Birthday Sale on all of my novels

Hello, Time for my yearly birthday sale. Monday June 22 is a special birthday for I have reached a milestone. 

Everyone of my E-books is a $1.11 off (No I am not a 111 years old. It isn't that milestone yet :) ) 

And all of my paper novels are two dollars off-except for one which they only allowed me to reduce 1.44 . They will be on sale until June 27.

Whatever the price they are fun reads with adventure, mysteries, suspense and action. Western short stories, Urban Fantasy, steampunk, Science Fiction adventure. 

Here is my Amazon author's page https://www.amazon.com/L-E-Doggett/e/B01C58R1II…

and https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22L.%20E.%20Doggett%22…

2018's Nanowrimo novel excerpts # 1

For those who do not know November is writing a novel month. A number of years ago a group of people got together because they thought everyone should write a novel and that everyone has at least  one novel in them. So they came up with a plan. Convince and encourage everyone to do at least a 50,000 word novel in November. It has grown so thousands, if not ten thousands of people at least try each year. Some of those are long time professionals, some of whom write out the next book in a certain series each November. The web site, nanowrimo.net , has many types of helps to get people through this. Some humorous and some serious.
Oh, I didn't use a lot of names here-called one guy the strongman-because even though I named them in the first chapter I forgot what name I used in some cases. One of the revising things I need to do.
So I have done this six times-I think-five years in a row and one somewhere around 8-10years ago. I have written mostly Science Fiction but also Urban Fantasy, steampunk, and now what I think of as classical fantasy.  Two of those books I have revised and formatted so they are for sale. A third one is waiting for a cover then it will be published. And yes, this year I am doing it again.

This is an excerpt from the prologue of what I am now calling "The Paper Key"

A half-elf spy steals a key that could rise a war-god. The worshippers who owned it are better organized than he thought therefore he has to hide with a troupe of performers. Before he can extract himself from them, the war-god is raised, now he has to stop it. 

Excerpt of prologue 

First excerpt from my ’18 NaNo Novel. Because it is the first I decided on starting at the beginning so this is the first 2,660 words. I tried to find a cliffhanger within a good number of words. All I did was run it though a spell checker-okay, I did some slight revising but only on a couple of sentences. I also did some revising while writing. I think I am, as some people call it, a slinky writer for I go back to fix something or add then forward again. I usually work on the last two to five paragraphs I did in one sitting and the next sitting of work.

This is a more or less a classical fantasy: A half-elf spy steals a key that could rise a war-god. The worshippers who owned it are better organized than he thought therefore he has to hide with a troupe of performers to get it to his boss. Before he can extract himself from them however, the war-god is raised, now he has to stop it.




