Out of this World
A When Calls the Heart Jack and Elizabeth Story
CHAPTER 1 – THE MANIFEST
"Why do you have to move so far away?" Julie whined as she watched her older sister Elizabeth put another folded blouse on the bed. It was a late summer afternoon and the sun shone through the window pane of one of the mansion's upstairs bedrooms.
Elizabeth Thatcher smiled as she rummaged through her dresser drawer and took out five pairs of socks which she added to the large stack of clothes she had already assembled. "I'm going to teach. It's an adventure. On my own. In the frontier. I'm excited."
"But there are hundreds of places where you could teach that are closer", Julie argued as she picked up a pair of socks which had rolled off the pile and landed on the floor and returned it to the pile on the bed.
"But the closer places don't need teachers," Elizabeth reminded her. "And . . . well, I feel a calling to go."
Elizabeth was exaggerating slightly. When she had received her teaching orders last month, her first feeling wasn't that she had received a calling. It was terror. She had gotten a pit in her stomach when she thought about how far from home she would be moving. She worried about missing her family. That she wasn't capable of handling the job. That it was too dangerous.
"Can I have any clothes you're not taking?" Julie asked as she noticed how many items were still left in her sister's closet.
"Of course. But do me a favor and make sure no one messes with my novels", Elizabeth said as she glanced to her bookcase with the large glass doors. Inside were nestled two dozen of Elizabeth's favorite books.
"Those old things. Why would anyone even want to touch them?"
"They are not old things. They are antiques. And I love them. I found a first edition Jane Austen at the antique store on Mulberry Street last week. It cost me a small fortune."
"More than that silly first edition Nicholas Sparks you bought last month? I could have bought a new pair of shoes for what you paid."
"This one cost three times that one." Elizabeth frowned slightly when she realized that she was spending more money than she was taking in on her hobby of collecting books.
"Why aren't you taking them with you?"
"They weigh too much. I can only travel with fifty pounds."
"How big is this place you're going to?"
"It's called Coal Valley because the geological make-up is coal. But with the right development, farming is possible. It's got two hundred and thirty-seven men, one hundred and eighty-two women, and forty-one children."
"Forty-one?"
"Yep. And I'll be the only teacher. The last one left months ago."
"Are you counting that law enforcement officer Daddy is sending when you counted the men?" Julie asked with a sly grin and a twinkle in her eyes.
'How did you know about that?" Elizabeth asked with a scowl when she thought about what her father had done.
William Thatcher, as president and owner of Thatcher Shipping managed to run a successful business with a firm hand. He tended to try and run his family the same way. Elizabeth had seen the messages between her father and his assistant where he had demanded that strings be pulled and someone sent to accompany his daughter. Or at the very least, keep an eye on her at her new home.
"I heard Daddy telling mother that he made sure that there was going to be protection out there. He called in some favors. You know, most of the shipping there is done on our transporters. If Daddy wants you kept safe, there's nothing you can do about it."
"I can go millions of miles away and I still can't get out from under our father", Elizabeth remarked with a sigh.
"Did you survey him? This law enforcement guy?"
"No, I didn't survey him!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Why not?"
"Because it's creepy. Watching people like that."
"It's not creepy. Everyone does it. And it's not like we're seeing anything private. We can only see what he's doing in public areas."
"It's still creepy."
Julie flopped down on the bed. "He could be an old stickler for rules. Or he could be a young stud. I'm going to do it. What's his E.C.?" she asked eagerly.
Elizabeth continued inspecting her clothes. Pushing the hangars aside as she dismissed one outfit after another as unsuitable for her new teaching job. "I have no idea", she answered.
"Where's the manifest?" Julie didn't wait for Elizabeth to reply but got up from the bed and began looking through the papers on Elizabeth's desk until she found what she was looking for.
"How cute, you printed it out. You are so behind-the-times", she said with a smile as she sat back on the bed. "Now what's his name? Any idea?"
"Jack Thornton."
"You memorized that pretty quickly. Maybe my sister is hoping for a little romance?" Julie teased.
