The wind is loud accompanied by hard rain. Normally people would be staying indoors to let the storm pass but one girl in her teens is currently running full speed against the wind. The girl’s eyes are wet not from the rain but from her tears as of right now she is a runaway girl.

It has been 2 years since her mother disappeared and her behaviour has changed dramatically as a result of that. According to the runaway girl, her father has become a jerk and she does not care about him anymore. All he cares about is his science invention and she is sick of it.

It was not like this, they were a happy family but now she could barely call them one. 

The girl was trying to get by but now she can not handle it anymore. Her boyfriend used to be always there for her but half a year ago he disappeared and the investigation only led to them finding his bike abandoned on a bridge with slight burn marks on the ground. 

With these findings, people concluded that her boyfriend had ended his own life. However, the girl does not believe this to be the case. His body was not found but her search also resulted in nothing. 

With her mother and boyfriend now gone, she figured enough was enough. If everyone she loves disappears, she might as well leave her home so that she is not with her father. She went to her father’s lab to steal some stuff that could be useful. 

“This place is a mess. It’s the year 2064 you could use an AI cleaning service.” She entered the lab expecting it to be somewhat tidy but stuff was just placed all around the room making it messy and hard to navigate.

“This could be useful.” The girl grabbed a pair of glasses that have augment capabilities that can give her information through the lenses.

No other tech can be useful for her in her father’s lab because most of the items there are too big for her to carry so she decided to get out but before she left something caught her attention.

“What is this? Some kind of fidget toy?” It was a metal cube of some sort, It’s small enough to be grabbed by her one hand and since she found it interesting, she brought the mystery cube with her.

Now back to the girl running against the wind she kept on shouting her frustration as the wind would drown it out anyway. Along with her complaints were the AI assistant of the glasses brought.

“Severe Warning is Issued. Please turn back and take shelter.” The glasses advised the girl to go home.

“No way, I already ran for an hour. There is no way I am going back now.” The girl is very fit, she has been practising kicking martial arts ever since she was young alongside her father.

“Miss Selene Natasha M. Larayunan. Your father will be worried.” 

“What how do you know my full name?” Selene was shocked for she just heard her name spoken by the AI. “ Also let that jerk worry, not like I care.”

Selene continued in expressing her frustration. 

“That dumbass probably did not suffer a day in his life. He can’t understand what I am going through. 

Selene is under the belief that her father has been a gifted and talented individual ever since he was a child and so everything got handed over to him on a silver platter. Ofcoues because he is the ‘Great Cyrus’ one of the greatest physicists in the world. 

“I swear he does not know what it feels like to feel like there is nothing you can do because he had a guarantee of a great future.” Selene proceeded to stump on some puddle of water to simulate beating up her father.

“As the AI assistant of the glasses you are wearing, I still advise you to at least take cover.”

“Aaaaaa. I know you are an AI but you are such a killjoy. This storm is nothing for it has done nothing to me for the past hour. In fact, I dare this storm to hit me with a bolt of lightning, it won't.”

With great smugness, Selene just stood there as if she were tempting the clouds to strike her.

“Your wish is being granted.”

“What?” The girl with her smug look turned into concern.

“The cloud above is generating electricity and from what it looks like, it is going to strike in this direction.”

“What I was just joking, what do I do?” Selene is now in great panic.

“I have a suggestion.”

“What?”

“Run.”

With that signal, Selene proceeded to run to find cover but there was no cover nearby.

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“3” The countdown started.

“Stop”

“2” 

“Don't count down.”

“1”

“I am not ready!!!” Selene is now with a crying face regretting she challenged the skies.

“Zero, lightning strike incoming.”

As the countdown by the AI finished the lightning did indeed strike and what is peculiar is that it looked like it was specifically targeting Selene with how it curved to reach her.

“Aaaaaaaa, no I am dead. The lighting is burning me noooooo. It…. does not hurt?” Selene is fine, she definitely got struck by lightning but looking at her would not give you that conclusion.

“Something in your pocket has acted like a lightning rod redirection the bolt away from you.”

“That is great and all but does not that require a ground to work as a rod?”

“Normally yes but it looks like that item absorbed the electricity instead resulting in it to not needing a ground.”

As Selene made a sigh of relief she thought she was already out of the woods but it was not over yet as the same item that saved her was now glowing.

“Woah woah what is happening, it is glowing like crazy.”

“It has received enough power.”

“What did?”

“The time cube is a prototype time machine that your father has created. It has been deemed a failure and not working so it has been used as a paperweight instead.”

“Seriously? That stupid father of mine is using something like this as a paperweight?” Selene after complaining is now trying to get rid of the cube. “This small thing is a time machine? Wait what it’s cracking.”

The cube got more and more cracked as the light kept on growing and growing. Selene tried to throw it away but by the time she did all it did was throw the fragment of the cube away. The light was still glowing right at her and the wind around her kept on getting stronger and stronger.

