"Ok, everyone, I think it's important that we figure out what
happened here yesterday. Until we understand it, we have no way of knowing
if we're out of danger. I think the first logical thing to do is to share
our stories."
The group proceeded to do just that. Roxton and Marguerite told of how they went in and out of time warps, before landing in the Amazon with the Conquistadors, and how Roxton had been mistaken for one of his ancestors. Roxton told of his concern and confusion when Marguerite disappeared, and of the chase and capture that put his life in danger.
Marguerite picked up her story from her disappearance. Malone didn't miss the look on Roxton's face when she described her capture by the Druids, or how Roxton slipped his hand over hers when she talked about nearly becoming a sacrifice. Apparently, the bond between his friends had grown even stronger while he was away. It made him think of Veronica, and how lucky Roxton and Marguerite were to have each other. He hoped that someday, he and Veronica could be that lucky.
Challenger told the group about his visitor from the past, the time warps coming closer to the house, and how Finn and Veronica attached the rope to him when he went into the time warp. But, the rope snapped, and he ended up in that future world, about to be lobotomized. He also picked up Finn's side of the story, which she had revealed to him the previous evening in the lab. He told them about the time warps completely surrounding the tree house and the light that surrounded it. He told of Veronica's struggle with the storm, and how the last thing Finn saw before she was sucked into the time warp was Veronica holding the amulet, and the light that continued to radiate from it.
"Well, Neddy boy," Roxton said, "looks like it's your turn. Where did the time warp take you?"
Malone took a deep breath. He had so much to tell his friends about his travels, and his time away. But, he knew now was not the time to go into all of that. As much as he hated to start in the middle of a story, the important thing was to share his most recent experiences.
"Well, my story is a little different from all of yours. Everything that happened around here seems to have centered around yesterday, but I met up with the time warps for the first time about a week ago. And they weren't the first strange encounters I had."
"What do you mean," Challenger asked.
"When I left, I began making maps of everywhere I visited, and where it was in relation to the tree house. I wanted to know that I was able to get home no matter where I was. About a month ago, when I had reached the farthest stretches of land that I dared to tread on, I decided it was time for me to start making my way home. Only, I started to find that my maps were inaccurate. I know that in the past, we've noticed changes in the Plateau, but never this drastic. Things were changing on a day to day basis. Each day, I had to try to get my bearings again. It took me twice as long to get anywhere. And the time warps made that even more difficult.
"My first experiences were very similar to Marguerite and Roxton's first experiences with them. The first time it happened, it was so quick that I thought I was imagining things. I was in a strange world one moment, and the next, I was back. Then, nothing happened until a few hours later when again I found myself in another world, this time for a slightly longer period of time. This went on for days. Each time it happened, I always landed in a different world than the last. Each time, I stayed longer in the other world, and the time period between trips got shorter. Then, two days ago, I warped into a world, and stayed there. But, this wasn't a strange world. It was one that I recognized. It was London."
"London!" Marguerite exclaimed.
"Astonishing," Challenger whispered.
Malone continued. "I found myself in a London prison. Apparently, I had been tried and convicted of the murders of the other members of the Challenger Expedition."
"What? How is that possible," Roxton demanded.
"I don't know. I only got bits of information here and there from the other prisoners and some of the guards. Most people wouldn't talk to me because when I questioned them about what happened, they thought I was insane. After all, they thought I had lived through it, so of course it seemed odd that I was asking. Anyway, what I found out was that I apparently came back to London alone, and I was suffering from a slight memory loss. I couldn't answer their questions about what happened to you, or where you were. I just kept telling them about this place-about all of the things we have seen. Well, they didn't believe what I was telling them, and then they found some of your possessions on me, and I couldn't explain where they came from, so they charged me with your murders.
"Anyway, once I learned this information, I kept trying to tell the guards that I was innocent-that I knew exactly where all of you were, and that I could lead a rescue party to you. They didn't believe me. They thought it was either the ravings of a mad man, or a coward trying to save his own neck. The next morning, I was served my last meal, and a little before noon, they lead me out to the gallows. It was awful. Gladys was there, crying. But, she wasn't doing anything to save me. She was going to let me hang. They placed the noose around my neck, and were about to hang me when suddenly everything went black, and I had the sensation of floating. And that's when I ended up outside of the tree house with all of you."
There was silence for a few moments. Then, Marguerite spoke. "Well, that's quite a story, Malone. One that I'm sure will take up quite a few journal pages once all of this is over. I think we all found the story of the century this time." Malone managed a small smile. He knew the heiress was trying to lighten the moment, and take his mind off of Veronica's illness.
"What do you make of it, Challenger," Roxton asked.
All eyes turned to Challenger, who seemed not to hear. He was in deep thought.
