Time Lost: A Time Travel Novel, page 20
They had spent the last hour in the conference room, engaged in conversation about Sally’s potential future. One option under consideration involved Sally starting anew in the Northwestern United States, assuming a new identity. This plan included providing her with a car, a two-bedroom house, sufficient funds for her to pursue a training program or a college education, and a monthly stipend until she could support herself.
Feeling overwhelmed, Sally said she needed air and a walk, so Morgan stayed behind while the ladies went for a night stroll.
As they moved along the path, Ayita looked to Kara to raise the subject of Sally’s second option.
Sally stopped, stuffed her hands into her coat pockets, and gazed up into the sky with an absent, dreary smile. “It’s cold. I didn’t know the desert got so cold. And the sky is so clear and beautiful. There are so many things to learn and experience in this world. I’d love to write about it; to write a story or an article about this night and everything I’ve experienced.”
Ayita and Kara remained silent.
Sally turned to them. “If I accept your offer to relocate, I won’t know anyone. I won’t have a past or any family or friends.”
“But you’ll meet new people and develop friendships,” Ayita said. “And I live in Northern California. I’ll come for visits until you get adjusted.”
“And you’ll meet some handsome man and fall in love,” Kara said. “You’ll be married in no time. You’re a beautiful young woman, Sally.”
Sally kept her attention on the twinkling stars. “And what would I tell this man about myself? I don’t know, it seems like such a lonely choice. And I’d never be able to tell anyone the truth about me.”
They walked on for a time before Sally stopped again, crossed her arms, and stared out into the vast, shadowy desert. “I haven’t asked about the other options because I’m frightened. I know Morgan wanted to tell me, but I cut him off, didn’t I?”
“I know you’re scared,” Kara said. “But it’s time you know everything we know, so you can make your decision.”
Sally tugged her ski cap down over her ears. “It’s so quiet here, so very quiet. I can hear my breath. And you know what else I’ve been thinking? What happens to uncried tears? I can’t seem to cry anymore.”
Neither Kara nor Ayita responded.
Sally drew in a breath, blew it out and turned to them, holding her arms tightly at her sides. “Okay… I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and maybe I have some idea about what you’re going to say. So, go ahead.”
The trio stood close, staring eye to eye.
Kara spoke. “Sally, we have learned that the extraterrestrial who transported you to 2023 did so in order to save you from a potentially debilitating or fatal accident. You were about to be struck by a drunk driver.”
Sally nodded. “Okay… go on.”
“We know this because we have an alien contact named StrallVoss. We recently met StrallVoss, and he explained that you were being watched by this extraterrestrial, who intervened, something he should not have done. And now, because it was his mistake, StrallVoss has suggested that there is the possibility you could be returned to 1953.”
Ayita broke in. “However, this option comes with its own set of dangers… Sally, it appears that time is not as precise as we thought, according to StrallVoss. It seems to have its own unpredictable nature. So, you might return at the perfect moment and avoid the drunk driver and the accident, or you might not, and so you could be physically and mentally debilitated, or even killed.”
In the soft beam of the flashlight, Sally’s eyes shifted nervously. “All right, so I guess that’s not what I thought you’d say. I thought maybe they wanted to take me… you know, take me to their planet.”
Sally laughed, but there was no pleasure in it. “Gosh… that’s so crazy, isn’t it? I had dreams about it. Big towers for cities, dazzling lights and tall, beautiful people.”
They fell into silence.
Sally lowered her gaze. “So, you actually talked to this alien person… This being? What did you say his name was?”
“It’s StrallVoss,” Kara said. “And yes, Ayita and I saw him here inside that hangar, and we spoke with him.”
Sally mentally processed Kara’s words, a trembling hand covering her mouth. When she lowered her hand, her eyes met Kara’s. “Okay… And this alien is not the same alien who sent me here into the future?”
