“Okay,” Gayle said, a little unsure.
They all poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a chair, then sat together in a tight group in the far corner of the meeting room. Whatever Coru had told the men had their expressions solemn and waiting, and there was no doubt as to their feelings. Like Coru, the men had finally shaved off their beards after months in the outlands; outlands that saw them fighting to survive first the virus, then the world-wide dog fight that followed to establish power and order. Their emotions were plain on their clean-shaven faces, which were darkly tanned around weather-worn eyes, but vulnerably pale where their beards had been only days before.
Deklin sat close to Mattea, pulled out his tablet and continued on with his drawings, his pictures laced with numbers and formulas, as always.
Gayle stared at Coru. “Your face? What happened to your face?”
Coru ran his hand along the side of his restored face, no longer flat and scarred. “Yeah. That. I’ll explain.”
“Freeland doctors? Where were you? You didn’t leave?”
“No. But something like that.” Coru gulped from his cup, set it aside on the floor and hunched closer to his audience, his fingers laced, his elbows on his knees, his eyes on the group. They mirrored his actions, their expressions tense. “What I’m about to tell you is real,” he began, his voice low, intimate. “It’s all true. I don’t tell this story lightly, but you must know it if we have any hope of surviving what’s coming our way.”
The reaction he received was as expected: A flash of alarm, a quick frown, worriedly exchanged glances. Both Mattea and Wren, seated on either side of Coru, nodded in agreement, Wren taking time to meet each participant’s eyes with her own, willing them to believe what Coru was about to reveal.
Doug met her eyes, “You know about this, Birdy?”
She smiled and nodded. “And so does Mattea. We were sworn to secrecy, but we don’t have that luxury anymore.”
Everyone leaned in.
Coru began, “This is a fantastical story, so bear with me and park your disbelief at the door until I’ve told it all.”
Gayle laughed nervously. “You’re scaring me, Tatman.”
“I don’t mean to, but this is scary, and it impacts us all.” Like Wren he met every person’s gaze. “Let’s start with ‘Tatman’—not my name. My real name is Coru Titus Wisla and I am a time traveler from the year 2341.”
Tom Hanson barked his disbelief and sat back, lifting the two front legs of his chair from the floor and slapping them back down again with a sharp hammer.
His brother Gary sent him an impatient look. “Hear him out before you jump.”
The three Antonellis exchanged bewildered looks.
Doug blinked rapidly, obviously startled by Coru’s first salvo, but Wren could see he would keep an open mind. He remained hunched forward in attention, waiting for the next shoe to fall, no doubt.
Coru grinned. “Since you aren’t running screaming from the building yet, I’m guessing you’re in for the whole version.”
Doug was the only one who moved, nodding his head slowly up and down, waiting still for that other shoe.
“In my world, we call periods in a timeline WEN.” He spelled it out, “W, e, n. In my world, society has divided into two groups. The privileged few live in the clouds in a place we call Cloud Rez. I am one of those privileged few, I’m sorry to admit to you. The rest all live on the scarred earth, called Surface. They live a mean, hard life. Before I came here last year, I was part of that hard life. I spent six years on Surface, working to reclaim the land, to plant trees, rebuild habitat, create clean water, grow clean crops, build secure homes. Six years undoing the ecological damage hundreds of years of thoughtless greed and consumerism and resource exploitation brought upon the earth.”
Tony slid back in his chair now. “Geez.” He looked at his wife and son and shook his head balefully. Doubtfully? Maybe fearfully?
“There was a man back in WEN 2341 who thought he had a better way to save our time, to save the planet. He thought going back into the past and changing it, stopping the destruction before it began was the answer.”
Their small audience shifted restlessly in their seats. Awkward. Wren knew they respected Coru, but this was right out there, in la la land; she could read it in their faces, even if she could no longer read their thoughts—her telepathic ability long gone. She could see they were astounded and disbelieving. She reached out and gripped one of Coru’s hands. “Give them a minute.”
