Little Cherine Book 12 - BPost011

I allowed my heart to speak to hers as strongly as it could and she buried her face against my chest, both of us holding the other tightly to stop the trembling.

Previous: Book 12 - Post 010

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We delayed another four hours as we tried everything we could to sense any efforts to influence us. Robbie, Vincent and Freddie placed all the safeguards they could and then Angelica jumped for Christós and Jesus. Both came and brought six mages with them. We should have thought of it before, this moment is important for them also. Lusalith appeared and then Roula with Goldi jumped to bring Orgg and Jeskine. I decided I might as well get Samuel and his family with some of the local leaders and Cherinians-to-be from the centers. This is turning into quite a large gathering - especially once you add the aliens in Freddie who are surrounding us in the fields and sharing directly from our minds - since none may share from a Cherine.

With spells and energy traps surrounding Freddie and once again inside, surrounding us, we feel we’ve minimised the dangers and are now ready to proceed. Because they would be sharing a common experience, there was a natural tendency for all the Cherines to want to gather in a group. They were also torn by the need to be with their Robert. Dommi told the Teller families and close friends to surround their Cherine and Robert but keep them apart. She warned of the dangers of merging, whether in their minds or as souls. Solomon agreed with her and then so did the Muyzith, so her warning is being taken very seriously and we are all preparing ourselves for a battle as we fight to keep them apart.

As if the fear in our hearts was not enough to satisfy any enemy, Empathia glanced at me, sharing her thought. I nodded and she ordered Kirsten and Cherise to join our family (since ours is the largest we should help them). Of course our Tserika is included as a Cherine.

Dommi was frowning so it did not surprise anyone when she spoke loudly. “There is too much fear, this should be a moment of love and joy. We’ll have to postpone until everyone has calmed down.”

None of us could bear to wait, we were far too keyed up by our excitement and anticipation, but we knew Dommi was right; fear could lead us into making a wrong decision at a critical moment. Cassie and Jade whispered with Meli and the girls rushed to the central area. They rose about a meter as Robbie created a stage for them to stand on and they put on a show for us. It was a repeat of the farmer Robert and his cows and since the girls improvise every time, there were new twists and jokes to make us laugh. The show was abbreviated and only lasted one and a half hours and when it was over we saw buffet tables with food and drink. Only once everyone was ready did we take our places once more, this time our eager awe dominating us, fear not more than a distant hint of unease we tried to ignore.

The Cherine, as she was just after meeting Robbie (with regard to our Cherine and some alternates, others only just after they loved their Robert) was temporarily split off from the Cherines and merged into one eight year old girl. She had to have a real body for her to have all the emotions coloured by the way the body changes them. We’ve discovered that if we don’t do that, the emotions are not as ‘real’ to us. Solomon created the body based on genetic information from cells of Cherine.

It is far easier to know why we hate; we cannot truly say we love for this or that reason. There is not one Teller in any of the realities we’ve been to who does not love their Cherine. Within the family and inner circle of friends, there is not one who resents a Cherine or anything she has done. How could we, when we know that our Cherines live for our Robert and us.

The Cherine newly formed was of a sweetness I cannot describe, for she was totally innocent, empathic, and her dreams still the dreams of a child only. She had not been saddled with the guilt of the death of her father and she could see a number of her fathers. She knew why she existed and mostly floated within her mind without any deep thoughts. She would only feel joy at returning to her individual components and being part of the Cherines she came from.

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It was decided that the Roberts would not create a composite Robert as they would feel and sense the composite Cherine far deeper and sensitively than they could as one Robert who does not belong to any one Cherine. We still do not know whether we made a mistake, if such a composite could have altered what was to occur - but I had promised Cherine.

We were given the time we needed to enjoy and revel in the existence of the new Cherine, each of us desperately wishing we could wrap our arms around her (since it was so for us, we can only imagine how it must have been for the Roberts). Before we could affect her, the Cherine from one week in our future returned as Cherine The Light.

We miscalculated badly, but I can see why Cherine from the future still had to return anyway. I hope she knows something we do not.

Each and every Cherine was just as affected as we were by seeing and sensing Cherine The Light, despite their examining her more critically than we ever could. They were also viewing her through the composite Cherine and seeing her as we do, only even more idealised and wondrous, for it was the first time composite Cherine was seeing her and she thought she was an angel sent by God to us. The pull from the Cherines who shared from within her grew as each Cherine tried to maximise every nuance of what they were sharing - and the composite Cherine screamed and (with a feeling, for us, of her imploding), she disappeared.

Her sudden disappearance severely hurt and damaged every Cherine, for they had been within her mind. Every Robert had been trying to share from both their own Cherine and from the composite and they also collapsed. All of us had been straining to sense composite Cherine and our own Cherine (but without entering their minds) so the abrupt vacuum hurt us also.

