Link To The Past

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Gabriel stood a block from his house—at least he thought it was his house. Many of the trees and cornfields were gone. A hard, black road could be seen a few feet away, but no doubt it was his house.
Confused and slightly dazed, Gabriel took a step forward. Even the air smelled different as the wind blew into his face. And as he reached the front porch he started to notice the changes.
Before Gabriel walked up to the door, it swung open with a creek and an elderly woman came walking out. When she saw Gabriel, she dropped her teacup and gasped, resting her hand on her chest. "My God..."
Gabriel was unsure of what to say or do, so he said the first thing that came to mind: "Hello, my name is Gabriel." Introducing himself was the safest bet.
The elderly woman continued to stand there, looking as though she was about to faint.
"Do you need to sit down?" Gabriel was quick to assist the woman to a picnic chair sitting a few feet away.
"Thank you," said the elderly woman. "Why are you here?" she suddenly asked. A look of bewildered confusion was stuck on her face.
Gabriel took the chair next to her and said, "I was about to ask you that. Who are you?"
"I'm Anna."
Gabriel smiled. "That's a lovely name." He then became more serious. "May I ask you something else?" He watched as Anna nodded, yet she still looked confused and shocked. "I have reason to believe that this is my house, but it looks strangely very different. Why is that?"
Anna was silent for a moment as Gabriel waited for her to say something. "That's because it is your house." She told him honestly.
Gabriel slumped back in his chair and thought for a moment. He then noticed the clothes Anna was wearing. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen an elderly woman ware before-or anyone for that matter. He took a better look at his surroundings: there was a wind-chime strung up on a nail and it gave off a wonderful tune as the wind blew, there were objects in the yard he had never seen before. And even though Gabriel hadn't the slightest idea, he saw a car parked on the side of the house.

After many thoughts had come and gone through his head, Gabriel looked back to Anna and asked: "What's going on here? The last thing I remember is fighting the Red Coats. And now, all of a sudden, I've ended up back at my house." He paused. "I sound crazy." He said that last bit under his breath but Anna still heard him.
"You don't sound crazy." She told him.
Now Gabriel was starting to look nervous. His mind was in a jumble. He didn't know how to respond. Finally, he said, "Am I dead?"
This was unsettling for Anna to hear. She had to say something to ease his thoughts. "No, you're not dead, Gabriel." She said it with such affection that Gabriel felt as though he had heard that soothing voice once before. Perhaps in a dream?
"Do I know you?" Gabriel suddenly asked.
Anna was slow to answer. "No...and yes."
Gabriel was confused. "Which is it? Yes, or no. It can't be both."
Anna gave him a small smile. "Yes for me and no for you."
"I don't understand."
Anna took a breath and sighed, clasping her hands together and looking out to the front yard. "Of course you don't." She then quickly changed the subject. "How is Kristine doing?"
This was something-someone, Gabriel was familiar with, but how did she know Kristine? "You know Kristine?"
Anna nodded. "Of course I do. She's my great-granddaughter."
Gabriel raised a brow. "Kristine has never told me about—" He stopped himself short, thinking now. Kristine had always remained a mystery to him and everyone else besides Thomas. Surely Thomas knew everything about her.
"When or if you ever see Thomas or Kristine again, you should ask them about me. In fact, why not tell them what has happened to you. They won't think you crazy, trust me."
"And what exactly has happened to me?" Gabriel wanted to know.
Anna looked at him. "You never answered my question about how Kristine was doing."
Gabriel thought best not to argue with an elderly woman and answered her question. "Kristine is fine. She and Thomas are about to be parents. And wait, you know Thomas too?"
Now Anna was the one surprised. "Kristine is pregnant?" She practically screamed.
"You know my brother!" Gabriel said again with more energy in his voice. "How do you know Kristine and Thomas?"
Anna tried to calm herself. News of Kristine being pregnant should not have come as a surprise, nevertheless, it did anyway. "As I said, Kristine is my great-granddaughter. I met Thomas through her." Anna bit her tongue. She had wanted to say more.

That wasn't the first time she had met Thomas or Gabriel. Indeed, Anna tried to save them both many times when she was young but could never find a way around fate and eventually gave up.
Gabriel buried his face in his hands. "None of this makes sense."
"It will trust me," Anna told him. She reached to pat his back and held her hand at bay as she thought twice about her actions. Finally, she let herself do what her emotions commanded her and comforted Gabriel by rubbing back.

