Pirates of the Storm (Stranded In Time Book 1) (29 page)

“
Otto, we’ve got a nice catch. The
pelicans look like they’re about to cause trouble though,” the boat
driver said in a loud voice, “Time for you to do your
thing!”

The boat was careening wildly across the
waves, pounding across the choppy water, and Jeff realized he had
simply traded a beating on his head for a beating on his tailbone
by sitting up. He tried to struggle to his feet, but the bouncing
of the boat combined with the residual wooziness from passing
through the time storm made it impossible at first. Finally he
managed to work his way to his knees and just as he did, the boat
hit a big wave that tossed him into the air just high enough that
he was able to get his feet underneath him as he clutched a railing
on the center console for support.

“
Careful!” the female-sounding
voice yelled out from behind him, “We don’t want you falling
overboard!”

Jeff felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned
towards it. “Welcome aboard!” the burly dark-haired man at the
wheel shouted, “My name is Manuel. That’s Rita back there and Sam
up in front,” he said, shouting over the noise of the wind in his
face and a high-pitched hum Jeff assumed to be the boat’s motor,
though it didn’t sound like any boat motor he’d ever
heard.

“
I’m Jeff. Thanks for picking me
up,” Jeff shouted back.

“
No problem,” Manuel replied, “We
couldn’t just leave you for the ASF goons - they’d throw you in
Gitmo to rot for the rest of your life.”

“
I’ve heard of Gitmo, but what’s
the ASF? “ Jeff asked.

“
The Anaconda Security Forces,”
Manuel answered.

Jeff was still a bit fuzzy and confused. He
figured he should be somewhere near Cuba and the fact that Manuel
had mentioned Gitmo confirmed that, but he had no idea what the
Anaconda Security Force was or why they would want to lock him
up.

Manuel noticed the look of confusion on Jeff’s
face. “Sorry, I should fill you in. Since you’ve heard of Gitmo,
I’m assuming you’re not from as long ago as your appearance would
suggest.”

Jeff nodded, “Well, yeah, these clothes are
from way before my time.”

“
So what year are you from?”
Manuel inquired. “Well, I just spent several months in the 17th
century, but I started out in 2012.”

“
Wow!” Manuel exclaimed, “You get
around! Two time storms?”

“
Yes,” Jeff replied, somewhat
relieved that Manuel already had a grasp of his situation. “So,
what year am I in now?”

“
This is 21... Shit!” Manuel
yelled as the boat shot over a wave and slammed down hard, knocking
him and Jeff almost to their knees. “Sorry about that! As I was
saying, this is the year 2173.”

Jeff struggled to get his feet solidly beneath
him. “2173, huh? Well, that’s not what I wanted to hear, but since
you know about the time storms, maybe you have a way to track them
or some other way to get me back to my time?” Jeff asked
hopefully.

“
Well, we can track the storms
when they appear,” Manuel said, tapping on a computer screen that
looked sort of like a weather radar scope, “Which is how we found
you. We come out on a regular basis to try to help time refugees
like you. The storms come through pretty regularly in this area,
but unless we’re already within a mile or two, they usually
disappear before we can get to them, or the ASF gets there first.
We have to be careful to be gone before they get a drone close
enough to ID us on camera or they get a hovercraft out there. Just
the act of intentionally going in the direction of a time storm or
contacting a time refugee is against the law. If the ASF catches
you, the penalties are pretty severe. Most of the time they seize
your boat and throw you in lockup for several months - and let me
tell you, the lockup is pretty rough! Fortunately, we’ve got a few
advantages that our tech guy Otto has set up, so we’re not at too
much risk of getting caught if we’re careful – he’s jamming the
drone cameras right now. But getting back to your question, as far
as I know, there’s not any dependable way to get you back to your
own time, although the ASF might have something they’re keeping a
secret. Even if they did, they’re a lot more likely to imprison you
for life than to help you, so I wouldn’t recommend going to
them.”

“
So, where am I exactly?” Jeff
inquired.

“
We’re off the Southeast coast of
the state of Cuba - near Guantanamo Bay. I’m going to take you to
our compound until your temperons are gone and we can hack you an
identity chip,” Manuel replied.

Jeff held up his hand, “OK, we need to back up
a bit. Did you say the
state
of Cuba?”

