The Afterlife Series Box Set

  He looked at our faces one by one before he continued. “But, there is one thing you should understand and not forget: Speed and quickness are not the same as strength and you won’t achieve great speed by only training for strength. You need also to have endurance.”

  “We have been training for so long; how much more do we need before we can fly that fast?” asked Mai. Like me she was really good at flying fast. Her small body made physical exercise easy on her. She too was eager to get to where it became fun.

  “We have been through interval workouts by flying on the track, we have been flying over hills and even mountains and today I wanted to talk to you about some strategies for flying faster. But you need to have patience, mes enfants. You are in no condition yet to fly with the speed of light.”

  “But could we at least give it a try?” Asked Mai.

  The professor sighed. “Oh la la!” He scratched his head. “The youth. Always so busy moving on. But it is way too early for you. You are not ready yet.”

  “What would happen if you let us try?” Mai kept going.

  “Yeah. Just let us try one time,” Abhik said. “Then we won’t bother you about it again.”

  All the students nodded. The professor kept scratching his head while mumbling. “But what about the technique …you have to have the technique …”

  “What harm could it possibly do?” pushed Mai again. “If we fail, then we have learned our lesson and we promise we will never mention this again. Come on; just let us try. ”

  “Please,” they all pleaded.

  “What will happen …?” the professor kept mumbling. “We don’t know. We have never done this before, at this stage of the training.” He paused while floating in circles for awhile. Then he stopped and looked at us. “You know what? If you are eager to fail, then let’s do it.” He took in a deep breath before he continued. “Allons-y.”

  The cheering and excitement wouldn’t stop as we followed the professor into the air. We flew for quite a while until we arrived at what looked like an old airport.

  “This is a small airport with few takeoffs and landings a day, so we should be able to do it right here,” the professor said. He searched the area for planes but none was about to land or take off at this moment. “Now remember. Only a few students have ever flown faster than the speed of light, but quite a few have made it to fly exactly the speed of light, which in itself is an accomplishment. So what I suggest is that you give it all you have got, and then we will see how fast you get. But don’t be discouraged if you are not as fast as you think you are. There is still time for improvement. Remember, light travels at a constant, finite speed of 186,282 miles per second. A traveler, moving at the speed of light, would circumnavigate the equator approximately 7.5 times in one second. So it is extremely fast.”

  The professor smiled at the students who all looked like race horses before a big race. Now that he had gotten used to the idea, he seemed to be looking forward to this. So was I.

  “So who will go first?” the professor asked. A forest of hands appeared and he picked Alexandra Cornwell. He placed her at the end of the runway. “Now you have to concentrate; you cannot be disturbed by anything in your way. You need to focus all your energy on the center of your body. You need to be like an explosion. Boom! You are off. But don’t start out too fast, or you will use your stored energy too fast. You will burn through it too quickly and your body will fatigue faster, leaving you feeling tired and depleted before you reach your high speed. Look straight ahead—never down. Keep your body horizontal to the ground to reduce the wind resistance. Keep your shoulders relaxed, arms as close to your body as possible, and your hands gently clenched. Remember that it is normal to be tense or nervous. Even the most seasoned flyers experience these feelings. To help yourself stay calm and focused, avoid thinking stressed or negative thoughts. These may adversely affect your state of mind, something you certainly don't need. Some find it calming to spend a few moments alone first. Do you need that?”

  Alexandra Cornwell shook her head. “No I want to do this!” That was the first time I had seen her excited about something that wasn’t food oriented.

  “D’accord,” said the professor. “Let us try it. Remember to bend your legs when you take off, and be like an explosion.”

  “Like an explosion, right.”

  “Use the runway to get into your high speed. When you reach the end you should get into the fastest speed you can. Then you circle Earth as many times as you can as fast as you can. When you begin to feel weary you stop immediately. Speed flying will drain you completely. You come back when you still have the energy for it, so we don’t have to go and look for you. D’accord?”

  “Okay,” she said, without seeming at all concerned.

  “When I say three. One … two … three.”

  Boom! Alexandra was off. She was incredibly fast, to my surprise. As she reached the end of the runway she sped up just like the professor had told her to. Then she was gone. The professor looked at his watch and an instrument he used to keep track of Alexandra. On its screen he could follow where she was.

  “Monsieur Einstein made me this,” the professor said with a smile while holding the small instrument up in the air. “Very clever little thing. I put a small transmitter on her right shoulder and it tells us her exact location all the time.” He pointed at the screen and a small red dot. “See, there she is. She will be here in three … two … one.” We all looked up and saw Alexandra come out of the sky. But as she was about to reach the runway it was suddenly like she fell out of the sky and disappeared into the ocean. Her brother ran toward her, jumped in, and got her out. He carried her to where we were standing and put her on the ground. She opened her eyes and looked at all of us. “Did I make it?” she asked out of breath. All of our eyes were turned to the professor. “Well almost,” he said. “You made it three times around equator in two minutes. That is a very impressive speed but, alas, not the speed of light.”

