Across The Universe

Chapter 3 - Back To The 60's

Ava flies through the portal for what seems like forever. Eventually, she reaches the end as she lands on her rear end. Ava stands up and dusts herself off. She looks at her surroundings and notices billboards advertising for The Beatles. "Wow! So this is what life was like in the 60's!" She said. Ava checks the watch to see which era of the 1960's she's in. "Looks like I'm in 1964." She said.

Out of nowhere, a huge crowd of screaming teenage girls started approaching like stampeding elephants. Ava tried forcing her way out of them, but she ended up getting trampled. After the crowd cleared, she was unconscious.

The Beatles P.O.V.

The Beatles came out of their hiding places. "Is the coast clear?" Asked Ringo. "Yeah. I don't see anybody now." Said John. "I think this means we can go." Said George. They exit from where they're hiding and proceed on their way.

Paul suddenly becomes distracted after he notices an unconscious girl on the ground. John looks in his direction as he notices his songwriting partner walking the opposite way. "Paul, what are you doing?" He asked. "There's a girl on the ground. She needs help." Said Paul. He approaches the girl, who happens to be Ava, and rolls her onto her back. "Poor thing. She must've gotten trampled by that crowd." He said quietly.

Paul picks Ava up and carries her back to his friends. "What happened to her?" George asked. "By the looks of the dirt on her clothes and face, she was trampled by the crowd that went by earlier." Ringo said. "Wait a minute. I've never seen this kind of clothing before. Something tells me she's not from around here." John said. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, let's get this poor girl back to our apartment." Paul said.

The other Beatles nod in agreement. Paul continues holding the unconscious Ava in his arms as he and the rest make their way back to their suite. After they arrived, Paul gently lays Ava onto his bed.

"Now what?" Asked John. "Well, one of us has to stay here and watch her." Said Paul. "Why don't you watch her, Paul?" Asked George. "Yeah. Besides, you're the one that saved her." Said Ringo. Paul nods as the others step out of the room. He looks down at Ava as she's still unconscious. Seeing her like that made tears fill his eyes. The young bassist was afraid she might be dead.

Paul checks her pulse. "Oh, thank goodness. She's still alive." He said as he breathed a sigh of relief. Paul walks into the bathroom and grabs a washcloth, running cold water on it. He returns to Ava and starts wiping her face, removing the dirt.

A little while later, Paul rewets the washcloth and folds it. He puts it on Ava's forehead and leaves it there for ten minutes. After a while, he removes the washcloth, puts it back in the bathroom, goes back to Ava, and cradles her into his arms. Paul pulls the still unconscious girl close to him and began rocking her. He then gives her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Please be okay, ma'am." Paul said as his voice cracked.

After a while, Paul starts stroking Ava's hair. She lets out a groan and starts opening her heavy eyes. "Oh my head." She said through moans. As Ava tries to keep her eyes open, she sees a man looking down at her. "That's it, love. You can do it." He said. After several tries, Ava manages to open her eyes completely. They widen when she sees who's standing over her. "Paul McCartney?" She asked. "Yes ma'am. Are you okay?" Asked Paul. "I think so. The last thing I remember is getting trampled by a large crowd of screaming teenage girls." Said Ava.

Paul climbs onto the bed and sits next to her. "I'm glad you're not hurt. You had me worried for a moment." He said. "How did I get here?" Ava asked. "I found you laying unconscious on the ground. So my friends and I brought you here. Besides, it'd be wrong of me to leave an innocent person like yourself to rot on the streets." Paul said. "Aww, Paul, you're so sweet!" Said Ava as she blushed. "Heh, thanks. Anyway, what's your name?" Asked Paul. "My name is Ava. Ava Green." Ava said. "Well, Ava, I'm glad to know you're okay. I was afraid you were dead for a moment." Paul said.

Ava smiles and gives the cute bassist a hug. Paul was taken aback by this action, but he eventually returns the embrace. After Ava pulls away, she caresses Paul's face. "Sorry, I had to." Said Ava. "It's okay." Said Paul. "I promise you I'm gentle." Ava said. "I figured. Now, where are you from?" Paul asked. Ava turns away shamefully. "If I tell you, you'll think I'm crazy." She said. "No I won't. You can tell me. I promise I won't call you a fool." Said Paul. He turns Ava's face towards him. "Okay, I'm not from this era." Said Ava. "Looks like John was right." Paul said.

A surprised expression appears on Ava's face. "How did he know?" She asked. "From the clothes you're wearing, it was pretty much obvious." Said Paul. Ava looks at her clothes. "Oh." She said as she gives a nervous chuckle. "What brings you here, anyway?" Paul asked. "I'm just... visiting. Besides, I've always wanted to see what the 60's were like." Ava said. "Uh-huh." Said Paul. "Are you mad?" Asked Ava nervously. "Of course not. But answer me this, what year are you from?" Paul asked. "2020." Ava said.

"Wow! That's 56 years into the future!" Said Paul in shock. "I know." Said Ava. The other Beatles return a few minutes later. "Welcome back, lads." Paul said. "Ah, you're finally awake, madame!" Said John. "Yeah. Thanks to Paul, I'm feeling so much better." Ava said. "It's a good thing he found you. Otherwise, you would've been forgotten." Said George. "Or worse, trampled even more." Said Ringo. "That's so true!" Said Ava.

"Lads, this is Ava Green. She's from the year 2020." Said Paul. "2020?!" The other Beatles asked in shock. "No wonder her clothes looked unfamiliar." John said. "Oh yeah. Nobody dresses like this in the 60's." Ava said. "How did you get here, Ava?" George asked. "This watch I'm wearing. I found it while I was taking a walk earlier today." Said Ava. "That's impressive." Ringo said.

For the next few minutes, Ava spends some more time talking to The Beatles and what she does at home. However, she leaves out a few details of the future since there are some things she'd rather not share, or a few she'll talk about later.