Voyagers!: Asylum is my sequel to 'A Voyager in need.' Where I first introduced the plucky and quirky character, Lilly Morgan. :)

The weather was unusually warm for a January day in downtown Boston; at least Voyager Lilly Morgan thought so as she pulled at her blue, woolen dress to fan herself. She hoisted her black knapsack higher. There weren’t many places around here to change to her favorite outfit-jeans, a peasant blouse and brown vest. Lilly was thoroughly exhausted with playing nursemaid and vivandiere to the Union soldiers. It was 1861 on her last assignment and the Civil war was in full swing. Her omni was red and she had to make sure that Miss Ella Gibson was chosen as the ‘Daughter of the regiment’ for the 49th Ohio regiment at Camp Dennison. Lilly initially had a rough time trying to figure out the cause of the red light. She had never heard of vivandieres, but she quickly learned their small, but vital role in that part of history.

The ideal vivandiere was an attractive young woman - perhaps the daughter of an officer or wife of a non-commissioned officer. She flounced around wearing a nice looking costume and braving the battle to care for wounded soldiers on the battlefield. The most important job she held was as a nurse. She would carry a cask of spirits or a canteen of water, giving a wounded or sick soldier immediate attention. Some of the vivandieres were well armed for self-defense, and carried a sword, rifle or pistols. Lilly reluctantly carried a sword in her belt, but was thankful she never had to use it.

Ella Gibson was the Colonel’s daughter. She was a bit haughty for Lilly's liking, but history was history. Lilly had to convince Ella not to fall for a Confederate soldier, because it turned out to be a ploy to get the Colonel’s battle plans. That was easier said than done. Ella accused her of being jealous and picked a big fight. Lilly strongly believed that she invented woman’s mud wrestling that day. The soldiers had a ball watching them fight it out. They clawed, scratched, and dunked one another until one kind gentleman had the decency to break it up. Lilly won fair and square. However, she had broken her vow to never be a muddy mess after the wagon collapse with Calamity Jane four months earlier. Regardless, the plot was uncovered and the Colonel wanted Lilly to participate in the parade. She disappeared before it actually started.

“At least Miss Hoity Toity made it to her parade in one piece! Daughter of the regiment indeed!" Lilly muttered.

She didn’t tell Ella that her Confederate sweetheart had more than a passing interest in her too. One day he had been injured in a minor skirmish and Lilly nobly nursed him back to health. He tried to woo her, but she refused him. He was, after all, a traitor and playboy. Those were traits she had no patience for.

“A traitor that looked like George Clooney!” She grumbled and kicked at the sidewalk.

Wagons passed her by, loaded down with burlap sacks of sugar and other freights. Lilly rolled up her dress sleeves and tied back her coppery, long hair. The omni read January 15th 1919. The air was sickeningly sweet smelling, though most of the passerby barely took notice. The majority of the people in this section were working class men and women, and quite a number of them were Italian immigrants.

“Who’s eating Aunt Jemima’s?” She held her nose.

Lilly cast a look around. To her left was an elevated railway and to her right was an open field with a number of smaller buildings scattered ahead. The area was known as Copp’s Hill, a harbor town and Navy yard, and like she guessed, home to Boston’s ‘Little Italy’ section. On the right of these buildings was a giant, crudely painted, brown tank about five stories high. A gust of air blew upon her and she realized the syrupy odor wafted from the structure.

“Oh cool, a molasses factory. What I wouldn’t give for some pancakes right now…but not Ihop…they aren’t so hot, the pancakes at VHQ were delicious.” She rambled as she continued to stroll toward the town.

Lilly took further note of her surroundings. This was mostly a business territory, but she had to laugh at the children that ran happily thorough the streets as they played stickball and kicked cans. She was very tempted to join them, but tried to keep in mind a Voyager rule. ‘Never linger too long in a green-light zone, because your mere presence is making cosmic changes in the flux of history.’ Sometimes that was very taxing on her, because it meant jumping from one critical situation to the next without much time for R&R. She decided to wait on changing her clothes, however, she did need a little rest. In a small park, she found a row of benches under a statue of Paul Revere. Old men sat huddled nearby in shabby coats and gloves, arguing in Italian over games of checkers. She smiled at them and one of them kissed his fingers and threw his arms in the air with a shout.

