The Company of Myself

What follows is a short-story I wrote at my English Exam. I will update this post with the grade I got later. Even though I could not make this story exactly the way I wanted it, I think it turned out pretty neat. Actually, I loved writing it. Hope you love reading it ;)

Without further ado: here is the short-story entitled

The Company of Myself

Once again, it is time. It’s time to get out in the world, to discover new things, to experience all that I have lost over the years!

My God, what a load of bullshit.

I cannot remember how I got into this situation. I don’t think I want to, either. But this awful thing that is pushed upon me every once in a while; that one I remember quite clearly.

The clock ticks. Once, it showed me everything I needed to know. Now, it just counts downwards. And when it is time…

it whistles.

Annoyingly…

and forever.

Until I open the door.

It’s been 5 years since last time. I have no idea where or when I am, but I’m pretty sure that I’m still on Earth. Time is somehow always shifting around me. I am always alone, but I don’t care. This is how I wanted it.

I rise from my original position (I’d been reading one of the few books that I had found on my journeys) and walk to the door. Then, I breathe slowly, focusing on the things to come when I walk out of the door. I breathe one more time, before I am to annoyed with the whistling sound, and finally walk out of my Box.

Outside, it is chaos. At first, I have no idea where I am. Then, suddenly, I see it. A giant base, out in the desert. Something sparkles within me… Am I finally beginning to remember?

I walk towards what I assume is a military base. It takes hours until I find a road. No one can see me - these are just shadows of what once was. Time isn’t linear; It disappears after a while, so that the universe can move on. That is why I’ve never been attacked by dinosaurs when walking out of the Box. This is one of the very few things I remember.

It’s easy to forget, when only being in company of myself.

When I finally reach the road, I walk it. For a long time, I walk it. I wonder where I am, where this place is. Because it looks hauntingly familiar, and I hope that finally I will remember something, anything from my past. Did I have a mission? I hope I did… That would make things clearer. I guess you have figured out by now that I am a time-traveler. Sent out by someone to explore our history, our universe. Or maybe I was sent out to die. I don’t know. The only thing I know is that for as long as I can remember, I have been travelling in time, inside this mysterious Box.
And I can tell you, it isn’t fun.


Finally, a sign appers. On it, in great, big letters, it is written ROSWELL. At last, I know where I am! Inside the Box, I have a map over the Earth. I know now that I am in America - more precicely in New Mexico.

I walk on, and after a while I finally arrive at the military base. I know from my previous experiences in time that no one can see me. This is why I ignore the statement on the fence, saying that «Civillians Will Be Shot».

Eventually, I find a way inside the huge military base. There are a lot of people here, but I sneak by them. No need to risk contact (because I can touch things; sometimes, I think of myself like a ghost) and expose myself. I refuse to be a test subject that the government can play with, no matter how helpful I can be.

Still moving, closer and closer to the center of the base, I suddenly recognize this place. I also remember why there is a big pin over Roswell on my map in the Box, like this place is somewhat important. I don’t remember enough to piece together all of the puzzle yet, but I suddenly remember my cause; everything is so much clearer now.

I start running, thinking for the first time about my childhood here in New Mexico; of what my father told me happened in 1947, and of the great catastrophe that soon followed. The catastrophe that the government now tried to fix, and so they sent out a group of time-travelers, each in a box, that would visit different places in time and eventually figuring out how to fix it. What they didn’t know is that you cannot interact with time, you could just watch it happening. At least that was what I thought.

I was born three o’clock on the 8th of February in 1947. They sent me out young, handsome and quite sure of myself in 1975. But all things change when you’re alone as much as I have been. The clock was one minute to three.

And counting.

I ran through the croud of working soldiers, dodging them all, making sure that nobody knew of my existence. I was nearly exhausted, but it didn’t matter; I was going to stop this! I was going to save the world!

Suddenly, I saw another Box appear. It was quite like mine, although very different. It appeared on the top of the main building. A man came out. A man I remembered very clearly. A man named Richard. He was a time-traveler, like me. And he had appeared at the same time, in the same place as myself. Maybe this was the end to everything. Then, I suddenly understood something horrid. He was signaling to me. Asking me to hide, to get the hell out of there. He was pointing at his clock.

During Richard’s traveling to time, he had learned something quite different than I had. He had, of course, also learned that you couldn’t change the flow of time. You couldn’t change anything, only watch.

But this didn’t apply in your own lifetime. If you were born, alive at someplace on the face of the Earth; if another version of you was running around somewhere, then this rule seized to exist. If you traveled to somewhere in your own lifetime, you could talk to people. You could change things. The Box was programmed to never let this happen. But the Box had slipped up. There was something wrong with it.

The clock showed five seconds to three o’clock. The year was 1947. The month was February. The first event in a line of many would begin in a matter of moments.

I just stood there. I didn’t know what Richard meant. I had no idea that I was going to be visible for everyone on the face of the planet in five seconds. I saw my own Box flying towards me. It had activated the failsafe; when something is about to happen, the Box sees it and travels to me. It’s smart that way.

Two seconds.

I could’ve jumped. I could’ve. I could have saved the world. But I was selfish. I wanted my answers, and I thought that they were here. They weren’t. I know that now.
How do I know this? How can I write this to you in this moment of time? Well, let’s just say that the world didn’t end that day. It was saved. I have no idea why or how, but Richard have later told me the story of what happened: he had learned to control his box for some time. He understood what would happen. He figured out the time paradox. And then, he solved it.

He pointed a gun at my head. Then he pulled the trigger, and everything stopped.

It wasn’t a normal gun, you see. Keep in mind that Richard had been to the future. And he’d brought a souvernier. Or he’d made it. Hell if I know. Richard is a genius. He stopped time. With a gun. Then he carried me back into his Box. And we flew away.

And what of my box?, you ask. It’s there; in 1947, 8th of February, two second’s to three o’clock. Hopefully, it’ll stay there forever.


Hopefully.

THE END

Comments

[Marius Krinnan]

I enjoyed reading this, and, despite a couple of typos and grammatical errors, your written English is excellent.
I'd like to read more about this man's journeys in time and space.

[WatchingPreacher]

Really? Hm.

Well, there's certainly enough material to write a bigger story about this. But if you enjoyed this then I think you'll enjoy A KNIGHT 'ALE, which premieres January 4th on this site and on http://knightale.wordpress.com/
There will be five chapters. You will enjoy ;)