Between Time

by Bond, Carolyn

  Between Time

  By Carolyn Bond

  Copyright © 2016 by Timepiece Books All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. www.TimepieceBooks.com

  Previously published under the title Eternal Souls.

  Dedication

  For my family for believing in me: Mom and Dad, Jeff and the kids, for lifting me up to chase my dreams, thank you.

  Also, to all the old souls in my ancestry that left a legacy of love and adventure.

  Acknowledgements

  This book would not have been possible without the help of several people who have offered anything from encouragement to editorial advice. Thank you to my husband Jeff for listening to my endless conversations about “what to do next” whether with the storyline or with getting the book published. Thank you for listening as I read you the entire manuscript out loud as I looked for errors. You always listened patiently and I appreciate that.

  Thank you to the people who took the plunge and read my drafts and the original version (Eternal Souls) and gave me invaluable input. I can’t thank you enough: Dawn Chapman, Veronica Brown, Ashley Trautner, Jane Dean, Joan Graves, and Brandie Pagel. You are all going to be awesome Protectors one day!

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE - Ben

  PART ONE

  Chapter 1 – Marie

  Chapter 2 – The Europa Café

  Chapter 3 – A Walk in the Woods

  Chapter 4 – Things in the Shadows

  Chapter 5 – After Effects

  Chapter 6 – Ben’s De-briefing

  Chapter 7 - Seeing with New Eyes

  Chapter 8 – The Others

  Chapter 9 – The Shadows Come

  Chapter 10 - A Last Day Together

  PART TWO

  Chapter 11 - On the Other Side

  Chapter 12 – Safe at the Gathering

  Chapter 13 - Jenny

  Chapter 14 – Life in the Other World

  Chapter 15 – People and Souls in the Hospital

  Chapter 16 – Putting Together the Clues

  Chapter 17 – Hester

  Chapter 18 – A Little Piece of Hell

  Chapter 19 – Marie, the Dark Shadow

  Chapter 20 – Dark Times for Marie

  Chapter 21 – Fighting and Chaos

  Chapter 22 – Over the Side

  Chapter 23 – An Alliance

  Chapter 24 – Koe

  Chapter 25 – Love is the Answer

  Chapter 26 – Making Plans

  Chapter 27 – Sarah Elizabeth’s Watch

  PART III

  Chapter 28 – Free, But Still Lost

  Chapter 29 – Where Do I Belong?

  Chapter 30 – What Comes Around, Goes Around

  Chapter 31 – On the Scent of an Answer

  Chapter 32 - Despair

  Chapter 33 – Lifted Up

  EPILOGUE

  References

  PROLOGUE – BEN

  She shook her head resisting the truth. We watched her argue with her doctor. “You have to be mistaken! I saw it on the ultrasound! It’s bigger than last time. It has to have grown!”

  “No,” the doctor said, “there’s nothing we can do. It may have just been a blighted ovum. It wasn’t a complete embryo.” The doctor sighed and grimaced.

  “But its been 8 weeks. It was real.” She mumbled barely audible.

  We watched her husband stand frozen, the sadness engulfing him. He was helpless to soothe her. The doctor made a note in his chart as the couple shuffled out of the exam room.

  A few hours later, the miscarriage finished. We made a circle around the couple as they held each other crying. We pressed in to protect them. To them, loss is so frightening. They don’t understand…. but then, in a blinding sweep of light, we caught him.

  A young man’s soul broke free. A new life burst into the community of others. He looked at us, scanning each face for answers. Standing in the in-between world that his mother could not see, he looked at her. His face inches from hers. Love washed over him as tears fell down her cheeks, tears for him. He turned to his father, and his eyes followed his father’s arm around her, seeing that his father cared deeply for her, and for him. What wonderful parents they would have been for him. The new soul wanted to tell them he loved them, too, to give them peace, so we helped him. For a brief moment, we opened her eyes to the invisible space between reality and after-life.

  Her heart was open and soft. She sensed a young man standing beside her. He was tall and thin. His soft curly brown hair framed his sweet face. Green eyes looked back at her with a soft glint of joy. He said, “It’ll be okay, mom. I love you. I’ll see you soon,” and then he vanished. She knew this had to be wishful thinking on her part, but still she cherished this memory and held it in her heart.

  Even though a part of her felt lost, she had peace. Though she knew she’d miss this child of hers, she knew deep inside, he wasn’t gone forever.

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER 1 – MARIE

  1990 - Sonora, CA

  He watched from the forest floor, peering up the hillside, up the dorm wall, 3 floors up. He watched her taking deep breaths, closing her eyes. He wondered if she would fall, could he catch her? He was back in the shadows watching as always. He knew Allen would be there with her soon, so, for now, he just watched from the forest floor.

  Marie St. Clair sat on the windowsill with her legs hanging out the window. From her dorm window, on the 3rd floor, she could see straight out over the Ponderosa pine forest in the little valley next to the college. The soft breeze blowing across the Sierra Madre range whistled through the trees and made a haunting song. Her shoulder-length, brown, wavy hair lifted with the rushing sound of air. She closed her hazel eyes and breathed deep. A slight smile curled at the ends of her pink, full lips. The air temperature was slightly cool, but refreshing. Her whimsical, crinkled peasant skirt lifted too, but the leggings underneath kept her warm enough.

