Scene 6

 Scene 6: The Butterfly Effect

Abigail stepped out of the rippling portal and found herself standing in an open field lined with stone walls. The summer sun beat down from directly overhead, warming her skin. She blinked against the harsh light, shielding her eyes as she took in her surroundings.

The field was dotted with sheep grazing lazily on the overgrown grass. In the distance, she could see a small village built of stone and thatched roofs. Wisps of smoke curled from the chimneys into the cloudless blue sky. It was a pastoral scene, quiet and undisturbed.

Except it wasn't the same village she had visited before.

The last time Abigail had traveled to this era, the village was called Braithwait. Now a weathered wooden sign declared it as Edgewater. Abigail frowned, immediately sensing something was different. The layout of the buildings had changed, there were fewer houses clustered along the main thoroughfare.

She glanced down at her device, the dial still spinning from her latest jump. It was the 14th century still, but the timeline had shifted. Already she could feel the ripple effects from her previous interventions taking hold.

Abigail clutched the device tighter, feeling the now familiar sense of unease that accompanied each trip. She never knew what version of the past or present she would return to. The timeline was fluid now, like a raging river changing course at will, subject to dangerous and unpredictable forces. Foreboding gnawed at her, but she steeled herself and started toward the village.

Elias was waiting for her near the tavern at the end of the main street, though it was now called The Gold Coin instead of The Lucky Horseshoe. He lifted a hand in greeting as she approached.

"Did you notice the village name has changed?" Abigail asked without preamble.

Elias nodded, his expression grim. "And some of the larger houses are missing. Looks like the Fitzgeralds never established their family here in this version of events."

"Reality is shifting again," Abigail murmured. "We have to be cautious about further disruptions to the timeline."

The detective ran a hand over his stubbled chin and frowned, deep creases etched in his weathered forehead. "I know. But we've got little choice if we want to solve this damn mystery."

Abigail bit her lip, anxiety swirling in her gut. She knew he was right. They had to keep making these trips into the past if they had any hope of stopping the murder of her husband David and unraveling the greater conspiracy at play.

Still, each incursion carried unintended consequences, like ripples spreading out endlessly across a dark lake. She shivered despite the afternoon heat.

"Did you discover anything more about the symbol?" she asked Elias, eager to focus her thoughts on the investigation.

He nodded. "Showed it around the village. A few of the elders said they saw something similar carved into an old monument that disappeared about a decade back. Could be something there."

Abigail felt a flutter of excitement mixed with apprehension. This could be the break in the case they needed. "Let's go investigate the area where the monument stood. Maybe we can find clues about its origins."

As they trekked to the outskirts of Edgewater, everything felt familiar yet changed. The rolling green hills lined with low stone fences were the same, but the distant tree line curved at subtly different angles now. Abigail wondered what other shifts they were blind to, like a sprawling iceberg with most of its bulk hidden beneath the dark waters.

After an hour of hiking, Elias paused and held up a hand. "This should be the spot."

Abigail surveyed the nondescript hillside covered in wildflowers. The wind caught her hair, carrying the honeyed scent of summer. She saw no trace of any monuments among the tall grass and weeds.

Kneeling, she began to comb through the vegetation, searching for clues. Elias did the same a few yards away. They continued their search in silence as the sun dipped toward the horizon, casting golden light across the tranquil meadow.

"Here!" Elias suddenly called out.

Abigail scrambled over to find him brushing dirt from a fallen stone slab etched with the same symbol they had been tracking - an ouroboros with three interlocking infinity loops contained within the serpent's coiled body. Time itself caught in an endless loop.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Elias said. "This symbol must be the marker of a secret society. One that's clearly obsessed with manipulating time."

Abigail traced the intricate carvings, her scientific mind racing. A shadowy organization with the resources and knowledge to craft such reality-altering technology and scatter their sigil across centuries. What was their purpose? Who was behind it all?

She shook her head. "We need more information. The villagers must know something about where this monument came from before it disappeared."

