Kyle looked around, found a branch hanging low off a tree, and snapped it off. It wasn’t exactly a sword, but he felt safer with a weapon. He hoped the raptors wouldn’t know the difference. The raptors watched in rapt curiosity, puzzled by the antics of the peculiar creature from the future.
Kyle stood there with his less-than-mighty weapon and paused for a moment. Looking around, he saw that he was in the same exact spot they had traveled to the last time, but it was different. The vegetation looked a little dissimilar, sparser and the air wasn’t quite as humid. He remembered the strong odor. It still smelled like sulfur, but not as strong. In the distance, where the volcano had been, there was a plateau. Beyond that he saw something moving, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Then it hit him—he had gone back further in time than before. The most obvious reason was the presence of the raptors. For the briefest of moments, he thought about grabbing one of the raptors and just hopping back into the distortion field and hope it would reappear. His mind pictured what that would be like. The raptor would show up in his father’s lab licking its chops after dining on him. Clearly, that wasn’t an option. He might prove to the world he had gone back in time, but at what cost? He wouldn’t be around for the kudos.
And what about Priti? He wondered if he had gone back too far and Priti hadn’t been born yet. Could he find another dinosaur? He could bring back an egg, he thought. Wouldn’t that be something? I could bring back an egg from a T-rex! He quickly dismissed that idea and decided the best plan was to find Priti. That is, assuming he didn’t get eaten which, right now, seemed like a real possibility if he didn’t figure a way out of this mess he was in.
Kyle looked back and checked the spot where the capsule had been and made sure the shoestring was still visible. It was still there, At least half of it was and the other half mysteriously disappeared into the distortion field. Absentmindedly, he reached down for his shoestring. His hand went right through as if it wasn’t there, as expected. He heard a noise behind him—a cracking twig snapped him back to reality.
He turned. The raptors were no longer bobbing their heads. Instead, they assumed a menacing stance and cautiously advanced toward him all at the same time. Kyle could picture them ripping him to pieces and fighting over his arms and legs. That thought motivated him into action. He decided that he had enough. It was the wrong idea to go back in time. He jumped into the middle of the capsule’s distortion field as he had done the last time and waited for the soothing sounds of the violins. He heard nothing. It hadn’t worked. The raptors took the action as if Kyle were fleeing prey. They were hissing now with their heads held low and jaws open revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. Kyle was terrified. He thought this was much worse than the first time when the comet had hit.
***
Dr. Donavan met his partner Dr. Paul Bashan and his daughter, Sonja at the entrance to the lab. Teresa gave a quick look at Sonja and tried to convey what was going on without saying anything about what had happened. She needn’t have.
“Teresa, Sonja, you stay here in the lounge and don’t leave! We’ll be right back.”
Dr. Donavan slammed the door and stormed off toward the main lab with Dr. Bashan.
“What is going on?” asked Sonja with grave concern in her voice.
“It’s my brother again.”
“Kyle? Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t in his bed this morning. He didn’t say anything to me, but he’s been acting funny lately.”
“Do you think he went back…in time without us?”
“Oh m’god! I hope not. If he did, we may have to explain what happened.”
“They would never believe us if we did. Oh, Teresa, what if Kyle cannot get back? Remember all those dangerous creatures? And the comet? Suppose he does not get back in the capsule again?”
“Let’s not get too concerned until we know for sure he’s…gone.” Tears welled up in Teresa’s eyes and that had the same effect on Sonja. Both girls began to cry and hug each other.
***
The two doctors emerged from the elevator and were startled to see all the computers up and running. The program report was scrolling down the screen on the main computer and it read: “Launch Sequence Initiated…time in transit…4 hrs…11 minutes…36 seconds.”
Dr. Bashan looked at his watch. “The capsule left at approximately…3:00 A.M. “How did your son figure this out? He could not have done it alone. David, it took me years before I could handle this program. I refuse to believe some fourteen-year-old kid…no offense…figured out how to launch the capsule?”
“This is all my fault. If I had paid attention to him…”
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday Kyle asked me about string theory. I thought he was just pulling my leg…you know…being the smart-alecky kid he always is. Apparently, he was taking this far more seriously than I thought. If I had gone to his room last night and tried to awaken him, maybe I could have prevented this from happening.”
“It is always clearer when you look back. What is it you say in this country: ‘hind sight is 20-20?’”
“You’re right. Now we have to figure out how to get him back. Is there any way you can intervene in the program and initiate a recall?”
“I do not think we can do that. We have to wait until the capsule comes back on its own. The harmonics must fade slowly until it re-appears. The last time we launched it was quite some time before it came back with the tape.”
“You reset the harmonics to go back a little further this time. Can you tell if Kyle altered the program? Do you have any way of knowing how far back you might have sent him?”
“It was just a wild guess. We need many more launches and to correlate the film with the time period. It will always go back to the same place, but not necessarily the same time. There was no camera in the capsule this time.”
