Fook (7 page)

Behind the chain-linked wall stood even more
shelves, though these shelves, unlike their spider claimed
counterparts, were lined with miscellaneous electrical
supplies.

Arriving at the padlocked gate, Jason placed
the briefcase on the floor beside him.

“I take it that’s our power source,” Derek
guessed, motioning to the electrical box behind the indoor fence.
“Too bad it’s locked.”

Without a word Jason began spinning the
numbers on the padlock.

“I take it you’ve been down here before,”
Derek guessed again, now aware that maybe
he
hadn’t been the
catalyst in persuading Jason to finally test his long talked about
theory. He’d obviously planned out this entire test and in true
Jason fashion, had likely thought out every possible scenario. He’d
just been reluctant, as usual, to take that first, risky step.

“Once or twice,” Jason finally acknowledged
as he aligned the last number and pulled the lock open.

Picking up the metal briefcase, Jason
entered the cage. “Okay. We need to get this thing up and running
as quickly as possible. We'll depart from this spot and it’s also
the location where we'll arrive, twenty minutes before now. The
longer we stay in this spot the smaller our window for error
becomes so you need to hurry.

“I understand,” Derek acknowledged, more in
an attempt to ease his obviously nervous roommate than himself.
“Jello bad.”

Jason quickly placed the silver briefcase on
the third shelf from the floor and with a thumb scan and cheesy
movie quote, the locks popped open.

Now aware of his role, Derek wasted no time
as he popped open the electrical box. The machine needed a massive
amount of power to run, which was apparently why, along with its
remote nature, Jason had chosen this location for the test.
Carefully he began dismantling the box’s circuit breakers as he
heard Jason speak the second password to access the case’s hidden
components.

“Here you go,” Jason withdrew two electrical
cords from the machine and handed them to Derek, who quickly began
connecting them to the now exposed circuits.

The soft glow of the iPad added slightly
more lighting to the dim space as the screen sprang to life,
welcoming its owner. After waiting a moment for the tiny computer
to boot, Jason quickly began navigating his way through the app
that he’d developed to run his calculations. As an added level of
security he’d disguised the program as a cheesy Pong style game.
One, this boring game would likely draw little interest from anyone
if they did manage to get into the case and two, only he knew the
precise combination of shots that would correctly unlock the
software hidden behind the simple program.

Sliding his finger across the screen, he
launched the pixelated ball, bouncing the tiny square off the top
of the screen before the computer sent the digital ball back his
way. Sliding the linear paddle down, he redirected the ball to a
precise spot along the far left corner of the screen before the
opposing paddle again returned his shot. With one last motion, he
ricocheted the ball one last time toward the first spot in which
the ball had struck along the top portion of the screen. This
combination of shots was the only one that his computerized
opponent was programmed to miss. As the digital ball slipped passed
the opposing paddle, the concealing game faded from the screen and
was replaced by a blinking green curser much like that of an
old-school Apple 2e computer.

There is no future, without one’s past.

Jason typed the familiar phrase onto the
screen and watched as instantly, the program which had previously
appeared archaic in nature, flashed a series of modern, abstract
shapes followed by a string of flashing numbers and letters before
freezing on a screen that simply read:

Welcome.

Reaching over Jason, Derek withdrew two more
electrical wires from the briefcase and began connecting them to
the box.

With a few swift taps of the screen, a
complicated formula began to take shape, followed by a message that
read:

Coordinates accepted. Enjoy your trip.

“We’re all set here. How’s the power
situation?” Jason turned to Derek who was still trying to connect
the briefcase to the electrical box. It would have been easier if
you’d told me what I’d be tying into ahead of time. I might have
had the proper tools but I think I’ve got it,” he announced as the
iPad’s screen brightened, followed by the appearance of a small
lightning bolt in the program’s upper right corner to indicate that
the power connection had been made.

Checking his watch, Jason confirmed the time
at the top of the screen.

“My watch is off by twenty seconds. Give me
a second."