"Agreed," Elias said. "Let's head back and-"

A twig snapped in the trees near them.

In unison, they spun toward the sound. Abigail's heart seized as she glimpsed a figure darting through the woods.

"There!" Elias shouted. In moments he had his pistol drawn and was crashing through the underbrush after the fleeing shadow.

Abigail pocketed the carved symbol and sprinted after Elias. She leapt over fallen logs and ducked beneath branches. Her satchel with the time device thumped against her ribs.

Ahead, she caught flashes of Elias' coat as he relentlessly pursued the unknown figure deeper into the forest. Soon she was thoroughly turned around, the trees closing in like the walls of a claustrophobic maze.

"Stop right there!" Elias roared from somewhere up ahead. The blunt crack of his flintlock pistol echoed through the trees.

Abigail pushed herself harder. She stumbled into a small clearing just as Elias cornered a man dressed in filthy rags, clutching a bleeding shoulder. The man turned wild, feral eyes upon her and bared his teeth.

"Who are you?" Elias demanded, keeping the smoking pistol leveled at the wounded man's chest. "Why were you spying on us?"

The man hissed and spit at Elias in another language full of harsh gutturals. His fingers curled into claws as he glowered at them with pure hatred. Fresh blood ran down his leather vest from the gunshot wound.

Abigail fought to slow her breathing and frantic heartbeat. As the adrenaline rush of the chase wore off, a thousand questions sprung to mind. Who was this stranger? How had he found them? Was he connected to the mysterious symbol and the organization behind it?

She took a cautious step closer. The man tensed like a cornered animal poised to attack. Abigail paused and tried to make her voice calm and reassuring. "We don't want to hurt you. We just need some information."

The man scoffed bitterly. "My kind will never help scum like you." He spat again at her feet.

Abigail pressed further. "Please, we only want to understand the meaning of the symbol we found in the meadow. Do you know anything about it?"

The man's lip curled in a mocking sneer. "Fools. Meddling in matters far beyond your grasp. You only delay the inevitable."

Cryptic words that sent a chill through Abigail. Before she could question him further, Elias stepped forward and pistol-whipped the man across his temple. He immediately crumpled to the forest floor, unconscious.

"What did you do that for?" Abigail cried. "We need him coherent!"

"He was going to turn on us any second," Elias said grimly. "I know his kind. Zealots too blinded by faith or fear to see reason." He crouched and rifled through the man's pockets. "Nothing to identify him. No wonder he didn't want us taking a closer look."

Abigail sighed in frustration. Once again it felt like the answers they sought were dancing just out of reach. She turned the strange man's words over in her mind.

"He clearly knows something about the symbol and the time manipulators we're up against," she mused. "But his dialect...I don't recognize it at all. He could be from a different era altogether."

Elias nodded as he stood back up. "A loyalist sent back in time to clean up any leaks or alter events. Our adversaries clearly have assets scattered throughout history."

Unease rippled through Abigail at this disturbing realization. For all their jumping around the centuries, they were still no closer to discovering who had orchestrated David's murder and the complex web of timelines tied to it. How many more secret loyalists and agents were hidden like ghosts in the machine?

A groan from the ground interrupted her troubling thoughts. The mysterious man was stirring back to consciousness, his face a grimace of pain.

Abigail exchanged a look with Elias, a wordless agreement passing between them. They had to get this man back to their present day headquarters for further questioning. She pulled the time device from her satchel and input the coordinates with deft fingers.

"Up you go," Elias said gruffly, hauling the man to his feet. Before he could react, Abigail activated the device. The forest around them blinked out of existence as they slipped between the seams of time itself.

Moments later, the sterile steel and concrete of their modern lab surrounded them. Elias slung the disoriented stranger into a chair and quickly shackled his hands and feet. The man roared curses at them, straining at his bonds.

"Not so fast," Elias said. "You've got a date with some questions."

He nodded to Abigail. She squared her shoulders, allowed herself a steadying breath, and then switched on the bright overhead light directly in the prisoner's face. He recoiled, eyes clenched shut against the harsh glare.

