Chapter 53

Julie cried softly against my chest for a minute. I felt bad for her. This was one of the sweetest, most serious, most dedicated, precious girls in the world, and to watch her hurt like this was not acceptable. I had to comfort her, even if I had to lie to do it.

The other girls, except for Sarah and Lisa, looked on in shock. It had all happened so fast, and was so unexpected and shocking, that Amy and Cindi had not even activated as Protectors and Guardians. I wasn't worried about that. The idea that Julie would really hurt her Dad, the father of her baby, and her best friend was simply not believable. That probably had more to do with their not activating than anything else. Sarah wasn't shocked, as she and I had already discussed the possibility of a traitor in our midst, and that it could be Megan. I was sure I knew why Lisa wasn't shocked, but that revelation would have to wait; no time now. The look on Becky's face was different. I realized with a jolt that she knew! She knew everything, maybe more than I did. I had the feeling, looking into her calm, knowing eyes, that there was much more to this Ancient Prophecy idea than any of the rest of us realized or even imagined. Somehow, that was important, I realized, and would give me important information if I only had time to sit down and contemplate it. I just didn't have the time right now. Julie finally glanced up at me, eyes full of tears, the shed tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes had a desperate, begging look in them.

"She's not a traitor, Patrick. She's not, I promise! Please, I know you love her. You know she's not a traitor!" Julie looked at me, eyes awash. I wondered if she was trying to convince me or herself. I didn't need convincing, one way or another. I had known what was going to happen today for a long time. I just hadn't known what day. I can't say I expected the birth dates of Julie's and Sammi's babies to be preserved, but that was a little thing, although very remarkable. I couldn't tell the girls anything, though. The shoe was on the other foot from the last cycle. The Ancient Prophecy would not, could not be denied. What had to happen would happen; we could not stop it. We could make it more difficult, however. We could force the Prophecy to have to take other routes. We knew from what Becky had said that the Prophecy only recorded end events, not how we got there. That didn't mean that the Prophecy didn't have a preferred way to get there, however. There was a best way, a way that brought everything together with the least pain and consequences to the Prophecy's beloved family; a way that would ensure that the Prophecy would not lose any more family members. But it would end up in the same place regardless. We would just hurt more; more people would be hurt if we forced it to go the way we wanted it to go.

That was the way the Ancient Prophecy worked. The end product was never in doubt by anyone who had more sense than Bandor. We just didn't know how, or until today, when. But it was very difficult to remember the certainty of the end result in our day-to-day living. And to be real honest about it, most of us really didn't believe in the Ancient Prophecy. Even Becky, the Guide for it, had not believed it was real. We worried because we lacked belief.

I believed. I had seen so many things that had happened that could only be explained by what the Prophecy said. Otherwise, we would be dead already and long live Bandor. I knew Megan had a pivotal part to play in all this. There was only two parts more important, outside of Bandor. I didn't know who they were, but I knew those parts existed. I didn't have any idea what those parts were, but I knew it would be spectacular. I would look back later on the thoughts I was now expressing to myself and realize how right I was, and how wrong I was. I had expected spectacular. There was no way I could have even dreamed of how spectacular it would be. Even years later, I would still have goose bumps as I thought back on the events of today. Not in my wildest imaginations would I have dreamed up what would happen within the next few hours.

Meanwhile, I had to deal with Julie, and I had to do it now. She was coming unglued. She was such a quiet, strong person, that we often overlooked how vulnerable she was. Julie loved everyone. It was in her makeup. The sweet, precious little six year old girl that Julie was in the last cycle was the epitome of who she was. When I invoked Protocol 29 to bring her forward out of the last cycle, I had done so because of that precious personality. I had made sure that personality was preserved.

As much as Julie loved everyone, her mother and her father were the special constants that kept her alive and sane from day to day. Now, she felt both of her lifelines were being destroyed. She felt her father was accusing her mother of being a traitor. She also knew that there was a chance that that accusation was true. The two bastions of her sanity were sliding down the drain in a big way. I had to stop this, before the damage was irrevocable.

