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Ready to head back out West with us? Good, because we’ve got some fun surprises… and dangers… that we need your help with!

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I may have miscalculated. Just a little.

Marin, on the other hand, didn’t think I’d messed up. She was convinced I’d created a disaster. These things she usually had a good insight on, but I was pretty sure it was just a mistake. She also had a tendency to overreact.

The wilderness surrounded us like a table of brown dirt and scrub brushes, there wasn’t another human being in sight. Sparse trees popped up here and there, perfect places for mountain lions and other sinister creatures to hide in. Overall, the land didn’t look all that promising for a good swim in lake Ontario. Where we were originally headed.

Yeah. I’d miscalculated.

“This isn’t Canada!” Marin exclaimed. “Můj bože! To je pustina! Tam je v dohledu žádná voda. Budeme zemřít žízní!”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. “I don’t understand you when you talk like that.”

For such a timid girl, she sure could be a ball of fire when she freaked out.

Marin whirled to face me, her blue eyes snapping as she placed her hands on her hips. “Forgive me, but České is my native tongue,” she stated crisply. “At least I learned your language.”

I didn’t even want to get into that argument. I knew if I did, we were going to be here for hours. “Fine. Whatever. All I’m saying is stop freaking out. Okay? Sheesh, you’d think I’d blown up Yellowstone the way you’re acting.”

Marin crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Technically you did, remember?”

I waved it off. “Past offenses. Now we need to figure out where we are.”

My young friend didn’t argue with that. Instead, she sighed and began to survey the landscape.

My watch confirmed that we had indeed arrived in the year 1880, which was the time we’d aimed to show up in Canada. The only problem was I hadn’t the faintest idea just where we were, hence the slight tiff Marin and I had. She didn’t like the idea of being in a strange land for several days, whereas I didn’t really care. As long as there was a nice lake to go swimming in, I was good.

“Well, since we aren’t sure where we are, why don’t we start walking?” I suggested. “We aren’t supposed to go back to the Island until Tuesday, so we might as well enjoy ourselves until that time. Whatdya say?”

Marin shrugged, her eyes clearly troubled. “I wish 4T wasn’t such a finicky time machine,” she muttered. “How could it get Canada mixed up with this place? It doesn’t look anything like Canada should!”

“How do you know?” I countered as we began to stride through the tall grass and brush. I thought I heard a strange rattling noise, but dismissed it as a cicada. “You’ve never actually been to Canada.”

“Canada has mountains, and is big, and green, and, and, not dry like this!”

“You have no imagination.”

She looked a little sheepish and tossed a blond braid over her shoulder. “All imagination I have came from you, Trevor. I never was very creative. Just practical.”

Rattle, rattle. There was that noise again. I stopped and listened, then waved it off. “Bugs are busy this time of year. I think it’s Summertime.”

At this, Marin looked a little annoyed. “Well, duh. I could have told you that.”

Rattle, rattle. Something was just ‘off’ about that sound. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t recall why, but I knew I’d heard it before and it hadn’t been fun. What was that sound?

“Hey Marin,” I began, “Maybe we shouldn’t-”

Marin stopped dead in her tracks. Her face turned white and she didn’t move a muscle. It was then that I remembered just what that familiar noise was.

Rattlesnake. And it was less than three feet away from Marin.

I froze, my mind reeling as I tried to process what was happening. What to do. What action to take!

“Great Loch,” I whispered. “Great, deep and monster-filled Loch!”

Marin didn’t reply, but I noted tears were beginning to form around her eyes. I had to do something!
The rattler tested the air with his tongue, then rattled his tail again as I inched forward. If I had a gun I could shoot the darn thing, but I didn’t have a single weapon on me. 4T wasn’t going to work because I couldn’t use it for another four days. And if I sent for a future self, he could cause the snake to strike!

So little time and no good options. Every second was a second wasted.

“Trevor,” Marin whimpered.

“Easy Marin,” I warned. “Don’t move. I’m thinking.”

“Trevor, please.”

Her voice was desperate. That edge of fear that crept in during the most dire situations was present. She was more than desperate- she was afraid she was going to die.

