Escape: The Seam Travelers Book One

by Jason Nugent

  They stepped aside, to allow a second gurney to descend, this one also carrying a bagged body of an approximate size as the first. His fear grew. Markus may not have survived the encounter with whoever came calling. Were the assailants from this world or the other? He wasn't sure why he held onto that hope—that it might have been a break-in gone bad. In his heart, he knew the truth. The princess had been discovered. The only question left was whether she was there when the attack occurred or elsewhere. He had to find Alyanna, the other guardian.

  As if on cue, she was led out by a male and female EMT. Samuel let out a long breath of relief. But if she was here, where was the princess? She was never supposed to be out of their sight, even if the girl was not aware of their scrutiny. Did that mean she'd been here? For once, he prayed they had allowed the girl to go out unprotected. He studied Alyanna. She looked shaken and leaned on the EMT's for support, but otherwise appeared uninjured. Her head hung as if incapable of holding it erect. Perhaps it was from the knowledge she failed to keep her charge protected.

  The black detective stopped them for moment, said something, then motioned for a uniformed officer to accompany them. They climbed into the back of a waiting ambulance. Minutes later, the EMS vehicle drove off. Samuel followed. He had to speak with Alyanna. He had to know what he was dealing with.

  He parked in the hospital lot and watched as Alyanna was placed in a wheelchair and taken inside the emergency room entry. The cop followed close behind. Samuel worked up a plan and exited the car. He rushed through the doors in time to see Alyanna wheeled through double doors at the rear of the room. He went that way to catch them, but a nurse stepped in front of him.

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  “Ah, they just brought my niece in. I was trying to catch them.”

  “She's being taken for examination. If you want to sit in the waiting room, someone will let you know when she's through.”

  “But . . .”

  “Sir, there's nothing you can do for the moment. You are not allowed back there right now. Please, take a seat.” She pointed behind him to the rows of mismatched seats and gave him a look, that said, 'Don't challenge me.'

  His shoulders slumped. He turned and walked, glancing over his shoulder. The nurse had been expecting something and stood with arms folded and an 'I dare you,' look. He sat.

  More than two hours later, the nurse came over and said, “Your niece has been taken to a room. They're keeping her for further evaluation. She is in room three twenty-two. You may not be able to see her yet, but you can check in at the nurses station and wait upstairs.”

  “Thank you.”

  Samuel found the elevators and rode to the third floor. He ignored the nurse’s station and hunted for the room. He didn't have to look hard. The cop stood guard outside her door. He hesitated, then proceeded. It was perfectly normal for a relative to be here and want to see the patient.

  He nodded at the cop and turned to the door. The man extended an arm to block his path. His other hand slid to his weapon. “I'm sorry, sir, No visitors.”

  “But, I'm her uncle.”

  “I understand, sir. But for the moment she is off limits to everyone including family until the detectives can speak with her.”

  “This is outrageous. She's my niece and I want to see her.”

  “I understand, sir, but no matter who you are, I'm not letting you in. You need to lower your voice and go sit down in the waiting room. Someone will inform you when she can have visitors.”

  Samuel stood gaping at the man, not sure what to do next. He could get into the room with ease if he wanted, and he did. With a glance up and down the hall, he quickly formed a plan. He went to the waiting room, found a red plastic chair and carried it back. The cop stiffened when he saw him approach.

  “Sir, you don't want to make this a problem.”

  “Not at all.”

  He set the chair down against the wall next to the door.

  “You can't sit here, either.”

  “The chair's not for me.”

  The officer's brows knitted. “Who's it for?”

  “You.” Samuel smiled.

  Whatever the cop saw in that smile caused him to reach for his weapon. Samuel mumbled a few words, waved his hand in front of the man's face as the gun slid from the holster, but before he could bring it up, his head lulled to the side. Samuel caught the man before he collapsed and dragged him to the chair. He sat him down, then holstered the gun. With another quick glance down the halls. He entered the room.

  Forty-One

  HE CLOSED THE DOOR and stood studying the woman in the bed. He wanted to feel compassion, to comfort her agony, but the princess might be in danger and this woman was to blame. She cried softly, unaware of his presence. He stepped closer to her until she noticed. Her head turned. Within seconds of recognizing him, she burst into tears. He advanced to calm her. Sobs racked her body. The heart rate rose, the intervals between beeps decreased.

  “Oh Samuel,” she extended a hand to him. He let it hang, angry with her failure. “They have her.”

  “Who has her?” his tone harsh.

  She pulled her hand back. “The mage came for her. They killed Markus,” she screamed his name.

  He stepped to her bed and glared at her. She cringed and withdrew to the far side, wincing from the effort. The pain made her gasp. She clutched at her side. A red welt stretched across her face. Her chest was bandaged, perhaps indicating broken ribs. She had at least put up a fight.

  Samuel allowed some of the anger to drain. She would have been no match for Rhoden. Their best hope of defense had always been not being discovered. He trained the guardians as best he could, but in the end, it was never going to be enough. He blew out a breath allowing the hostility to go with it.

