Free Memories from a Different Future: Jump When Ready, Book 2 by David Pandolfe Page B

stranger things had happened. Way stranger things. And Henry did
have a really good point. What would it mean if circumstances had fallen
together like that? She hadn’t thought of it before but it would definitely be
enough to make you paranoid. No wonder at least part of Henry didn’t want it to
be true.
    “But we have to try, don’t we?” Henry said. “We don’t
have much time.”
    Nikki felt for him. She really did. It couldn’t have been
easy for him to stay away from his family for so long, especially when they’d
accepted that he could actually talk to them. Now, after all this time, he was
going to make contact with Bethany about this tragic event in someone else’s
life. At the same time, Martha had told them that what they’d just experienced
was only three days away.
    “I don’t see where we have much of a choice,” she said.
    Henry thought for just a moment, then nodded. “Then let’s
go.”
    ~~~
    As soon as they touched down, Nikki knew something was
wrong. She’d never been to the house they stood in front of but the sky was too
bright and blue, the air too dry and warm. She looked around, still hoping she
was wrong but the tall fir trees that stood everywhere in the Northwest were
nowhere to be seen.
    Jamie swiveled his head back and forth. “Where are we?”
    Henry spoke softly, his expression betraying his
confusion. “This is where I used to live,” he said, trying to keep his voice
steady. “We’re outside my old house.”
    “Wait, we’re in Virginia?” Jamie said. “I don’t get it.”
    Nikki thought back, remembering how Henry had once been
Banished from coming here. Obviously, that Banishment had long ago been lifted.
Even though it didn’t seem quite possible, their being here now could only mean
one thing.
    “It’s the holidays,” Nikki reminded Jamie.
    Jamie’s eyes widened, then he nodded, putting it
together.
    Nikki didn’t have to ask how it was possible, even though
they’d just seen Bethany what felt like no more than an hour ago. Their time at
the pond had obviously accounted for way more time  here—eight hours, at least.
Maybe more. They were going to have to watch things closely.
    “Exactly,” Henry said. “Bethany has already flown back
home.”
    As soon as he said it, Nikki felt sure of one thing. Even if
they told Bethany everything they knew about Ian’s future, it wouldn’t matter.
She was now three-thousand miles away from anything that was going to happen
and there was no way she’d be able to stop it.

 
8
    Lost and Found
     
    Ian sat at the kitchen counter, staring at his flexlet while
his mother fried bacon and his father chopped onions, peppers and mushrooms for
one of his “world famous” scrambles. Margo remained upstairs, more than likely
scrolling through feeds on her wallscreen, earphones blocking out the sound of
family below in favor of whatever band she’d gotten into lately. It wasn’t lost
on Ian that Margo seemed to have kept getting more withdrawn over the past year.
His parents had commented on it too, although they’d tried to make light of it,
attributing her behavior to just another teen phase. Still, Ian had sensed at
least a grain of genuine concern.
    Hopefully, it was just a phase. Margo was sixteen now and
high school was a bitch, especially for intelligent, artistic girls with a
tendency to remain slightly overweight. Her struggle with acne couldn’t be
making things any easier, Ian knew. At the same time, she was the kind of kid
who’d find her own way in college not long from now and start kicking some
serious ass socially while her high school cheerleader counterparts would
probably be waiting tables.
    “Need a refill?”
    Ian looked up from his flexlet to see his father poised
to pour more coffee into his mug. Ian slid his mug closer to where his father
stood on the other side of the counter. “Sure, thanks.”
    It felt strange to have his father filling his coffee
mug. Sometimes, it seemed like just days