Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (9 page)

When Kale and Jordan got home from work that afternoon, a transmission was waiting for them from the Shelburne Hall of Records. Jordan anxiously opened it and scanned its contents.

“It says here that the farm was owned by Gary and Sharon Downs from 1985 until 2019. Then a woman named Janneal Safford owned it from 2019 until 2031. It was purchased next by Leland and Marion McKenzie who owned it until 2048, when the deed was transferred to Carl and Rachel McKenzie... probably their son. Carl and Rachel sold the farm to my parents in 2071. I was born two years later. When my parents died, the deed passed to me.”

“Let’s see,” Jordan continued. “Maggie was sixteen in 2004, so that means she was born in 1988, and she was my age in 2020. She was born eighty-five years before me. Hell, if she were still alive today, she’d be one-hundred seventeen years old.”

“You know, Jordan, if she were born today, she might well live to be that old, but back in 1988, life expectancy couldn’t have been more than eighty or eighty-five years for the average female.”

Jordan sat back and contemplated Kale’s remarks. “I wonder when she died?” Jordan clicked on the link marked Deaths. “Here it is. Margaret M. Downs, born April 16, 1988. Died, March 29, 2019. Cause of death: severe C-spine fracture and traumatic aortic dislocation sustained in a horse riding accident. Kale, she died so young!”

Kale reread the cause of death. “Severe C-spine fracture and traumatic aortic dislocation. She must have had a pretty bad impact injury to cause that much damage. If her aorta was torn, she would have bled to death in a matter of minutes.”

Jordan narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s odd that she died from a horse riding accident on this very farm? I survived my accident, but only just barely.”

“What do you mean? Accidents happen on farms all the time. I don’t think it’s that unusual.”

“I don’t know. I can understand how my accident happened, but an injury like Maggie’s must have been caused by a catastrophic impact. I wonder how it happened. She couldn’t have sustained that injury just by falling out of the saddle. Was she thrown from her horse? Something doesn’t feel right. Don’t ask me why, but it just doesn’t.”

“Maybe we can learn more from her obituary,” Kale suggested.

Jordan clicked on the link to the Burlington Free Press obituary page and searched the records for Maggie’s name. A three-dimensional holograph of a woman emerged from the computer. Jordan was stunned. The woman had creamy white skin, green eyes, and long, wild, curly red hair. Her face was heart-shaped with a finely chiseled nose and well-defined lips.

“She’s beautiful,” Jordan whispered.

“She
was
beautiful, you mean,” Kale said. He read aloud. “March 29, 2019, Shelburne, Vermont. Margaret M. Downs, ‘Maggie’ to those who knew her, was killed in a horseback riding accident yesterday, just two weeks shy of her thirty-first birthday. Her body was found by a stable hand at the bottom of a cliff by the shores of Lake Champlain on the western fringes of her property. Although it appears she was thrown from her horse, the cause of the accident is still unknown. She was declared dead at the scene and taken to the Fletcher Allen Medical Center.”

Tears flowed from Jordan’s eyes. “She died on the farm, Kale. She died on my farm.”

Kale lifted Jordan’s chin and looked into her tear-stained face. “Are you all right?”

Jordan met Kale’s eyes. “I’m okay.” She looked back at Maggie’s holograph. “She’s more than beautiful. She’s breathtaking. It’s such a pity she died so young. I wonder if she had a partner.”

Kale frowned. “Partner... as in female? How do you know she was gay?”

“Let’s put on a pot of coffee and chat for a while. I have something to tell you.”

Jordan continued to look at the holograph of Maggie while Kale made coffee. He sat down at the table as he waited for it to brew. “What is it you have to tell me?”

“There’s something odd going on in this house.”

“What do you mean, odd?”

“Do you remember when we talked about my nightmares, and you joked that maybe a ghost was trying to contact me?”

Kale sat back and looked at Jordan with wide eyes. “I was joking. You didn’t take me seriously, did you?”

“At the time, no. But now I’m not so sure.”

