Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (22 page)

Three pairs of eyes watched the monitor as the seconds counted down. At exactly 249.3 seconds the room filled with a blinding flash of light and a surge of energy washed over them. This time, however, the energy wave pushed against them and away from the machine. Kale powered the rings down. From their vantage point behind the barrier all three strained to examine the results.

“Stay here,” Kale instructed as he approached the machine. Andi and Jordan held hands and waited for him to return.

Moments later he did—carrying a brand new boot.

Kale paced back and forth across the living room, visibly shaken by the time travel experiment. “It’s over, Jordan. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk it.”

“It was only the first trial. I’m sure we can figure out what went wrong. Please, don’t give up,” Jordan begged.

Kale stopped in front of Jordan and fell to his knees. He took her hand in his and looked directly into her eyes. “You saw what happened to the boot. It came back altered. Sweetheart, consider what might happen to you in that circumstance.”

Jordan grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Well, worst case scenario—I come back as a baby and you’ll have to raise me all over again.”

Andi’s smirk earned her a glare from Kale.

“Andi, come on. I’m trying to be serious here.”

“I’m sorry, Kale, but Jordan is right.”

Kale rose to his feet and began to pace again. “How can you say that?”

Andi looked squarely at him. “Love, look at what we’ve accomplished. Time travel! You did it. You are the first person in history to accomplish that. Sure, there’s a lot of work to do to perfect it, but damn, you did it. Don’t run scared now. There’s a long way to go before we put Jordan into the machine, but damn it—don’t give up now. Only a coward would do that, and you are not a coward.”

“She’s right, you know,” Jordan said. “The Kale Simmons I know isn’t a coward.”

“Jord, I don’t want to hurt you. I am so afraid of that. I could never forgive myself if anything went wrong.”

“Kale, you know I love you. I am so very proud of you. Only someone driven by love would have been as devoted to this as you’ve been. I desperately want you to finish the job, but I will always love you, even if you decide to walk away. I will also love you if you continue this and everything goes terribly wrong. This is my decision too, and I’m willing to risk it.”

Kale closed his eyes. “I need to think about it. I need time to think about it.”

Jordan nodded. “I understand. Really, I do.”

Kale rose to his feet, lifted Jordan from the couch, and carried her into her bedroom. Andi followed close behind. He sat her carefully on the edge of her bed and placed a kiss on top of her head.

“I need to sleep,” he announced.

Andi wrapped her arms around his waist and placed a kiss in the middle of his chest. “I’ll help her get ready for bed. Go. I’ll be in soon.”

* * *

“Kale... Kale. Wake up.”

“What is it?” Kale raised himself up onto one elbow, trying to see Andi in the darkness.

“Listen. Do you hear that?”

Andi and Kale remained as still as possible, trying to hear any unusual sound or movement in the house.

Andi grasped his arm tightly. “There it is again. Did you hear it that time?”

Kale threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Yeah, I did. I’m going to check it out. Maybe Jordan’s in trouble.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Kale and Andi quietly tiptoed through the bedroom and into the hall. The first thing they noticed was that the door to Jordan’s room was open. As they approached, they heard a noise coming from the living room.

“There’s someone in there,” Kale said.

“No,” Andi said. “Wait for me. I want to be sure Jordan is okay first.”

Kale stood quietly by the door to Jordan’s bedroom, but he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the living room.

“Kale,” Andi called from Jordan’s bedroom. “She’s not in there. Her chair is there, but she’s not in her bed, nor in her bathroom.”

“Jesus Christ! What’s going on here?” Kale said. “I’m going to check out the noise in the living room. Wait here.”

“Not on your life. I’m coming with you.” Together, they slowly made their way down the hallway toward the living room. Just as they approached the archway at the end of the hall, Kale stepped on a board that creaked loudly beneath his weight. They immediately froze.

“Who’s there? Show yourself,” came a frantic voice from the living room.

“Jordan?” Kale whispered hoarsely.

“Who are you? I have a weapon.” The voice was female, and its owner was obviously very frightened.

“Jordan? Is that you?” Andi asked.

“Jan? Jan? Thank God! It’s me, Maggie. Jan, I need your help. I can’t walk.”

Andi gasped and made a move forward. Kale stopped her. “No. Something isn’t right.”

Andi pushed Kale’s arm aside. “She needs me. It will be okay.”

“I’m coming with you,” Kale insisted.

Andi placed a restraining hand on Kale’s shoulder. “I’ll be okay. She’s obviously dreaming, and she’s frightened. Let me talk to her alone. It might be dangerous to startle her awake.”

“I’m not letting you go in there alone. I’ll keep my distance, but I’m going with you.”

“Okay, but please let me talk to her,” Andi insisted. She turned toward the living room. “Maggie, where are you?”

“By the fireplace. Jan, please hurry. There’s something wrong with my legs. They won’t move.”

“I’m coming, Maggie. I’m just going to turn a light on first.” Andi switched on the table lamp near the archway and flooded the room with light. Jordan was lying half-reclined against the hearth on the floor by the fireplace. In her hand was a poker that she wielded like a sword. She raised it the moment she saw Kale.

“Who are you? What are you doing in my home?” Her gaze shifted quickly back to Andi. “Jan, who is he?”

Andi moved to Jordan’s side and removed the poker from her hands. “It’s okay, Maggie. He’s a friend. Don’t be afraid.”

Jordan peered into Andi’s face with a look of terror and desperation in her eyes. “Jan… I can’t move my legs. Something’s wrong!”

Andi took Jordan’s face between her hands. “Maggie, sweetie… calm down. It’s okay. How did you get out here?”