“Una bella ragazza! Una bella faccia! Una bambola di bambino!”

Lilly laughed and continued to observe the bustling street and children. She was going to be strict with herself and skip a meal; she had eaten well with the Colonel’s cooks and even shared some recipes. Most came from the Kentucky Fried Chicken menu she remembered. Lilly’s memories of her life in 2007 before voyaging had been coming back to her in recent months but she didn’t bring the matter up to anyone at VHQ. After a little investigating, it turned out that VHQ decided to lower the dosage of the memory suppressant. This move was fully implemented after a certain trial with a Voyager and his young partner. That Voyager was Phineas Bogg.

At the mere thought of him, Lilly blushed. Phineas and Jeffrey had accompanied her on some rip-roaring adventures when she was still a rookie in the field. They learned that it was partly because VHQ was testing out their new ‘three light’ omni. She opened hers again and ran her fingers over the interior. The yellow light was a signal light. VHQ wanted all Voyagers to work more fully as a team, so they instituted the Voyager’s Assist or VAP program.

Phineas and Jeffrey were her temporary helpers. If she ever ran into a situation where she needed them, she could press the button above the yellow light. It would signal on Phineas’ omni by a series of steady beeps that could even be heard with it was closed. The omni would adjust its settings and lock on her location. As soon as they could, the boys would show up to assist her. It had been a while since she had seen them. At first meeting, Phineas seemed brusque and irritable. However, he turned out to be fun loving, kind and charming, just as she imagined when she would look at his happy pictures at the displays around VHQ.

Lilly constantly tried to keep her mind focused on work. Phineas Bogg was a busy young man too, having to take on the role of father to twelve-year-old Jeffrey Jones. Whenever they met up it was often like seeing a favorite cousin or brother after a long hiatus. However, that didn’t quell the butterflies in her when they were together. She would sometimes wonder if she was his type. When she heard he liked blondes she let him in on a secret. She was naturally a dark blonde, but preferred to experiment with browns and reds.

Contrary to what she had been told, Lilly soon realized that Phineas appreciated women of all types. Then she wondered about her height. He was a good three or four inches taller, but her five ten frame was always a source of embarrassment for her. This was especially throughout history where men tended to be much shorter. She often contributed that to less integration of races and cultures. Phineas had made her feel special on a few occasions by referring to her ‘pretty eyes.’ He liked their native, almond shape she inherited from her Cherokee roots. She heard through the grapevine at VHQ that he thought she was plain ‘pretty,’ but he said it with as much admiration as if it were the words ‘beautiful’ or ‘gorgeous.’

Lilly often felt possessive over Phineas whenever other female Voyagers expressed their interests and desires to know him. Yet, she adamantly refused to make claims or assume to any relationship. Sometimes she would be jealous of Olivia Dunne when she thought of how she and Phineas carried on a little romance. Olivia was a tough cookie, but even she would crumble under Phineas’ charms. A Voyager lived a life of sacrifice and if that meant giving up any potential love interests, Lilly concluded she would try her best. VHQ had given her a second chance at life and she sincerely desired to help keep history on the right course.

Lilly looked up at a clock on one of the storefronts, it was 12:25. “Just five more minutes, and I’ll be set to go.” She sighed.

She focused on the vat again. The smells were getting to her senses. They made her desire everything sweet and crave Boston baked beans. She imagined the tons and tons of molasses that was in there now, churning and bubbling. She got up and stretched out her arms, walking further down the street. She opened her omni and was about to leave when she heard it. There was a distinct, but muffled rumble from the vat. Every head turned and watched in horror as it’s weak bolts popped one by one. They shot through the air like mini cannon balls. Brown goop was forcing it's way through the edges, and then the entire vat burst open.