“
Oh, yeah, Cuba became part of the
United States in... Well, it was around 2100, as near as I remember
from my government classes.”

“
Close enough,” Jeff replied, “Now
what was that stuff about temperons and identity chi...” Splash! A
wave of saltwater crashed over the bow of the boat and hit Jeff
full in the face. The boat veered hard to the left and Jeff lost
his balance, nearly falling over the side, but Manuel grabbed him
by the arm at the last second and pulled him back to the console.
Jeff coughed as the saltwater burned at the back of his
throat.

“
Sorry!” Manuel apologized, “This
boat is as old as shit and it doesn’t handle the waves like the
hovercrafts do. I probably should concentrate on steering around
the rough water. I’ll fill you in on everything when we get to the
compound. We’ll be there in another 10 or 15 minutes.” Jeff nodded
in agreement, still coughing the salty water out of his lungs. “In
the meantime,” Manuel added, “You probably should go to the back
and get Rita to give you some sunshield. You are getting seriously
solared already!”

Jeff looked down at his arms and was shocked
by how red they were. He carefully stumbled back to where Rita was
sitting. The slender dark-haired woman was already digging in a
gear bag. She pulled out a small bottle and fished out a couple of
tiny spherical black pills. “Take these,” she
instructed.

“
Manuel said you had some
sunscreen,” Jeff replied.

“
Sunshield,” she corrected with a
smile, “That’s what these are.” Jeff took the pills from Rita and
tossed them in his mouth. Before he could even swallow, the tiny
pills had completely dissolved and almost seemed to disappear. “You
probably should sit down over there,” Rita said, nodding at a seat
on the other side of the stern of the boat. “Manuel will do better
avoiding the rough water now that he’s paying attention, but we’re
probably still in for a bumpy ride for another few
minutes.”

Jeff managed to make the few steps to the seat
and plopped down in it. As he did, he felt something heavy in his
pocket slap against his leg. He reached into his pocket and felt
the gold coins he had grabbed back at the governor’s house in
Pueblo Carcel. Well, at least he wouldn’t be starting out broke
this time. In fact, he might actually be starting out as a wealthy
man!

The boat pounded across the choppy water for
several more minutes before entering a protected cove. The ride
quickly became a lot smoother and Jeff could see a dock jutting
into the water from the mangrove trees not far ahead. A few minutes
later, Manuel backed off on the throttle and the boat drifted
alongside the dock. Sam and Rita stood up and jumped onto the dock
to tie the boat off. Jeff stood up and Sam leaned down extending
his arm, “Let me give you a hand up. You still look a little
wobbly,” the wiry, balding man offered.

“
Thanks,” Jeff replied as he
gripped Sam’s hand and climbed up on the dock.

Manuel climbed up after him and led the way
down the dock. He paused halfway to the end and turned to Rita,
“Better put a bug barrier on Jeff before we get to the trees, or
the mosquitoes will drain him before we get him inside.” As the
words left Manuel’s mouth, Jeff felt the familiar sting of a
mosquito biting his neck and swatted it.

“
Here, Jeff, let me put this on
you,” Rita said, pulling a metal bottle from her bag.

Jeff stepped toward her and she started
rolling the bottle on his arm. “Um, what are you doing?” he
asked.

“
Oh yeah, you probably don’t have
this in your time, do you? This cylinder creates a layer of charged
particles on your skin and clothing that repels the bugs,” Rita
replied, still rolling the bottle on him.

“
Cool!” Jeff exclaimed.

“
I’m sorry, is the cylinder cold?”
Rita asked.

“
No, no, cool is just an
expression. I just meant it is a nice step up from the insect
repellants I’ve used before.”

“
That should do it,” Rita said as
she finished rolling Jeff’s body with the repellant and placed it
back in her bag.

The group proceeded to the end of the dock and
into the trees. They walked for a hundred yards or so through the
mangrove trees before arriving at a set of doors projecting a few
feet out of the ground, like the storm cellar entrances Jeff had
seen on his travels in tornado country. Up the path, Jeff could see
what looked like a large house through the trees. Manuel noticed
his gaze, “That’s the main house,” Manuel pointed up the path, “but
we need to get you in the bunker before the ASF satellite picks up
your temperon signal. ” He and Sam each grabbed a door handle and
pulled hard. The doors slowly creaked open to reveal a set of steps
leading down to a well-lit hallway.

