Emerging Compassions

Chapter 41: Lost in Time...

(Jimmy's POV)

Our adventures in that lowly village had only just begun. We could not, absolutely could NOT, even hint at the fact that we were from the future to these superstitious villagers. For if we did, in ANY way, we'd be burned at the stake, for sure. I could not, and would not, let that happen to us. It was a good thing my invention I equipped everyone with was discrete enough to not be detected; it could bend with the exact same flexibility as our own wrists, and it matched our skin colors and textures exactly. My watch was also disguised as a fur pelt wristband, except when I activated it. I would not do so unless it was absolutely necessary. For the time being, however, that didn't concern me. We were only focused on blending into their culture. So far, the task was a complete success in doing so.

"Okay, so where exactly are we gonna live while we're stuck here? ?" Libby wanted to know as we made our way through the various huts in the village.

"I hope we can find someplace that's cozy and inviting, and that we're accepted into this place...," Carl noted, clearly concerned.

"Guys, don't worry about it. I've got this prehistoric thing down!" Sheen bragged, acting as if he was examining a manicure.

"Boy, I sure hope so, Sheen...," Libby told him, glaring at the hyperactive teen with her arms folded.

"Don't worry, babe! I got this!" he claimed, trying to act cool. With that, he ran to the nearest hut and pulled back the fur pelt that hung in the doorway.

"Are you sure you should be doing that, Sheen?" Cindy questioned him, hands on her hips.

"Relax, Cindy! What's gonna happen? ?" he tried to convince her, temporarily turning his head to face her, then turned to look inside. A couple stone lamps lit up the otherwise dark hut, illuminating the sleeping silhouette of a young girl approximately our age. She was covered with a camel pelt to serve as a blanket and a mammoth pelt that served as her bed. Some primitive clay pots lay stacked nearby, along with some primitive utensils. Sheen just giggled immaturely as he watched her sleep, but Libby was in earshot of him as he did that.

She slapped him on the face after dragging him away, saying firmly, "Need I remind ya that we're engaged, Sheen? ! Stop that! !"

Carl looked at us uneasily and informed us, pointing at the girl, "Uh, guys? I think we just woke her up..."

I looked around, concerned, and pointed out, glancing at the girl, who was now sitting up and glaring at us, "I think we should make a run for it! She doesn't look happy to see us! !"

"I second that! Let's beat it! !" Cindy agreed, picking up Marie and making a break for it with the rest of us. But a voice calling after us made us stop in our tracks and turn around, searching for the source.

"Uh, who's there?" Libby called out in the primitive language thanks to that nifty invention I'd made.

"It's okay; you may come back," the female voice encouraged us.

We wandered back to where we'd left, curious as to who was calling to us. "I think it's coming from that hut we left, Jimmy," Carl reminded me, pointing.

"You're right. That was me calling you," the female voice said in a friendly tone, "Just one moment, though. I'll be right out..."

"Well, okay," I told her, and waited with the rest of my group. About a minute later, she emerged from her hut, wearing a similar pelt outfit that Cindy and Libby did. Her black hair was surprisingly neat and tangle-free compared to the other villagers we'd seen running around, and she had an olive skin color to her, like many others in the modern Middle East or southern Europe in the Mediterranean. Her eyes were black as coal in the modern coal mines in the present-day United States.

She apparently noticed that we were staring at her, so she spoke up and added, "What are you all staring at? Does my abdominal pelt look stained or something? ?"

"Oh, sorry about that! No, it's not that. It's just that... you're so different from everyone else in this tribe...," Cindy admitted, blushing a bit.

"That's because I'm the tribe leader's daughter. I'm Anya, by the way," she explained, "My father's always pressuring me to look my best, to set an example for my people."

"A real pleasure to meet you, Anya," I politely told her, gesturing to each of my friends as I introduced them and myself, "I'm Jimmy, and these are Cindy, Libby, Sheen, and Carl. And the little girl Cindy's holding is our daughter, Marie, and that's Sheen and Libby's daughter Taylor in Libby's baby sling."

