'I'm tired'�' Jamie grumbled.
'Then you should have stayed with your grand father,' de Gren said.
Parish glanced at Simmons as they walked, 'great trip back in time, huh?'
Simmons nodded, 'yeah'� so, what exactly is going on? I mean, why'd we flee when ol' Jesser came back?'
Parish pulled a face, and a book from her pink backpack.
It was old. Beyond old. But still readable.
Simmons took it and read it as he walked.
De Gren glanced at him worriedly, then sighed, 'maybe I should have told you'�' he said.
Simmons glanced up from the page he was on, 'this is the history of'� this area'� The Stranger's Clearing is where we landed'� Oh my god'�' he trailed off.
Parish flinched.
Jamie peered over the linguists shoulder, 'uh'�it's not in English.'
'Latin'�' Simmons replied, staring at de Gren, 'it says that the king killed two strangers, and the other fled. He was old, and therefore no fun to hunt down. Later, more strangers come. This time smarter than the first two. They meet with the king and-'
De Gren snatched the old book from Simmons hands, 'I only translated up to that point. No one is to know what happens further.'
'Why?' Jamie asked.
'Because if we know our future, we may try to change it,' Parish explained.
'And we don't want to do that,' Simmons concluded, 'otherwise, we might change history.'
'That wouldn't be too bad,' Jamie remarked, 'I mean, we could dis-invent school'� and homework.'
'Which would cause man to live in the dark ages forever,' Simmons said, glancing at the boy, 'is that a great idea?'
Jamie fell silent, quietly thinking it over.
Simmons shook his head, 'crazy kids'�Parish?'
'Jade.'
'What ever,' Simmons muttered, 'you say I'm smart, right?'
De Gren smirked.
Parish shook her head, 'you said'�'
'So, do we attack the king?' Simmons asked.
Parish glanced at de Gren, then at Jamie, 'well'� I don't think we have much to attack them with'�.'
De Gren sighed, 'we will see what will happen. Speak no more of it.'
Simmons frowned, 'okay'�' he glanced at Parish, 'so what is going on, exactly?'
Parish glanced at him, 'well'�' and pulled a small necklace out of her tunic, 'see this?' she asked, holding the small gold carving in front of his face.
'Hard not to.'
'It was passed down, from each generation to the next. From the original owner, Catherine Parish, to her child, and so on and so forth, to me'�'
'So how come your name is Parish and not'�something else?' Simmons asked, confused.
'My father's surname is Parker. Starts with the same three letters, but different family. Upon receiving this necklace, all the owners changed their surname back to Parish. It was given to every first born, be it a boy or a girl,' Parish explained, 'the Parish's came from England. In fact, Catherine should be alive right now'� if we landed in the right year'�'
Simmons frowned, shivering slightly as a cold wind blew into his face, 'so, uh'� why couldn't we go back to the exact same time as when the original group got here? I mean, we could've stopped them leaving their Scorpion'�'
'No, we couldn't have'�' Parish said sternly.
'Why?'
'Because,' de Gren said, 'once a path in time has been trekked, it can not be reused.'
'And how do you know all this?' Simmons asked suspiciously.
'Well,' de Gren explained, 'I did a lot of reading'� and researching.'
Parish rolled her eyes, 'you mean you stole it all. Off me, in case you can't remember.'
'I remember,' de Gren reassured her.
'Oh, good'�' Parish muttered, turning to Jamie, 'never, ever steal anything, you hear? Especially if you used someone to do so'�' she finished, glaring at de Gren.
Jamie shrugged, 'okay'�' he said, not caring, confused by the strange conversation.
De Gren shook his head, and stopped in a small, snow covered clearing. A quick look up at the sky and his mind was made up.
'We camp here,' he said.
'In what?' Simmons asked, 'all the stuff's back at the camp.'
De Gren pulled something out of his bergen, 'I have a set of five neoprene suits. Army issue. And three white tarps and one grey-green. Also, a mini-portable stove, enough rations to last us a week and a bit. Wire, three guns, two hand grenades, a bottle of chardonnay-'
'You brought wine?' Parish asked in disbelief.
De Gren looked up at her, 'oui.'
Parish smiled, 'you not as dumb as you look'�'
'And also'�' de Gren kept rummaging through his bergen, 'books. No one is to read those,' he added urgently, looking directly at Simmons.
