Alles ist Jetzt (Everything is Now)

Impossible

"Hey! Wake up you asshole!"

Jonas, for the second time that day, woke up. Except this time, he was tied to a chair, in a cold room and barren walls, with the people who found him earlier surrounding him. He looked down to see where exactly he was restrained (his forearms, ankles and chest), and struggled as he tried to break free of the ropes. It became apparent though after a few seconds, that trying to break free was a futile exercise.

"Let me go! Where am I?! What year is-"

"Silence, Arschloch.", came a stern, female voice.

Jonas looked up to see the same woman who had knocked him out earlier, this time without her face mask and her rifle. She walked cautiously across the room from behind the crowd of people, who had now parted to provide her with the best look in the room at the boy. She circled the chair multiple times, as if trying to pick up some information about him by pure observation. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, she stopped and looked down at him.

"Tell us your name, boy.", she demanded.

Jonas hesitated in answering, once more fearing what might happen to him, but he somehow mustered up the courage to speak.

"Jonas. Jonas Kahnwald.", he said with a fragile voice.

"Where are you from?"

"Here. I come from Winden."

The woman took a step back, her face still stern as it had been before. She seemed to mull over this information for a moment before asking, "When are you from?"

Jonas took a while to understand this question, as while it was commonplace to ask where someone had come from, it was unheard of to ask when somebody was from. He eventually mustered, "2019."

The woman stood back, aghast at this single sentence. "Unmöglich.", she uttered under her breath, "Impossible." She then turned to the rest of the people assembled around Jonas and proclaimed, "Arvin, Marelda.", she said, pointing at two of the group, "Stay here and watch 'Jonas'. Everyone else, with me. We have much to discuss."

The woman, who was now viewed in Jonas' mind as the leader of the others, lead everyone out of a metal door, while Arvin and Marelda stayed behind to watch him.

Now that there were significantly less people in the room, Jonas could get a better look at his surroundings. He saw there were chairs scattered across the room, with a table bolted to one of the walls, like a desk. The walls themselves were painted a grey colour, probably to give the room a look of at least slight tidiness. The floor was bare, probably the best choice given that anything nice would be ruined immediately by the dirt tracked by the group's feet. Jonas then turned to Arvin and Marelda, the two people instructed with keeping an incredibly close eye on him. Arvin had a large, padded jacket on, with the pockets filled to the brim with what looked like wires of some sort, or maybe pieces of string. He wore dark cargo trousers, and a fleece beneath the jacket, which Jonas understood the importance of. He was starting to get chilly just sitting, unable to move. He then turned his attention to Marelda, a woman with a blonde pony-tail and some welding goggles on her forehead. She also had a jacket on, but much more flimsy than Arvin's and had a scarf with light tones of blue on it. She wore leggings and, although he couldn't quite see it, Jonas was sure he could see a green shirt poking out from underneath the jacket. They both wore the same type of boots; solid, sturdy walking boots with ankle support, in a uniform beige colour.

"Hey! Let me go!", shouted Jonas, once he had finished observing the pair's outfits. The two of them looked at him, Arvin with a face of disgust, Marelda with a stony glare.

"Sit tight, boy. You're gonna be here a while", said Marelda, her voice soft but firm.

"Can you at least explain where I am?"

"Nein. That's not ours to explain. And if we did, we'd get sent out to the Core and get our brains fried.", said Arvin with his gravelly voice.

"The Core? What's th--"

"Silence!", screamed Marelda, causing Arvin to stumble backwards a little, "Say another word, 'Jonas', and I'll personally make sure you're sent out there to experience it first hand!"

Jonas got the hint, and decided to be quiet, for his own sake. His brief exchange though with the guards had peaked his interest, he wanted to know what "The Core" was and whether this whole thing had anything to do with his father. His father had always been a mysterious man, not revealing his past to Jonas in person. He had only found out who he truly was a few days before, when he read a note saying he time-travelled back to 1986 and had lived as a young boy from that point in time up until his death in June of 2019. And he couldn't even trust that, as it only mysteriously showed up long after his death. Jonas had so many questions, but so little answers. He wanted to speak to the leader of this mysterious group, but he could only wait.

After what felt like an eternity, the woman came back into the room, but this time without the group of followers she had leading out.

"You two," said the woman, "You can go. I need some alone time with the boy." Arvin and Marelda acknowledged her and swiftly left the building, closing the metal door behind them. It clanged and made an echo for a short while afterwards.

"Jonas. If you are who you say you are, you'll know the answer to this question. You understand me?", said the woman in the calmest voice Jonas had heard from her yet. Jonas nodded slowly.

"Okay. When Bartosz was sitting with Martha in the assembly on the 4th of November, 2019 and she asked you how France was, what did Bartosz reply with?"

"How else. French.", Jonas replied immediately. He knew exactly what he had said, given it had only occurred a few days ago to him, but a lifetime ago to whoever this woman was.

The woman smiled, unveiling her slightly stained, but perfectly intact, teeth. "Correct.", she said. She then proceeded to untie him from the chair.

Jonas stood up, for the first time in what seemed like a few good hours. It felt good to get his muscles working again, as he shook his limbs. It wasn't for long though, as the woman unexpectedly embraced him.

"It's so good to see you again! I haven't seen you in years!"

Jonas, cautiously reciprocated, "Yes. Uh, it's good to see you too. Whoever you are."

The woman withdrew for a moment, before saying "Did I forget to introduce myself? Stupid me. My name is Martha."