Page 127 of After 5
I stepped from the bushes and fumbled in my haversack, retrieving the small wooden box Caiyan had given to me. I had a feeling I knew what was inside. The only thing that could travel through time, not secured inside a host.
I tucked the box back inside my jacket and ran as fast as I could toward the area Toches indicated Mortas held court. My leg was on fire by the time I found Gertie standing on the rails of a post oak fence.
“Jen,” she waved. “You lost your man parts.”
“Are you all right?” I asked her. “Toches told me Mortas was holding you and Marco prisoner?”
“He did, the creep, but Great Aint Elma stopped by for a visit. It was surreal.”
“I saw her in the woods. Caiyan summoned her.”
“Good thing he did. Mortas got all nervous when Aint Elma showed up. She kicked his bottom and told him if he didn’t behave hisself she’d make a steer out of him. His key did that glowy thing and he took off.”
“Where’s Marco?”
“Yonder trees,” she thumbed toward the trees behind her.
I smiled at her usage of Sam’s words.
“He’s recovering from the knock on the head Mortas gave him. Elma told me to wait right here and you’d be along.” She scrunched up her face. “Did you find Sam?”
“Yes, and Will. They’re both safe.”
“Praise Jesus!” Gertie said. The troubled expression on my face triggered more questions.
“Did Caiyan, you know, stay with Victory?”
“No, Toecheese took her.”
“Toecheese?”
“Yeah, I think he can carry people forward.”
Gertie tilted her head, considering my notion.
“She’ll skip a few years,” Gertie finally said, recalling the brief rundown I gave her about Victory. “So, she’ll still be young, pregnant, and beautiful?”
“We’ll find out when we get home,” I shrugged.
“Caiyan’s got some splainin’ to do.”
“We changed his path; he’ll have a lot more than explaining to do.” I prayed he would be alive to explain, to raise his family. We headed into the woods to find Marco. Gertie interlocked her fingers with mine. It was time to take my family home.
Marco insisted on driving himself back to base. As Gertie and I exited my vessel, a suit came forward and welcomed us home.
“Agent McCoy will meet you here shortly,” he said, turning to join the other two suits blocking the exit. His jacket stretched tight across his muscular back, and his twinzies stood at parade rest.
Odd. Jake always met me when I returned from a travel. A strange vibe hung in the air. I glanced behind me. Marco’s racecar bounced the overhead lights off his hood on the platform next to mine. How did he always beat me back? Ace’s photo booth and Brodie’s tub bookended us. Gerry’s confessional towered on the platform behind mine. That’s when I noticed all the platforms were loaded. Everyone had returned from their assignments but remained on base. It reminded me of a…wake.
Gertie threaded her arm through mine and ushered me forward. My legs grew heavier with each step. I didn’t want to know the answer. I wanted to hold on to my memories.
Please let Caiyan be alive.
“If it’s not good news, we can fix it, right? You’re a time traveler,” Gertie reassured me.
The problem was when I tried to fix things, it led to disaster.
Jake met us at the entrance to the hangar. I tried to read his face, but he revealed nothing.
