Side Time - The Eroor [sample]

Chapter III

John stepped out silently from the gateway of the time machine, frowning to himself faintly. He barely noticed it when he jammed the small remote that now controlled the machine into his pocket. His eyes wandered carelessly around the laboratory, not registering the mess of papers by Jimmy’s table, or the upended mug of coffee that had slowed down to trickle on the carpet.

It had only happened to John once, with his wife, but besides her, he had never been in love. Sure, he’d had a few high school girlfriends and stuff, but nothing serious. Then he found his wife, and she died from leukaemia after they had only known each other for two years. Though, for a while, he had thought he might have a chance with Samantha, even though she had been getting quite a lot of attention from the 1

other men at work lately. But remembering Elizabeth’s dark green eyes when he kissed her, he realised that all the women he’d met were too fake for him. 2018 was how anyone would’ve expected it to be. Same old power hungry rulers trying to wipe each other out, same old celebrities becoming a scandal the one day and an asset to society the next. The vanity of women had also stayed the same. Not a day went by that John didn’t wish to find a simple woman to love.

Someone with a good heart. Someone like Elizabeth. She was still unaffected by the madness of the 21st century. Maybe that’s what made her so beautiful.

Walking absentmindedly down the corridors of the CIA’s building, John suddenly found himself in his office. He blinked once, as if he’d forgotten how he’d got there, and then sighed.

He sat down behind his desk, placed his suitcases under it, and started nodding off slowly. He’d admire his prizes later.

His peace was disturbed by loud footsteps and the door to his office slamming open. He looked up from his seat groggily and raised his bloodshot eyes. Eric stood in front of him, and he was a sight to behold. His normally combed hair had loose strands sticking out and his pressed suit was creased all the way down to his grey chinos. At first he looked confused, then his eyes flared with anger. “I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You.” John’s battle instincts kicked in and he jumped off the chair as 2

Eric lunged towards him roaring wildly. John flipped him over onto his back and squeezed his arms around his neck in a choke hold. After a brief struggle, Eric calmed down and John let him go. He sat down next to him and they both gasped for air for a while. When he’d controlled his nerves, John said, “I may be a little out of shape, man, but I still know nine more martial arts than you do.”

“You don’t say?” Eric laughed sceptically, choking on his breath.

They sat in silence again.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Eric asked.

John laughed. “You honestly think I’d sit here and get old waiting for the shitty thing to work? Hell, man, what’s life without a few risks? Besides, I feel fine.”

Eric grabbed him by the collar and hauled him into his chair.

“To hell you feel fine! Do you know how long you’ve been gone for?”

“Two hours, tops?”

“Shit you, two hours! You’ve only been gone for a bloody twenty five minutes!”

“Holy shit…”

Eric pulled a small penlight from his jacket-pocket and shone it into John’s eyes worriedly.

“What’s your name?” he asked John.

“My name is John Adams. I am forty four years old. I have a 3

dog called Einstein and I live in a house somewhere in the United States of America. I’m currently disabled as my son-ofa-gun co-worker has me pinned down to an armchair where I can feel my stomach digesting itself along with my other internal organs. If I survive this ordeal, I plan to delve back into my research on time travel and then retire and buy a yacht to travel the world in.”

Eric grinned and sat down in another chair. John yawned widely at him.

“You know,” said Eric, “For you almost a couple of hours have passed. Here, it has been almost half an hour. Your body hasn’t really registered the time difference yet.”

“So you mean I have a rather acute form of jet-lag?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

John yawned again.

“What was there, on the other side?” Eric asked quickly. “Was there another machine? How did you get back?”

“I just stepped through the tunnel, man, and then I closed it behind me. When I wanted to come back, I simply switched it on again. I could see right through to the other side. The lab was still there and everything.”

“No shit?”

“Yup. It’s a door to the past, remember? Doors are accessible from both sides if, in this case, you have the Morph-Chip and my remote.”

4

“So you can go anywhere in the past?”

