34
C
onroe woke up at 6:00 a.m. to the alarm on her time travel watch. She had fallen asleep across the seat of the pickup in the parking lot of Dave’s Diner. She sat up and saw two customers walk inside. It was twelve hours until her wedding.
She got out of the truck, went into the restaurant, and stopped the first waitress she saw. “Where’s the owner?”
“He’s in his office, but you can’t—”
“Thanks.” Conroe ran to the back and located the office. She knocked on the door and opened it.
The man behind the desk was apparently the owner, Dave. Crane sat in a chair at the front of the desk.
“Crane!” she shouted as she ran to him. “I’ve been waiting for you all night. I slept in the parking lot.”
Dave said, “This must be the crazy girl you’ve been telling me about.”
Conroe put her hands on her hips. “He said I was
crazy?
”
“What are you doing here?” Crane asked.
“I guess you know he’s in love with you,” Dave said.
Conroe smiled. “Is that true, Crane? Are you in love with me?”
Crane frowned at Dave. “I didn’t say that.”
Dave cocked his head to the side. “You didn’t have to. It’s obvious.”
“Well,
I
came here to get a job, Conroe, and Dave just hired me. Why are
you
here?”
“Because I love you, and because I want you to marry me tonight.”
“You want me to
marry
you—
tonight?
Hey, just because you think I’m in love with you, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna run out and
marry
you.”
“She
is
kind of crazy,” Dave said.
“But, Crane—,” she began.
“Oh, that’s right—you’ve known
me
for years,” Crane said. “You watched me grow up. Hey, did you see all the dumb stuff I did as a kid? And I meant to ask you—were you watching me
everywhere?
Did I have any privacy whatsoever?”
“I didn’t watch you
everywhere
. But I watched you playing your guitar every night and writing songs. That’s mostly what made me fall in love with you. Your sad songs made me cry, and the funny ones made me laugh. But the love songs made me want to hold you in my arms and never let you go.”
“Well, I’m glad you liked my songs. But I didn’t get a chance to watch
you
grow up. I really don’t know that much about you—especially since you lied to me.”
“You know more about me than you think you do. Remember the story I told you about the king who had twin daughters, and how his firstborn became queen, and how the queen’s daughter will assume the throne if she’s married before her eighteenth birthday?”
“I suppose you’re gonna tell me that the story is real, and that
you’re
the daughter who’s gonna become queen?”
Conroe smiled and nodded.
“And that’s why you need to get married tonight?” Crane asked.
“Yes.”
“Whoa,” Dave interjected.
“Look,” Conroe said, “I know I’m asking a lot—expecting you to trust me to know what’s best for you. But I really
do
know what’s best for you—from listening to your songs. I know what kind of girl you want, and I’m that girl.”
“Well, I do love you, Conroe, but this is just too much, too fast.”
“I understand. But why don’t you come with me, and you can decide on the way.”
Crane shook his head. “You are so bullheaded.”
“We have to get back within the perimeter.”
“The perimeter? What’s that?” asked Crane.
“It’s roughly a twenty-mile radius around the city of Conroe. If we’re outside that area, the time travel computer can’t transport us to the future.”
Crane looked at Dave. “What would you do, Dave?”
“Hey, when you love a woman, and when she’s this crazy in love with you, you’ve got to do whatever she says, man. Just go—get out of here.”
Crane stood up and shook Dave’s hand. “Thanks, man. I hope you’re right.”
“Good luck, y’all,” Dave said.
“Thanks,” Conroe replied as they ran out the door.
When they got outside, Conroe pointed to the truck. “I’m in the red pickup.”
“You want me to drive?”
“No, thanks. I stole it, so I’ll drive it.”
“You
stole
it?”
35
C
onroe was driving the pickup truck north on I-45 to get back within the perimeter so that she and Crane could be transported.
“There are no cars in your world,” Crane said, “so when did you learn to drive?”
“Last night,” she answered.