"She's not a traitor, Patrick. She's not, I promise! Please, I know you love her. You know she's not a traitor!" Julie looked at me, eyes awash. Her words and the scene echoed through my mind again. I knew what I had to do. I had to make this right. I lifted her head up, one finger under her chin, and kissed her softly, pouring all the love into her that I had to give. She gasped and whimpered softly, and then clung to me as if her life depended on it. It did. She kissed me back fiercely.

"I know, sweetheart," I whispered softy, lovingly. "I never said she was a traitor. I just asked you not to make the phone call." I watched the other girls looking on with tears in their eyes as they watched the drama unfolding.

"But then why?" Julie whispered forlornly, trying desperately to understand. We were on safe ground here; I could help her with that question. What I told her might not be the whole truth, but it would comfort her and calm her down. By the time she found out that it might not be the whole truth, it wouldn't matter anymore; it would be all over and things would be right again.

"Why?" She asked again, when I didn't answer immediately. "She could be killed if she isn't prepared! I can't believe you would risk her that way. I've watched you two; she and Amy are the loves of your life. You couldn't forgive yourself if something happened to her!" I saw Amy smile slightly and blush down to her toes. She knew, but it was different hearing it broadcast from the rooftops for everyone to hear. I was glad I had taken the time to think things through a few minutes ago. It gave me the answers I needed to explain it all to her.

"Julie, honey, Megan has a part to play in the events that will happen today. She will have to do things that she would never do if she realized what was happening. They have to happen. Have you ever wondered why so many things that have happened in the last few months, so many things that Bandor has done to us, have had Megan as the focus? He will come after her again today. Her response has to be what it has to be; she cannot be adulterated by any preconceived ideas or knowledge. Honey, you're a Scribe. You know the importance of preserving the events, of not changing history." I presented my case and put it in terms that she could understand. I was always proud of how smart my girls were. For once, I was hoping Julie wasn't smart enough to understand what I had just really said, to understand all the implications to what I had just stated.

"Sammi's attempted kidnapping wasn't directed at Megan," Rhonda objected. I silently thanked her for interrupting and breaking the chain of thought. Anything to keep Julie from thinking too hard on what I had just said.

"Don't fool yourself on that. If the reason Bandor's thugs came to our house that night was to take Sammi, they would have been gone before we ever woke up and we would never have seen her again," I told her, as I watched Sammi's face turn white as a ghost. "Yes, they intended to take Sammi, but they really wanted Megan. They got her, just not exactly how they planned."

"So, what is Megan's part today?" Cindi asked. For the first time in her life, I detected there was much more than met the eyes with Cindi. She was hiding something, something critical. I didn't know what it was. Oh, she wasn't a traitor or anything like that; I knew who the traitor was, and had known for a long time. I was the only one that knew; even the traitor didn't know it was them. No, it was something... good, or at least neutral that I was detecting about Cindi. I just knew she was more than she appeared to be.

"I can't tell you that," I replied. "First of all, I don't know it all. Secondly, it would not be wise for you to know. What you need to know is what your part is today." I paused for effect as I had everyone's undivided attention.

"All of you must treat Megan today exactly as you always have. You cannot let her know anything unusual is going on. This is so important that I am going to ask you all to do something I have never asked before, and never thought I ever would ask. It has to be strictly voluntary. I would like each of you to give me the permission to have Becky wipe all memory of this conversation from your minds before we leave this room. The wipe will be temporary. After a particular event occurs, you will regain the memory of this time. But I cannot risk you acting differently, or Megan picking something up in your mind before the events play themselves out." They all nodded, one by one. "There is only one thing you need to keep in mind, one thing I will have her leave you. Under no circumstances are you to use your powers against Bandor today. He must be taken out physically. It's the only safe way." I saw Amy's face light up. She dreamed of this scenario.

"Why is that?" Katie asked.

"Because we still don't know how he has attained the knowledge of the Power Inversion, and we don't know how to counteract it or do it ourselves. He might not know anymore about it than we saw before, but we can't take the chance," I explained.

"Does Megan know about that?" Sammi asked.

