VIRTUAL SEASONS EPISODES

PROLOGUE

As the blue light faded, Sam realized that he was sitting still.  Looking about, he saw that he was sitting in a passenger compartment of a train.  Noticing that the curtains were drawn, he considered that this was like that classic physics concept that Einstein has used in explaining special relativity.  Without a reference to outside objects, moving at constant velocity, he could not determine whether he was moving or not.

A slight sigh brought him out of his reverie.  He looked towards its source which was his lap and found a small boy sleeping.  The boy had a quite peaceful expression.  He was blond with long eyelashes and looked to be about 3 years old, perhaps slightly younger.  Sam couldn’t help but caress the child’s head with his hand.  The hair was silky soft.

Sam noticed that he was again wearing a dress.  ‘Oh heck—I’m a woman again. I must be this child’s mother.’   He noticed a purse next to him and pulled out the wallet.

Flipping through the information within, Sam was shocked to find the name of his host.  OHHHH BOYYYY!  I’m my mother!

PART  ONE

On a Train

As Sam came to the realization of who he was, he heard the sound of the Imaging Chamber opening.

“Al, you’re not going to believe this.  I’m my mother!  But…” he looked down at the child in his lap, “that means…” He trailed off as he contemplated this leap.

“Yeah, Sam.  That boy is you.  You’re on your first train ride.  It’s June 10, 1956.  You’re on your way to the University of Chicago for an evaluation.  Your folks just learned recently of your ability to read and they were encouraged by Tom’s third grade teacher to have you evaluated.  As soon as I saw Thelma in the Waiting Room, I knew you’d need me.”

“I barely remember this trip.  All that comes to me is that I was confused, frightened, and sure everyone was out to get me. I don’t know why.  I guess that must be part of being two.”

“Could be.  We’re not sure yet why you’re here.  I’ve got a call into Tom to see if he can shed some light on the trip.”

“Why don’t you call Mom as well?  She probably remembers if anything happened.”

Al looked down at the handlink, not able to face Sam’s eyes.  “Uh…Yeah Sam, I’ll see what I can do.”  Al felt like a heel not telling Sam that his mother had died sometime back.  He never knew what Sam would or would not remember from leap to leap.  Suddenly, another boy of about 8 years old entered the compartment.

“Mom, you should see the observation car!  It’s really cool!  There’s even a snack bar on the bottom floor with candy and everything!”

“Tom?”

“Yeah, Mom?”  Tom was surprised at the question.

“Uh, nothing.  Except I think you should stay here with me rather than gallivanting around a moving train.”

“Oh Mom.  You said it would be OK as long as I check back with you every 30 minutes.  I AM eight after all!”

The toddler in Sam’s lap started to stir and opened his eyes.  They were deep green with hints of gold sparkles.  “Where’s Mama?”  He had a puzzled look on his face.

“That’s a stupid question, Tag.  Mom’s right here!”  Tom’s voice dripped with the annoyance of an older brother.

Al’s eyebrows shot up and a smile broke across his face. “Tag?  Tag!  Oh Sam, that’s some handle.  How’d you get it?  Did they buy you in a store?  Try to sell you at a rummage sale?  I can see it now ‘one kid, slightly used, a real blue tag special!’  Tag, you’re it.”

Sam was getting annoyed with Al’s obvious glee and knowing Al, knew this needed to be nipped in the bud or it would become another point of perpetual teasing.  But he couldn’t say anything at the moment.

“It’s not Mama, it’s a man.  He looks like Uncle William.”  Tag was insistent.

“Uncle William!?  Geez, Tag, are you still sleeping?”

“Tom, why don’t you go and get some candy at the snack bar?”  Sam took a dollar out of the wallet and handed it to Tom.

“A whole dollar!  Thanks, Mom!”  Tom started to turn to run out of the passenger compartment.

“Tom, I want 50 cents in change.”  Sam realized that as this was 1956, Tom could buy enough candy with a dollar to make him sick for a week.  He couldn’t quite recall, but it seemed to him 50 cents would still buy more candy than his parents had ever allowed them to have at one time.

“OK, Mom.  Wow!”  Tom again started towards the door.

“And I want you back here as soon as you get the candy.  Don’t dawdle.”

“OK, Mom.”  This time he made it out the door.

“Al.  When I was little I followed Tom around a lot.  So they called me Tag.  I seem to recall Christa doing the same thing with the twins.”

Al looked a little sheepish.  “Yeah, younger siblings tend to do that.  Trudy used to tag along with me, too.”

Tag looked up at Sam and quietly questioned “You’re not Uncle William.  Who are you?  Why are you wearing Mama’s dress?”  While Tag’s eyes showed no fear, it was obvious he was confused.

“Uh…. Well…. You see…”  Words failed Sam.  How could he explain himself TO himself?

“Just tell him you’re you.  At age two, it shouldn’t be a problem.  I remember Jackie believing some real whoppers at that age.”

“But I’m almost three on this trip.”

“Trust me.  Kids at that age just want an explanation.  They don’t know enough to question them.”

“But I…”

“Sam, even you didn’t have enough experience to question it.  Trust me.”  Al didn’t elaborate but he was also drawing on his experience with another child prodigy, Sam’s own son, Stephen.  He certainly couldn’t tell Sam that, but he was sure his advice was on solid ground.

“Who’s the clown man?” Tag questioned.

“Clown man?” Now Sam was confused.

“Yeah, he has funny clothes.”

Al was wearing a white silk shirt with green collar tabs, blue vest, and yellow pleated slacks.  The vest had green and yellow squiggles worked into it.

“Hey!  This outfit is an Armani original!”  Al was certainly miffed at Tag’s description.

“He’s not a clown, he’s an angel.  His name is Al.”

“Oh Sam, not THAT again!”