I hadn’t even heard the footsteps behind me until a click! Sounded in my ear, and the barrel of a rifle poked around my shoulder.

“What on eart-”

“Shuttup, don’t move and hold your breath,” a male voice whispered in my ear. “Kid, stay as still as a log. Take one step and that snake’s going to take a chunk of your leg. Not to mention I might accidently shoot you. Don’t move, okay?”

Marin didn’t move, but she rolled her eyes back to catch a glimpse of the man behind me.

The rifle barrel came forward a little more. The snake coiled, ready to strike. Whirrrr, whirrr, he warned, hissing as he proclaimed his dangerous poison.

Before I had a chance to leap back, the rifle fired, the snake bounced up and Marin was in my arms, sobbing like the little girl she was. I hadn’t moved a muscle, and now I wasn’t sure if I would be able to. The rifle shot rang in my ears and my senses were on overload.

Owww.

I glanced at the man next to me and noted his cowboy attire. Oh, we must be in the West, I decided. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a black vest. He was about my height, so probably six-foot-one or so. His face was set in a grim line, and he stared at the still writhing snake.

“You’re lucky I came along when I did,” he grunted. He checked his rifle barrel and then motioned to two other riders behind him. “That snake would have killed your kid there, mister.”

“Thank you,” I breathed.

Marin nodded, still too overcome with the close call to speak.

A girl about Marin’s age and a blond-haired cowboy walked over, their faces full of concern. The girl watched Marin sympathetically, then came over and put her hand on Marin’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’ve had more than my fair share of close calls,” she comforted.

Marin looked up, a little embaressed that the strangers were watching her.

“Thank you sir for saving me,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes. She glanced at the dark-haired girl, who was wearing her hair in braids like Marin’s.

The cowboy nodded, then gestured to me. “Mister, you do realize you’re trespassing on our property, right?”

I chuckled and wiped my head, glad to be off the topic of the near death experience and onto something a little less uncomfortable. “No, I didn’t. Real sorry ‘bout that, we’re kinda lost.”

“Kinda?” The blond cowboy raised an eyebrow. “If you’re Scottish like your accent suggests, then you’re more than lost.”

Thank you! For once someone didn’t call me Irish! “That’s right,” I answered. “My, uh, daughter and I are not quite sure where we are.”

The dark-haired girl grinned. “Why, you’re on Carter property!” She announced. “This is the Circle C Ranch. And we’re the Carters!”

I could’ve sworn Marin’s jaw dropped. I know mine did. Marin stared at the girl, then blinked. “You’re a Carter?” she whispered.

“I’m Chad Carter,” Chad introduced himself, shaking my hand. “This is my brother Mitch and our sister Andi.”

Andi nodded to Marin and smiled.

“I’m Trevor Trekker and this is Marin,” I replied. We all exchanged handshakes, though my mind was numb. Carter? Carter? The richest ranchers in California? Well, it confirmed one thing. We were in California. Darn time watch, it got California and Canada mixed up! That was strange.

“Where are your horses, Mr. Trekker?” Mitch asked.

“We lost them,” Marin offered up, casting an admiring glance at Andi. Andi was her hero, this would be like me meeting Einstein!

“You guys really don’t know what you’re doin’, do ya?” Chad muttered, a small grin crossing his face. “You might as well as come back to the ranch with us. We were rounding up a couple of strays from our herd when we chanced upon you.” He picked up the snake and surveyed it. “Looks to me we were just on time.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” I agreed.

“You can ride with me,” Andi offered to Marin. “Taffy can seat two people. Your father can ride the extra horse we brought along, Patch. Mitch’s horse has been acting a little lame lately, so we weren’t sure if he’d need to dismount and ride a different horse. It’s a good thing we brought him along!”

“Thank you for your kindness and for helping us,” Marin said. “We’re pleased to meet you.”

“Yeah,” I winked in Marin’s direction. “I think you just made Marin’s day.”

Come back next week for Part Two! Special Thanks to Susan Marlow for giving us permission to use the Carters in this story.