No Future Christmas (14 page)

The man stared at Mike.
“Your gun, your question.
You’re not
from this time.
I always hoped it’d be possible.” It wasn’t a question so Mike
didn’t say anything.
He reached behind him to a younger version of himself and
said, “Give me the pressure bandage.” The young man did.
“Here, I’ll do the
first one, watch closely.” He took out a square item that looked like an
old-fashioned stamp with the handle on it.
He pressed the top down and a blue
light glowed out.
The man slowly pulled it over Shauna’s shoulder.
She flinched
in her unconscious state but didn’t wake up.
Then the man did the same with her
head wound.
The bleeding slowed.
“That’ll help for a while.
When she wakes up
administer another dosage of this.” The man handed Mike a small gun.
“It’s Pain
Away.
Just point the tip at her thigh then push the button.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“Yes.
And I hate the Guardians.
They killed my daughter.”
The man looked around.
The group that had gathered still blocked Mike and
Shauna from prying eyes.
“Now go.
God be with you.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mike ran around to the driver’s side
and hopped in.
He gave a salute to the group outside, turned on the skycar and
prayed he could fly this thing and Shauna to safety.

* * * * *

Now that he had it in the air, where was he going?
Mike flew
west.
He wanted to get as far away from New York as possible.
The rented skycar
was a white and sky blue color, great for blending in with the atmosphere.
If
any green and whites followed he could slip into a cloud and hover.
There was
just one problem.
There weren’t any clouds at the moment.

He adjusted the controls, put the skycar on autopilot and
turned to check on Shauna.
She was still unconscious.
Her breathing had
regulated and Mike checked her two wounds for bleeding.
The device the doctor
used seemed to be working.
No blood seeped out and she didn’t look to be
uncomfortable, thanks to the Pain Away.
Mike stroked Shauna’s forehead, leaned
over and gently kissed her on her full bottom lip.

God, he loved her.
How could he love so deeply in so short a
time?
Shauna came into his life, glowing with vitality and swept him away on
the adventure of a lifetime.

The only problem was the adventure could get them killed.

Mike studied the empty sky before him.
He checked the
monitors that showed him a wide-angled view of the back of the skycar and all
was quiet.
He took his first deep breath in hours and raked a hand through his
rumpled hair.

What day was it?
He glanced at his watch.
February 6, 2110.
He’d been in this century for almost two months.
What a world this was now.
No
disease, overpopulation, a corrupt police state the world wouldn’t acknowledge.
Cars flew, buildings reached the sky and elevators raced to the heavens.

He loved it and hated it.

Mike wanted to go home.
To his more peaceful time.
Well,
peaceful where he came from.
Bend, Oregon was a small town.
It’d grown to
almost seventy thousand people but by today’s New York standards that was small
potatoes.
He loved the quiet pace of the town, the nearby snow-capped
mountains.
He wished he were skiing down Mt.
Batchelor right now.

Shauna shifted and groaned.
Her eyes fluttered open and closed.
He adjusted the harness so it wouldn’t rub her left shoulder.
“It’s okay, love.
You’ll be fine.
Just rest.”

She licked her lips and tried to say something.
Mike
realized she needed water.
He opened the glove box and a bottle of water rolled
out.
“Drink just a little.” Mike held the bottle to Shauna’s lips.
She drank a
few sips but more dribbled down her chin.

“Thanks,” she croaked.
“Where are we?”

“I don’t know.” Mike wiped her face with a rejuvenating
napkin and left it on her lap.
“We’re flying west.
I wanted to get away from
the city as fast as possible.
I haven’t seen any Guardians.”

Shauna struggled to sit up.
“How’d you get the skycar?” The
effort cost her.
She leaned her head back and blew out tiny puffs of air.

“A doctor and a group of people helped us.
The doctor rented
us this skycar, so it’s in his name.”

“Oh, good.” Shauna fell back, her head lolling against the
headrest.
“God, those tasers are painful.”

