badly_knitted (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badly_knitted) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
1character2025-11-17 05:30 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in 1character2025-11-17 05:30 pm
Scientist (50 very long sentences about Jonathan Willaway)
Character: Jonathan Willaway
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Theme Set: Delta
Rating: G
Warnings: Thematically very tame, but I have shamelessly abused grammar and punctuation with these.
#01 – Blend
Travelling ever onward, day after day, time zone after time zone, seldom stopping anywhere for more than a day or two, the events of their seemingly endless journey all started to blend together to the point that Jonathan could barely distinguish one day from another, even began to doubt some of the things he thought he remembered; he was so tired, they all were, and all that existed now was the journey, and a growing doubt that they would ever reach their destination, until a hand touched his shoulder and he looked up into Varian’s tired yet hope-filled blue eyes and encouraging smile, and Jonathan knew no matter how long it took, as long as they didn’t give up, they would reach Evoland.
#02 – Stain
Jonathan wasn’t proud of what he’d done, either to the Arusians or to Liana, and now he could only assume he hadn’t been in his right mind for quite some time, stealing the Arusians’ home, subverting their helpers, evicting them, and then basically abducting Liana, attempting to coerce her into becoming his wife, threatening to kill her travelling companions, the people who were now HIS travelling companions too, people who for some unknown reason seemed willing to overlook his former behaviour, a kindness he didn’t deserve, but perhaps his punishment for his crimes was the indelible stain they had left on his soul.
#03 – Island
One minute Jonathan’s small plane had been flying over the Sea of Japan, a journey he’d made several times over the years, then the next, all the instruments had been going crazy, the compass spinning as if it could no longer locate true north, and before he’d been able to even formulate a theory to account for what was happening, never mind do anything to counteract it, the craft had started to lose altitude, dropping so fast there’d been nothing he could do, no matter how hard he’d wrestled with the controls; the only possible course of action had been to brace for impact as the plane had crashed into a swamp, somewhere on an island that was like no island he’d ever heard of.
#04 – Apple
In all his years back in the fifties and sixties working for one cutting-edge scientific institute or another, despite the intellectual puzzles and challenges he’d worked on, despite his generally well-received published papers, the generous wages, the plush apartment, the antiques, the fine wines and gourmet food, despite all the luxuries money could buy, Jonathan realised he’d never been as happy as he was right now, walking across this fascinating island as part of this mismatched group of people, enjoying a ripe, sweet, juicy apple plucked from a nearby tree; perhaps it was true that the simple pleasures in life were the best, and good company was perhaps at the top of that list.
#05 – Paper
As he worked on disabling the Complex, one corner of Jonathan’s mind was busy drafting a scientific paper on the computer system, so far in advance of anything that had been invented on earth, and yet understandable enough from his learned perspective that he was quite certain he could render it harmless; he wondered what his colleagues back in his own time would make of the paper were he to publish it in an age where computers were still under man’s control, and not equipped with intelligence and autonomy, not to mention a strong instinct for self-preservation, as this one was.
#06 – Relax
For a few moments there, as he’d snatched one component out of each of the three consoles in the Complex room, Jonathan had been quite certain that he wouldn’t succeed in disabling the failsafe mechanism, that despite studying the blueprints Adrea had provided as carefully as possible and making an educated guess, in a few short seconds the entire city would blow sky high, taking himself and his friends with it, that his final act would turn into a monumental disaster, so when none of that happened, when the Complex simply shut down, all the telltale lights on the panels winking out, he almost didn’t believe it, but when minutes passed and nothing continued to happen, he finally began to relax.
#07 – Leaves
Despite where this ridiculous island ostensibly should be on a map of the earth, if it actually appeared on a map, or was even ON earth, which was doubtful, this zone appeared to be in the grip of autumn, the leaves of the trees turning all shades of red and gold, covering the ground in a many-colored carpet that Jonathan and his friends had been practically wading though, enjoying the sound of them crunching underfoot, but now it was raining and the leaves, once crisp and bright, were rapidly turning soggy and slippery, a hazard at every step, leading to Jonathan taking the quick way down the hill like a tobogganist without a toboggan, an embarrassing situation made worse by the laughter that followed him all the way to the bottom.
#08 – Proof
It was beyond frustrating, they had proof that York was a convicted murderer, that he was almost certainly responsible for the death of Rayat’s son and heir, even though York himself claimed there had simply been an accident, but Rayat refused to listen to what Jonathan and his friends were telling him, purely because he had no conception of crime; theft, and even murder, were alien concepts to him and even though Jonathan had been the one to discover the truth about York, now he had to wonder if it should really be up to him and the others to deal with the situation, beyond trying to persuade Rayat of the danger he and his people were in, and urging them to take action, doing the right thing could be such a complicated matter.
#09 – Ugly
Jonathan hadn’t wanted to look at Apollonius, had tried to close his eyes and turn away, but against his will his gaze kept being irresistibly dragged back to the horrific sight as the magician peeled away the face he was wearing like a mask to reveal his true face beneath, a visage of such appalling ugliness as to be all but indescribable, thickly furred and hideously distorted, and despite wanting to flee from the monster before him, Jonathan found himself rooted to the spot by shock and disgust, unable to make sense of what he was seeing.
#10 – Book
He would write a book, Jonathan decided, when he got back to his own time… a book about all the scientific discoveries and advancements he’d encountered on the long trek across this ridiculous, impossible island, a book that might finally get him noticed by the right people, appreciated for his vision of the way people could work together in the spirit of cooperation without the incessant need for weapons, and violence, and war, that constant striving for power over others, for control over everyone else’s lives; it would be the book that cemented his reputation as a man opposed to bloodshed, a man dedicated to peace.
#11 – Brood
He’d been sitting on the log for several hours, alone and ashamed, brooding over how quickly his fortunes had changed, and not for the better, when the small band of travellers passed by on their way out of the zone belonging to the Arusians, and Jonathan had fully expected them to keep going, either not noticing his presence, or deliberately ignoring him, because after what he’d tried to do, threatening to kill them, he couldn’t imagine any of them caring what happened to him, and yet… they’d not only stopped to talk with him, but in a thoroughly unexpected development, Varian, their leader, had generously invited him to travel with them…
#12 – Mesh
Jonathan had never really meshed well with other people, he wasn’t much of a people person, and most of those he’d associated with or worked with in the past were simply not on his intellectual level, which might be seen as snobbishness on his part, even egotism, but he was a brilliant scientist, a man of grand ideas and noble ambitions, and dealing with people of lesser vision was an annoyance, and yet… now here he was, travelling with this mismatched group of people, and for reasons he could not yet understand, he fitted in, even thought that maybe he finally had real friends, people who accepted him just the way he was.
