and then finally grabbed a bunk and dozed off. She and Gaby were both asleep when they brought Peter back. The two woman didn’t wake up until he screamed loudly. Erin was out of her bunk first and by Peter’s side. He lay in the middle of the cell on a white plastic stretcher that had been set there. His left leg was severed just below the knee. The section that had been removed was lying sideways at the foot of the stretcher. Blood flowed freely from the stump and formed a pool on the stretcher and the floor of the cell. “What have they done to him, Erin? Oh my God!” Gaby quickly joined Erin who had already removed her belt and was rapidly making a tourniquet just above Peter’s left knee. Erin pulled the belt tight and hoped it would be enough to stop the flow of blood. “They are just plain evil. Why would they have done something so horrible to this man who never hurt them in any way?” Erin started to answer when there was a sudden white flash, blinding her and Gaby for a second. When they could see again, Peter was standing in the doorway with Dara. He had a very confused look on his face. Erin and Gaby seemed to be acting out some strange pantomime in the center of the cell, but Peter couldn’t imagine what it was about. Erin looked around in total confusion since Peter’s body, his severed leg, the blood and the stretcher were nowhere to be seen. Gaby was confused as well, but she jumped up and hugged Peter as he stepped in the cell. Erin didn’t get up but glared at Dara. “Just having some fun with the lab rats?” Dara smiled. “Something like that. You were worried about Peter, so I wanted to provide you with an experience to fit your thoughts. Be good and I’ll tell you if Future Erin was real or not.” With that, she turned and walked away. Just as well since Erin could barely stifle the outburst she wanted to release on Dara. She felt like her head was about to explode. “Did they hurt you, Peter?” Gaby felt great relief that he was back and refused to stop hugging him. Peter smiled. “No. They just let me spend some quality time with this attractive older lady who wears a Red Sox cap.” Erin closed her eyes and let her anger dissipate. Dara was just testing them. Just like lab rats. Pushing their buttons. And damn her! She knew where Erin’s buttons were. She knew exactly where they were.
Chapter 13 Megan lay there next to Tom and looked up at the canopy of evergreen branches that seemed to go on forever. “This is a pretty nice spot, isn’t it?” “I certainly will view it differently now.” Tom slowly ran his finger along the side of her naked body. He would never get tired of seeing her that way. It seemed that both of them were enjoying the wonders of nature in their own way. “What if this is it for us? That we have to stay on this island and make a life for ourselves. We could try to go somewhere else, but it sure seems like all the people we run into in this time and place are a rough bunch. Hiding out somewhere with you is looking better and better.” Tom wondered if she was fully aware of what staying there would entail. “What about the comforts of modern life? Could you accept an existence that never involved going to a movie or drinking a latte? The adventure camping thing could get old in hurry.” Megan turned toward him. “But if we are already in a place where movies and lattes haven’t been invented, we wouldn’t be giving up anything. And we might just stay alive longer here than if we went back to the Old West, or the Viking North or when and wherever that flying saucer thing came from. At least here we could have water, food and no bears.” “Wow, that sets the bar pretty low. Happiness equals water, food and no bears. You may be my kind of girl.” She gave him her best disgusted look but then they embraced and kissed. They treasured a long