"She knows," I verified. Amy changed the subject back to what we had been talking about before.

"How do we know Megan's not picking up what we're talking about now?" She asked. I smiled.

"Because I have been blocking all access to this room since this conversation began," I admitted. I saw several surprised looks.

"You can do that?" Amy asked, with a hurt look on her face. 'He never told me that!' I heard her think.

"There are a lot of things I can do that I have never told you about, Amy," I said with a smile. I saw a frightened, guilty, worried look cross her face as she realized that for once I had answered a question she had never asked. I just smiled. They did it to me all the time! She glared at me. I wondered briefly what she was hiding from me that she was afraid I had seen! I hoped it involved her naked! She rolled her eyes at me. 'Pervert!' She thought, deliberately projecting it at me. She smiled to rob her thought of any offense.

There was something I needed to do before we left. I hoped it wouldn't upset Julie more.

"Julie, dear, can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?" I asked. She looked at me strangely and handed it to me.

"Who are you calling?" She asked nervously. Déjà vu.

"I'm calling Megan. I wanted it to be your number on the caller ID. I know I said things have to happen, but I would just as soon know what we are dealing with before we get there." I saw the look of panic on Julie's face. I hugged and kissed her. "Don't worry, honey, I'll have Becky wipe your mind immediately afterwards, so you won't remember the answer." Becky raised her hand just like a schoolgirl wanting to talk in class. Of course, she was a schoolgirl. She giggled, kind of subdued, when I glared at her.

"Daddy, I'm not sure I can wipe Julie's mind, whether she allows it or not. She is a Scribe; that might be a proSCRIBEd activity!" She giggled at her little pun. Everyone else rolled their eyes, but they did smile. It actually was pretty good, but I wasn't going to tell her that and encourage her. She might start doing puns all the time. There were probably things in the world scarier than a punny Becky, but I couldn't think of them right now.

"That's ok, I'll survive. If you need to know, just do it. I'm a big girl," Julie said, giving me a brave little smile. My heart melted, and I hugged her close. I got shivers as she softly kissed my neck while she snuggled. I could have sworn I heard a little sob though.

"Julie, are you going to be able to act normally around Megan, and keep her from reading what is going on if we can't wipe you?" I asked. That was the wrong thing to ask a Scribe. I was just trying to be thoughtful and nice, but it backfired.

"I can do my job just fine, thank you!" Julie answered sharply. She gave me a curt, angry look. Oops. It took a couple nice kisses to get her over her snit. Hmmm. Maybe I was being played for a patsy. Julie wouldn't do that, would she? I wouldn't have thought so, before she pulled the scam on Amy and Cindi to get her and Sammi the night with me! Maybe she wasn't as big a girl as she thought, however, as she left the room while I called Megan.

"Hi Julie, honey! What's up?" Megan's cheery voice answered.

"Actually, it's me, Patrick," I answered.

"Oh! Hi! That's nice too! Why are you calling on Julie's phone?" She asked curiously. No suspicion in her voice; she just wondered.

"Mine is charging, so I can have a full charge when I come down there today," I explained. Actually, it was true.

"Oh, ok. So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" She asked. I could hear the laughter in her voice. She certainly didn't sound like someone who was about to sell her family and friends into power deprivation, sexual slavery and death.

"Oh, I just missed you this morning. I woke up all alone," I sniffled pitifully. "It was terrible!" I whined. I had been listening to Lisa pretty closely. Whining really wasn't hard, once you got the hang of it.

"Oh, poor you! Was there something in particular you needed?" She asked softly, her voice suddenly husky.

"Well... I was just going to eat my favorite girl out until she screamed herself hoarse," I said, doing my best to sound disappointed. I heard her gasp over the phone.

"Oh. Oh! I... I can come home right now really fast if you want! This isn't that important!" I could hear her breathing harder. "Your favorite girl, huh? How many do you have?" She teased. I handed it right back to her.

"You should know; you've procured and arranged all of them for me!" I heard her gasp in pretend indignation.

"That's not true! Mostly. Well, maybe a little. Well, ok, so I did. So what? What's your point?" She laughed, and so did I. She could take it as well as she could dish it out.

