Chapter 44 – The End and The Beginning

Year 2197

A much older Pete arrived into the darkness of the hallway leading to the labs with a young woman in her twenties. The two were dressed in dark clothes to ensure that they would be unseen. Each individual wore a time traveling bracelet but the girl seemed at ease in her arrival. Like she was still in the early stages without the pain or bodily destruction. The years of travels had taken its toll on Pete and while he looked much older, to anyone looking at him, one could not be certain if it was the time jumps that had weathered the man or simply the passing of time.

The woman placed a gentle hand on Pete’s shoulder to help steady him until the pain subsided. When he was able to slowly stand back up, he patted her hand before brushing it away. He studied the area to get his bearings on where the two had landed. He pointed to the right before explaining, “You will find the cubes down there.” She nodded and checked a crude drawing on her arm, to get her bearings in the unfamiliar world. “You will find me down there,” he motioned to the left before continuing. “I have a much overdue meeting,” he muttered.

The girl nodded as though she was aware of Pete’s side mission. She then wished him luck, kissed his cheek, and ran down the hallway towards the cubes. For a moment, Pete stood in the hallway. Shocked by the unexpected kindness but remembered that he had come to take the last bit of Charles’ life and had no time for sentimentality.

Pete cautiously opened the door. The door squeaked which caused Pete to inwardly curse the announcement of his arrival through something so innocuous. Pete stood in front of the door for a moment. There was a staleness in the air and a heat like the mid-day of humid Texas summers. The air seemed to just settle on Pete’s arms instead of allowing him to easily move forward. The hairs on Pete’s arms stood on end as the laboratory seemed to have only become more akin to Hell.

He looked around the room and noticed that someone had taken a blunt object to the computers in the middle of the room. There was a low hum from the single light in the room which slowly swung back and forth as if trying to release itself from the ceiling. As if this one light was ready to join the many others crashed and scattered over the floor but the ceiling was doggedly determined to hold onto it. Pete slowly took a few steps further into the room and began circling the outside of the room. As he neared the prisoner cages, he found that there was a lab coat lying on the floor and a disheveled body laying inside the coat as if it was an oversized blanked rather than a coat. Based on the stench coming from the cages, clearly it was a corpse left to rot inside the cages.

Pete moved on, taking in the room. It looked as though it had been thoroughly destroyed. Not just the computers in the center of the room but the chairs had been cut open with stuffing falling out. Glass from both the lights, the screens, and even from beakers littered the floor. Taking stock of the room, Pete began Maybe I’m too late. Maybe Charles is already dead?

Pete barely had time to register a sigh of disappointment in missing the chance to have one final battle against Charles when a cane came whizzing towards Pete’s head. He had just enough time to move the cane so that it merely grazed his ear. Pete took a step back to better view his attacker.

“You stole my life!” growled the walking corpse in the lab coat. As the figure emerged from the shadows, Pete was able to identify the man as Charles. A withered, pitiful, and truly loathsome being. Pete studied what he thought was a cane and realized that Charles was holding a metal rod, probably a bar removed from the cages. Pete had not yet recovered back to his normal speed due to the recent time travel and the next blow landed on his shoulder. While the lack of experience and strength of the pursuer caused a strike to the shoulder instead of the head, the metal rod still managed to cause Pete a great deal of pain.

“You crushed my science research!” Charles yelled again as he took another blow, this one managed to miss Pete’s chest but still ended up in his stomach. Pete grimaced in pain. “You stole Livi from me!” this time, he only managed to swing at air as Pete was able to quickly take a few steps back despite the pain. “The scientific community tore up my lab and Trace’s lab as I was unable to show my results without the journal or the bracelet. With Trace being dead, no one could substantiate my claims. But before I could load any of the demonstrations onto the computers to show the bit that I had saved on the computer instead of buried in my journal, the imbeciles destroyed all of the computers and the rest of the lab!”

“Fuck you! I have never hated an individual so much in my life!” shouted Charles brought the pipe down for a third blow but Pete caught it before it landed.

“That’s enough of that,” replied Pete. Pete began to stand on shaky legs as the pain was still quite intense. But standing did give Pete the needed leverage to enable him to pull the metal bar out of Charles’ hand. “Now, I am going to give you the beating of a lifetime.”

Charles eyes were widened in fear but after a series of hard blows, the light in his eyes soon left and the life in his body quickly faded. But still, Pete continued to beat the body.

- - - - - - - - -

The pain finally subsided enough that Brisco could better study the world in which he landed and realized that he was in some sort of hallway and not Hard Rock. Brisco stumbled through a nearby open door which appeared to be a dark room. It felt cold and sterile but Brisco managed to light a match to enable him to stumble around the room. He was in some kind of a laboratory. Brisco noticed the shape of a body lying on a table. As he neared the table, Brisco was able to see that it was human figure in the dark but it was not moving. In the poorly lit room, the silhouette was clearly not breathing. The match went out so Brisco lit another match. As he moved the match along the body, Brisco was shocked to see that the man was beaten. In fact, very little of his body was recognizable due to bruises, cuts, and breaks.

“Allow me to introduce you to Chuck,” came Pete’s cold voice in the shadows.

Brisco started and turned towards the voice. He made a pained effort to reach for his gun but caught sight of Pete holding a gun in his direction. Brisco was in too much pain to outdraw the man who was already holding a gun on him.

“Take off the bracelet and slide it across the floor,” he commanded.

Still processing the scene in front of him Brisco didn’t obey but rather accused, “You killed him! That was not part of the plan.”

“It wasn’t part of your plan is what you mean. My plan was always to beat him to death for the experiments he performed on people, his murder of Livi’s mother, and his desire to destroy the past.” Pete gruffly pushed the body off of the table and let it fall without ceremony to the floor. It was clear that the fight had occurred a short while before as rigor mortis had not set in yet. Brisco’s eyes moved to the table where the body had been laying and even thought the room was dimly light, there were blood stains on the table. Brisco looked toward the shadowed figure of Pete and could see that he was breathing heavily, as though still rolling through a plethora of emotions.

“Again, slide your bracelet over to me. I won’t ask you again,” commanded Pete. Brisco heard the hammer click of Pete’s piece and finally registered that his only option was to comply.

As Brisco slowly slid the bracelet across the floor, he asked, “What are you up to Pete?”

“How were your trips to meet Bowler?” asked Pete, changing subject.

“How did you do that, by the way? And why?”

“The how is easy. When I put this bracelet on you, I adjusted the time jumps to the moments that I knew you had visited Bowler.”

“How would you have known that I ever even visited Bowler?”

“Back when I was a deputy for Bowler, I went by to address some clues regarding a local fugitive one night and looked through the window to see an older version of you talking with Bowler. The more that I traveled through time, I was able to discover the necessity of your visits with Bowler. As my timeline progressed, I began to send letters to Bowler and we communicated about the dates and times of your visits so that I could ensure that they occurred.”

Brisco’s bodily pain had subsided but all of this talk of timetravel and time streams was building a migraine which caused him to rub his temples. With eyes closed Brisco asked, “And why did you do this? Why was it necessary?”

“As to why – you were Bowler’s closest friend.”

The response was more surprising than Brisco expected and he felt that he would need to sit for the rest of this conversation and looked for a chair to sit in. He found an old armchair with at least a bit of stuffing left inside and allowed himself to sit. The quick succession of trips had taken its toll on Brisco and he could feel that it was taking him longer to recover. He wiped his nose and spotted blood in his hands. Was this the end? “So, you decided to kill me with the devise this lunatic strapped onto you?” Brisco asked in growing anger before sarcastically stating, “You really are a leader of empathicalism.”

“It is not out of empathy that I sent you to Bowler but out of a knowledge that friends and enemies often have items unsaid that need to be addressed before death. I knew that you needed to be with Bowler at his bedside and that you would be with me during my final moments. It’s the greatest kindness we can give each other and a truly unique gift that the universe rarely imparts on us, that sense of closure that we as human beings long for. And someone as motivated as you spirals into depression and a purposeless existence without it. Your destiny and life is not over yet, while mine is coming to a closure.”

With these words, Pete moved out of the shadows and under the single light in the room. As Brisco studied Pete’s face, Brisco realized that this Pete was no longer a man the same age as Brisco but a much older man. If Brisco had to guess, Pete was at least in his seventies. Pete had a set of half-moon glasses on. On Pete’s wrist was a variety of small metal tools that he was expertly utilizing to adjust Brisco’s bracelet. As soon as Pete finished with one tool, he would take out another one to tweak another aspect of the bracelet.

