The Past And The Present

Act 1| Chapter 2: The Time Machine

There was silence, then the lights flickered. Followed by 3 loud bangs and the sound of tires screeching to a halt. I run outside to see... it. It has a stainless steel body painted in some spots with a dark red colour. As I walk along its body I can see that It has gullwing doors and a heavily modified rear. Which seems to be what allows it to time travel. I then try and open the door of the car, only to feel what seems to be the coldest thing on the planet! I quickly pull my paw away shaking it rapidly. Then I hear my mom and dad run out asking "what happened, what happened?" 

I walk up to them and say "I found something Uncle Willem left, and I followed the instructions and uh... well I think he left me a car." I lied to them, the reason why is that if they knew that it was a time machine, would they let me leave? 

So after a moment of them looking at me, Dad said "Well, he was always talking about helping you buy your first car, maybe he did before he left. As a farewell present?" 

I reply "Maybe..." as I look at the machine. I turn around and ask them "Could I take it for a drive?" 

They look at me for a second, and then at the car. Then my mother said "sure, just be safe"

I reply "thank you, and they look at me for a moment longer before walking back inside. Then I  open the car door, letting out a ton of smoke from the inside of the vehicle.  "uff uff, that was unexpected," I say as I get a clear view of the interior, it's filled with electronic devices, and also a panel of 3 sets of screens. Lined up one above the other, the top one says "Current Time" the middle one says "Set Time" and the final one says "Previous Time." I look over at what they say, the top one says the date, "Feb 24, 2023, 09:29." I shake my head, "that won't do much" I mutter, but that's till I look over the "Previous Time" screen. It says  "Nov 25, 1986, 05:00." "Ok, so now how do I enter a date," I say to myself, then out of the blue an audio recording begins to play

"Hello, if you are hearing this then the time machine has been returned back to 2023. So you are probably Tom. So here is how the machine works, there is a keypad beneath the 3 sets of screens, and you type in the destination time using month/day/year/hour/minute. Then you click the button to the top right of it, which will set the destination under the "Set Destination" screen. The next thing you do is turn the Time Control Switch. That'll enable the Time Controlling Circuits, which will allow this vehicle to travel through time. The next step is checking if there is fuel in the rear of the vehicle. It doesn't run on ordinary gas or even electricity. It uses the Crystal of Amastrya, which is a very very rare crystal. Though I managed to acquire a few of them. So just make sure that you have one in the rear. Also! I lied slightly earlier about it not using gas or electricity. It needs a smidge of electricity. So when you pass 40 mph, it'll convert the energy from the engine into the required energy and send you back, or forward through time. So those are the basics of the time vehicle. I hope you understand it well!"

Then the audio ended. I type in "Nov 25, 1986, 05:00." Since it would be best not to have two-time machines out and about,  I then click the "set" button. Letting out a monotone beep as I see the "Set Time" change. "ok, now I just need... to enable the Time Controlling Circuits." I then turn the switch a solid 90 degrees, which let out another monotone noise. I think about checking the rear for the crystal, but I remember that It must have the crystal to have returned to 2023! So I closed the large gullwing doors, and look around for a key for the engine. Then I remember where most people would hide their keys, so I open the sun visor and I feel the keys land on my lap. I grab the keys and slide them into the ignition, and after a moment the engine roars to life. So I slide it into first gear and turn onto the main road. "I'm coming Uncle Willem" I mutter to myself. But I realize something, if I'm going back to 1986, I might need some clothes and just some general knowledge of the environment I'm getting into. Oh and I should also do a little bit of research! So I don't have to spend a week in '86 to find uncle William! I move over to the Time Controlling Circuit Switch and move it into the off position, resulting in a diode bleep. After that, I begin to drive off to the library, since they might have some old papers that I could read. Since there might just be a clue of where he is!

The Time Machine rolls into the libraries parking lot, and the tires screech to a halt. I then pull on the inside latch of the door, allowing it to slide open. After a moment I turn off the machine and close the gull-wing door. I then hear a familiar voice from behind me "Hey Tom!"

