Pasengers In Time

Mandatown was surrounded by five mountains . The tallest of these
was Sunset peak and if you stood on the top thereof you could see the
beauty of a star shaped cluster that formed this natural link between
them all .
Sunset peak got its name by how each evening it seemed to touched the
amber clouds that softly glowed in the twilight sky .
The main route in and out of Mandatown was The Shadow Freeway.
Dressed by cats eyes and white lines the freeway run straight for
twenty miles
The destination of the freeway was at the entrance of Shadow Falls
Nuclear Power Plant . The freeway was originally built after the old
power plant was shut down . The removal of many of the older turbines
on heavy trucks had wrecked the old road and so a freeway was ordered
and built .
Only a few byroads were built because of security reasons and most of
these were used by the army who now lived in and around Shadow Falls
Nuclear plant . It was always considered such a waste that on this long
stretch of road hardly any traffic at all was ever seen .
Except for one night as the kiss of nightfall came down on when the
headlights of a rebuilt1956 custom built sports car pierced through the
dark cape thrown across the freeway .
Behind the wheel of the old racer sat Chance and by his side was his
wife of fifty years Amanda .
"Amanda glanced over at the speedometer .
'You're doing forty five Chance "
" We're really moving . Aren't we ?"
" Slow down . You're not as young as you once were ."
"Are you sure we're on the right road .? "
Amanda looked troubled and said .
" You know I hate road maps . As soon as we get to Mandatown I'll ask
somebody for directions ."

That would have been fine except for one thing Mandatown was about
twenty miles in the other direction . As Chance motored on down the
freeway he put his foot down a bit harder and Amanda once again looked
at the speedometer .
"That's far too fast Chance. "
"I might be 83 Amanda and I might be doing 83 but but please sit back
and let me drive the car ".
"Sure thing . I mean I'm just the passenger . A mute in a seat .
"
'And I suppose I'm just a stubborn old mule behind the wheel them . I'm
sorry .Ok I'll pull up. "

Amanda smiled at him and relaxed a little as the old car rolled along
down the freeway . As the time went a thick fog had come down and made
driving difficult . Chance drove straight through the front gate of the
nuclear plant and because of the thick fog had been totally undetected
by the security at the front gates to Shadow Falls .

"I can't see a thing in this fog . " said Chance . As he pulled the car
to a halt at the top of a hill that stood a few hundred feet above the
ground . The car was parked a the bridge that crossed over a large
water catchment in the plant .
If the car had moved another few feet ahead both of them would have
plunged and drowned for sure.

A strange light appeared around the car just as the fog lifted . On the
edge of the abyss sat Chance and Amanda as a kind of hanging doorway in
the foreground opened up . The square shaped light was yellow and
seemed to shimmer blue around the edge . Red and green flashes
intermittently went on and off in the centre of the doorway .
Chance panicked and instead of selecting reverse gear he dropped it
into first and hit the gas pedal . The car shot off the bridge and was
airborn in seconds .It flew straight through the doorway and landed on
a hard surface .
The car had passed through the doorway of another place and time and
now rested on a dry and rocky road with weird and strange things all
around .
Multicoloured waterfalls were silent and still hanging over red hot
boulders
Spitting blue smoke from their core . Solid purple creatures with four
wings flew through a sparkling sky that held a triangular sun prisoner
in a hovering
Bubble that moved slowly from left to right .
Chance and Amanda were spellbound and never spoke a word . Staring our
the windscreen they were jolted into life by a five legged three eyed
creature with a bad attitude towards visitors . The creature began to
attack the car and just when it looked as if they were going to end up
permanent residents of this strange world a gust of wind came and took
the creature into its fury .
Twirling like a toy the creature was sent up into the sky .
Chance smiled and took Amanda in his arms .
" I don't suppose you've got a road map darling do you ?
Amanda looked blankly into his eyes .
"I think we're lost Chance ."
"Let's close our eyes . Maybe its all a dream ."
They both closed their eyes and after a few moments they opened them
again ." Well Amanda I don't know how we are going to get back on the
freeway from here ." He said as he tried to restart the old car . He
turned the key and there was nothing . Again and again he tried to
start the old car but it refused to kick over .
"What do you think we should do Chance ?"
Five fiery comets flew past in the vast emptiness before them .
"Maybe I'll just go see if there's a service station up ahead. " said
Chance .
"Don't you dare leave me here ?"
"Ok . Get behind the wheel and I'll push the car from behind . When I
say go ,let out the clutch . Have you got that ?"
"Sure "
Chance opened up the drivers door and Amanda slid over and took the
wheel