"Well... we're getting ready to leave here soon anyway, and you're so quiet during sex, it would take a long time for you to scream yourself hoarse. Maybe there's a back room there we can borrow for awhile?" I teased her.

"There is," she stated emphatically. She wasn't teasing. It gave me the perfect lead in to what I really wanted to ask, though.

"God, Megan, you've got me so horny I can't think straight. You're so hot! I'm trying to schedule our return flight with the pilots of the private jet here and you've so fried my brain I can't think straight. What the hell is the date today, anyway?!?" I asked, sounding totally exasperated. She giggled happily like a teenager. God, I felt like such a shit setting her up like that, but I had to know.

"You're such a doofus, Patrick," she said affectionately, laughing at me. "Left alone, you'd starve to death! Good thing you make all the girls so hot, so we'll do anything for you. It's June 14, doofus!" She giggled again. My heart sank.

"You're so good to me, dear; I don't deserve you," I said lightheartedly. She laughed.

"You're right! I should charge you for all the wonderful things I do for you!" She joked. Then she turned serious. "Actually, you deserve a lot better than me. I hope someday I can be the person you think I am," she whispered.

I told her I loved her, listened carefully as she told me she loved me too, her voice ringing with sincerity, and we hung up. I just couldn't take leading her on anymore. I felt like I was lying to her. That's because I was. Sugarcoat it anyway you wanted that I just had to know, but I'd just been dishonest with Megan for the first time I could remember. It didn't feel very good.

I was glad Julie was not around when I got off the phone. I'm sure my face said it all. Cindi looked at me with love pouring out of her eyes.

"June 14, right?" She whispered sympathetically. I nodded sadly.

"You know, that doesn't necessarily mean she's a traitor," Sarah said brightly. I looked at her hopefully. I wasn't sure who or what Sarah was, but I had learned to listen when she talked.

"There could be three reasons why she said the date she did. a) She doesn't know about the date change; she didn't compulsively look at the damned calendar this morning like you did!" The girls all giggled at that. "b) She is pretending that she doesn't know the date because she's in cahoots with Bandor and is going to actively participate in destroying us all in a long, painful, brutal, inhumane process." Damn, Sarah! Don't sugarcoat it; tell us how you really think! Was I ever glad Julie wasn't in the room! "Not my first choice. It doesn't jive with a simply delightful phone conversation you just had with her." I glared at her. I hadn't put that phone conversation on speaker. Sarah kissed my cheek affectionately and patted my head. Her look plainly said 'It's ok, big boy, you'll get used to it. Someday. Maybe'. "c) She's in cahoots with Bandor, like b) above, but he's hidden the date change from her, knowing she might rebel if she knew. If that's the case, that's actually good, as it shows there's still hope she won't go through with it. d) Bandor has manipulated her in some way to either force her to do what he wants, to prevent what she thinks is a more serious consequence, or he's manipulated her mind to where she has no idea what she's doing for him." Sarah grinned as my mouth opened in amazement at her scholarly dissertation. She grinned even bigger and buzzed like a fly as her finger headed for my open mouth. It dawned on me that she had not been upset from the start today about this whole thing. I assumed that was because of our previous conversation. I wondered now if there was another reason. She shrieked in surprise as my mouth bit down on her imaginary 'fly', licking and sucking on her finger while it was in my mouth. She swallowed hard and looked a little faint as she finally withdrew her finger from my mouth, reluctantly. I didn't tell her that her 'three reasons' were actually four.

I figured we could prolong this all day, gabbing like the crazy teenagers that many of us were, but we needed to get going. Although I figured Bandor wouldn't show up until we arrived, it wouldn't do for him to come and go while we were here kibitzing. That would be embarrassing!

Wiping this morning's conversation from everyone's mind actually went faster and easier than I thought. It turned out that Becky could do everyone at once. I watched as all the girls got a brief, blank, vacant look on their faces, then they were back to normal. They looked confused for a minute as they noticed that their breakfast plates were still sitting there, and then they just went about eating breakfast again. I was surprised to find that our breakfast was still hot when we picked up our plates. Becky grinned at me when she noticed that I had noticed that little detail.

