“But don’t take it!” Victor quickly added.“You’ll inject the serum only after you make it to theHighlands.”
“What does it do?” Veronica asked as shelocated the bottle labeled TT and pocketed a few syringes. “There’sno telling with you.”
“Well…”
She frowned at her brother’s hesitation. Hergaze flicked back to the screen with the security cameras. The trapdoor had been penetrated by eaters.Damn. This was not howshe’d envisioned things going during her hard-fought journey here.She had expected to arrive at the compound and spend her last daysin relative peace with her only sibling. Speaking of which, atleast Victor was seemingly safe. “Aren’t there eaters in theHighlands too?” Maybe there wasn’t. Perhaps the relatively sparsepopulation had been spared the DR-71 virus.
“Yes and no.”
The hesitancy in his voice snagged herattention away from the security cameras. “Victor, just saywhatever it is you keep hinting at.”
“Okay, but keep an open mind.”
“Victor!”
“Okay, okay! Look, sis, I’m in theHighlands. I’m just not in the Highlands you’ll see when you gethere.”
She blinked. That made no sense.
“I’m in the Highlands, but in the year 1155A.D.”
She stilled. Her jaw semi-dropped. Victorwas implying that—
“I did it, sis. I figured out timetravel.”
Goosebumps formed on her arms. She knew herbrother like the back of her hand. Not one to jest, especiallywhere science was concerned, he was serious. Or at least hebelieved what he was telling her. Regardless, hehadbeenworking on that technology for years now. She just assumed likeeveryone else that he’d never figure it out.
“I realize this is difficult to process,”Victor continued, “but it’s true.” When she said nothing, juststared at him unblinking, he plowed on. “I figured out how totravel through time. The problem being I didn’t figure out how totravel through space. In other words, my TT serum—or Time Travelserum—can’t just magically poof you from Apple Creek to theHighlands. You must journey here for yourself using the exactcoordinates I’ll put on your screen in a minute as your end point.Once you reach it, you must then and only then inject the serum.The technology I invented will take care of the rest.”
Veronica was, for once, speechless. She hada thousand questions, the first and foremost being why he’d pickedthe year 1155 A. D. of all times!—but she knew it would come withan explanation that was heavily technical and way over her head.Her brother was the genius; she was the badass. Each of them knewand understood their places in life.
“Nica!” Victor called out, breaking throughthe daze. He was the only one who called her by that nickname. “Youhave to keep it together and trust me, sis. You know I only haveyour wellbeing in mind.”
She blinked a few times in rapid succession.That much was true. Through thick and thin, the siblings had alwayshad each other’s backs. “How?” she heard herself ask him. “How do Iget to the Highlands from here?”
“In the underground garage I’ve left behinda fully charged vehicle for your use. You’ll have to drive it tothe docks in Cleveland where I’ve left a boat for you.”
She sighed. “Victor, no boat is going tomake it from Lake Erie to the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlanticand so on without several charging stations—all of which are nodoubt inoperable.”
“Not true!” Victor got into excited geekmode. He did everything but rub his hands together. “It’s fullycharged, mostly solar powered, and requires minimal electricity. Ibought it before the plague—spent my entire savings. Well, I boughta second one for backup, obviously and thankfully.”
Veronica snorted. A small smile found herlips.Thank you Jesus for making my brother a paranoid, survivalalarmist!Victor had left nothing to chance. Her gaze shiftedtoward the security cameras. What she saw caused her smile to fade.More eaters were gathering outside. Time was not on her side. Morewould come. Still, unless left with no other choice, it would besafer to leave at first light.
“What’s wrong?” Victor asked, bringing hergaze back to him.
“The perimeter is crawling with eaters. I’vegot to get moving by dawn at the latest.”
He fiddled with something that apparentlyallowed him to see the perimeter in question. “Damn.” He sighed.“Well, the boat is fully stocked with food and water and ready togo.”
“Assuming it hasn’t been ransacked.”
“Not possible. The chances of a second AInerd like me making it to the docks unbitten is already low,”Victor reasoned. “And only another master hacker could penetratethat boat without its key.”
Her gaze shifted back and forth between herbrother and the security cameras. She’d have to risk going to thegarage and sitting in the car until daylight. There wasn’t anotherchoice. She’d deal with taking in the enormity of time travel andthe Highlands and a massively muscled man who never took his gazeoff her later. When and if time ever allowed for it. Tonight shehad to concentrate on staying alive and tomorrow on making it tothe docks. She glanced at her watch. Six hours until dawn.
“The key to the car is in its ignition. Thekey to the boat is in the car’s glove compartment,” Victor offeredbefore she could ask.
Veronica nodded. She understood her newmission and didn’t waste time asking more questions. “I’m waitingin the car until morning,” she informed him, “so long as the eatersdon’t find the garage door and try to bust through it.”
