by Brad Raylend
Suddenly, Luke went for his pistol. A loud gunshot from behind Todd made his ears ring and his heart stop. York had fired a single shot, his bullet striking Luke just below the collar bone and sending him toppling forwards off the front porch and onto the dirt.
“NO!” Todd screamed. He turned to face York, his eyes filled with tears. He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t speak; every nerve in his body made him want to lunge towards York and beat him to death. He clenched his fists.
“Papa!” Jack cried out. He came out of the house and ran to Luke. Luke held his arm out, wrapping it around Jack, trying to shield him from York. Blood pooled around him and streamed out of his mouth.
Todd tried to run to him but was stopped by York.
“Stop!” York yelled. “Get me the suit, or I will kill them all!” He adjusted his revolver and pointed it at Jack.
Todd’s heart nearly stopped. Tears poured out of his eyes at the sight of Jack crying on his knees next to Luke. His clenched fists shook, and his body trembled with anger. He turned to York, wanting to attack him.
“How … could you do this?” Todd said through his teeth.
“It won’t matter after I fix the timeline; all of this will have never happened,” York replied. Todd stared at him, anger and confusion overrunning his emotions. “Todd,” York said softly, “get the suit.”
Todd looked out into the dark desert to the east. The suit was still buried beneath stones at the foot of the rock chimney, almost a thousand meters away. “Its … it’s out there,” Todd said, his voice shaky.
Sarah came out of the house and screamed in horror at the sight of Luke. She ran to him, kneeling next to Jack.
York looked back at Todd. “Go, Todd. He doesn’t have much time.”
Todd ran into the barn and mounted Esprit. “Yah!” he yelled as he spurred her. She burst into a gallop. Todd rode out of the ranch in a sprint, following the dirt road. He couldn’t stop crying as he rode through the darkness. He had to calm himself in order to keep his eyes peeled for the rock chimney which would be coming up on his left sooner or later. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the MTX. Bouncing up and down on Esprit it took him several attempts to open the map application. In it he had the suit’s eight-digit grid plotted on. He only had a few hundred meters to go.
The distinct rock finally came into view. The full moon lit the desert just enough for Todd to see it beside the road. He yanked back on the reins, bringing Esprit to a sliding stop. He jumped down and ran to the rock pile and began digging on his hands and knees for the invisible suit. He pulled up the MTX and disengaged the cloaking system on the suit. He brushed off the remaining sand and pebbles and threw the suit over his shoulder. He ran to Esprit, lifting the armored suit up and over and resting it on the front of the saddle, then mounted and spurred his mount. They sprinted back down the road towards the ranch house.
Todd came thundering into the yard. Activating the cloaking system, he jumped down from Esprit, hurled the suit over his shoulder and ran to York, dropping the invisible mass in front of him. Then he hurried over to Luke. Luke’s eyes were beginning to wander, and his skin was pale. Todd immediately began assessing the injury.
“Sarah! I need something to pack the wound, quick!” he said.
She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, and ran into the house. Todd continued pressing down on the bullet wound, trying to control the bleeding the best he could. Jack cried uncontrollably next to him. Todd looked over to him. “It’s going to be okay, Jack.”
Sarah reappeared from the house with a few rolls of bandages. She handed them to Todd, who took them with blood-stained hands. “Okay,” Todd said, “I need you to take Jack inside.”
Sarah couldn’t stop crying at the sight of her husband.
“Sarah!” Todd snapped.
She picked up Jack and hurried into the house. Luke watched them leave, his eyes saddened. Todd began talking to him in an effort to keep him from going into shock. “It’s gonna be okay, Luke,” he said as he began fishing in his pocket. “What year is it, Luke?”
Luke’s gaze wandered, and tears streamed out of the corners of his eyes. His past had finally caught up with him. He felt like it had been a long time coming that someone would do to him what he had done to so many others.
“Come on, Luke!” Todd said loudly, “What year is it?” His hand emerged from his pocket with something Luke had never seen before. It looked like some sort of silver container, and it had tiny lettering on it.
