by Various
They walked on in silence as Cydnee thought. “Okay,” she finally said as they entered the science building, “let’s do this.”
Jon closed his eyes for a moment, grateful that she was willing to help. He drew in a deep breath before fully explaining things to her. He didn’t want to talk her out of her decision, but he needed her to understand what she was going to have to do. “The bracelet will protect you from the energy, but if you lose it while you’re back in time, the wave will not bring you back.” He paused to let that fact sink in. “And if you take it off while you’re in the room, the shaking of the Higgs boson field will tear you apart on a molecular level.”
A few seconds passed as they walked on in silence. “So,” Cydnee said, breaking the building tension, “don’t lose the bracelet, and don’t take it off.”
Jon nodded. “The wave brought me back after four days, but I only rode it out once. I don’t know if that duration is standard or not. I don’t have the data I need to make a prediction, and with the machine malfunctioning…” There was no need for him to continue making excuses for his lack of knowledge.
“Don’t lose the bracelet, don’t take it off, and try to survive an undetermined amount of time in some unknown historical location,” Cydnee said sarcastically. “Sounds like a great way to spend the afternoon.”
“I’m sorry,” Jon said softly. “I would change it if I could.”
Cydnee let out an ironic chuckle. “It’s all right.” She sighed. “I’ll manage. I am a historian, after all. This should be right up my alley.”
Jon looked down at her, surprised. “A historian? I thought you were an artist.”
Laughing again, she shook her head. “I’m taking art to better appreciate historical culture.”
“Oh,” Jon said, unable to come up with a better answer. Apparently, this was the day for poor observations. If they survived this, he was going to have to work on that.
Their steps slowed as they turned down the corridor leading to the testing room. Cydnee’s eyes fell to the three bodies in the hall before she looked over at Karlee, staring into the lab.
“Where’s Tom?” Jon asked, looking around for his missing assistant.
Karlee shot him an accusing glare. “You left, so Tom’s trying to turn that thing off.” She looked back into the room.
“I went for help.” Jon turned Cydnee loose and went to the doorway. Tom was a few feet in the room. A wave hit him, and he disappeared, only to reappear again a few seconds later. “Tom!” Jon rushed into the room, grabbed his comrade, and tore the bracelet from his wrist before the next wave could hit. The pair of them stumbled back to the open door before collapsing to the floor.
“I’m sorry,” Tom panted, trying to catch his breath. His skin was clammy and pale. “I tried to stop it.”
“It’s all right.” Jon hushed him as he held the sick man. “I brought help.”
Tom turned to look up at Cydnee.
She stood over the three scientists, terrified.
“Please stop this,” Tom said weakly as he lay there, exhausted.
Cydnee looked into the room as another wave of shimmering energy rolled off the machine. “Tell me what I have to do.” She stepped up to the door, ready to run in.
“As soon as the wave passes, run in and grab Tom’s bracelet.” Jon nodded towards the silicon band. “Slip it on your wrist, and go as fast as you can to the machine. You’ll have to punch in the shutdown code.”
“And what is that?” she asked as she pushed her sleeve up.
“Seven four four eight,” Jon said. “I’ll yell it to you again as you get closer to the machine.”
Cydnee nodded and watched as another wave rolled off the device.
“And Cydnee—” Jon said, stopping her before she could bolt in.
She looked down at him.
He reached out and touched her leg. “When this is over, I’ll take you out for that dinner I keep promising you.”
She smiled at him. “I will hold you to it.” Hiking up the long skirt she was wearing, Cydnee bolted into the room through the next wave. Grabbing up the bracelet, she slipped it on her wrist as another wave hit and carried her off.
Jon held his breath until she reappeared a few second later. Her outfit had changed from the artsy style she had been wearing to something long and corseted.
She stumbled around for a second, disoriented.
“Seven four four eight,” Jon yelled at her. That seemed to help, and she turned and took another step towards the machine.
Another wave hit. When she reappeared again, she was naked and wrapped in a sheet.
“Jon!” she yelled as she stumbled her way farther into the room, “This is going to cost you more than just dinner!”
Jon chuckled as she disappeared again. As each wave flowed past, he watched Cydnee flash in and out. Each time she came back, her outfit changed, and each time she appeared, he yelled the shutdown code to her. Hope bloomed in his heart as she slowly worked her way across the floor, but the waves were very close together, and she wasn’t advancing across the room as fast as Jon would have liked.
By the time Cydnee reached the machine, Jon had lost count of the number of times she had jumped to the past. “Seven four four eight,” he yelled to her.
Turning to face the device, Cydnee punched in the first two digits of the code before another wave carried her away.
Jon bit his lip and prayed she would come back. He wasn’t sure what a partial code would do to the device. When she flashed back to reality alive, he yelled the last two digits of the code so she wouldn’t reenter the first ones. There was no telling what would happen if she doubled up the code.
She nodded and hit the buttons. The device whined as one last wave rolled out and swept Cydnee away.
Jon held his breath and waited as the machine slowly shut down.
“Where is she?” Karlee asked.