“Maybe you should slow down a little. The speed limit is sixty-five, and you’re doing eighty. The last thing we need right now is—” Before he could finish, he heard the siren and looked back. “Great—now we’ve got a cop after us, and this is a stolen vehicle, and you don’t even have a driver’s license!”
“How far are we from the city of Conroe—the center of town, like city hall?”
“Probably twenty-five miles,” he said.
Conroe floored the accelerator.
“What are you doing? You really think you can outrun a police car in this thing?”
“We’ll see.”
“I guess you know we’re both going to jail,” he said.
“Not if I can get us inside the perimeter.” She checked her time travel watch.
“Why are you looking at your watch?”
“It’s a time travel watch. It’s red because we’re outside the perimeter. Once it turns green, Geneva will be able to see us and transport us out of here.”
“But don’t we have to be sleeping before we can time travel? How are we gonna fall asleep while we’re being arrested?”
“No, we don’t have to be sleeping. I told you that to make you comfortable with the process.”
Crane shook his head. “And who is Geneva?”
“My best friend. She’s great—you’ll love her.”
“Well, we can’t just zap out of here while we’re flying down the highway,” he said. “It might cause a wreck and hurt somebody.”
“Don’t worry—I’ll pull over and stop first.”
Crane checked the speedometer. “You’re doing ninety. We don’t need to go this fast. All he’s gonna do is keep chasing us anyway.” He looked back. “Or I could be wrong about that.”
The cruiser zipped up beside the truck, and the officer waved for Conroe to pull over. Even though his hat and sunglasses concealed half of his face, it was easy to see that he was angry.
“We’re toast,” Crane said. “Better just pull over.”
Conroe eased off the pedal and pulled over to the shoulder.
The cop parked in front of them.
“Quick—change places with me,” Crane said. “I have a license.”
“But he already saw me driving.”
“Just do it!”
They swapped sides.
The cop got out of his car and walked toward the truck.
“Just let me do the talking,” Crane said, rolling down the window. “I’m sorry, Officer. I know I was going a little over the speed limit, but—”
“You think I’m stupid, son? You think I don’t know that it was
Conroe
who was driving?” He took off his sunglasses.
Conroe recognized him. “
Frederick?
”
He grinned.
“What are
you
doing here?” Conroe asked.
He smirked. “I might ask you the same thing, Cousin.”
“Huh?”
He repeated it in a higher-pitched voice. “I might ask you the same thing, Cousin.”
Conroe and Crane responded in unison. “
Tonya?
”
He laughed at them. “You can call me Tonya, or you can call me Frederick, but pretty soon you’ll be calling me
king
.”
“How did you get here?” Conroe asked.
“The same way you did,” Frederick replied, “using
my
time travel computer.”
“
Your
time travel computer? I thought there was only one,” Conroe said. “Where did you get it?”
“The same place you got yours. In the cellar of the castle.”
“You haven’t been to the castle in years, until last night.”
“That’s true. But I had been paying one of your servants to spy on you, and a few months ago, he followed you into the cellar and saw you open a box and take out an interesting-looking object. He had no idea what it was, of course, but he thought it might be valuable. So, after you left, he rummaged around and discovered a second one and brought it to me. I paid him handsomely for it.”
“I don’t believe you,” Conroe protested.
“Then how do you think I got here?” Frederick held up his left arm and pulled back the sleeve, revealing a time travel watch. “Oh, would you look at the time?”
“At the mall,” Conroe said, “you tried to get into a fight with me. You knew that the police were likely to send us both to Philly, just like I did.”
“Actually, I
didn’t
know that,” Frederick replied. “I just wanted to get you in trouble to keep you away from your sweetheart.” He winked at Crane. “I knew that he was the reason you came.”
“How could you possibly have known exactly when I was coming and why I was here?” Conroe asked.