#13 – Soft
He’d grown soft, sitting around in the villa he’d stolen from the Arusians, with nothing to do except tinker with inventions and keep his android ‘family’ and helpers working efficiently at the tasks he’d set them; a scientist still of course, but a man of leisure, idling the days and weeks and months away, telling himself he was perfectly content, that he had everything he could possibly want, and knowing deep down that he was lying to himself, and now here he was, trekking across the island in the company of a group of people from different times, even in one case a different world, and he was beginning to regret his former idleness, wondering if he’d be able to keep up the pace they were setting.
#14 – Shelf
Getting trapped in this closet when the doorknob had come off in his hand had been bad enough, especially when none of his friends responded to his shouts for help even though they were just on the other side of the door, but when the rear wall started inching its way towards him with a very disturbing rumbling noise, pushing everything on the floor ahead of it, Jonathan had really started to feel afraid; if he couldn’t find some way of keeping the closet from shrinking further, he was going to be crushed, so in desperation he tore a board from the front on the closet shelf, wedging it between the front and back walls, in the hope that it might buy him enough time to find a way out.
#15 – Alone
Lost and alone on the most peculiar island he’d ever had the misfortune to become stranded on, Jonathan Willaway knew he should have been grateful to the Arusians for their generosity in welcoming him into their home, and perhaps he might have been, if they’d been human like himself, but they were so strange with their green skin and black hair, unsettling people to be around, and so he’d usurped control of their android servitors, driven the Arusians into the swamp, and taken over, reshaping the androids into human replicas, only to realise that he was still completely alone, with only synthetic people for company.
#16 – Fall
Varian had set Jonathan the task of searching the house, from top to bottom, which Jonathan hadn’t minded too much because although there were quite a few rooms to search, they were full of fascinating antiques that were well worth looking at, but when the wall had started to crack and he’d backed away in alarm, the last thing he’d expected was to find himself falling into some sort of shaft hidden behind a tapestry, tumbling all the way down and into a curious system of caves that must lie beneath the house; from the way sounds reverberated, it looked like he might have stumbled across the Hall of Echoes he and his friend had been searching for.
#17 – Knot
Alpha and his not so merry band might look like a bunch of dishevelled, tattered, filthy ragamuffins, but they knew how to tie a good, tight knot, as Jonathan was only too well aware, his hands firmly secured behind his back as he was prodded along the trail back to the Greek stone circle where he and his travelling companions had camped only two nights ago, the spot which was now to be the scene of his execution, all because he’d explored a ruined temple this uncivilised gang of children considered to be their sacred place, not to be violated by ‘Elders’ such as himself.
#18 – Crowd
Jonathan should have been happy, he had this beautiful, perfectly designed and decorated villa surrounded by carefully tended landscaped gardens, and the view in every direction was a delight to his eyes, there was nothing he could possibly need that he didn’t already have, including abundant companionship, not only Rachel and his sons, Cyrus, Michael, and Daniel, but so many others, it was just that… as perfect as it all undoubtedly was, he found himself alone in a crowd, the only flesh and blood human, surrounded by a host of androids.
#19 – Denial
Jonathan had thought he didn’t need anyone, that he could be happy by himself, tinkering with his inventions, doing what he wanted when he wanted, waited on hand and foot by the androids he’d redesigned to look like humans, servitors who would obey his every whim without question, at least most of the time, but it had only taken Cyrus’ discovery of the young woman, Liana, to make him realise he’d been in denial all this time, and what he really wanted was the companionship of another human, and now that she was here, under his roof, he was determined to do whatever it took to ensure she stayed with him.
#20 – Train
Jonathan once, years ago, had taken a train trip across the United States, just because there were no direct flights between where he was and where he needed to be, and changing planes twice seemed like too much of a hassle when he could simply relax on a train for the entire journey, and yet despite travelling through several states, seeing the landscape changing constantly, on this journey across the island, he’s walking through more varied terrain than he ever saw through the train windows, everything from lush tropical jungles, to featureless plains, to immense forests, futuristic cities, and even a zone of volcanic activity, which had certainly been an eye-opener.
#21 – Fur
Furry creatures are generally considered appealing, Liana’s cat Sil-El is a case in point, a charming, friendly animal, a pleasure to have around, but there is nothing remotely appealing about Apollonius’ true face, the one he conceals behind a convincing mask; the fur that covers his face is coarse and patchy, doing little to disguise the hideously deformed features, the bluish lips, the distorted nose, and there is nothing in the universe that would ever persuade Jonathan to touch such a monstrosity when he can scarcely bear to look upon the hideous sight before him.
#22 – Chrome
There’s something unpleasantly cold and clinical about the buildings in this zone, their interiors are all harsh lighting and shining chrome, more like the inside of a laboratory, or a hospital, than somewhere people live their lives, and raise their families; it makes Jonathan long for the comforts of some of the zones they’ve already passed through, even though they might not have been so welcoming in other ways, and he’s really not sure how anyone is supposed to sleep on these metallic benches that serve as beds without rolling or sliding off onto the floor, which, when he thinks about it, would probably be a lot safer to sleep on anyway.
#23 – Heart
Trapped in that mad, shrinking closet, Jonathan had been sure his heart would give out from the sheer terror as he’d faced the possibility of being crushed to death when the two walls met; he didn’t like small, enclosed spaces at the best of times, they brought back unpleasant memories of being trapped inside his own mind when Apollonius had taken over his body, and even knowing now that the shrinking had been nothing more than an illusion, he still felt his heart hammering in his chest… he’d never been so eager to leave anywhere as he was to get out of this house before the stone could play any more unpleasant tricks on them.
#24 – Intention
Jonathan had really had no intention of refusing Queen Halyana’s demands to fix the computer that ran Coriel, he would have gladly done anything that would ensure his friends’ release from prison, and obtain for them the antidote to the poison they were being fed in every meal, it was just that what the Queen was asking of him was simply not possible, and he couldn’t seem to make her understand that without any spare components being available to replace the ones that had burnt out, the Complex could not be repaired the way she wanted it; the computer was no longer sane, and must be considered a very real danger to all of them.
#25 – Push
Perhaps, Jonathan thought, all the problems he’d had in the past, not fitting into society, not really having friends, just colleagues and casual acquaintances, was his own fault for putting himself above everyone else because he felt morally and intellectually superior, and perhaps because he enjoyed being a thorn in society’s conscience; it had led to him push most people away, never allowing them to get too close, but this mismatched group of travellers seemed to have wormed their way through all his defences despite his best efforts to keep them at arms’ length, refusing to be pushed, and instead only drawing him closer, making him feel that for once in his life, he belonged.
