“Morning Star to skycar 42068. Sending up decoy vehicles to confuse pursuers.”
“Good idea,” Mike muttered. He saw five skycars shoot up to meet them. All of them were shocking pink and orange. Mike almost laughed. The skycars flew around the Global Guardians craft, crossing in front and back, flying parallel.
“If I know Mom, they’ll use the same frequency signal that we have to complicate the navigation system locked onto us.”
“Great.” Mike concentrated on his flying. He watched the duplicate skycars and blended in with them.
“Laser lock off,” the computer droned.
“That’s a relief,” Mike murmured. “Now all we have to do is find out how to land without a welcoming committee.”
“I have an idea,” Shauna said. “We’re not landing,”
“What?”
“Morning Star this is skycar 42068. Thanks for the assistance. Do not be alarmed. I repeat, do not be alarmed. We’ll meet up with you as soon as possible. Send coordinates to frequency 131.5 immediately.”
“Coordinates sent. What do you have planned?” Louise Wentworth asked.
“Diversion to place Global Guardians can’t reach us.” Shauna lowered her voice. “I love you and Dad. Over and out for now.”
The ocean was deep blue with curves of white from the swells. Mike saw the pink and orange ballet above and to the left of them. The green and white skycar suddenly shot out of the mix and headed in their direction. “They’re after us.”
Mike watched Shauna judge the timing of the Guardian’s arrival. “Grab my wrist. Now.” She punched the right button on her device and a tangerine glow filled the skycar. The walls started to shimmer and a high-pitched whine filled the interior. Mike saw the green and white flying straight at them, then nothing.
Chapter Twelve
December 23, 2004
Mike didn’t know how she did it. They materialized on the same street in Bend in front of the same electronics store that he’d left from. Only it was night time. Few cars drove along the snowy street. Mike glanced around and saw Christmas decorations in the windows. “How’d you do this?” He inhaled a deep breath of clean, fresh air then shivered. They had no coats, hats or gloves. They’d escaped with only the clothes on their backs.
The mountains that he loved looked like dark shapes hulking in the distance. A flake of snow landed on his nose and he wiped it away. “Are we back in 2004?” He rubbed his hands together. “Come here, you must be freezing.”
“Yes we are and yes I am.” Shauna huddled into Mike’s embrace while she finished a calculation on her time travel device. She looked up at Mike. “Your face is still puffy and bruises are showing.”
“Don’t mind me. Your shoulder’s still dislocated. I’ll have to take you to the hospital.”
“Don’t bother.” Shauna pulled out a four-inch rolling pin device from her waistband and waved it in Mike’s face.
“You brought the rolling do-hickey!” He laughed and grabbed it from her. “Tell me how this works.”
“Just push this yellow button. A blue light appears. Roll it slowly over my shoulder. And hurry before I freeze.” Mike moved to get closer to her so he could use the device. “Wait. Let me sit down first. It’s going to hurt.” She wiped snow off a nearby bench and sank onto it. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready.”
He pushed the yellow button and a blue light shone along the length of the roller. “Here goes.” He rolled the thing up the front of her arm, over her shoulder and down the back of her arm. Shauna sucked in a sharp breath.
“Do it again from the back.” Shauna’s voice was hoarse, her eyes were closed, her teeth clenched together.
He rolled it along the back of her arm, up her shoulder and down toward her breasts. “That it?”
“Yes.” Shauna let out the long slow breath she’d been holding. “Let me catch my breath. Then I’ll do your face and my ribs.”
“Good thinking. I don’t want to frighten anyone.”
Mike marveled that he was back in Bend in his time. “What day is it? Wait…don’t get up, I’ll find a paper.”
“You don’t have to, Mike. It’s December 23, 2004.”
“How do you know that?”
“The travel device is programmed to go out on December 21 and come back on December 23.”
“But I’ve been gone for three months.” It felt like years.
“I know. It’s a bug I still have to work out. When I originally programmed the device I used that morning’s date. But I didn’t program the return date thinking I could do it from wherever I was at the time. I guess there’s a calculation that automatically returns the traveler two days later, like a fail-safe feature. I have to look into it.” Shauna shifted her shoulder, testing it. “Seems okay. Thanks. The pain’s gone.”
