Changed Redux Pt. 07

Afraid but also feeling compelled, Mary slowly approached the front of the truck. Steam was starting to rise from the engine and one of the front tires was still slowly spinning as she put a hand on the mangled bumper.

Suddenly Julia stepped in front of her and said, "No! Don't look. It's too late. Don't." She put her hand on Mary's arm and tried to pull her away. "Mary please."

Mary ignored Julia. She felt as if a haze of unreality was slowly settling down around her as she took a final step forward and looked in through the shattered windscreen. She caught a glimpse of soft, light brown hair, a hand still gripping the steering wheel... and blood. She turned away and felt herself getting light headed.

"Come on Mary," Julia said, her voice tight. "There's nothing we can do, it's too late. I'll call the police."

"No." Mary heard someone say, only realizing after a few seconds that she was actually the one that spoke.

"She is right. There is nothing to be done here." Marcellene's voice echoed in her head. "The damage is already done. It is best to let the authorities handle it from here."

"No." Mary heard herself whisper again.

"Mary, come on..." Julia tried again but Mary no longer really heard her. She was picturing the last moments before the crash in her mind. The girl's wide, frightened eyes. They had been brown. Big brown eyes. Big, pretty brown eyes.

And now they were gone. Dead. Just like that. Dead.

She looked to the Jeep again and her eye caught on the bent front license plate. It said Jenny21.

Jenny.

Her name must have been Jenny. Mary wondered if it was just Jenny or if it had been short for Jennifer. Probably.

Jennifer. It was a pretty name. Mary found herself wondering what the girl had been like. Was she funny? Shy? Smart? Nerdy? Athletic?

What about her family? Brothers? Sisters? Parents?

Distantly, Mary felt Julia's hand on her arm still trying to pull her away. She was saying something but Mary couldn't understand the words. It sounded like it was coming from the far end of a long tunnel. Just a faint, distant echo.

Marcellene's voice was in her head as well but like Julia, Mary heard her but didn't.

Something cold was stirring far in the back of Mary's head. Something immense and frightening but also vaguely familiar. She felt it there like a giant snake made of ice, slowly uncoiling in her mind, waking up from a long slumber. She felt the cold building and spreading throughout her body as it awoke. Rolling down over her skin in slow, cold, rippling waves, charging her up, energizing her soul. She took a deep breath and felt the air sizzling as it entered her lungs.

The girl was dead.

Dead.

There was nothing to be done now. The girl was gone... dead.

Dimly, Mary felt Julia leading her away, back towards their own car on the other side of the road. In a haze, she saw Julia taking out her cell phone and making a call. Probably the police, she thought. Someone will have to come get that poor girl out of her wrecked car.

Reality slowly slipped away from Mary and she lost her grip on time. Seconds blurred into minutes as her thoughts floated.

A sound filled the air and Mary realized it was the sound of sirens and people talking, yelling. A dim part of her mind recognized that time was still passing and that rescue crews had arrived. Someone was talking to, asking her questions but she couldn't understand them, it was all a distant, hazy blur. She thought she heard Julia's voice pleading with her to wake up and then someone say something about shock but she couldn't be sure. She just kept hearing more and more noises around her. Cars, trucks, machines, more people around her. Sounds, people... life... all alive.

But not that poor girl.

Hazily, she looked back across the road to the yellow Jeep in the woods. It was surrounded by people now. Red, blue and yellow flashing lights reflecting off the chrome of the mangled bumper.

It shouldn't have happened. Just a split second. A glance at the radio. The blink of an eye. The turn of a wheel... and everything was different. Everything, for this girl, was gone.

It wasn't right.

It should have been different.

Mary felt time stop.

Different. The word floated through her thoughts. Different.

It should be different. It could be different.

Ice flowed through her veins and her breath froze in her throat.

The air around Mary was split by tremendous impact, like an explosion with no sound. She felt as if a sledgehammer had just hit her square in the chest, driving the air from her lungs in a great woosh. She fell backward into the dust with a sucking gasp.

Beside her, she heard Julia give a yelp as the air shook. Even through her shock, Mary saw... actually saw, the air tremble as the shockwave ripped off away from her in every direction. The grass flattened, dust rose and the trees rocked back in a huge expanding circle that was centered on her.

