Timecrash

Chapter 9: Liz's Home

        "The whole time, I was waiting for this moment to come," she declared dramatically. "Watch this," She took a step closer to the wall and felt around it. Her fingers suddenly reached a point where she grabbed a piece of the leaves and pulled them towards her. They broke away easily, like peeling a sticker off from its paper. She continued pulling and every moment, more leaves and vines separated from the wall. They seemed to be attached together in a sheet, they never separated or fell apart. Suddenly a huge chunk of wall vanished in thin air, leaving an oval shaped hole in it.

"Come along," Liz said excitedly. "Just jump, it's easy! Woo!"She jumped through the hole and I watched the tip of her ponytail zoom down. I froze in my tracks. This girl was full of surprises. I hesitantly walked closer, but stopped once more in front of the hole. I stuck my head through only to find there was nothing but mist to see.

"Are you coming, or what?" Liz's voice was coming from far away below with a note of impatience. My heart raced as I stepped on the edge of the hole. I felt the same way as I had when I had first found the time capsule: excited, curious and frightened. The difference was, that now I knew what happened the last time I longed for adventure.That moment felt like a century ago. For all I knew it was a century ago, whenever Timecrash was. Liz's frustrated voice broke my thoughts.

"Chelsey!" she screamed and I finally couldn't take it. I hoped for the best, crossed my fingers, and jumped. Out of habit, I closed my eyes to calm myself down. It didn't help this time. I was falling. Fast.

"Ahhhhhh!" I screamed and opened my eyes. Of course! There it was, the mysterious mist once again. I wildly looked around, but in vain. At that moment I realized that I was not in my 1620's attire anymore, but in my usual jeans and a maroon sweatshirt. Soon I noticed something peculiar, and wondered why I hadn't felt it before. I was falling steadily, not gaining speed or crashing into anything. With that thought, I felt my sneakers hit the soft, damp ground, and I landed firmly on my feet without a stumble. Liz was standing in front of me. My brain was exploding with questions, but I didn't even bother asking, knowing I would receive more questions to think about than answers.

"This," Liz announced. "Is my home," I turned away from her to look forward. I had always heard the term out of this world, but had never experienced for real, not even on the Mayflower. Liz's "home" was out of this world. At first glance, it looked like a giant waterpark. A giant waterpark resort. I saw many jungle huts built straight into the thick tree branches.There were slides and ladders connecting them together, creating a maze through the trees. It was colorful and breathtaking and it seemed alive. The rushing water on the slides had a peaceful sound and the mist was calming to my pale skin. Higher up and past the slides with ladders, was a tower that I assumed was the main point.It towered above all of the minor huts, in the center of the whole construction. As I stood there gaping, Liz nudged me forward and led me up. We climbed up the many steps and ladders and eventually reached the main tower. It resembled a very advanced jungle hut, and liz explained to me that this was her house. She lead me inside and sat me down at a dark red wooden table.

"Wait here,"she directed as she hurried out the doorway into a different room. The ceiling of this hut was made of straw and wooden planks, but was seemingly very strong and sturdy. There was even a bright lavender rug covering the whole floor. Shortly, Liz returned with a bowl of steaming liquid inside. She set it down before me, beaming.

"What do you think?" she asked. I began eating the soup and discovered that it tasted a lot like a tomato minestrone back at home. I looked up at her and told her truthfully,

"I'm speechless. You really built this all?" I gratefully swallowed the soup and handed the bowl to Liz. She took it, then said,

"Not fully. I found it in ruins, rebuilt it , and improved it. Six months of free time and the will to survive, will do this for you," She placed the bowl behind her on a shelf, and mentioned to me to come back outside. She began to explain to me how all of her constructions worked and details on her problems and struggles. While she was talking, I gave her a few nods, gasps and "wows" but I was barely listening. I could see the point Liz was getting at. She was trying to tell me that there was no way out of Timecrash, and that it was fine. It wasn't! I screamed inside.I needed to beat some common sense into Liz, before I lost my sense too. I didn't want to disappoint her, but she needed to understand. Finally Liz ended with her hands on her hips.

"Still worried about a home, food and water?" she asked. I looked down uncertainly, then took a deep breath and brought myself to say it.

"Liz, you need to listen to me. I am taken away by your creation, and I'm not worried about the basics anymore. But we can't stay in Timecrash. From the very short time I've been here, I can tell that it isn't right. We need to try. Again and again, until we get out of here!" Liz gave me a deceiving look.

"You haven't done what I've done. Trust me, I tried. But there's no point in doing the impossible. There's no point in going back," She turned away from me and leaned on the railing of one of the slides.She was right- I hadn't done what she had. But I was willing to try.

"Liz?" I asked. "Don't you ever miss being around others? Or miss your friends? Your home? Your family?" Liz lost her stone look. I was on to something. "Are you really ready to leave your family because you simply gave up?" I saw Liz staring out into the distance, her eyes filling up with tears, clear as the moonlight shining down at her. I could tell she was in deep thought so I decided not to interrupt. Finally, she took a shaky breath and said in a sad, low voice,

"Let's go to bed," I followed her back into the hut and she cleared up a small, cozy cot for me. I lay in bed for a long time not able to fall asleep. I had made up my mind. Tomorrow, I would try to alter the past the right way.