A 23rd Century Girl in the 20th Century, Chapter 10

 

             Linda’s New Life
                                  

                             Chapter 10

                    By Starla Anne Lowry

 

 
Watching the humans being loaded into the other UFO to be taken who-knows-where, Lizzie Jane asked, “Are you sure that is your dad?”
 
“Yes,” whispered Linda. “I have got to go rescue him.”
 
“You cannot rescue anyone from those creatures and an UFO,” declared Doctor Ledbetter.
 
“I may not, but I have got to try.”
 
Lizzie Jane thought a minute as if she were considering something and then stated, “I am going with you.”
 
Doctor Ledbetter replied, “You know you cannot be successful. You will probably be taken captive, too.”
 
“Doctor Ledbetter. At least one, if not both, of us will survive,” answered Lizzie Jane. “Linda came from the future and she is my great, great, great granddaughter. That means that, if she is my adopted daughter and something happens to me, she must have children to keep the lineage going. If so, that means she survived. If she doesn’t survive that means that I will have a another daughter so Linda can be born 300 years from now, so at least one of us will get through this.”
 
“You can’t use that kind of logic at a time like this,” answered Doctor Ledbetter. “There may be a paradox of some kind that will change the future.”
 
Linda spoke up. “I think it has been proven in our age that the past cannot be changed. We believe in a successful rescue because we do not know which, if not both of us, will survive to carry on the family according to the plan.”
 
“The plan?” quizzed Doctor Ledbetter.
 
“God’s plan,” answered Lizzie Jane. “He has promised me that I would live and have lots of children and that he has a work for me to do. If Linda is going, I must go to help her.”
 
“Enough talk, Momma Elizabeth. Let’s go,” said Linda.
 
No amount of discouragement from Doctor Ledbetter seem to have any affect. The girls circled closer to the UFOs by remaining hidden by the jungle growth. They kept working around the parameter until they found themselves parallel with the UFO where her father was placed.
 
Not seeing any guards around the UFO and suspecting that the lizard people had gone back into the cave, the girls sneaked closer to the vessel to get a better look. They discovered an open door allowing entrance to the inside. Evidentially, the lizard creatures had considered the captives secure enough to prevent escape.
 
Linda ran toward the vessel first, as quietly as possible and entered the UFO. Lizzie Jane took the precaution of arming herself with an arrow in her bow before following in case they ran into someone (or something) inside.
 
Once inside, the girls saw a group of people imprisoned behind a sheet of blue light running lengthways of the vessel. Linda assumed it was a force field. Her eyes following the contour of the vessel and assuring herself that the area was clear of lizard creatures, she trotted over to force field, allowing her to converse with her father. Surprised at his brave little girl, he smiled and blew a kiss.
 
He whispered to her, “There is a button on the panel that will free us.”
 
Lizzie Jane stood just inside the door with her bow ready. She had never killed anyone and did not want to do that now – however, she wondered if the lizard creatures could be considered human and would she be killing animals if it came to that?
 
Linda pushed a button and the UFO began to make a whirling noise. Realizing that the lizard creatures probably heard the sound, she quickly pushed the button again to stop the noise, hoping it was not too late. Quickly assessing the console, she assumed a button near the bottom of the panel would be the proper place for a switch or button to control the force field so she located the button and pushed it. The force field disappeared. The prisoners, sensing their freedom, began to rush toward the exit.
 
Linda whispered to herself, “They are making too much noise.” However, the whirling of the UFO had already sounded the alarm and three of the lizard creatures suddenly appeared in the doorway.
 
Linda screamed to Lizzie Jane, “Let’s hope they have not learned marital arts.” With that statement, the young lady attacked. The lizard creatures seemed to be surprised that a girl measuring only about five feet would come against them.
 
Lizzie Jane joined the attack. Whether it was the ancient method of combat or the fact that the lizard creatures were surprised, it worked. The girls knocked all three of the creatures off their feet. Lizzie Jane grabbed Linda’s father by the arm and exclaimed, “Let’s go!” An extra kick or two kept the creatures doubled up on the floor.
 