I’d held on to the image of Cherine The Light, desperately hoping she would help us, make all return to as it was, minds and hearts healed. Instead, I saw her fight to keep from falling to her knees as she desperately clung to her mind - it too had been sharing (lightly and remotely but still, sharing) and it had felt as if the vacuum had tried to suck her along into the emptiness sweet composite Cherine had been imploded into.

The damage to their own Cherines had forced each Robert to struggle against the dissolution of their own consciousness when parts of their souls were ripped away and they only blankly stared at Cherine The Light when she called to them, “Roberts, create a composite for it to find her!” Vincent, as a focus only, pulled Robbie (both Freddies had to remain excluded to keep their FTS going) to him and as they joined their minds they pulled at the other Roberts and a younger composite Robert took form. With awed delight it stared at Cherine The Light, ignoring the Cherines lying on the ground amongst them. She pointed her finger at him, sending from her mind so powerfully that Talents from all over Earth reported feeling her as if she were in their minds. “Sense her - now follow and find her, you must bring her back or we are all lost.” Somehow she thrust at the composite Robert and we cried out as he vanished. Sadly she looked at us and disappeared, returning to her own time - oh, that means our Cherine must have recovered by then! I can no longer assume she comes from a week in the future, but whenever, at least we know she does recover. That will give all of us the courage to continue fighting.

Alki was impressed that you instantly knew it was him. He forced me to listen to him. “Sammy mou, he is right, we must fight together. Help us rouse the others and then, all together, we’ll do what we can for our Roberts and Cherines.”

Kirsten recovered, Cherise did not. The boxee Cherine recovered because she has her friend still sharing her mind with her and Ntchizi clung to her mind as she was being torn out of her body. The two of them are devoting all their time to caring for the comatose Cherines, keeping their bodies healthy while trying to help their minds recover.

It did not take long for the world to learn of the calamity. A few laughed and said we deserved what happened to us because of our hubris, while most worried about us, especially our Cherines. In a Canadian restaurant, a loudmouthed man told those at his table and all who could hear, that my family and all alternates deserved what happened to them because they had stupidly listened to me. He spoke of past times that only luck had saved my family and friends from calamities I’d tried to bring to them. A man at another table sat back and stared at him and the man recognised the other man as being Arthur Campbell. He made another insulting comment about me directly to Campbell and he came to his feet and walked over to the loudmouth. The man came to his feet with a smile, only to find himself sitting on the floor, a broken tooth and bleeding lip making it obvious he’d been hit, even if he had not seen the blow coming.

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“If not for her and her family you would not be sitting here in luxury, you’d be hunting rats to stay alive.” He then rejoined his guests at his table and ignored the shouting by the other man until he left the restaurant. Campbell sent a message, asking whether he could join us in Freddie. Allan asked him to come and within minutes he was with us. He stayed until all the Cherines had recovered, helping where he could and talking to keep our minds off our problems when we were forced to wait with nothing to do. A Cherinian asked him, when we were not present, whether he now considers himself our ally and he answered that he does - in the manner set out by Samantha.

The date I’d expected the future Cherine to return from as the Light, came and went without our Cherine recovering. We no longer knew what to do, we’d tried everything we could think of; Jesus, Christós and the mages tried using magic to sense where the composite Cherine and Robert had gone to, but they did not succeed. Nor could Lusalith. I was not surprised, if Cherine The Light could not, I did not think they could. I hate doing nothing and feeling helpless, but this time I could not think of a way to take any meaningful action. Robbie and all the Roberts were not of much use to their families as they each concentrated on their Cherine, holding their first loves in their arms as often as they could. We had searched their minds and they were not hiding in there, they had been taken away by the composite Cherine. Aganthi volunteered to visit the world inside Cherine’s mind now and then to check the people there were alright, but she soon stopped as she found Robbie was going there for an ale at the local tavern. She told us he’d sit hunched over his mug of ale with his hands wrapped around it and his eyes blank as he sank into his thoughts and memories, being with his Cherine in the only way he could.

I’ve wept all the tears I have and guilt has shredded my confidence and without confidence there is nothing, no rock for my imagination to leap from and fly. I’d ask one of my loves to take over the diary but, at this time of grief and apathy, not one of them finds the diary important. At least a number of them, such as Aganthi, Diana, Gina, Angelica, Sheena, Haven, Athia and Theresa have taken over looking after those who need help - even though it is only to provide encouragement for the rest of us to believe that soon Cherine will be back with us. It requires inner strength to provide that comfort when the same fear eats away at your own strength. I wish I had their strength or willpower.

