The book of time travel, p.1
The Book of Time Travel, page 1
The Book of Time Travel
By E.J. Krause
Copyright 2020 E.J. Krause
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
About the Author
Chapter 1
Gray Lynch panted out deep breaths and wondered if this was how he would die. Though the walk to school took less than twenty minutes, he, Kenny, and Preston might not make it. Felicity Zane was on a warpath.
Okay, so he doubted Felicity, the bane of their existence for the past three years, would actually kill them, but who knew? Her pranks sometimes grew too elaborate for his liking. One of these days she would get out of hand. It wouldn’t be today unless one of them dashed into the street and got mowed over by a car speeding to work, but it was a distinct possibility. She was, after all, brandishing stink pellets, and Gray and his friends weren’t anywhere near cool enough to pull off showing up to school doused in the stench of sulfur.
“What did we do this time?” Kenny asked as they knelt behind a large juniper bush, checking to see if they’d lost her.
“Do we ever do anything?” Preston asked. “She hates us for no reason.”
True. They’d had the conversation enough times amongst themselves. No, they’d never taken the time to ask her why she terrorized them, as they didn’t want to get close enough to engage her in any sort of intelligent, thoughtful conversation. The fact she was home-schooled with no friends as far as they knew made it extra-difficult to figure out the answer. No, their best plan of action was to avoid her at all costs, and when she zeroed in, try to get away by any means possible.
Gray spotted her turning a corner half-a-block away. “There she is.”
“Can we outrun her?” Preston asked. “We have a head start. If we can keep out of sight long enough, she might not see us in time.”
Kenny nodded. “Could work. But remember how fast she is? If she catches us, we’re dead. Not physically, but…”
“Socially,” Preston finished. “We can’t go to school smelling like stink pellets.”
“What do you think, Gray?” Kenny asked. “Keep hiding, or make a break for it?”
Gray’s eyes went wide. Okay, on one hand, maybe they’d outrun her. She didn’t have any sort of angle to spot them, and they could make it to Ocean View Street if luck went their way. Once they got there, they only needed to cover a couple more blocks to get to school and safety. On the other hand, she would pursue them all the way to the campus gates. The morning security guard wouldn’t be able to see them coming until they were right on top of him. The one day she’d chased them with water balloons, thankfully filled with water instead of anything gross, she nailed them as they rounded the corner. When the security guard left his post to investigate, she’d long since disappeared.
“You froze again,” Kenny muttered, and took off running. “Come on,” he hissed as he went.
Preston spit out a word which would get him detention at school and grounded at home but managed to chase after Kenny. Gray, as usual, couldn’t move. He still wasn’t sure which was the better plan of action. Why hadn’t Kenny flat-out said they’d be running on the count of three or something? He had no problem following orders.
His friends made it three houses before Felicity spotted them. Gray kept low behind the juniper bush, and with her attention on Kenny and Preston, she didn’t notice him. She chased after them, screaming they could run but not hide.
Gray let out a breath and slumped his shoulders. Part of him wanted to retreat home, jump in bed, and pull the covers over his head. Not that he counted it as an actual option. He couldn’t skip school, not with his big math test and a group report in Language Arts today. To say nothing of how Mom and Dad would kill him.
He let out a loud yawn. Good thing Felicity ran after his friends, or she might have heard him. The dream infiltrated his sleep again last night, same as it did most nights now. Yeah, he got enough sleep, but being jarred awake too many nights in a row wasn’t ideal. What if they were premonitions? The dreams, or nightmares, always proved the same except for a few minor differences. In them, he and a girl he’d only met in these dreams died a violent death. No, he didn’t think he was on the verge of actual death, but there was nothing saying it couldn’t be metaphorical. Didn’t dreams work that way? What if it all pointed to this morning, where Felicity sent him to school smelling like rotten eggs and some poor girl ended up as collateral damage? He didn’t think he believed it, not really, but at least it made some sort of sense.
Last night had been a doozy. Like most of the dreams, it started out nice. He and the girl visited the Orange County Fair, a mid-summer event he never missed. They got along great, as if they’d known each other for years, even though they’d met for the first time earlier in the day. Both his and her friends decided to hang out together, going on all the rides, thanks to their unlimited-ride wristbands, and the girl always sat next to him. The last one, a wild mouse roller coaster, became their undoing. Each car fit four people, but their friends maneuvered in line so he and the girl got a car all to themselves. As it pulled out of the station and climbed the big first hill, she put her hand over his, and then clutched tighter as they reached the apex. Even in the dream, he couldn’t help but feel butterflies in his stomach at her touch, and he wondered if he’d work up the nerve to hold her hand or maybe even put an arm around her shoulders once they finished the ride.
