NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Three notes, really.
(1) I would really appreciate someone emailing me with a "THE LOST WORLD" web site that has an episode guide.
(2) I couldn't believe it, but my cable went out during two pivotal episodes. One is the one where Marguerite reveals the real reason she came to the plateau and, I think, she learns about her parentage. The other is the final episode about Veronica's parents and what is in her future. I would love it if someone would summarize them for me. Oh, and also the episode that deals with their activities during the war…I didn't understand that one.
(3) I was thinking of continuing this series with another story about "The Children of the Plateau" which would be told in the children's real timeline. Please email or tell me in the review section if you would be interested in reading more about these children.
Sorry it took so long to post the end of this story. I had a hard time saying good-by to the children, too.
A huge THANK YOU to all who took the time to review my stories. You kept me on track and warmed my heart with your encouragement and kind words. I can't tell you what it means to me to share my creations with people who truly understand the characters and share my interest in them.
I hope you enjoy the story and, please let me know if the ending disappointed or pleased you.
Previously: Although the members of the expedition have sadly realized that the children are not from their future, just the knowledge of their existence has changed our explorers' lives in ways that no one could have predicted. Ned has declared his love to Veronica and, while she does not feel ready to act on her feelings immediately, she has promised to work on their relationship. Roxton's and Marguerite's relationship has taken a serious turn. Their feelings of a partnership in the care of the children have opened the door to their trust in each other. Now they all face the possibility that they will not be able to find the time portal that will send the children back to their real parents.
CHAPTER 5 – Wherever Tomorrow Takes Us
"Seven…" Marguerite whispered. She looked sharply up at Roxton. "What does this mean?"
He cut his eyes to Victoria still wrapped in Marguerite's embrace. "Why don't we get Tori to bed, and then we can discuss it."
Victoria was too tired and discouraged to protest about being excluded from the discussion.
"You can have my bed all to yourself, Tori," Marguerite said lightly. "The little girls are sleeping in their "fort" on the floor." Victoria nodded gratefully as Marguerite led her off.
The girl leaned heavily on her. As tired as she was, Victoria's matchmaking streak was wide-awake. She had assured John that Marguerite knew the state of his feeling for her, but she wasn't really sure…and she was dying to find out!
"Marguerite?" she began. "John is an awfully nice person, isn't he?"
"He's nice enough, I guess," Marguerite replied off-handedly. She was anxious to get Tori into bed so that she could hear about what they had discovered.
"When we were out today…he told me a secret…" she said, matching Marguerite's off-handedness. She glanced slyly up at the woman beside her. "About you."
Hooked, Marguerite turned to the girl and asked with some trepidation, "Good Lord! Now, what kind of secret could he be telling you about me?"
"Well… she answered, looking sharply up at her, "he said that he loved you."
Marguerite stopped in surprise. "WWWhat?" she sputtered. "Why on earth would he tell you such a thing?"
"Well, we were talking about how much Ned loves Veronica and so, I asked him if he loved you…and he said," Victoria stopped to try to remember the exact words, "he said, 'Beyond all reason!"
Marguerite was shocked into momentary silence. "He said that?" she asked wonderingly.
Victoria nodded vigorously. "Yes…'Beyond all reason'. She sighed, "Isn't that romantic?"
Marguerite blushed in the dim light. "Yes, it certainly is. But, of course, he was just teasing you, Tori. Lord John Roxton could have his pick of any great lady in the world."
Victoria squeezed her hand. "But he picked this great lady," she said shyly.
Marguerite drew in deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I don't know if that's true," she said wistfully. She stared off in thought for just a moment and then brought her attention back to the task at hand.
"But I do know this to be true." Marguerite smiled and knelt down to hug the young girl. "It's time for this great-lady-to-be," she touched Tori on the nose, "to go to bed,"
"What ever you say…Lady Roxton," Victoria curtsied and scurried into the bedroom.
Marguerite followed her with a big grin on her face.
**
Veronica was cleaning Ned's cuts and scrapes with an ointment Challenger had made especially for that purpose. Cuts and scrapes were as common on the plateau as sunburn to sailors on the sea. Over by the table, Challenger had rolled up his trouser leg to look at the large, bruised lump that had formed on his calf.
"Damn, that hurts," he complained. "Remind me to wear armor next time we fight the apemen."
Roxton's laugh turned into a groan of pain and he clutched his aching ribs. "I agree, George. Those apemen fight the old fashion way. Rocks and clubs. Not always as fatal as bullets, but very painful, none the less."
Marguerite returned to hear the last part of Roxton's complaint. She was immediately at his side, tenderly raising his shirt and gently touching his bruised side. She pushed a little harder as he tried not to moan.
"Well, you're lucky this time. Nothing seems to be broken."
She looked angrily at him as she stood up. "How did this happen? You promised to keep Tori safe!" She knew Tori was unhurt, but she couldn't admit how much she was worried about his safety.
Roxton stood, also. He put his palms on her cheeks and tilted her head up to look him in the eyes.
"Tori's safe." he said slowly. "We were attacked by a marauding tribe of apemen, but we managed to get away. Tori was very brave. In fact, she was wonderful. She led us to the correct meadow, and was a real little trooper on the way home." His voice was filled with pride. "She didn't complain once."
The others nodded in agreement, but it was clear to Marguerite that they weren't anxious to discuss the most important topic. They just couldn't bring themselves to think about the implications of what they had found.
To postpone the discussion, they occupied themselves with the mundane necessities of life.
Marguerite had the weary travelers sit down at the table and served them soup and bread. They were ravenous and complimented Marguerite on the soup. She related the soup story and soon they were all laughing.
"Snake soup!" Roxton exclaimed. "Why that little rascal! Has a great sense of humor, though. He must get that from his old man," he grinned proudly.
"And Edward," Ned chimed in. "Raptor tail soup. What an imagination that boy has. He'll grow up to be a fine writer."
Challenger laughed at the men's obvious bias. The women exchanged amused glances.
Small talk finally wound down and it was time to face the possible results of what they had discovered. They sat back with a sigh of resignation.
"All right," Challenger started, knowing that it was up to him to get the discussion going. "Let's face the worst case scenario. Maybe we won't be able to find the time portal that will send them home. Maybe the children will have to stay here forever."
The other four looked at each other.
"That's hardly the worst case scenario for us," Ned chuckled.
Veronica held up her hand. "Wait a minute," she said thoughtfully. "We can't think of what we want. We must do what's best for the children…and for their parents. These children don't belong to us. They're not pets that followed us home. We can't just keep them!"
Marguerite spoke up, "Veronica is right. As much as we've come to…care for them, their parents, naturally, care for them more. If we have the ability to reunite two families, then we should do it, even if…it breaks our hearts…to let the children go."
Tears stood in her eyes. Looking at her, Roxton knew how much it cost her to come to this conclusion. He shared her pain. The thought of losing "their" children was unbearable, but he knew that they would have to bear it. Bear it and move on…on to a future that did not guarantee them the same treasures that had been given to their parallel selves. He looked over and saw the same pain in Ned's eyes.
Veronica reached over and took his hand in hers.
Ned drew a shaky breath and said softly, "We must enjoy them while they're here. We must…store the memories of their short time with us in our hearts." He paused and looked over at Veronica. "And, if, in our future, we are fortunate enough to have children of our own, Edward and Alice will always be our first ones, and we will share their stories with their little brothers and sisters."
Marguerite's gray eyes glistened with tears. John jumped up and went to her. He pulled her into his arms. He didn't care what the other thought. He and Marguerite needed to be together now.
Challenger, who was amazed at the open emotion of his friends, blinked the dampness from his own eyes a few times before he brought the discussion back to the matter at hand.
"It sounds as if we all agree that the children must be returned to their own timeline and to their own parents if it is at all possible. Now, lets examine the problems and see if we can come up with some solutions."
For the next hour they discussed options and procedures. Veronica told Marguerite that, once they had reached the meadow, she realized that she had been there before but had come in from another direction. She studied the terrain, convinced that she knew a different way to get back. They had all agreed that going back the way that they had come was not a good idea. Either the apemen would be there gathering up their wounded or the raptors would be there feasting on the dead.
Under Veronica's direction, they had returned to the treehouse using her alternate route. While it had been through rougher terrain, they had met with no trouble.
Veronica agreed to draw a map of the route that they could use tomorrow to lead them back to the meadow.
As far as the seven time portals were concerned, the explorers had to leave that investigation up to Challenger.
They stayed up talking and planning until it became evident that they were too tired to think clearly. Marguerite explained the new sleeping arrangements and soon after, Challenger took his leave. Ned and Veronica walked back to their bedrooms holding hands. Marguerite and Roxton were left alone.
Roxton cocked his head over towards the couch. "I suppose that you'll be sleeping out here, seeing as your bed is, once again, full of children?"
Marguerite got up and walked over to the couch. She plopped down on it. "I don't think I have a choice," she grimaced.
John got up and sat on the couch facing her. He draped one arm along the back and picked up her small, smooth hand in his.
"Yes, you do. Why don't you sleep in my bed?" Seeing the look on her face, he quickly explained, "I'll sleep on the couch. It wasn't so bad last night." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She smiled, but shook her head. "You're exhausted, John. And you're injured," she said. Taking a big chance, she leaned towards him and whispered, " Why don't we both sleep in your bed? I know you'll be a perfect gentleman," she teased. "And, besides," her voice became hollow with tears. "I really don't want to be alone right now."
Roxton couldn't believe it. Marguerite was actually turning to him for comfort. He had to be very careful not to scare her off.
"I think that would be a good, comfortable arrangement," he said sincerely. "That way, we both get a good night's sleep."
Marguerite looked searchingly into his eyes to see if she could spot any trace of sarcasm or deception, but all she saw was the same sadness that she knew was in her own eyes.
She stood up, keeping her hand in his, and said, "Let's go."
**
Summer was the first one awake the next morning. At first she didn't remember where she was. She turned over and smiled when she saw that Alice was with her, although, fast asleep. Summer decided to remedy that!
"Alice, Alice," she hissed. "Wake up, Little Sleepyhead." She shook her shoulder none too gently.
Alice groaned a little and opened one eye. "Hi, Summer. Is it morning yet?"
"I think so. Lemme go see."
Summer jumped up and stepped over Alice. She stuck her head outside the shawl curtain and looked around the room.
"Tori!" she shouted with delight, spotting the girl on the bed. She ran across the room and flung herself on her sleeping sister.
Hearing Summer's shout, Alice stumbled over and jumped on the bed next to Tori.
"Tori, Tori, I missed you!" Summer cried, as she tried to plant a kiss on her sister's cheek.
Alice, bouncing on her knees, made the bed, and everyone on it, thump up and down.
"Tori's back! Tori's back!" she chanted.
Groaning, Victoria tried to cover her head with her arms. She flung her head back and forth in an effort to ward off Summer's wet kisses.
"Stop! Get away from me!" Tori croaked at the little girls. She pushed Summer away.
Alice stopped bouncing and Summer sat up straight. She had a terrible frown on her face. If Tori had her eyes open, she would have seen the storm that was brewing in Summer's eyes.
Like a tiny lighting bolt, Summer shot off the bed. She stood with her feet planted wide apart and her fists on her hips. Alice took one look at Summer's face and scurried back behind the shawl curtain.
"Tori…YOU ARE A MEAN SISTER!" she declared in an unforgiving voice. "And…I'm gonna tell John what you did!"
Summer spun around and marched out the door.
Victoria pushed herself up on her arms, her hair falling in her face and her eyes mere slits.
"Summmmmerrrr!" she whined. "Wait! Come back! I'm just really tired. Summmmerrr!"
It was no use. Groaning, she flopped back down on the bed and pulled the covers over her head.
Alice peeked out to see if Summer had, indeed, gone. The coast was clear, so she tiptoed over to the bed. Victoria had fallen immediately back to sleep. Alice folded the covers down from her face and smoothed them out as best she could. She looked into the pale, dirt-streaked face of her friend. Victoria's dark hair, tangled with leaves and twigs, was spread out over the pillow.
"Poor, Tori," Alice whispered sympathetically. "You sleep. I'll keep Summer away from you," she promised.
She hurried out of the room, hoping to head off Summer before she could get Tori into trouble.
Alice could hear Summer's outraged voice calling, "John! John!"
Veronica also heard the little girl's cries. She got quickly out of bed and stepped outside her sleeping area.
"Summer, what's the matter?" she asked anxiously.
"I want John!" She continued stomping towards the living room.
Ned joined the parade. He looked over at Veronica's concerned face and asked, "What's the matter with her?"
Veronica shook her head. "I don't know. She just keeps asking for John."
Will and Edward came running up, their borrowed long john shirts flapping around their ankles.
"Uh oh, Summer's mad," Will whispered sagely to Edward. Edward nodded. They followed, but kept their distance.
Alice, who had thought that Summer would be heading towards John's bedroom, was the last to come up behind the group. They were all standing around Summer, who was staring at the couch as if it had deeply offended her.
"John's not here," she said menacingly to the couch.
Ned, the smoother of ruffled feathers, pointed out to her, "No, he's probably still asleep in his bedroom. Can we help you, Sweetheart?"
Summer turned her glare on the innocent man. "No. I want John." She turned and headed toward his bedroom.
"What's happening?" Challenger asked in a low tone, as he joined the others.
Veronica could only shake her head. "Something is really bothering Summer and she only wants John to help her."
"Come on. We'd better find out what's going on." Challenger motioned for everyone to follow Summer.
The old treehouse had never experienced such a strange parade of half- dressed people filling its narrow passageways.
The crowd fetched up just behind Summer as she flung open the door to John's bedroom.
A gasp came from the adults as their eyes took in the unexpected scene within. John lay on his back, his injured side safely against the wall. His arms were lovingly wrapped around Marguerite, whose curly, dark head was on his chest, snuggled up under his chin. Their faces had settled into the most peaceful, contented expressions their friends had ever seen them wear.
The adults responded swiftly. Veronica and Challenger turned to the children behind them who were trying to get a peek inside. With fingers to their lips asking for silence, they hustled the children back to the kitchen. Ned reached down and scooped up Summer around her waist. He clamped a firm but gentle hand over her mouth just as she was about to call out. He backed out of the room and pushed the door quietly shut with his foot. Summer, at first too surprised to react, began squirming and thrashing to get down. That's when she got her second surprise. The normally even-tempered Ned flipped her around so that he was holding her under her arms. He raised her up so that they were eye to eye.
In a voice that would brook no nonsense, he said firmly, "Quiet. Not…one…word."
Summer had heard that tone of voice before. She had heard it many times from her parents. Her little mouth shut with a snap and the fire died out of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as she nodded her head. She reached out to Ned, and as he brought her into a hug, her chubby little arms twined themselves around his neck. As they reached the kitchen, it all became too much for Summer. Still in Ned's arms, she leaned her head back, and with tears squeezing through her tightly shut eyes, she bellowed, "I want my Mommy!"
Marguerite awoke with a start, instantly alert. John woke too, and feeling her tension, whispered in concern, "What's the matter?"
"It's Summer. She screaming. Something must be wrong!" She jumped out of bed with John right behind her. They dashed down the hall towards the sounds of loud wailing and excited voices.
As they ran into the kitchen, the voices stopped. Marguerite had a moment to realize that she was still in her nightgown and John in his long underwear, before a tearful, wailing bundle was thrust into her arms.
Summer clung to her, sobbing as if her heart would break. "Mom…m...m…my!" She raised her head and reached out to John, pulling him down so that her arms were around both their necks. "Dad…dy," she gulped out between sobs.
"It's all right, sweetheart. What's the matter, darling?" they asked in soothing tones. John took the little girl from Marguerite and all three went to sit on the couch. Summer sat on John's lap as her sobs gradually subsided. John and Marguerite exchanged worried glances.
Summer rubbed her fist in her eyes, and wiped her running nose on John's sleeve.
"Tori was…was m-m-mean to me and…and," her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled again as she ended in a wail, "I want my real Mommy and Daddy. I want to go home!"
John looked helplessly at Marguerite. He hugged the small child against his chest and rocked her back and forth. Marguerite leaned on his shoulder and rubbed her hand soothingly up and down her back. The other children, hearing Summer's words, started crying, too. Ned and Veronica picked up Edward and Alice and held them close. Will ran over to the couch and climbed up to throw his arms around John's neck.
Challenger watched with growing determination. Last night, the adults had come to the realization that they had to make every attempt to find the children a way back to their right time and real parents. This morning's uproar was proving that that decision was the only correct one.
He heard a small, terrified voice behind him.
"What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?"
He turned around to see Victoria standing behind him. She was still wearing the wrinkled, old shirt she had slept in and her hair was matted to her head. Challenger stooped down and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Summer was upset and then the other children became upset, too."
Victoria's face went pale. "It's all my fault," she whispered. "I told Summer to go away. I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"
She broke away from Challenger and ran, crying, to the group huddled on the couch. She knelt beside Marguerite, who put her arm around her, and reached across her to pat Summer on the back.
"I'm sorry I was mean to you, Summer," she apologized. Summer cried harder. Victoria looked with anguish at Marguerite. "What's the matter with her? Why is she crying?"
Marguerite bit her bottom lip to hold back her tears. She cleared her throat before replying. "Summer wants to go home, Tori. She misses her real Mommy and Daddy."
"I know, Marguerite. We all do. That is…" she tried to be tactful, "we…we love you all and we're very grateful for your help, but…but it's not the same as living with our real parents."
Will nodded his head against John's neck.
Victoria sniffed and with great courage and strength of will, she got herself under control. "Let me talk to them" she said in a flat voice.
She stood up. "Summer, Will, come with me. Edward, Alice, we need to talk."
She walked out of the kitchen and headed back to Marguerite's bedroom. She knew they would follow.
The children had stopped crying as soon as Victoria spoke to them. They motioned for the adults to put them down and they followed Tori from the room. They were used to Tori giving them orders, there was something safe and familiar about it.
The adults watched the children leave. Ned sat down heavily as if his legs couldn't hold him anymore. John put his arm around Marguerite and pulled her to him. She buried his face in his shoulder. Veronica paced back and forth.
"We should have seen this coming! How could we even imagine that we could keep them? We were selfish and ignorant to think that we could take the place of their parents. A child doesn't forget her parents!" It was clear that Veronica had great empathy for the children's predicament.
Challenger put his hand on her arm to stop her. "Sit down, Veronica," he directed.
He straightened his vest and cleared his throat. "All right, people. We've all been living a fantasy life for the last few days, and it's time we got back to reality. The time for daydreaming is over. These children need to find a way home and it's up to us to help them."
He looked around at the stricken group.
"So, for God's sake, pull yourselves together." He frowned and pulled on his beard. "It's been an emotional morning for all of us, but life goes on and the sooner we get back into our routine, the easier it will be. Now, the first thing we all need is a good, hearty breakfast."
The people in front of him hadn't moved. He decided to take a leaf from Victoria's book.
"Roxton, you and Marguerite go get dressed. Ned, get the breakfast started and heat some water so that we can wash. Veronica, go back and see if you can help the children dress. Now mind you, they need to be dressed in the clothes they came in. Today, we return them to their own time. Let's move!" he barked.
If worked. They got up and started following his orders. Challenger smiled rather smugly. He'd have to use the "Victoria Method" more often.
An hour later, they were all sitting around the table eating breakfast. Although subdued, they also felt that the air between them had been cleared. As Challenger had guessed, the reality of the situation was no longer muddled.
Challenger had used his hour to read up on Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, which included his ideas of space-time, and Schwartzchild's prediction of black holes as conduits between the past and the future. These theories were just being explored when Challenger had left London and he was, sad to say, not up on the latest information. But the idea of traveling through time was not new to the scientific world, and, certainly, not new to the plateau. He was excited to think that he might have an opportunity to make discoveries about time travel that would revolutionize the modern world's thinking on the subject.
Part of the subdued atmosphere was caused by Challenger trying to explain these theories to the rest of the group.
"Now," he said enthusiastically, holding his knife and fork poised in midair. "Einstein believes that both space and time can be distorted…and…I am paraphrasing here, that time travel requires nothing more than using these distortions to move through an…an opening in space-time that ends either earlier or later than it begins! Fascinating, isn't it?"
The children looked up from their plates and politely nodded. The adults were not as polite.
"Whatever you say, Challenger," Marguerite replied. She stifled a yawn.
"Does this mean that you've figured out which time portal the children need to go through?" asked Ned.
"Eh, not exactly, Ned. But I'm sure that we can deduce the correct portal by other methods." He sat back with satisfaction.
Roxton and Veronica exchanged glances but said nothing.
**
A very solemn procession left the treehouse later that morning. Challenger, Roxton and Marguerite were in the front of the line with the children in the middle. Ned and Veronica took the rear position. They were following the map that Veronica had made. Although it would take an extra hour of hard traveling to reach the meadow, it avoided the areas most frequented by the apemen and the dinosaurs. The adults had backpacks stuffed with food and provisions; their rifles were slung over their shoulders. The children had stuffed their pockets with stones (all but Summer, she had her pocket stuffed with Dolly) and they each carried a stout stick.
They trudged along in silence, with the exception of Challenger. He was so excited about what they were going to find that he couldn't help lecturing his companions. His voice rose with excitement and fell with wonder as he attempted to explain the various theories on time travel. The others either didn't understand what he was talking about or didn't care to listen, but his voice made a pleasant cadence to their walk.
"As you all know," he went on, "H.G. Wells, in one of his most famous stories, had the fantastic notion of using a time machine to move into the future. You see," he continued, raising his voice for those in the rear, "his time machine stood still, while time…" he made a circling motion with his arm, "moved around it."
At the mention of a story, Edward hurried forward so that he could hear better.
"Professor Challenger," he asked, hurrying to keep up with him. "Could you tell me the story about the time machine? That sounds like a great adventure!"
"Indeed, it is, my boy," Challenger assured him. "Why I remember reading that book when I was a very young man, hardly more than a lad. It had a profound impact on my future choice of profession, let me tell you! Of course, it wasn't real science, but it did wake me up to the endless possibilities of scientific discoveries."
"Eh, Professor. About the story…?" Edward interrupted hesitantly.
Challenger laughed.
"I am going on, aren't I?" he chuckled. He turned his head to call back to Roxton and Marguerite, who had been moving further and further back as the Professor's lecture continued.
"Roxton, could you and Marguerite take the forward position? This young man would like to hear a story as we travel on our journey. And," he cocked his head at the other children. "I think the others would not be adverse to hearing it, too."
Alice brightened up. "Summer and I would like to hear a story, sir." She grabbed the little girl's hand and quickened their pace to walk beside Challenger and Edward who had changed places with Roxton and Marguerite.
Victoria ran up to walk with the newly formed group. "I'd like to hear it, too."
Challenger looked back at Will, who was scuffing his feet in the dirt of the trail.