“No, but StrallVoss may have the power to send you back,” Ayita said. “Now, Sally, here’s the other part of this that we must share with you. StrallVoss wants to meet you. If you choose to return to 1953, he requires your personal consent before he confers with his superiors to request your return.”
Sally stared with round, disbelieving eyes. “Me? This alien… This extraterrestrial wants to meet me?”
“Yes, Sally,” Kara said. “But it’s entirely up to you. If you would rather not, that’s fine. We’ll tell StrallVoss you wish to stay here in 2023 and that will be the end of it.”
Sally turned away, ran a hand across her forehead and walked off, pondering. Her emotions were bursting inside her: excitement and anxiety. The possibility of seeing her kids thrilled her. The possibility of seeing Ronnie scared her.
Despite everything that had happened, being separated from him and his volatile moods, from his criticism of her and his physical abuse, she’d learned something: if she ever had the chance to go back, she’d leave him. Divorce him, no matter the financial and mental cost, or what people thought of her.
But if she was physically and mentally incapacitated, what kind of life would that be? If she was killed, she would never see her children again. It was a terrible and unfair choice, a choice that tore at her heart. It was a lousy, twisted thing that no one should have to confront or endure.
“Maybe you need time to think this through, Sally,” Ayita said. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here, day or night. Anytime.”
Kara lowered her head. “Unfortunately, though, StrallVoss has not given us much time.”
Sally turned, meeting their gazes, and she walked back to them. “How much time?”
“Two days from now. Ayita will have to contact him and give him your answer in two days.”
Sally was staring, thinking, hurting. “Do either of you have children?”
They shook their heads.
“Then you don’t know. How can you know? You can’t know how it feels to sleep and ache for your children, and to wake up and ache for your children, and with every breath and every thought, you ache for your children. Every hope you’ve ever had is to protect your children, and share their lives, and watch them grow.”
Kara and Ayita held their compassionate eyes on Sally.
Sally smiled, and it was a beautiful, agonizing smile. “I don’t have a choice, do I? No, not really. Even the possibility… the slightest possibility that I could see Don and Mary as children again makes me so happy, and it fills me with life and hope… Hope I haven’t felt since I woke up in this time.”
Sally maintained her smile. “I’ll meet this... being. This alien. I’ll meet him as soon as possible, and even if there are potential negative outcomes, if he can send me back to 1953, I don’t care. I’ll do it. I’ll go right now.”
CHAPTER 42
“So do you believe it?” Molly asked.
“What do I know?” Jon Tanner said.
“Well, I mean, aren’t you a detective or something?”
“Yeah, or something.”
“Okay, so tell me something, then,” Molly said. “You must have an opinion.”
They strolled the Rosemont Village Green, passing the courthouse and the courthouse glowing clock tower that said it was 8:45 p.m. And then they ambled past the police station, where a patrol car sat parked at the curb, two cops standing beside it, chatting.
They’d just had dinner at The Heavenly Onion, a local burger and beer joint, and both wanted to walk off the heavy meal. The burgers were gigantic, the French fries were crisp and fat, and the beers had been served in frosted pint glasses.
“Do I think UFOs exist?” Jon asked.
“Yeah… you kept putting me off that subject at dinner. You’re a very evasive and secretive guy, you know?”
“Really?” Jon asked, innocently.
“Yeah, really. So, do you think UFOs exist?”
“What do I know, Molly? Yes. Maybe. Could be. I mean, there are a lot of stars up there and lots of galaxies and planets. Why not?”
The night grew chilly. Molly pulled on a red ski cap and then buttoned the top two buttons of her long woolen coat.
She gave Jon a side glance. “Haven’t you been watching that whistleblower who testified before a closed-door meeting of the House Oversight subcommittee? It’s been all over the internet. I’m really into that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I heard about him.”
“He’s a former military intelligence officer, and he told the subcommittee that all those stories you’ve read on the internet are true. He said the government has debris collected from crashed alien spacecraft. I know you’ve read about it.”