#26 – Look
With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, Jonathan took one last look at the villa and the androids he’d misappropriated from the Arusians, the place that had been his home for so many months, and turned to trudge wearily away, summarily evicted by his former hosts and told never to return, which he supposed was fair punishment after everything he’d done to them, but what was bothering him most was that he’d been so desperate for the company of another living human being that he’d foolishly managed to alienate the only ones he’d met since arriving on the island by threatening to kill them if Miss Liana refused to stay with him; even if he met them again, he was sure they would look on him with disgust.
#27 – Weight
Varian was a dead weight in Jonathan’s arms, heavier than he would have thought considering how slim the man was for his admittedly excessive height, but nevertheless, Jonathan was determined to do whatever he could for his friend, the man who had invited him to join the small band of travellers, the man who had supported him, trusted him, stood up for him, and yes, even put him in his place a time or two, the man who had saved his life when Apollonius had tried to steal his body; no matter how heavy he was, Jonathan wasn’t about to just dump Varian on the floor of the cell and leave him.
#28 – Spider
Krista and Kedryn’s house had aged at least fifty years since Jonathan had tumbled down the secret passageway into the Hall of Echoes only a couple of hours earlier; the pristine rooms, once tastefully furnished with the finest of earth antiques, were now a wilderness of thick dust, peeling paintwork, crumbling plaster, and rotting draperies, the furniture no doubt riddled with woodworm, everywhere swathed in masses of cobwebs, while fat, black spiders scuttled along ledges, making Jonathan shudder in horror, even as he mourned the former elegance of what had been a comfortable and welcoming residence.
#29 – Robe
Settling down to sleep, still fully dressed and wrapped in his bedroll against the chill of night, with his lumpy backpack for a pillow, Jonathan thought wistfully of life back at the villa, with the large, comfortable bed in his sleeping quarters, all plump, feather filled pillows, tasteful covers, and soft mattress, the height of luxury compared to roughing it out here in the wilderness, sleeping on the cold, hard ground; what he wouldn’t give for not only a bed, but indoor plumbing, sleepwear, and the luxurious silk robe he used to wear in the late evenings while sipping a nightcap before bed… camping really wasn’t his style.
#30 – Umbrella
Rain poured down from a leaden sky, soaking the small band of travellers to the skin, trickling out of Jonathan’s hair to soak into his polo-neck sweater, the wetness held against his skin by his leather jacket, and still they trudged on through the storm, because there was no shelter anywhere in view, meaning that standing still would be even worse than continuing their endless trek; if they kept going, they might, if they were very lucky, stumble across civilisation, or a cave, or even a stand of trees, anything that might keep some of the rain off, but Jonathan couldn’t help wishing he had that simplest of protective devices, the humble umbrella.
#31 – Surface
The surface of the pool is completely still, not so much as a ripple to disturb its glassy surface, and Jonathan stares at his reflection looking back at him, hardly recognising himself after everything that’s happened over the past few months; back at the carnival, the barker had called him a man in search of himself, and Jonathan suspects that’s still true, he’s looking for something he hasn’t found yet, but he thinks he’s getting closer, because there’s something in the face reflected in the pool that wasn’t there before, something just below the surface, something he doesn’t have a name for, but he thinks if he stares at his reflection for long enough he might just begin to understand.
#32 – Idea
Trying to trick Consul Tarant into revealing the location of the armies he was massing to attack neighbouring zones had seemed like a good idea at the time, Jonathan would have promised just about anything to bring a smile to Consul Lara’s pretty face, and anyway, he was against war and territorialism, so if he could help prevent the kinds of violence and bloodshed men like Tarant craved, so much the better; he’d even been making good progress, ingratiating himself with the arrogant, egotistical monster, until a listening device planted in the lab where Varian and Fred were working had picked up something that had given the game away, and now, with Tarant’s boot on his neck, Jonathan was beginning to have second thoughts…
#33 – Diamond
The stone, one of the twelve keys, according to the Rider who’d directed them here to find the Hall of Echoes, was like the biggest faceted diamond imaginable, even though Jonathan was sure it wasn’t any such thing; it almost seemed to throb in his hands as he removed it from the box that housed it and studied it by the light on the candles scattered throughout this strange cave system below Krysta and Kedryn’s house, a place of echoes carved out of shining, metallic rock that surely must have originated on some world other than earth, perhaps even their hosts’ home planet.
#34 – Blind
Jonathan can’t see a thing, just blackness, and he’s not sure whether that’s because he’s somewhere very dark, or if he’s been somehow struck blind, although judging by the pain in his head and face, he suspects it’s the latter and he does his best not to panic, knowing that won’t help, might in fact make his situation worse, if that’s even possible, but then he hears music, or thinks he does, only it’s inside his head rather than in his ears, and there are colors too, shifting kaleidoscopic patterns filling his mind as the pain gradually melts away, and that’s when he knows he’s safe, that Varian is there, healing him, repairing his damaged eyes; there’s nothing for him to fear.
#35 – Flow
Jonathan Willaway is beginning to suspect he’s always been a bit uptight, over-critical of others, exacting, fussy, even finicky, and definitely a bit egotistical, considering himself better than the majority of his peers, and maybe that’s why he’s never developed much in the way of genuine friendships among the people he’s worked with over the years, only an occasional grudging respect, but here on the island, travelling with such a disparate group of people, curiously, for the first time he can remember, he’s learning to relax, to go with the flow, and just enjoy interacting with individuals whose outlook on life, and indeed life experiences, are so completely different, even alien, from his own; it’s quite a revelation.
#36 – Movement
The ice wasn’t enclosing Jonathan, he wasn’t trapped inside a solid block of it, but nevertheless, he was frozen in place, standing in this small alcove in the Hall of Echoes, gripping the stone they’d been looking for, the key that would unlock the portal to send them all home, and completely incapable of even the slightest movement, even though he could still see, and think, and worry, and wonder if his friends would ever find him down here, and even if they did, how would they break through the thick, frozen barrier that was keeping him imprisoned, a living statue, perhaps preserved forever like an insect in amber…
#37 – More
When he’d joined the other travellers on their perilous journey across the island, Jonathan hadn’t given much thought to what might lie ahead, he’d simply been grateful for human companionship and a purpose, even though returning to his own time wasn’t something he’d particularly wanted to do, but more and more he was coming to realise that the journey itself was what mattered to him, travelling through the various zones, encountering other civilizations, other cultures, other technologies, and doing all that in the company of this disparate group of people who were teaching him so much about the man he wanted to be.