“What the hell are you talking about?” a shocked Brisco asked.

A wizened smile spread across Pete’s face. “I have a life outside of you, remember? While I sent you on a journey to meet Bowler, I created my own adventures. With the bracelet and my ability to heal from any type of injury, the bracelet would never kill me. So, I could journey all over time and all over the world. I quickly discovered that the most valuable thing that a man could accrue was experiences, not wealth or power like young men think. I traveled everywhere, saw everything, met everyone you would want to meet, and even slept with every woman that I desired. Seeing this world compared to the virtual realities made me realize how it not only destroys imagination and community but also destroys our sense of humanity.

“So, I began a revolution hundreds of years ago leading up to this day, today. I knew that today would not be a fight for the pieces of the old world but a war of powers and principalities. It needed coyotes and wolves not dreamers or idealists like you. To prepare for today, I created a network by recruiting scientists, politicians, wealth mongers, and humanitarians to build an underground infrastructure. Its purpose was to destroy the monsters threatening to destroy the world through apathy, bureaucracy, and isolation. Even incorporated Trace (Doc as you knew him), Rachel, James, and Lenore into the network.”

“Sounds like anarchy,” muttered Brisco. After a few moments a shocking thought occurred to Brisco, “You mean to tell me that you created the man who kidnapped you and then murdered him?”

“Hardly,” sneered Pete in response. “He and his narrowminded peers of this time are our antagonists which is why he only knew the story that I created. I had to operate in the dark to ensure that my revolution would not hindered by any future spectator, I created the myth that I was a leader of philosophy, specializing in the belief that empathy creates a better world. In the end, my personal philosophy on politics, society, and such are my own and not part of the legend or revolution needed to take down Charles and the rest of the catastrophic symptoms of a toxic futuristic culture.”

“So, you are the Savior of the future world?”

“I am not a savior,” Pete groaned in disgust and frustration. Pete paused for a moment and looked up above Brisco as though trying to delicately phrase his next statement. Pete opened his mouth to state something but then thought better of it. Pete shifted while rolling his eyes as took a sigh as one might after exasperatingly explaining why the sky is blue to a young child. “I am a preservationist, Brisco. There is still so much more of the universe and multi-verse for humankind to explore. It needs to be forced out of stagnation.”

“Still sounds like a savior…”

“You’re missing the point!” declared Pete, getting angry now. “I am a forest fire. Forcing people out of their primitive dwellings. Some will live and some will die. It’s a decision that you could never make. You have a narrow sense of morality or a moral compass that is stuck on true north. You believe that every life has some aspect of good or that people can be redeemed. That type of thinking will continue to better the world and is why you are going back to your original timeline. You were never meant to be part of the plan to die here today. But I am ready to die as I have lived… fully.”

A silence hung in the air. Brisco leaned back in his chair to process all that Pete stated. It really did sound more like Pete to live by a code outside of the law or what most consider moral. But there were still so many questions left to be answered.

Brisco looked up at Pete as he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He put away the last tool, admired the completed work on the bracelet, and slid it back across the table and motioned for Brisco to put it on. “There is one journey left in the bracelet. It will take you an hour or two left after you left to ensure that you don’t cross time streams. When you arrive it will shut itself off, bury it until a younger version of myself asks for it. This must remain hidden in case a future version of Bly, or persons worse than him, were to cross paths with it. But no one else should have to endure the pain of time travel and with the adjustments that I have made, no one, but me or my bloodline, will.”

Brisco stood and picked up the bracelet from off of the table. There were now blood stains covering this small machine that carried the weight of so much life and death. Brisco made a decision and tossed it back onto the table. “I am not going anywhere until I finally get some answers. There is no way in hell that I can leave and just hope that you will somehow fix the future.”

Pete frowned for a moment and seemed to process Brisco’s demand. Pete took a look at his watch and seemed to make some mental calculations. To Brisco’s surprise, Pete looked up and gave his most mischievous smile before leaning against the skeleton of a desk to study Brisco. After a few moments’ pause he finally replied, “Ask away.”

“How is it that you aren’t trying to hold onto this power of immortality and time travel?”

“Once you pass four hundred years and have experienced all of the great moments throughout history, the world loses its appeal. You collect all of your great moments but you also bury everyone that you have ever met. Initially, you experience all of the beauty and all of the sorrow. But as time progresses, people begin to look like mayflies and mountains begin to look like hills. The “newest” or “coming thing” is often just a different name on things that already exist. There comes a point after collecting experiences where it no longer holds the joys that others experience. At my age, my life has become a river of blood and fire, always on the run, and sleeping with one eye open watching for this son-of-a-bitch and his fucked up world to destroy all that was once beautiful.”

“Even if there is nothing beyond this life?”

“Even if there is nothing after this, or if there is a Heaven, or if the afterlife is an odd island with a man driving a stranded cast about in an unmarked van. Truthfully Brisco, at my age, it might be nice to finally sleep.”

Another urgent thought and pressing thought came to mind, “I assume that I am not going to be allowed to see anything or meet anyone from this time?”

Pete slowly nodded his head no and let his hand rest on his gun to ensure that Brisco would not cause trouble with that response.

“Well, can you at least pass on a message from Doc? He wanted to send his family his love and tell them how he died?”

Pete smiled. “I not only passed on Doctor Trace’s love upon his death but also orchestrated Trace to meet his husband in the first place. Mind you, from afar but it was easy as they were both recruited to be part of the revolution.”

“Wait! You could have gone back to save his life, you selfish bastard! You have all of this time to travel about setting up your plan. For that matter, why didn’t you save Whip, or Aaron, or Soc-” at the mention of Socrates, Brisco’s voice cracked. He felt like grief had sucker punched him and so Brisco hunched over, trying to bury the tears back in. He would not cry in front of Pete but it was hard. Socrates may have died hundreds of years ago to the world Brisco was standing in but it was only a few hours for Brisco.

Pete held up his hand to pause any further protests from Brisco. “We don’t have time to discuss paradox theories or even fixed points in time across multi-verses. We could start going into rabbit holes like, ‘Could I have gone back to save your father from John Bly and his gang in the first place? Or could I have helped you pick Yale instead of Harvard for law school?’ All I can say is that he needed to discover time travel to enable us to rescue James in the past and to set the world on fire in the future.”

Brisco’s stomach was in knots. There seemed like there should be a loophole, something to be able to save his friends but the idea of a paradox did make sense. At least Brisco couldn’t think of an argument so that must mean it made sense, right? Brisco began to tug at different strings in his mind and with each scenario, the paradox could not be avoided. And all of this interconnectivity was mentally exhausting. Brisco was sure that he must be forgetting something, which spurred another question.

“How is it that you retain all of your memories – I can’t imagine that you can hold onto hundreds years of memories?”

“Part of my gift of immortality is cellular regeneration which enables me to train my brain to utilize more of its storage capacity. Part of cellular regeneration is enabling neural pathways to continue to make connections beyond what the normal brain can sustain which enabled me to hold onto all of my experiences.”

Suddenly, a loud alarm began to sound and lights on the walls that had been dark suddenly began to flash bright white. The noise and lights were disorienting and Brisco had to take a step back to get his bearings.

“It looks like our time is almost up,” Pete yelled over the blaring noise while motioning for Brisco to pick up the bracelet. “You should leave before I explode the system.”

“How?” Brisco asked as he picked up the bracelet and strapped it to his wrist.

“I can give you a lesson in mechanical engineering, missing the window of opportunity that I have worked towards for hundreds of years, and potentially miss my death window, or you could go home. The short answer, I’m going to be in two places at once which will cause a temporary rip in space and time.”

Brisco looked once more at his bracelet unsure whether he should leave or stay. While he didn’t understand all of what Pete responded with, at least he got some answers. But Pete? Really?

Pete moved around the table and shook Brisco’s hand, “You could find Ellie and spend your life making love to a bar maid who will actually make you happy. You could go back to Hollywood. Hell, you could be a spy and work with Michael Weston again in coming wars. Just be sure to live!”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you choosing to die for this cause? It sounds like you could have died without saving anyone else’s life.”

“Brisco, it’s the same motivation that I have always had, self-presentation. And more than that, my Auntie always told me to ‘control your return to the soil.’ And that’s what I’m doing. It is important to me to die at the moment and time of my choosing. I choose here. I choose now.” Pete attempted to let go of Brisco’s hand but Brisco held on.

