Timesurfers Read online

  The brunette gave an ear-splitting whistle, and dark figures flocked from the shadows and positioned themselves behind her. Cate recognised some faces from the detention centre. Those guys were always up for a fight, which took them straight back there.

  She didn’t know who moved first, but someone did. The opening bars of Hoodoo Guru’s song “Like Wow! Wipeout” played, and it was on. The brunette yelled and vanished into the brawl.

  Jonah smashed an elbow into some guy’s nose and knocked him out with a spinning heel kick. Gorilla guy roared and barrelled toward them. Jonah pushed Cate out of the way and cracked gorilla guy’s head into the bar.

  Cate smashed a tray of glass pots over his head for good measure.

  “Thanks.” Jonah sized up the three attackers attempting to fence him in. He glided to the right to improve his position. His moves were snakelike. Silent, graceful, and deadly.

  A sword glinted to her left. Sword man pointed his shiny weapon and rushed at her. She sidestepped and helped him on his way head first into the bar. The unconscious gorilla guy cushioned his fall. He shook his head and came at her again.

  “Call the police,” Cate shouted to the barman as she hoisted herself on the bar and fended off sword guy with both feet.

  “Back in,” Jonah called.

  She leapt over the unconscious bodies littering the floor and pressed back to back with him. A tall guy came at her. She stepped to his right and punched hard at his stomach before smashing his head on her knee. The splintering crack as she slammed her foot into his ribs was way more satisfying than kicking any bag.

  A gunshot sounded over her right shoulder and the room filled with light. Everyone blinked under the glare of the harsh fluorescent brightness. The barman pumped a shotgun with one hand and pointed to a diminutive figure loitering in a dark corner. “Get your lot out of here.”

  Blood roared in Cate’s ears. Poised to fight; her eyes searched through the crowd for any movement. She was pumped!

  “Easy, Catherine,” Jonah crooned.

  The figure from the corner ambled over. He was petite and lithe with honey coloured skin. Gold tattoos covered both his arms, and he had an orange and yellow striped Mohawk with a thin plait that hung half way down his back. His eyes were lined with thick black pencil, and his eyelids were dusted with gold sparkles. People hustled out of his way. He stopped a foot from Jonah.

  “Look who’s crawled out from under his rock,” Jonah exclaimed.

  “Greetings to you also, Jonah.” He motioned to the limp bodies scattered on the floor. “Carry those who can’t walk. We’re done here for today. Please give my regards to Mortez. I hope to see her soon.” He sashayed from the club with his people limping and staggering after him under the weight of the bodies they carried.

  The barman pointed to Jonah and Cate. “Get out. The police are on their way and so is your mother, girlie. Best you’re not here when she arrives.”

  The remaining crowd scrambled to their feet and headed for the door. Another gunshot rang out. “No one else move or I’ll put a hole in each of your legs.”

  Jonah grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the door.

  “Who was the tiny man with the gold tattoos?” Cate struggled to keep pace with Jonah’s enormous strides. Her first full on brawl had been damned exciting.

  “That’s Elias.”

  She missed the last step and smashed her knees against the pavement. Jonah had her back on her feet so quickly she checked her knees to be sure she had fallen. Blood oozed through the raw pink skin. Drops of blood welled up, burst with a silent pop, and trickled down her shinbone. A hot prickle crawled over her palms and knees.

  “We have to get out of sight unless you want to explain this to your mother.”

  Not in a million years did she want to do that. “Let’s move.”

  They jogged across the street. Sirens blared to their right, so they headed left and ducked down the first laneway. She leaned against the wall. Nervous laughter bubbled up through her chest.

  Jonah grimaced and rested his head against the wall. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  “Broken ribs?”

  “Yep.” Jonah closed his eyes and exhaled. He opened one eye and looked sideways at her, a crafty look on his face. “What did you think of that brunette?”

  She elbowed him in the ribs. “You’ll get a disease from her.” She continued to poke at him.

  “Stop, stop.” Jonah held his ribs. “I take it back.”