Part of the Prologue to The Paper Key



A shadow moved on top of the ten foot tall stone wall. It joined other shadows, for the moon shone down and a breeze blew. Branches moved, as did night birds and cats on the hunt. Torch light flickered on the outer streets and inside the house he had come to rob.
His black with dark gray panels, trousers and tunic faded into the dark as easy as a snow leopard hid in snow. Already he felt warm which would increase throughout this event but he had experience that many times and knew what to expect. The climb up the outside of the wall had gone without a hitch. The class and sharp metal embedded into the top of the wall did not prove to be a deterrent as the owner had probably thought.
The air carried scents of trees, tended flowers, fresh mulch, dogs and guards who didn’t seem to care how much they sweated on duty. Two of which just went by so he better get moving. The guards that worked for this house patrolled by twos in a pattern that moved in a strange way. So it would be possible that another two would show up in seconds or in half an hour.
He looked down then with quick short steps, ran to a tree limb that hung over the wall. The shadow had seen it earlier when he came by to check the security. He smiled with humor. He had dressed in black and white finery just like those who kept track of money and who managed estates for those too rich to do it themselves. He knew of one religion who sent out young men dressed like that. He went only by himself instead of with a partner but no one seemed to notice.
But he saw the humor of the idea of one religion going to the door of another to talk about their god and book. He managed to get in by just not taking no for an answer and by pretending to be a new believer with a fire inside. They had chased him out of the house with sharp bladed weapons. It hadn’t been his fault that in his fear induced hurry he had taken a wrong turn and ran along the wall until a dog chased him back the right way. Just because he yelled didn’t mean the dog had bit him as everyone seemed to think. His clothes had been ripped by then and the guards may have seen a spot or two of blood but even injured and yelling curses down on them he somehow made it out of the gate and on his way. Everyone saw him leaking blood and yelling.
Now his clothes were still made from very fine cloth and silk but none were white and these would not tear anywhere near as easy as those special garments.
He half ran to the spot under the limb and hopped upward. He caught the rough bark with the first attempt. First with one hand he let go and reached higher before he could start to fall. The second hand went up further. When both hands settled over the top of the branch he pulled himself up. Somehow he got a leaf in his mouth. Chewy. He didn’t spit it out like most humans would have done. Half of him came from his dad’s side and his dad’s people liked greenery of many types.
Once in the tree he stood up and ran across the limb. He knew it would hold his weight. The same with the next one, on the other side of the tree. He spotted a branch from the next tree and leapt to it. It gave a bit when he landed but didn’t break or even crack.
Dogs barked down the way almost as if they could sense him this far away. Maybe they had heard something or as well trained animals they just knew someone who shouldn’t be there was. Of course no one but their handler was supposed to be there. That included other dogs, squirrels, birds , etc.
The Shadow moved from tree to tree. Something else he had noticed while here a few days ago. The tree were old and needed trimming for their branches reached each other. A nice trail for someone who knew how to run over narrow “trails” and who could see well at night.
A dog came near under one tree just as he landed near the trunk. It looked up, might have smelled him, but didn’t see him. He left a tiny bit of scent from a bottle then leapt to the next tree.
He cursed on his way through the sky. In his hurry and distraction, he had jumped to the wrong branch. The one he landed on bent, jiggled and creaked. The dog must have heard it but it gave him only a glance before it resumed its surveillance of the tree he had been on. It knew something was up there. The scent confused its thoughts though for it still searched the tree he had been on when it saw or smelled or heard him.
The guard though came running and called for the dog. He is used a name from a language the Shadow was not familiar with. It sounded guttural and angry. A further confirmation that he had chosen the right estate after all.
The dog took its time responding so the guard turned his attention to it for a moment. While he said something else in that tongue the Shadow moved through his tree and launched himself through the air to a last one in this row. If the guard, or anyone else, had looked they would have seen something block the lights from the house for a moment. But he figured no one looked. From the last tree he checked out the guard and dog who had finally lost interest in that tree. Maybe that had been its favorite tree to fertilize since the guard cursed in the town’s language.
He took advantage of that to leap high and to gab hold of an ugly face in a bias relief on the corner of the house. He held onto the guy’s head-he figured no woman would be that ugly-and pulled himself up. Sweat rolled down his back. The clothes had gone passed warm but he knew how to live with that too. So he did. He licked his lips and got sweat off his upper lip. Quite a bit too.
Once his feet rested on top of that head, he looked around and noticed more heads. He had seen them earlier but hadn’t been able to get a good enough look to know what they were.
Lights from distance windows made his climb a bit easier but they also would allow someone to notice him better. They still may not know what he was, maybe a trained Kull spider sent to kill someone, or a lost monkey in search for food, but they would sound the alarm anyway.
Up he went, his hands became slippery with sweat but because of his gloves they could still grip protrusions and more of those heads. But not all of the bricks he used as footholds were of the same quality.
When he pushed on one with the pad of his right foot, the edge crumbled. His foot slipped. He looked down in time to see small pieces of brick fall. They would land near that guard. He would look up. His right foot hit his left and knocked it off of its perch. Now he hung like a Christmas goose ready to be sold by just his hands. He managed to swing to one side where it was darker.
Even though he lost sight of the brick pieces he knew when they landed. The guard turned to look. Sweat dripped down The Shadow’s back. His shirt had come untucked and some of the sweat dripped out from under the shirt before it could be absorbed. He saw the drops twinkle when it reflected various lights. If any hit the guard he would look up.