“Last question - does this closure mean that we are friends or enemies?”

Pete smiled and replied, “It means that we were always both.”

Suddenly, an explosion broke through the wall revealing a group of people led by a beautiful woman in her 20’s. The mob were wearing all black and full-face masks as they stormed through from the other side. The force of the explosion almost knocked the two men over.

“That’s my cue for my war to begin. It’s been an adventure Brisco. While I won’t see you again, I’m sure you’ll be having mojitos soon with a younger me soon,” Pete said with a sly smile and a wink.

Before Brisco could reply, Pete turned Brisco’s hand over and pressed a large button on Brisco’s wrist. Suddenly, there was a blinding light around him. Brisco watched as Pete’s face melted away before shutting his eyes. Just as before, the light surrounded him, the floor beneath him seemed to disappear below him causing him to fall, and the pain began shooting through his limbs. Brisco shouted in pain and then suddenly it was over. No more light, no more searing pain, and no more falling.

The adventure of time travel was over and the next adventure was ready to begin.

Year 2170

Pete transported back to the lab which was dark except for a lamp over the dark tangled mess of Charles’s hair. Pete stood in the shadows of the room for several moments, it had taken him years to figure out how to finagle the bracelet to allow him to travel to any date and time that he wished but he still wanted to be sure that he had landed at the correct moment. After several moments of listening to the even breathing and soft snore of the scientist, Pete could finally hear what he had come for. There was a soft giggle from a child, quietly playing and singing to herself.

Seeing that it was safe, Pete silently moved across the room to a corner of the room. Livi was curled up in a tiny ball. She was holding the saddest rag as a kind of doll and talking to it as though it were a close friend. Pete noted that her only warmth was an old shirt covering her like a blanket.

“Livi,” whispered Pete.

Livi opened her eyes and at the sight of Pete she grinned from ear to ear. “Daddy said that you might come back for me.”

“Shhhh! We gotta be quiet before sneaking out on an adventure,” Pete said as he picked her up and balanced her on his hip while trying to fiddle with the bracelet to go back in time.

Livi rubbed her eyes with her tiny fist as though she were starting to become sleepy. “Daddy says I’m not ‘pos’d to go into the cubes.”

Balancing a squirming child and trying to adjust the time and date on the bracelet was proving to be much more difficult than he had expected. So, in an effort to stop the full range of questions from Livi and to better adjust the bracelet, he asked, “Can you give me a hug, darlin’?”

“Sure!” she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him to give him a giant hug. “Hold on tight!” whispered Pete. Just as he dialed in the time and location, Charles began to stir awake. Pete held his breath hoping that they would escape before Charles fully awoke.

When the light faded away, they found themselves standing in a giant field with the sun shining down on them. Livi began to protest a bit as the sun hurt her eyes. “Hold on there, little lady,” Pete said to calm her down. He pulled sunglasses out of a vest pocket and balanced them over her tiny nose to cover her eyes which enabled her to open her eyes and study what was around her. As she took in the flowers, the grass, and the sky above, she began to giggle and clap her hands.

“Is this a cube? I’ve never been in a cube before! It smells soooo much better than the food and the lab and my dolly. What do you call this? And this? And this?”

About the only question that Pete was truly allowed enough time to answer was, “No, we’re above ground.”

She took a moment to process his response but as she studied him, she had another thought. “You look older and your hair is longer!” she exclaimed.

Pete laughed as he stood and picked her up. “It’s only been a few weeks since you last saw me, but it’s been a few years for me.” She giggled in response to his laugh without understanding what he was talking about. But as she looked across the field, she saw three people walking towards them from a distance.

“Ooooh!” exclaimed Livi in fascination but the closer they came, the more shy she became before she buried her face behind Pete’s knees. The individuals moving towards Pete were Lenore, Rachel, and James, only slightly older since their last conversation at the Winchester Mansion.

“Pete! How the hell are you?” asked James as he extended a hand to shake Pete’s.

Pete shook James’ hand before nodding to Lenore and Rachel to introduce the tiny figure wrapped behind his knee. “Livi, I would like you to meet some really good people. This is Lenore, James, and Rachel.” Livi continued to hide her face but smiled shyly at Lenore as Lenore waved back.

Pete picked her up before saying, “We should talk inside.”

“How did you know that I would be here?” asked Rachel. “I only took the mayor’s aide job a week ago and it’s only temporary until I decide what to do…”

Pete held up his wrist and responded, “Time traveler.”

Lenore was less interested in the comings and goings of Pete but was focused more on the picture of Pete carrying a child in clothes full of holes and dirt while clutching a rag that must have been some sort of doll or comfort blanket. As she watched the shy and abnormally pale and thin child, Lenore decided that her first-priority would be to help the child.

“Rachel, why don’t you take the child to look at the horses?” Rachel momentarily seemed irked to be relegated from a position of authority to the role of babysitter but the look on Lenore’s face told Rachel that any complaint would not be tolerated. Reluctantly, Rachel took the small child from Pete’s arms and carried Livi on her hip towards the stables. As soon as the two were out of earshot, Lenore turned to Pete before loudly whispering, “Pete where did you get a child?”

“From the future-“ came Pete’s vague response.

James frowned while lost in thought before voicing his concerns aloud. “I don’t mean to critique you but why is she here? What about the paradoxes? What if she is too frail and young to handle time travel and now she’s going to be unable to grow to adult-size?”

Pete studied James before responding. The young man still seemed worn through after his traumatic experience of being transplanted from one location to another, not to mention amnesia for an extended period and a battle against the supernatural. Pete had maintained a level of control with his travels while James had been a prisoner of the device. It was only natural that the young man would be afraid for any young person carried through time and the potential long-term ramifications.

Pete turned his attention from studying James to watch Livi in the distance before addressing James’ concerns. “You’ve actually met her mother – the ‘guide’ we met at the mansion.” When the mother and son nodded in recollection, Pete continued. “It’s a long story but Livi’s mother and I have actually known each other for quite a few years, in my timeline anyway. One of her requests was that she observed the three of you during your time at the mansion wanted you to raise her once we defeated the army of darkness at the mansion. She felt that you would best raise her while keeping her safe.”

The thought of a woman giving up her child caused Lenore to burst out the question, “Why isn’t she raising her child?” She hadn’t intended on voicing the question but the thought bubbled out in a rush.

“Raising a child as a ghost and in a haunted mansion didn’t seem like the best environment for Livi. Additionally, the mother felt that it was time to pass through the veil.”

“And the girl’s father?” asked James.

“Time doesn’t pass linearly for time travelers like Livi, her mother, or myself for that matter. Regarding the father, I’m not sure that the girl’s mother even knew who the father was. Long story short, a couple men knew her mother before she died but Charles believed that the mother belonged to himself and to no one else. When Charles discovered that she was pregnant and that the child was not his, he arranged for her discovery and for her death penalty.”

“But if she knew you or has known you for awhile, wouldn’t she want you to be a part of her life?” asked James. He thought back to when Pete was his father’s deputy. During that time, Pete had shared some of his less legal ventures which James, Shaun, and Gus had found fascinating. In fact, James suspected that part of why Shaun and Gus were so successful at posing as psychics was due to Pete’s influence. In James’ mind, Pete could certainly raise a child. It would be an unorthodox upbringing but then this was an unusual child.

Pete had continued to watch Livi in the distance as she pet the horses and giggled with delight when the animal would snort in her directions. But with James’ question, Pete finally turned to look back at Lenore and James. There was a darkness in Pete’s face as he replied, “I’m out for revenge which is not a world for a child. She deserves a stable home. One where she can hide away from the world and from history as a whole,” explained Pete. “At the end of the day, Livi’s mother and I decided that she must be with people who can help her find a sense of normalcy. A place that will value her innocence, imagination, and wonder for the world around her.”

Lenore nodded in understanding and while she did not agree with the decision, she looped an arm around both men’s arms and once between both men, she led them back towards the house. James had wanted to ask Pete more questions but one look from Lenore silenced him. It seemed that Pete was finished explaining himself for the moment which meant the walk to the house was filled with a weighted silence.

