Avalon, the series will begin “airing” in May on this blog.  Written in story form, the pilot episode will start on 5/2 and post as a Monday/Friday regular right through season 1.  Share this, call a friend, don’t miss out.

Avalon is the story of people trapped in the past and trying to get home.  They move from time zone to time zone, from one lifetime of the Kairos to the next, only hoping to have the courage to face whatever trouble they confront and only worried about what may be catching up to them.  From the beginning of history to the present, they have no one but each other to depend on – that is, for as long as they are able to trust and depend on each other. 

From the Pilot Episode:

            It was Doctor Procter who explained.

            “I spent the last three hundred years studying the lives of the Kairos.  Now that we have the opportunity to walk through those lifetimes, one by one, and in order I might add, I am not going to miss that opportunity.  Isn’t that right, Mingus?”

            Mingus shook his head and sighed, and in that moment everyone got a good look at the difference between Mingus, a full blood elf and the Doctor who was half-human.  The contrast was not startling but obvious.  No plain human could have eyes as big, features as sharp or fingers as thin and long.  “If you say,” Mingus muttered as he took the amulet and shook it once himself.

            “What says the Navy?”  Lockhart turned to look at the two who were armed and bringing up the rear.

            “I’m to follow orders,” Captain Decker frowned. 

            Lieutenant Harper smiled.  “I would not mind exploring a little while we have the chance.”

            “Besides,” Roland spoke up while Lockhart faced front again and encouraged everyone to resume walking.  “I have a feeling the Kairos would not mind if we rooted out some of the unsavory characters that wandered into the time zones without permission.” 

            “Oh, that would be very dangerous.”  Alexis said it before Lincoln could, and she grinned for her husband. 

            “All the same—“  Roland did not finish his sentence.  He fell back to walk beside Lockhart to underline his sentiments to the man. 

            “Hey.”  Boston came up.  She had been straggling near the back. 

            “Boston, dear.”  Lockhart backed away from the elf and slipped his arm around the young woman.  “So what do you think?  Do we run as fast as we can or explore a bit and maybe confront some unsavories along the way?” 

            “Explore and help the Kairos clean out the time zones.  I thought that was obvious.”

            “Well for the record,” Mingus said as he turned and walked backwards.  “Though it may kill me to say it, I agree with that Lincoln fellow.” 

            “I haven’t offered an opinion,” Lincoln said. 

            “No, but I can read the mind of a frightened rabbit well enough.”  

            “Father!”  Alexis jumped and there was some scolding in her voice.  “I vote we explore and help.”  She looked at Lockhart, and so did everyone else except the Doctor who was still playing with his amulet. 

            Lockhart nodded.  “Okay,” he said.  “But the number one priority is to get everyone home alive and in one piece, so when it is time to move on, we all move, no arguments.” 

            “You got that right,” Captain Decker mumbled. 

            Everyone seemed fine with that except Mingus who screwed up his face and asked, “And who decides when it is time to move on?” 

            “I do.”  Lockhart spoke without flinching.  The two stared at each other until Doctor Procter interrupted.

            “Anyway,” he said as if in the middle of a sentence.  “I would not worry about hunting unsavories.  I don’t imagine it will take long before they start hunting us.”

CAST 

Robert Lockhart, a former policeman is charged with leading this expedition through time and has no idea how he is going to get everyone home — alive.

Boston, a Massachusetts redneck, rodeo rider and technological genius who finished her PhD at age 23.  She is in love with all of the adventure,  and the spiritual creatures they encounter, all of which suggests she is a little strange.

Benjamin Lincoln, a former C. I. A. office geek keeps the database and a record of their journey.  He tends to worry and is not the bravest soul, but sometimes that is an asset. 

Alexis Lincoln, an elf who became human to marry Benjamin.  She retained her magic when she became human, but sometimes magic has its limits.  For example, it can’t make her father happy with her choices.

Mingus, father of Alexis, an elder elf who ran the history department in Avalon for over 300 years.  He knows the time zones and the lives of the Kairos but tends to keep his opinions to himself.  And he believes his children are being ruined by so much human interaction.

Roland, Alexis’ younger brother, a full blood elf and gifted hunter came to keep Mingus under control and out of his sister’s face.  He discovers there is something in humanity worth saving and protecting.  He knows many of the creatures in the spirit world, including the nasty ones inclined to rise up out of the dark.

Doctor Procter, half-elf, half-human.  He is Mingus’ associate in the history department and carries the amulet, a sophisticated electronic GPS and magical device that leads the way from one time gate to the next.

Lieutenant Katie Harper, a marine whose specialty is ancient and medieval cultures and technologies.  She is torn between her duty to the marines and her desire to be part of this larger universe she is discovering.

Captain Decker, navy seal and special operations officer who will do all he can to keep everyone alive, even if it means shooting his way back to the twenty-first century.  He is a skeptic who does not believe the half of what they experience – even if he does not know what else to believe.

            “Ethan.”  Jillian shouted, but the screens went up in time.  She ran to the console to stand beside him and Fyodor took a step back.  “It’s near the limit, but holding.”

            “Shall I return fire?”  Ethan asked.

            “The other Vordan ship is trying to join the party.  It looks like missiles,” Lockhart shouted.  There was a different view screen which clearly showed the other ship and he wheeled himself over for a better look.  Boston went with him and Fyodor came to join him, but Glen stayed where he was.  He was enjoying the undisturbed view of the stars, and watching a small asteroid cross his vision from left to right.

            “Ethan, I’m so sorry,” Jillian apologized.  “I thought keeping the screens down would show we mean no hostile intent.”  Ethan said nothing.  He simply returned fire.

            “There,” Fyodor said.  He pointed to a corner of the view screen.  “Another shimmering light.”

            “Where?  Oh, I see it.”  Boston was excited.