  “Tell me, Alyanna. What happened?”

  She explained adding how she killed one of the bodyguards. But once Rhoden entered, he incapacitated her. Unfortunately, she had been rendered unconscious and never saw what happened to the Princess. Had Rhoden managed to escape with her or was he still in this world? He needed to go. To plan for either contingency.

  “You did the best you could, Alyanna. Rest. Get well.” He turned to go.

  “Samuel, Markus is dead.”

  He didn't respond, nor did he look at her.

  “We gave up everything for you. Our homes, our futures. Our lives.”

  He spun now, anger driving his words. “You gave up nothing. You would have been killed or enslaved had you stayed. I gave you a life, a future. Am I upset Markus is dead?” He paused, his voice softened. “Yes. But I have to find the princess. If I succeed, there will be time to mourn him later. If I don't, it won't matter since I will have joined him.” He opened the door. “Be well, Alyanna.”

  MARGARET STERLING WALKED out of the conference room and down the hall toward the lab. She just finished yet another long explanation of what happened the day of the so-called fire. Still no cause had been determined, but fortunately, neither had any damage. She was tired, not just physically drained, but mentally exhausted and fed up with having to explain her actions. It wasn’t her fault some old geezer got into the lab. She certainly didn’t admit him.

  She made a turn and ran into a man.

  “Oh, excuse me,” she said stepping away.

  “My fault entirely,” the older man said. “Pardon me.”

  He moved away from her down the opposite direction. Clearly something pressing was on his mind. She made it two more steps before a nagging in a far corner of her brain slowed her steps. She was brought to a halt three steps later as the nagging notion took root and fought to the surface. Five seconds later she had it and whirled to give pursuit. She raced through the door dodging past incoming and outgoing patients and finally stood out front scanning the parking lot.

  “No, I’m not letting you get away this time,” she muttered, determined. Still, not finding him, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number of the detective who’d given it t
o her. She expected it to go to voicemail, but to her surprise was answered on the third ring.

  “Grant.”

  “Detective, I don’t know if you’ll remember me, but this is Margaret Sterling from City Hospital.”

  “Sure, Ms. Sterling. I remember. what can I do for you?”

  “That man came back. The one who was in the lab the day of the fire. I just saw him leaving.”

  “Can you see him now?”

  “No, but he only just left.”

  “I’m close. Where are you?”

  “Out front.”

  “Wait there.”

  SAMUEL SAT IN THE CAR contemplating his next move. He took out the cell phone from a jacket pocket and stared at it for a moment. Such a strange item. Had he not been forced to live in this world for all these years, he never in his wildest dreams would have thought of such a thing.

  He typed in a number from memory. Dina answered on the first ring.

  “Tell me you still have the prince.”

  “Yes. Why?” A note of panic crept into her voice. “What's happened?”

  “They found and took the princess.”

  “Oh no. Did they cross back with her?”

  “Unknown. I'm going to find out, but I need you to put the emergency plan into effect. I can not be sure they have not discovered you, too. Go to the safe house, use the security I showed you. If you do not hear back from me. You are on your own.”

  “Understood.” She hesitated and he could hear in the silence she had something more to say. “Speak, Dina.”

  “Don't you think it is about time the prince knew the truth?”

  “If I do not come back, use your best judgment as to what you do or what you tell the prince.” He was about to disconnect when he changed his mind. “No, get him out of town now and then tell him. Tell him everything, then increase his training. It will be better if he is involved in his own defense.”

  “Samuel.”

  “Yes?”

  “Good luck.”

  He disconnected. If Rhoden had already secreted the princess through the seam, he would need a lot more than luck. He drove out of the lot as a police car approached, lights flashing, siren wailing. He braked, let the unmarked car pass, then drove on.

  Forty-Two

  GRANT SCREECHED THE car to a stop in front of Margaret Sterling as she waved her arms frantically over her head. He hopped out of the car and ran to her.

  She ran to meet him, pointing toward the street. “You just missed him. He just left the lot. He turned left.”

  “Did you notice the type of car?”

  “It was a green four door. I think a Buick. You should still be able to catch him.”

  Grant didn’t reply. He whirled back into the car and sped away. Once he reached the street he lit the light and made the turn. The green car was not in sight. He doubted success, but after the night he’d had already, he needed a win. Ten minutes later, he pulled to the side of the road and pounded the steering wheel.

  SAMUEL MADE A STOP at his apartment and gathered the items he had both saved and collected should he ever have need to cross through the seam again. In truth, he'd been back several times, to keep in contact with those still loyal to the crown, but none of those trips required him to do what this journey called for.

  He was getting older and was sorely out of practice. He wondered if he still had the ability to deal with this threat or if his time had finally come to an end.

  The car nosed up the ramp of the parking garage. He parked on the fourth of six levels, to the far right. He stripped out of his suit and shoes and replaced them with his robes and boots. The clothes and other items of this world were locked in the trunk.

