Page 12 of No Place in Time

Finn’s voice sharpened. “Come out. We’ll find another way.”

“There is no we. There is no other way.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

She reached for the switch.

Finn swore and lunged forward, yanking the curtain aside. “Stop—”

She pulled the lever.

The chamber came alive at once. A low hum filled the space, vibrating through the floorboards, through her very bones. The air became heavy, pressing close.

Finn grabbed her arm. “Turn it off!”

She met his desperate gaze, the hum of the machine vibrating through her. “No.”

The sound deepened. The floor seemed to sway.

Finn didn’t let go. He stepped fully into the chamber, crowding the space, as the curtain fell around them both.

“What are you doing?” she cried.

“I can’t let you do this alone.”

The hum surged. The light vanished.

And the present tore itself away.

Part Two

The Fugitives

“Run from a tiger, face a crocodile.”

Thai Proverb

8

CECILY

1296

Cecily’s knees hit the ground first.

Hard earth, grooved with wagon ruts, bit into her skin. Gravel dug into her palms. A low thrumming vibrated from the ground up through her body, a phantom echo of the machine that left her stomach churning.

She sucked in a breath and tasted dust and smoke.

“Finn?” she rasped.

No answer.

Smoke hung in the air, close enough to sting her eyes. She pushed herself upright and looked around.

They were near a road. Not the Graston Road she knew should be nearby, but a wider one, churned and rutted by traffic. Footprints crossed it in every direction. The imprint of cart wheels gouged deep into the soil.