Early the next morning, Mrs. Steers hurried into the kitchen and opened the basement door. She paused for a moment and looked around the kitchen. She felt safe. The entire East Coast Time Travelers Club as well as members of the West Coast Club and the International Council surrounded the house. In the park across the street. Down at the corner pretending to wait on the bus. Upstairs. In the front parlor. No one taking a chance that the Doctor's gang was lurking about waiting for an opportunity to disrupt their plans.
“I can do this.”
Mrs. Steers took a deep breath and went down the steps. Her heart raced. Her stomach churned. “I can do this,” she repeated over and over.
Up until a few days before, the five copies of
Namvelt’s book had been scattered around the globe, but now all were sitting in
her basement. The time had come to take
them to Fingal’s Cave where they would be hidden. Safe from the world. Years of planning had led to this moment.
Years of planning, researching, waiting, following. Praying that Sam was the one who could do it.
“We will be putting Sam’s life in jeopardy.” She stopped at the bottom step. She got
teary-eyed. “I don’t know if I can do this.
I just don’t know if I can do this…. Oh for heaven’s sake, Lottie, pull
yourself together.” She shook her head.
Along one wall, Mrs. Steers moved boxes and junk away
from an old trunk. Pulling out its key
from her pocket, she unlocked it and rummaged around until she pulled out a letter-sized
envelope. In it was a small silver key.
Walking over to a nearby freezer, she opened it and moved
chunks of frozen meat and bags of vegetables.
Reaching in the back, she pulled out a gray metal lockbox about the size
of a twenty- piece box of chocolates.
“What if Sam doesn’t…
What if he can’t…” Mrs. Steers
lost it again. "Stop it,
Lottie. He is the one.” She carried the lockbox over to a
workbench. After setting it down, Mrs.
Steers stared at the wall for a few moments.
She opened the lockbox and rummaged through a stack of
envelopes until she found the one labeled “sc”.
After relocking it, she pulled a slip of paper out of the envelope. On it were written a series of numbers.
Mrs. Steers went to a brick wall in the far back
corner behind a gritty, rusty heating boiler.
Pulling down on what looked to be an empty light bulb socket hanging
from the ceiling, a section of the brick wall beside the boiler unlatched and
swung open. Behind it was a built-in
wall safe. She bent down, looked at the
number sequence, and slowly turned the dial.
“Wait. That’s
not correct. Oh, Albert!” She spun the
dial around and started over. “Take the
numbers written down and add twelve to the first, subtract twelve from the
second and last add twelve to the last.”
She had to do the math in her head.
“Albert! Why
did you make this so difficult?” She
started turning the dial again.
“But I guess I can’t complain. This old wall safe has kept
the books secure.”
Finally, Mrs. Steers heard a click and pulled open the
safe’s door. She reached in and picked
up a canvas satchel. It held the five copies of the books, including Dr.
Herkeimer’s copy and its missing pages.
“Today is the day.”
Mrs. Steers wrapped the leather strap on the satchel around her hands. “We will be entering the place where this all
started.”
Mrs. Steers went back upstairs. Rose was standing at the back door. Ari was stationed at the front door.
“OK. The books
are in here.” She hugged the
satchel. Rose nodded. Ari came in.
“I can’t believe this is it,” said Ari. “The moment that we’ve all talked about for
years. And Sam is ready?”
“He is. I’m
sure he is. He’s just got to be,” said
Mrs. Steers, rambling from nervousness.
“And Emily isn't any wiser about this.
I told her a lie. Poor dear. I
told her we would be taking Sam to a meeting with other Club members to learn
more about the Club and the incantations and how to be safe and...”
“Yes, Lottie, we understand,” said Xavier, who appeared
out of nowhere. “She doesn't her only
child is going to Scotland to enter a dark cave in winter weather. All will be fine.”
Ari chimed in.
“What if we knocked her out for the day like we did the last time?”
Mrs. Steers shook her head. “Not again.
That is why we lost Sam before and had to regain his trust. No, this time we have to tell Sam what is
going to happen.”
“That’s a lot to accept,” said Rose. “A heavy responsibility for such a young
man.”
Mrs. Steers nodded.
“Don’t worry. I have already
spoken to Mr. and Mrs. Henry. They're
taking care of Emily today. And as for
Sam, he’s already had a taste of his new life.
He might as well get used to it.”
Upstairs, Sam got ready for the trip. A sweater, jeans, and winter boots. Scotland in December wasn’t going to be very
warm. He put his notebook in his travel
bag, put on his winter coat, scarf, and gloves, and headed downstairs. Emily was asleep. His Grandparents would be over soon.