“I don’t know,” he said quietly, praying that Cydnee would reappear any moment. The three scientists sat in silence for a few more moments, waiting for their savior to come back, but she never reappeared.
Tom let out a frame-racking cough that broke into the tension of the room.
Looking down at his surviving friends, Jon blinked away the tears burning the corners of his eyes. “Come on.” Swaying to his feet, he grabbed on to the wall until he was stable and turned to help Tom up. If any of them wanted to live, they were going to need to get to the hospital soon. “Let’s go.” He pulled his friend’s arm up over his shoulder. Karlee joined him as they all staggered down the hall. This day had not gone as any of them had planned. The loss of his team hurt Jon’s heart, but Cydnee’s disappearance was killing him. Wherever she had ended up in time, he prayed she would find a way to survive. And if they were truly lucky, she would find a way to change things and keep them from ever starting up that blasted machine.
If you enjoyed Tides of Time, we recommend you check out Kindling Flames by: Julie Wetzel.
Evie didn’t want to die, but what she had planned would probably kill her. That knowledge wasn’t a deterrent. Her parents were dead, and it was her fault. She’d been the one behind the wheel. She’d been the one who made the error. Her mom and dad paid the cost of her mistake with their lives. Now she had a chance to undo the damage she’d done. She could make things right.
Her sneakers pounded the pavement as the cool California air breezed over her skin. Her heart raced as the ocean spread out before her. “I can do this,” she panted, speaking to herself as she crossed the highway.
She barely slowed as she reached the railing that lined the shore. It slammed into her hips and she bent forward, sucking air in through her lungs. She slumped, attempting to catch her breath before she did what needed to be done. Fingering the scar on her forehead, she looked down the road. She could see a break in the railing, but she avoided looking down the ravine. She already knew she was in the right place.
Squealing tires made her heart pound harder. Sh
e was half surprised her heart didn’t pound right out of her chest and land in a pulsing mess on the cement.
A red BMW flew around the bend in the road and screeched to a stop in front of her. Evie’s hand clamped around the watch strapped to her wrist—her finger poised above the red button. It was likely her only escape route.
Her older sister popped out from the driver side and ran towards her—her eyes wild as she searched Evie’s face. The moment her eyes dropped and locked onto the band on Evie’s wrist, the color drained from her face.
“Evie, please! Just… just don’t move.”
She shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. “Kalli, it’s too late. I’ve already made up my mind.”
“No, Evie, you don’t understand. The Ora hasn’t been fully tested yet. We don’t even know if it works. It could kill you.”
She continued to shake her head, “I already know that. I don’t care.”
“If our calculations are off, you could end up in deep space, you could end up in the early Precambrian period, or you could simply cease to exist. Please, baby sister, just take off the Ora and give it to me.”
Evie swallowed. “But if it works, I can go back and save them.”
“Mom and Dad are gone,” Kalli said.
“No!” Evie shouted, her hand shaking above the device.
“It’s not your fault.”
“That’s easy for you do say. You weren’t the one driving the car. I shouldn’t be here. I intend to change the past, or die trying.”
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and before she could think hard enough about it to dissuade herself, she pushed the button. The last thing she heard was her sister screaming her name.
Evie’s stomach lurched as a gale-force wind blew past her. It felt like she was falling. Opening her eyes, she saw what looked like churning waves coming toward her fast—and then the water slammed into her. It felt more like a freight train. The blinding pain scorched the entire front of her body. The air bubbled from her mouth as she flailed underwater. With no air in her lungs, she had to get to the surface. Looking around, she saw light beaming and kicked out her feet. As soon as she broke the surface, she sucked in a lungful of air.
She treaded water as she attempted to concentrate on her breathing and ignore the pain. The entire front of her body had to be bright red. That was the worst belly flop of her life.
Looking around, she gasped. There was no shore line in sight. She turned her head left and right and spun completely around. It should be there. It had to be there. She’d given herself an hour to intercept the person that triggered it all. The woman who didn’t see them coming and peddled her bicycle in front of her car. Evie had gone over it a million times in her head. If she’d only turned the car to the right instead of the left, her parents would still be alive. She may not be able to undo that decision, but she could stop the accident from ever happening. If only she could stop the woman on the bike. But not only was she nowhere near the highway, she couldn’t even see the shoreline. All she could see was ocean in every direction.
Holy crap! What if her sister was right? The Ora should have taken her exactly three hundred and sixty days and eighteen hours into the past. But what if it not only took her to a different time, but a different place? What if she were miles from shore? What if no one could find her? She’d drown out here. Or be eaten by sharks. At that thought, she searched the surface of the water, looking for dark shadows and dorsal fins. The churning waves obstructed her view. It was hard to see anything that might be lurking under the surface.
“Help!” she shouted. “Please, someone help me!”
She listened for an answering reply, but all she heard was the gentle roar of the sea.