  We all clapped for Alexandra and she seemed satisfied with her attempt. It left her completely out of energy though, and she had to stay at the ground while the rest of the class tried out.

  No one seemed to be as fast as Alexandra had been it. First Frederick attempted, but he didn’t even make it around Earth before he collapsed and the professor had to go get him. He placed him next to his sister on the grass, exhausted and hardly aware of where he was. Abhik did well too, but still not better than Alexandra. Three times around but in two and a half minutes. Seeing how tough it was on the others, Acacia backed out and didn’t want to try. Nigel followed her lead and they both sat down discouraged at how hard it had been on the others in the class. Then it was Mai’s turn. I had my hopes up for her. She got off to a great start and was back so quickly after takeoff that I was certain she at least had made it at the speed of light. It felt like I only blinked. The professor looked at his instrument as Mai threw herself on the ground next to the others who were still trying to catch their breath.

  “Four times around the equator in forty-five seconds!” the professor yelled. “That is faster than what I can fly.” He ran to her and shook her limp hand, but Mai hardly seemed to notice. She was so worn out she didn’t move at all. But her eyes were open as the professor talked to her in a high-pitched voice of excitement. “I congratulate you. That was really impressive.”

  Then he turned to look at me. “Even you will have a hard time beating that, non?” the professor said.

  “Probably, but I’ll give it a try,” I answered. I felt strong as I flew to the runway and placed myself in position. I bent my legs and got ready to explode into the air. My arms were steady, my breathing calm while I focused all my energy on the center of my body. I closed my eyes for one second before the professor started counting.

  “Three … two … one!”

  Chapter 18

  Boom! I was off. Like a huge explosion I soared into the air as fast as I could. As I reached the end of the runway I accelerated
and found a speed I had never experienced before. I felt my whole body shaking like an old airplane going faster than it was built to go. The ground beneath me passed me so fast I had no idea where I was or what I was flying past. It could have been mountains or oceans; it all became one big blur of colors. And just as I thought I was going as fast as I possibly could, I managed to accelerate once more. Somehow I had extra energy stored within me that now was released. I spun around Earth and I kept going. When I had circled Earth a couple of times something incredible happened. A major flash almost blinded me and everything kind of melted together in extreme brightness. I kept on going and counted five times around the planet, seven times, ten times, and I didn’t feel tired at all. At some point I reached twenty times around the equator and decided I needed to start getting back. I felt like I could continue for hours, but I had to return at some point. So when I spotted the airport beneath me, I stopped in the air.

  To my surprise I saw something really strange beneath me. I saw my classmates, the professor, and … I saw myself! I was talking to the professor.

  “Even you will have a hard time beating that, non?” the professor said.

  Everything inside of me froze at once. I knew I had heard that sentence before—just before I took off. That could only mean one thing. I’ve gone back in time! I thought to myself with a mixture of thrilled exaltation and a fear that they would never believe me. As soon as I saw my other self take off, I landed right next to the professor. It made him jump.

  “What …?” he said and looked at me and then at the runway where the other me disappeared at that very second. “You! But … C’est pas possible …I just saw you,” he turned and pointed at the direction where I had disappeared.

  I nodded. “You saw me. I even saw myself.”

  The professor was gesticulating wildly with his arms. “But … but does that mean … that you have … non c’est pas vrai … It cannot be!”

  The professor and my classmates had a hard time believing me, when I told them, but the professor himself had the evidence to prove I was right. On Mr. Einstein’s instrument it was clear to everybody that I had in fact gone back three minutes and fifteen seconds.

  So once again I became the center of attention at the school. That evening as I entered Hornam Hall to eat, the entire room stood up to clap and cheer at me. It made me blush and want to run away, but Abhik held on to my hand and pulled me toward our table.

  “Sit down and enjoy your victory,” he whispered as he pushed me to my seat. A bouquet of flowers sat next to my plate and the card said Well done! Yours sincerely, Professor Albert Einstein. I couldn’t help but smile. That was really something.

  “In this school we are breaking barriers and building dreams constantly,” Salathiel got up and said, “but today one of our finest students has broken through the hardest barrier of them all. The light barrier. And she went three minutes and fifteen seconds back in time. That is the second longest anyone has ever gone back in time at this school and of that I am extremely proud.” Salathiel then lifted his glass and toasted. “To Meghan!”

  “To Meghan!” all in the room replied.

  I wanted to crawl into a mousehole and hide from this. At the door leading to the kitchen I spotted Mick who lifted his glass and toasted me as our eyes met.

  Get me out of here, my lips formed silently. Everyone wanted to toast again and so we did. I forced a smile and lifted my glass before I drank from it. It was champagne. So I guess I wanted to celebrate myself after all, I thought. When I turned to look in Mick’s direction he was no longer there.

  Salathiel had even asked a band to play at the dinner. As we ate and drank, the ambiance became quite festive and people eventually started dancing. Abhik asked me to dance with him, but I politely refused, so he took Mai instead. I thought they looked quite cute out on the dance floor together. Same height and same size. Suddenly I felt a twinge of jealousy. Not of them, but because I wanted that back. I wanted uncomplicated back. Mick and I used to dance like that, I thought. Would we ever do that again? Had I ruined everything?