“Good.” Shauna positioned Mike on the bench and rolled the thingy around his face. He felt a light, sharp tingling, then numbness.
“Done.” She patted his face. “No need to mar that handsome visage.” She kissed his cold lips. Shauna unbuttoned her shirt leaving the top button closed and a blast of frigid air hit her skin. She shivered and hurriedly rolled the device around her ribs. “Why does it have to hurt so much?” She snapped off the light and put the device in her pocket quickly buttoning her shirt.
“What’s that called?”
“Don’t laugh.” She snuggled into Mike’s arms again for warmth and put her hands under her armpits.
“Okay.” The overhead street light showed Mike the teasing light in Shauna’s eyes.
“Roll Away.”
Mike laughed. “Pain Away. Roll Away. Made by the same manufacturer, I presume?”
“I told you not to laugh,” Shauna said. “Yes. And the inventor obviously had no sense of humor.”
“Come on. Let’s go home and get warm. Hopefully my car wasn’t towed from the lot I parked it in when I was shopping for Scott’s present—”
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t have his present anymore. It’s lost in the twenty-second century. What am I going to get him for Christmas?” He took a couple of steps then stopped. “Wait. I called him from your island after Christmas. Won’t he remember that call?”
“No. How can he remember what hasn’t happened yet?” Shauna asked logically.
“Oh. Right. God, this is confusing.” He wrapped her arm in his. “Come on, let’s go.”
They walked around the shop to the parking lot in the back. A few streetlights lit the asphalt lot to keep thieves away. “Oh, good. It’s still here.” Mike reached under a wheel well of a dark blue truck and pulled out a small magnetic box. He opened it and grabbed the spare key. “The wonders of the twenty-first century.”
They arrived at his apartment after ten that night. When he got to the front door he reached under the mat and took out another key. “Luckily there’s not much crime in this town.” A blast of cold air reached them when they walked through the door. Mike pulled his shirt closer and reached to turn on the heat. “I’ll get this place warmed up in a few minutes. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable.”
He turned on lights, checked his recorder and straightened up his bedroom. It was weird to be back here after three months and see the items he’d left out only a couple of days earlier. He felt the heat begin to warm the apartment. “Hungry?” Mike rummaged in the refrigerator. “I have frozen dinners, leftover Chinese takeout or canned tuna.”
When Shauna didn’t answer he glanced into the living room. She was sound asleep on the sofa, her knees curled to her chest, bundled under the down throw he’d left over the back of the sofa. He closed the door to the refrigerator, walked to the bedroom and pulled back the covers on the bed. Then he picked up Shauna and carried her to his bedroom. After settling her under the comforter he turned on the electric blanket.
Mike didn’t know how long he stared at Shauna as she slept peacefully. He knew she’d faced an ordeal, as he had but she’d kept her will and her humor t
hroughout it all. Mike pressed light kisses on her face, gently wiped his finger over her full bottom lip then took off his clothes and lay in bed next to her.
* * * * *
Exhaustion claimed him. Mike slept with his arms wrapped around Shauna until a noise startled him awake. He pried open his eyes and saw gray light around the edges of his vertical blinds. Dawn. The noise continued to blare and he realized it was the phone. “Hello,” he barked.
“Well, good morning to you too!” Scott Forrester said. “I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. Where’ve you been?”
“You’ll never believe it. Can I call you back?”
There was a moment of silence then Scott laughed. “Oh, ho. You’re busy. Yep, big brother, you can call me back. But I want the ‘he-said, she-said’ as soon as possible.”
“Right. Later.” Mike hung up the phone and saw Shauna looking at him with sleepy eyes. “Hi, beautiful.” She looked stunning, all warm and sleepy. Her aqua eyes had golden flecks that he’d never noticed before.
