Short Stories

Round Ten - Time Prison

The bleach-white light seared into my eyes as I walked into the room. Rusty metal clinked at my sides, weighing down every step I took towards the time machine. The guards led the way while I followed wearily, getting kicked or pushed to trudge faster every so often. One of the guards raised his baton and struck me in the back. "Thank you, Idiot. I'm not on death row here." I rasped. The guard just sneered, putting his baton away. They led me up to a doctor, who had me sit on a metal table. 

"This is a microchip that will track you when you travel through time. We will bring you back when your term is over. If you somehow damage your chip, you can never come back. Got it?" He inserted the chip into my left shoulder. 

"I understand." I nodded, moving my shoulder uncomfortably. "How far into the future am I going?"

The doctor laughed, putting away his medical supplies. "That's the great mystery, isn't it?" That was all he said, then the guards dragged me off the table. We moved to the other side of the room to the time machine. They forcibly sat me inside of it, strapping my arms to the chair. I let my body go limp, trying to completely relax before the passage through time occurred. From the news reports I've read, the people who've gone through this same thing always say that its less shocking and painful if you relax. At this moment, I seriously hoped it was true. 

"Mr. Dwayne Heston," Started the court judge, preparing to carry out my sentence, "as you know, you have been sent here under penalty of law for the conviction of treason. You will be sent to a randomized year of the future for your sentenced 25 years. Mr. Heston, you will be put into your proper place and time at the end of your term. Do you have any final words or questions? You will not see your family for a long time." He eyeballed me up and down, expecting nothing special from the criminal that I was. 

"Lisa." I rasped. "I just want you to know that you never lost old music CD's. I got really tired of listening to them all the time. They're under the bed beside all of Josh's baby clothes." I smiled cheekily, trying to get a laugh out of my family. Lisa, my wife, and Josh, my son, looked back through the glass with sad amusement in their eyes. I guess I just wished I had more time with them and now I was going to spend 25 years somewhere else in a different time. 

What really stunk was that the officials never told you what time frame you're going in. Therefore, each prisoner went into the future without a lick of sense of what was going on around them. They never sent anyone into the past for fear of changing the space-time continuum as we know it. 

"Are you ready for transportation?" The Chief Judge questioned, closing his book. I nodded, letting my dull eyes rest on my family. The door to the time machine was closed from the outside and I was now trapped inside as it was being locked. I mouthed the words 'I love you' to Josh and Lisa through the clear plastic window that I had on the door. I felt the whirring of the engine burst into life, casting a whirlwind of energy around the machine. My head was swimming as the g-force became too much to handle. Nearly at the apex of the time jump, my brain rendered itself unconscious and everything went black. 

"LISA!" I screamed, gripping at my head in my half dream-like state. I had almost thought that she had melted away like a distant memory, I felt that I had lost her. Shaking the thought away, I realized the time machine was somehow now unlocked. Stepping out cautiously, there was a slightly noticeable lighting at the end of what seemed to be an alleyway. I gathered my bearings, eager to discover the time I had traveled to. 

There was nothing to my name here. It felt like a kind of starting over. A new life. However, I didn't want a new life and now I had to spend the next 25 years of my life taunting myself and wondering if I'd ever get it back. Most likely answer: I was never going to return to my life. 25 years were long enough to change anyone and anything. Letting out a sigh, I figured that I'd best not pity myself and get to work getting used to my new time period. 

Hobbling over to the lamppost, I realized that I was in an alleyway between tall, overshadowing buildings. I assumed that I was in a city similar to 21st century Manhattan, New York. When could I possibly be? A small group of three men stood in the light of lamppost like they were trying to get warm, despite the approximate 60 degree Fahrenheit weather. 

"Excuse me?" I questioned them, trying to gain their attention. Obviously, it worked as each of them swiveled their heads in my direction. "Could you tell me today's date?" Each man tilted his head like a lost puppy. "English. Do you speak English?" I wondered. The men responded by shaking their heads in denial. 

One stepped from the group and then, in broken English, said "You wonder of date?" He recited, trying in a difficult manner to communicate. I felt relieved that the man had at least understood me. 

"Yes." I responded, a smiled breaking on my face. 

The biggest, roughest looking guy of the group stepped between us and looked at me like he was ready to kill. "English blood must die." He snarled. That can't be good. Without so much as a warning, the man blew his fist into my left arm. 

"NO!" I screeched, knowing what that light crack in my arm was. It was my microchip. My only means of getting home. I hightailed it back to the time machine, thankful that the men did not give chase. "No... no... no..." I sobbed into my arm, hoping that somehow I get the microchip fixed.