Mary's vision swam and she closed her eyes as a wave of nausea crashed over her. Everything faded to gray as her brain overloaded and started to shut down. Silence... wonderful... peaceful... silence settled over her.

Into the still Mary heard Julia suck in a gasping breath. Mary forced her eyes open, worried that something had happened to Julia but for several long moments couldn't quite understand what her eyes were telling her.

They were gone...everyone, everything. The firemen, the fire trucks, police, the ambulance, the tow truck... everything was just...gone. In its places was a slowly settling cloud of dust and in its center, the yellow Jeep that had been just a heartbeat before on it's side in the trees. It was sitting just a few feet away, now on its wheels without a scratch. Mary was just about to turn to Julia when the door opened and a pretty brown haired girl with big brown eyes jumped out.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" She cried. "I was just trying to find a new song and I... I wasn't... oh my God I'm so, so, so sorry! Are you ok?"

Mary stood speechless, unable to find her voice. Thankfully, Julia recovered quicker and said, "It's fine. We're fine. Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes, I'm ok." The girl stammered, her hands shaking, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm just... oh, I'm so so sorry."

Julia was saying something but Mary could no longer make out a word of it. Her world was slowly slipping into an invisible sea that was waiting just inches under her feet. Her body went cold as the darkness enveloped her and she slipped under the silent waves.

"Thank you doctor," Julia said as the white-coated woman left the curtained examination room. Julia pulled the curtain closed then turned to Mary, her face pale and drawn. For a long time, she just stood there, hugging herself and staring at Mary. Finally in a voice so tight it cracked, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I don't really know. What happened?"

"You scared the ever-living-fucking shit out of me. That's what fucking happened!"

"I'm sorry," Mary said lamely. "Did I pass out?"

"Yeah." Julia snipped. "Right after you sat around like a frigging zombie for twenty minutes then brought that girl back from the fucking dead." Her face seemed to go even more pale if that was possible. "I mean, Jesus H. Fucking Christ! That girl was dead. I saw her... you saw her. Dead! And you..." She broke off, swallowed hard and then said quietly, "You brought her back."

"I don't know what happened," Mary said, the response seeming very weak even in her own ears.

"Mary," Julia said slowly, "do you even realize what you did?" She came over and placed her hands on the sides of Mary's face, forcing her to look into her eyes as she said slowly, emphasizing every word, "You brought someone back from the dead." As she spoke, her hands trembled.

"She is correct. But what you did, or more likely, what you attempted to do, it just is not possible." Marcellene's said in her head. "You altered the past in a way that should not be possible. You made a change that should not... no, cannot be made. Death is the one event that cannot be changed by any mortal means. Death is final, at least in this world. It is controlled by the Fates and cannot be changed. Once the soul has moved on to the next plane it cannot be called back."

"Well, then, are we sure she was really dead?" Mary asked, an uneasy, anxious tightness starting to build in her chest.

"She was," Julia said then shuddered. "Trust me. You saw it too. You know."

"Yeah. I guess so. I just don't know what else it could be. Marcellene says what just happened isn't possible."

"Well, apparently it is now," Julia said, her eyes wide with concern and maybe fear.

"No." Marcellene said emphatically. "Both of you, do not understand. What just happened, you bringing a soul back into this plane, it is not possible. Dead is dead. It is final and cannot be changed by any normal magic. You cannot go back and change it. In all likelihood, that poor girl is already dead again."

"What?!" Mary barked.

"It is the way of the Universe. The span of that girl's life, indeed, every living being's life and death is the ordained by the Fates. Three powerful Goddesses who determine when every mortal is born, how long they will live and when they will die. The Fates decreed the girl in that vehicle was to die at that time. In this Universe, the one you are in, those events had already taken place, That girl died and her soul had moved on. She could not be brought back. The Universe would not allow it. Only the Fates could decide it, and they already had."

"But I did change it. I did... something. I altered the past and saved her, like with magic, right? I did it so I guess it is possible, right? And why should she be dead now, or again, or whatever it was you said?" Mary asked.

