Chapter 10

It was great to be back and tucked up in bed with my two lovelies. God how I missed them, Marjorie could hardly wait to get me home and implanted herself on to my weapon, even before I could have a decent bath. She had me down on my back and sitting over my hips as she slid up and down my rock-hard erection.

I had only been back two days when I had a visitor a Mr Payne. He had been talking to Kenny Palmore and he had told him I knew how to judge when these time warps were in force and where.

"You must tell me, for I want to go and get my little girl."

"Do you speak Gaelic, for if you don't it would be a waste of time. Maybe that portal would be in another time frame, but it looks as if they are all backwards and until the Romans invaded the language was Gaelic and then Latin, Do you know either of these languages?"

"No I don't but I still want to go and look for her. Can't you come with me?"

"Mr Payne I have spent almost half a year away from my family, don't you think they deserve to have me close for some time at least. The next opening at that site is in 18 days, could you honestly say you could be prepared to go in that time?"

Marjorie and Carol had come into the room as we were talking. "You're not going to leave his little girl there are you Chally?" Marjorie said.

"You want me to go, I have only been back two days and I could do with a rest."

"In a week you will be bored out of your brain, take the man; we can survive for another three months without you. Anyway I want to do some investigation of other disappearances, Carol and I have now become interested. If there are others maybe I'll come with you next time."

"Well Mr Payne it looks as though you will get your chance. Now what have you got to contribute for this adventure and rescue."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to equip yourself to survive for three months without any outside help; we must be self-sufficient for the whole period. If you find your daughter early then you have to provide for her until we can return. You just can't return when you feel like it. Also there are other people who went missing and we must try to find them also."

"All I want to find is my daughter."

"Well if that is your attitude then forget it. The others are just as important as your daughter. Have you had any experience with roughing it in hostile country?"

"Well no, I run a hardware store and spend all my time in the shop."

"Well you will have to learn fast. The people I have met in the past are about as cruel as you could find anywhere; in fact depending on the period you go back to they even took the heads of their enemy. So if you are squeamish tell me now. I will make a list of the items I want you to get. The morning of the day before we go through I want you here with all the items, every last one of them. I suppose you don't have a rifle or shotgun?"

"Yes I have a shotgun a double-barrelled one."

"No good, I will lend you a pump action gun and the proper ammunition."

"What is you first name Mr Payne?"

"Arthur, everyone calls me Arthur."

"Well Arthur, leave me your telephone number and by tomorrow I will give you your list."

"I have an e-mail account send it that way." He wrote his e-mail address on a piece of paper as well as his telephone number; after he handed it to me I passed it on to Marjorie.

Arthur left with a spring in his step and I was once again going to prepare for another backward passage in time. This time I am taking the Range Rover as I want to carry what I had on the first rescue plus a few extras.

Marjorie got down and started making a list which she wanted Arthur to provide. Since he owned a Hardware store the items we asked him to get were easily obtainable by him. Also I asked him to provide extra sleeping-bags and tents, for one of the problems we have had in the past was providing sleeping arrangements for the ones we had rescued. In case we were stuck in the open the tents must be lightweight and for single persons only, with groundsheet built in and camouflaged. Also ex-WD poncho groundsheets, they can me worn to keep out the rain, as a bivouac, or as a thick groundsheet. I wanted at least four of each. In addition four carrying frames, they were easily stowed and were as good as Bergens.

The logistics of such a trip was becoming second nature now and providing equipment that will assist on at least a reasonable comfortable existence in a foreign environment than that which he was used to. After almost three continues years I was at home there in the past as I am here, in fact I felt a lot freer in the past. If it hadn't been for my son, I would have stayed and never returned.

This time also I was taking enough soap, delousing powder and shampoo, for in the past body lice was rampant.

On the morning before departure, Arthur was at our home and parked outside in his Ford Transit van by 6am. If he though he would catch me asleep he was mistaken. I saw the van enter the grounds and I was at the front directing him to the stables at the rear, where our Range Rover was parked with a four-wheeled trailer attached. I had the frame fitted and it was covered with a khaki cover.

We went into the house and had breakfast, before we got down to the serious business of packing everything away and fitting him out. I noted he had been sensible and fitted himself out from an ex-army store and the clothing was robust to take the rigours of where we were going. He had also provided himself with good SV boots and well dubbed as I saw, which would help to keep the water out. I had to give him credit, he had been very sensible so far.

