We were waiting for the flight from Los Angeles to Indianapolis. We had to be present the next day to make our presentation of our new information system for the Kindex Corporation. The flight had already been delayed more than we expected. It was 7 o'clock at night and Mike went to ask at the airline ticket office about the delay presented on the board.
"Good evening ..." Mike paused as he read the name on lady’s badge again, "Miss Johnson. There has been a new delay in the flight to Indianapolis. There is no other flight that you can provide us to reach our destination? We have a very important presentation to make tomorrow. "
The girl adjusted her glasses and typed on her keyboard while she’s watching the monitor. Her eyes moved from side to side, while Mike grew impatient. After 2 minutes, that seemed like an eternity. The girl replied: "There is a company that makes particular flights, AirPartner. Go to Hangar #3"
Mike thanked her and came to us.
"I got a airline that will take us to Indianapolis today. Let's go to hangar number three," Jeanette and I looked at each other and smiled at Mike.
Upon arriving, we saw a man in overall wiping his hands next to a white propeller airplane. Mike said: "Good evening, we need to flight to Indianapolis tonight, they informed us that your AirPartner company can help us."
"You're in luck. We are scheduled to go to Indiana to look for some passengers. Are you only three?" He replied. Mike nodded. "Then it would be $1500 for all of you," he added as he entered a small office. We looked at each other and decided that we would take the flight. Each one took $500 out of our pocket and we gave it to Mike.
Mike greeted the gentleman from afar with the cash. The gentleman changed his clothes and went out with another man wearing a cap.
"Excellent. My name is George. Simon will be our pilot tonight," Simon greeted us and told us to board the aircraft.
It was a Beech King Air 200, with capacity for 8 passengers. The seats were very comfortable. When the flight started, the captain told us through the speaker to turn off cell phones and fasten our seatbelts. He also informed us that we would be 20,000 feet heigh at a speed of 260 knots.
Jeanette and Mike made themselves comfortable and closed their eyes. After the captain informed us that we could unbuckle our seatbelts, I decided to close my eyes too.
Suddenly, Mike's screams woke me up "What's wrong?!" I felt the aircraft move constantly up and down strongly. Lucky for me that I had not unbuckled my seatbelt.
"Keep calm, the atmospheric conditions are causing the turbulence, we will go up to 25 thousand feet", George informed by the speaker.
"This happens by taking unknown airlines," added Jeanette angry.
I raised the window coverage to see the weather conditions. I shuddered at what I saw outside. A strange blue light covered the plane on the left side. "Mike! Jeanette! Open your windows! "I exclaimed, scared. The same pale blue halo covered the right side.
"We will make a stopover in Kansas, due to weather conditions," we heard the captain say through the speaker.
"Your grandparents are from Wichita? Isn’t it, Jeanette," I asked. "Do not start with your jokes John," she replied.
We feel like the plane suddenly lost altitude. We cling to the seat strongly. Jeanette started praying. My heart was about to come out of my chest. I had never been so afraid. "This is the way we're going to die?" I thought.
Then we felt how the landing gear squealed on the ground. Moments later the plane stopped. We watched through the window, but none of us could see lights from an airport or other planes.
The captain opened the cockpit door and told us, "Unfortunately, I had to make an emergency landing. We landed on an interstate"
I recalled the fact that interstate highways had one mile out of five straight lines to be used as landing strips in emergencies and war.
"Where are we?" Jeanette asked. "My cell phone does not have a signal and yours?" she added.
I turned on my cell phone and Mike did the same. None of them had a signal.
"It's useless," said the captain and added: "I only know that we are in Kansas, but there is no type of signal in the cell phones or in the King's radio, only noise"
"It's impossible," said Mike.
"Let's keep calm, I'll check the damage and at dawn we'll go somewhere nearby," George calmly informed.
When dawn broke, we got off the aircraft. George offered us some coffee, which gave us back our lives.
Suddenly the sound of a vehicle approaching caught our attention.
"What the hell!?," Jeanette exclaimed. "A 1918 Chevrolet One-Ton, like new? It must be about 100 years old.”
"So it seems, you know what they say, in Kansas they still ride in horses," added George.
