Read Paradigm Rift: Book One of the Back to Normal Series for Free Online Page A

to what we could possibly unleash with careless conversation.
     
    We need our second axiom, another accord. Especially if our group grows beyond two. Something about keeping the future secret. We have to consider everything we say, or, rather, are about to say to each other, and to non-Jumpers (I’ve been calling them Locals). We need a type of screen, or a filter. I like that. A Filter.
     
    Our Second Accord: Filter the Future.
     
    After much planning, we will finally jump on the bus tomorrow, headed for Las Vegas. Easy cash awaits!
     
    On a sad note, a cargo ship exploded at port in Texas City, Texas, a few days ago. Hundreds dead. Wiped out twenty city blocks. Close to where Ken grew up.

CHAPTER 8
    My car! Son of a gun.
    The Chief looked up in disbelief and darted out into the road as the squad car stole away, minus its rightful owner. He wiped his sweaty forehead. "You'll never get out of here, Mr. Collins. This thing is way bigger than you or me. You'll see."
    _____________________________________
     
    Denver raced down the street, ignoring both the speed limit and ordinary caution. As adrenaline pushed him, he pushed the accelerator, his pulse pounding. He attempted to navigate the first corner and slid out of control, almost slamming into an oncoming car.
    What’s this ? No power steering?
    Denver corrected just in time to avoid hitting a second vehicle and then narrowly missed a few parked cars off to his right. The fleeing fugitive approached a four-way stop at full throttle and plowed on through.
    The brakes and tires squealed as he made a hard right, struggling to compensate for the difficulty of sharp turns. The steering wheel seemed determined to fight him in a battle of wills. With the police station back in sight, he dropped his speed and rolled past, searching for something. Two doors further along he cut down a small alley on his left. He made another left at the end of the narrow lane and gunned the motor for the final stretch.
    The echoing roar of the police sedan scared a stray dog scavenging through the garbage, and it bolted out in front of him. Startled, Denver cut the wheel hard to his right. He missed the malnourished animal, but caught a small tree on the edge of the alley instead, tearing a sizeable gash in the front end. He coasted to a stop behind the station and parked the squad car, yanking the keys out. He looked back at the lucky dog, who had already returned to his meal, then jogged over to the back door of the police station. He tried three or four keys before success, cursing himself for his trembling hands.
    Focus, Collins. Focus.
    The back door started to give way but then jammed on him. He slammed his shoulder into it and popped the door loose, nearly falling to the bare concrete floor in the process.
    Denver scurried over to the Chief’s desk and ransacked the drawers. Papers, folders, a few playing cards, and two packs of smokes became casualties of war in his mad scramble. He grabbed his confiscated wallet and phone and continued to pilfer the remaining drawers.
    The lowest drawer yielded a bonus. A pistol. Now that’s more like it, McCloud . He plopped the sidearm onto the desktop and rummaged for some ammo. He grabbed the gun, kicked out the magazine, loaded it, and shoved it back in with all the skill, speed, and precision of a trained soldier. He held it aloft for a brief moment.
    Been a long time . Feels good. Finally something real around here.
    The cold metal, clasped against his skin, took him back to a much different time. To what seemed to almost be another life. This whole fiasco was the second time in his young life that the government had taken him far from his comfort zone.
    Of course, the first time it was voluntary, completely of his own choosing. The GI Bill was hard to ignore in the late 1990s for someone who needed college money, and whose parents and whose grades were incapable of offering much more than encouragement. He endured basic training, but he