Sometime around 1994 (when I was maybe 11), I wrote and illustrated a children's book. It was heavily influenced by both Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, which at the time was brand new. I was also a big fan of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.
...
It was a bright, sunny day. All the birds were singing... the trees were blowing in the wind. Then, a gigantic tyrannosaur crashed through the trees. It was wildly storming around on its open domain...
Beeeep... beeeep! buzzed Max McGee's alarm clock. It was 6:00 a.m. and still dark outside. He had to wake up early because he, his little brother Willy, and Pat Barnaby, their next-door neighbor, were working on an exclusive invention... a time machine!
He snuck quietly into his brother's room so he could wake him up but not his mom. Max's dad was out of town on a business trip. The date was February 19, 1994. That Valentine's Day, his family had just stayed home, and his dad had rented a romantic movie for him and Mom to watch after Max and his brother's bedtime.
"Hey Will, wake up!" Max whispered as he shook his nine-year-old brother.
Willy mumbled something like, "Mom, it's Saturday... I wanna sleep!"
"Willy, it's me. Wake up! We've got to fix the time machine."
Pat was already waiting at the front door. He kept his invention in the McGee's secluded garage. Max and Willy helped him with it. The three walked silently to the garage. This morning was going to be the day to try it.
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They had picked out a spot on the road that nobody used. It was a bypass next to the new road that was paved. The bypass was going to be the runway. Even though it was dusty and unpaved, it would do.
Pat was planning to go back in time, but Willy wanted to go to the future, and Max didn't think it would work at all.
When the three finally pushed the contraption to the road, it was 6:23 on Pat's digital "Earth Rotational" wristwatch.
"It judges real time by the rotation of the earth," Pat would say.
After they crawled into the small hovercraft one by one and all their seat belts were secure, Pat said, "Hang onto something, because if this works... it should be pretty bumpy!"
He punched in a bunch of numbers and a few colored buttons. Then he held down the button "Ignition" and pressed "Start." A few things flashed and beeped, the machine shook, and then it was silent.
Sshhoooooom!!
Everything was in a blur. Willy's stomach felt twisted, like he was going to throw up. He couldn't talk, and he suspected no one else could either.
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They were warping through time!
Bu-bump!
Everyone jolted around.
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