Sam looked over to Al and shrugged, raising his eyebrows to cue Al that he felt it was the best explanation under the circumstances.

Turning towards Tag, Sam said gently, “My name is Sam, like yours.  I’m you, only older.”

“I’m Tag, not Sam.”

“I know, but I go by Sam.  You know how when Mom gives us chores to do we have to get them done?  Well, she asked me to come and watch you while she took care of something.  But it means I also have to wear her dress.”

Tag thought this was a little strange, but he’d seen Uncle Miltie wearing dresses on TV so he knew sometimes men wore dresses.  He thought maybe this was something that happened on trains.  He’d never been on one before.

“Ok.  Hi, Angel Al.”

“Hi there, Tag.”

“Mister Sam, I have to go potty.”

“Tag, please call me Mama.  Tom thinks that’s who I am.  It will be our secret that I’m really Sam, too.”

“That’s silly.  You don’t look like Mama.  You look like Uncle William.”

“We’re going to play make believe, OK?  Just call me Mama.”

“Ok.”

Tom rushed back in.  “Look, Tag, I got us some candy bars.  I got your favorite, a Hershey bar.”

“Thanks, Tom.”  Tag reached for the candy bar.  It filled his tiny hands.  He looked up at Sam and asked, “Can you hold this He-she bar for me?  Tom, take me to the potty.”

“He-She?” Al laughed.  “Well, that certainly fits you right now, Sam!”

Sam looked up at Al with a pained look on his face.  He shook his head and ignored Al.  He then said, “Tag, use the word please when you ask for something, OK?”

“OK. Tom, please take me to the potty.”

“That’s better.”  Sam remembered how his mother had drilled good manners into her brood.  It was just second nature.

Tom nodded.  “OK, but we’ll have to go to the next car over.  The toilets on this car are broken.”

They walked to the door, Tom holding his little brother’s hand, and entered into the next passenger car over.

“OK, Al.  I really need you to get some info on this quick so I can leap out of here sooner rather than later.  I have NO idea if interacting with myself will have any negative ramifications and I sure don’t want to find out.”

“I’ll get right on it.”  With that, the Imaging Chamber door opened and Al walked out of Sam’s reality.

Project Quantum Leap

Stallion’s Gate, NM

September 15, 2007

Al walked out of the Imaging Chamber tossing the handlink to Dom.

“Quite an interesting leap, don’t you think, Admiral?”

“Yeah, Dom, but why would Sam leap into his mother?  It’s just bizarre.”

“Well, you might want to talk with Verbena.  She says that Sam’s mom is fit to be tied.”

Al nodded and walked to Verbena’s office.

“Al, if you can’t get Sam’s mother calmed down, I’m going to have to sedate her.”

“OK, Verbena, let me see what I can do.” 

Al remembered back to the first time he’d met Thelma.  It was during the Starbright Project, not long after Sam had helped him save his soul.  He’d brought Sam onto the project but that had been based on his impressive vitae and recommendations by fellow colleagues at MIT.  He really didn’t know the kid and he certainly couldn’t have foreseen what that decision would mean to him personally.  He shuddered now to think of what his life, in any timeline that he was aware of, would be without that fateful day at the vending machine.

He knew that Thelma Beckett was leery of this relationship that Sam had forged from the start.  Al understood that Sam had spoken to Thelma about him, asking her advice on how best he could help him.  Thelma’s faith had told her there were no lost causes but she was afraid that Sam was so naïve that Al would lead him astray.  Al fully comprehended her fear that he was so far gone by the time he met Sam that instead of Sam helping a sinner become a saint, it would be the other way around.

At that point in his life, Al wasn’t sure about that himself.  But Thelma Beckett had raised one of the finest men Al had ever known.  He knew of no one else that would have stood up for him, would have taken the risks to his own career, and would have given of himself as freely as Sam.  Sam had helped him find the man within Al again.

Al vaguely recalled the original timeline when the issues leading to his alcoholism had been significantly based in a combination of post-traumatic stress and Beth’s desertion of him when he was a MIA.  He understood WHY she had him declared dead and WHY she had made a new life for herself with another man, but that didn’t take the pain away.  Not by a long shot.  He’d felt alcohol was the only way to stop the pain.  So he’d become a shell of the man Sam had seen he could be.  How Sam had seen into his soul when he was so far down even he couldn’t see the light had always been a mystery.

After Sam had changed history by taking it upon himself to fix the biggest wrong in Al’s life by letting Beth know Al was alive and would be coming home, Al still had the breakdown at the vending machine.  This time, it was the post-traumatic stress alone that had led to alcoholism.  He was almost the one who would have repeated the greatest wrong in his life, losing Beth.  She had given him an ultimatum, her or the bottle.  He knew that he wouldn’t have had the strength to do it alone, but, in this timeline as well, Sam had seen in Al a soul worth saving.

So Al owed his life to this man leaping around in time.  Sam Beckett had believed in him before he had believed in himself.  There was no way short of the final judgment that would prevent Al from trying to repay Sam.  Even though Sam himself felt there was nothing to repay.

He didn’t yet know why Sam had leaped into his mother but he was equally fearful of the ramifications of this leap.  If anything happened to the Sam of 1956, what would happen to the Al of 2007?  Would there even BE an Al in 2007?  Not that Al was making this about him, but he was acutely aware that a world without Sam Beckett was a world he didn’t want to contemplate.

These thoughts passed through Al’s mind quickly as he walked from Verbena’s office to the Waiting Room door.  He briefly paused at the door, took a deep breath, and the keyed the entry code.

It was a strange site seeing Sam’s aura juxtapositioned with the countenance of Thelma Beckett’s.  Al hadn’t noticed it until now, but Sam favored his mother’s side of the family.  Al had always believed his friend’s looks were primarily Beckett but seeing Sam’s and Thelma’s faces merged this way made it clear that Sam was a Lowther.  Who was it that Tag had said Sam looked like?  His Uncle William?  Al hit the handlink.  Yeah... Uncle William was Thelma’s brother.

