BackTrek (29 page)

“So now we run the project.” Ted said.

“No. Now you run the project. I just
help.”

“Help my ass, you’re my second in command.
I’ve done a little research myself. Over the last few years, you’ve
led numerous missions, quite successfully I might add.” Ted smiled
as Jack looked puzzled. “You’ve got clearance to the mission
records, but you’ve probably been too busy to realize it.”

“What kind of missions?” Jack asked.

“Angel of mercy missions. The records refer
to them as BackTreks. Either way it involves traveling into the
past and stopping major events from ever taking place. Do you
remember when the Israeli Prime Minister was assassinated about
three years ago?” Ted asked.

“Yeah.” He thought for a moment. “It was a
hell of a blow to the middle east. Weren’t they about to have some
big peace conference when it happened?”

“Yes they were, and when he was assassinated
it all but caused an all out war. Well we fixed that. Or more to
the point, you fixed it.” The look of puzzlement on Jack’s face was
sincere as his friend continued with his explanation. “It seems
that after our involvement, the assassin was arrested at the
airport prior to the assassination. Something to do with a large
amount of drugs that apparently found its way into his luggage.
He’s still in prison.”

“And the prime minister?”

“Alive and well. The peace conference went on
as planned, and things have been relatively quiet over there ever
since.” Jack was amazed at what his friend was telling him. He knew
that things were different but until now he had only scratched the
surface.

“But I thought the time gate had only been up
for a short time?”

“In our original time line, as far as we
knew, that was true. But in reality it had been working for some
time. Atwater knew it and was using it. He had used the gate for
his own benefit. Playing the stock market to amass his wealth.
Going back to hire Van Hogue for a variety of murders to solve
whatever problems cropped up. He never let anyone else even know
what was happening.”

“So they were still doing research, even
though the gate was functional.”

“Exactly.” Ted replied. “Atwater was using
it, while everyone else still thought it didn’t work. But in this
time line, with us running the project, we began to use the gate
for its intended purpose-” Ted began.

“As soon as we knew it worked.” Jack
finished.

“Right. You get the idea.” Ted answered as he
took another sip of his beer. Brandon and one of his friends ran by
the table. Their laughs trailed away behind them. Soon they were
followed by Bella as she was chased by the same boy that she had
drenched earlier. “So how’s Mike?” Ted asked.

“Fine.” Jack answered.

“Has he said anything?”

“No. Best I can tell he doesn’t remember any
of it. He was let out of the hospital last week, but hasn’t
mentioned anything about Atwater.”

“Since Atwater evaporated the way he did, I’m
surprised that all of the damage he did didn’t disappear as
well.”

“I’ve wondered about that. The only thing
that I can figure is that he actually shot us while we were
looped-” Jack began.

“BackTreked.” Ted interjected. “We’ve got to
get used to the new terminology.”

“Okay. BackTreked. He shot us while we were
BackTreked, so when we reentered our own time, though he
disappeared, the damage he did stayed. Maybe some day we’ll figure
that part out.”

“If we’re lucky we’ll never be faced with
anything quite like that again." Ted said somberly. He took a drink
of his beer, and Jack took a sip from his own bottle. Suddenly Jack
had a bewildered expression.

“Hey, wait a minute. It just dawned on me. If
I was never railroaded out, then Trace and I never split up.”

“You’ve got a point there. How is it between
you two?”

“Right as rain. Of course I’ve been careful
about everything I say. Kind of walking on egg shells. I wondered
why she seemed nervous about the way I was acting. I thought it was
because she was still unsure of her decision to let me come back
home.”

“And the whole time, she thought you were
probably going nuts.” Ted said as he laughed.

“After what we’ve been through, that’s not
entirely out of the question.” Jack said seriously at first, and
then joined his friend in laughter. The backdoor of the house
opened and Tracey came out of the house. A large birthday cake was
on the tray in her hands. Her smile was as genuine as was the light
in her eyes. Jack’s heart warmed as her liveliness filled his soul.
He had never doubted his love for her, but now after all that he
had seen, he loved her even more.

