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couple of words and nodded assent as she ended in “…Langerak.” Asta’s accent was thick, but the word was clear.
    Kathryn looked around as she sank to her knees. “Where is Hals?” It was not a loud question.
    Asta nodded. “Hej, Hals.” Asta pointed at the buildings and gardens behind them. “Hej, Hals.”
    Kathryn sat in the sand trying to breathe in the salt air. Nothing was helping. This wasn’t some pretend game or a group of people trying to re-enact the past. This was the past .
    She was choking and not aware that her own body was smothering. This was the past. This was impossible. Was she dead? Had the explosion or whatever happened at the museum killed her and she was in someone else’s body in the past? Her stomach was cramping. That didn’t make any sense. She never heard of anyone’s mind traveling through time. However, she also had never heard of anyone’s body traveling through time. Except in Sci-Fi.
    She had to get up. She had to get out of here. She had to return to her aunt. She looked over her shoulder to where a tall monument should be standing, would be standing, sometime in the future. How far in the future? How far had she been tossed into history? No, she couldn’t think about that. It was impossible. She was losing her mind.
    Kathryn was aware that Asta was kneeling in front of her, calling to her repeatedly. Several of the other workers had stopped. She looked up, totally confused. What was she going to do? She let Asta pull her to her feet and the world turned black.
     
    The next thing she knew, she was looking into a pair of pale blue eyes surrounded by the type of wrinkles found in a forgotten apple, the entire dark-creased face framed by a wild halo of white hair that was untamed.
    A low voice came from the old grooved mouth. “Ahh.” There were some more words that, of course, Kathryn did not understand. The woman had Kathryn’s dress up to her waist with a ridged rough hand splayed across her stomach.
    There was a loud noise and both Kathryn and the old witch looked at the opening in the hut where Kathryn was lying down. It was Rodmar with a strange questioning look on his face.
    He looked at where the hand was placed, asking a question.
    “Naj.” The grey white hair trembled as she shook her head back and forth.
    Kathryn’s foggy brain put two and two together. The old witch thought she might have fainted as if she was pregnant. The witch had told Rodmar that she wasn’t, but that got Kathryn’s mind working. It was already in turmoil and now it had one more thing to tear it into pieces.
    She had sex with a man without protection. Actually, during that session, she had gladly participated several times. Unprotected sex. She fought the tears, but many did slip out and rolled down into her hair.
    Rodmar said something as he stood with his arms over that wide chest. He looked happy. Evidently, he didn’t want someone else’s child.
    “Kadlin.” The witch went to a shelf and returned with some type of bowl that had a stopper. She spoke, but acted out a few gestures that began to make sense. She patted Kathryn’s stomach, shaking her head, no . She held her hand low in front of her like she was a man holding his penis. She nodded yes, but then again, she touched Kathryn’s stomach and said, “Naj.” She opened the bowl, taking out some cream on her finger, then pointing between Kathryn’s legs. “Naj bebé.”
    Kathryn sat up, accepting the small bowl. Okay, homemade birth control. It made sense. They had to have some way to control this or there would be so many kids they would be overrun.
    Wait! Was she accepting that she was in the past? No, she was accepting the fact that she was insane. Somewhere in normal time, she was strapped down to a table with tubes in her veins as well as down her throat. There were efficient well-trained professionals working around her. She was surrounded with modern equipment that was fighting to keep her alive as she went insane