"Surely he is a collector. Let's ask for a lift to the nearest place. We're still in time to get to Indianapolis," said Mike as he boarded the plane to search for suitcases.
The truck stopped, the man of marked age, shaken, exclaimed
"Lord Jesus Christ! That must be a new vehicle to win the war!"
I looked at Jeanette and she looked back at me with an expression of not understanding ... "What war is this guy talking about?" she whispered.
"Sir, could you take us to the nearest town, we need to communicate with the authorities," Simon answered in an accent of Kansas
"Do not forget that we should look for the spares!", shouted George from below the plane's wing.
"Wait for me!" Mike shouted as he got off the plane. The old man's expression hardened.
"I'm afraid I can only take you three," he said seriously, pointing to Simon, Jeanette and me.
"I do not see the problem, there is enough space in the back," Jeanette complained.
"I will not take mexican or black people in my truck," he replied, referring to George and Mike.
Fortunately neither Mike nor George heard the last sentence, however, Jeanette shouted to the old guy. "I beg your pardon! What did you say?". Simon, immediately interrupted: "Let's do as he says". Then he shouted to George "I'm coming back with the refactions!"
He turned to me and said, "Convince your friend to stay with George, please. I will rent a vehicle to get all of you to your destination." I nodded with an "Ok"
"I'll go in the cargo bed, with the 'supposed' animals," Jeanette said loudly as she mounted along with goats.
I talked to Mike and told him I would come back with a rented car. After convincing him, I got on the truck with Jeanette.
While we were on the road, Jeanette took a newspaper to sit on the floor, but then she stood still while she was reading it. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"This must be a joke," she said suddenly. "Check your cell phone, do you have a signal?"
I checked and it still had no signal.
"What's wrong?" I asked again. She handed me the newspaper and said "read the date"
«THE TOPEKA DAILY STATE JOURNAL - TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 8, 1918»
"It must be a printing error," I answered without caring.
"WITH THE YEAR AND MONTH INCORRECT?!" Jeanette shouted.
"Besides, today is the great night of Kittie Glasco? Or that the American troops are going to battle alongside the British army in St. Quentin?" Added Jeanette.
"It could not be, but there were too many coincidences. Have we traveled 100 years in the past? "I thought.
When we reached the nearest town, the county of Junction City. The hay in the cargo bed made me sneeze a thousand times. Suddenly the old man stopped the car and we fell flat on the floor.
"So far I bring you, you better get off and go away with your plague," the old man shouted us.
"What happened to the good manners of the people of Kansas?" I asked once we got out of his truck.
"An article in the newspaper reminded me of something my grandfather told me. In 1918 the pandemic of Spanish flu, killed 20 million people in the world and even some claim that they were 40 million. An influenza even bigger than the bubonic plague," said Jeanette.
"There are some people who claims that it started in Kansas and then spread around the world," she added.
"Well do not look at me. This is just a hay allergy," I said. I checked my bag and took out a plastic bottle with water and took an anti-allergy medication.
"You noticed that things are a little different, isn’t it," Simon asked.
Jeanette handed him the newspaper and showed him the date.
"I already thought that was strange the conversation I had with old Hank, about the French and British allies," replied Simon.
"How will we go back?" I asked. People of the place passed by our side and stayed looking at our clothes.
"I suppose we have to go back through the environmental phenomenon we went through, it's the only explanation. Meanwhile, we must find a way to find spare parts." Replied Simon.
"How will we pay? Here, credit cards do not work, let alone twenty-first-century bills," said Jeanette.
"Gold has always been the currency with the most value in any period of time," replied Simon.
"Remember, try not to get attention," was the last thing he said before leaving.
He put his hands around his neck and pulled out a thick gold necklace and said "I'll go to that pawn shop, you guys go to that food establishment and ask for something to eat and ask for food for George and your friend."
We went to a nearby food establishment called 'JENNIES'. It had a sign that said "Hamburgers 5c".
"Sounds promising!" I said to Jeanette. She smiled to me. The place had small tables and a bar where there were soldiers eating. When we entered, all the people stared at us. We greeted and we sat at a table. A waitress approached us. She wore a badge on her left side with the name 'Margarett'. She asked us what we wanted to eat. We ordered a couple of burgers and two cups of coffee.
