Chapter 1
November 2nd, 2002 Wells, Nevada
JPR Cattle Ranch
"Megan, I don't think we should be here..."
"Relax Jeff! The second anything goes wrong, we Omni out!"
They continued walking through the darkened house and stopped in front of the closed door at the end of the hallway. Jeff looked at Megan and held up his Omni; she nodded and showed him she was ready with hers as well. He slowly opened the door and they quietly entered the room.
The teens looked around in awe. "They really did leave it like a shrine, didn't they," Meg whispered. Jeff nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat as he remembered his grandparents cleaning out his house and particularly, his parent's bedroom, once they had passed away.
"At least they have something to remember her by," he said with a hint of sadness. Megan looked at him and understood, taking his hand in hers.
"C'mon, let's find the stuff and get back before we're discovered."
They quietly searched the room, careful to put everything back that was moved. Jeff had walked over to the desk and saw several diaries lined up along the back of the desk and one lying in the middle of the desk. He picked it up and turned to Megan.
"Hey, is this what we're looking for?"
"Does it look like a diary? Of course it's what you're looking for! Just make sure you put another one there that looks like it. Remember, we don't want it to look like anything has been taken. Now hurry up and help me find what I need."
Jeff looked at the other diaries and found one that was the same and placed it in the center of the desk, pushing the other books closer together again. He just finished making sure the space looked the same when Megan whispered excitedly.
"Jeff! I've found it!"
He knelt down next to her and looked at the threadbare stuffed kitten in her hands. It had obviously been much loved as it was missing one eye and the velvet on the nose was completely worn away, exposing the white plastic below.
"Are you sure it's not the cat on the bed?"
In response, Megan showed him the name tag on the cat's collar.
He got up and grabbed the other cat off the bed and looked at its name tag and sighed. "If it were me, I'd want Fluffy."
"Well, it's not you, and only Snuggles will do. And, he was buried in all these toys so I don't think he'll be missed, but Fluffy would be. C'mon, let's go!"
They checked the room over one last time and set their Omni's. Megan glanced at the diary in Jeff's hand.
"You know what to do with that, right?"
Jeff sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes. I go see Simon in 2007 and explain what's going on, and show him her diary."
"And you're sure it's the last one?"
He nodded and opened the book to the last entry. "October 12, 2002. It's three days before she was plucked."
"Alright then. I'll take Snuggles and sneak back into VHQ while you meet with Simon. We'll meet up back on Harbor Beach, June 24th, 1949 when we're done and be careful."
"Like I haven't been doing this for almost three years now... give me a break Megan!" And before she could reply, he was gone.
Megan shook her head, "Boys! Grr!" And then she disappeared.
VHQ
Things were in an uproar, and no one seemed to know what to do. Voyagers were falling ill left and right, and the doctors were hard pressed to find a remedy for this strange malady. Voyager Tracy Reynolds was the first to become seriously ill and was brought into VHQ by her Apprentice Megan.
Tracy had started having headaches, then during their most recent voyage started hallucinating and had regressed to about 21 years old, fresh out of college, and had no memory of being a Voyager. She and Megan had just finished their assignment when it hit, causing Megan to panic. Tracy couldn't understand why she was in Washington, DC in the year 1862 and didn't recognize Megan, so she ran. Not knowing what else to do, Meg set her Omni for VHQ and ran after Tracy and activated her device the moment she grabbed her.
They were taken to the infirmary where Tracy was finally sedated and Megan explained what had happened to Dr. Miller.
"Ms. Reynolds isn't the first Voyager to come in with these symptoms, and I'm guessing she won't be the last," he told the young Voyager. "Why don't you head home and we'll let you know how she's doing."
Megan met up with her mom who had just ended her nursing shift and together they went over to the Omnitron Control Center to meet her dad and go home for the evening. Things were fine until Ashleigh started complaining of a headache. Megan tried not to worry, but knew that Tracy's symptoms started the same way. She made some tea for her mom and when she gave it to her, Ashleigh looked at her, confused.
"Thank you, my dear. Do I know you?" Then she blinked and her eyes re-focused on her daughter, "Oh, Megan thank you so much. I really need this; my head hurts so much."
She went and told her dad what had happened and they immediately took Ashleigh to the infirmary. When they arrived, Megan looked around in shock: every available bed was full, and more Voyagers were being led in. Dr. Miller saw her standing there and looked at Jon.
"Has your daughter shown any symptoms yet Jon?"
"No, not yet," he said gravely. "But my head is killing me..."
Dr. Miller turned to Megan. "You need to leave. Now."
"But... my mom! And Tracy! I want to see Tracy; I'll wait until things calm down..."
"Megan," the Doctor walked over to her and started steering her out of the infirmary, "We think it might be contagious."
Now the teen was scared. "What's happening to them Doctor?"