Thomas had made it back to the beach right before sundown. Some of the Militiamen had made it back before him and were being treated. Benjamin, however, lay hunched over the back saddle of the horse.
People gasped and yelled as they ran to Thomas's aid. Thomas slumped over from the loss of blood he suffered from his shoulder wound and fell on the ground.
"Quickly! Get these two to safety! Make sure they are well taken care of!"

Thomas was hauled off to a tent where more of the militiamen lay resting.
"My father," Thomas said weakly. "He—I couldn't..." His voice was dry. "Where's Gabriel? Is he here?"
One of the doctors held him down as Thomas tried getting out of bed to look for Gabriel. "Stay put! You are in no condition to be moving around. Now, let's take a look at that wound." The doctor ripped Thomas's shirt open further to get a better look at the gash in his shoulder. "I need alcohol, hot water and plenty of clean rags. Don't forget the needle and thread." He ordered a few standing by. "Hurry up!"
"Kristine..." Thomas's lips began to quiver. "Kristine..." He said a little louder. "Where is my wife, Kristine?"
"Stop fussing." said the man as he tried to clean Thomas's wound.
"I need to see her." Thomas urged.

Once the supplies arrived, the doctor got to work patching up Thomas. The cut was deep and would leave a scar, but the bleeding soon stopped. Thomas was out of danger.
"Thomas!" Kristine threw the flap to the tent open with haste and scanned the area. When her eyes met with Thomas, she ran to him and knelt by his side. "Oh, Thomas." She grabbed his hand and kissed it many times.
"Are you okay?" Thomas asked.
Kristine nodded. "I'm fine. Tell me, what happened?"
Thomas didn't answer right away. "Is Gabriel here?"
"No," Kristine shook her head. "Thomas, your father is gone...dead." She started to cry. "I'm so sorry."
For a while there, Thomas had hoped that his father would somehow make it through this. He was sadly mistaken. "Gabriel is not here?" His voice cracked, tears forming in his eyes.
Kristine shook her head again. "No, Thomas. The last I saw him he was with you."

A sudden realization then occurred to Thomas: maybe Gabriel had ended up somewhere else entirely different. Maybe Gabriel was in the future. That would explain his sudden disappearance and why he hadn't returned.
"Thomas, I have something to confess." Kristine finally said once the doctor had left and the militiamen had fallen asleep. "I tried burning the diary, but I pulled it out and threw sand on it. Susan caught me, too." She paused for a moment. "I think she's known about me for a while."

As Thomas tried to process this, he then realized that perhaps the reason why he smelled smoke was that Kristine tried burning the diary. And maybe that was what threw everything off balance, sending Gabriel to the future.
"Kristine," Thomas said slowly. "I think Gabriel is in the future."
Kristine wiped at her tears in vain. "Are you sure? How do we get him back?"
Thomas shook head, feeling very tired from the loss of blood. "I don't know."
Kristine laid down next him and put one arm around her husband. "I'm so sorry about your father, Thomas. And we'll get Gabriel back, I promise."
Thomas said nothing to her for a long while. And after many moments deep in his own thoughts, Thomas said, "Kristine, please don't leave me. I wouldn't be able to bare it. I love you."
"I love you too, Thomas."

Gabriel looked down at his hands as the feeling in them started to go away. He stood up quickly. "What's happening to me?" His hands were disappearing.
Anna stood up as well. "Is our time up already?"
Gabriel looked at her confused. "I'm disappearing! Why?"
Anna stated calmly as to not escalate the situation. "Don't worry. You'll be where you need to soon enough. I'm very happy to have been able to speak with you one last time." She smiled.
Gabriel looked to his feet now. They were disappearing too! "I don't know what any of this means!" His face flushed red out of fear and tears formed at the edges of his eyes. "Help me!"
"I can't." Said Anna. "I have and failed. I'm sorry."
Soon, it was more than Gabriel who was vanishing from sight. All around him things were fading away. Anna was nearly gone and darkness would soon swallow him up.
Gabriel shut his eyes tight, too afraid to see what would happen next. But in the end, there was nothing to be scared about. He suddenly felt the wind on his face and the feeling in his hands and feet and returned.

When Gabriel opened his eyes, he was standing in the field where they fought Travington, only no one was in sight. Gabriel was completely alone, save for the bodies surrounding him.