by S MacLeod
Contents
A Journey Out of Time
Airplanes, The Safest Way to Travel
A Journey Out of Time
by SMacLeod
Copyright ©2012 by SMacLeod Publishing
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is dedicated to my best Friend Kerry who has always encouraged me & supported me. Without you, my friend, I wouldn't survive in this world! You have given me your friendship & blessed me with your family. Thank you isn't enough, but Thank You!
I also dedicate this book to my other three fans, my children, Connor, Ian & Faith. Thanks for always believing in me. I love you! Mom
Sonya was jerked awake by a drop in her stomach. The turbulence was knocking the airplane up & down. The pilot requested that everyone take their seat. Some of the passengers were trying to watch the movie or read, but the fear was visible by those who were holding onto the arms of their seat, their knuckles tight. Sonya glanced back at her best friend Kerry. Kerry's family was on the same plane, having just visited her sister in Ireland. She looked at Sonya with a nervous smile as her husband, Chris was reassuring their children. Looking back out of the window, Sonya observed the green & brown patches below. There were no buildings. Where are we exactly? The plane was obviously losing altitude. Suddenly, a bright light flashed outside the window. Was that lightening?
The pilot came over the speaker, "Okay, folks, due to the turbulence we have decreased our altitude a bit. We ask that everyone please remain seated. Thank you."
Did they normally do that? A few minutes later the oxygen masks flew down. Okay, maybe not.
Some people put their masks on immediately with no time laps while others were temporarily shocked & scared. A mother put her mask on & then put one on her child within only a few seconds. After Sonya put on her own mask, she sat back as if she could push her body further back into her seat. Her knuckles were white & yet she felt a wild excitement as her stomach dropped each time the plane hit an air pocket.
The pilot spoke in jagged breaths, "Ladies & gentlemen, we will be making an emergency landing."
Ya think? Here & I thought this was planned entertainment.
The earth grew closer & closer. Green, brown, bushes, sheep, trees, green, brown. Everything soared by so fast & got closer & closer. Were we slowing down? The landing gear came down with a mechanical squeal & Sonya watched the flaps moving outside her window. Looking straight ahead the plane hit, bounced & hit again. Sonya could hear muffled screams & cries among the screeching of metal & the thud of dirt hitting the window. Oh, that hurt!
Sonya briefly closed her eyes as the plane was still hurdled forward. Her body flung forward & she exhaled hard. Man that hurt too, she thought, as she was smacked back in her seat again. A small crack was splitting down the top of the airplane & Sonya realized that she was holding her breath as she watched it spread. When would the screaming stop? When would the plane stop? Just as she thought it the plane finally began to slow. The front section of the plane let out another horrid scream of metal & exploded! Oh my God, the people! A rip tore down the plane to her right leaving a huge gap above the wing. Passengers were screaming & yelling in their panic & the warmth of the flames were surging back her way. People were fleeing their seats. Sonya just wanted to lean her head back & rest! Surely this didn't just happen, right?
The emergency door had been opened & people were shoving toward the exit. Sonya stood, but couldn't see Kerry, Chris or the three girls. Two of the stewardesses were spraying extinguishers at the flames. A woman picked up her son, but her legs wobbled, her eyes wide with panic. Sonya couldn't get through the throng of bodies so she started to climb over the seats. Grabbing the little boy, Sonya pushed his mother ahead of her. As they reached the slide Sonya sat the boy on his mother's lap & the pair slid down. Sonya moved aside to let the next person go, but as she did she heard a weird whooshing sound. As she looked back to where she had been sitting, she saw a long, thin, strip of fire surging down the side. One of the stewardesses passed another extinguisher forward to a man who quickly started spraying the liquid at the flames. Sonya looked at far front of the plane that had exploded. She realized that no one could have survived. Turning back toward the door another huge burst erupted, flinging Sonya backward, out the emergency door. Hitting the bottom of the slide, she hurt everywhere, but managed to move as more people were landing next to her. As she got to her hands & knees, a hand reached down to help her up.
"Thank you," Sonya said as she took the hand. She pulled her hand away quickly, rubbing it on her jeans. Some weird static electric shock had shot up her arm! She glanced at the man, but he just nodded & they both turned to help more people off of the ground. There were already several people being helped up the hill behind them. Sonya looked back up the slide, but no one else was coming down. Her stomach felt like an empty pit. She stared for a moment & started to walk forward when another blast sounded, knocking her back to the ground again.
Maybe I should just stay down here! she thought, annoyed.
There was no way anyone else would have survived unless they were thrown clear. The front half of the plane had actually split off in the last blast & tumbled forward. Smoke billowed into the cloudy sky. Sonya refused to let the stinging behind her eyes take form. Then a hand on her shoulder sent another shock through her body.
"Come lass, I need yer help." It was the man that had helped her off the ground. He deftly swung up a little boy & started up the hill. Sonya stood there briefly looking at the airplane as if someone may be there. Then she took hold of the boy's mother & they followed the man towards a castle up the hill. A castle? Wow.