            “Diana!”  Jillian scolded her sister, though Diana never could have heard.  A simple blue-white beam came from Diana’s doorway and all of the missiles were easily picked off.  Then a different sort of orange beam covered the Vordan ship, slowly penetrated whatever screens that ship had and shut down all but essential systems.

            The Vordan battleship noticed from the other dimension, but by the time it trained a gun on Diana’s ship, she had vanished again.

            “Diana plugged her power source into the main battle console.  The Gaian weapon increased.  The Vordan weapon flickered a few times before it steadied again.  Then two things happened at once.

            Yet another ship, this one only about the size of the stealth bomber appeared between the two combatants and their most powerful weapons hit a wall of force they could not penetrate.  As long as that little ship was between them, they could not get at each other.  To his credit, Ethan was the first to quit firing.  The Vordan ship quit a few seconds later.  What was the point of continuing?

            At the same time, a Vordan appeared in the Gaian control room, but oddly, he had his back to them all and stood beside Glen to look out at the stars.

            “We could fight and settle this,” the Vordan suggested.

            Glen looked up at the tall, well made creature.  “No way.  You would kick my butt from here to Andromeda.”

            The Vordan laughed.  “You Earthers are fun.  I don’t know why my people can’t see that.”  They paused then while some more people appeared in the control room.  There were several ordinary enough looking Vordan and Lockhart turned his wheelchair to face them.  There were also two more perfect specimens and Jillian and Ethan went to confront them.  Then there were two of the elders who evidentially used some impossible sort of matter transmition device to bring all these people together.

            “Your people don’t belong here,” Ethan spoke first and stated the obvious.  He was not the most diplomatic sort.

            “What are you going to do about it?”  One of the Vordan shot back.

            “What are you going to do about it?”  Melanie followed the lead of her brother even as Jillian tried to calm Ethan.

            “We are not your cyborgs.”  Lockhart spoke to his Vordan having paid close attention to what went on earlier.

            “I can see that.”  The Vordan took a good look at the wheelchair.

            “Our Earth is not your enemy,”  Fyodor added.

            Boston shouted and garnered everyone’s attention.  “A Gott-Druk and an Elenar, together.”  By that she meant the elders who were Neanderthal and Cro-Mangon.  When everyone paused to stare at her, she responded quietly.  “I read the briefings.”

            “Children.”  The Vordan beside Glen spoke and the two turned back to look at the stars.  “I see you have a Zalanid negotiating the peace on earth.”

            “Peace on earth,” Glen sighed.  “Kargill planet.”

            The Vordan nodded.  “I dread the days when the Reichgo come and ruin my people.  But I look forward to when Vordan and Earthers form a true bond of peace.”

            “Peace is better than war,” Glen said.  “No one wins in war.”

            The Vordan paused and looked at Glen.  “Perhaps someday we may debate this.”

            Glen let the suggestion pass.  “I am sorry you have no elders to represent the Vordan side.”

            “Elder races are elder races, regardless.  And these are even elder than Reichgo and Kargill.”

            “True, but they had origin on Earth.  Earth is a Genesis planet.”

            The Vordan nodded and turned once again to the stars.  “My genesis was on the Pendratti home world.”  Glen understood.  The Pendratti were extinct, but the Vordan were among the species that began there.  This Vordan might have always lived as a Vordan, but he might have had a few lifetimes as a Pendratti at first.  Who could tell?

            “So what do you think will happen?”  Glen asked.  He glanced back at the negotiations but did not really eavesdrop.

            “I am confident.  My Pendrag are like your Gaian.  They are ultimately committed to making sure each universe works out its own destiny.”

            “Yes, it is good to have that help with history.  Dimensional interlopers would just be one more thing to worry about.”

            The Vordan nodded.  “I like that word, history.  But we speak of destiny.  You must understand the destiny of the past to understand your place, and you must understand your place to meet your destiny in the future.  It is what you call a rhyming couplet.  A wise word.”

            Glen nodded.  “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

            The Vordan nodded as Glen began to cough.  “Would you like me to heal you?”  Glen shook his head as he coughed up a bit of phlegm and fed it to a tissue he had in his shirt pocket.

            “I haven’t even been to a doctor yet.  Besides, who knows but it may be my time.”

            The Vordan nodded in human fashion before he shook his head.  “I hate that part,” he said.

            “Me, too,”  Glen agreed,  and the Vordan vanished from the room.  When Glen turned around, he saw that all of the Vordan were gone.  “All good?”

            Jillian nodded.  “They will take their people here home and admonish them not to try something this stupid again.  It turns out they are very unhappy with that world because they keep trying to sneak technology to their more backward cousins in other universes.  I assured them we were cleaning up the cyborg mess, and that was that.”

            “We will be taking your local Vordan home,” Ethan added.

            “Will you drag them?”  Fyodor asked.  “I cannot imagine they are built to take faster than light speed, though I suppose you will protect them with a screen of some kind.”

            Ethan shook his head.  “We will just stick them in docking bay two.  There will be plenty of room and to spare.  An hour and twenty minutes later, we will drop them off.  End of story.”

            “Wait.”  Glen shouted.  “You can’t end the story with that.  I’m still missing someone.”  The Vordan reappeared with a man, gray hair and glasses all discombobulated.

            “I believe this is yours,” the Vordan said.  “Live well and die well,” and he vanished again.

            “Go with God,” Glen said.

            “Lincoln!”  Lockhart, Fyodor and Boston all shouted.

            Lincoln straightened his glasses and pulled out the pen and notepad for which he was famous.  “Now where am I?”  He asked before he recognized the others.  “Is Alexis here?”

            Glen shook his head.  “Sorry.  Home Jillian if you don’t mind.  It seems we have to go in search of a wife.  So one story ends and another begins.”

Avalon, the series will begin “airing” in May on this blog.  Written in story form, the pilot episode will start on 5/2 and post as a Monday/Friday regular right through season 1.  Share this, call a friend, don’t miss out.