"Why, Will, old man," Challenger asked. "Don't you want to hear the story?"
Will screwed up his face. "It's not some dumb old story about princesses and kissing and junk, is it? That's the kind of story the girls like," he said derisively. "I like stories with lots of bad guys and fighting!"
"Oh, I think you'll find the Morlocks plenty bad enough for you," Challenger assured him with a chuckle.
"And fighting, too?" Will asked eagerly, as he caught up with Challenger.
"Plenty!" George nodded.
Will smiled up at him. Challenger shifted his backpack to his other shoulder and held out his hand to the little boy.
"Well, children," he started. "This story begins many years ago…"
Up ahead, Marguerite pulled her skirt roughly away from the thorn bush that had snagged it. She glared at the bush as if to shrivel it on the spot.
"I'm certainly glad he's stopped that incessant droning on about time…and space…and space-time…" Marguerite grumbled, rolling her eyes. "You'd think he could pick a more interesting topic to bore us with."
Roxton winced. Marguerite had been in a foul mood ever since they'd left the treehouse. He suspected that her mood was another of the walls she erected every time she wanted to block her feelings. He knew how badly she felt. Hell, he felt bad, too. He was also feeling disappointed. He thought that the two of them had reached a point in their relationship where she could come to him when she needed comfort, or someone to talk to.
He could berate her for her bad mood—he'd done that before. He could tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself. That she was no worse off than the rest of them—he'd done that before. He could try to cajole her into a better mood by flattery and sweet talk—he'd tried that before, too. But, he was too tired and too upset to try any of those methods…and, besides, they usually didn't work, anyway.
He found himself uncharacteristically depressed. The children he had grown so fond of…that he had once thought would one day be his…were leaving. All of the progress that had been made in his relationship with Marguerite was slipping away. Here she was, pushing him away again. Without conscious thought, he let out a very deep sigh.
Marguerite looked up from the dark contemplation of her thoughts. John was walking beside her, apparently in deep concentration. She looked more closely and noticed the down turned corners of his mouth, the deep furrows in his forehead, and, looking more closely, she noticed that his eyes were red, a sheen of moisture glistening in them.
What could be the matter? This was most unusual. Her bad moods usually provoked a response from John. A response that she could use to vent her angry feelings on the one person it would be safe to have angry with her. John might yell and complain, and even stomp off at her snappish replies, but he always came back. No matter how many times she pushed him away, he always came back. She depended on that. She needed his friendship. But she rarely stopped to think that John might have need of a friend to help him deal with his feelings. He was the strongest, dearest person she knew. Confident, upbeat, always convinced that they would be all right, that every problem had a solution…that was John.
Looking at him, she saw his vulnerability. And her heart went out to him. Forgotten were her own disappointment and misery, she could only see his. Marguerite had changed in the last few days. That change had to do with her attachment to John Roxton. It was no longer a one-way attachment. In that one clarifying moment, she knew that she loved him.
She turned around and called back to Ned and Veronica.
"We're going to scout ahead. We'll wait for you all to catch up."
Without waiting for a reply, she took John by the arm and half dragged him up the rock-strewn hill in front of them. When they were out of sight of the others, she slowed down and turned to him. He hadn't said a word. He was waiting to see what she was up to.
She rested her rifle against the standing rock and shrugged her backpack off of her shoulder. She held out her hand for his rifle. He gave it to her without a word. She tugged at the strap to his backpack, until he took it off and put it beside hers on the ground.
She stared up at him and he started back at her. He was wondering what was going through that remarkable brain of hers. She could always surprise him. What she said next not only surprised him, it left him flabbergasted!
"John," she held his eyes with her own, "I love you very much." She held up her hand for silence although he couldn't have said a word if he tried.
"And, I want you to know that I'm here for you if you need to talk about how you're feeling. This situation is hard…very hard on all of us, but I know how much you pinned your hopes on those children being in your future. I want them in my…our…future, too."
She twined her arms around his neck. "Now, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"
John stared at her. This woman fascinated him. She was as mysterious and foreign to him as a creature from another planet. As long as he lived, he would never be able figure her out.
He put his arms around her waist. "What you're doing right now really makes me feel a great deal better," he smirked.
Marguerite smiled at him, then asked softly, "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"
He pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Everything that you've said and done in the last few minutes has put my mind as ease," he told her sincerely.
She pulled back to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
"You were right. I was very…upset about losing the children and knowing that these children were not in my future. I," he cleared his throat, "I have grown to love these youngsters. The thought that when they're gone…they're, well…gone…is killing me." He looked down at her and wondered if he dared tell her the truth. Yes, he decided. If they were ever going to trust each other, the truth must take top priority. He drew a deep breath.
"It thrilled me that we seemed to be making so much progress in bringing our relationship to a new level. Taking care of the children created a bond of equality between us that we never had before." He was nervous about telling her this part, but he plunged on. "I have admitted to myself, for a while now, that I love you and, when the children came, I began thinking of you as my…wife and I guess I just assumed that you were thinking and feeling the same things that I was."
He gripped her arms tighter. "My dream that you and I would eventually marry and have a family just like the one we're losing, didn't seem so ridiculous all of a sudden." He shifted his eyes away from her. "But, then, when we found out for sure that the children wouldn't be ours and they couldn't stay with us, you started, well, pulling away from me. Shutting me out. So, I not only knew that I was losing the children, I also felt I was losing you. And…and that nearly broke my heart," he finished in a whisper.
"Oh, John, I'm so sorry," she whispered, resting her head on his chest. Now it was time for her to confess.
She kept her face pressed into his chest so that she wouldn't have to look at him. Trusting another person enough to speak about her true feelings was hard for her.
"I, too, began to feel a bond with you where the children were concerned. As if…as if we really were their parents, that we had joint responsibility for their well being." Her voice trailed off as she recalled these feelings and tried to put them into words. "I saw you with the children and I had a new respect for you." She looked up at him with a small smile. "You really are a wonderful father. And…and I found that very attractive. For the first time, I could see letting the past go, to give up my plans for returning to London, and plan a new future…with you."
He hugged her tighter.
In a voice so low, he had to strain to hear her, she whispered, "When you held me while we slept, it was the first time in my life that I felt completely safe. That you cared for me…just me…and you didn't even know or care who I was or what I had done before.
"But the past is very hard to let go of. When I knew for sure that the children were going, and I knew in my heart that it was the best thing for them, I lost my confidence in your feelings for me. I thought that you only had strong feelings for me because of your feelings for the children. I thought that you saw me as their future mother and, when you knew that this was not so, you wouldn't want me anymore.
She fell silent. She didn't know how he would respond to her confession.
She needn't have worried.
John pushed her back just enough to be able to cup her cheeks with his strong, callused hands.
"Look at me, Marguerite," he commanded. He used one of his hands to brush her hair back from her temple. His gaze was so intense that it was hard for her to look at him.
"Never…never…doubt my love for you." His voice was low and very serious. "I don't care about your past, I didn't know you then, but I know you now…and that is the person I love." He ran his thumb over her cheek. "Love with all my heart.
Frightened, she had to be sure he knew the truth. "But, John, you don't know what I did back then. Things that a decent, honorable person wouldn't do!
He was angry now. Angry that she thought his love was conditional. "There is nothing that you could tell me you did that would stop me from loving you. There are things in my past that I'm ashamed of, too. Things that I would give a lot to be able to change…but we can't go back. We can only live in the present and plan for the future." His voice softened. "Don't you understand, my sweet? You and I have both changed since we have come here. We are not the same people we were before. I think, and hope, that situated as we are, dependent on each other for survival, we have become more caring, less selfish people."
John sincerity radiated from him. Marguerite could only hope that he was right.
"Hold me, John," she begged.
And that's how the others found them.
Challenger cleared his throat. He was about to speak when Victoria broke away form the group and threw her arms around the couple.
"You told her, John, didn't you? I'm so glad." She turned to the other children who were standing next to Challenger, looking at her with puzzled expressions on their faces.
"John and Marguerite are in love!" she told them.
The children grinned.
"Hooray!" shouted Edward.
"Are you getting married?" asked Alice excitedly.
"Are you gonna have a baby?" Will questioned loudly. "Seems like every time my mom and dad start kissing and being mushy, my mom has another baby." His voice was dripping with disgust. "And it's always a girl!"
The adults started to laugh.
Will frowned, and put his hands on his hips.
"You shouldn't laugh," he warned seriously. "There's nothing funny about girls."
This made the men laugh even harder and nod their heads in agreement.
Still laughing, Ned and Veronica hurried up to the radiant couple and gave them both a hug.
"It's about time," Ned teased in a low voice as he slapped Roxton on the back.
Roxton whispered out the side of his mouth, "Stop dragging your feet, Neddy Boy. I have a feeling things are going to get very interesting around here." He winked at his friend.
"Hah," Ned laughed. "I'm way ahead of you!"
Roxton gave him a quizzical look.
They were brought back down to earth by the littlest member of the troop.
"I gotta go, Grandpa" Summer whined, pulling on Challenger's trouser leg. She still called Challenger grandpa because his name was too hard for her to pronounce. Challenger was getting to quite like it.
"Sorry, Summer, my child." Challenger was quick to answer. "You must ask the women for help in that department."
Marguerite and Veronica decided it was a good time for all of the girls to freshen up, so they took the girls off to find a private spot.
Will thought their absence would be a good opportunity to straighten his friend John out.
"What'd go and kiss her for, John?" Will asked with disgust. "Girls are nothing but trouble." He pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "Next time Marguerite tries to kiss you, pretend you have to throw up," he advised, nodding his head sagely.
Roxton hid a smile. "Thanks for the advice, old man." He noticed that Will's face was screwed up, as if he were remembering something distasteful. "You sound as if you're talking from experience, Will."
"Yes, sir!
"So, you have a lot of trouble with girls trying to kiss you, eh?" Roxton asked sympathetically.
Will blushed and hung his head. "There're these girls in the Zanga village who are always chasing after me so they can kiss me, " he confessed. "Edward and Atoo won't help me. They just laugh!" Long festering resentment was evident in his voice.
"Would you like some advice from an older man, Will?"
Will nodded.
"Enjoy it while is lasts, son," Roxton advised heartily. "In another few years, you're going to be the one doing the chasing, and while the rewards are greater, the chase will have new rules."
Will frowned at Roxton in confusion. He shrugged. "Okay, sir."
Roxton let out a bark of laughter and clapped Will on the back. "Never mind, Will. It's all just part of growing up."
Ned, Challenger, and Edward were sitting on some rocks taking a little break. They had taken off their backpacks and were checking out their weapons. They were discussing whether or not this would be a good place to stop for lunch. Roxton and Will wandered over to them and sat down to wait for the ladies.
The guys were laughing at a story Ned was telling them when a shrill scream rent the air.
Edward jumped up. "That was Alice," he shouted. "They must be in trouble!"
Roxton and Challenger picked up their rifles and ran towards the sound.
Edward started to follow them when Ned grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Stay here with Will until we know it's safe," he ordered.
Edward's eyes were desperate with worry. "But my sister needs me!"
Ned leaned down to look him in the eye. "I need you here, Edward," he said seriously. He looked around quickly, assessing the danger. It seemed a safe enough spot.
"I'm trusting you to take care of Will, understand? Hide the backpacks and women's weapons in between those rocks…and then you and Will hide in there with them."
"Yes, sir," Edward answered. "Come on, Will," he ordered. He started dragging a backpack over to the rocks. Will, after a frozen moment, started helping him.
Ned gave them one last, uneasy glance before he ran after the other two men. He hated to leave the boys alone…but he didn't want to take them into certain danger.
He was surprised at how far away the women had gone. As he approached, he could hear shouts, screams, crying, and curses, but no gunshots. He crept from rock to rock, his rifle at the ready. When he spotted movement ahead, he froze and peered around his cover to see what was going on.
Marguerite was leaning against a large boulder clutching Victoria and Summer against her. Summer had her hands clasped in front of her chest and her face screwed up as if in terrible pain.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she wailed.
Victoria was trying to get away from Marguerite, who had a firm grip on her arm.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she shouted. "I can help!"
Veronica and Roxton were kneeling on the ground in front of Alice, who was standing ramrod straight with her arms by her side, and her fist clenched tight. Her mouth, which was dripping blood, was tightly closed. Her whole body shook with the convulsions of silent sobbing. Her eyes were squeezed shut but the tears, flowing down her cheeks, were mixing with the blood and dropping from her chin onto the dry, dusty ground.
Challenger was bend over, his hands on his knees, staring at the little girl.
"Come, my dear," he pleaded. "Open up so the blood can drain out."
"Damn it, Challenger," Roxton stormed. "Can't you see that you're scaring her to death! He turned to the jungle expert and demanded, "What happened to her Veronica?"
Veronica drew a shaky breath. "We don't know what happened. She was waiting here for us when she suddenly clamped a hand to her mouth and screamed. When we got to her, her mouth was bleeding. She doesn't seem to be injured anywhere else. "
She turned back to the frightened child.
"Alice, sweetheart, let me look in your mouth. I won't hurt you, I promise."
"You shouldn't tell her it won't hurt when it will, Veronica," Victoria called out. "Alice doesn't like to be babied."
"Quiet, Tori," admonished Marguerite. "Let Veronica handle it."
Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Marguerite.
Summer opened one eye and looked at her friend. She screamed.
"She's bleeding. Oh, Alice, don't bleed, pleeeese!" she cried.
Alice's shoulders shook even harder.
Ned had seen enough. His heart went out to the frightened little girl.
He leaned his rifle against the rock and, taking his handkerchief from his pocket, he strode down the incline. He shooed away the others and knelt down in front of Alice.
In a soft, calm voice he said, "Hey, Alice, it's Ned." He rubbed his hand up and down her stiff arm. "Blood is scary, isn't it?"
She gave a little nod of her head.
Ned smiled, even though she had her eyes shut tight and couldn't see him.
"Would you like me to wipe the blood off?"
Another nod.
"I'm going to pour some nice clean water on my handkerchief so I can get you really clean. Okay?"
She sniffled and nodded again.
Challenger poured water from his canteen onto the cloth and Ned gently wiped Alice's face.
"There," he said with satisfaction, "the blood is all gone."
Alice had stopped crying and her body had relaxed a little.
"Now, Alice, I'm going to ask you a very important question." Ned said solemnly.
Alice's body stiffened slightly, but she nodded.
Ned leaned closer to her and whispered, "Can you spit like a boy?"
Alice's eyes popped open and one corner of her mouth curled up in a sly smile. A tiny trickle of blood ran down her chin.
Ned wiped it away as Alice nodded more vigorously.
"Good, man!" Ned praised. Alice actually giggled.
"Take a little sip of water, slosh it around in your mouth, then spit it as far as you can. Okay?"
Alice opened her mouth a little way as Ned poured a small amount of water into her mouth.
Her cheeks bulged first on one side and then on the other as she moved the water around in her mouth.
She looked at Ned. Her eyes had an anticipatory gleam in them. She turned her head to the side and spit out a stream of water that landed on a rock two feet away.
"Wow!" exclaimed Veronica, as everyone applauded.
"One more time, Alice," Ned suggested.
Confidently, Alice took a large swallow of the water from the canteen that Challenger held for her.
This time she managed to spit the water past the rock. She turned back to Ned with a wide grin on her face.
It became immediately clear to Ned what had happened to her.
"Your tooth, Alice. Your tooth came out!" he exclaimed, examining the gap in her top front teeth.
Hearing this, everyone came running over to get a look.
"I could have told you that," Victoria announced to one and all. She was disgusted that her expertise had not been recognized.
"Gosh!" Summer gasped, very impressed
Veronica patted Alice on the head. "You're really growing up, young lady."
"Where's your tooth?" asked Ned.
Alice opened her fist and displayed a small, bloody little lump.
"Gosh!" Summer exclaimed again, this time with a tinge of jealousy in her voice.
Alice looked up at Ned. "Could you keep it for me, Daddy Ned?" she asked shyly.
Ned took the tooth and put it deep in his pocket. "Snug as a bug in rug, sweetheart," he joked, patting his pocket.
Alice grinned her gap-toothed grin at him, her good nature completely restored.
Marguerite took Summer's hand and started walking with the rest of the group, back to the resting place to rejoin the boys. One part of her mind was a little concerned about the boys being alone. The other part was trying to ignore Summer's insistent plea for her to feel, for the fourth time, how loose her tooth was getting.
Meanwhile, Roxton was trying to restore Victoria's good nature by being completely annoying to her.
He picked up a rock and tapped her on the shoulder. "Did you drop this, Madam?" he asked her.
"No!" Victoria said sharply, trying to ignore him.
He picked up a bigger rock. "Perhaps this is yours, Miss?" he raised one eyebrow at her.
"No!" she said again, her mouth quirking up.
Roxton dropped that rock and picked up a huge one. He staggered after her. "Oh, miss, oh, miss. I'm sure this one is yours."
She turned around to glare at him. "Marguerite was right about you. You are insane!" She stomped off, a secret smile on her face.
"You wound me, Madam. You wound me!" Roxton shouted after her. He set the boulder down and scooped up a handful of dirt. In a few strides, he caught up with her.
"Madam," he said opening his hand, showing her the dirt. "This beautiful crown fell off your head, please allow me to restore it to its rightful place." He held his hand over her head, threatening to dump the dirt on her dark curls.
She screamed and ran, giggling, past the rest of the group. Roxton chased after her. "Madam! Madam!" he called.
Everyone was laughing as the two ran past them. Marguerite rolled her eyes. "And this is the man I love." she whispered to no one.
At that moment, the sound of a gunshot echoed off the rocks around them.
**
The men picked up their weapons and they all broke into a run.
"Keep them back!" Roxton called to Marguerite as he raced past Victoria.
Marguerite had Summer by the hand. She quickly took Alice's hand when Ned went running off. Now she called to Victoria, who was several yards ahead of her.
"Tori, came back here with us!
Victoria was really sick and tired of being treated like a helpless child, but she turned and stomped back to Marguerite.
As Victoria angrily fell into step with the little girls, Marguerite patted her stiff shoulder sympathetically. She recognized in the young girl some of her own reckless impatience.
At Marguerite's touch, Victoria snapped her head up to look at the women who looked so much like her mother.
"How can you stand it, Marguerite?" she growled. "You can shoot, can't you? You can defend yourself, right?
"With the best of them," Marguerite agreed proudly.
"So, how can you let them make you walk along with children when you could be helping them rescue the boys?" Victoria asked with disgust, totally puzzled by the notoriously headstrong woman's calm acceptance of the situation.
Marguerite felt anything but calm. She was worried sick about the boy's welfare, but she didn't want the girls to realize the depth of her unease. She would have to be careful how she answered the disappointed little girl's question.
She drew a deep breath and with as much calm and conviction as she could muster, she answered, "Well, right now, Tori, I don't have a weapon, so it would be foolish of me to go running into danger when there are others better prepared to help. I would only have to be rescued, too. Besides, I have great confidence in Veronica and the men. The men are all fine shots and Veronica has taught as all survival skills that have saved our lives many times over."
She looked down and smiled at the three adorable, brave, and intelligent little people walking beside her.
"It might not seem like it to you, but the others gave me a very important job to do."
At their puzzled frowns, she continued.
"They trusted me to take care of you." Marguerite tapped each little nose in turn as she said softly, "Three valuable treasures, more precious to us than all the riches on the plateau.
They smiled up at her.
Another shot rang out.
Marguerite was suddenly all business. She quickly surveyed the terrain.
"We have to find cover quickly, girls." She spotted a pile of boulders that would give them some protection.
"Over there! Move it!"
Victoria picked up a stone in each hand as she headed for the rock pile. The younger girls did, too. They crouched down behind the rocks, emptied their pockets, and piled their small supply of ammunition beside them. Marguerite was proud of them. She could tell that they had been trained well to make use of any weapon that came to hand. She didn't need to shush them as they sat alert, but silent, waiting to see what would happen next.
**
As Ned disappeared over the rise, Edward went back for the third backpack and dragged it over to pile on top of the other ones. Will was having trouble with Challenger's pack because it was full of scientific equipment Challenger was hoping to test on the time portals. Edward helped him with it, then carefully carried Marguerite's rifle and leaned up in a crack in the rocks.
They sat down beside the packs, hidden from casual view by the large boulders all around them. For a few minutes, they sat in silence, just looking around, their hands hanging down between their bend knees.
Will looked over at the backpacks. One of his eyebrows quirked up with a sudden thought.
"Hey, Edward," he said, "you hungry?"
Edward answered him distractedly, "Sure."
Edward was very concerned about his sister. He wished that Ned had let him go along. He was sure that he could have helped. He was a good shot…Tori was better, but she'd been shooting almost a year longer then he had.
He stilled and listened intently. Well, at least there were no more screams and no gunshots. Perhaps everything was okay. Maybe Alice just fell down or something. He smiled a little bit as he remembered how Alice was always getting scrapes and bumps in her attempts to rescue bugs and turtles and even ants. She was a pretty good sister. As much as he admired Tori, he wouldn't like her for a sister. Both she and Summer were too…energetic for him. Veronica was energetic, too, but she was okay. It was funny that she didn't look like his mom. But, sometimes, especially when she smiled, she did remind him of her a lot. Wouldn't it be swell to have a jungle princess for a mother? They could go on all kinds of adventures. His mom didn't go on adventures. She always stayed home or in the Zanga village. Once in a while she would go out running with him…and, boy, could she run! Her red hair would fly out behind her like red lightning.
His thoughts were interrupted by Will, who thrust a sandwich under his nose.
"Here, Edward, I fixed you some lunch. It's really good! I put a banana and honey on the bread." He took a big bite. "You like it?" he asked around the food in his mouth.
Edward looked down at the gooey, drippy, squished up hunk of bread. Where had Will gotten the food? Edward looked around and saw that the backpacks had all been opened and the provisions they had brought with them were spread out all over the ground.
Oh, no. He thought to himself. The adults were going to be very angry with him. He was supposed to be watching Will and instead he sat there daydreaming and letting Will make a mess.
He glared at Will who was munching on his second sandwich.
"Will, that food was for everyone! We should have waited. What is Veronica going to say about her backpack? You've spilled honey all over it. Geesh, Will," Edward rolled his eyes. "Why'd you have to go and get us in trouble?
Will sat up and reached for Edward's sandwich. "If you don't want to eat it, I will," he offered.
Edward was really hungry and, after all, the damage was done, so he held the sandwich out of Will's reach.
"I want it. We better try to clean up here, though, as soon as I'm finished."
Edward bit into the gooey mess. It was good. He finished it up and was looking around for something else he could eat when he heard a strange chittering sound.
Instantly alert, Edward looked over to see if Will had heard it, too.
"What was that noise?" Will asked, alarmed.
They heard it again. This time, a lot closer.
