Lives of Future-Past (The Chronicles of Max Gunnarsson Book 1) (11 page)

     No one ever really feels anything when in a 4D time slip. They are standing there one moment, and then suddenly the entire environment changed and they are somewhere - and
somewhen
- else.
     Max had barely blinked, and found himself in an open, grassy field, when he heard the deafening roar of Johnson’s Draeder scream overhead, going directly for the nearby forest, where it disappeared. Moments later there was a loud explosion, which apparently signaled the end of Lt. Ryder Johnson.
     “Gunnarsson! Draagh’s down!” Jennie screamed, as they both kneeled down to the old mage’s position. He was on his back, staring up at the sky with a confused look on his face.
     “Oh my, oh my. This is not good,” said Draagh, attempting to get back up to his feet.
     The youths each took an arm, and gently lifted him up, with Jennie asking, “Draagh, how do you feel? Are we ok? What did you mean?”
     Draagh looked around, slightly dazed and said, “It appears that we had an unwanted passenger. Oh no, this is not good at all. I will need a moment to recoup myself, and we can then go find him.” (*10*)
     Max looked over at the small mushroom cloud that was growing deep in the forest and said, “Um, Draagh, I think we don’t have to worry about that fellow. He went boom.”
     Jennie also looked out over the mushroom cloud, but was not as sure as Max that Johnson had perished in the apparent crash. They waited for a few minutes, and then headed over and into the dark, foreboding forest to the north, each supporting one of Draagh’s arms.
     In the chaos that had ensued due to their odd and uncalculated arrival, neither Max nor Jennie had initially noticed a change, but as the minutes went by they both started feeling – differently. Being as they were both of the same subspecies they started to notice similar changes. Their hearing had improved – they could hear birds chirping, the crackling of fire at the crash site, insects crawling on the ground, as well as other things that they had never noticed before during their lives on Azul. The one thing that they were sure of was that they heard the sound of footsteps, running away at high speed. Jennie immediately ascertained that this was Johnson fleeing his wreckage. She was sure he had survived the crash. Max turned to Jennie with a concerned look, his face denoting that he heard the same things. Draagh appeared to have recovered from his previous stupor and looked around at his surroundings.
     “Come, my children. Let us see if we can find this most unwanted hitch hiker, as he certainly does not belong here. If you don’t mind, we will need to walk for a while, as the time slip rather took a bit out of me.” With that, they all continued into the forest, toward the crash site.
     Arriving at the smoldering wreckage, they found no signs of life. Max squinted his eyes slightly and found that his vision had vastly improved, easily seeing a shredded parachute in a cluster of trees some 200 meters away. He then made a sound, reminiscent of a growl and pointed in the direction of the chute.
     “Over there. He made it out, so he can’t be very far.”
     Draagh sighed and said, “No, my son. He is long gone by now. Do you remember how I told you that on the proper world, with the proper energy, you would experience enhanced abilities?”
     “Yeah, you did say that,” said Max.
     Jennie also nodded knowingly, as Draagh continued, “Well, what we had undone in the past by modifying man’s energy frequency via a trans-mutagenic virus on an individual level was actually repaired, but this time by modifying the world’s energy itself, and making it compatible with the altered frequency of man. So, unfortunately, that particular individual is also experiencing some enhancements. Foot speed is one of them, as well as an amplified sense of smell, although not as keen as yours. However, he will also notice some unwanted changes that you will witness as soon as we find his location. I implore you to be at the ready, as his type is quite vicious.”
     Max and Jennie stopped, looked around and drew in deep through their noses. It was true! They could both smell as they had never before. Plants, bugs, rotten logs, and of course Draagh’s musty leathers, and the small satchel of herb in his pocket. They both wrinkled their noses and gave each other a mildly disgusted look, then bound forward to catch up with the old man. As they continued further into the forest, they picked up the scent of rotting flesh, which they both found disgusting, yet appealing in a way that made them want to pursue the smell.
