The three of us pull up to a country farm house that's surrounded by fields. I notice these electric impulses flashing in the sky. I squint my eyes to try to get a better look at it. Whatever it is I'm hoping it's some way to get us back home. Kj stops the motorcycle and flicks down the stand as we all hop off. "How we got here in one piece is a mystery to me" I speak my thoughts. "Hey are you okay?" I look at Kj confused, until I notice she's not speaking to me but to Mac whose standing behind me. I follow her gaze and turn around, my expression immediately softening. I know that look and I know for sure that Mac is, in fact, not okay. I place my hand on her arm and study her face, looking for some glimpse of her usual self. Nothing. She looks me in the eyes for a split second before older Erin, younger Erin, Tif and this random dude come running over. Older Erin throws her arms around the three of us. "Oh my god you idiots!" She says as we're embraced in the most unwanted hug ever.
Next thing I know, we're being dragged into this future robot machine that this random middle aged man says will take us back home. I debated weather to trust him or not for .2 seconds before realising we don't really have any other choice. The size of this machine was mind blowing. If I stacked my house up five times it would probably still be taller. The head is where all the controls were and that's where we now stood. All seven of us packed into this small capsule. I'm beginning to get déjà vu. I'm squished between Mac and Kj as older Erin begins to pilot this tall chunk of metal. I keep glancing over my shoulder at Mac. Even though she's snapped back to reality by all of the chaos, I can still see the sadness buried in her expression. As the machine begins to whirl and shake, as we move off towards the folding, I reach down and take Mac's hand, sending her a small smile when she looks in my direction, in which she returns. There's loud crashes and clatters all around us and then there's suddenly a big flash. I can feel this weird sensation flow through my body that I've never felt before. It's so weird, like a thousand tiny pin pricks all over my body that makes my skin tighten. There's a sudden breakthrough of some sort as we're all jolted forward, the force giving me whiplash. Everyone's speaking at once. "Keep it level" the guy says. I hear Erin say she's trying. "Holy shit, it's the factory" Mac says from beside me, letting go of my hand to point out the window ahead. The contraption is jolting and rattling all over the place, as Erin tried her best to steady us. It's no use, the tall machine begins to tip forward, heading for the ground. "Hold onto something!" Tif shouts but it's too late. There's nothing for me to hold on to, I'm standing right in the middle. As the robot hits the ground with a rough thud, I completely loose my footing and am thrown forward. I swear I felt my knees touch the back of my head when we crash land. There's a split second where everything goes black and when my eyes flick open again my ears won't stop ringing. My knees are up near my chest as I'm curled up into a ball on the floor. As I go to sit up , I cringe with pain. The back of my head is throbbing. I reach my hand up and hiss at the stinging sensation. I lift my hand away to see crimson blood staining my fingertips. Really? I have to have a concussion after the amount of times I've hit my head.
I hear the squeak of a hatch opening. "We're here" the man I still don't know the name of says. I raise up off the metal floor slowly, the room spinning as I do so. This is not good. It's okay, all I have to do is, go home find some first aid, fix up my head, steal some cash and then I'll be off to start a new life, away from my crazy family and hope that my psycho mother doesn't come after me to kill me. Easy right? "Are you okay?" Mac asks as I blink to clear the haziness from my eyes. I nod slowly, but she doesn't look convinced as we're ushered out the hatch. "Thought time travel would take a lot longer, that was like what a minute? Less?" Older Erin questions. "It felt like a lifetime the last time" I say with a tired voice, as I step into the cold night air. "Yeah well you were counting sheep the last time remember?" Tif fires back. Fair point. I drowsily hobble over towards the water and stare out at it, I can't deny that I'm not feeling so hot right now. I take a seat down on the dusty ground, picking up a handful of gravel and throwing it back down, I decide not to mention my fucked up head, we're all going our separate ways soon anyway and I'm sure everyone just wants to get back home, everyone but me.