“The good doctor left me with a couple of doses of Pain
Away.
I’d give you another shot but I don’t know how long the drug lasts.”

“I’ll administer it now.
There’s no limit on how much Pain
Away we can use.
Where is it?”

Mike reached behind him and grabbed the bag of medical
supplies the doctor had left.
“Here.”

Shauna put the gun-like device to her thigh and pressed the
button.
Mike watched her face clear of pain, the lines on her forehead smooth
out.
Her jaw slackened and within seconds she was sound asleep.

“Good.
You sleep.
Now all I have to do is find a place for
us to hide until you heal.”

No problem, he thought.

* * * * *

Thank goodness skycars were solar-powered.
Mike would have
run out of fuel long ago.
He flew the craft northwest hoping to get lost in the
Rockies.
It’d only been an hour since Shauna fell asleep but they were almost
at the ridge line.

A pinging sounded inside the skycar.
Knowing it was the
signal that someone was calling, he pressed the button for the internal speaker
to come on.
Mike did it because he knew the Global Guardians didn’t use that
frequency, it wasn’t allowed.
They used their private frequency.
“Skycar
13111.”

“Skycar 13111, descend to twenty-five thousand feet.
You
will be met by skycar 102,900.”

Mike didn’t like the cryptic message.
“Who are you?”

“All will be explained when you hover.”

It could be a trap.
Shauna still slept.
His cop’s instincts
kicked in and adrenaline rushed through his body.
He didn’t see another skycar
in the sky and figured the Global Guardians would use any sort of trickery to
get them back in custody.
Mike made his decision.
“Skycar emergency ascent to
fifty thousand feet.” The craft pointed up and shot into the blue.
Mike was
pressed back into his seat and his face felt like it’d been stretched to its
limit.

“Skycar, 13111.
We’re friendlies.”

“How do I know that?” Mike could barely speak, his lips were
still flattened.

“Patching you through to skycar 102,900,” the mechanical
voice said.

A female voice came over the speaker.
“How’s my daughter?”

Mike started.
Was this Shauna’s mother?
He wouldn’t know.
He’d never heard her speak.
The skycar leveled out at fifty thousand feet.
Mike
heard the faint sound of oxygen rushing though the vents.
“Tell me something
about your daughter that no one would know.”

“She loved her dog Rover.
Her father paid an unseemly amount
of money for an old-time picture frame for that dog.
We left Shauna a message
behind the picture.”

Relief flooded Mike.
“Thank God.
Shauna’s resting.
She has
two taser wounds, one in her left shoulder and one on the right side of her
head.
She’s a trouper.”

“Come down to twenty-five thousand feet and hover, please.
And thank you sir, for saving our precious daughter.”

“You’re welcome.
Skycar, descend, twenty-five thousand feet
and hover.” The craft tilted down and made a normal descent.
Within minutes
they reached the desired altitude and hung in the sky like a Christmas ornament
dangling from a tree branch.
Mike looked out the windscreen but saw nothing.
He
scanned the rearview monitors but didn’t see anything there.
Where were they?
Had he made a mistake?
Was this really a trap after all?

Then, right in front of him a hovering blue skycar appeared
like magic.
Mike hadn’t seen it fly up from the front, the side or behind.
It
was as if the skycar had been hidden right in front of him.
He started but the
seatbelt jerked him back in his seat.
“This better not be a trap,” he muttered.
He pulled his automatic pistol out of his waistband and placed it on his lap.

The internal speaker dinged.
“Turn on your video monitor.”

Mike did as was requested and the face of a beautiful but
older Shauna came into view.
A handsome man with white hair and wrinkles across
his forehead and around his eyes anxiously looked on.
Mike didn’t say anything.
He knew from his studies that once the internal video was on, the occupants of
each vehicle could clearly see the others.

“Her color is bad,” Shauna’s mother said.

“She just dosed herself with Pain Away about twenty minutes
ago,” Mike said.