But while James was processing the information, Lenore found a smile beginning to grow inside of her. She couldn’t help but begin imagining the future. When Bowler had passed, a cloud had taken residence in the Lonefeather household. And then when James was finally returned, it was clear that he was still shaken to his core. Shawn and Gus had visited shortly after the funerals for Socrates, Aaron, and Whip but so much death and fear made Lenore wonder if anything could bring her son back to the present. Lenore had taken a temporary sabbatical, which the town respected but did not understand.

When Rachel came by to visit and expressed her renewed frustration of Hollywood, Lenore offered the role as mayoral aide. The addition of an attractive actress did help to change the atmosphere at the house. Rachel was a force to be reckon with but she also carried a smile that seemed to brighten through any depression or fear. While Lenore was certain that the girl had an unrequited affection for her son, she could not guess if anything would ever develop between the two. But watching Rachel take on her role as a mayoral aide, only solidified Lenore’s belief that the young actress could certainly be a part of Lenore’s town legacy. With the addition of Livi, Lenore could see Rachel and James fill the shoes of Bowler & Lenore while she could begin the process of retiring back to being a maternal figure to the child of the future. Before following James and Pete into the house, she turned to watch Livi squirm her way out of Rachel’s arms and sprint towards the house before tripping over her own feet. The girl giggled loudly which caused both Lenore and Rachel to laugh at the child’s delight with the world. The sound of the combined laughter shattered the last few clouds over the Lonefeather house. Livi skipped past Lenore into the kitchen with Rachel right behind, both were still beaming ear-to-ear.

“Pete! Pete! Pete!” exclaimed Livi. “I saw a horse! A real one! Well, a few of them. And guess what? It sneezed on me. It was silly. And then we picked a couple flowers and Miss Rachel put them in my hair but I was running too fast and they all fell out-“

“How about some cookies?” asked Rachel.

“Oooh! Cookies are my favorite,” encouraged James.

Lenore smiled and watched both Rachel and James guide Livi to the kitchen with the promise of cookies. Everything seemed to make Livi giggle and the latest cause for laughter was simply the word “cookie.” The child proclaimed the word to be a funny name for something so sweet before she moved onto to talk about the next thing that caught her attention without taking a breath.

Lenore sat at the table, the same one used as Rachel’s surgery in what felt like eons ago. There had been so much tragedy and angst but in this moment, Lenore felt like she had a new motivation for life. A family that she could focus on. A new matriarchal mission to drive her life towards. Life would never be what it was before her husband had passed but she felt reinvigorated about what her new normal and new life would look like. After a few moments, she let go of the dream to refocus on Pete. He had a serious expression and had remained standing near the door as though about to sneak out. As Lenore watched Pete, she realized that he was about to leave. He was calculating the exact moment to disappear while Livi would be distracted with cookies.

She only had a few moments to ask the question that had been on her mind since Pete appeared out of nowhere with the child in his arms. It was now or never.

Lenore cleared her throat before saying as nonchalantly as she could muster, “Pete falling in love and having a child, who’d have thought?”

“Never said that I fell in love or that the child is mine,” commented Pete in the gruffest voice that he could muster. Pete gave one last look at Livi before he was satisfied that the child was indeed distracted and he tipped his hat to signal his goodbye.

“Anything else you would like us to teach her? Aside from morals, wonderment of the world, imagination, and the like?”

Pete smiled impishly before responding, “You teach her the morals and I’ll teach her the best cons as she grows up.”

“So, we will we see you again?” asked Lenore in shock.

“Now and again,” came his sing song response. “Be seeing you,” he said before exiting the house. A familiar noise and blinding light came from outside the house but Lenore didn’t need to look outside to know that Pete had disappeared.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Brisco lost count regarding how many visits, cups of coffee, or jokes that he was able to share with Bowler. He was even able to occasionally chat with James as he grew up, under the strict rule to never speak of it to his friends. Especially, James’ childhood friends Gus and Shaun. Unfortunately, Brisco had been feeling the pain that Pete and Doc had discussed as a side effect. In fact, the last two jumps had not only resulted in excruciating pain but nose bleeds.

As the familiar light and noises faded, Brisco had to put his hands on his knees to steady himself. It took quite a few minutes before Brisco was able to slowly stand back up. In fact, there was still ringing in his ears and it was difficult to walk steadily as Brisco began the short walk through Hard Rock towards Bowler’s house. Upon arriving on Bowler’s deck, Brisco took a quick look in one of the windows lit by a nearby lantern to ensure that he had wiped away all of the blood off of his face.

After ensuring that the blood was cleared off his face, Brisco quietly moved around the side of the house towards the guestroom which he knew had become Bowler’s bedroom. Bowler’s cancer had spread and no one could carry him upstairs to bed anymore, so the household had converted the spare room into a place of peace and rest for Bowler.

“Well!” came Bowler’s voice, this time weakened by the cancer. “Don’t you look like death!” his chuckle turned in a cough as Brisco sat down.

“Me? You look the worst for wear.”

“I do what I can,” laughed Bowler. “So, I see you still time travelin’.”

“Yea, seems so.”

“How much longer you think you’ll live?”

“Probably not much longer than you,” Brisco admitted. “At least, Pete gave me this time with you. Whatever happens after today, it was worth the cost.”

“Well, that’s about the nicest thing you ever said about me… and the sappiest thing. Don’t get all soft on me,” Bowler said as he rolled his eyes. “How ‘bout the comin’ thing or, as I like to call it, the perfect drink?”

Brisco’s eyebrow raised. “The perfect drink?” Brisco exclaimed as he stood back up, slapping his knees in the process. He walked over to a bar that had been set up on a nearby table, as though Bowler had been expecting him.

“Place mint leaves and limes in a glass” instructed Bowler. “Add ice. Pour rum and soda water over the drink.”

Brisco took a sip before smiling at Bowler. “This really is the perfect drink.”

“It’s called a mojito.”

As Brisco made a second one for Bowler to enjoy, he studied Bowler. His frame had greatly sunken as the cancer had overtaken his body. Catching Brisco’s concerned gaze, Bowler broke the silence. “I think this really is the last visit.”

“Bowler,” muttered Brisco with lump in his throat. “I don’t-“ began Brisco but he couldn’t finish the statement. Instead, Brisco elected to stare into his glass and to drink it rather than be forced to say good-bye.

“Now don’t be getting’ all mushy on me.”

“Really Bowler - you’re the best friend I ever had.”

“Well, who else would put up with you and all them crazy adventures and inventions? Anyone else would have run soon as they met you.”

“True,” admitted Brisco in an attempt to be as lighthearted as Bowler wanted the time to be. Brisco took another drink as he studied the angel above Bowler’s bed, “Don’t forget our deal.”

Bowler smiled and said, “When the angel comes to take my hand, I’ll make sure that you can hitch a ride. But if it ain’t your time, I’ll be sure to come back for you myself.”

The two men shook hands and to Brisco’s amazement the light began to swirl around him. “What the hell?” exclaimed Brisco. “It’s never been this fast.”

“Maybe it knows we terrible at goodbyes!” laughed Bowler before it was lost in a flurry of coughs. Before long, the light had died around Brisco but he was again in severe pain. As he lifted his head, he wiped his nose but found that his ears had also started to bleed. At this rate, Brisco felt that if he did even one more jump, there was a strong chance it could be his last.

There was a loud noise as though the door slammed which caused Ellie and Brisco to wake up. Both had not realized that they had fallen asleep and both sat upright to face the door. To their surprise, Pete was standing in the doorway and looking about the room.

“Don’t mind me,” his lilting voice came. “Just came in for what belongs to me.”

Within moments Pete had moved across the room, opened a desk, and moved several items about but did not find what he was looking for. He then pulled out the drawer entirely and found the bracelet tucked on the underside of the drawer, completely oblivious to Brisco or Ellie.

“Pete what the hell happened? How did you survive?” commented Brisco.

Meanwhile, the shock had finally worn off Ellie and she ran across the room to give Pete a giant hug. Pete pulled her back a bit to study the tears in her eyes. “You really thought I had died?”

“You weren’t breathing,” Brisco stated as he rose to defend Ellie.

“The entire space under the house has turned to ash but y’all find my body is un-burned and you thought I was dead?”

“Again, you weren’t breathing,” insisted Brisco. “Your body may have survived but it didn’t mean that the smoke inhalation would not kill you.”

“Brisco, you seem to always be quick to believe I’ve departed this realm. Beginning to think it’s more than wishful thinking,” muttered Pete and he turned to leave the room.

“Where the hell are you going?” demanded Brisco.