It is good that not all Cherinians feel the way we do. All who were closely linked to our Cherines when the child Cherine was grabbed by some power, are suffering the same sense of grief and apathy. The rest are not, for they have understood that the presence of the future Cherine means that Cherine will recover. It means more than that; it means that all the Cherines will be fine and there will have been no catastrophic changes. I cannot imagine the future Cherine not finding a way to warn us or, knowing her obsession with our safety, fighting to change the past, if this was to cause great damage. Normals have been told the problem is only temporary, so they do not understand why we are so depressed.

Solomon sat by my side. “Sam, there is talk that we will have to release Craig and his accomplices if the court does not give a specific date for the next hearing. Socrati is too devastated to join us and if we announce the change of one of the judges we will have to begin the trial all over again from the beginning. We’re not certain how we should handle the case.”

Just for a moment I allowed myself the sour thought, ‘why me, why is it always me, why can’t he let me be?’ but I also had to acknowledge I’d brought it on myself, always having an opinion, always thinking I can handle what others would not. “Wasn’t there anybody else who could talk to Socrati?” I did not give him time to reply. “I’m sorry, that was petty. Where is Socrati?” We jumped to Cyprus.

As soon as I saw him (and sensed him) I felt like running to him, throwing my arms around his waist and crying. I forced myself to stay by the side of Solomon. “Eisai pallikari? Can you find the courage to dance for us as you once did?”

He came to me and taking my hand put it to his cheek. “Whatever you need Sammoula mou.”

I put my other hand to his face and held him as I spoke softly, my eyes filled with love. “Socrati mou, the dance we need of you is that you return to the court case against Craig and the others. The damage to all that Cherine stands for if he is set free without a proper trial would affect us for centuries. Cherine will soon be sitting on Robbie’s lap, staring at us with a hidden smile as we play our games to keep Robbie happy, so try to pull yourself together and give Solomon a date you can join him in court.”

“Avrio; (tomorrow?)”

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“We have to give the defence a reasonable notice, would next Wednesday morning do?” He nodded his agreement so I turned to Solomon. “I’ll stay here for a while.” Solomon left. “May I walk with you? I’m tired of looking at Freddie’s countryside - it’s too beautiful when I want to feel miserable. I need something harsh like these rocks and pine trees.”

It was good to hear him chuckle. “You are saying Cyprus is better for being miserable in?”

We walked for hours, seldom speaking, both heavy with our thoughts. Socrati climbed to sit on the rock ahead so I followed him. Before me the view shocked with its ugliness, the landscape more like a moonscape. As lifeless as it seemed, we saw a fox dash for cover, so I knew there had to be a great variety of life. I sat to the left of Socrati so that his body would shield me from the worst of the wind.

“Without counting time spent in Freddie, if we had not found each other, I would have been dead more than thirty years. Sometimes I wonder what it was that called for me to come to Paphos that day.” He paused and then spoke so softly that with the wind blowing I could hardly hear him. “I have loved Cherine more than my own life ever since then and it hurts to feel her as she is now.”

I spoke of my fear for the first time. “She will return Socrati. All the Cherines and Roberts will return. Do you know what it is that makes me tremble with fear? The composite Cherine and Robert might have enough experiences to form their own personalities and souls and it might then be necessary for them to die a final death so that the Cherines and Roberts can return to us. If not for Robert, then for the child Cherine, her death will be my fault - I am to blame.” He turned to stare into my eyes, blocking his emoting. It was a tiny shattering within my soul when he did not argue. I returned to Freddie as soon as I could and did not want to see anyone for hours.
In one sense I am no better off than before. I’ve girded myself for battle, but I do not know what to do. I guess it is time we start to debate the possibilities after we have all shared what we felt at the instant composite Cherine was stolen from us and our Cherines were torn out of their bodies to follow her.

The first point everyone kept on returning to was the claim by Arthur that someone was ‘prompting’ us. We tried to work out what made Arthur suspicious of such a possibility, how was I or anyone else acting out of character? Because we walked out of a court case that was important to us? I don’t see that, he knows Cherine and her welfare is always prime for me and all of us. Let us say he is right; who or what did the prompting? I’m not going to ask how, since we could not sense it. These all seem to be questions we do not have the answers for. Not least of all is the fact that we cannot find any motive for any being doing so as the success of its efforts have not led to it taking any action - against us now that we are weakened or to benefit itself in any way that we would not approve of. No reality has reported any unusual problems.

Personally, I believe that Arthur had a foreboding but could not justify it so he looked for a ‘logical’ answer. I’ve decided not to spend any more time on this aspect of the problem and concentrate instead on finding a way to re-open the anomaly in space that stole our Cherines. Because of our experiences and all we learnt at the edge of the universe, our scientists are no longer limited in the ways they theorise so one of them just might come up with a crazy idea that works.

It’s almost enough to make me cry. As soon as my loves saw me take a positive attitude, it was as if some hidden or dormant part of their belief took over and Freddie is a more pleasant place to be once again. It is only now that we can appreciate the hell we’ve put some of our friends through. Perhaps the most amazing of all has been the way Campbell has withstood the suffering Goldi made him endure just because he did not want her to feel she was alone.

