Chapter 12
At the moment I couldn't see anything useful I could do to determine if bringing Lexi and Rachel forward in time had caused the changes we had discovered. These people from Connor and Abby's organization must have felt the same about the revelation that Connor and Abby hadn't returned to the same version of the present from which they had left. So everyone turned their attention to dealing with the giant snakes and locking the anomaly.
I watched as the commandos started using their weapons on the pair of snakes. They didn't fire projectiles like normal guns, but instead seemed to fire pulses of electricity. Oh, they didn't display bolts of lightning like Bonnie had done back in Salem, but from the way the snakes' bodies were jerking and vibrating, it looked like they were receiving electrical shocks. Within a couple of minutes they had used the electric shocks to herd them onto the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. Then they must have increased the intensity, because the snakes were abruptly motionless. From across the wide street it wasn't apparent whether the snakes were dead or merely unconscious, but I felt no inclination to walk over there to find out for sure. No, I was more than happy to leave the snakes to the military types.
But I was intrigued by the weapons. I wondered if they would be equally effective against vampires. I had driven a knife coated with white oak ash through Elijah's heart and had used wooden stakes on several other vampires, but it always required getting dangerously close to them. Things would be a lot easier, if I had a weapon that could incapacitate them from a distance before staking them. For a moment I fantasized about using one of these guns on Klaus and watching him lying helplessly on the ground, his body involuntarily jerking and twisting.
But then I remembered how this version of 2009 was different for Abby and Connor's friends. Would it be the same in Mystic Falls? Would Stefan, Damon, and Klaus even be there?
Until I had more information, it was pointless to speculate and I forced my attention back to the current situation. These peoples' weapons might be useful in my old life and maybe other things they had would be useful, too. If we were going to get home anytime soon and get our old lives back, I needed to learn everything I could.
So once the snakes were out of the way, I turned my attention to Cutter and Stephen, who had carried their large cases out into the street. Quickly, as though they had done it many times before, they unpacked these projector-looking things and placed them at the four cardinal points around the anomaly, but about twenty-five feet back. Then Cutter pulled out a laptop and spent a couple of minutes typing and looking at the screen. Finally, everything must have been properly adjusted, as abruptly the anomaly collapsed into a tiny sphere about eight inches across. He continued to study the computer's screen for a couple of minutes before nodding his head in satisfaction.
While several of the commandos kept an eye on the snakes, Becker directed the others to deal with the police and help with crowd control, as people had begun filtering back into the area.
Becker was just turning back to us, as Cutter and Stephen walked up.
I turned and looked at our little group now that the excitement seemed to be over. Lexi had joined Rachel in standing by Bonnie. Caroline was standing by me. Abby and Connor were standing together and I could see their fingers were intertwined. I wasn't certain if that meant Abby had decided she was with Connor or if they had been trapped together for so long, it was simple force of habit. Only time would tell.
"Dibs on Becker," whispered Caroline as she leaned close to my ear.
I raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"If we end up stuck here for two years, well, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do."
Obviously, Caroline's thoughts had been running in the same direction as mine. Oh, not about Becker, I had no interest in hooking up with anyone here in London. I still loved Stefan and could force myself to wait until I saw him again, even if it ended up being an excruciatingly long wait. No, it was that she must have reached the same conclusion after Bonnie had been unable to close the anomaly that we might be stuck here with no way home except living through the next two years.
"I don't know about Abby, but I think Connor would appreciate it if you went after Stephen instead," I whispered back.
I watched as Caroline tilted her head to one side and took a slow, leisurely scan up and down Stephen's body. With the body armor Becker was wearing, it was hard to be certain, but I think Stephen's body was almost as muscular. And both Stephen and Becker stood a good six foot one, at least four inches taller than Caroline.
Caroline turned back to me and threw a quick wink before leaning in close. "I could do that."
"How about giving it a few hours to see what the situation here really looks like before making your move?" I suggested.
The tall vampire shrugged. "Okay. I'm good for at least another day before I have to feed."
She must have seen something in my expression for she quickly added. "Do you think they have an infirmary with a blood bank they might be willing to share? Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't want them to know about my and Lexi's situation and I would just feed in the wild. But they might frown if they discovered in the wrong way. Since Abby and Connor know, they might feel compelled to share their knowledge. And I certainly don't want to end up in some cage. Do you think Lexi and I should disappear until you and Bonnie can figure out the situation?"
