Saltus: A Leap In Time

Chapter 1

 A loud ringing noise jerks me from my dreams. Bleary-eyed, I blindly fumble around my backpack for my phone. I finally find it at the bottom and answer the call.

"H-hello?" I croak, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Am I speaking with a Mateo Allen?" A female voice cheerfully spoke from the speaker. "This is Doctor Johnson."

"Speaking," I answer as I zip up my bag.

"Yes sir, I was just calling to make sure you made It onto the four A.M. bus?"

"Yeah..." I say as I look out at the dark landscape that my bus was trundling along. "What I don't get about this Is why I have to wake up this early to get on a bus for a clinical trial."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Allen, we only do it this early because of the long drive to our facility." The Doctor cheerfully answers.

"Right," I reply as I look around the bus.

It's fairly dark In here other than some floor lights along the path through the middle of the bus and the headlights at the front of the bus, illuminating the gravel road ahead.

"I've just noticed something," I say, woken up a bit more by this new realization. "There isn't anybody else on this bus other than me!"

"And the driver," The doctor added cheerfully. "I'm surprised you didn't notice when got on the bus in the first place."

"I was a pretty exhausted," I retort. "Other people were the least of my concerns at the moment. Why am I the only one going to this thing?"

"You aren't the only one going to this trial," she replies. "We are just keeping you separated for... anonymity."

"Sure," I grumpily reply.

"Just remember you are getting a paycheck for this," She reminds me.

I sigh, "One thousand dollars."

I need the money. My last job decided they were 'downsizing' and I was the one that got the boot, now rent is due, and I don't have enough money to pay for it. So I decided the best way to get some money was to sign up for a Clinical Trial. 'Easy money!' The advertisement said, 'No strings attached! Transportation there and back!'

"Mr. Allen?" Doctor Johnson's voice brings me back to the present.

"Yes, I'm still here," I reply, rubbing my eyes.

"You still have a few hours left on your journey, so get some sleep," She cheerily informs me. "Goodbye!"

"Good-" The call drops, and I'm left with the low rumble of the buses tires rolling over the gravel road.

I shove my phone into my jacket pocket and lean my seat back.

"Better do what the good doctor says," I mutter to myself. "Time for a nap."

I shuffle myself into a comfortable position and allow the slow rocking of the bus to lull me to sleep.

"Mr. Allen?"

I groggily open my eyes to see a bespectacled, skinny faced man leaning way too close to my face.

"Dude!" I yell at him. "Personal space!"

I quickly stand up from my seat and hit my head on one of the overhead storage cubbies. As I gingerly rub my head, wincing, the skinny faced man nervously chuckles and pushes his glasses further up onto his nose.

"Ah, sorry about that." He says slightly sheepishly, "B-but you are Mr. Allen... yes?"

"Yeah, yeah." I grumble, rubbing my head, then looking at my hand to make sure I hadn't drawn blood. "What do you want?"