Both Jackson and Isabella stared at the gun.

  “No, you can’t have the crystal!” Isabella shouted defiantly.

  Robinson pointed the gun at her.

  “It’s worth a lot of money,” Robinson snapped, “Hand it to me, Isabella Thorne or whoever you are, I don’t really care. Just give it to me right now. Don’t make me shoot you.”

  “You better give it to him,” Jackson said to Isabella, “He looks just crazy enough to kill us both if he doesn’t get it.”

  Isabella hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached up to unclip the chain from her neck.

  There was a sudden sharp crack of thunder from close by. Robinson was distracted, turning his head in the direction of the sound. Jackson saw he had about a one second opening. Without thinking he launched himself at Robinson, grabbing his gun arm and forcing it up. A shot fired harmlessly into the air as the two men wrestled for control of the gun. Jackson managed to force Robinson’s gun hand violently into the gate post. Robinson howled in pain as he dropped the gun. Jackson punched his assailant in the face as hard as he could. Robinson dropped to the ground unconscious.

  “Jackson, we have to get to the hill,” Isabella shouted, “Look at the crystal.”

  He glanced at the crystal heart. It was glowing white.

  They opened the gate and ran through the pasture, and on up to the top of the hill.

  As they stood there panting a dark cloud approached, Jackson could feel his hair standing on end from the electricity in the air, and the crystal glowed even brighter.

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  “Quickly,” Isabella said urgently, “Put your fingers on the crystal while I do the same. We both need to be touching it when the lightning strikes.”

  Jackson followed her instruction, then used his free arm to wrap it tightly around Isabella. “I hope this works,” he shouted over the sound of the increasing wind.

  “It will work,” Isabella answered him, “I know it will.”

  “Isabella, I have something to ask you,” Jackson shouted, “If we make it safely to 1936 will you marry me?”

  She looked at him with her eyes shining, “Oh Mr Jackson, yes I most surely will.”

  Then she gasped in horror at the sight of Don Robinson staggering up to the top of the hill, his right arm limp by his side, and his left hand waving the gun in their direction.

  “Give that crystal to me right now or I’ll kill you both!” he screamed at them.

  “No!” Isabella shouted back, “It’s mine, you can’t have it.”

  “Then die!” Robinson yelled. He aimed the gun at them and pulled the trigger.

  At that exact instant there was a bright flash and a huge bang as the positive and negative charges between cloud and ground were equalised. The static discharge, or bolt of lightning, raced at the speed of light from the ground through Don Robinson’s body and up into the cloud.

  Jackson, holding as tightly as he could onto Isabella, felt a huge shock, then the feeling like he was flying through the air. Then everything went dark.