A time bridge, that’s what they called it. I wasn’t really so sure. I’d heard the stories, but to me it was still all hocus pocus. But, I’d seen the numbers. Crime rates were lower than ever before. And for the first time… we had stability. At least that what it seemed, but nothing good lasts forever. At least it would… well that’s where I come in. A simple foot soldier for the tower, I joined the crew this very year of 2030. It was a typical day in downtown NY, the warp fuels had gone on long enough and we just held our breath through the smog. You’d think they would’ve made a breakthrough by now. Today I received a personal call from the commissioner. His voice sounded metallic and cranky over the comm- as he put it, it was a rather “sticky situation.” Literally, I mean aside from exploding vending machines from depressurization. Honestly, I would have taken that over a mechanical fault any day. Rather, the combustion engine had malfunctioned- goop everywhere. They say the goop is the time residue. Its messy stuff, one touch can send you flying back before you were born, and erase your existence! At least… that’s what the official memo said, but in reality it was just another weapon, and I was to collect some samples. After all, we were accustomed to such dangerous and irresistible technology.
As I walked down the long, narrow hallway toward the elevator, I could hear the pressure doors unlocking- people running everywhere. Well I say people… Delta’s, Merias, a few humans. But still, I glanced down at my watch- it was a quarter till, but a moment before I left. That’s funny- ha! I rolled my eyes and glanced at the enormous array of buttons in front of me. Rubbish. Someone must’ve played some joke on me. I sighed and pressed the large red button on the elevator labeled “restricted.” The mechanical voice chimed in. “Scan in progress. Welcome back, Grey. Which destination do you desire today?” “Oh thanks, Azon. I’ll take Totem, we have a reactor leak.” “Be careful, Grey. Safety protocol recommends-” “Yes I know, thanks. I’ll be fine.” “As you wish, Grey.” There was a slight lurching as the elevator descended, I immediately grabbed the hand rail. “I thought we got thank fixed weeks ago…” I looked down at my watch again, and suddenly realized the date was not right. Before I could reset the counter, another lurch grabbed me. “Ding! Here is your *static* destination, Grey. I’ll put in a work request for *static*.” Azon, you alright? You should get the vocalizer checked out. “As you *static* Grey.” I stepped out of the elevator, it hovered for a moment making another lurching sound, then departed suddenly. I glanced around the room, muttering to myself. “How I wish they had kept my design. This place looks terrible.”
I shivered. The cold, dim hall was just not my thing. A frail light in the distance was flashing, and a greenish hue was coming from the emergency lighting. I pulled out my comm. “Hey, Ranger. We have a 64 down here. Looks like the power’s out.” I only got static in return. I looked down again, this time my watch seemed to be spinning. I gave a loud sigh and continued onward, laughing silently to myself. By the time ranger gets to me, I could be light-years’ away. Suddenly, a bot whirled past me, humming and hovering. Must be radiation bots, I thought. Just as I was about to turn the corner, I realized something strange, the bot was flying backwards. As I poked my head around the corner, the bot suddenly vanished. Not just rounded the bend mind you, but completely vanished! I let out a low whistle. I was staring at a solid wall, scratching my head. Perhaps they forgot to repair the M2’s motivators? As I continued my lengthy strides towards the green light, I gathered a creepy feeling of unrest. Something just wasn’t right. Where were the engineers? After all, we had reached the correct floor. I stood silently for a moment, assessing the situation. There was no reactor leak, just emergency lights! I started the long walk back.
Just was I was about to turn I noticed a fuzzy image in the back, almost like the room of my childhood, distant and dreamy. I hear a faint whirling sound, and called out: “Azon? Is this the right floor?” “What’s goign on?” Before I could investigate, a metallic voice cried out to me.“Ah but you see, this is a time vault. And you are the latest addition.” “Azon? What’s going on?! Ok, prank’s over!” I swiveled around, trying to locate the echoing sounds. The machine continued, wheezing: “We feed off your time energy, slowly neutralizing your very existence. A long, slow, infinite digestion.” It laughed, a ghostly, metallic, chime. “Your struggle feeds us all the more.” I could see vague images: mother and father, running through the halls. I called out to them but they quickly banished though the hallway, disappearing. I ran through them, struggling to find my way… only to find a sealed hallway before me! My heart was pounding loudly now. I made a quick about face to saw father beckoning towards me, then vanish. I stumbled as the images vaporized before my eyes. Was I mad? I was seeing all the images of my past fly before me! More bots whirled past, disappearing into silent space- I recognized their numbers. Y7, M3… Suddenly, there was a loud “ding” to my right and I turned, again looking into the great elevator. I let out a wail. “Latrine! Latrine” I called out to her, but she paid me no heed only staring directly at me, calling me silently. The door to the elevator remained open, beckoning. Another bot flew by, and I looked again at the elevator, seeing Latrine staring into my soul with her glassy eyes, her arms out to me. I ran over towards her long, brown, flowing hair and the elevator instantly departed… suddenly vanishing.