The fingers of one hand started to slip. The guard couldn’t help but notice when The Shadow landed on him. It would not matter though for both of them would be dead.
He let go with the hand that had begun to slip, held his breath and reached up again with it. It landed to hard and bounced. His second hand trembled. He quickly threw the free hand back up. He managed to catch the head again. The thing’s ceramic hair helped to keep his hand in place.
The Shadow managed to get his feet back in place. He looked down. The guard was walking away, at a sedate speed. So he hadn’t been seen. He didn’t know if the man had looked up or not but obviously he hadn’t seen anything or thought the movement of shadow around the head was bat.
After a short rest he continued on. After a few still fast heartbeats he stopped to listen: the very feint rustle of his clothes, a guard talking in a soft voice, a slight breeze curving around the corner of the building.
Even up this high he could smell the scent of the trees and mulch, bird droppings too. Nests were built over in that direction. They really should check on that more often.
Another minute of climbing and he found the right window. Nice of them to place one in a good position for him. He held onto one of the heads with one hand. Even though his flexible glove he could feel the spikes of the man’s hair. Jar wiped more sweat off of his upper lip. This time dirt and grim had gotten mixed in with it. Must be from the dust he stirred up or when he brushed a bit too close to the materials the house had been built from.
A click sounded. He froze for a heartbeat but he knew that sound. The window’s lock now lay in the open position. Most house owners skipped on the locks and security of upper windows. Some even left windows open all night: for air or for a romantic visitor.
One foot slipped when he swung it to the open window but he hopped for one jump and managed to get through the open space. His second foot hit something but the thud wasn’t loud.
Once he stood on the floor inside, he made sure the window was closed. He even hooked it shut without locking it. He may be in a hurry to leave later.
The hallway he found himself in had no lamps, but a trace of light came from the stars and another bit from various lights on nearby floors.
One room, two rooms and finally at a door that looked ordinary. He slipped a small pouch out of an inside pocket, sewed to be just wider than the pouch. One small button kept them in that pocket. He flipped open the cloth and studied the objects in the pouch. He picked one, placed it in the keyhole and fiddled with it. Nothing.
He tired the shorter one. Still nothing: oops, it caught. A twist of his hand and the tumbler moved. Not far though. He tired it again to mixed reviews:It turned more but the door still wouldn’t open. A third try and the lock turned two tumblers. A jiggle on the door handle and it opened. As he thought it would.
A fast move inside, made quicker when he heard a footstep from around a corner. He closed the door and listened through it. The smooth wood made pressing his ear against it feel comfortable. Most be waxed too. The footsteps continued on. He stood there for a minute to make sure than turned to look at the room. A den or office. A large desk close to the door, carpet on the floor, shelves with scrolls and six tall cases with glass fronts filled with the new books and small statues and other ceramic, marble and wood items. One larger one on the desk sort of looked like the guy whose head adorned the house. He moved closer to see it better. One ugly man with short hair except in the middle where a strip looked over two inches. In real life that had to be close tall as the length of the Shadow’s foot.
He moved around while he looked for a hidden compartment. While he did Jar picked up various pieces and made sure they were not put back in exactly the same spot. Three that looked gold or had gems he placed in his pocket.
He found what might be an alter in front of the desk near where the tall statue of the ugly man stood. Various small statuettes had been placed in various positions. They all sat in a case that looked like the inside of a cave. An obvious alter but to whom?
The Shadow moved on. Touched and moved more of the cups, statues, and curved animals just a touch. Not every one but enough for them to notice. He pocketed another cup, a sliver one this time. They would get that one back though. His back had stopped sweating and he kept his nose alert for scents that would give away a hiding place or someone in here.
Every time he moved over his eyes went back to the small alter. After the sixth time he moved back there. He reached out and touched one of the figurines. It didn’t move. When he tried to lift it he found it was somehow connected to the floor of the cave. Why?
Even his eyes could not see anything in the darkness around the cave. Was it that way on purpose?
Jar took out a small, special lantern. It burned unscented oil, it held only enough for ten minutes of light. The box that held the tiny flame had only one clear side and that only in the center. Carefully crafted mirrors direct the light through that clear spot.
He set it down and used the built in flint to light it. He shone it on the crafted cave. There on the edges of each side a very tiny line. That could explain why the statuettes were sealed to the floor. He moved to the back of the desk and slid in as close as he could get. He reached for the cave but something sparked. Instinctively his hand pulled back before he realized it needed to. So it had protections. Another reason to get into it.
The Shadow mumbled some words in ancient elfish and reached again, slower. Same reaction. This time though a tiny star appeared for half a heart beat next to the larger statue on the desk.
Okay, that was interesting.
He placed an invisible shield around it that kept all magic inside the shield. So no alarms could be sent or an order sent to the cave. He managed to reach for the cave through an invisible wall that made his hand tingle. He touched the closest wall and felt around. There had to be a latch somewhere.
It felt rough like real rock. Someone could have carved it out of rock. It would take a lot of work but it could be done.
The Shadow found a tiny hinge under an outcrop of rock in the back.
Good, now to find the method to lift the top.
He reached further back but at the moment he decided no one would make it this hard to get at a latch when they would want to get it often, his foot slid forward. His side touched the magic wall there. He had been too eager and stretched his body too far.
Something snapped. When he pulled back, his body did not move.

