Chapter V: A day to remember
It was still early day when Taylor came around to pick up Storms at the Shannon home. Jim was still grinning broadly at Taylor as they left, making Taylor feel like a schoolboy picking his first girlfriend up for a date. Nevertheless, he grinned back as they turned and went towards the agricultural department. Noah, who had been oblivious to the exchange between the men, was excited by all she saw.
"Why build the field on the inside? Most colonies would do it the other way around: fields outside of the village."
"Well, most colonies wouldn't have to deal with animals that can destroy their crops with a single sneeze."
Noah laughed.
As it soon turned out, commander Taylor was very pleasant company: he was very proud of Terra Nova and would do anything to defend it. Noah looked at him as he explained why the fences were not build straight up but towards the outside: his face was that of a man who had seen the hardships of life, yet he also knew how to enjoy life. His eyes reflected an intelligent mind and a caring spirit. Granted, he was a bit authoritarian in his dealings with others but he was a leader. Terra Nova, Noah had soon understood, was no democracy. It was the only point of disappointment for her but she could see the advantages of Taylor being the leader: he was a quick thinker and, although somewhat harsh, a man with a good sense of justice.
Taylor, on his side, observed Noah as she was investigating a part of the installation that took care of the water supplies. What he saw pleased him: she clearly had an open mind. She was a fast thinker and very intelligent. Her intelligence however, was combined with idealism, which was her only weakness: it made her a bit naïve at times. But at other times she seemed all too aware of what the world was like. In her face he could see the hopes and dreams that drove her. Her dark brown eyes were alive and reflected her every mood: She was someone whose emotions were visible on her face every minute of the day. Taylor was a bit worried: he was afraid that he would care for her too much. It had been over a decade since Ayani died and since then there had been no one for him. Washington had never been more than a friend, a brother-in-arms, and she was gone. Noah was the first person he could think of as more than a friend. He shook his head; she was well out of his league.
By the time they reached the gate it was almost noon. Neither Taylor, nor Noah had told the other of the thoughts they had about the each other.
"Are you up for a walk?" Taylor asked.
"What? Didn't we just walk for like 4 hours?" Noah shot back.
Taylor shook his head, amused, and pointed at a rover in front of the gate.
"I thought you'd like to see more of this world then just Terra Nova."
Noah almost exploded with excitement. Taylor laughed and helped her in the rover. He had told Jim that he'd be in charge of the colony until he came back, so he knew everything was in good hands. In fact, he could see Jim standing on the stairs, grinning at Taylor as he got in the rover. Taylor shook his head: his friend's amusement over the situation was almost shocking.
Minutes later he and Noah were well on their way. Taylor laughed as he saw Noah holding on to her seat for dear life.
"There are no roads here."
"So I noticed!" Noah shot back, grinning.
Taylor followed a pack of herbivorous dinosaurs for a while, just to see Noah's face as she watched them.
"That's just like 'Jurasic Park'!" Noah said excitedly.
"What's 'Jurasic Park'?" Taylor asked puzzled.
"Oh, an old movie about dinosaurs. It was very popular so they eventually made 3 movies about it."
Suddenly Noah screamed as a carnotaurus jumped out in front of them. Taylor made a sharp U-turn and headed for the trees. The carno however, had more interest in the other dinosaurs then in them.
As soon as he thought it to be safe enough Taylor came to a halt.
"Are you alright?"
Noah was white as a sheet, with eyes wide in shock. She turned towards him slowly and then started smiling slowly.
"Well, that was certainly a surprise. Was that a T-Rex?"
"A what? That was a carnotaurus. I hate those. Lost at least 17 men to them."
"I'm sorry." Noah could almost feel his sorrow.
Taylor shook his head. "It's the natural order in this world. The biggest problem for us here is not adapting to the danger but to accept we aren't any longer at the top of the food chain."
Noah nodded and Taylor drove off again.
After a drive of about 30 minutes Taylor parked the rover and got out. He took a backpack out of the back of the rover and walked towards a tall and very rocky hill.
"Are you coming?"
Noah looked at the towering hill in front of her. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere beautiful." Taylor smiled.
Very soon the walking turned into climbing. Taylor could see that Noah was all but used to this: she was panting and struggling to keep going. Nevertheless, she refused to give up: each time Taylor suggested a short break Noah would look at him with mock distain and climb onto the next rock.
