by Jason Ayres
It seemed that everything here corresponded with events in his original universe, including all of their adventures with the time bubble. That was up until just over a year ago, when a new and lethal virus had swept the globe, killing all of the males, adults and children, in a swift and brutal manner. They had died in agony in a matter of hours, internal organs literally melting from within.
It had taken just two weeks from the first case being reported in Russia, for every male human on the planet to be declared dead. The world had been in chaos, the remaining 50% of the population having to keep society from completely breaking down. The first and most grisly task for the survivors had been disposing of the bodies.
The heartbreak hadn’t ended there. In the months that followed, male babies born to women who had been pregnant at the time of the outbreak suffered the same fate.
“So the human race is going to die out?” asked Josh. “After all, if there are no men, how can we reproduce?”
“Well, that might not be the case. Wherever the virus came from, there’s evidence to suggest it’s gone. It may have killed all the babies whose mothers were exposed during the outbreak, but a couple of weeks ago, a woman in America gave birth to a male, a baby boy. He was created using artificial insemination from sperm frozen before the virus spread. That boy is still alive.”
“He’s going to be popular at school,” said Josh, remembering his experience of being chased down the street by a crowd of sex-starved women a couple of hours earlier.
“Well, if the virus is indeed gone, they’ll be able to create a whole new breeding stock of males from the sperm still in storage.”
“I hope the virus is gone,” said Josh. “Because I don’t fancy having my internal organs turning into a puddle in the manner you described.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Lauren. “Do you feel OK? It comes on very quickly. Within an hour or so of exposure you start getting flu-like symptoms. How long have you been here?”
“At least two hours,” said Josh. “And I feel fine.”
“I’m very pleased to hear it,” she said, “I’ve got the only man left in the world in my flat; I don’t want him dying on me.” She gave him a look he recognised all too well, leaving him in no doubt as to what she had in mind for him.
Ignoring her blatant hint, Josh tried to keep the conversation on track. “You haven’t told me yet about this plan I had to go the future to find a cure,” said Josh.
“Yes, well, it was a variation on a theme really. You’ll remember Peter had the same idea in order to cure his leukaemia. Well, your plan was to go to the future, find a cure for the virus, and then try and find some way of travelling back in time with it. You didn’t have that ability at the time, but you were convinced you would do eventually.”
“Which I did – in my timeline, anyway,” he replied.
“On the day you left the virus had arrived in the UK, but there hadn’t been any cases in Oxford yet. Peter was due to emerge from the tunnel that day so you went to meet him. He agreed to swap places with you and stay here, in the hope you’d come back with the cure.”
“And presumably I never did?” said Josh.
“No, you didn’t. Until now – except that it isn’t even the same you. And Peter died, along with all the others. Hannah was inconsolable.”
“I wonder what happened to the other me?” pondered Josh. “I’ll probably never know. There are so many other versions of me wandering around the multiverse now that I’ve lost track of them.”
“Well, it’s clearly too late now, even if he does come back. Which just leaves you – and what are you going to do now?” she asked.
“I was hoping I could lie low here for a few hours,” replied Josh, “just until the tachyometer recharges.”
“And then you’ll be off again?” she asked.
“I think I’ll have to,” said Josh. “This isn’t my world, and what’s it going to be like, being the only man here?”
“You could lie and say you’ve had a sex change,” said Lauren. “You’d be amazed how many are. They are hugely popular with women who aren’t quite sure about their sexuality. There’s a whole sexual revolution going on out there.”
“So I’ve seen,” said Josh, recalling the transgender man he had spoken to earlier.
“Of course, being a real man, you’ll never want for female attention,” she added.
“But I’m married,” explained Josh. “I haven’t met my wife yet in this time, but she’s waiting for me in my own time, in my own universe. I can’t give up trying to get back to her.”
“Maybe it’s time you did,” said Lauren. “You said already you’re running out of options. Yes, this world might seem a little strange, but at least it’s not been destroyed by nuclear weapons or still in the Dark Ages. You could make a life here. I’ll help you.”
Josh was finding all of this quite exhausting. It was only early afternoon but his earlier exertions during his escape from the sex-starved mob had tired him out.
“I’ll think about it,” he said. “In the meantime, do you mind if I get my head down for a couple of hours. I’m absolutely knackered.”
“Be my guest,” she said, ushering him through to the bedroom. “I’ll join you if you like.”
“Do you ever think about anything else but sex?” asked Josh.
“Everyone has to have a hobby,” she replied, grinning. “And it’s always better if it’s something you’re good at.”
“You know, there’s one thing that’s consistent about you in every universe,” said Josh. “You’re always a slapper.”
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” she replied.
“Well, I really need to sleep,” he said. “We’ll talk later.”
It was teatime when he woke up. He could hear the TV in the living room, and decided to stay put for a moment and think things through.