     Draagh looked at them and exclaimed, “Ah, so you smell that too. Yes, yes, it is quite apparent that our unwanted passenger has already started to transform, the energy on this world working in conjunction with the virus that flows through his system. Sad, quite sad, indeed.”
     Jennie was slightly ahead of the other two, rapidly scanning the area in all directions as she pushed forward, stepping over moss-covered rocks and small steams of water, when she asked, “Draagh. So tell us how this all works. I can see better, hear better, smell better and even feel things with every step I take. The feedback I am getting from the ground is amazing. What more can I expect at this point and time?”
     Draagh smiled whimsically as he walked, going to retrieve his pipe, but putting it back, wanting his two companions to be able to detect any errant scent without it being masked by the smoke of his beloved herb.
     “Well,” he responded, “yes, your senses are now much more enhanced than a normal’s – more akin to those of a wolf. As night falls you will notice that your vision has also vastly improved. The subject of our search will also have an improved sense of smell, but more targeted toward finding two things – his own kind and normal human blood.”
     “Human blood?!?” they both cried out simultaneously.
     “Yes, yes. Human blood. You see, his type to whom I referred to as
ghouls
actually have another name, and it was quite well known on the Earth of your ancestors, just as it is well known and feared in this world. The colloquial term one uses is
vampire
.”
     Jennie turned around and came to a full stop, looking aghast at Draagh, trying to process this new revelation. Not having been a fan of fantasy novels as a youth, and more into technical documentation, she had still read a couple of ancient authors’ novels regarding vampires, and as she thought further she knew that
lycan
sounded familiar. Werewolves, fairies, ogres and other assorted mythical creatures also rung a bell, as well as witches and warlocks (who, by the way, were quite evil in the works she had experienced). Of course, she never believed that any of those things could have ever existed, but this new, impromptu experience was playing a cruel game of connect the dots in her mind.
     “Just a minute,” said Jennie, “vampires, as I remember from fictional reading, subsisted on human blood. I believe they were also the immortal dead, would die if exposed to sunlight, and had an aversion to the Christian cross. Are these so-called vampires also sensitive to those things?”
     Draagh motioned for the three to continue walking deeper in the woods, and plainly stated, “Oh, my dear, no. Well, a bit is true, and a bit is legend. These vampires do indeed have a need to consume the blood of humans, but they live. Yes! They are indeed quite alive. However, they are most certainly not immortal, and although alive, are constantly fending off a state of continual decomposition. The energy of this world barely keeps them in a state of living existence, but they slowly disintegrate, as you can tell from Lt. Johnson’s already-changed smell. Of course, never having met the man I cannot tell you, but he may or may not have an aversion to sunlight. He is still fleeing on foot, and it is indeed broad daylight, although under the cover of the forest, so it appears that he could be what is called an
enlightened one
– that is, a vampire who can survive, albeit with some discomfort, in the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Yes, he appears to be quite strong - and lucky for him too! If he had not been of that caste we would have simply found a smoldering corpse hanging in that tree where his silken evacuation device was snagged.”
     Max plodded along, basically sweeping the rear, while looking around and back to make sure that Johnson hadn’t flanked them. Max knew that Johnson was a military man – a soldier, and one highly educated in the art of war, while he himself was a scientist with minimal military training, despite his rank of commander. He had never had a command outside the laboratory, but he was adept at leading and organizing, as he had led a team of scientists throughout the SSCC research and development that somehow eventually brought him to this world.
     “So Draagh,” Max asked, “Technology doesn’t work in this world, right?”
     Draagh nodded while walking slightly ahead, using his staff as a large walking stick.
     “That is correct, my son, and that is why Lt. Johnson’s ship failed to get further than it did. It simply stopped working, and of course, crashed where we found it.”
     “Exactly which world is this?” asked Jennie.
     “We are in the Black Forest of Bavaria, the year being 4267 Christian era. We have slipped to Earth’s future, by approximately 1,450 years. Oh the marvel of it all! - and the best part is that here, yes here the two of you will be able to avail yourselves of all the wonders of your heritage.”