They were almost at the top when Noah lost her balance. Taylor was only just in time to grab her and haul her on the rock he was standing on. Noah was panting and her face was red and sweaty. They were standing nose to nose. Taylor held her by her arms while she looked up at him, her muscles trembling because of the climbing. For a moment neither of them spoke, they only looked each other in the eyes. Then the moment was gone: a howler decided that it was the best time of day to start calling for a mate and made Noah jump.
They both concentrated on the last part of the climb, hiding their thoughts for each other. Noah thought about the strange feeling she had experienced when standing there. Taylor's hands on her arms, his face but centimeters away from hers. She realized what she had wanted to happen and a large part of her couldn't help but be sorry that it hadn't happened. She was worried about that: this was a complication she couldn't use. Plus, commander Taylor was well out of her league. Little did she know that he was thinking the exact same thing.
They both stayed silent until they had reached the top. Taylor turned to see where Noah was and saw her wiping the sweat of her forehead.
"Come on, only a few feet left." Taylor said, walking towards the bushes in front of him.
Noah followed him and gasped for breath when she walked through the thin layer of leaves and sticks: on the other side a magnificent view lay before her. She could see the landscape for miles and right in the middle, protected by the forest and a tall hill was Terra Nova. Noah stepped forward and stared at the marvelous sight before her.
"I knew you would like this." Taylor said, pleased with her reaction.
Noah turned towards him, her smile wider than ever and her eyes glowing with joy. Taylor couldn't help himself: at that moment Noah was a vision of perfection. Before he could stop himself he walked over to her and kissed her full on the mouth. He half expected her to push him away but she didn't. On the contrary, she pressed her body against his and answered his kiss with the same passion. With their arms tightly around each other and their lips melted together they stood there for several minutes.
Abruptly they broke apart, panting. They both looked a little embarrassed; neither of them seemed to know what to do next or what to say. Eventually Taylor broke the silence.
"I brought some food, for a pick-nick."
He put his backpack down and pulled a plaid out which he put on the ground.
"Commander…" Noah started tentatively.
"It's Nathaniel, my full name is Nathaniel Taylor."
Noah smiled: "Nathaniel."
Taylor looked up and he could see that the redness in her face was no longer caused by the climb here but by their kiss.
"Look, Noah,…"
"Don't apologize, just don't, not for that. I don't regret it." Noah cut him off, suddenly fierce.
Taylor sat down, thinking: it had been years and this seemed like a dream, a dream he was afraid that would only end with a bitter goodbye should she chose to go back to her own time. When he looked up Noah was sitting next to him. Taylor extended his hand and touched her face, her eyes seemed to be glowing. Slowly, Noah turned towards him and slowly, very slowly they kissed again. Taylor felt his blood boil, he longed to hold Noah close to him. Noah felt his passion and gave into it. She pulled him down, still kissing him.
Miles away Jim Shannon was reading the rapport Reynolds had just handed him.
"Are you sure this is correct?"
"Yes, Mr. Shannon, I ran a double check and still we could hear static coming from their transmissions."
"Taylor has to be warned: the Sixers are back!"
"How are we going to do that? He said he'd be off the radar until this evening."
"Try it anyway. Damn! He went out there with Storms, they're unprotected. And try to break into the Sixers' frequency, I'd love to know what they're talking about."
Reynolds didn't lose a second, turned around, and left. Leaving Jim to think on the consequences of the Sixer's return. He knew what it meant: they were furious because of what Taylor and he had done. Especially Lucas, he wouldn't rest until he had destroyed Terra Nova completely. By destroying Hope Plaza they hadn't just locked out a future that would've seen them destroyed, they had also locked in an enemy that would now have vowed to do the same.
Jim shook off these thoughts of doom and turned towards two seated figures who were guarded by Guz, whom Jim considered a loyal and excellent soldier, and 3 of his colleagues.
"Now, state your names and ranks."
The two men stared at him. Jim was shocked by their ages: neither of them was older than 25. The man the left shifted a little.
"My name is Michael Stevens, I used to be a soldier in the English army." He said.
The other looked at his friend for a moment before answering: "I'm Mathew Demeer, I was a corporal in the Belgian army, in the infantry."
"Why the past tense?" Jim asked.
"We were both discharged because of our conduct, sir."
Jim was slightly surprised; neither of them appeared to be mean fighting machines.
"Ok, how come you both were under the command of that guy, uh, Leech."
"He promised us money, sir, said it was a good life. That it would be like being back in the army."
