Chapter 1

"What is that?" Earl asked. "It's somebody's backpack," I answered. "Maybe it has some treasure in it," he joked. "I don't think so," I answered, "It is an old Columbia pack and all that is in it are a couple of notebooks." "It must have been left by some archaeology student from days gone by, "he surmised. "It belongs to some guy named Mac MacKenzie from Virginia." "From the accumulation of dirt and dust on it, I guess he doesn't need it anymore," Earl said. "Hell, Earl, I might as well try to take it back to him since I am going home in 2 weeks," I said. "Shit, Ricky, that is nothing but a waste of time," he said. "I am taking it anyway," I said.

Yeah, that's me, PFC Richard Vincent from Clayton, Alabama. My National Guard unit had been deployed to Iraq, and Earl and I were a team searching an area for terrorist weapons caches. We hadn't found anything but a small cave and this old back pack. Why was I returning it? I'm just a damn good guy. You know the old saying no good deed goes unpunished.

I got back to the good old USA in one piece, and went back to college. I was studying mathematics at Troy State University. I got a little wound up at school and didn't send the notebooks back, right away. In fact, I didn't even think about them.

I went on my merry way, trying to find a girl who wanted to date a big clunk like me. I was big, 6' 5" tall, 230 pounds. I was not really fat, just big. I kept in pretty good shape playing softball and golf for fun and lifting weights some. I had brown hair and blue eyes. I didn't have much luck with the ladies. My National Guard time expired, and I was glad. I didn't mind my guard time, but I hated the idea of having to kill people in a war. I joined the guard to help people.

I finished up at Troy with a master's degree in mathematics. I got a job at a computer company up in Valley. Chambers County was a rural county; we got our business from Columbus, Georgia and Opelika, Alabama, mostly. I lived in the country outside of Valley. I enjoyed my life, mostly, but still didn't find anyone who I liked, that liked me, female wise. I had friends, we went to see the Braves play sometimes. Mostly I worked in the yard and garden (a habit I got from my mom). I was looking around in my guard stuff one day, trying to clean up and found the old backpack. I checked on the name Mac MacKenzie, over the Internet, and found nobody by that name in Virginia or Maryland. I guess, I had to have a better name for a useful search. Oh, well, I guess it was like Earl said a waste of time. I spent some time in the evenings reading in the notebooks. They were some experimental notes on building a machine. It looked like a FAX machine, a giant fax machine. I read all of the notes. The son of a bitch had made a time displacement machine, according to these notes. I started laughing, that damn guy went to a bunch of trouble to shine somebody on.

I was telling Marty, my cube mate, about it the next week, he was a hardware geek who had a nice wife and a baby girl. He said, "Hell, why don't we build it. It could be something to do in the evenings when it isn't baseball season." Marty was another Braves fan. "Why not," I said. So we did.

One night he said, "You know, this thing probably won't work, but I have had a good time building it. It is made from simple and available parts. I have scrounged most of them." "What about this one?" I asked. "Oh," he said, "that one is expensive, but I think I can cross wire a couple of boards to do the same thing." "Okay," I said, "What do you need?" He told me and I went to look around in the junk computers and catalogs (as a last resort). I got what he wanted for only about 60 bucks. We got it put together.

"This thing is cool," Marty said, after we ran a test on it. "It acts like it could really work." "Bullshit," was my answer. We both laughed. We decided to make a big deal test run on it. "Who's gonna go?" Marty asked. "Where?" I laughed. "Where do you want to go?" He asked. "I would like to know my great great grandfather. So, I guess, back to 1840." "Okay," he said, "you are the math whiz, figure out the settings." "Okay while I am doing that you figure out what I need to take with me to be comfortable and safe," I said, so he would have a job also.

I sat down and figured out the settings for Clayton, Alabama in 1840. It took 2 days. I asked Marty what he had come up with. He said that he thought I should go prepared to have to live off the land and protect myself from Indians if need be, so he gave me his list. It was long, and detailed. Marty was nothing, if not thorough.