“And who might you be?”  If nothing else, Thelma Beckett was direct.  No beating around the bushes.

“Admiral Albert Calavicci, ma’am.  You may call me Al.”

“Well you don’t look like any admiral I’ve ever seen.  You’d scare all the cows into stopping milk production if they saw all those colors!”

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on running a dairy farm.”

Thelma paused.  “True.”  She now turned to the topic most on her mind.  “Where are my boys?  I was with them on a train to…”  She trailed off trying to remember, a fear growing in her eyes.  “I don’t remember.  Is this a hospital room?  Has there been an accident?”  She was becoming more agitated by the second.  “Oh God!  Tom and Sam!  Are they all right?  I want to see them!”

Seeing these emotions play out not only on Thelma’s face but Sam’s was difficult for Al.  He knew from Sam’s own attitude how important family, especially her children, were to Thelma.  She was a mama bear right now, ready to do battle with any force to protect her cubs.

“Mrs. Beckett.  Your sons are fine.  You’re not in a hospital and there has been no accident.  I am not at liberty to discuss exactly why you are here but I swear to you, that your sons are safe.”

“Why should I believe you?  Why won’t you let me out of this room?  That Dr. Beeks told me I couldn’t leave.  She said I had to stay here.”

Thelma was observing more things by the second.  Her initial concern for her boys, not lessened, had prevented her from focusing on the more bizarre points of this visit to wherever she was.  Now, she looked down at her hands and body and screamed.

“What HAVE you DONE to ME!  I’m a woman, not a man!”  Now she was absolutely certain that her boys were in danger.  “What are you doing to them?  You’d better not touch a hair on their heads!”

Al sighed.  “Mrs. Beckett, may I call you Thelma?”

“No, you may not!”

“OK, Mrs. Beckett, I know this is strange but there is nothing to fear.  We’ve done nothing to hurt your boys.  You will be back with them on the train to Chicago as soon as,” knowing Thelma’s faith, he decided to invoke the almighty, “God determines it’s time.”

“What could God have to do with something like changing a person’s gender?”

“Your gender has not been changed.  It’s just that you currently inhabit the aura of a man.  I know that sounds strange but you are still Mrs. Beckett.”

Thelma looked down and noticed that the tabletop was mirror bright.  She walked over to the table and looked into her reflection.

“Oh Boy!  I’m Billy!” were the last words she said before her limp body hit the floor.  Thelma Beckett’s consciousness had left the building. 

PART TWO

Train to Chicago

June 10, 1956

After Al left, Sam tried to recapture his memories of this train trip.  He definitely remembered going to Chicago , but the train ride part of it was fuzzy at best. 

He’d liked meeting the Child Development Specialist.  He learned much later that they had tested him using both the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Intelligence Tests and were amazed by the results.  They had wanted Thelma to place him in a program there at the University so they could observe him and continue running tests, but she had said the farm would have to do, Sam would not be moving to Chicago.  They agreed to consult long distance as long as they could occasionally evaluate him.  To that, Thelma had agreed.  All that Sam had known was that every once and awhile, they would go to Chicago and he would take a few tests.  He would then get to spend time in the myriad of museums that the city offered.  He’d especially been fond of the Museum of Science and Industry.

They had stayed at a hotel on this particular trip and Tom and he had a pillow fight.  He remembered getting a hamburger at the hotel restaurant and seeing these little glass mini bottles of cream. He had thought at the time that his Daddy would find those funny because they were so small.  He’d drank the contents of one of them, but had found the taste wasn’t as good as the cream he had on the farm.  The train trip back home had been uneventful.  It seemed strange that only this leg of the trip was remembered with such angst.

Suddenly, Tom ran back into the car but without Tag.  “Mom, come quick!  A man is taking Tag away!”

Sam leaped up and ran into the next car.  He saw Sam holding the hand of a man wearing blue trousers and a yellow sweater.  They were walking towards the door at the other end of the car.

“Let go of his hand!” Sam said heatedly.  “Where do you think you’re going with him?!” Tag seemed to tense and then suddenly kicked the man.  In surprise, the man pushed Tag down and took off, running through the door.  Sam rushed to Tag and picked him up, holding Tag’s head to his shoulder.  Tag started crying.

“Why did he push me down?  That hurt.”

“Tag, NEVER EVER GO WITH STRANGERS!  Don’t you know that?!”

“But Mister Sa…I mean Mama, you’re a stranger.”

Tom had been standing back, but now rushed up to both of them.  “Tag, are you crazy?  Mom’s not a stranger!”

Tom turned his concerned eyes to his mother.  “Mom, is something wrong with Tag?  Maybe he can read now ‘cause he has a brain tumor or something.”

Tom was in turmoil.  He had been an only child for 6 years, but then Tag came along and changed that.  He hadn’t like sharing his parents with this baby.  Tag had been a rather quiet child, a gentle soul from the moment of his birth.  He’d heard his parents say the doctors and nurses had commented on how clear his eyes were, drinking in the world right from the start.  But even though he wasn’t that fussy, he was still a baby and that meant that his mother spent what to Tom was way too much time with him.

When Mom had read Tom books, Tag seemed to be listening too.  When Mom played music, Tag would move his body to the beat.  When Mom did anything, Tag was there, too.  Tom felt that he would never have his parents back again after his little brother came along.  He’d gotten used to it though and was actually beginning to enjoy have Tag around.  He could convince him to do anything!

A few months ago, though, things had gotten worse.  Tom had found Tag messing around with the books he’d received from their grandmother at Christmas.  Tom was annoyed, wondering why his brother wouldn’t leave his things alone.  But then he realized that Tag could actually READ them!  HE was still learning some of the words that Tag already KNEW.

