6
William lay unconscious in a fetal position. Most of his body was on the grassy banks of a stream with his feet in the water. Directly above him was a natural span of land from one elevated bank to another. In the distance, horses in water and on land could be heard approaching.
Men’s voices mixed into the distant sounds. A group of seven men on horseback were discussing in loud tones facts relating to the disappearance of a newborn baby just hours ago. For the moment their backs were turned to William; they had not seen him crouched on the ground. Only a few moments ago, the men had rode over the very spot William’s body was now covering. The cold water at William’s feet and the voices of the men nearby were starting to awaken him. His eyes opened facing the ground. Now he could clearly comprehend the nearby conversations.
“Are you sure?” demanded Matthew. “How is it possible that Daniel just vanished?”
“I must believe that while that idiot brother-in-law of yours was sleeping, an outlaw must have snatched the baby out of the bassinet!” Charles Brookfield, Matthew’s uncle, was the eldest of the bewildered group of men. Normally level-headed and forceful enough to quell his nephew’s general distemper, the disappearance of the infant had him, nevertheless, seriously alarmed.
“Well, how do you explain the water then?”
“Look, Matthew, there must be somebody in this area who knows this place better than we do. It is very possible that Daniel is nearby. Do not give up hope just yet,” the uncle replied.
“Kate,” William heard himself whisper. As he started to raise himself, William noticed the surroundings around him had changed. The vegetation was more lush and plentiful. The paved pathway was no longer there. There were no tourists and his family had vanished.
William turned toward the men who now had tied their horses to nearby branches. They were sitting on large rocks in a circle, and one man was pointing into the ground with a bayonet. William instinctively took half a step in their direction, and then froze. He caught a glimpse of the horsemen’s rifles and long pistols, the barrels of which were clad in wood. Rubbing his forehead, he extended and pressed his two bottom fingers into his eyes almost as if to wipe the scene around him back to what it was like just a few minutes ago. He removed his hand from his forehead, hoping for a miracle. The vision before him remained unchanged.
The thought: “I desperately need to know!” raced through William’s mind. “Just what in the hell is going on?” he yelled out loud.
On cue, the men turned in William’s direction, disbelief visible on their faces. They were less than one hundred feet from where William stood. William was wearing a bright nylon tracksuit, clothing unfamiliar to the horsemen. One of them raised his weapon.
“Sir! I command you to remain as you are,” one of the men ordered.
“Matthew, lower your weapon; that pistol is no threat at this range.”
The elder horseman’s whispered comments were inaudible to William. William was becoming concerned; he had no idea what was going on or if he was in danger.
“Who are you and what do you want?” William shouted in the direction of the horsemen. Matthew Bulow, the man who had first spoken, lowered his handgun to the ground then reached for the rifle lying at his feet. William thought at first that he was lowering his weapon to show a sign of peace, but then he noticed that the horseman was actually raising a long rifle, which appeared to have the necessary range.
“Oh shit!”
William turned to run in the direction away from the horsemen. Reacting, the horseman Matthew fired his rifle. A second horseman had already found his rifle and joined his cousin in firing on the fleeing stranger.
“Hold your fire!” yelled out the elder. He jolted toward the riflemen as they prepared to reload and grabbed both rifle barrels, one in each hand. “You idiots! I would bet my horse that the strange person you scared off has the answer to the whereabouts of baby Daniel.”
“Uncle, there is no way out of this ravine for him now.” Matthew was already releasing his horse and climbing on. The others were joining him.
William felt the two rifle rounds strike rocks and nearby water, in dangerously close proximity to him. Not knowing what lay ahead, but certain the horsemen would harm him if they caught him, he ran for his life along the banks of the stream. He looked back and saw the group now on horseback and in full pursuit. As he ran along the edge of the stream he relied on his expensive athletic shoes and his physical fitness to maneuver him over the jagged rocks and slippery grasses.
Another shot rang past him. William saw the opening of a cave just ahead. As he scrambled up a small hill to the entrance, he quickly realized the cave was only thirty feet deep or so. There was nowhere to hide. The opening of the cave was very wide with the center of it blocked by heavy vegetation, but the left side remained slightly opened. By now all of the horsemen were at the foot of the hill leading up to the entrance of the cave. They simultaneously dismounted their horses and scrambled up the hill, their weapons leading the way.
William saw the horsemen approaching; they were so close now he could see the look of confidence on their faces. In perfect timing to their entry, William quietly eased through the vegetation on the far end of the opening and darted to one of the last horses left at the foot of the hill. William mounted the horse with ease and directed him in the same direction he ran.