All the prisoners, along with the two girls and Linda’s father, could be seen running into the jungle as more lizard creatures appeared at the cave’s entrance. They stood there momentarily, evidently confused at the escape. They had been so sure of the security of their vessel.
 
Lizzie Jane, Linda and her father ran up the hill in the direction from whence they came. Doctor Ledbetter was still there, but his mouth was open with a surprised look on his face.
 
“Better run,” screamed Lizzie Jane as she ran past him. Doctor Ledbetter took her advice and hurried through the thick jungle behind the girls, the trio finally arriving where the rest of the group were hiding.
 
Stopping to catch their breath, Linda quickly introduced her father to everyone and added, “We are on the run from some lizard men. Let’s go. They are probably right behind us.”
 
Lizzie Jane added, “But keep your guns ready. We may have to fight through this one.”
 
Linda’s father took the lead and arriving at a clearing, he held out his right arm, bent upward at the elbow, as a signal to stop. Taking refuge behind some huge boulders, he pointed toward the sky. There were three UFOs scanning the ground, searching for the escapees. They were soon followed by three more.
 
“They will be looking for us,” he said. “If we had gone into the clearing, we would have been sitting ducks. They can beam us up in a matter of seconds. I expect them to look for us with their scanning rays for awhile before they send out a ground crew. We cannot see it because it is invisible, but the other escapees are probably being beamed up as I speak.”
 
Everyone decided to relax for a little while. Linda’s father turned around and rested his back against the boulder.
 
“Oh daddy, I am so happy to see you,” cried Linda as she hugged his neck.
 
“You are a very brave girl – you and this friend of yours.”
 
“Daddy, that is Lizzie Jane. You know – my great, great, great grandmother.”
 
“Please to meet the lady I have heard so much about. I can see now where Linda got her bravery.”
 
Turning to introduce Ruth, she said, “This is Lizzie Jane’s grandmother. She gained a great reputation in the old west as a female gunslinger. She actually outdrew a professional gunfighter in a wild west duel in the street. On top of that, she whipped a Native American who was going to kill her husband and had walked toward another group of them with arrows flying all around her.”
 
“Native American?– he was a plain ole Indian,” answered Ruth. “And about the gunslinger part, it was all accidental.”
 
“I doubt that,” smiled Linda’s father. “Sounds like a whole line of brave women to me.”
 
“I hate to tell you this daddy, but mother is dead,” said Linda sadly.
 
“No she’s not. She was just wounded seriously. I came back in time to get her and transport her to a medical facility. I looked for you and she said you had gone out to sea. I searched the sea, but never saw you. I assumed you drowned.”
 
“No, daddy. We went through a time warp like Momma Elizabeth. We came out at the same time that she got married to Poppa Jake.”
 
“Momma Elizabeth?”
 
“Yes, she adopted me since we thought mother was dead and you were nowhere around. Now, I have two mothers. How many girls can say that?”
 
“What are you doing here in the jungle – both of you – well, all of you? Of course, I am happy that you are. I would have been in hot water if you had not been.”
 
“We had traveled to this area to attempt to locate some records that mother had left in Momma Gorilla’s cave. Oh, it is getting to be a long story – May we discuss it some other time?”
 
“Okay,” answered Linda’s father. Speaking to the rest of the group, he introduced himself, “My name is James. Everyone calls me Jim.”
 
“Please to make your acquaintance,” replied Doctor Ledbetter. He introduced himself as well as the rest of the group. “You know Linda and, by now, you know Elizabeth.”
 
“Yes – my brave little girl and her great, great, great grandmother.”
 
Lizzie Jane spoke, “Since you are here and Linda’s mother is still alive, I relinquish my right to motherhood of Linda. Why don’t you just call me Nanny and refer to Ruth as Grandmother?”
 
“Well, okay,” answered Linda, “but I will count Nanny as my second mother.”
 
“Right now, we need to figure how we are going to get out of here before the lizard people coming look for us on the ground,” said Jim.
 