“Yup. Just type in the current coordinates and the year you’re going back to. Then you walk through and arrive there.”

“But you won’t be able to arrive anywhere in our time, right?”

“Right. You’ll only be able to come back to where the machine is. It’s the centre of everything. A little confusing, yeah. You can go anywhere in time but must arrive back here, and then you can go somewhere else again.”

“Oh.” John groaned and closed his eyes again. He opened them slowly after a while, and he found Eric staring at him curiously.

“Can I help you with something?” John laughed.

Eric smiled nonchalantly, and then resumed his serious expression.

“What the hell were you doing there?”

John stiffened in his chair. Eric’s eyes glimmered suspiciously, and he cocked an eyebrow at John.

“Well?”

John sighed. “I went to find someone.”

“Someone?”

“Yeah, a very beautiful someone.”

Eric straightened up quickly in his seat, knocking over a small vase John kept on his table. He ignored it and spluttered out “A girl? You travelled back in time for a girl?!?”

5

“She’s not just any girl,” John said defensively, “She’s the one.

She’s smart, beautiful, funny…”

Eric scoffed. “The one? The one? Man I don't believe you’re saying this. Look I'm sorry you lost your wife three years ago and that since then you haven't been on a date... but to risk your life and your job because of...” He trailed off. “Who is she, a movie star?”

“No. But she’s perfect! I’ve never met anyone like her.” John said.

“John you sound like a love-sick teenager. Get over yourself man. You know the consequences for bringing another human back with you.”

“Well, how can we be certain? What if there were no problems with bringing someone back? What if history wouldn’t change?”

Eric frowned. “Who did you say this girl was?”

John braced himself and replied, “Elizabeth Wilson.”

Eric’s face turned a dangerous red. “Fuck you John!” he shouted, “You’re telling me you went to the Nazi headquarters? Where Hitler himself was visiting before the end of the war? Holy God, you’re lucky you got out of there alive!”

“I actually said hello to the old bastard. Gave him quite a shock to hear an American in Berlin. He almost blew my head 6

off, I tell you.”

Eric paled and began mumbling indistinctly to himself. John barked a laugh at the sight of him. He left him and picked up the vase Eric had knocked onto the floor. When he straightened up he found Eric eyeing him, seemingly happy.

“Okay,” Eric said slowly, “I’m calm.”

“Glad to hear that.”

John paused, and then said “Please, you need to let me go back and bring her. I’ll be quick, and I will owe you my life.

Literally.”

Eric eyed him again and said sharply, “Don’t think this isn’t going to cost you. Jimmy has already sent an urgent message to the Pentagon to send a team to go in and fetch you, you son of a bitch. They will probably arrive in a couple of hours. I can convince them that it was all a misunderstanding, and we can all go home happy and this whole event will be smoothed over. But be warned, as long as I’m still around, you aren’t going to be anywhere near the past. No siree, bub. You’re staying here all nice and cosy in the present. I can’t always cover your shit. And I’m telling you, if I find that you somehow brought your chick back and you don’t marry her, I will personally send your ass back to the Stone Age.” John laughed. He rubbed his eyes wearily.

“Stop bullshitting me all the time, John.” Eric said, “I can’t 7

handle it. See this?” he pointed to a few strands of grey hair on his sideburns. “You’re making me old.”

“Sorry, man. It’s for a good cause, I promise.”

Eric grinned at him and pulled John out of his chair. He gave him a few good-natured pats on the back and said. “I’m glad you aren’t planning anything stupid.”

John smiled and they began to walk towards the door together.

“Eric?” he said.

“Hmm?” “Would shooting you with a stun-gun be considered stupid?”

Eric spun around, and John jammed him quickly in the side with the gun. Eric barely managed to moan before he slumped down to the ground, unconscious. John grunted as he hauled him up into a vacant chair. He pulled off Eric’s belt and tied him to the chair with it. He fell forward but the belt held him in place.

“My job here is done.” John mumbled. Then pulling off one of Eric’s socks, he gagged him with it for good measure.

