Sinking Through Time - Future Past

Chapter 12 - Family Feuds

Everyone had assembled back at William and Mary's house to think about what they would do next. Nobody knew where Lucy was. She wasn't in this time or her own. This was a completely new situation for all of the families, both past and present.

Sitting around the dining table they all sipped tea whilst they pondered on their dilemma.

"Where else could she have gone?" John questioned.

"Son, I don't know," Sidney answered. "She's not here, she's not in our time and obviously, she's not trapped in the quicksand."

"You really did have a good look for her, didn't you?" John asked.

"Well, we didn't know she was missing when we left, but we did go in at that end and come out at this end, so it's pretty safe to say she's no longer in the quicksand, don't you think?" Sidney asked.

"Yes, I suppose so. But where is she then?"

Graham spoke up.

"If she's not here and she's not there, she's got to be in a different time period, doesn't she?"

"That's it!" John exclaimed. "She's got to be somewhere else in time, but where?"

William answered John.

"That's a very good question, lad; a very good question indeed."

"All right then. Dear Lucy isn't here and she isn't in, what is the year again? The year of our Lord two thousand and?"                                                                                                                                                      

"Two thousand and fourteen, dear," William answered Mary.

"That's right, two thousand and fourteen. So, she must have been sent somewhere else. It seems to me, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the quicksand only takes you to particular times you want to travel to; otherwise you could get thrown out anywhere in history, couldn't you? Is there any other time Lucy wanted to go?" Mary questioned, looking to John and Sidney for an answer.

John and Sidney thought about Lucy for a minute and the conversations they'd had with her, whilst the others took the opportunity to sip their tea or nibble on an oat biscuit Mary had prepared earlier that morning.

Sidney answered Mary's question first.

"I can't remember her talking to us about anywhere else in the past she wanted to travel to. She was just so excited to be able to meet all of you the first time. As far as I'm aware your time is the only place she wanted to come back to. What about you, John, did Lucy say anything to you?"

"No, nothing about the past really, except that she wanted to see our family again; only maybe later on. She was so happy for William and Sally when she found out about the baby. But then she was also really sad about Sally's death. She wanted to come back when your father was born, dad," John answered.

"That's it then," Mary said.

"Sorry?" Sidney questioned.

"Don't you see, dear? Lucy didn't come through into this time. She came through into this time's future."

"What? I don't get what you mean," John said, puzzled.

"I mean our future; William's and mine. Not when Lucy first met us in the year of our Lord 1877. More like, what would you say, John? When in time did Lucy want to come back to?"

"More like 1907," John answered. "And I think you're right. Lucy travelled to this time's future" John continued excitedly.

"There's only one problem with that," William chimed in.