Warm souls, p.24
Warm Souls, page 24
part #2 of Wealth of Time Series
Martin woke up in what looked like a hospital room; only it had no windows, no TV, and no beeping machines. There was a closed door with frosted glass, and he assumed he was back in the Road Runners’ office, hopefully still in Denver, and hopefully back in 2018.
His bleary vision came in and out of focus as he looked down at his own body. White bandages were wrapped around both of his legs like a mummy. He tried to move his legs, but an instant blast of pain ruptured from his knee at the slightest movement.
Then he remembered what happened, which he was thankful for after once having woken up in a hospital and not remembering how he had arrived.
“Sonya,” he croaked. Did she really shoot me in both legs to escape? Did she actually consider me that dangerous that she felt she had to flee? If she would’ve just asked, I’d have just turned around and pretended to not notice.
The door swung open and Bill appeared in the doorway. “Good morning, Sunshine.” He turned back into the hall and shouted, “Let the Commander know Martin is awake.”
Bill trudged into the room and approached Martin’s bedside. “That’s quite the beating your legs took. The doctor said it’ll be six weeks until you can get out of those casts. I’ve never had a mummy friend before, so I’m not sure what to expect.”
Bill let out a hoarse chuckle as he slapped a hand on Martin’s chest. Martin couldn’t help but grin in response.
“What happened? What year am I in? Did we find Sonya?”
Bill shook his head, his eyes drooping. “You’re back in 2018, and I’m afraid not. She’s as good as dead, the way I see it. She took off to some other time and has no way of returning; she left her Juice. For all we know, she’s hiding out a million years ago with a group of triceratops. I’m sure we’ll come across her eventually, but something tells me she’s had this escape plan brewing for a while. She’ll be hidden really good.”
“Bill, I wasn’t even doing anything. I wasn’t even going to try and kill her, but she came out of nowhere and shot me before she left.”
“Yeah, I understand. She has no idea who to trust right now. Can you blame her?”
“It just seemed drastic. We were literally talking in her kitchen, about our past, when she pulled a gun out of the drawer and started shooting.”
“Well, at least you’re fine. She spared your life, don’t forget that. She could’ve shot you anywhere, but chose your legs. She’s no dummy; that was intentional.”
“I suppose. So what happens next?”
“Commander Strike will be in to get you up to speed. You have a long road to recovery ahead, my friend.”
“There’s not some magic medicine from the future that heals my legs in 24 hours?”
Bill laughed. “What exactly do you think the future is like? There’s no magic.”
Says one time traveler to another.
A rapid knock came from the door as Commander Strike entered, dressed in a sweater and jeans. The bags under her eyes had darkened to a deeper shade.
“Haven’t you two become the best of friends,” she commented.
“Martin here is the brother I never had,” Bill said.
“Very good. Do you mind giving us a moment in private?”
“Sure thing, Commander.” Bill patted Martin on the shoulder before leaving the room. Strike took slow strides to the foot of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Well, it appears I can’t walk, so I’ve had better days.”
“Your legs are going to be fine. You’ll have about a month in those casts, then will be walking within a couple weeks of that. You might have a limp, but we won’t know until you actually start walking.”
“Lovely, hobbling gets all the ladies.”
Commander Strike giggled. “So what happened in there?”
“A paranoid woman shot me in the legs and vanished into dust.”
“We know that much. How did it play out?”
Martin recounted the story from the moment he entered Sonya’s house up until he crawled into her bedroom and fainted.
“Did it seem like she knew what you were up to?”
“She knew everything. She called it out, even told me where the poison was in the duffel bag.”
“I was afraid so. We’ve already begun investigating to see who was leaking information to Sonya. We’re starting with everyone in this office since she had the closest relationships with people here.”
“What’s the word on Chris?”
The Commander pursed her lips at the mention of his name. “We don’t know. His house is still barricaded. No one has gone in or out in the last 16 hours. We’re worried he might have a secret way out, an underground tunnel of sorts. We have eyes on that place and all around Alaska, waiting for him to make a move.”
“That’s kind of scary.”
“Don’t mention it. We’ve had to tell the people that everything is under control, that we know exactly where Chris is.”
“So what happens next? I know I’m not of much help at the moment…”
“We’re officially back to the drawing board. We need a plan for finding Sonya, but that’s more like the needle in a haystack. I guess we’re just hoping to get lucky and stumble across her.”
“One thing she made clear is that no one was going to end her life on their terms.”
“Well, now that the secret’s officially out, we can’t exactly back off. We don’t know if she’ll go into hiding or possible retaliate. It’s not to our benefit to assume one way or the other. If we can at least locate her and know where she is, we can figure it out from there.”
“Exactly how far in time can you travel?”
“As far as you can think. If the year actually exists in the past, you can go to it. Same for the future. If you can’t go to the year, then you’ll just wake back up in your present day.”
“Are you saying you know when the world ends?”
“It’s not for a long time, but we can discuss that another time. I need to know that you’re still with us.”
“Of course.”
“I hoped so. Some would go running for the hills after going through what just happened to you. ”
“I’m committed to this cause, maybe even more now. I still want what we agreed upon. I have to save my mom.”
Commander Strike sighed. “I’ve been expecting you to bring that up. I have looked into the matter. The cure exists in the future, but it’s not easy to obtain.”
“I’ll get it. Whatever it takes.”
Commander Strike shook her head, causing some hair to fall over her face. “It’s not what you think. The medicine is being held in secret by the government.”
“Why would they keep it a secret?”
“You’ll understand when you see this government—there’s no interest in caring for people. It’s all about money. Only the richest citizens have access to the medical secrets.”
“Aren’t we all rich? Can’t we just buy some?”