Jordan was clearly confused. “I... I remember waking up because I heard a noise outside my bedroom door. My legs wouldn’t work. I had to drag myself out here. I didn’t know where you were.” Her eyes suddenly locked on Andi’s face. “Jan, where were you? I looked for you but you weren’t there. There wasn’t even a dent in your pillow. When I went to bed last night, you said you’d join me soon, but you didn’t come. Don’t you want to be with me anymore?”

Andi looked worriedly at Kale then turned her attention back to Jordan. “Maggie, I’m going to ask Kale to put you back to bed, okay? It’s not good for you to be on the floor like this.”

Jordan looked at Kale. “Who is he?” 

Andi stroked Jordan’s face. “Don’t be afraid, Maggie. Kale is a friend.”

She looked back to Andi once more. Anger suddenly flashed across her face. “You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you? Is that why you don’t want to share my bed anymore?”

Andi was taken aback by the tone in Jordan’s voice. Not wanting to upset her further, she played along with the charade. “Maggie, you know that I love you.”

Jordan pushed her hand away. “Like hell you do. I could have died in the barn yesterday, but did you care? No! I lay there for hours before the vet arrived and found me.”

“Okay, this is creeping me out,” Kale interjected. “We need to wake her up.”

Andi grasped his arm. “No. The shock may cause her more harm than good. Let’s try to get her to bed.” Andi turned back to Jordan. “Sweetie, you know how important you are to me. It would devastate me if anything happened to you. It’s not good for you to be lying on the floor, especially not after the incident in the barn yesterday. Please let Kale carry you to bed. I promise you’ll feel better in the morning.”

Jordan looked at Kale, then back at Andi.

“Trust me, Maggie. He won’t hurt you,” Andi assured her. “I’ll hold your hand the whole way.”

Jordan finally nodded and allowed Kale to lift her from the floor and carry her back to the bedroom. Andi carefully pulled the blankets over her then sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. As she rose to go, Jordan grasped her arm.

“Don’t leave me. Lie with me. Hold me while I sleep, just like you always do. Please.”

Andi cast a concerned glance in Kale’s direction and silently promised him that she’d join him as soon as Jordan was asleep. Kale nodded his understanding and quietly left the room. Andi climbed in beside Jordan and took her into her arms. Jordan burrowed into Andi’s embrace and whispered, “I love you, Jan.”

Within moments, she was asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Andi was in the kitchen making breakfast when she heard Jordan call out her name. She slipped the tray of batter into the oven and responded to Jordan’ call.

“Good morning, brat,” Andi said cheerily as she entered Jordan’s room.

Jordan cocked an eyebrow at Andi. “Brat? What did I do to earn that moniker?”

“Well, I could have called you ‘pain in the ass,’ but I thought I’d be kind to you this morning, considering the night you put in.”

Jordan frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Andi pulled the covers from Jordan. “No. Bathroom first, gossip later. Come on, let’s see if we can get you into the chair without falling into an obscene position today.”

“You’re no fun. I like the obscene positions,” Jordan responded.

“You would. Hold on... ready?” In one swift movement, Andi lifted Jordan from the bed and swung her around to seat her comfortably in the chair. “There we go.”

Jordan grinned up at Andi. “You know I can do that myself with much less work, and in about half the time.”

“Yes, you can, but doing so requires that you drag your butt across the bed and the seat of the chair, and you know you’re not supposed to be doing that for a while.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Clear the way, I’m coming through,” Jordan said as she maneuvered the hover-chair toward the bathroom.

Andi watched her go. “Want some help in there?”

“Hell, no. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay, breakfast is cooking. Join me in the kitchen when you’re ready. I’ll have a cup of coffee waiting for you.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Andi made Jordan’s bed and then returned to the kitchen. By the time she’d poured two cups of coffee, Jordan had entered the kitchen.

“It smells great. I’m famished.” 

Andi placed the cup of coffee in front of Jordan. “You should be. You worked up an appetite last night.”

Jordan’s brow knit. “That’s the second reference you’ve made to last night. Spill it.”

Andi sipped her coffee then lowered the cup to the table. “What do you remember about last night?”

“I remember having a discussion with you and Kale about refining the time travel experiments.” She suddenly sat up straight and looked around. “Where is Kale, by the way?”

“He’s in the lab. The crew arrived about an hour ago to resume the implant testing.”

“Oh. I guess I should think about showering and getting my butt out there to help them. Anyway, I remember discussing Kale’s reluctance to continue the experiments, then all of us going to bed after that.”

“You don’t remember anything else?”

Jordan looked at Andi. “All right, you’re freaking me out. What the hell happened last night?”

“Basically, you sleepwalked. Kale and I found you in the living room on the floor by the fireplace.”

“You found me in the living room? Back up. Begin again and don’t spare the details.”

Andi leaned forward and covered Jordan’s hand with her own. “I think Maggie was trying to reach you last night. You were her.”

“What the hell?”

“You became Maggie, Jordan. You were frightened when you heard Kale’s voice, but when I spoke, you thought I was someone named Jan. I didn’t want to startle you, so I played along.”

Jordan frowned deeply at the mention of Jan’s name. “What did I say?”

“None of it made much sense. You said you had woken up and realized I wasn’t in bed with you. I’m assuming Jan was Maggie’s girlfriend?”

Jordan nodded absentmindedly. “Please, go on.”

“Anyway, you accused me of not caring about you and cited some incident that had happened in the barn a day earlier. Apparently Maggie was in some sort of danger and was finally found by the veterinarian. Maggie was quite upset that Jan didn’t seem to care enough to be concerned about her. That’s the impression I got, anyway.”

“What happened next?”

“It was the middle of the night, and I knew that your lying on the cold floor like that wasn’t exactly the best thing in the world for healing, so I urged you to let Kale carry you back to bed.”