Walking into a large room, Sonya saw the wounded being tended to; some lay on the tables. The mother she had helped up the hill was holding her son, sitting on a chair by the fire. She looked frightened & confused. Some people were being led out of the room. She still didn't see Kerry, Chris or the girls.
I refuse to panic…yet.
"Sonya," she turned & Kerry was standing there! She hugged the tall, thin lady so hard, she could have broken her!
"Are you all okay?" She appeared okay. Some scrapes & marks.
"Yes, we are all fine," she replied in her English accent, smiling faintly. They have given us a room, but I wanted to make sure you were okay." Tears came to their eyes. Sonya had known Kerry's family so long that she couldn't imagine losing any one of them.
"Well, you go on. We will see each other later." Sonya quickly hugged her again & Kerry left the hall to join her family.
Sonya glanced over at the thick stone walls with tapestries hanging on them. Without thinking she walked towards one & touched the soft threads of the heavy material. She jerked her hand away. Surely she wasn't supposed to be able to go near a tapestry in a castle. There weren't any ropes tying off the area. Suddenly Sonya got a chill down her back & turned. Across the room in the doorway stood the man who had helped her up, looking at her. He was a very handsome man, standing there in his white shirt & kilt. He was definitely over 6 foot tall. He was well built with dark hair that flowed over his shoulder. "MacLeod," she whispered. He wore the MacLeod plaid. She frowned. They weren't anywhere near the Isle of Skye. Hmm. She turned back walking towards the nearest window. There were green fields & stone wa
lls. Far off over the field was a loch. Where was she?
*
As soon as Duncan stopped in the doorway, the woman looked straight at him. His stomach felt like a knot immediately formed there. He stood watching her. What had happened when he had taken her hand? He had no idea. It sent a sensation running up through his arm. He watched as she checked on the injured, the shaken young mother & then as she walked towards a tapestry. She touched it with such gentleness. Surely the lass had seen a tapestry before. Then again, he hadn't seen one of those huge monsters that lay in his field before. He knew it wasn't from his world. Perhaps then, she wasn't from his world. This thought intrigued him. He would have to find out more about this woman.
*
Sonya turned back to approach the man in the doorway, but he had gone. Now where did he go? She walked up to a woman tending to one of the injured as she was just tying off a strip of material. It made her wonder when Band-Aids had been invented. Apparently, they were all out here. No first aid kit they kept was probably equipped for a crash.
"Excuse me. Could you please tell me where we are?"
The portly woman looked at her for a moment & smiled. In a thick Gaelic accent she replied, "Ye be in Scotia lass where else would ye be?"
Sonya smiled politely & asked, "Could you tell me then, who rules your country?"
She laughed, "Why miss, it is King Angus of the Clan McPherson, of course! Where are ye from that ye doona ken this?"
A shiver ran down Sonya's spine. "If I told you, you would not believe me." The lady looked at her curiously before turning to help a man.
Walking from the room Sonya entered the large corridor. After a moment she went to her right, finding her way back outside. She tried to take in all that she saw. Straight in front, down the hill, lay a stone wall. There was another stretch of land & then another taller wall. The smoking airplane lay beyond that. There were guards walking around it & along the stone wall. Guards. Someone rich must be staying at the castle.
There were small houses dotting the property across the field. Oxen & sheep were grazing. A lamb bleat & was jumping around its mother & she smiled. Then a shiver ran down her spine again & she suddenly wondered if it wasn't when she was that she should be asking. So that first thought that this was a castle where you stopped in for a tour where everyone dressed as part of the era, were fading…fast. She walked to the wall & leaned upon it, staring out when she heard a throat being cleared behind her.
Turning she said, "Hello."
"Hello," he replied. "Can I help ye?"
"I would like to say yes, but I have a feeling I am even further away from home than I thought."
"And where be yer home, lass?"
"Across the ocean."
"Ye are a long way from home then."
"Yes," she whispered. He was looking her up & down & she raised an eyebrow.
"May I ask whit yer trews are made of, lass?"
She pointed, "My jeans?"
"Jeans?" he rolled the word with his thick burr. "Trews we call 'em."
"Yes. They are made of a material called denim."
He slowly nodded his head. "May I?"
"Yes."
He reached down & felt the material at the hem of her pant leg. There were butterflies in her stomach! Ugh, where did those come from?
"Interesting." Sonya smiled. "My name is Duncan." He turned, moving his hand to present the castle. "This is my home, Ronin & ye are welcome here."
"Thank you. My name is Sonya."
"Sonya."
"Yes," she smiled. She liked how he pronounced her name & suddenly felt her cheeks grow hot. She wasn't sure why & she suddenly looked down. Where were these weird feelings coming from? Sonya heard a child laugh & her head jerked toward the sound. It suddenly dawned on her that she may never see her own family again & her throat seemed to close & her chest tightened. It felt overwhelming & she slowly slid down the wall. Duncan crouched down & watched her for a moment.
"What am I going to do?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she looked up at the man. His eyes seemed to shimmer. They were beautiful & she could see compassion in them. She searched them, as if the answer to her question may lay there. Duncan stretched out a hand.