Outside I looked in his van and from the list Marjorie had sent him I checked out the items and stowed them in the trailer where I had planned to put them. There was still a good many items left including two suitcases.

"What are these for?"

"These are new clothes for Rosie."

"She has survived this long with one set of clothing, take one dress that will be enough; we can't afford carrying excess baggage."

He also had electrical items.

"Arthur on the other side of that warp, there is no such thing as electricity. Please try to understand, all the things you take for granted will end once we go through and there is no way back for three months."

We left at 2 in the morning to drive to the location. We arrived at half-past four and parked outside the entrance, which was wide enough to take the Range Rover. But we couldn't park near where I knew the shimmering occurred, for it was in the park and vehicles were not allowed. I had the time recorded when the shimmering occurred at this site when Carol had visited it while I was away. It was 0602, so I had to be inside the park ready to drive through, in case it was only open for a short period by that time.

The streets were empty as right on 0600 we were sitting with an idling engine, clutch depressed and at just a few seconds before the shimmering appeared a police car spotted us. They pulled up at the kerb about 50 yards from us and started walking towards us when I saw the familiar shimmering. I released the clutch and we moved through and arrived in a small clearing, but unfortunately for him, a sergeant of police had come through the warp as well.

When I got out of the cab, the warp had closed and the sergeant was gazing around in amazement.

"Well sergeant you have made a right bad move running after us, I don't know exactly when we have landed but from the shape of that house over there I would say a good few hundred years BC. I hope you have brought supplies with you for we have none to spare."

"What's the game then, I'm going to book you for driving in a public park and being insolent to a public officer."

"Go right ahead but who is going to back you up."

"Why," he turned around and looked where he had come from, "Where has the fence and my bloody constable gone."

"I have told you we are now in the past and this is where all these missing people came through. I have brought Arthur Payne through so he could find his little daughter. Your service would never have believed me if I had told you anyway."

"I've got to get back, I have the watch to check out."

"You can forget that, the only thing you have to do is make sure no harm comes to me in the next three months, for that is when the shimmering occurs again."

"What to hell are you talking about, I think you are off your head."

Just then an old woman emerged from the round house and walked towards us, gazing at the Range Rover, in awe.

We walked towards her and as we got near I saw she was wearing the rough weave dress and of course her hair looked a mess and her face, arms and legs were dirty too, she was barefooted.

"Don't be frightened mother; we will do you no harm," I spoke to her in Gaelic.

"You are a Druid, but why do you dress so different from the other Druids," she replied.

"What bloody language are you two speaking, I can't understand a word," the sergeant blustered.

"The language of the country in fact of all of Europe, Gaelic."

"Only the bloody Micks, Taffys and Scots talk that garbage," he replied.

"Well this is your England, but its not called that yet, it is called Albion at this time, so you had better learn the language fast, for that is all you will hear."

The old woman was wondering what we were saying for now she couldn't understand. "What manner of tongue is that you speak, I have met a few who speak in that way," she said.

"You have mother, where are these people now?"

"I have a young girl in my house that appeared as you done, six moons ago, but she has been sick for a long-time now and I'm afraid she has no will to fight back. The evil spirits are winning. I even went to the temple of Diana and made a sacrifice to see if that would help."

"Take me to her mother," I asked the old woman.

I followed her ducking my head as I entered her dark home which smelt of smoke, bringing back memories from the time I found Jane. Lying on the pile of straw and fur was the form of a young woman.

I approached her and spoke in English. "Do you understand me?"

"Oh yes, how nice to hear an English voice again. What happened to me, I feel so ill," she said with a weak voice.

"Mother I will take the girl, she is one of the people we are looking for, we will look after her from now on." I felt in my belt and took one of the small gold bars which I had cut in half and handed it to her. I suppose it was the most money she had ever had in her hand at any, or all of her life combined.

I picked up the young woman and carried her out of the house and towards the Range Rover.

"Arthur get the medicine box out of the back and give her two Aspirins, she is running a fever. We will have to get her washed and deloused before I can let her into a sleeping-bag.

The old woman had followed carrying the young woman's dress and the rest of her clothes. It looked as if the old woman was going to keep the clothes, for in this time period they would be classed as the best finery, but giving her the gold had made her change her mind.

"Where is the stream mother?" I asked the old woman.

"Behind the trees, beyond my house."