“Don’t you think we will find help soon?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but if we don’t, this may be our only chance for somewhere to stay when night comes. I’m sure you don’t want to be out in the open with all those nasty critters that would eat you up.” He had a frown as he said it.
“I’m sure!” She threw a hand up in the air at him in disgust with his silly humor. But he was not far from the truth with his remarks.
Weary and hungry, they started out from the small fort with its one-room cabin, to venture into the woods again in search for someone who might help them. Just as they entered the forest, once again, overhead a large hawk circled above as though it was watching them.
“It’s gotta be the same hawk we’ve seen before. I think it’s following us,” Carl said. She shook her head.
The air was soft with a slow breeze whistling through the trees, a soothing melody of the earth and sun coming together in complete harmony. Rather comforting.
Pushing back twigs that tried to stick them in the eyes, kicking at the vines crawling across the ground, and stomping down high grass to make it lay where they walked seemed to hinder their effort to proceed. But they went on.
Beth held a close position behind him as they made their way toward what he thought was the area the office and the highway should be. Suddenly, without notice, he reached in back of him and slammed his open hand against her chest and pulled her down. The rustling sound of someone or something ahead gave cause for alarm. They both ducked behind a large tree and waited to see who or what was approaching.
The appearance of a small Indian girl, or at least a girl dressed in Indian gear, took them by surprise. But they stayed back to watch her as she walked along, with a strap on her arm attached to a bag that appeared to be made of leather hide. Her long black hair hung down, only held back from her face by a narrow headband around her forehead. Wrapped around her she wore a heavy looking skin of fur that covered most of her small body. Her arms came through the open areas on both sides to allow her to move about with ease. She wore moccasins on her feet tied with leather-looking strings around her ankles. It seemed as though she were searching for something. They continued to watch with great interest as she went up and down the open area checking each bush.
When Beth opened her mouth to say something, Carl set two fingers to her lips to keep her quiet. “Shhh…” he managed the sound very softly.
The young girl went a little further away to a bush with red berries and began to pick them. As she got a handful, she put them in the bag, then continued to pick more.
With nothing to do but stay down and watch, they were certain this was not a girl who just dressed up for a re-enactment of anything. This little lady was a real live Indian girl. They watched her linger as she almost danced around the bush to fill her bag with berries, a happy one who was not aware of her audience. When a squirrel ran out from behind a tree near her, she shooed it away with a waving hand and yelled something they couldn’t understand.
Once she had the bag close to full, she turned and strolled past them on her way back from where she came. The urge to follow her had Carl itching to go, but Beth held him back. “Are you crazy? You don’t know where she’s going and how many more like her there are. No way are we going to find out. Not as far as I’m concerned.” She kept her voice low and soft but stern and unyielding.
It didn’t take long for the young Indian girl to disappear from sight. Carl took Beth’s hand and they moved out from their undercover location while scanning the area to make sure they were once again alone. They waited for several minutes for any movement, listening for sounds other than those of the wildlife before venturing too far out in the open.
“I don’t remember any Indian reservation around here—although I know there are some not far from here. This is really strange, Beth. I don’t know what to think.” The deep frown on his forehead brought his brows together as he stroked his chin.
“I think your first guess about a time warp is closer to the truth. This could be some time in the past—who knows when?” She crossed over to the bush with the berries. “I’d like to know how we get out of this.” She plucked a few of the berries left on the bush with her good hand and put them in her mouth. “These are not bad. Can’t be poison if the little girl wanted so many.” She rubbed her injured wrist. The pain was almost gone now that she’d stopped that hand and kept it free of any strain.
Carl tried a few for himself. “I don’t know how we get out of here. We both heard of other dimensions. Also, anything’s possible.” He took down a few more berries while Beth went on to check for more of the same bushes. They both knew the berries presented them with possibly the only food they would have for now or maybe even several days.
“I hope these bushes grow in abundance all over this forest,” Carl remarked as he held a handful of them in his open palm. “We need to move on. The sun is almost overhead, making it somewhere around noon. I don’t want to be caught out here at night. We have to either find some shelter or go back to that exclusive dwelling we came from. It’s cheap rent.”
At least the afternoon sun had warmed the earth enough for them to go on without the bitter cold that persisted during the night.
Carl knew they were headed in the right direction due to the downward lay of the land. It meant they were moving away from the mountains and closer to where the highway would be or would have been. Hope raged within him as he marched along faster and faster, leaving Beth with the problem of keeping up with him.
The thickness of the forest thinned as they went along until they came to another clearing so large it could have been a football field. High grass swayed in the wind like a giant carpet lying before them. At the edge of this wide, open space they made a search of its perimeters to make sure there were no surprises tucked away to jump out at them. Sunbeams laid a glow on a boulder across from them shining like a bright jewel. Trees behind it, now almost bare of their leaves, stood majestically high with wide trunks. The air was cool but the sun warmed the earth some as it traveled to the west of the clear blue sky with not even one small cloud in sight.