“Well, there are four of you guys now. Just thrash it out amongst yourself and let us know what we are going to do,” suggested Ruth.
 
The females moved a little further away to the side. “That will make them feel more important – like men need to feel,” stated Ruth. “Now about this hero thing. I am not a brave woman – just did things that needing doing at the time.”
 
“Well, I am not either. God has been with me through everything,” said Lizzie Jane. “He has led me through all my problems without killing anyone and for that, I am grateful.”
 
“Listen, I am just a girl. I have just used the things I was taught in school,” replied Linda.
 
Smiling, Lizzie Jane said, “You are about the age I was when I killed that T-Rex -- or, rather, God killed it through me.”
 
Linda said, “Momma Elizabeth –ah – I mean Nanny -- you have strong faith, don’t you? Is it because your mother talks to you in dreams?
 
“Yes, but I have also met Jesus. You see, I committed suicide once and went to Heaven.”
 
“You did? And you are still here?
 
“Yes, Jesus told me it was not my time, but that he was going to work through me – works that I would not believe if he told me.”
 
“So you believe that we are going to get out of this mess?” asked Ruth.
 
“Yes, I do. I never know how, but I know God is on the job,” answered Lizzie Jane.
 
“Well, let’s go, girls,” said Doctor Ledbetter as he walked up.
 
“What are we going to do?” asked Linda.
 
“Just play it by ear. The main thing is to get moving. One thing, Jim is going to leave us. He still has a job to do. He must stop these lizard people. It is destined that he will, according to what he has found out in the future.”
 
“Well, I am going with him,” declared Linda.
 
“No, you are not!” answered Jim.
 
“Oh yes I am. You may need rescuing again.”
 
Jake said, “You can’t argue with that.”
 
"I will go, too," Lizzie Jane volunteered.
 
Doctor Ledbetter spoke, “Lizzie Jane, I know you want to take care of Linda, but she has her Dad now and, if she goes with him, you may be excess baggage.”
 
“Excuse me a minute, please,” asked Lizzie Jane. “I will be right back.” Before anyone could answer, she stepped into the jungle out of sight. She knew her mother had talked to her in the past and hopefully would do so again.
 
“Mother, please! I am fearful. I don’t want to leave Linda. We have become too close. What should I do?” pleaded Lizzie Jane, looking around anxiously.
 
Lizzie Jane’s mother did not appear, but there was a voice in Lizzie Jane's head – her voice. “My dear child. I assure you that God will take care of Linda. It is his plan for the family to be reunited. I will be with her as I am with you. Go with Doctor Ledbetter now. He will need you before you get home. Without you, disaster could strike.”
 
Seeing Lizzie Jane slowly walking back to the group, Linda smiled and asked, “You spoke to your mother, didn’t you?”
 
“Yes. You are going with your Dad and I am going with Doctor Ledbetter. My mother said that this is what God wants. Also, she said she will be with you as she has been with me. Things have gotten rough, but she has always been there for me.”
 
“Well, let’s get going,” said Doctor Ledbetter. “The more miles we put between us and the lizard people, the better off we will be.”
 
Lizzie Jane and Linda reached out to each other, hugged necks with tears streaming down their faces. “I will be seeing you.”
 
So, they departed. Jim and Linda turned one way and Lizzie Jane and the group another way.
 
 

-- To Be Continued.

 

Copyright 2008 by Starla Anne Lowry

Starla, This Keeps Getting Better.

But if Linda goes back with her Dad, won't that effectively end the story? Or will you continue her story with her parents?
May Your Light Forever Shine

Going back with Dad

Going back with Dad will not end Linda's story. In the heading, you will see that this is Linda's story -- not Lizzie Jane's. Lizzie Jane is just a supporting person in the story.

In the first place, Dad still has a job to do. Could it be in the 20th century? After all, that was when he was taken captive.

You may be surpised at what is going through my mind for future stories for this family (Linda, Lizzie Jane, and Ruth.)

Love,
Starla

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