The Witch, The Curse, and Time Traveler

“We’re going to watch her burn, right?”

Brennan knew the man in the green suit was fidgety, eager to watch the trial proceed, but he kept his voice low and calm as he spoke to the huddled tourists. “In a moment, they will bring the accused woman out. While no one from this time can hear or see you, please accord your fellow travelers some respect and speak only when necessary.”

The tourists nodded. The man in a green suit was starting to drift away from the group, but Brennan continued. Perhaps it was best to get them going. “You can move throughout the crowd to find a good vantage point. As the crowd viewing this trial is dense today, it won’t matter if you jostle someone. If someone does get spooked, they will blame the witch. It will convince them of the righteousness of their cause.”

As Brennan finished speaking, most of the tourists dispersed throughout the crowd. But the cute blonde stayed. Smiling, Brennan glanced at her name tag, then averted his eyes. An accusation of perving wouldn’t help his application to become a Historical Guide trainer.

“You don’t have to stay here with me, Jarica.”

Jarica gave a smile in return, “I’m a history student. I was hoping you’d be able to talk me through the proceedings and give me some insights.

Brennan wanted to groan. At any other witch trial, he would have plenty of tidbits to impress Jarica. A blind tour was part of his assessment. To see if he could think on his feet. No one knew what this trial was about or what would happen. Brennan was responsible for documenting it for the next tour group. He had nothing, but maybe he could fake it.

As the trial started, Brennan gave a vague overview of the witch trials and explained what would happen at each stage. Jarica nodded intently and wrote frantically in her notebook.

The woman on trial stood proud, arrogant. She peered through the crowd, her eyes darting this way and that. When her eyes lit on Jarica, she smiled. She stopped scanning the crowd, leaving her eyes locked on Jarica.

“She can’t actually see me, can she?” Jarica asked.

Brennan glanced at his History Traveler’s watch, then back to the History Traveler’s disruptive disbursement box hanging from his neck. On both devices, the amber light blinked steadily. All was as it should be. “Absolutely not. The tech is working correctly.”

Yet still, the flame-haired woman accused of witchcraft kept her gaze fixed on Jarica. As men touched their stakes to the pyre, she pried her left hand free of the restraints.

Jarica instinctively took a step back behind Brennan. “Are you positive she can’t see us?”

Full of confidence, Brennan nodded.

The witch raised her hand, sunlight glinting on the wedding band, blinding the crowd. A collective gasp went up as many shielded their eyes.

Like the others, Brennan glanced away. When his gaze returned to the witch, a green vial was her hand, “I curse you all to eternal sleep.”

The witch hoisted the green vial at Brennan. Instinctively he ducked, and the vial smashed into Jarica’s forehead. Green smoke rose from the smashed vial and blanketed the crowd.

One by one, they fell to the ground in a deep sleep.

***

Brennan woke to low moans as people stirred around him. The group. He must find the group. He turned behind him to see Jarica still out cold. He plunged the guide flag into the ground to mark his location and peered around. An elderly couple from his tour group was a few paces away. Both of them appeared groggy but unharmed.

He hurried over and pointed them to the flag and where Jarica’s body was lying prone. “Please keep an eye on her while I find the others.”

The couple nodded in agreement, and Brennan wove his way through the stirring crowd. He heard snatches of their conversation as he hunted for the rest of his tour group.

“Praise the Lord, our savior.”

“She was a witch for sure.”

The villagers frantically crossed themselves before bustling away. “Her curse must have ended when she died.”

One by one, Brennan located the members of his group and pointed them towards the flag. Smoke was still drifting from the pyre. All that remained was a couple of smoking logs and some scattered skeletal remains. The fire had burned hot while everyone slept.

Brennan located the last tourist in front of the smoking pyre. Despite the ash covering him, Brennan recognized him as the man in the green suit. He’d tried for a front-row view. Brennan helped him pat down his clothes. Another few moments of sleep and the tourist would have been on fire. Brennan hustled back to his flag. Jarica was still out cold.

As a group, they hurried back to the safety of the History Travelers bunker. Brennan carried Jarica over this shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

Man, this would cause a lot of paperwork and probably his shot at being a Historical Guide trainer.