He leaned over and kissed her. Shauna groaned. The minute he opened her mouth with his tongue Shauna thrust her tongue back with passion. Desire raced through Mike and every part of him hardened. He’d never become aroused so fast. His fingers plunged through her short hair feeling the soft texture of it without the gel she used to spike it up. Her heart raced in tandem with his. He kissed her back, filled with love, admiration and a blazing arousal.
This wasn’t going to be a long, gentle lovemaking. They had already accelerated to a hot, passionate and furious fever. Mike felt wave after wave of burning desire rush through him and knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back. He kissed her face, her neck, the hollow at her throat. His hands found her breasts and lightly kneaded and rolled the nipples. A long, drawn-out groan came from Shauna. It spurred Mike on. He kissed her rib cage and stroked the bruises there, then followed the invisible line down past her belly button to her center. Shauna’s legs opened and Mike kissed her.
She reared up on a gasp. Mike felt as if he were struggling to breathe. He kissed and licked until he felt the beginning of her orgasm. Before she could catch her breath, Mike entered her. He set a pace only a sprinter could match and knew the second Shauna caught fire. Amid thundering hearts and frantic thrusts he rushed with her to the peak. Suspended for an agonizing moment, his heart beating frantically, he stared into stunning, wide, desire-filled eyes. “I love you,” he groaned. He thrust into Shauna and sent them spiraling over a sensual crest with a cry of release. Waves of ecstasy pounded through him. He felt the mind-numbing release all the way to his toes. With Shauna cradled in his arms and still gasping for breath Mike knew she had followed him back to earth. They lay in a red haze of gentleness, warm and safe. Nothing felt more right.
“Did I feel the earth shaking?” Shauna asked. “That was incredible.”
“Yes.” Mike couldn’t say much at the moment. He still felt the rush of pleasure race through him and wanted to hold on to it as long as he could. His heart felt tight and his hands were gentle as he stroked Shauna’s wet forehead. “I’ve never felt that way before.”
“Neither have I,” Shauna sighed. “Man-made earthquakes like that could happen at least once a day and I’d be fine with it.” She laughed as she snuggled into Mike’s neck. “Really amazing,”
“That it was, sweetheart.” Mike smiled like a loon. When the last vestiges of the best sex he’d ever had drained away, he pulled Shauna into his arms. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s eat. I’m starved.” Mike gave Shauna a light rap on her rump and got out of bed. “Hmm. I don’t feel too bad. How’s my face look?”
“Too handsome to be real.” Shauna leered at him. “There’s a slight tinge of yellow and green but for the most part you’re fine.”
“How’s your shoulder, ribs?”
Shauna wiggled her shoulder. “Feels almost perfect. Tomorrow I’ll be one hundred percent. The ribs have a touch of soreness but that’ll be gone by tomorrow too.”
“Okay, lovely woman. The order of the day is shower, food, get back and help your parents.”
Shauna didn’t say anything for a moment. She made the bed then turned. “You don’t want to stay here where you’re safe?”
“Sweetheart, I’m going with you. I want to be with you. I love your parents and they need all the help we can give them. He strode naked into the shower not letting her reply to his statement. He turned the knobs to let the water heat. “Sure miss the instantly heated water of your time.”
He stepped into the shower and Shauna joined him. She placed her hands on either side of his face and turned him to her. Staring deeply into his eyes she said, “You are a remarkable man. I know there’s a God because he sent you to me.”
A lump formed in Mike’s throat. No one had ever said anything so beautiful to him. He kissed her wet lips, tugging on the full bottom lip. “We’re never getting out of here if you continue to do that.” Shauna had been rubbing her hands up and down his chest, going lower and lower and lower.
“That’s the plan, big boy.” She licked his chest and followed the same path down to his thighs. Hard and ready, Shauna stroked and squeezed him until he was on the brink of losing control. She offered him the same treatment he gave her and took him in her mouth. Mike couldn’t take it anymore and shuddered his approval of her technique.
* * * * *
Over breakfast Mike asked Shauna, “What’s your plan for getting us back?”
