Prologue
Ben closed the door to the cabin quietly. He did not want to wake Dani just yet. It was just past 4:00 am and the air was cold and damp. He was still a little weak from the dive and was not used to breathing air that was so cold. He had lungs that were larger and stronger than most individuals and that is why he was chosen to be a Diver however, the air on his home world was much drier and warmer than this. In the region that he lived in, the temperature stayed an even 80-90 degrees all year.
They had stayed in a small cabin not far from the shores of Lake Crescent. It was unfortunate that the deepest part of the lake was not closer to the end that they now needed to travel to or there would have been no need for a cabin for the night. Looking out over the crystal clear water, he saw their destination. It was a large lodge style cabin on the other side of the lake. Smoke was drifting out from the chimney so he knew their host would already be up, preparing for their visit. He walked to the shore to see if the canoe that was promised would be there waiting. It was tied up to a small dock. Upon reaching the end of the dock and inspecting the canoe for the appropriate gear and supplies, he spied a note attached to one of the paddles. It was from Rob, their soon to be host. “I hope your accommodations were acceptable. I am certain they are not what you are used to but it was the best that I could do on short notice. Please make sure you leave nothing behind in the cabin. There can be no evidence of your presence. Do not tell Dani about me or the archives until I have had a chance to speak with her. I will explain everything to her in due time. You must be on the water before the sun breaks so as to avoid detection. I will see you soon. Robert”. Ben had met Rob on one of his previous visits but then he had come alone unencumbered by a novice diver like Dani. They had been introduced by another Archive Caretaker when Ben had completed a dive to Lake Chelan. Lake Crescent was the closest freshwater lake to where the Olympic branch of the NW Archives were housed. Robert’s predecessors had built the Archive building in an underground vault that could withstand the worst of catastrophes. It was completely hidden from any curious and prying eyes in the rain forest, just beyond the lodge.
It was time to wake up Dani and get moving. She still had no idea what future lay in store for her. Ben was more than happy to let Rob tell her that she would be staying here, on Earth, and not returning to the place that she had come to know as home.
SKIMMER
There are people in this world who refer to them as skipping rocks, skipping stones, and skimming stones. For the purpose of this book, we will call them skimming stones and the person who throws them is a “Skimmer”.
Chapter 1
Simon and Steven were always competing. Since they were children they tried to best each other at everything. They finally came to the conclusion that they were pretty evenly matched at most things with one exception. Simon could skim stones across a body of water like nobody’s business. He had tried for a very long time to beat the standing record of 51 which had stood for 120 years. The name of Mr. Byers would be on the Guiness World Record book until someone came along and set a new one. Simon was determined to find the perfect stone that would accomplish that feat. Unfortunately, you can only throw the perfect stone once. Then you have to throw another one that you think is perfect and keep going until you are able to accomplish your goal. Steven would typically get pretty bored watching Simon pitching stones into any lake they seemed to be able to find so as was his way, he would think of ways that this skimming thing could make money and be fun.
