Trapped in Time 1: The Time Takers (2 page)

The man who had commented about the Allosaurus said, “I speak Latin.”

A young woman of Asian descent standing beside the man said, “I speak Japanese.”

“Please come here for a moment.”

The Roman and the Samurai watched the two walk toward them and when they arrived Andy said to the man and woman, “Will you please tell these two what I’m saying?” The two nodded and Andy said, “I stopped you from killing anyone else in this cave,” He paused for the two to repeat what he said, “because the people in this cave may be the only humans in existence. We’re going to need all of them to survive.” The two interpreters stared at Andy with wide eyes and he said, “Tell them.” They started speaking again and all four of the people in front of Andy turned and stared at him. Andy looked at the people in the cave while the interpreters spoke and nothing made sense. Unless….

The man said, “We really don’t understand what you just said.” Andy shook his head and the four saw he was extremely agitated. The man said, “Do you know how we were brought to this cave?” The Roman said something and the man repeated his question in Latin. The Samurai nudged the girl and she repeated his question.

Andy blew out a breath and looked at the Roman, “What year is it?”

The man repeated the question and the Roman quickly spoke. “He says it’s the thirtieth year of Emperor Augustus’ reign.” The man interpreting was instantly put on edge by the Roman’s answer.

Andy looked at the two interpreters and said, “Tell them to go and ask the others in their group what year it is and then come back.” The Roman and Samurai listened to the interpreters, looked at each other, and walked away. Andy looked at the two interpreters and said, “You should go and do the same thing.” They turned and left.

Andy sat against the wall and watched bedlam break out. He closed his eyes and felt his tension almost overwhelm him. His hands were shaking from the Allosaurus attack, having to kill two people, and realizations that threatened to overwhelm his sanity. He initially thought the shark had killed him and that this was the afterlife. He saw that many different times in human history was represented by the people in the cave; he guessed this might be a waiting room to either be sent to heaven or hell.

He thought if that were the case, many of the ones in the cave had been waiting a very long time. Being dead would account for all the different times represented here. When the Allosaurus stuck its head into the cave, he had gone on auto pilot and killed it without conscious thought. When he tried to move the large stone wheel over the entrance he saw he was still wearing a wetsuit with his dive watch on his wrist. He was shocked when he saw that it was still keeping time and, according to it, he had confronted the Great White just fifteen minutes ago.

He then remembered taking off his air tank and mask. The watch told him he wasn’t dead and this was not the afterlife. How could a watch go with a spirit into an afterlife and still be keeping time? It was ludicrous to even consider the notion that he was really dead. He had to still be alive. When he looked out of the cave’s entrance before the wheel was moved and blocked the view, he knew something terrible had happened. He stared at the groups in the cave and saw them coming to grips with a reality that was impossible. The possibilities of how he was in a cave with humans from vastly different times began running through his mind and his thoughts froze. He shook his head and refused to think anymore. He sat alone and listened to the shouts and screaming until fatigue took him and he passed out in exhaustion from the vast amount of adrenaline that had rushed through his body.

• • •

Andy struggled to open his eyes and after a few moments he managed to force them open. He straightened up and quickly pushed his back against the wall; everyone in the cave were sitting in six groups in front of him. He saw the man who spoke Latin was sitting in front of the Romans and the Indians. The man saw Andy looking at him and shrugged, “I speak Latin and several Native American languages.”

Andy tilted his head, “That’s a weird combination.”

“I am a doctor to the Sioux Tribes on the reservation. I had to learn Latin to be a doctor.”

“What year is it?”

The man shook his head, “January 21st, 1889.”

Andy looked at the six groups and saw a group of thirty people standing beyond the six groups. The man saw him looking at the ones standing and said, “We’ve moved into groups where there is someone that can interpret for them. The ones standing don’t have anyone who understands their language.”

“They all look like they’re dressed alike.”

“I’ve not been able to determine where they come from. Perhaps we can solve that mystery later.”

“Their clothing is different.”

“I know; I thought they might be from your time.”