Chunks and shards of metal went flying like shellfire. They knocked the support beams of the EL line train track. A large chunk rammed into a freight house and Lilly screamed, realizing that men were having lunch. It was flattened instantly, killing those inside. From the distance she heard a loud crash and people screamed from the EL Line. The train pulled its brake to a halt just as it reached the collapsed part of the tracks. Lilly and everyone else around her froze and shrieked in terror as a fifteen-foot wave of molasses made it’s way toward them. The force of the wave instantly flattened another house and crushed a woman to her death. Lilly's finger hit the yellow light button and she ran as fast as she could. Her biggest concern were the children about to be swallowed into a syrupy grave.

-Oo-

Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones had just exited the Civil War, May 1863-The Battle of Chancellorsville. They had to assist Union General Hooker across the Rappahannock River to attack General Lee's forces. Lee split his army, attacking a surprised Union army in three places and almost completely defeated them. The South was triumphant that time, but it was a costly battle with many Confederate casualties. Jeffrey was a little peeved that Bogg stuck around to aid the wounded Confederates and he was given a prime lecture on the value of human life that night when they set up their tent.

“You have to understand something, kid. We can’t travel through history expecting everything to be laid out in black and white. We can’t wear rose-colored glasses and white wash history! As much as I try to shield you from things, I know you’ve seen more than any kid your age is supposed to or should ever have to!”

Jeffrey knew his partner meant business when Phineas knelt down to his level with his calm hand on his shoulder. His blue-eyed gaze was steady and firm.

“Look, Jeff, these soldiers may have been fighting for the other side, but they are still people that need our help on an individual basis. I would never deny that to anyone if it were in my power.”

“So... you would help murderers and criminals and people like that?” Jeffrey replied tartly.

“I didn’t say that, Jeff. We don’t know all the intricate little details of the time zone, the history, or the nature of the person for that matter. In fact, I’ve come across many fine Southerners in my early days of voyaging. We can only presume on what we learned and what the guidebook tells us. What I mean is, sometimes we have to make judgment calls and be good Samaritans.”

Jeffrey could tell Phineas was on his last nerve and was trying not to scold harshly again. The battle had worn him out, as well as witnessing all the senseless deaths around them. Earlier in the day, Phineas demanded that Jeffrey remain in a tent far from the battlefield, but he sneaked out. That decision nearly proved fatal when Jeffrey was caught in the range of canon fire. Phineas risked his life and literally plowed through the battle lines dodging the explosions to bring him back to safety. Jeffrey didn’t move a muscle after Phineas yelled at him more sternly than he had ever heard him before.

Jeffrey decided right now to agree with Phineas and end the conversation. He understood a little more, but still clung to his childish views. Ever since they had the omni upgrade, VHQ made sure they didn’t leave without the guidebook. For some reason, Jeffrey felt like that in itself was a red light. He had gotten completely used to not having it. However, he would have been lost with no knowledge of this particular battle and other previous voyages. Phineas was right, correcting history wasn’t an easy task and a seventh grade history level would only carry them so far.

After setting up the tent and hunkering down for the night, Phineas was awakened three times to care for a dying Confederate soldier named Thomas. Phineas sponged and treated his wound and tried to quell his shivering, and the man kept moaning odd tidbits about a nurse named Lillia, fried chicken and female mud fighting. Phineas tried to humor him by asking him questions. The soldier was demanding nurse Lillia’s care and described her in starry-eyed detail. She was ‘statuesque and shapely, with pretty hazel eyes and hair like an autumn leaf.’ Phineas was very curious about her and in the soldier’s dying breath he said her full name, ‘Lillia Morgan.’