At first the Roberts were not as severely damaged as the Cherines, but since Cherine The Light sent them after their Cherines, they have been little more than zombies, not able to exert themselves to do anything more than hold the bodies of their Cherines and we have to look after them. With each passing day they seem to grow more insubstantial, as if the core of their soul is missing. I don’t understand why Arthur’s assumption has not worked, Robbie should have been tearing the Symban apart in his effort to bring back our Cherine. Jesus and Christós insist that Robbie has already done that by sending a major part of himself after her. I don’t agree that it is enough. I’m making everyone very angry with my attitude towards Robbie and it seems to also be affecting him. I hope so!

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Another two days have gone by without any new ideas.

Vincent and Kirsten are usually careful not to let us sense them when they are not with us and we respect their need for privacy. It was a surprise when we felt Vincent light up, a great joy beaming from him and then the same happening with Kirsten, with a heavy dose of pride in some achievement. A few minutes later they arrived by us.

“Kirsten has thought of a way that might help me find them. She reminded me that our Cherine and most of the others have a splinter of my soul with them. Since they have not released even one splinter, it must mean they are not in danger.” Quickly he added, “There is the possibility they are not aware, so do not rejoice yet.”

Dommi said, “We already know they will come back Vincent, so they must be alive. The question is, how do we help them return? I think that if they could have returned on their own they would have. Can you find your splinters?”

“Kirsten suggested I create a new splinter and send it away with the instruction that it finds the other splinters and then returns to show me where they are. On the basis of like is attracted to like, her idea just might succeed.”

Claudia spoke up, “We cannot take the chance Vincent, what if the trip damages the splinter so that it also can’t return? We have to follow the splinter.”

I gave Vincent a look to stop him from protesting. “Claudia love, I think you are right, but you did not think it all the way through. If Cherine and Robert were damaged, then we could also be damaged. Vincent, one of us has to take the risk of being damaged and I’m sorry to tell you that it will have to be you - I do not intend being the one. You must place me within a stasis shield so that I have the chance of arriving there without being damaged. Once you let me out, I’ll heal you.”

“If what you say is true, how do you know I’ll be in a position to free you?” I felt the amusement of everyone as they saw I, in return, had not thought it through. I gave them a few seconds to savour their amusement.

“We’ve created stasis shields that only last for a given time, why should we not do so again? The idea has its drawbacks, for instance, what if the trip takes far longer than we expect and I’m released just in time to be damaged? I think the best answer is that I place a splinter of mine in Vincent and it is keyed to trigger the release when we arrive.”

We settled for using a combination of both, my splinter triggering Vincent so that he releases me and the shield to last for a month - after that I would die from lack of oxygen anyway, so it could not be later than a month. We only came to our decision after first arguing and refusing all those who insisted in coming with - it seemed everyone felt they had a right to come with, even Campbell, so I had a great number of people angry with me because Vincent backed me. He’d soon given up on the idea of stopping me when he saw Dommi was on my side, but saw no reason why he should agree to place more lives in danger. A platform was created with food and drink and bottles of compressed air. I also would have Athene with me so I could write in the diary and ask for Arthur to help if necessary. I will write so as to see whether my writing appears in the diary here. Bon voyage my love. You stick by me and stay available please - no going to movies or chatting up girls. I don’t want you to be missing should I need you. I’ll always be there for you my love, just write if you need help - please don’t be too proud to ask.

I entered the platform (which shields me from radiations thanks to the coral Lusalith wove into it) and then Vincent enclosed it with a time stasis shield. I instructed Athene and she made her screen visible to Vincent with the words, ‘DON’T YOU DARE’ typed on it. He grimaced, proving I’d guessed right when I suspected he intended leaving me behind, and folding me within his powers he let go his splinter and jumped after it as it departed.

Chapter Three Hundred and One

It was not anything like teleporting from reality to reality. Those, as far as we can sense, are instantaneous or close to being so. This time, for me at least, it was as if I were in a science fiction movie from the 1980’s. Stars and galaxies melted into streaks of light until the blur became a sheet of light and then it was as if the editor flipped the lights over to show the negative of the film in reverse. Suddenly there was utter darkness and then stars shone in their various constellations and it seemed to me as if we were seeing familiar skies. As we dropped towards the atmosphere of Earth I screamed, for Vincent was still travelling at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Even through the time stasis I felt myself violently jerked around in quick succession and then, suddenly, we were at rest on the ground, Vincent taking his form. He collapsed to his knees, the palms of his hands resting on the sand. I waited for him to recover, smoothing out my skirt and wishing that for just this once I’d had the common sense to wear jeans or trousers.