“Follow us to the landing site.
We can help her there,”
Shauna’s mother said.
Their skycar pivoted in place and pointed down.
Mike
followed adjusting the instruments to follow the descent of the leading skycar.

“Thank you for rescuing our daughter,” Shauna’s father said.
“I’m Douglas Wentworth and this is my wife, Louise.”

“Nice to meet you.
And you’re welcome.
Shauna’s very special.”
Mike saw one eyebrow rise on Shauna’s dad’s face.
Both parents looked at each
other and a tiny smile appeared on Louise Wentworth’s face.

They descended over the Rocky Mountains and flew low among
the peaks, hidden from any patrolling Guardian vehicles.
Mike followed Shauna’s
parents around a jagged tip and lower into a hidden valley.
The landing was
smooth and Mike was proud of his first experience flying in the twenty-second
century.
If it hadn’t been such a harrowing experience he would have enjoyed it
more.

The gull-wing door opened and Mike stepped around to
Shauna’s side.
She stirred and opened her eyes.
He saw a moment’s confusion
then clarity.
“We landed.
Why?” Mike felt a tap on his shoulder and stepped
aside.

“Because we asked him to,” her mother said.

Shauna’s eyes widened then tears spilled from them.
“Mom.”
She glanced behind her mother.
“Dad.”

Mike stepped in front of Louise and helped Shauna sit up.
She winced and he tenderly touched her face.
“It’s okay, love.
Take it slowly.”
He reached under her, scooped her into his arms and turned to face her parents.

“Mom, Dad…they told me you were dead,” Shauna bawled
brokenly.
“I’ve missed you so much.”

Her head fell onto Mike’s shoulder and she went limp.

Chapter Eight

“I am not sick,” Shauna said.
“I’ve been cooped up here for
three days.
Look, Ma—no injuries.” She showed her shoulder and head to her
mother who hovered over her.
There were only red marks left on her shoulder
from the taser injury.
The right side of her head didn’t hurt anymore and her
hair covered those red marks.
“Your magic potions, lotions and notions all
worked.
I’m healed.”

“But you’re still weak.” When Shauna tried to get up her
mother put a hand on her good shoulder and held it steady.
“No.
Three days
isn’t enough.
You need to gain your strength.”

Shauna sighed.
She wouldn’t argue with her mom.
She’d just
gotten her back from the dead.
“I’m going to Dad.
He’ll side with me.” She
walked away from the sofa.

Her mother laughed.
“He always did.
Why don’t you go see
what Mike’s up to?”

Shauna stared her mother down.
No one had a more
intimidating glare than her mother.
Except her.
Shauna knew she could wither an
orange, if she ever saw one.
“Okay, just ask it.
I know you’re dying of
curiosity.”

Louise Wentworth pushed her long auburn hair off her face.
There were a few strands of silver that glinted in the light but her mother
looked remarkably young considering her five years in hiding.
It seemed that
life as a fugitive agreed with her.

“What’s between you and the time traveler?”

Bull’s eye.
Only her mother would strike right between the
eyes.
“Actually, I’m not sure.” She evaded the pointed look.
“Don’t you need
help cleaning or cooking or something?”

Louise laughed.
“No darling.
You know your father’s the cook
in the family.
Since you’re not going to answer my question, I’ll ask another.
What do you think of our little hiding place?”

“Little?
You carved out a mini village in a valley in the
middle of the Rockies.
I’m amazed that so many people have kept your secret.
You have homes, farms, plenty of food, medical care.
It’s amazing.”

Louise beamed.
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?
We grow all our own
food and it’s delicious.
We created our own ecosystem, which replenishes power
and is friendly to the environment.
We’ve moved to the next step in computers
where nothing’s tied into the Global Guardian network and we’re free of
corruption.
Everything’s solar, wind powered and geothermal.
Your father’s a
genius.”

“I’m sure you had a lot to do with it too, Mom.” Shauna
stepped over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her.
She still wanted to
stare at the apparition that was Louise Wentworth and stroked a finger down her
soft cheek.
“So you communicate with the outside world but they don’t know who
you really are.
They think you’re who?”

