Well here we are, once again, facing Saturday and Linda’s SoCS prompt. Today Linda has teased us with ‘in a nutshell’, no small challenge for any writer. Let’s see what we can do with it. I think we’ll rejoin our wayward travelers in Vatican City Rome, somewhere in a questionable version of Medieval Italy…

”Okay, listen to me, if you want to live,” Parsec shot back over his shoulder. “Let me do the talking, don’t make eye contact, and…” he looked back at Noni, “for God’s sake cover up those First Earth socks!” Dech looked down and pulled off his boots, then yanked the red socks from his sweating feet. He looked at Noni who only had one sock on, but it was screaming at him with orange and yellow steaming coffee cups that sported the phrase ‘Talk to the cup’. He reached over and tugged it from her foot before stuffing them all in a dusty jar that stood next to the bed. As the door rattled on its rusty hinges, Parsec put an insistent finger to his lips and turned to face the angry men who pushed their way inside.

Neither ‘First Earth’ resident knew what exactly to expect but, above anything else, they were no less than stunned by the trio glaring at them with weapons pointed in their direction. All of them wore uniforms, but each one was vastly different than the other, and none fit any regular historical account that they could recall. When the first man barked at them, Parsec answered him… in perfect Russian. Dech kept his eyes on the floor, willing his impetuous girlfriend to do the same. He could feel the heat coming from her brain and prayed she would practice restraint. While they were conversing he stole a glance at soldier number two, whose strange dress resembled something out of a French history book, he guessed Napoleonic, but with odd additions. This man spoke next, and not surprisingly he made his demands in French. One again Parsec answered in the same dialect, calming the soldier in minutes.

Noni trembled beneath the blanket, trying to ignore the searing pain in her ankle while seeming respectfully fierce. And of course it was she whom the third soldier was focused on. When he stepped around the others, all of them stifled horrified gasps. From the first ‘Nein’ to the last word he uttered, their hearts were frozen in fear. The man looked, sounded, and scowled just like that enigmatic monster who’d hypnotically overtaken half the minds of Germany to terrorize and burn any citizens he deemed ‘impure’. Dech watched without staring as he approached the bed and threw back the covers from Noni’s legs. Certain her fear and rage would give them away, he was surprised when she fell back on the bed, writhing in pain. The man looked at her bulging purple ankle and frowned, then grabbed Parsec’s arm and muttered more German words. Their new acquaintance kept his cool and mumbled something at the soldier, once again in perfect matching dialect, and nodded first toward Noni then at the open door.
Of course the encounter wouldn’t have been complete without the soldier approaching Dechlan and staring a hole through his forehead, all the while smirking expectantly. Just as Noni thought her love might lose his cool, the faux Nazi turned on the heel of his well polished boot and headed for the door. He turned back only once and quipped at Parsec, “Das werden wir sehen…”.
The three soldiers hurried down the steps and Parsec quietly closed their door.
All three of them gasped for the air their lungs so desperately needed, and Noni burst into tears. Dechlan sat down and let her fall against his chest. As he stroked her hair he pleaded with Parsec, “Tell me what the blazes this is! What kind of dimensional hell have we been sent to?” Parsec put his hand on Dech’s shoulder and looked at Noni empathetically.
“Well, you know what they say,” he said with a sardonic grin, “One man’s hell is another man’s paradise.”
Noni looked up, wiped her cheeks and asked, “So you’re saying that in this realm of multi dimensional travel, there are those who actually choose certain periods for their own twisted fantasies to play out?”

Parsec grew serious and looked from one to the other. “Yeah, I guess when it all boils down to it, that’s just what most of the travelers are doing, whether by first choice or mere survival once they’re caught in the loop.”

Dech looked at Noni and whispered, “I’ll get us put of here. I promise.”
She started crying again and choked, “It’s all my fault” , but he put his hand around her neck, pulling her head against his.

”No, no, we came here together, and we’re in it together.” He pulled back and looked her in the eye. “And we’ll leave here together.” Then he looked up at Parsec. “We will make it out of here, won’t we?” He gave a warning look with his eyes.
The strange young man shrugged, then looked at the lovely girl with the broken ankle and smiled. “Of course you will. We just need a plan, and there isn’t much time.”

”What do you mean?” Dech asked. When Parsec glanced at the door, it was Noni who questioned.

”What was it Hitler said before he left?” Parsec looked down at them both.

”He said, ‘We will see about this’.” He looked up at the window and the glaring sunlight of afternoon. “In a nutshell, he’s not giving up until he finds a reason to lock us up.” ….

to be continued.

Copyright Cheryl Pennington 2024