“18 … 87,” Luke replied.
“Good,” Todd said as he opened the cap to the silver container.
“What … is that?” Luke asked.
Todd was now squeezing the trauma gel into his wound, and it began seeping into his body, clotting any severed arteries and stopping the bleeding. Luke gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.
“It’s going to save you,” Todd replied.
He had grabbed the trauma gel from his web gear when he was riding back from retrieving the suit. Luke would be too dazed to really pay close enough attention to what it was.
“Stay with me!” Todd said.
Luke was beginning to lose consciousness. Todd feared he was too late. He had lost a lot of blood, and that was something trauma gel could not help.
“You’ve got a little boy in there who needs you … stay with me.” Todd said, as he began wrapping up Luke’s wound.
York stood a few feet away, completely invisible, watching his other-self take care of this stranger. He had shot an innocent man in order to force Todd’s hand. Yet he felt no remorse as it was a necessary act; everything would return to its natural state shortly. All the wrongs he had done would be wiped clean. He walked around to the back of the house and mounted his horse. He rode out of the ranch down the main road, heading east towards Durango.
Todd heard the sound of hooves galloping down the road. He turned to see a horse with no rider sprinting off into the darkness. The moon’s illumination reflected off the transparent figure riding the horse. The road only led to one place, and Todd would need to follow him as soon as possible.
* * *
Albrecht stood in horror as he read the message. It had been sent about a half hour prior. He and most of the crew on board had been sleeping when D came over the intercom. Kara walked into the main room, her eyes displayed her concern. Nearly everyone on Odin had been told about the message and were pouring into the main cabin to see the big screen which displayed the transmission.
EMERGENCY!
Requesting immediate CASEVAC!
Location: Vicinity of Durango, won’t know exact pos until time jump is made.
Time: Approx. 12 hours from now.
Patients: 1 for sure, possibly 2.
Remarks: York has threatened innocent lives, forcing me to comply with his demands. I have given him my suit and I believe he will be making a jump back to the future. Possibly to the 2030-time frame. He said he was going to fix his mistakes … fix the timeline. I don’t know exactly what he means by this, but he will no doubt be heading east towards Durango to make his jump.
York is clearly a hostile threat and I intend to kill him. He cannot be reasoned with, and I see no other solution. If he makes the jump before I can stop him, please know that I am truly sorry that it ended this way.
Don’t bother trying to come for me if I don’t succeed.
~Todd
York looked at the sent messages on the MTX as he rode through the quiet night. It only took him three tries to figure out the combination to the MTX’s login screen. And he was now was scrolling through Todd’s transmissions, trying to gain a better understanding as to how his op had been conducted. Todd must’ve sent the last transmission only moments before he had given him the suit and MTX.
“Clever,” York said to himself.
GOODBYE
Todd walked out of the house and looked out into the dark desert. York had almost an hour’s head start on him. He needed to follow after him as soon as p
ossible. He was definitely heading to Durango, but where would he make his jump? There wasn’t any terrain with high enough elevation for him to base-jump off anywhere near the town.
Perhaps he was planning to take the train out of Durango. Todd pulled out his map and studied the Silverton railroad that ran north almost five hundred miles past San Juan and south to Farmington, New Mexico. The terrain that skirted the railroad became more and more elevated as it continued out of the town’s vicinity. It seemed like the only plausible option, and Todd was convinced that this was York’s most probable course of action.
“Todd,” a soft voice called out from inside the house.
Todd turned to see Sarah approach him. Her eyes and cheeks were reddened from her recent tears. Her hands fumbled in front of her as she closed the distance between them.
Todd folded the map and placed back inside his duster’s pocket. He wrapped his arms around her and spoke softly, “I’m so sorry, Sarah … I never wanted this to affect your family.”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes; her mouth curved up slightly, and a tear ran down her cheek. Loud footsteps echoed through the dark house behind her. Todd looked up to see Luke emerge from the darkness. His arm was splinted to his chest with a buttoned-up blouse. Blood-stained bandages engulfed his chest and shoulder. He slowly walked to the edge of the porch, using the pillar to stabilize himself. Todd stepped around Sarah and approached him.
