Time Maze

The Cogs are Turning

Going back to the spot where the portal spat them out was easier than expected due to Tyson's excellent ability to retrace his steps. What wasn't easy was weaving through all the people milling over the streets.

Some were in a hurry, while others enjoyed the refreshing coolness of an early morning that would soon be replaced by a scorching heat.

Everything looked normal on the surface.

People were going about their business.

The flow of life was uninterrupted, even though Tyson knew that by this point, Bosnia was under Austro-Hungarian rule.

The regular people didn't seem to contemplate that too much. They had their own work and family to think about. What was happening at a grander scale didn't concern them until it broke their routine, which it soon would.

"What's up?" Marcus suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask?" Tyson asked, wondering if he had missed something Marcus was saying.

"You zoned out. Where did you go?" Marcus asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the portal, if we would find it there or not," Tyson said, trying to avoid telling him how much trouble they might be in if the portal didn't appear soon.

"Me, too," Marcus said, squinting his eyes. "I love the food here, but I want to go home or at least towards home."

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" Tyson asked, noting his friend's facial expression.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked, unsure if he should share his thoughts with Tyson.

In the past, some of Marcus's cleverest ideas and thoughts were laughed at by his friends. Although Tyson was never the one to make fun of him, Marcus still worried that Tyson might think him stupid if he told him what he wondered about.

"I know you too well for you to hide anything from me. You squint your eyes when you are trying to concentrate on something while you're thinking it through," Tyson said.

"I'm not trying to hide anything from you. It might be nothing..." Marcus said hesitantly.

"Spit it out," Tyson said resolutely.

He knew that even though Marcus preferred not to use his brain too much, he could come up with some solid ideas when he did decide to focus his attention on solving a problem.

"I was thinking about portals and about where they appear," Marcus slowly said, choosing his words carefully.

"And?" Tyson asked, prompting his friend to go on.

"Well, if our time travel is as random as we thought, why do we always end up in important places at important times?" Marcus asked.

"What do you mean?" Tyson asked, having some problems following what his friend was saying.

"If we are in the time maze, as that chick told you, wouldn't it be logical that the non-physical part of the maze she mentioned had a bit more random dates and places?" Marcus asked with more strength in his voice.

"I guess so," Tyson said.

"Yet, we've ended up in a castle of that important chick, at Hitler's bunker, Henry's tavern, and now Sarajevo," Marcus said, counting off all the different places they've visited.

"But we're here early. Nothing will happen for a few more days," Tyson said, thinking through his friend's theory.

"Maybe, but why didn't we end up in Bosnian countryside or in any other city but here?" Marcus asked.