The mayan prophecy (Timeriders # 8) by Alex Scarrow Read Free Book Online Page B

there … Let’s pour that on him.’

Chapter 7
     
1994, Norwich
     
    ‘You ready for this?’ asked Maddy.
    Adam looked even more pallid in the light of day. His matted ginger dreadlocks and goatee looked almost dark against his ghost-white skin.
    ‘Not really. This portal thing –?’
    ‘Is perfectly safe, Adam.’
    ‘Although, aye, to be fair, it’s very strange,’ added Liam. ‘You might want to keep your eyes closed, so.’
    ‘Closed? Why?’
    Maddy checked her watch. The portal was due to open very soon now. ‘It’s non-dimensional space we’re stepping through, Adam. Looks just like a white mist. Some people – me, for example – find that it’s just too weird to look at. I prefer to just screw up my eyes and jump in.’
    ‘And you’ll feel like you’re falling,’ added Liam. ‘That takes some getting used to, so it does.’
    Maddy checked the alleyway once more; it was a narrow walkway between an academic bookstore and a coffee shop. An alleyway dotted here and there with flattened shipping boxes, tatters of bubble wrap and discarded cigarette butts. It was deserted. Up at the top, where the alley opened on to a busy street, a gaggle of students passed by, their voices (all talking at once, no one listening) echoed towards them then quickly faded.
    ‘I’m really … actually going to travel back to Victorian times?’
    Liam grinned. ‘Aye. And once we get back we’ll need to dress you right so you fit in better.’ He laughed. ‘Although, God knows what they’ll make of that Medusa hair of yours.’
    ‘We’ll shove a docker’s cloth cap over his head,’ said Maddy. She turned to him. ‘You’ll love it, Adam.’ She remembered her very first trip back in time to 1906, to San Francisco. The thrill of dressing up. The exhilaration of stepping into real history for the first time. The smells and noises. ‘It’s a bit like stepping into a virtual world, in a way.’
    ‘Like the
Enterprise
’s holodeck?’
    Maddy nodded. She knew what he meant. That TV series,
Star Trek
. ‘Yeah, I suppose it’s a bit like the holodeck. But of course it’s all totally for real. No simulation.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘The first time really is something quite special. Nothing to be afraid of.’
    Liam looked him over. ‘You got all your bits ’n’ pieces there, Adam?’
    He nodded. His backpack was full of his writings, his pictures, his clunky laptop and one or two practical things for their trip to the jungle. But, most importantly, the notes he needed to navigate them to that cliff-face – that cave. ‘Yes. Got all the things I need.’
    ‘The portal should appear any second now,’ said Maddy, checking her watch once more.
    Adam swallowed anxiously. ‘You know … this is really exciting. That is, if I’m not losing my mind and this isn’t actually a big extended dream.’
    Liam chuckled and shook his head. ‘I like this fella. He’s funny.’
    Bubble wrap at their feet suddenly swirled and skittered in acircle, then a moment later a soft blast of air on their faces made them all blink dust from their eyes.
    ‘
And there she blows! Home again, home again, jiggedy jig
,’ sang Liam.
    In front of them a sphere of liquid reality hovered above the ground, swirling in indecipherable spirals like thick cream stirred into black coffee.
    ‘My God!’ whispered Adam. ‘You two ever watch them
Terminator
movies?’ He giggled nervously. ‘It’s just like … well, a
bit
like that!’
    ‘Yup, I know,’ replied Maddy impatiently. ‘So, you just step in, Adam. Step in and you’ll immediately get that falling sensation that Liam mentioned – like you’re falling through the floor of the world. Don’t worry. Don’t panic, that’s totally normal. OK?’
    He nodded quickly. ‘Right. No panic. Normal. OK.’
    ‘I’ll go in first,’ said Liam. He raised a foot and stepped into the undulating sphere. ‘See you back in 1889.’ He merged with the portal, and his body instantly