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Vincent seemed to collapse backwards so that he ended up sitting on the sand. When his eyes passed over me they were vacant, no force of personality behind them. To stop myself from going berserk, I told myself there was no need to panic, within a few weeks I’d be free. The truth was that I did panic. I’ve lived my entire life depending on Vincent, to me he has always been invincible and truly our protector. To see him helpless like a baby was unnerving. I decided this qualified as a good time to ask for Arthur to help, but I saw movement and then a boy of about six years old walked out onto the sand. He stared at Vincent and then he looked at me. I smiled and gestured for him to come closer. He shook his head and looked as if he were about to run away. I asked Athene to create the effect of fireworks exploding on the screen. Once I saw he was watching, I told her to create an animated character and have it do silly things. Now that I can think again I realise I was really being unfair to Athene, how does an AI know what being silly is? (Don’t even try your obvious answer Arthur). Athene came through for me and a silly looking creature began to dance and fall over and act just like all those ridiculous cartoon characters do on television. The boy edged closer but I pretended not to notice him and put on a performance, pretending I was holding my sides from laughter - I’m just glad nobody I know could see me (well, maybe Robbie would have enjoyed seeing me).

The boy came close enough to touch the shield (it only lightly tickles). The cartoon character pointed at him and asked, one word at a time (in balloons), ‘can - you - read?’. Athene had to watch him for me as I was afraid of scaring him away. He must have answered and she lip-read his answer or else he gestured. She then wrote, ‘shake - the - man - and - tell - him - to let - the - girl - go’. He glanced at Vincent, put his thumb in his mouth as he considered it and then ran away.

Luckily I was only given about ten minutes to despair and the boy reappeared with a woman. She would not come closer despite his urging, so I turned towards her and putting my hands together in supplication, I pleaded for her to come to me. The problem with a stasis shield is that sound is affected so that neither side can understand what the other is saying. Using Athene’s screen I explained that the man is a scientist and he’d created the shield as an experiment, but then he’d fallen and now just sat looking at me - could she please shake him out of it and firmly tell him to let me go…before my air finishes?

I must have panicked her for she rushed over to Vincent and while shaking him I could see she was also shouting. She slapped his face a few times until his eyes focussed on her and she repeated herself, taking hold of his face and forcing him to look towards me. I saw there was still no sign of intelligence, but the stasis shield fell apart. I opened the platform and, on wobbly legs, I started to climb out. The woman grabbed hold of me under the armpits and lifted me out.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.” She had that no-nonsense air practical women with small children develop, so I decided I better avoid any wild stories. “I’m more worried about my uncle.”

She stared for a moment at Vincent as if something about him angered her, but she controlled her feelings. “Lead him to my home and we’ll have a doctor examine him. What of this contraption?” She gestured towards the platform.

“Oh, I…better switch it off.” Pretending I was pressing buttons on Athene, I willed the platform to another beach (Dar) and kept my fingers crossed, hoping nobody will be walking by it for a few hours. I really had to see to Vincent first.

Once we had Vincent standing, it was not too difficult to get him walking. I held his hand and the two of us followed Dottie and her son (can you imagine naming your daughter Dottie? She must have been teased at school.). Her English accent, the coolness of the sea breeze and the grey surface of the ocean combined to a very strong hint that we were in England or Wales. From her accent it was safe to assume we were not on the Scottish coast. Dottie looked back at us as we climbed the path, her face guarded, but she did not speak again until we stood before the front door of her home. It was open and she only hesitated long enough to make certain I closed the gate.

“His name is Vincent?” She took hold of his other hand. “Come in and you can lie down until the doctor arrives.” I suddenly imagined the doctor trying to give Vincent an injection and the needle breaking.

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“My uncle doesn’t like doctors, maybe if he sleeps an hour or two he’ll feel better?”

She looked as if she were about to argue, she looked into my eyes and led us to a bedroom. Vincent lay down, I told him to sleep, waited until he closed his eyes and went to sit with Dottie - as I knew she expected me to. She had many questions and I worried how I was to avoid answering them without seeming rude.

I sat at the kitchen table, biting my lip as I thought of what I could say. The truth is, apart from lying, there wasn’t much I could say. I waited until she’d provided her son with a Marmite sandwich and made tea for the two of us. As she sat down I decided I better speak first. “I need to ask you for a very special favour. You saved my life so I don’t want to lie to you. Please don’t ask me any questions.”

Her lips thinned as she stopped herself from answering or asking questions. She sighed and relaxed. “You have an old soul…”

“What do you mean by that? Someone else said it to me a long time ago and I’ve wondered what he meant.”

She laughed. “A long time ago? It’s just a saying dearie, it means there is a look of wisdom in your eyes that is unnatural to a girl of your age.”

I tried to make a joke of it. “Oh, that? It comes from watching too much television.”

“Television…what is that? Don’t tell me it is another invention of your uncle?”