“Luke, I …”
Luke’s deep voice stopped him from apologizing. “Todd, you have nothing to be sorry about. It was my itchy trigger finger that got me winged. You need to get goin’ and catch that bastard, ya hear?”
Todd looked down at the ground. He didn’t want to leave. He feared following York would only bring him nothing but trouble. “Thank you … for everything,” Todd said. He held out his hand to Luke.
Luke stepped down from the porch and hugged him with his good arm. “You be safe, okay,” he said into his ear.
Todd nodded. Luke patted him on the back and stepped back. Todd turned to Sarah and hugged her once more. She smiled, rubbing the tears from her cheeks. Over her shoulder, Todd could see Jack looking at him from inside the house. He seemed frightened, like a small animal peering out of its home.
Todd held out his hand to him. “It’s okay, Jack.”
Jack didn’t reply, just stared at him, his little eyes saddened. Todd dropped his hand to his side. He smiled at the little boy. “You take care of yourself, bud.”
He looked at Luke and Sarah, their expressions similar. He gave them one last smile, then turned and walked over to Esprit, who stood near the barn. He ensured the saddle was tight, and that he had enough water for the trip. He stuck his left foot in the stirrup and placed his hand on the saddle horn to lift himself up and headed out of the yard.
“Todd!” Jack cried out from the house.
Todd turned to see him running towards him. He pulled his foot from the stirrup and hopped down from the horse. He squatted down and caught Jack in his arms, holding him tightly. Jack sniffed in his shoulder as he patted him on the back. Luke and Sarah held each other, watching as their little boy say goodbye to his best friend.
“I’m going to miss you, Jack,” Todd whispered.
“Will you ever come back?” Jack’s little voice broke as he asked.
Todd pulled away, his hands holding Jack’s shoulders. “I promise, dude.”
Through his sadness, Jack’s face lit up. Todd hugged him once more, then stood up, looking down at him. Jack looked up at the man with idolization. He was different than other men; it was like he was from another world, yet completely conventional, and physically appropriate for his circumstances. Luke could see it as well, and he marveled at the sight of Todd’s strong presence.
With one last pat on Jack’s head, Todd mounted Esprit and spurred her. She reared back and burst into a gallop off into the darkness down the long road that led east.
CATCHING A TRAIN
The sky was beginning to lighten as the early morning hours climbed with the rising sun. Todd had ridden hard for the past ten hours, taking only a few brief stops to keep Esprit from breaking.
She continued to push, sprinting through the cool wind as the land around them started to turn mountainous and the stars slowly disappeared into the light blue sky. Durango was not much farther, meaning neither was York. This was it, the final confrontation. Todd York, the first, was going to die today. Even if that meant Todd going down with him in the process. He had to be stopped.
A noise in the distance made Todd bring Esprit to a sliding halt on the dusty road. Only a few hundred meters away was the whistling sound of a steam engine. Its high-pitched horn echoed through the hills. Todd quickly sped towards the sound, riding through the winding hills. He came to an elevated spot in the road that looked down at Durango. The sun was shining over the purple mountains in the horizon, gleaming off the shiny features of civilization. A large trail of smoke wafted in the air as the train left the city. Its long body curved down the tracks leading south across the Animas River.
“Yah!” Todd yelled as he sped down the road towards the distant town. It took him a few minutes to reach the city; he raced down the main road, weaving in between wagons and pedestrians as he chased the shrinking tail end of the train. Esprit grunted and breathed heavily, countless heads turning to see the man riding his horse at full speed down the public street.
“Come on, Esprit! Almost there.”