Just then a spiral of blue sparks twisted and turned above the car
.
Chance jumped back in quickly and as he did the car was propelled
upwards through the strange blue nothingness . The car seemed to
accelerate into a universe that lay before them . Seconds passed in an
endless stream of colour and then a strange yellow light appeared . It
that doorway that they had gone through before . Chance looked at his
beautiful wife who was young again and shaped like a beauty queen . His
young wife looked at him and saw the young man she had known so many
years ago . Both of them laughed and cried at the same time . With
elation they embraced each other as the car passed through the doorway
.

The next thing they knew they were back on the freeway . The fog had
gone but not their youthfulness . Chance and Amanda were twenty all
over again .
They felt and looked great .
"We must have passed through a door in time or a space tunnel or
whatever .
Somehow we have been given back our youth ."
"We can't tell anyone Chance or they'll think we're crazy ."
"I know my love . We can never hope to prove what has happened to
anyone .
They will lock us up and throw away the key "
Said Chance as he got out of the car .
A strange squeaking sound came from under the car . It was a voice
.
'Please help me ."
Chance looked under the car .
'Who's that " he said .
'Please help me ,I'm lost " came the reply .
"I am your passenger in time . You have brought me back with you into
your world . I cannot survive here for very long . Please help me , I
am aging fast "
Chance pulled out the five legged three eyed creature and as it clung
around Chance it seemed to smile . Chance smiled back .
Amanda got out and said ,
"What on Earth ."
'I'm not from earth . I'm from the world you have just been to . You
had run over me in your car and my friend tried to rescue me . As my
friend was taken up into the dust storm I was taking shelter under your
car . Now I'm here a long long way away from my home ."
"My oh my so you are. " Said Amanda .
"Please help me to return . You have become much younger but I am aging
fast and I will die soon if you don't reverse the crack in our
dimension ."
Chance pulled the creature off his neck and said .
'The doorway we passed through . Is that the crack ?"
"Yes it is, and you must pass through it once more to balance matter
and anti-matter other wise it could be the end to both our worlds
".
"Is the doorway open now ?" Said Amanda .
'No . We will have to reopen it and it will only be open for a matter
of seconds .We will only have one chance to do it and we must do it now
."
"How can we open the doorway between our worlds ?
The creature looked deeply into their eyes and said .
"With high energy or radiation . We must disturb the forces of anti
matter and matter . Only then can we bring the gap in our dimension
.After this we must destroy the exit between our worlds forever
."
"Destroy the exit with what ." said Amanda
"A nuclear bomb ." Said Chance under his breath.
"That's right " said the strange creature .
'' A bomb " Said Chance
"Can you help me ? " The creature asked .
Clinching her fist in anger ,
"You want us to explode a nuclear bomb on earth to get you home?
Amanda said .
"Time will not pass in that time . No one or anything will be harmed .
It will all happen in the intersection of the outer world dimension .
Trust me . It will be ok . Never again will we see each other . "
"What about our youth ." Said Chance .
"That will disappear when all is back to normal ."
Chance looked into space for a few moments .
"Ok then . How do we explode this bomb ?"
"Take me down the road and follow everything I say ."
In a matter of minutes the trio were inside the nuclear plant .
Surrounded by security guards who seemed frozen in time the creature
broke into the main storage depot . He came out holding a suitcase and
said .
"When you see the yellow light again . You must quickly open up
this
suitcase and press the red button ."
"I see the light now . Its that strange doorway again ." .
"Goodbye my friend "
"Goodbye ."
The suitcase was opened and as Chance pressed the red button he saw
the creature fly through the gap in time . Once again the balance
between matter and anti-matter was restored . The door between two
different worlds closed
And life on earth was in harmony again .
Chance and Amanda explained to the Shadow Falls army how they were lost
in the fog and drove into the nuclear plant by mistake . After some
questioning and security checks they were finally allowed to leave the
complex .
So the two old travellers made their way back to Mandatown and spent
three weeks with their grandchildren , Their holiday was filled with
joy and they even shared some tall stories about how two old people
fought to save the world from destruction .

By Paul McCann

THE END