Authors: Al K. Line
"So how do we jump to the future then?" asked Dale.
He's making sense, he really is.
"Because you aren't." Dale and Amanda stared at him blankly. "What I think happens is that if you jump forward then you are jumping to a different timeline. Or a different universe, to be more precise. The fact that you jump forward is an impossibility as it hasn't happened in our own world, but by doing the jump you create another universe where the future is the past in that time."
"So you are saying that jumping to the future is impossible. Hmm, you could be right," mused Dale.
"Exactly. You create an alternate reality, and you jump forward as far as you are concerned, but in reality it is the past somewhere else. And when you jump back from that alternate universe then you come back to your correct one. Usually," added Peter. "Each jump forward creates who knows how many different universes, as there could be an endless number of choices you make right as you jump, or when you set the Hexad to do it. All of that has to be accommodated." Peter moved his arms from behind his head and put them in his lap, cracking his knuckles like it was a job well done.
"Except," said Amanda, "that you had to have a special Hexad to jump to alternate universes, or it had to be me and Dale. Our closeness seemed to allow us to do it without needing a special device. That's what Tellan said anyway."
"Maybe, or maybe he got it wrong. Maybe he doesn't really know, or maybe he's lying."
"Why would he do that?" said Amanda.
Peter shrugged. "I have no idea, I don't know the man. But if he's, you know, 'The Caretaker,' as in for real," Peter made bunny ears, "then he probably has more important things to worry about than a bit of time travel shenanigans anyway."
"Don't tell me you know what that means too?" said Dale, sighing.
"What?"
"The Caretaker. You know what it means?"
Dale got a frown from Peter. "Well, duh, he's The Caretaker."
"Ugh, I give up," said Dale, watching as Wozzy got up and headed for the kitchen as though he owned the place.
"Hmm, I don't know. It sounds convincing but who knows how it really works?"
"Guys, I'm telling you, this is it. If you make a jump then you simply have to create an alternate universe, and that's why everything goes down like you said you were told. Too many jumps equals too many alternate universes with too much going on in them, so things just set stuff right the best they could and got rid of the problem by not having people in them to do the jumps. Although, er, um, I guess if that happened then surely the universes would disappear too, as there wouldn't be any time travel any longer anyway." Peter was lost in thought, going through the exact same problems Dale and Amanda had gone through no end of times.
"That's what did happen though. Once we put things right, like properly right, then everything disappeared and all that remained was one universe, one past, one present, and a future that was yet to happen." Dale moved his head to the side as if listening, then dismissed it and turned his attention back to the room.
"Except it didn't, did it?" said Amanda. "I think us digging up the tin has messed things up again. We were told not to do it but we did it anyway. And doing the jump has made it begin all over again. There are other versions of us, maybe even the proper, real us that is all there is supposed to be, right now jumping and going out having all kinds of crazy stuff happen to them.
"Actually, come to think of it, maybe we are one of those alternate realities. Maybe we popped into existence exactly because the real us didn't quite set things right as they forgot to jump back and meet themselves and write that damn book."
"Bloody hell, now you've got me all confused too," said Peter, putting his head in his hands.
"Welcome to our world," said Amanda, "and don't forget that—"
Crack.
Meow.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Dale jumped up from his chair and ran to the kitchen. It sounded like plates were shattering on the floor and someone was trying to break glasses.
Amanda and Peter jumped up too, but before they could catch up with Dale, Wozzy ran into the room, chased by Dale.
"The bloody things been nicking all the food out on the side. I think he peed in a glass too. You dirty little cat. Come here, you."
Dale bent and chased after Wozzy but he was too fast. He jumped up onto the coffee table, almost knocking over the half empty mugs, heading straight for the Hexad.
"Quick, grab the Hexad, if he sets it off we'll know all about it. He will, anyway." Amanda lunged for the table, trying to grab the Hexad before Wozzy got to it.
Peter lunged for the cat but missed. Instead, he knocked heads with Dale just as Dale grabbed hold of Wozzy by his red collar. Amanda managed to get a hand on the Hexad just as she too knocked heads with Dale and Peter.
Wozzy clawed at Dale like his life depended on it, and then reached out a paw to scag Amanda.