“Yeah, I think I saw him talk on CNN,” Jon said.
Molly grew excited. She stepped in front of Jon, stopping him. “So this guy says that federal retrieval teams have collected biological remains from alien bodies. And why aren’t you wearing a hat? It’s November.”
Jon hunched his shoulders against the cold. “I forgot. I always forget.”
Molly yanked off her ski cap and handed it to him. “Here, take this.”
“I’m not taking your hat.”
“Go on, take it. I’ve got earmuffs in my coat pocket,” she said, tugging them out and clamping them over her ears. “Take the damn hat, Jon. Your ears are turning red.”
Reluctantly, he did.
They sauntered along Main Street, window shopping at an AT&T Store, a closed bakery shop, a hair salon, and a drugstore.
“Do you know what else that guy said?” Molly asked. “He said he has interviewed a bunch of people, and several of them claim to have been injured by UFOs, or UAPs. He said that the Pentagon has been working for years to collect and study crashed UAPs.”
Jon shook his head. “Okay, fine. But I say what I and others have been saying for years: where’s the evidence? As far as I know, neither this whistleblower nor anyone else who claims to have knowledge of some secret government UAP program has ever been able to produce convincing photos that show crashed alien hardware. And, Molly, we’re not talking about a private single-engine airplane that crashed into some cornfield somewhere. We are talking about an alien interstellar space craft that is capable of bridging millions of miles of space, with technology that is so far ahead of us, we probably wouldn’t even know what it is. In other words, it would be alien.”
Molly stiffened her back. “Oh, yeah, big shot? Well, I have seen UFO photos and videos. They’re all over YouTube.”
“Any and all of those photos and videos could be faked. I’ll say it again. Where are the crashed spaceships and the dead aliens who crashed in them?” Jon asked.
“They’re classified,” Molly said.
“Yeah, right. So, this whistleblower’s seen all the evidence, but he can’t produce it? So I say, be skeptical. Have aliens landed on Earth? From the standpoint of science, there’s still no good evidence that they have, so either this whistleblower can’t prove it, or he won’t. Until he, or somebody else, does, I think we should consider his stories to be dreamed up.”
Molly stopped short and looked Jon straight in the eye. “Well, I believe aliens have been here, are here, and have been coming here for a long time.”
“Well, good for you, Molly Hutton,” Jon said, rocking on his heels. “That’s certainly good enough for me.”
She slapped him playfully on the shoulder, and Jon lurched back, grimacing, pretending pain. “Hey, that hurt.”
“Good! That’s for being a smartass,” Molly said, throwing her hands to her hips.
Their eyes met and held. Jon gave her a long look of pleasure, and she gave him a sexy grin.
“Hey, Molly, I like you.”
She went to him, reached a gloved hand, and touched his lips with a finger. “Hey, you know what, nut case? I like you, too.”
Jon’s eyes explored her lips, her face, and her hair. “How long has your hair been pink?”
“Two months.”
“What was it before that?”
“Who remembers? Blue, I think.”
“Black nail polish, blood red lipstick, snake tattoos and pink hair. Yeah, Molly, you’re my kind of girl. Hey, maybe after we get some ice cream, you’ll show me that other tattoo?”
“It’s just like the one on my neck, but lower. It’s not so different. Maybe it’s not as good.”
“Maybe I should be the judge of that. I mean, since I’m a detective?”
She tilted her head with a soft exhale of laughter. “How long are you going to be in town?”
“Leaving tomorrow.”
“Can I go with you?”
“No.”
Molly frowned.
“But I’ll be back.”
“Going for work?” Molly asked.
“Yes… I have to help send an antique car to a secret designated spot somewhere out in the Western United States. Now, how’s that for divulging top-secret information?”
“Sounds boring,” Molly said.
“Maybe.”
“You’ll come back? Promise?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got to see what color you’ve dyed your hair, and maybe I’ll want to charm that snake on your neck.”