#38 – Honey
Jonathan was used to fine dining, he had a very refined palate and had always enjoyed the best cuisine, seasoned with the finest fresh herbs and spices, and accompanied by vintage wines, with perhaps a cognac after the meal, but now here he was, trekking across an island on foot, eating what was available, and more often than not the fare was rather substandard, even in places that were supposedly civilised; still, even he could appreciate freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven, spread thicky with homemade butter and wild honey… right now, he thought nothing had ever tasted better.
#39 – Weather
Having lived in various locations around the United States while working for NASA, JPL, and Caltech, among others, Jonathan had thought he was accustomed to the vagaries of weather, but the island’s climate is thoroughly confounding simply because the weather in one zone is seldom the same as the weather in the next zone, meaning that when passing through a gateway, it’s not unusual to find oneself stepping from bright sunshine into pouring rain, or gale force winds, or the kind of persistent drizzle that leaves everyone soaked to the skin and wishing they’d stayed where they were for a day or two in the hope of encountering more clement weather conditions; he was so tired of being wet.
#40 – Blue
Blue eyes locked with Jonathan’s own brown, and in spite of Apollonius’ hold over him, Jonathan could feel that blue gaze tugging at him, pulling him to the surface of his own mind, a remembered and already trusted voice urging him to come out, but although he wanted to, more than anything, he was too afraid of the magician who had taken over his body and was forcing him to obey a will that wasn’t his own, and yet still that clear blue gaze burned into him, offering him a way out, like a beacon in the darkness, guiding him, and giving him strength.
#41 – Double
As he’d worked at making the Arusians’ androids look human instead of like their green-skinned original masters, Jonathan had toyed with the idea of modelling one of them after himself, a robot double, a doppelganger, someone who would match him in intellect as well as looks, the ultimate in vanity projects, and yet despite finding the idea tempting, he’d ultimately abandoned it and focused instead on making each android a unique individual, strong, physically attractive, intelligent, but below his own level, because he was in charge here now and the last thing he needed was an android that thought it was better than its maker.
#42 – Braid
After everything he’d done to Liana, basically kidnapping her, imprisoning her, drugging her, refusing to allow her to go with her friends, attempting to force her into marriage, even threatening to kill her and her friends if she wouldn’t stay with him, Jonathan supposed he did owe the young woman something more than a heartfelt apology, but he was a scientist, not a hairdresser, so how had she managed to convince him that the best way for him to make amends was to help her braid her hair every morning?
#43 – Thread
Back in his own time, with all the modern conveniences, appliances, contraptions, and devices that nineteen sixty-three had to offer, a loose thread wouldn’t have been worth bothering about, Jonathan could have simply handed the offending garment to a seamstress for repair, or just thrown it away and acquired a replacement from one of the more exclusive menswear stores he frequented, but here on the island, as with all of his travelling companions, because they were travelling on foot and had to carry everything they needed, he only had two sets of clothing, and if this loose thread started unravelling his sweater, he was going to be in a fix; he could only hope Fred might have a needle and thread in his medical bag.
#44 – Angles
Jonathan didn’t think much of the architecture of New Mitera, it was all angles and sharp edges, blocky, unappealing to the eyes, but he supposed the Miterans had built what they could with what was available after crashing on the island, and it could have been worse; some of the newer buildings back in his own time had likewise lacked any kind of architectural grace, being more starkly functional than beautiful, as if no one had the time anymore to make their designs attractive, or perhaps architects simply didn’t care to put their souls into their work anymore, knowing that whatever they built stood a good change of being torn down and replaced in a few years, if it wasn’t destroyed by war first.
#45 – Daydream
More and more, now he was back in his own time, trapped in a life that was becoming increasingly humdrum, Jonathan found himself lost in daydreams about what had been, all the adventures and dangers he’d gone through on the mysterious island, and what MIGHT have been if he’d opted to stay there; would his life have been better if he’d never made that flight across the Sea of Japan back in sixty-three, if he’d never crashed on the island, never met the people who had become dearer to him than family, or would he have been better off remaining behind on the island when all his friends returned to their own times?
#46 – Nightmare
It was over, he was safe, free and in charge of his own body once more, but what Jonathan had experienced, even though he had little in the way of clear memories of being forced into the smallest, darkest corner of his own mind, still haunted his dreams with nightmare visions of cramped spaces, and feelings of claustrophobia that disturbed his sleep and left him feeling perpetually on edge, and although he did his best not to let it show, because he didn’t want to appear weak in front of his friends, perhaps he should have known Varian would notice, and offer whatever support Jonathan was willing to accept from him.
#47 – Honor
With the parting of the ways imminent, Jonathan thought back on all he and his friends had gone through in order to reach Evoland and the portal that could, if the legends were true, return them all to the times they’d come from; they’d faced so many hardships, withstood so many trials, had supported and encouraged each other through tragedies, losses, injuries, and moments of bitter despair, and as he looked around at the people he’d shared the long journey with, Jonathan felt honored to have known them, the strangers who, over time, had become his dearest, most trusted friends.
#48 – Palm
Jonathan pushed palm fronds aside, aware of Varian following close behind him, and trying not to let the branches swing back and hit the taller man, who’d been good enough to listen to his misgivings about York, and accompany him on this late night fact finding mission into the jungle, even though what Jonathan had told him had been a trifle sketchy, but Jonathan knew what he’d seen, there was nothing wrong with his eyesight, he hadn’t been seeing things, or misinterpreting shadows; he’d definitely seen two men in white uniforms, York and another man, whom he hadn’t seen clearly enough to identify, but whom Fred had assured him definitely had not been Ty…
#49 – Screen
Jonathan scanned the control panel in the crashed spaceship, finally locating the switch to turn on the ship’s computer log, and settling into the pilot’s seat to view the information that came up on the screen; he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting to discover, but it wasn’t this, because now it was clear that York and Ty were not pilot and co-pilot of this shuttle transport, as they’d claimed to be, but had in fact been the passengers, two convicted criminals, a murderer and a thief, being transported to jail. and until the crash had been secured in the detention cell Varian had just discovered in the rear of the craft.
#50 – Warmth
The weather was miserable, they were all tired and wet from a long walk through a storm that had raged for most of their way across the last time zone, but in this zone there was no rain, they’d been able to collect a good supply of dry wood and build a fire in the entrance of a cave with a dry, sandy floor, and now the flames crackled, putting out welcome heat as the small band of travellers huddled around the blaze, warming their hands, feeling the heat beginning to draw the moisture from their sodden clothes, and yet as they all laughed and talked, spirits buoyed by the prospect of getting dry, Jonathan thought that the greatest warmth he was experiencing was that of their companionship.