end excerpt

Third and last except from The Courier

March 3 Yo, the first part of March. Better weather for this time of year-which means rain-but we shall see how it goes from here on. We still have at least three months where it can rain.

This is the third and last excerpt of The Courier. This time from chapter six. It includes some byplay between characters as well as part of a fight. I still aim to have this out the end of March. So watch for it. But don’t wait I have tree other novels out you can buy. :)


Kara is on an airship piloted and owned by an “indie”, an independent airship owner who flies people and freight around. Many are honest but some will cheat you, while others will carry contraband and be involved with other illegal activities, which includes attacking other Indies-that comes in later in the novel. Kara is on a week long “run” to get various contracts signed but she finds herself attacked more than once and she finds something in her courier pouch that she didn’t place in it.







Enjoy:



Before she could answer with an apology he looked around at the disassembled gun on her cot and the stunner lying next to it. He might have smelled the gun oil too.
“What’s up?”
She looked up at him confused.
He pointed at the weapons. “You left suddenly just because you had a case of weapon withdrawal?”
“No, I’m sorry for not saying anything. I should have—too much time by myself, but this is something I do every so often. In my occupation I never know when I will need one of these, so I make sure they are operational.”
He nodded. “I understand that. You never know when some dust, spare oil, or insect or something will get into your weapon but this is sudden. Were you attacked at your last stop?”
“What? No.” She sighed. “This has nothing to do with being attacked. I mean, I could be, I have been while doing a run, but this is about being ready just in case.”
Kara almost rolled her eyes at her own verbal confusion. She could converse better than that. Danny gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her, but let it drop and said he needed to get back to the cockpit, and left.
Once she heard his footsteps go down the hallway, she said, “Damn! I hate lying to him.”
She grabbed one of the sticks of gum she still had left and put one in her mouth—more for something to do with her hands instead of throwing something though. She barely registered the strong flavor.
But what would he do if he knew they were being followed by people willing to kill? She needed this run and she would get past them to finish it. She was good and her rep would be even better if it got out. And she didn’t need protection. If anyone needed protection, he did. In fact she protected him by being quiet. The less he knew the better. She let out a couple of more curses though.
She hurriedly but carefully put the pistol back together. Should she go to him and try to convince him again or just let him think for the night? This had better not have ruined their friendship!
Kara finally went to bed. The next morning she slept late, after taking a long time to go to sleep. He knocked on her door and asked if she needed any breakfast. She said yes. Since she had already taken a fast shower—maybe he had heard the running water—and was dressed, she went to the small lounge. He stood there cooking eggs and bacon, and even had some biscuits in a toaster oven. He said, “Good morning. Sorry I totally forgot butter, but I do have honey. Nothing special just plain, cheap honey.”
“That’s fine, I like cheap, plain honey. I am kind of plain myself.”
He gave her a look that seemed to say, “No, you’re not,” but went back to his cooking without saying anything. A minute later he set a plate with fried eggs and bacon in front of her. Five pieces of perfect bacon. A moment later a hot biscuit joined it.
“There are more biscuits, not home made but good anyway.”
Her mouth watered for that bacon—she tasted one. Thicker than usual and so good. He must have remembered what she had said about bacon during one of their talks. Danny sat down, after giving her some orange juice, with his plate and glass. Some of his bacon was a little burnt one piece looked undercooked some. So had he taken the rejects, or did he like it that way. Damn, she couldn’t recall what he said about what he liked.
They ate in silence except for the noises of chewing.
Once done she said, “Thank you, the bacon tasted wonderful and the eggs were good too.”
He looked up at her and smiled. She stood and started to gather the dishes.
“No, I can do that. You need to get ready for your next run. In case you hadn’t noticed, we landed and are tethered.”
So that was why the airship’s movement had felt funny. “What?” She should have figured that out sooner; the movement of a ship tethered yet pushed by the wind felt different from flying.
“You slept late.”
“Oh, I wondered why you were spending so much time away from the controls.”
“I can make some coffee to help you wake up. Some hot and strong instant stuff will wake you by taste, heat, and caffeine.”
“Um, maybe you should do that, I seem to be half asleep. I’ll get dressed in my outfit.”
On the way out she again said, “Thank you for breakfast. Ir was good.” Unsaid, even though she wasn’t sure if he would get it, was, “After last night.”
Kara rushed back to her cabin and changed. Once dressed she made sure each of her devices were where they were supposed to be. That included two bottles of water and four cereal bars, just in case of some emergency. She went down the ladder, after making sure she told him her destination. She headed for the terminal. There she called her next client. He said he would be in his office this morning. She said she would be there. Nothing happened on the way even though she spotted someone that could have been that woman. This time it was hard to tell for sure, for she looked common: average height, weight and dress. This time her hair looked shorter and a different color but she could have it up or behind her in a bun. The color change could be done easily enough since Kara had last seen her. But at the same time Kara didn’t want to be too paranoid.