Fiddling with the small buttons on the side
of the cheap timepiece, Jason synchronized the time with that
displayed on the iPad’s screen.

Suddenly, a quiet rustling noise drew their
attention to the tower of boxes along the opposite wall.

“What was that?” Derek questioned.

“I don’ know.”

They continued to stare at the motionless
cardboard tower.

“Go check it out,” Derek waved Jason toward
the noise.

“Me? Why don’t you go?” Jason retorted.

Before Derek had a chance to answer however,
a large rat emerged from behind the boxes and began chewing on the
cardboard, apparently unfazed by his guests.

Letting out a sigh, they both returned their
attention to the task at hand.

“Okay, here,” Jason spoke as he handed Derek
two, small silver orbs, connected by a pair of thin wires that ran
from the briefcase and tied in at the machine’s core.

Squeezing the small silver balls in each of
his hands he watched as Jason withdrew two more silver orbs, also
loosely squeezing them in each hand.

“You ready for this?” Jason questioned.

Derek just stared nervously. Before that
moment he’d seriously doubted the likeliness of success but now,
standing beside his determined and confident friend he began to
question his previous doubt. Jason wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t a fan
of sci-fi. He didn’t believe in the supernatural and he didn’t
attempt anything unless he was one-hundred percent certain that it
would work. As impossible as the thought of time travel was, maybe
Jason really had found a way to make it work.

“Take a step back,” Jason instructed as he
and Derek moved one large step away from the machine.

“Quivering jello, right?” Derek joked, this
time a result of nerves as opposed to humor.

“Here we go,” Jason announced as he slowly
depressed the small red button on the tiny orb in his right
hand.

Closing his eyes, Derek waited for a swoosh
of wind or a loud electrical snap as the machine activated, linking
them to their recent past but no such noise came. No wind whipped
through the dungeon like space and no electrical disturbance licked
at the moist basement air. After a moment of confused panic, Derek
slowly opened his right eye to check on their situation. Fear
limiting his ability to fully see through the tightly squinted slit
between his eye lids, he could only, faintly, make out a blurred
image of his equally confused roommate holding what he assumed was
the orb up to his face as he repeatedly pressed the button.

“Did it work?” Derek nervously
questioned.

“I don’t know. I...,” Jason’s answer trailed
off as he continued to examine the small metal ball in his
hand.

Feeling more at ease, Derek relinquished
some of the strain on his eyes, though continued to keep them shut.
“Oh well. It was a good first try. Maybe it just needs a few more
adjustments,” he attempted to comfort his roommate, now confident
that he’d been correct. Time travel was a sci-fi fantasy just as
he’d thought. There was no way that two M.I.T. students with a few
sophisticated electrical components, an iPad and some electricity
could manage to accomplish what millions had dreamt of for
centuries. Slowly he began to open his eyes. “I mean, we’ll just go
back to the drawing board and...Jason...why are you naked?” he
questioned, wondering not only why his roommate had decided to
strip down but also, how he’d managed to do so in such a short time
and with such stealth.

Seemingly surprised, Jason glanced down at
his body, confirming the validity of Derek’s question. Honestly, he
didn’t have a good answer but looking up he did have a question of
his own. “Where are
your
clothes?”

Derek too, glanced down at his nude body.
“What the fuck?”

Just then a pair of voices echoed from the
hall, causing them to both forget their nudity as they returned
their attention to the machine. Without thought, Jason quickly
returned his tethered orbs to the briefcase before snatching
Derek’s out of his hands and doing the same. Derek quickly began
disconnecting the wires from the electrical box, attempting to be
both quick, yet silent, as he returned the electrical components to
just as he’d found them.

“Come on,” Jason whispered urgently as the
voices and now sounds of footsteps drew nearer.

Reconnecting the last circuit breaker, Derek
quietly closed the thin metal door to the electrical box as Jason
closed the briefcase.

“Crap,” Jason proclaimed in a whispered
tone.

“What?”

“The lock.”

