The Silent Guardian — Chapter 15, Part 2: A Life Before
This installment continues The Silent Guardian Series. Previous: Chapter 15, Part 1: 2024.
Clara groans, throwing her arms in the air. “I think I made the right choice.”
Finally, the talking stops. The engine’s hum fills the car, which is more than enough noise for me. All this chatter is static that I cannot tune out. Even if I did enjoy her story, I still prefer the quiet.
It doesn’t last long. Clara starts up again. She dives into stories about her adventures:
“There was the time we saw Mount Vesuvius erupt. The ground shook so hard I thought it would split beneath us. Ash drifted down from the sky, coating everything in a choking gray haze…”
“…Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock? That was a different kind of chaos. The smell of damp earth mixed with the sweet tang of marijuana. Mud clung to everyone’s feet. The crowd was alive, a single entity swaying under the pulsing lights…”
She discussed the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and walking among dinosaurs during the Jurassic period.
Xia interjects, “That was scary! Although, the higher oxygen in the air was interesting. Do you remember how lightheaded we were?”
Clara turns around with a playful glint. “I do! The humidity—my God, the air was a wet blanket. Do you remember the pterodactyls? The way their wings cast shadows over the ground? Their screeches were bone-chilling. We were also terrified that something bigger than a pterodactyl was stalking us. But tell me it wasn’t worth it.”
I catch Xia’s smile in the rearview mirror. “It was worth it.”
When the muted lulls sneak back in, I’m grateful for the respite. It never seems to last long with Clara in the car.
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Finally, we make it to Mary Airport. Clara jumps back into the passager seat so she can look in the glove box. “Aha!” she exclaims, pulling out three passports. With a triumphant grin, she waves them in front of me. “I knew we would need these. Let’s hope they work.”
I assume these passports are less than legitimate.
Mary International Airport is small but alive with movement. Travelers drag luggage, agents make announcements, and carts squeak as they roll by. It’s a different universe—one that doesn’t care who we are or where we’ve been.
While the agent flips through our passports at the check-in counter, Clara says, “We’ll fly to Ashgabat. From there, we can go directly to Baltimore. It’s the quickest way back.”
When we finally board the plane, I sink into my seat, letting the cabin’s hum settle into the background. Air travel is strange: hurtling through the sky in a pressurized metal tube at impossible speeds. People cross the planet in hours with nothing more than a ticket.
The plane takes off. Clara nudges me before I lose myself in contemplation. “You know, as soon as they took you, mom didn’t stop to think. She grabbed me and jumped to 2027. We ran and hid in the hills of Montana. She figured it was the best way to stay safe. Mom said they might come for me next—or maybe even for her—because of our abilities. So she kept me close, way too close. I felt like I was a prisoner in my own life.”
“There was nowhere to go, nothing to do,” she continues. “I was terrified to travel through time by myself. I was scared they’d find me, or worse, that I’d never find my way back. Mom—she stopped living, except for one obsession. Finding you. That’s all she did. Every day, she’d sit with books and maps, gathering everything she could about what might have happened to you.”
I try to picture her face, her voice, the way she might have smiled at me. The memories are more feeling than fact. Admittedly, I am curious to know more about her. I want to remember the way she held me. I want to hear her laughter, but it’s gone—all of it. Clara holds onto fragments I’ll never have. That hurts more than I assumed it would.
“Mom came across a name mentioned in conspiracy books: the Phylax. She kept digging, uncovering more than I believed possible. She found that they kidnap children whom they believe can further their agenda. They usually kill time travelers who aren’t part of the Phylax.
“Mom knew you were in a commune but couldn’t locate one. She knew a little about your missions and the Phylax’s obsession with the Sigma Event.” Clara shifts in her seat. “She even learned that those who crossed over the Sigma Event at 3:00 AM on July 1st, 2051, never returned. By then, she wasn’t herself anymore. She was so wrapped up in it that nothing else mattered.”
She lets out a sigh as if releasing the pain she has carried for too long. “When I turned seventeen, I couldn’t take the isolation anymore. I knew I had to get out of that bunker. I sought adventure, trying to forget about everything. A few years later, when I met Xia, things clicked. For the first time, I had more than fear driving me.” A small, genuine smile touches her lips. “Xia knew me better than I knew myself. When I told her about you, she was the one who said it was time to help. I knew she was right, even though it scared me.”
Continue with Chapter 15, Part 3: Baltimore. New installments publish daily at 5:00 AM.