Mac walks up behind me with her hands in her jacket pockets as she takes a seat beside me. "We made it I guess" I say unenthusiastically. "Wonderful" Mac says with the same amount of enthusiasm. At least I know I'm not the only one who wishes Kj didn't wisk us away from the diner back in 2019. There's this unspoken comfort between the two of us, this understanding that we would both rather be somewhere else. The one thing I like about Mac is that I don't have to express how I'm feeling, she just knows, just like I know how she's feeling without her uttering a word. It's kind of creepy actually. I'm exhausted. My eyes go droopy and all I wanna do is sleep. I feel peaceful with Mac sitting beside me. I tilt my head to the side and rest it on Mac's shoulder as we sit there in comfortable silence. I'm not sure what's gonna happen next, but all I know is that I don't want this to end, I don't want Mac to leave, I never thought I'd admit that but the thought of her not being around anymore scares the shit out of me. Over the last few chaotic days, she's been there, weather I wanted her to be or not, she has. I don't want her go back to her own life and forget about me. She's the person who made me realise who I am, who I really am, and I'm not ready to let go of that just yet. I'm also worried about her, after finding out what her future holds for her, she hasn't been the same, I need to find a way to help her, even if it's the last thing I do, out of everyone in this shitty world, she deserves to live. As I'm lost in my thoughts, I don't notice the glances being thrown between Erin and Kj just a few feet behind Mac and I, the knowing smirks on their faces as they look between us would make anyone laugh.
My eyes snap back open at the loud rumbling to our right. Mac hops up of the gravel and stares at the pink flash that's appearing in the black sky. "What In the fucking fuck is that?" I can second that question. Can we really not catch a break? I mean come on! "Run! Run!" There are shouts from the older pair a few feet away. That's enough to make my survival instincts kick back into action. I rise off the ground and follow the others into a small cabin across the factory grounds. The man who I've heard the others call Larry, which I now accept as his name, stays outside as the rest of us lock the cabin door behind us, the flashes in the sky get louder and bigger until a huge, stronger looking robot steps appears through the sparks. The six of us watch from the window as Larry runs up towards the robot, aggressively firing his gun. The attack is no match for the gigantic pile of metal, as the bullets simply ricochet off its well built armour. We all stand there, helpless as the robot ejects a bright laxer towards the man, killing him instantly. I stand there in shock. Just like that she's sizzled. Burnt to a crisp. Fried. Holy shit! There's no way this is happening right now. "Larry!" Tif screams. She must have built a relationship with him in the time we were away and I look at her sympathetically, the pain evident in her voice. The high tech machine begins scanning items around it, including the nearby cabins, looking for any forms of life. As it gets closer, older Erin, who's become our form of guardian in all of this, yells at us to get down in which we all do. I cling closely to Mac for comfort, as she places her arm around me holding me tight. As there are many shouts of distress from the girls around us Mac speaks lowly from beside me. "Jesus Jules your head" fuck she noticed. Of course she noticed, she always does. "It's fine, I'm fine" I say, trying to convince her with my eyes. She has to take my word for it as we have bigger fish to fry right now. She scans my face for a second trying to decide weather to drop it, but she does, for now.
After analysing what's going on outside, older Erin runs back over and turns Erin to face her. "Listen to me. This is what we know how to do. We take care of people. Okay? And you're gonna take care of them. You got it?" She says, out of breath. I don't like where this is going. "What are you saying?" Erin asks worried. "You are good at it. I promise...just, just don't use it as an excuse. Now, I'm gonna go take care of this. But I need all of you to get as far away from here as possible. You here me? Go, go and don't look back" we sit in silence as Erin frantically try's to explain what she's planning. "No! No, no, no, no, no. Please, no." Young Erin pleads. "Yes." "You're gonna get killed!" Older Erin raps her arms around her younger self, attempting to calm her down but to no success. "I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay. Just remember what I said. Don't be scared" I look over at Mac to see what she thinks of all this. She just looks at me and shakes her head. Yeah I don't like this either. "Come with us. Please! Please! We can make it. We can make it if we still run. Please." Erin begins to cry. This is really hard to watch. "Let them in, I bet they'll surprise you" Erin's final please for her older self to stay are useless, she gets up and leaves as her younger self screams out her name.
We are again watching from the window, helplessly as a battle is about to take place. When Erin takes control of the machine, her opponent takes notice and advances towards her. My jaw tightens and my eyes are wide as we watch the battle unfold. Just when we think Erin has the upper hand, the other robot, launches Erin back with an electrical current. Erin recovers nicely, and gets back to her feet, with a long pole in her hand, which she uses as a sword. She stabs the opposing robot in the gut. There are many shrieks of victory in the small cabin. Her upper hand doesn't last long as the robot lifts the giant pile of metal up with its too hands, leaving Erin helpless. We watch anxiously. I honestly don't see how Erin's going to get out of this one. There is a sudden blast of explosives, as we all jump back a bit, taken by surprise. That's it. Just like that. Erin's gone. First Larry, now Erin. We're left alone once again. We all stand there in complete shock. And that's when Erin completely breaks down. She falls to the floor with sobs and screams as Kj tries to comfort her. We're all left speechless. What in the world just happened.