Chapter 22
A HUGE CLAP OF THUNDER and a flash of lightning almost caused Erin to fall out of her bed after she jumped a couple of feet in the air in her best cat imitation. Her heart pounded and she tried to remember the truth about what was on her mind. She remembered the Bible Time Traveling Machine (BTTM) and traveling to the times of John without using the BTTM.
Was any of that real? It felt like it was real. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that feeling weren’t facts.
It was clear to Erin that she was still groggy from her dream.
Why was it she rarely remembered her dreams, yet when she did, they were vivid and colorful?
Wait a minute. Everything was real. She remembered now. Erin had really traveled back and forth between modern-day and the days of John. It was not just a dream. She was sure of it and felt relieved when she remembered.
The thought a minute ago of it just being a dream was terrifying to her. The times of seeing and living the Bible in action with her own eyes became quite special to her and the thought it was a mere dream almost brought her to her knees. She was grateful she was able to come to her senses as rapidly as she had, or she would not be nearly this calm in this moment.
How did she get home?
Why was she home and not traveling in the times of John?
How had she gotten here?
Questions swirled around in her mind and she tried to make sense of them. Maybe if she found her log or journal on her mini-laptop, she might be able to remember everything. IF there was one thing she knew for sure it was that every time she returned home, she recorded what she experienced.
Erin started to search her small two-bedroom house for the computer, but wasn’t able to find it. Why not? She was even more scared now. The computer had all of her notes on it and would be a horrific thing to lose. She would be quite upset if she did and she said a quick prayer.
She had the impression she was supposed to pray a little longer, so she stopped what she was doing and prayed. She asked for guidance and for her to slow herself down enough she could hear God when He spoke. She had no doubt whatsoever He would talk to her.
Not everything is what it appears.
What was that supposed to mean?
Erin had no doubt whatsoever that God spoke to her because she had a combination of goose bumps and tears which streamed down her face. Whenever she met with the glory of God, she was always overwhelmed and this was the reaction.
Why was she so confused?
She sat down on her sofa and found her Smartphone. She turned it on and found something she did not expect whatsoever. It said the year was 2032. She thought it was 2012. How had she lost 10 years or gained 10 years?
Was something wrong with her? Erin wanted to know. There had to be since she was this confused.
She decided to get her mind off of everything for a moment and check the news. It, too, confirmed that the year was 2032. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and then her eyes. How could she possibly be this confused?
She almost flew threw the ceiling when the phone in her hands started to ring. She quickly answered it so that she could make the loud noise stop. “Hello?”
“Hey, Sophie. It’s me.” A male started to speak. He obviously didn’t listen and didn’t hear a stranger answering this phone.
Erin sighed and said, “I’m sorry. You have the wrong number.”
“Sophie, stop teasing. If you need more time, let me know. That’s easier than this, silly.”
He sounded confused and it made her wonder why. “What would I need more time for and who are you?”
“Sophie, are you okay? Seriously. You’re starting to scare me.”
“I’m not Sophie. I have no idea who that is. You’ve reached the cell phone of Erin Martin.”
“No. You’re Sophie Ballard and I’m Micah Kozlov. What year do you think it is?” Micah sought clarification.
“My cell phone tells me it’s 2032. I swear it’s 2012, however and I have no idea who you are.”
“How strange. It’s really the year 2032 A.D. Where are you?”
“What are you talking about?” Erin was starting to lose her patience now.
“Let’s try this another way. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a scientist out to prove that God is real and so is the Bible.”
“What book of the Bible are you working on?”
“John.”
“Well at least you remember that correctly.” Micah sounded hopeful and then paused for a moment. “You and I write videogames for a living, Sophie. We’ve been putting all 66 books of the Bible into a video game where people can live the Bible and experiences it themselves through observation or role playing with Virtual Reality tools and we’ve made the Word come to life. It was your idea, by the way. You’re the real founder of the project. It’s been a massive success. Do you remember any of this and am I making sense to you at all?” Micah sounded patient with her and she appreciated it.
Erin listened to him and tried to make sense of what he said. “No. You’re not making sense.” The only problem was none of it made any sense whatsoever. Her voice only told him more of how upsetting this was to her and she wished her voice didn’t betray her so. She was lost and confused. Was this a joke? Was she lost in some space and time continuum? Was she stuck in another dimension?
She didn’t even like videogames and was against them altogether. Therefore, why would she create one? It just didn’t make sense. She had to admit, however, if she were to make one, he described precisely what she would want to make. She always wanted to help bring the Word to life. She figured it would help people accept Jesus as their Savior because of it. That was why she was part of the Bible Time Travel Machine Project, after all.
“This is strange.” Micah sounded confused at this point as well. “You don’t remember any of this, do you?”
“Any of what?”
“That’s precisely what I mean.” Micah pointed out to her and his voice told her he was frustrated. “I’m in Vegas right now. I’m here doing a speaking engagement for our company and you’re supposed to be working on the video game based off of the Book of John, by the way.”
What was he talking about? “Okay…” She decided to go with the flow for a minute and see what happened from here.
“We’re married. We have two kids. Kallie is 18 and Cayden is 16. They’re both at a church camp this week, so you had the house to yourself and were supposed to work on the game.” Micah tried to lay it all out for her. “Look around, Sophie. What do you see?”
