The Encounter (25 page)

              The rest of the trip back was uneventful until they topped the rise that led down to the house. The first thing Joseph noticed was the corral. It was empty.

              "Damn", he shouted, as he slapped the horses and brought the team to a trot.

              Everyone and everything was being bounced around as the wagon all but careened down the rocky road toward the house.

              Lawrence held onto the seat. "What is it? What's wrong?"

              "Indians", Joseph answered. "Thiefin' bastards."

              Joseph reined in the horses in front of the house. Clothes and furniture were strewn everywhere. Margaret and Sarah climbed out of the back. Margaret had her bag slung over her shoulder. Joseph and Lawrence climbed down from the seat. Joseph had his rifle.

              Their mother's rocker lay on its side in front of the porch. Sarah walked over and tipped it up. Margaret moved some broken dish fragments with her foot. Lawrence picked up a pair of pants and a shirt on the ground in front of him. Joseph made for the house. Everyone followed him in.

              Almost everything in the house had been moved into the front room and piled against the table. The floor was littered with broken dishes, glass from the hutch and clothes from all the bedrooms. Sarah was almost in tears. Margaret put her arm around her.

              The storeroom door was open. Flour covered the floor in front of it and several cans had been hacked open.

              Joseph stepped into the storeroom, then back into the front room. "All the smoked meat's gone."

              Lawrence walked over and tugged at one of the beds propped up against the table. "This is strange. Looks to me like someone was gonna start a fire."

              "So", Joseph answered?

              "So, why didn't they?"

              A commotion broke out with the horses outside. Everyone moved to the door. Joseph was out first. Two Indians were cutting the team loose. Two more were dragging the coffin out of the wagon. A dozen others, some with noched arrows, two with rifles, were mounted on horses forming a line in front of the house; a Crow raiding party looking for trouble.

              Joseph didn't hesitate. His rifle came up and he fired knocking down the Indian pulling on the back of the coffin.

              Margaret's hand came up and snatched the arrow, headed for Joseph's chest, out of the air.

In the same instant, she reached into her bag and threw something toward the two with the rifles. There was a brilliant burst of white-hot light. The animals were startled and for a moment there were horses and Indians all over the place.

              At this point the Indians were more interested in hiding than fighting and several took cover behind the wagon. Others, trying to control their mounts, moved away from the house.

              Margaret stepped off the porch holding the arrow over her head with both hands. She yelled something in their native tongue and broke the arrow in two. She reached into her bag again and threw something at the wagon. There was another burst of light and the wagon box in back of the seat burst into flames. All of the Indians broke and ran, some on foot and some on horseback. Even the one Joseph shot was dragging a leg and bringing up the rear.

              Margaret looked back over her shoulder. Three sets of eyes were glued to her. "You better put out the fire."

              Joseph and Lawrence ran toward the wagon, Joseph giving Margaret a wide berth. They used handfuls of dirt to snuff out the flames.

                                                        ***

              From that moment a paradox rippled through the time line. It had no significant effect until it reached the day after Lawrence and Margaret became part of Earth’s past.

A small town in northern Europe woke to a day not much different from any other. In the hills, outside of town came a blinding flash of light. First the people in the streets began to stagger and fall. Those in the buildings only survived for a few minutes longer.

              Within a few hours the surrounding villages began to succumb to the virus. The virus was only supposed to remain lethal for a few hours. Within a day most of central Europe was silent and dead. Only human life was taken. The wildlife was spared.

              This was a stupid act of terrorism that had backfired. The virus continued to spread on the winds until it finally mutated into something harmless. All through the planet’s eastern hemisphere, cities, large and small, became the open graveyards for a third of humanity.

                                                        ***

              Margaret stepped back on the porch and walked toward Sarah. She backed away from her. Margaret stopped, not knowing what to say.

              Sarah bumped into the wall, and then asked in a child like way, "Are you a witch? I mean, I'm guessin' if you are, you're a good witch." Then she thought about it, "If there are such things as good witches."

              Margaret smiled and watched her for a second. "I guess it must look like that to you, but no, I'm not a witch. Larry and I are just from another place and another time."

              Sarah cocked her head like a puppy trying to figure out what “fetch the ball” means.

              Joseph and Lawrence had managed to get the fire out. The wagon horses had headed for the barn when the fireworks started. They both stood at the corral fence. The loose Indian ponies headed for the mountain chasing the Indians.

              Joseph followed Lawrence back to the house. He wasn't sure what to do about what he had just witnessed. Whoever, or whatever, these people were he owed his life and probably the life of his sister to them.

              Everyone gathered back on the porch. Joseph went to his sister's side. "I ain't sure what's goin' on", he said, "but I think somebody needs to start tellin' the truth."

              Lawrence glanced at Margaret then back. "The thing is, are you willing to believe the truth?"

              "I'm willin' to listen", Sarah broke in. "Daddy always said, the truth has a way of makin' itself known and I think we just saw part of it."

              "Alright", Margaret answered, "but first let's look after your father and then get this place put back together."

                                                        ***

              A funeral was held on top of the hill behind the house. Their father was laid to rest next to their mother and grandparents. Joseph said some words. Sarah stood with the Lawrence and Margaret, her head down and her hands clinched together in front of her.

