Last Chance

by Bradley Boals

  “You make a very good point, Connor, and I wish we had the time to prepare all of you better, but we don’t. When you saw the light coming from the warehouse window, I was actually doing two things.” He clarified that he was harvesting the energy that would be needed to run the time tunnel and he was also moving his base of operations from that building to their current location.

  “You see, boys, our operation is constantly avoiding Sector 1’s sweeps and scans of the planet; we have to keep moving or they’ll discover what we’re up to.” He explained that the power grids for each sector could power the tunnel. He also explained that he could only harness enough of that power to keep the tunnel active for two weeks.

  Matthew asked, “Are you saying that we only have two weeks to convince this girl that she should give us that charm?”

  Walter responded, “Of course not.” The boys felt relieved until Walter finished his response. “You will probably only have about a week and a half by the time you get to her town, find her, and actually introduce yourselves to her.”

  Connor threw his hands up in the air and started to berate Walter. “This is just great; we have a freakin’ time machine here, but we don’t have any time to get ready to go two hundred years in the past. Then when we get there, we have a whole two weeks to get the job done!”

  “That’s right,” responded Walter.

  Matthew interjected, “I just don’t understand. When we go back in time and then come back, won’t it be instantaneous to you here? We can just come back a couple of seconds after we leave.”

  Johnson disagreed and asked Walter to explain “the whole time travel thing” to the boys. Walter walked over to the desk and drew a line on it. He explained that time travel is a bit different from what the boys may have seen in the movies.

  “The tunnel must remain open the entire time that you are gone, and I must monitor it to make sure nothing comes through it that shouldn’t come through it. The entire two weeks that you are gone, two weeks will pass here as well.”

  April asked, “So the tunnel only works in one direction; is that what you are saying?”

  Walter responded, “In simple terms, you’re correct. One of the reasons I chose this location for this trip is based on its location. None of this was here in 1984.” Walter went on to explain that the current base of operation was part of a national park and the location would be well hidden when they arrived in the Atlanta area in the year 1984.

  “I can only keep the tunnel open for two weeks. The power we’ll be pulling from the sector power supplies will lead G1 right to our door if we pull for any longer.”

  Matthew asked, “What is G1?”

  Johnson explained, “G1 stands for Government 1; that’s what we call sector leaders and Sector 1’s hit men who continually search for us. Our goal is to avoid anyone associated with G1.”

  Walter told the boys and April to get some sleep and rest up for the trip. “Time travel is going to take a bit out of you, even with the health charm around your neck. It will keep you from completely passing out, but it will probably take a couple of hours to really get to feeling good again. You may even have some hallucinations, so don’t freak out if you see tiny pink elephants dancing around when you come to.”

  Walter led them to a side room. “Rest up and I’ll come and get you when the tunnel is ready.” The boys and April entered the room with little talk and all three lay down on the bed in the corner of the otherwise empty room.

  Matthew pondered a question as he was lying between his brother and mother that everyone seemed to have forgotten about. He still didn’t know who killed Brett back at the old warehouse. He began to bring it up to his mother and brother, but before he could, April said, “Let’s just get some sleep, boys.”

  Connor replied, “I agree, let’s just get a little shut-eye.”

  Matthew didn’t want to be the one to ruin the excitement of the moment and decided to keep quiet about the warehouse incident. For all he knew, Brett just had an accident. Maybe Keith Kellington had something to do with it. The worry drained from Matthew as he tried to close his eyes and get some sleep. The excitement of the pending trip was just too much to bear for the new Chance family, and they simply lay there in silence until a knock was heard at the door a few hours later.

  Walter Wainright poked his head into the room and asked, “Are you ready to go?”

  They had all daydreamed about what they were about to do. Each of them had their own ideas of what 1984 would be like. April worried about their mission and how the boys would handle themselves. Connor fantasized about Amanda Curry. He was her hero and she rewarded him with a kiss and the attribute charm. Matthew thought of nothing but the three men from Johnson’s team who had sacrificed themselves for him and his family. He wondered where that fire and passion came from.

  April and the boys were given clothes that accurately matched the style of the time. The boys were both in stonewashed jeans and T-shirts, while April was put into a kind of cloth jumpsuit. The jumpsuit was pink with white sneakers to go with it. She refused to put on the matching headband.

  Connor commented, “You know, this isn’t so bad; I kind of like the jeans.”

  April replied, “I look ridiculous. Is this really what women wore back then?”

  Walter said, “I’ve been around for a long time. You’ll just have to trust me.”

  Walter and Johnson led the boys and April back into the R tunnel room. The Chance family could see that the tunnel was fired up, and it looked ready to go. Johnson pulled out three backpacks and gave one to each member of the family.

  Connor asked, “What are these for?”

  “These are important items that you’ll need for the trip. There are some gadgets that could come in handy in Matthew’s bag.”

  Matthew asked, “What kind of gadgets?”

  “Alien gadgets, my boy. Don’t worry about them right now; I’m sending instructions along so you know what they’re for.”