“They think we’re a corporation from Europe that is creating
a better way to feed the world in this day of overpopulation.
We also have a
subsidiary that works on modernizing telecommunications.
We named it Papa Bell,
the father of all the telephone and communications companies from the past.
We’ve gone so far as to infiltrate the Global Guardians, right under their
noses.
Soon we’ll be able to access their top secret files.
Then we can collect
data that proves their part of the global conspiracy created by the CEOs.” Her
mother looked completely satisfied, like a cat that had just finished drinking
cream.

“And what conspiracy is that?” Shauna grabbed a green apple
from a bowl on the table.
She crunched a bite tasting sweetness, tartness and
crispness.
Nothing had ever tasted so good.
“God, this is good,” she said
around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Shauna laughed.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that to me
again.
It’s wonderful.” She finished the apple in record time and threw the core
into a recycle receptacle.
“Just because you found me, saved me, healed me and
loved me doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to you.
I’ve been on my own too long
to go back to ancient times.”

“Are you calling me old, young lady?”

All the banter was said with love and warmth.
Shauna
wouldn’t give this up for anything.
Her mother and father were back in her life
and it couldn’t be more perfect.

Or could it?

She looked out the window just in time to see Mike and her
father bend over the jet engine of the skycar.
The intensity in Mike’s face
brought out his stark, masculine features.
The sun highlighted his strong,
cleft chin.
A wide smile creased his face and Shauna watched her father throw
back his head and laugh at something Mike said.
A warm feeling rushed through
Shauna.
How lucky was she to have him stumble into her life?
She frowned,
wondering what Mike thought about his new living arrangements.

“You look worried.
Your young man seems to like it here, in
this century.” Her mother wrapped her arm around Shauna and hugged her.

“How’d you know what I was thinking?” Shauna squeezed her
mother’s hand.
Tears formed but she pushed them back.

“You’re staring at Mike like he’s a miracle about to
disappear.
Do you think he will?”

“I don’t know, Mom.
He came here by accident.
He’s been
thrust into situation after situation and he’s always been beside me.
He
learned the skycar manual in six weeks and flew me to you when I was injured.”
She sucked in a breath and slowly let it out.
“Not once has he complained.
Not
once has he said he wants to go back.” At her mother’s look she said, “Yes,
he’s known all along he could go back whenever he wants.
He’s stayed.”

“And?”

“And I’m in love with him.” There.
She’d said it.
Out loud
and to her mother.
It was official.

“He seems like a good man from what we’ve seen of him.
Your
father likes him.”

“That seals it, then.
I’m officially doomed.” Shauna turned
from the window and fell onto the couch.
“What am I going to do, Mama?”

Louise sat next to her daughter.
“Mama.
How I’ve longed to hear
you say that.” She took Shauna’s face between her two palms and said, “You take
that amazing man and love him.
You be there for him, help him through the tough
times and never doubt him.
Always be loyal.
That’s how you’ll win a lifetime of
love with him.”

“But what if he doesn’t love me?”

“Oh, he does.
That man’s crazy for you.
It’s written all
over his face.” Louise pulled a homemade afghan off the back of the sofa.
“You’re tired.
I see it in your eyes.
Rest.” She covered Shauna with the afghan
and tucked it around her as if she were a child.

“Okay.” She shifted down to settle more comfortably and
pulled the afghan up to her mouth.
“You really think he loves me?”

“I know he does.”

* * * * *

“This dinner is delicious,” Mike complimented.
“Even in my
day I didn’t eat fresh fruits, vegetables and meats that were this good.”

“We grow everything here.
Our cows and chickens are
naturally organic, our fish farms are tested weekly.
We use no chemical
pesticides.
We get enough rain each year, our soil is fertile and our seasons
are beautiful.
It’s paradise here,” Douglas Wentworth explained.

