Read Eli Arnold and the Keys to Forever Book One: It's About Time Page 18

CHAPTER NINE

  525 A.D.

  Funny thing about time travel is that it’s extremely unpredictable. Time is a road. It turns often but never ends.

  Another funny thing about time travel is that it seemed to get easier the second time around. My head didn’t throb as it had before. No memory loss accompanied me through the portal. In fact, the only thing that did come with me through the rift lay in a pile a few feet away.

  Haphazard had been reduced to a pile of bandages - one end still stuck to the bottom of my right shoe. Served the old guy right. I kicked gingerly at the heap of dusty wrappings to be sure no scarabs or locusts survived the trip. The last thing I needed was some blood thirsty, curse-driven insect following me through time. Much to my great relief, nothing scrambled from the pile. But there was something there.

  Nestled among the tattered wrappings lay a brilliant red jewel that glowed with an inner light. It must have been concealed within Haphazard’s bindings. Of course! The Heart of Ra! That explained the pulsing red light beating in Haphazard’s chest.

  I leaned down and retrieved the stone from the ground. A small tingle ran through my fingers as my hand closed around the Heart. The same type of tingle I had experienced in the pyramid but with much less intensity. There must have been some type of power emanating from the stone. Grabbing some of my mummy’s bandages, I wrapped the Heart of Ra and stored it in my pack.

  The sun hung low in the western sky. I needed to figure out when and where I had been transported. Maybe Brady had found his way here as well. Investigation of the Heart would have to wait until later.

  Forests stood thickly on all sides. Large, tall hardwood trees indicated I had landed much farther north than I had been before. No direction held more appeal than another, so I struck out randomly through the trees. Travel proved to be much easier than it had been in the South American rain forest allowing me to cover a good distance in a short amount of time.

  The day faded quickly. The sinking sun allowed darkness and a chill air to settle over the forest. I located a handful of medium sized stones and placed them in a ring to contain the fire I planned to build. Burnable wood littered the forest floor.

  I thought back to building a similar fire with my brother after the spaceship crashed. I couldn’t even be sure how much time had actually passed. I hoped Brady was alright. Tears threatened to spill so I busied myself with making a camp.

  I no longer had the super cool pink parachutes to use as a tent so I gathered wood and branches from the forest. Within a few minutes, I had a roaring fire before me and a primitive but effective roof over my head.

  My shelter consisted of flexible saplings lashed together with vines and covered with branches and leaves - crude but effective.

  The night was a blanket. By the light of my fire, I ate a dinner of a candy bar and a bottle of water. A nearby creek provided me with a plentiful supply of clean fresh water so I refilled all my empty containers. The pure water was fantastic compared to the water from my own time.

  Warm and fed, I pulled out the Heart of Ra to conduct a more thorough examination. It measured roughly 4 inches long by 2 inches wide and weighed about 3 pounds. The surfaces and edges were cut like a jeweler would cut an expensive diamond. The numerous facets made the glow of the fire jump and dance along the gem’s surface. The strange tingling sensation did not return.

  The stone possessed impressive beauty, however, my examination didn’t discern any special or magical properties. A little disappointed, I returned the Heart to my pack and lay down on a bed of pine needles. Exhaustion overwhelmed me and I drifted into a much needed slumber. Brady occupied my dreams. Together we fought aliens, jaguars, and mummies.