Hauser continued laughing for a few more moments before he wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at me. “All right, Jack. I’ll let you off the hook. You just have to be near your mark for the rosary to work.”
“That’s it? I just have to have the rosary with me and be near him?” I asked.
“No, you still have to have it around your neck, but just be near him and think of the future. Touching him, or her for that matter, helps, but it’s not necessary.”
“All right, then. I think I can handle that.”
“One more thing, Jack. The rosary can be a curse at times, because of the horrific nature of our job. Sometimes it is really better to experience the death just once. Just think about that.”
I nodded, understanding Hauser’s advice completely.
“Thanks, Hauser. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go give this bird a whirl,” I said as I twirled the rosary around my fingers.
“Knock yourself out, kid. We’ll catch up later,” Hauser said and then vanished. I straighten myself up and vanished a moment later.
Chapter 5
Back in Noah’s apartment, the circus that I’d escaped from earlier had diminished, and the order of the house was much more akin to what I’d experienced over the previous three weeks. Ashley was reading, and the kids were playing in their rooms. Noah was on his computer, studying the screen intently. I scanned the room, looking for the Thing of Evil, a.k.a. the puppy, but he was nowhere in sight. Trusting that he was most likely in with the kids, I figured I’d better make my move quickly, before he noticed me here and began his howling tirade all over.
Stepping up to Noah, I briefly glanced at his computer screen. At first look he appeared to be on some kind of antigovernment website, but upon closer inspection, it looked to be some kind of weapons and ammo information site. Noah was a hunter? Who knew? Surprised at Noah’s choice of hobbies, I shifted my focus to the task at hand. I straightened myself, checking that the rosary was securely suspended around my neck. I took a deep breath, then placed my hand firmly on Noah’s head. The moment my fingers landed upon his tightly cut hair, a warming sensation shot up through my hand and into my body. A momentary instinct to release my grasp crossed my mind, but I held fast. I wanted to do this, needed to see for myself what lay ahead for Noah.
As I stood next to him, my hand melding with his soul, the room started to darken around me. I blinked several times, trying to determine whether it was my own vision faltering or if it was my surroundings changing abruptly. Looking about, I felt as if it were a combination of both, and there was no stopping it. I let it run its course, my hand firmly resting on Noah’s head. Then, suddenly, Noah and I were ripped from the apartment and carried through time and space to what appeared to be an urban battleground.
I began to walk around, trying to discover exactly where we had gone. Unfortunately, nothing looked familiar. We were outside, and Noah wasn’t alone. He was lying on the ground, holding some kind of foreign assault rifle. Well, it was foreign to me at least. He was dressed in army-green fatigues, as was his companion. The two lay behind some form of barricade, staring down the barrel of their weapons.
“Do you see Harvey? He should have made it to the safe zone by now,” Noah said.
“Affirmative. He just entered the facility. Now we wait. We’ll know if the trade was all worth it shortly,” replied Noah’s companion.
“All right. Hold this position while I work my way around their flank. If you see a shot, take it. Even if it means that Harvey is hit, it’ll be collateral damage. We both know that their leader will never go for a fair exchange. If I’m on the other side when all hell breaks loose, I’ll at least have a chance to grab the box in the confusion,” Noah said as he rolled to his side and began a low crawl down the left side of the barricade.
As soon as Noah was out of sight, I tried to make sense of what the hell was happening. I’d have known if Noah was in some reserve division of the military by something around the apartment or by a conversation, but I recalled nothing. Maybe he was involved in some kind of militia, and this is where he’d lose his life. Intrigued, I chased after Noah with no concern for my own concealment.