Avalon is a story about people thrown back to the beginning of history whose only way home is through time gates and across the time zones which are mysteriously tied to life after life of the Kairos, the Watcher over History.  Unfortunately, the Kairos cannot send them home quicker, nor prepare them for what they might face when they step into the future, nor really protect them from what may be following them.  Apparently, they are not the only ones traveling through the time gates….

CAST

Robert Lockhart, a former policeman is charged with leading this expedition through time and has no idea how he is going to get everyone home — alive.

Boston, a Massachusetts redneck, rodeo rider and technological genius who finished her PhD at age 23.  She is in love with all of the adventure,  and the spiritual creatures they encounter, all of which suggests she is a little strange.

Benjamin Lincoln, a former C. I. A. office geek keeps the database and a record of their journey.  He tends to worry and is not the bravest soul, but sometimes that is an asset. 

Alexis Lincoln, an elf who became human to marry Benjamin.  She retained her magic when she became human, but sometimes magic has its limits.  It can’t make her father be happy with her choices.

Mingus, father of Alexis, an elder elf who ran the history department in Avalon for over 300 years.  He knows the time zones and the lives of the Kairos but tends to keep his opinions to himself.  And he believes his children are being ruined by so much human interaction.

Roland, Alexis’ younger brother, a full blood elf and gifted hunter came to keep Mingus under control and out of his sister’s face.  He discovers there is something in humanity worth saving and protecting.  He knows many of the creatures in the spirit world, including the nasty ones inclined to rise up out of the dark.

Doctor Procter, half-elf, half-human.  He is Mingus’ associate in the history department and carries the amulet, a sophisticated electronic GPS and magical device that leads the way from one time gate to the next.

Lieutenant Katie Harper, a marine whose specialty is ancient and medieval cultures and technologies.  She is torn between her duty to the marines and her desire to be part of this larger universe she is discovering.

Captain Decker, navy seal and special operations officer who will do all he can to keep everyone alive, even if it means shooting his way back to the twenty-first century.  He is a skeptic who does not believe the half of what they experience – even if he does not know what else to believe.

From the Pilot Episode

“I could fetch Mingus easily enough through the Heart, but Alexis is human.  I have no such power over her and I would not dare leave her alone in history.”  Alice paused to collect her thoughts before she spoke again.  “As I said, each time zone centers around a life I once lived.  But I stand at the center of each time zone and the center moves with me.  If they came to the center I could do something, but as long as Mingus skirts around the edges and moves from zone to zone, I can do nothing.”…….

…….     “Your pardon.”  Lockhart spoke up again.  “But why are you afraid to leave her alone in history?”  His instincts were  acting up again.

Alice looked at the man but she could say nothing less than the truth.  “Because most of my lives are surrounded by danger.  And if you die in the past, you will remain dead forever.  And then there is this.”  Alice swallowed.  “Several years ago, though Ashtoreth was defeated as I said, she sent ghouls and bogeys, terrible giants and dragons and things too terrible to name into the zones.  There are still some unsavories there that have evaded my reach.  Presently, the time zones are not a safe place to be.”

          Boston looked miffed.  “That was not much of a story,” she said.  “I mean there’s not much suspense when almighty you steps in and just fixes everything.  I was expecting werewolves and not being able to sleep nights and you just took them home.”

            “Hey.  It is real life.  What did you expect?”

            “I don’t know.  Fight scenes.  Tension.  Falling in love.  The odds are against you, but pow-pow, somehow you come out victorious.” 

            “Hollywood.”  Glen shrugged and looked at Lockhart.  The man was thinking too hard. 

            “I mean, you’ve told two wolf stories now and neither one was a true werewolf,” Boston went on.  “I assume there is such a thing.” 

            Glen nodded.  “What do you think, Lockhart.”

            Lockhart looked up.  “I take it that other earth was not one of the ones you were talking about earlier.” 

            “Very good.”  Glen smiled.  “The other earth was not time created, it was universe created.  I suppose we might call it a physics universe.  The thing is, it is one real close to our own.  All the laws of physics remain true there but with one addition.” 

            “Magic.”  Boston blurted out the word, took a seat next to Lockhart and picked at her short red hair.   

            “For want of a better word.”  Glen nodded again.  “Most people there are perfectly normal, but a few can tap into – whatever it is.  They form the nobility and rule there.  They say the magic is transmitted by the blood.  You and I might say it is genetic.” 

            Boston interrupted.  “But you told stories about magic here, on our earth.” 

            “Yes.”  Glen stood and walked to a window though there was nothing to see at the moment except clouds.  “Our earth and the other earth phase in and out of conjunction like the moon has phases.  The whole cycle takes about six hundred years.  They went out of phase, got below the half-moon part about 1600, maybe.  They stagnated over there and are still living a kind of upper medieval life.” 

            “So they phased back in around 1900.”  Bill was the one who spoke up from the work table.  He was supposed to be working, not listening, but Farquanded was clearly listening, as well.   

            Glen nodded once more.  “The thing is, there is leakage between the worlds when they are in close phase.  Some people in our world discover they can do magic.  What is more, magic can open a door between the worlds when they are in conjunction and people can move from one earth to the other.” 

            “Operation Broken Empire,” Lockhart showed he understood. 

            “What’s that?”  Boston asked. 

            “Never mind.”  Lockhart and Glen spoke together before Glen continued. 

            “The thing is, I like the idea of being able to just send everyone home.  Unfortunately, our situation is a little more complicated than that.  And it got even more complicated if the letter I got is correct.” 

            “Yes, what did that letter say?”  Lockhart asked.  This time Glen spoke alone. 

            “Never mind.  You will see for yourself.”  With that, Glen concentrated on the clouds until they set down in an isolated field far from the traffic and parking lots that were New Jersey. 

            There was a lone woman in the field.  She looked to be about Boston’s age which was early to mid twenties.  Boston was surprised when Glen said Melanie was over forty.  She was not surprised when the plane set down and Glen hugged the woman.  Boston suspected that hugs were natural for Glen, but she also suspected that hugs were as close as he ever got. 