He glanced at Eric carelessly and walked to the safe behind his desk. He dialled in his code and opened the door. Inside he found the second of the two Morph-Chips encased in a small velvet box.

“Jackpot,” he smiled.

8

John pushed the box into his pocket hurriedly, and looked over his shoulder. The door swung a bit, and before it closed, John had already quietly slipped out into the corridor.

Five minutes later, Eric Crow woke up, bound to a chair and a gag in his mouth. He started banging on the floor furiously with his legs, but by the time a passing assistant heard him, it was too late. John was already in the time machine, carrying the last Morph-Chip and destroying any hope of someone following him. ***************************************** John ran through the front doors of the Nazi’s building. His jacket flared open behind him as he searched anxiously for Elizabeth. Her desk was empty. John turned around quickly when he heard a door close somewhere in the distance and a pair of light footsteps walking towards him.

Elizabeth strolled into the room, frowning down at some papers she was holding, her brown locks falling carelessly over her face. John paused and eyed her from a distance. She stopped and greeted a few soldiers standing on guard, and her smile radiating on her face. She approached her desk and sat down behind it. John stepped out from the shadows and said, “I can see why they chose you for this job. You are very convincing.”

9

Elizabeth spun around, a look of shock on her pretty face.

John raised an eyebrow as she tried to stand up.

“John!” she gasped breathlessly. Her hands fumbled at her hair as she smoothed it down quickly. “Um, I didn’t expect to see you here…”

“What do you mean?” John asked, frowning, “I’ve only been gone for maybe half an hour.”

This time Elizabeth frowned. “John,” she said finally, putting her hands gently on his shoulders, “It’s been two weeks.”

“Holy shit,” John said, stepping away from her and holding his head in his hands, “I forgot about the Side-Time.”

“Side-Time?”

John sighed. “It’s a long story. Basically, time flows differently between here and my time. A few minutes could pass here, and in my world, a few hours. For me, I’ve been gone for a few minutes; for you, it’s been weeks.”

Elizabeth paled. “Oh, I see.”

“You didn’t think I’d really leave, did you? Even though I said I would?”

Elizabeth’s face flushed, and she looked down at her feet. “You never know,” she mumbled, “I’ve never met anyone like you. I didn’t know what to expect…”

John tilted her chin with his finger, until she was looking at him. Uncertainty flickered in her green eyes.

“I’ll never leave you,” he murmured. “I love you.”

10

Elizabeth’s face softened and she raised her lips to kiss him.

“Shit,” John said suddenly and broke away from Elizabeth. She looked at him strangely, and said “Are you sure you’re alright John?”

His face paled. “Two weeks. You said it’s been two weeks. Any day now the Allied soldiers are gonna bomb this building and you’re gonna die.”

“No…” Elizabeth murmured.

John gasped slightly as a shadow fell over them.

“Good morning Herr Schultz, Fräulein Achziger,” said a cruel voice, “Or should I call you Allied spies?” ***************************************** Jimmy burst into the infirmary and heard Eric complaining to a nurse. “I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times!” he said, “I will not sit here doing nothing! I am perfectly fine now will you just let me get the hell out here, lady!”

He swatted her arm away as she tried to stick a thermometer in his mouth. She sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you give me that face!” Eric shouted, “Do you know who I am? I practically own the place! One word from me and your job could be turned into a bunch of chicken schnitzels! “ Jimmy smiled to himself. “Sir,” he said and cleared his throat.

Eric twirled around, a look of complete horror on his face. The 11

nurse gave Jimmy a bemused smile and walked off somewhere, quietly laughing to herself.

“Shaw!” said Eric hastily, “I was just coming to find you. I just had a little problem to take care of…”

Jimmy laughed openly. “Yeah, the story has been circulating quite quickly for such a big place. Looks like John came in here all bad-ass and tied you to a chair with your own belt, at the same time shooting you with a stunt gun.”

Eric grumbled incoherently. “And he gagged me with my sock."

Jimmy laughed. “Really?”

“He’s a bloody son of a shit,” Eric said.