Tom had felt incredibly jealousy at that point.  “GREAT!  I have a baby brother who knows more than I do!”  He’d felt certain that his parents would now love Tag more than him.

Tom had confided to his teacher (she was so pretty and smelled like lilacs) that he was mad that Tag could read better than he could.  She had decided to talk to his parents.  That’s what this trip was about.  They were taking Tag to some University to find out why, almost at age three, Tag could read.  Tom had secretly wished that they would find something wrong with Tag.  Then, maybe, his parents would find Tom the special one and not Tag.

Since his Dad had to work the farm, his mother had taken both boys with her.  Everything had gone normally until Tag woke up and said Mom was a man.

Now Tom was afraid.  Had he caused this?  Had his hope that something was wrong with Tag caused his little brother to go crazy?  He really didn’t want that.  He’d just wanted to be the special one again.  Like before Tag was born.

He suddenly realized that he really was happy to have Tag as his little brother.  Well, not all the time.  “Leave a toy out and Tag will take it apart.  Sometimes he can’t put it back together either and then I have to do it.”  Tom had learned to fix many things that way.

“No Tom, I don’t think he has a brain tumor or something.  He’s just a little confused.”

Tag looked up at both of them.  He wasn’t confused.  He knew what he was seeing.  He just couldn’t understand why Tom couldn’t see Mama Sam or the Angel.  But Mama Sam had said he should call him Mama and Tom certainly acted like it was Mom.  He wondered if it was the train that made things different.  Sam had never come to watch him before.  That had only happened on the train.  He was beginning to wonder if he liked being on this train.

“Mom, I’m really sorry.  I had to go to the restroom too!  Those rooms are so small so I asked Tag to wait outside for me.  I swear, I told him to wait right outside the door.”

“I DID wait.  But then the man said that Mama wanted me.”  Tag was stubbornly sure that if Mama Sam was doing what Mama wanted HIM to do, then he should do what she asked too.

Sam suddenly felt scared.  Up to this point, he could have given the man the benefit of the doubt.  That he had just been trying to help a lost boy.  But now… this sounded like the stories child abductors used.

Sam noticed that as soon as he felt fear, Tag seemed to mirror his emotions. Why didn’t I think of that before?  Of course our brainwaves will be synced; we’re the same person, just at different points in our lives.”  He made a mental note to keep a lid on his emotions.  He didn’t want to affect Tag unnecessarily.

Sam heard the Imaging Chamber door open as he said, “It’s OK now.  Everything will be all right.”

Sam was startled to see that Al had changed into his dress whites.  He gave Al a puzzled look.

“These?  Oh your mother made a comment about how I didn’t look like an Admiral and that I’d scare cows.  I figured I should be prepared if I need to meet with her again.”

Sam grinned, thinking about how his mother had that effect on people.  They just didn’t want to seem “lacking” in her eyes.  However, he had to admit, once you got used to Al’s unique style, his clothing choices were amazingly suave.

The next words out of Al’s mouth brought Sam out of his reverie.

“Sam, everything is NOT all right.”

“What do you mean?”  Sam was looking at Al, but Tom thought he was looking at him.

“I mean that I told Tag to wait for me.  Right outside the door.”

Al continued, “Well, Sam, we know what you’re here for now.  Tom told us some man had tried to abduct you.  But it gets worse.  What just happened here was basically what occurred in the original history.  But now, that nozzle is going to abduct a different kid, Freddy Chambers.  He’ll be found molested and murdered in about 6 hours.  You’re here to save him.”

Sam felt sick.  How did these monsters do such horrible things to children?  He couldn’t even begin to conceive the type of mind that could justify such heinous acts!  He knew that the plan he’d come up with wasn’t the best but he’d have Al to help make it work.

“Tom, take Tag back to our seats.  I’m going to find the conductor and let him know about this.  Don’t let your little brother out of your sight!”

“But I want to go with you, Mama.”  Tag still felt some residual fear.  He couldn’t understand why he kept feeling different.

“Tag, I need you to stay with Tom.  I brought some books for you both to read.  Would you like that?”

Tag’s eyes lit up.  “Yes, I like reading books!”

“Tom, the books are in the black bag above the seats.”

“Okay, Mom.  Come on Tag.  The sooner we get back to our seats, the sooner we’ll be reading.”

They left to go back to their seating area.

“OK.  Al, tell me about Freddy Chambers.”

Al checked the handlink readout.  “Right.  Let’s see, Freddy Chambers is six years old.  He’s with his mother and twin brothers on this trip about 7 cars up.  His mother lets him go to the snack bar and he never returns.  They will find his body stuffed in the locked upper bunk of an unoccupied Pullman .  Sam…this sicko, James Thompson, molests him and then strangles him.”

Sam put his hand to his eyes, looking for all the world like he would prefer to shut out the picture that Al just painted for him.  “No.  They are NOT going to find him like that.  I won’t let it happen.  How much time until he disappears?”

“He was reported missing about 30 minutes after he left for the snack bar.”

“And when does he leave for the snack bar?”

“The police report doesn’t say.”

“Great!  OK, which Pullman do they find him in?”

“The one two cars up, room 2314.  You can check there on the way to checking where he’s sitting.  The investigation shows they believe he was molested and murdered elsewhere on the train.  The Pullman was just where his body was dumped.

“Al, I want you to stay with Tom and Tag.  Let me know if they need me.”  Sam started to head towards the Pullman .

“OK, Sam.  Good luck.”

PART THREE

Train to Chicago

June 10, 1956

Sam found the room and noticed that the door was unlocked.  He entered and looked around in the room, checking the bunk where, if he didn’t succeed, they would find the boy’s body.  Fortunately, there was nothing amiss in the room.   “OK, he hasn’t dumped the body yet.” Sam left the room, this time locking the door behind him.