"I am not hoping for a little romance. I just remember it because his last name begins with a T and he is alphabetically in line after me. I noticed it when they updated the travel manifest a few days ago. That they had added another person", Elizabeth said defensively.
Even though Julie was the younger sister, she had dated far more men than Elizabeth. While Elizabeth felt a calling to be a teacher, Julie felt a calling to kiss every available man on the planet. Or almost every one – saving a few for Elizabeth. She also felt it necessary to give Elizabeth pointers on how to entice eligible bachelors despite Elizabeth's assertions that she wasn't interested.
Julie scrolled her finger down the page until she came to the last names beginning with the letter T. "Thady, Thames, Thatcher, Thornton. Jack Thornton. Here it is. Jack Thornton. Earth Citizen number DL-1041981."
Julie punched the number into her silver bracelet. "Pay attention, Elizabeth. It's coming up."
Elizabeth, gave up trying to decide if a green outfit was appropriate, and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Julie as the three-dimensional image of a man formed in front of them. She wouldn't admit it to Julie, but her curiosity was piqued. She would be spending the next four months on a transporter with a group of sixty individuals, including this unknown Jack Thornton.
"Oh, he's cute!" Julie exclaimed.
The hologram image taken from cameras hundreds of miles away was clear enough that they could see that the man was dressed in the uniform of the North America Defense Force. He appeared to be average height. Or maybe just above average. Not quite six feet but close to it.
His build wasn't large, but was well proportioned. Maybe one hundred and eighty pounds, Elizabeth guessed and realized she was staring too much at him.
The man was moving about a small office as he tossed things into a box. He lifted his head and appeared to call out through the room's open door.
"I wish Surveyors had sound", Julie said wistfully. "Then we'd know what his voice is like. I bet it's strong but soothing."
Elizabeth scoffed. "It's bad enough that we're invading his privacy by watching him. And what in the world makes you think he has a strong and soothing voice?"
"It's not invading his privacy. If it was private there'd be an iron curtain around it", Julie replied dismissively.
Ever since surveying had been produced more than a decade ago, public spaces were available for anyone who wanted to observe another Earth Citizen. Which is one of the reasons why Elizabeth preferred spending time with her friends in a private home rather than a restaurant or outdoor space. Unlike public areas, private homes – even if they contained cameras – weren't linked in to the Surveyor system. Elizabeth also liked to keep her E.C. number private, much to the chagrin of Julie, who constantly gave out her own E.C. number to every handsome guy she met so that he could watch her stroll down the streets and ogle her.
"He just looks like he does. Strong and professional sounding when he's in uniform. Seductive when he's in a bedroom. You have to let me know when you find out."
"Julie!" Elizabeth couldn't pretend to be surprised. Her sister was always one to say something tawdry. "I may never even meet him."
"Of course, you will. You're stuck on that transporter for months. Unable to escape."
Elizabeth laughed. "It's not a prison. And there's supposed to be plenty to do on it. "
"Look at his arm muscles. He could put me in prison whenever he wanted", Julie said in awe as she ignored her sister and stared at the hologram. The man was lifting a box from the top of a shelf. "I wonder if he's single", Julie mused. "Probably. Why else would he be going away for two years."
"Zoom in and see if he's wearing a marriage ring," Elizabeth remarked as she found herself still staring at the good-looking hologram image in front of her.
"I can't zoom in. This is the older model. Daddy took away my allowance after my trip to Katmandu and I can't afford to buy a new one. Besides, marriage rings went out in the beginning of the twenty-first century." Julie chuckled. "You are so old-fashioned. Marriage rings. That's cute."
Elizabeth stood up from the bed and moved closer to the hologram as another man had now entered the scene. "It looks like they're arguing. Jack's not very happy."
"So, you're on a first name basis with him already?" Julie teased.
"Hush. He's not happy about something. Oh dear, is that a map of the galaxy he's pointing at?"
Julie strained her eyes and moved even closer until she was almost face to face with the holograms. "Let me see if I can still remember that lip reading class I took," she said. "I think he's saying something about Mock Earth."
