The Final Leap Note: When reading this, remember that in the series as well as the books, Dr. Samuel Beckett refers to Fate, God, Time, or Whoever is Leaping him around. Sam believed in a Higher Power; he just didn't have a specific name. Chapter One The flash of blue light was the same. It always happened this way. The triumph. The flash. The Leap. The confusion before the mission was made clear. This time was no different. Sam felt the familiar tugging as he entered another body, unfamiliar with his mind yet allowing him to remain. A few drops of rainwater splashed off the end of his nose, startling him. Sam shook his head, trying to clear away the fog from the last Leap. "Are you okay?" Sam found himself looking at a young man, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old, with brown hair and dark eyes hidden behind glasses. Glasses. That was why everything seemed fuzzy at the moment. He reached up towards his face and took off the glasses that were found there. He looked down at the water spots for a moment. "Come on, Sapphire. We're not waiting here all day. It's raining." The boy, no the young man, reached for the glasses, wiped them off on his sleeveless shirt and handed them back. Sam looked around and tried to get his bearings. He smiled slightly as he saw the large mountains looming around him. He saw a few familiar sights. Teenagers of all ages were walking towards an auditorium. It was a college campus. "Sorry, Grant." Sam jumped as a young woman, around fifteen, came up beside him. She looked enough like the young man that Sam decided they must be brother and sister. He smiled awkwardly at her before following the young man, obviously Grant, toward the arena where a rather large group was gathering. Sam suddenly realized that he was wet-very wet and it was rather chilly. However, being in the mountains, this didn't mean much. Sam stood with the pair outside of the arena as they waited for the doors to open. "When are the others coming?" The young woman, Sapphire, directed the question at Sam. "The others?" He stammered. "Yeah. Your brother, my sister, Craig, Nina, you know the others." Sapphire said. "Oh, them. Um," Sam looked to Grant for the answer. "Craig and Jordan said they'd be coming with Tony. I'm guessing Sinda and Marta will come with Chris. Conrad said he'd be right over. I don't know about Nina." Grant said, never taking his eyes off Sam. "What about your parents?" Sapphire asked Sam. "They're coming soon." Sam said slowly, hoping it was the right answer. He muttered under his breath, "all right, Al. Where are you?" "Right here, Sam." Came the familiar gravelly voice. Sam couldn't repress the smile. Suddenly, the doors opened and everyone began to flood inside the building. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up with you. I, uh, have to go to the bathroom." "Okay. We'll save the seats." Grant called back. Sapphire followed him, leaving Sam alone. "Over there, Sam." Al pointed to the left. Sam walked towards the bathrooms. Before he could enter, however, Al cleared his throat. "The other one, Sam." "Oh, boy." Sam said, realizing what his friend meant. "I'm a woman again?" "Bingo." Al said. "Let's go. It should be empty right now." With a sigh, Sam entered the women's bathroom. He walked over to a mirror and looked at his reflection. He saw a young woman with long blond hair, pulled back in a French braid. He saw green eyes hidden behind wire rimmed glasses. Her face was rather plain but her figure was slender and attractive. "You are Trinity Psyche King and you're sixteen, almost seventeen, years old. You're in Ft.Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University to be exact. It's July 28, 1997." "1997?" Sam said, turning to face the hologram. "This is after I first Leaped, isn't it?" "You remember!" "Not exactly. I remember that it was in the 90's and I'm guessing that this is after it." Sam said. Al studied Sam for a moment before answering. "You're right. I can't tell you exactly what date, but it was before 1997." "What year is it there?" Sam asked. "Sa-am! You know I can't tell you that!" Al glared at his best friend. Sam paused before sighing and asking, "why am I here?" Al looked at the handlink that was blinking and glowing in his hand. "Ziggy says that there's a ninety-two point six chance that you're here to save the lives of a bunch of kids." "What kids-oh, those two. Um, Grant and Sapphire, right?" Al consulted the handlink again. "That would be Grant and Sapphire Jackson. Grant's twin is, uh, Sinda. Grant and Sapphire are your best friends and so is a girl name Nin." "Nin?" Sam asked. Al slapped the handlink against his palm. "Oh, Nina. Nina Matthews. You and she go to school together." "Nevermind that, Al. Why am I here, exactly?" "Ziggy says that it's raining." Al looked at the handlink, puzzled. "Raining?" "Yeah, it's raining. What about it?" Sam asked, equally confused. "Raining? Come on, Ziggy! Gushie, tell him to quit messing around!" Al yelled. He slapped the handlink again. "Oh, it's raining. Um, Sam, Ziggy says that there's a flood tonight and the whole group that you're here with*well, you all d-die." "What do you mean there's a flood, Al?" Sam said. "Colorado doesn't get more than point o'eight inches of rain this time of year." He stopped. "How did I know that?" "Nevermind that now, Sam." Al said. "What's important is that you have to keep that whole group of kids inside here all night." "Okay. Give me the list of who I have to keep here and I'll do that." Sam said, turning around and staring in disbelief at the reflection of the teenage girl in the mirror. "Well, you have the Jacksons. That's Sapphire, Grant and Sinda. Then there's Nina, Grant's best friend Conrad Josephs, Sinda's best friend Marta Jiles and a boy from California named Chris." "What about, um, my brother? I think Grant said his name was J- something." Sam said. "Yeah," Al consulted the handlink. "That would be Jordan and his friend Craig Bison. They lived." "They lived? Weren't they with the others?" Sam asked. "No. In the original history, Craig and Jordan were hanging out with a friend of theirs from California. Someone named Tony, I think. But, here's the thing, Sam. Not only does the whole group but those two die. Um, well*" Al paused. "What, Al? What is it?" Sam could sense that something was wrong. "It seems that your parents are here too. They're the youth leaders of your youth group, who is who you're here with. Well, they die, too."