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Now that William had read the label he did not care if the bottle disintegrated. He picked it up, and with the limp material in his hand, he stood up and dared to look forward so that he could get a real good look at this new world he was in. William had to adjust his eyes. The sun was so bright he had a hard time looking into the distance. The light in that direction was almost blinding. He looked back to his hand that was holding the bottle and by now the bottle had shriveled up like it was a thin layer of cellophane. William dropped the flake of new-age plastic to the ground and looked around at his surroundings. He could see the remains of the concrete sidewalk he had left behind when he was together with Kate. And the stone walls that had created the curbing at the edge of the walk had crumbled and most of the stone was gone. He turned toward the concession building and could see it had been left in abandonment. But how could this place be deserted, it was one of the Seven Wonders of the World?
William had walked forward about twenty feet or so from where he had first stood up. He realized that he had not looked up yet and he had not turned in the direction of the bridge. He was trembling now. His fingers were shaking and he could feel a large dry lump in his throat. He was afraid to look back and up, he feared what he would see or more so what he might not see. If nothing else there was no water in sight. He was certain there were no droplets to be found in this God-forsaken heat. No droplets! Was he now condemned in this future hell forever? William turned around and as he did he closed his eyes. As he faced directly in the direction of the bridge he opened them to a horrific sight. What used to be the bridge was a collapsed mountain of rocks and dirt.
William’s body sprung from the water like a mousetrap that had just caught its prey. William’s yell of” Noooo…” was so loud that it woke him. He was under the bridge at another time, a better time than that of his nightmare. There was water and the air was moving and the sun was perfect. It was okay, he’d just been dreaming.
Looking up, he could see the bridge above him and he felt the steady breeze blowing over his face. He needed to know what year it was. Where had his time travel taken him to this time?
He had already ruled out in his mind that he was back with his family or anywhere near them in time. He could not see any of the familiar modern-day surroundings such as the concrete walkways or stonewalls. Nor was there any shooting or soldiers on horses, so he hadn’t returned to the war battle as he had feared. That still left a lot of unknown choices. One thing was certain to him though and that was that he had traveled forward from his last destination. The first indication was that he could hear music.
Happy music. From a distance, it sounded like the kind you’d hear coming from a carnival calliope ride. He could also hear voices; it sounded like a crowd. He could see what looked like a log cabin in the distance and smoke coming out of the chimney. But why were there no people around? William started to walk toward the cabin. It was located where he remembered the concession stand was. All of a sudden a loud explosion startled him. Immediately turning in the direction of the explosion, he could see a plume of white smoke drift into the wind. The trail of a second shot was climbing the sky and it, too, exploded. He could see a brief flash of white light followed by a loud sound a quarter of a second after the explosion. Another shot rang out and another. He could hear the crowd, who must have been watching this daytime fireworks display, reacting to each burst.
From the sound of the crowd it seemed this was happening nearby, and that would explain why the immediate area was deserted. Any people nearby were gathered to watch this display.
For some reason William did not think he was in danger this time. He felt he would find people closer to his own time and that this was certainly a step in the right direction. The thought of getting closer to his family gave him a burst of energy, and he picked up his pace and headed out of the ravine. William remembered the main entrance of the park-like area when he first arrived with Kate and the girls and he remembered that the bus ride down the paved road to the bridge was relatively short. He started to jog now, as he was so looking forward to finding a new person who could help him. It had been too long since he had spoken to anyone, and he was starting to feel very isolated and alone.
As William ran up the road he could see tracks on the dirt road that had been made by narrow tires. But they were tire marks for sure. He was starting to smile to himself. He was surprised how good he felt physically. Even though he was running uphill, he felt strong and wanted to get to the top of the hill as fast as possible.
As William ran he could hear the noise of the crowd still muffled in unison with the fireworks. All of a sudden, he heard the grand finale, a barrage of shots so loud and so close together they sounded like machine gun fire. As William turned the corner coming out of the pathway, he was amazed to see a full-blown carnival directly in front of him. He could see a Ferris wheel in the distance and tents, including a big top that must have been for a circus. Just as William stopped to appreciate the sight before him, the last bang of the final fireworks exploded and the crowd applauded the show.
“Mom, they were bigger than last year,” said a young boy who looked like a miniature Huckleberry Finn, complete with a round straw hat, bare feet and suspenders, running directly in front of William. William followed the boy and saw him join his family just a few feet away from him. He decided he would have to make his move and join the crowd. He headed for the opening in the picket fence that appeared to be a perimeter for the fair.
“Hey mister, want to try your luck? Step right up, all it takes is one ring to win!” William was too enthralled to realize the carnival worker was yelling at him. “Hey mister! C’mon, try your luck!”
“Who me?” William was communicating with someone! He just realized that he had confirmed that these people were real and that he was somewhere in turn of the century America. People were walking by him in every direction all dressed in similar turn-of-the-century attire. It seemed that everybody was wearing a hat of some type, the ladies in particular. William ignored the carnival worker and kept walking by. Now the carnie was pitching another person. William was amazed, and for a moment he forgot completely why he was there and how he had gotten there. All he could do was take in the sights and sound of a time he had only seen in the movies. A time he knew had occurred not too long before the one his family was in. His family! Of course! How could he let himself forget? He was there to get one step closer to returning to his family.
After walking through most of the carnival, William realized he would have to make a decision, and that was to either return to the bridge and see where his next hop in time would take him, or to stay in this time for awhile so that he could figure out how to control his travel to a time where he could be with his family again.
For William, the decision was an easy one. He would stay here, he decided. He liked the atmosphere and, for the most part, he liked the faces of the people. They were smiling and friendly. Some of the people he had passed during his walk had said hello to him as they had walked by. Something his generation did less of. He felt safe and wanted to know exactly where he was in history and what surprises this chapter held for him.
All he had to do now was to determine which way he would go. As he stood in a field where many people had parked black model T’s and other vehicles of the era, including some horse-and-buggy transportation, he could see many families making their way out of the park and toward what must be the nearest town. William walked along the side of the road. As he looked back, he could see a car approaching with a lone driver. William thought he could probably get a ride into town and, as quickly as the idea had come to him, the driver was already beside him, and as William put his arm out to get his attention, the driver whisked by.
Oh, well, William would have to try his luck with another vehicle, or simply walk all the way into town, regardless of how far or near it was.
As William turned to face the oncoming traffic he could hear a car horn that sounded like the one Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers tooted on TV. The car that William waved to had stopped after all. He quickly raced ahead to catch up to it.
“Need a ride to town?” As the driver asked the question, he was reaching over to the passenger door to open it for William. William got in and smiled at his new friend.
“Thanks for stopping. I really appreciate you stopping. My name is William Monterey, pleased to meet you.” William extended his hand to greet the driver.