The Secrets of Parkerville Series: Book 4 - Future Tides

Future Tides

The Secrets of Parkerville Series

Book4

Written by - Nancy C. Wilson and Harriet Trevathan

Copyright 2015 (pending)

Time and Tides

To quote a famous saying, Time and tide wait for no man, that may have been true at one time, but in the year 3066, this saying became passé. In that year, there seemed to be no safe place to live or bring up a family.

The world stopped being humble a thousand years ago. Arrogance and violence were flourishing, and immorality was now the norm. The town of Bastion wasn’t very large; however, it was the final holdout against the unruly and corrupt in this part of the world.

The only true drawback to Bastion was its proximity to New City, which seemed to be closing in. New City had become the main port of entry into the world of every immoral and depraved being known to mankind. The gates into Bastion were slowly but surely falling apart, as the innocent were becoming corrupt and leaving for the fascinating world of the city.

Ethan Parker was the Pastor’s son. He was a genius, fluent in every type of computer programming ever conceived of. He was not challenged, nor was he tempted by any outside influences, which could make him or his friends leave their home.

Bastion was also the home to the finest SoftTech University in the world, at least what was left of the intelligence of the world. All students outside of Bastion had to be tested, in order to be able to attend the university. Moral and civil issues were part of the curriculum, which lead a number of young people to this particular school.

There were still people outside of Bastion who desperately wanted something better for their children. It was a situation where those who still wanted to have children the old fashioned way, wanted a better way of life for them.

One Sunday morning, during Pastor Parker’s sermon, a life-changing event took place. Nathan Baker came bounding into the church wide-eyed and disheveled, disrupting the Pastor’s never-ending sermon on love, family, and morality.

Samuel Baker and his wife were shocked to see their son behaving in this manner. They rushed up to him, his mother pushing back his hair, and giving him a good once over. He seemed different, even a little older. He’d only been gone a little over two months, but something had definitely changed. His face was tanned, almost sunburned. He pulled away from his parents and made his way toward his friend Ethan.

It’s there, Ethan! Nathan gasped, nearly out of breath, It’s there, just where you thought it would be.

******

In the ancient archives of the past several era’s; Ethan Parker and his friends poured over facts and history books, searching to find something they knew somehow to be true. Finally, they found it.

Back in the 1940’s, a man was working out in his field. His wife was walking toward him, bringing him his lunch. He stopped plowing and started towards her, when all of a sudden, he disappeared right in front of her. She screamed and ran forward, but never saw her husband again.

No one ever knew what happened to that man. Was this just an example of an urban legend or had this farmer stepped into a time warp or another dimension?

Ethan Parker volunteered to try and find out. He knew the approximate location of the field, but whether or not it was still there was in doubt. However, he was determined to find it with the help of his friends.

Ethan Parker, Del MacKenna, Liam Fitzgerald, Walter Davis, Calvin Keaton, Nathan Baker and Tobias Kane were recruited to begin the search; however, after three months of hardship and no leads, they returned to Bastion. All save one, Nathan Baker, who stayed behind to search further.

As Nathan walked up to the pulpit, Pastor Parker willingly stepped aside.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a way out. There is a way to recover what we’ve lost. Nathan said these words with certainty.

Nathan’s Discovery

After three consecutive wars and the effects of global warming, most of the coastlines of all the continents were gone, as well as many of the world’s islands. The war was not only nuclear, but some of the bombs that fell were engineered to mutate living organisms. Mutant, enormous reptiles and other animals had overtaken the areas of the world closest to the equator. Most humans, who were affected, died off. The human system could not survive the mutations, but a few did . . . especially the women. Only a few women within each decade developed powers.

A huge wall was built across the middle of the United States to protect the North from the South, and the large cities that had survived were also fortified. Traveling between these cities was nearly impossible.

By the year 3000, the intellect of those who had only minor mutations was amplified, making them super humans. Many of these mutants had settled in Bastion. These individuals broke away from New City and settled in this small suburb to try and change things. There, they developed amazing inventions, as well as starting SoftTech University. One of the first inventions was a force field, surrounding Bastion, so they had little fear of outsiders infiltrating their town.

Seven young men decided to make an expedition into the unknown. The site they were looking for was hundreds of miles away, in a devastated area of the country. This part of the country was off limits; no one really knew the condition of the land.

At the start of the expedition, the men were anxious and excited about what they hoped to find, but as they approached the probable sight, they discovered a barren valley, devoid of trees, with only weeds breaking through the blackened soil, along with some strange looking rocks or stones scattered over the land.

They stood transfixed, staring at the immense wasteland before them; no one was sure where to begin.

Looking toward the east they detected what they thought could have been a very large riverbed at one time.

Ethan started walking, trying to get the feel of the land. He walked back and forth, for over an hour, but could not get over the vastness of this undertaking. He set up his equipment and the men scattered to see what they could find.

While walking around the area where Ethan had set up his equipment, Nathan bent down to pick up what he perceived to be a large rock. Upon further examination, he discovered it was quite lightweight with strange markings and levels of colors, appearing almost like limestone or granite.

Hey, guys, Nathan hollered to the others, let’s pile some of these rocks in a circle to make our campfire!

