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  After she had finished, she wiped the snow from her hands. “This is cozy!” She laughed as she sat down.

  Gale looked into the eyes of Force and wondered, How did he end up living with the mermaids?

  So she asked.

  He smiled, but she could feel deep down inside of her a wisp of sadness underneath.

  “The Dellinians picked my abilities up on their scanners the instant I was born, which ironically was on a ship. Several weeks later, a big storm came up. My parents died of a lethal disease, and during that time I fell overboard. It sounds strange, but I remember the waves crashing around me when I fell in. It was cold, before I knew it I had passed out and started my activation phase.” The look in his eyes was far off, as though he was remembering. He stayed that way for a few minutes, then continued, “I was the only one who fell overboard. As soon as the Dellinians detected that I had fallen in, they came to pick me up. Kella brought me to Dellinia, then searched for my parents, but she found out that they had died. So she decided to raise me.”

  He smiled wholeheartedly at that moment and said, “We should probably get an early start tomorrow.”

  Gale looked at him with a soft whimsical smile and replied, “I wonder what we will find. What will they be like? I think that we shouldn’t tell anyone who we are. Otherwise we might create some problems for ourselves.”

  “I completely agree!”

  “So, I think we need to make up some more normal-sounding names,” Gale smiled as she said this.

  “But maybe names that would be normal in 2013 would be very unique in 2212,” Force replied.

  “Yes but, there are several names that have been used for hundreds of years that haven’t gone out of style yet. It would be a better bet than using our real names.”

  “Like what names?”

  “Like Elizabeth, Sara, John, James, Jack, William, Catherine...” replied Gale listing them out on her fingers.

  Force held up his hands and said, “I get it, I get it. I think that you should be Elizabeth!”

  “Alright, then I think that you should be William!”

  Force held out his hand and said, “Agreed!”

  Gale shook it, “Alright then...Will.”

  “We’d better eat, then go to bed so that we can get an early start,” Force said as he grinned.

  “Agreed!” replied Gale.

  Force pulled what looked like a silver gum wrapper out of the bag. He held it over the heat bubble and it quickly expanded until it was slightly bigger than a bag of popcorn.

  “What is it?” Gale asked curiously.

  “It’s called, făinoasé Forțelor, or noasé for short.”

  Gale smiled, This should be interesting, mermaid cuisine! Force took some dry spaghetti type of stuff out the bag.

  “Interesting,” Gale said.

  Force laughed as he lowered the blue and green dry noodles into his mouth.

  “It is actually my favorite food. You might be surprised!” he said with his mouth full.

  She grimaced, “I guess I have to try it.”

  She leaned forward and took some out of the bag. She closed her eyes and quickly lowered it into her mouth as she braced herself.

  She got a sour look on her face, “Gross, but not unbearable!”

  Force laughed, “I can’t believe that our taste buds are so different! Anyway, eat up. We will need our strength for tomorrow.”

  When they had finished, they curled up on opposite sides of the heat ball and went to sleep on the cold ground.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gale struggled awake in the morning. She could hear the wind howling above her and she felt even more coldness in the air than the night before. Force was snoring lightly on the other side of the warmth ball. She slowly sat up and groaned. I am so sore! she thought tiredly. I wonder what time it is. She crawled over to Force and shook him awake, which took about fifteen minutes. When Force was finally sitting up, Gale prepared some of the noodles that Force had called noasé.

  After they ate and Force was fully awake Gale said, “I have no idea what time it is, but I think that we had better start soon. We only have fifty days.”

  Force grinned as he pulled back one of his sleeves, revealing a sleek-looking clock.

  “It’s a clock that the Dellinians invented specifically for time travel. It adjusts when you are travelling so that you always know what time it is! It even has an alarm clock!”

  Gale playfully pushed his shoulder as she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you had an alarm?”

  “Simple, you didn’t ask.” He smiled.

  Gale smiled back and began to tear down and pack the small camp. Force joined her. Once Gale had her cloak on and the camp was packed up, they were standing under a freezing sky and ready to leave. They fastened snowshoes onto their feet, then they both got up onto the snow.

  “This way,” said Force pointing.

  He was holding another contraption that he had taken from the black bag. To Gale it looked suspiciously like a mini GPS.

  “Alright,” she answered.

  Then they started their freezing trek.

  They had to fight the wind every step of the way. They did that for three hours. At two o’clock a group of tent structures came into view.

  “Look!” Gale called over the wind. “A town of some kind I think!”

  “I see it!” called Force in reply.

  As they neared, the wind died down and they saw the ‘village’ clearly for the first time. A myriad of dirty men, women, and children moved in and out of dingy grey, lopsided tents. There were about one hundred of them. Everything was dirty and disarrayed.

  “What is this place?” Gale whispered to Force.

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem good.”

  As they walked into the tent town, they noticed that there was one building made of dirty, rotting logs.

  “Lets head towards that,” whispered Force, “maybe we won’t stand out so much.”

  Gale noticed that everyone they passed was staring at them.

