DifferentPath

This was not good. They were watching her home. Her mind raced as she thought over her options. Did she
turn Cierra over to the authorities or help her to escape? The idea of locking her up once more seemed
cruel. Elinor hadn't even really thought about her next step until now. Her inner voice told her to help
Cierra, confirming her own thoughts. We have to get away--now!

The reporter ran to the guest room and shook Cierra awake. "Wake up! We're being watched and I don't
think we have much time!" she hissed, nearly dragging the young woman from the bed. "Get dressed and
pack up your things. I'm going to grab a few things then we're getting out of here."

The reporter jogged to her bedroom and pulled a small bag from her closet. She didn't have much time to
think about it, grabbing some undergarments, a dress, some pants and a shirt. She then grabbed a few things
from the bathroom and shoved everything inside. She next snatched up her handbag and rushed back to the
guest room. Cierra barely shut her overnight bag when Elinor grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of
the room, hissing instructions to her as she pushed the brunette in the direction she wanted.

"Now listen carefully to me. There's a rear service door through the basement where they deliver coal for
heating. It's away from the street so I'm praying that the men outside aren't keeping an eye on it."

"And if they are?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Our biggest problem is that they probably know exactly what
we look like. We won't get very far even if we get out of the building."

Cierra whimpered as the fear of being taken back rushed up inside of her.

"Stop that. I have an idea. There's a second hand store just a few doors down. They usually have wigs and
stuff left over from estate sales. We'll pop in there, grab a few things and put them on in the dressing room.
Chances are that the clerks there won't even notice us. Most of them are people no one else will hire. We
go in, get out, and head towards the bay. My folks have a sailboat there."

"We're going to sail away? Do you know how to steer it?"

Elinor resisted the urge to growl over the word usage and merely said 'yes' as she urged her faster down the
stairs.

* * * * *

Carey and Maggie dismounted to look over the tracks better. Maggie McDaniels shook her head. "They're
watching us. They come so close then stop."

The leader of the Napa-Sonoma clan let out a tired sigh. "My concern is whether or not they mean any
trouble."

"No way to find out short of walking into their camp. In the meantime, I suggest we set up some sort of
alarm system in case they try and sneak up on us in the middle of the night. Maybe even arm those boys in
the trees with shotguns. They might be our first warning if something happens."

Carey shook her head. "I'm not about to arm those boys. They'd become trigger happy and shoot at
anything that moved. No, we'll just set up warning bells up in their trees. Those natives won't be able to
approach us from the southeast, not with those ducks and geese of ours. We'll just hope for the best and
keep our doors barred at night."

"And if they try to raid us?"

Carey's hazel eyes darkened. "We'll do what we have to but I hope we never have to find out."

* * * * *

Jessie was pleased. Berty no longer clung to her player behavior and allowed herself to talk about her
feelings and thoughts more each day. The two of them spent a lot of time together although they hadn't
become lovers yet. Not for the lack of wanting to take that step. The only thing stopping them was Jessie's
natural shyness. She didn't want to make love in the barracks where others could hear them.

The wagon maker, knowing this, was hard at work building them a home. Not happy with the idea of a tree
house, Berty had spent the last month digging out the side of a hill located just past the public bath house.
There she had found a small but high hill that was well above the stream, guaranteeing that it would remain
dry unless they had a freak flood. She planned on shoring up the inner walls with lumber then cob after she
dug out a short sewage ditch under the house.

She traded skills at woodworking with the glassmaker in order to get sheets of thick glass for windows and
would make an adobe fireplace for warmth. The house wouldn't be huge, only about 150 square feet total,
but large enough for a bed, storage, and a tiny kitchen/common area for the two of them. Best of all, it would
be private and comfortable year around. All the labor going into it was worth all that hard work as far as she
was concerned.

Berty gave Jessie a kiss after they ate their lunch. The tiny middle-eastern woman gave her a pleased smile
that promised all sorts of rewards for her hard work. Oh yeah, it was worth it.

* * * * *

Elinor couldn't get over the feeling that they were being watched as she headed for her parents' sailboat.
The reporter looked over her shoulder once more but didn't see anyone looking directly at her. She urged
Cierra to get on board as she went below to start the motor. Her father usually kept it well maintained and
the tanks full. He used the motor to maneuver around the docks then used sails the rest of the time. She
found the hidden key and started the engine without any trouble. She untied released the knots from the
ropes and guided the Maggie's Dream away from the peers.

"Where are we going?" Cierra finally asked.

"South."

"South? That's it. That's your plan?"

"What do you expect on the fly? We need to get away as fast as we can. I have no idea what they have in
mind for you and I'd rather not find out."

Cierra hugged herself and sat down near the reporter. It was several minutes before she spoke but her
voice trembled as she recalled what happened a few days earlier.

"They locked me in a room. There was just a table and a few chairs, nothing much. I could tell they were
watching me on the other side of the big mirror. At first I thought they forgot about me but then I could smell
smoke."

"Smoke?"

Cierra nodded. "Coming from under the locked door. I was scared and begged for them to let me out of the
room. Then the door got hot and more smoke came in."

"Then what happened?" Elinor asked as she prepped the sails.

"I thought I was going to burn to death."

