The setup was very similar to a Sound Recording Studio. Nathan had used a recording studio during his university days when a few student pals decided to record a song they had written. Nathan played some bass guitar and was asked to help out. The song was dire, but the experience was fascinating. Each musician recorded their individual parts in the studio, whilst the sound engineer and the others sat behind a big glass window in the adjoining room listening. They would occasionally press a button on the consul to speak. The recording room was also insulated with acoustic foam tiles. Nathan looked around and could see the walls were all covered in black foam panels. There was a huge array of machinery on the back wall with blinking lights and various wires protruding, and above him was a mammoth steel arm reaching across the ceiling with a large round face looking down at him. On the floor was a white circle with an X written in Red dead center. This was where Nathan was required to stand.
“Ok, Nathan, stand still and cross your arms across your stomach. Make sure you are holding the button on your watch and wait for me to countdown from three. When I say one, push the button on the watch. Do you understand?” Nathan nodded “Yes I understand”
“There will be quite a lot of noise as the arm positions itself, but once it is in the position it will go quiet. I will count down from three and then the process will start. Keep your eyes closed. Remember that the entire procedure will only take a couple of seconds. You will probably feel disorientated, but don’t move away until you mark the spot. I know I keep saying it, but it is imperative.”
“It’s ok. I get it. I will make sure I mark the circle before I move.”
A loud buzz followed by vibrations started as Nathan stood silently on the spot., then a rumble reverberated across the room as the giant arm began moving over the ceiling above him. He watched as the arm positioned itself directly above his head. The giant face looked down on him and Nathan was sure it was with an expression that he could only describe as a conceited smirk, but then maybe this was more to do with the way Nathan was feeling than any true impression from what was just an insensate machine. After a short pause and without any change of expression, the gibbous face slowly descended, as if bowing in honor and reverence at another human sacrifice to immolate. Nathan decided to look straight ahead. His imagination was turning his apprehension into alarm and that was just one step from panic, which he knew would be bad. It would be so easy to just abort the whole thing, why was he even doing this? He had a good life and there was no need to change anything. This was senseless, stupid, and needless.
“OK, Nathan, we’re in position. Are you OK? This is the point of no return. After this, there is no changing your mind, so speak up if you have any doubts.” Nathan drew in a deep breath. What was he thinking? Senseless, stupid… He exhaled to clear his head.
“OK, let’s do this. To infinity and beyond”
“Right, remain still and keep your eyes closed. Remember to push the button of the watch on ONE when I count down from THREE. Good Luck and don’t take any chances”
Nathan placed his finger on the pusher button of the watch. He closed his eyes and tried to remain composed. The point of no return had been crossed. He heard Fish over the loudspeaker.
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“Countdown begins. THREE, TWO, ONE” Nathan pushed down on the button of his watch to activate the timer. There was a hissing sound like the whoosh of a bullet just above his head followed by a buzzing, tickling, pins-n-needles kind of feeling which could only be described as if his entire body was breaking into millions of tiny bits and shifting through the air. Nathan sensed he was being pulled into a dimension that had no precedent. Not up or down or forwards or back, but some new direction entirely alien and incomprehensible. He felt a surge of adrenaline as his body was pulled through all the planes of existence at once, and yet it all happened in the blink of an eye. At that point, a moment of serenity enveloped him, and it seemed like he was inside a white haze before the lighting abruptly changed and the fog cleared. In truth, perhaps one second had passed, but it felt like a much longer second than normal, even though that thought was absurd. Quite simply, a second will always be 1/60th of a minute, No more and no less. By definition, a second cannot be shorter or longer than any other second, but somehow Nathan knew that in this case, it just wasn’t true. Inexplicable maybe, but not true. Nathan felt fresh air and sunlight on his face. He opened his eyes. He had reached his destination.
August 8th, 2007 was promising to be a beautiful, hot summer day. It was only 9 O’clock in the morning, but the big red sun was already creeping out from behind the horizon. The sky was still pale, not yet blue, but the morning air was crisp, clear, and fresh. The stuffiness that travels with the midday sun had not yet arrived. Nathan stood still for a few seconds, taking in the day, trying to get accustomed to the fact that he was now standing behind the 7-Eleven on 8th Street in Greeley, and it was August 2007. He reached into his jacket and took out the curved ruler and placed it carefully around his legs. He snapped the ends together and let it fall to the ground, making sure he was in the center. Stepping carefully out of the circle, he reached into his other pocket and extracted the “Mighty Marker” pen. With meticulous care, he held the ruler in place as he methodically drew a circle around the ruler, thereby marking the exact spot that was his arrival and departure point. He lifted the ruler and was happy to see the large red circle on the concrete. Placing the ruler and marker pen back in his pocket, he stretched his arms and looked around. The air was still and as anticipated there was no one in sight. He quickly walked past the bins and onto 8th Street. He looked left and could see the offices of “Pitch Perfect” about 50 meters away. He turned to the right and walked into the 7-Eleven to buy a newspaper. He could hear Sean Kingston singing “Beautiful Girls” as he walked along the aisle. He bought a copy of the Greeley Tribune and a can of coke, which cost just over one dollar, and left the shop. Crossing the street, he found a spot against the wall which had a direct view of the Pitch Perfect office entrance, and he opened the coke and took a long gulp. He was thirsty and the coke tasted wonderful. He opened the paper and pretended to read whilst keeping one eye on the office entrance. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that 585 seconds had already turned into 410 seconds. He hoped Laura would come out soon. 410 seconds didn’t sound like a long time at all, maybe he had underestimated this all along.
There were very few people about, and Nathan was beginning to feel anxious when he saw the doors to Pitch Perfect open and someone came out and turned right towards the 7-Eleven. He was sure it was a female, but he couldn’t quite make out if it was Laura. He tried hard not to stare and decided he wasn’t cut out to be a private detective. Then she did something he wasn’t expecting, she crossed the road, which meant she would pass right by him. He felt distinctly uncomfortable. The distance between them closed, and very quickly he recognized exactly who she was. He let the Newspaper fall, and he just couldn’t stop himself from gawking. He knew he was being conspicuous, but he just couldn’t stop himself. It seemed she was going to walk right up to him, and then she smiled in recognition and apparent delight. Nathan was taken aback and completely dumbstruck. He didn’t know what to say. She was walking right towards him and didn’t seem surprised at all to see him there. It was unmistakably Carys.