Travelers' Tales

By Mike Manolakes

Travelers' Tales is the fifth book in The Traveler Series, which began with Variation Seven and continued in Strange Times, Living in the Future, and Dying in the Past. Travelers are the men and women who possess timebands -- cybernetic devices that allow the wearer to travel in time and change history. There are only twelve timebands and twelve Travelers, and those individuals have divided themselves into two rival factions, each with a different view of what the destiny of mankind should be. One group is attempting to steer humanity toward a bright future where it colonizes the stars, and the other is determined to work toward the extinction of the human race before it can infest the galaxy like spreading plague.

One of these Travelers is Ruthie Terwilliger, who, despite possessing time-traveling powers beyond her understanding, is trying to create a normal life for herself, her husband Miles, and her young daughter Miranda. But she awakens one night to find herself many centuries in the future, the guest of a secret society known as the Family. As she learns the incredible secret behind the Family, she wonders if this is only a dream -- or a terrible nightmare waiting to come true?

Meanwhile, her team is searching for a boy lost somewhere in time. William Han, the only son of Ruthie's teammate Denise, has been hidden away in another century by Sarah Rickert. The team succeeds in finding him -- but is he an unusual infant in a twenty-first century orphanage, or a full-grown assassin in 1914, bent on changing the history of World War One? And what is his connection to Simon and Rebecca, the evil twins still scheming to kill Ruthie and her friends?

Travelers' Tales is the fifth book from author Mike Manolakes in the Traveler Series, the story of Ruthie, her friends and foes, and the alternate histories they create. The Traveler Series will take readers on a trip through worlds that never were, timelines where history has followed a drastically different course. For readers who enjoy exploring the various “what ifs” of history, Travelers' Tales and the Traveler Series will provide unexpected twists and turns as Ruthie discovers the unexpected potential in the power that the timeband gives her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Manolakes
• Release date: Jun 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311508577

Mike Manolakes

Mike Manolakes is an author of science fiction, alternate history, and historical fiction. He is also an American Civil War reenactor, actor, director, and retired classroom teacher. He lives in Arizona with his wife Rae and their dogs and cats.

Book preview

Travelers' Tales

by Mike Manolakes

Copyright 2016 Mike Manolakes

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

About the Author

Other books by Mike Manolakes

CHAPTER ONE

Wake up, Grandmother.

Ruthie woke up suddenly, and immediately she felt confused and disoriented. This was not her bed, and this was not her bedroom, and yet she was sure that she had gone to sleep last night in her own home, in her own familiar bed in her own room, next to her husband Miles, who was now nowhere to be seen. This bed, though large, soft, and comfortable, was definitely not her own. She could see little of the room in the dim light, but it seemed much larger than her own bedroom. She couldn’t make out much of the furnishings, but she could see enough to tell that it was not a room she remembered ever being in before.

And who was this woman calling her grandmother? Ruthie could think of no earthly reason anyone should address her that way. She was only thirty-two years old, and her only daughter wasn’t even four years old yet. Of course, Ruthie was a Traveler, one of the very few people on Earth who possessed a timeband that enabled her to move back and forth in time. She’d gone back and met her own grandfather before, as a young man – even saved his life – so it was entirely possible she could go forward and meet her own granddaughter. Except that she didn’t recall consciously making this trip. Also, the timebands weren’t supposed to work that way; they couldn’t send you forward into your own future if it hadn’t happened yet for you. Though Ruthie did discover, on a terrible day two years ago, that the usual rules of time travel didn’t necessarily apply to her.

She grabbed her left wrist with her right hand. Her wrist was bare; the timeband was not there. Now Ruthie felt on the verge of panic. She knew she had gone to bed wearing the timeband, as she always did. It wasn’t safe to take it off. Without the protection of the timeband, she would be vulnerable to a reality wave, a sudden change in history caused by the actions of another Traveler in the past. A reality wave could wipe her out of existence; she’d be erased from history with no chance to save herself. She always wore the timeband, day and night, but now inexplicably it was gone from her arm, and she did not remember taking it off.

I’m dreaming, she decided. This must be a dream. But it didn’t feel like a dream. Her right hand squeezed her left wrist and it felt solid. She was wide awake now; the disorientation had caused an adrenaline rush that washed the last traces of sleep from her brain. If this was a dream, it was the most convincing imitation of wakefulness she’d ever experienced. She might be dreaming, but she would have to assume this was real until she, hopefully, woke up.

Where am I? Who are you? Am I your... grandmother?

The woman chuckled softly. She was a young woman, probably in her twenties, and she had an odd accent that Ruthie couldn’t identify. Not really, no. We all call you grandmother, out of respect, but technically you’re not my grandmother. To be precise, you’re my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother.