            “Jilian?”  Glen asked.  Melanie said nothing.  She turned and pointed to a slight shimmering in the air, but her eyes were on Lockhart in the wheelchair.  She spoke when Fyodor came up to join them, having finished his instructions to Bill and Farquanded about the care and maintenance of the ship. 

            “I don’t know.  Spinal injuries are very difficult and draining.  I’m not sure I can help, or anyway it would take a long time for me to develop the chits.” 

            Lockhart smiled for her.  “No worry.  I didn’t come here to be healed.  I just came to make sure my earth has a fair chance to survive.” 

            “What we all want.  This is my earth, too.”  Melanie nodded. 

            The shimmering in the distance changed shape and took on some substance, imitating that familiar blue box that was Glen’s favorite television show.   

            “Hey!”  Boston shouted in recognition of the box. 

            Glen stepped up, but paused in the doorway.  “Sadly, time travel doesn’t work that way,”  He went inside. 

            As expected, the inside was much bigger than the outside.  The control room was large enough to hold a hundred people or more, comfortably.  There were two present at the moment. 

            “My Lord, Kairos.”  The Woman lowered her eyes and offered a little curtsey. 

            “Jillian.”  Glen rolled his eyes in response and shook the man’s hand.  “Ethan, where’s Manomar and the Kids?”  Glen pause.  “You do have kids.” 

            Jillian grinned shyly and looked at Ethan.  “Two,” she said.  “They are with Diana, my sister.  She has taken them on an excursion into the worlds.”  

            Glen looked curious so Melanie explained.  “Diana has her cruiser permanently parked in the first docking bay of the battleship, so they are not really far away.”

            “Still, better to keep them out of this.”  Ethan added. 

            “Yes.”  Glen agreed.  “And better than Disney World, I bet.”  They all smiled while Glen introduced his friends. 

            “Lockhart is Assistant Director for the Men in Black.  Boston is the one who pushes him around.”  He paused.  “Take that as you will.  Fyodor is my pilot.” 

            “And I have never even imagined anything like this.”  Fyodor said as he looked around at the incomprehensible control room. 

            “Let me show you,” Ethan said as he took the Russian to the main console.  Glen walked to a view screen with Jillian beside him and Melanie right behind. 

            “So, tell me.”  That was all Glen had to say and Jillian opened up. 

            “The Vordan in the belt are from a universe we are familiar with.  They fought a war there with the people from earth, and were fought to a standstill.  The humans made cyborg regiments.  When the war was over, some of the cyborg groups escaped into the worlds using stolen Vordan technology rather than be taken apart.  It is a mess trying to clean it all up.” 

            “And these?” 

            “These are Vordan from that same universe and they obviously bear a grudge against the Earth.  They thought they could hide themselves and use their local “cousins” as they call them to do the actual damage to the earth.  They found out about you and tried to eliminate you, but you must have frustrated them terribly.” 

            “And now?” 

            “Well, if it was just these Vordan it would be a simple thing to take them back to their own world and put the fear of God in them, so to speak, but now I don’t know.”  Jillian paused to look out the view screen as Lockhart an Boston came up alongside.  “Now a ship has arrived like our own battleship.  Perhaps not as big, but maybe as powerful, and they appear to have developed worlds technology sufficiently to where, like us, they only show a door in this universe while they hide their true ship in another universe altogether.” 

            “An equal and competitor?” 

            Jillian hedged.  “They are Vordan, I think, and I do not know if they approve of what their cousins from the Cyborg universe are doing or not.  So far they haven’t responded to any of our calls.” 

            “Now I understand why the ones on earth are a lesser concern,” Lockhart said.  “Look at the size of that ship.  It could hold three Queen Marys.”  He looked up at Jillian.  “But I am sure we will get it all worked out.” 

            “What a sweet man.”  Jillian lost the worried look and smiled. 

            “So do we get a story while we travel to the Asteroid belt?”  Boston asked. 

            “No,” Glen shook his head.  “Already there.” 

            “Not quite, now we are.”  Jillian said. 

            “Screens up?”  Glen asked over his shoulder.  Jillian started to shake her head, but Ethan heard and touched a button even as a destructive power beam from the other hidden ship zeroed in on their position.

Avalon, the series will begin “airing” in May on this blog.  Written in story form, the pilot episode will start on 5/2 and post as a Monday/Friday regular right through season 1.  Share this, call a friend, don’t miss out.

Avalon

Where you go in life can depend on who you know.  Benjamin Lincoln and his friends went all the way back to 4500 BC and the beginning of history to save his wife.  She had been kidnapped by her father, an elder elf who hated the fact that she became human to marry a human, worried to see her age and feared he was going to lose her before her time.  He dragged her through a series of time gates to the very beginning of the human record in order to hide her from the ravages of time.  

Unfortunately, the price of saving her was watching the one who made the rescue possible – the Kairos, the Watcher over History – jump into the primeval chaos before history began.  Now, the Kairos can’t easily whisk them home as planned.  They have to get back to the twenty-first century the hard way, time gate by time gate.  They must move through history from one lifetime of the Kairos to the next and that is not so easy.  For one, the lives of the Kairos tend to be surrounded by trouble and danger.  For two, there is nowhere to hide – others have picked up their scent and it seems they are not the only ones using the time gates. 

CAST

Robert Lockhart, former policeman and current Associate Director of the so-called Men in Black.  He is charged with leading this expedition and has no idea how he is going to get everyone home — alive.

Mary Riley who everyone calls Boston, a technological genius, redneck and newcomer to the MIB group.  She keeps an eye on Lockhart who has low tolerance for elves, fairies and other spiritual creatures.  By contrast, she is in love with all of this stuff, and the adventure, which just means she is a little weird.

Benjamin Lincoln, former C. I. A. and fellow member of the Men in Black, records department.  He keeps the database and keeps the record of their journey.  He tends to worry and is not the bravest soul, but sometimes that is an asset. 