The boys picked up their sticks and stood back to back. They couldn't see anything beyond the rock enclosure they were hiding in. Suddenly, Will pointed to a crack between the rocks. I thin, black…something…was waving around in the air. It seemed to be searching for something. More of it came pushing through the crack and landed on Veronica's backpack. It rubbed its hairy, black self in the sweet honey that coated the pack and then withdrew back through the crack.
Will and Edward quickly pulled all of the backpack into the center of the enclosure. Edward picked up Marguerite's rifle and held it firmly in his hand.
More chittering noises sounded from outside the rock walls. Suddenly, the largest spider Edward had every seen leaped up on a rock behind Will.
"Watch it, Will!" Edward warned.
Will twirled around and poked at the dog size arachnid with his stick. The spider reared up to avoid the stick and then jumped down onto the pile of backpacks. It started feeding on the honey, and it reached into the other backpacks with its long, black legs.
"Will," whispered Edward. "Back up and let it have whatever it wants. It'll leave as soon as it's finished."
In truth, Edward was terrified. Spiders, even little ones, scared him. He knew that he was being a baby about them, but he couldn't help it.
Will had no such fear. Instead of heeding Edward's advice, he ran at the spider and began poking it again with his stick.
"Go away, stupid spider," he yelled. "Leave our stuff alone."
He was leaping back and forth, sticking the spider with every forward lunge.
"Stop that, Will!" yelled Edward. "Get away from it!"
His last warning came too late. The spider stopped it forging and jumped right on top of Will. Will's scream was muffled by the heavy black body that was crushing him down into the dirt.
Edward was frozen with horror. His worst nightmare was right in front of him.
He was brought out of his trance by Will's muffled voice calling him.
"Edward, help!"
Edward put down the rifle and, taking the small rocks out of his pockets, he began to throw them at the spider with all his might. The rocks bounced harmlessly off of the giant beast's back. He, then, picked up his stick. He slowly approached the ugly beast and poked the stick into this back. The spider didn't react, but continued to gather Will underneath his body.
"Ouch!" Will cried. "It's biting me, Edward. Help!"
Without another thought, Edward ran back and picked up the rifle and aimed it at the biggest part of the creature. He knew that Will was under there somewhere, but he couldn't see any part of him. Edward was smart and well trained. He didn't want to shoot downwards, with Will underneath. Edward had an idea. He got down on one knee, rested his elbow on the other knee to stabilize the rifle, pulled it tight against his shoulder, aimed, and pulled the trigger. He was knocked backwards by the rifle's recoil, but the bullet went in one side of the spider's largest hump and out the other side. A large spout of blood shot out of the wounds. The spider screamed and started moving towards the rock wall to escape. He dragged himself halfway up the side of the rock, blood running down in rivulets, and then fell back, dead.
Will lay curled up in a little ball, right where the spider had left him. Edward ran over to him.
"Will, Will!" he begged. "Don't be dead. Please, don't be dead!"
"Is it gone, yet?" Will croaked.
"Yes, yes! It's dead," Edward reassured him. "It's all right, Will. I killed it. I shot it dead!"
Will uncurled in a flash. "Let me see it!" he said excitedly.
He jumped up and, with Edward several paces behind him, he ran over to the bloody creature. The spider had landed on his back and his eight black, hairy legs had curled down towards its abdomen.
Will kicked it. "Hah!" he shouted. "That'll teach you to mess with Edward Malone. He's the best shot on the plateau."
Edward was flabbergasted. "You really think so, Will?" he asked with wonder.
"I do, now," Will swore adamantly. He slapped Edward on the back. "Thanks for saving my life. Old man," he added.
"Aww, it was just a stupid spider."
Both boys froze and then turned slowly around at the now familiar chittering sound. A spider, bigger and hairier than the first one, was creeping towards them. Its long, black legs moved up and down as it stepped right on top of the rifle Edward had dropped on the ground. The boys were on one side of the pile of backpacks and all of their weapons were on the other…with the spider.
Edward and Will looked around for a weapon, any weapon, but the only things close at hand were a few bananas and Challenger's scientific equipment. Edward quickly reached down and picked up a metal cylinder and threw it as hard as he could at the spider. It bounced off his back and crashed into the rocks behind it. Will grabbed up a bunch of bananas and threw them, one at a time, at the hideous thing. The spider stopped its forward motion to investigate the bananas. The boys backed up against the rocks behind them, but found that they had made a tactical error. The rocks behind them were too high for them to climb. They were trapped. They had no way out!
Will threw the last banana, just as the spider gathered its legs under it and leaped straight at them!
A shot rang out and the spider fell from the apex of its leap and landed in a heap on the ground. The boys screamed.
Roxton jumped down from the top of one of the rocks, his rifle held up in the air. Ned, Challenger and Veronica came rushing in from the side. The boys ran to them, crying with relief.
Challenger examined the boys to be sure that they were all right. Other then some scratches on Will's back, the boys were otherwise okay.
The adults were shocked but delighted with Edward's bravery and marksmanship.
Ned was beaming. "Where did you learn to shoot like that, Edward?" he asked.
"Well," Edward said, embarrassed. "My dad taught me some, but Uncle John showed me the most. Me and Tori, and now Will, go out with him twice a week to shoot at targets. Alice is going to start soon." He was reminded of his other anxiety. He looked around in panic.
"Hey, where is Alice? Is she all right?"
"She's fine," Ned reassured him. "Her front tooth came out and it bled quite a bit. But she's okay now. Marguerite is walking back with the girls. We didn't know what kind of trouble you were in, so we left the girls back."
Edward let out a breath of relief that his sister was all right.
Veronica was looking around at the mess the boys had made of the backpacks.
"What happened to our supplies?" she demanded. "Did the spiders do all that damage?"
Will and Edward exchanged glances.
"Well, most of it," he said. Edward gave him a look. "But I guess I made a little of it, too."
Challenger took pity of the little boy. He had been through a terrifying experience.
"I'll help you clean it up, Will," he said.
"I'll help, too," volunteered Edward.
While Roxton removed the spiders, the rest of the crew repacked the backpacks, throwing out the food the spiders had contaminated. Challenger groaned when he found his cylinder, but didn't make a huge fuss about it. He knew that the boys had to use anything they could to defend themselves.
They were just about through with the packing up, when Marguerite, who had stayed hidden with the girls until she really needed to know what was happening, called loudly from the top of a rise a little distance away.
"Roxton, are the boys okay? Can we come down?"
Roxton hurried towards her. "They're fine," he called out. "Edward shot a giant spider that had Will pinned to the ground."
"Edward shot a spider!" Victoria exclaimed in disbelief. "He's terrified of spiders."
"Well, he's not anymore," Roxton assured her as he arrived at their spot. He pulled first Marguerite into a big hug and then picked up each little girl and hugged her, too. Victoria barely protested. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before he put her down.
The girls ran down to see the boys and were taken to see the bloody, dead spiders that Roxton had piled a little way away.
Roxton and Marguerite were slower to join the others.
As soon as the girls had disappeared from view, he swept Marguerite into his arms and kissed her. She melted against him. She was surprise at how easily her defenses had fallen. Now that she had admitted her feelings for him, she found his mere presence intoxicating. They slowly parted, whispering, "I love you," to each other as, arms entwined, they started down the small hill.
"Are the boys really all right?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, they're all right. The young rascals managed to ransack our supplies, and made themselves a meal, which must have attracted the spiders. I'll have nightmares about what might have happened if Edward hadn't been such a sure shot." He shook his head at the possibilities. Memories of his own ill-fated attempt to save his brother from a similar situation were never far below the surface of his mind.
Marguerite sensed where his thoughts were turning and quickly tried to distract him.
"John, I don't know about you, but I think those dear, sweet children are giving me gray hair!"
He ran his fingers through her lustrous, dark hair and pulled her head against his lips.
"And I will love every gray strand of it."
Marguerite smirked. "Well, you'd better, if you expect me to love that old, grizzled head of yours!"
"Old, eh?" he quirked up one eyebrow and squinted his eye at her. "Be more respectful of your elders, my dear, or I'll have to show you what this old man can do!"
"Is that a threat or a promise, elder one?"
He pulled her against his chest. With one hand, he swept her hair away from her ear and nuzzled his face into her neck, kissing his way up to her delicate ear. Having reached his goal, he growled, "Take that as a promise, my love."
Marguerite raised her arms to tangle her fingers in his short, bristly hair. She pulled his head up until she could rest her lips against his. She breathed into his mouth, "One you had better not break, my sweet."
His blue eyes glittered into her gray ones. "Never." he swore as their lips met in a searing kiss.
Breathing heavily, they broke apart and smiled at each other. The chase was over, but another kind of dance had just begun.
The stolen moments, sexual tension, and repressed passions were still part of the excitement of their acknowledged love, but they knew from past experience that the flame of passion would die out without the mutual affection, honesty, and trust of true friendship. As much as they would like to be lovers, they wanted to be best friends first. They each determined that this relationship would be different from their past ones. They had seen what the future might hold in store for them and they wanted it…with all their hearts.
Arm in arm, they walked back to the others. Expecting the usual chaos, they were surprised at the somber atmosphere of the campsite. The backpacks were neatly packed up and stacked for travel. The adults were sitting in the shade of the rocks, as were the children. However, the children, dusty and unhappy, were sitting several yards away from each other. The expressions on their faces made Roxton think that this separation was not voluntary on the children's part.
As he and Marguerite stepped apart, he looked over at Ned and Veronica, who were sitting together talking in low tones.
"What's up?" he questioned, jerking his head in the children's direction.
Ned glanced over at the children with an exasperated look, but it was Challenger who answered.
"Our young companions, here, thought it would be fun to…reenact…the attack of the spiders." He nodded his head toward Edward and Victoria. "Those two were playing the part of the spiders and the other were the victims. Well, let's just say that the spiders attacked unmercifully and the victims fought back a little too aggressively and the fight that ensued was no longer playacting. So," he continued, casting a warning eye at the perpetrators, "a cooling down period was declared fitting."
Marguerite looked with astonishment at the three girls who had so lately been the models of cooperation. Summer, wilting under her gaze, starting crying. Big crocodile tears running down her face.
Marguerite knew manipulation when she saw it, and turned her attention to Veronica.
"Was all the food spoiled?" she asked.
"No, we have enough for several small meals," Veronica assured her. "And, if we have to, we can find some food in the jungle."
"Of course," she teased, "the boys have had their lunch, so, I'm sure they won't want more."
Will and Edward sat up straighter. Will smiled a disarmingly charming smile at her and raised one eyebrow to add to his cuteness.
"I think that I could eat a bit more, Veronica," he said politely. "Edward and I could share our lunch," he finished magnanimously.
Hiding a smile, Veronica said, "We'll see."
Summer, noting Marguerite's non-reaction, knew a lost cause when she saw one. She now turned her tear-streaked face towards Roxton and, with a giant sniff or two, held out her chubby little arms to the old softy.
Roxton, ignoring Marguerite's negative shake of her head, scooped the tiny manipulator up into his arms.
"Why the poor lamb is just hungry and tired. Aren't you, my sweet?" he cooed.
Summer managed to squeeze a fresh tear or two from her glistening eyes as she nodded her head against his neck.
"Ow, my tooth hurts, Uncle John," Alice said pitifully. She wasn't in Summer's league when it came to manipulation, but she gave it a try.
Summer's head popped up from Roxton's shoulder. She looked at Alice with a puzzled frown, her tears drying on her cheeks.
"How can your tooth hurt, silly? It's gone!" she said logically.
"Well," lisped Alice, putting her tongue in the empty socket, "the hole hurdths!"
Victoria rolled her eyes. She knew that this distraction would just lead to another and another.
"We're wasting time," she complained. She turned to Challenger to enlist his support. "Professor Challenger, don't you think we should be going? The meadow is still pretty far away, isn't it?"
"Victoria is right," agreed Challenger. "We must push on if we're to reach the meadow with time to thoroughly investigate these phenomenon."
They all knew Challenger was right, but their stomachs told them they needed to eat. A compromise was reached in that they would eat as they continued their journey. Ned and Veronica volunteered to make sandwiches for everyone and soon they were on the trail again, munching on the sandwiches and passing around the canteens of water.
Edward and Will were relieved that they had been given lunch, too. They had kept very quiet while the food was being passed out and, when Veronica had handed them their sandwiches, they accepted them with grins of gratitude.
**
Veronica's new way to the meadow was arduous for everyone but especially for the smaller members of the party. Up hill, over rocky ground, across streams and through dense jungle, the terrain changed as the morning wore on. The older children were determined to walk the whole way themselves, but the two youngest girls had no such determination. Roxton and Ned carried Summer and Alice on their backs, seated high on top of their backpacks. Marguerite walked with the older children, helping them over rocks and through streams, while Veronica scouted ahead.
The closer they got to the meadow, the more Challenger seemed to withdraw from the group. He pulled out a tablet of paper and started scribbling and muttering to himself. He was determined to keep a complete record of these time portals. He had made many observations the first time he had discovered them, and he was anxious to see if there were any changes. But, the biggest question in his mind was one that had him the most worried…how was he to know which of the seven portals was the one that would take the children back to their timeline. He was the scientist of the group; it was up to him to make that call.
Ned and Roxton walked silently side by side. They weren't talking because the girls, sitting on top of the backpacks with their legs slung over the men's shoulders, were singing songs and chanting rhymes. At the moment they were playing a lively rendition of Humpty Dumpty. Summer held Dolly by her arms and swung her back and forth as she and Alice sang, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a WALL!" yelling the last word each time. "Humpty Dumpty had a great FALL!" Dolly was sent flying up into the air. The floppy doll sailed over Roxton's head and landed on the ground, a little puff of dust marking her resting spot.
"Now see what you've done, Summer," Roxton complained. "Your doll is all dirty and has probably broken her itty, bitty, little leg."
Summer and Alice looked at each other over the top of Roxton's head and giggled.
"Dolly can't break her leg," crowed Summer.
"She's stuffed!" snorted Alice. Really, she thought, grownups could be very dumb about some things.
"Kneel down, Roxton," ordered Summer. "I'll pick her up."
"What do you think I am? A camel?"
"Yes! A camel, a camel!" she chortled. "Kneel down, camel, and I'll be able to reach her."
Ned laughed. "Yeah! Kneel down, camel and let Her Majesty save her fallen subject."
Roxton scowled.
"Her Majesty can get her royal little feet on the ground and pick up her "subject" herself."
He reached up and grabbed Summer under her arms and swung her over his head, setting her firmly on the ground.
"And, she can bloody well walk a while on those royal little feet, too," he added as he rolled his head side to side to ease the ache out of his neck and shoulders. "Talk about your royal pain in the neck!" he muttered under his breath.
Summer had scramble over and picked up her Dolly. She blew some dust off of her and, sneaking a look back to check that Roxton wasn't watching, she quickly wiggled each of Dolly's legs back and forth before stuffing her into her dress pocket.
Meanwhile, Alice had asked Ned to put her down, too. He was only too glad to oblige. Without that extra 40 pounds, his pack felt light as a feather.
The girls started walking quickly. They wanted to catch up with the other children. Ned and Roxton walked a little way behind them, ready to step forward if they needed help.
"Well, Ned," Roxton began guilelessly, keeping his voice low so the children couldn't hear him, "I've, eh, noticed that you and Veronica have gotten…closer lately." He rubbed his hand along the side of his chin. "Just how, ah…close have you gotten?"
Ned was startled by such a direct question. But he was up for the challenge.
"Oh," he said thoughtfully, "I guess about as close as you and Marguerite have gotten." He winked at his friend.
Now it was Roxton's turn to startle. "Why, we've never…" he sputtered, until he caught the amused glint in Ned's eye.
"You bugger!" John laughed. "I should know better then to try to pry information out of a journalist. They're the experts at asking impertinent questions, not answering them."
Laughing, Ned slapped him on the back.
"Let's just leave it that we are two very lucky men," he suggested.
"Who hope to get luckier!" Roxton couldn't help adding. "Eventually!"
A squeal interrupted their conversation. Alice and Summer had finally caught up with the other children and they were laughing and splashing each other as they crossed a small stream.
Marguerite was hot and tired. Her patience was just about at an end.
"Stop!" she scolded. "You're getting everyone wet. Walk across in the shallow area. Will, that will do! You may not push Victoria off that rock. Tori, please watch your step. That rock is very slippery. There! Didn't I just tell you it was slippery? Oh, don't worry, your dress will dry in this heat. Edward, you can not possibly look under every stone, and, besides, where would you put a salamander even if you found one? Alice and Summer! Stay where you are and I'll come over and help you. Oh, drat! I told you to walk where it's shallow!"
She sighed in exasperation when she spotted the men coming up the path behind the little girls.
"Well, where on earth have you been?" she asked, wiping her wet hands on her skirt. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "Do you have any idea what I've been through?" She pushed her hair off of her face. She glared at Roxton who was smiling at her.
"What is that asinine grin for?" she demanded, storming back across the creek to stand in front of him, hands on hips.
"You are just so damned cute," John smirked. He pulled her into his arms and planted a big kiss on her lips.
Shocked, Marguerite pushed against his chest. "John, what do you think you're doing? Everyone is watching! And what do you mean I'm "cute"? I look hideous! My hair has come out of its clip and I'm filthy…"
John just grinned.
She stopped in mid-sentence and cocked one eyebrow up. Her large gray eyes traveled up past John's stubbly chin, past his glinting, mischievous eyes, to rest on his tousled brown hair.
"Why, John Roxton," she chided. "If anyone is cute, it's you. That little braid on top of your head is absolutely adorable!"
John's grin faded. He quickly reached up to feel the top of his head, and what he felt made him burst out laughing.
"Why that little scalawag! Summer must be quite agile with her hands. I didn't feel a thing."
He called across the creek to Ned, who was waiting there with the children.
"Hey, Ned. Check the top of your head. I think the girls were giving us a beauty treatment."
Ned reached up and ran his finger through his hair. His hand came away with one of Alice's small, pink hair ribbons.
Alice took the ribbon out of Ned's hand and explained to him, "Your hair was too short to braid, Daddy Ned, so I gave you a ponytail, instead."
The children and adults all started giggling. Alice and Summer looked around to see if they were in trouble, but seeing everyone smiling, they joined in the laughter, too, thinking they had done a very clever thing.
Challenger came up the path behind them, stowing away his notebook.
"Well, you all seem to be having a jolly time. Did I miss something?"
"No," smirked Marguerite. "You're just in time. The children are ready to hear another chapter of that story you were telling them. Aren't you children?" She winked at the grinning lot.
"Oh, yes, Professor Challenger," enthused Edward. "Please tell us more."
Flattered, Challenger crossed the stream and gathered the children around him.
"Of course," he replied.
"But mind you," he cautioned, "the next part is not for the faint of heart. Are you sure you're all brave enough to hear what happens next?"
Enthusiastic nods met his inquiry.
"Very well, then." He started walking, the children hurrying to keep up with his longer strides. "As you all remember, our hero…"
Ned called back to Roxton and Marguerite. "I'm going ahead to look for Veronica." And he quickly walked past the story group and disappeared down the path.
Marguerite smiled at Roxton. She was glad to be free of child watching duty for a little while. She was also glad to have time to spend alone with John. She took his hand as they slowly followed the others.
John looked adoringly down at the woman he loved and said softly, "You are so beautiful."
Marguerite widened her cool, gray eyes at him and pouted. "I thought you said I was cute?"
"Cute is only the beginning of what you are," John assured her, kissing her lightly. Then he frowned as a thought crossed his mind.
"Marguerite?" he began. "Just now, you seemed to be thoroughly fed up with the children." He hesitated before asking, "You haven't changed your mind about wanting children, have you?"
Bracing himself for disappointment, he was shocked at her sudden outburst of laughter.
"Don't get me wrong, John, I love those children, but, right now, I'm fed up to here with them," she told him, putting her hand to her forehead.
She paused.
"Now, I won't say I have the patience of a Saint," she quickly held her finger to his lips to stop him from commenting, "but, those little monsters have been testing what little patience I have all day." Her voice took on an exasperated tone. "I think they're trying to find out just how far they can push me before I crack." She sighed. "And, I'm tired. We're all tired. For the last three days, we've been taking care of five, energetic, strong-willed children. This has been harder work than fighting off the cannibals."
She let go of his hand and slid her arm through his. She briefly leaned her head against his arm.
"I have to admit, five children all at once is a bit overwhelming. I'm planning on my children coming one at a time." She looked up at him to see how he took that last sentence. He appeared to be taking the conversation calmly.
"And, of course, if I have three or four children," she winced, "I'm hoping that with each child, I will be that much more experienced and not quite so overwhelmed."
Roxton nodded his head. "I think that's how it works," he agreed. He said this calmly, but inside, he was dancing with joy. Marguerite, his Marguerite, who just a few days ago could hardly talk to him without snarling and hurling insults like croquet balls, was actually talking about having children…and he knew she meant their children.
Before his joy could bubble to the surface, Ned and Veronica came tearing down the path towards them.
**
"Challenger! Challenger," they called.
They stopped in front of the group, breathing hard. Their eyes were wide with wonder.
"We've been to the meadow and you'll have to come immediately to see what's happening!"
Veronica grabbed Challenger by the arm and started dragging him down the path.
"Hold on!" he demanded. "You'll have to tell me what you saw so that I will have some idea if we're walking into danger."
"We won't be in danger if we stay up on the cliff." Ned was hustling the children along. "Come on," he urged. "You won't want to miss this!"
The map that Veronica had drawn took the adventurers to their destination by way of the towering cliff at the end of the meadow. From there, they expected to carefully make their way down using an ancient series of stone drops that had been cut into the cliff by what had once been a thundering waterfall. The waterfall was, now, not much more than a trickle of water running down one side of the rock shelves.
Veronica and Malone shushed everyone as they approached the edge of the cliff. Each adult was in charge of keeping one child from falling over the edge. Roxton and Marguerite had Will and Summer firmly by the hand. They found a low boulder and sat the children on top, wrapping their arms around them. Malone and Veronica did the same with Edward and Alice, while Challenger and Victoria were lying on their stomachs very near the cliff's edge. He had his spyglass trained on the meadow far down at the foot of the cliff.
Below them was a sight so incredible, that it was no wonder that Ned and Veronica could not describe it.
The meadow was a heaving mass of humans and animals. Blue, misty swirls marked the openings of time portals too numerous to count. These portals now ringed the meadow. As each portal formed, something or someone either popped out or was sucked in. Into this ever changing scenario, moved people and animals in a loud clash of cultural mismatches that the explorers had never witnessed before. The children were shocked. They had never, in all their short lives, seen so many people in one spot, not even when Zanga and the Hagen tribes came together to trade.
