The Mission of No Return

by Frank Cereo

  “Who the hell are you? You better have a good explanation why you’re on my property.” Harold said as he lifted the seaman up by the neck and off the ground and wedged him against the pallets.

  “My, my name is James Chamberlain. You know me I came in looking for a job.” The seaman answered very nervously.

  “Yeah, right, you do look familiar. Now tell me what the hell you are doing on my property hiding behind a stack of empty pallets.” Harold asks with a cocky attitude.

  “Well you see I have no place to stay so I settled right here.” The seaman answered as he stutters.

  “Wrong answer James! You have a brand new Coast Guard blanket and your thermos here is also new. If you were a poor man with nowhere to live it wouldn’t be right here near the water where the air temperature is twenty degrees colder than in town. Boy, you better start telling the truth before I beat it out of you.” Harold says as he lifts his fist up and cocks it behind his head.

  “You wouldn’t hit a homeless man would you?” The seaman pleads.

  “Wrong answer,” Harold says as he blasts the seaman right in the mouth.

  Blood spatters everywhere as the punch busted the seaman’s mouth wide open. A few teeth were also expelled with the fierce hit that Harold unloaded on the sailor. The punch was so vicious that it knocked the seaman out cold as Harold held him up by his collar.

  “What the hell is this?” Harold says to himself as he notices the seaman’s dog tags.

  With one quick jerk Harold pulls off the dog tags and puts them in his pocket. Harold picks up the seaman and throws him over his shoulder and carries him towards the hanger just as Huey and Stephanie are exiting.

  “Who is that?” Stephanie asks.

  “Come on in and we can find out together.” Harold says as he enters into the hanger.

  Harold carries the seaman into the office of the hanger which is located in the front corner on the second floor. Harold carries the seaman up the fifteen steps so effortlessly. When he reaches the top Harold unlocks the door and carries the unconscious man into the office. Harold turns on the light and sets the man on an office chair with wheels. Harold then duct tapes the seaman to the chair with his hands wrapped around the arm rests and his legs taped to the back of the chair. Harold then pulls the dog tags out of his pocket and reads the name out loud.

  “Chief Raymond Francis Reyes.” Harold says to Huey and Stephanie.

  “Who the hell is he?” Huey asks.

  “I have to presume that Captain Roy is up to his old tricks.” Harold says as he slaps the seaman gently to awaken him.

  Raymond is slow to awaken as he tries to regain his composure. He spits on the floor as he gags to get the blood and teeth out of his mouth. He shakes his head as he tries to figure out what just happened to him. Harold being nice grabs a water bottle from the closet of the office. He opens it up and gives Raymond a sip of water.

  “I’m only going to ask this once. Now Raymond please tell me what the hell you’re doing on my property.” Harold says as puts the bottle of water on the desk.

  “I think if I were you I would answer the question immediately and save yourself a lot of aggravation.” Huey says.

  “Stick it up your ass.” Raymond answers as he spits blood on Harold’s shoe.

  “So that’s how it going to be” Harold says as he backhands Raymond.

  The chair flips backward and when it hits the floor Raymond’s head bounces off the wooden floor like a toy. As he hits the floor Stephanie turns her head away not to see the incident. Raymond on the other hand opens and closes his eyes as he tries figure out what just happened. Harold grabs Raymond and pulls him back upright. You can see the red marks on Raymond’s face where the blow hit. Every finger mark was as prominent on his cheek as if they belonged there.

  “This is your last chance asshole because if you continue to play games I’m going to take you out on my boat and chain a few bricks to that chair and send you deep sea fishing. The only problem is, you’re the bait.” Harold says as he pulls a pair of brass knuckles out of his desk.

  With one final blow from the brass knuckles that breaks Raymond’s nose and sends a river of red down his face he began to chirp like a bird in cage. All the information that was discussed in Captain Elroy’s office was revealed. The clock had now started ticking and Huey and Stephanie were running out of time.

  “What is left to repair on that time machine?” Harold asks Huey and Stephanie.

  “Everything has been replaced and tested individually. We have not tested the unit as a whole.” Stephanie replies.

  “It’s a half past four. I would say you have three, maybe four hours until Roy gets that search warrant. What do you need me to get before you depart?” Harold asks.

  “Just get some water and dry food. We don’t know where this thing is going to land and we want to be prepared. What about him?” Stephanie asks as she points to Raymond.

  “There are a couple of cases of water in the closet along with a first aid kit. I will run out and get some dry food and don’t worry about him I’ll take care of him.” Harold answers.

  Stephanie grabs one case of water and the first aid kit while Huey grabs two cases of water. Harold on the other hand picks up Raymond still taped in the chair and carries him down the stairs and throws him into the bed of his pickup truck. With one quick toss Raymond landed on his side and his head careened off the metal bed of the pickup.

  Stephanie and Huey began to run the diagnostics and put the time machine through three simulations. Every time the same result occurred they landed accurately and in the proper time frame. These tests were time consuming and they both lost track of the time as the clock approached seven am. The sky began to brighten as the sun began to rise. Both Huey and Stephanie were exhausted from the lack of sleep but adrenaline kept them going.

