was
defensively cupping himself, likely in an attempt to preserve what
little dignity he had left, as well as protect himself from anymore
curious scavengers.
“The conductivity was poor,” Jason
mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“How could I’ve been so stupid?” he
continued. The machine works because of the electrical charge. The
same charge that passes through the core then passes through us,
linking us to the machine at the exact moment of transition.”
“We were good conductors but our clothes
weren’t,” Derek finished Jason’s thought.
“Exactly and since they weren’t good
conductors, while they were attached to us, they weren’t
technically connected to the machine and therefore were left
behind.”
“Speaking of behind,” Derek motioned behind
Jason who jumped, expecting to see another rat quickly approaching
for another inspection.
Other than their first, furry visitor, now
chewing at the corner of one of the boxes, they were alone.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Jason
motioned, unamused as he spared one hand from its protective duty
to pick up the briefcase.
The two made their way back into the
cage.
“Give me the wires. I’ll hook ‘em back up,”
Derek held out his hand.
“We don’t need to do that,” Jason responded,
unsure why the reasoning, that was so obvious to him, seemed to
elude his equally intelligent friend. “We’ve already caught up with
time. If we go back to where we started we’ll be going back to the
exact moment that we watched ourselves disappear.”
He could tell that Derek was processing the
information.
“Jello, right?”
“It’s too risky and completely unnecessary
since we’re already here,” Jason reaffirmed his logic.
“Can I at least get dressed then?” Derek
motioned to the pile of clothing on the floor.
“Please do.”
SEVEN
The lamp post lined entrance to the Turtle Creek
apartments joined the car’s gauges in illuminating the interior of
the Chevy Impala as Ty crept to a stop. Anticipating that the
large, wrought iron barrier would momentarily slide out of the way,
he waited but received no welcome from the automated gate.
“Fucking thing,” he sighed, annoyed at the
still malfunctioning scanner.
For a month now it had been on the fritz,
scanning the resident barcode on his window only half the time.
Setting the car in reverse, he checked behind him and slowly backed
up, again passing the scanner, then put the car in drive and rolled
forward for a second time.
It still didn’t budge.
“Really?”
He was going to have to buzz the apartment
to get inside. Though he knew his Grandmother was eager for an
update, it was nearly one in the morning and at the ripe old age of
83, she was most likely passed out on the couch, having succumbed
to the sandman while awaiting the phone call he’d never made.
Putting the car in reverse again, intending
to use the visitor’s turn out where the call box stood, Ty began to
back up. He considered randomly dialing another apartment, but what
would he say when the groggy voice on the other end answered? He
couldn’t claim to be FedEx making a middle of the night delivery.
On the other hand, Everyone knew that the gate wasn’t working.
Maybe he could just tell them the truth and they’d buzz him through
the damn thing. No. The odds of finding a friendly night owl were
slim. “Fuck off,” would be the likely response. Grandma Ushi was
his only option. Either that or spend the night parked on the side
of the road.
As he rolled passed the scanner and prepared
to pull into the visitor’s lane, a soft, electronic click drew his
attention back to the gate, followed by the sound of the motor
engaging as the metal guard began to slowly step aside.
“Thank you,” he sighed in relief as he
placed the car in drive and slipped through the gate.
Ahead on the left stood the main office
where the mailboxes, fitness center and pool were. He turned left
at the side road just before it, following
defensively cupping himself, likely in an attempt to preserve what
little dignity he had left, as well as protect himself from anymore
curious scavengers.
“The conductivity was poor,” Jason
mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“How could I’ve been so stupid?” he
continued. The machine works because of the electrical charge. The
same charge that passes through the core then passes through us,
linking us to the machine at the exact moment of transition.”
“We were good conductors but our clothes
weren’t,” Derek finished Jason’s thought.
“Exactly and since they weren’t good
conductors, while they were attached to us, they weren’t
technically connected to the machine and therefore were left
behind.”
“Speaking of behind,” Derek motioned behind
Jason who jumped, expecting to see another rat quickly approaching
for another inspection.
Other than their first, furry visitor, now
chewing at the corner of one of the boxes, they were alone.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Jason
motioned, unamused as he spared one hand from its protective duty
to pick up the briefcase.
The two made their way back into the
cage.
“Give me the wires. I’ll hook ‘em back up,”
Derek held out his hand.
“We don’t need to do that,” Jason responded,
unsure why the reasoning, that was so obvious to him, seemed to
elude his equally intelligent friend. “We’ve already caught up with
time. If we go back to where we started we’ll be going back to the
exact moment that we watched ourselves disappear.”
He could tell that Derek was processing the
information.
“Jello, right?”
“It’s too risky and completely unnecessary
since we’re already here,” Jason reaffirmed his logic.
“Can I at least get dressed then?” Derek
motioned to the pile of clothing on the floor.
“Please do.”
SEVEN
The lamp post lined entrance to the Turtle Creek
apartments joined the car’s gauges in illuminating the interior of
the Chevy Impala as Ty crept to a stop. Anticipating that the
large, wrought iron barrier would momentarily slide out of the way,
he waited but received no welcome from the automated gate.
“Fucking thing,” he sighed, annoyed at the
still malfunctioning scanner.
For a month now it had been on the fritz,
scanning the resident barcode on his window only half the time.
Setting the car in reverse, he checked behind him and slowly backed
up, again passing the scanner, then put the car in drive and rolled
forward for a second time.
It still didn’t budge.
“Really?”
He was going to have to buzz the apartment
to get inside. Though he knew his Grandmother was eager for an
update, it was nearly one in the morning and at the ripe old age of
83, she was most likely passed out on the couch, having succumbed
to the sandman while awaiting the phone call he’d never made.
Putting the car in reverse again, intending
to use the visitor’s turn out where the call box stood, Ty began to
back up. He considered randomly dialing another apartment, but what
would he say when the groggy voice on the other end answered? He
couldn’t claim to be FedEx making a middle of the night delivery.
On the other hand, Everyone knew that the gate wasn’t working.
Maybe he could just tell them the truth and they’d buzz him through
the damn thing. No. The odds of finding a friendly night owl were
slim. “Fuck off,” would be the likely response. Grandma Ushi was
his only option. Either that or spend the night parked on the side
of the road.
As he rolled passed the scanner and prepared
to pull into the visitor’s lane, a soft, electronic click drew his
attention back to the gate, followed by the sound of the motor
engaging as the metal guard began to slowly step aside.
“Thank you,” he sighed in relief as he
placed the car in drive and slipped through the gate.
Ahead on the left stood the main office
where the mailboxes, fitness center and pool were. He turned left
at the side road just before it, following
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