He missed and tapped the blue dome of the flashing Hexad.
0 blinked. All four of them vanished.
Definitely Spooky
37 Years Future
"Ugh, gerroff me, Peter," shouted Dale, trying to push Peter's sock away from his face. "God, your feet stink."
"Don't blame me. If you'd told me we were going on a trip I'd have put my shoes on. Ugh, my bum hurts."
"Mine too," said Amanda, as she got to her feet slowly, thankful she'd landed on her backside and not her head. "That was lucky, we could have jumped anywhere, we could have been up in the air or anything." Amanda looked at Dale and Peter trying to untangle their mess of limbs like a crazed octopus.
"Yeah, real lucky," muttered Dale. He pushed Peter's hand away from his head as he was using it to get leverage to stand up.
"That damn cat, I can't believe he did this," said Dale.
"Well, it's not really his fault, is it?" said Peter. "You shouldn't leave things like that hanging about."
"What!? We didn't even know we had a cat," said Amanda, scowling at Peter. "Come to think of it, where is he?" Amanda didn't have to look for long, Wozzy crawled out from underneath Dale's legs and leapt into her arms, clinging to her ruined blouse like a baby monkey.
"I think he likes you," smirked Peter.
"Lucky me." Amanda stroked Wozzy anyway. She didn't blame the little guy, not really. How was he to know? "Well, at least this explains the poltergeist problem. It's been him all along, nicking sausages, knocking stuff over, that was him."
"Yeah, but I bet it hasn't been him moving the furniture and digging up plants in the garden," said Dale, finally getting away from Peter and standing.
"Fair point." Amanda cuddled Wozzy up close to her chest, not because she wanted to comfort him, but because he was clawing his way up there anyway, so it seemed like a win-win kind of situation. He began to purr. "He's gone to sleep," whispered Amanda. "The first cat to ever jump through time and he's gone to sleep."
"Well, it does kind of mess with your head," said Peter, stroking his beard as though he thought it made what he said sound intelligent.
"Look, let's forget about the cat. Where the hell are we?" asked Dale.
Amanda looked at the Hexad she'd dropped on the floor, noted the flashing 0, the dome now red, shouting out its warning. "More important than that, how the hell are we going to get back home to our time from wherever this is? That was the last jump."
Dale and Peter stared down at the flashing 0, realizing just what a mess they were in.
"HobNob anyone?" asked Peter, as he miraculously pulled half a pack from the pocket of his corduroys.
"Maybe it wasn't the cat that's been stealing the food after all," said Dale, taking one of the oat biscuits from the pack and munching on it thoughtfully.
"What is wrong with you guys? We're stuck in time and we have no way of getting home." Amanda shouted, raising her arms above her head. "Shit, shit, shit! Ow, ow, ow! Help." Wozzy clung to the top of her blouse for dear life, hind legs scrabbling for purchase.
"Come here, dude, is Mummy being mean to poor little Wozzy?" Peter put a hand under Wozzy's belly and slowly pulled him away. Wozzy hung on but finally he relaxed his grip a little and ended up half over Peter's shoulder. He rumbled deeply.
"That is one sleepy cat," Dale noted in admiration.
"He's had a busy morning, haven't you, Wozzy?" Peter stroked his tail then turned to take a look at where they were.
Amanda and Dale followed his gaze.
Uh-oh, this doesn't look good at all.
Amanda stared at the large metal gate. It couldn't have been spookier if it had tried. This was as if somebody had gone out of their way to make the entry as typically spooky as you could possibly imagine. The style was retro insane asylum, all rusted metal and curved top, sweeping up to an angled point where the two halves of the gate met. Above, spanning from one brick pier to the other, joined to a wall that seemed to run right around the perimeter, was a curved sign made from the same metal. All it said was "The Ward," nothing else.
"Well, that is about the scariest entrance to a building I've ever seen," said Dale, before he whistled as he looked up at the name. "The Ward? I'm guessing this isn't a nice spa resort then."
"Don't think so. But more importantly, what are we doing here?" Amanda got an all-too-familiar tightening in her stomach.
