Chapter 24

Erin went forward in time to the year 2099. She wanted to be cautious in case her break in the next year had been noticed. In the library at the main desk she found an unlocked drawer and found a small held computer. To her amazement she recognized it as one of that was from the space craft that brought her beings to this planet. It held volumes of information from how to boil an egg to the latest news up the moment. She did a scan of the history of the Insurrection. She flew back with the device not caring if they missed it or not. This would keep her informed for the next seventy-five years of the history of this country and the world itself.

Whenever she had a moment, she'd race through the headlines from the diverse newspapers downloaded into this tiny contraption. Daily publications went out of business in 2032 due to the internet, blogs, and other sources. Television was seldom watched or aired previous programs made decades ago. Nothing new was being produced. Theatres showing movies went by the wayside like vaudeville. People paid for films and other events such as live theatre and sports. MLB. NFL, NBA still had a strong following. Soccer had replaced ice hockey as the fourth most watched sport by fans. All the outrageous salaries were gone. Athletes were worshiped and idolized, but they didn't merit the large salaries one hundred years before. However they were given free expensive homes, hover cars, and access to places where the Elite frequented.

Erin casually scrolled through the headlines of each newspaper until they folded one by one. It was 2029 when she flashed past something related to McPherson. She pressed the stop button and reversed it. What she discovered brought her the shock of her life. It was May 29th.

THE McPHERSON FAMILY KILLED!

Kent, Erin, son Kent, Jr. and daughter Edie were found murdered in their penthouse apartment of the McPherson Building. All four bodies were torn apart in a horrid scene of carnage. "A ghastly scene that sickened all of us," Police Chief Desmond Waters said upon inspecting the scene. "Everyone of them were torn apart in this blood splattered butchery. I cannot conceive that a fellow human being could do this to one of our finest and talented families. Nephew Myron Marks was questioned but we are confident that he had nothing to do with it. Until we investigate this matter further we will continue to suspect everyone of his family and friends."

She read down the entire article knowing who was responsible for this. The Destroyer! Most likely she would still be alive but her husband and children would not survive him. Of course this was in the future so she had time to prepare for this. She thought of various scenarios to prevent this. The best thing she could think of was to fake her own death.

"April, I need you right away," she projected a thought to her. "Dress and meet me by the pool alone. This is an emergency. Do not tell Lana nor Kent where you are going."

"Right now, Mom," her daughter answered.

Ten minutes later they were deep into the unexplored jungle walking up the mountain that was the source of the water they bathed in every day. Erin showed the article from the palm computer. April's eyes widened as she read the same as her mother did two hours earlier.

"They must have found me," she told April. "It's the only answer."

"But how?"

Erin told her all the details of a Destroyer that forced the separation of her and Andy when she was May. April was horrified be the revelation.

"I've got to disappear again. I will never die but none of you will if you have any knowledge of my whereabouts."

"Will you be going back to Africa?" she asked.

"No. It's better for you and everyone that you don't know where I am. They have a means to know if you are lying or not. Now I'm going to die, but my soul will enter someone's or something's body. You can tell Barbara, Jill and your father but no one else that I'm alive."

"Where will you go, Mom?" Tears streaked down April's cheeks.

"Don't worry Honey, I'll come back to you," she embraced her daughter crying along with her. "It may not be for a while but I will return to you but you won't recognize me at first. Now you go back to the house and tell them I had an accident and need help."

"I'll miss you, Mom!" she hugged Erin tightly.

"This isn't goodbye, sweetie," she cried. "Now go. Look for me at the end of the stream where it meets the ocean." Erin pushed her in the general direction of the house. "Tell Kent that I love him, and to find someone else to marry and raise our son, Junior! Let him believe I am dead and move on with his life."

A few hours later they found Erin's body face down in the sea. The acidic salt water had eroded her comely looks into an unrecognizable form. April slipped her expensive ring off her finger to return for it later. It would be a long sad flight back home to Chicago.

Erin flew to deep into the Siberian wilderness. She had dropped the hand held device into the northern Pacific Ocean. She believed that they had the means to trace the computer and she would have to give it up regardless. She cruised the wilderness hoping to find a host to take in her soul. She found an old Siberian tiger on the verge of death. It was too weak to even bring down a rabbit. It was laying on its side taking the last few breaths of its life. She entered it and immediately began to strengthen it. It was a female. It took her days to alter it to bring it back. Though she seldom needed to rest, she did at that moment. So she slept.