To make matters worse, a huge herd of brontosaurs grazed the short grasses of the meadow, seemingly oblivious to the many dramas playing out all around them. As the group on the cliff watched in fascination, a small dog caught Victoria's attention. It was barking madly at one of the towering sauropods. As Victoria watched, a middle aged lady dressed in a long, layered dress of pink and burgundy popped out of a vortex behind the dog and rushed forward to pick it up. She shook her finger in the dog's face in a scolding gesture. The dog barked again and the lady looked up at the huge head of the sauropod. The creature was slowly masticating a large mouthful of grass. The lady screamed, the feathers on her hat coming alive with her trembling. The moving feathers caught the attention of the dinosaur and it swung its long neck towards her. She backed up quickly to avoid the green, slimy juices that were dripping from the monster's mouth. Like the grass disappearing down the throat of the brontosaurus, the blue maw of a vortex suddenly opened behind her and sucked in the terrified lady and her little dog.
Out of another swirling portal galloped two knights; their glistening armor sparkled in the sun. They pulled their horses to a stop just in time to avoid trampling down a herd of black-face sheep that bawled their confusion and fear before scampering under a brontosaurus and running into the jungle on one side of the meadow. The knights, spotting the brontosaurus, turned their helmeted heads towards each other in excitement, and, lowering their lances, charged at the peaceful beast. The victim of their quest took that moment to lumber too near a time portal and was pulled inside and vanished. The knights, their momentum unchecked, galloped straight into another portal and they, too, disappeared from the meadow.
The children on top of the cliff clapped their hands with enjoyment. They had never seen such entertainment.
A troop of soldiers, dressed in camouflage, were kneeing in formation, rifles trained on another military troop who were dressed in old fashioned uniforms of red and black. The bayonets on their guns glinted sharp and deadly. Each side appeared to be at a stand still. The leader of the camouflaged soldiers was talking into a small black box he held in his hand. He shouted into it, listened, banged it on his palm and finally, giving up, stuck it back into his belt. Neither side was willing to make the first move until the decision was taken out of their hands. Two of the brontosaurs meandered between the opposing ranks, swinging their long necks back and forth. One of the enormous creatures brought his small head close to the captain's leafy looking helmet and sniffed deeply. The terrified man backed up until he bumped into the first line of his troops. "Retreat!" he yelled. His troops ran in a ragged group until they were sucked en masse into a newly formed vortex.
The red uniformed troops held their position, keeping a wary eye on the brontosaurs as they lumbered over to a small stand of trees on the edge of the meadow. Suddenly, out of a newly formed portal between the trees, leaped three African lions, roaring and snarling. This was too much for the brave troops. They broke ranks and ran. The lions stopped their noise and sank into the grass a few yards away from the grazing herd. Their tails twitched at the sight of the largest meals they had ever seen. However, the sight of the running troops quickly caught their attention and with a mighty roar, the hungry beasts sprang after the unfortunate men. As one of the soldiers disappeared into a waiting portal, the others, sensing safety, followed him in. The lions, not to be deprived of their prey, leaped in after them.
As this scenario was playing out, a group of well-dressed businessmen, talking quietly among themselves, sauntered casually out of another portal. They stopped as they realized they were no longer on the street in their city. One after the other, their mouths fell open. The tallest one pointed with his gold topped cane at the slowly moving dinosaurs and yelled "Mon Dieu!" loudly enough for the group on the cliff to hear.
As Challenger watched in excitement and trepidation, faster and faster, the portals swirled and sucked in anything that crossed in front of them. Three of the panic-stricken Frenchmen were sucked into one, two into another.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the portals began to collapse. As they collapsed, they spewed out what appeared to Challenger to be an almost visible…wind, like the air escaping from a balloon. This wind, however, was so strong, that a brontosaurus, caught in an outflow, was pushed sideways. He bellowed loudly at the unexpected shove and wandered out of the meadow. The others of his herd, hearing the warning bellow, followed along with him.
Slowly, the portals all collapsed and the field was left empty and silent.
**
Everyone on top of the cliff was filled with shock and confusion. Edward finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"If all the time portals are gone, how will we get back home, Professor?"
"Well, Edward, we will have to go down there and see if, indeed, they have all vanished," he replied heartily, trying to allay everyone's anxiety.
"That's right, Edward," Ned said, slapping him gently on the back. "We'll look between every bush, and tree, and blade of grass, too. It will be like a…like a treasure hunt!"
The children all perked up at this exciting prospect.
Marguerite had walked over to the edge and peered over at the steep, uneven steps left behind by the ancient waterfall.
"That's all very well, Ned," she complained. "But how were you planning on getting us down there?"
Veronica joined her on the ledge. "Why, Marguerite," she exclaimed in surprise, "you just sit on your backpack and slide." She made a swooping movement with her hand.
For one brief moment, Marguerite thought that she was serious, but when the children starting giggling, she tilted her nose in the air and stalked past Veronica.
"Very amusing, Veronica. Your imagination has really improved since you've been spending every minute with Ned," she shot back.
"Every minute?" Veronica said icily. "You're one to talk. You and John have been…"
Roxton and Malone knew where this was going. They shoved the children over to Challenger and hurried over to the two women, who were facing each other, hands on hips.
The men approached them with some trepidation even though they were used to dealing with these two stubborn, strong willed women. They had learned that they would have to come up with just the right approach or they would only make matters worse. However, this was no time for finesse.
John closed in on Marguerite, swept her up into his arms and carried her away from the group. She fought him like a banshee. He carried her behind some rocks and low bracken. The other could hear her howls of indignation.
Ned took Veronica's arm. "Why are you letting her get to you like that?" he said angrily. "You know she's just trying to goad you."
"What does she know about us, Ned?" she growled at him. "I thought you said we'd keep our relationship a secret!"
Ned pulled her a little further away from the others.
"She doesn't know anything," he hissed at her. "She's just guessing."
He changed his approach. His voice became wheedling and affectionate.
"Our secret is safe, Veronica," he whispered in her ear.
She smiled a little as he brushed his lips across her cheek. "All right," she said. "I know that teasing is just Marguerite's way." Her voice turned hard and sharp. "But she'd better keep her mouth shut about us!" she warned.
Meanwhile, John and Marguerite were having a little talk of their own. Fierce whispers floated up
"Would you please calm down!" John hissed. "What is going on with you?"
"Oh, so it's all my fault? Little Miss Goody is never in the wrong, is she? Well, I can tell you that she isn't so pure and good as you men," she spit the word, "think. What do you think she and Ned are up to, huh?"
"Probably the same as we are," John answered quietly. "Finding comfort with each other."
Marguerite crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I hate it when you're right," she muttered.
John smiled down at the ground. This was the side of Marguerite that the others seldom saw. She could be insufferably arrogant and incorrigibly selfish, but she was also surprisingly fair.
"Let's go," he said.
They walked back to the others, arm in arm.
"Sorry, Veronica," Marguerite apologized. "I was out of line. Your business is none of my concern."
Veronica grinned at her. "You're right," she agreed. "But, I'm sorry, too. I guess we're all a little on edge."
Challenger, who had the children sitting on the ground eating a snack, rolled his eyes at them.
"I feel as if I'm surrounded by nine children sometimes," he groused quietly. "Let's finish eating and get down to the meadow. I don't know about you all, but I'm anxious to see what's going on down there."
They quickly finished their meal and packed up, again. The children were unusually subdued. They didn't like it when the grown ups disagreed.
As she was putting on her backpack, Marguerite was accosted by little Summer.
She tugged on Marguerite's skirt. Her face was screwed up with confusion.
"Mar-greet?" she queried. "Why do you and Veronica fight so much? Don't you love each other?"
Marguerite stooped down to hug the child with one arm. She looked over at Veronica who was conferring with Roxton about the best way to get everyone down the cliff. She smiled.
"Don't you ever fight with your sister, Summer?" she asked quietly. The little girl nodded, her face slowly taking on a glow of enlightenment. She grinned at Marguerite.
Marguerite gave her a quick hug and stood up. "Let's get going, Sweetie. We don't want to be the last ones down, do we?"
The explorers began their descent. Some steps were so narrow that they were barely a foot width wide, while other, that had been undercut by the waterfalls force, looked thin enough to break off under their weight. But, by carefully lowering the children and the packs down each treacherous step, they made their way to the bottom of the cliff without any major mishaps. It took a good half-hour, though, before the intrepid group walked, once again, across the mysterious meadow.
Edward and Victoria walked beside Challenger, who had taken the lead. His long strides making them stretch their own legs in order to keep up. They were almost as excited and curious as the red bearded scientist.
"We'll walk the inside perimeter of the meadow first," he directed. "Stay towards the center, though, as the portals appear to form around the edges. We don't want anyone unexpectedly sucked in, do we?"
They broke up into small groups and walked carefully around the meadow, keeping a sharp eye out for any signs of blue mist. The hot afternoon sun beat down of them as they searched, making them all wish to be under the enticing shade on either side of the large field. But they dared not get too close. Challenger was right. The time portals did seem to have a penchant for forming between the trees and bushes that ringed the meadow.
Having made the circuit, they joined up again near the base of the cliff. The adults all agreed that they had observed nothing unusual. Everything appeared to be quiet and normal.
They looked to Challenger for the next instruction.
He stroked his beard as he considered the problem. His mind was spinning with theories and guesses and probabilities. Finally, he reached a decision.
"Children, I would like you to reenact that day in the meadow. Show us as best you can where you were standing and go through the motions of what you did."
The children looked at each other with growing excitement. This was going to be a lot more fun than that exhausting treasure hunt.
Catching the adults by surprise, the children all took off in different directions, moving to the part of the field that they each thought was the best place to start.
"Wait! Come back!" Challenger yelled. But they kept going, that is, until Marguerite shouted in her most imperious tone.
"Stop! Immediately."
Something in her voice made the children freeze.
"Now come back here and we'll start again."
They returned reluctantly to where the grownups were standing.
Roxton stared at the disgruntled children. "It seems as if you each have a different idea of what happened that day. So, " he said decisively, "we will start with Victoria," he gave her a little bow. "And then move on to Edward and so on, down to the youngest."
Victoria smiled at him. Summer scowled.
Roxton held up a warning finger. "But, mind, I want you to start at the beginning, when you first entered the meadow, and then give us a step by step description of what took place."
Victoria licked her lips. She was very cognizant of the importance of her job. She began shyly, in a low voice that gained strength as she continued.
"Well, we came into the meadow from the path over there," she said, pointing down the meadow towards the jungle's edge. "The targets, four of them, were set up just about…here." She led them forward a few yards away from the cliff's base.
"We all lined up to take turns. We had brought our spears and slingshots. I let the others go first," she said, lifting one eyebrow at the other children, daring them to say a word.
"Go on," encouraged Challenger.
She cleared her throat. "The little ones got tired of target practice and…"
"We did not!" contradicted Summer indignantly. "You and the boys hogged all the turns, so me and Alice went for a walk."
Alice nodded in agreement. "That's when we found the blue misty place. Right, Summer?"
Veronica looked at Challenger. "Why don't we hear what Alice and Summer have to say," she suggested.
"Hey," the boys cried.
"That's not fair," complained Will. "I didn't get to tell you how I hit the target really well. Didn't I do well, Edward?"
Roxton put his hand of the little boy's head. "You can tell me about your shooting later, Will. Right now, we need to hear about the time portal."
"We didn't know it was a time portal, John," Alice blurted. "Honest."
"Of course you didn't, Alice," Roxton reassured her. "Do you think you and Summer can show us where you found it?"
Summer and Alice exchanged looks. Summer shrugged. "I guess so," she said uncertainly.
"I know where they were, Uncle John," Edward spoke up. "When we heard Alice scream, we ran down this way." He started off, walking towards the far end of the meadow. The others followed.
He stopped in front of some tallish bushes. He looked at Victoria and then at Will and Alice.
"Alice was right here. She said that Summer had been sucked into the swirling, blue mist that we could see between these bushes here."
Summer nodded, her lower lip trembled. "I threw my Dolly into it and I needed to get her back.
"Okay, children," said Challenger. "We've heard this story before." He turned to the eldest two children. "Are you sure this is the place?"
"We're pretty sure, sir," Victoria said. "But all of these bushes do look alike."
Challenger stared at the bushes. Suddenly, he smacked himself on the forehead.
"Right, right, of course!" Challenger strode around with excitement. He stopped and looked at the others. "Why didn't I think of it before," he said, berating himself. The others just looked more puzzled. "Don't you see?" he raised his voice. "We're looking on the wrong side!"
"The wrong side of what?" Ned asked.
"The bushes! The bushes," Challenger shouted excitedly. "If the entrance to our time is on the meadow side, then the entrance to their timeline is on the other side of the bushes."
"Sounds reasonable to me," shrugged Marguerite.
"But I looked on the other side of the bushes when Summer disappeared," Will said, plaintively. "And she wasn't there."
"There, there, my lad," Challenger said soothingly. "According to my calculations, she wouldn't have been there. You see, she was on the other side of the bushes…in…our…timeline. Understand?"
Will, his mouth turned down at the corners, nodded his head, then he shook it. "No, sir," he admitted sadly.
Roxton laughed. "I'm with you, Will, old man. We must trust Grandpa Challenger, here, to know what he's talking about, eh?"
Will looked up at him gratefully. "Yes, sir. Grandma says that Grandpa Challenger is the smartest man that ever was."
"Did you hear that, Challenger?" Ned snickered. "You're a big hit with "Grandma."
Veronica elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked innocently.
"We don't tease people about their relationships," Veronica stated with a sidelong smile at Marguerite.
Marguerite smiled back.
Challenger, however, was completely oblivious to Ned's teasing. His entire attention was given to solving the problem presented by the time portals. He strode up to the bushes and stood staring at them, his hands planted on his hips. He seemed to be waiting for the bushes to tell him something. And perhaps they did, because he turned decisively to the others and said, "All right, let's go see what's behind the bushes. Everyone, be very careful. We'll stay together. Let's go."
Holding the children tightly by their hands, they passed between the bushes and into another field that was full of low scrubs, clumps of bushes and spindly trees. The lushness of the meadow was nowhere to be seen here. It was as if they had moved miles away instead of just a few feet. The grass, what there was of it, was sparse and brown. Green leafy bushes near the perimeter were replaced, within a meter, by bushes with large thorns and twisted roots.
Challenger wondered which of the fields was the anomaly.
"Stay back!" Challenger warned, pointing to one side of the field.
The others froze where they were. Roxton looked over to where Challenger was pointing and started in surprise. The beautiful, whirling blue mist of two vortexes were only a few yards apart. The surprising thing was that one was swirling clockwise, the other counter-clockwise.
Ned scratched his head in perplexity. "Have you seen this before, George?" he asked.
Challenger shook his head. "I don't think so, Ned. I'm not sure what this means."
Veronica had been looking intently around the field.
"Challenger, there are two more over there," she said, excitedly, pointing down the field.
Again, the group moved very carefully around the field looking for new portals. After an exhaustive search, they could find only the four they had observed when they first arrived.
The children had dropped out of the search very quickly. They really were tired, so Marguerite volunteered to stay with them. She spread out a couple of thin blankets from the backpacks and gave the children a much needed drink and snack. Summer, Alice, and even Will, curled up and had a nap. Edward and Victoria, who understood what was at stake, were too tense to sleep. Marguerite distracted them by asking about their timeline on the plateau. They were only too happy to talk about their wonderful life. Marguerite was amazed at how peaceful and well organized the adults had made the environment for the children. She wondered how hard it was to keep the environment intact with all of the odd and unexplainable happenings and features of the plateau.
Their respite was short, however, when the four, who had continued the search, came back with the news that the two portals furthest away were showing signs of collapsing. Even as they all stood and turned to look, they could see the telltale expulsion of wind as one and then the other portal collapsed and was gone.
Now the decision was made easier and harder. The two portals by the bushes were their only choices left. And, yet, was it right to send the children through either of them when the stability of the portals was in question?
The adults looked down at the children who had come to mean so much to them. They would keep them if circumstance made that the only decision, but they had made them a promise. A promise to get them back to their real parents and back to their real life. A life, from what the children had told them, that was so much more peaceful and settled and a whole lot less dangerous then the one they would have to live if they stayed in this timeline.
But which portal to choose?
Marguerite looked at her friends. She, like the others, was terrified that they would chose the wrong one. She turned to the man whose final responsibility it would be to make that choice.
"Challenger, is there any way you can be sure which is the right portal?" she begged.
"I…I just don't know," he said desperately. He turned to the children. "Children, when you came through the portal, was there anything you can think of that would help us recognize your exit point? Anything at all?"
The children looked at each other. They tried to remember what they had seen as they searched for Summer in those first few minutes after they had come through the portal.
"We can't think of anything unusual that happened, sir," Edward admitted. "Everything around here looks the same as it did before. I'm sorry."
Victoria looked down at her little sister. Summer was young, but she had a good memory.
"Maybe Summer can remember seeing or doing something when she came here," she spoke hesitatingly.
Everyone looked at Summer. She smiled at them.
"Okay, Summer," Roxton said as he stooped down beside her. "Tell us again what happened after you jumped after your Dolly to rescue her. Now, try to remember everything. Okay?"
"Okay," Summer agreed happily. She just loved being the center of attention.
They all sat down on the blankets. Roxton and Marguerite sat with "their" children, they held them close because, if they were successful, this would be the last time they could hold them at all. Ned and Veronica felt the same way and so held Alice and Edward close to them.
Summer snuggled back into Roxton's lap. Like a veteran performer, she waited for her audience to settle down and focus their attention on her. When she was satisfied, she began her story.
"Well, when I came out of the…port…port…mist, I looked for my Dolly. I looked everywhere. The rocks and sticks that Alice and I had thrown in were in great, big piles," she said this with her arms held out as far as she could. "So, I had to look through all of them. I called and called for Dolly, but she wasn't there! I got so mad at her. I didn't know where she was hiding. But, I found her! She was a good hider!" Summer laughed.
"Where, Summer? Where did you find her?" Alice anxiously prodded.
Summer knew she had her audience now. She leaned forward and looked around at everyone.
"I…found…her…stuck…in…a…thorn…bush!" she finished, laughing triumphantly. "She was hanging by her dress." Summer's face clouded up. "She was a very naughty girl," she scowled. "When I pulled her down, she ripped a piece of her dress off." Her face brightened again. "But Mar-greet made her a new one." She pulled Dolly out of her dress pocket and held her up for everyone to admire. "See, isn't it beautiful?"
"Very pretty, Summer," Challenger said distractedly. The adults were looking at each other, all thinking the same thing. Could it be that simple? As one, they plopped the children on the blankets and jumped to their feet.
Marguerite and Veronica ran towards the first vortex, while Challenger, Ned and Roxton ran to the second one. They looked around wildly. The men were looking at bushes much too high off of the ground. They had not taken into consideration that Summer was a very little girl and that she would not have been able to reach very high.
Marguerite had thought of that. With a cry of discovery, Marguerite ran towards a low, thorny bush about a meter in front of the vortex. The others, who now realized their mistake, ran over to see what she had found.
There, hanging from a thorn by only a few threads, was a piece of greenish material. Marguerite recognized it immediately as the same material that she had removed from Dolly before she had made her the new dress.
"Eureka!" Challenger laughed. They now knew which of the portals was the one that would send the children home.
With this realization, came great sadness. This was it. The time had come and, by the look of the two vortexes, the time was now. Just as the other time portals before them, the two that were left had begun to swirl faster.
The adults called the children over and holding back the tears, they hugged and kissed them. The children, though anxious to return to their own life, were very upset at leaving these new friends who had been so kind to them.
Challenger was worried. He warned them that if they were going, they must go now.
He stooped down and gathered them all into his arms. Then he sat back and held up an admonishing finger. "Now, remember, as soon as you get through, you must move away from the vortex as far as possible. It may collapse as soon as you are through and you don't want to get caught in the out-wind."
Victoria hugged him again and promised to see to the little ones.
Summer stuffed her Dolly deep into her pocket and ran to hug Marguerite one more time. "I love you, Mar-greet," she whispered in her ear. Marguerite held back her sobs with difficulty. "I love you, too, Summer Leigh."
Will was in Roxton's arms. Silently, they embraced. John broke the embrace and leaned back to look into the face that was a smaller version of his own. He pushed the brown hair from Will's forehead and kissed him gently. "Good-by, son," he whispered.
John and Marguerite set their precious burdens on the ground, and Roxton pulled Victoria and Summer into his arms. "Be good girls, now, you hear?" he told them, his eyes glistening with tears.
"We will," promised Victoria. Summer just nodded.
Marguerite had Will in a fierce embrace. As she let him go, the little boy turned back and kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you, Marguerite. You're fun!"
She looked after him as he moved away. "I'm fun?" Marguerite whispered to herself. No one had ever called her that before.
Now Victoria and Marguerite faced each other. They both knew that this good-by was going to be hard. Marguerite stooped down and gathered her into her arms. She could no longer keep the tears from flowing.
"Don't cry, Marguerite," Victoria said, smiling bravely through her own tears. "Your face will get all blotchy."
"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Marguerite gave her a watery smile.
She took her thumb and wiped the tears from Victoria's cheek. "Tori, I just want you to know that if I ever have a daughter, I would wish her to be just like you."
"I hope you get your wish, Marguerite," she said hugging her again. "You're going to make a great mother."
Ned and Veronica were having just as much trouble saying good-by to Edward and Alice. Edward was trying to be a little man. He shook hands with Ned and kissed Veronica's hand as he said good-by. But, Ned and Veronica would have none on that! Ned picked him up and, as Veronica leaned on Ned's shoulder, Edward put his arms around both of them in a big bear hug of a good-by.
Alice was a mess! The tenderhearted little girl could no more hide her feelings then she could the moon. She cried; she clung; she kissed; she sobbed. She could only be persuaded to let them go when Edward reminded her that her own parents were waiting for them.
At last, they could put it off no longer. Challenger urged them to hurry as the spin of the vortexes was increasing.
"Now, remember, everyone, as soon as the children get through, we must get out of the way so that we won't be caught up in the wind of the collapse."
"Yes, yes, Challenger. You've told us all that. We understand," Marguerite said peevishly.
He had the children hold hands and stand near the time portal that led to their timeline. The adults clung together a little further back. The vortex spun faster and faster.
"All right," Challenger shouted. "There's no time to waste. When I count to three, run into the vortex," he instructed.
"ONE, TWO, THREE!"
The children ran into the swirling mist and were sucked away.
The vortex began its final collapse. Just as it fell into itself, a tiny boot came popping out. Marguerite, who had cleaned that same boot not too long ago, ran forward to catch it.
John yelled, "No, Marguerite!" They all ran forward to pull her back. Both time portals chose just that time to blow out their powerful dying, breath and, showing no mercy, caught all five of the explorers in their windy blast. It sent them rolling and tumbling across the ground where, at last, stopped by the low, thorny vegetation, they lay, still as death.