“Please, sir, there’s no use in calling him names. Besides, this is John we’re talking about, remember?”

“I can’t believe I went to college with that bastard.”

“He hasn’t changed much since then, has he?”

“Not one friggin’ drop.”

Jimmy smiled and then cleared his throat again. “Sir,” he said, “I came to call you… They’re here…”

“Who’s here?”

“It’s the military. They’ve called in the Squids.”

The Squids were a branch of the military’s toughest combatants. They were named after the original ‘101 Squid 12

Team’ who fought during World War Two and helped lead various missions into German occupied territories. Even then they held the same status that made people shiver when they heard the name. The Squids were brutal, heartless and didn’t give a damn about anyone other than their team. Their slogan was ‘bigas venit primum’ which translated to ‘the team comes first’. When the Pentagon received an urgent message from Jimmy, only one group was the best equipped to be sent back in time. This was the same team Eric Crow and Jimmy Shaw were watching get out of a tinted van. Four people stepped out cautiously. First, a young girl with pitch black hair spilling over her pale face stepped forward, her blood red lips pursed tightly. She wore artfully ripped black shorts with combat boots and a camo-jacket with a captain’s insignia. She twirled a gun in her one hand and stuffed it into its holster before sticking out her hand to Eric.

“Sophia Storm,” she said, grasping Eric’s hand and shaking it firmly. “I’m captain of this shit-show.”

Eric shook her hand in return. “Eric Crow,” he said, “I’m, uh, Junior Director here.”

“And who are you?” she asked, noticing Jimmy.

He stuck out his hand awkwardly. “Jim Shaw. Jimmy. I work here.”

The rest of the Squids smirked. Jimmy flinched under their 13

gaze but Sophia ignored them and shook his hand anyway.

Jimmy tilted her hand and examined a small tattoo on the back of her hand, near her thumb. It looked like a small octopus with an elongated head, with the letter ‘P’ emblazoned on the side. He traced it gently with his finger, the intimate gesture not missed by any of the surrounding people.

“P?” he asked warmly, looking up into Sophia’s brown eyes.

She opened her mouth to reply, and then noticed Jimmy was still holding her hand in his, his fingers tracing the bone structure of her slender finger.

“You can let go of my hand now.” She said coldly.

Jimmy smiled. “I could. But I don’t particularly want to,” he said. Sophia blinked once and Jimmy frowned at her suddenly calm face.

“Hey…” he began, but Sophia stopped him mid-sentence. She twisted her hand quickly out of his grip and stepped behind him, nudging the back of his legs so that he was forced into a kneeling position on the floor. Using her free hand, she grabbed Jimmy’s other arm and then pinned both his hands to his back in a complicated grasp, not releasing her hold on him when he cried out.

“P for ‘Princeps’,” said a man with chocolate coloured skin, who walked up, slinging a small backpack over his shoulders.

“That means ‘captain’. And she doesn’t like anyone copping a 14

feel at her either.”

Jimmy grimaced up at Sophia who towered angrily over him.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said genially, “It won’t happen again.

Can I get up now?”

Sophia sneered at him. “It better not happen again.” She said and heaved him up. Jimmy stumbled forward but the darkskinned man caught him.

“Piece of advice,” he told Jimmy, “Don’t get on her bad-side.”

“You got that right,” Jimmy muttered.

“Hehe!” slurred a goofy looking boy with freckles who Sauntered forward from behind the van. “Don’t mess with my lady!” he said giggling.

“That’s Mickey,” said the man who helped Jimmy, “And I’m Thomas. Tom. I’m her second, the Beta.” He held up his hand to show Jimmy. Tom had the same tattoo as Sophia, but his had the second letter of the Greek alphabet.

“Seriously?” Jimmy asked.

Thomas shrugged.

“I’m the programmer.” Mickey said, suddenly serious. “Code name Cyclops, ‘cos without me, they’d be blind in the field.”

He held up his hand to show Jimmy his tattoo – a letter ‘C’.

