Free Rick Carter's First Big Adventure (Pete's Barbecue Book 1) by Samuel Belcher

that.”
           “It’s the truth, Rick.  They’re refuges.  That’s what happens when reality tears.  Things, people, fall out, and they have to be helped back in.  That’s what your new job is, Rick.  You’re a transporter.  You transport people back to a place where they can get back to their place in reality.  It’s a very important and prestigious job.  Only a handful of people ever get selected to do it.  You should be proud.”  Mel spoke in a conciliatory voice.
         “Mel.”  Rick looked at him hard. “You’ve lost your mind.  Do you honestly think that after thirty years you could just pop back into my life and start spouting some ridiculous crap about reality?  Where have you been, Mel?  Where did you go and leave everybody behind?”  Rick tried to corner him.
         “I told you.  I started working for the Company.  That night, I was approached by someone and told some very important things.  I had to go, to save everyone else.”  Mel tried to explain.
          “That’s a load of bull!   Mel, we used to be best friends.  We could tell each other everything.  You sound like a raving lunatic.  I’ve had late night liquored up fares make more sense then you.”  Rick’s tone grew more vehement. 
           “Rick…”  He started.
           “Rick, nothing.”  Rick let his anger boil into an exploding force. “You’ve got two seconds to give me the truth, Mel.  You hurt too many people.  You left behind friends, your aunt.  I want the truth.  I, we, deserve at least that.   You…”
           “I travel through time, Rick.”  Mel simply said.
           Rick took a very deep breath. “Oh, brother.”  He hung his head.
           “Well, not time as such.”  Mel began to correct himself.  “You can’t travel through time.  I travel through the reality streams.  I’m a fixer.  I help fix the tears, Rick.  See this black box?”  He held up his right wrist where the little black box Rick had noticed the night before was still attached.   “This is called a REAL-Pro 9000.  It stands for Reality Protector.  It’s what allows me to travel through the reality streams, back and forth.  The other night, the night you picked me up?  It was malfunctioning.  I was caught, and I needed to get away from some pretty nasty people.  I thought your cab was there to pick me up and transport me to my emergency port out spot.   I guess you were just there by accident.  But, then it started working again, and I had to go to finish up something.”
         Once again Rick remained speechless.  He didn’t know how to address this, how to respond to this level of lunacy.
          “Trust me, Rick.  I never intended to hurt anybody.  I was trying to save everyone.”  Mel implored.
           Rick looked at him sidelong.  “But, you did, Mel.  Tell me, did you see your aunt again?  Did you tell her all this garbage?”
          Mel straightened his back like he was stretching the knotty muscles.  “I did,” He said.  “She knows.”
           “How’d she take it?”  Rick pushed.
          “She lives in Arizona now in an exclusive private retirement resort with her own bungalow and her own private plane.  I see her every week.”  Mel spoke softly.  “The Company pays well, Rick.”
         Rick fell back into a moment of introspection.  “I’ve noticed.”
         Mel watched his old friend struggle with what he knew from personal experience was a very difficult concept to handle.  He remembered the hard time he had with it at first and how much time it took him to adjust to it.  He also remembered what the fixer, the man who saved him in 1984, did to help him cope with it.  He thought about that for a moment.  He didn’t have the luxury of time, and he couldn’t afford to give Rick all the acclimation he needed to move forward.  He would have to do something more