“I believe this is the area where the office and entrance to the park should be. That large boulder looks like the one right by the drive coming in.” He pointed to it as he spoke.
“I don’t know—I suppose it could be, but it looks just like a big rock to me.”
“It’s not just any rock, it’s the same boulder at the entrance to the park—I know it.” He took her by the hand and led her further out toward the boulder. “That sucker is much too big to move. Bet it’s been there for centuries.”
“If you’re right, then we are in the right place, but there is nothing here. It’s all gone.”
As they walked up to the boulder, he took his hat off and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. It really wasn’t warm enough for him to be sweating, but it was just a habit when he had to think something out. “Let’s get behind this thing.” He told her as he pulled at her hand.
The yellowing grass was high but low enough for them to proceed without a struggle. There was a good chance some kinds of animals grazed there not long ago.
Coming up closer to the boulder, he gently pushed her behind him. She then followed close but kept a short distance. He walked up to the side of the large rock and motioned for her to stay there while he went around it to have a look at the other side. The strong smell of livestock filling the air led him believe there could be some animals on the other side of the boulder.
She observed him from just a few feet away and noticed his eyes widened. “What is it?” she asked softly.
Curiosity became too great…she moved up beside him. Standing only yards away, four buffalo stood grazing on the grass spread out for miles—as far as they could see. Nothing could have shocked them more than to see real live buffalo standing within throwing distance, unsuspecting they were being observed. This only confirmed the idea they were back in time where
Indians and buffalo would exist. Were these Indians friendly? Would they be willing to help them, or would they want to capture them and do whatever savage Indians might do?
“Okay!” He held both hands wide in the air. “What year is this?” His face flushed, his voice loud—so loud it startled the buffalo so much they let out a loud bellow and took off running fast toward the wooded area of the clearing.
“Are you crazy? You want those Indians to hear you and come after us?” Beth held her hand up to his mouth. “I know you’re upset, but yelling won’t help.”
He pushed her hand away. “I need to think. We have to go back to that little cabin and try to figure out what we can do, if anything. At least we’ll be inside, out of the elements. I’m not sure what we’ll run into next and I’m not anxious to find out.”
“Carl, listen to me. We’re going to have to trust one of the Indians for help. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else around. I don’t know what they can do for us, but at least they may give us some food and shelter.” She hugged her arms. “It’s going to be very cold out here, and I would rather take my chances with one of them and be somewhere inside where it’s warmer.”
“All right, but we need to go back to the cabin first. I have an idea it was not built by Indians and there is someone else wandering around here. Remember that coat. We have to take another look. There could be more evidence of others who may be nearby.”
Heading back seemed longer than it took to get to the clearing. An indentation of the growth made a path for them to follow, but it still took some effort to plunge through. Some places had them in mud halfway up their boots, while in other places dry, thick and crumbling vegetation stuck to their clothes as they pushed through it. The sky took a sudden turn of darkened cloud cover, showing a promise of rain in the next few hours or sooner. With the sun hidden behind the dark mass of them, the temperatures plummeted to a cooler, brisk level. This meant a very cold night without food or heat. The abundant cabin became their only likely salvation for the night.
Beth had a hard time keeping up with Carl. He hurried along, knowing all too well what kind of a situation they would be facing soon. Lightening streaked across the sky followed by rolling thunder as the drops of rain began to fall. They were some few yards away from the open area where the small cabin awaited their arrival. He put his arm around her shoulders and tugged at her to hurry along as the rain became more intense. The increased downpour hit them hard, cold and furious. When the cabin came into sight, it prompted them to run for cover even faster.
They both shook off the rain as they entered the lonely, forgotten dwelling. Carl dropped the backpack to the floor and opened it to get out a small towel Beth had put in there. He handed it to her. “Try to dry off the best you can. I’ll see if I can find some wood for a fire.”
Lightening lit up the forest followed by the roar of thunder. Beth looked out the cut-out glassless window. The rain splashed in and hit the floor below. “You can’t go out in this. You’ll get soaked and then what? Better wait until it stops or at least until it lets up a little. It’s coming down too hard.”
He looked annoyed with her. “Beth.” She didn’t answer or turn to him. “Beth…Beth…Elizabeth.” Even speaking her full name, she didn’t answer or turn around to him. Her eyes were fixed on something outside as she stood frozen at the window with her mouth open, her eyes wide.
He realized there was something out there holding her in a state of alarm, so he stopped calling out to her and came up behind her to view what had her staring.
The hard downpour couldn’t hide the appearance of three poorly dressed men. One was in a uniform which dated back many years into the time of the Revolutionary War and the other two wore what looked like torn shirts and pants. They came running toward the cabin. Carl pulled Beth down to the floor below the open window case.