“Headed to one of the smaller kitchens. I believe that Rachel, Lenore, and James are hiding there, drinking hot chocolate, and avoiding the rest of the household before the memorial service.”

“You saw them already?”

“No, but I had a long chat with my ghostly gal and she told me where to find everyone.”

As Brisco and Ellie rushed to follow Pete, he ignored their questions except to respond, “I prefer to tell everyone all at once.”

Bruce and Ellie locked eyes behind Pete’s back and simultaneously rolled their eyes. Of course, Pete would want to give a big presentation to wrap up the evening’s events. They hurried to keep up with Pete who seemed to know where he was going without looking up from the bracelet in his hand. He was fiddling with it in an expert manner that Brisco had not seen before.

True to the ghost’s instructions, the trio were indeed in one of the kitchens and drinking hot cocoa. It appeared that no one was able to sleep before the pending service despite the exhaustion that each was feeling. As Pete entered the room, Lenore pushed past James and Rachel to give Pete a giant hug. “You’re alive!” she exclaimed. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you!”

Pete seemed taken aback by the embraces and affection shown by the small group and he motioned for the group to sit down. However, no one seemed to take note of his signal but dived in with their questions.

“How did you survive?” asked Ellie.

“Where is everyone else?” asked Lenore.

“Will you now explain what the HELL is going on?” demanded Brisco.

“I will provide explanations in a moment,” Pete stated calmly. “Before I begin, could you give me the bracelet in your pocket, Ms. Lenore?”

Lenore wordlessly handed over the bracelet and the group watched as Pete continued to tinker with both devices. He barely looked up to acknowledge the group, when he muttered to himself, “Where to begin?”

“How about where did you go while we were completing the séance?” demanded Brisco.

Pete looked up with a slightly bemused smile, “I was actually just thinking aloud about these devices.” Pete took a breath before beginning. “I left the group to search for this bracelet but in the process was stopped by my ghostly gal. She led me to the bell tower and had me ring it in a certain pattern to bring down the dome surrounding the mansion.”

“You abandoned us to follow a ghost?” asked Brisco incredulously.

Pete shrugged as though the question were puerile in nature before replying, “No, I left to find a way to fight the future with the future. Sound familiar?”

Brisco paused as his own words from twenty years ago were repeated to him as it left him momentarily speechless.

“I strongly recommend that y’all sit down for this next part of the evening.”

“What next part?” asked a confused Rachel.

“Ahem- I think he means us,” came Whip’s voice. Rachel gasped and the group turned to see where the voice came from and what Rachel was pointing at – the ghostly figures of Socrates, Whip, and Viva.

The group of humans stared at their friends who were now ghosts with a mixture of sorrow and fear.

“Y’all don’t need to look so glum!” began Whip. “It’s not as terrible as you think.” Whip strode over to James and shook his hand before stating, “James, I am glad that we were able to connect you back with your family. Keep them close.” Whip then moved to Lenore and gave her a big hug. Lenore hugged him back and ignored the icy chill of her friend’s spirit form. “Lenore, thank you for believing me and please tell my family that I love them.” Whip paused for a moment before moving to Brisco. Brisco held out a hand to shake Whip’s but Whip hugged Brisco instead. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have gotten myself killed on the street facing Roy Hondo or in a poker tournament. Thanks for getting me on the path of justice. Turns out that it was the best road for me.” Whip took a step back and allowed Viva to say his goodbyes. Viva hugged Brisco and thanked him for all of the adventures, shook James’ hand and told him how much he looked like his father, and then hugged Lenore. He held her for quite a few moments as they had a whispered conversation. When he pulled back, she quickly wiped a few tears from her eyes. They had worked together for so long and encountered so much that it would have been impossible to say how much their friendship meant to the other. At that, Whip tipped his hat and Viva winked at the group before the two disappeared, leaving Socrates.

Socrates had already quietly said his goodbyes to the group and the only person remaining was Brisco. Socrates and Brisco took a walk away from the group as their friendship had endured so many years and changes that neither felt comfortable being heard by the rest of the group. Socrates was the first to break the silence, “As your attorney, it is my duty to inform you that you will have to finish out the contract on the current movie but after that you will be free to continue in whichever direction that you want-“

“Socrates, I feel like that’s the least-“ interjected Brisco but Socrates rolled his eyes and held up a hand.

“Before we started this mission, I ensured that you would be able to do whatever you like from here. You will not only be contractually free but fiscally able to pursue whatever next adventure you want to pursue.”

“It’s not like there’s much a retired bounty hunter can do?” sighed Brisco.

“Brisco, you can do anything or go anywhere. You have a law degree and you’ve had successful careers as a spy, a Hollywood consultant, and in the past few days, a victor against ghost armies. Who knows? With this current tension, they might need someone to be an overseas consultant or you might help others fight the supernatural. There’s so much to come which gives you a plethora of opportunities.”

“Soc- I am not ready to lose another friend,” Brisco whispered so quietly that Socrates could barely hear it.

Socrates patted Brisco’s shoulder before stating, “It’s a good thing that you’ve reconnected with some old friends and made some new ones then.” Brisco looked back towards Lenore, James, Rachel, and Pete who were still in the kitchen, processing the goodbyes from the ghosts.

“As I said last night, if I didn’t have you in my life, I’d still be an ass kissing, sniveling lawyer to a group of robber barons without a care for anyone but myself.”

“If it’s any consolation, Soc, you’re a much better agent that Wyatt’s wife.” Socrates smiled and held out his hand to shake Brisco’s but Brisco hugged his old friend instead. And then, the lawyer was gone. Disappeared and Brisco was left holding nothing but air.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The service was simple and passed in a blur for Brisco, Lenore, James, and Rachel. Pete had remained in the tiny kitchen concerned that the household might be inclined to go into shock at seeing Pete alive after pulling his pulseless body from under the house earlier in the day. When the ceremony was over, Brisco and his friends snuck back to the small kitchen to find Pete sitting in a chair reading a book with both bracelets sitting before him on the kitchen table. Whatever task that Pete had been performing finally complete.

Brisco, tired of evasive responses and still reeling from his recent chat with Socrates, walked directly to Pete before demanding, “You’re a time traveler, could you have saved them?”

Pete looked up from his book and studied Brisco’s face before quietly setting it down on the table next to the bracelets. Pete paused for a few more moments tracing his hand along the book and one of the bracelets before he looked up at Brisco and responded. “No. I have replayed the evening over and over again in my mind and had I joined the men under the house any sooner, I would have had to abandon the bell code which would have cost more lives than just their lives. Even if I could have been at two places at once with the bracelet, I would have lost my mind and been of no use to anyone.”

“Why can’t you just go back and stop James from leaving and the past 24 hours from ever happening?” demanded Rachel.

“She certainly takes after her mother,” commented Pete as he looked back down at his book, lost in thought.

Irritated by Pete’s seemingly short attention span, James spoke up, “She asked you a question.”

Pete stood to his full height before tilting his head with incredulous frustration. “Do you think that I would be standing here if I could simply go back in time? Hell, why not just go back in time and tell you to leave the bracelet alone and let the scientist go back home where he belongs?”

The response was merely silence before Pete continued, “Think about it, James. In all of your hops across time, did you ever visit the same place and time? No, because then you would create a paradox as a best case scenario. Worst case, you being in the same place twice would cause you to simply stop existing. It wouldn’t erase you from time, just from that moment on, you would be absent from existence.”

James wanted to retort that sacrificing Pete for the sake of the other men would be a fair shake but the look on his mother’s face told him to drop it. She seemed to believe Pete, for whatever reason. Pete relaxed before picking up one of the bracelets.

“To change the subject, can you put this on for a second, Brisco?” Pete asked as he handed one of the bracelets to Brisco.

Brisco took a step back before suspiciously asking, “Why?”

“Let’s say that I need your help taking down Charles.”

The thought of Charles brought a level of anger inside of Brisco. Had this man not tampered with time, Doc, Socrates, Whip, and Viva might all still be alive. Brisco set his jaw, held his wrist out, and then nodded. Pete attached the bracelet before pushing a couple buttons and Brisco disappeared.

“Aren’t you going with him?” asked an incredulous Rachel.

“I don’t have to leave at the same time in order to arrive at the same time,” Pete explained as he crossed back to Lenore. Rachel felt the heat in her cheeks redden in embarrassment. Pete gave her a sympathetic smile before reassuring Rachel, “The order of reality in the context of time travel can get confusing quite quickly.”

