Journey, The (28 page)

Shelly grinned and put her hand on her chin.

"Hmm. Does it have to be in Unionville? This town is more boring than Boring."

"Yes, it has to be in Unionville. I think this would be a good weekend to stay close to home. Use your imagination. I'm sure you can think of something edgy or fattening that we can do. Let's invite April too. It sounds like she needs another girls' night out."

"She does. After last night, she needs a girls' month out. I'll see what she's doing," Shelly said. "Either way, you can count me in. We'll have a blast."

CHAPTER 51: MICHELLE

Saturday, May 17, 1980

Mrs. Land moved the stick from first to second and then from second to third and smiled. She had not violated the manual transmission of Robert's Jeep for three weeks – four if you didn't count the time she popped the clutch in the driveway – and considered that among her greatest achievements of the past six months. She was getting better.

Michelle felt awkward showing up at the Preston house unannounced, even at midday. She had not paid a visit since Thanksgiving and did not want to catch the family at a bad time. But Shelly had left her no choice. She had not returned her calls on Friday night or even Saturday morning.

She assumed nonetheless that their date was still on. Shelly was not one to change plans without giving notice and Michelle figured that this weekend was no exception. She held onto that thought as she turned right at Tenth and Monroe and pulled into the first driveway on the left. It was empty.

Michelle stepped out of the Jeep and gave the property a closer inspection. It appeared just as deserted as it had from the street. The windows were drawn and she could find no evidence that anyone had recently worked in the yard. When she reached the porch, she saw a folded slip of paper taped to the door – a slip that bore her name. She took down the note and started to read it when she heard a familiar voice from the house next door.

"They're not home."

Michelle turned toward the voice and saw Brian Johnson walk slowly across the driveway.

"They left for the weekend. Shelly said she tried to reach you by phone but couldn't. She left right after school yesterday."

"Do you know why she left? We were supposed to spend the day together."

"She didn't tell me. She just said she was really stressed and needed to get out of town."

"I thought she had to work last night."

"She did, but we traded shifts. I didn't mind. I don't have a girlfriend anymore, so Friday's aren't as big a deal as they used to be."

Michelle noted Brian's matter-of-fact tone.

"I'm sorry to hear about Darla."

"I'm not. I thought we had something going, but I can see now that I was just keeping her occupied until she found someone better. Shelly was right. I should have paid more attention to the guys that were hanging around her locker. I could have saved myself a lot of grief."

"It will get better, Brian. Trust me. You just have to be patient."

Michelle glanced at the note in her hand and found an apology. Shelly apologized for skipping town but did not say where she had gone. She said only that she would return by Sunday night and that she wanted a rain check for the girls' day out. Michelle looked back at Brian.

"Did Shelly say where she went?"

"No. But I think she tried to catch up with her parents."

"What do you mean catch up?"

"I mean they left before she did. They left Friday morning."

"Friday morning? For where?"

"They went to their cabin. The police called Mr. Preston the other night and told him that someone had broken into their place over the winter. I guess they busted all the windows and kicked in the door. They took all their camping stuff too. So Mr. and Mrs. Preston just left."

A sickening feeling swept over Michelle.

"Brian, listen carefully. Are you telling me that the Prestons went to their summer cabin? The one in Washington?"

"Yeah. That's the one."

CHAPTER 52: MICHELLE

Saturday, May 17, 1980

Michelle had never lamented the absence of cell phones more. In the world of 2010, she could have solved her problem with a text message from the Prestons' driveway. In the world of 1980, she had to race to her landline phone at home and somehow try to contact a family that had probably already reached its destination, a destination that was about to become the most dangerous place on Earth.

"I have to get a message to a family. It's urgent," Michelle said into her phone.

"None of our deputies is available at the moment," a dispatcher responded.

"I know you're busy. I just want someone to check on a property on Coldwater Creek and deliver a message to the owners. I have to reach them today."

