Chapter 3

The two exhausted Eric Jays returned to their times and places in the present, while the young Twila Mae from the past went forth into the void ... Meanwhile, in the belly of the light storm, another sweet young soul, a female, was taken up into the electrical void, too, this one from the future...

Many scientists in the international community had grown quite concerned about the increasing frequency as well as the growing intensity of the mysterious light shows affecting much of the region, especially along the outskirts of town. Civil authorities issued warnings for residents to avoid what many were now referring to as “wormholes” or “electro-magnetic storms (EMS).”

In the past week alone, including when she went to the lakeside beach to sunbathe, Twila Mae with her own eyes had sighted in the distance numerous bright, rainbow-like flashes above town. Then later that same day, she witnessed the same phenomena hovering over the coulee near the housing development not far from their house. In a few instances, odd electrical cloud formations lasted more than five minutes long, nearly double what the usual duration had been. It seemed that these “wormholes” were gaining in strength.

Along with that, she had noticed that her son Eric Jay’s behavior over recent days had become more anxious and pensive, imitating the intensity of the lightning phenomena. Indeed, she remembered that he always used to tease her about wearing too often the same sexy orange summer outfit, her favorite, a few times every week, but now he hardly said anything to her at all. If anything, she sometimes caught him looking vacantly at her—almost longingly sometimes, dare she imagine?

Like many local residents and onlookers in the area, Twila Mae could feel the growing electricity in the air all around them, but particularly on the edge of town. From the back bedroom window a few days earlier, she had watched Eric Jay mowing the back yard in his summer shorts when one of the big “wormholes” had flashed not far from the coulee. For some reason, she saw, her son must have fled to safer quarters, as he was gone following the massive lightning episode. He must have been seeking refuge and playing it safe. For a moment, she even feared that perhaps the electrical fog had swallowed him up! She later was relieved to find him back safe inside the house, sleeping soundly in his room. He finished mowing early the next day without incident, though he seemed more distant the whole day.

This morning, nearly a week later, the dawn broke with more such light phenomena, including some drifting, glowing orbs in the coulee. Twila Mae got up earlier than usual because of this strange light show. She looked out the window to behold the weirdness.