“Don’t make a sound, just keep your head down. These guys don’t look like Indians, but they could be dangerous.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The men came through the door, a shocked look on their faces to see a strange couple sitting on the floor holding one another, fear written on their faces. They raised their muskets and held them trained on the frightened pair. All three stood in the doorway in a threatening posture, appearing tired and wet.
Carl raised a hand in surrender while trying to force a smile. “Don’t shoot, we’re lost—we don’t mean any harm,” he pleaded as Beth held tight to his jacket, her eyes glued to the nose of those guns pointed at them.
Eyes fixed on the shivering, frightened couple on the floor, rain dripping from the rims of their hats, the men moved slowly toward them with muskets still aimed. In what seemed to be an English accent, one of them spoke. “How did you get here?” He held the gun up close to his face, peering down its barrel with piercing eyes. “Stand up so we can see you better and walk over to the cot. Keep your hands out so we can see them.”
No argument there. The two stood and slowly walked to the sagging mattress on an iron frame, holding their hands out in front of them. Beth stayed close at the side of her husband. Her hands trembled as she strolled across the floor, her gaze never leaving the sight of those guns. One of them lowered his musket and held a hand up to wave to the others to do the same.
“Sit, I want you to tell us where you’re from and how you got here,” he asked.
The other two came closer to the intruders on the cot and circled them as they looked with curious interest. Beth’s eyes began to follow them as they came up behind and then back around to face them. She let out a little whimper, exposing how upset she was. The closest man backed off slowly to join the others who stood a few feet away. Carl stood then carefully moved in front of his wife to let them know he would protect her. One of the soldiers came up to him, reached out his hand to touch the sleeve of Carl’s jacket. His fingers ran across the smooth manufactured leather while his eyes examined it in a curious way. Carl stood motionless, letting him investigate. The unshaven face of the tired-looking man lifted. His eyes, just below the curled rim of his hat, met Carl’s. They stood face to face for several moments.
“Who are you? Where are you from?” He had an undeniable English accent. His companions stayed back, watching with great concern. Beth huddled close behind Carl trying desperately not to cry.
“We found ourselves here. I don’t know how we got here. We are from another time—a time in the future. We had a cottage…but now it’s gone.” He lowered his head but kept his eyes on the man. “We just need help—we are not here to hurt anyone.”
“Where did you get those clothes?” the weary soldier asked. “That short coat, what is it? I never saw any like it.” He circled Carl, a hand up to his unshaven chin. “Strange,” he commented as he came back to face to face with Carl.
“It’s made in my time—you know, a time in the future. Its leather made from the hide of an animal. I know it looks different from what you have here, but in time they improved on these things.” He opened the jacket to show him the inside. The other two men came closer, straining to get a better look.
“I don’t know anything about this time in the future, but I think we can trust you. There is a war on, and no one should be out here like this alone with no gun—” he looked around “—or knife.” He looked at Beth. “What about the woman?”
“She’s my wife. I don’t want anything to happen to her.” He moved over slightly to block the man’s view of her.
“We don’t hurt women.” After he said it, he walked to the doorway.
Carl spoke after him, “Is it safe here? We saw an Indian girl back there picking berries.”
The soldier turned to face him again. “Should be no worry as long as they are the Oneidas, who are on our side.” His brows came together. “Oh, there are still those who would like to have your scalp and would do anything to get it. You have to be careful, but even more so with the British. They will kill you right on the spot.”
“What year is this?” Car
l asked. The men stared straight at him, startled by the question.
“You mean, you don’t know?
“That’s right, I don’t know.” Carl stepped a foot forward, keeping Beth close.
“I think you may have been hit in the head or something. It’s 1777. Everyone knows what year it is. I wouldn’t be so surprised if you had asked the day, or even the month…but the year?” He laughed and then looked outside at the rain. “As soon as this rain lets up, we will take you to Chief Paul—that is if he’s still at the fort. If not, someone there will talk to you.”
“Are you talking about Fort Stanwix?” His eyes widened. “I remember it from history about the Revolutionary War. It’s a historical site here.”
“That’s what they call it, all right. I don’t know about historical.” The soldier smiled. “I guess you know where you are at least. I was beginning to think you came here from some kind of foreign place we don’t know about.” He walked around the nervous two, inspecting them with great interest.
“Umm, you seem to know more than I thought. Are you sure you’re not someone from the other side, or from one of those renegade Indian tribes who left here awhile ago? They sometimes harbor the English among them.”
“No, my wife and I are just plain people tossed into a time warp of the past and want to get back to our own time—our own lives.” Beth was now standing behind him and moved slowly along as he walked toward the men. “I was going to get some wood for a fire.”
“You want to venture out in this rain?” The tall warrior pointed outside to the hard driving downpour as the wind blew hard against the walls of the small structure. Lightning and thunder so loud it drowned out his next words forced him to stop talking as he looked once again out the open door.
Beth stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Carl’s ear. “Don’t upset them—just try to be real nice.”
Outside That Door Page 7