The return of the Wednesday Freebie!

 At the risk of revealing too much, I thought I would allow everyone a free look at Chapter 16 of my latest book, What it's Like to Travel Time: Double Trouble. And if you like it, don't forget, January1st is the last day of the End of the Year Sale only at Smashwords, where you can buy this book for half the price! That's only a $1.49! Don't delay. Get it today! Click here.

Chapter 16

   Our Candace had returned to the lab at Caltech. To the Traveler, it seemed she merely winked from existence for only a few seconds. She wasn’t the same. It was as if a switch controlled her moods and the switch had been flipped. She stood where she appeared. It seemed like she wasn’t really aware of her surroundings.

   “Candace,” he said. He knew how she felt but didn’t think he should try to comfort her. He wanted to, but he thought he should wait until she clearly wanted him to say something.

   She noticed the chair in front of her and practically fell into it. She wasn’t facing away from the Traveler out of anger or spite. That was just how the chair was facing. Candace wasn’t thinking about being polite. It couldn’t be further from her mind. She felt numb.

   “Candace,” our Traveler repeated. “I know what you’re feeling. I don’t have siblings but I can imagine what it’s like to feel loss.”

   Candace turned her head towards him, perhaps because she felt compelled to acknowledge him.

   “She isn’t gone,” he said. “She wasn’t before and she won’t be again. Timelines are like Schrodinger’s cats. They’re both here and not here. It’s… all relative.”

   “What do you mean?” said Candace.

  “Well, surely you’ve heard of Schrod—”

   “Yes! I know what Schrodinger’s cat is! What do mean by it?”

   “Well… Unlike most people, we have an advantage. We can take a peek. We can manipulate events that can cause—”

   “Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

   “What? No! No, I’m not saying we should change the world to suit us. I’m saying we can make it possible to visit anyone we miss.”

   “What if I don’t want it to go back the way it was? What happens if I decide I don’t ever want it to change back?”

   Our Traveler had been caught. He was deceived by the situation and let his guard down. And they were so close. Events had been falling into place almost perfectly. There were a couple of times where it seemed like everything was starting to unravel and lose control but he was able to fix it. And now the one thing he felt he really needed to watch out for had gotten past him. Candace had done it. She backed it him into a corner. If he lies to her now, there’s a chance that she wouldn’t accept his answer and take matters into her own hands. If that happens, then things would really get out of hand. But… then again… if he tells her the truth…

   “I think I need to have a talk with myself,” Candace said. “Could you show me how to find her?”

   “Candace, please. Let me explain,” he said. “I was following orders. I didn’t know.” That seemed to make matters worse. He didn’t understand her sudden reaction. “What wrong? Was it something I said?”

   “You really don’t know, do you?” Candace said but not with anger. She sounded concerned. “You really don’t know how wrong you sound?”

   “Wrong? Why?” He couldn’t understand what was happening with her. Candace’s mood had changed. If he could find out what she was thinking by simply checking her status readings, he would’ve done it in a heartbeat.

   “I think I know what’s happening,” she said. “Let me ask you something.”

   “Yes?”

   “Is it possible… wait a minute.”

   Whatever her question was, it would seem the naNabots were giving her the answer. She brought up her display on her arm and started going through a couple of menus. She stopped to read something. Whatever it was, it was something that startled her. She closed her display and just stood there, not saying a word.

   “Candace,” he said. She didn’t answer. “Candace, what is it? Candace, talk to me. What did you find out? What is it?”

   After what seemed like forever, she said three words that scared the hell out of him.

   “You’re the anomaly.”

   “No. Y-you're wrong. That can’t be right.”

   “Not just you, both of you. You’re both an anomaly. Neither of you belong here.”

   “Once you’ve determined which one it is, you can search for the specific RF reading by the age of the decay signature.”

   “Oh, okay,” Candace said. “Well, that seems simple enough.”

   “You shouldn’t go alone,” said our Traveler. “It’s too dangerous.”

   “I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Candace said. “It’s him I need to worry about, not the other me.”

   “She hasn’t been far from him. It’s too risky.”

   “I’ll be okay. I promise. I’ll hit the emergency jump trip if there’s a problem.”

   Some people believe that if you say someone’s name often enough, strange things happen. For instance, if you had been thinking of calling your closest friend all day, the phone will ring. Then you answer to find it’s them on the other end. Or visiting your closest friend has been on your mind lately. Then your doorbell rings, and you open the door to find them standing there. Well, it would seem such strange occurrences are not just limited to normal dimensions. Not one second ticked by before Candace finished saying, ‘I’ll hit the emergency jump trip if there’s a problem,’ when suddenly the other Candace appeared right before them.

   “We have to go,” the other Candace said.

   Before our Candace had the chance to protest or question her motives, her other version grabbed her by the arm and they both vanished.

   The Traveler was astonished. “Well,” he said. “I didn’t know we could do that.”