Travelling ever onward, day after day, time zone after time zone, seldom stopping anywhere for more than a day or two, the events of their seemingly endless journey all started to blend together to the point that Jonathan could barely distinguish one day from another, even began to doubt some of the things he thought he remembered; he was so tired, they all were, and all that existed now was the journey, and a growing doubt that they would ever reach their destination, until a hand touched his shoulder and he looked up into Varian’s tired yet hope-filled blue eyes and encouraging smile, and Jonathan knew no matter how long it took, as long as they didn’t give up, they would reach Evoland.
#02 – Stain
Jonathan wasn’t proud of what he’d done, either to the Arusians or to Liana, and now he could only assume he hadn’t been in his right mind for quite some time, stealing the Arusians’ home, subverting their helpers, evicting them, and then basically abducting Liana, attempting to coerce her into becoming his wife, threatening to kill her travelling companions, the people who were now HIS travelling companions too, people who for some unknown reason seemed willing to overlook his former behaviour, a kindness he didn’t deserve, but perhaps his punishment for his crimes was the indelible stain they had left on his soul.
#03 – Island
One minute Jonathan’s small plane had been flying over the Sea of Japan, a journey he’d made several times over the years, then the next, all the instruments had been going crazy, the compass spinning as if it could no longer locate true north, and before he’d been able to even formulate a theory to account for what was happening, never mind do anything to counteract it, the craft had started to lose altitude, dropping so fast there’d been nothing he could do, no matter how hard he’d wrestled with the controls; the only possible course of action had been to brace for impact as the plane had crashed into a swamp, somewhere on an island that was like no island he’d ever heard of.
#04 – Apple
In all his years back in the fifties and sixties working for one cutting-edge scientific institute or another, despite the intellectual puzzles and challenges he’d worked on, despite his generally well-received published papers, the generous wages, the plush apartment, the antiques, the fine wines and gourmet food, despite all the luxuries money could buy, Jonathan realised he’d never been as happy as he was right now, walking across this fascinating island as part of this mismatched group of people, enjoying a ripe, sweet, juicy apple plucked from a nearby tree; perhaps it was true that the simple pleasures in life were the best, and good company was perhaps at the top of that list.
#05 – Paper
As he worked on disabling the Complex, one corner of Jonathan’s mind was busy drafting a scientific paper on the computer system, so far in advance of anything that had been invented on earth, and yet understandable enough from his learned perspective that he was quite certain he could render it harmless; he wondered what his colleagues back in his own time would make of the paper were he to publish it in an age where computers were still under man’s control, and not equipped with intelligence and autonomy, not to mention a strong instinct for self-preservation, as this one was.
#06 – Relax
For a few moments there, as he’d snatched one component out of each of the three consoles in the Complex room, Jonathan had been quite certain that he wouldn’t succeed in disabling the failsafe mechanism, that despite studying the blueprints Adrea had provided as carefully as possible and making an educated guess, in a few short seconds the entire city would blow sky high, taking himself and his friends with it, that his final act would turn into a monumental disaster, so when none of that happened, when the Complex simply shut down, all the telltale lights on the panels winking out, he almost didn’t believe it, but when minutes passed and nothing continued to happen, he finally began to relax.
#07 – Leaves
Despite where this ridiculous island ostensibly should be on a map of the earth, if it actually appeared on a map, or was even ON earth, which was doubtful, this zone appeared to be in the grip of autumn, the leaves of the trees turning all shades of red and gold, covering the ground in a many-colored carpet that Jonathan and his friends had been practically wading though, enjoying the sound of them crunching underfoot, but now it was raining and the leaves, once crisp and bright, were rapidly turning soggy and slippery, a hazard at every step, leading to Jonathan taking the quick way down the hill like a tobogganist without a toboggan, an embarrassing situation made worse by the laughter that followed him all the way to the bottom.
#08 – Proof
It was beyond frustrating, they had proof that York was a convicted murderer, that he was almost certainly responsible for the death of Rayat’s son and heir, even though York himself claimed there had simply been an accident, but Rayat refused to listen to what Jonathan and his friends were telling him, purely because he had no conception of crime; theft, and even murder, were alien concepts to him and even though Jonathan had been the one to discover the truth about York, now he had to wonder if it should really be up to him and the others to deal with the situation, beyond trying to persuade Rayat of the danger he and his people were in, and urging them to take action, doing the right thing could be such a complicated matter.
#09 – Ugly
Jonathan hadn’t wanted to look at Apollonius, had tried to close his eyes and turn away, but against his will his gaze kept being irresistibly dragged back to the horrific sight as the magician peeled away the face he was wearing like a mask to reveal his true face beneath, a visage of such appalling ugliness as to be all but indescribable, thickly furred and hideously distorted, and despite wanting to flee from the monster before him, Jonathan found himself rooted to the spot by shock and disgust, unable to make sense of what he was seeing.
#10 – Book
He would write a book, Jonathan decided, when he got back to his own time… a book about all the scientific discoveries and advancements he’d encountered on the long trek across this ridiculous, impossible island, a book that might finally get him noticed by the right people, appreciated for his vision of the way people could work together in the spirit of cooperation without the incessant need for weapons, and violence, and war, that constant striving for power over others, for control over everyone else’s lives; it would be the book that cemented his reputation as a man opposed to bloodshed, a man dedicated to peace.
#11 – Brood
He’d been sitting on the log for several hours, alone and ashamed, brooding over how quickly his fortunes had changed, and not for the better, when the small band of travellers passed by on their way out of the zone belonging to the Arusians, and Jonathan had fully expected them to keep going, either not noticing his presence, or deliberately ignoring him, because after what he’d tried to do, threatening to kill them, he couldn’t imagine any of them caring what happened to him, and yet… they’d not only stopped to talk with him, but in a thoroughly unexpected development, Varian, their leader, had generously invited him to travel with them…
#12 – Mesh
Jonathan had never really meshed well with other people, he wasn’t much of a people person, and most of those he’d associated with or worked with in the past were simply not on his intellectual level, which might be seen as snobbishness on his part, even egotism, but he was a brilliant scientist, a man of grand ideas and noble ambitions, and dealing with people of lesser vision was an annoyance, and yet… now here he was, travelling with this mismatched group of people, and for reasons he could not yet understand, he fitted in, even thought that maybe he finally had real friends, people who accepted him just the way he was.
