Sinking Through Time - Future Past

Chapter 6 - Relative Time

“Sir? Sir? Are you okay sir?” John asked William in a loud voice.

William had fainted when he’d learnt who John was.

“Sir, can you hear me? Sir? William?” John said, this time slightly tapping William’s face.

At that moment a woman walked out the front door and down the stairs. She wasn’t aware of what was happening near the well. John called out to her.

“Excuse me? Over here!” he cried, panic starting to rise in him because William wasn’t responding to his voice.

The lady looked over at them. What she saw was a young man sitting over her unconscious husband. Abruptly the woman turned on her heels and strode purposefully back into the house.

John didn’t know what to think. He needed help and the lady had totally disregarded the situation and walked back inside. What was he supposed to do now he wondered? His first aid training he had undertaken last summer came rushing back to him and he placed William in the recovery position so he was lying on his right side with his right arm stretching out in front of him and his left arm hooked under his head. William’s legs were positioned with his right leg straight and his left leg at a right angle. This position stopped William from rolling onto his back or onto his stomach. John also checked William’s airway, just in case he had choked on his own tongue. Luckily, William’s airway was clear. He still seemed to be breathing, which was a good sign and made John feel a lot better. Now all John could do was wait for the lady to come back outside and then ask her to go for help and get a doctor; that’s if she decided to come back outside.

John figured the woman must be his great, great grandmother, Mary, but he couldn’t figure out why she had turned tail and ran back inside. Maybe the sight of William lying on the ground was too much for her. The impression John had received from watching old time movies was that the women of this era were quite frail. That was the last thought John had before the lady came marching back out of the house with a rifle in her hands.

John didn’t know what to do. Here was who he presumed to be his great, great grandmother, marching towards him with an expression on her face that spelt murder in anyone’s language.

“Oh crap!” John said out loud, mainly to himself.

Mary didn’t wait to hear if John had anything to say. She shouted at him as she came closer.

“I don’t know who you are but I can see you have already hurt my husband so you better get down on the ground, if you want to live!”

John put his hands up in the air to show he was unarmed. He was shaking all over. Sweat was dripping down the back of his neck from the anxiety his body was feeling.

“Please Mary, I didn’t hurt William. He f...fainted. I didn’t hurt him. I...I promise,” John stuttered out nervously in a meek voice.

“Didn’t hurt him? Then why is he laying on the ground like that?” Mary questioned gruffly. Not waiting for an answer, she went on. “I said get down on the ground – now!”

John did as he was told and lay face down on the ground with his arms stretched out in front of him. His short life flashed before his eyes. Is this really how it was going to end, he wondered? Was he going to be killed by his great, great grandmother who didn’t even exist in his time anymore? In effect she was a ghost. Was he going to be killed by a ghost? Was that even possible? All these questions and more popped instantly in and out of John’s head.

He tried pleading with Mary one last time.

“Please, Mary, I’m telling you the t...truth. I didn’t hurt W...William. He f...fainted. I swear to God,” John stuttered.

“God? How can you lie to me like that? The evidence is right in front of my eyes. My William has been knocked out and you obviously did it. And how do you know our names? Who are you?” Mary questioned, her tone not getting any softer.

“I...I’m John. Your great, great grandson,” John managed to get out. His body was now shaking violently. He’d never had a rifle held to his head before and he’d never been more scared in his life.

“My what? I don’t have a great, great grandson,” Mary replied, puzzled by John’s answer.

“Ma’am, I’m Lucy’s John. I’m from 2014,” John managed to whisper.

“Did you say Lucy? 2014?” Mary questioned John.

“Yes,” John replied in a whisper.

“So, you are my great, great grandson. Well tell me this, John, what are you doing here and why did you hurt William?” Mary asked, her tone finally evening out into a normal level.

With the voice change, John braved a look up at Mary. She had lowered the rifle so it was no longer pointing at his head. Her whole manner had seemed to change. She was still alert but not threatening. This gave John the courage he needed to speak up in a semi-normal voice.

“I came to meet you and your family; my family. When William found out who I was, he fainted,” John said, matter of factly. He didn’t have the strength to say it with enthusiasm.

Mary looked at John and then over at William then back to John. Without warning she let out a great big belly laugh. John was taken aback. That was the last thing he expected her to do. Once Mary started, she couldn’t stop. She held her head back and guffawed. She laughed so hard she nearly wet herself and had to run back into the house, away from John and William, so that she could contain her bladder.

John was bewildered. Never had he met anyone like Mary. One minute she was dead set on protecting her man and putting a bullet in John’s head and the next she was laughing her head off.

John sat up into a cross-legged position and shook his head. Women in the 1800’s were even crazier than women in the 21st century. And as for women in this era being frail, he’d never make an assumption from movies again. Mary was anything but frail, John thought.

William started to moan. John quickly made his way back to William’s side and was next to him when he opened his eyes.

“What happened?” William asked.

“You fainted,” John replied.

“I’ve never fainted in my life,” William admonished.

“Well, I hate to say it but there’s a first time for everything and your first time for fainting was today,” John replied.

“Well, let’s just keep this between you and I then, shall we?” William suggested to John, embarrassed by his fainting spell.

“Too late, Mary already knows,” John replied.

“Mary knows? Well, where is she then?” William asked.

“She came out here thinking I’d hurt you and threatened me with a rifle. I thought she was going to blow my head off!” John said to William and continued. “When she realized who I was and what had happened, she burst out laughing and ran back into the house. I think she was going to wet herself, she was laughing that hard,” John finished.

William looked over at John, obviously quite ashamed that his wife had seen him passed out from fainting. Then he thought about what John said and the picture played in his head. He smiled at John. John smiled back at him. Then they both burst out laughing at the same time.