“Come on. You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve had this particular dream in this particular house, and I don’t think finding the diaries is a coincidence either.”

Kale’s brow furrowed. “What are you getting at?”

“I think Maggie is trying to contact me.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Do you hear yourself? Maggie died a hundred years ago.”

“Then how else can you explain this? The diaries? The dreams? You’re going to think I’m nuts, but I really think this is some type of paranormal experience.”

Kale nodded “You are absolutely correct. I think you’re nuts!”

“Hear me out. I did some research on paranormal experiences. There are dream experts who believe the mind experiences different levels of consciousness, that it can receive input from different spiritual realms. I think Maggie is asking for my help. I think she’s putting visions in my mind before I read about them in the diaries to convince me they’re real—and that she’s real.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. It was interrupted by a faint beep signaling that the coffee had finished brewing. Kale rose, poured two cups, and returned to the table. He placed one cup in front of Jordan and sipped from the other. After a few moments, Kale placed his hand on Jordan’s arm. “Let’s say that you’re right. Let’s say that Maggie is trying to contact you. You’ve lived in this house all your life. Why now?”

Jordan looked at Kale, a faint mist clouding her eyes. “Don’t you get it? She isn’t just contacting me now. I’ve had the same dream ever since my accident at age sixteen.”

Kale sighed deeply. “If you’ve had the dream for years, why are you only making the connection now?”

“I didn’t realize Maggie was behind it until now. I think the fact that we were both involved in equestrian accidents has somehow linked us through time. Each dream has become increasingly real, so real that I can’t believe they’re just dreams. I don’t remember them being this vivid when I was a child.”

“Did you say dreams, as in more than one?”

Jordan nodded. “I had another dream a few nights ago. You asked me how I knew Maggie was gay. I know because she told me so herself.”

Kale was visibly agitated. “You’re starting to scare me. How could she have told you she was gay?”

“Remember when you worked on the machine all night because you couldn’t sleep? I went to bed and drifted off. Next thing I knew, the door flew open and in came Maggie, in a rage because some kid at school had called her a lezbo. She went on and on for several minutes, ranting and raving until she suddenly threw herself down on the bed right next to me. Kale, I could feel her touching me! I swear on my life, I could feel it. Anyway, she continued to jabber away and finally came to the conclusion that she was indeed attracted to women.”

“Jordan, I’m sure that dream was prompted by something you read in the diaries.”

“No. No, it wasn’t. The next morning, I read the second diary, one I hadn’t started reading yet. The first entry was an exact description of the scene with Maggie the previous night. Don’t you see? I had the dream before I read about it in the diary.”

Kale ran his hand through his hair. “You’re really scaring me. There has to be a good explanation for all of this.”

“There is. I’m telling you, Maggie is trying to contact me.”

Jordan touched his arm. “There’s a third reason I believe Maggie is trying to contact me now. You see...” Jordan’s voice trailed off as she searched for the right words.

Kale leaned forward. “What?”

She looked up at Kale. “Third, the timing is right. We haven’t had the means to help her until now.”

Kale looked at Jordan for several long moments. He shook his head. “Tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“We have the technology. You have the technology. You said yourself that you were close.”

Kale jumped to his feet. “No. Are you out of your mind? It’s totally untested. Hell, it doesn’t even work yet. No. Out of the question.” Kale paced back and forth, his hands planted on his hips, clearly agitated.

“Kale?” Jordan said tentatively.

“I can’t deal with this right now, Jordan. I’m going to the barn.”

While Kale worked, Jordan sat in the house and sulked. Her stomach rumbled. She looked at her watch—it was almost 7:00 p.m. Tired of waiting for Kale to come back from the barn, she went to the kitchen and threw together a sandwich. She ate that and a bag of chips in front of the holovision. When she was done, she clicked off the set and rested her head on a cushion. Jordan couldn’t get Maggie out of her mind.
Who are you, Maggie Downs? Why are you haunting my dreams and invading my thoughts?