'I won't'�'
'I hope so,' de Gren muttered, continuing, 'a medical kit, two survival kits, a tool kit, a-' he paused, pulling something long and thin out from his bag. He put it behind him, 'never mind about that'�'
'A sword?' Simmons guessed.
De Gren pulled the sword out of the sheath, 'my great grandfather's'�he excelled in fencing, but what was even better with a real sword.'
'I can't believe you brought that,' Parish said, shaking her head.
'It was made in 1300ad,' de Gren said, 'and I am not leaving it behind anywhere.'
'What else have you got?' Simmons asked.
De Gren smiled, 'calm down'� I also have MI-6 issue headphones to keep in contact with everyone else,' he said, holding out five inconspicuous headphones, with the earpieces and mini-microphone in perfect condition.
'MI-6? Cool'�' Jaime asked, taking one of the sets and putting it on, 'Bond'� James Bond.'
Simmons smiled as he took his, 'enter, Bond, and bid your life farewell'�'
'Huh?' Jamie asked, 'that's not in the films'� I think'�'
'The 'enter'� part is old, but, uh'�' Simmons smiled, 'I'm writing my own James Bond book.'
De Gren rolled his eyes, 'mm-hmm'�' he shook his head, 'so old'�'
Simmons shrugged, 'you liked it,' he pointed out, smiling teasingly.
'I can't read English, then.'
Parish smirked and Jamie keeled over, hiding his face.
'What?' Simmons asked.
'Oh, pardon. I can read English,' de Gren corrected himself, 'that is why I could not read your book.'
Jamie pulled a face, 'ouch'� that must really hurts'�'
Parish smiled, 'well. You win some, you lose some,' she said.
Simmons glared at them, and grinned back, 'you know, I never was meant to write'�'
'How'd you know that?' Jamie asked.
Simmons shrugged, 'I kept the manuscript in a fire proof locker, and one day'�' he grimaced angrily, 'some idiot called Fabien left a cigarette in there! Burnt my paper to a crisp!'
De Gren blinked, 'that was me?' he asked, trying to remember, 'oh'�whoops'� I wondered what that smell was'�'
'Yeah,' Simmons muttered, 'James Bond being burnt to death!'
Jamie laughed, 'I always wondered if he'd die someday soon'� I didn't know it already happened!'
'Well,' Simmons said, his face blushing a peculiar shade of red, 'I learnt my lesson. Never leave a smoker who's trying to give up near an open metal box with a combination lock on it'�'
De Gren nodded, 'true'�' then grinned, 'well, think about it this way. James Bond made me stop smoking!'
'He's useful after all,' Parish mused, 'the first man in history to do such an outrageously impossible task'�'
The three young men turned and glared at her.
Parish ignored their deathly stare, 'hmm'� I wonder if any one here will be the second man'�'



Johnson shook his head, 'we barely got anywhere and everything's already wrong,' he grumbled angrily, 'Montgomery and Kees are dead. Jesser is in a bad state, and we lost the whiners.'
'Whiners?' Cairns asked, looking up from the rifle in his hands.
'Ah, you know,' Johnson said, waving a hand carelessly, 'pirate, Jack, the girl and Jesser's grandkid'�'
Cairns shook his head, 'this time, we deal with it my way-'
'No,' Cole said, 'we can't afford more people dying,' he stood up, 'we leave. We go back to our own time. Now.'
Johnson and Daniels lowered their heads.
Neither said anything.
Leslie looked at them and shook his head. Then he glanced at Cairn and tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the Scorpion.
Cairn turned.
And swore.
The headlights of the beast, which had been left on as the night crept in around them, died before their eyes.
It dimmed from white, to yellow, to nothing, leaving the entire camp blind.
There was the sound of crashing pots, course swearing, and angry curses, before a small, eerie green light flashed on.
Leslie stood holding a small green pen light, looking at the others.
Johnson turned to Cairn, 'looks like we're gonna be stuck here a while.'
Cole shook his head, 'damn'�' he rubbed his forehead, 'and here I was thinking we could leave this nightmare'�'
'If only we had a mechanic or electrician'�' Daniels said with a tired, weary, worn out sigh.
Johnson's eye lit up in the dim, green, spooky light, 'but we do'�'

De Gren was awakened first, simply by the feeling that something was wrong.