"Now then," she said calmly. "Let's start again. What do you know about the ouroboros symbol?"

The man clenched his jaw, glaring defiantly up at her. Seconds ticked by in tense silence. Just as Abigail opened her mouth to repeat the question, the man's gaze dropped to the device strapped across her chest. His eyes went wide with recognition.

A cold pit of fear blossomed in Abigail's stomach.

"It cannot be..." he whispered. "The prophecies are true." His voice shook with reverence and awe rather than the contempt from before.

Prophecies? Despite her unease, Abigail sensed she was on the cusp of a pivotal revelation here. She gentled her tone, trying to keep the man conversing.

"What prophecies? What does the ouroboros symbol represent?"

He dragged his gaze back to her face with great effort. "You...you possess one of the relics. Forged by those who first unbound time itself. I thought they were all destroyed."

Abigail reflexively touched the intricate carvings on the device's brass surface. Clearly this man knew far more about its origins and purpose than she did.

"Please, I don't understand any of this," she pressed, careful not to spook him back into silence. "What is this relic? Why does it allow travel through time?"

The man's expression turned distant, almost reverent. "My order has kept the old secrets for generations untold. We retain the knowledge of those who crafted the first devices. But blasphemers rose up among us. They stole the relics to reshape reality as they saw fit...that is why my brethren and I were sent back to stop them."

Abigail's pulse thundered in her ears. With tremendous effort, she kept her voice calm. "This order you mention. Does the ouroboros symbol represent them?"

The man gave a solemn nod, still transfixed by the device gleaming against Abigail's chest.

"We are the Keepers of Chronos. Charged with safeguarding the integrity of the timelines..."

As the zealous man spoke, Abigail's mind raced feverishly. The Keepers of Chronos...an ancient order devoted to protecting the temporal dimensions. And they were the ones who created the initial time travel devices - the relics - like the one she now possessed.

Which meant...they were the key to unraveling this entire mystery.

"Where can we find your order?" she pressed urgently. "We need their help to stop those who are manipulating time and causing damage to reality itself."

The man's eyes narrowed with bitter hatred. "You are naive if you think the order will help blasphemers like you. Even now they work to purge all dimensions of those who would dare alter time for their own ends." His gaze grew distant again. "When the fyrd is unleashed across the ages...none will stand against Chronos unbroken."

A chill slithered down Abigail's spine at the ominous proclamation. The fanatical gleam had returned to the man's eyes now as he stared past her. Clearly he had said all he was going to say.

Abigail slowly retreated from the makeshift interrogation room, her thoughts spinning with these new revelations. Elias waited in the hallway, features grim.

"This changes everything," she whispered. "We need to find this Order of Chronos. They created the time devices...they must know how to find who is behind the shifts in the timelines and David's murder."

Elias crossed his arms, brow furrowed. "Could be a wild goose chase. And even if we track down this order, they don't sound keen on helping us."

Abigail bit her lip. The detective had a point. Still...what other leads did they have to grasp at this point?

Sensing her hesitation, Elias placed a calloused hand gently on her shoulder. "I know that look. Don't go lost in that big brain of yours. We're in this together." He offered her a rare, warm smile that eased some of the chill from her bones.

Abigail took a deep breath. "Okay. One step at a time. Our prisoner clearly doesn't have any more answers to give. But if we could identify his dialect, it may provide a key clue into his origins."

Elias looked thoughtful. "I know some linguistics professors from my old academy days who owe me a favor...I'll reach out and see if they can ID the language. Meet back here in a few hours?"

Relief flowed through Abigail. "Sounds good. I need some time to clear my head after that bombshell revelation anyway."

They parted ways outside the lab. Abigail paused on the front steps, watching the cerulean sky darken to dusk above the city. Nearly six months had passed here while she and Elias endlessly crisscrossed the ages. She wondered what world they would return to next after this slim lead.

Shaking off her gloomy thoughts, she turned and headed down the street. Right now, she needed the familiar comfort of a hot meal at the cafe around the corner. Somewhere normal that hadn't changed.