"We'll do what we can, ma'am. How can I help?"

"Please send a car to the Preston cabin. It's four miles north of the Spirit Lake Highway on Forest Road 41. Have the Prestons call one of these numbers as soon as they can."

Michelle gave the dispatcher the home phone numbers of April Burke and Brian Johnson. She had already instructed April and Brian to tell the Prestons to meet her at a motel in Castle Rock and to let them know that she would explain everything when she arrived. Michelle hadn't given a second thought to staying home. She knew that the odds of reaching the Prestons were slim and was prepared to warn them in person if necessary.

Michelle also left a message for Robert, one that explained where she had gone and why. She felt uncomfortable telling him that Mount St. Helens was about to blow its top until she realized that she had a chance to solve two problems with one letter. He would read the note on Saturday night and know that she had predicted the eruption hours in advance. She would use the letter to win over his skeptical mind when she finally came clean about her time-traveling past.

Twenty minutes later Michelle Land shifted into high gear ten miles west of Unionville on Interstate 80. As she raced westward toward Portland, she tried to answer some questions. Why had she not seen this coming? Her parents had never gone to Coldwater Creek during a school year, even the year the cabin had been vandalized. What had changed?

She needed less than a minute to find the answers. The Prestons had not checked on their cabin because they had participated in a May 17 fundraiser. Fred Preston and dozens of other Unionville professionals and merchants had donated labor and merchandise to raise funds for a music scholarship that would be given in memory of April Burke. By saving April's life in her second run through 1980, Michelle had made it possible for the Prestons to leave town on a weekend they were supposed to stay home. She had inadvertently put them in harm's way.

Michelle thought again about how she had changed the lives of others over the past year and wondered whether it had been worth the cost. She realized now that even good deeds could have negative consequences. Then she thought about her unusual meeting with Alice Franklin. Alice had told Michelle to be conscientious and prudent when applying her knowledge of the future to the people and problems of the present. But she had also urged her to be bold.

Whatever you do, don't hold back.

Michelle wasn't quite sure what she would do when she got to Washington, but she was sure of one thing. When she reached the cabin, she wouldn't hold back.

CHAPTER 53: MICHELLE

Castle Rock, Washington – Saturday, May 17, 1980

"Let me get this straight. A deputy went to the cabin and checked it out, but all he found was an orange Volkswagen with Oregon plates?"

Michelle cupped her hand around the receiver of the pay phone. The noise outside of the convenience store just off Interstate 5 made it hard to hear the desk officer.

"That's what I said, ma'am," the officer said. "He found one car but no people. He was there about an hour ago."

"Did he walk around the property? Did he leave a note on the door? Did he see any evidence that they were still in the vicinity?"

"I don't know, ma'am. That's all the information I have."

"OK," Michelle said, exasperated. She sighed. "Thank you for trying."

Michelle's stomach sank as she hung up the phone. Where were the Prestons? Where was their other car? She quickly called April and Brian but learned that they had nothing new to report. They had not heard from anyone. Both wanted to know what was going on. Michelle provided no clues. She said only that all of their questions would be answered when she got back. She knew now that she had to come clean not only with Robert but also with others.

The time traveler stepped away from the phone and glanced at two 1950s-era motels on the other side of the street, the Toutle Inn and the Lucky Duck. She had checked into the former minutes earlier and had asked the clerk if she had seen or heard from any of the Prestons. She had not. It was clear now that Shelly and her parents had not seen the deputy's note, if there was a note, and would not be joining her at the motel. She would have to go to the cabin herself.

Michelle stepped inside the store and filled a large paper cup with coffee. If nothing else, she would need to stay alert. The sun was dropping and she might be in for a long night.

When she approached the counter and prepared to pay for her beverage, a toddler, dressed in bib overalls, scampered around a stand of potato chips and smacked directly into Michelle's shin. He fell on his bottom but did not cry. He instead got up, looked at the two-legged obstacle, and smiled. Black licorice covered much of his face.