He figured he should next check the Snack Bar which was two more cars up.  When he got there, he spoke with the Purser in charge.  He was told that lots of children come up to the snack bar.  Without a better description, the Purser couldn’t say for sure.  Sam explained the situation concerning the attempted abduction of “his son” and described the man as best he could.  The Purser said he would contact the Conductor with the information. 

Sam continued to go through the train towards the assigned seating of the Chambers family.  He watched as he went through each of the cars, keeping a lookout for the man.  Finally, he found Mrs. Chambers.  She was a very kind looking woman who was doing her best to entertain a couple of small children.  They looked to be identical twins and were no more than one year old.

“Mrs. Chambers?”

“Yes.  Can I help you?”

“Uh, my name’s Thelma Beckett.  My son was almost abducted today on this train.  I’m worried that your son may be at risk as well.”

“Why Freddy?  There are lots of children such a man could attack.”

“Well, I sometimes get these hunches and they are seldom wrong.  When was the last time you saw him?”

“Oh, he left for the snack bar about 20 minutes ago.”

“What was he wearing?  I was just there and perhaps I saw him.”

“Um…blue slacks and a button down white shirt.  He had on his cowboy hat and was wearing his toy guns.”

“Mrs. Chambers, I didn’t see any child dressed like that between the snack bar and here.  I’ve informed the train’s staff that there is a man trying to abduct children.”

Mrs. Chambers was getting greatly agitated with concern and fear generated by this report.  “What am I going to do?  With the twins, I can’t go looking through the train!  Oh, my Freddy!”

“I’ll help find him, Mrs. Chambers.  With the description you’ve given, I think it will be easier to find your son.  I’ll contact the Conductor and let him know about this too.  I’m sure they’ll be coming by to talk to you soon.  In the meantime, you should stay here, unless Freddy returns.  I could be wrong.”

Mrs. Chambers nodded, seeing the logic in Mrs. Beckett’s suggestion and thankful that this woman would be watching out for her boy, Freddy.  She would rather be searching for him herself, but with the twins, what else could she do?  “All right, Mrs. Beckett.  I’ll wait right here for Freddy.”   

Sam was concerned that time was running out.  He knew that there were several passenger cars between this car and the Pullman along with dining and observation car with the snack bar.  Sam didn’t think either the dining or observation cars would be a potential location for molestation but knew that the dressing areas in the passenger cars were likely spots.  Additionally, that was where Tag had been taken.

He checked the downstairs of the current car and found nothing.  He repeated this check in each of the passenger cars on the way to the snack bar.  He next stopped at the snack bar again.  This time the man confirmed that such a child had been in the snack bar, about 5 minutes before Sam had last been there.  Sam told him what he had learned and asked that the Conductor meet him at the Pullman room 2314.

“Oh God, it’s been 20 minutes since I was last here.  Please Lord, don’t let me be too late.”

There was only one passenger car between the Observation car and the Pullman where Freddy’s body would later be found.  He quickly checked the dressing room in that car and found the door locked.  Knocking, he heard a muffled sound inside.  A man’s voice said “This room is occupied.  Come back in 15 minutes or so.”

Sam figured that if this was valid, the person behind the door would understand what he was about to do.  On the other hand, if this was what he believed, he didn’t have time to waste.  He backed up a bit in the hallway and kicked the door at the lock area.  The door caved in and Sam looked into the face of James Thompson, the man he had seen with Tag.  The man stood there holding his hand over the mouth of a young boy, who’s eyes were wide-eyed in terror.  Thompson had the child’s head held such that if he jerked it suddenly, the neck would snap.  Sam noted that the man had changed clothes and was now wearing black slacks and a red turtleneck.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll kill him.”

Sam believed him.  Monsters like this saw their victims as throwaway objects for their pleasure.

The boy whimpered.  His shirt had been removed and the cowboy hat and guns his mother had mentioned were tossed carelessly in the corner.  The top button of the boy’s pants had been undone but Sam knew he had arrived in time to prevent the most hideous part of the molestation.  However, he felt certain that this boy would still need counseling for what had been happening up to that point.

Sam cautiously backed away.  The man slid out of the room pulling the boy along with him.  Sam watched closely, trying to find an opening to grab the child away without harming him.  Unfortunately, the man was not about to give up his only guarantee of escape.  He pulled the boy along and up the stairs.  Sam followed.  When the man was nearly at the top of the stairs, he flung the child at Sam.  Sam caught him, but as he had started up the stairs himself, he lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting his head on the wall behind him.  Everything went black.

When he came to a few minutes later, he found the boy, huddled in the corner of the hallway shaking and rocking back and forth.  Sam recognized the symptoms as shock.  He went to the dressing room and retrieved Freddy’s shirt and hat, bringing them to him.

“Freddy, it’s OK now.  No one is going to hurt you anymore.  You need to put your shirt on.”

Freddy just stared at him.  Sam gently walked to the boy who cringed at Sam’s touch as he dressed the boy in his shirt.  He then removed Thelma’s cardigan sweater and wrapped the boy in that too.  Holding out his hand Sam said softly in soothing tones, “Freddy?  Let’s go find your mother, OK?”

Suddenly the boy started to cry.  Sam held and rocked him a few minutes, continuing to try and soothe the boy.  The anger he felt toward this James Thompson for what he had attempted to do to this child was palatable, but he knew at this moment, the child needed calm.  He got up, still holding Freddy in his arms and walked up the stairs.  As he’d asked the Conductor to meet him at the Pullman , that is where he went.  He saw two train personnel in the aisle.

“The man who almost took my son abducted this child.  His name is Freddy Chambers.”