“It’s a different world, Jack. Every thing is
the same, yet every thing is different.” Ted said as he watched his
friend’s wife approach. She paused as Brandon ran to her. She bent
down and kissed him gently on the forehead, careful not to tilt the
cake. Jack smiled.

“It’s a better world, Ted. Much better.” Jack
said and drank the last sip of beer from his bottle. Ted turned
back to his friend. His smile had faded, and his eyes squinted
slightly. His mood had turned serious.

“And it’s our job, to keep it that way.”

Thank you for taking the time to join me in
this near future adventure. I hope that you enjoyed the journey as
much as I loved living in this world during the many months it took
to take it from a hint of an idea, to the final result. I am still
amazed at how often the characters took twists and turns that I had
not planned, nor expected. It seemed that as the story continued to
develop, they came to life, even as my fingers tapped the
keyboard.

This was especially true of Smith/Von Hogue.
I had painstakingly drawn out his character beforehand, but as I
entered his mind, it was like jumping out of an airplane with no
parachute. Suddenly his thoughts became a whirlwind of insanity,
moving ever closer to a breaking point. Okay, I know he was the bad
guy...or at least one of them, but he was truly a surprising
character to bring to life.

The science behind BackTrek is of course
fiction, however I did quite a bit of research on time travel
theories in order to make it at least plausible. Will we see time
travel in our lifetimes? Absolutely! Just close your eyes for a
moment, and you’ll be transported into the future...at least as far
as the length of time your eyes were closed. Now going backwards in
time? That’s a completely different story.

Also by Kelvin Kelley

After a genetic mutation has left the human
species sterile and doomed to extinction, the citizens of New
Sebastian live long and luxurious lives, thanks to Rejuvenation.
But when Jericho and Gabrielle, two specimens from the Rejuvenation
supply farm, escape prior to being harvested, the dark truth
threatens the existence of the last society on Earth.

The cure for the Deathshead plague has
created a genetic mutation that has left the human species sterile
and doomed to extinction. But in the last known civilization on
Earth, the citizens experience long and luxurious lives, through a
process known as Rejuvenation.

Jericho and Gabrielle spend their simple
lives in the Village dreaming of their future together, and barely
notice the metallic humanoid Guardians that ensure obedience. But
when she scans positive for the plague and is permanently sent away
to the mysterious Quarantine, Jericho enters a frantic battle to
find and save her.

Jonah and his wife enjoy their carefree lives
in New Sebastian, and Rejuvenation every twenty or so years keeps
them eternally young and healthy. But when Jonah discovers the dark
secret behind their long and privileged lives, he struggles with
the bitter choice of continuing to live his long life or facing the
horrific discovery head on. As Jonah helps Jericho and Gabrielle
attempt to escape, they find that they are on a predefined path
which leads to the last hope for the survival of the human species,
and the salvation of mankind.

Read on for a free sample
of,
Immortal
.

Release date - July 4, 2015

The stars illuminated the moonless night and
made the few clouds that billowed across the sky seem translucent
as they slowly drifted into the night. A soft wind blew against his
face as he sat, and leaned against a palm tree at the edge of the
sand. He could smell the salt air from the waves as they crashed in
the distance, and felt the softness of the sand between his toes.
As beautiful as the night was, that was not why he was there. He
remembered his excitement from hours earlier when he had first rose
from sleep, just to be at this magical place at this exact time.
The slight chill in the air brought goose bumps to his skin, but
inside he was warm. And inside, so was she.

“I’m scared, Jericho.” She said as she sat
next to him. “We’re not supposed to be here. What if they catch
us?” He glanced down at her, and rubbed at his freshly shaved chin
as if in thought, and then whispered to her.

“It’s okay, Gabrielle. No one will find us.
I’ve been here before.” She started to say something else, but he
interrupted.