Ruthie sat up. I’m your what? Where – no, not where. When am I?

It’s October second, twenty-nine twenty-two, the young woman said patiently. This is your house in Doylestown – not the old house, of course, that was destroyed about two hundred years ago. This house was built to replace it.

Ruthie struggled to digest this. She went to bed in 2075, and now it was 2922. She’d slipped forward more than eight hundred years, without her timeband, and now she was being awakened by one of her distant descendants. She felt like Rip Van Winkle, and he only slept for twenty years. She had outdone him by a factor of forty. Had she aged like Rip Van Winkle? She put her hand to her face, and was relieved to find her skin the way she remembered it, not wrinkled with age. All of her teeth seemed to be in place.

The woman had something in her hand, and she raised it to her mouth and spoke into it. Carl? It’s Geli. I’m in Grandmother’s room, and she’s here. But it’s an early version. A real early version. What do you want me to do? She paused to listen, though Ruthie couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the conversation, and then said, We’ll be there as soon as we can.

You’re Jelly? Ruthie asked.

Geli, with a G. Short for Angelica. Is it all right if I turn on a light? Carl would like to meet you as soon as you’re able.

Sure, go ahead. Geli touched something on the device in her hand, and bright light filled the room from fixtures in the ceiling. Ruthie saw that Geli was a tall woman, almost six feet, with dark black hair and coffee-colored skin. She looked hard to try to find a family resemblance to either herself or her husband and wasn’t sure she found one. Geli was dressed in a simple black top and beige shorts, and her hair fell past her shoulders. She didn’t look older than twenty-five. And she was not wearing a timeband.

With the lights on, Ruthie could see there was a second person in the room, standing just inside the doorway. This woman might have been Geli’s younger sister, with identical features but a shorter hair style, and her clothes were blue and red. Geli saw where Ruthie was looking and said, Oh, that’s Anna, Grandmother. She’s two years younger.

Your sister? Ruthie asked.

Both Geli and Anna laughed. No, Grandmother. I said she’s Anna – I’m Geli. We’re not sisters.

Ruthie was confused for a moment, and then she got it. Oh. You’re both Angelica. You’re the same person.

Yeah, Geli said. Anna is a younger version of me, but still me. Or I’m her. From two different points in our life, but currently inhabiting the same now.

Ruthie climbed out of bed and stood up. She was wearing the same nightgown that she was wearing when she went to bed, over eight hundred years earlier, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. Listen, I don’t know how I got here. I should still be with my family, in the year 2075. I should still have my timeband on, and I don’t know why it’s not on my arm. Can you help me figure out what’s happened?

Timeband? Anna said. Grandmother, you’ve never needed a timeband!

Quiet, Anna, Geli scolded. This is an early version of Grandmother, perhaps the earliest one that’s come this far into the present. She may not know about her abilities yet.

Ruthie tapped her bare foot on the carpeted floor impatiently. Look, I know I can travel without a timeband. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I’ve done it before. My daughter Miranda can do it, too. But until I understand more about how this ability of mine works, I choose to wear a timeband, just like my husband and my teammates do. I don’t know where my timeband went to or why I moved into the far future without one, and I’d like to know what’s going on. Can this Carl you spoke to help me?

Geli shrugged. Maybe. He’s one of the Family elders; he’s really the one who should be officially meeting you. We’ll take you to him. But maybe you’d like to get dressed first?

Ruthie looked down at the flimsy nightgown she was wearing. Uh, sure. Are there any clothes here?

Of course, Geli said with a smile. Grandmother, this is your own room, in your house. The closets are filled with your clothes. Wear whatever you like. We’ll wait out in the hall. Unless you need some help dressing?

I’ll manage just fine, thank you. I’m pretty spry for my age. Ruthie glared at Geli and Anna until they finally stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind them.

For a moment Ruthie considered making the attempt to jump all the way back to 2075. Since that awful day, two years ago, when the encounter with Sarah’s evil children, Rebecca and Simon, had triggered Ruthie’s latent powers, Ruthie had done very little experimenting with travel without a timeband. She didn’t even know if she could make such an incredibly long jump on her own, without the benefit of the advanced technology of the timeband. But it didn’t take her long to decide not to make the attempt, and not because of fear of what might happen. She had to admit to herself she was curious about her descendants in this far future year, and what her family’s future was going to be like. If she was really here, and not just having an amazingly vivid dream, she might as well see it all before she tried to go back.

There were three large closets in the bedroom, all filled with a wide assortment of women’s clothing. All seemed to be in Ruthie’s size, more or less, and while it seemed that fashions would not remain constant over the next eight hundred years, most everything in the closets matched in color and style what was usually Ruthie’s taste in clothes. Ruthie didn’t have much trouble believing that future versions of herself would have picked out these clothes for her wardrobe. She picked out a shirt and slacks that looked comfortable and quickly changed into them, then put on a pair of sandals on her feet.

