Memories from a Different Future: Jump When Ready, Book 2 (11 page)

“Maybe I was wrong,” Julie said. She waited a few more
seconds, then said, “I must have been.”

After that, they listened as Julie continued to give her
reading to Wendy. They spent another half hour as Julie told Wendy a little
more of what she knew about her mother. According to Julie, her mother had
returned to the other side again but not before reassuring Wendy that she loved
her and that she would always remain close. Nikki didn’t doubt Julie’s words
but at the same time wondered how it could be that Wendy’s mother could be here
with them while they remained unable to hear or see each other. Even more, how
was it possible that Julie could hear Wendy’s mother and, evidently, her own
group as well? All Nikki could imagine was that it might have something to do
with frequencies or dimensions that somehow overlapped. But she had no way of
knowing and it was just one more mystery to add to her ever-growing list.

After Julie saw Wendy out, she went into the kitchen
carrying the mugs she retrieved from the coffee table. When Nikki heard the
faucet start, she thought it was probably safe for them to talk again, although
she kept her voice low. “Well, we know that she can hear us, so that’s good.”

“How the hell is that
possible
?” Jamie said. “It
wasn’t like Henry was even speaking to her.”

“Some people can hear spirits,” Nikki said. “You already
know that. Granted, it’s rare.”

“It felt different somehow,” Henry said.

“Right, because you can’t just turn it off and on.” Nikki
thought for a moment. “On the other hand, how well can she hear us?”

Julie emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a
dishtowel and looking around the room. “You’re still here, aren’t you?”

“Something tells me pretty well,” Jamie said.

 “Evidently,” Nikki said.

“Damn, I feel so creepy all of a sudden,” Jamie said.
“I’m almost scared of myself.”

Henry burst out laughing.

Nikki looked at the two of them. “Really?”

Julie cocked her head and gazed up at the ceiling.

Nikki waved her arms from the other side of the room,
where they still stood next to the sofas. “Hello? Over here!”

Julie didn’t look in their direction. Instead, she
crossed the room and ran her finger across the top of one of the framed photos.
Dust motes scattered and swirled in the sunlight. “Okay, it could be my
imagination but I don’t think so.” Julie turned to face the room, crossed her
arms over her chest and closed her eyes. She lowered her voice to little more
than a whisper. “Who are you and how can I help?”

Nikki elbowed Henry. “I guess you’re on. Try not to screw
this up.”

Henry shot Nikki a look, then stepped toward Julie. “Hi,
I’m Henry,” he said.

Julie’s eyes flew open and she jumped back. “Holy shit.”

Henry winced. “Yeah, sorry about that. It’s sort of a
thing.”

Julie stared at the exact spot where Henry now stood.
“You said your name is Henry, right?”

“Yes. I’m Henry. We need to talk to you.”

Julie glanced around again, trying to see but clearly she
couldn’t. “I thought there was more than one of you. How many are here?”

“Three,” Henry said. “Myself, Nikki and Jamie. We’re
friends.”

Julie craned forward, squinting. “This is different. I
don’t know why I can hear you like this. I don’t even have to try.”

“Jamie, emerge,” Nikki said.

“Are you sure?” Jamie said.

“Did I just say it?”

“No need to get all
testy
.”

A moment later, Nikki felt that familiar charge of energy
telling her that someone invisible to people on this side had just become
visible.

“Whoa,” Julie said. “Nice mohawk. How old are you guys?”

The buzz from Jamie’s emergence faded and he turned to
Nikki. “I like her.”

“Get over yourself.” But how to answer Julie’s question,
as basic as it was?

“We’re teenagers,” Henry said.

“For how long?” Julie said.

Obviously, Julie understood. Nikki had never imagined
they’d ever be able to get through to someone like this. She felt her pulse
starting to race, thinking that—despite what happened earlier—they still might
be able to intervene and make things come out right.

“It’s different for each of us,” Henry said. “But this is
about our friend. You know him as Ian.”

Suddenly, Julie’s energy shifted. Nikki felt it.
Instantly, Julie backed away emotionally. Images shot through Julie’s mind. Not
clear. Nothing like what they’d experienced. But the impact was the same.
Darkness. Violence. Fear. Julie crossed the room and sat on one of the sofas.
She hunched over and buried her face in her hands. After a few moments, she
looked up again. “What are you asking for?”

Henry collected himself and turned from where Julie had
been to where she now sat. He took a breath, then spoke softly. “Something bad
is going to happen.”

“I know!”

“We need to stop it.”

Julie shook her head, her face still buried in her hands.
“You can’t! I can’t. No one can stop what’s meant to be.” Tears streamed down
her cheeks when she raised her eyes again. “I’m sorry, but you need to leave.
Whoever you are.”