Coru nodded and picked up his cup, swallowed the last of his coffee, letting what he was telling his friends sink in.
Wren had to give them credit—no one had jumped up and strode away from Coru and his wild tale of time travel and world destruction. A one-two punch to the gut, and, after the year they had survived, a possible knock-out blow.
Finally, Gayle said, “Okay. We’re listening.”
Wren nodded, and Coru began again. “That man built a Time Bore, which is how I got here, based on Wren’s father, Charles Wood’s work here in your time. It was a very unpopular project.”
“Really? Not popular, you say?” Gayle murmured faintly, trying for humor and coming up short.
“I’ve never heard of this Charles Wood,” Tom Hanson blurted. “How do we know this is real? What proof do you have?”
Wren shot back before she could stop herself, “There’s a good reason for that. Zhang ruined my father.”
“Zhang?” Tom repeated derisively.
She and Tom glared at one another.
Mattea spoke up, his voice melodious as always, “We’ve seen the Bore; we saw Coru go into it and disappear.”
“Yet, here he sits,” Tom sneered.
Wren answered, “Mattea and I watched him go in, disappear before our eyes, not three days ago.”
Deklin said, “Me too. I saw, too.”
Collectively they looked at the boy who was incapable of telling a lie.
“You went into it? So how are you here, then?” Gary Hanson wanted to know, his face a study of disbelief and fear Coru was in fact telling them a terrible truth. Gary was the calmer of the twins, the reasonable voice while Tom was the fire, the strength, the doer of impossible deeds.
Wren raised her hand toward Coru. “It’s where they repaired his face.”
They all considered Coru’s features soberly. Silently. There was no denying his appearance was greatly improved from the beating and crucifixion he’d suffered last year in Rushton at the hands of Curtis Mathers.
Tom Hanson grabbed Coru’s hand and pulled, exposing Coru’s wrist. It should have been scarred from the crucifixion. It was not. No scars. Tom jerked back and frowned, folding his arms across his broad chest. “This is bull.”
Wren pleaded, “Just let Coru lay it all out for you, so you’ll understand. There’s a lot to know. You’ll have to make some important decisions after he’s finished.” She nodded at Coru to continue.
Coru began again. “This man’s name was Moses Zhang. Once the Bore was complete, he jumped through it himself, back to your time. But he sabotaged it before he left to ensure no one would follow him here, to ensure no one would stop him from changing the future.”
“Geez.” Tony scrubbed at his hair with both hands and groaned, “This doesn’t end well, does it?”
Tom scoffed and looked at the ceiling lights with feigned interest.
Coru grimaced, his eyes trained on Tom’s stony face. “No, Tony, it does not.”
“What did he do here?” This question came from the ever practical, cut-to-the-chase Doug.
Giving up on Tom, Coru turned his gaze to Doug. “Let me tell this in order. It’s important you hear this right.”
Doug stared back at Coru, deciding, then shrugged. “Okay.”
“The good news was Zhang didn’t totally ruin the Bore. It was still functioning—barely—when we discovered what he’d done. Before it shut down completely, me and my brother Payton jumped through together to catch him, to stop hi
m. We could already see our world beginning to come apart and knew it was from Zhang’s actions here in your time.
“It was our best guess that Zhang had jumped through to WEN 2036 to the Pacific Northwest, so we set the coordinates for what we hoped would turn out to be that exact same time and place, and followed him into the Bore, even as it was falling apart before our eyes.
“Unfortunately, I arrived alone, and in WEN 2046, ten years too late and found there had been a world-wide pandemic.” He looked at each face in turn. “A pandemic not in the histories.”
This took a moment to sink in. There was a collective gasp, a rearing back, looks of shock, pain, revulsion. Tom was no longer staring at the ceiling.
“Oh, my God,” Gayle breathed in disbelief. “None of this should have happened.”
Tom was on his feet, pacing around, clutching and unclutching his fists. “My parents. My friends, our town, our country—the whole world, dead because of this…this Zhang?”
