Dr. Richards had asked for the report yesterday. The calculations were to assess the star’s current behavior, and any future predictions as close as were possible.
It didn’t seem feasible that he would be the one to deliberately alter her file. Yet, if she was to believe Granger, a lot of bizarre things had been happening at the lab lately.
Confused, she struggled to make sense of it all. She couldn’t imagine what on earth Granger Deene could possibly have in common with a remote star that no one as yet was sure was going to be around for long. Specturne’s behavior was unpredictable, and it was the general consensus that it would simply disappear into another galaxy eventually.
It had to be coincidence, that was all. Nevertheless, she decided, as her pulse quickened, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.
Nerves tingling, she ran the calculations through the program. Every now and again the star was positioned in a direct line between Jupiter and Earth. It had been determined that when this happened, for reasons as yet unexplained, a beam of light penetrated the atmosphere, hitting the earth for the space of five seconds.
Approximately a month later, the star would again be in line with the planet, producing the same phenomenon. Roughly six months after that, the process was repeated. This had happened twice so far. At intervals of six months, the star beamed its light to Earth twice within the month.
Corie remembered the excitement the first time the scientists had discovered the evidence of the beam. She had been the one assigned to determine the point of impact—a remote, uninhabited island in the Pacific. Everyone had been amazed that the beam had hit land at all, with all that water around.
The scientists’ findings were still under wraps, classified information. After that, Corie had heard no more about it. Not much had been said about the star’s second appearance, and she assumed that since there appeared to be no spectacular results, the Powers That Be had simply lost interest.
Until, apparently, a week ago.
Staring at the screen, Corie’s pulse quickened. The star’s current behavior. According to her own report, there had been a lineup with Jupiter a week ago.
Using the altered statistics on her hard disk, Corie ran the calculations through the program. The predicted location of the beam’s target showed an area of dense jungle in Thailand.
Her heart began to thump as she changed the directory to the floppy disk with the original information. The floppy drive hummed and buzzed, then offered up the information.
On June 12, Specturne’s beam had collided with Earth at a point somewhere in the United States.
Her fingers were unsteady on the keys as she typed out another command. The answer seemed to jump out at her. Pennsylvania.
She had heard the rumors, of course, but she hadn’t believed them. The concept had been too wild even to consider for one moment. Yet somehow, she knew, even as she typed in the command what she would see.
Granger’s voice echoed in her mind, harsh and commanding, shouting something in that odd, sometimes stilted, old-fashioned way he had of speaking. The rebels have us surrounded.
The words appeared on the screen in front of her, looking so mundane, she almost laughed. Specturne’s beam of light had hit an open field. Near a place called Cemetery Hill...on the battlefield of Gettysburg.
* * *
Granger awoke with a start, knowing instinctively that he was alone in the house. His glance at the clock told him he had slept late. Corie would be at work by now.
He showered quickly, stopping only to swallow down a bowl of cereal before starting work on the house. The dreams of the night before still tormented him. He remembered almost all of it now.
Only the last piece was missing, the events that led up to him waking up in a science laboratory in a small town on the New Jersey coast.
And that was only a small part of it. How the rest could have happened, he couldn’t even begin to imagine. Maybe when he could remember all of it, he would understand more about what had happened to him.
Right now, he wanted to get as much work done on the house as possible. Sooner or later they would track him down, and he did not want to be in Corie’s house if and when that happened. He had to protect her at all costs.
He worked quickly, sweating with the exertion as he smoothed the pale blue striped paper onto the walls. With grim determination he kept his visions uppermost in his mind, hoping to find the missing pieces.
He wasn’t having much success, but at least it helped to keep his mind from dwelling on Corie, and the pain he knew he would suffer when he had to leave her.
When the telephone rang downstairs he had no idea it was so late. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts he had completely forgotten about lunch. Pounding down the stairs, he heard the pause after the second ring, and just reached the living room as the telephone began ringing again.
Snatching up the receiver, he took a steadying breath. This time he remembered to keep his tone soft as he said cautiously, “Corie?”
Her voice sounded strange when she spoke in his ear. “I just wanted to know how things are there.”
“Things are very well. I have finished two of the walls and have started on the third. The wallpaper looks very nice, it should be a pretty room when it’s finished.”
“Thanks.” She hesitated and he frowned, alerted by the tense pause.
“Is something wrong?” he asked sharply. “You’re not in any trouble are you?”
“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just... I was just wondering if you’d remembered anything else. You were talking a lot in your sleep last night and I thought—”
“You heard me?” He hadn’t meant to sound so sharp. Cursing himself for his impatience, he added quietly, “I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”
“I... You didn’t. I wasn’t sleeping very well myself. I couldn’t hear what you said, of course.”
He wondered if she heard the relief in his voice when he said, “I’m sorry, Corie. I’ll let you know if and when I remember anything of any significance. Meanwhile, please don’t worry yourself on my behalf.”