THE END (ALMOST)
(1) I would really appreciate someone emailing me with a "THE LOST WORLD" web site that has an episode guide.
(2) I couldn't believe it, but my cable went out during two pivotal episodes. One is the one where Marguerite reveals the real reason she came to the plateau and, I think, she learns about her parentage. The other is the final episode about Veronica's parents and what is in her future. I would love it if someone would summarize them for me. Oh, and also the episode that deals with their activities during the war…I didn't understand that one.
(3) I was thinking of continuing this series with another story about "The Children of the Plateau" which would be told in the children's real timeline. Please email or tell me in the review section if you would be interested in reading more about these children.
Sorry it took so long to post the end of this story. I had a hard time saying good-by to the children, too.
A huge THANK YOU to all who took the time to review my stories. You kept me on track and warmed my heart with your encouragement and kind words. I can't tell you what it means to me to share my creations with people who truly understand the characters and share my interest in them.
I hope you enjoy the story and, please let me know if the ending disappointed or pleased you.
Previously: Although the members of the expedition have sadly realized that the children are not from their future, just the knowledge of their existence has changed our explorers' lives in ways that no one could have predicted. Ned has declared his love to Veronica and, while she does not feel ready to act on her feelings immediately, she has promised to work on their relationship. Roxton's and Marguerite's relationship has taken a serious turn. Their feelings of a partnership in the care of the children have opened the door to their trust in each other. Now they all face the possibility that they will not be able to find the time portal that will send the children back to their real parents.
CHAPTER 5 – Wherever Tomorrow Takes Us
"Seven…" Marguerite whispered. She looked sharply up at Roxton. "What does this mean?"
He cut his eyes to Victoria still wrapped in Marguerite's embrace. "Why don't we get Tori to bed, and then we can discuss it."
Victoria was too tired and discouraged to protest about being excluded from the discussion.
"You can have my bed all to yourself, Tori," Marguerite said lightly. "The little girls are sleeping in their "fort" on the floor." Victoria nodded gratefully as Marguerite led her off.
The girl leaned heavily on her. As tired as she was, Victoria's matchmaking streak was wide-awake. She had assured John that Marguerite knew the state of his feeling for her, but she wasn't really sure…and she was dying to find out!
"Marguerite?" she began. "John is an awfully nice person, isn't he?"
"He's nice enough, I guess," Marguerite replied off-handedly. She was anxious to get Tori into bed so that she could hear about what they had discovered.
"When we were out today…he told me a secret…" she said, matching Marguerite's off-handedness. She glanced slyly up at the woman beside her. "About you."
Hooked, Marguerite turned to the girl and asked with some trepidation, "Good Lord! Now, what kind of secret could he be telling you about me?"
"Well… she answered, looking sharply up at her, "he said that he loved you."
Marguerite stopped in surprise. "WWWhat?" she sputtered. "Why on earth would he tell you such a thing?"
"Well, we were talking about how much Ned loves Veronica and so, I asked him if he loved you…and he said," Victoria stopped to try to remember the exact words, "he said, 'Beyond all reason!"
Marguerite was shocked into momentary silence. "He said that?" she asked wonderingly.
Victoria nodded vigorously. "Yes…'Beyond all reason'. She sighed, "Isn't that romantic?"
Marguerite blushed in the dim light. "Yes, it certainly is. But, of course, he was just teasing you, Tori. Lord John Roxton could have his pick of any great lady in the world."
Victoria squeezed her hand. "But he picked this great lady," she said shyly.
Marguerite drew in deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I don't know if that's true," she said wistfully. She stared off in thought for just a moment and then brought her attention back to the task at hand.
"But I do know this to be true." Marguerite smiled and knelt down to hug the young girl. "It's time for this great-lady-to-be," she touched Tori on the nose, "to go to bed,"
"What ever you say…Lady Roxton," Victoria curtsied and scurried into the bedroom.
Marguerite followed her with a big grin on her face.
**
Veronica was cleaning Ned's cuts and scrapes with an ointment Challenger had made especially for that purpose. Cuts and scrapes were as common on the plateau as sunburn to sailors on the sea. Over by the table, Challenger had rolled up his trouser leg to look at the large, bruised lump that had formed on his calf.
"Damn, that hurts," he complained. "Remind me to wear armor next time we fight the apemen."
Roxton's laugh turned into a groan of pain and he clutched his aching ribs. "I agree, George. Those apemen fight the old fashion way. Rocks and clubs. Not always as fatal as bullets, but very painful, none the less."
Marguerite returned to hear the last part of Roxton's complaint. She was immediately at his side, tenderly raising his shirt and gently touching his bruised side. She pushed a little harder as he tried not to moan.
"Well, you're lucky this time. Nothing seems to be broken."
She looked angrily at him as she stood up. "How did this happen? You promised to keep Tori safe!" She knew Tori was unhurt, but she couldn't admit how much she was worried about his safety.
Roxton stood, also. He put his palms on her cheeks and tilted her head up to look him in the eyes.
"Tori's safe." he said slowly. "We were attacked by a marauding tribe of apemen, but we managed to get away. Tori was very brave. In fact, she was wonderful. She led us to the correct meadow, and was a real little trooper on the way home." His voice was filled with pride. "She didn't complain once."
The others nodded in agreement, but it was clear to Marguerite that they weren't anxious to discuss the most important topic. They just couldn't bring themselves to think about the implications of what they had found.
To postpone the discussion, they occupied themselves with the mundane necessities of life.
Marguerite had the weary travelers sit down at the table and served them soup and bread. They were ravenous and complimented Marguerite on the soup. She related the soup story and soon they were all laughing.
"Snake soup!" Roxton exclaimed. "Why that little rascal! Has a great sense of humor, though. He must get that from his old man," he grinned proudly.
"And Edward," Ned chimed in. "Raptor tail soup. What an imagination that boy has. He'll grow up to be a fine writer."
Challenger laughed at the men's obvious bias. The women exchanged amused glances.
Small talk finally wound down and it was time to face the possible results of what they had discovered. They sat back with a sigh of resignation.
"All right," Challenger started, knowing that it was up to him to get the discussion going. "Let's face the worst case scenario. Maybe we won't be able to find the time portal that will send them home. Maybe the children will have to stay here forever."
The other four looked at each other.
"That's hardly the worst case scenario for us," Ned chuckled.
Veronica held up her hand. "Wait a minute," she said thoughtfully. "We can't think of what we want. We must do what's best for the children…and for their parents. These children don't belong to us. They're not pets that followed us home. We can't just keep them!"
Marguerite spoke up, "Veronica is right. As much as we've come to…care for them, their parents, naturally, care for them more. If we have the ability to reunite two families, then we should do it, even if…it breaks our hearts…to let the children go."
Tears stood in her eyes. Looking at her, Roxton knew how much it cost her to come to this conclusion. He shared her pain. The thought of losing "their" children was unbearable, but he knew that they would have to bear it. Bear it and move on…on to a future that did not guarantee them the same treasures that had been given to their parallel selves. He looked over and saw the same pain in Ned's eyes.
Veronica reached over and took his hand in hers.
Ned drew a shaky breath and said softly, "We must enjoy them while they're here. We must…store the memories of their short time with us in our hearts." He paused and looked over at Veronica. "And, if, in our future, we are fortunate enough to have children of our own, Edward and Alice will always be our first ones, and we will share their stories with their little brothers and sisters."
Marguerite's gray eyes glistened with tears. John jumped up and went to her. He pulled her into his arms. He didn't care what the other thought. He and Marguerite needed to be together now.
Challenger, who was amazed at the open emotion of his friends, blinked the dampness from his own eyes a few times before he brought the discussion back to the matter at hand.
"It sounds as if we all agree that the children must be returned to their own timeline and to their own parents if it is at all possible. Now, lets examine the problems and see if we can come up with some solutions."
For the next hour they discussed options and procedures. Veronica told Marguerite that, once they had reached the meadow, she realized that she had been there before but had come in from another direction. She studied the terrain, convinced that she knew a different way to get back. They had all agreed that going back the way that they had come was not a good idea. Either the apemen would be there gathering up their wounded or the raptors would be there feasting on the dead.
Under Veronica's direction, they had returned to the treehouse using her alternate route. While it had been through rougher terrain, they had met with no trouble.
Veronica agreed to draw a map of the route that they could use tomorrow to lead them back to the meadow.
As far as the seven time portals were concerned, the explorers had to leave that investigation up to Challenger.
They stayed up talking and planning until it became evident that they were too tired to think clearly. Marguerite explained the new sleeping arrangements and soon after, Challenger took his leave. Ned and Veronica walked back to their bedrooms holding hands. Marguerite and Roxton were left alone.
Roxton cocked his head over towards the couch. "I suppose that you'll be sleeping out here, seeing as your bed is, once again, full of children?"
Marguerite got up and walked over to the couch. She plopped down on it. "I don't think I have a choice," she grimaced.
John got up and sat on the couch facing her. He draped one arm along the back and picked up her small, smooth hand in his.
"Yes, you do. Why don't you sleep in my bed?" Seeing the look on her face, he quickly explained, "I'll sleep on the couch. It wasn't so bad last night." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She smiled, but shook her head. "You're exhausted, John. And you're injured," she said. Taking a big chance, she leaned towards him and whispered, " Why don't we both sleep in your bed? I know you'll be a perfect gentleman," she teased. "And, besides," her voice became hollow with tears. "I really don't want to be alone right now."
Roxton couldn't believe it. Marguerite was actually turning to him for comfort. He had to be very careful not to scare her off.
"I think that would be a good, comfortable arrangement," he said sincerely. "That way, we both get a good night's sleep."
Marguerite looked searchingly into his eyes to see if she could spot any trace of sarcasm or deception, but all she saw was the same sadness that she knew was in her own eyes.
She stood up, keeping her hand in his, and said, "Let's go."
**
Summer was the first one awake the next morning. At first she didn't remember where she was. She turned over and smiled when she saw that Alice was with her, although, fast asleep. Summer decided to remedy that!
"Alice, Alice," she hissed. "Wake up, Little Sleepyhead." She shook her shoulder none too gently.
Alice groaned a little and opened one eye. "Hi, Summer. Is it morning yet?"
"I think so. Lemme go see."
Summer jumped up and stepped over Alice. She stuck her head outside the shawl curtain and looked around the room.
"Tori!" she shouted with delight, spotting the girl on the bed. She ran across the room and flung herself on her sleeping sister.
Hearing Summer's shout, Alice stumbled over and jumped on the bed next to Tori.
"Tori, Tori, I missed you!" Summer cried, as she tried to plant a kiss on her sister's cheek.
Alice, bouncing on her knees, made the bed, and everyone on it, thump up and down.
"Tori's back! Tori's back!" she chanted.
Groaning, Victoria tried to cover her head with her arms. She flung her head back and forth in an effort to ward off Summer's wet kisses.
"Stop! Get away from me!" Tori croaked at the little girls. She pushed Summer away.
Alice stopped bouncing and Summer sat up straight. She had a terrible frown on her face. If Tori had her eyes open, she would have seen the storm that was brewing in Summer's eyes.
Like a tiny lighting bolt, Summer shot off the bed. She stood with her feet planted wide apart and her fists on her hips. Alice took one look at Summer's face and scurried back behind the shawl curtain.
"Tori…YOU ARE A MEAN SISTER!" she declared in an unforgiving voice. "And…I'm gonna tell John what you did!"
Summer spun around and marched out the door.
Victoria pushed herself up on her arms, her hair falling in her face and her eyes mere slits.
"Summmmmerrrr!" she whined. "Wait! Come back! I'm just really tired. Summmmerrr!"
It was no use. Groaning, she flopped back down on the bed and pulled the covers over her head.
Alice peeked out to see if Summer had, indeed, gone. The coast was clear, so she tiptoed over to the bed. Victoria had fallen immediately back to sleep. Alice folded the covers down from her face and smoothed them out as best she could. She looked into the pale, dirt-streaked face of her friend. Victoria's dark hair, tangled with leaves and twigs, was spread out over the pillow.
"Poor, Tori," Alice whispered sympathetically. "You sleep. I'll keep Summer away from you," she promised.
She hurried out of the room, hoping to head off Summer before she could get Tori into trouble.
Alice could hear Summer's outraged voice calling, "John! John!"
Veronica also heard the little girl's cries. She got quickly out of bed and stepped outside her sleeping area.
"Summer, what's the matter?" she asked anxiously.
"I want John!" She continued stomping towards the living room.
Ned joined the parade. He looked over at Veronica's concerned face and asked, "What's the matter with her?"
Veronica shook her head. "I don't know. She just keeps asking for John."
Will and Edward came running up, their borrowed long john shirts flapping around their ankles.
"Uh oh, Summer's mad," Will whispered sagely to Edward. Edward nodded. They followed, but kept their distance.
Alice, who had thought that Summer would be heading towards John's bedroom, was the last to come up behind the group. They were all standing around Summer, who was staring at the couch as if it had deeply offended her.
"John's not here," she said menacingly to the couch.
Ned, the smoother of ruffled feathers, pointed out to her, "No, he's probably still asleep in his bedroom. Can we help you, Sweetheart?"
Summer turned her glare on the innocent man. "No. I want John." She turned and headed toward his bedroom.
"What's happening?" Challenger asked in a low tone, as he joined the others.
Veronica could only shake her head. "Something is really bothering Summer and she only wants John to help her."
"Come on. We'd better find out what's going on." Challenger motioned for everyone to follow Summer.
The old treehouse had never experienced such a strange parade of half- dressed people filling its narrow passageways.
The crowd fetched up just behind Summer as she flung open the door to John's bedroom.
A gasp came from the adults as their eyes took in the unexpected scene within. John lay on his back, his injured side safely against the wall. His arms were lovingly wrapped around Marguerite, whose curly, dark head was on his chest, snuggled up under his chin. Their faces had settled into the most peaceful, contented expressions their friends had ever seen them wear.
The adults responded swiftly. Veronica and Challenger turned to the children behind them who were trying to get a peek inside. With fingers to their lips asking for silence, they hustled the children back to the kitchen. Ned reached down and scooped up Summer around her waist. He clamped a firm but gentle hand over her mouth just as she was about to call out. He backed out of the room and pushed the door quietly shut with his foot. Summer, at first too surprised to react, began squirming and thrashing to get down. That's when she got her second surprise. The normally even-tempered Ned flipped her around so that he was holding her under her arms. He raised her up so that they were eye to eye.
In a voice that would brook no nonsense, he said firmly, "Quiet. Not…one…word."
Summer had heard that tone of voice before. She had heard it many times from her parents. Her little mouth shut with a snap and the fire died out of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as she nodded her head. She reached out to Ned, and as he brought her into a hug, her chubby little arms twined themselves around his neck. As they reached the kitchen, it all became too much for Summer. Still in Ned's arms, she leaned her head back, and with tears squeezing through her tightly shut eyes, she bellowed, "I want my Mommy!"
Marguerite awoke with a start, instantly alert. John woke too, and feeling her tension, whispered in concern, "What's the matter?"
"It's Summer. She screaming. Something must be wrong!" She jumped out of bed with John right behind her. They dashed down the hall towards the sounds of loud wailing and excited voices.
As they ran into the kitchen, the voices stopped. Marguerite had a moment to realize that she was still in her nightgown and John in his long underwear, before a tearful, wailing bundle was thrust into her arms.
Summer clung to her, sobbing as if her heart would break. "Mom…m...m…my!" She raised her head and reached out to John, pulling him down so that her arms were around both their necks. "Dad…dy," she gulped out between sobs.
"It's all right, sweetheart. What's the matter, darling?" they asked in soothing tones. John took the little girl from Marguerite and all three went to sit on the couch. Summer sat on John's lap as her sobs gradually subsided. John and Marguerite exchanged worried glances.
Summer rubbed her fist in her eyes, and wiped her running nose on John's sleeve.
"Tori was…was m-m-mean to me and…and," her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled again as she ended in a wail, "I want my real Mommy and Daddy. I want to go home!"
John looked helplessly at Marguerite. He hugged the small child against his chest and rocked her back and forth. Marguerite leaned on his shoulder and rubbed her hand soothingly up and down her back. The other children, hearing Summer's words, started crying, too. Ned and Veronica picked up Edward and Alice and held them close. Will ran over to the couch and climbed up to throw his arms around John's neck.
Challenger watched with growing determination. Last night, the adults had come to the realization that they had to make every attempt to find the children a way back to their right time and real parents. This morning's uproar was proving that that decision was the only correct one.
He heard a small, terrified voice behind him.
"What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?"
He turned around to see Victoria standing behind him. She was still wearing the wrinkled, old shirt she had slept in and her hair was matted to her head. Challenger stooped down and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Summer was upset and then the other children became upset, too."
Victoria's face went pale. "It's all my fault," she whispered. "I told Summer to go away. I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"
She broke away from Challenger and ran, crying, to the group huddled on the couch. She knelt beside Marguerite, who put her arm around her, and reached across her to pat Summer on the back.
"I'm sorry I was mean to you, Summer," she apologized. Summer cried harder. Victoria looked with anguish at Marguerite. "What's the matter with her? Why is she crying?"
Marguerite bit her bottom lip to hold back her tears. She cleared her throat before replying. "Summer wants to go home, Tori. She misses her real Mommy and Daddy."
"I know, Marguerite. We all do. That is…" she tried to be tactful, "we…we love you all and we're very grateful for your help, but…but it's not the same as living with our real parents."
Will nodded his head against John's neck.
Victoria sniffed and with great courage and strength of will, she got herself under control. "Let me talk to them" she said in a flat voice.
She stood up. "Summer, Will, come with me. Edward, Alice, we need to talk."
She walked out of the kitchen and headed back to Marguerite's bedroom. She knew they would follow.
The children had stopped crying as soon as Victoria spoke to them. They motioned for the adults to put them down and they followed Tori from the room. They were used to Tori giving them orders, there was something safe and familiar about it.
The adults watched the children leave. Ned sat down heavily as if his legs couldn't hold him anymore. John put his arm around Marguerite and pulled her to him. She buried his face in his shoulder. Veronica paced back and forth.
"We should have seen this coming! How could we even imagine that we could keep them? We were selfish and ignorant to think that we could take the place of their parents. A child doesn't forget her parents!" It was clear that Veronica had great empathy for the children's predicament.
Challenger put his hand on her arm to stop her. "Sit down, Veronica," he directed.
He straightened his vest and cleared his throat. "All right, people. We've all been living a fantasy life for the last few days, and it's time we got back to reality. The time for daydreaming is over. These children need to find a way home and it's up to us to help them."
He looked around at the stricken group.
"So, for God's sake, pull yourselves together." He frowned and pulled on his beard. "It's been an emotional morning for all of us, but life goes on and the sooner we get back into our routine, the easier it will be. Now, the first thing we all need is a good, hearty breakfast."
The people in front of him hadn't moved. He decided to take a leaf from Victoria's book.
"Roxton, you and Marguerite go get dressed. Ned, get the breakfast started and heat some water so that we can wash. Veronica, go back and see if you can help the children dress. Now mind you, they need to be dressed in the clothes they came in. Today, we return them to their own time. Let's move!" he barked.
If worked. They got up and started following his orders. Challenger smiled rather smugly. He'd have to use the "Victoria Method" more often.
An hour later, they were all sitting around the table eating breakfast. Although subdued, they also felt that the air between them had been cleared. As Challenger had guessed, the reality of the situation was no longer muddled.
Challenger had used his hour to read up on Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, which included his ideas of space-time, and Schwartzchild's prediction of black holes as conduits between the past and the future. These theories were just being explored when Challenger had left London and he was, sad to say, not up on the latest information. But the idea of traveling through time was not new to the scientific world, and, certainly, not new to the plateau. He was excited to think that he might have an opportunity to make discoveries about time travel that would revolutionize the modern world's thinking on the subject.
Part of the subdued atmosphere was caused by Challenger trying to explain these theories to the rest of the group.
"Now," he said enthusiastically, holding his knife and fork poised in midair. "Einstein believes that both space and time can be distorted…and…I am paraphrasing here, that time travel requires nothing more than using these distortions to move through an…an opening in space-time that ends either earlier or later than it begins! Fascinating, isn't it?"
The children looked up from their plates and politely nodded. The adults were not as polite.
"Whatever you say, Challenger," Marguerite replied. She stifled a yawn.
"Does this mean that you've figured out which time portal the children need to go through?" asked Ned.
"Eh, not exactly, Ned. But I'm sure that we can deduce the correct portal by other methods." He sat back with satisfaction.
Roxton and Veronica exchanged glances but said nothing.
**
A very solemn procession left the treehouse later that morning. Challenger, Roxton and Marguerite were in the front of the line with the children in the middle. Ned and Veronica took the rear position. They were following the map that Veronica had made. Although it would take an extra hour of hard traveling to reach the meadow, it avoided the areas most frequented by the apemen and the dinosaurs. The adults had backpacks stuffed with food and provisions; their rifles were slung over their shoulders. The children had stuffed their pockets with stones (all but Summer, she had her pocket stuffed with Dolly) and they each carried a stout stick.
They trudged along in silence, with the exception of Challenger. He was so excited about what they were going to find that he couldn't help lecturing his companions. His voice rose with excitement and fell with wonder as he attempted to explain the various theories on time travel. The others either didn't understand what he was talking about or didn't care to listen, but his voice made a pleasant cadence to their walk.
"As you all know," he went on, "H.G. Wells, in one of his most famous stories, had the fantastic notion of using a time machine to move into the future. You see," he continued, raising his voice for those in the rear, "his time machine stood still, while time…" he made a circling motion with his arm, "moved around it."
At the mention of a story, Edward hurried forward so that he could hear better.
"Professor Challenger," he asked, hurrying to keep up with him. "Could you tell me the story about the time machine? That sounds like a great adventure!"
"Indeed, it is, my boy," Challenger assured him. "Why I remember reading that book when I was a very young man, hardly more than a lad. It had a profound impact on my future choice of profession, let me tell you! Of course, it wasn't real science, but it did wake me up to the endless possibilities of scientific discoveries."
"Eh, Professor. About the story…?" Edward interrupted hesitantly.
Challenger laughed.
"I am going on, aren't I?" he chuckled. He turned his head to call back to Roxton and Marguerite, who had been moving further and further back as the Professor's lecture continued.
"Roxton, could you and Marguerite take the forward position? This young man would like to hear a story as we travel on our journey. And," he cocked his head at the other children. "I think the others would not be adverse to hearing it, too."
Alice brightened up. "Summer and I would like to hear a story, sir." She grabbed the little girl's hand and quickened their pace to walk beside Challenger and Edward who had changed places with Roxton and Marguerite.
Victoria ran up to walk with the newly formed group. "I'd like to hear it, too."
Challenger looked back at Will, who was scuffing his feet in the dirt of the trail.
"Why, Will, old man," Challenger asked. "Don't you want to hear the story?"