"Challenger?" Malone questioned.
Then, Challenger's eyes lit up. "I think I know what happened.
The group proceeded to do just that. Roxton and Marguerite told of how they went in and out of time warps, before landing in the Amazon with the Conquistadors, and how Roxton had been mistaken for one of his ancestors. Roxton told of his concern and confusion when Marguerite disappeared, and of the chase and capture that put his life in danger.
Marguerite picked up her story from her disappearance. Malone didn't miss the look on Roxton's face when she described her capture by the Druids, or how Roxton slipped his hand over hers when she talked about nearly becoming a sacrifice. Apparently, the bond between his friends had grown even stronger while he was away. It made him think of Veronica, and how lucky Roxton and Marguerite were to have each other. He hoped that someday, he and Veronica could be that lucky.
Challenger told the group about his visitor from the past, the time warps coming closer to the house, and how Finn and Veronica attached the rope to him when he went into the time warp. But, the rope snapped, and he ended up in that future world, about to be lobotomized. He also picked up Finn's side of the story, which she had revealed to him the previous evening in the lab. He told them about the time warps completely surrounding the tree house and the light that surrounded it. He told of Veronica's struggle with the storm, and how the last thing Finn saw before she was sucked into the time warp was Veronica holding the amulet, and the light that continued to radiate from it.
"Well, Neddy boy," Roxton said, "looks like it's your turn. Where did the time warp take you?"
Malone took a deep breath. He had so much to tell his friends about his travels, and his time away. But, he knew now was not the time to go into all of that. As much as he hated to start in the middle of a story, the important thing was to share his most recent experiences.
"Well, my story is a little different from all of yours. Everything that happened around here seems to have centered around yesterday, but I met up with the time warps for the first time about a week ago. And they weren't the first strange encounters I had."
"What do you mean," Challenger asked.
"When I left, I began making maps of everywhere I visited, and where it was in relation to the tree house. I wanted to know that I was able to get home no matter where I was. About a month ago, when I had reached the farthest stretches of land that I dared to tread on, I decided it was time for me to start making my way home. Only, I started to find that my maps were inaccurate. I know that in the past, we've noticed changes in the Plateau, but never this drastic. Things were changing on a day to day basis. Each day, I had to try to get my bearings again. It took me twice as long to get anywhere. And the time warps made that even more difficult.
"My first experiences were very similar to Marguerite and Roxton's first experiences with them. The first time it happened, it was so quick that I thought I was imagining things. I was in a strange world one moment, and the next, I was back. Then, nothing happened until a few hours later when again I found myself in another world, this time for a slightly longer period of time. This went on for days. Each time it happened, I always landed in a different world than the last. Each time, I stayed longer in the other world, and the time period between trips got shorter. Then, two days ago, I warped into a world, and stayed there. But, this wasn't a strange world. It was one that I recognized. It was London."
"London!" Marguerite exclaimed.
"Astonishing," Challenger whispered.
Malone continued. "I found myself in a London prison. Apparently, I had been tried and convicted of the murders of the other members of the Challenger Expedition."
"What? How is that possible," Roxton demanded.
"I don't know. I only got bits of information here and there from the other prisoners and some of the guards. Most people wouldn't talk to me because when I questioned them about what happened, they thought I was insane. After all, they thought I had lived through it, so of course it seemed odd that I was asking. Anyway, what I found out was that I apparently came back to London alone, and I was suffering from a slight memory loss. I couldn't answer their questions about what happened to you, or where you were. I just kept telling them about this place-about all of the things we have seen. Well, they didn't believe what I was telling them, and then they found some of your possessions on me, and I couldn't explain where they came from, so they charged me with your murders.
"Anyway, once I learned this information, I kept trying to tell the guards that I was innocent-that I knew exactly where all of you were, and that I could lead a rescue party to you. They didn't believe me. They thought it was either the ravings of a mad man, or a coward trying to save his own neck. The next morning, I was served my last meal, and a little before noon, they lead me out to the gallows. It was awful. Gladys was there, crying. But, she wasn't doing anything to save me. She was going to let me hang. They placed the noose around my neck, and were about to hang me when suddenly everything went black, and I had the sensation of floating. And that's when I ended up outside of the tree house with all of you."
There was silence for a few moments. Then, Marguerite spoke. "Well, that's quite a story, Malone. One that I'm sure will take up quite a few journal pages once all of this is over. I think we all found the story of the century this time." Malone managed a small smile. He knew the heiress was trying to lighten the moment, and take his mind off of Veronica's illness.
"What do you make of it, Challenger," Roxton asked.
All eyes turned to Challenger, who seemed not to hear. He was in deep thought.
"Challenger?" Malone questioned.
Then, Challenger's eyes lit up. "I think I know what happened.