Timesurfers by Rhonda Sermon Page A

you
only see a different reality, not the details behind how the altered time line came about, because you
haven’t crossed over into our world yet. My teams travel back in
time and reset things to the way history intended them to be.”
    All eyes turned her way. “Now would be an
excellent time for me to wake up or...something.”
    “You’re destined to be part of our world,”
Naitanui said.
    Cate rolled her eyes. “I personally find the
whole destiny thing to be overrated. It
rarely ends well and involves extensive death and sacrifice for the
greater good. None of which are really my thing.” She just wanted
to go home and spend an ordinary, non-magically manipulated day
with Eve.
    “Could you be any more apathetic?” Austin
glared at her. “The ability to raise the dead is wasted on
you.”
    She gave Austin the filthiest look she could
muster. “I didn’t choose to be a Timesurfer or to be able to raise
the dead.”
    “No one chooses to be a Timesurfer. We’re
born to this life. It’s in our blood,” Austin said.
    “Yes I get it’s not a career, it’s a
destiny,” Cate said. Another outrageous
cliché.
    “Oh, I like that line. It’s dramatic,” Rafe
said. “I’m going to use it.”
    “People will miss me. I have to make contact
every night at six o’clock or an army will come searching for me.
My mum—”
    “Spare us the details about your mother,”
Rose groaned.
    “Enough.” Naitanui signalled for everyone to stop. “I
guarantee you will be home for your required six o’clock
communication. Please hear me out.”
    She dragged her hands down her face.
Reluctantly she admitted it was impossible to ignore all weird
things which had happened since Sunday at the bus stop. The damage
was done. Her world had changed. What if she was going to make
terrible decisions or become a horrible person? This was her chance
to find out and maybe change that if she wanted to. “So Timesurfers
control history?”
    “We don’t control history, we protect it,”
Naitanui said.
    “Aren’t they the same?” Cate asked.
    A sad smile spread across Naitanui’s face.
“The two could not be more different. To protect requires difficult
decisions. Ours is a world of black and white.”
    Cate rubbed her eyes with the back of her
hand. “What does that mean in plain English?”
    “The world wars, bubonic plague, the sinking
of the Titanic —are all disasters that
could be avoided in an alternate history. If Mortez seeks to remedy
these types of events, our job is to ensure history runs its course
as intended. We do what it takes to ensure these tragedies
unfold.”
    “You stand by and let people die?” A
sprinkling of doubt floated through Cate’s head. How could letting people die be acceptable for any
reason?
    “It’s much worse than that. We make sure
people die.” There was no hint of apology on Naitanui’s face. “We
monitor the past, and when we see a deviation, I send a team back
in time to rectify it. We ensure history unravels as intended,
without magical manipulation.”
    “Think.” Austin tapped his temple. “Today,
you woke to a world with an altered history.”
    The changes she saw this morning raced
through her mind.
    “She’s not the smartest book on the shelf.”
Rose groaned. “You travelled through time with Austin to our
present. Our present is your future. Your present is our past. We travelled
back to 2014 to disarm a bomb Jonah set to kill a future prodigy
with a prolific talent in nuclear weapons. You got in the way and
Jonah aborted the mission.” Rose strolled over and leaned close
enough for Cate to feel her warm breath against her cheek. “Mortez
has never aborted a mission before. What’s
so special about you to make that happen, hey?”
    Cate shifted in her chair. “I don’t know
anyone called Mortez. There were lots of people at the bus stop. It
could have nothing to do with me.”
    Rose shook her head. “Oh buy a vowel! You
were the only one moving at the bus