A 23rd Century Girl in the 20th Century, Chapter 14
Submitted by Starla Anne on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 12:30
Linda’s New Life
Chapter 14
By Starla Anne Lowry
Jim and Linda made their way across the plateau, dodging large and small dinosaurs and staying out of sight of any UFOs. Surely other Reptilians had discovered that their South America base had been destroyed and could be looking for whoever was responsible.
The prehistoric creatures were of great interest to Linda. She got an opportunity to see a cretaceous jackrabbit and the couple carefully eased around a Titanosaur, supposedly to have been the largest dinosaur in the world. These creatures, among others, were native to South America in the ancient world.
Finally reaching the edge of the plateau, Jim and Linda walked up and down the side of the cliffs in an attempt to find an easy way down. Finally they came to a spot where they found quite a few footprints leading to the edge of the cliffs.
“This must be the same spot that Momma Elizabeth and the group went down,” said Linda. Peering over the side, she saw a rope made from vines lying on the ground.
“Yes, I am sure of it. Down there is the rope that Momma Elizabeth must have made. She probably threw it down so the Reptilians could not see where they went down. That means they all got down but her and she descended the difficult way.”
“Well, if she went down, I guess we could, too?” Jim’s response was more of a question than a statement.
“For me, yes. I learned mountain climbing in school and that meant going down, too,” replied Linda. “For you, I will make a rope of vines and I will follow like Momma Elizabeth.”
Tying the vines to a sturdy tree, Jim repelled downward. Looking up from the bottom before Linda climbed down, he yelled, “Okay, just be careful.”
After tossing the rope over the edge as Lizzie Jane had done, Linda made her way down the steep cliffs, carefully selecting where to place her feet and hands. Unlike Lizzie Jane, Linda was an expert at mountain climbing.
Jim and Linda soon lost the trail of Lizzie Jane and her group, but Linda was thankful that her adopted mother had made it this far. Maybe the dinosaurs were only on the plateau and now all Lizzie Jane’s group had to watch out for was normal sized wild beasts. They had weapons – revolver, rifle, shotgun, and Lizzie Jane was an expert with the bow and arrow.
Concerning Jim and Linda --Jim had his revolver that Doctor Ledbetter had given him and Linda had her bow and quite a few arrows, too.
Darkness seem to arrive quickly, so Jim and Linda made their way through the thick jungle by the light of the moon. They were thankful that it was a clear night.
After traveling some distance, Linda suggested that they rest. Discovering some tree limbs close enough together so that they could recline on their back in a tree and not have a fear of falling off, they bedded down for the rest of the night.
“Up here, hopefully the only thing we have to be concerned about are monkey and snakes,” stated Jim.
Linda smiled. “Some big cats can climb trees, too, so sleep light.”
Jim did – very light – waking at every slight noise. Linda, on the other hand, seemed to sleep soundly. Maybe the reason she could rest so well was because of her young age. Once asleep, nothing else mattered.
The couple woke to a bright and sunny morning, the sun having risen a couple of hours earlier. The sounds of the jungle birds sounded so peaceful that everything that had happened the day before seemed like a bad dream.
Linda, the first to wake up, had gathered some jungle fruit as Lizzie Jane had taught her. She gently shook her father whose sleepy eyes opened to a cheerful smile and a delicious breakfast.
“If it wasn’t for you, I suppose I would go hungry,” Jim said with a smile.
“Momma Elizabeth and I learned quite a bit from each other,” replied Linda. “She taught me about jungle survival and I taught her some of the martial arts I learned at school. Of course, neither of us are experts at that type of fighting, but it was enough when we came across some people who knew nothing about it.”
Finishing off the fruit, Linda asked, “What do we do now?”
“Well, I don’t know. I have accomplished my mission, but I am sure there are other bases around the world. The one we destroyed was one that would not have been discovered and could have become larger, perhaps eventually becoming the major base. I only know that I was sent further into the future to learn about the mission -- which consisted of coming back into the past to destroy this one. The reason for me traveling to the future was because they were the ones who discovered through remote viewing that I had prevented a calamity . Everything indicated that I would be successful, but there was not any evidence of me ever returning.”
“That is strange. You performed your mission and you never returned?”
“Last night as we were traveling through the jungle, I gave much thought about the matter. I finally decided that I am supposed to stay in this century. Since your mother and you are here, too, it is beginning to appear more logical. Perhaps there are other things I must do.”
“About mother -- how is she? Is she all right? The last time I saw her she had been hit in the back with an arrow and was dying, giving me instructions to save the children. I only had a second to think, so I made a decision -- not knowing if it was the right one. I have regretted that many times -- I mean, knowing that I did not stay to try to save my mother.”