The man’s office was a small trailer at a construction site this time, no one was working yet on this warm morning but it looked like someone would be there at anytime. The man, who looked middle age and tough with a sweat-stained shirt, signed his contract, number four, they shook hands and she left. On the way back to the airport, though, something seemed off. She looked back at the site—it didn’t look quite the same as it had when she stood right in front of it. Closed down? She was just there though. A shrug and she continued. Just as she rushed by a very dark alley mouth something stopped her forward motion. She looked down to one side and a hand held her pouch. It pulled again. She startled but managed to plant her feet and pull on the pouch and the hand pulling on it around to her front. The man connected to the hand came with it. He looked too skinny, even though he was only half a head taller than her. He wore old, torn clothes. Obviously he hadn’t figured that she would be too in tune with it to ignore something like that.
Kara chopped at the hand—when it let go, she shoved the man hard. He had been taken by surprise so didn’t react fast enough. Now he stumbled backward and hit an A-frame with enough force to knock him over it. A clunk showed that he hit his head. She grabbed his shirt and lifted him up; he had looked underweight and didn’t wear much. She placed her face near his. He smelled of drugs, and had very bad breath. “Never try to steal a courier’s pouch. Next time you might get a knife in your gut. That is very painful.” She pushed him over the A-frame again.
Of course more than likely no courier would stab him in the gut but maybe it could scare him into leaving couriers alone—maybe. As she walked away, she thought, The first shove over the A-frame was an accident but the second one wasn’t, I went too far. But she had been angry.
A light step behind her made her turn her head. Was he up already?
No, but a man who had to have been his partner came out of the dark alley. This guy appeared to be the same height as the first one but was obviously in better shape. Even in the rags he wore he looked like a fighter with muscles. The way he held the knife in his hand showed that too. Her dad and Twoskunks both said that you could tell the ability of someone with a knife by the way he, or she, held it. This guy knew his business. Which brought up the question of why someone with that training would be here living a homeless person. Of course drug, addiction can get anyone, she thought.
Kara had no more time for thoughts: the guy had moved close enough to lunge at her. She dodged him, though, he moved deceptively fast,and she finished the movement to get her stunner out. It should have been out sooner but the new outfit was slightly different ,which she hadn’t taken into account.
Her attacker's eyes widened a bit but they went back to normal in a heartbeat. She held the stunner like a knife and her stance reflected that. Behind him she saw a woman come out of the dark alley mouth. Just like one of those otherworldly transportation gates a couple of the books she read contained, her mind insisted on saying.
She wanted to roll her eyes—this wasn’t the time for that. Kara wanted to run but knew they would be on her in a few seconds, unless she could stun them for even a couple of seconds.
The woman moved back like she wanted to let the first guy have all the fun. Kara slid sideways to get a wall behind her to make sure neither of them or a new person could come at her from behind. The man moved to her, and she glanced at the woman without moving her face or eyes. As Kara suspected, she wasn’t homeless, no matter how she dressed in ripped, old gray sweats and a loose-fitting stained top.
A second look and she thought, Neither is this man. She had seen all types of homeless, and this guy didn’t fit: his smell didn’t fit, nor his breath, nor his body language, or his hair style. A part of her mind took a second to hope they hadn’t killed the original owners of the clothing they wore.
She made a feint with the stunner, slightly pressed the button to make a noise, and to produce a spark at the end. That sometimes shook her attackers. Not this guy, though. Another feint which didn’t even make even his eyes look at her hand.
Damn, this guy was good.
Three more fakes, each one closer to him, and she struck for real. He leaned back to avoid the arc. She got her hand back in time to block his first swing. Sweat popped out on her forehead. The stunner warmed her hand since she had it running. A hard lunge from him that turned out to be a feint. She danced as he moved his feet. Two more swings each and she tried to get him to back off by swinging the stunner all the way across her front. It was on full but he moved back only a step and moved his hand to block hers. Or so she thought until a shock ran through her fingers around the stunner. A heartbeat later she knew she no longer held it. How had he done that? She knew there were ways to knock knives out of hands, but she hadn’t seen what he used. She couldn’t stop herself—her eyes went to that hand. All fingers were still there, no blood. So he hadn’t hit her with his blade.
He moved in with a sudden motion. The tip of his blade hit her chest below a breast with a faster motion. The impact pushed her back slightly, and made her grunt. But the new metal held up. She would have a bruise, but no cut. 
 Kara decided if he moved that quick she would have to as well. The heel of one hand slammed into his forehead before she could finish the thought. A jab with her fingers into his sternum and a last sock in the belly with her left fist. Then she doubled up her hands and swung up. The impact on his jaw was enough for her to hear his teeth click. A final double-fisted hit on his face. She hoped to bloody his nose but didn’t connect right. He backed off though with tears in his eyes, but didn’t go down. She had to back off, too.
Her arms were tired already and he was still on his feet. They moved around in a dance. She blocked his knife swings, but he got in a couple punches, and she couldn’t get in another solid hit. But the stunner lay on the cement behind him. She maneuvered him around. The woman joined in and tried to grab Kara from behind, but Kara slammed back with her head. When something hard stopped her head’s momentum she knew she had connected. Kara slid sideways again. Maybe she could run out in the street when some cars came by. They danced some more, the woman behind the man again, and as Kara feinted to the right as if to run to the street, the woman came around the man. A sizzle sounded, followed by an electric buzz. Then the sound of a body hitting cement. So she had forgotten the stunner Kara thought.
When the man glanced at his partner Kara drew her longer knife. The man’s eyes came back to the front and widened for a moment. Sirens sounded. So someone had called the police.