"Ye must get off the ground, lass. Ye'll be getting wet."
Sonya nodded & then it did it again! As he took her hand & pulled her up, the shock traveled right up to her shoulder! She frowned briefly. "Thank you…again." She shook her hand, flexing her fingers as they started walking back up the hill. Sonya looked at his long, dark, wavy hair, which flowed down his back. He really was a very handsome man & she looked away as she felt her butterflies return. A woman's voice called out from the door.
"I must gew. Will ye be alright lass?" Sonya nodded & he headed towards the castle. She watched him as he went, his kilt bobbing up & down as he jogged up the hill. She watched his muscular, brown calves. The muscles seemed to go all the way up to his….well… they were really muscular legs! Heat seared through her chest & she suddenly felt her cheeks grow warm. Realizing she had stopped walking, she rubbed her temples before resuming the trek up the hill. As Duncan reached the door he glanced back, smiled & raised his hand. Sonya waved & smiled; that warm feeling again. She wished that would stop! It was so distracting. But then again he was very distracting anyway!
*
It happened again, that surge right up his arm! What was it about the lass? This Sonya. Why do I feel so compelled to take care of her? Why do I feel like I have to protect her? He didn't even know her, & yet…there was this feeling inside that he couldn't understand. He saw pain in her eyes as she had slid to the ground & it shot pain through his chest. He did not want her to hurt.
*
What on earth was she going to do now? Sonya told her cousin, Kim & her Aunt Rosie about her trip, but she hadn't given them specific details. Would they know where she was? How could they, she didn't even know when she was! And quite frankly, Sonya didn't want to ask. What would she do in the here & now? Until she could figure that out, this was home for a while. She looked up as the woman she spoke to when she was first in the dining hall said something in Gaelic to a young woman, who then came up to Sonya.
"Miss?"
"Yes?"
"Miss, I have a room ready for ye. I will shew it to ye."
Sonya followed the young woman out the hall & to the left, up a set stairs. At the top she looked over the beautiful, wood banister. You could see all the way to the huge, wooden, double doors they entered at the end of the corridor. The young woman went left down a corridor that was only about 5 feet long & entered a door on the right.
"Here we are Miss. I laid out some clothes for ye & drew a bath as I thought ye may wish to wash & rest before dinner.
"This is wonderful. Thank you," Sonya smiled. "What is your name?"
"Sarah, miss."
"Thank you Sarah. My name is Sonya." As she picked up a white shift she asked, "What do you call this?"
Sarah frowned briefly & said, "It can be called a kirtle, Miss."
Sonya smiled & nodded, picking up another piece of clothing. "An overdress?"
"Yes, miss. It goes on over the kirtle."
"Well, thank you Sarah." The young woman nodded once & left the room.
Sonya walked across the room to the bed, running her hand over the soft burgundy material. She sat down & happily unlaced her boots, stretching & wiggling her toes. Ahhh. After stripping off her clothing, she slipped her already sore body slowly down into the warm bath. She let out a sigh. The soreness she would feel tomorrow would be 20 times worse, but this felt wonderful! She took a deep breath & plunged under the water. Coming up she took a bar of soap that was almost clear, scrubbing her hair & body. When she was satisfied the soot & smell was removed she sat there for a while in the silence. There was an open window above her & she inhaled the lovely breeze that wafted in. The glass was beautiful with yellows, oranges, blues & greens. She wanted to closer her eyes, but decided she better get out of the
little wooden tub before she got stuck in it.
Time to dress like the natives. Dresses weren't something Sonya wore often. She picked up the pieces. Hmm, no bra. Well, she wasn't wearing the one she just took off. That would have to be washed out. First went on what Sarah called the kirtle, which was white with sleeves that went three fourth the way down her arms. It was light & reached to her ankles. Then there was an outer layer which went over the kirtle. It was a lovely rust color. The bottom, front of it opened in an upside down V, showing the white of the kirtle. She tied the bodice laces. Although it was nice to feel free from tight things, it made one feel a bit bare without a bra. It also made her feel a bit busty, since she wasn't very big there. It was funny what the dresses did to the bosom, yet covered everything else. Last came a pair of shoes. They were quite cute; brown, kind of like a sandal on top, but strings that ran through them & tied several times around the ankle.
Opening the door to the hallway, she didn't see anyone around. Instead of going down the stairs she followed the banister to the next corridor & met up with the young mother & her young son.
"Hello." Sonya said, looking at the little boy who was attached to his mother's hand. His light brown hair was curly & he was pale with a shy smile of pink lips & light auburn eyes. "How are you doing?"
"I…I am so confused," she shook her head a few times & fidgeted with her dress. "Why did we crash? Will the airport send someone to get us?"
Sonya raised her eyebrows. This should be fun. "I…don't think…that will happen," she replied.
"Why not? Surely they heard the calls from the pilots." She seemed almost angry, but she closed her green eyes for a moment, took a deep breath & opened them again.
"They might have heard something, but I am afraid something unusual happened," Sonya said spreading her hands.