Once around the side of the barricade, I was surprised to see that Noah had made it halfway down the outer edge of the surrounding field. His spiderlike moves were awe-inspiring. I trotted to catch up to him, and as I did, I could see the safe zone that he’d referred to earlier. It was a relatively small cube-shaped structure about twenty yards from our position. Around the base of the building was a four-foot perimeter marked in yellow paint on the ground. Outside that perimeter there was open ground for at least twenty feet in all directions. There was no sneaking up on the place. There was a single door on the adjacent wall, and it was closed. There were no windows that I could see.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement on the opposite side of the safe house. It appeared to be another soldier dressed in brown camouflage-style clothing. He also wore a helmet and carried a rifle. I moved closer and saw that he wasn’t alone. He was followed by at least three more brown-clothed troops.
“Shit!” I yelled. It was a trap. Had to be. I looked back at Noah, and just as I did, he rose up slightly to get a better view of the central safe house. Unfortunately for him, his low stance prohibited him from seeing the opposing forces working their way directly toward him.
Just then, his companion whistled a soft bird call. Noah nodded and motioned his buddy to move along the opposite side. They were going in. I knew I couldn’t do a thing, so a leaned against a large tree trunk. As I did so, I noticed a green slime coating the entire tree base. I knew it was there and was most likely sticky, but I didn’t move. I was in a future dream of some sort, and it wasn’t real to me.
Refocusing my attention on Noah, I saw he’d moved an additional fifteen feet up the side flank and was about to make a huge mistake. I leaned forward anxiously as he rose up slightly. The enemy soldiers fired the first shot. It flew high and to the right, and Noah returned fire. Several shots perforated the shrubbery on the far side of the safe zone. With his finger off the trigger, he rose once more to see if he had actually hit any of the enemy. But just as his head peeked above his own foliage barricade, a single shot flew right toward him. It landed on its mark, directly in the center of Noah’s forehead. If it hadn’t been for the plastic face shield, Noah’s face would have been completely covered in paintball goo.
Noah stood in protest and a barrage of shots flew in his direction, peppering his body with all shades of paint. Green, yellow, orange. I could hear Noah whimper slightly at the stings as he was decimated by the hits. So much for capturing his soul tomorrow, I thought.
Disappointed with the outcome of my first trip into the future, I decided to return to his apartment. I thought about my hand resting on Noah’s head back in his apartment and envisioned me lifting it slightly. As I did so, I felt like I was being yanked backward, and before I could catch my balance, I blacked out momentarily.
When I came to, I was standing in Noah’s apartment, alone. Noah was no longer at his desk, and the computer screen was now dark. I moved back into the living room and found Ashley fast asleep on the couch. Everyone else was gone, including the dog. I concluded that Noah and the kids must have taken him for a walk in the park. Knowing what the next twenty-four hours had in store, I didn’t feel the need to follow along with Noah’s every move, so I thought of my park bench and vanished.
Chapter 6
I wasn’t terribly surprised to find Hauser sitting on the bench when I appeared. He was reading a book, and by his facial expressions it must have been some gripping tale. I sat quietly next to him, not wanting to interrupt his concentration, but when it appeared that he didn’t even realize that I was back, I cleared my throat. His focus remained on the printed words, but he held up a solitary finger in my direction, asking for a moment. I gave him two.
“And, done!” Hauser declared as he snapped the book shut.
; “What are you reading?” I asked.
“This, my friend, is The Origin of Species. Have you heard of it?”
“Um, yeah. I’m sure it was required reading back in college. Darwin, right?”
Hauser turned the book over and nodded. “What do you know? It is Darwin. Fantastically influential, wouldn’t you say?”
I nodded, although it had been many years since I’d actually seen a copy. “Yeah, sure.”
Hauser dropped the book on the bench between us and peered at me questioningly. “So? How’d it go?”
“Well, he’s not going to die in the next twenty-four hours.”
“No, what did you think of the adventure? Quite a ride, huh?”
I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, another new experience, that’s for sure.”
“That’s it? Boy, you’ve just come closer to time travel than any of the living population would believe, and all you can say is, ‘Yeah, sure’?”
