Free Terran Times Second Wave # 10 - Liberty by Viola Grace Page B

parents and brother. “That’s my ride.”
    Her brother grinned. “I think I might put in my application.”
    She wiped a tear from her eye and turned toward the ship with her pack over her shoulder. “You might want to talk to Mom and Dad about that. Well, farewell, I love you all.”
    “We love you, Libby.” The family spoke as one.
    Libby knew that they would be with her in her triumphs and disasters, just as they always had been. They might not share her talent, but she was connected to every Trout in her bloodline and they were linked to her.
    The grass gave off a sweet scent as she hiked through the green stalks and crushed them under her feet. They didn’t stay crushed. They popped up as soon as she lifted her feet. It was one of the memories that had marked her life. She left no trace of her existence behind. No marks, no traces, no trails were ever left by her feet. She could not be tracked by anyone she knew or their dogs.
    The hatch on the side of the shuttle opened and a ladder extended to invite her to climb. Shrugging, Libby set one foot on the rung and began to pull herself up and away from contact with her world.
    Images assailed her but she ignored them. She would make it to the moon base for training, and from there, she would go where she was needed. The thought that she could make a living seeing and telling people about it was a bit of a surprise. She couldn’t wait until they proved it.
    A man at the top of the steps extended his hand to help her into the ship, and when she took his hand, she blinked rapidly. She swallowed and continued into the shuttle, surrendering her bag and taking the seat he offered her.
    She rubbed her hands together and put the image of his death out of her mind. He was going to be much, much older when he had the seizure that would end his life, and his family was gathered around him with children and grandchildren as witnesses to his passing. It was a good death.
    Libby had first been leery of seeing the deaths of those around her, but in most cases, they were designed to be dead at that particular place and time. She had tried to alter their fates at first. She had steered them in different directions and someone had still died. It had never saved a life, merely swapped it for someone not on the initial list of destiny herself. She had only tried it half a dozen times before the guilt became overwhelming. Trading one life for another was not her purview.
    Now, she warned the rescue crews so that they could save those whose fates were uncertain.
    The shuttle had a few other Terrans, but they all looked at her as if she was frightening. When a woman reached into her bag and handed her a paper, it suddenly made sense.
    Suspected Terrorist accepted as Volunteer. Is space the new Botany Bay?
    In the centre of the page was Libby’s photo and name. “Well, crap.”
    The woman cocked her head. “I am guessing that it is journalism run amok?”
    Libby rocked her hand from side to side. “I have been suspected, but the reason for that is the same reason I am here. I see things that haven’t happened yet and not everyone believes that I didn’t plan it to begin with.”
    The woman stuck out her hand. “I am Frankie.”
    “Libby.” With some relief, she took the other woman’s hand with her own. A bright flash after several hundred if not thousands of years was the way that Frankie would exit existence.
    “Pleased to meet you, Libby. I can see the patterns of cause and effect.”
    “I can see disasters. I can see death. It makes for lousy party conversations.” Libby chuckled and released Frankie’s hand.
    “What do you see for me?”
    “I have found that few, if any, people really want to know the answer to that. Are you sure?”
    Frankie cocked her head. “Well, is it in the next twenty years?”
    Libby sighed with relief. “No. Definitely not.”
    “Then, I will have already outlived most of the women in my family. I am good with that.” Frankie