“No, no one in my time dressed like them.” Andy sighed, “Why are you all sitting here?”

The man said, “Because you appear to be the only one that has a clue about what’s going on.” The Roman tapped the man on the shoulder and he repeated everything he said in Latin. The Roman nodded and looked at Andy. The man then spoke in the Sioux’s language and the Indians turned and stared at Andy. The man turned back and said, “Do you know what’s happened?”

“Not really.”

“Then how did you know we all came from different times?”

“Duh, have you taken a good look at how everyone is dressed?” Andy heard the interpreters repeat what he said. He shook his head and decided to tell them what he suspected. “I initially thought I was dead.” He paused and allowed the interpreters to catch up. “I was attacked by a giant shark while I was underwater. At the last moment, something came between me and the shark and stopped it from attacking. I passed out and the next moment I woke up in this cave.”

The man finished interpreting and looked at Andy, “How were you attacked underwater?”

Andy reached over and picked up the air tank and put it on. He pulled the mask on and said, “This apparatus provides air for two hours while I’m underwater.” The room was silent. Andy took the tank and mask off and sat back down in front of the gathering. “How many of you were about to die before you came here?”

The interpreters asked the question and hundreds of hands went up. The man said, “It appears we were saved at the last moment as well and brought here. What does that mean?”

Andy pursed his lips and stood up. He walked through the groups out into the center of the cave and pulled an arrow from his quiver. “Tell everyone to make a large circle around me.” The groups stood up and formed a circle with Andy in the center. Andy took an arrow and drew a circle in the dirt. He then drew a line through the middle of the circle extending ten yards on each side. He thought for a moment and then stuck the arrow in the center of the circle. He looked at the Romans and said, “Romulus and Remus, the founding of Rome.” The interpreter spoke and the Romans all looked at each other and nodded. He went to the left and made a mark on the line about two feet from the circle, “Caesar Augustus.” The Romans nodded again and many of the others saw what Andy was doing. He went another two feet and said, “The destruction of Rome.” The interpreter told the Romans what Andy said and they initially stared at Andy in shock before they started shaking their heads. The Roman Leader looked at Andy with shock on his face and Andy tilted his head and nodded. He looked at the interpreter who blew out a breath and also nodded. Andy looked out at the crowd and said, “Tell me the year it is now.” People started calling out years and Andy made marks on the line in the dirt. He put a mark for the man speaking Latin that was close to the end of the line. He walked back and put a mark two feet beyond the fall of Rome and looked at the Samurai, “Tokugawa.” The Samurai Warriors began stepping forward and all put a mark on the line when they lived. Soon everyone stepped forward, except for the thirty that had no interpreter, and began making marks on the line. The English speaking man put the Indian’s marks on the line as they spoke to him. One of the marks was beyond the line moving into the past. Andy looked at the man, “Did that Indian hunt woolly mammoth?”

“He says he did.” Andy shook his head.

• • •

Everyone stared at the line and the pretty Asian interpreter said, “Where is your mark?” Andy looked at her and went to the end of the future line and made a mark just outside it. Everyone immediately knew they were looking at a man from the future. Andy said, “All of us come from a timeline that started fifteen thousand years ago and ends with my mark.” Andy allowed the people to take it in and then said, “There is something we all need to know about when we are now.”

The groups listened to their interpreters and the English man said, “Don’t you mean where we are now?”

“No, I don’t. It’s when we are now.” The interpreters repeated the exchange and Andy went to the timeline on the floor. He moved beside it to the mark he made on it and drew a small circle with a line about an inch long coming out of each end. He looked at the group and said, “This new line represents fifteen thousand years. I’ve reduced the original line to a smaller one. Interpreters, make sure your groups understand what I’ve done.”