"I guess that's down to Wozzy, isn't it?" said Peter. "He's the one that made the jump, we just came along for the ride."
"I'm not so sure," said Amanda, still staring at the sign. "I think there is more to it than that. When Wozzy hit the Hexad was anyone thinking about anything in particular?"
"I was thinking that I wished we could get to the bottom of the mess we seem to be in, that we can't seem to just have peace and for time travel paradoxes to be always hanging over us. And that the damn cat was really annoying, of course," added Dale.
"I was just worried I'd get told off if the coffee spilled," said Peter, adjusting Wozzy slightly.
"And I was wishing I knew how to stop all of this." Amanda shivered a little as the temperature dropped, the weak sunshine replaced with a coolness brought on by dark gray clouds dropping low in the sky as if they wanted to match the mood of the people below. "Wait a minute, let me check something." Amanda picked up the Hexad and studied the dials that ran around the shaft of the cylinder, the brass inlay almost black with tarnish from use. It was like the device itself was in a bad mood too.
Maybe because it's all used up. How are we going to get out of here? Wherever here is?
Amanda squinted at the dials, then looked up at the clouds, as if praying for sunshine and an end to the nightmare for good. "We're in the future, thirty-seven years in the future to be exact, and I don't think that it will be very nice."
Dale put an arm around Amanda's waist, squeezed her for comfort. "Hey, are you okay? We'll be fine, don't you worry. We've been in worse situations by all accounts, I'm sure we'll get out of here somehow."
"Why thirty-seven years?" asked Peter. "Although that was just an accident, right? Just what it was on when Wozzy decided to have his little adventure."
"Maybe, or maybe it's too much of a coincidence for that to be true."
"Why is it a coincidence?"
"Because it's always around about now that things go wrong in the world and it's always tied up with Hexads and people getting their hands on them."
"So we're fine then," said Dale, visibly relaxing, "as that was the last one and it's all used up."
"I hope so. But more important than that is the where that is bothering me. Dale, if we were thinking about being somewhere so we could put an end to whatever is happening, then... Ugh, I guess this place is it, maybe." Amanda squelched closer to the gate, trying to ignore how cold her feet felt and not get grossed out by the sticky mud that had turned her socks into nothing but a brown mess. She cupped her hands around her eyes, trying to peer past the gates, but it was hard to see much because of the fog and the drizzle.
The road that led into the grounds was little more than compact earth with deep holes full of water. The grass on either side was in serious need of a mow. Lining the drive were huge trees, most of the leaves fallen, creating a brown and orange carpet over the neglected lawns and the approach to whatever building lay hidden in the distance.
Squeak.
The gate gave way under the light pressure of Amanda's hands; she jumped back in shock. "Damn. Gave me the fright of my life. This is creepy as hell."
"Yeah, it looks like the last place on earth you'd ever want to go." Dale stepped up beside Amanda, following her gaze into the overgrown and unmaintained grounds. "Doesn't look as if they take much care of any of it, does it?"
"No, not really. It's a mess, and it gives me the heebie-jeebies."
Peter splashed up beside them, his dark corduroys hiding the mud-splats that signaled his approach. "It's like something out of the movies where a group of people stand at the gates and then decide to go and find out what the deal is, even though you know they are all going to get killed if they do."
"Peter! Don't even joke about it. There is no way we are going in there. We need to find a way to jump back home and—"
"Wozzy! Damn." Peter lunged for Wozzy as he landed in a puddle. His tortoiseshell coat changed from ginger and white to brown in an instant. He licked frantically at his chest, then spat out a mouthful of mud. "Here, Wozzy, good kitty. Shall I clean you up?"
Peter knelt down and Dale and Amanda stood stock still, not wanting to scare Wozzy.
He knows Peter wants to pick him up, he's going to bolt.
"Gotcha." Peter lunged forward, arms outstretched, but Wozzy sidestepped him easily and Peter ended up face down in the vacated puddle. "Damn."
Wozzy meowed loudly and with tail swishing manically he ran as fast as he could into the grounds of The Ward before he was lost in the deep shade of the trees just as the rain came down in thick sheets, obscuring everything, leaving them soaked, freezing cold, and down one cat.