“And I’m Emma, the Sorceress,” a girl who’d been silent until now said quietly. She had blonde hair that was cropped short and average features. “I can fly, drive, or destroy anything 15

that has an engine.” She waved her hand at Eric and Jimmy, showing off her letter ‘S’.

“So you all chose your codenames specifically?” Jimmy asked.

“Very perceptive of you,” Sophia said sarcastically. Jimmy blushed.

“Well, now that introductions are over,” said Eric merrily, “Why don’t we show you guys to our cafeteria? The cook makes a wicked bean stew, and you’re probably hungry.”

Thomas looked at Eric incredulously. Mickey was humming something to himself, lost in his own world, and Sophia flashed her dark brown eyes, a deadly expression on her face.

“Or not…” Eric said dejectedly.

Emma stepped forward, her grip tightening on her weapon at her waist.

“We don’t do breaks,” she said calmly, “We were told this is a Code X situation. It’s a matter of national security. We need to go in and evac the victim from hostile territory now.”

Jimmy cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

“We might have a slight problem with that…”

Sophia cracked her knuckles dangerously. “Sonny,” she said, “You’ve already gotten on my nerves once today. Don’t make me beat you up again.” ***************************************** 16

Elizabeth stumbled as a German nudged her forward.

“SHNELL!” he said, “QUICKLY!” John, who was walking behind them, helped Elizabeth steady herself. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“Leave her be,” John said coldly, “We heard you the first time.”

The soldier swung a punch at John and hit him in the chin.

Elizabeth cried out in alarm as John moaned and wiped a thin dribble of blood that ran down his mouth.

“Do not tell me what to do, American.” The soldier spat at John.

“Now, now, please Herr Albercht. These people are our guests. We must treat them with the proper respect,” sneered another voice, “We wouldn’t want them trying anything stupid.”

John remembered that morning when Eric had said the same words to him. How long ago had that been. An hour? Two? He moaned as his head started throbbing against his skull. This Side-Time thing was messing with him. Not to mention the fact that he was trapped seventy years in the past accused of being a spy and in the custody of a mad German.

“Please,” Elizabeth said, “Please let us go. We don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear.”

“On the contrary, Fräulein Achziger, I think you do,” said the voice, who stepped forward to meet them.

17

“Holy fucking shit!” John swore loudly.

Elizabeth paled as their captor came into view, and she stared into his vicious eyes.

“Good afternoon. I am Herr Josef Mengele.”

John heard a thump behind him as Elizabeth sank to the floor in a faint.

“Lord Almighty…” John whispered.

“Please,” Mengele said to John, “bring your lady friend. I have some very interesting entertainment for us tonight.”

Jimmy Shaw gulped down a swig of his pomegranate juice and watched the scene in front of him awkwardly. Mickey, the hacker (or ‘programmer’ as he preferred to call himself), was eyeing the time machine hungrily through the glass window that separated him from it. Emma was being her quiet self and Tom was sharpening his pocketknife whose previous owner he’d allegedly killed in a fist fight. The man decided to cheat, so Tom decided to teach him a lesson. Or so he said.

Jimmy doubted the story. Thomas had probably made it up just to gain admiration. Tom didn’t strike Jimmy as a particular nasty or violent guy, just if he needed to be.

It was Sophia who was the most confusing. She had a will of 18

iron and a stubbornness of a two year old, yet she was the perfect leader for her team. They walked around her with cautiousness, but treated her with a profound respect, and she returned this with an occasional soft word or smile. Right now, she wasn’t smiling. She was sitting with her feet on the edge of a table, her fury blazing down on everyone in the vicinity like a burning heat wave. She and Eric seemed to have the same angry-leader personality. Jimmy found himself admiring her more for her ability to maintain a harsh reputation.

“So,” Eric said anxiously, “You understand the problem…?”

Sophia’s eyes flashed. It seemed like a habit of hers, a sign when she was provoked. “Do you know anything about how the American military works, Mr. Eric, or are you just a pretty-boy who walks around and sells the public your propaganda?”

