Cogs Of Fate

Danger In The Forest

Present Day

The moment the Lifeboat landed inside the bunker, sparks from the explosion they left behind snapped in the air surrounding them. Agent Christopher, Wyatt, Mason, and Jiya flinched at the sight.

The hatch began to open and when Agent Christopher noticed that only two of the four-man crew returned, she quickly asked, "What happened? Where's Flynn and Tenley?"

Visibly shaken, Lucy trembled. "We left them...oh my God..." she brought her hand to her mouth, choking back tears.

"Slow down," Wyatt cooed, wrapping her into the safety of his arms. "What happened?"

Rufus cleared his throat. "Short answer, they found us?"

Agent Christopher asked, "Can we go back and retrieve them?"

"Not until we repair the Lifeboat," Mason announced, taking a quick look at his machine. "Whatever happened on the other side, the machine took quite a beating."

Lucy choked back sobs. All she could think was how her future child was stuck in the past, behind enemy lines - and those from their current timeline parading around as historical figures. At least Flynn would be there to protect her.

"What can you tell me?" Agent Christopher asked again. Her eyes were begging for anything that would give her some idea as to what happened.

"Well," Rufus began. "Let's just say that Bloodstone helped bring the Gustav into existence but the good news is that we managed to destroy it before it could do any significant damage."

"This doesn't count as significant?" Mason muttered from the other side of the Lifeboat.

Wyatt glanced between Lucy and Rufus. "So, if you managed to destroy it, then where are Flynn and Tenley? Why aren't they with you?"

"Did I forget to mention Bloodstone?" Rufus quipped. "I feel that I might not have mentioned them..."

Agent Christopher raised her hands to keep the fragile peace as she interjected, "Look. Right now, we have to figure out what happened to them and how to get them back. So," she turned her attention to Mason, Jiya, and Rufus, "start with repairs to the Lifeboat." She turned to Lucy and Wyatt and added, "Let's see if we can't drum up any information in the books that might lead us to them."

Lucy dried her brown eyes and headed to her room to gather the history books that sat on her shelves. For the first time since returning to the present, Lucy felt a little wave of hope wash over her. Perhaps she could find something hidden in the books that would mention Flynn and her future child.

1942

The German soldiers had bound Flynn and Tenley's wrists together, pushing them forward along the forest path in the pitch-black night. Even with the cloud-covered moonlight lighting their way, they struggled to navigate through the wilderness. Tenley's foot caught another tree root on the path, throwing her to the ground.

She released a pained gasp when she hit the dirt, feeling her knees scraping the hard earth. She felt a pair of hands grip her upper arms tightly before being jerked her to her feet aggressively. "Ouch!" Tenley snapped. "Watch it!"

The man didn't release his hold of her. Instead, he leaned closer to her face and hissed, "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

She blinked at him, mouth agape. For whatever reason, she hadn't expected him to speak to her in perfect English. It took her longer than she cared to admit that he belonged to Bloodstone or Rittenhouse. Internally, she kicked herself - she should have assumed that most everyone that they ran across belonged to one of those two groups.