Intermission // Van McCann

11. I Need Your Help

"You said he was transparent," Van repeated. "And that he couldn't see or hear you." I nodded my head and Van began thinking, trying to figure out why that didn't work. "I just wish I wasn't so congested," he said and he walked over to the table to grab a tissue and blow his nose.

"Ew," Iván said quietly and Van glared at him.

"We wrote the code so long ago. I'm gonna have to take a look and see how we wrote it," Van continued. "We wrote it in a way where if the time machine doesn't automatically bring you back once time expires, the button is the failsafe. But why would it fail in this case?"

Unfortunately, this wasn't Van's strongpoint. His strongpoint was using his mind and skills to build the time machine. Professor Hayes and Bondy were the brains behind the theory, and both of which aren't here. Well Professor Hayes is here, isn't he? Perhaps he can help.

"Why don't we ask Professor Hayes for help?" I suggested and both Van and Iván were quick to say no.

"I'm pretty sure he hates us," Van countered. "Probably wants nothing to do with us anymore."

"Professor Hayes is dead to me," Iván added.

I found it absolutely silly how quick they were to shoot down that idea. I guess that's one of their weaknesses. They're both stubborn. Well to be fair, I am as well but this is Bondy we're talking about. We need to get him out of there.

"If none of you want to talk to him, at least let me know how I can find him," I spoke up. All I knew was his work email which they disconnected as soon as he resigned as professor. We did have his phone which I should try calling. I took my phone out and dialed his number, and the boys watched me.

"I'm sorry. The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service," the phone said back to me and I sighed, hanging up.

"Does anyone know where Professor Hayes lives?" I questioned. Van and Iván shook their heads no.

"He didn't answer?" Iván asked.

"Nope. His number has been disconnected."

This situation felt vaguely familiar. I went through this same exact thing with Anne years ago, but luckily I still had something to go off of. With Professor Hayes, I didn't have anything. But I did remember his riddles email from when I applied to this job years ago.

I walked over to the computer and turned it on. I forgot how long it takes to boot up. It's no wonder why no one uses this computer.

"This computer is so slow. Did Bondy watch porn on it or what?" I questioned in frustration.

"Ren!" Iván tutted.

"What? He's not here to hear it. No harm, no foul. I was just joking."

The log in screen finally popped up and I typed in my username and password. It took a couple minutes to load my inbox. I pressed the button to compose a new email and typed in "riddles." Even though it's been over two years, his email popped up, saving me from digging through my inbox. I wondered if he'd respond if he knew it was me. Well either way he's going to know it's me because I'm asking for help regarding the time machine and there are only a select few people who know about it. It's not hard to narrow that down. I began typing.

Hi Professor Hayes,

I need your help. Bondy is stuck in the time machine and we don't know how to get him out. Is it possible to meet up and talk? Thanks for reading.

Ren

I could feel weight on the back of my chair and I looked up to see Van leaning on the back of my chair reading my email. Once he was done, he looked down at me.