He thought about what she had said. Could he stay here? The idea of repopulating the species did have its appeal, but would it really be that fun? What if the Government took him prisoner, poking him, prodding him and taking endless vials of blood from him to try and find out why he was immune to the virus?
What if they decided that letting him fertilise one woman at a time was a waste of sperm? What if they strapped him down and milked him like a cow to get the sperm they needed to fertilise millions? That didn’t sound like fun at all.
The other alternative was to stay hidden in Lauren’s flat forever, but what sort of life would that be? He had tried living with her before and she had driven him crazy in the end. Yes, the sex had been amazing, but the relationship hadn’t. They realised quite quickly that they were better off as friends.
And what about her girlfriend? Would she just casually drop her now she had a man to play with?
He had made his decision. He was going to have to move on. He might as well tell her now, there was no point in putting it off. Dressing quickly, he wandered through to the living room, where she was watching the news.
“Hey, come and look at this,” said Lauren, excitedly, as she heard him enter the room. “You’re on TV.”
Josh looked to see some shaky mobile phone footage that was unmistakeably him, wrestling the woman off her bike prior to peddling his way to freedom earlier in the day. The coverage then cut to interviews with various bystanders, giving their opinions on whether he really was a man or not. This included the transgender man he had spoken to before it had all kicked off and the rather brassy young woman who had grabbed hold of his balls.
In addition, a brief interview with a young policeman, a PC Trafford, revealed that male, or female, he was wanted by the police for assault and bicycle theft. The news then moved on to the sports bulletin which was all about the upcoming women’s football World Cup, which had assumed a whole new level of importance since the demise of the male version.
“Looks like you are going to have to lie low here for a while,” remarked Lauren. “Still, I’m sure we can think of a few
things to do to pass the time,” she added, winking at him. To his shame, and with a feeling of disloyalty to Alice flooding over him, he felt an all too familiar rush of blood to his loins. He had been travelling for weeks now without any intimacy, and his body was responding to his base needs.
He had to try and fight it.
“Look, Lauren, you know I would love to roll in the hay with you, but I can’t stay here. You saw what they were saying on the TV. I’m like some sort of freak show – a real man with real bits. Who knows what they’ll do with me?”
He walked over to his backpack and started to rummage through it, looking for the tachyometer.
“That’s exactly why I want you to stay,” replied Lauren.
“Where is this damned thing!?” he exclaimed, unable to locate the tachyometer in his pack. Had she taken it?
“It’s not there,” she said, confirming his suspicions. “I had a feeling you were going to turn my offer down, so I thought I’d give myself a little bargaining power. Now we both have something each other wants.”
He couldn’t believe it. She was blackmailing him into having sex with her.
“Stop playing games, Lauren. Where is it?”
“Oh, you’ll get it back,” she said playfully, “when I’m ready. Don’t worry: it’s hidden in a safe place. And before you start tearing the place apart, it’s not here. I went out while you were asleep.”
“You can’t keep me here like this against my will,” protested Josh.
“I’m not keeping you against your will. You’re more than welcome to go out that door anytime you like. But remember what happened earlier? Now who do you fancy taking your chances with – me, in a nice cosy bed, or hordes of predatory women out there who haven’t had a man for over a year? They’d rip you to pieces, like dogs fighting over a bone, and you know it.”
She had him over a barrel, and he knew it.
“Why are you so desperate for me?” he asked. “You’ve got Seema.”
“I’ll put it bluntly,” she said. “I want cock.”
“But you and Seema use strap-ons and things, don’t you? I saw them in the bedroom.”
“It’s not the same if it’s not real,” she replied. “Now look, I’ll make a deal with you. You be my sex slave for twenty-four hours until Seema gets back tomorrow night. That’s all I ask. Then you can have your magic wand back – if you still want it after a session with me.”
“And what if Seema catches us in the act?” asked Josh.
“Oh, she won’t mind. She’ll probably join in. We were fantasising about having a threesome just the other night while we were having sex. It really turned her on. So how do you fancy that? It’s meant to be every man’s dream, isn’t it? And just to top it off, she’s famous as well.”
Josh could feel himself wavering.
“And what about Alice?” he asked weakly.
“What happens in this universe stays in this universe,” replied Lauren. “If you ever want to see her again, you don’t really have a choice.”
No matter how much his mind was telling him this was wrong, his body disagreed. The thought of having Lauren and Seema in bed with him had sapped any last ounce of resistance. Lauren knew she had him. Noting the bulge in his trousers, she stood up, took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom. They wouldn’t emerge again until morning.
Chapter Seventeen
March 2014
Josh was sitting on a bench in the park, head in hands. He was virtually on the point of tears at the truly traumatic experience he had just enjoyed.
His emotions were a mix of relief at reaching a place of relative safety, mixed with despair at his ever-deepening predicament. He was feeling extremely sorry for himself, but he knew he only had himself to blame. This mess had all been of his own making and he was accordingly filled with self-recrimination and remorse.