Yet.

They met back at the lab as shadows stretched across the polished floors. Elias had a triumphant gleam in his eyes that lifted Abigail's spirits.

"You got something?" she asked, pulse quickening.

"Bingo. My linguist friend identified our zealot's dialect - old Nordic. Specifically the variant spoken in a remote northern region of ancient Norway."

Excitement and apprehension dueled inside Abigail. This could be the break they needed to track down the Keepers of Chronos. But that familiar sense of plunging into the unknown still set her on edge.

Elias watched her closely. "Finding people who speak his language will be like locating a needle in a millennia-old haystack. We might chase dead ends across the ages and still come up empty-handed..."

He didn't need to finish the warning. Abigail knew the risks. Their interventions were having profound effects on the timelines already. But if this order had answers...she had to believe it was worth the risk.

"We have to try," she said quietly.

Elias studied her for a long moment, then gave a nod. Pulling out the time device he now carried, he checked the coordinates and period settings. "Last chance to change our minds."

Abigail felt that familiar electric tingle in her cells. The draw toward revelation, no matter the cost. She took Elias' free hand in hers and held tight.

"Let's go."

With a deep breath, Elias activated the device. Abigail was again plunged into the paradoxic freefall of traveling between eras. When the luminous portal spit them back out, a blast of frigid air stole her breath.

They stumbled onto a craggy clifftop carpeted in snow, beneath an iron gray sky that matched the churning ocean far below. The grim landscape looked like something straight out of a Norse saga - utterly remote and inhospitable.

Abigail shivered. She could see Elias' breath fogging before his face.

"No turning back now," he grunted, letting go of her hand to rub briskly at his arms. "Let's get moving before we freeze."

They traversed the precarious trail along the cliff's edge. Frozen needles of sleet pelted their faces. In the distance, Abigail spotted the peaked rooftops of a small village pressed against the sheer rock wall, smoke coiling from holes in the thatched roofs.

She clung to Elias' coat as they navigated the icy path down to the seaside village. He kept a protective grip on her arm. By the time they slipped and slid into the muddy main thoroughfare, Abigail's extremities were utterly numb. People bundled in furs paused to stare as they passed.

Elias leaned close to her ear to be heard over the wind. "Let's find their chieftain and see if he recognizes our friend's manner of speaking!"

Abigail nodded, too cold to respond. They slogged through the mud and snow until Elias grabbed a passing young man by the arm. "Where can we find your village leader?"

The blond man looked them over suspiciously before rattling off directions in the same strange dialect as their prisoner. With a glare, he shrugged off Elias' hold and continued on his way.

"Nice welcome party," Abigail muttered.

Elias scowled after the retreating man. "Let's hope their chieftain is more accommodating."

They continued sloshing through the muddy streets until they reached the large longhouse the young man had indicated. As they ducked inside, they were met with a welcome blast of heat from a central fire pit and dozens of suspicious eyes turning their way.

Abigail instinctively moved closer to Elias. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd in stilted words. "We...seek...your chieftain."

Murmurs rippled through the room. Finally, a burly man with a wild red beard stood from where he had been dining at the head of a long table.

"I am Eirik. What business have outsiders here?" he demanded. His words held the same accent as their prisoner.

Abigail nudged Elias to explain. Haltingly, he recounted finding the man watching them in the woods and shared his reason for bringing them here. "...we hoped his kin might provide insight for our quest."

Eirik listened with a stony expression. When Elias finished, he crossed his brawny arms. "You say this man spoke our tongue? What was his name?"

Elias faltered and Abigail stepped in. "I'm afraid we don't know his name. But he wore a strange necklace - the ouroboros symbol. We believe he is part of a secret order called the Keepers of Chronos."

Eirik's eyes widened at this, while the other villagers erupted into uneasy whispers.

"You seek knowledge of Chronos?" Eirik rumbled. "Few outsiders know that name. What is your purpose?"