***

“She can’t return. The operating guidelines are clear. All travelers must be awake. Otherwise, damage to the front cortex is inevitable. The board has all agreed. As a History Traveler official representative, you must stay with Jarica until we can find a way to wake her.”

The chairman’s words sent a chill down Brennan’s spine. This place was great to visit. But live here? It was practically the dark ages.

“It’s perfectly safe; the protective shields are in place. Penetration of the bunker from the outside world is impossible. No one from that time will ever know you’re living there. I’ve sent some technicians to undergo some tests and take blood samples.”

The transporter in the ante-chamber whirled to life as the chairman ended the call. Carrew and Elson materialized. They indicated that Brennan should grab their box — it held enough food for a week. Surely it wouldn’t take that long?

The men inspected Jarica, checking for all the usual reflexes. Carrew opened her eyelids and shone a light into her eye. Her pupil dilated.

“That’s a good sign, right?”

Both of the technicians nodded.

Elson scraped a tool over the arch of Jarica’s Foot. Her foot immediately curled to protect itself.

“So how is she?”

“The good old fashion physical tests are a good sign, but the portable scan will give us a more accurate result.”

Together the technicians hooked several wires to Jarica’s skull. The monitor thrummed to life. A 3D holographic picture of Jarica’s brian appeared in the middle of the room. The technicians studied the holograph intently and made notes as Brennan continued to pace.

When he can no longer contain himself, an impatient, “Well?” exploded from his lips.

“Too early to say,” Elson shrugged as if in apology.

***

Brennan paced. There was nothing else to do. Why was it taking so long? It was time travel. No matter how long it took in the future, they could pop back as soon as they had the cure, right?

So why weren’t they here by now?

When the unmistakable hum of the transporter sounded, Brennan strode to the anti-chamber.

Two men in full hazmat suits. Stangers.

“What happened to Carrew and Elson?”

“Message in the package for you,” One of them grunted in Brennan’s direction.

Brennan watched the men set up their equipment with a leaden sensation in his belly. Something was wrong.

One technician repeated the previous tests before starting new ones. The other recorded the entire proceedings. Brennan paced, his belly a mass of worry.

The transporter whirled to life, and more equipment landed in the antechamber.

As the technicians started to assemble the contents, one of them looked up.

“You need to watch your message, mate. It's important.”

Brennan nodded, his stomach churning as he plugged the chip into the receiver in his headset.

“Hello Brennan, I’m Joesph Cook, CEO of the trust fund Operation Rescue Jarica. The year is now 3,563.”

Brennan gasped and sat heavily. His tour group had left from 3,551. Twelve years.

“A lot has happened since someone was last in contact with you. First, you need to know that History Travelers is no longer operational. Jarica’s family sued for misadventure. It was a long, drawn-out case fueled by public interest. I’m not going to get into the hows and why of the court battle. However, Jarica’s family used the payout to set up a trust fund — Operation Rescue Jarica. Public donations currently fund the trust. I know this is not the news you wanted to hear.”

Brennan rubbed his forehead. “Hey, hang on,” Brennan pressed pause and turned to the technicians, “What’s going on?”

“We’re the messengers. Best you watch.”

Brennan sighed and hit play.

“The bottom line is that the trust fund money is dwindling. We have enough money to provide you with a stasis chamber each — so you and Jarica are going to cryo-sleep. The photos taken today will generate some publicity for another round of research. Research is where the bulk of the money will go. We already have the funds for two return jumps — but we can’t afford to pay for a pinpoint accuracy converter. We’ll have to return sometime in the next century.”

Brennan’s eyes bulged. The next century??

***

The stasis chamber hissed open. Groggily Brennan opened his eyes. A lab tech peered down at him.

With a raspy voice, Brenan asked, “You’ve got the cure?”

The tech shook his head. “Checking the equipment. But Jarica is semiconscious. We’d like you to listen to what she’s saying.”

Every bone in Brennan’s limbs was stiff. He stood slowly and stretched, his joints cracking.

“How long?” Brennan asked.

“We’re from 3,654.”

The number sliced through Brennan. Everyone he knew. Everything he knew. It was gone. Returning to his time was no longer possible. If it hadn’t happened in the past, it couldn’t happen in his future.