The first thing I got was a big-wheeled garden cart for hauling things. He suggested a gun, so I included my hunting rifle, a Winchester model 70 in .308, and a case of ammunition (1000 rounds of military hardball). I took a tent, a sleeping bag, and cooking utensils. A couple of big pots and a cast iron pan. An axe, a machete, a half a dozen kitchen knives along with some digging tools; a pick and 2 shovels. I took my personal stuff. Tooth brushes, deodorant, a couple of bottles of shampoo and a bunch of soap. I took a bunch of my National Guard uniforms, spare boots and cold weather gear. I took a couple of cases of MRE's, and some salt and pepper. I also took a big bag of popcorn. Hey! I like popcorn. I took a sewing kit and some fish hooks and line. I had my Dad's old Smith and Wesson Model 39 and 2 spare magazines which I decided to take, along with my pocketknife, my hunting knife and my Cutco fillet knife (a present from my mom). I took four of boxes of ammunition for the 9mm. It was target stuff, but this was all for fun anyway. It all fit into the cart, if I stacked it carefully. I decided to take a wash tub for a cart cover, just on a whim, so I tied it on top. I threw in a hank of parachute cord, just in case.

I rolled my cart full of items up to Marty's garage. He laughed and said, "You took our dress rehearsal seriously." I laughed and showed him the bag of popcorn and wire basket popper. "Well, almost seriously," he said. We went inside, and I made the settings. He looked over the notebooks, and said "If it will work, this model should take you to 1840."

I said, "You bring me back in 1 week. I will stand on the same spot that I land on." "Okay, Ricky, are you ready?" He asked. "As I will ever be," I said as Marty flipped the switch. I saw sparks fly everywhere. Shit, the place caught fire.

I was standing in a quiet area holding onto the handle of the cart. 'What the hell' I thought. I looked around; this was not Clayton, Alabama. It looked more like Iraq, except there was a small ocean that I could see and hear. I walked down to the shore and looked around. I could see waterfowl and birds in abundance. Off to the east I could see a forest, so I got my cart and headed that way.

I kept going, and found a stream, the water looked and tasted clean. I had forgotten a canteen, shit. I walked upstream and walked into sight of a camp. I could see some people there so I walked up and held up my right hand in a friendly way. A young man came out to greet me. He had a spear in hand, but was not threatening. I said, "Hello."

He looked at me funny, and said "You speak the same language as my father," in fine English.

I said, "My name is Richard Vincent."

He laughed and said, "Mine is Lamar MacKenzie."

"Is your dad Mac MacKenzie?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, surprised.

I found his notebooks," I told him. "Come on and meet him," he said.

We walked up into the camp. Lamar called out and several young people came up, as well as a couple of tiny, but still pretty older women. He spoke to them in a language I did not understand. He explained, "Momma doesn't understand English very well. Daddy only really taught us kids to speak it well."

I walked up and saw an older man; I would guess about 55 or 60 years old. "Dad, this is Richard Vincent," he said.

I stuck out my hand, and he shook it and said, "Mac MacKenzie."

"I found your notebooks."

"Oh," he said, "Are you from the government?"

"No, I found your backpack while I was deployed in Iraq. I tried to return it but you were not in Virginia," I explained.

"I had not moved to Virginia yet at that time," he said. "My friend Marty and I built the machine, but it melted down when we sent the first things through. This stuff and me are the lot from 2005."

About that time three blonde amazons walked up. I did a double take.

Mac laughed and said, "Pretty aren't they?"

"Damn right," I answered.

One of the girls asked, "Are you from my father's home?"

"Yes," I answered, "Ricky Vincent from Valley, Alabama," I introduced myself.

"I am Margaret MacKenzie," she said. "These are my sisters, Betsy and Sherry."

I stuck my hand out to shake theirs. Another blonde beauty came up and was introduced as Ollie, their mother.

"I can see where your daughters got their beauty," I told her.

"Thank you, Ricky," she haltingly said.

Sherry said, "You are the biggest man I have ever seen."

"My cousin David is bigger and heavier than me," I told her, "I think it runs in the family." We visited, and I was introduced to the whole family.

I asked if there was a place where I might set up my camp that would not disturb them. Mac said I could set it up anywhere I wanted, but suggested that I move away from the outhouse. I laughed heartily.

He looked at me and said that he thought that this place was the default time and place for the machine.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

He said, "I think you may not get back. Your settings did not catch, so I assume that you just came through to the default destination. That indicates to me that the machine was damaged somehow."

"Shit, the fire must have damaged it before I got away," I said.

Anyhow, I set up my camp nearby. Betsy came over to invite me to supper. I went with her, and had a nice if simple meal. "How about some popcorn?" I asked everyone.

Mac asked, "How much do you have?" I laughed and told him about the popcorn joke, and said I had a 25-pound bag.

He said that we should plant a good portion of it in the garden, since it would make and grow here, he thought.

"I am going to make some now to eat," I said. I got the wire popper and about 2 cups of the popcorn. I popped it over the fire and everyone really enjoyed it. I went back to my camp and slept well.