end excerpt

Second half of New Alternate Universe Tale: Multi-Castles

This is part two-the final one-of Multi-Castles from last week. Quite a few have read this one-at least plussed it-but very few have stated what they thought of it. Some people, like me, like alt universe stories and some don’t. Not sure what I will do next week maybe another story from a pic I am writing or an excerpt from one of my new novels.

I have done a whole series of stories based on a picture titled Dark Castle. The setting for this story is the picture. A dark castle set on a short hill with a walled village around it and the full moon right behind it. It's not a blue moon though I added that detail here. Anyway if anyone is interested in reading more stories here is the link to my Collection on Goggle Plus. You will need to sign up for Google Plus to see it, I think. There is a Urban Fantasy story, a thriller, a fantasy, a romance tale and a couple of others. There will be a science fiction and a youth story. And a steampunk. There are other pictures-stories there also. 
Remember that this is also a story in my new Collection which can be found here:
https://plus.google.com/collection/Exg0WE


This section is 2,200 and some words long and has a bit from last week to help you catch up.



Enjoy:



Rick continued on though. Most of the stores, houses, and Inns were in dark shadows. Good thing he had overcome his fear of the dark. He debated calling her an American and see if that would get a reaction since she disliked it so much, but she would have to hear it first.
However he jumped when someone ran out of an alley and on down the street. He blinked, that hadn’t been Jonna. Come to think of it she had said that people were in the city. Now that he was here he hoped they were not thieves or drunks. He heard footsteps in front of him, so fearing the man who just ran in front of him was a drunk after Jonna, Rick ran harder.

