Chapter 1

Basically, I was fucked, or as good as. I'd been working for Dr Thomas Tomberlane for sixteen months and yes, I was with him through most of his construction of his time machine. I'd even made some suggestions he took to heart. I was around while he was trying to figure out just how big to make the chamber he placed the subjects in. I convinced him to make adjustable fields so he could just put something in a specified area and adjust the area to be sent back in time. Anything in the area would go.

Hell, he loved the idea right away and after he started designing and figuring he said he could send his whole house back. I'd only embarrassed myself big time once when I asked him why he never sent anything forward in time.

"Because it hasn't happend yet," he explained, and laughed at me.

We did testing for months on end. He'd send something back and then we'd go dig it up. Things were always just where he thought they'd be. They'd just look older than when we sent them off. Finally he got up the nerve to send himself back. He towed an Airstream trailer with his Jeep near enough to the machine to get it all in. He set the machine up to send himself back two thousand and fifteen years and to set him down near the outskirts of Rome. He showed me exactly how to work the business end so I could get him on his way. He also showed me a large box type arrangement and all it had on it was one big red button.

'Take the other one like this with you Jack, and don't lose it. If you want to come back just press the Red button and it will bring everything you left with back to the place you started from as long as it is reasonably close. It will also bring anything within a twenty foot sphere of itself. Don't worry about it bringing half a person or anything like that. If most of the person is within twenty feet they will come along, if most of them ain't they won't. It won't bring back dirt or anything like that or rocks either, unless you're holding them or some such." he said.

"I'm showing you how to work this thing, Jack, because I know sooner or later you'll want to take off on your own trip. I don't give a shit about that since I'll be gone anyway," he told me, just before he left.

He was right about that. I damned sure wanted to move back into the past, but not nearly as far back as he wanted to go. I wasn't goiing as far as he went either. Neither in actual distance or time.

Hell, I was close enough, distance wise, akready. I just needed to gather a few essentials before I left. I already had a few things gathered up and with just a few more I'd be ready to scoot.

I'd already latched onto a dozen Marlin 336Cs in 35 Remington and I'd laid in twenty thousand rounds for them plus a hundred pounds of powder and a hundred thousand bullets and primers. For my personal use I'd bought a Barret M82A1 and an ATN 3 to 9 power day/night scope and ten thousand rounds. I also had a good reloading press, dies for the fifty caliber brasses plus the 35 Remmington along with twenty thousand bullets and primers and a hundred pounds of a good powder for the large brasses. I was set up for at least one good battle. It was all already packed in my connestoga wagon. I'd also bought three good quarter horse mares and a great stallion.

The quarter horses weren't the best for pulling a wagon since they didn't have good working shoulders, but they'd do, or at least I kept telling myself they would until I sniffed out a good deal on four good Missouri Mules. I couldn't resist buying them and taking them along

On the day I decided to make my escape I loaded all my camping gear and all my firearms and reloading supplies into the wagon, had the team pull it into range and tied the quarter horses onto the back. Then I set the machine to send me and mine to Feburary 11, 1836. My intended final target was The Alamo of course, but since I was already in San Marcos in the here and now I figured if I didn't move any closer I could still get in place in in plenty of time for the actual start of hostilities on the 23rd.

I dressed in my best estimation of clothes that would look normal to the time and of course I dragged on a pair of Cowboy boots. Since I didn't have anyone to send me off I set the delayed timer for five minutes and parked my ass in the wagon's driving seat.

Five and a half minutes later, after the blurry vista resolved things around me sure changed. I was out in the sticks big time now and I had to make my best guess at which way to head to look for any sign of a road. I took five minutes to strap on my double holster gunbelt with a couple of Ruger 44 magnum SuperBlackhawk revolvers of the 6 inch barrel persuasion and I also strapped on a shoulder holster with a Colt Diamondback in 38 Special. Then I sat back on the driving bench and flicked the reins across the horses asses.

Five hours later I pulled up in front of the Alamo, tied the team to a hitching rack and went inside looking for Colonel William B. Travis. It didn't take long to find him and when I told him I'd come to volunteer for the pending battle he shook my hand, welcomed me aboard, and had someone show me to a room. After settling down in a room I headed back downstairs