Chapter 4 - Time Tunnel - Great Expectations
By Toni Walker • tonispywriter@gmail.com
As we moved downstairs to inspect the Egyptian motif wall in the business office, Brownie and Roy Alpert came in the front door. During this time period they were two of the Ad Reps, people who sold advertising in the newspaper. These guys were always happy and laughing. Everything was funny or joyous. They never seemed to take anything too seriously. They both said hi to me as they ambled by disappearing up the stairs toward the newsroom. It was almost as if they couldn’t see Steven or Scott.
“Are you invisible now?” I whispered “I thought I was the only one who was invisible around here.”
“People see what they expect to see. They seem to only see you aione, wonder why,” Steven asked.
“Dad used to play ball with Roy. He would probably knock Roy into next week if he allowed anything to happen to me while I worked here. Roy was a bit of a player back then. That was before he was married.”
“Interesting,” Scott muttered. That word seemed to have a ton more meaning behind it than he was allowing Steven to understand. He knew I was catching his thought train that I called ‘His Drift.’
“There was never anything between us. He was too old for me,” I said. “Plus, Dad would have lost it if anything happened there.”
“I think Scott is saying you protest too much. He’s too old the other one is too young (no one in this time period, fyi). Not everything is like Goldilocks. It doesn’t always have to be just right. Maybe you need to accept what is right for you right now and let God lead you to where that right place is.”
I sighed. I knew he was right. I have always been hampered by the rules. Lately, I’ve been telling myself I am a rebel. Look at me go! I laugh at myself. It’s funny. It makes me smile. It helps me break through the blocks that restrict me.
The three of us scour the Egyptian image for a trident and don’t find one. I thought it was weird that they would put a Greek or Roman symbol in an Egyptian piece of art. Since I thought that image an odd choice, I wondered about what else it could be earlier before my journey to the past. I figured an ankh would be a very similar symbol. Sort of like a trident but not really the same. That symbol is an easy one to locate.
“Let’s try this,” I say. I imagine the tunnel and my general destination as I push the motif. I sigh.
“Nothing, huh?”
“Maybe it needs a magic word like Abracadabra,” MarkATT says in my mind. I try that and still nothing. I do have another idea for a word but it seems too simple to work. I try it anyway.
“Sentinel,” I say. The portal opens and we all gasp.
“Will wonders never cease,” Steven proclaims.
I hear that phrase constantly in my pendulum board and always attribute it to my Great Aunt Pootie. I guess ‘wonderful’ is someone else’s favorite word too.
“No doubt,” Steven says silently to me.
I laugh. “Wow. Mind reading too. You are a real wonder boy.”
“That’s wonder man to you,” he says and Scott eyes us curiously. We smile at each other. We’re being silly but I have to admit this is probably the most centered I have felt in ages.
“We ready to go?” Scott asks. “No telling how long these portals stay open. Where to?”
“Thomas Jefferson-ville or Bust. Apparently, he is helping Trump write a new constitution for the new republic he is creating. The man forgets you just can’t take a man out of his time period. We need to find him and put him back in place before the world really goes to crap. The last few years have been a reflection of Thomas Jefferson being missing in time. Plus, I want someone I trust to look at all the fine print. I have a bad feeling this constitution could bite us if someone slips something unforeseen into the mix.”
I set my intention for the portal to help me locate the third president Thomas Jeffesoin in time. I want it to take me as close to the time period when he vanishes from time as possible while still giving me time to find him.
I take a breath, squeeze Steven’s hand and then step through.
As soon as I am through the portal it closes leaving Steven and Scott looking art the motif wall. They both stand there in shock for a moment.
“What just happened,” Steven says. His heart races as he steps into action. “Scott, get your bug army to analyze that portal and see where she went. I’ll call the KF (Knights Foundation). We need to find another way to meet her there. I am not losing her again.”
Scott quirks an eyebrow. “Again?”
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get to work.”
