Timeless (The Cartographer Book 3) (2 page)

“I'm sorry Sam,” I offered weakly.

He held up his hand and waved it dismissively without even bothering to turn around. “Don't apologize for my ADHD because eventually it panned out. About six months after you had been declared dead, I took a stroll down to the cave after school. I was chipping away at the collapsed wall with nothing more than a flashlight and a thick wood walking stick, thinking about how badly you wanted to break through. You had a rock hammer, I had a walking stick. I figured it would take me twenty years to bust through the wall, but I didn't care. The cave was the only thing tying me to your memory.”

“But something happened,” I interjected.

Sam nodded and turned his head. He stared at me from the corner of his eye with a smile on his face. “You could say that.” He turned and looked at me. He ran his hand through his goatee before continuing. “This trip to the cave was different. One of the stones in the wall looked as if it had been tampered with. I chipped at it with my stick and it broke off, causing a book to fall from the hole.” He cast a glance at the book. “When I opened it, a note fell out.”

“A note?” I asked.

Sam approached the table and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He placed it on the table and slid it across to me. It had yellowed with age and was torn at the corners. I unfolded it and read its contents.

Sam,

I have been keeping my eye on you since Nathan's disappearance. Your relentless poking of the security barrier is quite literally the most maddening thing I have seen in a long time. I have left clues for you all over the place, but you seemed focused on a rock wall for some ungodly reason. I am not sure what you hope to accomplish. Perhaps you think you can beat the wall to death with a stick? It is because of your maddening behavior that I hid my journal in the wall. I am personally running short on time and if I waited for you, we would experience another Big Bang before you discovered it. The Explorer's League has forced my hand. You must follow my instructions to the letter, Sam Wells. The fate of the universe may depend on it. Several years from now, the Earth will face a war unlike any it has experienced before. We must stop it at all costs. Grillick is on his way. He will meet you at this very spot in two weeks. Bring the book. All will be explained.

-Kell

I folded the note and passed it back. “Kell was a big ray of sunshine, huh?”

Sam chuckled. “At the time I happened to agree with you. Until I met him, that is.”

My eyes widened. “You met Kell?”

“Several years later, but that's another story for another time.” He took the note and slipped it in his pocket. “To make a long story short, I went back to the cave two weeks later.”

“And Grillick was there?” I was so engrossed in the tale that I didn't realize I spoke out loud. It wasn't until Sam frowned that I knew I had interrupted him again. I tossed him an apologetic smile.

“Yes and no,” he responded. When a confused look crossed my face, he clarified his remark. “When I showed up, there was a mailbox staked in the ground in front of the cave with a sign that read: '
Please deposit any journals in here
'. So I did what the sign said and deposited the book.”

“Yeah that sounds like Grillick,” I grumbled. “What happened next?”

“Well that's the thing,” Sam explained. “I didn't know what to do next so I waited.” When I looked at him like he sprouted a second head he held up his hands. “What else was I supposed to do? The note said 'all will be explained'. A mysterious mailbox erected in a remote cave didn't explain a damn thing.”

“Good point,” I conceded.

“I was there about fifteen minutes before a voice came from the cave. I followed it to the collapsed wall. Waiting there for me was a…” he paused and looked at me. “Well I guess I don't have to explain what Grillick looks like. Anyway, he was sitting on a rock tapping his foot impatiently. After scolding me for standing outside, waiting like an idiot instead of entering the cave, he finally explained things.”

After several minutes passed without clarification, I held up my hands. “And what were these 'things' he explained? Don't keep me in suspense like that!”

He turned to the window and drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “Prepare to have your mind blown.”

New Mexico Redux

“The book you just deposited into my mobile containment unit was of utmost importance in maintaining the stability of the universe.”

Sam turned and looked toward the entrance of the cave. “Mobile containment unit? It's just a mailbox.”

Grillick's face darkened. “Mailbox? Your kind is so infuriating. Humans have no eye for science. They have no ear for knowledge. They only have tastes for self-gratification.”

Sam turned and shrugged. “That still doesn't take away from the fact that it's a mailbox.”

Grillick shoved his hand into his beard and scratched furiously. After several moments, he ceased scratching and hopped off the rock. “Anyway, I didn't come here to debate the difference between the two. I am here because there is dark work underway up there.” He pointed to the sky. “You're friend, Nathan, will need your help if he has any hope of success.”

Sam's demeanor turned serious. “Nathan? So he is still alive?” A look of relief washed over him. “What do you need me to do?” Grillick looked past Sam, toward the entrance. When Sam followed his gaze, he noticed the mailbox was no longer present. “What the hell…?”

“Calm yourself Sam. It's still there, just shrouded. To wandering eyes it is nothing more than a shadow against the stone.” Grillick paced uneasily before scratching at his beard again. “In eighteen years, Earth will have their first official contact with the Consortium. When that happens, you will need to come back to this spot to retrieve the journal.”

“Why me?” Sam asked. “Why at that time?”

“Because you will be employed by a company called Synthicon at that time,” Grillick explained. He began pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands furiously. “I won't go into great detail about the role the company plays in Earth history, but I will tell you this. You will befriend someone by the name of Solomon Corvus. Your skills in bioengineering and cybernetics will have no equal within the company. Your ability in both fields will eventually catch his eye. When that happens, all will be revealed.”