“Shh.” He said softly and put his strong
fingers gently against her lips. She could feel the roughness of
his skin against her tender lips, and melted at his gentle touch.
Her fears retreated deep inside as she realized that this moment,
here, with him, was worth everything to her. “Do you see all the
little bits of light in the sky?” He asked. She nodded as she
looked up.

“It’s like they are so tiny…and yet, I can
see them winking at me. They’re so beautiful.” She said softly.

“Twinkling.” He said. “That’s what it’s
called. Twinkling.” He turned toward her as she continued to gaze
into the starry night. “They are called stars. And they say, even
though they look really tiny, they’re actually quite large. As big
as the sun.”

“Really?” She said in disbelief. “But they
look so small!” She exclaimed.

“Looks can be deceiving.” He said. “They say
that they look so small because they are really far away. Far, far
away.”

“It’s too much for me to understand, Jericho.
How could something be that far away? I mean, even if they were as
far away as the other side of the village, they wouldn’t look that
small.” She said.

“True.” He said. “But they are much farther
away than that Gabrielle. Much farther. They say that they are so
far away, that it takes a long time for that little bit of light to
even get this far.” He explained.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“The twinkles,” He began, “the ones that you
see right now?”

“Yeah.”

“They say that they actually happened a long
time ago.” He said.

“A long time ago…like last year? Or when I
was still little?” She asked.

“Even longer than that.” He answered. “As
long ago as before our village even existed.”

“Before then? But that’s been forever.” She
said softly, as she pondered the concept.

“That’s what they say.” He said. Then
suddenly he saw what he had waited for since they had first
arrived. He pointed towards the ocean. She too had patiently waited
to see what it was that he thought to be so beautiful. She looked
in the direction that his arm pointed and saw the warmth. A small
sliver of crimson, just as it began to brighten, could be seen on
the horizon. A smile came to her face in anticipation of what was
to come. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and out of the corner
of her eye she watched him as he stared towards the growing
warmth.

The breeze fluttered her hair, as the sliver
of crimson began to grow faster and brighter. Slowly the whole sky
on the horizon began to push away the darkness and welcome the new
day. As the first edge of the sun peeked over the water, she saw
not it, but its reflection in his eyes. He stood up, and she
followed.

“Watch it! Look how beautiful it is!” He
exclaimed, as he pointed towards the bright burning star that
warmed their world.

“It is beautiful.” She said, in amazement.
Amazed both by the sight that was before her, and that he too had
thought it was beautiful.

As he dropped his hand, it came to rest next
to hers. And as they stood side by side and shared the beauty of
the rising sun, he grasped her hand in his, as he had always wanted
to do. He could tell she was happy to be there with him as they
watched the fire grow into the sky, and he was glad. Glad that he
had found such beauty, and that she would let him share it with
her.

“Look! On the water!” She exclaimed as the
sun lifted up enough to shine across the water towards them. The
light shimmered with the pulse of the waves, and her eyes sparkled
with each pulse of the shining light. He looked at her amazement
and was gladdened. His heart warmed even more, as the smile
continued to creep across his lips. He looked back at the water,
and smiled fully now in total wonder.

“I told you it was beautiful.” He said, as he
squeezed her hand gently. He turned towards her, and caught her as
she stared at him. Their eyes met, and he pulled her close to him.
The sun grew brighter and stronger in the sky, and the breeze blew
through their hair. They kissed. Their lips barely touched. So
tender. So soft. His touch was so gentle, like a breeze itself, and
hers so soft and warm. To each of them hours could have passed,
days could have gone by, as they held one another close and shared
that moment. When he pulled away, he did so slowly, as he lingered.
She did not pull away, but held him close and put her head to his
strong chest. As he wrapped his arms around her, she listened to
his heartbeat, and cherished every breath. The very air around her
smelled like him. It smelled strong and safe. It smelled happy and
warm. It smelled right.