Alexis Lincoln, former elf and also employed by the MIB organization.  She retained her magic when she became human and is especially skilled at healing magic, though some of the trauma they face might not be so easily healed.

Roland, Alexis’ younger brother, a full blood elf and gifted hunter who came to keep their father under control and out of his sister’s face.  He never spent much time with humans but finds there is something in humanity worth saving and protecting.  On the other hand, he knows many of the creatures in the spirit world, including the nasty ones inclined to rise up out of the dark.

Mingus, father of Alexis and Roland, an elder elf who ran the history department in Avalon for over 300 years.  He knows the time zones but tends to keep his opinions to himself.  And he is not happy to think his children are being ruined by so much human interaction.

Doctor Procter, half-elf, half-human.  He is Mingus’ associate in the history department and carries the amulet that leads the way from one time gate to the next.

Lieutenant Katie Harper, a marine whose specialty is ancient and medieval cultures and technologies.  She was drafted at the last minute when the Kairos suspected they might not be returned to the future as easily as he brought them into the past.  She is torn between her duty to the marines of area 51 and her desire to be part of this larger universe she is discovering. 

Captain Decker, navy seal and special operations officer who will do all he can to keep everyone alive, even if it means shooting his way back to the twenty-first century.  To be sure, he is a skeptic who sometimes does not believe the half of what they experience.  Then again, sometimes he does not know what to believe.

            Once on the school lawn, the policeman did not find the minister he expected.  Instead, he found a young woman who was probably too old to be a senior in the high school.  She might have been one of the young teachers except she was wearing the strangest outfit.  It was all chain mail and leather and the sword and knife at her back looked a bit too real for a costume.

            “What are you doing?”  The policeman asked.  He considered asking who are you?  He also considered saying run for your life; but he settled on what are you doing?  She was kneeling, looking at the grass.

            “Hush.”  The woman spoke sharply before she looked up and softened her tone.  “Charley.  I’m tracking the beast.  Hunting and tracking is what Princesses do best,” the Princess said.  She stood.  “This way.”

            “Wait a minute.”  Charley stopped her before she took a step.  “This is dangerous work.  I can’t risk a civilian.”

            The Princess just smiled and held out her hand.  “You lead the way.”

            Charley looked at her.  He looked at the ground, let his eyes wander into the dark, looked at the ground again and back at her.  “Which way?”

            The Princess smiled a bit more and took the man’s free hand.  Of course, Charley was not about to let the gun out of his other hand. 

###

            “I don’t get it,” the Princess whispered.  “We found where it climbed the tree and scooted out on that long branch to drop to the ground some distance from the tree.”

            “A good way to avoid visual pursuit,” Charley countered.

            “Then we found when it hit the school driveway and turned up the driveway because asphalt doesn’t show claw prints.”

            “So the wolf is clever.”

            “But that is what I don’t get.  Werewolves are not clever.  They are insane killing machines, people driven mad by the transformation.”

            “How do you know?”  The Princess just stared at the man until he spoke again.  “Well, I’ve hunted all my life but I never could have tracked the beast in the dark.  How did you figure it jumped the hedge from the driveway?”

            “Only way to disguise it’s exit from the asphalt without showing which way it went.”  She pointed to the claw marks in the mud where the beast landed.  “There is something different going on here,” she said, and she pulled her sword with her left hand and her long knife with her right.

            “Southpaw?”

            “Hush.”

            They walked forward toward the woods, but when they were still a few feet off, the Princess halted them.  Something struck her and she spoke at some volume, and just one word.

            “Amuna.”  She thought to add a note of assurance.  “You can come out.  We won’t hurt you.”

            They heard the growl of warning before they saw the wolf.  It was not the same one that attacked the men from the porch, but only Glen knew that and the Princess said nothing about it because she was no longer there.  Junior had taken her place in the dark, but since he was dressed in the same armor as the Princess, an outfit that adjusted automatically to this new person, Charley did not notice at first.

            When the wolf poked its head out from the trees, Charley lifted his gun hand.  He  panicked when he realized the gun was no longer there.  The wolf snarled and drooled altogether too much for him.

            “Amuna,” Junior called, and Charley turned his head for a second in surprise at the male voice while Junior fell to one knee.  Suddenly there was some light in that part of the forest.  The male, half-changed back into a man was leaning up against a tree.  The wound in his shoulder appeared to be healing rapidly, but he was still weak.  The female had not moved a step since they first saw her head, and it looked like, for some reason, she could not move.  Charley could see her struggling, but to no avail.

            “Amuna.”  Junior called again.  “My name is Amun, just like yours.”  The little wolf came out from behind her mother.  As small as she was, she looked vicious, but sort of cute at the same time.  Mother wolf struggled, but could not break whatever had her stuck to the ground. 

            Father wolf was still too weak to interfere.  As the little wolf came toward the man’s arms, though, she transformed back into a little girl.  The male and female transformed as well and they all became clothed as they changed.  Junior thought that was best.

            “Hello,” the little girl said as Junior picked her up.  She spoke in a language so strange, apart from reading her mind, Junior himself had to pause for a second to grasp the word.  When he did, he responded in the same language with a nod to the police officer so Charley would hear it all in English.

            “Tell me.”  That was all Junior had to say as he handed the girl back to her mother.  The man came forward, all healed, and fell to his knees.

            “I was body servant to Count Ruthen-Bai and as such, my wife and child were able to travel with the camp followers whenever the army moved out.  When the Duke and his Princess escaped my master by going into another world, this world, the Count insisted I follow and kill him.  I refused.”  The man looked down as Junior nodded and the woman picked up the story.

            “The Count sent soldiers after the Duke, but he was angry.  He fetched us from the camp, cursed us with the wolf disease and forced us into this place.  We have wandered now these few months and four times when the moon has turned full for three nights we become as you have seen us.”