It turned out to be a moot point. After the third trademark hard and jerky turn of the mouse coaster, instead of swaying back with the track, their car squealed and flew off the structure. It took them both a second to realize this wasn’t part of the ride, and their screams went from joy to terror. A split second before they smashed into the pavement, he woke in a sweat. Neither Mom nor Dad rushed into his room, so he must not have shouted out. In fact, they hadn’t mentioned anything since these dreams started over a month ago, so he suffered in silence. Yeah, talking about it would help, but not yet. He needed to look up what dream interpretation websites said about it all, but he couldn’t work up the courage.
Gray’s attention shot back to the present. Felicity stalked towards him, scouting out all the hiding spots on the way. Good, she hadn’t found him yet, but she’d see him if he stayed put. He scooted around further behind the juniper plant and saw some thicker bushes not far away. If he made it there, she might miss him. Once she strode past, he’d sprint to school. Yeah, he still could be dead meat, as she was faster than him, at least at longer distances, but it filled him with hope.
As she drew closer, he timed it for when she turned her attention towards the other side of the street, and then scuttled into the thick row of Birds of Paradise and other big plants. He wasn’t sure if he hoped the owners of the house appeared and found him or not. On one hand, they could get mad and kick him out towards Felicity. On the other, they might save him. Of course, no savior came, and Felicity closed in.
“Come out, Grayson. I know you’re here somewhere. You should have run with Preston and Kenny. But don’t worry, they’ll get theirs.”
At least they made it. And since the three of them had good luck dodging Felicity for weeks at a time, she might be on to a different, less stinky prank. He held his breath as she bounded up the walkway towards the juniper. She screamed, “Gotcha!” but he wasn’t there. She scanned the yard, and his luck held as her gaze brushed past him. She muttered something, and then headed back towards the sidewalk. He lost sight of her as she walked behind a large hedge in the neighboring yard.
“Okay,” he whispered. “You can make it. On three.”
He counted, waited a few seconds to make sure she didn’t come back, and then counted again. As quiet as possible, he stepped out of the plants and hustled towards school, staying as close to the houses and garages as the landscaping allowed. Two houses down, hope sprang into his chest. She wouldn’t see him. He’d make it. He really would.
And then Felicity’s voice rang out. “Nice try, Grayson. You’re dead.”
There it was again. Dead. Were his dreams pointing to today after all? Any second, a pretty girl he’d never met anywhere except the county fair in Slumberland would step out of her house and become collateral damage. Gray fought back from succumbing to manic giggles at the thought. Oh, jeez, he was going to die. Felicity would catch him, throw him onto the pavement, smother him in stink pellet juice, and toss him out to be run over by passing cars. That had to be what it all meant.
Two blocks to go. As with most mornings, no one emerged from their houses, and no cars drove through the residential streets on the backside of Rocky Shore High. He never could figure if people left for work at different times, or if these people didn’t have to work. Too bad because he could use some help. At least someone to distract Felicity. Now he heard her closing in, but it might have been his heart smashing too hard into his rib cage. With all his huffing and puffing, he couldn’t be sure.
He neared salvation, the corner which led to the school gate. She wouldn’t dare continue after him once he rounded it. He wasn’t sure if he decided to slow, or if his body couldn’t run anymore, but in either case, he did, and it proved to be his downfall. Felicity’s hand grabbed his backpack and spun him onto the grass between the sidewalk and the street. Before he could so much as utter a word of protest, she sat on his chest.
“Nice try, big guy. You almost made it.”
She wore a look of triumph and balled one of her hands into a fist. If he hadn’t known she had stink pellets, he would have thought she was about to hit him. Honestly, he would rather take a punch to the face than a shirt full of sulfurous stink. Once his bucks and kicks failed to unseat her, he realized he didn’t have a choice.
“Come on, Felicity. I have to go to school.” He hoped like heck his voice didn’t sound too whiny. Not that it made a difference with her.
“Poor little Grayson,” she said, a hyena laugh braying out. “Everyone’s going to ask why you rummaged in garbage and then didn’t shower.”
She grabbed the collar of his shirt and mimed putting the stink pellets in. He screamed, but it only made her laugh harder.
“I’m just messing with you, Gray. Chill out.”
She started to get off him, but before he could believe this turn of good luck, she smacked his hand, as if slapping him a high-five. He felt the pop of the stink pellet, and the stench assaulted his nose.
Felicity laughed, bounced to her feet, and ran away. Before she got too far, she called, “Give Preston a slap on the back for me, will you?”
He didn’t watch her go, but instead wiped his hand on the grass. No, it wouldn’t get rid of the evil stench wafting from his palm, but it at least dulled it. The boys’ locker room sat not too far away from the gate, so he would hop in there to scrub his hands before he ran into anyone. A silver lining, anyway.
The security guard wore headphones and didn’t ask Gray about the screams from around the corner. Good. If he hadn’t been as loud as he thought, he saved some dignity. His hand also must not have reeked as bad as he feared, as the guard gave him a bored nod as Gray passed by. None of it made up for the lousy start to his morning.
Why couldn’t he be more decisive like Kenny and Preston?