"Nice to meet you all! I see you are not from this area, that you have traveled a long way," Anya noticed.

"Yeah, an' we're exhausted," Libby put in, lifting her pelt a bit so Taylor could nurse and sitting on a nearby rock.

"Well, it is nearing sunset, so why don't you stay with me? ?" our newfound friend suggested, shading her eyes as she glanced toward the setting sun disappearing behind the distant mountains.

"You do have the largest hut in this village, so I think it could work out...," Cindy agreed, seeming to be deep in thought about something.

"Uh, Cindy? Is something bothering you? ?" I wanted to know, taking one of her hands in mine.

She looked around at the rest of us for a moment or 2, then grabbed my wrist while carrying Marie in her opposite arm, saying firmly yet quietly, "I need to speak with you for a moment. Excuse us, Anya..."

"Take as long as you need," she politely returned with a nod.

"Thank you," Cindy said gratefully, then took me between the back of Anya's hut and the village wall discretely.

I noticed that she'd gripped my wrist so tightly, it was almost sprained. I rubbed it fervently in an attempt to alleviate the pain, then lowered my voice and asked her, "Okay, that really hurt, Cindy. What is it you want?"

"Our parents. They must be worried sick about us!" she quietly replied.

"Gas planet, I hadn't taken that into consideration! You're right, Cindy!" I told her, a tad shocked.

"One question remains, though... How are we going to contact them when we're separated by thousands of years? ! We're in 9,000 BC while they're in the year 2012! !" Cindy softly exclaimed.

"Thankfully," I informed her confidently, "I've created a new feature on my watch that will let us do just that. With the use of tachyons, I can send the signal to whatever time period I desire, provided there's a functioning device that is able to receive the signal on the opposite end. Since our destination date is 2012, we should have no trouble at all reaching it."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? ! Activate it!" she quietly urged me.

"There is, however, one setback to activating my watch in any form: it would cease to be camouflaged while I'm using it, increasing the risk of us being found out as visitors from another time," I hastily warned her, peeking around the side of the hut cautiously.

"Then, let's step out of the village and head to the river, then activate it," Cindy finally convinced me.

"Good idea," I agreed, and headed back to the group with her.

"What was that all about, Jimmy?" Libby wanted to know.

I just shushed her with a finger to my lips, then motioned her and the rest of them to follow me.

"Is something wrong, Jimmy? ?" Anya questioned me, clearly a tad concerned.

"No, just matters that only concern our tribe, strictly confidential...," I told her as we headed out of the village.

"Oh, okay. Be sure to be back before moonrise," she reminded us.

"Will do," Cindy promised with a nod from the rest of us as we passed through the village gate.

After we had walked away a fair distance, Sheen pointed out, "Uh, Jimmy? Do they have bathrooms in the Stone Age? ? Cuz I really gotta go! !"

"I'm afraid not, Sheen...," I hastily told him, checking my watch's data on the current time period, "According to my data, the Stone Age inhabitants of this time period probably relieved themselves in the nearby rivers wherever they lived."

"Ew, that's nasty!" Libby remarked with a grossed out look on her face.

"No way! I think it's cool!" Sheen exclaimed, and ran into the river, which was luckily flowing slowly so he wouldn't be swept away. After taking care of his needs, he returned with a satisfied look on his face.

"Well, I'm glad at least you're fine with that, Sheen...," Cindy put in, looking equally disgusted.

"Yucky!" Marie agreed, blowing a strawberry about it.

"Like it or not, that's gonna be our only option in that situation," I hastily informed them, "At least, until we get back to our time again..."

"Well, we came out this far away from the village for a different reason, right? ?" Libby clarified.

"You're right, Libby. Our parents need to know about this," I agreed, setting up my watch to send out the tachyon transmission...