“That’s the thinking.”
“The thinking!” he exploded, advancing menacingly at Coru. “You think millions of people died needlessly!?”
Mattea leapt up and shoved Tom away. Gary was on his feet as well and raised his fists in defence of his hot-headed twin. Doug scrambled to stand by Mattea, facing the twins down, though they both towered over him.
Tony stood as well, blocking the wall of testosterone from his wife and son. “Guys, Guys. Take a minute. Think about this.”
Coru was still seated, his face a picture of despair, Wren knew, because he had just shoved the first wedge between these good friends, friends who had fought together, who’d had one another’s backs, who’d shared what little they’d had to ensure everyone survived. In today’s world, a good friend was a treasure beyond gold. To lose a friend was a disaster.
She pleaded again, “Please just hear us out. It’s important you know this.”
Coru answered Tom as if there was no choosing of sides happening right before him. “As far as I can guess, yes, that is what I think.” He looked at the men. “Look. I’m no different than you—.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that!” Tom spat, heading for the door.
His brother Gary shot after him, grabbing at his sleeve. “Wait, hear him out. He said this could mean our lives.” Tom stopped and glared at his brother. Gary said, “You’ve fought at this man’s side; you’ve saved his life, he’s saved yours. You know Tat… You know Coru. Let’s hear him out, then decide, together, like we’ve always done.”
Tom studied the group of Bear Lake survivors as they returned to their seats. They stared back at him, waiting for him to rejoin the group. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, then, after several seconds, blasted the air from his lungs in noisy frustration. He did, however, return to the circle, dropping back into his chair and slumping to the side, ready to leave at the first provocation, daring Coru to go on.
“Thank you, Tom, for giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
Tom grunted with disdain but remained seated.
Gayle prompted, “You said you arrived alone. What happened to your brother?”
Coru smiled grimly at Gayle. “That I don’t know. I don’t know if he was killed trying to stop Moses Zhang. I don’t know if he landed in some other place, or maybe another time. He could have died inside the Bore. He could have died on impact in some remote location. I searched for days. Was he okay, was he injured? He… he was only eighteen.”
“Whoa.” Mario sat back, his eyebrows raised. “I’m eighteen.”
Everyone stared at young Mario, and Wren could see what they saw, the loss of a young man trying to save the future, his world, trying to stop a crazy man from changing everything.
Tom pursed his lips and looked around the perimeter of the room with a show of mild interest. Wren was not fooled. Tom was a good guy, and this was hitting him where he lived.
“I kept searching, all around the Bore entrance, in an ever-widening circle, but found no trace of my brother. I couldn’t return to WEN 2341 in the Bore—it wouldn’t allow me to re-enter. I figured it was either finally broken, or two had tried to come, so two had to return. Remember, no one wanted this thing built to start with. No one knew if it would even work. But then, I thought, I came to stop Moses and to find Charles and Wren Wood. I could at least do that. I didn’t know if my world was now gone. I didn’t know if I had a family anymore, or why I was still here, walking around. I had no idea where to look for Zhang, but I had an idea about where Wren Wood would be, if she were still alive, and failing that, maybe Charles Wood? I had to try.” He paused, his expression confused as he thought back. “I-I thought…I might save something, someone, some parts of what’s left of the world.”
Tom dropped his gaze to his hands now, staring at them intently.
Coru let out a sigh and shook his head. “Payton was so freaking young, and he thought this was going to be a big adventure, that we were going to save the world together.”
Gayle reached out and gripped Coru’s hands as Wren had done. “I’m so sorry you lost your brother, Coru. Brothers are special.”
Coru turned his hand to grip hers back. “I thought so.”
Gayle frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Remember when Reenie back at Bear Lake asked about the wanted poster—the guy from ten years ago, who looked like me, the fifty-thousand-dollar reward?”
She nodded. It had been a running joke at the Bear Lake camp for a day or two. The rest leaned forward again.