“It’s not a matter of only money. Every person who receives this medicine has to be vetted by the government. They hook you up to a lie detector—and this is an advanced one—and ask you about your loyalty to the Revolution. If they find you’re loyal, they’ll let you buy it. If not, they send you off, or might even execute you depending on your answers to their questions.”
“The Revolters take control of the country?”
“Yes, that’s why we have an urgency to end the war. We’ve seen the future with them in charge, and it’s not a world anyone should have to live in.”
“I’ve already lived through hell way before I met Chris. I’m not scared of a little danger.”
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk you out of this. We’ll make arrangements for you to go as soon your legs are healed. As you’ll need to be mobile. There aren’t any more accommodations for handicapped people in the future.”
“Why aren’t you pushing back harder on this?”
“We owe you—I owe you,” she said, crossing her arms. “I didn’t think the situation we were sending you into would have any danger. You’re not even trained to be in the field as a Road Runner, and clearly you should have been. I rushed into this decision and it almost got you killed. I have to live with that.”
“There was no time to waste.”
“There was plenty of time. We had eyes on Sonya. She wasn’t going to move until we approached. She was waiting for us to make her escape.”
“One thing I’ve learned since time traveling is to not dwell on past decisions. It’s over, and I’m alive. You’re not doing anyone any good by looking back. It’s time to plan for what’s next.”
She nodded, appreciative of the comment. “Oh, I’ve been thinking about what comes next. Now that I know you’re committed to the Road Runners, what do you think about taking a position in the field—after we get your mom’s medicine, of course?”
“What kind of position?”
“I don’t know yet. You would have to go through field training; it’s a boot camp of sorts. From there, we’ll have a better assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. But there are all kinds of roles you can take on, and we still haven’t figured out how to use your special gift to our advantage.”
Martin had forgotten all about being “warm.” Perhaps he’d get to trail blaze a whole new role. “As long as I don’t have to sit in there all day, I’ll take anything.” He nodded to the door where the dozens of desk workers waited on the other side.
“Don’t worry, the office workers also go through a rigorous education program. Two years, seven days a week, if that interests you?”
“Nope.”
Commander Strike laughed. “We’ll get you a ride home so you can recover from the comfort of your own house. We’ll come check in with you in a few weeks and see about your rehab schedule. Then we can plan from there.”
They wrapped up their conversation with some small talk, and Martin couldn’t stop grinning, despite the pain and drama he had just endured. He felt part of something bigger than himself for the first time in his life. The stress that Chris had created by leaving so many questions unaddressed had washed away. The Road Runners would support him in anything he needed going forward, and they proved that by staying true to their word on helping him obtain the cure for Marilyn’s disease.
The future, which sounded like a dystopian nightmare by everyone who had traveled there, awaited Martin and his next adventure. He already knew the road ahead would bring more unforeseen twists, but he finally had control over his life, knowing what he wanted. And as he lay down, staring at the ceiling and pondering what his life would look like in the next six months, one thought played over and over that kept his spirits high.
I’m a Road Runner.
Acknowledgements
I’ve got a great team now, this being my sixth novel. There’s a lot of work that goes into the production of a book, a lot more than just the actual writing of it. I’d like to first thank Arielle and Felix for being the daily reminder to keep moving forward. It’s not easy working to create a life outside of the “norm” but you two make it worth the effort every day.
Thank you to my editor, Stephanie Cohen, your changes are always appreciated and I know working on a series is a whole other beast, so thank you for putting up with me for many more books to come in this Wealth of Time universe.
Dane Low for creating the best covers in the business.
Big thanks to my Advanced Readers team. Your excitement is felt and I’m blessed to have you all as some of my biggest fans. You’ve all done so much in making every book launch a huge success.
Writing is a lonely process and can often feel like you’re stranded on an island screaming for help. Thank you to the Dizzy Dragons for being there and offering support. We are “coworkers” in a sense, and I know not every writer has that support group to lean on.
Lastly, as always, thank you to my wife, Natasha. I’ll say she the most honest critic, to put it nicely, but it’s very much needed to make a book as best as it can be. We’re getting so close, and now is the time to double down and make the dream come true.
Andre Gonzalez
August 10, 2018 - April 25, 2019
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Also by Andre Gonzalez
Books are listed in order of most recent publication:
Warm Souls (Wealth of Time Series, Book #2)
Wealth of Time (Wealth of Time Series, Book #1)
Erased (Insanity Series, Prequel) (Short Story)
The Insanity Series (Books 1-3)
Replicate (Insanity Series, Book #3)
The Burden (Insanity Series, Book #2)
Insanity (Insanity Series, Book #1)
A Poisoned Mind (Short Story)
Followed Home
About the Author
Born in Denver, CO, Andre Gonzalez has always had a fascination with horror and the supernatural starting at a young age. He spent many nights wide-eyed and awake, his mind racing with the many images of terror he witnessed in books and movies. Ideas of his own morphed out of movies like Halloween and books such as Pet Sematary by Stephen King. These thoughts eventually made their way to paper, as he always wrote dark stories for school assignments or just for fun. Followed Home is his debut novel based off of a terrifying dream he had many years ago at the age of 12. His reading and writing of horror stories evolved into a pursuit of a career as an author, where Andre hopes to keep others awake at night with his frightening tales. The world we live in today is filled with horror stories, and he looks forward to capturing the raw emotion of these events, twisting them into new tales, and preserving a legacy in between the crisp bindings of novels.
Andre graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a degree in business in 2011. During his free time, he enjoys baseball, poker, golf, and traveling the world with his family. He believes that seeing the world is the only true way to stretch the imagination by experiencing new cultures and meeting new people.
Andre still lives in Denver with his wife, Natasha, and their two kids.
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Andre Gonzalez, Warm Souls