“Kyle’s shoestring was half in and half out of the machine. We know he went back. Oh my goodness! I have to get my son back!” Tears began to pour from Dr. Donavan’s eyes. Dr. Bashan put his arm around his shoulder. It wasn’t something he was comfortable doing, but he was touched by the love David had for his son and felt the pain by imagining how he would feel if Sonja had gone with him.
They were startled when the sound of violins filled the air. The capsule was returning.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kyle raised the stick and tried to look as intimidating as possible. He was still trying to bluff his way out; it was an act of desperation. The situation appeared hopeless. He was outnumbered and any one of these creatures was capable of ripping him to shreds in a matter of seconds.
One of the raptors advanced boldly toward Kyle. It was the one he had struck. Kyle was wishing he had opted for the friendly approach, but it was too late for regrets. The raptor lunged and snapped at Kyle but seemed reluctant to go beyond the distortion field. Realizing the field offered a measure of protection gave Kyle a surge of confidence. He closed his eyes and swung the stick with all his might. Swoooosh! Nothing but air. Opening his eyes and expecting to see the raptor lunging, Kyle was surprised to see all of them fleeing down the hill toward the valley below as quickly as they could run.
“Huh. What‘d ya know. I guess that scared them!” Kyle felt like a mighty warrior as he leaned on his stick and considered his next move, when he heard something breathing behind him. He turned and not two feet behind him were a pair of muscular and powerful scaly legs with large claws on the end of each toe—three on each foot. The old saying his mother used to say came to mind: “Out of the pan and into the fire.”
Kyle looked down at the puny stick he was holding. It was going to be of little use against this creature. There was no way he was going to bluff his way out this time. He backed up out of the distortion field and was about to run, when something about the T-Rex changed his mind. The great beast wasn’t even looking at him. The animal had set its sight on the fleeing raptors.
Without warning the T-rex, t
owering above the trees, leaped into the air right toward Kyle. Kyle dove to the ground as one massive foot came crashing down mere inches from his head. Had he ducked even a fraction of an inch the wrong way, the monster’s foot would have flattened him like a pancake.
Kyle lay there for several minutes hyperventilating, taking short jerky breaths. He couldn’t believe he was alive. Sweat poured down his face and armpits soaking him. As he slowly stood up and watched as the T-Rex caught up with one of the raptors and it shook the raptor violently from side to side. In a minute, the attack was over. Satiated, the T-rex casually meandered off down into the valley below.
Kyle sat down to collect his breath and his thoughts. He didn’t know why the capsule hadn’t returned and was worried he might be stuck here for the rest of his life. He decided there was no point in remaining where he was, but, on the other hand, he also didn’t want to venture too far from the distortion field—just in case the capsule returned.
***
Not far from the embankment where he could see the clearing near the distortion field, Kyle found a small pond. It was murky and dark and had a peculiar odor. A light breeze blew across the surface rippling the pond with small waves. The sky was relatively clear with what appeared to be a thin haze that glistened with orange and purple. The sun shone brightly directly overhead. It didn’t seem as bright through the haze as normal. Kyle knew from past experience that nothing about this time period was what he expected.
Rather than going in the water, Kyle undressed and rinsed his clothes. He was glad the girls hadn’t joined him this time. He would never have lived down that he had peed his pants no matter how slightly.
Above the breeze making rustling noises through the trees, he could hear all manner of sounds—the sounds of dinosaurs! Forgetting the close encounter he just experienced, Kyle felt himself calming and even becoming just a little excited about being there. His mind never felt so clear. He remembered it seemed to come as he listened to the sounds of the harmonics so perfectly balanced. Not even the violin music he listened to recently managed to move him so dramatically. It was as if the sounds of the violins, if in fact that was what it was, had reached down into his very being and massaged his brain and heart, that mysterious inner part of his mind that determined his behavior.
Still, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it meant something—something more than just the sound. Intuitively, he knew it had to do with string theory, but what was the connection? More than anything else at that moment, he had the urge to understand how the universe worked. He wanted to know how he was able to go back in time and how he was able to arrive before he had left the last time. He also hoped he would be able to accomplish that feat again. If not, his father was going to ground him, maybe for a million years. He father possessed the ability to do that with the time capsule. It was a scary thought. Little did he realize that being grounded was the least of his problems.
The breeze suddenly subsided and the drone of the leaves on the trees became quiet. Even the water flattened out and looked like glass. He looked down into the water and stared at himself. At least that’s what he thought. Then the eyes that were staring back disappeared with a ripple. Kyle felt like his blood turn cold as a chill ran down his spine.
***
The girls obediently followed their fathers as they led the way into the lab. They walked past the desk where Kyle had retrieved the glove and used it to get into the vault containing the time capsule. Dr. Donavan entered the code and the vault door slowly began to swing open. Inside the girls could see the capsule. They looked at each other hopefully.
“Have you ever seen this before?”
Rather than answer her father, Teresa asked, “Where…where’s Kyle? Is he in there?”
“No. He’s not and I’m very concerned. If he went in this…machine, he might never be back. So, you can see that this is serious Teresa. We have to know what’s going on and I mean now!”
Teresa burst into tears. Sonja grabbed her face and tried to hold back, but not very successfully.