“Maybe it all worked out according to some divine plan. Anyway, we arrived just in time to pull her into the time warp and transfer her to a hospital. Somehow, we found a hospital in this same time period --which is actually within a few months from now.”
“Why didn’t you come back sooner?”
“For reasons connected to time travel which I do not understand, I could not go back to the exact same time that I left. When I did arrive, there was battle in progress and I saw your mother lying on the beach, so my first thought was to get to her. She told me that you had escaped. so I was going to look for you later. My mission had to be performed, so I intended to complete that and, if I survived, I was going to look for you. Imagine my surprise when you and Elizabeth came to my rescue.”
“Yes -- you did not find me,” smiled Linda. “I found you. Like you said, things seem to work out according to a divine plan. I found Momma Elizabeth through an accident – or a divine plan.”
“The only difference I see in you is your speech is a little different,” said Jim.
“I am trying to learn the talk of the 20th century hillbillies,” said Linda. “I don’t guess you have any way of getting back into a time warp so we can get out of here?”
“No, I do not. I lost my hand held remote device when I was captured and when I saw it later, the Reptilians had it disassembled and examining it. Those devices do not work properly after being disassembled for reasons of security. I could remove one piece and it would never operate again.”
“So, that means we have to find our way out of here through the old-fashioned way.”
“Yes.”
“Then, we had better get going.”
Jim smiled. “That new language of yours does not correspond with your personality.”
“Nope. I guess now I am a lost cause. You will change, too, Dad.”
“Dad? I have always been called father. --- Well, let’s go, kiddo.”
“Kiddo? You must have been learning too.”
They both smiled.
The day dragged on with humid, steaming temperatures as the two made their way through the brush, using animal trails wherever possible. After dodging dinosaurs, the South America jungle seemed rather tame. Although the lion was king in Africa, the jaguar was king in this part of the world. Jim and Linda kept their weapons ready and the jaguar seemed to keep its distance.
Besides the dangerous snakes and poisonous spiders, the only other real threat the couple encountered (or at least Linda considered it to be) was the Maned Wolf, although it looked more like a fox than a wolf.
“I wish we could find Momma Elizabeth’s trail. I am worried about her,” said Linda as she sat down to rest. With all the big bugs everywhere, she decided she could not rest long, so they were soon on their feet trudging on through the bush.
As they continued walking and swatting bugs, a small gorilla swung down from the trees, startling Linda. “My goodness, where did that gorilla come from?” she exclaimed. Looking at him closely, she said, “Hey, that is George. He must know where Momma Elizabeth can be found.”
Jim, in all the hurry and excitement, had not been introduced. “George? Who is George?”
Taking George by the hand, Linda refreshed her father's memory. “This is George. He is Momma Elizabeth’s friend – and mine, too. That is why we went back into the past -- remember?"
"Oh yes, I remember," was the reply.
George kept tugging Linda's hand. "He want us to follow him – might lead to Momma Elizabeth.”
George was jumping up and down, continuing to pull Linda’s hand.
“Well, let him lead the way. We cannot be more lost than the present,” said Jim.
George scurried through the jungle, holding hands with Linda, causing Linda and Jim to trot.
“They must not be too far away for George to find us. He goes exploring, but doesn’t get too far away from Momma Elizabeth in a jungle such as this,” puffed Linda, trying to talk and run at the same time.
Just as they decided that they could not go any further, they came upon a small clearing where Doctor Ledbetter’s group were resting as if they were waiting for someone.
Lizzie Jane threw her arms around Linda. “Oh, I was so worried. I wanted to go back, but Doctor Ledbetter would not let me.”
Seeing Lizzie Jane’s foot that had been bandaged with parts of clothing from the group, Linda asked, “What happened?”
“That is why he would not let me. I have a problem walking. I sprained my ankle because I had to jump before I got all the way down the cliffs because an UFO was approaching and I did not want them to see me.”
“Can you walk now?”
“A little, but not very fast. Jake and Josh are still carrying me on that stretcher,” said Lizzie Jane, pointing at the crude lift.
“Just like a queen – like the queen you are,” said Linda. “What matters is that we are all together again.”
“Yes, all together – but frankly, we are lost. Doctor Ledbetter is guessing at the time of day and we have been following the sun, so we are going west – or we think we are. He went ahead yesterday and found a river not far from here. Now, we can have something more definite – a river. The men have been working on a raft. I hope it can float and make our trip a little easier.”
“A raft? How about the crocodiles?” asked Linda.
----To be Continued
Copyright 2008 by Starla Anne Lowry
Proofreading
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I Really Liked That Last Line
Because Alligators and Crocodiles inhabit every continent except the South Pole. Maybe they can meet Tarzan or George of the Jungle.
May Your Light Forever Shine