Derek turned to the chain-linked door.
Previously left wide open, it was now closed. The same lock that
they’d earlier removed was again hanging securely in place on the
outside just above the handle.

“Open it.”

Jason quickly passed the briefcase to Derek
before shoving his fingers through the gate in a desperate attempt
to realign the numbers that would grant them their freedom.

“Come on. Come on,” Derek pushed as the
voices in the hall grew closer.

“I’m trying. It’s harder from this angle,”
Jason complained as he knelt to the floor in an attempt to get a
better view of the numbers along the bottom of the lock. “It’s too
dark. I can’t see the numbers.”

Jason was right. He hadn’t noticed it before
but the lights in the room were off. The glow of the device must
have been enough initially that he hadn’t even noticed, but now
with the briefcase closed, the blackness of the room was obvious.
“Here,” Derek spoke as he held his thumb against the lock on the
case. The faint blue light on the scanner lit up momentarily as he
held the new light source close to the bottom of the lock beside
Jason’s head.

Jason continued to fumble with the numbers,
getting the first two in place.

“You’re worried about miscalculating the
jump aren’t you?” Derek’s familiar words echoed from the hall, no
more than twenty feet from where they were currently trapped.

“I’m asking you about your calculations,”
Derek informed Jason.

“I know. The light.”

Derek looked down. The light on the case had
timed out. “Oh.” He placed his thumb against the lock and again the
blue light lit the cage.

Dialing in the last two numbers, the lock
released with a faint click. Quietly, but in a hurry, Jason
displayed amazing dexterity as he managed to remove the lock from
the handle without dropping it, while at the same time opening the
door and letting them free. Both scampered from their temporary
prison toward the boxes on the other side of the dark room.

“The lock,” Derek pointed to Jason’s hand as
they reached their hiding spot.

Looking down, Jason realized that he’d
forgotten to reattach the low budget security system.

The footsteps resumed in the hall as the
familiar, yet unexpected company continued its advance.

“Never mind. Forget the lock,” Derek
instructed.

“I can’t. I’ll know something’s wrong,”
Jason disagreed as he quickly made his way back to the cage,
slipped the lock back through the handle and made his way back
behind the cardboard wall just as his counterpart’s hand slipped
around the doorway and flipped the switch, illuminating the
room.

Derek and Jason, while attempting to remain
as hidden as possible, watched in awe as the ten minute younger
versions of themselves made their way toward the locked cage.

“I take it that’s our power source,” the
other Derek offered up the familiar guess.

“Deja Vu,” Derek mumbled.

Jason turned with a shushing stare.

He couldn’t help himself though, as he
leaned closer to his naked roommate. “Is this really happening?” he
whispered.

Jason’s disapproving stare deepened.

“Okay. We need to get this thing up and
running as quickly as possible,” the other Jason instructed as they
made their way into the cage.

Knowing the rest, Derek turned his attention
away from the familiar action taking place on the other side of the
room, suddenly more interested in their current surroundings. The
boxes that were concealing their presence from themselves had
obviously been down there for quite some time. The dank space had
caused a fair amount of mold to form along the bottom of the boxes
that were in contact with the floor; the yellow-green life creeping
upward toward the higher stacked containers. The sides of the boxes
were lined with various people’s names and short descriptions like,
bathroom
and
books
; likely the current contents of
the moldy brown squares. Other names and descriptions had been
crossed out on various boxes, indicating that this had not been
their first storage task, though their condition would suggest that
it would likely be their last.

The remainder of the dimly lit corner was
fairly empty. The floor, though covered in a thick layer of dust,
was remarkably clean given the condition of the boxes, suggesting
that, at least occasionally, someone must take a moment to visit
the secluded space with at least a broom and maybe a dustpan in an
attempt to tidy up the place. Scanning further he didn’t see any
oil containers or paint cans, as he would expect to find in such a
space. There were no tools or spare pieces of wood for
miscellaneous repairs by the building attendant and there was no
old food or random crumbs of any kind.