He had walked her into his office and closed the door. "What I'm about to tell you is not to be taken lightly or shared with any Voyagers here, is that clear young lady?"
Megan nodded, eyes wide. "Yes sir, Dr. Miller. Are they going to be okay?"
He sat down at his desk and rubbed his eyes. "Right this moment, I can't say for sure. It's not acting like any kind of infection we've seen before, and sometimes the hallucinations begin before the fever. We've started running neurological tests but so far, nothing conclusive. Of the fifteen cases I've seen in the past two days, none of them share any commonality that I can find."
"So no one else has 'become younger', like Tracy did?"
"No, I didn't say that. Vladimir Radomsky was plucked at the age of 26 and he is currently in his late 40's. When he was brought in, we had to sedate him because he couldn't understand why he was in an 'old man's body' at the age of 26."
"But, if he regressed like Tracy did... isn't that the commonality you were looking for?"
Dr. Miller shook his head. "No, Megan, it isn't. Their symptoms are the same, but there's nothing in their Voyager files to indicate anything that would trigger these types symptoms for them. They weren't in the same graduating class or plucked from the same time zone, they don't share any Voyages in common. Bottom line is that we don't know why it's happening or how to prevent it; nor are we sure exactly how to treat it."
Megan was in shock, trying to assimilate all the information. "Why are you telling me all this, Dr. Miller? I'm just a kid..."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "The Council thinks it best for you to leave VHQ for your own safety, and I felt it was important for you to know why. We have pulled Sr. Voyager Bogg off assignment to run some tests on him as he is not showing symptoms of the illness at this time, so they want you to meet up with Voyager Jones. The coordinates are already set in your Omni, so you can leave as soon as possible."
Megan stood and walked to the door. "May I please just say good bye to my parents and Tracy?"
Dr. Miller nodded his ascent, "Yes, but be quick about it. The faster you leave here, the better."
Once she had seen her parents and promised her father that she would leave quickly, Meg went to Tracy's bedside. She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes. She took Tracy's hand in hers, trying desperately not to cry.
"Don't worry about me, Trace. Jeff and I will be fine. And Phineas is here so he'll look after you too..."
Tracy opened her eyes and looked at her, "I want Snuggles."
Megan looked confused, "Who, Tracy?"
"My Snuggles. He's in my room, right where I left him. He always makes me feel better. And don't try and trick me with Fluffy or Smooshie, either. Only Snuggles will do." And she closed her eyes once more.
As she turned to go, she heard Dr. Miller talking to Professor Stephens, "I think that might be a good place to start, Professor."
"So we need to look for personal effects, mementos, things like diaries or maybe even pictures?"
"Exactly. I think we need something to ground them back to their former lives before we move forward with any kind of treatment."
Professor Stephens sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "And what about the Council's idea? Bringing in non-Voyagers to assist us?"
"I don't know how they could help. I think the Council is grasping at straws at this point... Ah, Megan. Good, good. You've said your good byes then?"
The teen nodded as she approached the two men, trying to rapidly process what she'd just heard. She decided to take a chance and confront them.
"I can help! Let me go and find something of Tracy's, please! Or something for my mom! Please let me help!"
Professor Stephens shook his head. "Megan, we truly appreciate the offer, but this is not something we want you involved in."
"Dr. Miller!" A young nurse ran up to him, "We were running tests on the unaffected Voyagers the Council brought back and--"
"Back off or I'll keel haul th' lot of ya!"
Megan looked shocked. "That sounds like Phineas!"
They ran toward the commotion and nearly collided with Phineas Bogg. He was fighting several men, including Megan's dad Jon, attempting to escape the infirmary. He was yelling about getting back to his ship when Professor Stephens grabbed Megan.
"You must go, now! Find Jones and stay with him. Tell him what's going on, but don't leave his time zone! The best way to help us is to stay together and stay put. Now go!"
Jon turned and looked at his daughter and nodded his head. She knew she had no choice but to obey, and she did.
Harbor Beach, Oceanside, California, June 24th, 1949
Jeff was back walking along the beach waiting for Megan to return, watching the surfers and thinking over the past week.
VHQ was up in arms about something (for once it wasn't Drake) and had sent a message to Bogg, asking him to come in immediately for some tests and assuring him Jeff would be fine on his own. Phineas was concerned, but Jeff said, "If VHQ thinks I'll be okay, then I'll be okay! Get outta here and go take your tests."
Since he still showed a Red light and they hadn't figured out what was wrong before Bogg left, he had wandered around the beach city until he finally met up with some boys about his own age. They were surfing (or trying to), and they decided Jeff needed to learn. The boards were huge: 14 feet long and a bear to carry alone. Eleven year old Phil Edwards, the youngest of the group, rolled his across the sand end over end until he got it into the water.
Jeff offered to help the youngster with his board but was stopped by one of the Lifeguards. "If he wants to surf badly enough, he'll get his own board into the water or he won't surf."