“All right.” She paused, and he had the odd feeling she desperately needed to tell him something. Then she added, “I’ll be home by 5:30, unless I’m loaded down with new reports. I’ll see you then.”
She hung up before he could reply. He stared at the receiver a long time before replacing it. Something was wrong, he could sense it.
His pulse jumped as he pictured someone standing next to her, forcing her to talk to him in order to make sure he would be there when they arrived to pick him up.
He shook his head, chiding himself for his runaway imagination. Of course Corie was nervous. She had a strange man in the house who yelled and shouted in his sleep all night long. It was a wonder she hadn’t thrown him out before now.
Feeling the pangs of hunger, he wandered into the kitchen to find something to eat. He couldn’t let his mind play tricks on him. He had enough problems as it was.
He still couldn’t believe it was possible. But this was almost the 21st century. Anything was possible. The world had come a long way in the last hundred years or so.
He would just have to accept what had happened and deal with it as best he could. He would not tell Corie the truth. She would think he was crazy. And just maybe he was.
* * *
Corie sat at her desk, her chin propped in her hands. Rumors, that was all they had been. Wild stories made up by the jokesters who would do anything for a laugh.
After all, time travel was something you read about in fantasy novels, or watched on a screen in a darkened movie theater. Things like that just didn’t happen in real life.
And yet, somehow it all fell into place. She had first heard the rumors while working in the main lab in Philadelphia. Whispers heard at the water fountain or in the ladies’ room, about the top secret project the scientists were working on—research into traveling through time.
After all, the believers had earnestly arg
ued, scientists had conquered the barriers of sound, space and light, why not time?
She had been one of the skeptics, of course. Good old down-to-earth Corie Trenton, deeply entrenched in scientific fact and scornful of illogical fallacies that had nothing to do with the real world.
She had been working on the Specturne project at the time and was too fascinated with the marvels of new discoveries in a world yet unexplored to pay much attention to the ridiculous speculation.
Corie reached for a pencil, and began aimlessly doodling on the yellow pad in front of her. Now that she came to think about it, shortly after her report on Specturne was finished was when she’d been offered the surprisingly lucrative post at the Cape May branch. To get her away from the main office?
Her pencil dug into the paper as she added a chimney to the uneven house she’d drawn. She couldn’t accept that. The position had been posted on the bulletin board. She’d seen it and applied. There had been no other applicants, she’d been told, since no one wanted to move to a remote coastal town to live.
It had seemed like the perfect answer to her, after everything that had happened. Peace and quiet, and the chance to start a new life. Then again, her bosses knew about her personal problems. They could have predicted she would jump at the chance to leave town and start again somewhere new.
Well, if what she suspected was a fact, she could say goodbye to peace and quiet. Granger Deene would be as hot as a chili pepper, and she would be as much involved as he was.
She felt a chill when she thought about the lengths the scientists had gone to in order to make him forget what had happened to him. What were their intentions, for heaven’s sake? Did they think they could keep him drugged for the rest of his life so he wouldn’t know where he came from?
The sinister thought intruded, despite her best efforts to prevent it. Just maybe, they were simply keeping him quiet until such time as it was possible to get rid of him without any questions being asked.
In the meantime they would be able to study his reactions, he would be invaluable to the project. And what then? Destroy him when he was no longer any use to them?
There was no one she could go to for help, Corie thought desperately. Who would believe her strange story? Any proof she might have would be destroyed long before the proper authorities could step in. Whoever the proper authorities might be.
This could be a national secret, not just a scientific one. If so, both she and Granger Deene were in deep trouble. The worst part of all this was not knowing for sure if Granger knew what had happened.
What was it he’d said? Don’t ask me to tell you, I can’t right now. I’m having a tough time believing it myself. And it’s better that you don’t know.
If he had been zapped from the past, how could he possibly comprehend what had happened to him? But then Granger was an intelligent man. It was possible that he already knew, and was keeping it from her. In which case, it was time they both put their cards on the table.
The only way she was going to help him, if, God willing, she was able to help him, was if they both were completely honest with each other. It was time she found out exactly how much Granger did remember.
* * *
Corie broiled a steak for Granger that evening, her mind jumping with the possibilities of how to deal with the subject. She had already decided that she would tell him everything she knew, in the hopes that he would do the same for her.
He sat quietly in the kitchen while she cooked, while she chatted about anything that came into her head. Realizing now that he would not comprehend much about what went on outside the walls of the house, she was careful to mention only things he would understand. It wasn’t easy.
She had always maintained that problems were better solved on a full stomach, and so she struggled through the meal, determined to make light conversation until her head ached with the tension.
Finally, Granger put down his fork. “You are a remarkable cook, Corie. That had to be the best steak I have ever tasted.”
