
“Yeah…” Scott said. “I’m not sure if there was anything you could do for him, stone or not. He was just a man who had no idea how to talk to his family.”
“These goddamn stones…” Christina swore. Tears began running down her cheeks as Scott pulled her in for a hug. Before he died, William had been incredibly candid with him about their relationship – or lack thereof – with his daughter. But, one thing had been clear in every conversation between them. William Ip loved Christina more than life itself.
And he had despised himself for having screwed that relationship up.
But, that was not for Christina’s ears. Not right now anyway.
“He loved you,” Scott said, reaching out to put his arm around her. “That’s all he talked about while we were in Hong Kong. Well, that and how we were going to save you.”
Christina swallowed and wiped away the tears. She looked back to the highway and cleared her throat. “Come on, we’ve only got a few miles left.”
Scott watched her get up and start moving. He could have used another five minutes to rest, but he couldn’t leave Christina. Not when they had so much left to do.
They continued walking down the highway, passing the time with a modified version of punch buggy. Every time Christina saw a vehicle pre-1986, she would call out the year, and punch Scott in the shoulder.
Unfortunately for Scott, he wasn’t exactly what you would call a “car guy” despite designing one for himself. He suffered the indignity, smiling every time she called out a year, and punched him in the shoulder. Scott decided that it was better to let Christina blow off steam rather than talk about what her father had said to him during their time together.
Eventually, Christina and Scott reached the post office, and were dismayed to see a “Closed” sign hanging out front.
“Well, this was a bust,” Christina said, staring at the sign. “Now what?”
Scott felt his stomach start to rumble, and he looked around. “Now we find food.”
Christina rolled her eyes, “That’s your big plan? Listening to your stomach?”
Scott shrugged, “I think better after eating.” He looked Christina over. “Besides, it’s pretty clear we both could use some rest and a meal.”
“Well sure, that’s great idea, but, unless you brought along a wallet full of pre-1987 cash, they’re going to laugh us out of the restaurant.” Christina took out a hundred-dollar bill from the cash she still had from Alex. “The oversized portraits alone are enough to get us thrown in the slammer.”
“What’s your bright idea?” Scott asked, becoming irritated. “Steal?”
Christina shrugged. “I prefer to call it survival.”
“Yeah, but…” Scott looked around to see if anyone was nearby, and lowered his voice, “What if we cause a paradox?”
“What? By eating?” Christina scoffed at this. “I’m as much about protecting the spacetime continuum as anyone else, but, I don’t think a few meals is going to knock the earth off its axis.”
“What if…”
“Stop it,” Christina told him. It was her turn to become irritated. “Either we blow up the world by merely existing in this timeline, or, we’re so insignificant that on the scale of the universe, our actions won’t even register as a hiccup. The mere fact we’re still here and we haven’t seen a paradox develop makes me believe that we have a little leeway here in the past.”
She turned and began walking toward a nearby general store, “I don’t know about you, but, there’s a lot we don’t know about these stones. Kline could be coming after us right now for all we know.”
Scott sighed and began running to catch up with Christina as she approached the entrance to the general store. “Yeah but…”
“Shush,” Christina ordered. Her shoes clicked along the wood deck that looked as if it had been built in the City’s gold rush era. She crouched down, looking around the store, until she spotted a series of pre-made sandwiches in the cooler next to the door.
Christina pointed to the sandwiches and Scott’s mouth began to water. It had been awhile since he’d eaten. He had kind of lost track of time while trying to keep Hong Kong from exploding. The stress along should have helped him lose at least twenty pounds during his ordeal.
“It was your idea to get food,” Christina whispered. “Think you can distract the clerk while I grab a few things?”
Scott swallowed. He was caught between his stomach and his desire to avoid another apocalypse style explosion thanks to a paradox. He weighed the options in his head, finally deciding.
“You distract the clerk,” Scott said, his eyes narrow. “I’ll grab some supplies.”
