Riley's Journey

by Parker, P. L. ;Edwards, Sandra

  Every muscle in Riley’s body turned to jelly. “Oh, God, I was so scared! I thought I could go out the back and walk around and just wait for you at the front entrance and then I got lost and I was trying to find my way back!” She was chattering and shivering uncontrollably. “I thought one of those big cats had me!” She shuddered at the thought, “and then I tried to run and I fell and I couldn’t get back up. It was awful.”

  He could see she was genuinely terrified, but it did nothing to lessen his anger, “Don’t ever do this again! Next time I might not get to you in time. I wasn’t warning you just for entertainment, there’re too many real threats out here!”

  Mutely, she nodded. She deserved his angry outburst and had no defense.

  “We’d better get back before it gets full dark. Most of the animals are probably holed up in the storm but we can’t be sure of that.” He turned and stomped off, leaving her to follow as best she could.

  Demon stopped, waiting for her to move and when she did, he walked behind her. Hmm, she thought, I must be coming up in the world. That idea collapsed quickly when Demon nipped her on the butt, urging her to move faster. “Ouch!” she screeched as he bit again, harder this time, “Nathan! Call off your damn dog.”

  Nathan ignored her, trudging through the snow, allowing the dog to mete out punishment. Demon’s sharp teeth fostered another sharp nip on her posterior. She screeched again. “I mean it, Nathan! Call off the damn dog before he really hurts me!” And so went the remainder of the trip back to the cave, Demon nipping as she screeched. By the time they arrived, Riley was irate, ready to find the nearest dogcatcher and let the pound do its worst.

  “You both are really, really in trouble! Big time!” She grated glaring at the dog. “And you! Your days of sleeping on my bed are over!” She stomped into the back room, tearing off her outer clothes, uncaring that she left a trail of water behind her. Grumbling, she pulled her pants down, trying to assess what damage his teeth probably did to her soft parts. The skin didn’t feel broken or bleeding, but there were a number of small sore spots to attest to his unmerciful harassment. Apparently, the damage was minimal, and that was one lucky dog!

  Nathan went about preparing food, listening with one ear to her muttering and complaining, but unwilling to relent or back down. He had come back to the shelter, pleased that his animals were faring well and looking forward to her company. After realizing she had left the cave by the rear exit, and not being able to find her, he whistled for Demon and they began to search. He was almost frantic by the time they located her and, in his relief, had verbally struck out. The end result could have been so much worse, he reminded himself.

  A small sliver of amusement drifted to mind—Riley jumping every time Demon nipped. If she only knew, Demon nipped in affection and he was just as glad to find her as Nathan was. The dog had found her trail first and ran ahead, and when they heard her scream, had crashed through the brush in his haste to get to her. He should have been more understanding, he decided. She was, after all, relatively new to the surroundings and still had a lot to learn, but she’d better learn quickly, her life here depended on it. Riley had an undercurrent of stubbornness, which he suspected carried her through during the hard times. He was stubborn as well and that trait in both of them might be a hard one to overcome.

  Riley spent the remainder of the evening in the sleeping area, unwilling to make the first move towards reconciliation. True, she was acting childish, but admitting to herself that she was in error was a whole different matter than admitting it to him, and she wasn’t ready to do that right now. He probably had the dog ready to attack her in any event if she did try to come out. Her stomach was grumbling and the smell of cooking food caused her mouth to water uncontrollably. Nathan was whistling in the outer room, seemingly unconcerned that she was ignoring him. He whistled all the time and right now it was driving her crazy.

  Demon crawled through the door, his bowl hanging from his mouth, looking at her expectantly.

  “Oh, yeah, now that its dinner time, you want to be friends. I don’t think so,” she muttered. He laid the bowl at her feet, licking his chops and watching her every move.

