Marshall reaches down and turns the petcock on the large tank, presses the button on the handle bars and fires the big bike up. He pulls off the helmet and puts it on the sissy bar. Then he looks around, wondering where he is and which way is the way back to town. He picks a direction and spins the bike around, throwing dirt into the air. He rides for about three miles through this field.

"Where the hell is the damn road?" he mutters out loud. And brings the bike to a stop. He stands straddling the bike, trying to see as far as possible. Still no roads, no buildings.

"Where in blazes...?"

He hears a noise over the idle of the bike and looks behind himself. Horses in full gallop with riders coming hard and fast, the sounds of hoofbeats echoing into the distance, war cries.

"Oh shit!!" he says. As they get within 15 yards, he realizes they are armed with real swords and mean to test them on him. He twists the throttle hard on the bike. It responds instantly by breaking loose the rear wheel, throwing dirt in the air at the mounted riders...but going nowhere fast. He lets up on the throttle, trying not to panic as the riders have now close to within 8 yards. Again on the throttle, but not as hard and shifting quickly, he is soon at thirty...now forty and the riders are falling back. Fifty and they are well to the rear of him. Marshall wonders what that was all about and thinks for a moment he must be in Texas.

Riding along, he finds a dirt road heavily marred with wagon tracks. Marshall first thinks it is a four wheeler trail but soon notices the tracks are not wide enough for a four wheeler. He stops the bike and looks around again

"This just don't fit. What is going on here?"

He happens to look up and notices a large stone outcropping.

"That's odd," he muses, "I know that rock from somewhere. But, it should be in England."

Another sound comes from farther behind him. Knowing he cannot start the bike as quickly as needed, he shoves it into the bushes and hides. The oxcart rattles and squeaks as it approaches and then stops.

A wizened old voice asks "What are you doing to that bush, my son? You are surely not hidng behind it. I can see you just fine."

Marshall stands up and quickly looks around. As he stands, the old man gets a frightened look on his face and tries to get the old mule to go by slapping reins on his back. But the mule just stands there doing nothing.

"Please don't hurt me, Sir Knight, I meant no disrespect. You just keep doing whatever you were doing to that bush. I am not watching; see me eyes are closed."The old man was staring steadily down at the ground.

"Hey, old man. I ain't no damned old knight, I am a biker and I am lost. Where the hell is Springfield from here?"

Puzzled, the old man looks at the younger man and begins slowly shaking his head.

"Where in the hell indeed, Sir Knight. I have lived here for 55 years now and have never heard of a Springfeild.

Marshall laughs.

"You must not get out much then, old man. I need a phone or a computer; there are people I need to contact soon. How far from here do you live and can I use yours?"

The old man replies with a strange questioning look in his eyes, "I don't live far from here. And if I had any of those things in my home you surely could use them but,I don't so I suppose you can't use them then."

Marshall looks up at the old man on the wagon,"You are going to sit there and try to tell me you don't have a phone? What kind of fucking idiot do you take me for? This is 2001 and you don't have a fucking phone?" walking back and forth shaking his head. "Ok, so you don't have a phone, how about one of your neighbors, do any of them have a phone?"

The old man, not looking up, shakes his head slowly, "I have never before heard of the things of which you speak, Sir knight. I don't know what they are. And, it may be 2001, whatever that means, but the year is 1276; I do know that for sure."

Marshall laughs, a hard-sounding fake laugh.

"Yea, right, old man. Now, that's enough bullshit, help me load my bike on your wagon and take me to your place now."

The old man climbs from the wagon and helps Marshall, then they head for his home.

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