The Guardian

Prologue

New York City, September 11, 2001

Jack Justice drove like a bat out of hell. He was the only one trying to get in when everyone else was trying toget out. He was denied access at first then admittedonce his credentials were verified.

Hundreds of people were crossing the westbound side of the George Washington Bridge. They looked dazed, scared, surprised, and panicked. "Why?" and "Who?" written on their faces. Jack knew the answers to their questions.

He had driven that route before in his subjective mind, knew at which bridge pillar to change lanes, exactly where the elegantly painted graffiti was at the exit of the Cross Bronx Expressway, and where to look up and see the cloud of smoke pouring over the top of Yankee Stadium. He jumped out of his car on Chambers Street and left it there. He couldn't get any further with it, but didn't have far to go anyway. He had no idea if he'd see it again and didn't care.

Each person that was there mere hours ago was replaced with a particle of unknown origin that filled the air when the buildings fell. A very fine dust had fallen and covered everything. It was gray and foreboding. The City was quiet, like just after a snowfall; only the sirens could be heard. New York City, quiet. That was something right out of an apocalyptic movie.

But it wouldn't be that way for long.

Jack sprinted the remaining blocks to the mayhem. Windows in the surrounding buildings were blown out. He had never seen this many fire trucks in one spot. The barricades weren't set up yet, but they would be. They weren't needed just yet. It hadn't been determined by that time exactly whose scene it was. Originally, it would have been the New York Fire Department's, but right about then, it was being turned over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The American Express building looked like it was being held together by a prayer, and the Wall Street Journal building, well, it certainly didn't look like anyone stayed behind to report live from the scene.

He would find Eleanor here. He had to find her. She would come to help, to see for herself, to learn what she could and to find him. He knew she would be all right, but his heart raced with fear anyway. There had been too many close calls before.

He couldn't help but smile when he thought of her. She was good, caring. She didn't have the heart for anything else. And she'd be madder than a kicked nest of hornets when she saw him.

Volunteers in any sort of uniform were let through to help with rescue efforts. Police, firemen, paramedics, EMTs, and the camouflage fatigues of the servicemen like Jack. It was too soon after the collapse of the buildings for the rescue effort to be as structured and organized as Jack knew it would become. After all, who contemplated planes flying into the City's tallest buildings? Even Jack hadn't thought of something like that, and after 200 years, he'd seen pretty much everything. The chain of command was followed, and soon, tents and command posts would be erected and a protocol established. In the meantime, everyone was trying to get to the survivors by any means possible.

The day moved exactly as he had dreamed it would, and he did nothing to change events. That wasn't what he was supposed to do. He had learned he could not change things he had dreamed beforehand. He could, however, use the knowledge he had gained in the dream and start trying to find a way in.