Will screwed up his face. "It's not some dumb old story about princesses and kissing and junk, is it? That's the kind of story the girls like," he said derisively. "I like stories with lots of bad guys and fighting!"
"Oh, I think you'll find the Morlocks plenty bad enough for you," Challenger assured him with a chuckle.
"And fighting, too?" Will asked eagerly, as he caught up with Challenger.
"Plenty!" George nodded.
Will smiled up at him. Challenger shifted his backpack to his other shoulder and held out his hand to the little boy.
"Well, children," he started. "This story begins many years ago…"
Up ahead, Marguerite pulled her skirt roughly away from the thorn bush that had snagged it. She glared at the bush as if to shrivel it on the spot.
"I'm certainly glad he's stopped that incessant droning on about time…and space…and space-time…" Marguerite grumbled, rolling her eyes. "You'd think he could pick a more interesting topic to bore us with."
Roxton winced. Marguerite had been in a foul mood ever since they'd left the treehouse. He suspected that her mood was another of the walls she erected every time she wanted to block her feelings. He knew how badly she felt. Hell, he felt bad, too. He was also feeling disappointed. He thought that the two of them had reached a point in their relationship where she could come to him when she needed comfort, or someone to talk to.
He could berate her for her bad mood—he'd done that before. He could tell her to stop feeling sorry for herself. That she was no worse off than the rest of them—he'd done that before. He could try to cajole her into a better mood by flattery and sweet talk—he'd tried that before, too. But, he was too tired and too upset to try any of those methods…and, besides, they usually didn't work, anyway.
He found himself uncharacteristically depressed. The children he had grown so fond of…that he had once thought would one day be his…were leaving. All of the progress that had been made in his relationship with Marguerite was slipping away. Here she was, pushing him away again. Without conscious thought, he let out a very deep sigh.
Marguerite looked up from the dark contemplation of her thoughts. John was walking beside her, apparently in deep concentration. She looked more closely and noticed the down turned corners of his mouth, the deep furrows in his forehead, and, looking more closely, she noticed that his eyes were red, a sheen of moisture glistening in them.
What could be the matter? This was most unusual. Her bad moods usually provoked a response from John. A response that she could use to vent her angry feelings on the one person it would be safe to have angry with her. John might yell and complain, and even stomp off at her snappish replies, but he always came back. No matter how many times she pushed him away, he always came back. She depended on that. She needed his friendship. But she rarely stopped to think that John might have need of a friend to help him deal with his feelings. He was the strongest, dearest person she knew. Confident, upbeat, always convinced that they would be all right, that every problem had a solution…that was John.
Looking at him, she saw his vulnerability. And her heart went out to him. Forgotten were her own disappointment and misery, she could only see his. Marguerite had changed in the last few days. That change had to do with her attachment to John Roxton. It was no longer a one-way attachment. In that one clarifying moment, she knew that she loved him.
She turned around and called back to Ned and Veronica.
"We're going to scout ahead. We'll wait for you all to catch up."
Without waiting for a reply, she took John by the arm and half dragged him up the rock-strewn hill in front of them. When they were out of sight of the others, she slowed down and turned to him. He hadn't said a word. He was waiting to see what she was up to.
She rested her rifle against the standing rock and shrugged her backpack off of her shoulder. She held out her hand for his rifle. He gave it to her without a word. She tugged at the strap to his backpack, until he took it off and put it beside hers on the ground.
She stared up at him and he started back at her. He was wondering what was going through that remarkable brain of hers. She could always surprise him. What she said next not only surprised him, it left him flabbergasted!
"John," she held his eyes with her own, "I love you very much." She held up her hand for silence although he couldn't have said a word if he tried.
"And, I want you to know that I'm here for you if you need to talk about how you're feeling. This situation is hard…very hard on all of us, but I know how much you pinned your hopes on those children being in your future. I want them in my…our…future, too."
She twined her arms around his neck. "Now, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"
John stared at her. This woman fascinated him. She was as mysterious and foreign to him as a creature from another planet. As long as he lived, he would never be able figure her out.
He put his arms around her waist. "What you're doing right now really makes me feel a great deal better," he smirked.
Marguerite smiled at him, then asked softly, "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"
He pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Everything that you've said and done in the last few minutes has put my mind as ease," he told her sincerely.
She pulled back to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
"You were right. I was very…upset about losing the children and knowing that these children were not in my future. I," he cleared his throat, "I have grown to love these youngsters. The thought that when they're gone…they're, well…gone…is killing me." He looked down at her and wondered if he dared tell her the truth. Yes, he decided. If they were ever going to trust each other, the truth must take top priority. He drew a deep breath.
"It thrilled me that we seemed to be making so much progress in bringing our relationship to a new level. Taking care of the children created a bond of equality between us that we never had before." He was nervous about telling her this part, but he plunged on. "I have admitted to myself, for a while now, that I love you and, when the children came, I began thinking of you as my…wife and I guess I just assumed that you were thinking and feeling the same things that I was."
He gripped her arms tighter. "My dream that you and I would eventually marry and have a family just like the one we're losing, didn't seem so ridiculous all of a sudden." He shifted his eyes away from her. "But, then, when we found out for sure that the children wouldn't be ours and they couldn't stay with us, you started, well, pulling away from me. Shutting me out. So, I not only knew that I was losing the children, I also felt I was losing you. And…and that nearly broke my heart," he finished in a whisper.
"Oh, John, I'm so sorry," she whispered, resting her head on his chest. Now it was time for her to confess.
She kept her face pressed into his chest so that she wouldn't have to look at him. Trusting another person enough to speak about her true feelings was hard for her.
"I, too, began to feel a bond with you where the children were concerned. As if…as if we really were their parents, that we had joint responsibility for their well being." Her voice trailed off as she recalled these feelings and tried to put them into words. "I saw you with the children and I had a new respect for you." She looked up at him with a small smile. "You really are a wonderful father. And…and I found that very attractive. For the first time, I could see letting the past go, to give up my plans for returning to London, and plan a new future…with you."
He hugged her tighter.
In a voice so low, he had to strain to hear her, she whispered, "When you held me while we slept, it was the first time in my life that I felt completely safe. That you cared for me…just me…and you didn't even know or care who I was or what I had done before.
"But the past is very hard to let go of. When I knew for sure that the children were going, and I knew in my heart that it was the best thing for them, I lost my confidence in your feelings for me. I thought that you only had strong feelings for me because of your feelings for the children. I thought that you saw me as their future mother and, when you knew that this was not so, you wouldn't want me anymore.
She fell silent. She didn't know how he would respond to her confession.
She needn't have worried.
John pushed her back just enough to be able to cup her cheeks with his strong, callused hands.
"Look at me, Marguerite," he commanded. He used one of his hands to brush her hair back from her temple. His gaze was so intense that it was hard for her to look at him.
"Never…never…doubt my love for you." His voice was low and very serious. "I don't care about your past, I didn't know you then, but I know you now…and that is the person I love." He ran his thumb over her cheek. "Love with all my heart.
Frightened, she had to be sure he knew the truth. "But, John, you don't know what I did back then. Things that a decent, honorable person wouldn't do!
He was angry now. Angry that she thought his love was conditional. "There is nothing that you could tell me you did that would stop me from loving you. There are things in my past that I'm ashamed of, too. Things that I would give a lot to be able to change…but we can't go back. We can only live in the present and plan for the future." His voice softened. "Don't you understand, my sweet? You and I have both changed since we have come here. We are not the same people we were before. I think, and hope, that situated as we are, dependent on each other for survival, we have become more caring, less selfish people."
John sincerity radiated from him. Marguerite could only hope that he was right.
"Hold me, John," she begged.
And that's how the others found them.
Challenger cleared his throat. He was about to speak when Victoria broke away form the group and threw her arms around the couple.
"You told her, John, didn't you? I'm so glad." She turned to the other children who were standing next to Challenger, looking at her with puzzled expressions on their faces.
"John and Marguerite are in love!" she told them.
The children grinned.
"Hooray!" shouted Edward.
"Are you getting married?" asked Alice excitedly.
"Are you gonna have a baby?" Will questioned loudly. "Seems like every time my mom and dad start kissing and being mushy, my mom has another baby." His voice was dripping with disgust. "And it's always a girl!"
The adults started to laugh.
Will frowned, and put his hands on his hips.
"You shouldn't laugh," he warned seriously. "There's nothing funny about girls."
This made the men laugh even harder and nod their heads in agreement.
Still laughing, Ned and Veronica hurried up to the radiant couple and gave them both a hug.
"It's about time," Ned teased in a low voice as he slapped Roxton on the back.
Roxton whispered out the side of his mouth, "Stop dragging your feet, Neddy Boy. I have a feeling things are going to get very interesting around here." He winked at his friend.
"Hah," Ned laughed. "I'm way ahead of you!"
Roxton gave him a quizzical look.
They were brought back down to earth by the littlest member of the troop.
"I gotta go, Grandpa" Summer whined, pulling on Challenger's trouser leg. She still called Challenger grandpa because his name was too hard for her to pronounce. Challenger was getting to quite like it.
"Sorry, Summer, my child." Challenger was quick to answer. "You must ask the women for help in that department."
Marguerite and Veronica decided it was a good time for all of the girls to freshen up, so they took the girls off to find a private spot.
Will thought their absence would be a good opportunity to straighten his friend John out.
"What'd go and kiss her for, John?" Will asked with disgust. "Girls are nothing but trouble." He pulled him down to whisper in his ear. "Next time Marguerite tries to kiss you, pretend you have to throw up," he advised, nodding his head sagely.
Roxton hid a smile. "Thanks for the advice, old man." He noticed that Will's face was screwed up, as if he were remembering something distasteful. "You sound as if you're talking from experience, Will."
"Yes, sir!
"So, you have a lot of trouble with girls trying to kiss you, eh?" Roxton asked sympathetically.
Will blushed and hung his head. "There're these girls in the Zanga village who are always chasing after me so they can kiss me, " he confessed. "Edward and Atoo won't help me. They just laugh!" Long festering resentment was evident in his voice.
"Would you like some advice from an older man, Will?"
Will nodded.
"Enjoy it while is lasts, son," Roxton advised heartily. "In another few years, you're going to be the one doing the chasing, and while the rewards are greater, the chase will have new rules."
Will frowned at Roxton in confusion. He shrugged. "Okay, sir."
Roxton let out a bark of laughter and clapped Will on the back. "Never mind, Will. It's all just part of growing up."
Ned, Challenger, and Edward were sitting on some rocks taking a little break. They had taken off their backpacks and were checking out their weapons. They were discussing whether or not this would be a good place to stop for lunch. Roxton and Will wandered over to them and sat down to wait for the ladies.
The guys were laughing at a story Ned was telling them when a shrill scream rent the air.
Edward jumped up. "That was Alice," he shouted. "They must be in trouble!"
Roxton and Challenger picked up their rifles and ran towards the sound.
Edward started to follow them when Ned grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Stay here with Will until we know it's safe," he ordered.
Edward's eyes were desperate with worry. "But my sister needs me!"
Ned leaned down to look him in the eye. "I need you here, Edward," he said seriously. He looked around quickly, assessing the danger. It seemed a safe enough spot.
"I'm trusting you to take care of Will, understand? Hide the backpacks and women's weapons in between those rocks…and then you and Will hide in there with them."
"Yes, sir," Edward answered. "Come on, Will," he ordered. He started dragging a backpack over to the rocks. Will, after a frozen moment, started helping him.
Ned gave them one last, uneasy glance before he ran after the other two men. He hated to leave the boys alone…but he didn't want to take them into certain danger.
He was surprised at how far away the women had gone. As he approached, he could hear shouts, screams, crying, and curses, but no gunshots. He crept from rock to rock, his rifle at the ready. When he spotted movement ahead, he froze and peered around his cover to see what was going on.
Marguerite was leaning against a large boulder clutching Victoria and Summer against her. Summer had her hands clasped in front of her chest and her face screwed up as if in terrible pain.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she wailed.
Victoria was trying to get away from Marguerite, who had a firm grip on her arm.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she shouted. "I can help!"
Veronica and Roxton were kneeling on the ground in front of Alice, who was standing ramrod straight with her arms by her side, and her fist clenched tight. Her mouth, which was dripping blood, was tightly closed. Her whole body shook with the convulsions of silent sobbing. Her eyes were squeezed shut but the tears, flowing down her cheeks, were mixing with the blood and dropping from her chin onto the dry, dusty ground.
Challenger was bend over, his hands on his knees, staring at the little girl.
"Come, my dear," he pleaded. "Open up so the blood can drain out."
"Damn it, Challenger," Roxton stormed. "Can't you see that you're scaring her to death! He turned to the jungle expert and demanded, "What happened to her Veronica?"
Veronica drew a shaky breath. "We don't know what happened. She was waiting here for us when she suddenly clamped a hand to her mouth and screamed. When we got to her, her mouth was bleeding. She doesn't seem to be injured anywhere else. "
She turned back to the frightened child.
"Alice, sweetheart, let me look in your mouth. I won't hurt you, I promise."
"You shouldn't tell her it won't hurt when it will, Veronica," Victoria called out. "Alice doesn't like to be babied."
"Quiet, Tori," admonished Marguerite. "Let Veronica handle it."
Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Marguerite.
Summer opened one eye and looked at her friend. She screamed.
"She's bleeding. Oh, Alice, don't bleed, pleeeese!" she cried.
Alice's shoulders shook even harder.
Ned had seen enough. His heart went out to the frightened little girl.
He leaned his rifle against the rock and, taking his handkerchief from his pocket, he strode down the incline. He shooed away the others and knelt down in front of Alice.
In a soft, calm voice he said, "Hey, Alice, it's Ned." He rubbed his hand up and down her stiff arm. "Blood is scary, isn't it?"
She gave a little nod of her head.
Ned smiled, even though she had her eyes shut tight and couldn't see him.
"Would you like me to wipe the blood off?"
Another nod.
"I'm going to pour some nice clean water on my handkerchief so I can get you really clean. Okay?"
She sniffled and nodded again.
Challenger poured water from his canteen onto the cloth and Ned gently wiped Alice's face.
"There," he said with satisfaction, "the blood is all gone."
Alice had stopped crying and her body had relaxed a little.
"Now, Alice, I'm going to ask you a very important question." Ned said solemnly.
Alice's body stiffened slightly, but she nodded.
Ned leaned closer to her and whispered, "Can you spit like a boy?"
Alice's eyes popped open and one corner of her mouth curled up in a sly smile. A tiny trickle of blood ran down her chin.
Ned wiped it away as Alice nodded more vigorously.
"Good, man!" Ned praised. Alice actually giggled.
"Take a little sip of water, slosh it around in your mouth, then spit it as far as you can. Okay?"
Alice opened her mouth a little way as Ned poured a small amount of water into her mouth.
Her cheeks bulged first on one side and then on the other as she moved the water around in her mouth.
She looked at Ned. Her eyes had an anticipatory gleam in them. She turned her head to the side and spit out a stream of water that landed on a rock two feet away.
"Wow!" exclaimed Veronica, as everyone applauded.
"One more time, Alice," Ned suggested.
Confidently, Alice took a large swallow of the water from the canteen that Challenger held for her.
This time she managed to spit the water past the rock. She turned back to Ned with a wide grin on her face.
It became immediately clear to Ned what had happened to her.
"Your tooth, Alice. Your tooth came out!" he exclaimed, examining the gap in her top front teeth.
Hearing this, everyone came running over to get a look.
"I could have told you that," Victoria announced to one and all. She was disgusted that her expertise had not been recognized.
"Gosh!" Summer gasped, very impressed
Veronica patted Alice on the head. "You're really growing up, young lady."
"Where's your tooth?" asked Ned.
Alice opened her fist and displayed a small, bloody little lump.
"Gosh!" Summer exclaimed again, this time with a tinge of jealousy in her voice.
Alice looked up at Ned. "Could you keep it for me, Daddy Ned?" she asked shyly.
Ned took the tooth and put it deep in his pocket. "Snug as a bug in rug, sweetheart," he joked, patting his pocket.
Alice grinned her gap-toothed grin at him, her good nature completely restored.
Marguerite took Summer's hand and started walking with the rest of the group, back to the resting place to rejoin the boys. One part of her mind was a little concerned about the boys being alone. The other part was trying to ignore Summer's insistent plea for her to feel, for the fourth time, how loose her tooth was getting.
Meanwhile, Roxton was trying to restore Victoria's good nature by being completely annoying to her.
He picked up a rock and tapped her on the shoulder. "Did you drop this, Madam?" he asked her.
"No!" Victoria said sharply, trying to ignore him.
He picked up a bigger rock. "Perhaps this is yours, Miss?" he raised one eyebrow at her.
"No!" she said again, her mouth quirking up.
Roxton dropped that rock and picked up a huge one. He staggered after her. "Oh, miss, oh, miss. I'm sure this one is yours."
She turned around to glare at him. "Marguerite was right about you. You are insane!" She stomped off, a secret smile on her face.
"You wound me, Madam. You wound me!" Roxton shouted after her. He set the boulder down and scooped up a handful of dirt. In a few strides, he caught up with her.
"Madam," he said opening his hand, showing her the dirt. "This beautiful crown fell off your head, please allow me to restore it to its rightful place." He held his hand over her head, threatening to dump the dirt on her dark curls.
She screamed and ran, giggling, past the rest of the group. Roxton chased after her. "Madam! Madam!" he called.
Everyone was laughing as the two ran past them. Marguerite rolled her eyes. "And this is the man I love." she whispered to no one.
At that moment, the sound of a gunshot echoed off the rocks around them.
**
The men picked up their weapons and they all broke into a run.
"Keep them back!" Roxton called to Marguerite as he raced past Victoria.
Marguerite had Summer by the hand. She quickly took Alice's hand when Ned went running off. Now she called to Victoria, who was several yards ahead of her.
"Tori, came back here with us!
Victoria was really sick and tired of being treated like a helpless child, but she turned and stomped back to Marguerite.
As Victoria angrily fell into step with the little girls, Marguerite patted her stiff shoulder sympathetically. She recognized in the young girl some of her own reckless impatience.
At Marguerite's touch, Victoria snapped her head up to look at the women who looked so much like her mother.
"How can you stand it, Marguerite?" she growled. "You can shoot, can't you? You can defend yourself, right?
"With the best of them," Marguerite agreed proudly.
"So, how can you let them make you walk along with children when you could be helping them rescue the boys?" Victoria asked with disgust, totally puzzled by the notoriously headstrong woman's calm acceptance of the situation.
Marguerite felt anything but calm. She was worried sick about the boy's welfare, but she didn't want the girls to realize the depth of her unease. She would have to be careful how she answered the disappointed little girl's question.
She drew a deep breath and with as much calm and conviction as she could muster, she answered, "Well, right now, Tori, I don't have a weapon, so it would be foolish of me to go running into danger when there are others better prepared to help. I would only have to be rescued, too. Besides, I have great confidence in Veronica and the men. The men are all fine shots and Veronica has taught as all survival skills that have saved our lives many times over."
She looked down and smiled at the three adorable, brave, and intelligent little people walking beside her.
"It might not seem like it to you, but the others gave me a very important job to do."
At their puzzled frowns, she continued.
"They trusted me to take care of you." Marguerite tapped each little nose in turn as she said softly, "Three valuable treasures, more precious to us than all the riches on the plateau.
They smiled up at her.
Another shot rang out.
Marguerite was suddenly all business. She quickly surveyed the terrain.
"We have to find cover quickly, girls." She spotted a pile of boulders that would give them some protection.
"Over there! Move it!"
Victoria picked up a stone in each hand as she headed for the rock pile. The younger girls did, too. They crouched down behind the rocks, emptied their pockets, and piled their small supply of ammunition beside them. Marguerite was proud of them. She could tell that they had been trained well to make use of any weapon that came to hand. She didn't need to shush them as they sat alert, but silent, waiting to see what would happen next.
**
As Ned disappeared over the rise, Edward went back for the third backpack and dragged it over to pile on top of the other ones. Will was having trouble with Challenger's pack because it was full of scientific equipment Challenger was hoping to test on the time portals. Edward helped him with it, then carefully carried Marguerite's rifle and leaned up in a crack in the rocks.
They sat down beside the packs, hidden from casual view by the large boulders all around them. For a few minutes, they sat in silence, just looking around, their hands hanging down between their bend knees.
Will looked over at the backpacks. One of his eyebrows quirked up with a sudden thought.
"Hey, Edward," he said, "you hungry?"
Edward answered him distractedly, "Sure."
Edward was very concerned about his sister. He wished that Ned had let him go along. He was sure that he could have helped. He was a good shot…Tori was better, but she'd been shooting almost a year longer then he had.
He stilled and listened intently. Well, at least there were no more screams and no gunshots. Perhaps everything was okay. Maybe Alice just fell down or something. He smiled a little bit as he remembered how Alice was always getting scrapes and bumps in her attempts to rescue bugs and turtles and even ants. She was a pretty good sister. As much as he admired Tori, he wouldn't like her for a sister. Both she and Summer were too…energetic for him. Veronica was energetic, too, but she was okay. It was funny that she didn't look like his mom. But, sometimes, especially when she smiled, she did remind him of her a lot. Wouldn't it be swell to have a jungle princess for a mother? They could go on all kinds of adventures. His mom didn't go on adventures. She always stayed home or in the Zanga village. Once in a while she would go out running with him…and, boy, could she run! Her red hair would fly out behind her like red lightning.
His thoughts were interrupted by Will, who thrust a sandwich under his nose.
"Here, Edward, I fixed you some lunch. It's really good! I put a banana and honey on the bread." He took a big bite. "You like it?" he asked around the food in his mouth.
Edward looked down at the gooey, drippy, squished up hunk of bread. Where had Will gotten the food? Edward looked around and saw that the backpacks had all been opened and the provisions they had brought with them were spread out all over the ground.
Oh, no. He thought to himself. The adults were going to be very angry with him. He was supposed to be watching Will and instead he sat there daydreaming and letting Will make a mess.
He glared at Will who was munching on his second sandwich.
"Will, that food was for everyone! We should have waited. What is Veronica going to say about her backpack? You've spilled honey all over it. Geesh, Will," Edward rolled his eyes. "Why'd you have to go and get us in trouble?
Will sat up and reached for Edward's sandwich. "If you don't want to eat it, I will," he offered.
Edward was really hungry and, after all, the damage was done, so he held the sandwich out of Will's reach.
"I want it. We better try to clean up here, though, as soon as I'm finished."
Edward bit into the gooey mess. It was good. He finished it up and was looking around for something else he could eat when he heard a strange chittering sound.
Instantly alert, Edward looked over to see if Will had heard it, too.
"What was that noise?" Will asked, alarmed.
They heard it again. This time, a lot closer.