"I will try and explain." Marcellene said, pausing to consider before continuing, "Let's say you had a brother who died when you were young. He tripped and fell over a toy that you left out and broke his neck. Years later, you now have magic so you decide you can go back in time, move the toy and save your brother. So you go back, you clean up your mess and return here to this time thinking all will be well. What do you find when you return?"

"My brother?" Mary asked. The feelings of anxiousness wasn't getting any better.

"No. What you find is that your brother died not from falling over a toy, but rather slipped in the bathtub. So you go back and make sure he won't slip in the tub and return and what do you find?"

Mary remained silent.

"Still no brother. Now he fell down the stairs." Marcellene paused then continued more gently. "Do you see what I am trying to tell you? Events like that cannot be changed. The Fates decreed his death and the Universe will always find a way to make it happen. If it was one person on ten million it wouldn't matter. If you save just your brother or try to prevent a war, those deaths will still happen and will have happened, when you come back to your present time. If you go back and prevent a war, you will come back to find a great plague struck instead and all the same people still died. The Fates decreed it, it did happen, so it must happen." She paused for an even longer time, when she resumed speaking it was slow and deliberate, "What you did, or rather what you tried to do, out on that roadside today is not possible. The Universe will thwart you."

"So, you're saying the Universe corrected my tampering? That the girl died anyway?" Mary asked, the idea of it making her sick.

"Yes, that is almost certainly what happened. Unfortunately, we don't have any way we could find out." Marcellene said.

Absently, Mary filled in Julia as she considered this disturbing idea.

"I can find out," Julia said, pulling out her phone.

"What?" Marcellene and Mary said at the same time.

"Yeah. When Mary passed out the girl freaked out and wanted me to text her to let her know if Mary was ok. I took her number and... ah, here it is." She punched out a message and set her phone down but a reply came back almost the instant the phone touched the table. She looked, "She wants to know how you are." Julia smirked, "I'd say she's ok." She started typing a reply.

"She is not dead. That is... interesting." Marcellene said carefully. "It has been hours since we saw her, it should have happened long ago. But... if not, then this is... disturbing. You may have inadvertently thwarted the decree of a goddess, or maybe three of them."

"I'm assuming thwarting a god or goddess is probably a bad thing?" Mary asked, her skin starting to prickle.

"The gods could be remarkably creative in the ways that they made interfering mortals suffer for impinging on their domains or even crossing them. Sometimes for centuries."

Mary felt the blood drain from her face. She thought she might be sick. "Really?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"So what happens now?" Mary asked, not really wanting to know but feeling she needed to.

"I don't know." Marcellene said slowly, "And the more I consider this, there is something odd with the way it happened out there today. That event was already past, the girl was dead for over twenty minutes before you changed it. But you didn't just alter the past. You sent all of us back to the point when it all went wrong and somehow altered the event, changed its outcome. You..." Marcellene pause as if struggling for words, "...it was like you reset those last few minutes. Like they never happened. I don't know what that means. I didn't even know such a thing was possible." Marcellene trailed off as if lost in thought.

"You're sure it wasn't the ring?" Mary asked lamely, grasping at straws.

"Without question. The ring does not have the power to do that. It is far, far beyond its capabilities. What happened on that roadside was... something else. Something that must have come from within you."

"Magic?"

"Obviously. But what kind of magic?"

"What the hell did she say now?" Julia interrupted, losing her temper. "I am in the room here too you know. This one-sided conversation thing is really hard to follow. Please, tell me what is going on."

"I'm sorry Julia," Mary said, realizing that she wasn't doing a good job of keeping Julia up to speed. Reaching out and taking her hand, "Marcellene was telling me that what happened out there if the girl is still alive then this isn't normal. Normal magic can't can't to that." Mary said.

"Normal magic." Julia scoffed. "Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? As if it were an everyday thing." Julia took a breath. "Ok, so normal magic couldn't do it. What kind could?"

"I don't know but it must come from Mary. She is something... special."

Blushing a little, Mary relayed what Marcellene had said.

