Collision

by John Williamson

  It was difficult for Elle to take it all in.

  “Why don’t you stay tonight,” said Jenny. “Zag won’t be back tonight.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m messing you about.”

  “Don’t worry. He’s already had what he came for. I’ll show you tomorrow where Elle lives.”

  In the morning, Jenny drove Elle around to a house and parked outside.

  “What do we do now?” said Elle.

  “Maybe I should go in and speak to her first.”

  Elle nodded. Jenny climbed out the car and went to the door. Elle had a brief glimpse of her counterpart before she closed the door. A feeling of despair raked through her body. Her life in 2046 had been taken over by a clone of herself. She no longer belonged here. She was the stranger and she wanted to cry. She waited for half an hour in the car before Jenny returned.

  “She wants to see you,” said Jenny. “She’s on her own.”

  Elle got out of the car and walked towards the door. As she got there, the door opened and she saw her counterpart fully for the first time. It was like looking at her identical twin who she never knew existed.

  “My god, it’s true. So you were the woman on the beach in the rain sixteen years ago. I still have that big hermit crab shell you gave me.”

  “Yes it was me.”

  “And you saved my parents’ lives.”

  “They were my parents as well.” Elle looked at the electronic images of her parents on a hologram sitting on the coffee table. They were sixteen years older than they were when she last saw them, but it was clearly them.

  “So how can this be? That we both exist in this same time period,” said her counterpart.

  “I don’t know.”

  “But you’re the physicist. You should know.”

  “It’s a paradox, but time travel is itself a kind of paradox.”

  There was a nervous silence.

  “So we are the same? We have the same memories.”

  “That’s right; up to the age of twelve. Then I was brought up by my aunt and uncle, while you were brought up by my parents. My uncle was a Physicist and encouraged me in that direction. One of the earliest books he gave me was H G Wells’s Time Machine. I guess you had different influences.”

  “That’s right. I just wanted to be a doctor like mum and dad. So I specialised in genetics.”

  “Jenny said you were married.”

  “Yes, George.”

  She pressed a button and the hologram on the table changed to a man.

  “He’s nice, you have good taste.”

  “Do you want to see my baby?”

  “I’d love to.”

  “You’ll have to be quiet. She’s asleep up stairs.”

  Her counterpart led her upstairs to the baby’s bedroom. She opened the door and Elle saw her sleeping there, sucking her thumb; a beautiful little girl made of her own DNA. Elle was beginning to realise just how much she had changed her own timeline. This could have been her life, if her parents had not died in her timeline. They returned downstairs.

  “What are you going to do now?” said her counterpart.

  “I don’t know,” said Elle.

  “You’re welcome to stay here. It would be great to have a twin sister.”

  But Elle knew she didn’t belong in 2046; that was her counterpart’s world and her counterpart’s life. She was just a ghost from a different timeline that didn’t exist anymore. Her world had gone forever and she felt a horrible sense of loneliness.

  “I don’t think so; this is your world. Not mine.”

  “Tell me about your time in 2011,” said her counterpart.

  Elle told her story again in detail. When she finished her counterpart asked a question: “So if you love this Ben Turner so much, why not go back and make a life in 2011?”

  It was such a simple question. Elle always expected to go back to see him again; but to stay there?

  “Maybe. I’ll have to see how things go.”

  Ten minutes later she said goodbye to her counterpart and left the house. She smiled at Jenny, who had been patiently waiting for her in the car.

  “I have to go now. Back to 2011,” she said to Jenny.

  “Will you come back again?”

  “I really don’t know.”

  An hour later she had said goodbye to Jenny and left in the craft to head back to 2011.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Time: current day

  A lot had happened in the six months since Elle had left him. Ben had received an offer from a London-based investment bank to work in their risk department for a six-figure salary and bonus. It looked like a dream job, but he turned it down. He surprised even himself, but it wasn’t what he wanted anymore. The money was unimportant. Elle had re-ignited his own self-belief in his research.

  With Rider gone, he was made acting head of the Physics department at the university. It was a temporary position while the university found a replacement. But at least, for the time being, it gave him the freedom he wanted to pursue his research as he sought fit. His big hope was that Elle would return when it was safe to do so, and being at the same place helped to reinforce that belief.

  Just when it would be safe for Elle to return, he had no idea. He had a feeling that he was being followed everywhere; that his phone was tapped and that the security services had not given up on monitoring him. Perhaps Richard’s paranoia had rubbed off onto him.

  Ben was drinking his second coffee of the day when his mobile rang. At first his mind blocked it out, but then reluctantly he picked it up. Stuart’s name came up on the screen of the phone. Ben answered it: “Hi Stuart, what’s up?”

  “I thought you might like to come up to Scotland for the weekend.”

  “Jane has not put you up to this, has she?” Ben said. He knew he had been bad company since Elle had left and it was just the kind of thing that Jane would do to cheer him up.

  “No Ben, it’s not Jane. It’s Kirsty’s eighteenth birthday, and we’re having a party for her. I want it to be special. Could you come up for a couple of days? If nothing else it will be an opportunity for you to relax and chill out.”

  It was an easy decision to make.

  “I’ll be up Friday evening,” said Ben.

  “Good. I’ve got an eighteen-year old malt to celebrate just waiting for you. See you then.”

  The trip to Scotland brought sad memories to Ben. The last time he had been there had been with Elle and he missed her so much. By the time he got there, he was more than prepared for the glass of malt that Stuart had promised him. The door opened and Stuart ushered Ben into the study. Stuart offered Ben a leather chair in the study and went over to the cabinet to pour them both a malt.

  “So how’s the research going?” said Stuart.