Chapter 2
Cassidy Chase, Cici to anyone who asked, crouched in position, ready for the next serve. Coach Fairbanks ran them through a few drills, and now a practice match broke out. Cici wasn’t a starter on her high school JV volleyball team, but she could sub in at any position and do a decent job. At the moment she played on the left back position, the outside hitter. She didn’t care where she lined up, as long as she got a chance. Sitting on the bench was way too boring.
The ball screamed towards her, and she bumped it over to a teammate on the other side of the court, who set it up to be sent over the net. The other side, which included her best friend, Alyssa Simms, knocked it around a couple of times before sending it back over. This time Cici didn’t touch it, and Heather Voles, the team’s best jumper, one who would be on the varsity team if she possessed better mechanics, spiked it down. Alyssa, in the front row, couldn’t stop it, and the ball bounced, earning a point for Cici’s team. As her teammates celebrated, Margot Parks hit the ball under the net so it struck Cici in the shoulder.
“Hey, what the hell, Margot?” she yelled. She and Margot, ever since Cici ruined her chances with Dylan Nelson in 8th grade, were bitter enemies. Cici had no interest in Dylan, but he was a nice guy who didn’t deserve to be treated like dirt by some petty jerk like Margot. Okay, so maybe their rivalry started way before then, but after the Dylan incident, as both Alyssa and Nat, Cici’s sister, called it, she and Margot hated each other with a passion.
Margot shrugged, and Cici knew she and Alyssa were the only ones on the court who heard the sarcasm in her answer. “Sorry, Cici. Just trying to make a play.”
Cici wanted to jam the ball down her stupid throat but instead tossed it to Kaitlyn to serve. She wouldn’t stoop to Margot’s level and knock a cheap shot at her, but if the opportunity came along during the game to make her look bad, she’d take it and laugh. She caught Alyssa’s eye, and her best friend mimed spiking Margot in the back of the head. Cici giggled, and though Margot hadn’t seen what Alyssa did, she still glared at Cici, who rolled her eyes right back. Whatever.
The game continued for a few points without Cici having to worry about Margot. Both played their position with no cause to interact. That changed when Coach Fairbanks moved Cici to the net. She wasn’t the greatest jumper on the team, but she could block shots and even semi-spike it most times. Occasionally, when she worked up a good leap, she could smack a legitimately lethal spike. Coach Fairbanks told her if she continued to work on consistency, she’d be on the varsity team next season for sure.
Laura Heatley flubbed a bump, and it fluttered to the top of the net. Both Cici and Margot went for it, and they each got a piece of the ball. Cici nudged it a bit harder, and it spun to Margot’s side, bouncing before any of her teammates saved it. The two girls knocked hips, and when they landed, Margot pushed Cici, who fell hard.
“You clumsy oaf,” she screamed, and Margot feigned a shocked expression, though her eyes held a sparkle of triumph.
“Cici!” Coach Fairbanks yelled. “We don’t say such things to our teammates.”
“She pushed me.”
Margot threw her hands into the air and turned her back on Cici. “I lost my balance. I didn't do it on purpose.”
Yeah, right.
Coach Fairbanks, as always, took Margot’s side. “Contact happens, Cici. Get used to it. Girls on other teams aren’t going to pull any punches, so to speak.”
“I’ll punch Margot.” She thought she whispered it under her breath, but everyone heard.
“Okay, enough of you today. Hit the showers. And, Cici, I expect you to come back tomorrow with a better attitude.”
She should have gathered her things and left without another word, but when had that ever been her style? “How much do her parents pay you to baby her and take her side every time, Coach?”
To her credit, Coach Fairbanks didn’t raise her voice, but Cici heard the anger in it anyway. “Never mind coming back tomorrow. You can join Conditioning PE for a few days. Come back when you’re willing to apologize to Margot and me.”
Fat chance. She fought back tears, unwilling to let them flow in front of everyone. She did chance a glance over to Alyssa, who looked both shocked at the turn of events and tickled at Cici’s words. Even when Cici’s sharp tongue occasionally struck Alyssa, she found it more funny than hurtful. What was a best friend for, after all?
Once in the locker room, Cici changed as quick as possible. She couldn’t bear the thought of anyone walking in on her. Why couldn’t she ever hold her tongue? She hoped Coach Fairbanks wouldn’t call her parents. Not that they’d be surprised her mouth got her in trouble again. Nat, like Alyssa, would find it funny, and she’d be 100-percent on her side. Her younger sister always had her back.
At least she could blame today’s outburst on the nightmares. Another bad one infiltrated her slumber last night, the same but different from the ones she’d had since mid-summer. Each time she and a mystery boy—a super-cute boy, by the way—ate it big time at the Orange County Fair. Last night’s dream involved a roller coaster mishap. The car flew off the tracks, killing her and the cute boy. Or so she figured. She sprung awake before the massive crunch.
