Dogs of S.T.E.A.M. by Ralph E. Vaughan

Author:Ralph E. Vaughan [Vaughan, Ralph E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dog in the Night Books
Published: 2016-01-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8: When Worlds Collide

Present Day

Otay, California

Earth 1

The S.T.E.A.M. dogs followed Gearhead out of the Time Rift, though ‘followed’ was not quite the right word. Legs moved and paws padded, but they felt motionless within a swirling universe. Around them they sensed rather than saw an accelerating panoply of possible worlds. One of those possible worlds was Gearhead’s goal, the alternate reality he had mistaken for their own, in which he sensed the presence of Lord Cerberus, a world more than a century in advance of their own and a universe away.

The shifting mists of the Rift closed around them. Gearhead felt a desperate urgency. The fissure created by Lord Cerberus’ use of the stolen Time Disruptor was devolving toward oblivion. The little Corgi-mix did not know whether they could survive within the Rift once it closed or would be snuffed out of existence as if they had never been, and he did not want to find out.

As a frigid nothingness formed behind them the world ahead took shape, acquired substance. They saw buildings coalesce around them, streets that were not lit by gaslamp or any kind of electric with which they were familiar, and parked vehicles obviously not powered by steam engines. It was night.

They were out of the Rift and there remained nothing to show that it had ever existed. Gearhead breathed a half-sigh of relief, then turned to make sure he had reason to feel relief. He saw Chauncey and Penelope close to him, with Spyro slightly behind them, but no sign of either Quigley or Sergeant Beefsteak. The Corgi-mix almost yelped in alarm, but Chauncey motioned for silence.

“Don’t draw attention to us, pup,” the Bulldog advised, looking warily at the darkened, ramshackle structures.

Spyro whipped about, vanished into the night, then returned a few moments later with Quigley and the dog from Scotland Yard. The Bearded Collie’s coat was damp and Beefsteak’s smart vest was streaked with mud.

“What happened to you two?” Penelope asked.

“The Sergeant and I ended up in a drainage ditch,” Quigley said. “Just some standing water, fortunately.” He looked around. “Seems we are all present and in good shape. Well done, Gearhead. Now, where exactly are we…and when?”

“Not exactly sure on the where, Guv,” Gearhead admitted. “As to the when, if the dogs I spoke to earlier are to be believed, then we are nearly one-hundred-thirty years in advance of our own time.”

“Great Gelert!” Spyro exclaimed.

Quigley murmured: “We must find some way to immediately contact the Ministry about the situation.”

“We may be in the American Colonies,” Chauncey observed.

“Even in the Colonies…”

“These buildings seem to have a touch of Spanish influence to them,” Penelope mentioned.

“Still, the Ministry…” Quigley started to say.

“…may not exist,” Gearhead interrupted. “The events in this world’s past may not match ours. As you pointed out, Guv, there may be nothing to keep Lord Cerberus from dominating this world as he tried to do in ours…presumably the reason he chose to flee to this world. There may be no S.T.E.A.M., no agency to stand against Lord Cerberus, perhaps even no British Empire.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.