“That was me on the old poster, not some distant cousin. Reenie was right. That poster was ten years old and it might prove Payton arrived ten years ago, the correct target year—WEN 2036 and had circulated the poster to try to find me. Either that, or Zhang was searching for me. But how would Zhang even know to look for me? He’d only know if Payton told him I was here. I had a choice: either my brother was trying to find me, or Zhang was, and the reason for Zhang’s search could not have been a good one. Only Moses or Payton would post that reward.”
“Why would you think that?” Doug asked.
“Because Moses hates me. We had a falling out—a difference in opinion as to how to save what was left of our world. If he knew I was on his tail, he would want me shut down. He knows I don’t agree with his ‘history correction’. I’m sure if he could, he would have me killed. He’s had ten years to put together a plausible life here. He’d have protection built up all around himself by now. It would be his first move. Imagine arriving here from the future, knowing all about what was to come: What companies to invest in, what lottery numbers to bet on, what horse will win the race, what football team would take the Super Bowl? He’d have an endless supply of funds.
“He’s had ten years to solidify and build. I arrived with a backpack and two names: Wren and Charles Wood. Plus—if I did get to him, who would believe me if I were to accuse him? No one. The world was in tatters. Who Zhang was or where he came from means little when you’re fighting for your life.”
Here Tom Hanson grunted again, though with less conviction than his earlier protest. He and Gary exchanged looks and Tom turned his body around, facing forward, mirroring his brother’s body language—intense interest.
“Wren and I found her father’s research. We think. We delivered it to Freeland. It’s the only hope I have for some parts of the future still existing. Then we left, and I returned to my world.”
Doug blinked and sat up. “There’s still a Time Bore around?”
“Yes. I went back through and found my world, that of WEN 2341, greatly changed. There is no Cloud Rez. Everyone lives on Surface and struggles to survive, though the struggle is different now. My own family is different. I’m no longer ‘Royalty’—if I ever was. My place on Surface has ceased to exist.”
“What?”
“I was never to return to my own time. According to the histories, I left WEN 2041 and never returned. Neither did Payton. It took a great deal to convince my own parents who I was and what had
happened.”
Gayle shook her head in confusion. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s confusing, I know. I’m no time travel expert, but…the Time Bore was little more than a rumor in my time when I returned. A conspiracy theory. They didn’t know of the real Bore’s existence or location. Its entrance was on Surface, not Cloud Rez; there is no Cloud Rez. When I arrived, it took me days to find my way to my kin. It took me more days to convince them of who I was, or who I would have been if time had not been altered… It’s hard to make sense of this. In WEN 2341, citizens ‘disappear’ regularly. Both Payton and I disappeared years ago in my home WEN. Our disappearance was viewed as political. Our village expected to never see either of us again. Then I showed up with a wild tale of a Time Bore and a place called Cloud Rez where people live up in the sky, and time traveling into the past and back. They thought I was crazy.”
“No kidding,” Gary murmured, avoiding Coru’s eyes.
“Bottom line, the Bore should be destroyed by now. It’s unnatural and should not exist. Ever.”
“Except that it did exist, and if you came back, it still does,” young Mario concluded, his eyes staring off into some place beyond their group. He turned to face Coru, his gaze sharp. “What does that mean? That you are supposed to be here?”
The boy had just articulated Coru’s own confusion. Logic didn’t work with time travel. Whenever Coru tried to make sense of it, he always ended in a snarl of suppositions and had to back away from it. It was mental gymnastics you just couldn’t master.
But Coru smiled at Mario, relieved to find one in their group thinking about time. “Yes. That’s what we need to figure out. I think time is elastic, that it can spring back, correct itself somewhat, if we don’t tear it too badly. That was Charles Wood’s theory.”
Mario raised his eyebrows again. “Or maybe this was meant to be, this Time Bore being built, this Zhang jumping through, causing all sorts of shi—.” His eyes flickered toward his mother. “Stuff to happen, and you were meant to follow him to stop him?”
Cursed Apprentice (Earth Survives Book 2) Page 12