  “You’d just better go out there and ask Mr. Man for some food. I don’t have anything.” Demon leaned over and licked her hand, nuzzling his nose under and waiting. Riley pulled her hand back but was stopped by the dog as he gently bit down. Nervously, she tried to pull her hand back, but he hung on, not letting go but not increasing pressure either. Her hand looked small inside his huge jaws but he held her ever so gently and waited; his eyes soft and questioning.

  “So what do you want?” She asked softly. “Are you trying to be friends for a change?” She reached over with the other hand and scratched him behind the ears, secretly delighted that he allowed her to do so. He released her hand and laid his head on her lap, enjoying the attention.

  Nathan leaned in. “He was really worried when we couldn’t find you,” he paused. “We both were.”

  “So why did you let him bite me?”

  “He wasn’t biting you! He was nipping you. He does that when he’s happy and he was happy to see you. Haven’t you ever had a dog before?”

  “Never,” she sighed. “I grew up in foster homes and most of the time they didn’t allow that sort of thing. I would have liked one though.” She continued scratching Demon, enjoying the moment. “They had a poodle in one of the foster homes I lived in, but of course it wasn’t mine.” She sounded so sad, Nathan’s heart constricted. She glanced up. “Did you have dogs when you were growing up?”

  “Yeah. I was raised by Bethany and we always had a few mutts running around. She thought they helped develop character. Now it just seems natural to have one around. It almost killed me when Lila died.”

  “I would imagine! I don’t know how you got through it, being alone here and losing the only friend you had. I would have gone crazy.”

  He nodded. “I almost did, but I still had Demon and he kept me sane.” Stepping back into the living area, he spoke over his shoulder. “Come on out and eat dinner. We’re sorry, aren’t we, Demon?” The dog wagged his huge tail, almost looking as though he was smiling.

  “I’m sorry, too,” Riley apologized contritely. “It was a stupid trick and I won’t do it again. I sometimes forget where I’m at. Most of the time it seems so safe here.”

  That bridge crossed, dinner was a warm and comfortable meal and peace settled on the little group.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Jonas eyed Miles skeptically. According to Miles, it was still too early to determine if his calculations were correct. Jonas never let up and his daily visits to Miles were a reminder of what might happen if Miles didn’t succeed soon. Miles argued that a lot of the numbers he was working with were ones that had been Bethany’s area of expertise and it would take time to work his way through the data. Jonas didn’t believe a word fat boy said, but since he had no experience in any of the formulas or calculations necessary to bend time, he would have to rely on Miles. A nasty smile widened Jonas’ lips. There was some comfort in the fact that he scared Miles shitless.

  His team was getting anxious as well, and every day seemed interminable. They were as ready as they would ever be, given the circumstances but, ultimately, everything depended on Miles. Jonas considered the possibility of enticing Bethany up here again. If Miles didn’t have the calculations soon, he would look into that possibility. He would feel more comfortable about the whole thing if Bethany were supervising in any event. Miles was a shifty weasel of a man, even though he was a self-professed genius.

  Leaving another of his team members to watch Miles, Jonas left the lab and wandered down to the training room. Most of the team were already in attendance, working out with weights or combat training. He silently appraised the group. They had molded themselves into a crack outfit in the short time they had been here, even the women excelled, and he felt confident in their abilities. They were strong, intelligent people with the determinat
ion to make this experiment work. Everything was in readiness for their departure and had been for some time. All that remained was for Miles to finish his work.

  “Hey, boss,” Mira, a perky brunette called. “When’s this little trip going to get started?” A chorus of questioning voices joined with her query.

  “Soon,” Jonas replied. “Soon as I can get Dumb Shit in there to get off his fat butt and finish up the calculations.” He grinned evilly. “I might have to use some other form of persuasion if he doesn’t finish up soon.” Like staking him out in an ant pile and pouring honey over him, he thought. He’d seen that in a movie once and was impressed by the results; certainly something to consider if the need arose.

  Micah, a former Black Ops member, approached. “We’re all ready, just say the word.”

  Jonas surveyed the group. “You’ve done well in such a short time. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.” It was an honest opinion and coming from Jonas, it was high praise.

