Jane scanned over the papers on the table in front of her and placed them down neatly in a pile. She folded her arms in silence and looked at the woman who sat in front of her with a clipboard.
“Any questions, Doctor Parker?” She asked. Jane looked down at the papers and then back up at the woman.
“Please inform me whose authority do you have to subject me to these life alterations.” Jane said as she waved her hand over the stack of papers.
“We are the Magical Threat Containment Unit a sub branch of the CIA.”
“And what qualified your involvement, specifically?” Jane asked.
“Due to the energy level that spiked several days ago and the phenomenon that occurred with the black sphere covering the city, we were called in and took it upon ourselves to work with the National Guard to seek out and contain whatever was the cause.”
“And my companions. What of them?” Jane asked.
“They have been given the same treatment. You each will be relocated to a new city with new identities. You will not be permitted to speak of these events to anyone or reveal your past identity. Friends, close family members and relatives will be notified of your death and contacting them is strictly forbidden. The alternatives would be to either have you shot or contain you here indefinitely.” The woman said as she stood up. “It is by our good graces that you and your friends shall continue to live.” She said as she walked towards the door.
“We will be keeping an eye on you. If you decide to disclose any information to anyone or reveal yourself we will be back.”
Fear shook Jane to her core. She didn’t know what to think. Her whole world has been turned upside down and now she must live in exile from her previous life. Her career, her apartment, her family and friends were suddenly all gone. For a moment she didn’t know what to feel, if she could feel anything at all. Her mind went blank. But then a thought occurred. She quickly stood up.
“What of Doctor Aue and the child?” Jane asked. The woman turned back and gave her a small smile.
“We have an idea of what to do with the child. As for the other doctor she had lost quite a lot of blood. We will see what we can do.” She said as she turned away from Jane and exited the room.
Io sat by herself on a bench in the lobby of a bus station. She was reading a small pamphlet that said, ‘Primm Nevada’. An unmarked black duffle bag rested near her feet.
The look on her face was one of disappointment. She let out a sigh and tucked the pamphlet into her jacket pocket.
“This sucks.” Io said as she leaned back on the bench and lightly kicked the black duffle bag at her feet. “Primm the armpit of Nevada.” She said. Io glanced around the lobby. It was big and cold and barren. There were a few vending machines off to the far end, a couple of trash cans and a security man who wasn’t being paid enough to give a damn about anyone. Io sat there on the steel bench. She felt alone and lost. She thought of her friends. She worried if they were alright. She felt as if she was standing in a doorway. In front of her was a blackness so thick you can cut it with a knife. And behind her was the life she once knew; only it was slowly dissolving like sugar in a cup of tea. She was no doubt scared of the big changes that were happening in her life. She only wished that she wasn’t alone.
Clank...clank...clank echoed through the silent lobby. As it reached Io’s ears she felt her heart leap. A figure slumped next to her on the bench and in a sarcastic tone they spoke.
“Gee I always wanted to visit Nevada.” They said as they dropped a simulary looking black duffle bag to the ground. Io looked and saw Evelyn sitting next to her with black beanie, a wooden cane in her hand and her wicked grin with a toothpick jutting out from it. Io didn’t say anything at first she only reached out and embraced Evelyn who let out a grunt as Io hugged her tightly.
“Nice to see you too.” Evelyn said as she dropped her cane on the ground. Io looked down at the cane and instantly pulled back.
“Sorry Blu. I..didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again.” Io said with relief. “You alright?” She said as she nudged her head in the direction of the cane. Evelyn looked down and carefully bent over to retrieve the cane.
“Yeah. Peachy king. Got to use this thing for the next few months. Turns out there are consequences for getting stabbed.” Evelyn said in a taunting tone. “Oh and it's not ‘Blu’ anymore it is,” Evelyn started as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an ID card. “It is now “Lydia Ray.” Evelyn said as she attempted to hold back her giggles. “Who might you be, stranger?” Evelyn asked with a playful smile. Io turned away and let out a chuckle.
“Lola Barrett.” Io said while laughing. “Nice to meet you, Lydia.”
They both threw their heads back and let out a roar of laughter that filled the empty lobby. After a few moments and a couple of deep breaths they quieted down but still wore a smile on their face. Silence once again drizzled over the area but it didn’t matter to Io. The sound of the vending machine going off and a bag of junk food hitting the glass broke the silence. A child’s glee could be heard behind them along with the sound of a bag of chips being opened. Suddenly a stern voice boomed from behind.