“What do you want me to say? That it was a mind-blowing ride and that my life will be forever changed? Well, it was interesting jumping forward like that, but once we got to twenty-four hours ahead, things were just . . . weird. I could see Noah clearly, but everything else was kind of . . . kind of blurry. And all I could do was watch. I couldn’t interact or change anything.”
“Didn’t you play around with the time tracking? Tell me you did something,” Hauser said.
“Time what? I just thought it was a twenty-four hour advance glimpse and nothing more. You didn’t mention anything about controls.”
“Oh? It must have slipped my mind. Sorry ‘bout that,” Hauser said, dropping his chin slightly. “So, yeah. You can control a lot of what you see. You can only go forward twenty-four hours from your current time, but you can rewind and experience anything over again that is within the time window. I sometimes think of an hour ahead and then set it to a speed of five times normal. That way, I catch most everything that is happening, but I’m skipping most of the boring, monotonous stuff.”
“Wait, how do I do that?”
“When you start, just think of the time of day and you’re whisked off. Once there, just say or think the commands clearly. Like fast-forward or rewind. You can even pause it and move around a moment frozen in time.”
“Okay, now I understand your excitement. If I’d had that information to begin with, I think I might have stayed there longer.”
“Now you know. I’ll bet your mind will be blown on your next trip.”
I tilted my head from side to side but said nothing.
Hauser noticed, and asked, “What? Is all this boring you somehow? Wow, you’re a hard man to please.”
“No, I think you’re right. It will certainly be an improvement. But why would I want to pause a moment in the future if it’s always going to be just a blurred environment? Any way to clear that up?”
“I know what you’re talking about. The future you are seeing is an estimation of projected occurrences. Even though the information you are experiencing is almost inevitable, sometimes things don’t always occur as planned. So the images you see are a little fuzzy. The closer you get to the current time, the clearer everything will be. That is, unless there is an absolute certainty, you’ll see the blur.”
“So how does that work?” I asked. “Who is it that figures out what the window to the future entails?”
“Not sure. Don’t care. Listen, Jack. The rosary is merely a tool. It’s not a perfect tool, but it’s there to give assistance in situations like this.”
“But don’t you ever wonder? How is it that all of these tools get made? Is there some kind of top-secret R&D division of the afterlife?”
Hauser shrugged, his eyes rolling back momentarily. “All right, Jack. Here’s what I do know. There is somebody in the Sentinel that . . . creates these gadgets. How he does it is beyond me. I’m no scientist, and I’m not even sure science is what’s used to make them. I’m just happy that we all get a new device every now and then.”
“So you’ve met him? Or her?” I asked.
“Not formally. I was up . . . there for another matter and he was present. He’s an older gentleman, long gray hair, silver eyes, reminded me of Gandalf”—Hauser chuckled—”and we didn’t even speak. His stare was penetrating, and if it wasn’t for his smile, I would’ve thought he was a curmudgeonly old coot that was the right hand of death.”
I whistled quietly, feeling a little overwhelmed by the man’s description. As I replayed Hauser’s last words in my mind, something stood out.
“Up there?” I asked.
This time, Hauser’s eyes rolled all the way back before he answered. “Okay, champ. Q&A is over. For now. I think you need to be on task and stay near Noah—”
“But he’s not going to die right away, at least not in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Just because you have this new tool doesn’t mean that you can get lazy. You should still be near him and glean as much knowledge from him as possible. You never know when you might need certain information to assist you in his transition.”
“Like what he had for breakfast today? Or how long he was in the bathroom after breakfast?” I asked.
Clearly irritated at my sarcasm, Hauser stood up and shuffled from side to side as he appeared to be in deep contemplation.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I just don’t get all of this.”
“It’s okay, Jack. If you can believe this, when I was being trained, I may have been even more of a pain in the ass about the whole situation than you’re being now.” He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of me. “Take Wilson, for example. He obviously had the rosary with him, but he still was with you for the majority of your day. He knew what you would be going through and was there in your moment of need. Regardless of your outcome, don’t you think that his ability and knowledge of your past twenty-four hours would’ve helped your transition to the other side be more comfortable?”