He stood in front of Lenore before holding out the bracelet. “Once I leave, I may not be able to return for awhile and I actually need your help. You are the catalyst that put me on this journey. I just realized that this time in your chronology is when you told me about my letters to Bowler. It’s also how you were able to get away from the guests to talk with me before I left back to San Francisco.”

“I would never mess with time. I almost lost my boy to this cursed bracelet.”

“I am going to go with you to ensure that you get there and back safely. Furthermore, without your help, I might have been on a different path and unable to help last night.”

Lenore looked at Pete with trepidation unsure what to do.

“Lenore, trust me. Just one last time.”

Before Rachel or James could protest or stop Lenore, she disappeared with Pete.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

When the blinding light faded away, Brisco found himself in Hard Rock at night. “Damnit Pete! What did you do?” he asked aloud as he looked at the skies. After waiting for several moments, Pete still did not arrive so Brisco began to walk around town thinking maybe under better light he could determine where and when he had landed. As Brisco turned a corner, he ran into a large figure face first.

“Excuse me-“ began Brisco but stopped short when he recognized the face towering above him. “Bowler! Am I glad to see you!” Brisco embraced Bowler while laughing.

“Would you mind telling me what’s so damn amusing?” demanded Bowler.

“Bowler, it’s me! Brisco!”

“Yeah, I know it. I’m still a bit pissed at you for missin’ my wedding.”

“Your… wedding…” stammered Brisco.

“My wedding to Lenore? October 20^th? Two weeks ago?”

“Two weeks?”

“Is there an echo over here? Why you repeatin’ everythin’ I say?”

“Bowler, you don’t understand-“

“Understand what? Your anger for me decidin’ to marry Lenore and do right by her? For me decidin’ to be a father to my unborn child? Especially since both of us have experienced the lack of a father.”

“Bowler, I’m so sorry. I missed everything – your wedding, your son’s birth, the day that you were sworn in as sheriff…”

“The hell you talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Bowler, I-“ but Brisco was unable to continue. There was suddenly a bright light surrounding Brisco and within moments, he was gone, leaving a confused Bowler standing in the street.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

1912 - Hardrock

When the light faded away from Lenore and Pete, they found themselves behind the chapel. The service music was playing as Lenore snuck past it, she was tempted to look inside as it would be wonderful to see Bowler’s body just one more time. But she remembered that it would be a closed casket and kept moving past the chapel. She continued into the direction that Pete had pointed out which would enable her to run into the younger version of himself standing next to a motorcycle. It looked as though Pete was debating whether or not to go in and when it looked like he had decided to drive away, Lenore called out to him.

“Pete, are you really trying to sneak out without saying ‘hello?’

Pete turned and gave his most mischievous smile and he raised his hands in surrender. “Why Madame Mayor! I would never exit without your dismissal. I just realized that I forgot my contribution for the afternoon potluck.”

Unsure how to change topics to the letters, she decided to order him to give her a hug in a spirit of cordiality. However, as Pete obeyed with a hug, he jolted her by asking, “Seriously, how are you doing?”

That answer is so much more complicated than you can understand, she thought. Instead, she leaned back, raised an eyebrow, and put her hands on her hips in her most mock mother stance she could conjure. “Pete, I may have adopted you into my family while you were here, but we avoided all things serious, including your miracle elixirs.”

“You knew about that?” Pete asked bashfully.

“Just because I turned a blind eye, doesn’t mean that I didn’t know. Besides, my goal was to never change you to walk the straight and narrow but to give you a sense of home.”

Pete smiled and admitted, “It’s the closest that I came to a family that I recall.”

Thinking of all the adopted family that had just been tragically lost, Lenore cleared her voice and looked away before changing the subject, “Speaking of which did you see James? My boy is all grown up.”

“I only got to see him from the back of the church and he wasn’t facing me so I didn’t get a good look at him.”

“Maybe next time then,” Lenore replied with a weak smile. Without Pete’s participation, they would have never been able to rescue James. They would have never learned how to remove the bracelet and who knows how long he would have lived before dying in agony as the bracelet ripped her son apart.

Lenore decided to change the subject again and looked at Pete’s motorcycle before asking, “I thought that I heard that you were motorcycling across the country, doing something in Picture Palaces?”

The two discussed motorcycles before Lenore attempted to hint to Pete his impermeability. However, the comments about his survival were of little interest to Pete and time was running out for Lenore. She felt her pulse quicken as she heard the doors to the church swung open and the funeral procession was starting to spill out towards Pete and Lenore.

“I have to get back and I won’t make you stay here. I just wanted to say thank you for coming before you drove back home. It meant a lot to see you here and I wanted to tell you that Bowler appreciated your letters. They consoled him in his final days but he burned them before I could return them to you. Bowler may not have agreed with your lifestyle but in his own way, he respected you.”

At that, she gave Pete’s arm a gentle squeeze before hurrying back towards the chapel. She moved as quickly as she could to where the older Pete hid. Within moments, Pete had escorted her back to the original timeline. They found James pacing and Rachel cleaning her guns, both clearly nervously awaiting Lenore’s return.

“Mama!” he exclaimed as the light faded away. James pulled her away from Pete and stood between them before pointing an angry finger at Pete and commanding, “Never do that again!”

Pete took little notice of the young man’s anger as he began fiddling with his bracelet, clearly preparing to leave.

“Pete, wait!” called Lenore. “Which version of you wrote the letters?”

Pete paused as though caught red handed and looked up in shock before asking, “Excuse me?”

“Are you the Pete that we found underneath the house today? Or did you, a future Pete, write the letters after you returned but before coming here?” Lenore insisted.

Pete gave his most mischievous smile, “Who says that I have even written the letters yet?” He then took a moment as if to carefully pick his words before continuing. He then seemed to change his mind and tipped his hat as though ready to leave.

“Will we see you again?” asked Ellie. Pete nodded in silent response and Ellie hugged him goodbye

Pete awkwardly patted her back before stepping back to hit a button on the bracelet and disappear. “Wait, how is it that the bracelets suddenly work and aren’t inhibited by the EMF here at the house?” asked Rachel.

James and Lenore looked at her, also confused. “Maybe,” began James. He paused before beginning again, “Just maybe, bringing down the dome not only woke the town, protected the house from the fire below, but also temporarily created a rift where EMF could no longer exist.”

“That seems pretty far-fetched,” replied Rachel still trying to work out the mystery.

“And yet, how many ghosts have you seen since the event?” asked the female spirit guide in a nightgown.

“We’ve seen you-“ answered Rachel.

“But I am not operating on the same frequency as your usual spirit. I have a temporal anomaly which makes me more of a guide rather than a true ghost.”

“So, James is right about everything that changed because of the bells and the stained glass?” asked a shocked Rachel.

“Does it really matter?” responded Ellie. James and Rachel gave her a confused look. “Let’s just have a couple drinks, get a bit of sleep at the local hotel, and then get the hell out of San Jose.” Lenore nodded in agreement as James and Rachel looked into their coffee cups, frustrated that the answers were not going to come tonight.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Brisco found himself outside a house that he assumed was the home of Lenore and Bowler. Again, it was in the dead of night. Brisco quietly approached the house and heard a familiar voice singing. It was Bowler, singing to a bundle in his arms. He was sitting in a rocking chair going back and forth as the baby cooed up at him. Brisco watched, unsure if he should interrupt this tender moment.

“I see you, Brisco. You might as well join me,” called the booming voice of Bowler.

Brisco slowly approached the porch and sat down in the chair that Bowler nodded towards. For several moments, there was silence aside from the rocking of Bowler’s chair and the cooing of the baby in his arms. Bowler broke the silence first, “So, did you find another orb or what?”

“What-“ responded a startled Brisco.

“Last time we saw each other, you mentioned several things that had not happened. Specifically, winning the election for sheriff and that you knew I was having a son.” At Brisco’s open mouth, Bowler laughed his deep, booming laugh. “Just tell me straight, you didn’t bring an orb to my house? I hate them damn things!”

“Uh-no. No. It’s something else.”

“Well, just as long as you don’t ‘spect me or my son to go travelin’ around, you’re welcome to my porch.”

Silence filled the porch again but with each creaking rock of the chair, shame and guilt built up inside of Brisco. “Bowler, I am so so sorry. You have no idea how much I have regretted everything!” All of the years of regrets, missed opportunities, and apologies began to flow out of Brisco. After several moments, Bowler held up a hand to signal for Brisco to stop talking.