A few days ago it had all been so different. Two days of losing himself in sexual fantasies had allowed him a brief respite from the trials and tribulations of his long journey. But any lingering glow he may have felt from that experience was swiftly erased by the horror of the following world.
Here he had come closer than ever before to losing his life. He thought the nuclear war world had been bad, but at least he had been able to detach himself somewhat from the events that had occurred there. This time, there had been no convenient cellar to hide in – he had been well and truly in the thick of it.
Why hadn’t he just stayed in 2022 with Lauren and Seema? At least he had been safe there, not to mention happy during his short stay in Lauren’s flat, even if it had been on her terms. When Seema returned it got even better. Just as Lauren had predicted, she was every bit as pleased to see him as Lauren. For the next couple of days he enjoyed the greatest sexual adventure of his life.
But he knew he couldn’t live that fantasy forever and while there was still a chance of getting home, he had to try. He also felt guilty at betraying Alice, even if it was another universe and under exceptional circumstances.
Over a takeaway the third night Josh was there, the three of them discussed his options.
Lauren had been against him leaving – she thought he was crazy giving up a safe haven in exchange for the unknown, but Seema disagreed. She felt that they had no right to keep him there against his will and disapproved of the way Lauren had effectively coerced him into sex. She insisted that Lauren should return the tachyometer, putting the decision to stay or go back into Josh’s hands.
Lauren backed down, and the following evening, he jumped from within the flat, figuring that was less risky than venturing out onto the streets again. As long as the building was still standing in 2019 in the next universe, he ought to be OK, although it would be to a time before Lauren had lived there. That meant running the risk of a repeat of the incident when he had disturbed the amorous couple in the hotel room.
That would have been tricky, but it would have been infinitely preferable to what he encountered on arrival in the next world. Within seconds, he realised he had made a ghastly mistake.
It was getting dark when he arrived, but there was still enough light to see that the first-floor flat was almost unrecognisable from the one he had left. There was no one living in it, because it was completely uninhabitable. The windows had been blown inwards, leaving broken glass all over the floor.
Half the front wall that led out onto Walton Street was completely missing, and there was rubble and dust everywhere. Loose pipes and wires were hanging out of what bits of wall remained, and there was water gushing from the pipe where the sink had previously been. At his feet lay a small toy racing car, with the rear wing snapped off.
It looked as if a bomb had gone outside and blown half the front of the building in. Fortunately the part of the floor Josh was standing on was still there, as there was a gaping hole down to the ground-floor flat below. He could also smell gas, so didn’t dare try the light switch, but he doubted whether it would work anyway.
Then he heard an explosion in the distance, and the unmistakeable sound of machine-gun fire. Fearful of what he might see, he made his way carefully to where the window had once been, hoping the remaining portion of the floor wouldn’t give way beneath him.
It looked like something he might have seen on the news from Syria or Iraq. The entire city was devastated, with burnt-out cars, destroyed buildings and smoke and dust everywhere. In the distance, he could see a group of British soldiers in full retreat, firing ahead of them, as a group of what resembled ISIS fighters pursued them.
When another missile hit the building next door, the noise was deafening, taking out another wall and showering him with dust and debris. With his building looking like it might collapse at any moment, he had no choice but to take his chances outside.
A nightmarish night followed which he spent running, hiding and trying to stay alive. It was exhausting, terrifying and distressing. He witnessed some truly horrific things along the way, from raped and murdered women to dead children,
some still clutching soft toys they had been holding when they were killed.
He escaped only by a hair’s breadth, the tachyometer turning green not long after dawn, just as he was cornered by an ISIS fighter. If he had entered the bubble a fraction of a second later he would have been dead, ripped to pieces by the hail of bullets unleashed in his direction.
That had left him here, all the way back in 2014. He hadn’t been able to do any of the things he had hoped in 2019, busy as he was just trying to stay alive. So now he was stuck with a load of useless currency that he wouldn’t be able to spend for years. He had about a fiver in loose change that was still legal tender and all the money he had in the world.
He was now in a time before the time bubble had been discovered. Neither his thirteen-year-old self nor any of his friends would know anything about it so there would be no help there. He could hardly approach them, anyway. A fifty-three-year-old man accosting some young teens with stories of time travel would probably be labelled a paedophile.
There was only one person who might listen to him in this time, and he lived back in his home town. Spending his last few pounds on the train fare, he left Oxford and headed home once more.
At least this world seemed normal, something for which he could be thankful. He may have no money, no home, and no food but at least he was alive and not about to be blown up, shot or otherwise despatched from the world.
His plan was to visit Peter, who at this time had been one of his schoolteachers. It had been Peter in whom he and Charlie had first confided when they had discovered the time bubble all those years ago. He had been open-minded about it then; hopefully he would be again.
All Josh really needed right now was someone to talk to who might understand, give him some shelter and help him out in the short term. If he was here for the long term, well, he still had his list of sporting results. If he could convince Peter of the truth, then perhaps they could come to some sort of arrangement.