It was my best friend, a light brown fox called Vulpe. I reply to him "Hey Vulp! What are ya doin' here?" in a happy tone, since I might be able to talk to him about this time travel stuff i'm about to get into

He replies "Oh I'm just here with Charlotte, since she needs to review her law class before the exams on Wednesday. What about you?" Charlotte is Vulpes girlfriend, she's been with him since the 9th grade! I swear they are like a power couple together. Always being positive and backing each other no matter what. Even when Vulpe did some... questionable things. 

I break my thoughts and reply "Just... reviewing some news papers for a little... thing."
I say trying to find an excuse that is different then just plain out saying "Time Travel"

Vulpe, a little bit suspicious asks "What thing?" then he moved his arms in a more intimidating position.

I sigh "Ok you can't tell anyone this" I move closer to him "I mean anyone."

His face suddenly fills with worry as he leans in closer "Are you ok Tom?" he asks worryful

I reply "I know where my uncle is, and uhm he's in 1986" 

Vulpe looked gob smacked, and he asked curiously "what do you mean?"

I reply "I was in his garage and found a letter, it said that he made a time machine and if I was reading it he was probably in trouble. He also then told me how to retrieve the time machine and well. It appeared" After that I look towards the modified car.

Vulpe's eyes followed where mine were looking and after a moment he asked "That's it?"

I reply "yup, it appeared in a flash of light and a couple... explosions" Then I turn back to him "So, please don't tell anyone this"

His face still filled with worry suddenly looks down and says "Just stay safe man, and also when are you going back?"

I reply, slightly confused "I will and I told you 1986"

He smirks and says "I mean the date, ya dork" 

"Oh!" I reply feeling like an idiot "Nov 25, 1986"

His fur suddenly turns pale, as he says "That's only like 5 days before the officers daughter went missing"

I suddenly am hit with a wave of sadness and fear. Since what if Uncle Willem was the same person who might have killed the officers daughter. I try and push the thoughts out of my head "I'll be safe Vulpe, though... wish me luck"

He replies with a smile and says "I will, best of luck bro" then he walks off and I walk into the library.

After I entered the library I walked over to the newspaper section and walk back all the way to Nov 26, 1986. I also grab all the papers from the 20 of November to the 5 of December, just in case. After a moment I find a chair and sit down, then I begin to comb threw the stories. Eventually finding something on Dec 3, 1986. The article read

John Smith arrested off of accusations of murdering the chiefs daughter.

I then look at the photo and recognize the man, he was Uncle William. So I read on further

John smith was arrested of off of accusations of murdering the chiefs daughter after his cousin was found to be good friends with her up till her disappearance. There is still to yet to be a more in depth analysis if John Smith could be the reason why the daughter went missing.
 -Carl B
-Vik-Field News

My hands shake in shock. He killed the officers daughter? Though how is this possible! He only went back in time 6 months ago, and this story has existed... well since 1986! Maybe, time travel affects the user only after the events have been made. So maybe in another past he hadn't killed her? Well no matter what uncle Willem. I'm coming to get you.

Time-skip || 12:00 PM, Feb 24, 2023 ||
I close the gull-wing door, which let out a slight hiss as it locks into place. I had to go and buy some '80s clothes since my outfits would be fully out of wack in 1986! I slide the key into the ignition "Ok Uncle, there's no time... like 1986" I say to myself as I drive out of the parking lot, while turning onto the main road, I enable the Time Controlling Circuits. Which let out another bleep, and I see the set time "Nov 25, 1986, 05:00." "Perfect I mutter" as the light ahead of me turns red. After a moment that light turns green, and I floor the gas. Quickly reaching the 40 mph required for time travel, sparks fly off the vehicle and lights flicker inside of it. I look down to see a final look at the current time of "Feb 24, 2023, 12:04" as more sparked fly off. I'm then greeted to a massive explosion Infront of me. As I am sent back, into 1986.

Act 1, Williams Disappearance has concluded 

Act 2, 1986 has started