  Harold returned with a case of trail mix, a box of jerky, and a case of Doritos. He carried the supplies in through the door of the hanger. As he entered he noticed a couple of men dressed in suits sitting on the other side of the parking lot on government land. They both looked very suspicious as they turned their heads to look away when Harold noticed them. Harold locked the door to the hanger as he carried the three boxes in with ease. Harold then proceeded to enter into the secluded section where the time machine was housed.

  “I hope you two have completed your tests because we have company arriving outside.” Harold said as he sets the dry goods on the floor.

  “I think we are as ready as we will ever be.” Huey says as he grabs one of the boxes and loads it on to the time machine.

  Harold goes to the door to the compartment and closes it just as he sees the main door kicked in. You could hear someone yelling “This is the police we have a search warrant. We know you’re in here come out with your hands up and surrender.” Harold proceeded to lock the door from the inside as he makes his way to the time machine.

  “The one thing I wanted from you was to take you out on a date.” Harold said to Stephanie as he helps her take the last of the dry goods onto the time machine.

  “What, what are you talking about?” Stephanie asks.

  “Forget it you need to go.” Harold says as he closes the hatch to the time machine and makes his way back toward the door.

  On the inside of the time machine, Huey begins to start the engines. The rumbling could be heard outside in the main hanger as all fifteen government officials and Coast Guard members gather just outside the door. The door to the compartment was kicked in as the government officials began to infiltrate the room. Harold hit the floor just underneath the time machine. Then he heard a loud metallic sound as he looked up at Stephanie who had just opened the hatch.

  “Come on get your ass in here before they shoot it off.” Stephanie said with her hand extended.

  Harold got up off that floor quicker than a jack rabbit running from a wolf. He could feel the bullets whizzing by him as he climbed up the ladder in a flash. As Harold entered the bridge
to the time machine Stephanie shut and latched the hatch behind her. Stephanie and Harold then proceeded to strap themselves in as quickly as possible as Huey pushed the button into the future. The time machine was gone in a flash and the government officials were left standing in an empty room. They all looked at each other like they were crazy. They knew what they witnessed could not be told to their superiors or they would be sent away for insanity reasons.

  As the ship traveled into the future they were headed for a rendezvous with their space cruiser Evolution on the day of the launch to Jupiter. The only problem was they were one passenger heavy with Harold on board.

  “I have one question for you.” Huey asks

  “What’s that?” Harold replies.

  “What’s with the case of Doritos?” Huey asks.

  “I love those things man. I don’t leave home without them.” Harold replied as all three laughed so loud that tears began to well in their eyes.

  Chapter 31- Rendezvous

  The time machine moved towards the future with a fifty-three year journey that would last about thirty minutes. With Harold on board they had to do some quick thinking as he wasn’t part of the mission. The years were clicking towards mission date October 17, 2263 that was entered into the system by Huey before departure.

  “What’s in the future for me?” Harold asks.

  “A new life!” Stephanie replies with a smile.

  “Stephanie we should reprogram the computer and drop Harold off somewhere in the near future from the date we left.” Huey says.

  “Why?” Stephanie exclaims.

  “We know the time machine can go into the past but we don’t know what the future brings. We have seen with Amanda that we cannot coexist during the same time frame of our real lives. I don’t know what’s going to happen when the time machine comes to a stop. I know we are safe inside the machine while we are moving through the years but what happens when we exit the time machine. But we have to go to the future and try to make things right” Huey says.

  The year on the data display shows 2227 as the months are clicking about one every second.

  “How do you know we’re safe in here?” Stephanie asks.

  “We have already passed my birth year of 2213 and I’m still here unlike Amanda.” Huey says as he points to the calendar date.

  “You’re right we are approaching my birth year of 2230.” Stephanie replies as she squirms in her seat as her birthday passes on the calendar.

  “You mean to say you two don’t know what to expect when we reach the future. That’s just great!” Harold says.

  The year on the data display has just changed to 2242.

  “With my calculations we have about ten minutes until we reach our destination date. Why don’t we go back into the past during a safe period in time and live a peaceful life.” Huey says with a serious look on his face.

  “No I want to live my life during my life period. I love my family and boy friend and I want to take my chances on reaching home. My vote is to stay the course.” Stephanie stammers.

  “Well if go back now to Alaska during my time frame I will be wanted by the law. I should have totally ignored you three when you arrived. I would still be living a good life and fighting with Captain Elroy. My vote is to go forward I have nothing left in the past.” Harold adds.

  “I have a bad feeling about this but since I’m out voted two to one I will go along with the majority.” Huey says as he looks back up at the calendar.

  The year on the data display has just changed to 2259.

  “Okay people we have about one minute until we reach departure date on the Jupiter mission. Now would be our last chance to change our minds.” Huey says as the date changes to 2260.

  “My mind is set. Let’s reach departure date and see what happens.” Stephanie says as her eyes are affixed to the data display as it changes to 2261.