  “Ouch.” She lifted her skirt for a closer inspection of her grazed knee.

  Jonah gently brushed her hands away and cupped her knees. His knuckles were bleeding and starting to bruise. “Put your hands on mine.”

  She held out her hands, surprised to see her knuckles were also bloody and bruised.

  “You don’t feel the pain until the adrenalin’s gone.” Jonah took a deep breath, and warmth tingled through her hands and knees. He lifted their hands from her knees. The gaze had disappeared.

  “Can you heal people too?”

  Jonah raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean ‘too’?”

  She patted Jonah’s arm. “I’ve done that before. Eve had a graze; I covered it with my hand, and hey presto, it was gone.” She bounced up and down on her toes. “I also brought a dead cheerleader back to life. Oh, and my foot fixed its self when I cut it stomping on an alarm clock the other morning.”

  “Okay.” Jonah rubbed his temples.

  “You don’t seem surprised.”

  “There’s very little you could do that would surprise me. I’m a conduit. I channel the powers of other Timesurfers. You can heal, so when I touch you, I can heal.”

  “Get out!” She shoved Jonah’s arm, and he grimaced. “Sorry. You can use me to fix your ribs if you like.”

  Jonah pressed the hand she waved in his face against his ribs.

  She saw each rib knit together. “Elias turning up now couldn’t be a coincidence.”

  “No. Let’s walk and talk.” He steered her toward home.

  “How long has he been in hiding?”

  “Five years.”

  That was how long she’d been in witness protection in Tempus Falls. The sun slipped lower in the sky, a luminous neon balloon balancing on the spiky treetops. She half expected it to pop. “Should we tell someone about Elias?”

  Jonah gave an enormous sigh. “Have you ever seen Elias or any of those other guys before?”

  “Not Elias. I recognised some of the brunette’s mates from Mum’s detention centre.”

  “Let’s keep this between us while I work through it.”

  “Sure. What’s one more secret? Have you been in many fights?”

  “I’ve been a Timesurfer for a long time. We fight a lot.”

  “How old were you when you knew you were a Timesurfer?”

  “Eleven.”

  “Please tell me you were like a child prodigy.” For her to be a late bloomer and second-rate Timesurfer would be crushing. Zach was only finding out now too, so maybe they left all the losers until last.

  “Sixteen is plenty early enough to be a Timesurfer. You’ll be more than able to hold your own.”

  “Were your parents also Timesurfers?”

  “At least one of them must have had Timesurfer blood. I never met my father and can’t remember my mother. They were both sixteen when I was born. My father was from a wealthy English family who sent my mother to America when they discovered she was with child. He promised to follow her, but never did. A lovely family took Mother in. After I was born, she went mad and was institutionalised. The family raised me like one of their own. When I started seeing things, they became concerned.”

  “The altered time lines after the midnight reset?”

  Jonah nodded. “You couldn’t blame them after my mother. They were trying to do the right thing sending me to the institution. I don’t know how long I was there. When Naitanui appeared in my ward, I thought I was hallucinating. He looked like some kind of witch docto
r with those dreadlocks and his ebony skin. While he untied my restraints, he warned me to brace for an unimaginable pain. I screamed more than I ever had during the electric shock therapy the pain was so intense that first time I surfed with him. We arrived at the Break, and there was Rose. She was so beautiful. I tried to hide that I’d been crying, but she knew. She slipped a handkerchief into my hand while no one was looking.”

  Cate touched his arm. Walking next to him and having this conversation felt natural. There was nothing awkward about it. He stopped and wiped her face with his scarf. She was crying.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I forgot who I was talking to.”

  “Is this something you would talk to Catherine about?”

  Jonah’s grey eyes widened. “Huh?”

  “You called me Catherine earlier. No one in Tempus Falls calls me that.”

  “Yes, it’s something I would talk about with Catherine.”

  Cate was beginning to think she might be Catherine. They reached her house before she had worked up the courage to ask Jonah if she was Catherine. A little hot air balloon was propped against the blue front door. Austin.