“Yes, our Purser in the snack bar said he was missing.  I’ve had security go to bring his mother here.”

“Have you caught the man yet?”

“No…we haven’t seen anyone wearing blue trousers and a yellow sweater.  Since we have no other description, we’re at a loss.”

“He’s changed clothes since then.  When I last saw him, he was wearing black slacks and a red turtleneck.  I also got a good look at this face this time.”  He described the features of the pervert he had seen.

Sam heard the door opening behind him and turned to see Freddy’s mother enter the car, her eyes showing signs of worry.  She saw Freddy in the arms of the young woman who had introduced her to this nightmare and her eyes changed to reflect the gratitude that he had been found.  She walked up to Sam.  “Mrs. Beckett.  Thank you for finding my boy.”

Sam handed the boy to her.  He was unresponsive.  “He’s in shock.  You’ll need to keep him warm and he should see a doctor soon.”

The Conductor indicated that there was a town coming up and he would ensure that the hospital was notified and that an ambulance would be waiting at the station.

“Uh, Mrs. Chambers?  You might want to look into counseling for Freddy.  He’s been through a really tough time today.  Just because that pervert didn’t finish what he was planning doesn’t mean that everything is OK.”

“I will.  Thank you for my son.”  Mrs. Chambers continued to hug her son tightly.

Sam turned to walk back to the car he’d left Tom, Tag, and Al in.  He had just entered the next car when Al startled him, popping right in front of him.  Al was clearly agitated

“Sam, hurry!  Ziggy says you’ve changed history but it’s not good.”

Sam continued to walk “What do you mean, Al?  Freddy’s safe.”

“Yeah, but you’re not.  There’s a 93.9% chance that now Tag’s the one who’s found molested and murdered.  Apparently this nozzle’s going to try again!”

Sam turned pale as all the blood left his face.  He felt sick.  A terrified “Oh my God!” left his lips.  He started running toward the car where Tag and Tom were waiting.  “They’re totally unprotected!”

“Uh-Oh, Sam, the probability is going up! Now it’s 94.2%!  Sam, when I read the handlink after you changed the timeline, I told Tag that he and Tom needed to hide in the luggage car.  It’s the car just beyond yours.”

“Good thinking, Al.”

“I don’t know, Sam, the probability is still rising.  The odds of your imminent demise keep going up.  Now it’s 95.6%.  You’d better, hurry!”

“Al, go be with them.  It won’t take me more than a minute to get there.”

“OK.  I hope a minute is enough time.  Still rising.  Now 96.5%.”  Al disappeared.

Sam felt his life passing before him, a life that wouldn’t happen if he didn’t get there in time.  It had been less than a minute since Al had told him of this threat and already the odds had gone up 2.6%.  His margin for success was shrinking fast.

PART FOUR

Train to Chicago

June 10, 1956

While Sam had been tracking down Freddy, Tom had been doing his best to keep Tag occupied.  He’d given his little brother a book to read that would have taken him awhile to finish.  Tag had read it in five minutes.  When Tom had suggested that he read it again, Tag said he didn’t “have to” since he “knew it.” Tom wondered about that and asked Tag to tell him what the book said.  Tag had recited it word for word.

Tom was realizing that his little brother wasn’t like any of his friends’ little brothers or sisters.  His friends told him how annoyed they were sometimes when their younger siblings had torn things up, or lost things, or just decided to do what they could to get their older sibling in trouble.

Tag didn’t do that.  When he “broke” something, he was just trying to figure it out, take it apart to see how it worked.  He didn’t try to get Tom in trouble either.  Mostly he just wanted to be with Tom and to do things just like his big brother.

Tom wasn’t sure, but he felt that life wasn’t going to be so easy for Tag.  He knew that at school, the smart kids were the ones that got teased the most.  He’d even been a party to some of that.  Now he was ashamed.  If those kids, who were just a little smarter than the rest of them, got teased so badly, what was it going to be like for Tag?

Tom decided then and there, he’d be there for his little brother.  Maybe being special wasn’t really that great of a thing.  He knew deep down that their parents really did love both of their boys, that he’d just been upset that Tag seemed to be beating him at some silly game.  His teacher (he remembered the lilacs again) had told him that he was a smart boy too, but that Tag might be something called a prodigy, a person that is only born into this world occasionally.  That, if this was so, Tag might be the only one who would understand his own world.  Tom had thought that sounded lonely.

No.  He would make sure that Tag was accepted.  He’d be there to fight for him, no matter what.  He’d help Tag learn the ropes, at least as best he could.  He’d make sure that his “little brother” would be OK.

They spent the next twenty minutes or so reading more books.  Tag sometimes would look up and talk to an imaginary person who he called Angel Al.  At one point, Tag had asked, “Where did the funny clothes go?”  He seemed to listen to an answer and then declared, “White is better for Angels.”

Suddenly Tag started staring towards the empty space like he was listening to the “Angel” again.  He turned to Tom.  “We have to go hide.  Angel Al says that bad man is coming back.  He’s going to hurt you and me, so we gotta hide.”

Tom looked at Tag, wondering what had happened to his little brother today.  He’d never heard him talk crazy before.  “It’s OK, Tag.  Mom said we should wait here for her.”

“No.  We have to go hide.  Angel Al says so.  He said Mama would want us to go hide.”

“Yeah, and that man told you he was going to take you to Mom and you went with him away from her!”

“I didn’t go away from HER.  I went away from Mama Sam.”

Tom was sure his brother had lost it.  If this is what happened to prodigies, he could imagine that Tag wouldn’t ever be right.

Tag got up and started walking towards the door.  “Where are you going, Tag?”

“Angel Al said to follow him.  I think we should listen to him.”