  Of the fifteen team members, ten were tribesmen and the other five were former Black Ops. The five would provide the necessary security and protection for the team. He trusted each of them with his life and that alone was all that needed to be said. The remaining members were those with the expertise to survive, both physically and spiritually.

  Stretching casually, Jonas moved into a fighting stance, needing to work off some nervous energy. Micah smiled, his hands going up in response. Cheers and catcalls issued from the watchers as the two circled. Jonas sprang forward landing a swift kick and the workout commenced in full force. They jumped, whirled, blocked and boxed and, by the time they finished, both were sweating and breathing heavily. Micah had done well and Jonas had to work hard to finally outwit him. Only by a last ditch effort was he able to bring Micah down, but he would have bruises in the morning to remind him how dedicated Micah was. He was a perfect fighting machine.

  “Hey, Old Man, I almost had you.” Micah teased, fully conscious of the fact that Jonas could have rendered him far more hurt than he had.

  Jonas reciprocated in kind. “Didn’t want to embarrass you, there are ladies watching.”

  Laughter spread around the room, warm and comforting, the kind that melded a group together even tighter.

  “The ladies know I don’t have any reason to be embarrassed.” Micah strutted, amid pointed remarks from the watching females.

  Geena, a Black Ops member, goaded him. “Come on, Micah, you have so ‘little’ to be proud of. Three inches doesn’t a foot make.” Hoots from the other female members applauded her comment.

  Micah turned, his gaze wandering over her muscular but feminine form. “Anytime you want to inspect the goods,” he offered, “just let me know.”

  Geena laughed, unperturbed by his comment. “Anytime you can turn three inches into a foot, you let me know!” Micah was an interesting male, his dark good looks accented by his piercing black eyes and flashing white teeth. A single feathered earring hung from his right ear, adding a small bit of barbarism to his otherwise civilized mien. He drew more than one look from the other women and she found it fascinating that he singled her out frequently.

  Micah’s face flushed beet red, but his face couldn’t hide his obvious amusement at her comment. She might have won the round, but the game was far from over, a game he fully planned on winning. These women were their partners in this experiment and he had already decided that Geena would be his and from the looks she was returning, she wasn’t offended by the idea.

  Jonas watched their interplay with some concern. He suspected there might already be some tentative matchmaking among the group, but he had hoped to avoid that until longer into the operation. He would keep his eyes open in case any difficulties popped up, but there was only so much he could do. The rest was up to each team member.

  “By the way,” Brett, another of the Black Ops team, interposed, “will we end up exactly in the same time as Nathan, or what’s going to happen?”

  “That’s a good question.” His brow furrowing, Jonas realized he hadn’t considered the possibility that they could end up in some other historical period. “I’m going to have to check with Miles on that one. There wouldn’t be much reason to go back if we miss Nathan by 100 years or so either way.” He wouldn’t put it past Miles to miscalculate; the fat weasel couldn’t be trusted as far as Jonas could throw his butt. Bringing Bethany into the picture was beginning to sound better and better all the time. Bethany might seriously object to sending the team through, but all he had to do was mention Nathan and he was pretty sure she would commit to the endeavor. Getting access to her personal files might be a problem, but there were other ways to track her whereabouts if that failed. He might even do another “persuasion” session on Miles to see if he knew where she was. That possibility definitely had its merits. Miles needed another session soon if things didn’t progress any faster than they were and Jonas was just the man to do it right.

  “Brett, get on the mainframe and see if you can access Bethany’s private files. I think its time we brought her back.” Brett nodded, and hurried off. He had been a tech specialist with Black Ops and if anyone could get in, Brett could. Besides being a technical genius, he was tough son-of-a-gun and would be invaluable as a warrior in another reality.