I was standing again in an empty hallway, smaller this time. And the walls seemed to be closing in.“You can’t win Grey.” The metallic voice floated throughout the halls. I stopped suddenly. Or could I? I was there for the drawing of the plans, it was simply a maze. A puzzle pictogram, like the ones I used to play as a child. My mind reeled, suddenly recalling the interior design. “Think fast” I muttered to myself. I turned to face the door again, only realizing it had been replaced with a solid wall. Only this time, I noticed a peculiar pattern. I gasped, suddenly realizing it was from my childhood- it WAS the pictogram. A mental image in my mind, I ran toward the entrance to the tower, just as I remembered it. Turn left here, right at the passage. I could still hear the eerie metallic voice calling to me. “Grey, you’re going the wrong way Grey.” I shook it off, concentrating vigorously. I was almost to the entrance when I stopped suddenly, again seeing Latrine. She was a ways off, arms open, calling to me. “Wait! My love…come with us… don’t leave me!” I hesitated. It was possible that she, too was captured here. A hostage. I called out to her, straining over the roaring elevator sounds. “I recognize this- it’s from my childhood, only way out. Trust me, Latrine!” Suddenly the walls around me collapsed, revealing only emptiness below. I looked back, the temptation strong this time, and see her calling to me. “Come with me darling!” She stood there, beckoning. I took a moment to gather myself, against the walls for but a moment. I called out to it- “You’re not my wife, not anymore.” As if in a furor, the image instantly evaporated, and the ground rumbled again. I drew a deep breath, realizing the room had shifted. I held my ground. I took another deep breath, holding tightly my own hands, wishing she was beside me, and took another step, following the pictogram in my head. I was faced with a cliff now, I looked down, down, down at the city below. I took it a step further, gazing over the edge of the cliff and I took the comm. unit, suddenly chucking it into the distance. A ghostly wail was heard behind me, a chilling, metallic, shrill screaming, and frantic. I took a last gulp of air, remembering the good old days, and I followed the pictogram… plunging silently over the edge… falling…
I awoke with a start, shaken suddenly, breathing heavily. Feeling the urge to get up, I attempted to move my arms as my eyes adjusted but suddenly realized where I was. Home at last! I glanced around at the holopictures littering the room, friendly images staring back at me. Latrine was in my arms, breathing gingerly. I hugged her fiercely, almost squeezing her for joy, whispering tenderly in her ear. “I love you…” She stirred slightly and I relaxed, realizing this was real. I was really home! It was only a bad dream! I leaned back, feeling the plushy airocusion beneath us and clutched her happily in my arms, releasing a great sigh of relief. What a long and scary nightmare, finally over. I glanced at the alarm showing 1PM 2115, and was just about to fall back asleep comfortably when I felt an object protruding sharply in my back pocket. Astonished, I patted my trousers and carefully got out of bed, being careful not to wake her. Latrine made a soft murrming. Just as I was about to open the door she called out to me, mumbling, “Darling, where are you going?” “Just a moment, I’ll be right back,” I whispered, gently kissing her forehead. I left and closed the bathroom door without a sound. Just as I reached down to pull the sharp object from my trouser pockets I withdrew breath sharply. Cold metal in hand, I knew from the feel what it was. With trembling fingers I lifted it from my pockets, placing it upright in my palm. It was indeed a comm unit, labeled “Time Towers 2130” and flashing blue. I flicked the switch, and to my dismay an eerie, metallic, shrill voice came through the comm, as if goading me “Grey… the game has just begun Grey.”
Written by Jedediah Jenk
notedmusic@gmail.com
The SciFi Spire 