Henry took another step toward her. “I’m—”

Julie jumped up, this time her voice a hiss. “It doesn’t
matter who you are. You can’t do what you’re trying to do. Leave. Now!”

~~~

An instant later, Nikki winced against the blaring alarm.
She looked around, knowing where they suddenly stood but completely unsure how
it had happened. Within seconds, that kid dodged around the corner, eyes wide
as he bolted toward the door, suddenly finding himself trapped.

The cop strode toward him, gun drawn. “Drop your weapon!”

Ian saw the woman as her daughter broke free. He rushed
to push her out of the way.

The gun blast exploded like thunder.

This time, the woman spun back. She fell as her daughter
turned and shrieked. Ian lurched toward where she’d been, arms still
outstretched, stumbling forward. He broke his momentum and dropped to his knees
next to her, oblivious to the gunman while others fled.

The cop fired his gun, responding thunder booming against
hard walls.

A moment of darkness and then Nikki felt herself rushing
through a tunnel of light with no idea where she was or who’d grabbed hold of
her.

Butterflies and
Horses

To say that someone had grabbed her wouldn’t exactly explain
what Nikki felt. She didn’t feel anyone actually touching her but she also knew
she couldn’t get away. Whatever had hold of her wasn’t about to let go. Then
she found herself standing in her garden looking up at the sky as some
presence—she knew it was there even though she couldn’t see it—rushed away
again. She blinked against sunlight, the scene still playing out inside her
mind. The gun blast, the woman falling even as Ian ran toward her, the child
screaming. How was it possible? What had changed and what was real now? Why had
she been forced away and by who? How is it that in one moment, they’d been
talking to Julie and in the next they’d been in that future scene that had
somehow been altered?

She walked toward the fence gate, barely noticing the
roses or dragonflies flittering about. She numbly registered Henry, then Jamie,
walking down the street toward Halfway House, both ambling along in a similar
state of confusion.

She waited for them to catch up and they stood in front
of the house.

“Okay, that was weird,” Henry said, his voice numb.
“Where did you guys end up? Never mind. Let me put it this way—was it somewhere
you like to go and be alone?”

Nikki and Jamie both nodded.

“And just to be sure, since it all happened in like the
blink of an eye, we were talking to Julie and then we were at the mall.”

Jamie shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back
on his heels. “But it was different. This time the woman, the one with the
little girl—”

“What the hell was that?” Nikki said, then turned,
noticing something in her peripheral vision.

Although Martha had never approached them outside Halfway
House as a group before, that didn’t particularly surprise Nikki. If anything
qualified as an event needing Martha’s involvement, what they’d just
experienced definitely fit the bill.

“Let me guess,” Nikki said, when Martha drew close enough
to hear, “someone told you we might be in need of a little counseling.”

Martha met her eyes, paused, then nodded. “Technically,
you told me,” she said. “It’s just one of those things about being in Service—I
know when something is troubling you. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “And it wasn’t like someone you
know—who remains invisible to us—told you?”

Nikki wasn’t sure how Martha would react but she just
shrugged. “Well, there was some of that too. But I also knew.”

“I suppose it would be silly to ask when we actually meet
these people,” Jamie said, glancing around as if someone else might be
listening.

Martha hesitated. “No, it’s not silly to ask. But I just
don’t know.”

Jamie took only a moment to consider. “Maybe not this
time around?”

“I really can’t say. They might be a little too… Well,
let’s just say you already have enough on your mind at this stage. For example,
I got the definite impression you had some serious questions right now. Why
don’t we take a walk.”

Nikki had joined Martha on walks before—they all had—so
she knew to expect what happened next. The sights and sounds of their 
neighborhood faded and they found themselves someplace entirely different. This
time, Martha brought them to a countryside somewhere. Rolling hills stretched
into the distance and the blue sky above shined with sunlight. They walked upon
a dirt road.

Within moments, a horse-drawn carriage crested a hill and
rolled toward them. A man was at the reins with a woman beside him. On the
bench behind them sat two children, a boy and a girl probably somewhere around
ten years old. No one spoke as they rolled past and no one in the carriage
turned to look at them. Only the horse seemed aware of them, glancing over and
nickering softly before turning its head forward again. Nikki wondered for a
moment but felt sure those people they’d just seen weren’t from their same
realm. They’d crossed over but to where or when she couldn’t possibly say.

“They weren’t in-between, were they?” Henry said.

“No, they were just people going about their day,” Martha
said. “By the way they were dressed, I would imagine they might be coming back
from church or perhaps some other type of gathering.”

Nikki hadn’t consciously thought about it before but the
family had been wearing pretty formal clothes—both the man and boy in dark
jackets and white shirts, the woman and girl wearing simple blue dresses with
lace collars.  “And we’re in the past,” she said.

“You can take us back in time?” Jamie said.

Martha nodded. “For instructional purposes only. Isn’t it
lovely? Stop a minute to take it in.”

They stopped walking and gazed out at the hills, the
carriage already shrinking from view as it rolled into the distance. Other than
the faint clatter of the horse’s hooves, Nikki heard no other sounds. At least,
not at first. The impression was of complete silence until she became aware of
birds chirping from the trees. Then the sound of a fly buzzing past. A light
breeze ruffled the tall grasses, leaving in its wake just a whisper to reach