  Walter reached into his pocket and pulled out one last item. “I almost forgot to give you this watch.” Walter placed a fairly large watch on Matthew’s wrist. It was silver with a shiny, almost glistening look to it.

  Matthew asked, “Is this some type of special time watch that helps us know how much time we have to get back to the tunnel?”

  Walter, astonished, replied, “Actually, that’s exactly what it is, and more. You see the four buttons on the side; each has a special trait that you will learn about later. I want you to pay close attention to this button on the top of the watch.”

  Walter pointed to a triangular button that had a small flap covering it. “This button should only be pushed in an emergency situation, and it can only be pressed once.”

  Connor motioned to Matthew and said, “Maybe I should hold on to it for you?”

  Walter shook his head and said, “No, the watch is for Matthew.” Matthew looked down at the face of the watch and saw a counter regressing from 336. Walter grabbed Matthew’s wrist and said, “That is 336 hours from the time you go through the tunnel to when you need to be coming home. If you’re down to zero, you’ll be stuck in the past and the future will be as it is now—ruined.”

  April asked a final question. “Anything else we need to know before we leave?”

  Walter pulled his hand up to his goatee and said, “Yes, one last thing. Remember what you’re there to do. Get the pendant and get home. We want to make sure that things stay as close to actual events of the time as possible. Any major changes could be a disaster to current time.”

  Walter hugged April. The two boys got a hearty handshake. “All I can do is wish you luck and safety.” Walter moved back to the control panel, pushed a couple of buttons, and the R tunnel wall lit up as bright as the youngest star in the sky. “It’s time.”

  April took one hand of each of the boys, and they slowly made their way to the
light of the tunnel. Connor yelled to Walter, “Is this going to hurt?”

  Walter screamed back, “Probably!” In the blink of an eye, the Chance family was gone.

  Chapter 8

  will work for food

  The kaleidoscope of colors and images overpowered the senses as Matthew, Connor, and April entered the R tunnel. Matthew looked to his right and saw April grasping his hand. The flow of light and sound surrounded Matthew as if trapped inside of a rolling disco ball. Matthew looked to his left and observed random images of time as they passed all around him.

  Bright illumination intermixed with the reflections of people and places that had long since passed away. Matthew found it difficult to know whether he or the tunnel was moving. It was hard to tell how much time passed while in the vortex. The three members of the Chance family looked at one another and wondered when the psychedelic slide show would end.

  Suddenly, as if someone had flicked the power off to a television set, all three of them were lying on their backs, surrounded by the sweet smell of fresh flowers and grass. Matthew looked up and noticed the bushy overgrowth of tall maple trees as the sun peeked through gaps in the leaves. The awkward shape of a cactus tree caught his attention, and he tried to pick himself up from the ground.

  April got up from the ground first and said, “OK, that was weird. You boys all right?”

  Connor popped up and replied, “I feel like an alien charm is filling me up with goodness and feelings of the supernatural kind.”

  April replied, “I’ll take that as a yes. How about you Matthew?”

  Matthew pushed himself up from a seated position and wandered around the area. He spotted a small cave covered up just behind him. The cave hid the flashing lights and images that made up the tunnel. He took a deep breath and said, “The tunnel should be hidden well in that cave.” Matthew looked down at his watch. “We have just over 335 hours to do what we need to do.”

  April opened up her backpack, full of papers and notebooks sent by Mr. Wainright. She leaned back against the stump of an old tree and opened a notebook titled, “OPEN ME FIRST.” April read through the first few paragraphs and chuckled.

  Connor asked, “What’s so funny?”

  April looked up from the page and explained, “Nothing really—it’s just that the first sentence on this page says that if we are reading this first sentence, that means we didn’t blow up on the trip through the tunnel.”

  Connor replied, “Nice to know his confidence was so high.”

  Matthew asked, “OK, so what are we supposed to do now, Mom?”

  April thought, Mom! Hearing that will never get old. The boys noticed her grin and knew the significance of a “mom” comment.

  “Based on what Walter gave us, it looks like we’re in the middle of a state park called Spicewater.” She explained that there should be a creek and small lake located just north of their location. They needed to find the creek and follow it east until they arrived at the park’s main office.

  They all stood still and concentrated on the sound of running water. Matthew and Connor both exclaimed, “I hear it!” Matthew pointed in a direction that could only be described as down a hill and to the east of the tunnel.

  Connor said, “But I actually heard it first.”

  April replied, “It doesn’t matter who heard it first; it only matters that we find it.”

  The family took off down the hill. They were almost to the bottom when Matthew asked, “How are we gonna find the tunnel again when it’s time to go home?” April opened her notebook again and stopped the boys’ progress.

  “You’re right; I should have read farther down the page. Walter says that your watch has a locator function that can be used to mark the position of the tunnel. It says that you can point the watch at the location you want to find later and just push this button and it stores it for later.”

