Timefire by Nean McKenzie

Author:Nean McKenzie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MidnightSun
Published: 2023-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Gil woke to the sound of distant electronic music. He lay with his eyes closed for a moment, a smile playing across his face. He didn’t know the song, but it was twenty-first-century music if ever he’d heard it – definitely not from the 1930’s. Gil opened his eyes. It was coming from quite close by. Maybe someone’s car.

He sat up and shaded his eyes against the brightness. He was in a forest of some kind and it smelt like summer. He had no idea how long he’d slept – it could have been for days – but it felt like it was the afternoon. He sat up, grimacing at the pain where his left hip had been pressed against the ground. A dragonfly zipped by, its jewelled wings glowing in the sunlight. Gil got to his feet. His clothes stuck to him, stiff with dried mud and ash.

The sound of the music had faded away. A magpie warbled nearby, then all was quiet. Gil frowned. Usually when he’d arrived in a new time, his relative would just appear. But there was no one here. He chewed his lip. Vargo hadn’t wanted him to come here. It had been his own idea and he’d known there was a risk. Was this the reason he was not supposed to travel in his timeline? Maybe he was going to have to look for his mum and how was he going to do that? He got out his phone, but, as usual, there didn’t seem to be any internet connection. That was no help to him.

Gil’s stomach rumbled and he searched through his bag. There was no food left. He spied a sort of path through the tall, thin saplings and headed down it. Birds chirped from deep within the trees. Hopefully, he was going in the right direction. Food was his first priority.

2020 was in his lifetime, so it shouldn’t be that different to 2033. Gil was pretty confident he’d be able to find someone to help. He followed the path which led out of the trees into a clearing. Scattered tree ferns were shaded by towering stringy gums above. Up ahead, a dark-haired woman was on her knees digging in the ground with a trowel. Gil stopped. Was this his mother?

The woman looked up. She saw Gil and her eyes widened. She was still for a moment, then got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her knees. She held up a hand in greeting.

‘Hello, Gil. What on earth are you wearing?’

Gil gaped at the woman in front of him. How could his mum know at once who he was? He was a baby in 2020. Confused thoughts flitted around in his brain. Maybe it wasn’t her. He peered at her more closely. She looked a little bit like his mother’s photo, but older. Could it be after 2020? Gil sucked in a breath. Maybe he had managed to change the future.

‘You look like you’ve just come out of a bushfire,’ the woman said.

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