D
r. Jack Lassiter slapped Abraham rapidly on the cheek. He snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Who do we have with us today?” He made a throaty laugh. “It’s very hard to tell who I am dealing with when I inject you.”
Abraham’s veins were burning like fire, but they started to cool to an icy feeling. His eyes shifted side to side. He could see Dr. Jack and the zillon woman, Ottum. They were riding in the back of an ambulance on a bumpy road. He was strapped in to the gurney.
Don’t say a word. Figure out your circumstances first.
Dr. Jack kept his finger in Abraham’s face and said, “Watch my finger.”
Abraham glared at him.
“Hmm… look at those brooding eyes. I think this is Ruger. What do you think, Ottum?”
The zillon woman leaned over Abraham. Her voluminous, pitch-black, probing eyes searched his. “I think it’s Abraham.”
“Really, why so?”
“I see softness, perhaps panic.”
Dr. Jack shook his head. “I saw more softness that last time we shot him. Of course, we can’t say for sure if this experiment is working at all.” He pinched Abraham’s cheek. “Of course, you aren’t going to tell us, are you? You’re being stubborn, aren’t you?”
Looks like me and Ruger are on the same page. They don’t know who is who. That’s a good thing.
The bumpy ride jostled the cabin.
Dr. Jack slipped into his seat. “Heh heh heh.” He grabbed a black strap that hung from the ceiling. “It’s like riding in the back of a deuce.”
“What is a deuce?” Ottum asked.
“A big military transport truck. I used to be a soldier. Spent time in the jungles in Vietnam. God, I’m old.”
Abraham kept his heated stare on the man. He didn’t hate many people, but he hated Dr. Jack.
A soldier, huh? Maybe he’ll pick up a sword so I can kill him. One slice, and off with your big ol’ tater head.
The truck’s brakes squealed, and it came to a stop.
Abraham’s gurney bumped to the front of the cabin.
Seconds later, the back doors were opened by Otis and Haymaker. They hauled Abraham, gurney and all, out of the ambulance with their long, powerful arms.
He didn’t look at either one of them. His eyes slid from side to side. He was inside the abandoned train tunnel where the Time Tunnel had been set up.
I wonder where Luther is.
A few seconds later, he got his answer. Luther was strapped in a gurney just like his. Both of them had been placed behind the five computer stations standing in front of the Time Tunnel. Luther was hooked to an IV with orange fluid. Propped up at a forty-five-degree angle, the old man was twitching his fingers underneath his wrist restraints. Abraham wanted to scream. What have you done to him?
The Time Tunnel was in full operation. The lights in the main center ring glowed like blue star fire. Inside the ring was the tunnel made up with the metal plates of King’s Steel. More plates were there this time. The patches in the tunnel had been filled in. It ran deeper into the mountainside. A row of train cars loaded with tanks and racks of assault weapons was being pushed into the tunnel, where citizens of Titanuus waited.
Dr. Jack stood beside Abraham, watching the railcars crossing from one world to another. “Amazing progress, isn’t it?” He pointed at the stacks of goldlike bars that looked like the King’s Steel. “And that’s what made it all happen, thanks to Prince Lewis winning back favor with King Hector. He shipped it out immediately. Now, here we are. The Time Tunnel is complete, and only one thing is missing.”
Abraham kept his lips sealed as he searched the area. He saw Colonel Drew Dexter and Eugene Drisk milling about with the other scientists. They were checking computer screens and giving orders. Dozens of armed guards were there too. The tunnel was a hive of activity. He didn’t see any other familiar faces—no sign of Smoke, Sid, or Mandi, which gave him some relief.
“Come on, Abraham, talk to me. I know it’s you,” Dr. Jack said. “I’ve had plenty of patients with schizophrenia. Enough to know the difference between you and Ruger.” He put a cigar in his mouth. “Man, I wish they’d let me smoke in here.”
Seeing Luther spasm, Abraham’s heart softened, and he broke down and asked, “What are you doing with Luther? He’s no part of this. Let him go.”
“The moment he got involved, he became a part of all of this.” Dr. Jack looked at him with his dark beady eyes. “There is no way out now. Besides, being older, he’s a prime candidate to start a new life on Titanuus.”
“What do you mean?”
Dr. Jack pointed at the Time Tunnel. A smaller tunnel had been built to the left of it, standing about seven feet high. It was pitch-black inside, but the small outer lights of the metal ring glowed orange. “That’s a portal, one of the random ones that pops up randomly in the tunnels. We caught it, so to speak, thanks to our friend on the other side, Fleece. You see, he has mastered combining the magic of his world with the technology of our world. Heh heh heh.” He rolled the cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. “That’s the test gate.”
Abraham flexed against his bonds. “Then test it on me!”
“No, we want to see how this goes first. And we are using your friend to let you know that we mean business.” Dr. Jack flagged down Colonel Dexter. “Are we ready?”
Dressed in a black suit of camouflage clothing, Colonel Dexter said, “Absolutely.”
Dr. Jack looked at Luther and said, “Then take him away.”
Luther cast a nervous look in Abraham’s direction and said, “I’ll be all right.” Otis and Haymaker unhooked the IV and pushed him toward the tunnel.
The black image inside the smaller Time Tunnel twisted with vibrant colors. An image formed, showing Fleece standing on the other side. His hands glowed with white fire inside the sleeves of his robes.
Standing behind the computer station closest to the small tunnel, Eugene Drisk pounded away at the computer keys. “The moving portal is intact. Now is the time to cross. Go now!”
Otis shoved the horrified Luther into the doorway.
Fleece grabbed the gurney on the other side and ripped him through. The image on the other side of the tunnel went black.
Eugene feverishly tapped the keys. “Where did he go?”
Abraham craned his neck. He could see Eugene’s monitor clearly from his position. The screens were all black.
“We put a tracking fluid in him. It’s supposed to send us his vitals from one side to the other. In theory, that is. We only have the inanimate mastered. Not the living.”
“Couldn’t you have tested on a rat?” Abraham yelled.
“We aren’t in business with rats. We are in business with people. People with a lot of money, something the animal and
plant kingdom can’t offer.”
“I don’t have any vitals. I don’t have anything,” Eugene said. “It’s as if he disappeared completely.”
“No, wait.” Colonel Dexter pointed at the larger tunnel.
Fleece stepped into view from the other side. He dragged the gurney behind him. Luther lay on the bed with his head rolled to the side and eyes closed. He didn’t move a muscle.
Colonel Dexter walked right up to the Time Tunnel and stood across from Fleece. He looked toward Luther and asked, “Is he dead?”
The shadowy hood of Fleece nodded.