The naivety in the man's voice surprised Jim even further.
"And you believed him?"
Both men nodded.
"Do either of you even understand where you are now?" Jim asked, half expecting them to answer 'The Amazon'.
"Somewhere in the time of the dinosaurs." Stevens answered in a way as if he questioned his own answer.
"That 'somewhere' is 85 million years in the past, pal." Jim replied dryly.
"What's going to happen to us, sir?" Demeer asked.
Jim was surprised by the man's polite tone and appearance: if anything this guy didn't look like a soldier, more like an office clerk who didn't get enough sunshine.
"Well, that's for commander Taylor to decide. Until then, you two are going back where you came from."
They both got up as if they were responding to an order.
Jim turned to go as well but was stopped when Demeer asked something.
"Uhm, sir? Is it possible to get some of our stuff down there?"
Jim turned back towards them.
"Like what?"
"Well, I was reading a book, sir. Do you think it would be acceptable to let me have it down there?"
Jim was utterly surprised by the request. And by the look on Guzs' face, so was he.
"I suppose… that wouldn't be a problem. Guz?"
"I'll take care of it."
Guz led the men out of the room leaving a confused Jim to stare after them for a while.
Taylor was staring at the sky; he was lying flat on his back with one arm under his head and the other around a sleeping Noah. He felt as if he was caught between times: neither past nor future mattered, only the present. And that present was beautiful. He lifted his head up and looked at Noah, whose head was resting on his shoulder: her eyes were closed and her breathing light, the bare skin of her arm, shoulder and back seemed to glow a light bronze light. Or maybe it was just the light of the sun. He didn't care.
Noah stretched her body and looked up at Taylor as if she had felt his gaze on her. Her smile was answered with Taylor's. She observed every line on his face and she could see all of the emotions from his past: his angers, his fears and disappointments but also his joys and surprises. She reached up and kissed him. Taylor wrapped his arms around her and answered her kiss. When they broke apart Taylor continued to look at her.
"Stay here."
It was a question and a request, a fear and a hope, all put together in two words. Noah had known that she would hear those words as soon as she had kissed him for the first time. She also knew that there would be no easy answer. She sat up, looking at him with sad eyes.
"I can't."
Taylor wanted to protest but she held up her hand to stop him.
"I want to stay, Nathaniel, there is nothing I want more than to stay here, with you. But I can't. The fact that Terra Nova exists, all you have told me, has led me to understood that the world I know faces a difficult future. My world is at the start of its worst trial ever and you and me, we both know that it's going to lose. My family is out there, they are at the start of that future. I can't leave them to face that alone."
Taylor sat up as well and stared into the distance, at Terra Nova. He nodded.
"You're right. I'm being selfish by asking you to stay here." Every word caused him pain but he knew that she was right. "But… You could bring them here, to Terra Nova. Your family would be respected and safe here."
Noah nodded. "That was my idea also. I don't want to give this up, Nathaniel. I don't want to give you up." She added.
Taylor felt reassured and pulled her closer, kissing her.
"We should probably go back." She said after a lengthy time. "It's getting late and if there is one thing I've learned it's that you don't want to get stuck out here when it's dark."
Taylor grinned and started to gather his clothes while Noah did the same. It took them 20 minutes to get dressed and gather their things. After another 30 minutes they were at the foot of the hill and in the rover. They didn't speak; they didn't have to.
About half an hour later Taylor drove into Terra Nova and was greeted by an anxious Jim.
"Finally!" Jim exploded "We've been trying to reach you since 2pm."
"Good evening to you too, Jim." Taylor answered, a little amused.
"This is no laughing matter, Taylor. It's the Sixers. They're back. We've been monitoring their frequencies since this afternoon. They're all over the place."
Taylor cursed.
"We always knew they'd come back. Damn! Double security on the watchtowers and organize patrols on the inside of fence."
"Already done that. I've put Guz in charge of the patrols. He's organizing them as we speak."
Not for the first time Taylor was impressed with Jim's ability to organize things like these. He looked at Noah, who was standing beside him.
"Look, maybe you should go back to the Shannons' place. We'll talk later."
Noah nodded and with a quick smile she disappeared in the direction of the homes. Jim was a little surprised at her obedience until he saw Taylor's face as he was watching her leave.
"Looks like you two had a good afternoon." He said dryly.
Taylor raised an eyebrow at Jim and walked into the direction of his headquarters, maintaining a dignified silence while a grinning Jim followed him.