“Whaaa….”

“If you aren’t, then you would know that the procedure before any mission is to give the team a debriefing on what they’re about to encounter. I doubt any of your scientists would know something about this time machine that I don’t.”

“Of course, I wasn’t questioning your ability at all, Miss Storm, I was just implying…”

“You were just implying that perhaps I misunderstood that 19

we cannot follow your renegade scientist, cannot stop this time machine and have no way at all of tracking or contacting him inside it,” she replied sarcastically. “Basically our whole mission is a fail and we have to go back to the Pentagon with the shame of defeat because some stupid scientist doesn’t even know how to work his own machine.”

Eric flushed in embarrassment.

Jimmy cleared his throat. “That might not be the case,” he said.

A small frown appeared between Sophia’s eyebrows. The rest of the team sat up alertly, and Eric asked unsurely, “Shaw?”

Jimmy stood up. “I’d like to introduce you to Emergency Plan B- What To Do If John Is Stuck In The Past And We Have To Go Save His Hairy Ass.” Tom chuckled.

“Funny!” said Mickey.

Jimmy smiled nervously. “If you’d follow me. We’re going to my secret stash. There’s something I want to show you.”

“And that is where exactly?” Eric asked.

“John’s office. Duh.” John’s office was a normal, modestly furnished room on face value. But at a closer look, you could see his personality all over the place. There was the Beatles’ CDs stuffed hurriedly under a mound of science theory papers, sweet wrappers and half-eaten Kit-Kat bars in the bin or on the table, and a small 20

framed photograph of John holding Einstein.

“I get the impression our friend isn’t exactly… tidy…” Emma marvelled to herself.

“Neatness is not how orderly your possessions are placed, it’s if you know exactly where they are in the mess.” Jimmy said philosophically.

“That doesn’t even make sense…” Sophia mumbled.

“John’s words, not mine.” Jimmy said and smiled timidly. He approached John’s safe and paused to admire it.

“That’s a six-inch steel plating safe with fibre optic cables,” Mickey said admiringly, “They transmit frequent heat signatures to a computer that can determine if anything has been damaged or stolen. If it finds anything unusual, it sends out a distress call and can put the whole building into lockdown in less than three minutes.”

“No kidding?” Tom asked. Eric looked at the safe, dumbstruck.

“I didn’t think he was that extreme,” he mumbled.

“Mickey,” Sophia asked, “Could you to hack into this safe?”

Mickey blinked once. “You mean hack into the six-inch steelplated safe with fibre optic cables that transmit frequent heat signatures to a computer that can determine if anything has been damaged or stolen?”

She shrugged.

“Sure,” he said, “Piece of chocolate cake.”

21

“No need for that,” Jimmy said, “Your skills will come in handy later. Right now, I’m doing things the easy way.” He typed in a few numbers and the safe door opened. Eric’s eyes popped wildly out of his head.

“You know the codes to John’s

personal safe?”

Jimmy laughed. “I am the reason he can safely travel through time. You’d think he’d trust me a little.”

Jimmy opened the safe door widely. “Watch and be amazed, ladies and gents.” He placed his thumb against the back of the safe, and something beeped.

“Thumbprint recognition,” Mickey said quietly. Jimmy smiled.

The back of the safe opened to reveal another compartment, where a small glasses box lay. Jimmy pulled it out and shut both the safe doors. He turned to meet his anxious audience.

“Seriously?” Sophia scoffed.

“Patience.”

Jimmy opened the box and said, “Welcome, Emergency Plan B, Variation II.” Eric gasped openly and Emma smiled. Encased in the glasses box, six small Morph-Chips glinted in the sunshine. ***************************************** John moaned heavily in his frigid cell, his salty sweat running down his face. He licked it thirstily, his throat crying out for 22

water. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in there, but after the mad German doctor threw him into his cell and left with Elizabeth screaming as they dragged her away, John had spent at least an hour trying to break the door down. When he’d failed, he screamed all the German swear words he knew until a soldier came in to shut him up. John tried to hit him and escape, but the other soldiers heard the commotion and ran in with rods. After that, he was knocked unconscious and when he woke he saw himself covered in bruised and his own blood. His ribs felt fractured and his jaw had a cut that was still raw. John rolled onto his back and stared at the cracked ceiling of his cell.

