There Was No Sound of Thunder (A Time Portal Novel) by David Erik Nelson

Author:David Erik Nelson [Nelson, David Erik]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: David Erik Nelson

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The next morning we left the dishes to soak and drove to FDA Annex D. It was disorienting to be there during business hours, when the parking lot was full and the office park bustling. The space next to the Annex was a little tortilla factory, the double doors chocked open. It breathed out warm puffs of frying corn chips as it hummed along to the tinny roar of that new Beyoncé album.

When we asked the receptionist for Taylor, she replied, “Taylor who?” and my heart stopped. It had never dawned on me that the Portal Guy might not be legitimately employed at the FDA Annex. My mouth worked silently, and the receptionist’s face lit up. “Hey!” she said, snapping her fingers, “I thought you sounded familiar; you’re Whiplash Bass!” She swiveled in her chair to call back through the doorway into cubicle country: “Ohmygod, Taylor! Whiplash Bass to see you!”

A skinny middle-aged black guy in a tie came to the doorway, coffee cup in hand, looked at us, and then looked at the receptionist, annoyed. “Why the hell would Whiplash Bass and his boyfriend wanna talk to me?” He looked back at me and James, and then said dismissively: “They must want White Taylor.” As if on cue, the Portal Guy popped through the doorway, out of breath, a folded USA Today in hand. “Yeah!” He said, “Sorry! They’re for me.”

“White Taylor knows Whiplash Bass!” the receptionist gushed. Her tone was congratulatory, as though this was almost a little better than getting a new car or a really great haircut.

Black Taylor—who was also Clearly-in-Charge Taylor—shifted his ire to our Taylor, and especially Taylor’s folded newspaper. “When do you get anything done?”

“I work late,” the Portal Guy blurted.

Clearly-in-Charge Taylor, as it turned out, was also Clearly-Not-Impressed Taylor: “You are on your break now. I’m going to assume,” he eyed the USA Today, where a mostly finished sudoku was visible, “that you already took ten minutes of your break. You’ve got five to talk to your compadres, and then I want to see your ass back in your cubicle.” As if to punctuate this, Clearly-in-Charge Taylor made a point of looking at his wristwatch and pushing a button on the side three times. “I’ll check your cube in exactly five minutes.”

“Yes, Mr. Panke. Totally. I’ll be there in under four-and-a-half.” Time-Portal Taylor said this to Clearly-In-Charge-and-Not-Impressed Taylor’s back, because the man was already walking away.

I’d finally caught my breath. “I wanna quit my job,” I said in a rush.

Portal Guy Taylor turned back to me and sighed. “Everyone wants to quit their job, Paul. But this isn’t the place to talk about it.” I looked over his shoulder to the receptionist unabashedly watching, as though we were the latest episode of her favorite reality show.

“And that convo will take,” he glanced at his own digital watch, “More than four minutes and twenty-something seconds. Listen: I’ve got my lunch break in a little over an hour. You know that Chili’s by the mall?” James pulled a face, and I must have too, because Taylor rolled his eyes.

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