“You still haven’t figured out how to do that?” He laughed. “The time travel computers can see each other’s activities. They’re networked together. Didn’t you read the instruction manual?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter because your plan didn’t work. Crane and I are gonna get married tonight, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
“You can get married
here
if you like.” Frederick smiled. “Hey, I could even be your best man. Or your maid of honor.” He laughed. “But you’ll never get back to Ampla, so you’ll never be queen—because you’re still outside the perimeter and your battery is almost dead. Yes, that’s right—I’m able to check your battery strength as well. I, on the other hand, have plenty of battery power.”
“Well,” Crane said, lowering his head, “then I guess it’s over.”
Frederick nodded in satisfaction, noting the distress in Conroe’s eyes.
Crane popped the gearshift into reverse and slammed the accelerator to the floor. The tires squealed and smoked as the truck lurched backward, running over Frederick’s toes.
Crane stomped the brakes, dropped the gearshift into drive and hit the gas, swerving around Frederick, who was now hopping on one foot and screaming in pain.
“Go, go, go, go, go!” Conroe yelled.
Crane maneuvered past cars and trucks, weaving left and right, accelerating all the way.
“You really do love me,” Conroe said.
“If we want to get married in Ampla tonight, then that’s exactly what we’re gonna do, and that creep is not gonna stop us!”
“You realize you’re driving over one hundred miles per hour, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, and that’s not fast enough,” Crane replied. “He may still catch up with us.”
They heard the siren coming up behind them.
“How did he get here so fast?” she asked.
“Cop cars can go a lot faster than regular cars. We should be getting close, though.”
Conroe checked her watch. “Yes! It turned green—we’re inside the perimeter. Pull over.”
Crane took the next exit going seventy, threading the needle between an SUV and an eighteen-wheeler on his way into a shopping center parking lot. He flew in between two minivans and jammed the brakes.
“Geneva, take us now,” Conroe begged.
The police siren grew louder.
“Geneva?”
“Why isn’t it working?” he asked.
The police cruiser stopped behind the truck, blocking it in place.
“Geneva, please. We need to go right now!”
Frederick limped up to Conroe’s window with his pistol drawn. “I didn’t want to have to do it this way, Conroe, but you’ve left me no choice.” He pointed the gun at her head and squeezed the trigger.
36
T
otal blackness.
Complete silence.
Crane closed his eyes and opened them again. There was no difference. “Conroe, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” she said. “We made it out. I’m fine.”
Following her voice, he moved in to put his arm around her. “When Frederick fired the gun, I thought you were dead. It happened so fast, I didn’t even have time to react and try to save you.”
“Geneva got us out just in time.”
“Why is it so dark?”
“It always starts out this way,” she explained. “You’re usually sleeping during this part.”
The blackness lightened to a thick fog.
“This looks familiar,” he said.
The fog cleared partially, revealing the bridge under their feet.
“Run!” she ordered.
They ran across the bridge, supporting themselves with the handrails. It collapsed behind them.
“We’re getting pretty good at this,” he said.
“Yeah—but don’t get overconfident. You know that the Dream Tunnel can be unpredictable.”
“Why did your great grandfather think he needed to put people through an obstacle course?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m guessing he did it this way in case the time travel computer ever got into the wrong hands. I can imagine some unscrupulous person trying to use it to move an entire city or race of people to another time. But the way he designed it, that’s not possible. Each person has to be escorted over the bridge and through the tunnel.”
“Well, it’s no
dream
tunnel, I’ll tell you that. More like a nightmare.”
“Yeah, I named it Dream Tunnel to make it seem less threatening to you. Besides, you were supposedly dreaming.”
“How many other things have you lied to me about?” he asked.
She ignored the question. “Be careful not to trip this time.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to cut my hand again—and oh, the spiders—I hate spiders.”
“They can’t get you as long as you’re running,” she advised.
“Let’s just get it over with.”
“Okay.” She led him into the tunnel. “Go!”
Crane expected Conroe’s hand to be guiding him through the darkness, as usual. But instead of going forward, it suddenly went downward, and he lost his grip.
There was a splash, and Conroe screamed.
“Conroe—where are you? What happened?”