“God,” he groaned, “How did I get myself into this?”

John listened to the sounds outside. He knew he was underground in the prison of the Nazi’s headquarters. He knew there were a few guards outside, and that every half an hour, they would change shifts. When he was in the military, his commander had a habit of waking up John’s unit and making them do team building drills before sunrise. They had done rescue missions, breaking in exercises and escape operations – but John had a team behind him. All he had now was his wits.

He sat up and pulled off his sweaty shirt. He threw it to the corner of the room and it made a small thumping noise as it hit the floor. John frowned and shuffled over to it. He looked 23

inside the breast pocket, and then he smiled. He pulled out his time machine remote and extra Morph-Chip and lay it in his hands. John smiled to himself. Time for some action, he thought. He stood up and started shouting in German.

“It’s the devil, no please, he has come to take my soul, no, someone help me! Arghhh, he’s killing me!” He made a few more choking noises until he heard footsteps running to his cell door. It opened and revealed an anxious looking German boy who John recognised for a second.

“Sir, is everything alright in here?”

John smiled to himself.

“I’ve seen you before, a while ago, didn’t I?” The young boy smirked. “I saw you with Fräulein Achziger.”

“Ah, yes.”

The boy gave another lopsided grin, and then asked, “They say she is a British spy. But I cannot imagine her being a traitor. She is too kind.”

“She isn’t,” John replied. “In fact, this is a very big misunderstanding. The person in question was actually locked in here before me, but they managed to escape and trap me in their place. I’ve been shouting for an hour, but everyone thinks I am him. I hoped that someone with some common sense would come and release me. It was getting rather hot in there.”

24

The German paled. “Of course, sir, I am sorry sir. If it is as you say, then we must hurry to catch the traitor.”

“Indeed we must. Please follow me.”

The German stepped to the side and allowed bare-chested John to step through the doorway of his cell. As soon as John was out, he casually shoved the German into the cell and slammed the door shut. He heard his anxious shouts and he started beating his fists against the door. John shouted to him, “Hey kid, some advice for you: Don’t believe everything anyone says!”

John ran off laughing at his success and the poor German who was trapped in his cell. He deservs it, John thought.

Still bare chested, John ran through the building, desperately looking for Elizabeth. He paused and caught his breath. A German walked past and John casually walked behind him.

When they had a door on their left, John shoved the German and pushed him through it. They entered a small room, and John heaved the man against the wall.

“Ms Achziger,” he hissed at him. “Where is she?”

The soldier looked at him incredulously, until John jammed his fist into his stomach. The German choked and started coughing loudly.

“Herr Himmler has her,” he gagged, “He plans on using her 25

tonight. He has something special in mind, so he says.

Everyone is invited to watch. She’s in Herr Mengele’s private chambers, on the second floor.” He gasped for air. “Please let me go.”

John thought about it for second, and then replied, “No.” He locked his hands around the man’s neck and held them there until he felt him stop struggling. He rolled the unconscious man over and pulled off his jacket.

“Well this will have to do,” John said as he slipped it on without a shirt. He turned on his heel and walked hurriedly out of the room.

“Okay,” Jimmy said, as he finished injecting the last MorphChip into his hand, “That wasn’t that bad.”

Eric nodded numbly, grasping his forearm. He winced a little, and let go. He scratched his head distractedly.

“Sissy,” said Mickey.

“Giant squid!” Eric retorted.

“Hey you two,” said Emma, “Cut it out. This is serious. ” Sophia nodded at her once, and then asked Jimmy, “Are you sure we can do this?”