Phineas had to hold back his surprise; his curiosity was satisfied. Only Lilly and mud would be used in the same sentence. He wondered how Lilly was faring, he hadn’t heard from her in a long while. Phineas sadly helped bury the soldier before the dawn and finally passed into a fitful sleep. He dreamed of a wintry train wreck and a collapsed Incan Rope Bridge. Those were two adventures where the trio barely made it out alive. His fading dreams upon waking up were dancing with Lilly in a decorated ballroom and she was in a stunning, emerald dress. Cold water splashed upon his face just as he was kissing her.

“Time to go, Romeo!” Jeffrey said crankily, rubbing his eyes. “You kept me up all night with your moaning, I thought you caught dysentery or something.”

Phineas wiped the water off quickly and sat up in a huff. “Stop exaggerating, Jeff. I wasn’t even in the tent all night. Heh! Some nursemaid you would be! Imagine I did have a plague! I’d probably be left to die!”

“Oh, can it, Bogg! You know I wouldn’t. I’d travel for days to find a cure! Honest!”

“Ha! So you would leave me to die all alone with strangers then?” Phineas teased him.

“Bogg, c’mon! The camp is pulling out. I think we should get going too.”

Jeffrey was holding the omni and grabbed his arm before he could protest. Within a blink they were through the cosmos. Thanks to the new landing feature, they instantly appeared in the next time zone.

-Oo-

It was a particularly sunny day and the omni was green, which was a big relief to the Voyagers. Jeffrey was still getting used to not landing on their tubas and sometimes wished Phineas still had his old model. However, that relic had outlived its usefulness. They nearly fell to their deaths with Lilly on the rope bridge because it had went dead. On the other hand, the instant voyages were a joy to Phineas. He was tired of having to twist into all sorts of crazy contortions just to avoid knocking out Jeffrey’s teeth with his boot or flailing arms. The kid was getting bigger by the month, and his landings on Phineas were becoming a bit painful. The new omni feature certainly prevented them from dropping in undesirable places, like quicksand, or the midst of a raging war.

“Where are we now, Bogg?”

“It doesn’t really matter, we got the green so we can get going.”

“Already? I’m starving, we didn’t have breakfast!”

“According to this nifty clock, it’s way past lunch time here, and hey, don’t blame me, you’re the one who omnied us out.”

“Alright…but still, can’t we just stay and eat something? Please?” He begged. “You kept mumbling about chicken in your sleep and it made me so hungry, why can’t we ever land near a KFC?”

Bogg walked toward the dirt path and tossed up his arms with a shrug. “Beats me! I don’t even know what that is!” He checked his omni. “This is London, 1835.”

“Kentucky Fried Chicken…It’s a fast food joint, it’s awesome!”

“Ya see! We were in the South before, we could have had some of their food, same thing…” Bogg muttered, still moving forward.

“Naw, it’s not the same…forget it, maybe this road leads to town and we can find a restaurant or something. Let’s hope we don’t run into pickpockets again! You better hide that omni.”

Phineas clasped it back to his belt and then passed a brown, carryall bag to Jeffrey. It was Lilly who convinced him to keep a bag of tricks and it did come in handy on their travels. He stuck a piece of beef jerky in his mouth and chewed noisily. Jeffrey passed on it, as usual.

“I was hoping to find an inn and catch a nap. So lets keep moving before I change my mind. We’ll just follow the river, there’s always bound to be people near water.” Phineas noted.

The Voyagers walked briskly, enjoying the cool air and admiring the nature around them. Phineas suddenly put out his arm, stopping Jeffrey.

"Do you hear that? It's almost inhuman."

Jeffrey walked to the center of the road, and peered down. "Yeah..it's coming this way too!"

They both made out the sound of pounding hooves. A train of carriages charged in their direction and the deafening wails of screaming children carried on from within them. The driver was shouting and violently whipped his steed to go faster. Phineas and Jeffrey both leaped onto opposites sides of the road. Jeffrey stumbled backwards and lost his balance. With a shrill yell, he felt himself tumbling down a rough embankment and then splashed into a torrent. Phineas watched in horror as Jeffrey disappeared off the hillside. When the carriages finally passed, he raced toward the edge and clamored down the hill. Jeffrey’s head popped up from the water and he vainly tried to grab at the tree branches and rocks. He saw Phineas by the edge of the stream and calling his name.

