[✔️] Across The Years | Seulrene

Ch. 7 - Groovy

"Good. One thing however. In time travel movies, the machine can go back and return at any time. This is a bit different. It opens a doorway between the times essentially and time will flow at the same rate in both times. You spend one day in 1869, you lose one day in 2018 and so on. For safety reasons, I won't shut the door completely while a subject is back in time. Instead I shrink the doorway to microscopic size. I'll give you a recall device. When you're ready to use the door again, you activate the recall device and I'll expand the door back up for you. Then I'll send the basket back down to retrieve you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah I got it."

"Now it may take you some time in 1869 to get to know this Irene and be in a position to break up her and Mark. So you need some time to be able to put aside for this. I would recommend the first day of your summer break. That way you can go back and have almost 3 months to succeed in your mission. I know that summer is several months off, but that will also give you time to completely prepare for your role as a person from 1869. In that time, I can work on perfecting the machine so I can get you to the proper date in one piece."

It made sense to Seulgi. For every second she spent in the past, one second would tick away in the present. So she would need time and summer would be perfect, as she wouldn't have to worry about missing school.

Zacharov then gave Seulgi a towel to dry off with and sent her home. He told her he hoped to try the first real test the following week.

That night Seulgi had a nightmare. She was standing outside a bedroom window looking inside. In the room itself, Irene was giving birth, but it was going badly. She was screaming in pain and in great distress. Seulgi kept pounding on the window to try and get inside but could not. Nor could Irene or the midwife even hear her banging on the window.

Seulgi watched helplessly as Irene died in front of her. Seulgi woke up crying at that point.

As she splashed some water on her face she said. "I'm coming... I'm coming."

For the next week, Seulgi came and helped Zacharov with the various test animals. The wormhole opened at the bottom of the arch and lowered down into the hole. They all came back in one piece. Eventually he sent down a video camera to a point of 30 years ago. On the monitor they could see that very room but instead it was dark and filled with boxes. They knew that this very storefront from 1968 to 2003 was a record store.

With each passing day, Seulgi got a bit more excited for her first trip. After a number of tests, Zacharov told her that it was time for the first trial run. Which would be quick trip into the past.

The night before, Zacharov told Seulgi to come dressed in plain blue faded jeans, ordinary looking white sneakers, a plain black t shirt, and a rather mundane looking purse. On her way home Seulgi made a quick trip to the store and procured the items needed. Zacharov also asked her to come with no additional streaks of color in her hair.

The next day she came, dressed as she should.

"Good," Zacharov said as he looked her over. "We're sending you back to the 70's and your look won't attract much attention. It's very plain. But first you need to put this on for your protection during the trip. It's a radiation suit. Here's some money from that year. Your mission is go exit the store and go to the newstand that was across the street. Buy a paper and return."

She gave the silver radiation suit a look of scorn, but put it on.

Seulgi felt silly wearing the silver radiation suit. Of course that was on top of the fact that she was about to climb into a machine that was supposedly take her back in time. That just made her feel stupid and perhaps insane.