She managed a smile as she thanked him. Now that the time to talk had arrived, she wasn’t sure where to start. “It’s more likely that you’ve forgotten the food you’ve eaten in the past,” she said lightly. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”
He studied her face for a long moment. “What happened, Corie?” he said at last.
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “What happened when?”
“Today, at the laboratory. I can tell something is wrong. If it concerns me I want to know what it is.”
Unable to escape his intense gaze, she said hesitantly, “I did some checking on the computer this afternoon. I was looking to see if anything unusual had happened about the time you would have arrived at the lab.”
He was very still now, watching her closely. “And?”
“And,” she said carefully, “I found some information on a new star that has recently been discovered. Its name is Specturne.”
“A new star,” he repeated, his expression suggesting he didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about.
Giving up the attempt to go slowly, Corie leaned forward and said urgently, “Granger, you must tell me what you have remembered. It’s vital.”
She could see a pulse beating in his jaw as he looked at her. “You know,” he said simply.
She nodded, her heart hammering against her ribs. “I don’t know how, yet. I only know it happened.”
His shoulders sagged as he slumped back in his chair. “I thought I was crazy.”
“I thought I was, too.” Corie shook her head, still grappling with the improbability of the whole mess. Trying to actually put it into words made it seem so outlandish. She felt as if she were acting a part in a play, speaking words she couldn’t really believe in. Yet the words had to be said.
“I believe you were zapped from Gettysburg, on June 12. The scientists must have been waiting for the beam, they predicted where it would hit. Imagine their surprise when you popped up out of nowhere.”
“I imagine it must have been quite a shock,” Granger said dryly.
“I’m sorry.” Corie tried to suppress her excitement. “I know how tragic and horrifying this must be for you. But the scientific side of me is in awe of this whole crazy thing. Imagine me, talking to the very first time traveler from the past. It just boggles my mind.”
“Forgive me if I don’t share in your enthusiasm,” Granger said, giving her one of his purposeful looks. “The question now is, how do I get back?”
Corie looked at him unhappily. “I don’t know the answer to that, Granger. I wish I did.”
“But you can find out?”
She stared at him, realizing how much she would miss him. Up until that moment, the concept of sending him back hadn’t occurred to her. Of course he had to go back. He belonged in another time, another world. “If it’s possible,” she said, already feeling the ache of loss beginning to spread, “I’ll find the answer somehow.”
She could see the apprehension in his eyes when he slowly nodded. “Thank you.”
She wanted to reach out and touch his face. Her arms ached to hold him, to comfort him, to reassure him. Her rush of tenderness was so overwhelming, she felt a tear forming, and blinked it back.
Damn, she thought, doing her best to compose her face. When had that happened? It was just as well he didn’t belong here in her world. She didn’t need these kind of complications. Not now. Now that she’d come to terms with her life and what she wanted from it.
Aware that Granger had said something she hadn’t heard, she pulled her thoughts together. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, “I was thinking about how I can tackle this problem.”
“I asked if this computer of yours can find a way to send me back.”
She had to stop thinking about herself now, and concentrate on his needs. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I can only tell you I’ll try everything I know. The problem is, I’m no scientist. I just do the research. I’m limited t
o what I can do, unless there is a way I can get into Dr. Richards’s classified files. The more I think about it the more I’m convinced he’s involved in all this.”
“I don’t want you taking any risks,” Granger said sharply. “I won’t be responsible for placing you in danger.”
“I may have to take risks if we are to find a way to send you back.” Corie got to her feet and began stacking the plates. “The important thing is not to let them know where you are. Even if they find out I know what’s going on, they won’t necessarily know that you are in my house.”
“And what happens to you if you succeed in sending me back? Afterward, I mean.”
She shrugged, and carried the plates to the sink. “Once we have achieved that, once you are safely back where you belong, there won’t be much point in them doing anything to me.”
“But you will know what happened.” Granger said, standing up. “You could tell the world.”
“And who’s going to believe me? Think about it.”
He didn’t answer, but looked at her in a helpless kind of way that started the ache again. In an effort to ignore the pain, she dumped the plates into the sink, then pulled down the door of the dishwasher.
“How much have you remembered?” she asked, as she began stacking the plates in the racks. “Perhaps if we know what happened when you were zapped, it will help us figure out a way to get you back.”
“I remember pretty much everything, up to a point.” His expression changed and he stood quite still, as if struck by a thought.
Corie stared at him, her heart beginning to thud again. “What is it?”
“Is it possible that in this...transition...the days could have been altered?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Granger stared at her thoughtfully. “You said that I arrived in this place on June 12.”
“Yes.” Briefly, Corie explained about Specturne, knowing much of it would go over his head.
“But that’s impossible,” Granger said slowly, after she had finished speaking. “I remember very clearly being in Gettysburg on June 30. It’s one of the last things I do remember.”
So Little Time Page 11