“No!” she shouted and charged toward the man, taser at the ready. He swung his musket toward her, but didn’t get a chance to discharge the weapon. Before he did so, she ducked, grabbed a handful of dirt and gravel, tossed it at his face, and got close enough to taze his neck. The man, who was large for that day and age, went down like a sack of potatoes.
Without waiting to see how soon he would recover, Freya hurried back toward the others. Her sister was falling behind, so she grabbed her around the waist again and helped her run. The only problem was, where were they running to?
The bridge came into focus.
Devon turned his head slightly and called out, "Are you still with me, ladies?"
"We’re right behind you," Freya called.
They caught up to him on the other side of the bridge. Freya looked frantically about for any kind of indication that they were getting close to the portal. She didn't have any kind of landmark from the spot where they’d entered because it was so dark. Maybe they’d just have to rely on plain dumb luck and, hopefully, stumble upon it, literally.
Devon called out, "I think the portal was around here, somewhere." He must have been thinking along the same lines.
"How do we find it again?" Freya asked.
"I remember a pricker bush when I stumbled through it," Brianna said.
"Was the pricker bush on this side of the timeline, or the other?" Devon asked.
"This side," she said.
"Perfect. Girls, try to find a pricker bush on the edge of these woods, but be careful too."
Freya laughed. “Sure. Find a pricker bush, carefully… Sounds like fun. But it also sounds like survival.” She rushed to the edge of the wood, extended one hand, and felt for anything that might give her a bit of a prick and indicate their way home.
"Ouch. Worth it!" Freya called out.
Devon stopped, as did Brianna. “You found it?" Brianna asked.
“It's around here some —"
Freya stumbled and fell onto her flashlight, which was still illuminating the twenty-first-century side. She'd found the portal! Now she just had to hope the others could follow her.
11
Freya rolled out of the way, a moment before her sister stumbled through the portal and landed on her hands and knees. An owl hooted.
Devon must have seen the edge that tripped them both up, because he stepped over it carefully, still holding Esther.
“Did we make it? Back to our own time and place, I mean…” he asked.
Freya shone the flashlight on her grinning face. “I’m pretty sure we did. Hey, where’s the angle grinder?”
Devon glanced behind him. “Probably somewhere in the seventeenth century. I couldn’t carry it and your grandmother at the same time.”
“Of course. No problem there. I’m just wondering what the good people of Olde Ipswich are going to make of it.”
Brianna bristled. “You are not going back for it. Those people are ignorant and heartless.”
“I wasn’t implying that we should. I just… Oh, never mind. Let’s get Grandma to the hospital.”
“Agreed,” Devon said. “I can drive my rental if you give me directions to the hospital.”
“I’ll drive,” Freya said. “She’ll be more comfortable in our van.”
“Then run ahead and get it. I’m strong, but my arms are tiring.”
“Oh! Please don’t carry me another moment, young man. I don’t even know you, but I have you to thank for my freedom.” She coughed again.