Our hushed conversation had suddenly taken an unexpected turn from the topic of which guy she should hit on. And I wondered if she was right. From what Connor and Abby had said, they tried to capture the creatures alive. When possible, they returned them through the anomalies to their own times. But when anomalies closed too soon, they held the creatures for study. Would they want to do the same, if they discovered a pair of vampires in their midst?
I stared around at these people. Abby and Connor had seemed to accept the existence of vampires and witches, but they had been lost in time and needed any allies they could find. But things might be different now that they were back in some version of their present.
"Perhaps it would be best if you make yourselves scarce for the moment. Watch for me . . . say . . . in front of Buckingham Palace between noon and 2 P.M. for the next few days. Once I have a better handle on things, I'll tell them I want to do a little sightseeing. Try to make some discreet inquiries into things back home in the meantime and I'll do the same. And keep an eye on Lexi. We don't need her leaving a trail of corpses across London."
Caroline nodded and then nonchalantly made her way over to the others. To give her time to clue the others in before she and Lexi made their departure, I moved over to where Abby and Connor were now talking to the three men from the present.
"Hi, we haven't been introduced. I'm Elena Gilbert. You will have to forgive my appearance, but this outfit was all the rage back in 1692 Salem. But I am certainly ready to change into something a little more comfortable on this beautiful summer day. Are low slung jeans and short tee shirts that show off a little skin appropriate attire in this version of the timeline?"
I toyed with the idea about throwing in an additional comment about hating to wear bras, but decided it wasn't necessary. I was covered from head to foot in a heavy black dress, but I already had the undivided attention of all four guys. Abby was looking at me a little strangely, but I only needed to hold their attention for a couple of minutes.
"Where exactly are you from Elena?" asked Stephen and somehow I just knew he was the real player of these men. "You don't sound like you are from the distant past."
"I'm from the future - 2011 to be exact. And after spending a day in Salem, where everyone dresses like this and they are busy hanging people for being witches, I am so ready to go home. This isn't exactly America, but at least it is close."
"If it wasn't for Elena and her friends, we would still be stuck back in the Cretaceous Era," interjected Connor.
"I think standing out here in public is not the best place to be holding this conversation," stated Becker. "And Lester is going to want to be debriefed. Let's wait until we get back to the ARC, so we only have to go through things once."
I saw out of the corner of my eye that Caroline and Lexi had just blurred and disappeared.
"Okay," I said. "Could we get something to eat while we wait for our ride? I haven't really eaten in about," I paused to tick off the hours since we had had dinner in Moscow on our drive out to the lake house. Once split five ways, the meager amount of food Lexi had been able to provide at the cabin the previous evening combined with what we had salvaged from the Porsche hadn't been enough to truly qualify as a meal. "In about eighteen hours."
"Me, too," chimed in Connor. "I have been eating almost nothing but roots and berries for almost a year. I would kill for some real food."
Becker glanced around. "I think the next building down has a takeout place. Our ride should be here soon and that will have to hold you for the moment."
"Lead the way, ah, Becker is it?" I asked.
"Captain Hilary Becker, at your service, mum," he said while offering his hand.
"Hilary?" said Connor with almost a twitter in his voice. "I had no idea that was your Christian name. Hell, I didn't think you even had a first name."
I watched as an annoyed expression rolled briefly across Becker's face. But he must have been teased about his name plenty of times before, as he just shook his head and started leading our little party down the street.
Abby quietly stepped up beside me as we began to walk. "Where did Caroline and Lexi disappear to? I saw Caroline talking to you and then she went and spoke to the others before the two of them simply vanished. Becker is pretty observant. He is going to notice soon how our group has shrunk by two."
I shrugged. "We weren't certain what kind of a reception they were going to get with their special gifts and needs. So it seemed like a good idea if they disappeared for the present. If I feel convinced your people aren't going to try to put them into a cage, or worse, I'll let them know it is okay to return."
"You're probably right. I'm not certain how things stand here either, when people I know are dead are suddenly walking around perfectly fine. For the moment it might be best to keep this aspect of things a secret. I'll try to clue Connor in, but he sometimes speaks without thinking."
I nodded; glad at least for the present that Abby seemed to be on our side.
End of Chapter 12
Author's Note:
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Have a great day!
Duane
