Once over the rail, David started to walk at a very fast pace towards the source of the flash he had just witnessed. The man was standing in front of the saloon, taking pictures of the damage caused by the attack on Morgan Earp. David slowly walked up and watched as the man was using a handheld device, probably a smart phone, to take pictures and document the event. Without notice, David snatched the phone from the man who was using it, much to his surprise.
“Hey,” the man called out, “Give that back!”
“Of course, I will,” David said, as he started to inspect it. “As soon as I figure out what this thing is, and where it came from.”
“It’s a camera,” the man said, trying to play dumb.
“Oh, I’m well aware,” David said, smiling back at him. “It’s also a smart phone. Samsung Galaxy if I’m not mistaken. Nice model.”
“How the hell did you know that?” The man asked, looking back at David with a stunned look on his face.
“Hey Harv,” David said, holding up the phone, “Look what I found.”
“I see,” Harv said, strolling over. “Does this little man happen to be the dip shit that caused our paradox here?”
“I’m getting that impression,” David said, looking back at the man who was a little plump and was wearing glasses. “Who are you and what time did you come from?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” The man replied.
“Cut the bullshit,” Harv said, lightly smacking the man in the back of the head. “We’re time travelers too. Do you have any idea what kind of shit storm paradox your presence caused here?”
“What do you mean?” The man asked.
“I mean we had to come back here to save Wyatt,” David explained, “And set the timeline back to the right path. What’s your name?”
“George… George Lescott,” The man stuttered back, “I didn’t mean to cause any problems, I swear.”
“Well, you did.” Harv said, as he grabbed the man by the arm and started to drag him away from the saloon.
“How long have you been traveling, George?” David continued to interrogate him, using his cop voice. “Better yet, how did you even get here?”
“Same way you did,” George assumed, “I used my time machine.”
“Now we’re talking,” Harv said, and he grabbed George’s arm which intimidated the nervous man. “Take us to it, right now.”
“It’s over there,” George said, “Down the street in a barn I was renting out.”
“Let’s go check it out,” David said as they two man walked George down the street until they reached the barn he had mentioned.
When they entered the barn, things didn’t look out of place, except for a car sized thing that was at the back and covered with a tarp. Harv walked over and removed the tarp to reveal the machine that George had used to travel back in time. It was about the size of the Volkswagen beetle, but it didn’t look like a car. It instead looks more like a bladeless helicopter, with just a single seat for one person. David opened the door and peeked inside the cockpit and found just the information he was looking for.
“There,” David said, point at numbers on the dash, “That’s where he came from; October of 1975.”
“Interesting,” Harv said, looking at it as well, “You don’t strike me as a man that just came from the 70s. That decade was a little more laidback, and you’re too uptight.”
“I suppose that’s true,” George said, looking rather embarrassed.
“Wait a second,” David said as he pulled out the smart phone, “If you’re from the 70s, where the hell did you get this?”
“Obviously from the future,” George answered, “Somewhere in the mid-2010s.”
“You’ve got some nerve, point Dexter.” Harv said, rather disgusted.
“What?” George asked, looking rather confused.
“We usually try to avoid going into the future,” David explained, “We tend to have bigger and worse paradoxes if we move forward. It’s always safer going back.”
“Safer from what?” George asked.
“Like stealing technology that could be copied and revere engineered,” Harv explained to him, “That kind of change could affect the powers that be in the future. Imagine if this thing got into the hands of another company and they built it first. The original companies could go bankrupt and that could alter everything you little twirp!”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“I’m sorry,” George cried out, “I didn’t mean to!”
“Why did you bring this back to the 70s anyway?” Harv asked.
“He’s got a point,” David agreed, “You can’t use the phone or internet without any cell towers around, as they weren’t built for another forty years. So why risk bringing it back in time?”
“Well, the camera still works,” George explained, “And so does candy crush and solitaire.”
“Incredible,” David said, as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re not getting this back.”
“Oh, come on!” George whined, “I haven’t finished watching the final season of Game of Thrones yet!”
David bit his lip and sighed deeply, as he fought the urge to slap George up the side of his head.
“Trust me, George,” David replied, “You won’t like how it ends.”
“So, what do I do now?” George asked him.
“Get back in there and go home!” Harv barked at him, “We’re going to hang around here and make sure your paradox doesn’t mess things up, and that history isn’t screwed up any more than it already is! And I swear to God, George, if I see you anywhere in the past fucking up my timeline, I will shoot you on sight. We clear on that, point Dexter?”
“Yes, Sir.” George said, “I’m very sorry.”
“Just go home,” David said, being a little calmer than Harv, “And remember… no going forward, only go back. You should only be observing with minimal contact. Don’t let us catch you creating anymore time breaking paradoxes.”
“Time can be broken?” George repeated, strapping himself into the machine.
“Yes, it can,” Harv confirmed, “And consider yourself lucky that you didn’t cause any more problems than what you did here.”
