The air became electric. Hunter caught himself waving his own little flag and shouting, "Hurrah!" The ship finally passed by the pier, and he could see the name on its stern.
It read: HMS Titanic.
Suddenly someone was tugging on his arm. Hunter spun around to see a young woman had come up behind him. She was dressed in a frilly blue outfit that contained yards of material and covered her from her neck to her toes. She was wearing a high floppy hat with an enormous flower sticking out of the top. A veil covered her face.
"Come on, will you?" she was yelling at him. "We'll be late!"
With that, she took his hand and started pulling him
through the crowd. Hunter had no choice but to follow. Most people were still enamored by the arrival of the huge ocean liner, so they parted the way easily for them.
They left the pier and reached the street. It was filled with ancient motor cars, wagons, and people pushing carts filled with fruit, mostly apples. One man offered a perfectly golden one to Hunter, but the girl pulled him away before he could accept. Everyone Hunter saw on the street was wearing a broad smile.
The mysterious girl was laughing and obviously in great spirits as she led him through the crowded thoroughfares. Hunter wished he was dressed in more comfortable clothes. He would have been able to move quicker, especially in a better pair of shoes.
They passed a crowd on one street corner. Many of the people were drinking beer from foamy mugs. A man standing on a soapbox was addressing them good-naturedly on the virtues of honesty. Hanging off his soapbox was a sign that identified him as Judge Crater. Two of his associates were handing out free mugs of beer. Hunter managed to grab one before the girl pulled him away once again. They continued their race down the street. They were dodging streetcars, smoky trucks, hundreds of creaking taxicabs. Every time Hunter would try to sip the beer, she would pull on his arm again, and laugh: "There's no time for that!"
She led him over another two blocks, and soon they were in a forest of extremely tall buildings. Skyscrapers was the word that popped into Hunter's head. It was an apt description, as the tops of these buildings really did seem to disappear up into the sky.
Out of breath, his feet sore from running, Hunter finally managed to get the girl to stop. He took out his handkerchief and dabbed the sweat from his brow. Then he took a long slug from the beer mug. Drat! It was only colored water.
"What are you trying to do?" he scolded her cheerfully. "Kill me?"
"Just the opposite," she cooed back.
With that, she lifted her veil and finally revealed her face. Hunter nearly fell over.
It was Dr. Zoloff's daughter, Annie.
Hunter became so excited, he threw the beer mug clear across the street. It exploded on the side of a brownstone with a tremendous splat! Then he grabbed her and squeezed her in an enormous hug. He was suddenly glued to her just as she was glued to him during his first ride.
But she was not hugging back, not really. He let her go and looked into her eyes. She was even more beautiful than she was after their adventure in Ping's Palace. But there was a look of bewilderment in those big baby blues. It was obvious.
She didn't know who he was.
Maybe that's how it worked here.
But she never lost her smile. "Hey, big boy," she told him. "There'll be plenty of time for that later!"
Then she started dragging him through the streets again.
They moved deeper into the city, crossing avenues, ducking through alleys, running the short blocks.
The farther east they went, the sleeker and more colorful and quieter the motor vehicles became. Soon enough, the cars began to look like some of the small civilian spaceships Hunter had encountered across the Galaxy. The clothing styles worn by people on the street changed radically, too. Suddenly women were wearing very short skirts and plunging necklines; there was less material on their entire outfits than this version of Annie had in her hat.
They crossed five major avenues and finally reached a river. It was busy with tugboats, ferries, and ocean liners, smaller but no less luxurious looking than the Titanic. She led him across a great bridge; the view of the city behind them was spectacular. Throughout, Annie's energy seemed to know no bounds. But she wasn't talking to him beyond telling him to hurry up, that they were already late, that they couldn't miss what was going to happen next. Sweaty and still a bit confused, Hunter kept up as best he could.
They made it to the other side of the bridge and continued running through the streets. Every time Annie looked back at him, she seemed even prettier than before. How does she do that? Hunter wondered.
They eventually reached an airport. The sign above it read: New York Memorial Field. It was crowded with flying machines that were vaguely familiar to Hunter. Their bodies seemed to be made mostly of wood, with stubby engines on their noses and twin fabric-covered wings over the open-air pilot compartment. Biplanes…
There was another crowd here, it rivaled in size the one back on the pier. They were dressed in more modern clothes, but not quite as revealing as those back on Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Avenues. Yet strangely, Annie seemed to fit right in.
She managed to pull him right to the front of the crowd. Again he saw people waving flags and holding banners. A sense of great anticipation was in the air.
Suddenly many in the crowd were pointing to the sky. High above, another ancient flying machine appeared. It was a bit more modern-looking than the twin-wings on the ground. It was silver in color and was dropping quickly in altitude. The closer it came, the more excited the crowd became. This party didn't need any music. The energy in the crowd was enough.
The plane spiraled down, leveling off about 500 feet out. Its engine began smoking crazily, but it was close enough to the ground not to cause much concern. It touched down with a thump, bounced once, and then came down for good. The crowd cheered wildly. Even Hunter was caught up in it, though he really didn't know what the hell was going on.
The plane came to a halt right in front of them. The top hatch opened, and after a few seconds, a rather mannish-looking woman popped her head out. The crowd cheered wildly again.
Finally Hunter could take the suspense no longer.
"Who is that?" he asked the man next to him.
The guy looked back at him as if he was from outer space, which, of course, he was.
"Who is that?" he replied. "Son, that's Amelia Earhart. She just flew around the world!"
Hunter almost replied, Big freakin' deal, even though the woman's name was also vaguely familiar to him. But before he could say anything, Annie was pulling him along again.
It was time for him to put his foot down; he didn't like being so uncertain about his circumstances. He finally stopped her in her tracks, spun her around, and held her by the shoulders.
"Who are you?" he asked her. "This time…"
She just laughed at him. She was pretty almost beyond words, her crazy outfit only adding to the appeal.
"What difference does it make?" she asked him back. "These days, everything is love and peace and inner light. Names don't mean anything. Not anymore. So, don't be so uptight, man."
He just stared back at her. It was hard to tell how old she was, but she was old enough, Hunter hoped.
"OK then," he said, knowing it was probably better if he just played along. "Can I call you Annie?"
"Sure!" she said, pulling him close to her. She smelled beautiful.