“The light is blinding.”

“Miss Selene you are going to be transported to the past.”

“I am going to time travel? I don’t want to.” Selene tried her hardest to run away from the light but as she tried to make a step her weight just disappeared and she began floating. She is currently helpless being suspended in the air with no way for her to control where she floats.

The light slowly swallows the girl. Selene panics to try to get ahold of something but to no avail. The light just engulfed the terrified lady and after some time passed. The light disappeared alongside the girl who was screaming for help.

***

It is dark and quiet. Selene does not know where she is. The only light that is guiding her is the moon but even then, it is not doing it that well. 

“Why is it so dark, jeez.” Selene just kept on wandering aimlessly. “Glass are you there? Please respond.” The girl is on the verge of crying with the AI assistant not responding.

The road is bumpy, Selene is used to the roads of the future where it is all paved perfectly and is flat. Selene being not used to it is slightly getting hurt walking even with her shoes on. After wandering some time she finally saw a light.

“Is that a streetlight? Finally, something that can actually let me see something.” While at first, she is happy that she found a streetlight, she then gets more scared when she notices that the light keeps on flickering.

“Why does this feel like a horror movie.” Selene with tears complains that the surrounding is too creepy and ominous.

Footsteps can suddenly be heard nearby but Selene can not see where it is coming from for she can barely see anything beyond the reach of the streetlight.

Noy knowing which direction to target Selene still proceeded to go to her fighting stance. She is experienced at fighting at least so she is ready to fight back if she needs to. Her legs are shaking but still, she is ready to kick when she has to.

A hand was about to grab her from behind, but before this person touched her she managed to deflect the hand and do her counterattack. With her right kick, she did a high kick hoping to hit the person’s head but the mysterious figure blocked it with their arm. Not deterred by her high kick being blocked she proceeded to rotate her body fully and kicked with her right leg again with an even greater strength.

The kick while blocked again but the person still refused to make them move. With this Selene proceeded to not let down the pressure and followed it up with more kicks. The person she is fighting is no pushover for while they have not made a hit on her yet, they are still blocking all the attacks effectively.

“Wait.” The person tried to plead.

“No. I've been taught to always keep pressure. I will not give you a chance to attack back.”

Selene thinking she had the advantage just kept on kicking however, it did not last long.

“What? Let go of my foot” The man managed to catch her feet making her situation turn worse. “AAAA I do not want to die aaaaaa.” Selene just panicked as she thought her life was over.

“Wait wait, relax. I am not here to hurt you.” The person let go of Selene’s foot to not make her fall to the floor. “Look keeping the pressure is fine and all but you need to know when you are actually putting pressure or if the person is just tiring you out.”

The man told her that he was not there to hurt her but despite that, she is understandably still in defense. The man proceeds to go to the light for her to see his face.

“I am sorry about that, The neighborhood right now is currently in a blackout so it is currently dark.”

“Why is this streetlight working then?”

“That specific streetlight has a solar panel with a battery so it particularly still works with no powerline but still, It got that flickering problem.”

“Then why did you suddenly attack me?”

“You are the one you attacked me, you dumbass.”

“Do not call someone you just met a dumbass, jeez.” Somewhat relieved while still not sure, she is slightly less scared now.

“I was approaching you because you look like you needed help and I have not seen you here before. Did you just move here?”

“Oh no.” There is no way that she can tell someone that she is from the future. “I am lost.”

“Oh, where do you live? Maybe I can tell you the direction to go there.”

“No, I ran away. I don't want to go back home.”

“Welp, I am not gonna pry but it’s dangerous to be on the street when it's so dark and late.” The man just wanting to extend help proceeded to ask a question. “Do you want to stay over at my place for now?”

“What? Why would I stay over at some random man’s place.” Selene knows better to not follow strangers.

“That is fair, I guess you can not really trust someone immediately especially a man who you just attacked.”  Not wanting to force anyone he just accepted her decision to not come with him. “I will not force you, do you at least have a phone you can use to contact people if you need help?”

“Nope”. In her mind right now she just realized something ‘ Why did I not bring my phone with me when I ran away? I bought this useless piece of glasses that did not even work when I needed it and a random cube that turned out to be a time machine. What is wrong with me.’

The man just sighs.

“By the way mister.”

“Do not call me mister, I'm only 17 years old.”

He is the same age as Selene.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Usually the one who is asking the name has to reveal their name first but fine.” Before the man answered the question, suddenly the streets lit up and some house lights went on turning the dark and scary street into a somewhat semi-familiar place for Selene. As every light comes on the man then answers her question. “ My name is Cyrus. Cyrus Roberto V.  Larayunan, a wannabe physicist.”

Along the lights going on was the revelation inside Selene’s mind that the person she attacked, the person she was just talking to and the person that is trying to help her is that he is….

‘He is my father?’