"Just a little thing I picked up from Sarah. I'm still practicing," she told me, giggling like a little kid. Oh wait; she was.

I waited impatiently while the girls finished breakfast. I couldn't very well say 'Hurry up girls, we need to go, Bandor is attacking and your Mom may be a traitor!'. After all, I had just had that wiped. I just hoped that they wouldn't decide they needed to change clothes again. Becky noticed my consternation and laughed at me. She leaned over and whispered to me that she had planted a suggestion at the same time that their clothes were fine and they needed to eat fast. Something about needing to go shopping right away, she giggled. I love Becky! She can be a little shit, but I love her!

We were finally ready to go. We all piled into the car and headed for the site. The girls were chattering away as usual. Apparently, the wipe had worked. John drove, with Rhonda in the front seat with him, and I sat in the back with the girls. I barely got in when Julie slipped onto my lap and snuggled up close. Obviously, the wipe didn't work with her; I don't know if Becky even tried.

My girls are sweet, as teenagers go, but, like all teenagers, they can be and are bratty sometimes. Ok, lots of times. They immediately noticed that Julie and I were being quiet. Of course, they didn't know why, so it became a game to make Daddy and Julie talk and laugh. I could take the hassle; I liked it anyway. Julie had little experience with these things when she was worried and upset. She just didn't get worried and upset very often, and this was about something very, very important to her. Had I not had the girls' minds wiped of the conversation and they had known what the problem was, they never would have harassed her. The whole situation didn't last very long. After about 30 seconds, Julie lost it, big time. Everyone in that car believed her completely and totally when she curtly informed them to shut the fuck up or she would break all their heads. It was so out of character that no one even got upset. They just shut the fuck up. I guess they didn't want to get their heads broken. Of course, ten seconds later Julie was upset that she had been mean to her sisters and just cuddled up in a ball on my lap and cried. I think. Her face was hidden so deeply I couldn't tell. I just shrugged my shoulders at the other girls. Several of the girls reached over and squeezed her arm or held her hand, non-verbally expressing their apologies and support for whatever was going on. True to her word, however, by the time we got to the site, Julie was acting like normal. The rest of the car was quiet and subdued, but she was normal. Go figure.

Megan was waiting for us when we arrived at the site. She came out to meet me and did her best to stick her tongue down my throat. Apparently, she was serious about that private room. I walked next to her into the cave, holding her hand. Julie walked on the other side of her, holding her hand also. Megan looked at Julie kind of funny, then pulled her over into a hug and did her best to squeeze her to death. I saw Julie's eyes get moist. I hoped this was going to work.

Megan finally pulled me aside after Julie wandered off with some of the other girls. She and the girls had apparently patched up their differences.

"What's wrong with Julie?" Megan asked. "She seems upset about something." I had to answer carefully. I felt so bad about lying to Megan before that I was not going to do it again.

"She woke up bitchy this morning. She slammed her breakfast plate on the table, threatened to beat the hell out of me, and walked out of the room. On the way over, the girls were teasing her. She told them to shut the fuck up or she would break all of their heads." I watched Megan's eyes get real big and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Julie? My sweet, gentle Julie? Are you sure you aren't getting her mixed up with Sammi?" She asked. She wasn't kidding at all. They really didn't look anything alike that I could get them mixed up. I guess the look I gave her made that clear, because she dropped that line quickly. "Maybe I should go have a talk with her. I've never known her to act that way before." I put my hand on her arm and stopped her as she started to move off.

"Let it go for now, Megan. She's pregnant. I'm surprised we haven't seen this before. You know how cranky you were when you had her and Sammi." I didn't know Megan's eyes could open wider or her mouth drop lower, but they did. Her fist worked just fine though, as she punched me in the arm.

"I was not! I was the sweetest thing ever, just like always!" Her eyes twinkled at me. God, I loved her. I hoped she was going to be ok.