  GRANT MADE A U-TURN, frustrated and thinking about going back to Fuzzy’s. He no longer wanted to face sleep sober. He debated going back to the hospital, deciding instead to report his failure to Margaret Sterling by phone. At a stop light, he slid the phone from his pocket and glanced down to find the number. When he looked up, a green car had made the turn on the road out in front of him. It could be the same car, but it was going in the opposite direction. Still, wanting something to go right today, he decided to follow. He put the phone down on the passenger seat and turned on lights and sirens. He was the third car in line and had to wait for the cars in front of him to move to give him the room to go around them in the oncoming lane. The maneuver cost him several precious seconds. It took him a moment to find and lock on the green sedan, then it was all out pursuit.

  He cut the distance in half and spotted the green car turning into a parking garage.

  SAMUEL STRODE TO THE partial wall. This was the tricky part. The top half was open and he now faced a twenty-story office building. Normally he would wait until dark, but he could not afford to delay. If the princess had been taken, he had to get to her as fast as possible before that monster, Mortas got a chance to play with her and create a royal minion that would sway the people to give up the rebellion.

  He dared not enter through the original seam, knowing Rhoden would have an ambush waiting for him. Through the years he’d searched for another path across. It had taken a long time and cost a lot of energy and strain on his brain and heart. There had been two false paths, one leading to a desolate world of harsh winds and torrid heat, the other an icy world so bone chilling his face numbed just peering through the seam.

  However, he did find an alternate route, six of this world’s miles from the original entry point. He used it once. The only other person with knowledge of the seam was Phetrix and an old man who lived on a farm not far from where he would enter. That man was his conduit to the rebels loyal to the king and queen.

  As he took one long last look around the garage and the world he could see beyond, he heard from somewhere on one of the lower levels a car was coming fast, the tires squealing in protest. He then began the spell that could lead to his death. As the seam opened, his gaze rested on a window seven floors from the ground in the office building. A woman stood watching him, a mug of something in her hand.

  She waved at him, evidently thinking his gesticulations were the like. He gave her a quick wave, stepped up onto the concrete wall, and stepped out into open air. His last sight of this world was the woman's horrified face, perhaps thinking he was about to commit suicide. As the seam closed behind him, he wondered what she thought now.

  Grant found the car on the fourth level. He’d entered sans lights and siren, not wanting to spook the driver. He braked and scanned the garage, but the man was nowhere in sight. Had he changed cars and escaped past him? No, he didn’t remember a car going the opposite direction. The only other choice was if he went up. Two more floors lay above.

  He started moving and then slammed the brakes fast as he caught sight of the man standing on the edge of the half wall.

  “Oh, don’t tell me he’s gonna jump.” He slipped the stick into park and got out, mumbling “can this day get any stranger?”

  As he ran the man waved to someone in one of the office buildings. He didn’t have the angle yet to see who. In front of him, just beyond the wall, trees appeared, then he saw a what looked like a very old barn. They appeared out of nowhere and seemed to float in the air. What the hell was going on?

  Grant ran around the green car and toward the man who looked oblivious to his presence. The man calmly stepped off the ledge. Grant screamed, “No!” But he was too late. The man was gone. He reached the wall and looked down. No body was in sight. He leaned further for a better angle. Nothing. Where did he go? he looked out straight off the wall looking for the tree and barn, but they had disappeared as well.

  “I’m losing my mind.”

  He glanced up and spotted a woman pressed against the glass of the building across and above him. He lifted his arms in a shrug. She shook her head and returned the shrug. Now he regretted asking if the day could get any stranger. It just had.

  He climbed back in his car and sat wondering what to do. A car came up behind him and honke
d. he wasn’t ready to move so motioned him around. He sat in the car running through the events of the day. The flying cars, the disappearing men. Now this guy vanished. Had aliens come to the planet?

  Finally, he decided to go down and check the sidewalk to verify the man had not plunged to his death. As he drove away a shouted voice caught his attention. Grant hit the brakes and looked for the source. In the rear view mirror, two men came into view in the same place the other man had disappeared. Both were dressed in shabby clothes and looked like homeless men. What caught his attention though was the sword one man carried.

  “Oh hell no. This can’t be happening.”

  He exited the car and stared over the roof at the two men. His first thought was he needed a drink. His next was this was going to be a long night.

  Thanks

  THIS WAS AN INTERESTING project for me. I'd never co-written a story before, but I have to say I couldn't have had a better partner than Jason. The story was fun to write to conceptualize. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series. I want to thank Jason for agreeing to undertake this project.

  I'd also like to thank author and editor Steve Wilhelm for agreeing to step in last minute to help us complete the book and have it ready by our deadline. Well done, Steve.

  As always, a special shout out to all those who have stuck with me over the years. It's been a fun journey and promises to only get better. Thanks for your continued support. Read all you want. I'll write more.

  -Ray

  TO SAY THIS WAS INTERESTING is an understatement. As it is the first co-written project I’ve done, it’s been a blast. I can’t say enough great things about Ray and his direction with this.