The horse galloping on the hard ground and rocks alarmed the men in the cave. Turning toward the opening, they could see William’s bright tracksuit flash by on one of their horses. William was relieved to be on a vehicle equal in speed to that of his pursuers. His horse slowed almost to a stop before jumping a stream in their path. As he passed the stream, he glanced to his side and saw an odd sight. The stream was gushing into a large hole and continuing underground. The horse charged forward.
William looked back and saw the distant chasers pursuing him. William had no idea where this path would lead him. Up ahead the ravine curved. William maintained his horse’s speed. The horse obeyed. Allowing his own head to drop momentarily, William lost clear vision of the path ahead. As he regained focus, his heart raced to his throat.
Just ahead, a small deep pond received a picture perfect waterfall, abruptly ending his escape route. The horse was still at full speed so William frantically pulled at the reins with all of his strength. The horse labored to stop but as it saw the edge of the deep pond, it managed to stop completely. William’s body, still traveling a good speed, flew forward over the head of the horse directly in to the deep pond. The cold water shocked him and the catapulting dive sent him to the very bottom. Pushing off the bottom with all the strength he could find, he propelled his body upward.
William’s mouth opened the instant it broke the surface of the water but luckily, his loud gasps for air were muffled by the sound of the waterfall. He treaded the cold water, listening for sounds of the approaching horsemen, but all he could hear was the waterfall directly behind him. Certain that the rifles of the horsemen would appear any moment, William swam in the direction of the only refuge he could see.
The underside of the elevated rocks that led him into the pond cantilevered over the water. William was now under the rocks and had only a few inches of air. He twisted his head to give his mouth access to a pocket of air hidden to the bewildered hunters directly on the rocks above him. William’s disappearance without a trace into the clear pond baffled the group pursuing him. One horseman screamed out:
“I want my son back!”
William recognized this voice as the same one that yelled out earlier at him, the one belonging to the man who fired his rifle first. Holding on to the rock for dear life and attempting to avoid disturbing the small rippling on the water’s surface, William was not prepared for the next shock. The man who yelled out, venting frustration over his predicament, picked up a large boulder, raised it over his head, and slammed it into the center of the pond.
The first resulting wave came at William with no warning. The water displaced by the large boulder filled the gap under the rocks. Water entered William’s open mouth, choking him; his convolutions were uncontrollable. William felt large amounts of liquid entering his lungs. He pushed himself toward his previously safe gap, banging his head on the underside of the rock.
A gash appeared on his forehead, spilling his blood from the wound. He had hoped to find enough air to clear his lungs but the air was not there. It was no use. The air space was now compromised by the disturbed surface of the water. Dark blood, which appeared black to William from his underwater position, was flowing toward the edge of the rocks. He knew he no longer had a choice. He had to expose himself if his blood had not already done so.
“Matthew, you need to control yourself.”
The elder of the group was holding onto Matthew’s elbow and arm. As the elder finished his sentence, Matthew’s cousin, Jesse, noticed red blood emerging from the bottom of the rock below them.
“Father, look, there must be…”
Jesse’s observations were interrupted by William’s body being pulled forward and out from under the rock by a hand that had found the front of the rock ledge. Matthew already held his pointed rifle at William’s bobbing head.
“Get him out of there safely, we need him alive.”
To this command, two of the group’s hired hands jumped in the water. William had no strength to fight them off; more than anything else he needed air. The men placed William over a rifle elevated horizontally above the surface of the water. They dragged him over to a ledge in the pond where the depth of the water was only knee high.
As they pulled up on the rifle, the pressure of it in William’s chest and stomach forced him to expel much of the water in his lungs, breathing through his coughing. The two men continued to drag William out through the stream until they were close enough to the bank to allow them to place him at the feet of the others waiting. Matthew and Jesse arrived first and took over the efforts of their drenched comrades. They each grabbed one of William’s arms and plucked him out of the water, dropping him onto the adjacent ground. William’s face was bloody from the gash that was still bleeding on his forehead.
“What do you want from me?” William struggled to speak in between his gasps for air. They responded with a blow to his head from Matthew’s fist.
“I want my son!”
“Matthew, I swear I will shoot you myself if you do not control your temper,” threatened the elder of the group.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” William, visibly shaking and scared for his life, gasped out over the conversation of his captor. The elder turned his attention away from his nephew and addressed William, glaring at him, his voice very firm.