The doors opened just fine this time. We did find out that the computer seemed to have favorite people, however. It played a happy little ditty when Katie signed in. It had a real thrill when Lisa signed in. It played her song for a good thirty seconds. I swear the thing was smiling. It also popped up a greeting to Lisa after the song. Somehow, I knew that in the ancient language, it said something like 'Hi Mom!' Katie looked irritated for a moment, and then laughed along with everyone as Lisa blushed. I knew Lisa understood the greeting.

We all walked into the back room with the maps and chambers. The place lit up like a Christmas tree as chambers started lighting up with each girl's colors. The only ones that didn't have a chamber light up for them were John and Rhonda, as expected. I had wondered about Rhonda before, though. Megan immediately went over to the brown chamber and checked it out, calling me over.

"Look!" She said excitedly, as she reached down and held my hand tightly. Sammi's chamber had a big plate. In English, it said 'Lady Samantha'. There was a symbol next to her name that we had not seen next to anyone else's. It seemed to be related to the 'Lady Samantha' name. Whatever it meant, it had to do with what she was. Below that, it said 'Sammi', and then it said 'Sandy'.

Many chambers were not lit up at all. The interesting thing was that there was one chamber that was dimly lit up, almost as if it were a nightlight waiting for the person to come home. It was odd, because we felt we had figured out that the chambers only lit up when the person associated with it was in close proximity. The other girls' chambers were not lit up yesterday at all when they were not with us. It had no distinct color associated with it. It had a plate associated with it but no name on it in English. It merely said 'no longer in use' on it. It made no sense. Before I could look into it further, Megan called me.

"Look at this!" Megan showed me, all excited. "Sammi has a chamber, with her name and everything. They must have told the future for that. She can't be from the original group that came here; she was just created a few months ago."

"However, the rest of us could still be the original travelers," Becky said. She was right. It did not rule that out. It merely meant that either it was all telling the future, or a combination of telling the future and us being the original travelers. It couldn't be only original travelers.

We spent quite some time working with the chambers in the room. Each time one of the girls neared her chamber, it brightened up considerably, the nameplate lit up, and a ball or ring of energy lit up in the chamber. The difference we did notice was that the ball or ring of energy in the chambers belonging to Megan and myself seemed to be considerably smaller than the others were. It was interesting, though, that when we approached our chambers, Megan and I seemed to glow along with the energy in the chamber.

"Patrick... this is unbelievable!" Megan said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. "If this is what I think it is... All of the girls have the possibility of having colored energy like the one we have. These might be similar to the white and purple energy in us!" As you can imagine, that got the girls' attention!

We had the girls put their hands on the handprints of their chambers. The chamber played a pretty little musical piece, each one different for the owner of the chamber. They did not open though. We went out and looked at the error code on the computer. It seemed much more serious than the previous code; large letters, in brilliant red. There also seemed to be a 'black' box that flashed urgently, somehow connected with the error code. Megan and Katie talked together for quite awhile, using technical jargon that I couldn't follow. Then, they called Lisa over. Lisa explained some things to them in great detail. Both Megan and Katie appeared to be very impressed with what she said. Lisa seemed embarrassed by the look of amazement on their faces. Then they came over to me, presumably to explain things to me.

The woman slipped silently through the woods, blending in almost perfectly with her surroundings. With the lack of sound she made, and her black clothes blending into the night, she wouldn't have been detected more than five feet away. She moved like a big, dangerous, silent black cat, stalking its prey. She smiled to herself as she thought of the analogy of a cat. She had always liked cats. She wished she was as silent and deadly as Cire, her favorite cat.

As she slipped through the hidden back entrance of the cave, she stopped to get her bearings. Everything was just as The Master had said it would be. She could feel the pull of the energy in the chamber that belonged to her, calling her to it. Damn! She hated that. She was through with that, forever. She hoped she would never have to worry about that again. The Master promised she would be free of it after this. It didn't bother her at all that there seemed to be a sadness and a finality to that statement when he made it. She was ready for it to be over, if that was what happened. She looked forward to it. It would make The Master sad if she fell during this mission, but the mission was important, not her. These children HAD to be saved.