“Are you ready, Kalli?” She was watching the retreating vehicle and the sadness in her eyes tore at his heart.
“Yes, of course. Ready when you are.”
“Alright then. Just give me a few minutes to recalibrate the TEQT.”
“You mean the time machine?” Kalli said with a roll of her eyes.
He felt his lips twitch despite his glum mood. “It’s called the Temporal Engine Quantum Transducer. The time machine is an invention that only exists in science fiction works.”
“As you wish, nerd. Just set it up so we can go home.”
Her teasing felt good. It made him feel... cherished. He had never had that before.
He focused on the calibration of the engine and, when that was done, they crawled into the tent. The cramped space only allowed for one position, which was Kalli sitting between his legs, her back to his front. They had traveled to the past in this same fashion. Neither of them had batted an eye at their bodies’ nearness then. Now, the position was so erotic, it was unsettling.
He sat, and she moved into position. As she lowered herself, her arse brushed against his cock, with predictable results. He grabbed her hip with one hand.
“Stop wriggling, damn it,” he hissed in her ear.
“You are poking at me. I can’t get comfortable.”
“Well, no wonder. If you don’t stop moving, I’m going to poke you even more.”
“Hmm, is that a threat or a promise?”
Her voice had lowered seductively, and the honeyed words went straight to his groin. He groaned.
“Don’t do this, Kalli. For goodness’ sake, not now.”
“You are right, sorry.”
She sounded chastened, and he immediately regretted his words. The urge to lean forward, embrace her, and forget everything else was overwhelming. Only the circumstances and lack of space prevented him from acting on his impulse, which was worrying in itself.
She had stopped moving, but his erection stubbornly refused to subside. Oh, well... a trip through time would take care of that. He set off the TEQT and the last leg of the trip went as smoothly as the first. When they came out of the tent, they were back in their time. The familiar silhouette of the domed hangar from where they had departed a few weeks ago could be seen in the middle distance.
Strange to think that for the people here, only one day had passed since they left. For them, it had been six weeks. So much had happened in those weeks. He felt irrevocably changed. And he wasn’t the only one. So many lives had been altered. And yet, here they were. Only one day after the day they left.
They knew it was important to keep track of the passing of time. Six weeks and one time travel made little difference in a lifetime. But if time travel became more frequent, and a person skipped through time several times in their lifetime, it could add up to months or years of their life. They had thought of that, prepared for it. But no one had considered what could happenduringthat time. Yet one more thing to ponder in this time-travel business.
Leaving the tent and most of their luggage behind, they set off walking towards the hangar, carrying only the backpacks with their computers and other personal items. Someone could retrieve the rest of the stuff later. Right now, they needed to make it back to the hangar as soon as possible. If they registered the arrival of the TEQT, but couldn’t find them, the team would worry. As they approached the structure, the frantic energy of raised voices and shuffling feet told them that was the case.
“They should be here already!” someone shouted.
“Are you sure you registered the return of the TEQT?” another voice asked.
“Of course!” the first person responded.
“But where are they?”
“Hey, people! We are over here,” Dariux announced, interrupting their argument.
All conversation died, and a dozen faces turned to stare at them.
“Mr. Kincaid! Sir, so glad to have you back. And Dr. Brooks, too. How did everything go? How much time did you spend in the past? Did you encounter any problems?”
Mr. Carlson, his right-hand man and the genius who had helped him develop the TEQT, rushed to them. The questions poured from his mouth. He wanted to know everything about their mission all at once. Dariux couldn’t deal with this at the moment.
“Carlson, I’ll be happy to answer all your questions, besides providing a thorough report on our activities and observations. But right now, we are tired and need to go home and recover. I’m sure you understand.”