“How long has it been for you?” Bowler gently asked.

“You have no idea,” came Brisco’s broken reply.

“How long will you be here?”

“I don’t know.”

“When you go, will you come back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, it seems the only thing that we can do is catch up, now and in any future visits. So, before you disappear, I want you to hold James for a moment. Now just for a minute because Lenore would kill me if I let my son time travel with you.”

“Bowler-“ protested Brisco but James was in Brisco’s arms in a matter of moments.

Bowler beamed at his son and best friend with pride, “Brisco, I’d like you to meet my son. His name is James Brisco Lonefeather.”

A lump built in Brisco’s throat. “James is named after me?”

“Just the middle name, so don’t get too carried away,” responded Bowler as he gave the all too familiar “Bowler glare” and took James back from Brisco.

The two continued to talk well into the night as James continued in various stages of cooing, feeding, and sleeping. After several hours, Brisco disappeared in a large beam of light. Bowler smiled at the spot Brisco left before turning back to James. “That was your Uncle Brisco.”

The ghost had been correct as the sleepy nearby neighbors and surrounding town awoke and went about its day as though nothing had happened. As our exhausted heroes and survivors of the mansion’s events carefully watched the town move about their day, it was clear that no one woke up during the night to see the dome covering the mansion. No one heard the screams of the dying or the bugle of the skeleton scout on his winged creature. If pressed, no one would have recalled the stench in the night as the undead passed through the streets on their way to and from the house.

The undead returned to their graves without much fuss while a confused cemetery landscaper awoke to see the entire cemetery a mess. All of the graves looked to have recently been disturbed with varying degrees of dirt to cover the bodies or caskets. Having slept so soundly and seeing a bottle curled up in his arms, he assumed that he had imbibed a bit too much and failed to protect each burial plot from grave robbers. In an effort to save his job, he hurriedly went around to each grave to ensure that the caskets and bodies were covered. Afterwards, the landscaper did his best to hide the disheveled dirt with flowers and grass to give it the appearance of peace. As he moved from grave to grave with sweat pouring down his face, he vowed that wild horses would never drag this secret out of him.

The mansion’s gate was locked per the widow’s commands, but it did not matter. Visitors were not welcome and so no one would try the gate and find it locked. If Teddy Roosevelt could not get a tour of the mansion, why should the neighbors suspect anything amiss as it was always cloistered away?

Mrs. Winchester’s niece, who had been spent the night locked in a closet with her son, was seen leaving the house early to visit the local newspaper. This was not necessarily unusual. The widow was known to occasionally have odd or superstitious requests of staff and not all employees were able to find permanent residence. Seeing Mrs. Winchester’s niece leaving the local newspaper, merely led the locals to speculate on what wild whims were demanded of Mrs. Winchester and to assume that new job postings would be seen in future newspaper advertisements.

The only aspect that seemed to stray from routine was the number of times the niece visited. Normally, the niece visited town once a week, but today she was seen leaving the mansion twice in a single day. On her second trip in the afternoon, she was seen carrying a large stack of envelopes. The local post office was surprised to see so much correspondence from a reclusive widow who spoke few words to anyone outside of her immediate family or closest staff.

For Frank, the postmaster general, the temptation was too great to ignore. He held a letter to the light but it was a hard to make out more than a handful of words. He tried several more before he found a letter that was in dark enough ink that he could make out the words, “I am sorry for your loss” in beautiful penmanship. He squinted and was able to make out the phrase, “While this cannot replace… I send this in gratitude for service…” Well, those phrases were too much for him to contain and he shared the phrases with his wife to get her theory on what was occurring at the mansion.

She placed her plump hands on her wide hips before scolding, “After calling me a gossip at the church social last week, you can’t expect my help in this matter?”

“Matilda-“

“No Frank, you called me a gossip in front of all my friends! And all I was doing, was saying that young Valentine seemed to be spending too much time with the milkman, George. At least, more than is appropriate for a young lady.”

“That’s different, Matilda-”

“Don’t you Matilda me! Sometimes, you are honestly a bigger gossip than any woman!” before storming towards the kitchen. In truth, she was curious about the letters but she would not be moved from her righteous pedestal. She would punish Frank for embarrassing her, even if it meant never knowing the latest gossip about Mrs. Winchester. Surely, the letters meant nothing out of the ordinary for such an already unique and odd woman.

“Matilda, don’t you find it suspicious-“ implored a desperate Frank, looking for any kind of ally in researching this new strange behavior of the Winchester household.

She waved her chubby hands in the air as she took a bite from her second breakfast of the day. “That house is weird and will always be weird. It’s best that we leave it alone and never think of it again.”

“But-“

“I have spoken!” she commanded and held her hand up to show that the conversation had ended before continuing her meal and tea.

This small conversation was typical of the nearby houses as the town had universally decided that since Mrs. Winchester was determined to remain aloof and eccentric, it was in the best interest of all to ignore her existence as best as possible.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Behind the gates, the bells rang to signal an all clear for those who had survived the night and might still be in hiding. An informal roll call began in an effort to determine how much of the staff were still breathing. Once completed, each individual was sorted by Mrs. Dechant and given a location or a task. She moved the staff who needed medical care into a sitting room to be treated by the local doctor who had been called to the house. As he studied each injury, he felt that if he were on a battlefield, this group would have been at the front of the army. However, Mrs. Dechant paid him handsomely for the day and stated that there had been a scaffolding accident. He knew that the extra payment was to further their story rather than to investigate an alternative truth and honestly, the amount of money he was getting for the day had bought the household whatever story that they wanted him to tell.

When the doctor had arrived, Lenore had taken over a kitchen and became a mother hen to all of the survivors. She could not cook in her favorite kitchen as that room was littered with beheaded bodies but the benefit of working at such a large house was the access to several kitchens. Lenore did her best to ignore the cabinets that Viva had been working on the evening before and instead focused on instructing two of her staff members to cook while she made it her mission to feed and ensure that each person was given small breaks throughout the day. It had been a tragic and terrifying night. Facing the new day meant that comfort food, real comfort food, would be needed today of all days. When Lenore wasn’t encouraging individuals to eat, she was wearing her mayoral hat and listening to individuals process their emotions enough to continue their work. Lenore knew this was not a time to be overcome by emotions and she knew that mental and physical breaks would be needed or else the tragedy would be too all consuming for the survivors.

Meanwhile, the individuals deemed healthy and strong enough to move bodies were asked to join James outside. James separated his group into different sections. Some men would work digging graves in a corner of the yard in an effort to bury the beheaded dead away who could not return to their graves from potentially prying eyes. Other men were tasked with carrying the bodies of deceased staff members to an area of the house to be prepared by maids for the burial ceremony scheduled to occur under the cover of darkness. The time had not yet been determined but Mrs. Dechant expressed Mrs. Winchester’s wish to have a ceremony at the house in an effort to honor the fallen.

The last group were the remaining maids assigned by Mrs. Dechant to identify bodies. It ended up being a gruesome task of identifying which of the beheaded individuals were staff and which were undead. While most of the undead returned to their graves, there were still several unidentified bodies who were assumed to have been originally from the cemetery but had been removed from the main body or too rotted away to return to the cemetery. Out of all of the girls assigned to the task of identification, only one had a strong enough stomach to place the heads with corresponding bodies.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mrs. Winchester began writing letters to the families of the staff who had passed over the night. A little-known fact that history often forgets is the generosity of Mrs. Winchester towards her household staff. Not just in their salary but towards their children’s and grandchildren’s education. With each letter she sent to deceased employee’s family, she enclosed a generous check. However, as she sealed each envelope, there was a familiar ache in her heart. For all of the millions that Mrs. Winchester had inherited, not a penny could replace the pain that she felt after losing her daughter and husband. She would trade it all in a moment to have her husband and daughter with her again. She sighed and with pain shooting up her arms, she would start another letter. There were so many letters to send and a funeral to plan. Arthritis be damned! She thought but with each word she wrote, the simple task became more excruciating.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Brisco, Rachel, and another workman did not join James’ task of moving bodies but focused on trying to enter the cellar that Socrates, Whip, Viva, and Pete had entered. When Ellie had spoken the counter-curse and the grounds shook, all of the furniture pieces that the workmen had loaded out of the way were now blocking any entry or exit beneath the house. To make matters worse, the farthest reaches of the root system had tried to escape the fire and had wrapped itself around each piece of rubble and furniture blocking the entryway in an attempt to cling to life. When the fire managed to kill the heart of the evil tree, the outside roots had fused to the furniture causing everything to be tied together. It took hours to not only move items out of the way but to hack at the fused root system. The three worked tirelessly determined to help locate any survivors from under the house.