The sand near the gate had smell hot still, in here though it was old wood and what might be cloth decay. Strands of his matted hair flipped around his face and got sucked into his mouth when he breathed in. Sweaty hair was not a good after dinner snack.
It had cooled in here but enough warmth came from the warm stones and street so it didn’t feel too cold yet. He saw the steeple of the church and that other building. It had looked newer yet still ancient. Now everything was dark-except the church. It sat on a very low hill be itself so moonlight shined on it. The moon was up.
Someone ran on another street. It could be Jonna if she took an alley. If she wanted to get the people out of the field they had made she should be shouting, but wasn’t. Just in case these people had harmed her or caught her to hold until later-for a ritual maybe? He didn’t shout.
He shined the light here and there but saw no one. He heard slithers and tiny feet but no people. He should have at least seen their camp by now. Maybe they were tourists who wanted to camp here.
A squeak up ahead made him run faster. It had started to smell of hot rock and ozone-he could taste the last when he panted. He better find Jonna soon, they didn’t know what a prolong exposure to their field did to houses, rocks or people.
Someone stood in the street up ahead. Rick slowed and pulled the large flashlight out as quick as possible. Its light would help him see better, maybe blind the guy and would be strong enough to use as a club.
Rick slowed and approached the figure. It turned to glare at him, or so Rick thought, since he couldn’t see the face that well.
He ran on pass the figure. The person looked familiar, but Rick didn’t go back to find out how. He turned down a corner. Another person who looked the same as someone else Rick knew came out of a building. He came up to Rick, ran with him for two blocks then made a sound of disappointment and turned off. Almost like they had just realized they didn’t know him after all.
There, in that strange building a light and a figure that was female. It looked right for Jonna. He turned and headed that way. Someone else came out from the side, he slowed and blinked. That looked like Jonna, but if so she had changed her outfit. A young man followed her soon after.
Whoa, Rick thought, that guy was me, with short hair. The new man ran after the second Jonna who had increased her speed. She was headed for that building. It now had two lanterns and three flashlights inside. He could see the lights flicker through a window. Or empty space in the wall. Those lights made the shadows look deeper. And now that he knew that he and Jonna were not alone he stared at the darkness, his fears coming back.
But he put on speed and found the building.
When he neared the door he slowed and stop. Off to one side Rick saw Cory standing and talking to a completely different Jonna. For one thing this one was dressed as a Goth, which included pale make up, black ribbons in her longer hair and maybe she looked younger too.
But Cory couldn’t walk. He had been born with spinal bifida, so had never walked.
The two turned to look at him, than at a newcomer who, whoa, looked like Rick but stockier.
That Rick said, “We need to get going the fields weren’t last much longer.”
The two pointed at Rick, the wider Rick turned and said, “Whoa-and damn. We should have known.”
Rick wanted to ask what was going on, but the strange Rick was right about the fields. He mumbled something about “nice meeting you” and hurried to the door into the building. He saw Jonna standing in the shadow of one side Jonna stood near the door in deep shadows. He had only seen her because he accidentally shone his light into that space when he stumbled again.
He rushed to it. “What is going on?”
She looked at him in surprise. “You need to leave.”
Figuring out what she meant by just saying. “You” he said, “Why without you?”
She sighed, “I don’t belong here. I made this trip here already, but the field died too soon and I was stuck somewhere else. I have spent over two years trying to get home but the last one attempt only brought me to your universe. Again the field wasn’t strong enough now laster long. Your battery makes a huge difference-make sure you get credit for it-as does the digital instead of analog readouts. It took me eight months to find you four so we could put together the right equipment. I didn’t know it all, I needed you guys to get home. I knew you all would be on that social media site but it took me months to draw you all out so I knew you could do the same as my real partners.”
“Whoa, real partners? You don’t have to be insulting, after all we are friends.”
She shook her head. “You are good people, but you are not my friends and partners in this. You are so much like my Rick but not the same. The same goes for the Siblings and Gory.
And no, I didn’t mean you and I are an item. We are just friends and not with benefits. I am married to Gory and we have a child.”
“That explains your push to get back to your world.”
She nodded, looked teary eyed for a moment. “I could not get close to any of you. The Rick of my group is more assured. He started the group and encouraged us.
“Your battery and the new infuser made a difference here. I have a temporal unlocked chroniton particle reader. I think it shows the right numbers. But if you are here when the field breaks down you will be with me or it will mess things up. But don’t worry you and I have to be together some place, not in the two alts I have been too but still it had to happen. You’re a good man. Now go. I need to hide here so none of the others grabs me, or stays here too long trying to talk me into going with them.”
Rick nodded, she was right about that field, even his battery would not last much longer, it had taken a while to find her.