     They both looked slightly astonished. They could barely understand traveling from one location to another with a large stick, but also in time?
     “…and Max, you will have quite a bit more to learn than young Jennie here.”
     Jennie gave Max a rather smug “
oh, don’t I know it”
type of look, but her face changed to that of astonishment when the old man continued.
     “Max, I must tutor you in the ways of magic, as you are not only a lycan, but also a mage.”
     They both burst out laughing as Draagh simply watched them fall into hysterics.
     “Magic? Magic?” exclaimed Max. “Magic is mythical. There is… hey, so what you do is magic? It looked more technical than that, with you using your staff and whipping out a holographic console… that’s magic?”
     Jennie jumped in and said, “I thought it was technical too, totally.”
     “My children,” continued Draagh, “magic permeates everything here. It is all around us, and while it is true that it was not readily available to you on the Earth we just left, it did exist in Earth’s past. Do you not remember me recounting the history of Earth, and how there was a form of energy?” Both nodded as he continued. “And then how we modified Man’s genetic code in order for him to advance on its own? Well, that energy was magic – is magic. Yes, magic indeed. This world is full of it. We restored man’s ability to harness magic on this world.”
     “But Draagh,” asked Max, “if I can perform magic, why can’t Jennie? Is there something wrong with her? Like, is she broken or something?”
     Jennie shot Max a hateful glare, but Draagh waved his hand in dismissal as he laughed lightly.
     “Oh my dear boy, No, Jennie is not broken. In fact she is quite a fine specimen,” to which Jennie immediately thought,
Huh? Specimen? Pervert!
 Then Draagh looked at her kindly and said, “My dear young lady. You are lycan, and quite a fine one too, but Max here is of mixed heritage. You see, the only beings that can perform magic in this, or any other world, are called
mages
. Of course, there are magical objects that enable normals and enhanced non-mages to perform certain functions, but for the most part, only mages are able to take advantage of the full spectrum of the wonders that we call
magic
!”
     Draagh said the last word with a boom in his voice, causing dozens of birds fly away in a startled panic. Both Max and Jennie could hear the individual flapping of each and every wing in the sky, and once the birds had made sufficient distance between themselves and the newcomers, the three silently listened.
     “Johnson’s gone,” said Jennie.
     “Yeah, he’s no longer on my lidar, either,” added Max, half-jesting, as he really didn’t have lidar, per se, but did have amazingly enhanced senses that dictated Johnson was out of their range.
     Draagh let out a small sigh, then casually took his pipe out from the pocket in his coat. Filling it from his satchel, he lit the bowl with a small flame that emanated from the tip of his finger, which surprised Jennie, but not Max, as he had seem Draagh do that before. After a couple of relaxing puffs, Jennie cried out, “Oh. My. God! Are you smoking…  pot?”
     Draagh gave her a sheepish grin, and said most emphatically, “I prefer to call it by its proper scientific name on Earth, which is cannabis sativa, and I must insist that it is quite a noble herb.” He looked up and away, as if shooing off all criticism.
     “Um, so…. you’re smoking pot,” said Jennie flatly.
     Max chuckled with a goofy grin. “Yup. Pops is a toaster,” with
toaster
being the term used on Azul to describe someone who frequently smoked the plant.
     “Well, let us continue on our little journey. I could easily slip us over to our destination, but feel it would be best if you used the walk to become accustomed to your new abilities,” said Draagh. So with that, they continued on, but at a slight angle of north by northwest. As they purposefully moved forward, smelling and listening, they noticed that even their exposed skin took in environmental information.
     “Hey, Gunnarsson,” asked Jennie, “Did you ever even actually have any military training?”
     Max briefly looked at her as they rambled through the forest, and responded by saying, “Oh, I had a bit, and the physical part was fairly easy. I blew right through it, but I was much more interested in the tactical aspects, but I was assigned to the scientific division for the SSCC project, so I wasn’t given that much time in the field. Oh, and could you call me