"Why couldn't you take that job on Mock Earth? It'd be so much closer", Julie asked as she turned to glance at her sister. "It's only a week-long flight."
"Because Mock Earth doesn't need me. And it's too much like here. I want excitement. I want something different."
"Oh, you're going to get something different. Isolated. Primitive. Lonely."
"Undeveloped. Simple. Natural", Elizabeth countered with a smile, but Julie had already returned her attention to the hologram.
"He's definitely yelling about something. And the other guy is trying to calm him down."
"What's he yelling?"
"Something about - oh dear."
"What? What?!" Elizabeth asked anxiously as she watched the handsome man in uniform throw a book into the cardboard box.
Julie cringed. "I think he just yelled 'Where the hell is Coal Valley and who the hell is Elizabeth Thatcher?'"
"Turn it off! Turn it off!"
"He can't see us or hear us. We're in a private home", Julie reminded her.
Nevertheless, she pushed the small red button on her bracelet and the hologram image of the handsome Jack Thornton disappeared. She looked around the room which had been Elizabeth's bedroom since they were little and then returned her attention to her sister. "I'm going to miss you."
"You can come for a visit" Elizabeth replied eagerly. "Just let me get settled in and then come stay with me."
"I am not coming for a visit. Of all the planets, you had to pick one that takes four months to get there!"
"Those four months will come in handy as I prepare my lesson plans. And I can start teaching the children on the transporter with me. I counted four."
Julie had picked up the manifest again and was looking at the list of sixty names. "Um. Elizabeth, maybe you should be extra nice when you meet this Jack Thornton?"
"Why?" Elizabeth scoffed. "Just because he's good-looking?"
"No. Although that's always a good reason. But seriously, from what we just witnessed he's not too happy about Daddy switching his orders from Mock Earth to that desolate colony planet you're going to."
"I probably won't see much of him. I don't expect to need to deal with law enforcement."
"Elizabeth, you do know how you're situated on the transporter, don't you? Your living accommodations?"
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth scrunched her eyebrows and looked curiously at her sister.
"How your sleeping berths and well, everything, is organized."
"I get an assigned place when I board," Elizabeth answered. "And that's where I spend the next four months until we land. I mean, we have a large cafeteria for eating, and there's a gym onboard, and other amenities. But all the passengers are assigned berths and small living quarters to share with a few others. So?"
"Just how big are these living quarters?" Julie asked.
Elizabeth held up a pair of boots in each hand before answering. "Which ones?"
"The black ones. They're more fashionable."
Elizabeth tossed the black boots onto the bed. "I don't know. About ten feet by ten feet. They each have four lockers and four berths. Two upper and two lower."
"Four berths in a ten by ten room?! My closet is bigger than that!"
Elizabeth chuckled. "It's not ideal but it's an adventure."
"And don't you think you'll be seeing this Jack Thornton onboard?" Julie asked skeptically.
"I don't see why. If he insists on holding a grudge because Daddy had his orders changed, I'll just avoid him. I'll probably spend a lot of time in my quarters reading and preparing lectures."
Elizabeth frowned at her sister's expression and then returned to looking at her closet. She had no idea why her younger sister was now smiling as if she had just learned something humorous. "Do you think I'll need a ski jacket?" she asked.
"No. And you're going to have a hard time avoiding him", Julie remarked.
"Why do you say that?"
Julie's eye glistened with laughter when she spoke. "Transporter accommodations are always arranged alphabetically. You're a Thatcher. He's a Thornton. T H. T H. You'll be sleeping with him and sharing living accommodations with him for the next four months!"
Elizabeth, her eyes wide in shock, dropped the jacket in her hand and turned to stare at Julie who was smiling broadly.
"I wonder if you'll be sleeping on top or he will, my dear sister", Julie said with a mischievous grin.
Up Next: Chapter 2- The man from the Hologram
P.S. Can you figure out the letters and numbers for Jack's E.C. identifier?