#13 – Soft
He’d grown soft, sitting around in the villa he’d stolen from the Arusians, with nothing to do except tinker with inventions and keep his android ‘family’ and helpers working efficiently at the tasks he’d set them; a scientist still of course, but a man of leisure, idling the days and weeks and months away, telling himself he was perfectly content, that he had everything he could possibly want, and knowing deep down that he was lying to himself, and now here he was, trekking across the island in the company of a group of people from different times, even in one case a different world, and he was beginning to regret his former idleness, wondering if he’d be able to keep up the pace they were setting.
#14 – Shelf
Getting trapped in this closet when the doorknob had come off in his hand had been bad enough, especially when none of his friends responded to his shouts for help even though they were just on the other side of the door, but when the rear wall started inching its way towards him with a very disturbing rumbling noise, pushing everything on the floor ahead of it, Jonathan had really started to feel afraid; if he couldn’t find some way of keeping the closet from shrinking further, he was going to be crushed, so in desperation he tore a board from the front on the closet shelf, wedging it between the front and back walls, in the hope that it might buy him enough time to find a way out.
#15 – Alone
Lost and alone on the most peculiar island he’d ever had the misfortune to become stranded on, Jonathan Willaway knew he should have been grateful to the Arusians for their generosity in welcoming him into their home, and perhaps he might have been, if they’d been human like himself, but they were so strange with their green skin and black hair, unsettling people to be around, and so he’d usurped control of their android servitors, driven the Arusians into the swamp, and taken over, reshaping the androids into human replicas, only to realise that he was still completely alone, with only synthetic people for company.
#16 – Fall
Varian had set Jonathan the task of searching the house, from top to bottom, which Jonathan hadn’t minded too much because although there were quite a few rooms to search, they were full of fascinating antiques that were well worth looking at, but when the wall had started to crack and he’d backed away in alarm, the last thing he’d expected was to find himself falling into some sort of shaft hidden behind a tapestry, tumbling all the way down and into a curious system of caves that must lie beneath the house; from the way sounds reverberated, it looked like he might have stumbled across the Hall of Echoes he and his friend had been searching for.
#17 – Knot
Alpha and his not so merry band might look like a bunch of dishevelled, tattered, filthy ragamuffins, but they knew how to tie a good, tight knot, as Jonathan was only too well aware, his hands firmly secured behind his back as he was prodded along the trail back to the Greek stone circle where he and his travelling companions had camped only two nights ago, the spot which was now to be the scene of his execution, all because he’d explored a ruined temple this uncivilised gang of children considered to be their sacred place, not to be violated by ‘Elders’ such as himself.
#18 – Crowd
Jonathan should have been happy, he had this beautiful, perfectly designed and decorated villa surrounded by carefully tended landscaped gardens, and the view in every direction was a delight to his eyes, there was nothing he could possibly need that he didn’t already have, including abundant companionship, not only Rachel and his sons, Cyrus, Michael, and Daniel, but so many others, it was just that… as perfect as it all undoubtedly was, he found himself alone in a crowd, the only flesh and blood human, surrounded by a host of androids.
#19 – Denial
Jonathan had thought he didn’t need anyone, that he could be happy by himself, tinkering with his inventions, doing what he wanted when he wanted, waited on hand and foot by the androids he’d redesigned to look like humans, servitors who would obey his every whim without question, at least most of the time, but it had only taken Cyrus’ discovery of the young woman, Liana, to make him realise he’d been in denial all this time, and what he really wanted was the companionship of another human, and now that she was here, under his roof, he was determined to do whatever it took to ensure she stayed with him.
#20 – Train
Jonathan once, years ago, had taken a train trip across the United States, just because there were no direct flights between where he was and where he needed to be, and changing planes twice seemed like too much of a hassle when he could simply relax on a train for the entire journey, and yet despite travelling through several states, seeing the landscape changing constantly, on this journey across the island, he’s walking through more varied terrain than he ever saw through the train windows, everything from lush tropical jungles, to featureless plains, to immense forests, futuristic cities, and even a zone of volcanic activity, which had certainly been an eye-opener.
#21 – Fur
Furry creatures are generally considered appealing, Liana’s cat Sil-El is a case in point, a charming, friendly animal, a pleasure to have around, but there is nothing remotely appealing about Apollonius’ true face, the one he conceals behind a convincing mask; the fur that covers his face is coarse and patchy, doing little to disguise the hideously deformed features, the bluish lips, the distorted nose, and there is nothing in the universe that would ever persuade Jonathan to touch such a monstrosity when he can scarcely bear to look upon the hideous sight before him.
#22 – Chrome
There’s something unpleasantly cold and clinical about the buildings in this zone, their interiors are all harsh lighting and shining chrome, more like the inside of a laboratory, or a hospital, than somewhere people live their lives, and raise their families; it makes Jonathan long for the comforts of some of the zones they’ve already passed through, even though they might not have been so welcoming in other ways, and he’s really not sure how anyone is supposed to sleep on these metallic benches that serve as beds without rolling or sliding off onto the floor, which, when he thinks about it, would probably be a lot safer to sleep on anyway.
#23 – Heart
Trapped in that mad, shrinking closet, Jonathan had been sure his heart would give out from the sheer terror as he’d faced the possibility of being crushed to death when the two walls met; he didn’t like small, enclosed spaces at the best of times, they brought back unpleasant memories of being trapped inside his own mind when Apollonius had taken over his body, and even knowing now that the shrinking had been nothing more than an illusion, he still felt his heart hammering in his chest… he’d never been so eager to leave anywhere as he was to get out of this house before the stone could play any more unpleasant tricks on them.
#24 – Intention
Jonathan had really had no intention of refusing Queen Halyana’s demands to fix the computer that ran Coriel, he would have gladly done anything that would ensure his friends’ release from prison, and obtain for them the antidote to the poison they were being fed in every meal, it was just that what the Queen was asking of him was simply not possible, and he couldn’t seem to make her understand that without any spare components being available to replace the ones that had burnt out, the Complex could not be repaired the way she wanted it; the computer was no longer sane, and must be considered a very real danger to all of them.
#25 – Push
Perhaps, Jonathan thought, all the problems he’d had in the past, not fitting into society, not really having friends, just colleagues and casual acquaintances, was his own fault for putting himself above everyone else because he felt morally and intellectually superior, and perhaps because he enjoyed being a thorn in society’s conscience; it had led to him push most people away, never allowing them to get too close, but this mismatched group of travellers seemed to have wormed their way through all his defences despite his best efforts to keep them at arms’ length, refusing to be pushed, and instead only drawing him closer, making him feel that for once in his life, he belonged.