He looked around, but everything was in place.
Parish was sleeping near the fire, Jamie was slumped at the base of a tree, and Simmons was fast asleep next to a fallen log.
The white tarp was still where it should be, above their heads, tied between various trees. Only the cold wind blowing through the trees disrupted the silence and ghostly peace.
Suddenly, Simmons stirred, and sat up bolt straight, listening.
He glanced at de Gren, confused, and mouthed, 'something's wrong.'
De Gren nodded, and looked out at the forest around them.
Simmons quietly climbed out of his sleeping bag and walked to the edge of their shelter, and peered out from under the tarp.
'The sun is rising'�' he murmured.
De Gren nodded, and glanced at Parish and the boy, but they were sleeping soundly.
He sighed, 'there's-'
Simmons held up a hand for silence and listened carefully.
De Gren listened too, but could only hear the wind.
'Que-est ce que c'est?' he asked.
'It sounds like'�' Simmons shook his head, 'Johnson?'
A figure, white, stepped out from one of the trees, wide eyes and very much frozen.
De Gren raised an eyebrow.
Simmons raised two.
'Maybe we should defrost him,' de Gren suggested backhandedly, 'or thaw him out.'
Parish stirred, and woke up, saw Johnson, and screamed.
Simmons automatically clapped a hand over her mouth and hissed, 'Shh! Be quiet!'
Parish nodded weakly, still staring at Johnson.
'Um'�' de Gren took a step towards Johnson, 'what happened?' he asked.
Johnson blinked, 'knights'� killed'�'
'Killed who?' Simmons asked, alarmed.
De Gren turned slightly, and saw Jaime standing behind him. He put his hands over the boy's ears as Johnson spoke.
'Killed them'� Kees and Montgomery'�.' Johnson said breathlessly, 'and'�' he jutted his jaw towards Jamie, 'the boy's grampa is, in a pretty bad state'� He'll be dead before the day is out.'
'Who said that?' Simmons asked suspiciously.
'Cole.'
Simmons rolled his eyes, 'well, there's your problem,' he muttered.
'Wha-?'
'Never mind'�where's everyone else?' he asked, passing the shivering man a cup of warm water which had been roasting over the fire.
Johnson took a sip, and started coughing violently.
Parish grabbed a blanket and put it over his shoulders, 'here, here'�'
'The others'�' he gasped, 'will kill you'�'
'The one's who killed Kees and Montgomery?' de Gren asked.
Johnson shook his head, 'no'� the rest'�'
A shocked look was exchanged, and de Gren pulled a face, 'oops'�'
'What did you do?' Simmons asked, turning around, annoyed.
De Gren pulled an innocent face as he pulled out a giant red gem from his back pocket, 'sorry.'
Simmons stared at him, 'you just couldn't resist, could you?'
De Gren sighed, 'uh'�'
Parish glanced at him and shook her head.
Johnson and Jaime just exchanged a puzzled look.
There was silence for a moment, before de Gren finally spoke, 'I'm sorry, but I had to.'
'You had to'� why?' Simmons asked, shocked, 'you promised-'
'Dear Jacques'�' Fabien said, glancing at Parish, 'I am afraid that the beautiful Miss Parish and I had an ulterior motive to coming along on this little trip'� I am so sorry'�' he pulled out the book again, 'If you want to know what is going on'�'
'But their not meant to!' Parish squeaked.
'They are'� I read this bit- before I knew what it was,' Fabien said, turning to the others, 'please, you have to listen carefully. This book is a record of everything that happened when a group of strangers arrived in England, 1600's.'
Simmons looked at him, 'what?'
'Um'� the end is missing. It's somewhere in this time we're in now, I just don't know where. So I don't know how this all ends.' Fabien paused, 'but, from what I was able to read, Jade admits her story tomorrow. Everything that she'd done. Will do, I mean.'
Parish glared at him, 'no.'
He shrugged, 'time will tell.'
She bit her lip, 'no way.'
Simmons frowned at both of them, caught up in wandering about why everyone always lied to him, never told him everything... he was always left out.
He glanced at Jamie, at the innocent boy, and sighed.
Maybe that's why they never told him anything... to them, he seemed to be just the little boy who had stowed away on their awesome adventure...

Want to comment on this Short Stories? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Short Stories and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...