  It was so green here. She'd loved living on the coast for several years, but found a feeling of homecoming here in these foothills. Something in her stirred. It reminded her of a place familiar, but she didn't know where.

  The door opened and Allen stood in the living room. He dropped his backpack on the floor and looked at her with a slight scowl of concern. His blue and tan soft plaid shirt, rolled up to his elbows, set off his blond hair and brown eyes. He saw Marie and his eyes crinkled as a natural lop-sided smile lifted his face.

  "One of these days, you're going to fall right out the window," he said. She turned and just smiled and then looked back out across the trees.

  "How tall do you think these trees are? The tips are level with us," she said.

  The dorm was on a ridge around the valley, so the base of the trees was already a long way below the first floor. "Probably a good 100 yards," he said and he strode toward her with long strides of his nearly six foot frame.

  The enormity the trees made her feel safe, even hidden. It seemed like nothing could get her here. The world, to her, was a place to explore and admire for its beauty.

  Allen went to the window and put his arms around her and eased her back inside. While he admired the forest as well, there was no need to fall out a window to enjoy it.

  They had met shortly after the semester started. They soon discovered they were both from Kentucky. Allen McCracken had moved to California right after high school to study forestry. A nature lover himself, he’d always dreamed of living near Yosemite, and this 2-year college was very good and affordable. He planned to transfer to Humboldt State University to finish his degree. He was very bright, 3rd in his
high school class. Geology and earth science always interested him. With his geology degree he could work for the US Geologic Survey or become a forest ranger. Neither paid a fantastic wage, but his love for the forest won out. He’d looked at various options and determined that the Sierra Madre National Forest was a great place to explore. His end goal was to be a ranger in the Yosemite back country.

  He didn’t let her go after he set her softly on the floor. Instead he embraced her tenderly, looking into her eyes like it had been weeks since he saw her. The closeness overtook them and he kissed her deeply as she yielded to his passion. His searching mouth looking for her response found it as her heart swelled with the intoxicating love she felt for him. He gently released her and smiled. They both lingered in the physical proximately: the scent of skin, the warmth of closeness, the soft breath of the other on their cheek.

  Marie closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the feeling of warm safety in his embrace. She had never met anyone like him with his down-to-earth nature and no pretenses. His quick mind and sultry gaze was disarming and thrilling. What thrilled her more than anything was his passionate love for her. He couldn’t get enough of her. The fire that drove him to be with her was always smoldering and ready to blaze. She loved it when he would grab her in his arms and kiss her passionately and then smile his crooked grin. His brown eyes would crinkle in the corners showing his mischievous intentions. Allen McCracken was a fire cracker in plain clothes.

  After grappling with the conflicting desires to kiss Marie all day and the rumbling in his stomach, he decided the will to live won out.

  "So, are you hungry? Let's go in to town and get something to eat," he said.

  "Sure!" She replied. She slipped on her pink Topsider sneakers, already laced, and grabbed her purse. They closed the door behind them and headed to Allen's Jeep in the parking lot.

  “Hi, Allen! Oh, hi, Marie.” Lydia, Marie’s old roommate, said as she nearly bumped face first into Allen. Her long blond hair had flung forward and covered her face as she abruptly stopped. She reached up and tousled it back and to the side, smiling seductively and hanging onto Allen’s gaze with her eyes just a bit too long.

  “Hi, Lydia,” Allen responded flatly. Marie looked Lydia up and down and scrunched up her nose. Lydia shifted her gaze at Marie and smirked.

  “Come on, Allen,” Marie nudged, looking back as Lydia as they continued down the sidewalk to the Jeep.

  After they were in the vehicle and backing up, Marie remarked, “Did you see her? Hussy! Don’t talk to her. She’s trouble. I always knew she was a skank!”

  Allen laughed out loud. “Seriously, Marie” he looked deep in her eyes, “you know I love you.”

  “Hmph!” Marie’s face remained snarled for another 30 seconds or so before Allen tried to distract her.

  “The Dendrology field trip sounds like it will be fun. Dr. Peterson is taking us to a creek that originates as an underground river.”

  “Hm. I suppose so.” The snarl uncurled into just a smirk. Allen tried to sneak a peek at her to gauge her mood.

  “He said there are some nice ferns at the mouth of the cave. Maybe we could go back there another time, after the field trip, and have a picnic.”

  She smiled a bit now, “That sounds nice. I love you, Allen. I just don’t understand why some people are so rude. Obviously she knows we have been together for months. She doesn’t listen to her shoulder angel at all!” They smiled at that and Marie relaxed and looked out the window. The overwhelming beauty of the straight tall pines and azure blue sky above was intoxicating to her. Marie felt a surge of peace and happiness just to live in that beautiful countryside and go to college with Allen.