Abigail chose her next words carefully, sensing they were on treacherous ground here. "We only wish to speak with them. There are...those...who are abusing powerful magic to alter reality. We need the Order's wisdom to stop them."

Eirik stared at them. The silence stretched taut. Finally, he gave a brusque nod. "I will take you to the Fane of Chronos at first light. We will seek the Oracle's guidance on your quest."

The rush of relief left Abigail's legs unsteady. They had done it - found the secret order! But Eirik's dour look suggested darker tidings ahead.

There was no more time to discuss, as Eirik directed them to cots near the fire. They huddled under furs against the chill that followed them even indoors. Abigail's mind raced with questions, but she knew there would be no answers until tomorrow. At least they were one step closer to unraveling this temporal mystery.

She clung to that hope until she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep, the fire crackling low in the pit.

In the small hours of morning, she was jolted awake by Elias roughly shaking her shoulder. Heart pounding, Abigail blinked against the darkness.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

Elias put a finger to his lips. "Trouble. We need to go. Now."

Abigail quickly threw off the furs, heart pounding. In the dim firelight she could see Elias hastily gathering up their belongings. His expression was tight with tension.

"What's happened?" she whispered urgently.

"Not sure. But the mood has shifted against us. We need to get out of here."

Abigail pulled on her boots, mind racing. Had their questions about the Order caused offense? Or perhaps something worse had occurred after they retired for the night.

She peered around the longhouse. None of the other villagers were up yet, but the air itself seemed to hum with new unease. Her skin prickled uncomfortably.

"This way," Elias murmured, seizing her wrist. They slipped through the dark building and out into the predawn chill. The village was still wrapped in silence and shadow. Only the soft crunch of their boots on the icy ground filled the air as they hurried toward the main gates.

Abigail's pulse pounded in her ears. She felt the weight of unseen eyes tracking them through the gloom. What had changed so drastically in mere hours?

They had just reached the gates when a voice called out, harsh and commanding.

"Halt."

Elias pulled Abigail against him protectively as Eirik emerged from the shadows, face like carved granite. Several other men flanked him, hands on weapon hilts. The easy cooperation from before had vanished.

Abigail forced herself to speak calmly despite her dry mouth. "Eirik, we mean no harm. If we have caused offense-"

"Silence!" the chieftain bellowed, causing her to flinch. "You duplicitous outsiders bring nothing but misfortune." He took a menacing step forward. "We opened our home, only to have grave tidings befall us in the night. Warnings from the Oracle herself not to let you taint our lands."

Abigail shared an uneasy look with Elias. Dire premonitions from the Oracle herself about their arrival? What did it mean?

"Please," she implored, "we only want to stop those who are disrupting the natural flow of time..."

Eirik sneered. "Yet you would do the same through your meddling. We want no part in your reckless games." He spat in the snow at their feet. "Go back to whatever realm spawned you, and never return here."

With that, he and his men herded Abigail and Elias forcibly through the gates. Abigail tried once more to reason with them, only to be met with stone-faced animosity. Defeated, she finally turned and let Elias guide her away into the icy mists.

They walked in strained silence for some time. Abigail's mind reeled. How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? This Order was their best chance of stopping David's killer. Now even that path had closed to them.

At last Elias spoke solemnly. "I'm sorry. I should have been more cautious last night."

Abigail shook her head, exhaling a plume of frost. "You couldn't have known. But now we're back to square one."

Elias stopped and turned her gently to face him. "We'll find another way," he said firmly. "I swear to you, we'll unravel this plot and get justice for David. No matter how long it takes."

His hazel eyes burned with conviction. After a moment, Abigail managed a small, grateful smile. They would keep fighting, two lost souls adrift on the tides of time. Together.

Elias squeezed her shoulder, offering a smile of his own. Then he glanced around the empty cliffs. "Let's put more distance between us and this place. We'll make camp and figure out our next move."

Abigail nodded, feeling the smallest flicker of hope rekindle within her. They turned and continued on side-by-side into the lonely winter mist.