“Sir, please listen carefully. It is obvious to us you have something to hide. It is also obvious to us you are not from these parts. We are certain you have knowledge of my nephew’s baby, who disappeared only hours ago at the very spot we first saw you under the natural land bridge ahead.”
The elder of the group paused to see if there was any reaction to what he had said so far. His instincts told him that this man certainly had something to do with the disappearance of baby Daniel. He also realized that the injured man before him was not dangerous, but probably scared out of his mind. Without response from William, the elder resumed his appeal more diplomatically.
“My name is Charles Brookfield, this is my son Jesse, and the over-anxious, violent man to my right is the missing baby’s father, Matthew Bulow. These other men are my employees. Sir, may we know your name?”
“William! William Monterey! I think I know where I am, but I have no idea who you are or what very realistic nightmare of mine you have come from. I have no idea what you are talking about regarding a missing baby.“
“Liar!”
Matthew launched at William, ready to strike him again but he was restrained, this time by Jesse.
“Mr. Monterey, I am trying to help you, we know you can assist us in finding our Daniel. Please do not allow yourself to be left in the hands of the law. I can assure you they will treat you far worse than my nephew is capable of, even in his current state.”
William realized that no matter what he said, they remained convinced that he had caused the disappearance of their infant.
“I need time to think this through, please take me to the place where your child went missing.”
Before Matthew had a chance to blurt out his reply to William, Charles held his hand up and motioned to his men to grab William and accompany him in the direction of the Natural Bridge.
“Uncle, he is stalling…”
“Matthew, we have time to let Mr. Monterey come to his senses and assist us in finding your son. Now, Mr. Monterey, please consider the importance of giving us the answers we need. Your life may depend on it.”
Charles’s threatening words stuck in William’s mind. He knew that these men meant business. He also knew that if he could not help them find their missing baby and they could not be reasoned with, his life was in danger. William wanted to wake up from this dream but the problem was, he knew it was no dream. Everything about his predicament was so real to him.
As his captors led him forward, William tried to make sense of what had happened in the last hour. He thought that he had become lost in a different time and somehow ended up in an era not his own. Yet, his rational mind doubted this and he shook his head in confusion. Nothing seemed to make sense! These men were dressed in a style similar to the turn of the century, their weapons antique to him, his surroundings bearing no images of modern-day elements such as posted signs, concrete construction or litter.
Litter! William realized that there must be litter of some kind that would give away the era in which he found himself. William’s eyes searched the landscape. Nothing! The area was totally unspoiled. He considered asking Charles, the elder, to clarify for him some of the nagging uncertainties that were bombarding his brain. The group was moving at a walking pace, two men on foot holding William, the others following on horseback. William turned his head to search for Charles’s face. One of the men holding him pulled at his arm as if he was directing his horse to stay forward.
“Please keep moving, Mr. Monterey.”
Charles did not invite William to speak his mind and so William now rethought his immediate plan. He had no idea how he could convince these men that he was not responsible for the disappearance of their child. He realized that he must escape somehow. The group was approaching the small stream that William recalled crossing earlier. As he stared at the small cavern the stream emptied into, a thought came to him.
“I need some water!” William heard himself blurt out, while he studied the cavern and considered his next move.
“Very well, Mr. Monterey, you may stop for a moment to splash some water on your face.”
Charles was maintaining diplomacy; Matthew was nervous about the stranger’s request. William walked toward the stream, headed diagonally three steps and was now at the point where the stream entered the cavern. On his first attempt to cup water in his hands, William stared forward into the cavern, the direction of his gaze invisible to the others. He studied the darkness of the opening, its size and shape, and immediately saw that it could easily accommodate his size. In fact, the water had eroded a slippery slide downward.
Without thinking about it for another moment, William leaned forward with his hands cupped as if to take some more water and then dived downward into the rushing water. The men behind him scrambled to the opening, terrified by the sight they had just witnessed.
“He must be mad! This cavern will surely lead him to his death! Now we will never find Daniel!”
They stared into the dark opening, convinced the stranger they had just met would rather commit suicide than face the wrath of their lawless justice. Charles was in disbelief.
“Well, Matthew, now we must go home and report to Sarah that you scared to death the only person who could have helped us find her baby.”
Matthew turned away and mounted his horse.
“There is no certainty that man knew the whereabouts of Daniel.”
“Matthew, I am telling you I could see it in his eyes, Daniel was very familiar to him. I suggest not telling Sarah how close we came to finding out what happened to her baby. She may never forgive either of us.”