Jeanette reminded me that we should ask some burgers for the others. So she got up and went to the bar. While she was waiting for the waitress to attend her, one of the soldiers approached to her.
"Hello Beautiful. Where are you from?" He asked. "I'm from California," she replied
"It's very strange that kind of clothes you wear, are not you a foreigner girl by any chance?"
The soldier stroked Jeanette's forearm. Immediately, she took him by the hand giving him a martial art movement that bent his arm on his back. The soldier screamed and she went to his ear and whispered. "Your parents did not teach you manners?" Then she kicked him and he fell to the ground. The soldier got up in a rage.
"Poor soldier," I thought, "You're about to know what 100 years of evolution are," I said to myself. Jeanette was a black belt in taekwondo.
At that moment, another soldier stopped him," Hey! Remember that we should not get into trouble. Let's go, Tom"
"As you say," was the last thing he said before leaving.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Margarett asked.
"In temple," Jeanette replied with a smile.
Jeanette ordered a couple of extra burgers to go. At that moment the other soldiers finished their meal and left. However, she was struck by the last name written on one of the soldiers' uniforms Feraud.
"Soldier! What’s your name!?" Jeanette shouted. "Eric Feraud," replied the soldier. He looked at her and continued on his way. Suddenly, as he was leaving the establishment, he began to cough and fell unconscious in front of the establishment.
His companions helped him to get up and one of them asked: "Is there a doctor?"
Jeanette, came hastily to my table. "Do you have flu medicine in your backpack?" she asked anxiously.
"Of course I do. I have a very good one based on acetaminophen and chlorpheniramine. But I do not think we have problems with getting infected with old illness. Our organisms have been immunized evolutionarily to all these diseases of the past, "I replied.
"It's not for me. That soldier, is the father of my grandfather. A long time ago, my grandmother told me that her husband's father had managed to survive the flu thanks to the help of an angel who had given him a medication that saved him from certain death. I always thought they were children's stories. "
"And you think that angel is you?" I asked.
"We have just back in time 100 years, something that no one will ever believe ..." Jeanette said. "After that, I'm willing to believe anything," she added.
I took out the blister pack of pills and the water bottle from my backpack. Jeanette took all the pills out of the blister pack and put them in a cloth napkin from the table. Then she went outside.
"Move! Make a hole! Let him breathe. Go away please. I'm a nurse," Jeanette yelled to the companions around her. They opened space and moved away.
Jeanette touched Eric's forehead and said in a low voice, "You have a fever, soldier Eric Feraud. But do not worry, it's not the Spanish flu," she lied, "I recommend you drink a lot of fluids and take this medication," she gave her a pill and had him taken it with the water.
The soldier looked at Jeanette. But sunlight shone over Jeanette, so he could not see her face accurately. Eric heard again as she said in his ear "You must take these others every 8 hours, promise me by your mother Giselle", while she put in his pocket the napkin with the pills.
Eric was in shock, after hearing that. Jeanette, took advantage of his confusion and told the other soldiers, "Very well! boys, take him away. It's nothing, just indigestion." His companions listened to her and lifted him off the ground. She took advantage of sneaking inside the establishment.
I asked her, "Do you think he'll be ok?" "I'm alive, isn’t it?" she replied. I was going to tell her something else but Simon's arrival at our table interrupted me.
Simon told us that he reached an agreement on the price for the gold necklet. He had enough money even to buy a vehicle. He managed to buy a Model T Ford, 1915 at $500. We paid for our food and left establishment and we went on that antiquity straight ahead to the plane.
Hours later we got to where the plane was. The sound of our vehicle had alerted our friends.
"You finally arrived! I’m starving! Did you bring us something to eat?" Mike asked.
After they ate, Simon explained to George about the situation we were in. George managed to fix the plane with spares of the model T and other parts that Simon brought.
We wait until nightfall and then take off.
Simon took the same course where we came from, the same height and speed. For our luck, we found the same anomaly that had made us return to our time.
After passing the terrifying minutes of turbulence, Simón listened to the operator of the Los Angeles control tower, indicating that he had permission to land.
We heard Simon saying "We made it!"
The three of us looked at each other in relief. We were home.
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