  “Can I ask you a question about Austin and Rose?” she blurted.

  “You can ask.”

  She kicked a few imaginary pebbles. “Are they an item?”

  Jonah threw back his head and laughed. “No.”

  She folded her arms defiantly against her chest and stared at him with her best “I am not amused” look. “Were they ever an item?”

  “Never.” He shook with silent laughter.

  “But you dated Rose?”

  “I did.” Jonah’s face turned wistful. His eyes had a faraway look so tender her heart contracted. His lips turned up in a sad smile. “That was a lifetime ago.”

  “You’re sure Austin and Rose aren’t together now?”

  “I can say with certainty, they never have been and never will be an item.”

  The fact they weren’t together made her feel less skanky about going with Austin tomorrow.

  “The reason I can say that without any doubt, is because Rose is Austin’s mother.”

  As Jonah’s words filtered into her brain, she stumbled.

  “Let’s get you onto the porch.” Jonah swept her into his arms.

  A little part of her gave a smug sigh. He had lifted her even more easily than she imagined. “How is that even possible?” She wiggled back onto the white cane chair and sat cross-legged. Rose must have been the youngest mother in history, which was a bit icky now she thought about it.

  “Rose is an immortal.”

  She face palmed. “Austin told me his mother was an immortal. How’s that work exactly?”

  “Naitanui and Mortez have the power to grant Timesurfers the gift of immortality. We’re easy to spot.” He tapped next to his eye. “Immortals have grey eyes.”

  Panic sliced through her head. “My mum has grey eyes! You said one of my parents had to have Timesurfer blood.”

  Jonah held his hands up. “Relax. All immortals have grey eyes. Not everyone with grey eyes is immortal—there’s a difference.”

  She thought through all the Timesurfers she knew—Rose, Rafe, Austin, Jonah, and Zach. “How come Rafe and Zach don’t have grey eyes?”

  “It’s a discretionary gift. Mortez is more generous with immortality than Naitanui. Zach is going through Timesurfer puberty, and Naitanui likes his Timesurfers to prove themselves. Rafe’s got a way to go. It’s not uncommon for Timesurfers to join Mortez purely for immortality.”

  “Is that why you joined her?”

  “Naitanui granted me immortality when I was eleven.” His tone was dismissive.

  Jonah certainly looked older than eleven, and immortals weren’t supposed to age according to her fantasy references. “Besides the forever young benefit, why do Timesurfers want immortality?”

  “When you travel through time your body is subjected to pressure and heat. For mortals, the experience is similar to having their insides liquefied and boiled, and their skin shaved off. Immortals feel nothing.”

  That she could attest to. It also explained why Austin, with his grey eyes, took the trip in his stride. “You look older than eleven. I thought immortals didn’t age.”

  “The anti-ageing side of immortality only kicks in at eighteen, regardless of how early you’re granted the gift. If you’re granted immortality at fifty, you’re forever fifty.” Jonah stretched his arms and legs. The blue tattoos glistened on his inner arm from his bicep to the crook of his elbow. There were so many numbers. The last one read 2017. “So you’re also from 2017?”

  He nodded. “Always check a Timesurfer’s QIs to ensure you’re dealing with the correct person and not them from a previous or later time. That can get you in all sorts of trouble.”

  He had said there was one for every year he had been a Timesurfer. “How old are you?”

  “I’ll be 149 in July.”

  Immortality certainly suited him. She giggled, unable to resist making her next comment. “You’re an outrageously hot old man, you know.”

  Jonah blushed and dropped his eyes. That bashful look would break hearts wide open. “On that uncomfortable note, I’m off.”

  “Are you coming back?” Her phone beeped with the 6:00 p.m. reminder.

  “Not tonight. I have plans.”

  “Plans to play cards or plans in another century doing some of Mortez’s evil bidding?”

  Jonah smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Never you mind. Your evening is free to go to the monster trucks with Zach.”

  “As if! I’m going out with Mum, Xavier and the boys for a pre birthday celebration. It’s tradition.”