Tom got up and tried to grab Tag’s hand to pull him back to his seat.  Tag shook him off and kept walking.  “Well,” thought Tom, “until Mom comes back, I better stay with him.  If he’s gonna to be this stubborn, I’ll just have to follow him.”

They crossed into the luggage car, finding the room filled with suitcases and boxes.  There was even a crate with a dog in it.  At first the dog started growling, but suddenly became calm.  Tag again seemed to listen to something and then walked over to the crate and unlocked it.  The dog stayed inside.

Tag continued to follow his unseen apparition to a small area in the back of the train car.  There was a built-in cabinet.  He opened the door.  The space was filled with boxes, tape, and string.  Again, the boy listened and then started taking the stuff out and putting the contents of the cabinet into a bin to the side.

“TAG, WHAT are you doing!?  You CAN’T do that!”  Tom was getting annoyed.

“Angel Al said I should hide here and you should put suitcases in front of the cabinet.”

“Little Brother, I’ve had just about enough of this Angel Al stuff!  Come on, we need to get back to our seats.  Mom will be looking for us.”

“No, Tom.  I’m going to listen to the Angel.”  He crawled into the cabinet and closed the doors.

Tom had never seen Sam so adamant about anything before.  Maybe he WAS hearing something tell him what to do.  He remembered a bible story from his week at Vacation Bible School the previous summer.  It was about another Samuel who had heard the voice of the Lord calling him and had answered that call. 

“OK…but I think this is nuts.”  Tom started pulling boxes and luggage in front of the cabinet.  He had just about covered it when he heard the sound of the door opening at the other end of the car.  It was the man who had tried to take Tag earlier.

“Where’s that boy you were with?”

“Nowhere you can find him,” Tom answered defiantly

“You little brat!  You tell me where he is or you’ll regret it.”  The man showed Tom the wrench he had picked up as he entered the room.

“No.”  Tom suddenly realized that everything Tag had claimed the Angel had told him was coming true.

The man ran over to Tom, grabbing at him.  Tom fought back, all the while yelling for someone to come help him.  Tom was kicking and screaming up a storm when suddenly he felt the heavy wrench hit his head.  For a moment, a vision appeared to him of a man in a white uniform.  It was the single most coolest uniform he had ever seen.  “Someday, I want a uniform like that.”  Then the blackness of unconsciousness took him.

The man looked around the luggage car and noticed the cabinet against the wall, almost totally hidden behind several layers of boxes and luggage.

“That kid was over here doing something.  I’ll bet that boy is there.”  He went back and pushed some heavy boxes in front of the two doors leading to the room.  “These should keep me from being interrupted this time!”

This was the boy he’d wanted to begin with.  He’d noticed the boy at the station in Elk Ridge , Indiana .  His perfectly formed little body, his silky blond hair, and the beautiful green eyes.  It had almost been like looking at that other boy he’d had the week before, the one he’d thrown in the river afterwards.  The memory of that encounter made his groin twitch with anticipation.  He’d almost gotten this boy today except for the interference of his mother.  That woman was a thorn in his side.

Now, though, he’d have his way with the boy.  He could almost feel what would happen once he pulled the boxes and luggage away from the cabinet.  Yes…this boy was the one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 “Sam, hurry!   You’re up to 98.7% and it’s climbing fast.”

Sam had reached the luggage car door and was trying to push the door open, but something was blocking it.  It was hard trying to get leverage on a moving train above a coupling joint.  This was one leap where he HAD to succeed.  If not, nothing else mattered.

“How are they Al?”

“Tag is safe for the moment, but not for long.  Tom’s been knocked out.”  Al saw the fear on Sam’s face when he said this.  “Sam.  Don’t worry about Tom, I think he’s ok… he’s breathing normally.”  Al noted that some of the fear left Sam’s face.  “I have an idea, but I’m not sure it will work.  Keep trying the door.”

“I will.  Just GO.  Be with them.”

Al walked through the side of the luggage car into the room.  He placed himself in front of the dog and started swatting at it, yelling at it, and basically trying to get it riled up.  The dog started to growl and snap at Al.  Al backed away, getting the dog to follow him.

The man continued to make progress in moving the boxes and luggage away from the cabinet.  Al looked down at the handlink.  99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%.  The numbers continued upwards.  Al tormented the dog some more.

Suddenly, the last box had been pulled away and the man pulled open the cabinet door, finding a wide-eyed almost three year old Samuel Beckett inside.

“There you are.  Come here, I won’t hurt you.”  The man grinned and stretched his hand towards Tag.

Al looked at the handlink again.  99.9%.  It was now or never.  He walked into the hologram he saw the man as and their images merged.  Al gave a final wave at the dog.

The dog pounced, teeth bared.  It bit the outstretched arm of the man.  He tried to shake the dog off, but now that there was something to bite, the dog wasn’t giving up.

At that moment, Sam finally broke open the door and had pushed the boxes away enough to squeeze into the room.  He quickly ran to the back of the car.  Since the room was filled with strewn luggage, it was hard to find the room to wind up, but somehow Sam was able to complete a roundhouse kick to the side of the man’s head, knocking him cold.  The dog turned towards Sam with a growl, but Sam used the techniques his father had taught him and the dog settled down.

“Mama Sam!  Angel Al SAID you’d come and save me!  What did you just do?”

“That was a kick I learned in martial arts.  It comes in handy sometimes.”  Sam smiled, wondering if this was where his interest in martial arts first started.

Tag put his arms out and Sam gathered the boy into his own arms, holding the boy in a strong embrace.  He relaxed a bit and told him, “We need to find something to tie this guy up with.”

“There’s some string and tape in this bin.  Will that help?”

“Yeah, enough string and tape will work.”  Before doing anything more, though, Sam went to check on Tom.  He was OK for now and getting this pervert tied up before he awoke was the first order of business.

