“I messed up… her life. How could she forget me?”
“No clue! The bad part is I can’t head up topside to get to the bottom of it all. You’ve trapped us below ground in a temporal bubble to keep our existence the way it was before you were sent here. Trust me I miss the light of day. Seeing it as a hologram is just not the same. Doesn’t do much for my tan if you get my drift.”
“Is there any fixing it?”
“According to Tilly while we were together you got closer to the truth than any of us in tracking Jessup. Until… ”
“Until what?”
“You vanished without a trace just like Jessup. Tarnation and I did as well.”
“Go eat yer Ramen, Katrina.” Sadie nudged the girl away. “Save me some.”
“Okay!” She reluctantly felt jilted but obeyed her aunt.
“So, now I know to watch out for whatever is comin’ my way. What in the hell did Jessup and obviously I run into. What does Wyndham want from this?”
“Until we find the answer we keep trying.”
“Are you sure it was wise to send Kat back here?”
“She can’t leave the mesa unless it’s to return to her future. I made certain her nanites prevented her going after you spontaneously. She… needed fresh air and this was my solution.”
“I see three cars. Mine, hers and who else?”
“Good eye!”
“I can count.”
“And I can count on you. We both know you won’t follow orders Sadie Lynn. Your future here in 1876 is going to continue to screw things up.”
“Ah! So you sent a fixer.”
“More of a consultant. She’s also here to keep Katrina company in a physical manner that as a hologram I can’t offer.”
“Peggy Ann? Tilly just asked.”
“No! Peggy passed away when Katrina was ten. Inoperable rain tumor!”
“Ouch! You can send a guy to the moon and back to 1876 and we still medicine still can’t save us all. So, Peggy had nanites too, correct?”
“Actually, no! Peggy was one of the first to come back in time. This was before the implementation of nanites. Besides, they can’t cure everything, all they do is boost immune systems and bodily functions. Strength amplification! You know the drill. Case in point, my nanites did me no good once my spirit was pulled out of me and into the horse. It took the horse facing me in my padded cell to I’m guessing jumpstart what little soul I had left in me. Thanks!”
“Welcome! Man, this is a lot to digest. So, who is the babysitter?”
“Conchita Hernado. Another former traveler. She agreed to try again but not get in your way.”
“Where is she right now?”
“Dallas for a spell. She’s trying to help the timestream as much as she can. With you altering the history of the Dillsby clan you set off a chain of events that kept spiraling. The Waters Edge Comanche tribe is also going to be a mess.”
“Did I save them?”
“You saved some of them. The cavalry was too much in the end. History was not as bad as it originally was but that’s simply justice in my mind. The Comanche deserved better.”
“Right! Brandon I can’t let innocent people suffer.”
“I understand. The folks in Wyndham don’t but hey. I tell them what they want to hear.”
“Are you here to stop me Brandon? Tell me the truth.”
“No! If that were the case don’t you think it would save us all time by just making certain you didn’t join our team. It would not have been hard to second guess our option. You’re here because you got the closest. I’m here now to warn you of what’s ahead.”
“Fair enough! Can I eat my Ramen and grab a shower now?”
“Have at it, Soldier.”
On her way toward Katrina eating by a camp stove rather than any fire to alert anyone nearby Sadie cast her arms over her head and shared a “ROCK ON!” set of finger horns. Laughing Katrina utilized a remote on her wristband to set off some speakers. They jammed out to the band Circuit Breaker. The kid was right, they were the next Metallica. Sweet!
Tilly went silent! Not good!
Brandon’s hologram faded away for now.
In the future General Brandon Outlaw brooded at his office desk before deciding to pluck up a phone and hit an extension. On the other end a man with a distinctly Indian tone in his voice answered.
“How is Project Fairlane adapting?”
“Quite well, Sir. A test drive is in order.”
“Good! Start the engine, Doctor Matel! The road to recovery needs to roll off the assembly line.”
“Vroom! Vroom!”
Ominous to say the least!