After several hours in the sun, Lenore personally brought plates of food to the trio when they had refused food the last three times people had attempted to convince them to take a break.

“Brisco, you aren’t good to anyone if you faint,” she commanded as she placed a firm hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him to sit down.

“I’m not about to give up on anyone. Besides, I can ride for days without sleeping and live on one meal a day,” he retorted.

Lenore laughed aloud before continuing, “Oh honey! You were never that tough. Besides, we aren’t in our 20’s anymore.” She placed the plate into Brisco’s hands as she squeezed his shoulder. “You aren’t giving up. You’re just taking a 5-minute rest.”

Rachel sat beside him and moved the food around her plate. The lump in her throat was too big to swallow anything. Seeing Rachel’s discomfort, Brisco attempted to break the silence and stress of the moment.

“Don’t worry. You look worse than you feel.”

“What?” exclaimed a shocked Rachel. “Why the hell would you say that?” she demanded.

Brisco laughed, which momentarily broke the tension. “At least you survived the gunshot wound. I can only imagine the beating your mother is going to give me when she next sees you.”

She smiled faintly, before asking, “Afraid of my mother, are you?”

“The only thing more terrifying than Crystal Hawkes, is Lenore Lonefeather.”

“What about me?” Rachel asked innocently.

“You’re not quite there yet but I’m sure that your mother and Lenore will get you to their level of fear wielding soon enough.”

“Does that mean you’ll recommend me to have more fight scenes and less damsel in distress?”

Brisco was rescued from responding because at that moment, someone began to shout from inside the pile of rubble. It was Ellie calling for help with a body.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

After changing into a pair of pants and shirt, Ellie went outside to join the search for her friends. Watching the men give Rachel the menial task of hacking at dead roots, Ellie elected to not join the group for instructions but instead began to search around the house for another way in. She snuck around to the basement that she and Brisco had been assigned to the night before and after 20 minutes or so, found a small crawl space that might lead to the other basement. Unfortunately, the area around it had partially collapsed in on itself which would make getting through quite difficult. Ellie tried to make the hole a little bigger by kicking at the surrounding wood but it did not budge, which caused Ellie to assume that this was the reason why no one else was bothering with this area of the house.

Determined to not be deterred she abandoned the task of making the hole bigger but attached a flashlight to her belt and slowly crawled into the manmade tunnel. It took longer than she would have liked and certainly managed to cause several scrapes and bruises but she finally made it in. She stood and turned on the flashlight to study the dead world of the cellar that had swallowed the lawyer, bandit, sheriff, and deputy. As she looked around the underbelly of the house, she was amazed that the mansion itself had remained intact. Maybe there was another spell or force separating the house from the basement. Who knows? Only the ghosts and shadows would know and they were particular about what they wanted to share with corporeal beings such as herself.

She turned her attention to the ground and noticed that most of everything had turned to ash. The forest of branches and roots had been destroyed and Ellie could feel the cement beneath her feet. She continued to walk through the underside but the smell of burnt flesh became overwhelming. Ellie held in her urge to vomit but began to count bodies. She could count at least seven and it was impossible to tell which body was which. She choked back her tears but was determined to keep looking around for a survivor. If the house had survived, why couldn’t her friends have survived?

Time seemed to slow down as she wandered the underside of the house; nothing had remained aside from ash. Whatever battles had occurred beneath the house would not be known by the corporeal world, just by any spirit who had watched the scene unfold. As Ellie continued to move through the house, she found herself hoping that the group of men she watched enter the basement had either escaped or died quickly. Dying by fire seemed a truly horrible way to die.

Ellie tripped and dropped her flashlight. For a moment she stood in terror and darkness, unable to find the ability to scream or to move. Had the weird slithering roots she’d briefly seen the night before somehow survived this fire? She carefully stooped down to her feet and lifted the flashlight with shaking hands. But even with the flashlight, it was difficult to see what had tripped her. Ellie felt her mouth go dry and she carefully brushed away the ash to reveal, not a root but an arm. Before she could hold it in, she shouted in excitement. This arm was unscathed by fire!

She then began scooping away the ash and dirt in search of the rest of the body that owned the hand. Ellie’s fingers began to hurt as she continued to claw at the earth, tears of hope began to well up in her eyes as she continued to scratch away at the earth. She could hear the shouts of Brisco, Rachel, and other workmen respond to her calls and pick up speed on the other side of the cellar doors. She could feel the skin on her fingertips begin to bleed as she continued to dig away at the dirt. Yet she did not slow down as she continued to uncover the body. Finally, enough of a face was revealed and she could shine her flashlight onto it. She began to shout, “Oh my god! Pete! You lived!” She gave him a large hug but found that he was not breathing. Ellie began to shake him in an effort to wake him up. No matter what she did, Pete did not move or wake.

Ellie didn’t know when Brisco and the rest of the men had arrived. She was aware that Brisco and his men dragged Pete’s body out and into the sunlight. She still felt like she was in shock as Rachel led her to the outside where the sun temporarily blinded her eyes. The world around her felt like it was running slow. Her world felt truly shaken, as if gravity no longer trapped her feet and the sun no longer stood in the sky. Pete’s dead? Of all the impossible things from the night before, how could Pete die?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Evening finally came and all of the bodies from under the house and throughout the grounds had all been sorted. The household had arranged to have the memorial services for all parties at midnight as the mourning bells would seem like the normal séance bells to the outside townspeople. Brisco and his friends were in varying stages of grief for their lost friends. Rachel was in a state of denial, hoping that the bodies were misidentified as she had little experience with death outside of shows or Hollywood. James was feeling angry about the evening’s large loss of life and Lenore was trying to be brave despite the sorrow she felt at losing so many people in a short amount of time. Brisco watched Ellie and noticed that she seemed emotionless, not out of denial but rather an overwhelming sense of pain.

Brisco could feel grief already eating away at him. He could not eat dinner and didn’t really listen to what the people around him were saying. Perhaps it was about the pending memorial services or maybe it was about sleeping arrangements. Realizing that he didn’t want to be social, Brisco asked to take a nap in Socrates’ room prior to the midnight service. However, arriving in the room seemed to make Brisco restless and he soon found himself rummaging through Socrates’ things. Brisco found socks hanging from a bureau door and Socrates’ briefcase spilled out over the desk. Brisco absently searched through the books that Socrates had left strewn about the room, not really looking for anything but to think of how inconvenient and amusing it was to travel with Socrates. Games of rock, paper, scissors for a bed, Socrates’ snoring, and the lawyer’s odd theories about unpacking one’s belongings. The memories caused momentary smiles for Brisco and he even lifted the mattress to find Socrates’ suit pressed between the mattress and box springs. The smile faded as Brisco realized that it would not be worn ever again.

“I had a feeling that you would still be awake,” Ellie quietly stated. Brisco turned to see that she had quietly come into the room. She had switched into a black dress for the midnight service but her hair was still untied. She was holding two beers and offered Brisco one of the bottles before sitting on the bed and opening one for herself.

Brisco avoided her gaze while taking the beer. In an effort to fill the silence he stated, “I see you finally changed from yesterday’s nightgown to this evening’s gown.”

“I am convinced that all women will dress for comfort instead of fashion one day in the future,” she retorted.

“As in living in their night clothes?”

“Why not? The world keeps changing, why do women have to endure daily tortures for the sake of fashion?”

“Is that in the Woman’s Suffrage Articles?” asked Brisco, only mildly paying attention.

“I haven’t read it yet, have you?”

“You won’t see me complaining about that idea,” Brisco responded distractedly as he took another drink from his beer. Ellie’s face also fell as she looked about the room.

“I know that I am going to be taking women’s rights back a few years and at the risk of sounding weak, would you mind holding me?”

Brisco turned to her in confusion. “Still afraid?”

Ellie didn’t respond but her eyes filled with tears which caused Brisco moved to the bed to sit beside Ellie and to hold her but he couldn’t think of anything to say. He was unable to think of anything hopeful to say to Ellie. Instead, the two curled up on the bed and tuned out the world around them.