She said, “I knew almost at once that I had been left in an Alt, even though this building was here. Because it is so unusual it is a catch point, it helps to focus the temporal twisting tachyon waves-I think.”
Jonna blinked back tears. “The universe I came from was so different. For one thing America was nothing as you know it and as it was on the other two universes I visited. George Washington and the others lost. He was, according to my school’s history, a bad man. Irritable, he killed people in duels for small slights, drank too much etc,. Now though I wonder if he was that bad. It could be why he lost but it could also be just what the winners said about him. But after the failed attempt to win his own country England dumped people on it the King didn’t want, including criminals and such. Three decades later England granted America independence but more because they just didn’t want it any more. Later they did awful things in the world and to each other. Worse than anyone thinks you guys really did. You did help win WWII. Half of what you built was junk, but it could be fixed up and it helped. Than on D-Day which to us meant Distraction Day, for the attack on Omaha Beach was just a distraction you guys ended up taking the Beach which cause Hitler to send in more troops for he didn’t want to lose to America. The American troops ran out of ammo so they used captured German arms. That included turning the cannons around and using them on the Germans. That became a good cliche. Turning a person’s weapons around to use against them. Later in the nick of time Churchill sent ammo and a few more troops. They made movies about that. But despite that win and the Battle of the Bulge being called an America is still an insult. A bad one.
“However in the first Alt I was sent to, was the opposite. People from other counties wanted to be called an American. That county’s history was close to yours but they helped a couple of more countries to become self sufficient and had better PR. It still amazes me that your America is so much better than mine. I wouldn’t mind living here even with your problems. All of my universe’s countries have problems of one type or another.”
A moment later someone headed away from them.
She said, “Damn, I took too long to explain what I wanted to say all along. I left notebooks and comments and my machine. Go now.”
Rick nodded and turned away. He wondered at first if she had flipped but he had seen others like their group and her description of her world made sense. He walked away but looked in the doorway. He saw another Jonna who held a lantern while another Rick held a flashlight like the one he carried. He rushed over to them. They held hands, he looked at them saw rings. Either they were cheating or were marred to each other.
They startled and he said, “The fields are collapsing. You better run for it or you might get caught in another universe as a friend of mine did. She thinks this one will take her home.”
Their expressions showed that they got his point, turned and ran toward another wall. He turned back and ran too. He managed to shout to someone who might have been the Siblings. But he knew his battery was almost used up and that the fields were starting to die.
He ran through the gate, wondered what would happen if he had chosen the wrong one. He found it easier to run on the sand than the cobblestones, even though he still couldn’t make top speed. The ozone smell grew, enough so he could taste it in the air. The night air had cooled a lot. He tripped once over some shrub but got up and ran harder. The air crackled behind him. Either it was about to break or it was going back together. Maybe if it broke they would have a permanent gate or field or something.
Someone stood on a dune and shouted for him to run faster. He wanted to ask why? The field was behind him. Was someone after him? A dinosaur from a universe where they hadn’t died out? Or more likely a cloud or concussion from the field collapsing was headed his way.
His back grew hot fast. Darkness shadowed him. The air and earth rumbled. A giant after him? He ran past Jonna’s device even as it died: lights blinked out, the humm it made ran down. Rick couldn’t stop though and almost ran into Jimmy, who had to duck to one side. He went up the dune and didn’t stop until he was against his SUV. At least he had lost enough momentum so he hit it easy. He leaned on it and panted. After a long moment he gasped out, “Did-you get-it?”
Cory answered through Rick’s ear piece. “Most of it. There was some fluctuating interference but I recorded most of it. I am making a back up now.”
Rick thought that not everyone would believe them, even with the video but maybe enough so they could get money and assistance to do it again.
What Jonna had said about him and her came to mind so did that last couple. He hadn’t really thought of marring Jonna. She was hot, and he liked looking at her-she must have noticed that. Because she mentioned her husband and but she had been too distance for that type of relationship. But maybe in another universe she might not have been. He might have been stronger and able to see things in people he couldn’t here too. Or braver and not so unsure of himself. But he had gone into the field and the dark village maybe he was braver than he thought. He could do more than be a one trick pony and chauffeur-he had in other universes evidently after all. He nodded as Jimmy and Coral caught up with him and asked what happened and where was Jonna. He caught his breath and turned to explain. They would want to see the video of her explanation. Cory could send a copy back to one or both of their laptops. Probably Jonna didn’t exist here or had died but they had this Jonna’s device and notes so they could do it without her now. He hoped she got home.

End