Eli Arnold and the Keys to Forever Book One: It's About Time



  Eli Arnold and the Keys to Forever

  Book One:

  It’s About Time

  John Carter

  Copyright © 2012 John Carter

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means - electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise - without prior permission in writing from the author.

  Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

  DEDICATION

  This book was written for Rachael. Her laughs and smiles kept the words flowing.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  What’s Next?

  Contact Information

  PROLOGUE

  Day 12, Ninth Lunar Cycle, 25,000 B.C.

  “This is madness,” Tevlok screamed over the ear-splitting wail of the sirens. His eyes never left the barricaded door, his attention drawn by the sounds of the battle raging on the other side.

  Jensen ignored his assistant’s terror and kept working. The Order must not be allowed to gain control of the Time Window. Beads of sweat rolled down the elderly scientist’s face as he removed the last colored crystal from the compact device and began making the necessary modifications.

  How could something so small cause so much trouble?, he thought, laying his tools aside. We have advanced too far. He shook his head in frustration and checked his work. Reluctantly, he began to reassemble the device.

  “Tevlok, gather up all the technology associated with the Time Window and anything we developed to aide in its use.” Jensen paused and listened to the fighting growing closer. “And hurry.” His voice remained calm and even but his words conveyed the urgency both men felt.

  “At once, Dr. Jensen.” Tevlok abandoned his position at the door and set about gathering up the implements in the lab. A phase cannon blast followed by an explosion quickened his step. “I still don’t understand why we can’t just destroy the Window,” he said picking up several pieces of equipment.

  Jensen sighed and ignored his assistant. He continued replacing the stones in the machine. This ground had already been covered. Destruction of the Window was impossible. The energy released from the stones had the potential to destroy the world. So Jensen had developed an alternate plan. He would separate the stones powering the device and scatter them throughout time. The procedure was complicated and risky but it was also the only viable option.

  He didn’t blame Tevlok for his inquisitiveness. The destruction of the Time Window had been the only topic of conversation in the lab for the past several days, ever since the council had ordered that all travel be ceased immediately.

  Jensen had lobbied for that course of action. The potential to change the past, present and future was too great. The topic had been hotly debated for months. After numerous sessions, the council finally voted to terminate the Time Window project. The vote was not unanimous or well received. The opposition quietly united and formed a shadowy group known as the Order of Disorder. They crawled from the darkest corners of society and attempted to seize the technology for their own illicit purposes.

  The Order first attempted to steal the Window. When those plans failed, they pursued a more open and hostile path. Led by a former council member, General Jacob Krieg, the Order boldly launched an all-out assault. Krieg, a career military man, made quick work of the council’s royal guard and marched almost unopposed toward the Division of Science and Technology research facility. The council had not been prepared for the lengths the Order had been willing to go and had underestimated their foe.

  Jensen had not. He knew the moment the General got up and calmly walked out of what turned out to be the final council session that he was a man who did not take “no” for an answer.

  Another explosion shook the floor of the laboratory. Small cracks spider webbed across the ceiling and down the walls. Jensen focused on the device and hurriedly rechecked his calculations. Everything appeared to be ready.

  “Tevlok, bring everything here,” he commanded. His assistant placed the items he had gathered on the work bench next to the device.

  Jensen nodded his thanks and retrieved the last of the nine colored stones. Light from the overhead fixtures danced along the silver gem’s edge making it burn with an inner fire.

  “Silver is the most stable key,” he muttered, more to himself than to Tevlok. “It will begin again with you and the boy,” he whispered. Pressing firmly, he placed the final key into the modified device. He took a deep breath and reached for the power button.

  “Stand back, old friend,” he cautioned.

  Tevlok moved away from the table. “Good luck, Doctor,” he offered.

  Jensen flipped the switch and the Time Window sprang to life. The nine stones pulsed in time with one another. The speed and frequency increased in intensity with each passing second. The hair on Jensen’s arms stood up. A tingle ran down his spine. He had experienced these sensations before, but this time something was different. Barely noticeable, but definitely different. His modifications were having the intended effect.

  Shouts from the hallway warned the two scientists that the enemy had advanced to their door. A man screamed. Phase pistols echoed off the outside walls and he fell silent.

