Chapter 13: The Time Machine

Making the trip

With the prospect of finding a real time travel machine close at hand, we discussed what we would do with the machine. I told them what I knew about Brantwell's travels, how I thought the machine worked, and where we could go. Different motives for traveling surfaced immediately. Andrea and Sue wanted to go in hopes of finding out more about who killed Lucy. Bert and Ernie were interested because time travel sounded more interesting than their routine lives.

I was all for going to the warehouse immediately and looking for the Machine, but cooler heads prevailed. Bert reminded me about the guards. Sue pointed that we didn't have any appropriate clothing for the Wild West. The clothes slowed me down more than the guards. The diaries had notes about the importance of blending in with the local culture and the lethal consequences if this went wrong.

It took us almost a week to get everything together. Andrea found costumes from an amateur theater group and some friends that were re-enactors. Bert collected the camping gear, Ernie got the food, and Sue brought two pistols. During the week I scouted around for a likely place to break in to Victory Station.

Breaking in was no easy matter. Victory Station is surrounded by a double chain row of chain link fences, both topped with razor wire, fifteen feet a part. Vehicle patrols rode around the perimeter and inspected sites at random intervals. All designed to keep people out. The only way to get in was to never leave. Our plan was to show up to work with our stuff on Friday, visit Hole-in-the-Wall over the weekend, and show up Monday morning ready to punch the clock.

Since we couldn't leave our cars in the parking lot over the weekend, we all rode the bus on Friday. It was pouring rain, which was good for us. The guards were less likely to inspect the shuttle buses and everyone was walking around covered by umbrellas and coats. Our gym bags were full of clothes and gear. Sue and Andrea, armed with fake IDs, kept their heads buried in their coats. We held our breath going through the gate. No search, so far so good. Getting to the admin area, we signed in and got on a shuttle bus.

Ernie led us off the bus and into the warehouse bunker she thought the Time Machine was in. Bert took Sue and Andrea to hide in one of the tunnels as Ernie and I located the crate. It was still were Ernie last saw it, sitting alone and neglected in the midst of a scattering of crates and boxes. We opened one side and I crawled in. Quickly Ernie resealed the crate and left me to inspect the Machine while she hid with the others.

I sat in the dark for a moment, feeling the cold metal cage against my forehead. I laboriously crawled around the bottom of the crate, feeling above my head for the door catch. Luckily I was close and sprang the hinge, pushing the door inward. Standing up in the door of the Time Machine, I turned on my flashlight and took my first look at Brantwell's most miraculous invention. The Time Machine looked like a wire mesh sphere with a silver metal birdbath in the middle.

Using the project files, I studied the birdbath-looking console. Using the necklace I probed the crystal and was shocked to see a blue glow emanate from the console. Quickly, I stopped, I needed to wait for the others and save my strength. I set the dials to the settings that would take us to Hole-in-the-Wall, turned off my light, and got some sleep.

I was in the middle of my second nap when the sound of Bert and Sue removing the top of the crate woke me up. Shining the flashlight at Bert, he cheerfully explained that it was less likely that anyone would notice the top was un-nailed than if we removed a side. His enthusiasm for adventure was contagious and the rest of the group crawled into the Time Machine ready to go and in good spirits. It was more like taking a road trip to another city than a plunge into the unknown to another world.

As everyone put their gym bags under the seat, I told them to relax and touch the center column. The metal felt cold under their fingertips. I flipped the switch and everyone felt a tingling sensation traveling up their arms. The tingling enveloped us bringing with it a feeling of disorientation and dizziness. Ernie and Andrea fainted, slumping against the central pedestal. I concentrated harder, willing the blue glow to intensify and expand. Bert and Sue struggled to keep their feet as they fought the urge to black out. My eyes lost focus. The world went dark.