The boys picked up their sticks and stood back to back. They couldn't see anything beyond the rock enclosure they were hiding in. Suddenly, Will pointed to a crack between the rocks. I thin, black…something…was waving around in the air. It seemed to be searching for something. More of it came pushing through the crack and landed on Veronica's backpack. It rubbed its hairy, black self in the sweet honey that coated the pack and then withdrew back through the crack.
Will and Edward quickly pulled all of the backpack into the center of the enclosure. Edward picked up Marguerite's rifle and held it firmly in his hand.
More chittering noises sounded from outside the rock walls. Suddenly, the largest spider Edward had every seen leaped up on a rock behind Will.
"Watch it, Will!" Edward warned.
Will twirled around and poked at the dog size arachnid with his stick. The spider reared up to avoid the stick and then jumped down onto the pile of backpacks. It started feeding on the honey, and it reached into the other backpacks with its long, black legs.
"Will," whispered Edward. "Back up and let it have whatever it wants. It'll leave as soon as it's finished."
In truth, Edward was terrified. Spiders, even little ones, scared him. He knew that he was being a baby about them, but he couldn't help it.
Will had no such fear. Instead of heeding Edward's advice, he ran at the spider and began poking it again with his stick.
"Go away, stupid spider," he yelled. "Leave our stuff alone."
He was leaping back and forth, sticking the spider with every forward lunge.
"Stop that, Will!" yelled Edward. "Get away from it!"
His last warning came too late. The spider stopped it forging and jumped right on top of Will. Will's scream was muffled by the heavy black body that was crushing him down into the dirt.
Edward was frozen with horror. His worst nightmare was right in front of him.
He was brought out of his trance by Will's muffled voice calling him.
"Edward, help!"
Edward put down the rifle and, taking the small rocks out of his pockets, he began to throw them at the spider with all his might. The rocks bounced harmlessly off of the giant beast's back. He, then, picked up his stick. He slowly approached the ugly beast and poked the stick into this back. The spider didn't react, but continued to gather Will underneath his body.
"Ouch!" Will cried. "It's biting me, Edward. Help!"
Without another thought, Edward ran back and picked up the rifle and aimed it at the biggest part of the creature. He knew that Will was under there somewhere, but he couldn't see any part of him. Edward was smart and well trained. He didn't want to shoot downwards, with Will underneath. Edward had an idea. He got down on one knee, rested his elbow on the other knee to stabilize the rifle, pulled it tight against his shoulder, aimed, and pulled the trigger. He was knocked backwards by the rifle's recoil, but the bullet went in one side of the spider's largest hump and out the other side. A large spout of blood shot out of the wounds. The spider screamed and started moving towards the rock wall to escape. He dragged himself halfway up the side of the rock, blood running down in rivulets, and then fell back, dead.
Will lay curled up in a little ball, right where the spider had left him. Edward ran over to him.
"Will, Will!" he begged. "Don't be dead. Please, don't be dead!"
"Is it gone, yet?" Will croaked.
"Yes, yes! It's dead," Edward reassured him. "It's all right, Will. I killed it. I shot it dead!"
Will uncurled in a flash. "Let me see it!" he said excitedly.
He jumped up and, with Edward several paces behind him, he ran over to the bloody creature. The spider had landed on his back and his eight black, hairy legs had curled down towards its abdomen.
Will kicked it. "Hah!" he shouted. "That'll teach you to mess with Edward Malone. He's the best shot on the plateau."
Edward was flabbergasted. "You really think so, Will?" he asked with wonder.
"I do, now," Will swore adamantly. He slapped Edward on the back. "Thanks for saving my life. Old man," he added.
"Aww, it was just a stupid spider."
Both boys froze and then turned slowly around at the now familiar chittering sound. A spider, bigger and hairier than the first one, was creeping towards them. Its long, black legs moved up and down as it stepped right on top of the rifle Edward had dropped on the ground. The boys were on one side of the pile of backpacks and all of their weapons were on the other…with the spider.
Edward and Will looked around for a weapon, any weapon, but the only things close at hand were a few bananas and Challenger's scientific equipment. Edward quickly reached down and picked up a metal cylinder and threw it as hard as he could at the spider. It bounced off his back and crashed into the rocks behind it. Will grabbed up a bunch of bananas and threw them, one at a time, at the hideous thing. The spider stopped its forward motion to investigate the bananas. The boys backed up against the rocks behind them, but found that they had made a tactical error. The rocks behind them were too high for them to climb. They were trapped. They had no way out!
Will threw the last banana, just as the spider gathered its legs under it and leaped straight at them!
A shot rang out and the spider fell from the apex of its leap and landed in a heap on the ground. The boys screamed.
Roxton jumped down from the top of one of the rocks, his rifle held up in the air. Ned, Challenger and Veronica came rushing in from the side. The boys ran to them, crying with relief.
Challenger examined the boys to be sure that they were all right. Other then some scratches on Will's back, the boys were otherwise okay.
The adults were shocked but delighted with Edward's bravery and marksmanship.
Ned was beaming. "Where did you learn to shoot like that, Edward?" he asked.
"Well," Edward said, embarrassed. "My dad taught me some, but Uncle John showed me the most. Me and Tori, and now Will, go out with him twice a week to shoot at targets. Alice is going to start soon." He was reminded of his other anxiety. He looked around in panic.
"Hey, where is Alice? Is she all right?"
"She's fine," Ned reassured him. "Her front tooth came out and it bled quite a bit. But she's okay now. Marguerite is walking back with the girls. We didn't know what kind of trouble you were in, so we left the girls back."
Edward let out a breath of relief that his sister was all right.
Veronica was looking around at the mess the boys had made of the backpacks.
"What happened to our supplies?" she demanded. "Did the spiders do all that damage?"
Will and Edward exchanged glances.
"Well, most of it," he said. Edward gave him a look. "But I guess I made a little of it, too."
Challenger took pity of the little boy. He had been through a terrifying experience.
"I'll help you clean it up, Will," he said.
"I'll help, too," volunteered Edward.
While Roxton removed the spiders, the rest of the crew repacked the backpacks, throwing out the food the spiders had contaminated. Challenger groaned when he found his cylinder, but didn't make a huge fuss about it. He knew that the boys had to use anything they could to defend themselves.
They were just about through with the packing up, when Marguerite, who had stayed hidden with the girls until she really needed to know what was happening, called loudly from the top of a rise a little distance away.
"Roxton, are the boys okay? Can we come down?"
Roxton hurried towards her. "They're fine," he called out. "Edward shot a giant spider that had Will pinned to the ground."
"Edward shot a spider!" Victoria exclaimed in disbelief. "He's terrified of spiders."
"Well, he's not anymore," Roxton assured her as he arrived at their spot. He pulled first Marguerite into a big hug and then picked up each little girl and hugged her, too. Victoria barely protested. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before he put her down.
The girls ran down to see the boys and were taken to see the bloody, dead spiders that Roxton had piled a little way away.
Roxton and Marguerite were slower to join the others.
As soon as the girls had disappeared from view, he swept Marguerite into his arms and kissed her. She melted against him. She was surprise at how easily her defenses had fallen. Now that she had admitted her feelings for him, she found his mere presence intoxicating. They slowly parted, whispering, "I love you," to each other as, arms entwined, they started down the small hill.
"Are the boys really all right?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, they're all right. The young rascals managed to ransack our supplies, and made themselves a meal, which must have attracted the spiders. I'll have nightmares about what might have happened if Edward hadn't been such a sure shot." He shook his head at the possibilities. Memories of his own ill-fated attempt to save his brother from a similar situation were never far below the surface of his mind.
Marguerite sensed where his thoughts were turning and quickly tried to distract him.
"John, I don't know about you, but I think those dear, sweet children are giving me gray hair!"
He ran his fingers through her lustrous, dark hair and pulled her head against his lips.
"And I will love every gray strand of it."
Marguerite smirked. "Well, you'd better, if you expect me to love that old, grizzled head of yours!"
"Old, eh?" he quirked up one eyebrow and squinted his eye at her. "Be more respectful of your elders, my dear, or I'll have to show you what this old man can do!"
"Is that a threat or a promise, elder one?"
He pulled her against his chest. With one hand, he swept her hair away from her ear and nuzzled his face into her neck, kissing his way up to her delicate ear. Having reached his goal, he growled, "Take that as a promise, my love."
Marguerite raised her arms to tangle her fingers in his short, bristly hair. She pulled his head up until she could rest her lips against his. She breathed into his mouth, "One you had better not break, my sweet."
His blue eyes glittered into her gray ones. "Never." he swore as their lips met in a searing kiss.
Breathing heavily, they broke apart and smiled at each other. The chase was over, but another kind of dance had just begun.
The stolen moments, sexual tension, and repressed passions were still part of the excitement of their acknowledged love, but they knew from past experience that the flame of passion would die out without the mutual affection, honesty, and trust of true friendship. As much as they would like to be lovers, they wanted to be best friends first. They each determined that this relationship would be different from their past ones. They had seen what the future might hold in store for them and they wanted it…with all their hearts.
Arm in arm, they walked back to the others. Expecting the usual chaos, they were surprised at the somber atmosphere of the campsite. The backpacks were neatly packed up and stacked for travel. The adults were sitting in the shade of the rocks, as were the children. However, the children, dusty and unhappy, were sitting several yards away from each other. The expressions on their faces made Roxton think that this separation was not voluntary on the children's part.
As he and Marguerite stepped apart, he looked over at Ned and Veronica, who were sitting together talking in low tones.
"What's up?" he questioned, jerking his head in the children's direction.
Ned glanced over at the children with an exasperated look, but it was Challenger who answered.
"Our young companions, here, thought it would be fun to…reenact…the attack of the spiders." He nodded his head toward Edward and Victoria. "Those two were playing the part of the spiders and the other were the victims. Well, let's just say that the spiders attacked unmercifully and the victims fought back a little too aggressively and the fight that ensued was no longer playacting. So," he continued, casting a warning eye at the perpetrators, "a cooling down period was declared fitting."
Marguerite looked with astonishment at the three girls who had so lately been the models of cooperation. Summer, wilting under her gaze, starting crying. Big crocodile tears running down her face.
Marguerite knew manipulation when she saw it, and turned her attention to Veronica.
"Was all the food spoiled?" she asked.
"No, we have enough for several small meals," Veronica assured her. "And, if we have to, we can find some food in the jungle."
"Of course," she teased, "the boys have had their lunch, so, I'm sure they won't want more."
Will and Edward sat up straighter. Will smiled a disarmingly charming smile at her and raised one eyebrow to add to his cuteness.
"I think that I could eat a bit more, Veronica," he said politely. "Edward and I could share our lunch," he finished magnanimously.
Hiding a smile, Veronica said, "We'll see."
Summer, noting Marguerite's non-reaction, knew a lost cause when she saw one. She now turned her tear-streaked face towards Roxton and, with a giant sniff or two, held out her chubby little arms to the old softy.
Roxton, ignoring Marguerite's negative shake of her head, scooped the tiny manipulator up into his arms.
"Why the poor lamb is just hungry and tired. Aren't you, my sweet?" he cooed.
Summer managed to squeeze a fresh tear or two from her glistening eyes as she nodded her head against his neck.
"Ow, my tooth hurts, Uncle John," Alice said pitifully. She wasn't in Summer's league when it came to manipulation, but she gave it a try.
Summer's head popped up from Roxton's shoulder. She looked at Alice with a puzzled frown, her tears drying on her cheeks.
"How can your tooth hurt, silly? It's gone!" she said logically.
"Well," lisped Alice, putting her tongue in the empty socket, "the hole hurdths!"
Victoria rolled her eyes. She knew that this distraction would just lead to another and another.
"We're wasting time," she complained. She turned to Challenger to enlist his support. "Professor Challenger, don't you think we should be going? The meadow is still pretty far away, isn't it?"
"Victoria is right," agreed Challenger. "We must push on if we're to reach the meadow with time to thoroughly investigate these phenomenon."
They all knew Challenger was right, but their stomachs told them they needed to eat. A compromise was reached in that they would eat as they continued their journey. Ned and Veronica volunteered to make sandwiches for everyone and soon they were on the trail again, munching on the sandwiches and passing around the canteens of water.
Edward and Will were relieved that they had been given lunch, too. They had kept very quiet while the food was being passed out and, when Veronica had handed them their sandwiches, they accepted them with grins of gratitude.
**
Veronica's new way to the meadow was arduous for everyone but especially for the smaller members of the party. Up hill, over rocky ground, across streams and through dense jungle, the terrain changed as the morning wore on. The older children were determined to walk the whole way themselves, but the two youngest girls had no such determination. Roxton and Ned carried Summer and Alice on their backs, seated high on top of their backpacks. Marguerite walked with the older children, helping them over rocks and through streams, while Veronica scouted ahead.
The closer they got to the meadow, the more Challenger seemed to withdraw from the group. He pulled out a tablet of paper and started scribbling and muttering to himself. He was determined to keep a complete record of these time portals. He had made many observations the first time he had discovered them, and he was anxious to see if there were any changes. But, the biggest question in his mind was one that had him the most worried…how was he to know which of the seven portals was the one that would take the children back to their timeline. He was the scientist of the group; it was up to him to make that call.
Ned and Roxton walked silently side by side. They weren't talking because the girls, sitting on top of the backpacks with their legs slung over the men's shoulders, were singing songs and chanting rhymes. At the moment they were playing a lively rendition of Humpty Dumpty. Summer held Dolly by her arms and swung her back and forth as she and Alice sang, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a WALL!" yelling the last word each time. "Humpty Dumpty had a great FALL!" Dolly was sent flying up into the air. The floppy doll sailed over Roxton's head and landed on the ground, a little puff of dust marking her resting spot.
"Now see what you've done, Summer," Roxton complained. "Your doll is all dirty and has probably broken her itty, bitty, little leg."
Summer and Alice looked at each other over the top of Roxton's head and giggled.
"Dolly can't break her leg," crowed Summer.
"She's stuffed!" snorted Alice. Really, she thought, grownups could be very dumb about some things.
"Kneel down, Roxton," ordered Summer. "I'll pick her up."
"What do you think I am? A camel?"
"Yes! A camel, a camel!" she chortled. "Kneel down, camel, and I'll be able to reach her."
Ned laughed. "Yeah! Kneel down, camel and let Her Majesty save her fallen subject."
Roxton scowled.
"Her Majesty can get her royal little feet on the ground and pick up her "subject" herself."
He reached up and grabbed Summer under her arms and swung her over his head, setting her firmly on the ground.
"And, she can bloody well walk a while on those royal little feet, too," he added as he rolled his head side to side to ease the ache out of his neck and shoulders. "Talk about your royal pain in the neck!" he muttered under his breath.
Summer had scramble over and picked up her Dolly. She blew some dust off of her and, sneaking a look back to check that Roxton wasn't watching, she quickly wiggled each of Dolly's legs back and forth before stuffing her into her dress pocket.
Meanwhile, Alice had asked Ned to put her down, too. He was only too glad to oblige. Without that extra 40 pounds, his pack felt light as a feather.
The girls started walking quickly. They wanted to catch up with the other children. Ned and Roxton walked a little way behind them, ready to step forward if they needed help.
"Well, Ned," Roxton began guilelessly, keeping his voice low so the children couldn't hear him, "I've, eh, noticed that you and Veronica have gotten…closer lately." He rubbed his hand along the side of his chin. "Just how, ah…close have you gotten?"
Ned was startled by such a direct question. But he was up for the challenge.
"Oh," he said thoughtfully, "I guess about as close as you and Marguerite have gotten." He winked at his friend.
Now it was Roxton's turn to startle. "Why, we've never…" he sputtered, until he caught the amused glint in Ned's eye.
"You bugger!" John laughed. "I should know better then to try to pry information out of a journalist. They're the experts at asking impertinent questions, not answering them."
Laughing, Ned slapped him on the back.
"Let's just leave it that we are two very lucky men," he suggested.
"Who hope to get luckier!" Roxton couldn't help adding. "Eventually!"
A squeal interrupted their conversation. Alice and Summer had finally caught up with the other children and they were laughing and splashing each other as they crossed a small stream.
Marguerite was hot and tired. Her patience was just about at an end.
"Stop!" she scolded. "You're getting everyone wet. Walk across in the shallow area. Will, that will do! You may not push Victoria off that rock. Tori, please watch your step. That rock is very slippery. There! Didn't I just tell you it was slippery? Oh, don't worry, your dress will dry in this heat. Edward, you can not possibly look under every stone, and, besides, where would you put a salamander even if you found one? Alice and Summer! Stay where you are and I'll come over and help you. Oh, drat! I told you to walk where it's shallow!"
She sighed in exasperation when she spotted the men coming up the path behind the little girls.
"Well, where on earth have you been?" she asked, wiping her wet hands on her skirt. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "Do you have any idea what I've been through?" She pushed her hair off of her face. She glared at Roxton who was smiling at her.
"What is that asinine grin for?" she demanded, storming back across the creek to stand in front of him, hands on hips.
"You are just so damned cute," John smirked. He pulled her into his arms and planted a big kiss on her lips.
Shocked, Marguerite pushed against his chest. "John, what do you think you're doing? Everyone is watching! And what do you mean I'm "cute"? I look hideous! My hair has come out of its clip and I'm filthy…"
John just grinned.
She stopped in mid-sentence and cocked one eyebrow up. Her large gray eyes traveled up past John's stubbly chin, past his glinting, mischievous eyes, to rest on his tousled brown hair.
"Why, John Roxton," she chided. "If anyone is cute, it's you. That little braid on top of your head is absolutely adorable!"
John's grin faded. He quickly reached up to feel the top of his head, and what he felt made him burst out laughing.
"Why that little scalawag! Summer must be quite agile with her hands. I didn't feel a thing."
He called across the creek to Ned, who was waiting there with the children.
"Hey, Ned. Check the top of your head. I think the girls were giving us a beauty treatment."
Ned reached up and ran his finger through his hair. His hand came away with one of Alice's small, pink hair ribbons.
Alice took the ribbon out of Ned's hand and explained to him, "Your hair was too short to braid, Daddy Ned, so I gave you a ponytail, instead."
The children and adults all started giggling. Alice and Summer looked around to see if they were in trouble, but seeing everyone smiling, they joined in the laughter, too, thinking they had done a very clever thing.
Challenger came up the path behind them, stowing away his notebook.
"Well, you all seem to be having a jolly time. Did I miss something?"
"No," smirked Marguerite. "You're just in time. The children are ready to hear another chapter of that story you were telling them. Aren't you children?" She winked at the grinning lot.
"Oh, yes, Professor Challenger," enthused Edward. "Please tell us more."
Flattered, Challenger crossed the stream and gathered the children around him.
"Of course," he replied.
"But mind you," he cautioned, "the next part is not for the faint of heart. Are you sure you're all brave enough to hear what happens next?"
Enthusiastic nods met his inquiry.
"Very well, then." He started walking, the children hurrying to keep up with his longer strides. "As you all remember, our hero…"
Ned called back to Roxton and Marguerite. "I'm going ahead to look for Veronica." And he quickly walked past the story group and disappeared down the path.
Marguerite smiled at Roxton. She was glad to be free of child watching duty for a little while. She was also glad to have time to spend alone with John. She took his hand as they slowly followed the others.
John looked adoringly down at the woman he loved and said softly, "You are so beautiful."
Marguerite widened her cool, gray eyes at him and pouted. "I thought you said I was cute?"
"Cute is only the beginning of what you are," John assured her, kissing her lightly. Then he frowned as a thought crossed his mind.
"Marguerite?" he began. "Just now, you seemed to be thoroughly fed up with the children." He hesitated before asking, "You haven't changed your mind about wanting children, have you?"
Bracing himself for disappointment, he was shocked at her sudden outburst of laughter.
"Don't get me wrong, John, I love those children, but, right now, I'm fed up to here with them," she told him, putting her hand to her forehead.
She paused.
"Now, I won't say I have the patience of a Saint," she quickly held her finger to his lips to stop him from commenting, "but, those little monsters have been testing what little patience I have all day." Her voice took on an exasperated tone. "I think they're trying to find out just how far they can push me before I crack." She sighed. "And, I'm tired. We're all tired. For the last three days, we've been taking care of five, energetic, strong-willed children. This has been harder work than fighting off the cannibals."
She let go of his hand and slid her arm through his. She briefly leaned her head against his arm.
"I have to admit, five children all at once is a bit overwhelming. I'm planning on my children coming one at a time." She looked up at him to see how he took that last sentence. He appeared to be taking the conversation calmly.
"And, of course, if I have three or four children," she winced, "I'm hoping that with each child, I will be that much more experienced and not quite so overwhelmed."
Roxton nodded his head. "I think that's how it works," he agreed. He said this calmly, but inside, he was dancing with joy. Marguerite, his Marguerite, who just a few days ago could hardly talk to him without snarling and hurling insults like croquet balls, was actually talking about having children…and he knew she meant their children.
Before his joy could bubble to the surface, Ned and Veronica came tearing down the path towards them.
**
"Challenger! Challenger," they called.
They stopped in front of the group, breathing hard. Their eyes were wide with wonder.
"We've been to the meadow and you'll have to come immediately to see what's happening!"
Veronica grabbed Challenger by the arm and started dragging him down the path.
"Hold on!" he demanded. "You'll have to tell me what you saw so that I will have some idea if we're walking into danger."
"We won't be in danger if we stay up on the cliff." Ned was hustling the children along. "Come on," he urged. "You won't want to miss this!"
The map that Veronica had drawn took the adventurers to their destination by way of the towering cliff at the end of the meadow. From there, they expected to carefully make their way down using an ancient series of stone drops that had been cut into the cliff by what had once been a thundering waterfall. The waterfall was, now, not much more than a trickle of water running down one side of the rock shelves.
Veronica and Malone shushed everyone as they approached the edge of the cliff. Each adult was in charge of keeping one child from falling over the edge. Roxton and Marguerite had Will and Summer firmly by the hand. They found a low boulder and sat the children on top, wrapping their arms around them. Malone and Veronica did the same with Edward and Alice, while Challenger and Victoria were lying on their stomachs very near the cliff's edge. He had his spyglass trained on the meadow far down at the foot of the cliff.
Below them was a sight so incredible, that it was no wonder that Ned and Veronica could not describe it.
The meadow was a heaving mass of humans and animals. Blue, misty swirls marked the openings of time portals too numerous to count. These portals now ringed the meadow. As each portal formed, something or someone either popped out or was sucked in. Into this ever changing scenario, moved people and animals in a loud clash of cultural mismatches that the explorers had never witnessed before. The children were shocked. They had never, in all their short lives, seen so many people in one spot, not even when Zanga and the Hagen tribes came together to trade.