  It was a small community college, but since it was a remote location, the school had about 100 dorm apartments. Some students were from as far away as San Francisco or Southern California, or like Allen, Kentucky. The school was about 5 miles out of town, too far to walk on the winding mountain roads. Small town life blossomed in Sonora. Most of the shops were little “mom and pop” stores, although there was one major grocery store, Safeway, who’s “e” and “w” had been burned out for at least a year and the students jokingly called it “Saf-ay”. There was also a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a McDonalds. Other than that, the only brand name you could find was the sign in a parking lot that designated the lot as a Greyhound Bus stop. You had to buy tickets in the convenience store that shared the parking lot.

  Sonora was originally a town settled by gold miners. The famous 1849 gold rush brought prospectors to the area with a fever for wealth. Most of the prospectors were regular men looking to make their fortune, but greed was rampant and caused more than one gun fight over a mine shaft or stretch of the shallow river that ran through town. It was a time of the truly the Wild West, but it was also over-populated and under-policed. Just one decent nugget would be enough to make dreams come true.

  It was strange to think of those miners, living in tents and wading in the river beds with their pans. The scenery had not changed much, so it was easy to imagine them out there as you drove along the winding road to town. Marie thought occasionally she could see someone in the water, but on closer look, realized she was imagining things.

  The tall pines covered much of the high foothill land here. Underneath the high canopy of branches, Marie could look across the forest floor strewn with yellow needles. Large boulders were all around, some as big as a house. In the creek beds, piles of small rounded stones snaked along ravines or down small valleys. It was cold and dry at this time in late February, but soon the spring rains would come. Beyond the forest, dry yellow grass, rumpled from winter snow, softened the rolling landscape around majestic oak trees.

  The Jeep came around a curve where a dry creek bed crossed under the road. Marie looked up the creek as her chestnut wavy hair wafted over her shoulder in the wind. An odd feeling struck her: cold and lonely. While most of the time, it was wonderful living here, there were times when you'd have a feeling like you were trespassing. Stories of wild men, hidden in the caves in the hills, who still believed there was more gold here were well-known. When she first moved here, the staff at the college warned her not to go off into the woods alone and never trespass in an area where it looked like someone might be camping or “squatting”. Some people came to the area to get away from city life and pan for gold and they really didn't want to be found. Or worse, they might think you were going to find "their" gold. They had no compunction about shooting first and asking questions later.

  Marie shook off the tingling prickles crawling up her neck. She hated that feeling she would get that someone was watching her. She thought sometimes she must be delusional so she never told anyone when she felt it. She wondered if other people felt it but just didn’t say anything either. She looked over at Allen who seemed focused on the road. He didn’t seem to notice anything but the road. She liked that he was so logical, but there were times she wondered how he didn’t see the intuitive parts of life. She turned her gaze back out the open window of the Jeep. As they drove she couldn’t help but stare into the darkened shadows of bushes and trees. She could almost make out a face, this time of a man with wavy brown hair, but surely not. It was just tricks of her mind trying to make something out of nothing.

  Trying to distract herself, she wondered what the special was at the Europa Café today, but then decided she’d get her usual club sandwich. They were regulars at the café, always getting a club sandwich platter. It was a comfortable place to grab a bite and visit with friends.

  As Allen drove through the little downtown street, Marie looked at the faces of the people walking on the side walk. She decided she would feel out what Allen thought of the vibes she got.

  “Allen, do you think we have guardian angels that, you know, protect us from evil? Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I feel like we aren’t alone.”

  “No,” said Allen, “I’m not really convinced there is anything else here except us animals.”

  �
��Do you believe in an afterlife?

  “Oh, I don’t know. I guess maybe. Sometimes I think religion and all that is just a bunch of made up stuff to make people feel better. There is nothing scientific about it. You can’t test it. No one really knows for sure.”

  “I guess. But, miracles happen. I have heard about things that didn’t make sense or should never have happened. Something had to cause them.”

  “I think there is a logical explanation that we just don’t know about. I certainly can’t go through life thinking demons are trying to get me all the time. Besides, why would they? Don’t they have anything better to do than run around and scare us to death?”

  “I don’t know. Sometimes I,” she paused and decided to dive in even if he did think she was crazy, “I just feel something, you know? I feel creepy sensations and I feel like I’m not alone. Sometimes I feel like my ancestors watch me to see what the current generation is up to. It’s a little crazy, but it happens often to me.”

  “Hm. I guess. I have never felt that. I can say that I have been somewhere before where my family has lived for a long time and I can imagine the overlapping of moments that have happened. I can imagine my dad as a boy running along a road and now I’m on that road and there are layers of life.”

  “That not quite the same. They are like memories. This is a real being, a person, there, other than myself, in the same moment in time.”

  “Yeah, I know what you are trying to say. I just don’t think I have ever felt that.”

  Marie thought for a minute. “One time I was sitting on some swings at a playground in the middle of the night. I could swear I saw movement in the darkness and then I felt the most frightening sense of impending danger. It was like a sixth sense.”

  “It was probably just your subconscious putting together a string of thoughts that ended with a decision to run. You may actually have been in danger from a mugger.”