by MK Alexander
“Indeed we are,” he replied and handed me my very own hardhat and toolbox.
“What… where?”
“Uvalde, Texas.”
“Why there?”
“You’ll see,” he said cheerfully enough and started down the staircase.
“Hard jump or soft jump?” I asked.
Fynn tapped his helmet twice and turned to give me a smile. There was little else to do but follow.
Once we arrived, I surveyed the flat surroundings. “Hmm, all this time, I thought it was Kansas… but it’s Texas.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“I think so.”
“Well, there’s work to be done.”
“What?”
“See that oil derrick?”
“Yeah.”
“We must dismantle it, or at the very least, make it face a different direction,” Fynn said and started to rummage through the toolbox.
“Are you sure this is the right place, the right time?”
“Yes, twenty twenty-nine. I’ve thought about it long and hard, the twenty-two years is what gave him away… that, and his vacation.
“His vacation?”
“He traveled to the ranch at the same time each year. I checked my ephemeris and did a few calculations. His celestial moment corresponds to the autumnal equinox.”
I was expecting a huge barbecue, a veritable shindig but all we found was an abandoned shack, tumbleweeds and the broken down tower.
“This bodes well for us,” Fynn commented.
“Why?”
“No Double-D ranch, no Jacob’s Ladder, no family reunion.”
“None of it has happened yet. He hasn’t jumped for the first time,” I guessed out loud.
“You are beginning to catch on, Patrick,” Fynn said and smiled. “Now, please give me a hand with this wrench.”
Fynn and I spent a good part of the day working on the rusty old oil derrick. Luckily for us, it was a flimsy structure. While we couldn’t get it to face in a different direction, Fynn came upon the idea of removing several of the supporting struts. He guessed that eliminating any jump from a certain height would be enough to thwart libra lapsus. All we had to do now was wait.
Several hours later, a man came upon the scene, walking erratically across the flat prairie. I thought he might be drunk. He climbed the old derrick and sat there for a long time, presumably contemplating. Quite suddenly, he rose up on one of the remaining struts and leapt off.
I held out my hand and picked the man up from the dirt.
“Thank you kindly, mister,” he muttered and dusted himself off. “You’re not from around here.”
“No… I’m a tourist.”
“You’ve got a sense of humor too.” He gave me a smirky grin. “The name’s Drummond, Darryl Drummond…” he said and thrust his hand into mine.
***
“Fynn, I’m wondering something, maybe you can help me? I had a strange encounter with the wildlife in the Sand City of the future…”
“What sort of encounter?”
“Hmm, a peaceable kingdom kind of thing.”
“Meaning?”
“Friendly animals, completely unafraid of humans.”
“How can I possibly help with that?”
“Have you ever experienced anything like it before?”
“Well, I’m quite sure animals, and birds in particular, do not have the ability to stare into your eyes and plumb the depths of your soul.”
“Why not?”
“If such were the case, some people would be followed by an entourage of friendly creatures, while others would be avoided with great accuracy.”
“How do you explain it then?”
“Well, I’ve traveled to places where animals have never before encountered a human being… naturally, they are quite unafraid and very curious.”
“You’re telling me that’s what happened.”
“It’s a distinct possibility.”
“Where was this place?”
“For me?"
“Yes.”
“Far to the north, western Canada… I was helping to build the Alaska highway.”
“When was that?”
“The mid nineteen-forties, I seem to think.”
***
I had one final errand, a duty, I called it. Somehow, I had to save Murray from being unfairly flung into the far future. Fynn was against the idea from the start. I thought about the problem for weeks since it was a very tricky problem in concurrency, logistically challenging to say the least.
I didn’t know the exact date when Murray had been kidnapped, though I narrowed it down to mid February. Somehow I would remove him from harm’s way. I had to hard jump into that time— I didn’t dare soft jump, fearing to undo what had been done, fixed, I mean. January of that year seemed like the safest bet. The next day I borrowed Joey Jegal’s metal detector and dug up the Spanish gold Fynn and I had buried all those years ago. A handful was enough, and I walked over to the quarry for a jump. I had this down now, I was sure. I checked Edmund’s compass. The green line was glowing steadily. The button was set to B. I leapt and found myself back in 1933 again, and it was definitely winter. I thought of Elsie of course, but figured it was too soon for another visit. Instead, I cashed in the doubloons for currency, made my way to New York, and bought a first class ticket for the Havana Special, one-way, February 3, 1933.
I walked up to Murray’s apartment for a final time. I slipped an envelope under his door with the train ticket and an irresistible note from “Madame Madeline,” which read:
Murray darling,
Find me in Havana for a wild adventure… See you soon…
Love, Madeline
——
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this story. And now, I implore you to take a moment to click the “like” button, add a few stars, or, if you have the mind to: write a brief review. In the modern world of ebooks, these simple actions mean the difference between life and death. My other books and more information can be found at this link:
http://kmackdesign.com/books/allbooks.html
Thank you.
—MK Alexander
About the author:
MK Alexander has been writing fiction for more than 20 years and has published over ten titles. He is a long-time reporter and editor for various newspapers, and worked for The New York Times for well over ten years. Winner of the BBC Short Story Award. Recent titles include five novels, three novellas, a biography and short story compilation.
Other Titles by MK Alexander:
Sand City
The First Tractus Fynn Mystery. A failing newspaper, a resort town, a time traveling detective... and murder of course.
The Farsi Trilogy
When the CIA has a clever cyber-war program to shut down Iran. But things never go according to plan. Meet Aydin Llewelyn, computer genius, deadbeat and accidental spy. Can he and his ex-girlfriend make it to Tehran and save the day? Find out in this fast-paced, amusing, twisty tale of travel and intrigue.
Jekyll’s Daughter
A faithful sequel to the famous horror classic: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story picks up some 25 years later as Henrietta Jekyll comes upon her father’s old journals and takes it upon herself to recreate his notorious formula with unexpected results.
Genre Jam, Volume One: Death & Injury
A compilation of five short stories resulting in death or grievous harm. A mix of genres, from science fiction to urban fairy tales.
Random Sacrifice
A highly original espionage thriller about Libya, its infamous dictator, and strange events that take place on a summer day in 1981.
My New World A Teenager’s WWII Odyssey
A biography of Mary Cotsis, centered around her World War Two experiences as she escapes from the Nazi Occupation of Greece and travels to America to begin a new life.
MK Alexander, Jump City: Apprentice