Darkest Designs by Dale Mayer Read Free Book Online Page B

she sharpened her voice this time.
    Â 
    He straightened ever so slightly. But it helped. His face had a familiar look to it. But, then, the Torans looked like humans.
    Â 
    â€œYes?”
    Â 
    â€œYou have a brother,” she prompted, trying to hold in her exasperation. “What is his name?”
    Â 
    â€œPaxton.”
    Â 
    â€œPaxton! Your brother is Paxton?” What were the odds? She shook her head. “Wait there must be more than one man with that name in your world. Hell, we have thousands of guys named Eric in mine. It must be a different man.” But wouldn’t it be cool if it was the Paxton she knew? She’d love to reunite the brothers.
    Â 
    If this one survived the trip. She wasn’t even sure he could walk. What would happen to his body in a normal dimension? Whatever ‘normal’ meant. Space travel in her world apparently did horrible things to the human body. Something to do with radiation and no gravity. She couldn’t imagine the gravity issue being any better on the body here.
    Â 
    â€œStylus, we can’t leave him behind. That’s so not going to happen.”
    Â 
    Dillon raised his head slightly. “Leave? There is no way to leave.” His face crumpled. “I’ve been here for so long.”
    Â 
    â€œWhat about water and food? Have you eaten anything in all these years?”
    Â 
    Dillon’s eyes widened. “No. Sleep. I’ve been asleep. Until you came.” He straightened a little more and looked around. “I remember hoping, waiting for rescue. When it didn’t come, I slept. Until now.”
    Â 
    â€œUntil now? Really?” So not good. “Stylus, is that possible?”
    Â 
    In a comatose state similar to an animal in hibernation, yes, I believe so.
    Â 
    â€œYes, but even a bear wakes up and comes out of his home when he’s hungry. Dillon’s system shut down. Completely.”
    Â 
    Not completely. He is waking up. Slowly. If his body had shut down, he’d be dead. But there will be more problems as his body comes back to a more normal state.
    Â 
    â€œAnd is that going to mean his bodily needs are going to wake up too? I doubt I have enough food and water for a century long appetite.” She’d reverted to speaking to the stylus out loud instead of in her mind. The sound of her voice was more appealing than the smothering silence. The normalcy of hearing her own voice somehow added balance to yet another bizarre situation.
    Â 
    â€œStylus…I was thinking. Can’t we just go back in time to before I was pushed out of the portal?”
    Â 
    They’d gone back in time accidentally before, but they’d survived that trip and she had no doubt that she’d survive it again. Staying here didn’t look very survivable – not if Dillon was anything to go by.
    Â 
    No. I don’t believe so.
    Â 
    â€œBut that’s not the same thing as no. Is it?” she prodded.
    Â 
    No. As the air here is different, I can’t say that anything will work. We have no archival information of this.
    Â 
    â€œYou guys did time travel before, right? Because you helped us last time.”
    Â 
    But you didn’t use my help to go back in time. I helped you find a way forward.
    Â 
    Splitting hairs as far as she was concerned. Time travel was time travel. Although technically the stylus was correct – again. That didn’t mean it was always correct.
    Â 
    She sat down in front of Dillon. “I should have some paper and rations. I think.” She pulled out the shrunken pack Eric had made for her in triumph. “And I have this.” She waved it around. Eric should have the other pack – maybe. “Stylus can you open this?”
    Â 
    Yes.
    Â 
    â€œGood. Um…how? What do I need to do?”
    Â 
    Even as the last words tripped off her lips, a weird set of musical notes that sounded familiar rang out. And how the stylus