The Jewels of Elsewhen by Ted White

Author:Ted White
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, sci-fi
Publisher: Belmont Books
Published: 2019-08-09T04:00:00+00:00

A branch tore at him, and a scream echoed in his ears. His stomach lurched, and his arms and legs flailed helplessly. He was falling.

Brilliant patterns of yellow and green pinwheeled past him, and then he hit the ground with a jarring thump.

He hit with his back, on his shoulders, in a roll. His feet somersaulted over his head.

He laid unmoving for a moment, staring up at the roof of leaves and patches of warm sky beyond. Somewhere close by an insect was buzzing. Farther off birds called. A bearded face poked through the leafy boughs and peered down at him. It was perhaps eighteen feet above him.

A black-clad arm appeared, elbowing a branch aside. The face scowled.

Earn screamed again. He placed her a little to his right.

But he stared at the malevolent face, his gaze transfixed.

It disappeared.

He had a vision of an impatient man twiddling with dials. That had to be what the other adjustments were for: fine tuning, as it were, that located you just right, the floors level, out away from walls or furniture you might walk into. It made sense. He could imagine the man with the beard and the scowl making the necessary adjustments. In a minute his head would materialize again, within a few feet of them, and his crew of men would march through and seize them, and the whole thing would be over with.

He could relax now. It was done: done and finished. They had been delivered into higher hands. He took a deep breath and smelled the sweet-scented air. He’d almost forgotten the smell of woods: leaf-mold, flower scents, the rustle of leaves in the breeze…

“I think I broke my leg,” Kim moaned.

He didn’t want to go back. To hell with New York City in all its guises. To hell with all those men running around in black costumes. To hell with it!

“I’ll carry you,” he said, rolling over and onto his feet. “I’ve got my breath back now. We gotta get moving.” His head felt a little dizzy, and his shoulders ached, but otherwise he was all right. He looked down at Kim.

She was a sorry sight. Her skirt was tom, and bunched high on her thighs. She was holding her leg awkwardly.

“Not much time left,” he said as he stooped over her. It was in the nature of an apology for him, an apology for what he had to do. “Just hold on, okay?” He bent down and seized her waist, pulling her up, over, and across his shoulders. His shoulders protested, but that couldn’t matter. He slung her across his back, her legs down across his chest, in an impromptu version of the fireman’s carry, and stared quickly around.

They’d fallen into a clearing. A narrow meandering trail led across it. It looked like an animal trail. He chose the exit closest, and made for it.

Dodging tree roots and whipping brush, he dogged heavily along the trail, conscious of Kim’s growing weight, and aware too of the jolts he was giving her.

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