James Grippando - Leapholes

No one answered right away.

"Please," she said. "You gotta take me. Please don't let my baby be born a slave."

"When's your baby due?" asked Hezekiah. "Any day now, they tell me."

Jarvis groaned. "How are we supposed to escape through the woods with a woman who's so pregnant that she can't even see her own feet?"

"We can't just leave her here," said Ryan. "She'll slow us down if we take her," said Jarvis. "No she won't," said Ryan. "Abigail's horse is hitched to a tree in the woods. Hannah can ride."

Hezekiah held the woman's hand. "Ryan's right. We can't leave her. Or her baby. We'll find a way, Hannah." "Thank you, sir. I thank every one of you." "Which one of the slaves is your husband?" asked Abigail. "We should bring him, too."

The young woman's eyes filled with sadness. "My husband got sold six months ago. I don't know where he is now."

Ryan said, "Old Man Barrow sold your husband after you were expecting a child?" "He sure did."

"That man is just plain evil," said Abigail. "Yes, he is," said Hezekiah. "Evil with a capital E." Ryan wondered if that could mean Evil as in Legal Evil, but this was not the time to be sorting out riddles-especially not in front of Hannah and Abigail.

"It's agreed, then," said Hezekiah. "Hannah comes with us."

Jarvis drew a breath. "When we all get caught, I'll try not to say I told you so."

"We won't get caught," said Abigail. "But we have to leave now. Let's move it!"

The run for the woods almost proved Jarvis's point. It was more like a brisk walk. Hannah was going as fast as she could, which was not very fast at all. Finally, all six of them crossed the field and reached the cover of trees and bushes. They stopped briefly to rest-mostly for Hannah's benefit-then continued deeper into the woods. Hannah might not have made it but for the promise of a ride. Minutes later, they found Abigail's horse where she had left it, hitched to a tree. Ryan removed some supplies from the horse's back to make room for Hannah. Hezekiah and Jarvis lifted her into the saddle. She smiled, and everyone seemed happy, as if the most difficult part of the journey was behind them.

The sound of barking dogs immediately told them otherwise.

"Them's bloodhounds," said Abigail.

"On us already?" said Jarvis.

Hezekiah said, "We must have awakened that informant. I bet he turned old man Barrow's dogs loose."

"Obviously they got our scent," said Abigail. "We gotta run for the creek. It's the only way to throw them off the trail."

"It's not the only way," said Kaylee. "We can use a leaphole."

"Leapin' what holes?" said Abigail.

There was no time to explain to outsiders. Hezekiah responded directly to Kaylee, as if Abigail and Hannah weren't even there. "I don't have any leapholes, Kaylee. That's why I'm a slave."

"We can use mine. I still have my return."

Hezekiah seemed tempted. "No good. We can't use it now. We can't leave Hannah behind."

"What are y'all talking about?" said Abigail.

The barking was getting louder. The dogs were drawing closer.

"Those dogs are inside of a quarter mile," said Jarvis. "I told you we should never have brought Hannah with us. Just leave her."

"We can take her with us," said Ryan. "We'll link together, the way Jarvis and I did when we came here. It's like a human chain."

Jarvis grimaced. "You want to take a pregnant nineteenth-century slave to the twenty-first century? That's very dangerous, Ryan."

"It can't be more dangerous than running through the woods and being chased by dogs."

"Oh, yes it can be," said Jarvis.

"Here's the plan," said Ryan. "We take Hannah with us just long enough for her to get away from these slave catchers. We go back to Hezekiah's office. He grabs another leaphole from his stash, and then he immediately turns around and brings her back to 1857. Only this time he brings along a leaphole to get himself back to where he belongs."

Abigail's face was chalk white, as if she'd seen a ghost. "Who in the heck are you people?" she said, her voice quaking.

"Ryan's plan could work," said Hezekiah.

"Then let's do it!" said Kaylee. "Everyone link arms."

Jarvis elbowed his way into prime position, right beside Kaylee. "I better go next to Kaylee," he said. "I'm the only one strong enough to hang on to all of you."

"That's fine," said Hezekiah. "Kaylee first, since it's her leaphole. Jarvis is next. Then me, then Ryan, and then Hannah."

"What about Abigail?" asked Ryan.

"No, sir. I ain't going nowhere with you crazy people," she said.

"It's us or the dogs," said Hezekiah.

The hounds were close enough to be heard breaking through the brush. Abigail considered it for a moment, then said, "Okay. I'll go. I'd rather take my chances with you crazy loons than end up being dog food."

They each took their positions, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Kaylee opened her backpack and removed the old case book that she'd borrowed from Hezekiah's library. She turned to the Dred Scott decision, finding the exact page through which she had entered the leaphole. Finally, she removed two leapholes from her pocket, the spent leaphole that had brought her here, and the return leaphole that would take her home.

The barking was more intense. The dogs were hot on their trail.

"Hurry," said Jarvis.

"I'm hurrying," said Kaylee. She ran her finger along the page, searching for the precise spot where she had placed the leaphole for her initial journey. She placed the return leaphole exactly in the same place, and then laid her spent leaphole on top of it.

Nothing was happening.

Ryan said, "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It'll work," said Hezekiah. "Just give it a minute."

The dogs sounded like they were just on the other side of the bushes. Ryan wished Sam were with him, though it was doubtful that his Golden would have been a match for those hounds. "We may not have a minute," said Ryan.

Suddenly, an orange glow appeared around the book.

"Here it goes," said Kaylee.

Ryan felt a warm current of energy rushing through his body. It wasn't scary, but it was definitely inexplicable. The warmth became a vibration, and Hannah was suddenly trying to wiggle free.

"What's happening?" she said.

Ryan tightened his grip on her elbow. "Stay with it, Hannah!"

Slowly, Ryan felt himself moving forward. Kaylee was turning like an axle. The others moved around her in circular fashion, like the sweeping secondhand of a huge clock. They walked slowly at first, then faster. The orange light grew brighter, and soon they weren't walking at all. They were propelled in the same clock-like, circular motion. It reminded Ryan of those Ice Capades shows, where the skater at the fulcrum whips a long line of other skaters around her.

"Holy smokes!" shouted Hannah, but Ryan could barely hear her. They were gaining speed quickly. Suddenly, just as the barking dogs came into sight, the surroundings became a blur. All sounds of the forest evaporated. Then darkness turned to light, and Ryan felt the pull of the leaphole.

"Hold on!" shouted Hezekiah.

Ryan squeezed Hannah's arm with his left hand. He held Hezekiah's arm with his right. Beyond that fading sense of human touch, there was just the intense light of the leaphole, the amazing pull that was its power.

Then something went wrong. The smooth swirling motion of the leaphole gave way to a strange and disturbing sensation of uncontrolled flying. Ryan felt as though they were tumbling and twisting in no particular direction at all. He tried to get his bearings. He told himself that nothing was wrong, but he knew that something was very wrong. He knew, because he could hear the concern in Hezekiah's voice. The old man was shouting at the top of his voice. Ryan couldn't understand him at first. As the flying began to feel more like falling, Ryan finally made out the words.