Nathan, we don’t need a circle of rocks, Ethan yelled back, we have our own fire mats.

I know, but the rocks will keep the fire intact, and once the rocks are hot, it should keep us a lot warmer. We can put one of our fire mats inside, what do you say?

Sure, all right, Ethan, yelled back at him.

I need some help, Liam, come over here and help me with these rocks.

Liam was just as surprised that they were so lightweight. Together he and Nathan began stacking the rocks in a large circle.

Nathan, these are strange looking. I’m not so sure they’re even rocks, Liam said, placing the last one.

Well, they make a great looking campfire, Nathan answered, as he placed a fire mat in the center.

Okay guys, you’ve played with the rocks long enough, let’s get back to business and spread out, Ethan ordered.

First they staked out the circumference of the land, which was about five square miles. Next they divided the land into seven parts.

For two months these young men walked and took notes, as they navigated each and every mile of their designated land. They found nothing and were extremely disappointed. Finally, they decided to go home and regroup. Nathan, not wanting to give up, stayed behind. Ethan told Nathan to concentrate on the area one mile south of the center; he felt something was there.

Early one morning, as Nathan was waking with the muted sun above, he threw his solar blanket off, and when his arm fell across the rock formation, half of it disappeared. This frightened him at first, but very slowly he got up on all fours, spread the rocks apart, and crept into the warp. Feeling a little lightheaded at first, he stopped. After a few moments, he continued to crawl forward, one small inch at a time. The dizziness began to subside after he was completely through the portal. He finally sat up and saw fires and total destruction all around him. He’d found it! He’d found the time warp and it was just where Ethan thought it would be. Slowly, he got back down on all fours and backed out of the circle of rocks.

After a couple of weeks of extensive research, he realized the time warp was like an old 31-day clock. His uncle had been fascinated with ancient timepieces, and he showed Nathan how the pendulum on them worked. In very tiny increments he would wind the screw on the pendulum to get an exact second. He realized each second on the clock represented a minute in the time warp. He set the clock for an hour. He entered the warp, slowly, but stealthily, as he went back through time again.

When his dizziness subsided, he was sitting toward the right of the rocks, staring at a huge old factory. He looked up at the musty, yellow sky. The sun was lower in the sky, but seemed a little brighter than what he was used too, though it had always been covered by dense pollution. People were coming out of the factory, as a loud whistle started blaring. Nathan crawled behind the stump of a large, dead oak tree and waited until everyone was gone. As he walked closer to the factory, he saw some trash imbedded in the fence surrounding it. He soon found an old newspaper and looked at the date. It was dated July 12, 3007. He realized the month and day didn’t apply, but he was sure now that his calculations were right . . . one hour was sixty years.

Nathan knew he was taking a huge chance, but each morning when the time warp was fresh, he’d venture into it, going backwards and forwards until he could easily navigate the warp’s timeframe. Finally, he stepped through into a field, confident it was the year 1867. This campfire was the perfect compass he could use to mark the portal. He had to shade his eyes, as he’d never experienced the full strength of the sun. Although it was a cloudy day, the sunlight coming through the clouds made it hard for him to see. Taking off his shoes, he walked around the field, not wanting to leave. The fresh air, acre upon acre of beautiful grass and tree-covered mountains in the background was breathtaking. He saw flowers he’d never seen before. He heard the breeze rustle through the trees, and the sound of birds and insects. He ran and jumped, delighting in his glorious find. He then followed the sound of running water, which took him to the edge of a brook. Clean, clear water was washing over soft stones; as he stared in disbelief at the fish he could see in the water. The river was very wide in some places and narrowed to a race, journeying toward an old mill.

How can I leave this and go back to that hell? he said out loud.

He looked through the trees and saw a doe walking with her fawn, and was startled to see two squirrels jumping from branch to branch. He was a little frightened at first, as he’d never been so close to live animals before.

Nathan thought he was in heaven, as he walked around this wonderful time on earth. He soon found a dirt road, covered with wagon wheel ruts and horseshoe impressions.

He searched for something, anything, to take back with him; to prove he’d been there. And yes, he knew he had to go back. He had to share all of this with his family and friends.

In the end, he found the perfect thing . . . a wagon wheel. It was an actual handmade, wooden, wagon wheel.

Wood was a rare commodity in the year 3066. Disease, pollution, fire, and war had destroyed the great forests of the world, by the hands of mankind. This was proof, but could he bring it back to the future?

******

Nathan finished his speech, to a room of silence. His parents looked up at him, sincerely proud, but with some apprehension. The other six men sat stunned, but excited, wishing now they hadn’t left and could have enjoyed Nathan’s find with him.

So where is your proof, young man? Pastor Parker asked.

Nathan smiled, stepped down from the pulpit and walked down the aisle to the front door. He stepped out for a second and returned with the wagon wheel.

Everyone’s eyes lit up and all rushed out of their seats to touch and smell the wood. This was real wood, not fabricated or made to look like wood.

Pastor Parker took his place back behind the pulpit. He motioned for all seven young men to come forward and explain to the congregation why it was so important this time warp had been found. He already knew the reason, and his son shared all of his hopes and dreams.

All seven walked up to the front of the church and stood on the