Sam got the materials together.  He roped and hog-tied the beast.  He’d ceased to see this man as anything except a monster.  Sam seldom had that type of reaction, but seeing what this man had done, he felt no mercy.

Sam next put the dog back in its crate, giving it a grateful pat.

Finally, he turned his attention to Tom.  He was starting to come around, but the impact of the wrench had been severe.  “I need to get Tom to a hospital to make sure there isn’t a concussion.”  He noticed that the train was stopping.  As they pulled into the station, he saw an ambulance crew standing by the tracks.  “That must be for Freddy.  We’ll have to have them send another for Tom.”

“What happens to this nozzle, Al?”

“This guy is a real piece of work, Sam.  He will be convicted of  four murders that he’s committed in the past six months, the most recent was last week, before this train ride.  They found the victim floating in the river.  He drowned.  He couldn’t swim.”

Sam’s face fell.  Four children all brutalized and murdered.  The rage he felt continued to mount.

“The good news is he wasn’t caught in the original timeline for two more years.  You saved at least fourteen boys from the same fate.  Now he gets life without parole.  But he’s killed in prison after serving six months.”

“Too bad they don’t kill him sooner.”

Al’s eyebrows rose.  He’d seldom seen Sam in such a state.  He looked over at Tag and found that the boy was obviously in distress.

“Uh… Sam.”  He nodded his head towards Tag.

Sam looked over and saw Tag trying to deal with the rage that was radiating from Sam.  Remembering how their brain waves were synced, Sam willed himself to dissipate the anger.

The Conductor and the train security personnel pushed their way into the car.

“What happened here?”

“This is the man who tried to molest the children.  He knocked out my one son and tried to abduct my younger son twice.  I want to press charges.”

“As does Mrs. Chambers.”

“I need to have Tom checked at the hospital.  Could you have another ambulance called, please?”

“Of course, Mrs. Beckett.  I have to say ma’am, that we are grateful for your persistence.  I shudder to think of what would have happened if you had not been here.”

“Just make sure you stay vigilant.  These types are everywhere.  It makes me sick to think of what they do.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Sam took the boys back to their seats and gathered their belongings.  He knew that things had changed and didn’t know how his mother would incorporate these new events.

He looked over at Tag and wondered what he would feel when this timeline caught up with him.  Would he still simply remember this ride as confusing, frightening, and sure that everyone was out to get him?  He hoped it wouldn’t become bigger than that - that it would stay a fuzzy, indistinct memory.

Tom complained that he had a headache.  Sam looked at his eyes, but didn’t see any telltale sign of a concussion.  Tom’s hard head had saved him again!  Still, it was best to check it out.

The second ambulance arrived.  As Tom was loaded in the ambulance, Sam gave him a hug.  The ambulance driver had given Sam the address to the hospital.  The railroad company had indicated they would pay any expenses incurred.

Sam hailed a taxi and Tag and he entered the back seat.  Tag looked at him.  “Mama Sam?  When will my real Mama come back?”

“Soon, Tag.  She’ll be with you soon.  You might have to help her know what has happened, but you don’t need to be afraid.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

“OK.  I’m going to miss you.”

“Tag, I can honestly say I’ll always be with you and you with me.”  Sam gave Tag a hug.

While he embraced the child that would become the man he was, he felt the familiar tingle of the impending leap.

“Hey that tickles!”  Tag giggled at the strange feeling.  He was surprised to find he was hugging his mother.

“Huh, wha…Where’s Tom?” Thelma was greatly confused.

“The ambulance took him to the hospital after that bad man hit him on the head.  But Mama Sam said he’d be ok.”

“Mama Sam?”

“Yeah, he looked like Uncle William.”

Thelma felt that something had happened, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what.  All she knew was that Tag was safe beside her and, if what he’d just told her was right, Tom was too.  Still, it concerned her that her oldest son was on his way to a hospital.

“Mama, I want to be called Sam, not Tag.”

“Why, honey?”

“Cause I think I want to be like me.”

Thelma had heard some strange things from her son.  Somehow, she had a feeling he was destined for things beyond anything she could conceive of.

“Ok, Sam it is.”

EPILOGUE

His body rocked and lurched slightly as the quantum blue slowly gave way to dimly lit surroundings. All around him he could hear voices, though at that point they were still slightly garbled. One thing clearly noticeable was the heat; it was unrelenting. Sweat dampened his brow, stinging his eyes as it trickled downward. The nape of his neck and back were dampened as well. When he was able to clearly see where Time had placed him, Samuel Beckett looked down at his arms and saw that they were covered in fatigues and that his feet encased in sturdy black boots. The name ‘WRIGHT’ was stitched in black above his left breast. Slung over his shoulder was an object of considerable weight. Upon closer inspection that object turned out to be an M 16 assault rifle, or so memories that didn’t belong to Sam told him. Glancing back up he noticed that eight others were present, three of them female, all dressed in similar garb. It appeared to Sam as if he were in some sort of military transport vehicle.

Heavy canvass covered where the windows would have been, but thin beams of sunlight managed to protrude underneath.

“J-Man,” someone had called out from behind Sam. At first Sam didn’t respond, completely oblivious as he continued to sweep his gaze about his new surroundings. After a few moments he felt someone nudge him in the back. Sam looked over and saw a young Hispanic male who looked no older than twenty-five looking on at him questionably. “You feelin’ alright?”

Sam spoke warily. “Um, yeah.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Now’s not the time to be gettin’ sick, Wright.” The young man, whose name on his uniform was Jimenez, said with a chuckle.

Sam gave him a brief smile as he quickly averted his gaze.

Just then, as the transport decelerated, a man poked his head around the corner from the passenger seat, his gaze firmly affixed on the group of young soldiers. “Welcome home, boys and girls.”

Sam leaned his head back and said under his breath, “Oh boy.”