Four Seconds To Midnight
The only one that can save you is you.
Interdimensional travel is not a natural thing for a human body. He stepped into the chamber. Dr Jones closed the hatch behind him. He felt the chamber fill with water rapidly. The temperature of the water was accurately regulated to match his body. He never got used to breathing it in. He felt his body convulsing as he breathed in the water. He felt himself getting pulled out of that dark tank like a bullet. He had precisely four seconds to save himself.
He was like a newborn. Covered in the fluid, he felt himself shivering and felt like his heart was going to stop. No training could prepare one for what he went through. He recalled what Dr Jones told him when he travelled to inter dimensionally, breathe deeply. The oxygen seemed to help. Like a newborn animal, he gathered himself within minutes, because he knew time was against him. Time was always against him. He stood up and dropped to the carpeted floor again. He couldn’t feel his legs. The familiar room with green carpet and a duffle bag in the corner flashed at him. he clenched his eyes for a moment. He breathed in deeply.
Like a young buck, after about ten minutes, he jolted up and opened the duffle bag. He put on his clothes, the watch that his wife gave him for his thirtieth birthday. And checked the pistol. It had one single bullet in the chamber. One shot was all he needed. The watch still indicated that he still had four seconds to midnight. As per protocol, the dimply lit room didn’t have a door. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall for what seemed like an eternity, when a door formed on one of the walls. He took another breath and holstered his weapon and stood up.
He opened the door. He was in the middle of a cemetery.
When he got out of the doorway, it disappeared like a vapour. He remembered this graveyard. He walked few yards and crouched down. The tombstone was his own. It was a trippy experience to see your own tombstone. The heavy, cold rain was relentless. He looked at his watch. Still four minutes to midnight. He stood on his grave for few minutes.
The thunder and rain lit up the night city scape. He took another deep breath and ran out of the cemetery. He was in the middle of downtown. The street was littered with hundreds of people and cars travelling manically in all directions through the rain. All he knew was that he needed to catch a cab but didn’t know which one. Suddenly a cab that he didn’t call stopped right in front of him.
“Mr Carroll” The driver said.
Without wasting a moment, he got in the car.