"I like candy!" he said.

Michelle looked at him and laughed. He was just the comic relief she needed for a day that had become more stressful with each passing hour.

"Yes, you do," she said.

"Joel, come back here!"

Michelle looked up and saw an attractive brunette, who didn't look a day over thirty, walk briskly up an aisle. She wore the face of a loving but harried mother who had done this before, the kind of mother Michelle Land wanted to be.

"I'm sorry. He can't stay put for a minute."

"Oh, that's all right. He's adorable."

The woman put her hands on her hips and called her son.

"Joel, we have to go now. You leave this nice lady alone."

The boy looked at his mother and shook his head.

"Joel Francis Smith, you come here now."

The toddler gave his mother a scornful glance.

"No."

He rushed toward Michelle and wrapped his arms around his favorite shin.

The harried mother sighed and looked at Michelle with a red face.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion. He does this a lot. He seems to like pretty ladies."

"I don't mind the attention," Michelle said with a laugh. "I don't have children of my own, so I don't get this very often. Do you mind if I hand him to you?"

Please say yes.

"Be my guest. I'd probably need the Jaws of Life to pry him from your leg."

Michelle smiled, put her coffee back on the counter, and stepped to the side so that other customers could pay for their merchandise. She then reached down with both arms and gently picked up the boy. He smiled broadly and waved a half-eaten rope of licorice in her face. He was a vivid reminder of what she had missed in life.

"You are a delightful young man, but I think you belong to your mother."

Michelle handed the boy back to the woman. Two other children, a girl and a boy who appeared to be about six and four, respectively, stood nearby and smiled.

"Thank you," the woman said. She held the boy with one arm and offered her free hand. "I'm Cindy Smith."

"Michelle Land."

"I noticed the logo on your jacket. Are you a teacher in Unionville?"

"Oh, no, I'm the attendance secretary at the high school. My husband is the baseball coach. Why do you ask?"

"My brother teaches social studies at the junior high. His name is Rick Jorgenson. Perhaps you know him."

"I've heard of him. Robert teaches math at UHS and he's mentioned Rick. I've lived there only a short while and don't know a lot of people at the other schools. Are you from Unionville?"

"Oh, no. We live in Seattle. We're just returning from a day in Portland. All of that tax-free shopping is hard to pass up. My husband is in the Navy, so I take the kids on weekend trips as often as I can to keep them occupied. They're a handful."

Cindy repositioned the still-smiling toddler in her arms.

"How about you? Are you just passing through?"

"I'm here to see relatives," Michelle said. "They're staying in a cabin up the road."

"You're not driving toward the mountain, are you?"

"I am. In fact, I'm headed there now."

"You're braver than I am. This is as close as I'll get. My neighbor is a seismologist with the USGS and says St. Helens could blow at any time."

He has no idea.

"That's why I'm here. I'm going to try to persuade them to relocate."

"Well, don't let me keep you. It was nice meeting you."

"You too."

Michelle stepped out of the store into the cool spring air. She glanced at the cloudy eastern sky and then at a clock at a nearby bank, where two black hands formed a perfect vertical line. She had two and a half hours before sunset, the onset of civil twilight, and a time when finding the Prestons would become difficult, if not impossible.

Michelle got into the Jeep, pulled out of the lot, and started down Highway 504 toward a cabin her grandfather had built. She had plenty of time to get to her destination and bring the others back to Castle Rock before nightfall. She didn't worry about what she would say or what she would do if they resisted. She would get it done. Failure was not an option.

CHAPTER 54: MICHELLE

Spirit Lake Highway, Washington – Saturday, May 17, 1980

She clicked off forty-five of the fifty miles before she ran into trouble in the form of two artificial barriers in the middle of the highway and one very real Washington state trooper on the side of it. Michelle dropped her head to the steering wheel and rolled down her window.