              Afterwards, everyone walked back to the house and set about putting things in order. That took the rest of the daylight and very little conversation.

              Sarah broke down and cried over the loss of so many of her mother's things. Margaret wanted to comfort her, but wasn't sure Sarah wanted her to, so she left her alone.

              The Indians hadn't left much, but Sarah managed to put an evening meal together. When everyone had finished, it was time for the truth.

              Lawrence sat down his coffee mug. He looked at Sarah and Joseph, then at Margaret. "Well, the truth... This is what I'm gonna do", turning his attention back to the kids. "I'm gonna run through this. Most of it's gonna be hard to swallow. Hell, it’s been happin’ to me for days and I'm still havin' a hard time believing it. One thing, let me finish, and then we can talk. Okay...?"

              Sarah and Joseph both nodded.

              Lawrence took a deep breath and began. "Maggie and I, neither one, belong here. We're both from the early twenty-first century." He paused to let that sink in.

              Sarah listened like a kid being told a bedtime story. Joseph wasn't so sure it wasn't.

              He continued, "I'm from this world. Maggie isn't..."

              "Wait...", Joseph broke in. "What are you tellin' us?"

              "What he's telling you", Margaret answered, "is the truth you wanted. I'm from another star system on the other side of the universe and we're both from the future."

              Joseph figured he'd heard enough of this and started to get up.

              Sarah put her hand on his arm. "We agreed to let 'em finish."

              He looked at his sister and sat back down.

              Margaret looked at Lawrence. He knew what she wanted to do. "Go ahead", he said.

              She stood up, turned her back and pulled her shirt out of her pants.

              Joseph was a little uneasy with this. "What's she gonna do?"

              Lawrence looked at Joseph. "Show you some proof."

              "I've already seen this", Sarah said. "You said it was a... a..."

              "A birth defect", Margaret helped her, as she removed the shirt and dropped it. She had on her insulated underwear. She moved her hair out of the way and pulled down the top to her waist, exposing her back. She had Joseph's attention. She looked back a Sarah. "That was only part of the truth. I
was
born this way, but it's not a defect." She unfastened her pants. Joseph began to fidget. She slipped her thumbs into the waistband. "You didn't see this." She pushed down the pants and underwear far enough to expose the rest of her back.

              Sarah and Joseph were both staring. "What's that hole in your back", Sarah asked?

              "That's like the one you have in front", Lawrence answered. “Here's something else you haven't seen."

              He pushed up his shirtsleeve. He had put his watch back on. Margaret pulled her clothes back in place. He took off the watch and handed it across to Joseph. Margaret sat back down not bothering with the shirt. Joseph looked at it, and then showed it to Sarah.

              Sarah took the watch in her hand. "The little numbers keep changing."

              "Those are the seconds", Lawrence explained. "It's keeping track of the time second by second. Press the little button on the upper right side."

              She did. "A light." She became exited and showed it to Joseph. "Look..."

              Joseph took the watch and looked at it.

              Lawrence watched him. "That's something that won't exist in your lifetime."

              Joseph handed back the watch. "So, how come you're here?"

              Lawrence took the watch. "That's a long story."

              Sarah and Joseph just looked at him. They were all ears.

              Margaret moved close to him and took his arm. "You might as well tell them. To use a human phrase, we're already in deep shit."

              Lawrence looked at the kids. "Twenty-first Century slang for a lotta trouble... Well, I
am
from Texas. Houston, Texas to be exact..."

              Lawrence ran through the past seventy-two hours. Margaret filled in where she needed to. Sarah and Joseph never interrupted them.

              When the story was over Sarah asked, "Then by helpin' us you may have changed the future?"

              Margaret picked up on that. "Every time we interact, do things involving others, we probably change it a little. What we're concerned about is doing something that will filter back to our time. If that happens, then Larry or myself could be affected or even killed."

              "What about the ones chasin' you", Joseph asked? "What are you gonna do about them?"

              Margaret stood up and stepped away from the table. "We need to leave here."

              Sarah was afraid for them. "If you stay, maybe we can help."

              "Sarah”, Margaret answered, “we don't know if we can help ourselves. If they show up, and you’re around, they may kill you, or worse. Larry and I can't take that chance. Not just for your sakes, but for ours too."

              Sarah was desperate. She looked at her brother. She didn't want them to leave. "There must be something we can do."

              "You're gonna need provisions and horses", Joseph said. "There ain't much left here. If you can wait a couple days for things to settle down I'll take the wagon back into town and get what you need."

              Lawrence looked at Margaret. "That makes sense. I don't wanta go back and maybe have to fight our way out again." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the folded bills. "Here, do what you can with this." He passed it over to Joseph.

              Margaret got up, "Just a minute."

              Everyone watched as she went to her large bag. She brought out a smaller bag, returned to the table, sat down and passed it over to Joseph. "Use what you need to outfit us and keep the rest."

              Joseph opened the bag and took out several gold disks. "Is this gold?"

              Lawrence looked at Margaret. "Better idea", to Joseph, "it's gold alright."