  “I’m making progress. At least I have a little more time these days.”

  “Then your relationship with the university has improved.”

  “I wouldn’t say that exactly; but they need me as an acting Head of Department at the moment until they can recruit someone to replace Rider.”

  “We’ve had some changes at the university here. I’ve just taken over the role of Head of Mathematics; so there’s a vacant job as Head of Physics going. Would you be interested?”

  “Yes of course I would. But isn’t Department Head quite a jump.”

  “Not really. You’re already acting as a Head of Department. And we’re close to a breakthrough on the field equations, and as you’re the guy that’s leading the charge, the university would be silly not to take you on. And, of course, you’ll have my endorsement, which holds some weight.”

  “I’m flabbergasted,” said Ben. “I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

  “Well, you’ll have plenty of time this weekend to think about it.”

  Stuart held up his glass. “Cheers.”

  “Cheers,” Ben repeated.

  Kirsty came into the room, “Hi Ben it’s really nice to see you again.” She walked over to Ben and k
issed him on the cheek.

  “Dad can I show Ben the painting, please?” she said, grabbing Ben’s arm. “Please, please.”

  She seemed very determined.

  “Oh all right then,” said Stuart. “This is something really special you’ve got to see.”

  “Come on,” Kirsty said leading him out of the study and up the stairs to the converted loft. It would seem he had no choice in the matter. Stuart followed them. He turned to speak to Stuart.

  “You have to humour her,” said Stuart.

  It was the first time Ben had seen her studio since he had helped her with her life class on her seventeenth birthday. He was surprised at the number of canvasses that were leaning against the walls of the room. Ben’s eyes roved over the different canvases: landscapes, portraits of her father and mother. Ben walked around the room looking at the portraits fascinated by them.

  “These are amazing,” he said, stopping next to one portrait. He knelt down to take a closer look. It was a portrait of a nude woman standing in the shallow waters of the Loch, and it looked remarkably like Kirsty. Ben’s eyebrows were raised; was it that which he had been brought here to see. “That’s you, isn’t it?”

  “It’s not that that I want you to see,” said Kirsty.

  Kirsty stood next to her easel and, in a flourish, turned it around to face Ben. There before him was a beautiful nude portrait of Elle. It captured her essence: those wonderful pale blue eyes, her blonde hair and that devilish smile. She must have been working on it when they were both last here. Ben felt a twinge of sadness.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Ben. “I love it.”

  Ben continued to stare at the canvas. Kirsty came over to him and put her arms around him to comfort him.

  “I’m sorry. But I’m sure she’ll be here tomorrow for my birthday,” said Kirsty.

  “What makes you think that?” said Ben.

  “Because I invited her,” said Kirsty. “And there’s still plenty of time.”

  “Maybe,” said Ben.

  They all went downstairs to dinner together. For the rest of the evening, Ben, enjoyed the company of the Stuart family and tried to remain upbeat; but inside he had never felt the loss of Elle more painfully.

  It was gone midnight, when Ben finally said goodnight to Stuart and headed down to the cabin. It was a miserable winter’s night in more ways than one. It was raining again, and the wind was gusting into his face as he walked down the path. It was as if the air was thick with condensation. By the time he reached the cabin, his hair and face were soaking wet.

  Inside the cabin, Ben dried himself and changed to get ready for bed. It seemed strange being in the cabin alone. As he started to get into bed, he noticed a blue light coming through the edges of the curtain. He went across to the curtain and pulled it back.

  He could not believe what he saw. Elle’s craft was hovering on the surface of the Loch. He ran out of the door and down the jetty. When he got there, the craft was already sinking into the Loch. He watched it slip beneath the waters.

  In a flash, he dived into the water. The cold water engulfed him numbing his senses. As he surfaced, he saw a head emerge in the middle of the Loch. His heart started pounding, and he broke into a crawl swimming as fast as he could towards her. Two minutes later he was with her. He kissed her roughly on the lips.

  “What are you doing?” she said. “You must be freezing.”

  He was. The cold had invaded every cell of his body, just like it did when he fell into a frozen lake as child. He could see the shore; but it now seemed such a long distance away. He looked at Elle and noticed she was in a wet suit. At least she wouldn’t have the same problem.

  They swam together back to the jetty. As they climbed out of the water, he started to shake with the cold. She helped him into the cabin, pushed him into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She climbed out of her wet suit and held him against her wrapping her arms around him and trying to give him her warmth. When the water had heated up, she pulled him into the shower with her. They stood together in the shower holding each other for ten minutes until he started to recover from the cold.

  “You okay?” she said.

  “I think I’m okay now,” he said.

  She pulled him out of the shower and started to dry him down with the towel.

  “You still feel cold to me,” she said again, pulling him towards the main room. “Get into bed.”

  He obeyed. She dried herself down and climbed into bed, and lay on top of him, sharing her body heat with him. For minutes she lay together like that, until he felt the warmth returning to his body.

  “Have you warmed up yet?” she asked.

  As if to answer her, he started to kiss her lips, and neck.

  “I guess you might have,” she said, as she kissed him back.

  “Are you here to stay?” said Ben.

  “Maybe… do you want me to?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Then let’s see how good you are at persuading me,” she said, and kissed him again, this time more passionately than ever.

  … THE END …

  About the Author

  John Williamson grew up in York, graduated in economics at Hull University, and made a career in accounting, working in the City of London for one of the world's largest firms of chartered accountants. He is now retired from accounting and living in Bedfordshire, pursuing what he loves most — writing. He loves sci-fi movies and books. It was therefore not surprising that his debut novel would have a sci-fi theme. His official website can be found at:

  www.jmjwilliamson.com