  The cabin of the time machine goes quiet as the clock approaches the set date.

  “What can we do when we reach the departure date to prevent what we just lived through?” Huey asks.

  “We already know what’s going to happen and we can prevent the Evolution from passing through the time warp.” Stephanie replies.

  “That’s in theory. We don’t know what’s going to happen when we reach the departure date. For all I know we are going to turn to dust just like Amanda.” Huey says in an angered voice.

  The year switches over to 2263 on the data display as the months roll forward.

  “Well we’re almost here.” Harold says.

  August, September, October, and then the days start to click forward. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 and then everything stops as the engine shuts down in the time machine.

  “Nothing happened, we did it. Its midnight and we have just over fifteen hours before departure. Let’s see where we are and if we can reach the Cape before three pm.” Stephanie says as she approaches the hatch.

  “Don’t go out there. We have no clue where we landed.” Huey says to Stephanie.

  “Well we won’t know by just sitting here and waiting. From the feel of it we are on solid ground.” Stephanie says in a fit of joy.

  Stephanie turns the screws and spins the hatch until it releases. She opens the hatch and gets a breath of fresh air as it rushes into the cabin.

  “Smell that fresh country air.” Stephanie says as she starts to climb down the ladder.

  Stephanie crawls out from the bottom of the hatch and she makes her way into the open. With her arms up in the air she does a ballerina pirouette.

  “It absolutely beautiful out here, I think we landed somewhere near….” Stephanie says before she goes dead silent.

  “Stephanie, are you alright?” Harold yells from inside the time machine

  There is no answer from Stephanie or a sound from the outside. Harold wastes no time to climb down the ladder. As he climbs out from underneath the time machine she is nowhere to be seen.

  “Stephanie, where are you? Steph come on out. This is no time to kid around.” Harold yells with his hands cupped.

  “Harold, is Stephanie out there?” Huey asks from inside the time machine.

  “Huey it’s like she disappeared.” Harold says.

  “Can you decipher where we landed.” Huey says as he is still inside the time machine.

  “From what I can tell there are a lot of pine trees and its pretty cold with snow flurries. Hey wait a minute I see a sign over there. I’ll be right back.” Harold says as he darts over to the sign.

  The sign reads” Welcome to Big Horn National Park Wyoming. Your elevation is eight thousand three hundred and sixty two feet.” In the darkness there is enough light emitting from the snow on the ground to read the bold yellow print on the sign. Harold turns to let Huey know when he loses his footing. Harold grabs onto a pine tree and pulls himself back up. He turns around and is shocked to see a sheer drop off that he almost went plummeting to his death. Harold puts two and two together and figures Stephanie saw the same sign but lost her footing and went down the steep cliff.

  “Stephanie, are you down there? Steph can you hear me?” Harold yells down the cliff.

  Again there is no answer as Harold runs back to get Huey.

  “Huey, I think Stephanie might have fallen off the cliff. We are in Big Horn National Park, Wyoming. I think she did the same thing I did and ran to the sign. Come on and grab the first aid kit. She may need help.” Harold says as he is out of breath.

  “I got the first aid kit and I’m coming down the ladder.” Huey says as he starts to make his way down the ladder.

  “Where did she fall?” Huey asks.

  “Follow me the sign and cliff are right over here.” Harold says as he makes his way to the site.

  Both men hustle to the site and then Harold hears a thud. Harold turns around and about ten feet behind him lays the first aid kit. Harold does a double take as he looks around and Huey is nowhere to be seen. Harold bends down and picks up the first aid kit and
doesn’t understand what just happened.

  “Huey don’t play games where the hell are you?” Harold yells in all directions.

  The flurries turn into a full fledged snow storm. Harold made his way back to the time machine where he waited patiently for the return of Stephanie and Huey. As Harold reentered the time machine he didn’t feel like himself. He looked at his hands that were wrinkled with his veins showing through. Harold looked into a piece of glass on the console of the time machine. He didn’t recognize the old man that he was seeing as his thirty eight year old body aged fifty three years during the time travel. When he exited the time machine his body caught up to the current date as he was now an old man of ninety one. Harold not knowing how to use the time machine decided to wait out the storm. He ate and drank some the supplies and his frozen body was found in the spring. The time machine that Harold’s body was found in was used as the prototype that was used to go back in time to retrieve the crew of the Evolution during the Cretaceous Period.

  The date is October 17, 2263. The mission is the exploration of Jupiter. Technology has moved and grown a long way as Earth is becoming inhabitable due to high pollution and the lack of natural resources. The five day mission is to test drive the new engines and to explore a new sign of life on Jupiter. As Huey and Stephanie sat harnessed in their seats for the awaited journey to a far off world, they wondered what new adventures they would find.

  Every time that Huey and Stephanie exit the time machine at midnight on October 17, 2263, their bodies turned to dust. All in all the repeat effect that transpires continuously restarts the Mission of No Return.

  For more stories by Frank Cereo please visit his website www.frankcereo.com