The fresh scent of my new car drifted into my nose and I speed down highway 30, early enough for the morning dew to still be stuck to the grass. Even with a full day of school ahead of me at a high school so old it might as well be considered an artifact, I still felt a smile spread across my lips. I wiped my shaggy black hair from my eyes. With this car, I could leave the small town of Crescent Valley behind me. I rounded the corner and swung into the nearest parking spot, nearly overshooting it.
I walked to my first period, math, not trying to focus on the blur of faces passing me. I sat down and waited for the bell to ring. The rest of the day went by in a blur, until I got to science, my seventh period. Today’s lesson, taught by Mr. Cranston, a tall but built middle-aged man, who looked about just about as tired as everyone else in the classroom, was on theories.
“Silas?” Mr. Cranston asked, making me jump. I was daydreaming and wasn’t paying attention to the lesson at all. The rest of the class chuckled, making me more embarrassed.
“Yes, Mr. Cranston?” I said, trying hard as hard as I could to not sound dreary.
“What is Newton’s first law? He asked with a smirk, making his moustache stretch.
“Easy.” I said. If there was one subject I knew well, it was science.
“Something in motion will stay in motion, unless a force acts upon it.”
“Very well, good job.” Mr. Cranston returned to the lesson.
“So anyway class, Newton’s first law is very important in the theory were talking about today, which is… well, more of a, time travel theory,” He paused, and looked over the classroom.
“It states that if you move fast enough, you can possibly manipulate time itself. You’re probably wondering how Newton’s first law fits in to this,” Mr. Cranston said nonchalantly, as if he’s gone over this a thousand times. Everyone nodded.
“Well, here on Earth, just as most planets do, we have a force called gravity. If gravity didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have time going forward like it always has, but anyone would be able to go anywhere they wanted, anytime with ease.”
I walked out through the main doors of the school and instantly felt the cool breeze on my skin. My backpack was really starting to do a number on my neck, with it being filled to the brim with textbooks.
Better than having to ride the bus home. I thought as I walked up to my car. I sat down in the beige leather driver’s seat and slammed the door. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw my brown eyes starting back at me, and I smiled.
“Goodbye, Crescent Valley High School.” I said as I pulled out and on to the highway.
Today was one of those days where I didn’t turn on the radio, but instead just listened to the hum of the engine and of other cars, which I found somewhat calming for some odd reason.
I started thinking of how much I would actually miss this town, and I didn’t know why because I didn’t have any friends , teachers, or really anybody I could talk to here. I’ve never meet my parents, and all people tell me about them is that they were African, like me. Up until this year, senior year, I’ve been going from foster home to foster home, and from foster parents to foster parents without really trying to get to know anybody, because the second I started to make connections with people, it was on to the next foster center. I started to drift off and without knowing, kept my foot on the gas pedal. HONK! HONK! All of a sudden all the cars around me, now just blurs, honked frantically. Before I could even react, I heard a crash and everything went black.
I woke up. It seemed like I was asleep for centuries, but all of a sudden, poof, I was awake. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was floating.
“Hello?” I called out to no one in particular. My voice echoed out and seemed to go on for forever, never bouncing off of any walls. After a long pause, I heard a booming voice that startled me.
“Welcome, Silas,” The voice said, in a coarse but somewhat clear tone.
“Wha- Uh, Hello, voice,” I managed to stutter after recovering from shock.
“Where am I?” I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice.
“I believe your people would call this a, what is it? Oh yes, a limbo.” The voice replied.
“Why am I here?” I questioned.
“Well, Silas, you are here because you have been given an opportunity, a very special opportunity that can save your life. You are very lucky.”
“How am I lucky if I just died?” I mumbled. I was still traumatized by the crash.
“I have chosen you, because of the convenience of your death, to undergo a test. Before I tell you more I will tell you a little bit about myself. I come from a far-off place, in a whole new universe, where we see in four dimensions, unlike how your puny universe can only see in three.” The voice paused.
“If you’re wondering what this fourth dimension is like, well, you’re in it right now. For you it’s just an empty void, but for me, it’s time itself. The fourth dimension, rather than it being a, say, letter ‘W’ on an axis, its time and alternate realities. For me, time is an object, malleable to change whenever I want.” I floated there, dumbfounded at this new information. The voice continued.
“You have one simple task. I will send you back in time, but instead in an alternate universe, where you never get in a car crash. Your job is to kill alternate-universe Silas, and take over his place.” The voice concluded.
“What’s the test part of all of this?” I asked, still confused.
“Oh yeah, about that. I’m a beginner at this type of thing, and this is one of the very first experiments we do in my reality.” The voice said softly, like it was embarrassed.
“I will give you one item to aid you in this test. Use it wisely, because you only have one bullet.” All of a sudden a Colt M1911 pistol appeared in my left hand. It was silenced, and I gripped the cold metal handle of it hard, not wanting to drop it into the void.
“Okay , I’ll do it.” I responded. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice.
“Very well then. My people usually aren’t allowed to say this, but good luck, Silas.”
“Oh- Uh, thanks.” I replied. Then everything went black.
I woke up in the bathroom stall in the east wing bathroom of Crescent Valley High School. My school. The scent of something I didn’t want to notice drifted into my nose. I pushed myself up. I thought it must have been a dream, that I must’ve fallen asleep in class, and then sleepwalked into the bathroom somehow. All my hopes were shredded when I saw the pistol on the floor. I picked it up in hid it in the front pocket of my light jacket. As I rounded the corner, I looked up at a clock. It read 2:50.
No time to waste. I thought to myself, for school had already been over for 5 minutes now, and the hallways were mostly empty. I sprinted down the hall; faster than I have ever ran in my life. I made it out the front entrance. I saw myself getting into my (his?) red truck. I looked out over the parking lot.
Good thing in this reality, I was late to get to my car. I thought. I walked up behind myself, whipped out the cold, metal pistol.
“I’m Sorry.” I whispered to myself and pulled the trigger.