Strangely, I hadn’t given Wilson a whole lot of consideration over the past few weeks, and now that Hauser pointed out how genuinely dedicated he was, I felt somewhat embarrassed for my attitude.
“I really am sorry, Hauser. I’m on it. I’ll stick with him and see this through.”
“Apology accepted, champ. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you,” Hauser said as he looked at his pocket watch.
“Wait! Before you go, what can you tell me about animals? Noah and his family apparently got a puppy, and he’s able to see me. In fact he appears to have a strong dislike for my presence entirely.”
“Ah, yes. Animals can see and interact with us. In fact, I have a goldfish back . . . Never mind. Yes, animals are a challenge for us. Perhaps you should get a hold of some dog treats before you head back. Make a friend. A few tender morsels and he’ll certainly adjust his temperament toward you.”
A moment later, Hauser vanished.
I sat for a few moments longer, deciding which pet store I would visit before heading back to Noah’s. Once I had my plan, I vanished.
Chapter 7
“Dad?”
“Yeah, kiddo,” Noah replied.
“I miss Bailey already,” Katie said before taking another lick of her melting ice cream cone.
“I know. I miss him too, but we’ll be able to pick him up from the vet’s office in an hour or so. He’s just getting a . . . checkup,” Noah said as he took a bite from his own ice cream.
“What’s a checkup?” Katie asked.
“It’s where the animal doctor checks to make sure that Bailey’s health is okay. They give him shots that keep him from getting sick. They’re also going to do a small operation on him . . . to make sure his insides are okay as well,” Noah said.
Katie listened, holding her ice cream with one hand and deftly gripping a giant red balloon with her other. The balloon and ice cream were an attempt to preoccupy Katie’s attention while her new puppy was getting fixed.
“Do all dogs have to get their insides looked at?” Katie aske
d.
Noah smiled. “Most of them do, here in the city. It’s just the right thing to do if we want them to have a happy, healthy life.”
Noah led Katie along the outskirts of the park, heading for their apartment. It was a very seasonal afternoon, with the temperature in the mid 80s. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Ahead of them and to the right, several hundred geese foraged in an open field. It wasn’t uncommon to see such a large gaggle at this time a year.
On the far side of the grazing flock, a man played fetch with a mature golden retriever. The man tossed the yellow tennis ball high into the air a dozen yards away. The retriever chased after it, catching the ball midflight before returning it back to his master. Noah and Katie watched with amusement as the game was repeated several times, until the man overthrew the ball slightly and the retriever missed the midair catch. The ball bounced on the ground, launching it toward the grazing flock of geese, and the retriever chased after it. On the second bounce, the ball struck a sprinkler head, launching it directly into the middle of the flock. The retriever barreled forward in chase. Katie began to giggle as the first few birds took flight. Within moments, however, she stopped laughing as the entire gaggle followed suit, rising up into the air and directly toward her and Noah.
The birds continued to rise, and some of them, lower than the others, nearly collided with her balloon. Katie screamed and ducked, dropping her ice cream and releasing the balloon at the same time.
“My balloon!” she yelled.
Noah ducked momentarily but looked up in time to reach out and grab at the string. Unfortunately his timing was a split second too late, and the balloon drifted farther from his reach. The downflow of air caused by the fleeing birds’ wings caused the balloon to remain low. Noah lurched forward, trying to grasp at the fluttering string again, but his timing was off once again. It was clear that he’d get only one more chance at it before it was lost. He took a step off the curb in chase. As his fingers firmly closed on the string, he smiled toward Katie, only to see a look of terror fill her eyes. A second later, a city bus smashed into Noah, launching him several yards through the air. He landed so horrifically, the bus driver averted his eyes as the single red balloon drifted skyward.
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