Maybe Natalie could help me out? Or Marcus?
I was sure getting rid of the Rubberfaces would be in all of our best interests.
When I finally raised my head from my hands, I saw a large, towering structure staring back at me in the distance.
The sun was just setting behind it, and the light outlined its concave form in all its glory. Though there was no steam escaping from its mouth, I instantly knew what I was looking at.
It was the stack for a nuclear power plant.
I shuddered to think about how many Rubberfaces were in that area, and I thanked my lucky stars we were heading in the opposite direction.
Finally, Karla’s voice cracked back through my head.
Hunter? she gasped. We’ve figured out your predicament…
“Good,” I chuckled. “The sooner we get this beeping out of my head, the better.”
You’re probably going to want to be sitting down for this… she warned.
“I already am.”
Okay… My father has run a few diagnostics on the chip we put into your head, she began. As I suspected, there were no defects or anything of the sort. Likewise, there appears to be no damage to the chip, nor your brain.
“Then what’s causing all this noise?” I grumbled.
Here, let me just… there, Karla promised. The beeping should subside momentarily.
As if right on cue, the noise in my head stopped.
“Thank you,” I sighed with relief. “Now maybe I can actually finish the mission without going crazy. What did you do?”
Though the chip was not damaged or faulty, Karla explained, my father’s tests did find an abnormality. He says the reason your microchip was going haywire was because it was experiencing an influx of Wayfarer energy.
“That’s strange,” I admitted. “Maybe it was just because I was super stressed out, and all the extra energy was leaking out of me?”
That’s not how it works, Hunter, the voice in my head sighed. If you noticed, the beeping only started when you met Natalie, and it got worse as your bond grew stronger.
“Our bond isn’t that strong,” I chuckled. “And so what? You’re gonna have to walk me through this a bit more…”
Hunter… Your microchip experienced more Wayfarer energy when you encountered Natalie.
“You said that already,” I retorted. “Why are you—Ohhhhhh.”
Suddenly, it hit me. I wasn’t the source of the increased Wayfarer energy.
Natalie was.
That woman you met? Karla’s voice explained. I think you may have just found the Wayfarer of Dimension Nine-Fifty-One.
Chapter 6
“Quit yanking my chain, Karla.” I shook my head. “How could Natalie be the Wayfarer of this dimension? You told me the likelihood of the Wayfarer being dead was—”
Exceptionally high, Karla admitted. But there was a more than a zero percent chance they were alive, and it looks like you stumbled right into her lap.
“No way.” I was still in denial. “It’s too random. What are the chances I go all the way to another dimension and then just happen to get my ass saved by the only person in this world who shares the same powers as me?”
More than zero, Miss Nash repeated. That’s all it takes sometimes, Hunter. Or, as my father likes to point out, this could all be the work of the double arrow theory.
I couldn’t believe it. Natalie, the beautiful blonde Scavenger, was a Wayfarer just like me?
Well, crap… Now, I had no choice. I had to tell her who I really was.
“So, then you want me to bring her back?” I stated, even though I already knew the answer.
If possible, Karla replied. Wayfarers are not easy to come across. The more we have, the more timelines we can save, and the sooner we can find my real father.
“You realize this means I have to blow my cover, right?” I confirmed. “She’s not going to listen to ‘that poor idiot from the Tundra’ if I ask her to leave her way of life behind and come with me.”
I know that. Karla sounded defensive. But I know you can figure out a way. It sounds like she really likes you already.
“How much of all this can you hear?” I questioned. “I thought you could only hear the things I say?”
I can, she admitted, but based on the way you talk to this Natalie woman, you are both interested in each other. Trust me, Hunter… A stoic warrior like that wouldn’t even give you the time of day if she weren’t the least bit interested.
“I guess I’ll just have to put on the ‘ol Bragg charm,” I chuckled. “The Scavengers are taking me back to their camp, so I can try and bond with her some more once we’re there. If I can somehow pull off this whole mission, that’d probably turn the tide for me, too.”
Most certainly, Karla agreed. Don’t mess it up.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Karla,” I grumbled. “When do you think—”
“Are you alright, Hunter?” Natalie’s voice inquired from behind me. “Who are you talking to out here?”
Did I say it now? Did I tell Natalie I was really from another timeline, and that I was just talking to the voice inside my head?
When I turned around and saw how confused she was, I had second thoughts.
There would be a time to spill my guts and explain everything to Natalie, but now was definitely not the time.
“Oh, I was only muttering away to myself,” I lied, “just trying to make sense of everything that’s happened, ya know?”
“I understand,” the blonde woman said with a firm nod. “I just wanted to let you know we are docking at the camp soon. Also, if you want any cockroach stew, we still have a few bowls left.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I smiled, and then Natalie turned away and headed back toward the cabin.
The vessel we were riding on slowed down to a crawl and then began to turn so the back was facing the shoreline. As it rotated around, I could see a beach off in the distance with a decently-sized encampment all across its sandy banks.
Tents made out of tarps lined part of the beach, while a few huts created from sticks and foliage stood in the back. There were lots of small campfires burning through the darkness, and in the glow of their flickering flames, I saw human figures huddled around them.
Much to my surprise, there was a line of houses a few dozen feet behind the encampment, just beyond where the beach began. They were all old, decrepit, and crumbling, but they were houses nonetheless.
The boat backed up toward the pier at the edge of the encampment, and then the engine hissed to a stop when its end slowly slid underneath the platform.
Seconds later, Natalie re-emerged from the inside of the boat with Harrison, William, and two other Scavengers who I didn’t recognize. As they walked by, William stopped and patted me on the back excitedly.
“Welcome to our humble abode, mate.” He grinned.
I followed the Scavengers down the pier and onto the sandy white shore of the lake. My boots sank into the gritty ground with each step I took, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I should have taken them off.
Now that I was up closer to the encampment, I saw all the tiny details I’d missed before.
All around the huts and tents of the Scavengers were arrangements of assorted junk, trinkets they must have collected from their different trips out to the cities. Every single one of them had a different set of trinkets, and it was pretty amusing to see what they had chosen to put on display.