“Yes.” I thought of my Gina and how much better she had been at handling herself under similar conditions. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you - I was laughing at me. I’ve never felt less wise than I do now.” From the way she looked at me I realised I was not talking like an eleven year old girl. I don’t think I know how to anymore and the problem is compounded by the difference in our levels of technology; girls of this world probably sound far less knowledgeable about life.

Just as Dottie’s husband opened the gate and his son Richard ran to him, I sensed Vincent stirring, awakening. I rushed to his side. “Do you know who I am?”

He stretched and then glanced at me. “Sam, what happened?” I nearly burst into tears.

We joined them for tea and both Vincent and I were grateful for the British reserve that stopped them from prying. I could tell that Vincent had not fully recovered and he was troubled by gaps in his mind. Whatever he may have forgotten, he had not forgotten why we’d come here and impatiently wondered why I was taking it so slow. I was not only doing it for him, I had a strong feeling there was danger - the bad kind that gets you killed, and Vincent was not in a condition to be my protector; for this time I’d have to be his protector and think carefully before making any decisions.

Towards the end of the meal Dottie’s husband remarked, “I hear the coast has been cordoned off with hundreds of trumen from the city searching for something that left an enormous energy signature. They seem to be very upset and even worried.”

Dottie carefully did not look at me so it was obvious what she thought. She looked at Vincent, at the still almost vacant look on his face and then set her lips and I guessed she’d steeled herself to ask us to leave. Whatever these trumen were, if they represented danger for her and her family, I could not blame her. I now also had to worry about the platform. What if they sensed it and even now were examining it? Could they have anyone with the gift for sensing who had used it and where that person is? These trumen had to be Talents, no electronic equipment could have sensed our arrival.

“You better return to bed - I’ll bring you a cuppa and a hot water-bottle if you need it. Samantha, you better sleep with Richard - he won’t be a nuisance, he sleeps very early.” She turned to her husband. “You might as well go to the pub. Evan, don’t talk about our guests, ’tis not the time to mention such things with all those searchers asking so many questions.”

He barely glanced at Vincent and I as he wrapped his scarf around his neck and put on a coat. Within minutes he was gone. I was flabbergasted, he had not reacted at all to his wife making such a decision and I had not sensed anything strong from him. It was as if he had, at some time in his life, decided it was more comfortable leaving all the thinking to his wife.

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Maybe Dottie saw something on my face, for she explained, “He was taken in for evaluation, as most men were, but he returned slightly damaged. He can do his work but…” She might have only cold steel in her eyes but I could sense the grief in her - and the fear that someday they might do the same to her son.

“You’ve guessed?”

She nodded. “Yes, you are mutants like them and they’re hunting you.”

“Can you tell me where they came from - and when?”

She gave me a strange look. “Eight years ago. It started with the appearance of one man and one little girl - he looked a lot like your uncle, but the little girl had dark hair and eyes. Robert and Cherine.” Vincent gave a start of surprise and Dottie waited in case he was about to speak, but Vincent settled back - but now I could sense his mind was more aware. “They were a wonder and the whole world was excited by their appearance and the good deeds they performed. Then the little girl was killed and Robert turned vicious. He used his powers to turn men into mutants and they helped him kill half a million soldiers in one hour when we tried to defend ourselves and there are thousands of them now running our governments.” She paused. “There was a rumour that when they first appeared, before they declared their presence publicly, they both seemed damaged like him. Why is that?”

“How much do you want to know while it is dangerous to know?”

“I’d have it known why I lost the best of my husband and why I must fear for my son. Fear not, I shall not speak to others.”

I explained about alternate realities and only once I was certain she understood did I explain how Robert and Cherine and Vincent had been damaged by the trip. I explained about the container she’d seen me in protecting me. She made tea and thought while she sipped it. “Where will you go now?”

“To the past - if Vincent can take me. We cannot do anything to change the past, but we must watch Robert and learn what his weaknesses are before we try to deal with him. Dottie, for us it will be years but for you - listen to the news tomorrow night.” I took her hand in mine. “We will return and all the evil done will be undone, I promise you.”

It was obvious she did not believe me, but she is a good person and continued speaking to me politely, despite my admitting to being a mutant. “Try to sleep for an hour. Evan will tell others and the trumen will be here before midnight, but I’ll wake you before then and there will be a parcel of food ready for you to take with you.”

Vincent and I found the platform exactly where I’d sent it. There were no signs that it had been seen and after strengthening it, Vincent sent it into space. He sat by my side, waiting as I thought my thoughts.

“Vincent, I was wondering why this Robert became like this, why a killer and dictator? Why didn’t Cherine’s death make him kill himself? You know what I think? Just before he was formed, we had the story of Craig very much on our minds. Perhaps traces of those worries crossed over and he saw those thoughts or images as being the way he is supposed to deal with the Normals. Do you feel strong enough to return us in time?”