The interpreters started talking with their groups and after ten minutes, everyone understood that the timeline had been reduced in size but still represented the same amount of time. While they were discussing the change, Andy went to the wall and picked up a saber. When everyone was staring at him, he put the sabre down on the circle and started drawing a line in the cave’s floor. He walked to the end of the cave, turned, and came back to the start. He turned again and continued the line to the end of the cave and came back to the start. He repeated the process until he ran out of room on the floor. He then put a mark on the line. He looked at the people staring at him and said, “That is when we are now. We’re a hundred and forty million years in our past.”

Many of the people fell to the floor. The English interpreter said, “How do you know this?”

Andy pointed at the cave opening, “The animal that stuck its head in the cave is called an Allosaurus and it lived in the late Jurassic Age. It was characterized by the horn on its head and a gripping arm with three fingers. The Jurassic Age happened between a hundred million to a hundred and forty million years ago.” Andy paused and said, “Someone, or something, has taken us into our past and dropped us off in a cave they prepared for us. Now you know as much as I do.” Andy paused, “At least this is the only thing that makes sense.” Andy looked at the Roman and Samurai, “When that animal lived, there were no humans alive. That’s why I stopped you from killing anyone else. I suspect the only humans in existence are in this cave.” Andy walked back to the wall and sat down.

The Roman watched Andy walk to the wall. He was a good judge of people and he knew Andy was done. He looked at the interpreter, “You should take the other speakers and go and talk with him without everyone present.”

“Why?”

“He is from a far future from me and I have to guess he knows things I know nothing about. Someone is going to have to bring order out of this chaos and I suspect no one will accept anyone but him to do it. You saw how everyone hung on his every word.”

The Interpreter said, “You could lead us.”

The Roman shook his head, “I might have if not for killing that man. Now everyone fears us and thinks I’ll only look out for myself and the other Romans.” The Roman pointed at Andy, “He stopped me from killing others and it’s a good thing he did. You need to convince him to help us determine what we need to do.” The other interpreters had gathered around the Romans and the English speaking man told them what the Roman said. A blonde woman said, “He’s right. No one would trust him to lead us after he’s shown how little life means to him.” The Englishman translated the blonde woman’s statement and she looked at the Roman, “No offense.”

The man interpreted and the Roman said, “None taken; you’re right.”

The man who interpreted for the Romans looked around and said, “My name is Joshua Kelly. Who are you?”

The Blonde said, “I’m Linnae, I’m from Sweden.”

The Asian woman said, “I’m Akira, I’m from London, England.”

Joshua’s head went back, “How did you learn to speak Japanese?”

“I was sent to the court of Queen Elizabeth from my family in Japan.”

A tall black man said, “My name is Ayo. I’m from Egypt.”

Joshua said, “When?”

“We were in the process of building a large stone Pyramid when a block fell into a large group of us gathered on the side of the structure. I passed out a moment before the block hit me.”

An Asian man said, “My name is Cheng. I died fighting the Mongol invasion led by Temujin.

A black haired woman said, “I’m Naomi, I’m from a colony that was founded in North Carolina by the English. Before sailing to the new world, I learned Spanish, German, French, and Dutch at the University.”

Joshua said, “Why would you have gone to the new world with such good language skills? I know they had to be valued.”

“My husband was a religious leader. The Queen didn’t agree with his views. Where he went…”

Joshua said, “I understand. It’s good to meet all of you. Let’s go talk with the water man.”

• • •

Andy saw the interpreters talking among themselves and then they began walking toward him. He shook his head and knew he was not going to be left alone. They arrived in front of him and sat down. “What do you want?”

“First I want to introduce us to you. I’m Joshua.” The others introduced themselves and Joshua said, “And you are?”

“Andy.”

Naomi said, “Is that short for Andrew?”

“No, it’s short for Anthony.”

“I thought Tony was short for Anthony?”

“It is but my older brother got it before I was born. We were both named Anthony to honor our father; I was stuck with Andy.” Naomi tried not to giggle but couldn’t stop herself. Andy smiled slightly, “I know. It was either Andy or Ant.”

Joshua said, “Andy, what do you make of our predicament?”

“I’ve tried my best to find another answer to explain all of this but nothing comes to mind. Whoever did this to us has really ticked me off.”