Inverse: a time manipulation story.
story opens: a government facility in Seattle ( photo title – Seattle – Author – Felix wong – source – license – Creative commons)
I got out of my car and thought to myself “so weird being back here. Especially since the incident. It’s something that was relatively swept under the rug seeing as a nuclear reaction nearly happening in a government facility doesn’t exactly put the people’s minds at ease”. That thought leaves my head as
I walk towards the building and I hear an almost distorted noise but it’s very quiet and seeing it only lasts for a few seconds and I’m in this funky government facility I ignore it. I head to the building to be greeted by my good friend Paul who’s asked me to come and look over this new government funded project he’s doing for the university.
He says “good to see you again! But we can catch up later, right now we don’t have much time”. I ask
Him “what do you mean we don’t have time?” he replies “I mean technically the government shut us down and cut funding. they’re going to destroy everything soon” I think “this is weird he never told me.
This.” I follow him up to his laboratory and see this huge sphere-shaped object in the center of the room
I ask “what is this?” he says “think of it a time machine that uses the power from the center of the earth
To move any object to any point in time” I think this is crazy and he may have had a sort of breakdown
But I play along. He says “okay now Jackson stand with Daniel while I activate” he steps inside of this
Sphere and says “I’m going 10 minutes to the past I’ll see you then” I say “what does that even mean” just as I hear the machine boot up tons of armed guards run in and start yelling at him to power down. They begin shooting the machine which messes with its calibration setting it to send Paul 10 years in the past. As it actives the guards dive to safety. Dead silence. Jackson who was in front of me and gets turned to a liquid right before my eyes. And Paul isn’t in the sphere anymore. I’m disoriented and have no clue what’s going on but I make a run for it getting out of the building. But as I exit, I’m grabbed by…. Paul. He grabs me and surrounds me with guards. I have zero clue what’s going on. Paul looks older and weren’t these guards just shooting at him? Paul explains “I’ve lived the past 10 years repeatedly establishing this company just to prevent this and you ruined this.
Attempt, just like that your incompetence Is going to cost further years of my life. But Maybe it’s still salvageable.” Before I get to ask anything further Paul injects me with a sedative and I pass out.
I wake up in a dark facility tied down. A person in a pitch-black hazmat suit comes to me and goes to stick me with a needle and says “freaks with powers like yours deserve this” but I end up
Instinctively trying to move away and somehow dash out of my restraints, but I was strapped to a wall and I was now somehow standing behind the person. The man looks at me in astonishment not
Knowing what he has just seen. I don’t know how I did that but thank god I did. I run to the nearest wall
And dash through it. A few hours later in the early morning I’m walking the streets not knowing what I am anymore. I’m wondering where the hell these powers came from and especially
What the hell happened last night and what’s wrong with Paul. Suddenly I’m pulled into an ally by a
Woman. “hey your good looking and all but I don’t got any money on me right now, although trust me at literally any other time where I had cash and like an hour free I would” I say. she responds saying.
“no, you moron it’s me? Jessica?” my mind is entirely blank. She says “you don’t know a
Single thing about the plan we discussed” A few hours later late at night were in an empty warehouse. I say “so you’re telling me were going to break
Into the most secure company in the worlds headquarters to steal their insurance policy and save the
World? She responds “if you want to make it that simple, yes” I think this is way too much seeing as
My life has crumbled before me and I don’t even know who I am or what I anymore. But right now, is no time to think about what had just happened, right now is the time that calls for me to act without thinking. Even further into the night we pull up to the building and park across the street. I take in awe this huge building that’s practically in the clouds. “is your objective clear?” she says I respond “sure… but can you walk me through it one more time?” she replies “Your task is simple, go to the basement which is 4 floors underground and take their insurance policy. Its whole purpose is that it’s supposed to keep the higher ups and scientists of the company safe while the rest of the earth is destroyed so that they can discover a way to revert it. But be aware Paul suffers from a form of time infection. It gives him abilities much like yours but much more powerful. He may be guarding the item.” I say, “sounds good, but what’s your job?” she says “well I clear the path of course” we walk through the door guns out and are met instantly with force. At least 40 guards rush from the elevator. “STAY BACK I GOT THIS” I say as run directly into the group of armed goons with time slowed to a crawl. Each stray bullet that catches me makes a sort of shield around me. When I stop running and time returns to normal, a wave of energy emits from me sending all the armed men flying and knocking them out. “I thought you were supposed to clear the way” I say sarcastically she replies “I wasn’t expecting this much resistance, and it’s not exactly fair. Just take the elevator down to B4 I’m going to the top to disable security” I reply “you alone with this type of resistance? That’s a death sentence” I say. She replies “stop worrying about me and go complete your part of the mission” we part ways her taking the elevator up and me taking it down. The second she gets out of the elevator she’s grabbed by neck by Paul. “You and Your buddy are dooming this earth, you can’t even begin to understand what will happen if you do this.” She replies “you’ve gone mad! You’re not trying to save everyone you would rather coward away and save 100 in the hopes they can revert this and save everyone” he says “the fact that you can’t even understand the simple fact that this is the safest and most likely to work way to do this proves your too ignorant to be saved” before she can get another word out Paul snaps her neck. He drops her to the floor and vanishes into thin air. As I step off the elevator to basement 4 I find it…. Empty? Almost looks like it’s been robbed or something. But that doesn’t matter I head to the room keeping the insurance policy only to find Paul standing right in front of it staring at it. I can see Jessica… dead. He turns to me saying “You just don’t get it do you? You think you can save everyone but in reality by not saving only a small amount of people and trying to revert the end you’re leaving No chance of anyone saving earth” I reply “you’re a lunatic, a madman You’ve never even attempted to try and save all 8 billion on people on this goddamn earth. YO-“he cuts me off “what the hell do you think I’ve been doing all these years I’ve been trapped in time trying to prevent this? I THOUGHT OUT EVERY SOLUTION AND TRIED EVERYTHING BUT AT SOME POINT I HAD TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I CAN’T SAVE EVERYONE AND SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE IN ORDER SAVE AND REVERT THE END OF TIME” He jumps at me and we get into a fight. I land some punches he does as well. He breaks my wrist when I throw a punch he catches and He knocks me down and throws me across the room. “You’re the final bug in the machine that’s stopping it from working and I’m about to squish you- “A loud gunshot rings out. Paul drops having been shot in the chest. I run to him he says quietly “You’ve just doomed earth and yourself without me no one will reset time when it ends and time as we know it will end.” I shoot him once again in the head. But as he dies a huge wave of energy emits from him. A huge white flash of light blinds me. And when I open my eyes to find myself at the university. In the parking lot. I can see… myself. I realize I must stop myself from going into that building but when I try to run my legs snap and break, I try to pull myself and my arms snap in half. I let out a blood a curdling scream and my body is ripped to pieces in a vicious and bloody way because of my body not being able to handle being in the wrong time. The last thought that enters my mind before I die that being how I thought I discovered my true purpose in my life my real identity. But clearly it wasn’t “as I get out of my car, I hear a quiet distorted sound but it only lasts a few seconds so I ignore it” I head to the building and go inside but Paul isn’t there. I go to the science department to check for him but he isn’t there either. I see this sphere with numbers going crazy. “what the fu- “the sphere lets out a wave of blue energy as it passes by me at a rapid pace my body ages, my skin falls off and my bones turn to dust while I scream in pain and horror. The whole world is wiped from space without a trace.