Page 6 of Chieftain
A faintwhooshdrew my attention just as a panel appeared and slid open in the middle of the far wall.
A woman fell through the opening, dressed in the same odd scrubs, the fabric making her slide a few inches when she hit her knees. Even so, I could see the defined muscles in her arms and thighs. Thick brown hair waved about her shoulders, and when she raised her face toward me, I noticed a faint tan making her blue eyes pop in a face not touched by the wear of age.
I knew those eyes.
"Willa?"
I took a tentative step forward, not trusting my own mind. Surely this was a dream, but the sting of the cold metallic floor against my foot felt painful. On impulse, I pinched the inside of my elbow, gasping—I didn't know what the hell this was, but it was no dream.
"Emmy?" Willa's voice contorted with shock. But it was her voice. The same voice I recalled told me to hold on when we spun up into the bright white light.
I staggered over to where she sat, dropping to my knees. My fingertips went to her cheek. Her skin was warm, growing even warmer under my touch. There wasn't a blemish or wrinkle on her beautiful face.
"You look like you're thirty," I said with a laugh, simply because I had no clue what emotion I should be feeling.
Willa's blue eyes narrowed as her gaze swept over me. "You look like you're twenty-five."
We fell into each other's embrace—laughing, crying—generally falling apart because, well, what the hell else was aperson supposed to do upon discovering they'd de-aged forty years.
"What happened?" I finally squeaked, wiping moisture from my cheeks with the back of my hands.
"And where the hell are we?" Willa asked, rising to her feet. She stopped short and did a few quick squats. "My knees haven't felt this good in thirty years."
"Where are the others, do you think? The doorway that opened for Willa disappeared into the wall again. I rose to my feet, easily and gracefully—that hadn't happened in forever.
"Probably having done to them what was done to us," Willa frowned, pacing the room's circumference.
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, giving a shimmy. Damn, I felt good.
"Well, since we don't know exactly what was done." Willa sighed, slamming her hand against the wall.
"Government experiment?" I suggested joining her in running my hands over every seam of the cold metal wall, looking for an escape.
"Are you serious?" Willa snorted. "Do you think this kind of technology exists on Earth with the Kardashians knowing about it?"
"True that," I chuckled. Laughter was better than screaming. My father always taught me that the crazier the situation, the calmer you remained to survive.
We met in the middle and sat on the bed. For a thin mattress, it was surprisingly comfortable.
"Maybe not the government, but what about pharmaceutical research?" I suggested. "Remember that case afew years back where big pharma was accused of kidnapping homeless people for research?"
Willa's lips twisted, indicating she didn't believe my theory was correct. "Don't think I'm crazy…"
"I'm sitting here talking to my best friend, who looks like she went back in time thirty years, and you're worried about my thinking anything yousayis crazy?" I huffed.
Willa rolled her eyes, then her expression slowly turned sheepish. "What if we were kidnapped by aliens?"
The laugh burst from me, so suddenly I spat a little. "You're right. I do think you're crazy. Aliens?" I snorted. "What about Bigfoot?"
"I believe in them, you know." She gazed at me from under lowered brows. "I just never said anything because I worried what everyone would think—rightly so."
I nudged her with my elbow. "We're a group of gals who basically worship a fictional book where a 20th-century woman goes back in time and falls in love with an 18th-century Highlander. You should never worry about what we would think."
Willa's laughter echoed off the walls.
"Why do you believe in aliens?" I scooted backward to sit propped against the wall.
She copied my movement. "You know my dad was a Navy commander, right?"