  April showed Matthew the button and Matthew turned his wrist toward the opening of the small cave. The watch emitted a small red beam. It hit the face of the cave opening and then disappeared. A small icon blinked on the face of the watch that stated “Store 1.” He looked over at Connor. “I guess it worked.”

  April added, “Based on Walter’s description, all we have to do is hit that icon when it’s time to get to the tunnel, and the watch will lead us there.”

  Matthew replied, “We’ll just look for the area close to the cactus tree.”

  Connor asked, “What cactus tree?”

  The Chances continued their trek to the creek. They jumped over logs, dodged mud holes, and listened for the sounds of rushing water. Birds rattled the tree limbs and took off and landed in unison with the family’s steps. Matthew and Connor helped their mother maneuver through the thick woods.

  They reached the creek in a short time and Connor asked, “Does anyone know which way is east?”

  Matthew’s watch had a compass, so he tried to navigate. “Yeah, we need to follow the creek downstream, per the watch.”

  Connor grabbed Matthew’s wrist and exclaimed, “Dang! I should have gotten a watch, too. I get dibs on the first gadget thing that Walter said is in your bag.”

  April walked in between the two boys and put her arms around them. “Let’s get going; I’m not sure how far we are from this office, and I don’t want to get caught out here in the dark.”

  The family walked alongside the park’s creek and were amazed at all they saw. The wonderful colors of the changing leaves on the trees were all around them. The slight noises, cracks, and pops of the woods around them kept their senses awake and in tune with their surroundings. April said, “It’s so beautiful here; it’s even nicer than the park back home.” It was a perfect fall day in the state of Georgia.

  They followed the creek until they ran into a large, sparkling lake. There were hundreds of people on the water in boats, and ducks landed with little effort along the edges of the banks. In all, the Chances had completed their walk in less than thirty minutes. They were only a few minutes away from the park office, as Connor pointed out.

  “That must be it!” he exclaimed.

  Matthew asked, “How do you know?”

  Connor pointed to a sign just a few feet ahead that read “Park Office” and had an arrow pointing to the building. “I can read, you moron.”

  Before they left the lakeshore, Matthew asked, “What are those people in the boats doing with those long sticks?”

  Connor didn’t know, so they both looked to April for an explanation. April opened her notebook and hoped to find an answer. Instead of answering, she changed the subject. “We need to get up to that office and see if we can get a ride into town. It looks like we’re going to Atlanta.”

  Connor asked, “Is that the name of a town or are we looking for someone named Atlanta?”

  Matthew took the opportunity and repaid the moron comment. “Now who’s the stupid one? Don’t you remember anything we read?” Connor shrugged his shoulders.

  “Atlanta was a really big city back then. There were no districts, just cities. I think the smaller areas are called towns.”

  April chimed in. “That’s right; I think our district is really close to where Atlanta was located back then.”

  Connor rolled his eyes. “Fine, it’s a city then; let’s just figure out how to get there.”

  April led the boys up a narrow path to the park office. She saw a park ranger loading up some gear into the back of an old red-and-white pickup truck. April approached the ranger and asked, “Excuse me, sir, can you tell me if there is any way to get a ride into Atlanta from here?”

  The ranger turned around and the family was flashed by a name tag that read “Joe.” He had a comforting smile that ran from ear to ear. “Well, yes, ma’am, there’s a bus that runs from here to the city every couple of hours you can catch a ride on.”

  The southern accent of the ranger wa
s startling but endearing to the Chance family. “Only two bucks apiece for the ride.”

  April replied, “Two bucks, you say. Well, that’s not bad at all. Do you happen to know when the next bus arrives?”

  Joe took a look out over the lake. “Most of the fishermen have finished up for the day and there are only a few boats on the water, so it’s about five. There should be another bus in about fifteen minutes.”

  Matthew took Connor by the shirt sleeve and whispered, “Fishing…of course…I read about that.”

  Joe pointed to a bench at the front of the office and said, “Just wait over by the bench and take bus number 2212. It’ll get you back to civilization. If you need anything else, just ask for Ranger Joe Walley.” April thanked the young ranger and motioned for the boys to follow her.

  April said, “OK, boys, I’m pretty sure I saw some numbers on some green pieces of paper in my bag. That’s probably the two bucks that the ranger was talking about for the bus, but I have one question.”

  Matthew interrupted his mother. “Let me guess? What’s a bus?”

  April furled her brow and glared back at Matthew. “I know what a bus is; it’s like a transport with no rails. What I wanted to ask was if you noticed anything strange about that man, Ranger Joe?”

  Connor asked his mother, “Did you notice anything strange?”

  “Just that he was so nice and helpful. He had on a uniform and everything, just like one of the security team members back home.”

  Matthew looked to his mother as they reached the bench and said, “Maybe men in uniform are just nicer in 1984.”

  There were others waiting by the benches when the Chances arrived. There was an older couple with a child, probably no more than six or seven years old, looking through a pamphlet about the park. The young girl sat on the older gentleman’s lap as he pointed out things on the map they had seen earlier in the day.