Molly moved a shoulder into him, speaking in a low, caressing voice. “Oh, baby doll, it’s me who’s the snake charmer. I’ll have you all charmed up in no time.”
He reached for her, pulling her into a kiss. They held it for a long time, and it was surprisingly warm, surprisingly sweet, and surprisingly exciting.
She drew back from him, dead serious. “The hell with the ice cream. Let’s go to your room. I have a roommate.”
Early the next morning, Jon awoke to see Molly asleep on her side, beside him, her hair tangled, the sheet twisted around her. He hoisted himself up on an elbow, leaned over, and kissed her. Molly’s eyes fluttered open.
“Good morning,” Jon said, smiling.
Molly stared at him, blinked twice, and spoke in a sleepy, blurred voice. “What do you really do for a living? And don’t bullshit me.”
“I will come back, you know.”
“You say you will, but I’m not a stupid chick, even if I do have pink hair.”
“Give me a couple of weeks. Have your bags packed.”
“Why?” Molly asked, sitting up.
“I’m a hero, and I’m going to take you away from here, all the way to Virginia,” Jon said.
“What’s in Virginia?”
“A condo. Two bedrooms. It’s mine, and it has lots of room.”
Molly didn’t bother covering herself with a sheet, and Jon stared at her, distracted. She put a fist to a yawn and then bored into him with her sleepy eyes. “What do you do, Jon Tanner? Really?”
“Don’t laugh.”
“I make no promises,” Molly said.
“CIA. I work for the CIA.”
Molly leaned back against the headboard, staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Are you serious?”
“Serious as… Well, let’s launch this relationship and see if it makes it into space. We hit it off right from the first, Molly, you know we did, and we did pretty good last night, too. Don’t you think?”
Molly turned her face from him. “Okay… So, I’m like a little freaked out.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I have to think about all this. CIA? I mean that sounds awesome in one way and yet, in another way it sounds scary or something. And then, you want me to move to Virginia? I don’t know, Jon, I have to think about it.”
“Think away. As I said, I’ll be back in about two weeks. We’ll text, email and talk. I’ll send you flowers and some kind of stuffed animal.”
She looked at him, deeply, soberly. “Are you leaving on a top-secret assignment?”
“Yep.”
“Something to do with aliens, no doubt?” Molly asked, teasing.
Jon moved in for a kiss. After he climbed back on top of her, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him again. “Hot boy, Jon Tanner. You get me all flamed up. You got time?”
“Come to Virginia with me, Molly Hutton. We’ll be so cool together. I know it.”
Molly’s face melted into a sexy invitation, as she batted her long lashes. “In two weeks, Jon, I’ll be packed. But I warn you, I have a cat. A big black and white cat named Harry. And I love him to death.”
Jon leaned his head back, distressed. “But I’m allergic.”
Molly flashed him a big grin. “Welcome to a real relationship.”
CHAPTER 43
They were in the heated airplane hangar. Sally stood about five feet forward from Kara and Ayita. They waited in darkness, in dim overhead lights, and in the green glow of exit lights. The hangar door was partially open, and Sally stared ahead into the cold, unlit darkness that seemed to fall away into infinity.
“Is that where I’m going?” Sally muttered to herself, softly. “Into that darkness?”
“He’s always on time, Sally,” Ayita said. “How are you?”
“You said he’ll speak to me telepathically, right? In my mind?”
“Yes,” Ayita said.
“I’ve been thinking about that. But it will be in English?”
“You’ll understand him. Just relax. He won’t hurt you,” Kara said.
“Well, I guess not, since they didn’t hurt me before. At least, not on purpose.”
A moment later, about ten feet in front of Sally, there was a flash, as if from a camera. Then another flash, and then the slow expansion of a pin light into a sphere that appeared as a bubble. It swelled. Sally swallowed away her dry throat, standing tall, mustering a courage she didn’t have.