her ears moments later. She closed her eyes and inhaled to gather the sweet
scent of the grass and the earthy clay beneath her feet. An entirely different
world, without the background buzz of cars, planes, music and people talking on
phones.

“Why are we here?” Henry said, now just opening his eyes
too after taking a moment to experience this place.

Martha started walking again. “Partly because I felt you
needed to be somewhere calm and simple for a moment. Each place in time offers
slightly different things, some better and some worse. For example, in this
time medicine wasn’t very advanced and people didn’t live nearly as long as
they do now. Even in your times, people Transitioned sooner than they do now
just decades later. On the other hand, the basic experience was more calming
for most. Simpler, slower, less demanding and distracting. Good for the soul,
if you will.”

Martha looked around at them, beaming that smile of hers.
As frustrated as Nikki sometimes felt at Martha’s apparent need to be cryptic,
she liked Martha. She was impossible not to like—always kind and patient,
always having their well-being in mind above all things.

Still, Nikki shot Martha a knowing look. “And?”

Martha chuckled. “Right, I also wanted to make a point.
You saw that family a few minutes ago. We don’t know where they were coming
from or going to. Come to think of it, I made the assumption that they were
returning from church or from some other event. To be honest, I haven’t even
thought about what time it might be here. What time do you suppose it is?”

The three of them looked around again and this time Nikki
noticed that the sun wasn’t far above the horizon. Not setting, definitely, the
light already casting further out than when they’d first arrived. “Morning,”
Nikki said. “I’m guessing before eight.”

“I think you’re probably right,” Martha said. “We
certainly chose a nice morning to visit. So, let’s say you managed to get the
attention of that family we just saw. Which, for your group, wouldn’t be
particularly  difficult. What do you think would have happened?”

“We would have scared the crap out of them,” Jamie said.

“Indeed. By the way, did you notice the horse became
aware of you? To animals, you’re as natural as everything else around them. But
that’s another discussion for a different time. I’m sure you’re aware of the
concept—since you’ve probably heard about it in movies or books—but if you had
gotten their attention, something would have shifted. Probably something very
small but it’s safe to bet they would have been at least later getting wherever
they were going. And, certainly, their experiences of that event would be
colored differently. Quite likely, what would remain foremost on their mind
would be the moment of interacting with you, no matter how brief or even
well-intentioned. As a result, they’d almost certainly say and do different
things than they would have otherwise.”

“The butterfly effect,” Henry said.

“That’s one way people have described it,” Martha said.
“And, to a degree, it’s true. One little change affects everything else. At
least a little. Sometimes more than a little.”

Nikki stopped and stared at Martha. “Are you saying it’s
because of us that we saw the woman get shot this time
?”

Martha shook her head, just slightly. “Not necessarily,
although it is possible. Something else could have shifted too. With any event
in time, there are many variables. But it does appear that now there are
different possible outcomes. Maybe what you saw was always one of those
possible outcomes and we just now became aware of it due to something else
changing. The Universe is in a constant state of flux and, believe me, remains
way beyond my comprehension.” Martha paused to be sure they heard what she said
next. “Please understand, no one is mad at you. In fact, you might just be a
natural part of the environment for the event itself. When I tell you to be
careful of your actions on the other side, it’s not about judgment or even what
kind of effect your presence may have. What I’m most concerned about is how the
result of your actions will affect you.”

Nikki took a moment to process Martha’s words. “Aren’t
you worried that we may have caused someone’s death?”

Martha’s eyes met Nikki’s. In her gaze, Nikki saw a depth
reminding her of just how much longer Martha had remained between lives. “Of
course, I do care about those in the other realm. At the same time, every death
is caused by someone, even if it’s that same person’s choices. The same goes
for every birth.”

Nikki wasn’t often caught speechless, but Martha’s words
had that effect on her. She never could have imagined the truth of what Martha
had just said while still in her past life.

A few moments passed before Henry said, “Why did we even
end up going back to the event? One minute, we were talking to someone Ian
knows and then we were just there somehow.”

That question had momentarily slipped Nikki’s mind.

“You mean Julie,” Martha said. “Yes, I’ve become aware of
her now since she’s become aware of you. As it turns out, she’s very advanced.
As you must know, Julie is capable of experiencing quite a bit more than what
most of those around her can experience. She’s also quite powerful. In this
realm, I have no doubt she’d be assigned to a group much like your own.”

Nikki brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, blown
there by that same breeze that had been caressing the grasses. “Did she make it
happen? Did she somehow send us there?”

“She forced you away,” Martha said. “As I said, she’s
very powerful. Still, she couldn’t have possibly sent you to the event you keep
witnessing. I suspect you went there because of the connection. After all,
that’s why you went to see her.”

Henry took a deep breath, as if trying to rein in his
temper. “If she’s so powerful, if she can experience so much more than others,
why did she refuse to help us?”

“Well,” Martha said. “That could be attributed to a
slightly different belief system. What she herself feels to be natural and
unnatural. There is also fear, of course. After all, she’s only human.”