The Chronothon by Nathan Van Coops

Author:Nathan Van Coops [Van Coops, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BluA
Publisher: Skylighter Press
Published: 2015-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

“You can cross to other timestreams if you have an anchor from there. If not, you’ll have to back up and find the origin of that timestream somewhere in the past before you can follow it forward. I can’t promise that time travel won’t also be time consuming.”–Journal of Dr. Harold Quickly, 2001

Chapter 20

The engine noise is louder again and the ship is moving under the overcast sky. I’ve only managed to jump back fifteen minutes, but I hope it’s enough. I get unsteadily to my feet and stagger back toward the hatch. Besides my scalded hand, I have sharp pains in my legs and abdomen. As the wind continues to fling drizzle from the clouds down around me, I clench my stomach and try not to lose my balance. I’ve broken one of the cardinal rules of time travel—never make a jump into rain.

The little stinging pains in my body are my reminders of why two objects can’t occupy the same space at the same time. I’m lucky that the droplets have been tiny—closer to mist than rain. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened had I been fused with heavy drops. I could have them in my eyes or my spine. I mentally flog myself for my stupidity. But what option did I really have? There are other cardinal rules to time travel. Not getting torched atop the Hindenburg has to fall under one of them, right?

The hatch is harder to open with my injured hand, but I have too much adrenaline pumping through me to let that slow me down. I close my eyes as I throw my leg into the ladder shaft and feel for the rungs so I won’t have to look at the deck below. I open them again as I descend, pausing momentarily at the spot where I know the gray-eyed man will be planting the bomb. Is there anything I can do to stop him? I consider my options but realize there is nothing I can do now that won’t result in a new timestream or some type of paradox. The original stream would go on and I would accomplish nothing but get myself disqualified in the process.

Under normal circumstances disqualification might sound like a good idea, but after my talk with Ivan’s killer, I’m less optimistic of lasting long after. If I’m going to have any hope of figuring out what I’m being used for, I have to stay in the race. As my feet hit the surface of the axial walkway, my other mission occupies my mind. At least I’m saving people’s lives this round. Whatever the committee has in store for me, there will be a few people that will benefit from my being here. The thought helps dissipate my anger.

I climb down the next ladder, working my way to the keel walkway again. As I drop the last couple of rungs, I survey my surroundings. Just forward of my position are more cabins that I take to be crew quarters.

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