This story is based on the prompts: Sibling - Desert - Opportune Moment - Wedding – Guilt
Temporal Epoch, Span 43 O.E.A. (Of the Echelon Age) / Year 2118 B.E.C. (By Earth Calculation)
Echelon Headquarters, People’s Republic of Terra
“I’m not going back, Greg. It’s too late. Mark and I can’t go back.”
Greg’s eyes narrowed when he heard the name. “Gail, please. You know I have to report this. I have no choice. The Echelon will punish you.”
“If they can find us.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she disappeared.
***
Gail reappeared on a dusty road surrounded by occasional sagebrush, but not much else. She had jumped about 120 years before her native time. She checked herself over for anomalies. She was shaken by her interaction with her brother, so her concentration had been a little off. She half expected to be male, but she appeared to be herself and looked around for Mark.
She saw him a little way down the road looking the other direction and hollered at him. He turned and, seeing her, waved. They jogged toward each other and embraced. She looked at his hair. Normally short and sandy blonde, it had been dark and curly when they appeared here a few days ago. He wasn't as used to going through the Interval as she was. They would have to practice more.
"Gail, I know this isn't the most opportune time... Will you marry me?"
She smiled. "Of course." She wrapped her arms around his neck and touched her lips to his. "When? Where? How?" She laughed out loud, threw her hands out, and twirled around.
"We're in northern Nevada, right? What is the date?”
Gail looked at the comm watch on her wrist. “Yep. September 1, 1998.”
“Didn’t Burning Man take place near here in early September?”
***
"The Man" appeared on the horizon before they could see the pop-up city. As they drew closer, they passed a couple of camels kneeling on the sun-baked dirt, a naked woman flapping a wing-like cape, and a troupe of drag queens dancing and singing a song they didn't recognize. Gail and Mark made their way to Center Camp and started asking around. After crisscrossing the camp several times, and nearly getting run over by bicycles and Art Cars, they were directed back to Ravindran, one of the drag queens on the edge of the city.
***
Gail stood next to Mark in front of Ravindran, their heads slightly bowed. Ravindran had a pale pink wig piled high on her head in an 18th-century French pouf. Pearls and purple beads bedecked the riot of curls along with a large gold fabric poinsettia. Her corset was made from magenta toile and velvet. Her white leather and lace capris and six-inch lavender platform heels completed the outfit.
The short prayer ended and Ravindran looked at Mark and said, “Do you?”
“I do!”
Then turning to Gail, “Do you?”
“Yes!”
“By the power given to me by the Universal Life Church, I pronounce you, HITCHED!”
The small crowd cheered and threw rice and flower petals and balloons toward the newlyweds. Someone started playing fiddle and the group danced. A bottle of champagne was opened and glasses passed. Mark swooped Gail up in his arms and twirled her around.
There was so much dust and noise, they didn’t see the strange group of uniformed troopers or hear the stomping. When the sun glinted off the black and silver helmets, one of the caustic reflections caught the fiddler in the face and the music stopped.
The merry-makers turned toward the new group. Gail and Mark were near the back of the crowd and ducked down when they saw the squadron. Creeping toward Ravindran, they motioned toward the uniformed group and whispered, “They are after us. Can you give us 10 minutes?”
Her glossy pale pink lips mouthed, “Of course.” Gail kissed Ravindran on the cheek and she and Mark scooted out between a slit in a fabric tent. From inside they heard Ravindran commenting loudly on the awful “get-ups” the newcomers were wearing and inviting them to get more comfortable. The last thing they heard was Greg shout, “Where are they?” and a large crash.
“How did they find us so fast?” Gail hissed. They found a quiet tent and knelt in front of each other. “Do you remember where we hid our packs? Can you concentrate and get there?”
Mark nodded and closed his eyes. There was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and Gail almost stopped him. But the space before her was empty sooner than she expected.
She felt bad that he was on the run with her. She should never have taught him how to jump through the Interval. Now the Echelon was after them. How did they find her?
She closed her eyes and thought of the large rock near their hiding place. She fixed all the aspects of the place in her mind. She thought of the exact location of the stars in the sky at the moment they were supposed to meet. Then she focused her mind on imagining the space between a cloud and the rain. One by one her senses faded. Although she couldn't feel her chest move or the breath entering her lungs, she inhaled deeply. Once. Twice. Three times.