  “Good idea,” she replied, as pity filled her heart for these people that looked half-starved.

  They entered the building. The interior was very dark and dingy. It took Gale’s eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. She had guessed that it would be warmer inside the building. After all, this was the future. But as she took off her hood, a sting of cold air met her face.

  Gale leaned toward Force and asked, “Did we somehow go to the past? This doesn’t seem very much like the future to me.”

  Force replied with a sad look on his face, “That’s impossible. Maybe we are getting a hint right now to what is wrong.”

  “I think we need to investigate. But we aren’t fitting in very well...Will.”

  He raised his eyebrows, “You can say that again.”

  Gale beckoned Force to two empty stools at the bar. It appeared to be a type of diner.

  Suddenly a crash rang out, “Don’t tell me that the conek broke again! Did you hear me when I said that I can’t fix it one more time? This is terrible, if we don’t get some supplies soon, we are doomed!”

  “Ovev! The reciprocater just broke!”

  “No, no! This place is fallin’ apart as we speak!” The red-faced man emerged from a previously unseen door. He was rather round and had a black mustache. He came over to the rickety bar and shouted at everyone while waving his hands, “Go on home, there won’t be any food for you here today or ever again!”

  Everyone groaned and started to get up and leave.

  Gale glanced at Force, then said to the big man, “We are new to the area and have a few questions.”

  The man called Ovev rested his elbows on the table and said, “Well, well – travelers. We don’t usually get those. What are your questions, lass?”

  “What’s the name of this town?”

  Ovev snorted. “Town? It’s a sorry day when a lass doesn’t know the difference between this sad camp and a town. Unfortunately, the only tw
o real “towns” are cities. Huge and deadly. I wouldn’t go near one of them if my life depended on it! Anyway, why am I ramblin’, you two already know that.”

  What is going on? This, the closest thing to a village? What has happened? wondered Gale.

  A girl emerged from the back room. She had shoulder length golden hair and a twinkle in her eye. She was like the others, but she had apparently taken time to wash her face. Her cheeks were young, but Gale could tell that when she got a little older and the baby fat fell off, her cheekbones would be high. Her blue-grey eyes were large and soft. As soon as she saw Force and Gale she stopped in her tracks. She looked stunned and excited. Gale couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she looked familiar.

  She came up to them and said, “Father, have you asked the names of our guests?”

  “Guests? What are you talking about, they aren’t stayin’ with us! Besides, no one bothers with courtesy like that anymore. Especially with people who won’t be staying in camp for two hours!”

  The girl gave her father a pleading look.

  He threw up his hands. “Alright, alright! Would you two care to stay the night? No charge!”

  Force looked at Gale and she nodded. “We’d be happy to,” replied Force.

  Ovev grunted, “I will let my daughter talk to you now. She is the one who is interesting.” Ovev hobbled out of the room.

  The girl took the place of her father. “My name is Tivia. You?”

  “I’m Elizabeth, and this is Will.”

  Tivia smiled at them mysteriously and said, “Come with me.”

  They both got up and followed the girl into a plain room that had one hard wooden bench. She rushed over to the door and shut it. Then she turned to face them with an excited light in her eyes. “I know who you are!”

  How could she know? wondered Gale.

  Force spoke up, “What are you talking about?”

  Tivia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “You don’t have to pretend with me! I know that you come from the past. The year 2013 to be exact. Your real names are Gale and Force! You are using the names William and Elizabeth to try to blend in! You came to save us! And I am going to help you!”

  Gale’s mouth fell open in shock. “How do you know all of that?” she blurted.

  Tivia proudly stood tall and said, “Because I am your descendant! You told this story! It has been passed on. And now I get to see it happen! Through the oral retelling, some of the story has been lost, but I do know that you came back to tell about it!”

  “This is weird!” Gale said, staring with the eyes of a grandmother now (if that were possible). She could see certain looks and features that seemed familiar in Tivia. Gale turned around now, small tears welling in her eyes. “How do you know that we succeeded? Maybe we didn’t! If we can change the future, then the past can be altered also, so maybe I don’t make it back.”

  The weight of the mission came crashing down on Gale at that moment. Now she had seen the people suffering already. All of the faces that she had seen that day would die if she and Force didn’t stop whatever destruction was supposed to happen. Tivia, who looked to be about fourteen, came over and hugged her.

  “I have always wanted to do that! You are a legend in the family! You must succeed, and I’m sure that you will!”

  A small smile played around Force’s lips, “I know you two long-lost relations probably want to continue your reunion, but we do have some things to talk about!”

  Gale laughed, “Be patient! You’re right.”

  Gale, Force and Tivia settled down on the hard dirt floor.

  “So, tell us anything that might be useful. We have to save humanity, but we don’t even know what the problem is,” Force said.

  Tivia’s face became serious. “First of all, you have to know some of the history. I think that I partially know why humanity may be wiped out, but first I have to explain a couple of things.