"Yes, she most certainly is!" Julia said, her voice rising as her nerves frayed, "And that's why the last thing in the world I want to do is risk losing her! Which is why we..." she grabbed a hold of Mary's hand, the one with the ring, and held it up before Mary's eyes as if showing it to Marcellene. "You, need to figure this out. I don't know anything about this Marcellene. Please, I'm begging you, help me, help us."

"For the sake of your love more than anything, I will try."

"She said she for the sake of your love, she'll try."

"Thank you," Julia whispered as she slumped onto the bed beside Mary. The day's events finally were too much for the young woman and she started to cry softly to herself, fat tears rolling over her cheeks, smudging her makeup.

Almost crying herself at the sight of how vulnerable Julia looked, Mary pulled the smaller woman close and hugged her while making shushing noises and stroking her hair. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, we'll handle it together."

Interlude ~ Another time...

The steady thudding of horses hooves and the creak of harness filled the air as the cold wind whipped at Tuya's thick, black hair. Under her, she felt the powerful muscles of her small, sturdy pony, Odgerel, flexing as the animal carried her across the vast, rolling grassland. The horizon stretched away from her in every direction broken only by the rolling hills, occasional clumps of stunted bushes or lone boulder. Glancing over her shoulder she caught sight of her army spread out behind her.

No, she thought to herself, not an army, not yet, but it was at least the start of an army. And what was more, it would be an army the likes of which the world had never seen before. She looked to the three hundred or so women warriors following in her wake and a slow smile spread on her lips. Yes, an army unlike any other.

Each woman was mounted on a horse similar to hers, sturdy, tough horses well conditioned for the harsh environment of the steeps with its scorching heat, burning cold and constant thirst. The women were all armed with either spears or short swords and all of them carried heavy, composite shortbows that were ideal for fighting from horseback as they were all trained to do.

Traveling behind the mounted warriors was another group of women, those too young or too old to fight, drove several dozen carts containing everything their nomadic community needed, provisions, supplies and shelters. In truth, many of the younger ones were not even women, not yet anyway. Rather they were still girls, but girls who had been forced to grow up early in this hard land. Some of them far, far too early.

Her eyes flicked to Gan riding, as always, beside her and slightly behind. She was a pretty, slight girl of about eighteen summers. Like Tuya, she had thick black hair but hers was tied up in a single thick braid that was pinned to the back of her head with several long bone needles. Her skin was a bit darker than Tuya's except for the long, ragged pink scar that ran down on side of her face. Just where the scar came from Tuya hadn't been able to find out as Gan so far had refused to discuss it, which seems to be her way. Quiet and solitary, Gan didn't typically speak at all unless directly spoken too and even when she did she tended to be brief and succinct. Across Gan's saddle was an exquisitely crafted shortbow which the young woman could use to kill a bird in flight from over a hundred paces. That alone was a feat but the fact that she could do it from a horse under full gallop was almost beyond belief, especially for one so young.

Upon first joining Tuya's band, Gan had been a cowering, frightened young woman who flinched whenever someone looked at her. She could shoot better than any other woman in the band but her temperament simply wasn't that of a warrior. With that in mind, Tuya had been tempted to put her to work on the supply wagons. However, something made her keep Gan close at hand. Her intuition seemed well placed as with surprising speed Gan had started to assert herself more and grow in strength and confidence. Now, after months of hard riding and numerous raids, she had transformed rather dramatically into a hardened warrior and seasoned killer. As the young woman's skills and confidence grew, so did Tuya's interest in her. So far, however, she had been largely unable to get Gan to open up to her or even really speak to her.

As they traveled, moving steadily across the vast plains, they stopped at every village and town along their path. Clans that treated them with respect received respect in return. Clans that instead chose the sword, had their violence returned. In this vast, open land, might ruled, and in this region, Tuya and her band was rapidly becoming that might.

Almost everywhere they stopped, they would add at least one or two women to their army. As her army grew, Tuya found that many of the women who joined her band had similar stories. In a land where women were often treated little better than slaves, where young girls were often taken as spoils of war, where a woman had no say on who she married, where a husband could beat his wife to death and suffer little to no consequence, it was not too hard to find women looking for something better. But Tuya had found out quickly that while finding them was one thing, convincing them to take up the sword, that was harder. Often times much harder.