“I fell in a big hole—I’m up to my neck in water, and I can’t reach the top of the hole.”
He extended his arm into the hole. “Try to grab my hand.”
“I can’t find your hand in the dark.”
The light at the end of the tunnel appeared, and the wind began to blow.
She said, “Now I can see you. No wonder I couldn’t find your hand—it’s too far.”
He took off his belt and lowered the buckle end into the hole.
“I can’t reach it, Crane. You’re gonna have to go on without me.”
“
What?
No! I’m not gonna do that. No way!”
“There’s no time,” she reasoned. “If you don’t go now, we’re
both
gonna die.”
“I’m not leaving you here!”
“The tunnel will close up,” Conroe said, “and once it does, we’re dead.”
Crane sat down on the edge of the hole.
“What are you doing? You’ve got to go!”
He turned around and lowered his body into the hole, hanging onto the rock at the edge. “Grab onto my legs and climb up my back.”
She followed his instructions.
His fingers barely clung to the edge as spiders began to sting them.
Conroe made it to the top and climbed out. Then she helped Crane get up.
“Run!” Crane took her hand and they began to sprint toward the light.
Conroe tripped and fell.
Crane went back to help her up. “Come on, Conroe. We can still make it.”
She didn’t move. Crane didn’t know whether she was unconscious or dead. He picked her up and started running with her body in his arms. The light was already stronger than it had gotten the last time. The wind made it almost impossible to move forward. It seemed hopeless.
“Crane?”
Conroe wasn’t dead. She was weak, but still alive.
Crane’s adrenaline kicked into a higher gear. He felt more strength than he knew he had. His heart beat faster than a hummingbird’s. The end of the tunnel was close—he just knew it. A few more feet. He would not give up—he would push himself beyond his physical limits until his muscles bled, his bones broke, and his heart exploded. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
The tunnel shot them out like a cannonball.
They rolled onto the grass, tumbling several times, body over body, until they landed with Crane on top.
She gazed up into his eyes. “I love you, Crane.”
His emotions overpowered him. Her soft lips were irresistible. He had no experience with kissing girls, but he didn’t care. Once their lips touched, it seemed so natural and refreshing—like a cool glass of water in a desert. Her lips parted slightly, and their tongues intertwined.
His hand automatically went to her breast, and when he touched it, she responded. For a moment, he thought he had offended her—but then she began to kiss him even more passionately.
She placed her hands on his head and began to stoke his hair.
He located the top button on her blouse and unfastened it.
“Stop!” screamed a woman’s voice from a distance.
Crane jumped off Conroe.
Geneva rode up on her horse, leading Conroe’s horse along with her. “Conroe, you know that you cannot be crowned queen unless you are a virgin.”
Crane’s face turned red. “I’m sorry, Conroe. I was way out of line. I don’t know what came over me.”
Conroe smiled. “Don’t worry, baby. Tonight we can take up where we left off.”
“Tonight?” he asked, still disoriented from the death-defying trip through the tunnel.
“After the wedding.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, getting to his feet.
Conroe stood up. “Crane, this is Geneva, my best friend.”
Geneva got down from her horse and offered her hand. “Glad to meet you, Crane.”
He shook her hand. “So, you’re the one who saved us?”
“Yes.”
Crane continued to shake Geneva’s hand. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He released it. “Was I supposed to kiss your hand or something?”
Geneva smiled. “No, a handshake is fine.”
“What happened, Geneva?” Conroe asked. “Why didn’t you transport us as soon as I asked you to? I thought I was gonna end up with a bullet in my head.”
“What do you mean?” Geneva asked. “I did. I entered the transport code as soon as you asked me to.”
“Hmm, that’s odd,” Conroe replied. “Maybe there was a delay in what you were seeing.”
“Could have been, I suppose. It might have happened because the battery is so weak,” Geneva suggested. “It might even be completely dead by now.”
An eerie feeling washed over Crane as it sunk in: he would never be able to return to his world.