“No! Chips are not a decent breakfast, young lady. You need more than carbohydrates and sugar.” The voice called out. Both Evelyn and Io looked at each other and then turned around to see Jane standing over Nyssia. Nyssia was gripping tight on a blue bag while attempting to cram as many chips in her mouth as possible. Jane was standing right behind her with her arms folded.
“Nyssia, please. We have a long journey ahead of us and…” Jane immediately stopped talking and slowly turned her head towards the others. She felt her heart sink and a weak smile grew on her face. She stood there in silence as Nyssia continued to eat the chips.
“Never!” Nyssia mumbled in a dramatic tone as she attempted to and failed at every point to speak clearly with her mouth full of chips.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
When she finished the bag she turned back around and saw Io and Evelyn staring at them. Nyssia’s face lit up with an overwhelming amount of joy as she grabbed Jane’s hand and ran towards the others.
“Mama! Nuestras amigas!” Nyssia cried out as she bolted up to both Evelyn and Io and gave them big hugs one by one. Jane took a moment to recompose herself.
“I honestly didn’t think I would see any of you again. It truly does warm my heart.” Jane said in a calm tone, though it was obvious that she was hiding back her joy at seeing more familiar faces. Io gave Jane a grin.
“Mama, eh?” Io said. Evelyn quickly turned around and bit her knuckle, holding back her laughter. Jane’s smile didn’t falter.
“Yes, you heard correct. I…” Jane started but was swiftly cut off by Nyssia.
“Si! Mama!” Nyssia said as she wrapped her arms around Jane’s waist. “My mama.” Nyssia said in a soft voice. Jane looked down at Nyssia and could only feel even more love, joy and happiness.
“Yes, I have decided to adopt. I think it’s about time to do more with my life than just work.” Jane said as she looked back up at the others.
“Holy crap I need to buy a lottery ticket.” Evelyn said. Suddenly Evelyn felt a familiar cold hard stare and she turned around. It wasn’t Jane that was giving her the stare as she anticipated, it was Nyssia. She only brought two fingers to her eyes and twisted her wrist, pointing both fingers back at Evelyn.
“Son of a bitch!” A booming deep voice called out. The sound of metal clanking echoed throughout the lobby. Another voice chimed in.
“Sir, please. You’ll have to go to the other gate.”
“Back off. I got this.” A confidant voice proclaimed.
“Sir please, stop!”
More sounds of metal clanking could be heard along with more grunts and cursing. Jane instantly covered Nyssia’s ears and the group looked around to see where the loud voice was coming from. Off in the distance there was a man on the outside of the metal rotary gate who was dressed in a brown duster with a brown cowboy hat and he was trying to shove himself against the gate. There was a security guard on the other side of the metal gate who looked like he was about to rip the gate off and throw it at the man.
“Con flabbing metal beast! I swear I will end you.” He shouted out. Behind him stood a young blonde woman whose face was flushed with embarrassment.
“Oh this is good.” Evelyn said with a smile.
“Ridley, please. That’s the exit. The entrance is over here.” Samantha said as she gingerly pointed to the rotary gate on the opposite side. Ridley ceased his efforts and looked around. He gave the gate once last kick and then staggered off to the other gate and went through with ease. Samantha followed him and looked at the security guard.
“Sorry…” She said in a quiet voice and then hurried to catch up to Ridley. Ridley looked around for a bit.
“This is a damn small train station, Samclam. You sure this is where we need to go? I don’t see any tracks anywhere.” Ridley said as he shoved his hands in his pocket.
“Uh, Ridley…” Samantha started. “This is a bus station. Not a train station.”
Ridley looked at her with a dumbfounded look.
“The hell is a bus station?” Ridley asked.
At this point neither Io or Evelyn could hold back their laughter. Ridley looked up and squinted his eyes at the group. Samantha reached out and grabbed a hold of his arm.
“Ridley, please. Those are my friends. Things are different here.” She said. Ridley looked back at her and shook his head.
“I’m sorry. It’s been hell.”
“I know. You’ll get used to it.” Samantha said. Ridley looked at her and gave a small smile. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She said as she led Ridley back to the group.
“Well bless my soul. I am happy to see you all here.” Samantha said.
“Likewise, small fry.” Io said. “So this pup that came before you, huh?” Io said as she stood up and looked at Ridley.
“Ah, I’m not good with introductions. Hi.” Ridley said in an uncertain tone.