#26 – Look
With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, Jonathan took one last look at the villa and the androids he’d misappropriated from the Arusians, the place that had been his home for so many months, and turned to trudge wearily away, summarily evicted by his former hosts and told never to return, which he supposed was fair punishment after everything he’d done to them, but what was bothering him most was that he’d been so desperate for the company of another living human being that he’d foolishly managed to alienate the only ones he’d met since arriving on the island by threatening to kill them if Miss Liana refused to stay with him; even if he met them again, he was sure they would look on him with disgust.
#27 – Weight
Varian was a dead weight in Jonathan’s arms, heavier than he would have thought considering how slim the man was for his admittedly excessive height, but nevertheless, Jonathan was determined to do whatever he could for his friend, the man who had invited him to join the small band of travellers, the man who had supported him, trusted him, stood up for him, and yes, even put him in his place a time or two, the man who had saved his life when Apollonius had tried to steal his body; no matter how heavy he was, Jonathan wasn’t about to just dump Varian on the floor of the cell and leave him.
#28 – Spider
Krista and Kedryn’s house had aged at least fifty years since Jonathan had tumbled down the secret passageway into the Hall of Echoes only a couple of hours earlier; the pristine rooms, once tastefully furnished with the finest of earth antiques, were now a wilderness of thick dust, peeling paintwork, crumbling plaster, and rotting draperies, the furniture no doubt riddled with woodworm, everywhere swathed in masses of cobwebs, while fat, black spiders scuttled along ledges, making Jonathan shudder in horror, even as he mourned the former elegance of what had been a comfortable and welcoming residence.
#29 – Robe
Settling down to sleep, still fully dressed and wrapped in his bedroll against the chill of night, with his lumpy backpack for a pillow, Jonathan thought wistfully of life back at the villa, with the large, comfortable bed in his sleeping quarters, all plump, feather filled pillows, tasteful covers, and soft mattress, the height of luxury compared to roughing it out here in the wilderness, sleeping on the cold, hard ground; what he wouldn’t give for not only a bed, but indoor plumbing, sleepwear, and the luxurious silk robe he used to wear in the late evenings while sipping a nightcap before bed… camping really wasn’t his style.
#30 – Umbrella
Rain poured down from a leaden sky, soaking the small band of travellers to the skin, trickling out of Jonathan’s hair to soak into his polo-neck sweater, the wetness held against his skin by his leather jacket, and still they trudged on through the storm, because there was no shelter anywhere in view, meaning that standing still would be even worse than continuing their endless trek; if they kept going, they might, if they were very lucky, stumble across civilisation, or a cave, or even a stand of trees, anything that might keep some of the rain off, but Jonathan couldn’t help wishing he had that simplest of protective devices, the humble umbrella.
#31 – Surface
The surface of the pool is completely still, not so much as a ripple to disturb its glassy surface, and Jonathan stares at his reflection looking back at him, hardly recognising himself after everything that’s happened over the past few months; back at the carnival, the barker had called him a man in search of himself, and Jonathan suspects that’s still true, he’s looking for something he hasn’t found yet, but he thinks he’s getting closer, because there’s something in the face reflected in the pool that wasn’t there before, something just below the surface, something he doesn’t have a name for, but he thinks if he stares at his reflection for long enough he might just begin to understand.
#32 – Idea
Trying to trick Consul Tarant into revealing the location of the armies he was massing to attack neighbouring zones had seemed like a good idea at the time, Jonathan would have promised just about anything to bring a smile to Consul Lara’s pretty face, and anyway, he was against war and territorialism, so if he could help prevent the kinds of violence and bloodshed men like Tarant craved, so much the better; he’d even been making good progress, ingratiating himself with the arrogant, egotistical monster, until a listening device planted in the lab where Varian and Fred were working had picked up something that had given the game away, and now, with Tarant’s boot on his neck, Jonathan was beginning to have second thoughts…
#33 – Diamond
The stone, one of the twelve keys, according to the Rider who’d directed them here to find the Hall of Echoes, was like the biggest faceted diamond imaginable, even though Jonathan was sure it wasn’t any such thing; it almost seemed to throb in his hands as he removed it from the box that housed it and studied it by the light on the candles scattered throughout this strange cave system below Krysta and Kedryn’s house, a place of echoes carved out of shining, metallic rock that surely must have originated on some world other than earth, perhaps even their hosts’ home planet.
#34 – Blind
Jonathan can’t see a thing, just blackness, and he’s not sure whether that’s because he’s somewhere very dark, or if he’s been somehow struck blind, although judging by the pain in his head and face, he suspects it’s the latter and he does his best not to panic, knowing that won’t help, might in fact make his situation worse, if that’s even possible, but then he hears music, or thinks he does, only it’s inside his head rather than in his ears, and there are colors too, shifting kaleidoscopic patterns filling his mind as the pain gradually melts away, and that’s when he knows he’s safe, that Varian is there, healing him, repairing his damaged eyes; there’s nothing for him to fear.
#35 – Flow
Jonathan Willaway is beginning to suspect he’s always been a bit uptight, over-critical of others, exacting, fussy, even finicky, and definitely a bit egotistical, considering himself better than the majority of his peers, and maybe that’s why he’s never developed much in the way of genuine friendships among the people he’s worked with over the years, only an occasional grudging respect, but here on the island, travelling with such a disparate group of people, curiously, for the first time he can remember, he’s learning to relax, to go with the flow, and just enjoy interacting with individuals whose outlook on life, and indeed life experiences, are so completely different, even alien, from his own; it’s quite a revelation.
#36 – Movement
The ice wasn’t enclosing Jonathan, he wasn’t trapped inside a solid block of it, but nevertheless, he was frozen in place, standing in this small alcove in the Hall of Echoes, gripping the stone they’d been looking for, the key that would unlock the portal to send them all home, and completely incapable of even the slightest movement, even though he could still see, and think, and worry, and wonder if his friends would ever find him down here, and even if they did, how would they break through the thick, frozen barrier that was keeping him imprisoned, a living statue, perhaps preserved forever like an insect in amber…
#37 – More
When he’d joined the other travellers on their perilous journey across the island, Jonathan hadn’t given much thought to what might lie ahead, he’d simply been grateful for human companionship and a purpose, even though returning to his own time wasn’t something he’d particularly wanted to do, but more and more he was coming to realise that the journey itself was what mattered to him, travelling through the various zones, encountering other civilizations, other cultures, other technologies, and doing all that in the company of this disparate group of people who were teaching him so much about the man he wanted to be.