  Alicia, a fellow tribeswoman, stepped up. “I’ll help. I have a lot of computer experience and I might just have some ideas.” Jonas nodded his approval, watching her exit. With both of them working on the problem, the chances of success were substantially improved. Alicia was a last minute recruit, but the more he discovered about her, the more he was impressed with her calm, no nonsense attitude. Older than most of the other females, she had been selected because of her skill as a healer. She was stately more so than beautiful, but she had the sort of looks that were timeless. Her black eyes and long silken hair made Jonas’ hands itch. She had fit easily into the team and was fast becoming the leader of the other female members when decisions had to be made.

  Knowing that it would only be a matter of time before Brett and Alicia had the information he needed, he decided to harass Miles again. He didn’t really need to, but he kind of enjoyed watching fat boy squirm! Strolling across the quadrant, he entered the main facility and made his way to the lab. Miles was bent over the computer, muttering to himself while furiously inputting data. Jonas tapped on the desk to draw his attention. Miles looked up and froze when he saw Jonas’ solid form.

  “What are you doing here again?” Miles’ fat chin quivered, a spot of lunch pasted below his lower lip.

  “Just checking. Anything new?”

  “No, and I already told you it would take some time to finalize these computations.” Miles bent back over his computer, refusing to acknowledge Jonas further.

  “I think you’ve had enough time. I think you already have the calculations and you’re just stalling.” Jonas moved slowly around the desk, giving Miles time to nervously question his intentions. “I’ve decided to bring Bethany back. Where is she?”

  Miles snorted. “Bethany won’t help you!”

  “Oh, but she will! She would do anything for Nathan and we are the answer to her deepest desire—to make a new life for Nathan.” He pulled out his bone-handled knife, scraping it along his arm, near enough for Miles to see the shaved space.

  “Bethany would never allow all of you to go. She’s too careful.”

  “Not careful enough; or you wouldn’t still be here.” Jonas waited, allowing Miles to consider his options.

  Miles’ shoulders sagged in defeat. “She’s in Philadelphia, attending a seminar or conference or something. But she won’t help you. Her career would be over if she did.”

  Jonas pressed. “We both know her career’s over anyway. You told me yourself there was no more funding and who’s going to hire a has-been time travel expert? Scientists who fail are a dime a dozen.”

  “We didn’t fail!” Angry now, Miles lost his inherent caution. “We succeeded! And it would have been a major scient
ific discovery if we had just a little more time.”

  “That’s what you keep telling me—you just need more time! Well, guess what, time’s up. Where is the conference?”

  “I told you! It’s in Philadelphia, probably at the university. If not, someone can direct you to the right place. She always leaves a number there where she can be reached. Now can I continue or do you plan on standing there and harassing me longer?”

  Interesting. Miles was finally showing a little backbone. Must be something he was hiding and it was Jonas’ opinion that people always fought harder if they had something to hide. Turning to Miles’ guard, he instructed, “Watch him closely. If you think he’s pulling something, shoot him.” The guard saluted smartly, his weapon in readiness.

  Miles’ eyes widened as his jaw fell open. “You can’t mean that,” he sputtered. “Bethany will need my help if and when she does come back!”

  “Never think you aren’t replaceable,” Jonas drawled, “just remember that.” Laughing to himself, Jonas exited the lab. Fat boy was so easy to torment.

  Miles watched him go, hate welling up in red waves, his hands shaking with emotion. Damn Jonas! I’ll make you suffer, he silently vowed. All he needed was a little more time and Jonas and his group of miscreants would be out of his life forever, then he could leave this desolate place and head to Mexico. A bank account stuffed with funding he had misappropriated from the facility waited while he languished here. Visions of a sandy beach and dark skinned young women in skimpy thongs flashed through his mind, calming him and giving him purpose.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The first signs of spring were dotting the landscape. Snowdrifts were decreasing with each day and the temperature outside the shelter was rising little by little. The frozen sheet covering the river began to break up and great chunks of ice spun drunkenly in the increased flow of the spring runoff. Flocks of birds began arriving, and small plants pushed their way through to the sun’s warmth.