The Promise of the Orb by Marshall Cobb

Author:Marshall Cobb [Cobb, Marshall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cerro Plano Press
Published: 2018-04-02T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN: Recharged

It took quite a bit of explaining to calm Eli down. No matter how many times Jenny assured him that she had no interest in Peter—well, at least in dating Peter—Eli kept coming back to the fact that they had been caught holding hands.

Peter tried over and over to explain that they had been holding hands out of fear, not love, but Eli would not buy that argument either. According to Eli (as well as Matt and Irene), Peter and Jenny had just walked out the door when Eli decided not to wait. There was no time for Peter and Jenny to have had their adventure with Bartholomew because they had been gone less than a minute.

Jenny tried several times to explain the term fungible, then switched to defining malleable. Eli and Irene understood the terms, eventually. Matt—not so much. No one, however, understood how walking in to a church and speaking with a short, bald man with a large mustache had altered time. Eli in particular was convinced that something else must have happened.

“You were the one who didn’t want to mention this Bartholomew to begin with. Now you want us to believe that in the minute you were gone you had this long conversation with this guy, and the only thing you really learned is that Orb was the one who had the river dammed?” Eli shook his head. “Oh, and that you like holding hands with my girlfriend!”

Finally, a frustrated Jenny screamed at Eli, “I never said I was your girlfriend. If you want to believe we’re standing in Mexico because of a magical Orb but you refuse to believe what Peter and I are telling you, then go to hell, Eli!”

Jenny stormed off down the street, no longer worrying about keeping her skirt aloft but still conscious of the gaps and holes in the cobblestone road. Eli stared at her, perplexed, then back at everyone else. Peter motioned to Eli that he should go after Jenny and, after a moment he did.

They watched him catch up to Jenny, who refused to stop walking, and then plead with her as they both disappeared around a corner. Matt then turned back to Peter, smiled, and said, “I guess we know the quickest way to get your brother worked up, right?”

Peter stared at Matt, and then beyond him at the darkened room that lay behind the giant, open door. Without answering Matt, Peter strode past and went straight for the coolers. He was not sure why, but he was suddenly hungry. Very, very hungry.

***

A couple of hours later, as the sun began its descent, Eli and Jenny reappeared at the door to their quarters. They were not holding hands, and did not look particularly happy, but Peter thought it was at least a small positive sign that they were not yelling at each other.

Eli stared at Peter, who sat leaning against a wall reading a book. Peter’s shoes were, as usual, off, and the bottoms of his dirty feet cried out for a washing.

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