Going downstairs, Sam saw Uncle Griff standing in the
hallway. “Good boy. You know what the weather’s going to be.” He followed Sam into the front parlor.
Xavier and Rose finished bundling up in their winter
coats. Ari looked like an oversized Eskimo. In the back parlor, Mrs. Steers was talking
to Darren and Lewis. She held her travel
bag close to her chest.
Uncle Griff took the lead. “Alright everyone, listen
up. I’ve already been there and back and
have devised a plan. We are going to
have to take a boat across the channel over to the island. It’s waiting for us at the docks. There’ll be one hell of a cold wind when we
arrive. So brace yourselves.”
Sam buttoned the top button of his coat, preparing
himself. “Why aren’t we just going right
to the cave?"
Uncle Griff looked down at Sam. “Good question. It's safer this way. Landing on the island or
in the cave itself is too risky. Lots of rough terrain. Even though, Fingal’s
Cave is a tourist destination, the island at this time of year will be cold and
icy. We can’t take any chances. On top of that, the cave itself isn’t going
to be a winter wonderland. There’s
ice. Lots of slippery ice. Slip ya right into freezing waters.”
“In other words, we need to be very careful,” added Xavier. “Growing up in Norway and Sweden, I know all
about slippery ice.”
Rose chuckled.
“Fall down one too many times?”
“The boat ride’s going to dangerous as well,”
continued Uncle Griff. “It’s not going
to be a picnic. Ice will be washing in
from the Atlantic. So, we’ll need everyone
to keep an eye out. I don’t want a
mini-version of the Titanic on our hands.”
Everyone nodded.
Mrs. Steers looked around the room continuing to nod at each member of
the Club. They knew without any words
being spoken. Their mission was to protect
Sam. As far as they knew they weren’t
aware of their plan, but no chances were to be taken. This was the moment they
had all waited for.
After a brief moment, they began to crowd in around
Sam with Mrs. Steers and Rose in the middle.
All hands were on Uncle Griff.
Rose leaned down.
“Sam, grab Griff’s coat. He’s
going to take us all at once.” Sam grasped
a bulky pleat in the wool coat.
The circle was formed.
They were ready to go. In a flash, the warm cozy front parlor of the
Steers’ house became a cold barren land of ice and snow-covered rocks and hills. The wind blew hard causing everyone to hold
tight. Nearby was the back side of a
stone building. Sam could see they were
just on the outskirts of a Scottish village.
A narrow dirt road was lined by stout stone buildings. No one stirred. A few windows had lights in them. Further down, more modern-looking storefronts
lined paved streets.
“We’re outside of town,” said Uncle Griff. “We’ve got to work our way down to the boat
docks.”
With Sam still protected within the group, they worked
their way down through the village's outskirts. Uncle Griff led them between some
dark storage buildings. He stopped and
motioned them to huddle against a stone wall of a small cottage.
“Stay here. I’m
going in first.” Uncle Griff knocked on
a wooden door in the wall. Sam could see
the light from inside as the door opened.
Uncle Griff spoke to an unseen person, before waving everyone to come in. They filed into a toasty one room cottage. Sam thought it looked like something out of
Grimm’s fairy tales, like the one the seven dwarves lived in. Everyone headed to the roaring fire to warm themselves.
Talking to Uncle Griff was a short bulky woman dressed
in peasant garb. She was speaking in
such a heavy Scotch accent that Sam could barely make out her words. Uncle Griff carried on the conversation
without much trouble then he turned to the huddled group.
“The boat is ready,” said Uncle Griff. “We just have to go out the back and down to
the dock.” He led them out the low back
door, stooping as he went. The cold air
was brisk, but the snow was holding off.
The cloudy sky looked dark and dreary.
Sam stayed close to Mrs. Steers and Rose. Both touched him, either his shoulder or his
arm. He felt as if he had secret
servicemen guarding him. It was then
that he noticed that Mrs. Steers held her travel bag close to her chest, like a
baby needing protection from the weather.
Down at the docks, the icy water washed against small
fishing boats. It splashed and sloshed
against a stone retaining wall. At the end of the short pier was a fishing
boat. Nets flapped in the wind. The strong odor of fish and sea water hit
Sam’s nose. The rustic fishing boat rocked with the waves.
“All aboard,” announced Uncle Griff. Moments later, they were away from the pier
and heading out towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the skyline, dark clouds rolled.
Lightening danced sideways illuminating the clouds.
"Looks odd," said Ari to Uncle Griff. "I've not known a snow cloud to contain lightening
before."
"I suspect by its path it's coming up from the
south. Don't worry. It'll turn into a blizzard and snow us
over." Uncle Griff snickered.
Exciting!
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