Jimmy gulped. “Well, there is a small problem. We might be able to get in to the time machine using the machinery we have here, but once we’re on the other side, only John can re26

open the gate. It will close behind us as soon as we go through because there is nothing keeping it open. When the last of us walk into it, it will simply deactivate, and we have nothing in the past to help us break through John’s bypass.”

Sophia paled a little. “So we’re gonna be stuck there?”

“Theoretically, yes. Until we find John.”

“Hold the mighty horses,” Thomas said, “What if we throw ourselves back into some battlefield? What if we end up on the frontlines? What if the Germans catch us?”

“We just have to be prepared for that,” said Sophia simply.

“I agree,” said Jimmy, who looked into her eyes. “That’s why I have made you all these.”

He walked to the corner of the room and returned lugging six backpacks.

“This is what we’ll be taking with us. They’re filled with supplies, stuff that we’ll probably need to survive. I prepared them myself specifically to cater to your individual… prefrences.”

Thomas slipped off his old backpack and transferred his sacred knife into the new one. He swung it over his shoulder.

“Not bad,” he said appreciatively Sophia too, placed her bag on her muscled shoulders.

“I have to admit,” she said at last, “I am a little impressed.”

Jimmy blushed slightly. “Well you know what they say, be prepared.”

27

“Too right they do!” said Mickey, who was balancing his bag on his head, “What I’d like to know is how you got those extra chip things.”

“Yeah,” said Eric slowly, turning around to face Jimmy, “How did you get them?”

Jimmy smiled. “I invented the things, remember, sir?”

Eric rolled his eyes and Sophia asked, “You invented them?”

Jimmy smiled self-consciously.

“And you’re how old?!”

“Twenty four, miss.”

Sophia frowned, and then looked away.

“What’s her issue?” Jimmy said, “Is she friendly or not?”.

“Don’t judge her man,” said Thomas, walking over. “Our little leader has had it rough. Probably more than any of us. That’s why she’s so harsh. I mean, she enlisted at sixteen. She’s the strongest combatant in the whole US military for the love of God, and she’s only twenty two. That’s gotta mean something right?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy mumbled again.

“Are you two ready?” Sophia called over to them.

Tom smiled. “Coming,” he said.

Thomas walked to her side and the rest of her team stood by her protectively. Under their different jackets, they all wore the same shirt - black, tight and sleeveless. In the bottom right 28

hand corner there was a grey squid, their emblem. The four of them stood in one row, with Sophia in the middle. Jimmy looked up at them, struck with awe.

“Let’s go,” Eric said, “Before Jimmy wets himself with excitement.”

The Squids walked into the lab, while Jimmy and Eric trailed behind them. Mickey giggled gleefully as he approached the main controls of the time machine. He sat down in the chair opposite it, his fingers already wriggling in the air.

“Try send us back to any friendlies who will agree to storm Nazi HQ,” Eric said loudly.

“Don’t let us down Mickey,”” Jimmy said.

The Squids scoffed. Mickey blinked once. “I am the greatest programmer of the century,” he said, “I managed to break through millions of layers of codes in the Pentagon’s security system. I shut down all their communication devices and cameras. They couldn’t see anyone or anything. Even if a nuclear bomb hit them they wouldn’t have known it.”

“That’s how he got in, you know,” said Tom, “To the Squids.

Sophia and I were sent to apprehend the guy who had managed to do something impossible like that. When we found furry little Mickey instead, we had to bring him back with us. A genius like that was just too valuable to let go.”

Mickey raised an eyebrow comically at Jimmy. “You think I 29

won’t be able to crack some sixteen digit code that’s been placed into a second rate computer?” he said to Jimmy.

“How did you know it was sixteen numbers?” asked Jimmy, confused.

“Don’t underestimate the power of the Cyclops.”

Mickey had a strange glint in his eyes as he said, “Let the time travelling begin.”

And then with all the power of a mad hacker, he slammed his hands on the keyboard of the controls and began hitting the keys furiously. “Open sesame,” he whispered at last, and the gateway of the machine hummed into life behind him.

Smiling, the six people walked through it with barely a hiss behind them.

30