The men sat at the table in the Wentworth’s lovely living
room.
Mike loved the knotty pinewood table.
All around him he saw natural
fabrics, real wood and homemade scatter rugs.
“I feel as if I’m back in the
twenty-first century.” He ran his hand over the smooth wood.
“You don’t use the
new plastics?”

“No,” Douglas said.
“We wanted to go back to nature.
But we
have our dishwashers and computers.
And we won’t give up our self-cleaning
napkins, renewable paper or twenty-second century hover scooters and skycars.”
Douglas grinned, changing his face from stern to boyish.
He leaned across the
table to Mike and whispered, “Don’t tell the women but I need my creature
comforts.”

“I heard that, Douglas,” Louise said as she came into the
dining room.
She carried a platter of fresh winter fruit.
Oranges, cranberries,
pears, grapes and bananas were piled on the platter.
“Dessert.”

Shauna followed behind her with three cups of steaming coffee
on a twenty-second century platter made from the unknown plastic that Mike
liked.
He saw striations of red, yellow, orange and thin lines of blue in the
material.
He could see through the platter to Shauna’s hands, yet the colors
were starkly vibrant throughout.
It glimmered as if she held a prism in her
hands.
“Coffee for everyone.
Dad, Mom said you were drinking decaf, so this
one’s for you.”

Douglas grumbled.
“Darn blood pressure.
You’d think they’d
figure out how to control it better by now.” He glared at the offending cup and
took a sip.
“At least it’s palatable.”

Shauna stepped around the table and hugged her father.
“As
long as you’re healthy, that’s what counts.”

“So, tell me what you plan to do about the Fearsome
Foursome,” Mike said.
“Shauna’s told me a little about their history.”

Douglas Wentworth sat back in his wooden chair and rocked on
the two hind legs.
“It’s a long and sordid history Mike but in a nutshell the
War on Terror wore the people out.
President Adams the Second had a burr up his
butt to rule the world.
In our travels and from our correspondents for
The
Real Truth
, we found some startling news.
News that the population in your
day had begun to suspect but was vehemently denied by the old government.”
Douglas peeled a banana and took a bite.
His bushy eyebrows knit together.
“Adams and Lorry, two very rich and powerful oil men hid a secret.”

Shauna’s mom took over.
“We heard rumblings from friends
that in 2015, twelve years after the War on Terror had begun people started
digging into the history of the Adams and Lorry families.
Oh, many had tried it
before but this time people close to them, family friends who’d lost children
in the war and were angry, dug deeper.” Louise plucked a grape off a bunch
she’d put on a plate in front of her, popped it in her mouth and chewed
thoughtfully.
“It seemed that over time, those informants told their children
and their children’s children what they’d learned.”

Douglas scraped his chair back from the table.
He paced the
room, running his hand through his silver hair.

“What did they find, Mom?” Shauna asked.

Mike leaned forward.
He was fascinated.
Here was the answer
to why his world was in constant fear, always looking over their shoulders for
a suicide bomber and stray bullet in the back or an angry pair of eyes.
For a
minute he wondered what he’d do with this information when he got back home.

If he went home.

“More coffee anyone?” Louise asked.

“Now Louise,” Douglas warned.
“Give the kids what they want
to hear.”

Mike saw the love and humor in his eyes.
Shauna’s parents
were still head-over-heels in love with each other.

“The informants found that the United States, the world’s
leader, had enough oil buried under its land, in the Gulf Coast, off Alaska,
and in other places, that they’d never needed to rely on Middle East oil in the
first place.
They found that OPEC was contacted by the US oil corporations to
cause a worldwide shortage.
The idea was conceived by President Adams and
Vice-President Lorry.
Prices were raised so they could earn gargantuan profits.
The people were held hostage to the oil companies.”

Mike jumped up from the table.
“We have enough oil?”

“Yes, Mike, you do,” Douglas said.
“But those that found out
the truth and tried to tell the world were systematically killed.
Accidents, disappearances,
they were all silenced.” He stood behind his wife and pulled her close to him,
wrapping his arms around her.