What he said startled her and she wondered again what was happening. This whole escapade was just so bizarre. Erin glanced around and saw what she thought was her house. “I see my tiny 2-bedroom house.”
“Go to the addition, Sophie. You wanted the house to be kept the same since it was your grandmother’s and too many memories were associated with the place. We did so, but added a gigantic addition and almost 3,000 square feet. It’s attached to the kitchen. Go there.”
Erin decided to humor the man and did as he requested of her even though she was convinced he was a little mad. She headed into her kitchen and found an extra doorway that was never there before. Actually, she also found that the walls that were once there were town down and her kitchen was two times the size it once was and opened to a Great Room. “What on earth?” She wanted to say a great deal more, but the words didn’t escape from her lips. She was too flabbergasted by what she caught sight of at in her old family home. “That was never there before.” She didn’t know if she spoke to him or out loud.
“Go into the next room and look at the digital photoframes, Sophie,” Micah instructed.
“Okay.” She followed his orders and saw there were four enormous frames on the walls with digital photographs that changed about every five seconds or so. She saw him, herself, her old family photos, her with him and two children, herself pregnant, and of places she never traveled to and she wondered what this was. “Weird.”
Micah sighed and sounded quite exasperated now. “You used to go by Erin Martin, by the way. We changed our names years ago after the murders and the conspiracy that infiltrated our government and military for a while and all because of our video game. You don’t remember any of this?” His tone almost made her want to say yes just to get him to calm down a bit. He sounded quite distraught.
What did he mean by any of that? Murder? Conspiracy? “I don’t recollect any of that, Micah.”
“Do you remember Adora, Caleb, Fallon, Daniel, or Billy?”
“I remember all of them! Thank you for mentioning something familiar.” She felt better now.
“I’m Daniel, by the way. Do you remember what happened to them?”
“No.”
There was a long pause. “You don’t?”
“No.” What did he mean? What happened to them and when?
“What about your grandmother? What do you remember happened to her?”
“What do you mean what happened to her? She’s alive and well.”
“No, she isn’t, Sophie. Listen, I’m going to call Rodolfo and get him to send a car to you. I want to make sure you’re safe and you obviously need to see a doctor. Something happened. I’m going to do my last speech tonight and come home. You can trust Rodolfo. But, don’t trust or talk with anyone else, other than our kids, Kallie and Cayden. I mean it. Don’t trust anyone. This may be starting all over again.”
“What might be?”
“The murders and conspiracy. I thought we overcame them. We started over. We thought it was finished. But, you can trust me. You’re the love of my life and best friend. I will see you late tonight. Rodolfo will call you in ten minutes. If he doesn’t, call me. Do you see my number on your caller i.d.?”
What did any of this mean? “I do.”
“Call me and head to your favorite vacation spot. Don’t say what it is. Do you understand me?”
“I do.”
“Also, don’t use the name you think you go by. Only go by Sophie. Do you understand me?”
“I do as far as your instructions. They don’t make sense in and of themselves, but I’ll follow them.”
“This is serious, my doe. Do precisely as I say. I think you either had a breakdown or were brainwashed in some way. Or, you may have had a traumatic experience and forget what happened. Your life may be in jeopardy. Carry your stun gun from your nightstand top drawer. Always. Even in the house. Do you hear me?”
“I do.”
“The last time we talked was three days ago. We were both so busy and I tried to call you a few times, but you never answered. You left me a few emails, though, and a couple of voice messages. This is quite extraordinary. Then again, I don’t know why I’m surprised. Ever since the BTTM, life’s only gotten more and more strange. In some ways, it’s for the better. In other ways, it’s definitely for the worse. I wouldn’t trade any of it, nonetheless. The time has been tough, but a huge blessing for us, that’s for sure.” Micah babbled and Erin/Sophie tried to keep up with what he said.
She had no idea at all what any of what he said meant. However, she sensed she could indeed trust him. God gave her the sense she could. What he said was quite disturbing. Although, she remembered how she and Daniel fell in love during their first travels to the Gospel of John. It was no surprise to her she married the man, if it was really the year 2032. The talk of murder and conspiracies disturbed her greatly, however. Never mind breakdown or brainwashing.
“Let me call Rodolfo. Just remember I love you and will do anything for you—and have. Rodolfo will call you within ten minutes. If not, go to the special place. Also in your nightstand is a Kleenex box. Make sure you look underneath it when you get your stun gun.” Micah gave her specific directions.
“Okay. But, hang on. Prove to me your Daniel. During our first travel to John, where and when was our first kiss?” She wanted to test that this all wasn’t some strange scheme or something.
“It was after John wrote and read, John 8:31. You kissed me then and I kissed you after we discussed if for a few minutes.”
He was correct and it made her feel better. No one else, that she knew of, knew that story. “Very good.”
“I love you. Bye.” He hung up before another word was shared between them.
She heard a dial tone and tried to panic about everything she just learned. She lost 20 years of her life and wanted to know where they went.
While she waited for Roldofo to call, she did as Micah/Daniel requested of her and she got the stun gun and also grabbed the stash of money and credit cards she found under the tissues. She also took a look at the house. Nothing looked familiar even though she could see her handiwork here and there. She had no doubt it was her home.
By Stacy Duplease
of Stories by Stacy
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