The Larcenists

The six digit lock on the box had its own story. That was the date when Jacob had successfully used the watch to travel back into time. The main purpose of it was to spend more time with his deceased wife, who died a year after their marriage. He never disclosed what it was to anyone because time travel during his life was a heresy. No one talked about it after the failed experiments. Not even his kids knew about it. After him, Jay was the one who had been successful in using it.

If returning to their era was easy, they would have been unstoppable. Sadly, that was not the case. To return, they had time until the hands of the watch completed a whole revolution; how fast it would tick depended upon the spatial positions of the time they visited. The greater the time they travel into the past, the lesser time they get to stay there.

They gravitated towards it due to the pull of the era on the watch. They appeared in one of the alleys with a front row view of the Parthenon. Its grandeur was alluring and astounding even. The Pentelic marble it was made of shone brightly in the moonlight. The limestone columns gave it a slight dull shade. Overall, it had an ostentatious look.

They made their way out of the back street onto the main street which was bustling with people, after they untie the rope. They got many weird glances from the passer-bys due to their clothes. The women wore tunics while the men proudly wore a kilt. The children, who were running around wore skirts or shorts depending on their gender while the four casually wore jeans.

As they made their way towards the magnificent building, the people around them looked at them warily. Not wanting to capture the attention of more number of people, they hurried into the building. The guards eyed them suspiciously. As they made their way towards the treasury where the coins were treasured and guarded; they split up and Tara left to keep a lookout.

Lilly, Jay, and Neil stealthily crept towards the treasury. But to get to it, they had to cross the main part of the temple, where guards were stationed throughout. Though there were people in the temple, they looked the most conspicuous. Using the six feet wide pillars to their benefit, they crept through the large hall sneakily. They were almost near the door of the treasury when they heard Tara give them the signal saying that they were in danger.

They turned around quickly to backtrack, but they found themselves surrounded. Unable to accept defeat so soon, Jay tries to fight off the guard who captures him. The guard was burly and robust and Jay looked like a Lilliput in front of him. He throws Jay off him and slams him into the nearest pillar. Lilly cries out pleading the guard not to hit Jay. Turning a deaf ear to her cries, he swiftly punches Jay twice in the face and kicks him in the gut. Realising that he was completely powerless, he gives up. The guard smirked sinisterly in victory and punches Jay again knocking him out.

After seizing their bags from their possession, the guards all but dragged them, to a place unknown to them, their swords making clanking noises against their metal kilts. They pass through the hallway, Jay's blood littering the floor. They come to a doorway, one of the guards stationed there opens it to reveal stairs which lead to the sacrificial area. As they began to descend the stairs, the light from the hallway became dim and eventually, they could see nothing. They kept going down for what felt like aeons. Later the guards holding them pulled them roughly when they stumbled down the rest of the stairs only to faceplant on the ground.

Suddenly, they heard someone lighting a match. The source of illumination was a small oil lamp. When they slowly got up, they were forcibly chained up to a wall, their hands stretched to the maximum limit by shackles and legs with heavy iron cuffs. When they left, they took the lamp with them leaving the prisoners in pitch darkness. Lilly questioned Neil about what would happen to them. He cleverly said that he cannot predict the outcome, not wanting to scare her. Though they couldn't see each other, they took comfort in each other's shallow breath. Lilly tried to reach for her knife but fails to do so. After many tries, she realises that the shackles were too heavy for her.

With a resigned sigh, she said she was glad that at least Tara got out unharmed. Neil quietly agreed. He called out Jay's name hoping that he was alright. He tried to reach out to feel if anything was in front of him, but no avail.

Later when a few minutes began to turn into hours, not that they would know what the time was, they heard distinct footsteps of a person. They waited anxiously for the person to come down. As the person reached the chamber, they held their breath and you could hear the pin drop silence. A lighter click sounded and a flame lit up to show that the person who came down was Tara. Releasing a deep breath reassured, Lilly and Neil were overjoyed that she didn't abandon them.

Tara quickly undid the shackles and frees Neil. She quickly said that the guards had left for the daily prayer. She informed Neil that their bags were dumped in the treasury and instructed him to get them while she freed Lilly and Jay. Neil rushed while Tara undid Lilly who gave her a tight hug saying that she was glad Tara didn't abscond when she had the chance to. Tara reminded her that the only way anyone of them could return was along with all the people who had accompanied them.

They quickly freed Jay who was still unconscious. Taking out the water bottle from her bag, Tara quickly proceeded to clean Jay's wounds and wrapping gauze where needed. She checked her watch to see that they had only a few more minutes left before which the watch would complete one revolution and the guards would also return soon.

Both the girls lifted Jay, carefully balancing him between them and made their way up the stairs. They were completely out of breath by the time they reached the top. But, seeing that time was ticking faster than they were walking gave them a boost of energy. Cautiously, they made their way towards the treasury, watching out for the guards. As they reached the treasury, they let out a relieved sigh. Neil held the door open for them to slip in. He held the watch which would complete one revolution within twenty seconds when they heard shouts from outside. Panicking, they started counting down the seconds, with bated breath.

Five. The shouts got louder.

Four. They sounded right outside the door.

Three. The door opened.

Two. One of the guards lunged for them.

One. Lilly reached out and pulled the guard's sword out of its scabbard, braced herself, ready to attack.

Zero. The suction of the sphere produced again pulled them into a soulless wormhole. They tried to hold on to each other with iron grips, knowing that if they let go, they would disappear in the space-time lapse. Neil, with utmost precision, manoeuvred them into their time period. Slowly, they felt the suction pull of the lapse decrease and seeing the familiar surroundings of their condo, they fell into a heap on the comfortable sofas.

Everyone was quite shaken from the time travel and the exertion. Lilly sighed, lamenting that all they got by going there was nothing but a few bruises and a weird looking sword. Tara chuckled saying that she could add it to her sword collection.

Jay just sighed and said that he was glad to get out alive. Neil looked at them, a confused expression on his face and asked what they were talking about. The other three glared at him, ready to give him an earful. But Neil just looked at them smiling like a Cheshire cat and pulled a sack of jingling coins which were behind the sofa.

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  ©Copyright Madhu Nimeshika  

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