BAD WINE CRAPPY CHOCOLATE

CHAPTER ONE-4

"I gave them up for rent," Arlene added. "They're just too damn expensive. Especially with the sorry ass salary I get for doing my incredibly boring job."
"How about you?" Beth asked Brandon.
"My job's okay. In fact most of the people back home would consider it a big improvement over what they do now. They sound just like you when they talk about work."
"I meant do you have a cigarette."
"I never touch them. In fact, where I come from, they're illegal."
"Yeah, right. But you'd break the law for me, wouldn't you?"
Brandon didn't respond. Cori watched as the girl tried to make inroads with the taciturn
maintenance man. There was an awkwardness about him that made people feel uncomfortable. Beth soon realized her efforts were in vain and joined the people at another table. Arlene soon followed suit.
"I told you I wouldn't fit in," Brandon said with a smile after they left. "I guess I'll have to wait for Greta."
"I'm enjoying this," Cori said enthusiastically. "I never get a chance to talk with you during the workday."
"When are you going to give Jack a chance?"
"So you noticed that he likes to hang around my office."
"It would be hard not to. Jack's probably going to ask me to move his desk next to yours any day
now."
"I never date guys with black hair," Cori said jokingly.
"Now that's a valid reason," Brandon responded in kind.
"I like him, but I'm just not interested in being with anyone exclusively. And I think Jack is
angling toward that kind of a relationship." "Angling? How romantic."
They ordered another round. The crowd grew as the evening wore on. Cori was mindful of the fact that she was due at her parents' house, yet the opportunity to socialize with Brandon delayed her

departure from the pub. There was something that attracted her to him, but not in a romantic way. Cori was unable to define the emotion he inspired within her.
"How did you get to be so handy with machines?" she asked him.
"I've always enjoyed tinkering with things."
"Well, you've saved my ass more times than I can count. And I can count pretty high. You're the
reason I have my job."
"Nonsense. Like I said before, you're just good at what you do. I..."
Brandon stopped in mid-sentence. His gaze was suddenly drawn to two men who had just entered
the pub. There was nothing about their appearance or actions that should have made them stand out in a crowd. Yet he was fixated by them.
"What's the matter?" Cori asked in a concerned tone.
"Those are two people that I'd like to avoid."
"Why?"
Brandon gave her a thoughtful look before replying.
"It's a long story, but the important thing is that they want to hurt someone who's very close to
me."
The two men sat down at the bar, giving no indication that they had noticed Brandon. "What are you going to do?"
"Wait here," he told her, while picking up the saltshaker from the table and standing up. Brandon walked over to the bar and ordered another beer. The nondescript pair was canvassing
the crowd standing around them and didn't see him approach. After taking his drink from the bartender, Brandon appeared to stumble and brushed against one of the men.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
They both stood up and looked at him with menacing expressions on their faces. Brandon felt their eyes upon him as he returned to the booth. The two men sat down to finish their drinks, observing him in the mirror behind the bar while doing so.

"I'll call the cops," Cori said as she put her hand on his arm. "No, they can't help."
"Then I'll help you."
"Would you be willing to do anything I ask?"
She looked at him carefully. Cori instinctively trusted this man and so answered with a nod.
"There's a back door to this place. That's the way out for us. I noticed that Arlene and Beth have attracted quite a crowd."
"They usually do," Cori replied with a smile.
"Tell Arlene that you're helping me get out of here without being seen. Ask her to pretend that it's my birthday. Have Arlene and the rest of the people at her table come over here to sing happy birthday to me."
"I'll have to give her a reason for why we have to leave."
"Tell her that I'm avoiding a guy from a collection agency. Do it quick."
Cori's friends obliged, and the two of them were suddenly surrounded. The men at the bar noticed
the arrival of the birthday well wishers, but opted to stay where they were. Cori and Brandon slid out of their seats and used the crowd to conceal their movements. When Arlene and her cohorts went back to their table, the booth was empty. The two men quickly left the pub.
"Give me your keys," Brandon said as they reached Cori's car.
"I can drive," she responded.
"We have to move fast. Please, give me the keys."
Cori obliged him and they got into the van. Brandon hesitated before starting it. "I want to do something to the engine," he said.
"Like what?"
"It'll make the car faster."
Cori was about to ask for some specifics, but sensed that their time was running out. She nodded,
and Brandon removed a five-inch long silver object from a chain around his neck. He had once told her