#38 – Honey
Jonathan was used to fine dining, he had a very refined palate and had always enjoyed the best cuisine, seasoned with the finest fresh herbs and spices, and accompanied by vintage wines, with perhaps a cognac after the meal, but now here he was, trekking across an island on foot, eating what was available, and more often than not the fare was rather substandard, even in places that were supposedly civilised; still, even he could appreciate freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven, spread thicky with homemade butter and wild honey… right now, he thought nothing had ever tasted better.
#39 – Weather
Having lived in various locations around the United States while working for NASA, JPL, and Caltech, among others, Jonathan had thought he was accustomed to the vagaries of weather, but the island’s climate is thoroughly confounding simply because the weather in one zone is seldom the same as the weather in the next zone, meaning that when passing through a gateway, it’s not unusual to find oneself stepping from bright sunshine into pouring rain, or gale force winds, or the kind of persistent drizzle that leaves everyone soaked to the skin and wishing they’d stayed where they were for a day or two in the hope of encountering more clement weather conditions; he was so tired of being wet.
#40 – Blue
Blue eyes locked with Jonathan’s own brown, and in spite of Apollonius’ hold over him, Jonathan could feel that blue gaze tugging at him, pulling him to the surface of his own mind, a remembered and already trusted voice urging him to come out, but although he wanted to, more than anything, he was too afraid of the magician who had taken over his body and was forcing him to obey a will that wasn’t his own, and yet still that clear blue gaze burned into him, offering him a way out, like a beacon in the darkness, guiding him, and giving him strength.
#41 – Double
As he’d worked at making the Arusians’ androids look human instead of like their green-skinned original masters, Jonathan had toyed with the idea of modelling one of them after himself, a robot double, a doppelganger, someone who would match him in intellect as well as looks, the ultimate in vanity projects, and yet despite finding the idea tempting, he’d ultimately abandoned it and focused instead on making each android a unique individual, strong, physically attractive, intelligent, but below his own level, because he was in charge here now and the last thing he needed was an android that thought it was better than its maker.
#42 – Braid
After everything he’d done to Liana, basically kidnapping her, imprisoning her, drugging her, refusing to allow her to go with her friends, attempting to force her into marriage, even threatening to kill her and her friends if she wouldn’t stay with him, Jonathan supposed he did owe the young woman something more than a heartfelt apology, but he was a scientist, not a hairdresser, so how had she managed to convince him that the best way for him to make amends was to help her braid her hair every morning?
#43 – Thread
Back in his own time, with all the modern conveniences, appliances, contraptions, and devices that nineteen sixty-three had to offer, a loose thread wouldn’t have been worth bothering about, Jonathan could have simply handed the offending garment to a seamstress for repair, or just thrown it away and acquired a replacement from one of the more exclusive menswear stores he frequented, but here on the island, as with all of his travelling companions, because they were travelling on foot and had to carry everything they needed, he only had two sets of clothing, and if this loose thread started unravelling his sweater, he was going to be in a fix; he could only hope Fred might have a needle and thread in his medical bag.
#44 – Angles
Jonathan didn’t think much of the architecture of New Mitera, it was all angles and sharp edges, blocky, unappealing to the eyes, but he supposed the Miterans had built what they could with what was available after crashing on the island, and it could have been worse; some of the newer buildings back in his own time had likewise lacked any kind of architectural grace, being more starkly functional than beautiful, as if no one had the time anymore to make their designs attractive, or perhaps architects simply didn’t care to put their souls into their work anymore, knowing that whatever they built stood a good change of being torn down and replaced in a few years, if it wasn’t destroyed by war first.
#45 – Daydream
More and more, now he was back in his own time, trapped in a life that was becoming increasingly humdrum, Jonathan found himself lost in daydreams about what had been, all the adventures and dangers he’d gone through on the mysterious island, and what MIGHT have been if he’d opted to stay there; would his life have been better if he’d never made that flight across the Sea of Japan back in sixty-three, if he’d never crashed on the island, never met the people who had become dearer to him than family, or would he have been better off remaining behind on the island when all his friends returned to their own times?
#46 – Nightmare
It was over, he was safe, free and in charge of his own body once more, but what Jonathan had experienced, even though he had little in the way of clear memories of being forced into the smallest, darkest corner of his own mind, still haunted his dreams with nightmare visions of cramped spaces, and feelings of claustrophobia that disturbed his sleep and left him feeling perpetually on edge, and although he did his best not to let it show, because he didn’t want to appear weak in front of his friends, perhaps he should have known Varian would notice, and offer whatever support Jonathan was willing to accept from him.
#47 – Honor
With the parting of the ways imminent, Jonathan thought back on all he and his friends had gone through in order to reach Evoland and the portal that could, if the legends were true, return them all to the times they’d come from; they’d faced so many hardships, withstood so many trials, had supported and encouraged each other through tragedies, losses, injuries, and moments of bitter despair, and as he looked around at the people he’d shared the long journey with, Jonathan felt honored to have known them, the strangers who, over time, had become his dearest, most trusted friends.
#48 – Palm
Jonathan pushed palm fronds aside, aware of Varian following close behind him, and trying not to let the branches swing back and hit the taller man, who’d been good enough to listen to his misgivings about York, and accompany him on this late night fact finding mission into the jungle, even though what Jonathan had told him had been a trifle sketchy, but Jonathan knew what he’d seen, there was nothing wrong with his eyesight, he hadn’t been seeing things, or misinterpreting shadows; he’d definitely seen two men in white uniforms, York and another man, whom he hadn’t seen clearly enough to identify, but whom Fred had assured him definitely had not been Ty…
#49 – Screen
Jonathan scanned the control panel in the crashed spaceship, finally locating the switch to turn on the ship’s computer log, and settling into the pilot’s seat to view the information that came up on the screen; he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting to discover, but it wasn’t this, because now it was clear that York and Ty were not pilot and co-pilot of this shuttle transport, as they’d claimed to be, but had in fact been the passengers, two convicted criminals, a murderer and a thief, being transported to jail. and until the crash had been secured in the detention cell Varian had just discovered in the rear of the craft.
#50 – Warmth
The weather was miserable, they were all tired and wet from a long walk through a storm that had raged for most of their way across the last time zone, but in this zone there was no rain, they’d been able to collect a good supply of dry wood and build a fire in the entrance of a cave with a dry, sandy floor, and now the flames crackled, putting out welcome heat as the small band of travellers huddled around the blaze, warming their hands, feeling the heat beginning to draw the moisture from their sodden clothes, and yet as they all laughed and talked, spirits buoyed by the prospect of getting dry, Jonathan thought that the greatest warmth he was experiencing was that of their companionship.