To make matters worse, a huge herd of brontosaurs grazed the short grasses of the meadow, seemingly oblivious to the many dramas playing out all around them. As the group on the cliff watched in fascination, a small dog caught Victoria's attention. It was barking madly at one of the towering sauropods. As Victoria watched, a middle aged lady dressed in a long, layered dress of pink and burgundy popped out of a vortex behind the dog and rushed forward to pick it up. She shook her finger in the dog's face in a scolding gesture. The dog barked again and the lady looked up at the huge head of the sauropod. The creature was slowly masticating a large mouthful of grass. The lady screamed, the feathers on her hat coming alive with her trembling. The moving feathers caught the attention of the dinosaur and it swung its long neck towards her. She backed up quickly to avoid the green, slimy juices that were dripping from the monster's mouth. Like the grass disappearing down the throat of the brontosaurus, the blue maw of a vortex suddenly opened behind her and sucked in the terrified lady and her little dog.
Out of another swirling portal galloped two knights; their glistening armor sparkled in the sun. They pulled their horses to a stop just in time to avoid trampling down a herd of black-face sheep that bawled their confusion and fear before scampering under a brontosaurus and running into the jungle on one side of the meadow. The knights, spotting the brontosaurus, turned their helmeted heads towards each other in excitement, and, lowering their lances, charged at the peaceful beast. The victim of their quest took that moment to lumber too near a time portal and was pulled inside and vanished. The knights, their momentum unchecked, galloped straight into another portal and they, too, disappeared from the meadow.
The children on top of the cliff clapped their hands with enjoyment. They had never seen such entertainment.
A troop of soldiers, dressed in camouflage, were kneeing in formation, rifles trained on another military troop who were dressed in old fashioned uniforms of red and black. The bayonets on their guns glinted sharp and deadly. Each side appeared to be at a stand still. The leader of the camouflaged soldiers was talking into a small black box he held in his hand. He shouted into it, listened, banged it on his palm and finally, giving up, stuck it back into his belt. Neither side was willing to make the first move until the decision was taken out of their hands. Two of the brontosaurs meandered between the opposing ranks, swinging their long necks back and forth. One of the enormous creatures brought his small head close to the captain's leafy looking helmet and sniffed deeply. The terrified man backed up until he bumped into the first line of his troops. "Retreat!" he yelled. His troops ran in a ragged group until they were sucked en masse into a newly formed vortex.
The red uniformed troops held their position, keeping a wary eye on the brontosaurs as they lumbered over to a small stand of trees on the edge of the meadow. Suddenly, out of a newly formed portal between the trees, leaped three African lions, roaring and snarling. This was too much for the brave troops. They broke ranks and ran. The lions stopped their noise and sank into the grass a few yards away from the grazing herd. Their tails twitched at the sight of the largest meals they had ever seen. However, the sight of the running troops quickly caught their attention and with a mighty roar, the hungry beasts sprang after the unfortunate men. As one of the soldiers disappeared into a waiting portal, the others, sensing safety, followed him in. The lions, not to be deprived of their prey, leaped in after them.
As this scenario was playing out, a group of well-dressed businessmen, talking quietly among themselves, sauntered casually out of another portal. They stopped as they realized they were no longer on the street in their city. One after the other, their mouths fell open. The tallest one pointed with his gold topped cane at the slowly moving dinosaurs and yelled "Mon Dieu!" loudly enough for the group on the cliff to hear.
As Challenger watched in excitement and trepidation, faster and faster, the portals swirled and sucked in anything that crossed in front of them. Three of the panic-stricken Frenchmen were sucked into one, two into another.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the portals began to collapse. As they collapsed, they spewed out what appeared to Challenger to be an almost visible…wind, like the air escaping from a balloon. This wind, however, was so strong, that a brontosaurus, caught in an outflow, was pushed sideways. He bellowed loudly at the unexpected shove and wandered out of the meadow. The others of his herd, hearing the warning bellow, followed along with him.
Slowly, the portals all collapsed and the field was left empty and silent.
**
Everyone on top of the cliff was filled with shock and confusion. Edward finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"If all the time portals are gone, how will we get back home, Professor?"
"Well, Edward, we will have to go down there and see if, indeed, they have all vanished," he replied heartily, trying to allay everyone's anxiety.
"That's right, Edward," Ned said, slapping him gently on the back. "We'll look between every bush, and tree, and blade of grass, too. It will be like a…like a treasure hunt!"
The children all perked up at this exciting prospect.
Marguerite had walked over to the edge and peered over at the steep, uneven steps left behind by the ancient waterfall.
"That's all very well, Ned," she complained. "But how were you planning on getting us down there?"
Veronica joined her on the ledge. "Why, Marguerite," she exclaimed in surprise, "you just sit on your backpack and slide." She made a swooping movement with her hand.
For one brief moment, Marguerite thought that she was serious, but when the children starting giggling, she tilted her nose in the air and stalked past Veronica.
"Very amusing, Veronica. Your imagination has really improved since you've been spending every minute with Ned," she shot back.
"Every minute?" Veronica said icily. "You're one to talk. You and John have been…"
Roxton and Malone knew where this was going. They shoved the children over to Challenger and hurried over to the two women, who were facing each other, hands on hips.
The men approached them with some trepidation even though they were used to dealing with these two stubborn, strong willed women. They had learned that they would have to come up with just the right approach or they would only make matters worse. However, this was no time for finesse.
John closed in on Marguerite, swept her up into his arms and carried her away from the group. She fought him like a banshee. He carried her behind some rocks and low bracken. The other could hear her howls of indignation.
Ned took Veronica's arm. "Why are you letting her get to you like that?" he said angrily. "You know she's just trying to goad you."
"What does she know about us, Ned?" she growled at him. "I thought you said we'd keep our relationship a secret!"
Ned pulled her a little further away from the others.
"She doesn't know anything," he hissed at her. "She's just guessing."
He changed his approach. His voice became wheedling and affectionate.
"Our secret is safe, Veronica," he whispered in her ear.
She smiled a little as he brushed his lips across her cheek. "All right," she said. "I know that teasing is just Marguerite's way." Her voice turned hard and sharp. "But she'd better keep her mouth shut about us!" she warned.
Meanwhile, John and Marguerite were having a little talk of their own. Fierce whispers floated up
"Would you please calm down!" John hissed. "What is going on with you?"
"Oh, so it's all my fault? Little Miss Goody is never in the wrong, is she? Well, I can tell you that she isn't so pure and good as you men," she spit the word, "think. What do you think she and Ned are up to, huh?"
"Probably the same as we are," John answered quietly. "Finding comfort with each other."
Marguerite crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I hate it when you're right," she muttered.
John smiled down at the ground. This was the side of Marguerite that the others seldom saw. She could be insufferably arrogant and incorrigibly selfish, but she was also surprisingly fair.
"Let's go," he said.
They walked back to the others, arm in arm.
"Sorry, Veronica," Marguerite apologized. "I was out of line. Your business is none of my concern."
Veronica grinned at her. "You're right," she agreed. "But, I'm sorry, too. I guess we're all a little on edge."
Challenger, who had the children sitting on the ground eating a snack, rolled his eyes at them.
"I feel as if I'm surrounded by nine children sometimes," he groused quietly. "Let's finish eating and get down to the meadow. I don't know about you all, but I'm anxious to see what's going on down there."
They quickly finished their meal and packed up, again. The children were unusually subdued. They didn't like it when the grown ups disagreed.
As she was putting on her backpack, Marguerite was accosted by little Summer.
She tugged on Marguerite's skirt. Her face was screwed up with confusion.
"Mar-greet?" she queried. "Why do you and Veronica fight so much? Don't you love each other?"
Marguerite stooped down to hug the child with one arm. She looked over at Veronica who was conferring with Roxton about the best way to get everyone down the cliff. She smiled.
"Don't you ever fight with your sister, Summer?" she asked quietly. The little girl nodded, her face slowly taking on a glow of enlightenment. She grinned at Marguerite.
Marguerite gave her a quick hug and stood up. "Let's get going, Sweetie. We don't want to be the last ones down, do we?"
The explorers began their descent. Some steps were so narrow that they were barely a foot width wide, while other, that had been undercut by the waterfalls force, looked thin enough to break off under their weight. But, by carefully lowering the children and the packs down each treacherous step, they made their way to the bottom of the cliff without any major mishaps. It took a good half-hour, though, before the intrepid group walked, once again, across the mysterious meadow.
Edward and Victoria walked beside Challenger, who had taken the lead. His long strides making them stretch their own legs in order to keep up. They were almost as excited and curious as the red bearded scientist.
"We'll walk the inside perimeter of the meadow first," he directed. "Stay towards the center, though, as the portals appear to form around the edges. We don't want anyone unexpectedly sucked in, do we?"
They broke up into small groups and walked carefully around the meadow, keeping a sharp eye out for any signs of blue mist. The hot afternoon sun beat down of them as they searched, making them all wish to be under the enticing shade on either side of the large field. But they dared not get too close. Challenger was right. The time portals did seem to have a penchant for forming between the trees and bushes that ringed the meadow.
Having made the circuit, they joined up again near the base of the cliff. The adults all agreed that they had observed nothing unusual. Everything appeared to be quiet and normal.
They looked to Challenger for the next instruction.
He stroked his beard as he considered the problem. His mind was spinning with theories and guesses and probabilities. Finally, he reached a decision.
"Children, I would like you to reenact that day in the meadow. Show us as best you can where you were standing and go through the motions of what you did."
The children looked at each other with growing excitement. This was going to be a lot more fun than that exhausting treasure hunt.
Catching the adults by surprise, the children all took off in different directions, moving to the part of the field that they each thought was the best place to start.
"Wait! Come back!" Challenger yelled. But they kept going, that is, until Marguerite shouted in her most imperious tone.
"Stop! Immediately."
Something in her voice made the children freeze.
"Now come back here and we'll start again."
They returned reluctantly to where the grownups were standing.
Roxton stared at the disgruntled children. "It seems as if you each have a different idea of what happened that day. So, " he said decisively, "we will start with Victoria," he gave her a little bow. "And then move on to Edward and so on, down to the youngest."
Victoria smiled at him. Summer scowled.
Roxton held up a warning finger. "But, mind, I want you to start at the beginning, when you first entered the meadow, and then give us a step by step description of what took place."
Victoria licked her lips. She was very cognizant of the importance of her job. She began shyly, in a low voice that gained strength as she continued.
"Well, we came into the meadow from the path over there," she said, pointing down the meadow towards the jungle's edge. "The targets, four of them, were set up just about…here." She led them forward a few yards away from the cliff's base.
"We all lined up to take turns. We had brought our spears and slingshots. I let the others go first," she said, lifting one eyebrow at the other children, daring them to say a word.
"Go on," encouraged Challenger.
She cleared her throat. "The little ones got tired of target practice and…"
"We did not!" contradicted Summer indignantly. "You and the boys hogged all the turns, so me and Alice went for a walk."
Alice nodded in agreement. "That's when we found the blue misty place. Right, Summer?"
Veronica looked at Challenger. "Why don't we hear what Alice and Summer have to say," she suggested.
"Hey," the boys cried.
"That's not fair," complained Will. "I didn't get to tell you how I hit the target really well. Didn't I do well, Edward?"
Roxton put his hand of the little boy's head. "You can tell me about your shooting later, Will. Right now, we need to hear about the time portal."
"We didn't know it was a time portal, John," Alice blurted. "Honest."
"Of course you didn't, Alice," Roxton reassured her. "Do you think you and Summer can show us where you found it?"
Summer and Alice exchanged looks. Summer shrugged. "I guess so," she said uncertainly.
"I know where they were, Uncle John," Edward spoke up. "When we heard Alice scream, we ran down this way." He started off, walking towards the far end of the meadow. The others followed.
He stopped in front of some tallish bushes. He looked at Victoria and then at Will and Alice.
"Alice was right here. She said that Summer had been sucked into the swirling, blue mist that we could see between these bushes here."
Summer nodded, her lower lip trembled. "I threw my Dolly into it and I needed to get her back.
"Okay, children," said Challenger. "We've heard this story before." He turned to the eldest two children. "Are you sure this is the place?"
"We're pretty sure, sir," Victoria said. "But all of these bushes do look alike."
Challenger stared at the bushes. Suddenly, he smacked himself on the forehead.
"Right, right, of course!" Challenger strode around with excitement. He stopped and looked at the others. "Why didn't I think of it before," he said, berating himself. The others just looked more puzzled. "Don't you see?" he raised his voice. "We're looking on the wrong side!"
"The wrong side of what?" Ned asked.
"The bushes! The bushes," Challenger shouted excitedly. "If the entrance to our time is on the meadow side, then the entrance to their timeline is on the other side of the bushes."
"Sounds reasonable to me," shrugged Marguerite.
"But I looked on the other side of the bushes when Summer disappeared," Will said, plaintively. "And she wasn't there."
"There, there, my lad," Challenger said soothingly. "According to my calculations, she wouldn't have been there. You see, she was on the other side of the bushes…in…our…timeline. Understand?"
Will, his mouth turned down at the corners, nodded his head, then he shook it. "No, sir," he admitted sadly.
Roxton laughed. "I'm with you, Will, old man. We must trust Grandpa Challenger, here, to know what he's talking about, eh?"
Will looked up at him gratefully. "Yes, sir. Grandma says that Grandpa Challenger is the smartest man that ever was."
"Did you hear that, Challenger?" Ned snickered. "You're a big hit with "Grandma."
Veronica elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked innocently.
"We don't tease people about their relationships," Veronica stated with a sidelong smile at Marguerite.
Marguerite smiled back.
Challenger, however, was completely oblivious to Ned's teasing. His entire attention was given to solving the problem presented by the time portals. He strode up to the bushes and stood staring at them, his hands planted on his hips. He seemed to be waiting for the bushes to tell him something. And perhaps they did, because he turned decisively to the others and said, "All right, let's go see what's behind the bushes. Everyone, be very careful. We'll stay together. Let's go."
Holding the children tightly by their hands, they passed between the bushes and into another field that was full of low scrubs, clumps of bushes and spindly trees. The lushness of the meadow was nowhere to be seen here. It was as if they had moved miles away instead of just a few feet. The grass, what there was of it, was sparse and brown. Green leafy bushes near the perimeter were replaced, within a meter, by bushes with large thorns and twisted roots.
Challenger wondered which of the fields was the anomaly.
"Stay back!" Challenger warned, pointing to one side of the field.
The others froze where they were. Roxton looked over to where Challenger was pointing and started in surprise. The beautiful, whirling blue mist of two vortexes were only a few yards apart. The surprising thing was that one was swirling clockwise, the other counter-clockwise.
Ned scratched his head in perplexity. "Have you seen this before, George?" he asked.
Challenger shook his head. "I don't think so, Ned. I'm not sure what this means."
Veronica had been looking intently around the field.
"Challenger, there are two more over there," she said, excitedly, pointing down the field.
Again, the group moved very carefully around the field looking for new portals. After an exhaustive search, they could find only the four they had observed when they first arrived.
The children had dropped out of the search very quickly. They really were tired, so Marguerite volunteered to stay with them. She spread out a couple of thin blankets from the backpacks and gave the children a much needed drink and snack. Summer, Alice, and even Will, curled up and had a nap. Edward and Victoria, who understood what was at stake, were too tense to sleep. Marguerite distracted them by asking about their timeline on the plateau. They were only too happy to talk about their wonderful life. Marguerite was amazed at how peaceful and well organized the adults had made the environment for the children. She wondered how hard it was to keep the environment intact with all of the odd and unexplainable happenings and features of the plateau.
Their respite was short, however, when the four, who had continued the search, came back with the news that the two portals furthest away were showing signs of collapsing. Even as they all stood and turned to look, they could see the telltale expulsion of wind as one and then the other portal collapsed and was gone.
Now the decision was made easier and harder. The two portals by the bushes were their only choices left. And, yet, was it right to send the children through either of them when the stability of the portals was in question?
The adults looked down at the children who had come to mean so much to them. They would keep them if circumstance made that the only decision, but they had made them a promise. A promise to get them back to their real parents and back to their real life. A life, from what the children had told them, that was so much more peaceful and settled and a whole lot less dangerous then the one they would have to live if they stayed in this timeline.
But which portal to choose?
Marguerite looked at her friends. She, like the others, was terrified that they would chose the wrong one. She turned to the man whose final responsibility it would be to make that choice.
"Challenger, is there any way you can be sure which is the right portal?" she begged.
"I…I just don't know," he said desperately. He turned to the children. "Children, when you came through the portal, was there anything you can think of that would help us recognize your exit point? Anything at all?"
The children looked at each other. They tried to remember what they had seen as they searched for Summer in those first few minutes after they had come through the portal.
"We can't think of anything unusual that happened, sir," Edward admitted. "Everything around here looks the same as it did before. I'm sorry."
Victoria looked down at her little sister. Summer was young, but she had a good memory.
"Maybe Summer can remember seeing or doing something when she came here," she spoke hesitatingly.
Everyone looked at Summer. She smiled at them.
"Okay, Summer," Roxton said as he stooped down beside her. "Tell us again what happened after you jumped after your Dolly to rescue her. Now, try to remember everything. Okay?"
"Okay," Summer agreed happily. She just loved being the center of attention.
They all sat down on the blankets. Roxton and Marguerite sat with "their" children, they held them close because, if they were successful, this would be the last time they could hold them at all. Ned and Veronica felt the same way and so held Alice and Edward close to them.
Summer snuggled back into Roxton's lap. Like a veteran performer, she waited for her audience to settle down and focus their attention on her. When she was satisfied, she began her story.
"Well, when I came out of the…port…port…mist, I looked for my Dolly. I looked everywhere. The rocks and sticks that Alice and I had thrown in were in great, big piles," she said this with her arms held out as far as she could. "So, I had to look through all of them. I called and called for Dolly, but she wasn't there! I got so mad at her. I didn't know where she was hiding. But, I found her! She was a good hider!" Summer laughed.
"Where, Summer? Where did you find her?" Alice anxiously prodded.
Summer knew she had her audience now. She leaned forward and looked around at everyone.
"I…found…her…stuck…in…a…thorn…bush!" she finished, laughing triumphantly. "She was hanging by her dress." Summer's face clouded up. "She was a very naughty girl," she scowled. "When I pulled her down, she ripped a piece of her dress off." Her face brightened again. "But Mar-greet made her a new one." She pulled Dolly out of her dress pocket and held her up for everyone to admire. "See, isn't it beautiful?"
"Very pretty, Summer," Challenger said distractedly. The adults were looking at each other, all thinking the same thing. Could it be that simple? As one, they plopped the children on the blankets and jumped to their feet.
Marguerite and Veronica ran towards the first vortex, while Challenger, Ned and Roxton ran to the second one. They looked around wildly. The men were looking at bushes much too high off of the ground. They had not taken into consideration that Summer was a very little girl and that she would not have been able to reach very high.
Marguerite had thought of that. With a cry of discovery, Marguerite ran towards a low, thorny bush about a meter in front of the vortex. The others, who now realized their mistake, ran over to see what she had found.
There, hanging from a thorn by only a few threads, was a piece of greenish material. Marguerite recognized it immediately as the same material that she had removed from Dolly before she had made her the new dress.
"Eureka!" Challenger laughed. They now knew which of the portals was the one that would send the children home.
With this realization, came great sadness. This was it. The time had come and, by the look of the two vortexes, the time was now. Just as the other time portals before them, the two that were left had begun to swirl faster.
The adults called the children over and holding back the tears, they hugged and kissed them. The children, though anxious to return to their own life, were very upset at leaving these new friends who had been so kind to them.
Challenger was worried. He warned them that if they were going, they must go now.
He stooped down and gathered them all into his arms. Then he sat back and held up an admonishing finger. "Now, remember, as soon as you get through, you must move away from the vortex as far as possible. It may collapse as soon as you are through and you don't want to get caught in the out-wind."
Victoria hugged him again and promised to see to the little ones.
Summer stuffed her Dolly deep into her pocket and ran to hug Marguerite one more time. "I love you, Mar-greet," she whispered in her ear. Marguerite held back her sobs with difficulty. "I love you, too, Summer Leigh."
Will was in Roxton's arms. Silently, they embraced. John broke the embrace and leaned back to look into the face that was a smaller version of his own. He pushed the brown hair from Will's forehead and kissed him gently. "Good-by, son," he whispered.
John and Marguerite set their precious burdens on the ground, and Roxton pulled Victoria and Summer into his arms. "Be good girls, now, you hear?" he told them, his eyes glistening with tears.
"We will," promised Victoria. Summer just nodded.
Marguerite had Will in a fierce embrace. As she let him go, the little boy turned back and kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you, Marguerite. You're fun!"
She looked after him as he moved away. "I'm fun?" Marguerite whispered to herself. No one had ever called her that before.
Now Victoria and Marguerite faced each other. They both knew that this good-by was going to be hard. Marguerite stooped down and gathered her into her arms. She could no longer keep the tears from flowing.
"Don't cry, Marguerite," Victoria said, smiling bravely through her own tears. "Your face will get all blotchy."
"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Marguerite gave her a watery smile.
She took her thumb and wiped the tears from Victoria's cheek. "Tori, I just want you to know that if I ever have a daughter, I would wish her to be just like you."
"I hope you get your wish, Marguerite," she said hugging her again. "You're going to make a great mother."
Ned and Veronica were having just as much trouble saying good-by to Edward and Alice. Edward was trying to be a little man. He shook hands with Ned and kissed Veronica's hand as he said good-by. But, Ned and Veronica would have none on that! Ned picked him up and, as Veronica leaned on Ned's shoulder, Edward put his arms around both of them in a big bear hug of a good-by.
Alice was a mess! The tenderhearted little girl could no more hide her feelings then she could the moon. She cried; she clung; she kissed; she sobbed. She could only be persuaded to let them go when Edward reminded her that her own parents were waiting for them.
At last, they could put it off no longer. Challenger urged them to hurry as the spin of the vortexes was increasing.
"Now, remember, everyone, as soon as the children get through, we must get out of the way so that we won't be caught up in the wind of the collapse."
"Yes, yes, Challenger. You've told us all that. We understand," Marguerite said peevishly.
He had the children hold hands and stand near the time portal that led to their timeline. The adults clung together a little further back. The vortex spun faster and faster.
"All right," Challenger shouted. "There's no time to waste. When I count to three, run into the vortex," he instructed.
"ONE, TWO, THREE!"
The children ran into the swirling mist and were sucked away.
The vortex began its final collapse. Just as it fell into itself, a tiny boot came popping out. Marguerite, who had cleaned that same boot not too long ago, ran forward to catch it.
John yelled, "No, Marguerite!" They all ran forward to pull her back. Both time portals chose just that time to blow out their powerful dying, breath and, showing no mercy, caught all five of the explorers in their windy blast. It sent them rolling and tumbling across the ground where, at last, stopped by the low, thorny vegetation, they lay, still as death.
THE END (ALMOST)