            The man interrupted.  “We tried not to hurt anyone.  Please believe me.  But the wolf is so strong and the hunger so great.”  He began to weep and the little girl reached out from her mother’s arms to include him in her hug.

            “So let the curse be ended,” Junior said, knowing full well they were telling the truth.  He turned to the policeman.  “I need to take them home, back to their own world.”

            “But, murder?”  Charley did not know what else to say.

            “No, I don’t think so.  I think it was a pack of wild dogs, and they have all been caught now and put down.”  As soon as Junior said that, everyone thought that, except Missus Patterson who was looking forward to getting out of the hospital.  He let her remember, but she never said anything as long as she lived.

            At that moment, Junior disappeared with the young family.  He found a big, black wild dog that had just died somewhere in the Andes, inserted the policeman’s bullet and laid it at Charley’s feet.  Ten seconds later, Glen came running up from behind the policeman.

            “Sorry,” Glen apologized.  I got lost in the dark.

            “Forget it.  It’s all over.”  Charlie pointed his gun at the dog.  He looked at Glen and scoffed.  “Werewolf!”  Glen shrugged, sheepishly, and within an hour he wondered what on this Earth possessed him to even suggest such a thing in the first place.

            Glen got up extra early on Sunday morning.  It was not his habit, he just could not sleep.  It was five, the sun would be up in an hour, and he imagined a walk in the chill morning air might do him some good.  Walking, and exercise in general was not his habit, either, but it would give him time to think and pray through the Sunday service.

            Rosemont was an odd street.  It was four blocks long and paralleled main street, but it was several blocks back in a corner of the town where no one would go unless they were headed for the Evangeline school.  As such, it was nearly always quiet of traffic and a good place to walk.  In fact,  there were a couple of joggers down the way already.

            Glen pulled up his collar against the cold and looked up at the sky.  He heard the sirens in the distance, but ignored them.  He preferred to concentrate on the brilliant stars in the perfectly clear sky and the moon, which was low in the sky but had to be full.  Glen supposed it was technically Sunday.  Linton said the moon would be full on Sunday.

            Glen paused.  He considered stepping off the road and on to the school lawn to get a better look at the stars away from the street lights.  His foot was ready when he heard the scream in the distance.  Some dog began to bark, violently.  It was not a friendly sound.

            Glen ran and the sirens got closer as well.  When he arrived at that spot, there was a man comforting Mable Johnson, one of the sweet old ladies from Lewiston who was out walking her dog.  The dog had quieted but was clearly agitated by something.  Glen wanted to look.

            “Don’t go down there.”  The man turned from Mable long enough to offer his opinion.  Glen nodded, but as the police car arrived, Glen went down there anyway.  There were body pieces strewn across the lawn.  Glen saw a man’s head and upper torso, the eyes dead and staring.  He only saw the girl’s head, severed at the neck.  Some of the body pieces looked chewed.  Glen had to look away.

            Two policemen came down the grassy embankment into the ditch where the devastation had taken place.  One had his gun drawn.  Fortunately, Linton came down the other side from the hill on which the school stood.

            “Joe.  Charley.”  Linton acknowledged the policemen as he came up beside Glen.  He otherwise seemed at a loss for words.

            “What happened here?”  One of the policemen swore.

            “Reverend?”  Linton identified Glen for the policemen.  Glen wanted to speak, but his mouth was too dry at the moment.

            “Go home, Mabel.  You, too Mister Thompson.”  The other policeman spoke to the two on the edge of the road.  There were more sirens coming.

            “Linton, can I speak with you?”  The first officer tried to pry Linton from Glen’s side, and Linton was willing to go, but Glen grabbed Linton’s arm to stop him.

            “Werewolf.”  Glen said loud enough to be heard by both men.  He had seen these signs before, though he could not say when.

            The policeman scoffed and continued to try and get Linton off to the side, but Linton paused.

            “You’re serious.”  He looked squarely at Glen.

            Glen nodded.  “I have seen this before,” he said, and he stole another look at the moon.  “Tomorrow night will be the last night for this cycle and I am sure whoever it is will move on.”

            The policeman was not buying it at all, and it was clear Linton did not really believe it either.  But there was something in Glen’s eyes, and Linton knew, though he had not known Glen for very long, that Glen was not a liar.

            “You must be mistaken,” Linton said.

            Glen just stared.  “Werewolf,” he repeated now that both policemen were able to hear and more were about to arrive.  “When you analyze the hair you find, you will find wolf hair.”  The policemen looked at each other but said nothing.  “I will think about what I can do.  Meanwhile, somehow I have to preach in a few hours.  Come to church, I think we could all use a little prayer.”  Glen turned away without another look at that horror.  He climbed out of the ditch, headed for home and tried hard to think about his sermon.

###

            Glen could not sleep at all on Sunday night.  He got up around four-thirty and made coffee, but it did not help settle his nerves.  He decided his only recourse was to return to the site of last night’s horror, though he was sure it was all cleaned up.  That poor young girl from the school, and her boyfriend.  At least he hoped and prayed it was cleaned up.

            Glen was not far down the street when an odd thing caught his eye.  There was a table out under the streetlight and something on the table, though he had no idea what.  He had to get closer to see the biggest steak he had ever seen, raw, but laid out like supper.  His eyes shot to the house and the front porch.  It was Leon’s house.

            “What are you doing?”  He shouted, started toward the porch and barely avoided calling them Bozos.  There were three men in the shadows and Glen had no doubt the shotguns were not far away.

            “Wolf hunting,” Harry said.  He sounded a bit embarrassed.  He was a college educated writer and editor, but despite his years in New York, he never completely got the small, southern town redneck out of his system.

            “Ted and Tommy gave up and went home a couple of hours ago,”  Bobby said.

            Glen shook his head and was about to say something when he heard a growl behind him, close enough to echo in his ear.  He shouted instead and ran for the porch even as the three Bozos shouted and came running down the lawn.  Bobby was the only one who remembered to pick up his gun.