She continued to call for help until her voice was raw and her throat went dry. Closing her mouth, she tried to swallow, but there was no moisture. Oh great, now what was she supposed to do? She had nothing to drink, and even worse, her arms were so very tired, as were her legs. She couldn’t keep treading water forever, she’d eventually drown. Lying back, she tried to rest in a back float, but the water sloshed over her face. This wasn’t like swimming in a pool. There would be no rest. She glanced at the Ora on her wrist. What choice did she have? She’d have to use it again, or die here alone in the ocean.
Kicking her legs vigorously, she tried to lift the Ora so she could see what it was set on. It should say April 14th of last year—the date she’d set it to. She lifted her arm. The date flashed in her vision and made her heart stop. She closed her eyes just before her face submerged. She had to be seeing it wrong. It couldn’t possibly be right. She began to tread water once more, taking controlled breaths and trying to calm her heart. She had to look again.
Lifting the Ora, her suspicions were confirmed.
It said April 14, 1818. About two hundred years ago!
She shook her head. “No, no, no, no. That can’t be right. I didn’t set it for 1818!” The wrong day she could handle, even the month, but the wrong century? No way! That had to be wrong.
She needed to go back. She absolutely had to get back to her own time. And out of this darn ocean!
It was tricky setting the time. She could push the time and date buttons only once before submerging. And it seemed she had to press them a hundred times to get them to the right date. She didn’t care where she ended up, as long as she was back in her time and back on land. Her sister could fly her back from anywhere in the world. As a renowned scientist, she had a lot of connections. But if she ended up in the wrong century again, she might have a problem.
Finally! The date was set. If the stupid Ora worked this time, she’d be back to her own time. Well, close to it. She was still determined to save her parents. But this time, she gave herself two weeks before the accident. That would be enough time to fly back from wherever she ended up and time to prepare. Maybe she could convince her past self to stay at home. But then, maybe her parents would still take the drive. If she had to, she’d slash the car tires.
“You’d better darn well work this time,” she said just before she pressed the button. She stopped herself when a thought occurred to her. The fall to the water was painful enough. What if she were to land on top of a jagged mountain? It would probably kill her. Or what if she didn’t materialize over the mountain, but inside? Holy crap! She’d be dead for sure.
“Ouch,” she said as her arms spasmed with pain. Water washed over her face repeatedly as she attempted to tread water. But between the weakness and muscle spasms, she just couldn’t do it. This was it. She was about to die either way.
With her heart pounding, Evie pushed the button once more.
Pain shot through her arm as a scream tore from her parched throat. In blinding agony, she hung suspended from her arm. She looked over and gasped at the sight. Her forearm was impaled though a limb. She reached out to catch hold of another bough nearby. The tree was barely more than a thick branch growing out of the side of a cliff. She looked to be hanging about twenty feet down the side of a rocky precipice. Evie felt the spray of water and could hear waves pounding below. She didn’t seem to be too high, but she refused to look down.
“Ow, ow, ow…” she chanted as she pulled the weight off her arm, but she couldn’t hold it for long and once again dropped the entire weight of her body against the limb. Crying out, she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. Please let this be a nightmare. Please let me wake up. She opened her eyes, but the scene had not changed.
“Help! Someone please help me!” she screamed as she hung in agony. She had to get out of this tree. She could feel branches below her. Maybe if she stood on a limb, she could figure out what to do about her arm.
“Ahoy!” a voice called out from above. “Is someone down there?”
“Yes! Please hurry!”
A dark-haired head poked over the side. His eyes flashed open wide. “Cursed be, lass. How did you end up there?”
“Why don’t you sit down while I t
ell you?”
“Are you serious?” He gaped at her.
“No, I’m not serious!” she shrieked. “Get me off this tree!”
“I’m coming. Be patient.” He began to climb down. His black boots kicked dirt down on her as he made his way, grasping rocks and saplings on his descent. His clothes were definitely not modern. They looked like something out of a historical movie. What year was this? Thankfully, the Ora was on her good arm. She lifted it and took a look.
1623.
Holy crap! Not only was she not back in her own time, she’d gone even further into the past. And if she remembered her history right, she probably wasn’t in America anymore. The man climbing down didn’t look like a Native American. Besides, he spoke English to her. Where was she? Probably England. Thank heavens she ended up somewhere where they spoke her language.
“Ow!” she screeched when his foot came down on the branch.
“Sorry, lass,” he said. He wasn’t as old as she’d thought. He looked only slightly older than she was—seventeen or eighteen. And he was handsome—strong jaw, broad shoulders. If she wasn’t in so much pain, she’d probably be tongue-tied and in ogle mode. Instead, she was doing her best not to vomit. He swung down and landed on the branch below, coming eye level to her. “How…?” His voice trailed off in shock as the most curious, horrified expression materialized on his face. “How is your arm impaled on this branch? There are leaves on it! And there is no blood. How can you not be bleeding?”
She shook her head. If she told him the truth, he wouldn’t believe her. So instead, she pled ignorance. “I don’t know. Can you please get it out so I can get down?”
He nodded. “I think so. It may hurt a bit.”
“It’s already hurting.”
He pulled a long knife from his belt.
She swallowed. “You’re going to cut the branch, right?”