“I’m thinking about that.” She scooped up the scrambled eggs and bacon. After a bite of toast she said, “I think I’ll program us to arrive after the chase we escaped from. I’ll put us somewhere in Switzerland. I figure the Global Guardians think we’re dead because the skycar crashed into the Atlantic. Maybe the time travel device can pinpoint Mom and Dad. Luckily, anything that is on a skycar computer is automatically downloaded to the computer in the device.”
“They think we’re dead? That’s great! They’ve probably already taken our names off the most wanted list.” Mike thrust his fist in the air. “Yes! I’m not a criminal anymore.”
Shauna forced a cough. “Earth to escaped felon, you are a criminal. You’re an enemy of the world, at least for now. Maybe when this gets sorted out you’ll be a hero.”
“Damn. I don’t want hero status. I want regular guy status. Finished?” Mike gathered up their dishes and put them in the dishwasher just as the doorbell rang. “Get that, sweetheart, I’ll be right out.”
* * * * *
Shauna opened the door to a very tall, dark-haired man with deep brown eyes. He had wavy, black hair and the lean body of an athlete. “Scott Forrester, I presume?”
The serious eyes raked over Shauna. It wasn’t a leery, sexy kind of look, it was an “are-you-good-enough-for-my-brother” look.
“And you are?”
“Shauna Wentworth, meet my brother, Scott Forrester.” Mike said when he entered the living room. He pulled Scott inside the apartment and gave him a long, tight hug. “Boy. I sure have missed you.”
Shauna watched the two men. Mike was tall but Scott stood inches taller than him. Their bone structure clearly identified them as brothers. Scott was extremely handsome—movie star handsome. Shauna thought he had a more serious side, a quieter nature.
“It’s only been two days, Mike,” Scott laughed. “You act as if it’s been months.”
“It has.”
Scott frowned at Mike. “Are you all right?” He glanced at Shauna. “She done something to you?”
“I’m fine, Scott. And yes, Shauna’s swept me off my feet. Literally.”
“What?”
Mike laughed. “Sit down. Have I got a story to tell you.”
“I’ll make some more coffee,” Shauna said. She stepped into the kitchen and stared at the coffee pot. “Coffee pot, on.” Nothing happened. “I can’t get this to work, Mike.”
“What’s with her?” Scott
asked. “You find her in a loony bin?”
“Hold on a minute while I go make the coffee,” Mike said. “Believe me, it’s all part of the story.”
Once they had their coffees, Mike pulled a chair up to the sofa, leaned forward and began his story. Scott’s mouth gaped open for most of it but he didn’t interrupt.
“So, that’s it. Everything’s automatic in the twenty-second century. I can fly a skycar, use laser weapons and light-rays and I’m still learning to hurl a javelin.”
Scott stared into his coffee mug. “I don’t believe it. That’s the most cockamamie story I’ve ever heard.”
“I can prove it,” Shauna said quietly. “Here.” She pulled out her travel device and pressed a button on the left side. The hologram screen popped out. She pressed it again and the holographic keyboard slid out.
“Wow.” Scott stared at the instrument. “So big deal, here’s a fancy gadget. Doesn’t mean it’s from 2110.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Shauna agreed. Mike’s head swiveled toward her in disbelief. “But this does.” She pressed the left button a few times and images of Mike and Shauna in the skycar trying to escape the Global Guardians scrolled by. Audio of their conversations, the instruments talking back, her mother’s voice and the sharp sound of the Guardians ordering them to hover were enough to convince Scott.
“Oh my God.” Scott sat in stunned silence. “Time travel. Who would have thought it’d come true?”
“Not me, brother,” Mike said with a laugh. “But I was there for three months. And I’m going back with Shauna today.”
“What?” Scott jumped up. “You can’t put yourself in danger again. Why, according to you, you just got out of prison after a beating. I’d like to see this Pain Away thing and that Roll Away healer, by the way. You can’t go back, Mike.”
Mike gave his brother a stern look. “I can and I will.”
“But…”
“I know what you’re thinking. I have to go back and help Shauna’s parents. They need us. Plus, you’d love them. They’re the kind of parents every kid would want.” Mike took a steadying breath and finished. “I don’t know if I’m going to stay or not.”
No Future Christmas Page 16