“I still feel a bit woolly. I don’t think we should try to return in time until I’ve recovered.”

“Let me into your mind.” I’d never seen anything like it. It was as if dozens of tiny whirlpools had formed and stirred up memories. Nothing was missing, just mixed up badly. Some of the obvious bits I wanted to heal, but I did not know where those memories had been situated so I had to leave them alone. I decided we can fix those memories once we are back in our own reality. “You won’t be getting better until we return. Vincent, you still have most of your powers - can you check on the void without being sensed if Robert or his Talents are there?”

He returned as the void, taking shape out of courtesy as he communicated. *There are no Sparklers, but I saw the Anadir in the distance. I do not think the Talents have learnt to use the void and there are no Terran Kaleidoscope Worlds.*

“Vincent, is there a local Robert and Cherine?”

*I did not search. We cannot protect them and fight. If they have been ignored till now it might be wiser to leave them alone.*

7909

“You better return to your body. We’ll have to change our appearance before we return in time.” I sensed his surprise when he opened his eyes and saw me as a woman of about twenty five, Greek in appearance, black hair, olive black eyes and what men would call ‘a nice pair of boobs’. I found them uncomfortable, but they were bound to distract any male who wanted to investigate me. Strange that Robert only uses men to help him rule the world - I’d have thought he’d know by now that women tend to become devoted to him, or is that only true for little girls? J See, I can still laugh at myself.

Jumping from this reality to another and then back again, in the past, was no different than it has been for all the other reality hops. I wonder why it is the connection between our reality and this one is so dangerous and different - are there different kinds of routes and we took the wrong kind? Since Dottie had told us that Robert and Cherine arrived eight years ago, we jumped back nine years so that we would have time to earn some money and settle into a routine so that we would no longer be as visible.

As soon as we arrived, Vincent sensed Cherine. I had to get angry for he was determined to go directly to her. Finally he gave in and we jumped back another year. We did not sense any talents, not even Hettie and Eddie. We landed close to Kefalari Square and walked over to the Eidelweiss, the only coffee shop there at this time. Luckily patrons had left a newspaper and Vincent and I read through it. We saw a few safe ways for us to make the kind of money we’d need to survive without having to work once Robert and Cherine arrive, since all our time will have to be devoted to monitoring them. I felt bad when we disappeared without paying for the coffee and sandwich, but we’ll soon be back to make up for it.

We took the easy way. Vincent and I went to where Robbie had picked up diamonds, for all I know we found the same ones. We took them to Holland and sold them for a fraction of their value, but now we had cash to live on and for investing. We had to be established as having investments that give us an income so that nobody questions how we survive. At that time there were not many foreigners living in Greece and Vincent was determined to look like an Englishman. He irritated me since I looked Greek and could not stay with him if he looked English - I would not have anyone think of us as lovers. Vincent solved the problem. He bought two apartments in Kolonaki, one in his name and one in mine. They were adjoining, the only two on the third floor. He brought in someone who knocked down part of a wall and installed a door. With a grin, Vincent handed me my key.

When I first moved into the apartment I was amused to see that I did not have a refrigerator, only an ice box and the ice had to be purchased from the ice man who delivers blocks. It was almost impossible to buy milk worth drinking, it looked more like chalk and water. I was able to purchase condensed milk so I didn’t moan too much. Vincent was amused by my complaints regarding the lack of all the civilised amenities I’m used to, asking whether this was the same Samantha who’d enjoyed doing without while in the Orati reality. He couldn’t understand (or pretended not to) that there is a difference in expectations and that is what matters. We did buy a fridge for me, they were for sale in the shops, but were still very expensive and considered a luxury.

We bought record players and tons of records. Vincent told me he will take them back with him if it is possible. Once we had settled in and everyone knew us, we jumped to London and then to New York, buying an apartment in each city and with time our faces became known there also. Once Robert links his helpers, we’ll be able to move around without the Talents of Robert becoming suspicious of us. We were ready for their arrival and monitored round the clock.

Five months after our arrival we felt Cherine arrive. We jumped to be close to her and she looked like a badly confused and frightened little girl. Within minutes Robert arrived. For the first ten minutes he did not move, not even looking around to find Cherine. His face had the same vacant look Vincent and Cherine arrived with.

A number of people had noticed Cherine and seeing her fear, they’d wanted to help her. We helped ‘convince’ them they should walk away. Her fear seemed to be lessening and by the time Robert looked for her she was already staring at him, obviously recognising his face. When he looked at her she walked to him and placed her tiny hand in his. Without forming a plan, without even thinking of how they would buy food or where they would stay, they walked around without looking at anything. I guess it was their healing time, as sleep had helped Vincent.