  Come on, Jensen thought, Open!

  As if the device read his mind, a vortex flashed into existence behind the work station. A black void filled the previously unoccupied space. Unlike previous portals, Jensen noticed that this one flickered and appeared to be unstable. Good. It threatened to collapse at any minute.

  The doors to the laboratory shook violently as the advancing force attempted to gain entry. The shield Jensen had erected around the lab wouldn’t last much longer.

  Wasting no more time, the elderly scientist picked up the items gathered by his assistant and, one by one, tossed them into the void. Bright flashes of light erupted from the portal as each object breached the event horizon.

  Cannon blasts now pummeled the barricaded doors relentlessly. The shield weakened.

  Tevlok watched his mentor scatter their work across time. His heart ached. He could see anguish on Doctor Jensen’s face as well but new they had no other choice. Difficult times called for difficult decisions.

  The work bench finally clear, Jensen picked up the Time Window and advanced toward the vortex.

  “Wait!” Tevlok cried. “Don’t forget this.”

  Jensen turned to find his assistant holding out a wooden staff.

  “The Signpost,” he sighed, taking it from his friend. “Someone else will lean on you now.” He lovingly caressed the worn wood. He had constructed this staff for himself when the Time Window project first began.

  The phase cannons continued to drain the shields. The lights in the lab dimmed briefly, flickered and died. The last bit of power burned away along with their protection. The shield failed.

  The backup generators kicked in, activating the emergency lig
hting. Their crimson glow appeared to stain the lab with blood.

  “The blood of my people is on my hands,” Jensen blamed himself. He flung the staff into the portal and, again, picked up the modified device. Tevlok pulled a phase pistol from a desk drawer and positioned himself in front of the battered doors. The two friends shared a knowing look. Neither expected to leave the laboratory alive.

  With no further hesitation, Dr. Jadial Jensen hurled the Time Window into the void.

  Explosions ripped through the lab. The vortex closed with a violent discharge of energy. The laboratory doors ripped apart and blew inward. Jensen, caught between the blasts, fell to the floor amid the ruined equipment. Part of a table landed painfully across his body.

  Tevlok fired blindly as soldiers clad all in black entered the room. Bodies littered the floor outside the lab. Phase pistols and rifles fired unceasingly from the ruined doorway. The loyal assistant crumpled to the floor under the withering barrage. His own pistol fell from his lifeless fingers and clattered across the polished tiles.

  Smoke from the battle hung heavily in the air further obscuring Jensen’s already limited view. He lay on his side beneath the desk unable to find the strength to free himself from its weight. His ears still rang from the force and concussion of the twin blasts. The smoke caused him to cough spraying small flecks of blood across the floor. Despite his injuries, he smiled, knowing he had prevented the Order from achieving its goals.

  Movement from the shattered doors drew his attention. Highly polished black boots appeared through the smoke crunching glass and other debris beneath them. A figure materialized before him. A figure he knew all too well. From the boots to the black uniform. The closely cropped blonde hair to the ice blue eyes. The jagged scar running the length of the left side of his face barely missing his left eye. General Jacob Krieg.

  Soldiers threw the desk off the doctor and hauled him roughly to his feet. He was forced to stand before the imposing General. His hands shook. Mastering his fear, Jensen locked eyes with his foes.

  “You’re too late,” he managed to cough. Blood flowed more steadily now from the corner of his mouth. His head dropped to his chest.

  Krieg looked the scientist up and down smiling sadistically.

  “Late?” He questioned. “You better than anyone should know that time is relative, old man. You’ve merely delayed the inevitable.” He smiled again and un-holstered the phase pistol at his side. “All for nothing,” he continued. “The Time Window will be mine, Doctor Jensen. You just won’t be around to witness my triumph.”

  Jensen could hardly maintain his balance. The soldiers to either side kept him upright. His head hung toward the floor. With enormous effort he managed to make eye contact with his adversary one final time.

  “Time will tell, traitor,” the doctor whispered.

  Krieg smirked and continued. “Although time is relative, good doctor, your time is up.”

  He raised his phase pistol and fired.