In the morning, after I had eaten one of the MRE's I had brought, Mac came over. "What did you bring with you, Ricky?" He asked me.

I showed him what I had brought. He asked what caliber the rifle was. I told him, He said, "Man that is great, mine is the same caliber. I only have a few rounds left."

I showed him the pistol. He said his was the same caliber, but he had several rounds left for it. I told him that I had brought 400 rounds of hardball for it. He eyed the pick and shovels, and said those were worth their weight in gold. I said, "Get a load of these then," and showed him the cooking pots and utensils.

I spent time over the next 6 days getting to know the family and reconnoitering the area. I ate regularly with Mac's family, and some of them came and ate MRE's with me. Maggie, Sherry and Betsy particularly spent time around me talking to me and joking with me. They also began trying to teach me their language.

I was developing feelings for these beautiful girls. No women, except my family, had ever paid any attention to me.

I kept my appointment with Marty and after waiting on the spot for 24 hours, I figured something must be wrong.

I went back to my tent.

Mac stopped by for a visit, and asked if I had seen any indication of another passage from the future. "I haven't, but I left a message on the departure spot, in case Marty gets it working," I told him.

He asked me if he could borrow a knife. I gave him a kitchen knife and jokingly said, "Margaret, will get you two more." "I will speak to her," he said.

I was shocked by this statement, and said, "Mac, you know I was only joking." He said, "I am afraid you will be here longer than you think. Margaret is a nice girl, and needs a good man to take care of her. Betsy and Sherry will be angry, though."

He left and I thought about what he had said. I got a couple of stones from the creek and made a fire ring and a place to set up my cooking. I thought a bath would be really nice, so I built a fire, got out my pots and set some water to boil. I took my garden cart to the creek and filled it part way up and rolled it to put in the wash tub. Betsy and Sherry came up and asked what those things were. I told them what the pots, the cart and the tub were and told them I was going to bathe. I showed them the soap and shampoo, and let them smell it. Typical women, they loved the way they smelled and asked if they could bathe too. I told them that if their Dad said it was okay, they could invite Margaret, also.

By the time they got back, the water was hot and I had poured it into the wash tub it was a good temperature for bathing. I took off my shirt and was washing my upper body with soap. Margaret felt the water and said it was wonderful. The other girls felt it also and wanted to bathe right then, they all stripped their clothes off. My eyes bugged out, as I looked at these beautiful women.

Margaret (call me Maggie) was about 5' 10" tall and was very well built, with large breasts and a full butt. Beautiful, light pink nipples, and large areolas crowned her breasts. Her almost non-existent pubic hair was in a small sparse patch right above her opening. Her sisters were almost identical, except Betsy had bigger breasts and smaller nipples, and Sherry was about 2 inches shorter, with the same nipples and breasts as Maggie.

I was in heaven, and staring with my mouth open. Sherry said, "What is wrong Ricky, haven't you ever seen women before?"

"Never any this beautiful," I answered. That must have been the right thing to say, as they all smiled widely and started chuckling. They all grabbed me and pulled my britches and shorts off, and began to soap me down.

I finally regained my senses and began to soap them down also. I got a pot full of water and rinsed myself off, and then did the same for each of the girls. Then I got out the shampoo, and washed my hair. They had me bend over where they could reach and washed it for me, and rinsed it out. Then they each got shampooed. It took two passes to get each of them done, but they really liked the results. I lent them my hairbrush, and they said their hair had never felt this good before.

I said, "You three should just move in here with me and we can bathe every week until the soap runs out."

They had all been laughing and primping in my shaving mirror, but when I said that they instantly got quiet, and looked at me. Maggie said, "Do you mean it, Ricky?"

I said, "Girls, where I live, I can not even get girls to look at me because I am so big and clumsy looking."

Betsy said, "We can see that you are big in all ways," looking at my lower body.

Sherry said, "We can not get any men to look at us seriously because we are so big, and they are intimidated."

"We are a good match then, aren't we?" I asked, smiling.

"Ricky, if you mean it, we will go to Daddy with you," Maggie said.

I was stunned. "Do you mean that you would consider being my wife?" I asked.

They all said that they would not only consider it they would like it.

We cleaned up the remnants of the bath and put everything away. I asked again, "Do you girls mean this, you are not teasing me?"

"We are not teasing you, Ricky. If you will have us, we want you," Betsy said.

"Let's go speak to your dad. I hope I have something valuable enough for your dad to let you come with me." Then I thought of my shovels and pick. "Your dad said these were worth their weight in gold. Maybe these, and some more knives, and my axe might be enough for you. Probably not," I said glumly.