Lead on, Angelicas, she said to the pair waiting on the other side of the door when she opened it.

The two versions of Angelica quickly led Ruthie down a huge corridor, furnished ornately with gold leaf on the walls and thick carpeting on the floor. The scene brought back memories of a high school trip Ruthie had taken to Washington, D.C., when she and her classmates took the tour of the White House. This majestic house had much the same feel to it, like it belonged to a king or a president, not Ruthie McDonald Terwilliger. This is my house? she asked the two women.

Of course, Geli said. Well, it belongs to the Family, and you’re the head of the Family. When you’re here, that is – you don’t usually come here. But when you do, this is your house.

Almost a thousand years after I was born? Ruthie said. I would have thought I would be dead.

Well, you are, of course, but you’re also alive. Geli said it so matter-of-factly, seemingly not at all aware of how contradictory it sounded. Everyone is alive until they die, and if you can Travel, you can be both at the same time.

Anna and Geli led Ruthie to a staircase, brought her down a flight of stairs, and then brought her into a large, impressive office. A tall man with white curly hair stepped forward from behind a desk to greet her. Grandmother! It’s good to see you again! Then, noting the confused look in Ruthie’s eyes, he quickly said, Ah. This is your first time meeting me. Of course. I’m Carl Terwilliger, Generation Nine, chief administrator for the Doylestown properties. It’s an honor to introduce myself to you, Grandmother.

He extended his hand toward her, and Ruthie shook it. Carl, I’m afraid I don’t know why I’m here. I didn’t intend on traveling into the far future, without my timeband. It seems to have happened involuntarily, while I slept. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.

It’s not unheard of, Grandmother, Carl explained. Your descendants all share the ability to free Travel, as we call it, and all of them master it from an early age, sometimes before they can walk. But you didn’t become a Traveler until you were an adult, and even then you used a timeband for many, many years. It’s understandable that you might accidentally free Travel, perhaps while sleeping. Don’t fret about it, Grandmother.

I wish everyone would stop calling me Grandmother. I’m much too young to be one. Call me Ruthie – please!

Carl looked dismayed. That’s – going to take some getting used to. You are Grandmother to all of us, the founder of the Family. It would be disrespectful for us to call you anything else. But I’ll try – Ruthie. He couldn’t help but make a sour face as he said her given name.

You keep talking about the ‘Family’. How big is this family? How many ‘grandchildren’ do I supposedly have?

Well, that’s a hard question to answer. At any given point in time, the number keeps fluctuating, as members of the Family keep moving forward or backward in time. The current era is a fairly popular one – we have many future generations coming back to stay for a while, and also many from the early generations come forward for extended visits. So on any given day in 2922, I’d say – about nineteen thousand.

Ruthie’s jaw dropped. Nineteen thousand!

Give or take a few hundred. Not all in the greater Philadelphia area. You have descendants in every major city and capital in the world, of course. All of the financial centers, naturally. But the center of Family activity is still here in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on the Family properties. Which are now themselves the size of a small city.

Ruthie shook her head in disbelief. Nineteen thousand people living today are descended from me? That can’t be true. And how many of them can, what did you call it? Free Travel?

All of us, Ruthie. You possess the gene to free Travel, and everyone in direct descent from you also has the gene. Anyone with the free Travel gene is one hundred percent certain to pass it on to their offspring, and anyone with the gene always manifests the ability. Our scientists have proven this is true.

Really? Ruthie said. In my time, we’ve been operating under the theory that you need two Traveler parents to Travel without a timeband. Like Rebecca and Simon – the kids of Carlos and Sarah. Same as my daughter Miranda – she also has two Traveler parents.

True, and the children of two Travelers usually can free Travel. But that doesn’t explain you – your parents weren’t Travelers. But what we discovered is that somehow, the gene spontaneously appeared in your cells. A mutation. The how and why is still unexplained, but it seems to certain to have been the case. You are a remarkable person, Grandmoth... Ruthie. Even from a biological standpoint.

I’m a mutant? Ruthie didn’t like the sound of that at all. That’s why I can Travel without a timeband?

Carl smiled. I wouldn’t put it so bluntly, but yes, it’s because of a mutation. It occurred in you, Generation Zero, and it’s been passed on through each succeeding generation, ad infinitum. With each new generation, the number of carriers of the gene grows exponentially. We’ve encountered Family members from far into the future, Generation Fifty or more, and they report that the free Travel gene will eventually become common in the general population of Earth. Other planets, too, once space colonization is achieved. Look at these displays.

He walked