  Jonah ran a hand down his weary face. “I will return tomorrow bearing an appropriately sparkly birthday gift.” He meandered down the path.

  CATE: “WALKING IN THE DOOR NOW”

  PIP: “? YOUR DAY?”

  CATE: “FINE”

  PIP: “THE NEON POSSE...REALLY?”

  CATE: “HOME SAFE”

  PIP: “I HAD TO ACQUIRE 17 PHONES WITH VIDEOS OF YOU FIGHTING”

  CATE: “AT LEAST YOU GOT TO OGLE JONAH”

  PIP: “NIGHT”

  Chapter 14

  Up, Up, And Away

  Cate held concealer in one hand and mascara in the other. How much makeup did you wear on a date that started at five in the morning? She threw them both on the counter, grimacing as they clattered along the bench in the dead quiet house. Austin had seen her all week without makeup at school. Her first decision as a sixteen-year-old was made. There would be no makeup. She clipped her rainbow hair extensions in and crept down the stairs.

  She miscalculated the number of steps and groped wildly in the dark as she stumbled down the last one. The soft click of the wall switch triggered a pale beam of light, revealing an envelope taped to the oven with her name written on it in her mother’s beautiful handwriting. She ran her fingers over the butterfly on the handcrafted card inside.

  Dear Cate,

  Happy Birthday, my beautiful girl!

  Love you more each year,

  Mum xx

  How strange. Her mum always signed cards from her and Xavier. A note slipped onto the tiles. Figured—that was probably Xavier’s attempt at a card. She snatched the paper and read.

  Cate,

  Happy Birthday, again. I can’t believe you’re sixteen!

  I’m so proud of the woman you have become. Sorry

  we missed each other last night. Unfortunately, I’ve

  had to leave the house at insane o’clock on your special

  day. There’s been an outbreak of incidents at school.

  I know you and Eve will have a wonderful time on the

  balloon ride. I’ll be home to have trifle with you this

  evening. I promise.

  Love you,

  Mum xxx

  P.S. DO NOT TOUCH THE TRIFLE.

  The trainee criminals obviously didn’t get the memo to b
ehave on her birthday. There was still no mention of Xavier. With everything that was going on, it made Cate uneasy. Xavier could be a tool, but he had a kind heart. Which it killed her to admit. She grabbed the vegemite and tapped the bench while her toast cooked. Her mum had assumed Eve was her balloon ride partner. Cate hadn’t specified otherwise when they traded texts last night.

  She tiptoed to the front door, hesitating at the steps. Should she check on Xavier? No, that was being paranoid. The three boys slept here after last night’s dinner. She crept outside and felt her way through the darkness to a chair. A crack splintered the stillness. “Austin?” The cold, dark silence echoed back.

  A black shape hurtled toward her out of the sky. Her heart took off like a helicopter and flew into her mouth. A warm, furry ball landed on her lap and started kneading her thighs. Sharp claws pricked her skin, faltering for the briefest second as they caught on her jeans and then continued kneading.

  “Geez, Polka Dot—you nearly made me wet my pants.” She crunched on the last piece of buttery vegemite toast and stroked the enormous ginger cat, the neighbourhood stray who everyone looked after. His yellow eyes flashed in the dark, laughing at her reaction, no doubt. “If you see Eve, let her know I’m pissed at her. I called her ten times last night and she refused to pick up.” She was talking to a cat, for heaven’s sake. He gave an angry hiss and slunk away as light flared on the steps.

  Austin was surrounded by a halo of white from the torch in his hand. “Happy Birthday, beautiful sixteen-year-old.” There was an obscene chirpiness to his voice for five in the morning.

  Her heart squeezed out an extra beat. She skipped over to the step, grinning so big she felt the strain in her cheeks. Better dial that down or she’d look like a maniac. “Thanks.”

  “Up for a surf?”

  “What about the balloon ride?” Panic flooded her chest. She had dressed for a balloon ride. Her preparation for the beach would have involved waxing and a much later time slot.

  “We’re surfing to get to the balloon ride.”