  Suddenly I felt like someone was looking at me and I turned to see who it was. I found Mick standing at the end of the room nodding like he wanted me to follow him. Unnoticed I got up from my chair and floated to him. He grabbed my hand and led me outside in the yard. It was a beautiful and clear starry night. We flew to the cliffs and the ocean where he took me in his arms and held me tight.

  “Mick. We shouldn’t be doing this,” I said.

  But he didn’t want to hear it. He put a finger on my lips. “Shh. Let’s not talk.”

  “But Mick …” now he put his hand over my mouth. “I said. No talking. We have been talking way too much,” he said and covered my mouth with his lips. I let him kiss me. Desperately and intensely his lips found their way to my throat, my ear and my neck. I was helpless in his hands and I gave in to all of his desires. And all of my own.

  “I want you to take your clothes off,” he whispered and started to pull my jacket off. “I want you now.”

  “But … Mick,” I breathed heavily. “I thought you wanted to wait until we were married.” His hands were everywhere on my body and I had a hard time resisting him.

  “I have waited for everything in my life.” He groaned. “I don’t want to wait any more.” He started fumbling with my pants. “I need you now. I need to be close to you now.”

  He opened my pants and started pulling them off, when I stopped him. I lifted his head and looked into his eyes. “But why now, Mick?”

  “Because now is the only time. Maybe it is the only chance I will ever get.”

  “Because you are afraid of losing me on Saturday?”

  Mick leaned over and tried to kiss me again. I held him back.

  “Is that why?”

  “Yes,” he said while putting a hand through his hair. “Saturday he is going to be here and maybe it will all be over. You and me. All this.”

  “But Mick. It shouldn’t happen like this.”

  Mick’s eyes went black and I backed up. “Why are you the one to make all the decisions in this relationship?” he yelled. “I am nothing. I have no rights!”

  “But Mick …”

  Mick reached out and grabbed me by the waist. Then he started kissing my throat and chest. “Stop it,” I said.

  He lifted his head and looked me into my eyes. “No. This is my right.” I gasped as he threw me to the ground and started undressing me. “Stop it Mick,” I pleaded. “Please stop it. You are not being yourself!” Mick didn’t stop; instead he forced himself on me.

  “What is the matter with you?” I cried. “It is like you are someone completely different.” A part of me wanted to fight him with all I had, and knowing how strong I had become, I knew I could. But there was another part of me that hesitated and didn’t want to fight him. I felt guilty for all I had put Mick through and somehow I felt like I owed this to him. I knew it was wrong, but I let him anyway. I gave it to him. I gave myself to him.

  When he was done and I got my clothes back on, the remorse began. He stared at me with fear in his eyes. The fear of how I was going to react. The fear of losing me. “I am so sorry,” he said. “I am so so sorry. This was not how it was meant to happen. This was never my intention.” He hid his face in his hands. “What is wrong with me? I don’t know what is happening to me.” Then he looked at me with red eyes. “Sometimes it is like I don’t even recognize myself any longer. I don’t know who I am or what I am going to do.”

  I stopped him. I was very determined and I didn’t want to hear it. “Let’s just say that we are even now. I don’t owe you anything anymore.”

  “But … Meghan!”

  I didn’t wait for the rest. I turned my back on him and left.

  Chapter 19

  I felt absolutely nothing when I woke the next morning. I was like an empty shell. I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t even angry with Mick. If I did feel anything, then I felt sorry for him. I knew he wa
s in a horrible state right now. He was beating himself up for having done what he did, for having forced this, for having destroyed something that could have been beautiful. And so he should be. But that was his problem. I was done feeling guilty about him; I was done trying to make everything up to him. In some way, I felt liberated. I felt free for the first time in a long time. Free from guilt and condemnation. Free to do what I wanted to do. Free to love who I wanted to.

  I didn’t see Mick at breakfast, but I didn’t look for him either. I ate my food in a hurry before I went to the library. I wanted to borrow a book on time travel. I had gone back more than three minutes in time the day before; now I wanted to do more. I wanted to be able to go back even farther.

  Myrna, the school librarian, showed me to an aisle with books with titles like When Destination Isn’t a Place, But a New Way of Seeing Things, and Time Travel—An Impossible Dream? Six Steps to Faster Flying and Getting Closer to the Speed of Light, and Breaking the Light Barrier: A Dream for the Few. I ended up taking them all plus one called A Journey of a Thousand Years Must Begin with a Single Step.

  “You should try this one instead.” I suddenly heard a voice behind me. I turned and looked into the friendly smiling eyes of Professor Albert Einstein. He took another book from the shelf. It had his picture on the cover and was called Why I Was Wrong: The Distinction between Past, Present, and Future as a Stubbornly Persistent Illusion.

  I smiled back and took the book as he handed it to me. “I am not sure that you will find what you are looking for in it, though,” he said.

  I stared at him while I tried to balance the stack of books. “Why not?”