            Glen saw the wolf look at the steak and then the men.  Apparently it knew something about guns because it made a dash for Bobby and knocked him down, effectively knocking the gun from his hand.

            ‘Hey!  Yo!”  Leon and Harry jumped and shouted to get the beast’s attention, and Harry kicked out with his booted foot.  That was a good thing because the wolf turned its head to snap at the boot and that probably saved Bobby from having his throat torn out.  Glen just stood, frozen, watching, when there was a loud crack! from down the street.  The wolf howled, leapt from its prey, grabbed the steak and without stopping, bounded on to the Evangeline school front lawn to be swallowed by the dark.

            “Charley.”  Harry identified the policeman that jogged up the street even as Glen broke free of his frozen state.

            “Harry, take care of Bobby,” Glen shouted.  Bobby was bleeding in a number of places.  “Leon, go inside and call the ambulance.”  Glen turned back to the street.

            “Where are you going?”  Harry asked.

            “Hey!  Don’t follow that thing!”  Charley yelled from up the way, but he was not close enough to stop Glen, and in a moment, Glen disappeared in the dark just like the wolf.

            Glen had been to every house on the street, beginning with his own, to offer what comfort and reassurance he could.  Missus Patterson was in the hospital.  The newspaper said it was a local man who came to clean her gutters and pushed his way into the house.  Curiously, all he stole was the meat from her freezer and a big ham she had purchased for a church supper.  She ended up in the hospital and the police said they had no leads.

            Of course, the community rumors were rampant.  Most said it was one of the young African American males from Lewiston, the old name for the black side of town, but that was unconfirmed.  There were also rumors of dog hair in the house and Missus Paterson was well known for being allergic to dogs.  Linton would know.  That’s what Glen thought.  Linton served for years as part time clerk at the court.  He knew all the police by first name.

            The door chimes rang as he entered the shop and Linton looked up, but at the moment he was helping Missus Wilson with some hardware.  His was a true old time, small town south-side Virginia Western Auto and True Value with a high ceiling and dusty wooden shelves.  There were still some toys on the wall, though it was spring and well after Christmas.

            “Linton.  Maude.”  Glen acknowledged his church members but then backed up to let them conclude their business.  There was a young woman with a three-year-old on her hip by the toy shelf.  They stared at the big doll, and the little one reached for it before she turned and caught sight of Glen.  Glen smiled, and the three-year-old shyly turned into her mother’s shoulder, but the smile could not be hidden.

            “Hello.  Do you have a name?”  He asked the little girl and the woman turned.  Though a newcomer himself, Glen felt certain he had not seen them in town before.   He thought they might have been African American at first, and then thought perhaps they were Mexican migrants, but when he got close he adjusted his thinking.

            “Amuna.”  The mother spoke for the little girl.

            “My name is Glen.”  Amuna, he thought.  Amun perhaps.  They might have been Egyptian or maybe Sudanese.  If they were Arabic, they were from the dark side of the color scale.  “I pastor the big church just down the way on main street.  You are welcome to visit us if you are around tomorrow morning.”  He smiled again, but the woman did not look like she understood everything he said.  The little one understood the smile well enough and reached out a hand to touch Glen’s beard.  Glen pulled a small cross out of his pocket and showed it while he pointed down the street.  The woman’s eyes got big.  She actually curtsied before she shot for the door.

            “Migrant?”  Linton came up.

            “No, I don’t think so,” Glen responded thoughtfully.

            “Well, it wouldn’t surprise me.  Almost a full moon.  Sunday—tomorrow I think.  You know, every time we get a full moon, the migrants all come in to send Western Union money orders back home.”

            “Huh.”  Glen was half-listening and had to shake himself to pay attention.  “So tell me about Missus Paterson.  I’ve been up and down Rosemont.”  That was the street both he and Missus Paterson lived on.  “I’ve heard all the rumors but no one has seen anything unusual.”

            “Evangeline Hall?”  That was the all girls private boarding high school that took up most of the other side of Rosemont Street.  It was up on the top of the hill after a long stretch of manicured lawn and trees so it was hard to see from the street.

            “I haven’t been there, but I talked to Doctor Richards and he said there was nothing out of the ordinary up there.”  Doctor Richards was the retired Episcopal Priest who taught some at the school and served as chaplain for the girls.

            Linton turned to look out the door to the sidewalk and main street which was ready to curl up at five o’clock.  It seemed like he was not sure what to say.

            “I’ve heard all the rumors, but I can’t imagine anyone from Lewiston doing something like that,” Glen continued.

            “Maybe it was someone from Danville or Lynchburg,” Linton suggested.  Glen imagined that might be the case.

            “By the way, it wasn’t dog hair,” Linton said suddenly.  “Jonny Thompson over at the police desk said when the report came back it was wolf hair.”

            “What?”

            Linton nodded even as Glen put two and two together.

            “Wolf hair?  Full moon?  Come on, this is the wrong time of the year for Halloween.”

            “I know, there hasn’t been a wolf sighting in Virginia in a hundred years.”

            “I’m not even sure if there are any left in the lower forty-eight,” Glen scoffed.

            Glen and Linton stood and watched the sun start to set.  It was indeed a small southern town.

            “Shouldn’t you be home working on your sermon for tomorrow?”  Linton asked.

            “I suppose,” Glen said.  “Time to close?”

            “I suppose.”

            The instant Nameless vanished from New Mexico, he appeared outside Washington at the headquarters of the Men in Black.  Then he went away and Glen returned, and he chided himself because the gods were not supposed to interfere like that.  Usually, they did not.  Often, he did not even remember them, but for some reason in this difficulty, they felt very close.  Glen did not know if he should be comforted by that or worried.

            “Hold it there, buddy.  This is a restricted area.”  The building had been taken over by the marines.

            “I have a telegram for a Colonel Weber”  Glen deliberately said “Weber” rather than “Veber.”  “With a cc to Ms Roberta Brooks.”  He smiled for the marines. 

