Time Traveller
You spur your horse into a frantic gallop back down the street to where you left the time machine. Several people fire at you, but thankfully, none of the bullets hits you. As you round the corner, a man steps out and fires, spooking your horse. She rears, sending you tumbling to land heavily on the ground in a cloud of choking dust.
A man stands over you, aiming his gun, but you instinctively roll aside and the bullet slams into the ground. You dive desperately for his legs, knocking him over before scrambling for the time machine. You dive inside and set the machine for the present, slam the door closed and strap yourself in.
"You worthless son of..." The man's voice fades away as the familiar lurch in your stomach heralds your return to the present. You feel nauseous as the machine hurtles through timezones and narrowly dodges the impossibility complex.
You heave a sigh of relief as the machine touches down with a thump. You slide open the door and step out, expecting to see an angry overseer, ready to berate you for meddling with history.
You blink, surprised. Instead of the clinical white lab room, you are standing in a dark, metal hallway. Dim lights overhead flicker and hum, and you can see cells all about with no-one in them.
"Hey, what are you doing?" A voice barks, and you jump. A man wearing dark blue trousers, shirt and cap and black body armour is striding angrily towards you. "Isn't your shift over, Doctor?"
Terrified, you turn to get back into the time machine, but it has vanished. Hold on, what time machine? No-one can travel through time.
"You look confused, Doc," The prison guard says. His anger has been replaced by concern.
You rub a hand over your face. It's because you've been working so many late nights. You remember now. You've been working in this prison for ten years now as a doctor for the inmates. This is Edwardson Correctional Facility, and this guard's name is William.
"Sorry, Will," You say to the guard and offer him a tired smile, "It's been busy recently, haven't had much chance to sleep."
"I understand," He smiles, "Tell you what, you go home and get some sleep, and tomorrow night we'll go out for a beer. How's that sound?"
You smile.
"Sure, that'd be great," You say, and Will slaps you on the back good-naturedly and carries on walking.
You head off along the corridor, humming to yourself. Time to hand in your electronic pass and go home. It's a long shift tomorrow, so you'll have to get a good night's sleep.
You toss the key onto the reception desk and wave at Barbara, the guard on duty.
"Good night!" You call, and head out of the heavy metal doors into the chill night air. You look forward to getting home and having a nice hot cup of coffee.
A man stands over you, aiming his gun, but you instinctively roll aside and the bullet slams into the ground. You dive desperately for his legs, knocking him over before scrambling for the time machine. You dive inside and set the machine for the present, slam the door closed and strap yourself in.
"You worthless son of..." The man's voice fades away as the familiar lurch in your stomach heralds your return to the present. You feel nauseous as the machine hurtles through timezones and narrowly dodges the impossibility complex.
You heave a sigh of relief as the machine touches down with a thump. You slide open the door and step out, expecting to see an angry overseer, ready to berate you for meddling with history.
You blink, surprised. Instead of the clinical white lab room, you are standing in a dark, metal hallway. Dim lights overhead flicker and hum, and you can see cells all about with no-one in them.
"Hey, what are you doing?" A voice barks, and you jump. A man wearing dark blue trousers, shirt and cap and black body armour is striding angrily towards you. "Isn't your shift over, Doctor?"
Terrified, you turn to get back into the time machine, but it has vanished. Hold on, what time machine? No-one can travel through time.
"You look confused, Doc," The prison guard says. His anger has been replaced by concern.
You rub a hand over your face. It's because you've been working so many late nights. You remember now. You've been working in this prison for ten years now as a doctor for the inmates. This is Edwardson Correctional Facility, and this guard's name is William.
"Sorry, Will," You say to the guard and offer him a tired smile, "It's been busy recently, haven't had much chance to sleep."
"I understand," He smiles, "Tell you what, you go home and get some sleep, and tomorrow night we'll go out for a beer. How's that sound?"
You smile.
"Sure, that'd be great," You say, and Will slaps you on the back good-naturedly and carries on walking.
You head off along the corridor, humming to yourself. Time to hand in your electronic pass and go home. It's a long shift tomorrow, so you'll have to get a good night's sleep.
You toss the key onto the reception desk and wave at Barbara, the guard on duty.
"Good night!" You call, and head out of the heavy metal doors into the chill night air. You look forward to getting home and having a nice hot cup of coffee.