“That's it?” asked Sam. “All will be revealed.” Sam waved his arms in the air melodramatically. “What happens then? Do I team up with Nathan to save the world like some sort of intergalactic Batman and Robin?”

“Nothing as dramatic as that, my dear boy,” Grillick squeaked. “Let us just say that only time can reveal to you what I cannot.” Grillick stretched and emitted a bellowing yawn. “That's about it.” He moved a rock, revealing a digital panel with a numbered keypad. After pushing four of the buttons, a section of the rock wall slid aside like a door. Sam stopped him before he could walk through.

“What the…?” he stuttered. “Hey, wait a minute. Where are you going?”

Grillick stopped and turned. “Oh yeah right, I almost forgot.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of golden hoop earrings. He shoved them into Sam's hand.

“What are these for?” Sam asked with a puzzled look.

“You will need these as you travel through the time holes,” Grillick replied. “They will make sure you get to where you want to go.” He turned to walk through the doorway but stopped again and slapped his palm against his forehead. “Oh how stupid of me. I almost forgot this.” He reached into his jacket and retrieved a circular object which resembled a compass but was slightly smaller than a Frisbee. Instead of directional markings, it had a clear screen, which lit up with icons when touched, sort of like an iPad. Many of the icon markings were unrecognizable to Sam.

“What's this?” he asked.

Grillick scratched his chin and cocked his head and examined Sam's ears. He pointed to the earrings. “You will need to eventually get your ears pierced to wear those. A clip-on set had been created but kept falling off the wearer during travel, which resulted in undesired consequences.” He scrunched his face with distaste. “Explanations of their use are located within the journal but basically they are to help with guidance through the worm holes.
This
on the other hand,” he tittered and shoved the Frisbee-looking thing in Sam's hand, “is your navigational system. It really is quite simple. All you need to do is plug in your receiving point, month, and year and step through the nearest worm hole.”

Sam looked at the items like they were venomous snakes. “Worm holes? Time holes? Are you seriously telling me that I can travel through time with these?”

Grillick stopped scratching his chin and narrowed his eyes. “If necessary,” he replied curtly. He turned and passed through the doorway.

“Wait!” Sam called. “How do I use these things?”

Grillick walked out of sight, but his voice echoed off of the cave walls. “It's all in the journal. Trust me.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam Grumbled at the empty cave. “Trust goes both ways.”

The Frisbee

Sam removed his backpack and laid it on the table. He unzipped it and produced the Frisbee-sized disc and laid it next to the pack.

“Is that it?” I asked. Sam nodded and slid it across the table toward me. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. When he described it to me, I expected it to look like a Frisbee, but as I studied it, I thought it looked more like a metal pancake with a television screen in the center. The object had no bent edges one would expect from a Frisbee. I traced a finger across the glass, and the screen sprang to life. A picture of a planet filled the screen. It looked like Earth with the exception of a yellow ring around it, similar to Saturn. The planet also seemed to be mostly water with one large continent filling about a quarter of the surface. “What the heck is this?” I asked, pointing at the planet.

Sam stood and craned his neck to see what I was looking at. “That was the last planet I traveled to. The Oculus stores information from prior use and bookmarks it, kind of like a web browser,” Sam said with a smile.

“The Oculus?” I repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“That's what Grillick calls it: 'The eye of the universe' he said.” Sam smiled and spread his arms wide for dramatic emphasis. He reached over and took it from me. “Anyway, to answer your question, that is the planet Gliese.” His smile faded.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“It's located in the same galaxy as Shai's home planet of Drith.”

I winced at the name. It was hard to believe his name still inspired strong feelings of anger and hate. But when I remembered the corpse of Deena, it was no longer so hard to believe. “But what's special about this planet?” I asked, nodding my head toward the Oculus.

Sam shrugged. “Maybe something, probably nothing,” he responded mysteriously.

“That answer was about as useful as a fart in a blizzard,” I replied sourly.

He shoved the Oculus in the backpack and an uncomfortable look came over him. It was like he had suddenly been stricken with a bad case of gas. He stood up and threw the pack over his shoulder. “As the current Cartographer these objects were meant to be passed to you, but Grillick and I agreed it would be best if I held onto these just a little while longer.”

“Oh?” I responded with a hint of irritation. “Why's that?”

Sam tossed me an anger-deflecting smile. “Don't worry, it's nothing negative. Circumstances created unforeseeable changes. Stuff happens. In the meantime, I will continue working the time holes, stabilizing them as best as I can. Don't worry though: I will make sure all of the journals are updated so when your time comes, you will have all the information needed.”

“Why does it suspiciously sound like you have just been nominated as the new Cartographer?” I asked.

Sam hesitated and his eyes drifted to the floor. “Because it's true.”

My eyes widened with surprise. “So where does that leave me?”

Sam's eyes drifted slowly from the floor and a dry smile crossed his lips. “Your role is much bigger than you think.”

Sam's eyes twinkled and he tugged at one of his earrings. Suddenly, I realized the meaning behind his mysterious statement. “You have seen my future,” I gasped.