“I’m sorry,” George repeated, and he seemed rather genuine this time. “I was just trying to explore, not cause trouble.”
“I believe you,” David said. “So, try to be more careful.”
“Stand back,” George informed the two men, “This thing makes a lot of noise and a pretty wicked energy field.”
The two men stepped back and watched as George activated the machine and it was making a lot of noise and even bright lights.
“Jesus,” Harv said, watching it sparkle. “Could this thing be any louder? Not exactly a conspicuous exit if you ask me.”
“Not really,” David said, “Hopefully they’ll improve on that.”
As blue bolts of static energy started to surround his machine, George took the time to wave as the machine appeared to be eaten by the energy and just disappeared. There was a light echo like sound, and the machine was just gone.
“Damn, that’s annoying,” Harv commented, “Almost as annoying as he was.”
“He was a bit naïve,” David agreed, “But it feels like I how was a few months ago, just learning the ropes and getting used to time traveling.”
“Jesus,” Harv said, “He’s a rookie that’s flying blind, because he’s got no one to tell him what to avoid. It’s like trying to learn how to drive with your eyes closed.”
“That does sound kind of crazy,” David agreed, “Let’s get back to our post.”
As the two men walked back to the house to keep guard like they were before, the streets have gone totally quiet as the events had finally settled down. They strolled back to the station, and Wyatt was there waiting for them.
“Was there any trouble?” Wyatt inquired.
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Harv replied.
“Is Virgil alright?” David asked.
“We didn’t have to cut off his arm,” Wyatt answered, “But he’s lost the use of it. I’m afraid Morgan didn’t make it.”
“Sorry to hear about that,” David said, “He was a good man.”
“Where were you guys at?” Wyatt asked again.
“We had to take care of a troublemaker,” Harv answered, “We let him know that tonight was the last night anyone would want to cause trouble here.”
“Nice work, gentlemen,” Wyatt said, “Are you guys good to hold up the fort for the rest of the night?”
“We can do it,” Harv replied, “Things appeared to have calmed down, and we’ll make sure it stays that way.”
“We have to leave in two days,” David informed him, “For important family business of our own.”
“Until then, you take care of your family,” Harv added, “We got this.”
“Alright, thank you.” Wyatt said, “I’m going to get something to eat and then try to sleep.”
“Yes, Sheriff.” David replied.
“I’m not the Sheriff,” Wyatt corrected him, “Virgil is.”
“Not at the moment,” Harv corrected him, “It’s on you till he gets better.”
“Good point,” Wyatt said, still a little shocked by the night’s events. “I’ll be at the saloon if you need me.”
“He’s a little messed up,” Harv said as he watched the man walk away.
“His little brother just died,” David reminded him, “His older brother lost the use of his arm, and the man doesn’t have a scratch on him. Shrinks call that survivor’s guilt, and I bet he feels like the whole world is resting on his shoulders.”
“And now we’re on guard duty for two days,” Harv noted, as he didn’t look impressed. “These new time travelers are really starting to piss me off. If I ever see that geeky looking bastard again, I’m going to break his damn nose!”
“I won’t stop you,” David said, knowing better.
“You know this period better than I do,” Harv said, as he sat back down, “And you’re an actual lawman, so I’m just going to follow your lead.”
“There’s not much to it,” David informed him, “Watch your six, and follow your gut. If memory serves me right, the next few days are quiet. The cowboys have gone back to their hideout to lay low and wait for things to settle down.”
“Good,” Harv said, as he didn’t feel like fighting. “That means can just sit back and relax for the next two days.”
As David had indicated, the night had been very quiet until the sun came up the next morning. Harv managed to catch a few winks in his chair, but David was awake the whole time, as he couldn’t believe he was there for the shooting of Virgil and Morgan. He had thought about coming here to witness the event but was afraid that his presence would cause a paradox itself, so he thought better of it. Harv and his dad would have kicked David’s ass if he caused any paradoxes himself, and that was enough of a deterrent to stay away from this time but here he was. If George’s actions had done anything, it reminded David that he had to be very careful not to trigger any paradoxes himself no matter how curious he got. Harv and David spent the better part of the next two days guarding the Earps and the town and that appeared to fix the paradox, as Harv had a gut feeling that told him everything was back in place.
“You did well, kid.” Harv said, as they strolled into the same barn that George had used to make his exit.
“Not bad for my first paradox,” David said, rather proud of himself. “But this is just the beginning, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so,” Harv said, rolling his neck to get ready to flash out. “I have a feeling this clusterfuck is just leaving the station. We’re going to be rather busy over the next few weeks.”
“Shit,” David said, as he understood fully what that meant. “I should probably tell my boss I might need a few days off.”
“Tell him it’s for family business,” Harv reminded him, “And I’m confident your boss will be okay with it.”
“Will do,” David said, as their projections suddenly expired and vanished in a quick flash of light.