They played in the surf attempting to ride the waves, throwing each other off their boards and bragging about how they would catch 'the big one'. Phil was getting teased a lot because he kept falling off his board and had not successfully caught a wave in two years. After one rather frightening tumble, he resurfaced and pulled his board to the beach and stormed off while the older boys laughed. Jeff caught up to him and convinced his friend to keep trying.
"If you give up now, you'll never know if that next wave would have been the one. C'mon, Phil, let's show those losers how it's done!"
Of course, Jeff had barely gotten to kneeling successfully on his borrowed board, but that was beside the point. He liked Phil and could see his drive and determination to succeed, and he wasn't going to let the other boys bully his friend out of the water.
And then Megan showed up. She was very upset and it took him a while to find out why. Apparently there were many Voyagers who were becoming very ill and the doctors at VHQ couldn't explain it. She told him about Tracy and her parents, and seeing Bogg just before she left to find Jeff.
"Bogg's been affected now too? Is he okay?"
"I don't know... but I won't just sit here and wait to be told what to do! Listen, I have an idea. We need to go back to Tracy's timeline, just before she became a Voyager. Remember when my dad showed us the Omnitron and we looked up her history..."
He heard a shout from the water that brought him out of his reverie. The lifeguards were whistling and cheering, as were the boys in the water and the other surfers in the area. Jeff searched the waves for the surfer causing the ruckus and to his delight, saw Phil riding a huge wave, standing tall and smiling broadly. He had already improved from when he finally caught his wave a few days prior, and Jeff was impressed by the boy's obvious skill. He checked his Omni and it was still green, just as had been when Phil caught his first wave.
He was about to go join the group when someone behind him called his name. He turned around to see Megan running toward him, and she looked scared. He ran to her and she fell into his arms crying.
"Jeff it's horrible! I snuck into the infirmary to give Snuggles to Tracy and she started screaming at me! She threw him at me and the doctors rushed me out... and then... then I saw my dad... and he... oh Jeff!"
She completely fell apart and Jeff sat her down on the sand and held her. He knew better than to try and get anything out of Megan when she was this upset. After a few minutes, she calmed down a bit and he looked her in the eyes.
"He didn't recognize you, did he?"
Fresh tears pooled in her eyes as Megan shook her head. Jeff looked out over the ocean and tried to think of what to do, when Megan finally spoke.
"They still don't know what's causing it, and they say it's spreading! Jeff, what happens if we're the only ones left?"
She leaned into him and he held her close as she cried some more. "We're not alone, Meg, I know it."
"I'm sorry for being such a big baby--"
"Don't think for one second that you're being a baby, Megan! Lord knows I've shed more than my fair share of tears in the past 3 years," he felt rather than saw her giggle, "and if I'd seen Bogg that way... well, I'm sure you'd be comforting me right now."
They sat there in silence for quite a while before Megan finally looked up at Jeff. "We have to do something. We can't just sit here in 1949 on the beach and hope someone comes to help us." She gazed at the water and then quickly faced Jeff. "Oh! What happened with Simon?"
He'd been hoping she wouldn't ask him that. He let go of her and watched the surfers as they started heading home for the day. "He didn't believe me. He said, 'If we were friends ten years ago, then how come you're still 14 and I'm 25? I'll admit you look like Jeff, but come on... time travel?' It wasn't until Bo walked into the yard and jumped me that he realized that maybe I was telling the truth. He said, 'That dog doesn't take to strangers. How...?' And then he looked at me really hard. I told him that dogs can't lie because they use their senses like we can't, and Bo recognized me for who I was."
"So, what happened?"
Jeff sighed heavily. "I left him the diary and he grudgingly promised to read it and consider what I'd said, if for no other reason than Bo and Katie liking me. And he told me to come back 'next week'." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I still don't see how giving him Tracy's diary will help him believe us. She wasn't even a Voyager when she wrote it."
"I told you, it just felt like the right thing to do. Personally, I think that it will show we can time travel and we really are telling the truth because becoming a Voyager doesn't change who you are, right? They only remove specific memories like people's names and dates so Voyagers can't-"
"Spare me the history lesson, Professor Wilcox!"
Meg stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, you asked for a reason! Anyway, I don't think removing memories will change who a person really is. Look at my dad. He still quotes Star Wars, right? But he doesn't know anything about who he was or what he did before becoming a Voyager. And Tracy says sometimes you gotta trust your gut."
Jeff laughed, "Yeah, well she got that from Bogg. He says that to me all the time."
Megan looked up at him and he impulsively pulled her close again and kissed the top of her head. She pulled away and looked at him and he shrugged.
"Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut."
She blushed and stood up, brushing sand from her clothes. "So, is it Next Week yet? We've got to connect with Simon."
Jeff nodded and set his Omni. "Yes ma'am, it sure is." He held out his hand and she took it. "March 9th, 2007, here we come."