Horrified, Dr. Donavan and Dr. Bashan looked at each other dumbfounded.
“Sonja,” said her father softly. “You must tell me everything you know. It is a matter of life and death for young Kyle.”
Sonja responded by bolting from the room. Dr. Donavan reached out and grabbed Teresa’s arm before she could run, too. “Teresa, I found a shoestring belonging to your brother sticking half in and half out of the machine when it returned. This is very serious and I’m sorry if it upsets you, but we have to act now to rescue Kyle…or we may never see him again.”
Teresa wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at the shoestring. She shook her head and managed a small smile. Dr. Donovan was startled. “What? What is it? You know something, don’t you?”
Teresa looked up at her father with confidence flooding her mind and the hope she felt flowed over. “Kyle will be back. The shoestring is the key although I don’t know why. The last time we went back—.”
“Last time! What last time? What are you talking about?”
“You’d never believe me anyway even if I told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That we went back in time before.”
***
All of them sat in the lounge at the laboratory: Teresa, her father and her mother as well as Sonja and both of her parents. The two of them had just recounted the story of their trip back in time. A look of disbelief peppered with uncertainty was evident on the faces of the parents.
“This doesn’t make a bit of sense!” Teresa’s mother remarked strongly. “If you went back in time, we’d know it. Why are you making this up? What are you hiding?”
Sonja’s mother, Ravina said, “Actually, it might be true. There are things about the universe that even we scientists don’t have all the answers to.”
“How did you know you came back in time before you left?” asked Dr. Donavan.
Teresa answered, “When we all looked at each other. We were filthy and covered with mud and dirt when we left. But when we came out of the capsule, we were clean again. I even found my shoestring…”
“Shoestring? Again with the shoestring. What do you mean when you say you lost your shoestring?”
“I lost it when we got in the capsule the first time. Kyle tried to get it out, but it was like it wasn’t there? I know that sounds weird, but isn’t Kyle’s shoestring in the capsule this time? Even after it returned without him?”
“What do you think this…shoestring means Sonja?” asked Dr. Bashan.
“We…Teresa and I did not have a clue. But Kyle did. He did not explain it to us, but he seemed to think it was responsible for the capsule returning once we entered the distortion field.”
The two doctors looked at each other with raised eyebrows. It didn’t escape their notice that Sonja had referred to a phenomenon that only they, out of all the scientists in the world, had ever witnessed.
“You said that the capsule left within a few minutes after you exited it. Is that correct?” asked Dr. Donovan looking first to Teresa and then Sonja.
Sonja answered. “Yes. At first, we were afraid of the field and stayed away. It had attracted a number of very large Apatasaurs. They seemed to be curious. The sound of the harmonics seemed to attract them.”
Again, the two fathers exchanged looks. They were both wondering how these young children could grasp such a deep concept as harmonics. Teresa jumped into the conversation. “It was a few days before we were forced to jump back into the distortion field as the wall of fire from the comet approached.”
“Comet? You didn’t say anything about a comet before,” said Sonja’s mom.
Sonja said, “I thought I said we left because the comet was coming. Maybe I forgot to say that. Kyle said it might be the comet that wiped out the dinosaurs. He dragged Teresa and me back to the capsule and practically shoved us into the distortion field. The fire hit at the same time. I thought we were going to die! Kyle
saved our lives.”
Teresa added, “The sound of the violins filled the air and the capsule protected us from being killed. We could see the fire, but we couldn’t feel it. The next thing I know, we’re back in the lab. I grabbed my shoestring out of the gel and put it back on. Then we got out in a hurry. That’s when the capsule came back on. The sound of the violins…hundreds of them…in perfect harmony, as Kyle liked to say, came back and the capsule disappeared. When we all looked at our clothes, Kyle realized what had happened and chased us out of the lab and back into the lounge.”
Dr. Donavan got up and began pacing. Dr. Bashan put his arm around his wife and Teresa and Sonja put an arm each around Teresa’s mother who began to cry. She turned to her husband with pleading eyes and begged him, “Please, David, Please bring our baby boy home!”
Dr. Donavan felt helpless and hopeless. Teresa and Sonja, however, knew that, if anyone could figure out how to get out of this, it would be Kyle. Teresa whispered to Sonja, “If I know Kyle, he’ll bring the capsule back before he left and we’ll never remember any of this. He won’t even get grounded!”
The enormous animal, not quite bird, not quite reptile, beat its wings with slow methodical movements. Its keen eyesight scanned the ground for any unusual movement that might indicate an injured animal. The slow or jerky movements would stimulate the flying creature’s responses and, without thinking, it would begin a low, sweeping speed run at the prey in much the same way a jet fighter might try and fly below the radar as it stealthily engaged an enemy on the ground.
An odd movement below caused the creature to turn its head and focus on the activity. Something was moving, but it didn’t immediately register as an injured animal. There was, however, something about the way the animal moved that attracted its attention. It brought its broad wings closer to its body and decelerated—first widening out the flight pattern. Then it quietly began pumping against the water-laden air thick with humidity that gave the creature the ability to fly in the first place.
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