Christina grinned, and stood up, pulling her shirt down to reveal her ample cleavage. Scott couldn’t help but stare for a moment as she adjusted herself for maximum desirability. Scott hadn’t paid much attention to Christina so far, but, now, he saw her for what she was.
One of the smartest, most beautiful women he’d ever met.
He shook the feeling off. They didn’t have time for his libido. Christina was already moving toward the 19-year-old clerk, leaning down, and placing her arms together to amplify the already generous view she was showing off.
The clerk stood up straight and a crooked smile broke out over his face. Christina smiled back, exuding sex.
“Hey there. Help you with something? Like, finding my phone number?”
Christina giggled at the clerk’s attempts to hit on her. “Actually, I’m looking for directions to the ski resort. Can you point me in the right direction? I’m afraid we’re just lost without our GPS.”
Scott tripped, and shook his head. He glanced over at Christina in alarm. Dropping a reference to a technology that wouldn’t be widely available for another fifteen years was a great way to get found out.
The clerk cocked his head, “GPS?”
Christina’s face dropped as she realized what she’d done. “GPS… is uh… an inside joke about how my friend over there never asks for directions.” She turned, calling over to Scott. “Right?”
“If you say so,” Scott replied, thumping his head against the aisle. Christina turned back to the clerk, pulling open a map while Scott began grabbing anything he could off the shelves. Boxed pasta, pre-made sandwiches, and a selection of TV Dinners – though, they’d have to find a way to heat those up.
But Scott had a pretty good idea about where they could find an oven to use.
“Sure thing,” the clerk reached into a drawer and pulled out a series of maps. “Whereabouts does your friend live?”
“Wildhorse?” Christina said. “Thank you so much.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” the clerk said, trying on his brightest smile. “That’s how we do here in Onyx. Small town friendliness.”
Christina tossed her head back in a musical laugh, her raven black hair splaying out playfully over her shoulders. “Oh well, thank you so much! I think our friend lives in Wildhorse. Do you know it?”
“Should be on the map here,” the clerk said, pushing the paper around. He glanced up, a half smile on his face, “how long are you in town fo
r?”
“Long as it takes I suppose,” Christina said. She leaned back under the pretense of cracking her back, but really her eyes were looking for Scott to give the sign he had stolen enough food for the two of them. For his part, the clerk couldn’t have cared less if Scott was robbing his store blind. He was too busy enjoying the show.
Scott saw what Christina was doing and briefly wondered if he’d ever acted that pathetic in front of a woman before.
Definitely, Scott’s brain replied.
“Shut up brain,” he muttered. He grabbed a nearby bag, and began stuffing in as much food as he could stash. TV dinners, bread, peanut butter and jam along with a few toothbrushes and personal care items. It’d been awhile since they’d had a chance to clean up.
Now all they needed to do was find a good place to crash for a few days without anyone suspecting what’s up.
“Wildhorse… Wildhorse…” the clerk said, looking over the map. “I’m not seeing it on here, but these maps are a few years old.”
“Hmm…” Christina said frowning. “You sure you don’t see…?”
“You know what?” the clerk said, snapping his fingers. “I’m betting you mean the Wildhorse Estates Development.”
“Yes!” Christina squealed in excitement. “That’s the one. How can we get there?”
“You can’t…” the clerk said. “Not really anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Christina asked.
“It’s not built yet…” the clerk replied. “My brother’s working on that job. They’ve got a few of the homes built already, but there’s not much of a road leading up there yet. That’s why there’s no mention on the map.”
“But, people are living there?” she asked.
The clerk shrugged. “I guess a few flatlanders might have their cabins up, sure. But it’s not the easiest time to get there right now. The spring melt is coming through the neighborhood… turns the roads into a lake. They’re kinda cut off from town for the moment.”
Christina glanced back at Scott who was already halfway out the door struggling under the loaded bag he had filled. She nodded to the clerk who had not noticed Scott sneaking out. “Well, thanks anyway. See ya around?”