Suddenly, Jordan’s attention was drawn to the kitchen as an unfamiliar voice rang out. “Maggie? Maggie, where are you?”

“I’m in the bedroom, Jess. I’ll be right out.”

Jordan’s head snapped around to the direction of Maggie’s voice.
Maggie?

The door between the kitchen and the living room swung open, admitting a slim young woman with short-cropped, bleached-blonde hair. Maggie emerged from the bedroom. Her beauty took Jordan’s breath away. Her unruly red hair was pulled loosely into a ponytail. She wore cutoff jeans and a tank top with no bra. A rush of heat in Jordan’s chest made her feel lightheaded.

Maggie smiled brightly. “Hi, Jess.”

The woman sauntered up and wrapped her arms around Maggie’s waist. “Hey, baby. I missed you after class. Hmm, you smell good.” The woman nuzzled Maggie’s neck. Maggie giggled and pulled away. She walked over to the mirror above the fireplace and began putting on her earrings.

“I had to leave as soon as class was over to get my parents to the airport on time.”

Maggie’s visitor groped her from behind. “That’s right. I forgot they were going to Florida today. That means we have the whole house to ourselves.” She turned Maggie around and pressed her against the fireplace.

Maggie pushed her aggressor away. “Jess, is that all you ever think of? There’s more to life than sex.”

Jordan watched the scene from the couch, wishing desperately that she could walk over and teach Jess a lesson.

Jess looked surprised. “There is? You could have fooled me. Come on, Maggie, you know you want this as much as I do.” Jess pressed her against the fireplace once more.

Maggie pushed Jess harder this time. “I said no. Jess, I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. I need time.”

Jess advanced on Maggie again, this time roughly pinning her shoulders to the fireplace. She leaned in so that their faces were nearly touching. “Maggie, you’re a twenty-two-year-old virgin. Get with the program, will you? What you need, little girl, is a good lay.”

Maggie stared directly into Jess’s eyes. “Not by you,” she said vehemently.

An angry mask descended over Jess’s face. She grasped Maggie’s neck and hissed, “You’d better listen to me good, Maggie. You’ve known about your sexuality for what, six years now? Don’t you think it’s about time you acted on it? You’ve been leading me on for nearly a year, and I’m getting tired of waiting.”

Maggie strained against Jess’s weight. “I’ll only say this one more time—let go of me!”

“Or what? Face it, Maggie, I’m stronger than you are. Now, I’ll say
this
one more time. Like it or not, you’re going to give me what I want.”

Jess released Maggie’s neck only to grasp two handfuls of T-shirt, which she proceeded to rip from Maggie’s body.

“No! Jess, stop. Please!”

“Shut up.” Jess raised her right hand and backhanded Maggie across the face. Maggie fell to the floor. Jess straddled her waist, roughly grabbing Maggie’s creamy white breasts.

“No! Get off me.” Maggie struggled against her attacker, but to no avail.

Jordan watched in horror as she transferred herself to the hover-chair. Several times, she tried to move her chair forward, but for some reason, it wouldn’t move.

“No! Leave her alone,” Jordan screamed as Maggie continued to struggle. Jordan’s efforts to move her chair forward were futile. In one final, desperate attempt to get to Maggie, she pushed herself out of the chair and landed in a heap on the floor. Using her arms to drag herself to the fireplace, Jordan got close enough to grab Jess’s calf muscle. With strength born of desperation, she dug her nails in as hard as she could. Jess howled out in pain and rolled off her victim.

Jess lay on her side, gripping her calf with both hands and moaning in pain. Maggie scrambled to her feet and picked up the fireplace poker. She held the weapon in front of her like a sword.

“Get out of my house right now, Jess, and don’t ever come back again. Do you understand?” Anger radiated from her as she waved the poker back and forth. Maggie lifted the poker and slammed it down on Jess’s injured calf. “I said get out. Now!”

Jess howled in pain. “Fuck! You hit me, bitch. You fucking hit me.”

Maggie shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waved the poker. “I mean it, Jess. Now get out before I do it again.”