that the obelisk was his good luck charm. Brandon got out of the car and opened the hood. After briefly tinkering with the engine, he returned to the driver's seat.
"It sounds the same to me," Cori observed after he started her car.
Just as she said those words, the PARKING FOR PUB CUSTOMERS ONLY sign next to the van disintegrated after being hit by a bright blue beam of light. Cori was startled, but managed to overcome her fear and turned around. The two men from the bar were running toward them, and one of them was holding some kind of device in his hand. Brandon hit the accelerator, and the effect of his work on the engine was immediately apparent. The van was now faster than a racing car.
"What did you do?" she asked him, hanging on for dear life.
"I made a slight modification," Brandon said with a self-satisfied grin.
He drove onto the interstate, weaving in and out of the traffic without losing any speed. Cori's
racing heart slowed down as his skill behind the wheel became apparent.
"I'm sorry to involve you in this," he told her after glancing in the mirror.
After looking out the rear window, Cori's anxiety increased again. A red Porsche was gaining on
them, moving even faster than her modified van.
"What's going on? You have to tell me!"
"My sister is a very important, or, should I say, is about to become a very important person. There
are some people who want to do away with her."
"And they're after you too? Where's your sister?"
Brandon took a deep breath.
"I know you'll think I'm crazy. But I came here from another time."
"Be straight with me," Cori responded in a stern tone.
"I am being straight. I found a device that allows me to travel through time."
"Show me."
Brandon removed a cell phone-sized object from his ever-present knapsack. He handed it to Cori,
all the while tracking the progress of their pursuers in the mirror. She examined the device. The symbols

on the five buttons and the one light on the shiny silver machine were unintelligible to her. Cori handed it back.
"It looks strange. But the only way I'll believe it is if you give me a demonstration."
Brandon pressed one of the buttons before making a sudden right turn onto the exit ramp. The Porsche sped by. For a moment Cori thought they had eluded the two men. Then the red sports car abruptly stopped and turned around. The high-speed pursuit continued.
"You don't know what you're getting into," Brandon warned her. "These people play for keeps."
He was not one to spin fanciful tales. Cori knew she could be putting herself in a dangerous situation. Thinking about her family and friends caused her to hesitate. Cori wondered if coming to the aid of someone she didn't know very well was worth the risk. She quickly decided it was, though the young woman didn't understand why.
"I don't care," Cori told him. "You're in trouble, and there's no one to help you. I'm not going to let you face this alone."
The men in the Porsche were still behind them. Brandon continued on for several miles before turning into an alley between two tall buildings. Their pursuers initially drove past the entrance to the alleyway, but quickly stopped and came back. Brandon watched the device anxiously as the sports car approached the van.
"We're trapped!" Cori exclaimed fearfully. "It has to warm up before I can use it."
Brandon threw his knapsack into the rear of the van. Grabbing Cori, Brandon dragged her along with him as he scrambled into the back seat. After what seemed like an eternity, the green light on the silver time machine came on.
"Here's that demonstration you wanted," he said.
Cori's last thought before the van dissolved around her was that she should have called her parents. They were suddenly moving through a tunnel with ever-changing boundaries. The sides were transparent, and Cori had glimpses of exotic lands going by at incredible speeds. A sound that reminded

her of a vibrating instrument string echoed throughout the passageway. She could not see Brandon clearly, due to the wispy, myriad colored light that was flickering all around them. Still, Cori knew he was the vague figure nearby, falling through time with her.
The two men reached the van, only to see their quarry disappear just as they opened its rear door. One of them took out a device exactly like Brandon's. He touched a button on the keypad, and after a long wait signaled to his companion that the device was ready. They stood side by side as the man activated it.
The device exploded, creating a fireball that could be seen a mile away.