Every bone in Brennan’s body ached. Humans shouldn’t sleep this long. Slowly he walked toward Jarica’s stasis chamber. Before, she had been still. Peaceful. But now, she tossed and turned.

“Saw me.”

“She’s said that a lot. What do you think it means?”

“As we were watching, Jarica swore the witch on trial could see us.”

“What did you think?”

“I mean, it’s impossible. I checked that the tech was working. I did everything by the book. I would have sworn it was impossible. But the witch threw her vial at us. Well, Jarica. But she was standing right next to me.”

Brennan never mentioned in any of his reports that he ducked. What was the point? And lucky too, otherwise her family would have sued him also. Or maybe they had? Perhaps that’s why he was still here. The whole notion of the captain going down with the ship had died out in the twenty-fifth century. Besides, isn’t ducking a human instant?

Anyway, telling now would be counterproductive. No one knows he ducked out of the way. Sure, it was a little cowardly, but anyone would have done it. But no matter how quickly his inner voice talked, he knew deep down that vial should have hit him.

“You’re sure?” One of the technicians asked while the other wrote notes.

“I don’t understand how.”

“Glinting,” mumbled Jarica. “Glinting in the sunlight.”

“Any ideas?” The technician looked at Brennan again.

“The witch wore a ring. The sun hit it right before she threw the vial. It threw off a glint. Like the way a magician uses illusion to distract the eyes. That’s why we never saw the vial coming until it was too late.”

Both technicians huddled together, whispering. Brennan strained his ears, trying to hear, but he only caught a few random phrases.

“We know the techs in the pipeline.”

“It’s possible.”

“Looking at this from the wrong side.”

Before he knew it, the technicians hustled Brennan back into his stasis chamber.

***

Brennan’s ears started working first this time. A tinkle of laugher. Words.

“Would you like the honor?”

Who said that?

Jarica’s voice this time. “Oh no. I want to sit and watch.”

Brennan forced his eyes open as the lid of the stasis chamber sprang open. The witch stared down at him. Brennan screamed. He scrambled frantically, trying to get out of the stasis chamber. To get away. The witch’s laughter pealed around the room.

“But you’re … you’re dead,” Brennan stuttered.

The witch threw her head back and cackled. “Getting my best dress a little singed was worth it, if only for this moment alone.”

With the stasis chamber between them, Brennan tried to regain his composure. “Jarica, come over here. I’ll protect you.”

It was Jarica’s turn to laugh. She laughed so hard she snorted a little.

When Jarica’s laughter finally died down, the witch said, “I do need to thank you both for rescuing me. I thought I was a goner for a moment. Then I saw you in the crowd, and I knew I could put the emergency evacuation protocols into place.”

“The what now?” Brennan bobbed his head up over the top of his stasis chamber.

“Let me start by introducing myself; I’m Zoraida. In my time, the travel tech is much simpler. She held up her left hand to show off a simple wedding band on her ring finger.

“But like all tech, something went wrong. That’s why we carry knockout gas. Everyone falls asleep, and the traveler undergoes emergency extraction. In my case, they staged the scene to make it look like I burnt. They left ash and bones. But I needed someone to know when I was. You can’t just go throwing the knockout gas around. You need some else to witness it. That’s where you came in.”

Zoraida turned to Jarica, “I never meant to knock you out so completely. I meant to hit the flag, but someone — ”

Brennan shook his head frantically, “That doesn’t matter. We know it wasn’t intentional.”

With a frown in Brenna’s direction, Zoraida continued, “As the extraction gas made a direct hit, the effects caused Jarica’s system to go toxic. Fortunately, in my time, we don’t market a weapon unless we have the antidote.”

As Zoraida held up the empty syringe, and Brenan noticed a bandaid on Jarica’s upper shoulder.

Brennan held up his hand, “So you’re one of us?”

Zoraida smiled at Jarica, “Catches on quick, doesn’t he?”

Jarica laughed again.

“Shall we all go back to the future? My future, that is. It’s the least I can do, seeing as you rescued me,” Zoraida stood, offering out her hand.

A technician in the corner motioned them to come forward, and they all entered the anti-chamber together.

And everyone lived happily ever after.