Marci hurried to her dorm room and nearly fainted when she saw Amber there, typing away at her laptop.
"What are you doing?" Marci quickly shut the door behind her. "Shouldn't you be out there kicking cowgirl butt?"
"I got something." Amber turned the laptop so Marci could see the screen. "Her name is Rachel Redmond. In the 1860s, her parents decided to relocate to the Old West. But it wasn't old then, it was a land of new opportunities."
Marci sat down on her bed. "It didn't work out that way?"
"The Redmonds staked a claim on a piece of land that was basically unfarmable. But there were rumors of gold deposits in the soil."
"How would that become a rumor?"
"Not sure," Amber said. "But history records that bandits attacked the Redmond land, killing both of Rachel's parents. She had just turned thirteen."
"Damn," Marci said. "What happened to Rachel?"
"That's where history gets a little blurry," Amber said. "A year later, a group of bandits rode through the town of Blueflower, Nevada, stealing money and goods from the up and down its small but growing main street. Shortly thereafter, according to a rarely-spoken-of legend, a young girl dressed as a cowboy stormed the bandits' hideout, singlehandedly killing them all and then returning the townspeople's goods to them. Some believe this girl might have been the long-lost Rachel Redmond, traveling along through the West, shooting down criminals wherever she found them."
"That's badass," Marci said. "How come no one's ever heard of her?"
"Because it's all just rumor and myth, unsubstantiated, about a gun-toting young girl fighting crooks, with no real evidence. After her parents' deaths, some Old West towns show that a 'Rachel Redmond' might have visited, and that is all until early 1864, when she vanished without a trace at age sixteen."
Marci put two and two together. "Oh, no."
Amber slumped in her desk chair. "If Rachel had continued on her path, she might have become one of the Old West's greatest gunfighters. But, instead, she's a footnote in history."
"Because Liz pulled her out of 1864 and into our time."
Amber nodded.
"That poor girl," Marci said. "She must be so frightened and confused. Why aren't you out there looking for her?"
"Security put up that field so fast, Rachel must still be hiding somewhere on campus. I figured I'd gather some information until she makes herself known."
"But security could have her right now."
"If they did, the stasis field would..."
The floor rumbled, followed by the sound of an explosion in the distance.
"There she is." Amber stood up and pressed her left index finger and middle finger against her right palm. The room filled with light. Marci was ready for it this time, shielding her eyes. When the light faded, Future Girl stood in Marci's place.
"One of these days, we need to talk about the leggy blonde cheerleader look," Marci said.
"One of these days." Future Girl smiled. She then opened their dorm room window, removed the screen, and flew out of it, disappearing into the sky. Marci went ahead and replaced the screen, and then decided she had better see how all this ended up. She went downstairs and outside, walking in the direction Future Girl had flown.
* * * *
Marci wasn't the only one curious, as several of her fellow students ran toward the sound of the explosion. Marci spotted Liz and Wendall in the crowd and caught up with them.
"I can't believe all this is because of my project," Liz said.
"I can't believe it, either," Wendall said.
Marci gave Liz a hug. "You get used to that feeling, except maybe you don't."
Overhead, Marci saw the cowgirl Rachel fly by on the S.T.E.E.D., with Future Girl in pursuit. They whizzed in streaks across the sky a few more times.
"Wendall, your S.T.E.E.D. must be pretty fast if it's keeping up with Future Girl," Marci said.
"Yeah, it's a total hot rod," Wendall said. "Are you impressed, Liz?"
"I can't believe they can just push a button and trap us all on campus," Liz said, not acknowledging Wendall's existence. "Isn't that a human rights violation?"
"You're right," Wendall said.
"Come on," Marci said. "Let's go see what blew up."
A large fire burned on the lawn in front of the administration building. Marci assumed it was from Rachel testing one of the experimental guns, or using them against Future Girl.
Campus security officers, wearing their hazmat suits, had set up a perimeter around the fire, keeping the curious students away from the scene.
A loud boom erupted overhead, causing Marci and the others to cover their ears. Marci deduced that Rachel and Future Girl must be chasing each other in a circle in the sky around the perimeter of the campus.
Marci, Liz, and Wendall watched the sky for a few more moments, hoping to see some more of the chase, then watched as the more security arrived with eco-friendly fire extinguishers to put out the fire in minutes.
It seemed as if the excitement had died down, and Marci was about to suggest returning to the dorms.
Then there was more commotion above them, and Marci saw Rachel stillaboard the S.T.E.E.D., heading downward right at them.
# # # #
Next: Not so ordinary.