"Jeffrey! Where are you? Jeffrey!"

“Bogg! Help me! I’m here! Bogg!”

Phineas glared in his direction and took a running dive into the cold waters. He allowed its surge to push him in Jeffrey’s course. It was frustrating because the closer he came to reaching him: the further Jeffrey went.

“Jeffrey! Keep your head above water!” Phineas shouted, noticing the boy falling under a few times.

Jeffrey tried to swim toward his friend, but he couldn't reach him. The water became rockier and he was banged around.

“Bogg! Please! Hurry!”

He turned his head and noticed the drop over a jagged edge.

“Waterfall!” He screamed, but Phineas didn’t hear him. The older Voyager’s body careened into a jagged stone that stunned him and he was lurched backward, sinking underwater.

“No! Bogg!”

Jeffrey flew over the waterfall edge. It was surprisingly not too high, but he landed roughly into the deep stream below. He rose sputtering and swam to dry land. He yanked the grass with aggravated cries. He staggered to his feet and was about to run toward the river when a gnarled hand grabbed his shoulder, pressing hard on his nerves.

“Well, lookie here! Owen! I found another one of these runaway scamps! I told you they wouldn’t get far!”

Jeffrey looked up at the grungy man with anger, but couldn’t shake himself out of his grasp.

“Let me go, you jerk! I have to help my friend!”

He kicked the man in his shins and he yelped loudly. Jeffrey took off toward the woods but was halted by the crack of a whip just an inch from his head. The man with the whip smiled deviously, revealing a row of blackened teeth.

“You are not going anywhere but back to Brocklehurst Asylum where ye came from! Let’s go!”

The other man came up behind him and lifted him off the ground. He tossed him over his shoulder and Jeffrey pounded against his back,

“Put me down! I don’t belong anywhere with you! I’m not from here! I have to help my friend! Bogg!”

The hunters ignored him and carried him off to the carriage waiting by the roadside.

-Oo-

Phineas found his way to the surface but quickly dropped over the waterfall. He splashed into the stream but didn’t rise right away. He swam around in a panic searching for Jeffrey. When his lungs were about to give out, he burst up from the water, gasping with a loud cry. Jeffrey could have only come this direction. Phineas kept diving under and deeper, checking every crevice and behind every floating plant or shrub for his lost partner. He finally came up and wearily crawled to the land, sobbing. Jeffrey was nowhere to be found.

In the distance he heard the wild carriages again and hopped to his feet, his body was scraped and aching. He rushed up the hillside and back toward the road. A giant cloud of dust encircled him. Shielding his eyes, he saw the rear of a large carriage. It looked like a prisoner stagecoach, with black steel bars on a little, square window. The children’s ardent and distressed voices drifted toward him and he distinctly heard Jeffrey’s repeated cries for him.

"Bogg! Where are you! Bogg! Help me!..."

Phineas was too far behind to make a successful chase and he fell to his knees, pounding the dirt in frustration.

“No! No! No! Stop! Jeffrey!”

Phineas thought he had never shouted so loudly in his life. He choked, feeling his throat grow hoarse. He wiped his mouth and eyes and stood up with a burning rage, nobody was going to take his kid away from him. As he forged up the road his omni beeped crazily. He flicked it off his belt and found both his red light now blinking and the yellow one pulsing. He ran a hand through his damp hair with irritation as he read the date.

Boston, January 15th 1919.

“Of course! Of all the times! I can only imagine what’s she's up to! She’s accident prone, a klutz! A harebrain…a…” Phineas calmed his rant, it was not entirely true and Lilly would be very hurt if she knew he felt that way. It was really his anger talking.

“Alright! I’m coming for ya, Lillia! And then you are coming back here with me and we are going to find Jeff!”

Phineas gritted his teeth and hit the yellow light, totally unprepared for what was to come.