Rita led the way down the steps and Jeff
followed her as Manuel and Sam closed the doors behind them. “The
accommodations are a bit sparse, but they definitely beat what
you’d have at an ASF lockup,” Rita said as they walked down the
hallway, which consisted of bare concrete on the walls and floor
and some type of luminescent material on the ceiling that lit the
passageway.

A large metal door stood at the end of the
hallway and Rita pulled it open and waved Jeff through. A handful
of people were already inside. Two men were seated at a small table
in the center of the room wearing goggles and suits that appeared
to be part of some sort of virtual reality game, while two women
were talking and sipping drinks in what looked to be the kitchen,
and another man was seated at a desk reading a holographic display.
They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at Jeff and the
others as they came in. “These are your roommates - all time
refugees like yourself,” Rita said. The men and women walked over
and formed a line in front of Jeff as Manuel stepped forward to
introduce him to the group.

“
Everyone, this is Jeff. He’s
originally from the year 2012, but this is his second trip through
a time storm and he has just come from the 17
^th
century!”

The first man, a dark-skinned gentleman who
looked to Jeff to be about 50 stepped forward and shook Jeff’s
hand, “I thought I had come from a long way back! My name is Earl.
I’m from 2078.”

Next in line was a somewhat overweight man
with curly red hair who Jeff figured to be in his mid-twenties. As
they shook hands, the man introduced himself as Martin from the
year 2099. The first of the women to be introduced was Allison, a
fit-looking older woman from the year 2115. The last of the men was
a stick-skinny middle-aged man with messy blonde hair named Brett,
who was from 2119. Finally, there was the shapely woman with long
blonde hair. Unlike the others who were dressed in what resembled
surgical scrubs, she was wearing a tight red dress and stiletto
heels and her hair and makeup were impeccably done.

The bombshell eyed Jeff hungrily as she
introduced herself in a low, husky voice as… “Roberta.” Roberta
pushed Jeff’s handshake aside and pulled him into a tight embrace
before kissing him on the cheek. “I’m from 2095. Where I come from,
the men are men and… well, sometimes the women are too!”

The others laughed as Jeff recovered from his
surprise and replied with a smile, “Nice to meet you,
Roberta.”

Manuel spoke up, “Now that the introductions
are out of the way, let me get you settled in. I’m sure you’re
tired. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“
Actually, the biggest priority
right now is I need a restroom.”

“
Restroom?” Manuel
asked.

“
I need to pee,” Jeff said,
attempting to clarify, but Manuel still had a blank look on his
face.

Martin broke in with a sigh of frustration,
“The man needs to urinate.”

“
Oh, yes, of course! We call it
‘nating’. Right this way,” Manuel waved for Jeff to follow
him.

“
Need a hand?” Roberta called out
suggestively from behind them as Manuel directed Jeff down a short
hallway.

“
No, but thanks anyway, Roberta,”
Jeff called back over his shoulder.

Jeff entered the room Manuel directed him to,
but it didn’t look like any bathroom he had ever seen. The room was
empty, except for a few buttons, a mirror, and what looked like
some sort of drawers on the walls. Jeff popped his head back out
into the hallway and said, “Manuel, I’m going to need a little
guidance here…”

“
Oh, of course…You’re from a lot
further back than most of our guests. In fact, not even counting
your stop-over in the 17
^th
century, you’re from longer
ago than anyone we’ve had before,” Manuel replied as he stepped
into the room. “This button activates the waste processing system.”
Manuel pushed the button and out slid a metal drawer with a seat on
it that was sleek and shiny, but despite its high-tech appearance,
it was instantly recognizable as a commode, except for the fact
that it appeared to have solid bowl with no water in it, nor any
visible means of emptying. “This button will activate the personal
cleaning function when you are seated, but for standing use, simply
do your thing and just push the main activation button again when
you are finished and the unit will slide back into the wall,”
Moving to the side, Manuel pointed at another button on the wall
and explained, “This button activates the hand sanitizing unit.
Just place your hands in the openings and it will clean and dry
them. Again, just push the main button again to retract the unit.
That button on the far wall activates the spray wash unit and the
temperature control screen will appear when you activate the unit.
When you are done with the spray wash, the next button over
activates the body dryer. Any questions?”