            “Wiseguy,” one of the marines said.  “You better put your hands up.”  He pulled his gun.

            Glen complied.  “Take me to your leader,” he quipped.

            “Lock-up?”  One marine asked the other.

            “Traveler!”  It was Lockhart inside the doorway.  “Put that gun away.  You’re lucky the Traveler didn’t hurt you.”

            Glen looked at his friend and did not have to ask his question out loud.

            “Boston saw you on the door monitor and I was closest.”

            “Glen.”  It was Bobbi.  Mariam was with her and Colonel Weber was right behind.  “We got a coded message on an internal frequency.   Kairos is the only clear word.  People are working on it.”

            “Let me see,” Glen said.  His hands were still up so he could not take the paper from Bobbi’s hand.

            “Put that gun away.”  The Colonel scolded the man at the door.  That marine did so quickly and Glen took the paper. 

            “Don’t be hard on him, Colonel.  He was just doing his job.”  He looked up.  “And by the way, you will be able to go home soon.  Please take your grunts with you.  I have been very patient.”

            “What is it?”  Bobbi could not contain herself.

            “A language, not code.  Take your people off the assignment.  Tell Fyodor we have to go.”

            “Any chance?”  Bobbi looked at him, but Glen shook his head.

            “Sorry.  Lockhart will have to represent you all, and Boston I suppose.”

            “Well, maybe I quit.”  Bobbi said.

            “Can’t.  I need you too much.  There is a clause that says you can’t quit when we are under occupation.”  He glanced at Colonel Weber as if Bobbi did not understand.  “How is Miriam working out by the way.”

            “One bright spot,” Bobbi said grumpily as Glen walked with her back into the building.  Glen was glad to hear it and he smiled for Miriam who returned the smile and offered a little salute.

            “So what is happening?”  Colonel Weber interrupted the moment.

            “Progress.”  Glen said and added more quietly, “I hope.”

###

            Fyodor was in the war room as Colonel Weber dubbed it.  He was sipping his coffee and chewing on a turkey sub.  “Lunch?”  He looked up.  “Bill and Farquanded volunteered to work the systems in flight and watch the ship after we get to wherever we are going.”

            “Good,” Glen said.  “But no lunch.  I really don’t have the appetite.”  He rubbed his belly like he had an upset stomach.  Besides, he just stuck his head in to see about the travel arrangements.  He was glad Fyodor had the foresight to work things out.

            “What did I miss?”  Boston asked as soon as she came in.  She pushed Lockhart along in his wheelchair. 

            “Nothing,” Glen said.  “Alice took good notes and she asked if you will do the same.  Meanwhile, if everything is set for the journey, I need to see the prisoners.”

            “Of course,” Lockhart signaled Boston to turn him around, but Glen stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

            “You need to get ready to travel,” he said.  “Bobbi?”  Of course she would take him to the prisoners.

            “Where are we going?”  Fyodor asked when Glen was in the doorway.

            “The asteroid belt,” Glen answered.

###

            Glen looked at the prisoners and only half listened when the doctors apologized for the treatment.  “We bandaged their wounds and set some bones, but we really don’t know enough about their anatomy and chemistry to do much more.”

            “It’s alright,” Glen assured the man.  “Please wait in the view room with the others.”  He added a smile of reassurance before he turned on the guards.  “Marines, out.”

            The marines hesitated.

            “Colonel!”  Glen called, but Colonel Weber did not respond.  The Colonel was one who only saw things his way and in this case he intended to keep these Vordan under guard, he thought, for everyone’s safety.  Glen shrugged and left that place.  He let Junior step into his shoes because Junior was the only one of the four gods he had not yet touched.  Junior snapped his fingers and the marine guards found themselves standing in the field out in front of the building.  Two of the more mobile Vordan immediately stood, no doubt to attack him, but they found their feet stuck fast to the floor.  Then Junior spoke.

            “As we speak, your Admiral and his Adjutant are negotiating visitation rights for the Vordan on Earth.  This is a Kargill planet.  You are from Reichgo space.  The Reichgo and Kargill signed a treaty to that effect.  There is no reason we cannot sign the same.”  He paused because these soldiers probably did not understand the politics of all that.

            “You fought valiantly and should in no way consider yourselves surrendered or prisoners.  You are our guests, and our doctors have done their best to see to your comfort.  The misunderstanding that caused us to fight has been resolved.  We are no longer at war, and I will gladly return you to your people whenever you are ready.”

            “Grog cannot be moved,” one Vordan said.

            Junior knew that, but he waited to be invited, but then he thought Grog was the name of some reptile creature on the old Star Trek television show, or some cavemen.  He wasn’t sure.  One wave of his hand and Grog was healed, not completely, but enough so he was no longer in danger of dying.  Then Junior looked at the Vordan who spoke.

            “Anything else?”  He got a clear image in his mind and responded.  “I’m afraid the female is something you will have to work out on your own.”  Then he watched and listened.  Vordan laughter was very different as was the vision of one embarrassed Vordan.  “Live well and die well,” he said, and with another wave of his hand the Vordan were returned to their mother ships in New Mexico.  The first thing he heard after that was Colonel Weber.

            “Hey!  Those prisoners were the property of area 51.”

            “Colonel, I have told you intelligent species are off limits for experimentation.  Get the message.”  And Junior vanished as well to appear next to the ramp that lead up to the Stealth Bomber turned company jet.  “Boston,” he saluted the red head before he vanished and Glen returned to his own time and place.  “I hope we are ready to go.  Colonel Weber is not a happy camper at the moment.”

            As soon as they were boarded and Glen gave the address in New Jersey, Boston could not contain herself.  “Who was that?”  She asked.

            “Junior,” Glen responded.  “Son of Amun and Ishtar.”

            “You never mentioned him before.”

            “No, but I borrowed him once before.  It is a bit off topic to where we are going and the problem we are dealing with, but I suppose you better get out your notepad so you can fill in Alice later.