The town passed in a blur of dust and adrenaline as he kept his focus on the distant train, which was picking up speed as it curved around a hill just on the edge of town. Todd rode across the bridge above the river and up the long finger of the hill, cutting through the small shrubs as Esprit’s breathing began to climax with snorts and grunts. As he neared the peak of the hill, the sun came into view off to his left, making him squint as he gripped the leather reins tightly. The muscles in his legs throbbed, keeping himself hovering over the shifting saddle.
The train was now just below him, off to his three o’clock position. He could feel his heart rate pick up as he readied himself for the inevitable confrontation. York had to be on this train. He would need to board it from the rear and search each section.
“Yah … yah!” he yelled.
The mustang continued to sprint, paralleling the noisy train. Very carefully, Todd began pulling the reins towards the train, closing the gap between themselves and it. He eased up a bit, letting some of the carts pass them by. He could see folk inside the train. They looked out the windows at him with bewildered looks. He continued to hold back, waiting for the last cart to come up on his side. Suddenly, a bullet snapped past him and ricocheted off the train. Todd looked back to see a group of riders behind him, slowly closing the gap between them and him.
He reached back and pulled his .45 from his belt and with one hand started firing at them. They spread apart from their tight formation but were unharmed. It was then that Todd realized just how hard shooting on horseback was. He emptied the mag, then turned back around, placing the reins in his teeth. He ejected the mag, retaining it in his pocket, and inserted a fresh one from his belt. He pressed the slide release and fumbled to re-holster his pistol as his lower body bounced up and down.
He jerked the reins, making Esprit come uncomfortably close to the train. He pulled the lever action shotgun from the saddle and held it in his left hand. Very carefully, he pulled his right foot from the stirrup and placed it on top of the bouncing saddle. It took all of his strength and concentration to stabilize himself. In one quick movement, he leaped off the saddle with his right leg, throwing his forearms over the top of the train. It nearly knocked the wind out of him as his chest hit the corner of the train’s roof. It took him a split second to regain his composure. He then attempted to throw a leg up and over in order to pull himself up.
Bullets smacked into the side of the train around him, startling him and causing him to lose his grip. He grabbed frantically for something
with his free hand, but felt himself slipping off the side. Miraculously, he managed to grab ahold of the curved-up edge with his right hand. He could feel his foot hit a bar below him, and he used it as a step. He extended his left arm and fired at the approaching riders. They were close enough now for him to make out Winston Moore at the head of the pack. Todd figured they must have seen him riding through town and had saddled up to catch him. They most likely had followed Todd to Durango and had beat him there because of the stop at the McWilliams farm. Todd fired again and the buckshot managed to clip one of the lead riders, making him lurch backwards off the back of his horse. Winston looked back in horror and spurred his horse in anger.
Todd brought the shotgun in closer to his body and rotated it around his hand, spin-cocking the weapon. He aimed once more and fired, this time nailing Winston with a direct hit. He went limp and fell over the front of his horse, getting caught in between its galloping legs and causing the animal to trip over him. The rest of the riders dispersed, attempting to clear the wreckage. Todd tossed the shotgun up to the roof and reached up with his other hand, grabbing ahold of the ledge and heaving himself up on to the roof. He knelt down, looking at the many carts ahead of him, curving in unison along the fixed track. He looked off to his left and saw Esprit sprinting alongside the train. As if she had waited to ensure he had gotten on board first, she began spreading the gap between her and the train, slowly shrinking into the distance.
The powerful mustang disappeared behind the passing terrain, and Todd looked back towards the front of the train. He picked himself up and slowly began moving forward in a crouch, trying to keep a low center of gravity. He leaped over the first gap between carts, making his way up to where the passenger carts were. He looked up, and something near the front of the train briefly fixed his gaze. He saw movement near the front car, but nothing was there. His concentration was broken by bullets whizzing past him. He quickly drew his 1911 and sighted in on the riders. He flipped up the small red dot sight and pressed off multiple shots, hitting a rider multiple times. He then adjusted, shifting onto his opposite knee, and engaged the last rider. It took him multiple shots, which put him in slide lock. He reached back to his left hip to draw his last mag, but paused for a moment.