Time Guardians

AuthorHouse

Contents

Chapter One Anna's Plan...............................................1Chapter Two Summer Time...............................................5Chapter Three Visit To The Grandparents...............................9Chapter Four Exploring................................................12Chapter Five Boxes Of History.........................................16Chapter Six Becky.....................................................22Chapter Seven Anna Comes Of Age.......................................25Chapter Eight The New Guardian........................................33Chapter Nine The Man From Illinois....................................42Chapter Ten The Last Casualty Of The Civil War........................52Chapter Eleven The Search For The Globe...............................59Chapter Twelve A Trip Back In Time....................................70Chapter Thirteen "A Day That Will Live In Infamy".....................75Chapter Fourteen Working With The Admiral.............................81Chapter Fifteen New Orders............................................88Chapter Sixteen Lt. Mcloughlin's Suspicions...........................108Chapter Seventeen Visit To London.....................................114Chapter Eighteen A Chat With The Prime Minister.......................126Chapter Nineteen The Need For A Partner...............................139Chapter Twenty The First Test.........................................143Chapter Twenty-One The Underground....................................155Chapter Twenty-Two To Find The Globe..................................170Chapter Twenty-Three The Meeting With Anna............................176Chapter Twenty-Four Becky's Decision..................................184Chapter Twenty-Five The Enigma Machine................................188Chapter Twenty-Six Doubts Creep In....................................202Chapter Twenty-Seven Fears For Dr. King...............................211Chapter Twenty-Eight To Save Emily....................................225Chapter Twenty-Nine The Final Decision................................241Chapter Thirty RFK....................................................246Chapter Thirty-One The Inheritance....................................258Chapter Thirty-Two Back Home..........................................265Chapter Thirty-Three Jealousies.......................................271Chapter Thirty-Four The Challenge.....................................279

Chapter One

June 1968. Anna and Tom had just finished the long drive from Los Angeles to their home in Springfield, Missouri. An exhausting trip, they had stopped several times along the way to question what they should do now with their lives. It had been a difficult year and Anna couldn't erase certain events from her mind. After twenty-three years of marriage, she and Tom had faced many challenges but age was beginning to take its toll. Tom's health was beginning to slip. For the past year it had been a growing concern in the back of Anna's mind. He was her husband, lover, mentor, but most of all her best friend. They had no children.

They had lived their lives choosing to participate in the causes that meant the most to them - the Civil Rights movement and the marches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the presidential campaign of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Now that was all over. Dr. King had been murdered in April, supposedly by a lone gunman, James Earl Ray. They had just returned from the California primary where Bobby Kennedy had been shot and killed by another alleged lone gunman after giving his victory speech. He had told the crowd that it was "on to Chicago" where he hoped to receive the Democratic party's nomination. The irony was that he would likely have opposed Richard M. Nixon, the same man his brother had narrowly defeated for the presidency eight years before. Now those dreams were gone, lost forever.

Anna felt an ache in her heart. As a time guardian she had devoted most of her life to serving humanity and the causes of justice - a difficult assignment but she had done it remarkably well. She and her husband had battled corruption, injustice, mistreatment, and hatred, while always behind the scenes lurked their nemesis, the time demons. But now the loss of the two men she admired most, and the health of her husband, weighed heavily upon her. She was no longer a young woman; she had begun to feel her age. Perhaps it was time to pass the torch to another, to a new time guardian. She had served for thirty-six years. There were boxes of journals and mementos that tracked her accomplishments and those of her ancestors. But now she longed for a few quiet years alone with her husband to simply enjoy each other's company.

As they walked slowly toward the house, Anna looked around. There was the barn, the red paint slowly fading, worn by age. Nearby the pasture was overgrown with hay ready to cut. She turned toward the farmhouse, quiet from months of neglect. Neighbors had cared for the property in their absence, but something had changed. There was a fatigue now that Anna couldn't dismiss. It seemed like the appropriate time to retire. There would be no need for further trips. Opening the door they walked into the foyer, it felt good to be home. Tom carried the suitcases up to the bedroom and Anna began to slowly unpack. They had been on the road too long. She removed all of the personal items and mementos of recent times and events. Finally she unpacked the wooden box containing the crystal globe. The box was square, made of highly polished cherry wood. The dark metal latches where worn with age and use. Inside lay the globe, her key to the past, the present, and the future. It allowed her to traverse time and visit important places or events in history that held special meaning to her.

She gingerly ran her fingers along the smooth dark wood. Slowly she opened the lid and removed the cloth covering the sphere. It was an ancient talisman, old beyond years. In its undisturbed state it was perfectly transparent, without blemish. But now it had a grayish hue, almost as if it could read Anna's mind. Perhaps it sensed her time as guardian and protector was coming to an end. Anna placed her hands on the globe but did not whisper the secret charms that would spring it to life. Her touch alone triggered a shift in color to a subtle reddish hue. The warmth from her hands seemed to spread over the orb. But in the touch her thoughts were revealed and the color swiftly changed again, this time to a deep midnight blue, dark and foreboding as the sea in a storm.

When Anna removed her hands, the globe slowly settled back to its transparent hue. She gently covered it and closed the lid, hiding the box in her closet. Exhaustion seemed to flow through her body. She changed into more comfortable attire, wrapped her arms around her husband and settled into bed for the night. Tomorrow she would begin the process of finding a successor. It would be a time consuming ordeal, taking several years to complete. During this time she would finish her journals and enjoy the remaining years she and Tom had left together. Something told her their time was short. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Having made the decision to retire, she was at peace.

The next morning dawned bright and warm. She wasn't sure how to find a successor. To the best of her knowledge the globe had always been...