“Okay I would like to know. How in the heck did you travel to the present? Your sister built a time machine and what did you do?” Evelyn asked. Ridley looked at her and suddenly had a distant look in his eyes. He shook his head and rubbed his temple.
“That is a long story.”
“We got time.” Evelyn said with a smile.
Ridley walked over and sat down on the bench. He took his hat off and took a deep breath.
“I was forced to join the Army when I was a young man. I didn’t like it. High and mighty officers drinking fresh coffee and tea while the rest of us drank water that made you shit blood. I hated it. And the one thing that I didn’t hate out of it was…” Ridley paused for a moment before continuing. “Was a good friend of mine. Cheerful and insane as you can be in hell hole. But the guy was my friend and he looked after me and I did the same. I remember it clearly. The smell of the rifles, the sound of the cannons and the first drops of rain. My friend died in my arms that day and I couldn’t take it anymore.” Ridley said as he leaned back and placed his hat on his head.
“Whoa.” Io said as she looked away.
“After that I ran. I ran and I ran. I ended up somewhere in the swamps of Louisiana where I was kidnapped by pirates and taken aboard a ship, heading for God knows where. They had me tied to the mast. The first lovely face I saw was a mean son of a bitch. Guy like that was so mean you could pour boiling water down his throat and he’d piss out ice cubes.”
Evelyn let out a small chuckle at Ridley’s comment. Samantha looked at her brother with worry.
“Go on.” Samantha said.
“They wanted me to go onto an island where a priceless gem was. What happened after I went onto the island put me on a course that took me to a far away land. I don’t know where I went but it was something out of a fairytale. There were monsters, cyclopes, trolls, dragons and fairies. I needed three items to create a portal to get home. No one gave me the full details of where I was going. All they said was I needed to stay away from the shadows and look for the door.” Ridley said as he turned to Samantha.
“I am happy that you were there at the door when I got there.” Ridley said with a look of relief on his face.
“Sounds like quite an odyssey.” Jane said.
“Yup, and Odysseus has finally returned home.” Io said. Ridley looked at both of them in confusion.
“It’s a book.” Evelyn said as she leaned back.
The story that Ridley had told them seemed almost impossible. But considering everything they had been through in the past few days, they were willing to believe him.
“Looks like I’ll be needing to catch up a bit.” Ridley said as he leaned back on the bench. “Least I’m not completely alone.” He said.
The bus pulled up in front of the group. Ridley looked at it with scepticism.
“Strange.” He said as the doors opened up.
“Ah come on, soldier boy. It’s not all that bad. Welcome to the 21st century.” Io said as she slapped Ridley’s back hard enough for his hat to fly off his head. He let out a grunt as Io walked on the bus.
“Apologize. She is a bit rough.” Jane said as she followed Nyssia.
“Wizard goes woosh!” Nyssia said gleefully as she leaped into the air. Suddenly a large gust of wind blew right in front of everyone and nearly knocked Jane off her feet. Nyssia sailed up a couple of steps inside the bus and apparently didn’t notice as she happily continued her little hops up the bus stairs. The group looked at one another in confusion but didn’t say anything. Jane hurried up the stairs, chasing after Nyssia.
“Just the wind.” Evelyn proclaimed.
“Where is this thing taking us?” Ridley asked as he looked back at Samantha and Evelyn. “Where are we heading?”
Samantha didn’t have an answer to give him. Evelyn only shrugged.
“Second star to the right and straight on till morning, me boyo.” Evelyn said in a crude Scottish accent as she grabbed her bag and stepped onto the bus. Ridley and Samantha were left. Ridley looked back at the station and squinted his eyes.
“Ridley,” Samantha asked. “Is everything alright?” She said as she picked up her bag. Ridley looked around one more time and then back at her.
“Nothing. Just a little worried that my past is going to come back for me.” Ridley said with concern in his voice. Samantha took hold of Ridley’s arm.
“Whatever happens, I’ll be there this time. As dad said, always be there for your family.” Ridley gave her a sympathetic look and then looked up at the bus.
“I think the family may have grown a bit.” Ridley said as he walked up onto the bus, following his sister.
As the bus took off and headed west, the group sat in silence. Here was the beginning of a new chapter for them in their lives. Their old ways went in the blink of an eye as they headed towards the horizon. And yet, though they were scared, they breathed in relief that they were not alone. They had each other and that made all the difference.