Elinor's hands paused as she listened. "What happened next?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I was in that room and then the next moment I was all wet in a marsh."

"You jumped, like the other Cierra White."

Cierra shrugged. "I guess so."

"And you figured out how to get back?"

"Not exactly. I was frightened by a bear and found myself downtown."

Elinor let out a humorless laugh. "You and bears. The other Cierra has had a few encounters with them
too." The reporter sigh, "And here we are. Here's my idea at the moment. We head south until we approach
a city with an airport. We can buy tickets and fly to California."

"Why there?"

"Earl Brommer. Cierra visits him regularly. He can hide us until she visits next time. Cierra can take you to
Mother Earth with her."

Cierra's eyes lit up at the idea of meeting the other woman and agreed to follow Elinor's plan.

The afternoon passed as hey sailed along the coast and the reporter was beginning to believe that it had
only been her imagination. No one had tried to stop them from leaving the port. Now they were following the
coast line and away from any boat traffic. She allowed herself to relax and suggested that they drop the sails
soon and eat. She knew of a nice cove further up the coast where the wind was milder.

She turned the sailboat, using the wind to head in that direction. Once they got around the peninsula she
would stop and prepare lunch for the two of them.

* * * * *

Captain Delano of the Coast Guard patrol was waiting in the cove. His orders were to stop and arrest the
passengers on a small sailboat that were last reported heading his way. He knew the waters like the back of
his hand and knew that this would be a good place to wait for them. The sun was to his back so the suspects
would have a difficult time spotting them. The Coast Guard patrol boat was well hidden and they wouldn't be
seen until it was too late to flee.

No doubt his crew wondered why he didn't just use their powerful motors and just catch up to them but they
didn't know of his complete instructions. He was to apprehend them with as few witnesses as possible. The
cove was isolated and the prisoners could be taken in custody with very little trouble.

His crew kept an eye on the point with their binoculars and alerted him when the suspected sailboat was in
sight. He leaned forward on the rail, squinting against the sparkling waters towards the point where the
small blue and white boat was appearing. The crew waited for his signal. Captain Delano raised his hand,
keeping his men at the ready then dropped his hand. The engine was started and they moved forward
quickly before the suspects could detect the sound of their motor and turn their boat with the current. But
the Coast Guard captain wasn't taking any chances. He had waited until the sailboat had committed to
turning against the current and tacking towards the cove. The sailboat was now heading towards them. Even
if they had a motor, it would take too long to douse the sails and switch over.

Elinor heard the motor and squinted against the sunlight. Suddenly an air horn sounded and a voice came
from her blind side.

"This is the US Coast Guard vessel, The Louisiana. You are ordered to come to a full stop and prepare to
be boarded."

"Elinor!" Cierra pleaded, hoping her companion could do something to stop what was happening.

The sound of the patrol boat was getting louder and the reporter could now see it approaching. It would be
there in a matter of seconds. "Cierra, listen to me. The other Cierra can move ships. I've seen her do it. I
need you to grab hold of the boat and take us away from here."

"I can't-"

"Yes you can! You can do this. Unless you want to go back?" Elinor said, frightening the escapee.

Cierra shook her head in denial as she watched the Coast Guard draw nearer. The men on board we ready
to leap onto the Maggie's Dream, hanging to rails, their bodies coiled in preparation.

Cierra's panicked eyes returned to Elinor. "What do I do?"

"Grab something solid and think about the other world. We'll pop right over there."

"You're sure?" the young woman asked the reporter as she grabbed a railing.

"Yes, now do it!" Elinor screamed. The men would leap towards them in a few seconds.

Cierra squeezed her eyes shut and wondered if the other Cierra had this much trouble in her world.
Suddenly the sailboat lurched from the slightly different sea level while the women held on for dear life. It
took a moment for the ship to settle as the women looked around them.

Around them was empty waters, the patrol boat was no where in sight. "You did it!" Elinor said with a grin,
throwing her arms around the slim jumper for a hug. Cierra stood there in shock, unaccustomed to being
shown affection. She just stood there stiffly until the full figured woman released her and turned away to
look out towards the ocean.

"There's no one around. Is this one of the empty worlds?" she asked. before Cierra could admit ignorance,
the reporter heard the sound of a buoy clanging further down shore. That meant people. Warily, she looked
around for other boats.

"What's wrong?"

"This world has people. We have to be careful until we know the situation better," she warned. She thought
over their options even as her stomach grumbled from hunger. "Let's drop anchor and eat. We'll worry
about we'll do next after we rest for a while. All right?"

Cierra nodded nervously and helped the reporter with the sails as best she could before the heavy anchor
was dropped. They next squeezed into the tiny galley. Since they didn't have time to shop prior to sailing
they had to settle for tinned soup and crackers.

Both women ate silently as their thoughts raced, wondering where they were. They were dragged from their
musings by the sound of an air horn from nearby. Cierra's soup bowl was spilled as she rushed away from
the table to look out the small portal.

Elinor ran up the steps to the deck and craned her neck to look up at the massive metal ship almost on top
of them. Cierra followed on her heels.

Uniformed people, both male and female had rifles pointed at them.

"Oh my God! Stand down!" a female voice cried out. "That's Cierra White!"

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