Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

know. If I'm going to lose my mind, I would at least like some company."
    Mark laughed and shook his head. Then he took a closer look at his new acquaintance. It was clear from his puzzled eyes that he still had a lot of questions.
    "Did you say you were a guest in this house in 2017?" Mark asked.
    "I did."
    "So are you on vacation?"
    "I am," Mary Beth said. "We are. My parents brought my sister and me to Los Angeles as sort of a graduation present. My sister, Piper, graduated from high school about a week ago."
    "Do you live in Alabama?" Mark asked.
    Mary Beth nodded.
    "We live in Huntsville. That's in the northern—"
    "I know where it is," Mark said. "The Army develops missiles there."
    Mary Beth beamed.
    "What a coincidence. So does my father."
    "Your dad develops missiles?" Mark asked.
    "He does. He's done a lot of things."
    "What do you mean?"
    "I mean he's worked on everything from ground-based interceptor missiles to a new space launch system," Mary Beth said. "He retired from the Army as a colonel five years ago and now works full-time for NASA."
    "What's NASA?"
    "It's the National Aeronautics and Space Administration."
    "I've never heard of it," Mark said. "Maybe it's new."
    Mary Beth smiled.
    "It isn't where I come from."
    "I feel really stupid," Mark said.
    "You shouldn't. You just don't have the benefit of hindsight," Mary Beth said. She looked at him closely. "I'm sure you're very smart – smart enough, in fact, to answer a question that's been on my mind since you brought me here."
    "What's that?"
    "Will these rocks enable me to go back to June 2, 2017, as if I had never left?"
    Mark nodded.
    "I think so. I've only traveled to the future twice, but on both occasions I exited the tunnel around eight in the morning. I think the time machine is set to a particular date and time."
    "That reminds me of a movie I once saw," Mary Beth said.
    "Oh?"
    Mary Beth nodded.
    "The main character, a TV weatherman, checked into a motel on Groundhog Day and kept repeating the day over and over. Every day was February 2 and began at six o'clock."
    Mark laughed.
    "That sounds like a nightmare."
    Mary Beth smiled.
    "He thought it was."
    "I'm pretty sure you're safe from a similar fate," Mark said. "Even if you go back to June 2, 2017, you won't have to repeat the day over and over."
    "That's a relief," Mary Beth said. She paused for a moment. "Does the time machine work the same way on return trips? Did you return to a fixed time?"
    "No. I didn't," Mark said. "I came back to the time I left. I left the house – and March 21, 1959 – about seven fifteen the first time and eight o'clock the second."
    Mary Beth laughed.
    "I think this is where my head explodes."
    Mark smiled.
    "I don't understand it either. I just know I need at least one of the crystals in my possession to travel to the future and the key to access the outside door."
    Mary Beth started to say something but stopped when she heard footsteps in the hallway. She glanced at the entry just as a younger version of Mark walked into the kitchen.
    The new arrival yawned, rubbed his eyes, and tightened the belt of his bathrobe. Then he turned his attention to the people at the table and stared at Mary Beth.
    "Who are you?" Ben Ryan asked. He looked at his brother. "Who is this ?"
    Mark chuckled.
    "This is Mary Beth McIntire. She's a visitor."
    Ben gave his brother a look of annoyance.
    "I can see that," Ben said. He looked at Mary Beth again and then at Mark. "Why is she here on a Saturday morning? Is she your newest girlfriend or something?"
    Mary Beth noted the word "newest," smiled at Mark, and then looked at Ben. She couldn't help but notice that the brothers had sharply differing temperaments.
    "She's just a visitor," Mark said. He turned back to his new acquaintance. "Mary Beth, this is Ben, my brother. He's not always this way around people. He just needs some coffee."
    "Hi, Ben," Mary Beth said.
    Ben looked at her shirt.
    "Are you from Alabama?"
    Mary Beth