  About twenty years ago, all cities were thriving. The best technology was available to everyone. Global warming had been taken care of, and there were only ten countries in the world. Father tells me that the world was almost perfect. Crime almost never happened, and when it did, the punishment was always fair. But then, in the countries of Europa and Tactica, two influential politicians arose. They convinced their political systems that they couldn’t trust the other countries and that they needed to create weapons to keep themselves safe.

  “So Tactica and Europa revived the plans for deadly weapons that had been put away when everyone had agreed to the trust pact in 2032, therefore gaining world peace. Slowly, the two politicians wormed their way through the moral politicians who didn’t see what they were doing. They both lied, saying that other countries were about to invade. In the moments of their false crises, they took control. Their systems, which had been balanced monarchies, in that moment changed to dictatorships. Slowly over the next five years, the two politicians, Ginvay and Jaegear, killed all of the rebellions and people who might oppose them. Neither of them was satisfied with having complete control over one of the ten countries. They wanted more. So both of them set out to take over all countries. They used the terrible weapons they had created. By using the weapons, they have destroyed all of the cities in the world but two. Draysok and Keesen.” At this, tears started pouring out of Tivia’s eyes.

  Gale scooted over and hugged her. “What’s wrong?”

  “My mother was killed in one of those attacks.”

  “That’s terrible!”

  “You understand the destruction, but you don’t understand the consequences of greed and our technological advancements. These are much, much worse than any weapons you have in 2013. They spread disease. And the suffering is terrible. So now, Ginvay and Jaegear each have control over five countries. They are fighting each other with all they have. Concern for their very own people is something that they don’t have. They live in palaces. They are forcing the best scientists in the world to create more complex and deadly weapons. All they care about is their own safety. I doubt that they even care that they have destroyed ninety-nine percent of the worlds cities, towns, and villages. Medical supplies are scarce… a quarter of our population dies every year from diseases that we know how to heal, but don’t have the resources to. We are always scraping to get by. They don’t replace our food supplies. They don’t trade. There is no economic structure in place anymore. This building is our dining hall, our hospital, our silo, our school. Everything important is kept here. Father is the leader of this camp. He tries to educate us in some of the sciences and language, but there is less and less time for that. Slowly we are losing the knowledge that we have gained. Right now you are in Jaegear’s half of the world. Draysok is about one-hundred and twenty miles from here.”

  Gale and Force both looked grim. “We need a plan,” said Force.

  At that moment the door opened and a boy that looked about eighteen stepped into the room. He had dark blonde hair and his nose was rather round. A mischievous grin shone on his face as he said, “Well, what have we here?”

  Tivia jumped up and ran over to him. “They’re here Liam! It’s them!”

  His eyes went wide. “It is definetly them! The stories are true,” he whispered. He tried to smooth down his hair, then he held out his hand and said, “Pleased to meet you both. My name is Liam. I’m Tivia’s brother.” Gale and Force stood up and shook it.

  “Hi!” said Force cheerily.

  Tivia jumped up and down, “Oh, oh! I have something to show you both!” She ran out of the room. Liam looked self conscious as he tried to find something to say.

  Force spoke and said, “Relax, she hasn’t even been a parent yet, she’s still younger than you are!” That made Liam smile and become less tense.

  Tivia came back carrying a small piece of paper. When she got closer, Gale saw that it was a photograph.

  “Father was able to duplicate this before Mavhaven, our city, was destroyed.” She handed it to Gale, Oh. My. Goodness, she thought w
ith shock. Staring up at her from the photo was herself and Force. It looked like they were both a couple of years older.

  This was validated when Tivia said, “This is you and Force two years after you came back.” Gale smiled.

  After a few minutes Force broke the silence by saying, “Back to the plan. Do you have any current maps, Tivia?”

  “Yes!” she replied.

  “Okay, so the real question is, how we can stop these two people from destroying Earth.”

  “Everyone is afraid of both of them. But there are still some people who are brave and haven’t given up hope. They just need a leader. If you can infiltrate both of the palaces, then you can make an effort to take Ginvay and Jaegear captive. They each have a group of loyal guards that protect them. But if you get past the guards and capture them, then everyone in the city would change loyalty in a snap.”

  “Okay, so we have fifty days to do this, and we also need to get to Dellinia,” said Gale.

  “I think we should split up. There is too much to do, and too little time to do it,” answered Force.

  “I disagree. If something happens to one of us then we won’t have backup. It is easier to defeat one person than two,” replied Gale.

  “That makes sense,” conceded Force.

  “What kind of transportation do you use?” Gale asked Liam and Tivia.

  Liam replied, “We walk. We don’t have the resources to use any other machine. Draysok is one-hundred and twenty miles from here. Keesen is another sixty miles.”

  “How far do you think we can go each hour, Force?” Gale asked.

  “Three miles at the most. Definitely not any more than that in this weather,” he replied,

  “Where do we find the people that are willing to help us?”

  “Oh, they are scattered throughout the world. But there is a small camp of about thirty people halfway to Draysok. It is rumored that they are escaped survivors of a failed rebellion,” Tivia answered.

  “Well, I guess that we will start out tomorrow,” Force said, “It was nice meeting you two!”