We both knew we must not interfere - or, interfere as little as possible and not directly, however hard it was to watch them fail to find food; for instance, the taverna owner shouting insults at them when they asked to be fed without payment; watching them try to keep themselves warm as the night turned cold. Vincent found it almost impossible to resist his instincts - watching little Cherine suffer tore at him, and my insistence that we stick to the rules allowed him to be angry with me instead of himself. Luckily he is too honest to fall for that ego-trick for long and apologised. A funny thing. Without boobs I would have happily hugged him. Now I felt I could not.

7910

The moment we sensed Robert open to his gifts we knew we would have to be very careful that he does not sense us. He jumped and within minutes he returned with a roast chicken that he shared with Cherine and then, with his pockets full of cash they walked into a hotel.

The next four months were very boring for me. To an extent, Robert and Cherine recovered, as had Vincent, but both of them were not the personalities they had been and were content to spend the whole day doing nothing - with barely a thought passing through their minds I dare say.

Robert spoke Greek fluently, so he did not need a passport to get a hotel room, but Cherine, for some reason, only spoke English and everyone was curious what a foreign girl of seven was doing with a Greek man. The two of them did not think to change hotels every few days or rent an apartment. Their only defence seemed to be their lethargy. That both of them were affected by some malaise of the spirit could be seen and the Greeks embroidered theories that touched their hearts. The various stories all included the death of the mother of the child, but from there the stories diverged. Robert was obviously too young to be her father so he was, according to the various stories, her stepbrother, an employee of her parents (this was the least favoured story since it had little drama to it), brother of her father or mother, and so on. None thought of them as lovers, not because there were no nasty minds, but because it was too obvious that neither of them had a vibrant spark of life to them.

There is a lot of poverty in this Athens and whenever Robert walked the streets he’d come across many instance of malnourished children or else children needing medical attention. He did not react to them and as far as we could sense, he was not even aware of their existence. As I said, the four months passed with us keeping an eye on them and being bored out of our minds. I could never have imagined monitoring the emoting of a Cherine and Robert without sensing anything stronger than a vague fear or curiosity at times. Then a police officer decided to investigate Robert. He did not come to speak to him discretely, he arrived with three of his men and they acted as if they were in a bad movie. When Vincent saw guns being pointed he came alive and concentrated on ensuring no bullet could penetrate to harm Cherine. I got so angry with him that I forgot myself and reverted to my true form for an instant. Having been reminded once again, Vincent withdrew his protection, but it was now my turn to hope she would not be hurt, otherwise I’d have an impossible Vincent to live with.

I could sense Robert's emoting and not at any time did he get angry, only irritated. My Robbie does not like being touched, especially by strangers and I guess this Robert feels the same way. A policeman grabbed him by the shoulder and as any uncaring Talent would, Robert casually rid himself of the irritant - teleporting the policeman. The officer did not notice as he was concentrating on the other men who had been instructed to take Cherine back to their car.

Robert came to his feet and told the officer, “I would not do that if I were you.” The officer looked around for the man who was supposed to be controlling Robert by now, his eyes narrowed with suspicion, but I guess he did not know what to accuse Robert of doing.

He placed his hand over his weapon, “Are you threatening me?” Robert still had a vacant look on his face so the officer turned to his men and gestured for them to take the little girl. Suddenly both men and the officer were gone. Cherine went to Robert and he placed her on his lap. He was obviously more aware, for he looked around and his eyes hesitated a moment as he looked at Vincent. He placed Cherine’s feet on the floor and taking her hand he walked out, with a last look backwards to ensure nobody was trying to follow him.

We read in the newspapers that the four men were found on a beach in Cyprus - which nearly caused an international incident as the island, in this reality, is occupied by Turkey. They have been arrested and from what we read and hear, it is likely they will be charged with spying and sentenced to death. We can’t do anything to stop it happening as we had not done anything, but once Robert and Cherine are taken back home, I’ll see to it that they are brought back to life. Perhaps the memory of being executed will gift them with a smidgen more of empathy for others.

We had to let the two of them go without trying to follow them as Robert was becoming more aware and would not have taken kindly to us or anyone following them. I should have mentioned that Vincent went to the void as often as he could and from his first visit there I felt the difference in him and by the third visit he seemed to have totally recovered. As a soul he was better able to heal his mind and it seems the memories ‘unstirred’ themselves. He was now able to look back on our first months here and appreciate how I’d had to manipulate him against his own protector instincts. At least he was not angered and all I felt from him was an extra dollop of tenderness. However, he took our purpose of being in the past more seriously and tried to monitor Robert and Cherine for as many hours per day as he could. He was not happy with what he saw. Robert continued to make mistakes, Normals would grow suspicious and he’d have to either get rid of them or else move on.

Next [Book 12] - Post 012

I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love - and should some of it be true for our reality, I hope you will love our Cherine.

• posted: 10th Aug, 2020
  
  
  
  
  

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