Nate bolted as fast as his legs could carry him, his heart pounding like a drum. Sinister squawks and shrills echoed behind him, growing louder and more raucous with each passing moment.
A menacing flock of herons surrounded him, closing in like a pack of predators on their prey. Nate's face was a mask of terror as he dodged and weaved, barely escaping their razor-sharp talons and beaks with each swoop.
But Nate had a mission and wouldn't let anything get in his way. The precious seed milkshake he had come for was clutched tightly in his hand was clutched tightly in his hand. He would do anything to protect it, even if it meant putting himself in harm's way.
As he ran, chaos erupted around him. The clueless cashier had taken his order, setting off a frenzy of enraged birds that turned the store into a tornado of flapping feathers and screeching cries.
Nate's heart and legs screamed for him to stop, but his determination drove him forward. He had to make it back to his period before time ran out.
Finally, it happened. With a burst of light, Nate was teleported away just as a heron swooped in for the kill. He barely had time to catch his breath before he found himself back where he belonged, the milkshake still safely in his grasp.
Nate arrived back at the park just as the sun casts a warm golden glow across the sky, away from those overgrown geese.
This was a lot to get used to, and Nate's eyes were so used to the dark atmosphere from where he previously was that suddenly being bombarded by the blinding light was a static shock.
After a while, he took in the serene view of the pond stretching before him. The tranquil waters reflected the beautiful hues of orange and pink, creating a stunning visual display. Soon, the sun would dip below the horizon, making way for the moon to illuminate the sky with its silvery glow, and the twinkling stars would come out to decorate the deep blue canvas of the night.
Maybe then it would hide the awful lime colours of the atrocious contaminated water. There was a little island with a bridge where you could go for panics and feeding ducks. That is, of course, if you book an appointment. These days, you would have to make a reservation by simply going into others' property. It's that or being ambushed by gruesome geese. Right now, Nate could see one marking its territory, looking around before landing back in the water. Another, about a foot high, still roamed the place menacingly down at the kiddy pool, along with his little army taking over the playground.
The peaceful ram triumphantly plopped down on the bench, panting heavily after the adrenaline-fueled chase that he had just experienced. The sudden shift from fearing for his life to basking in the warm sun and sipping on a delicious smoothie felt surreal and almost comical. This bizarre turn of events seemed to perfectly encapsulate the strange and unprecedented nature of Nate's current situation. It was hard to believe someone his age could be caught up in such an extraordinary adventure. From his vantage point, he could see his little sister being ambushed by a gang of geese out of the nearby ice cream shop, wailing loudly.
Nate howled. Serves her right.
"I thought I might see you here."
Nate suddenly woke up to the sound of a harsh voice that he knew all too well. As he slowly opened his eyes, he hoped his suspicion was correct and Katrina had woken him up. He was relieved to see her standing there, her face twisted into a scowl, but at least it wasn't someone he didn't know. He imagined how she might have seen him, lying there, free from the chains of the education system. However, looking around, he questioned whether he genuinely believed in his previous statement. After all, he was just five minutes away from Cornelius Park, and perhaps he wasn't as accessible as he thought.
"Hey." Nate waved. "You're a sight of sore eyes."
"You could say that." Katrina snapped.
He finished the last smoothie and chucked it in the bin near him. He missed and wasn't hurrying to rectify it, so Katrina did.
"I haven't seen you all day. Did you skip?" The teen asked, already knowing the answer to that question.
"Yep." The boy did some stretching, yawned, and scratched his bag before laying on the bench like a hammock, which won't do wonders for his back and neck.
The hamster pinched the tip of her nose, sighing.
"Of course you did." She knew being informed by the school that he was sick was too much of a stretch. Nate would undoubtedly make a big deal about it if he were ill or sick, telling everyone. Well, almost everyone on the count of his restrictive parents.
"Did the head send you here?" Nate asked.
"No. I came on my own accord. But please come back before lunch ends."
Nate's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that his adventure took place at lunchtime. I guess that's what happens when you consistently alter the timeline. You begin to lose a grip on our perception of time itself.
"And do in the remaining three hours? No thanks. The day is already gone. And nobody would want me there."
"What! No." Katrina plastered a smile.
"Say, while we're here," Nate wiggled his eyebrows. "Has anyone told you how hot you are?"
"Save it, Nathen. I've heard the stunt you pulled during your ditching."
"Come again?" Nate asked, opening one eye.
"It's all over the spiderweb! You've gone viral!"
"Well, it's about time!" Nate grinned, chin high. He had always dreamt of being an Internet Famous but has been too lazy to work to get there. Now, here he was. Bad or good, he was a hit regardless.
Today keeps on getting better and better and better. He just wished that Katrina felt the same way.
"This is serious, Nate. Many people will soon be after you for what you said."
"Those people got nothing on me."
"We're talking about hornets."
"Wow. Talking about kicking the hornet's nest." Nate said.
"Why are you so calm about this? You realise that when you tick them off, they mean business. They're above the law. They're above the government, king and Queen! Don't you understand I'm going to lose you?"
"What if you don't?"
"What?"
Nate looked to his left, then his right. Once the coast was clear, the boy showed the girl the pills and the flask. The hamster was naturally confused.
"This is a time machine, believe it or not. All I have to do is use this sucker, and all my problems are solved." Nate assured.
Katrina looked at the bottle, then Nate, then the bottle again, along with the pills. Well, what was left of them, and it didn't take long for the hamster to deduce what had happened to the rest without introducing the device's mechanics or how he got it. With her boyfriend, he has his ways.
It now made sense how he got the discontinued seed smoothie. She frowned.
"You've done this a lot, haven't you?"
"You could say that. However, this is the one time I'm unhappy with doing it. It shows that in the current age, you can't voice your thoughts without being attacked. Add that to the growing pile of garbage things the world has going for it."
"I can't let you go," Katrina interjected sternly.
"What? Are you afraid you might miss me? Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it and come back swinging."
"It's not that," Katrina said. "Based on the fact you've been doing this countless times, you've made an evident dent in the time stream."
"So?"
"So? Soll cause a rift in the space-time continuum. For the sake of all of us, I can't let you go, especially if the reasoning is as selfish as this."
Nate laughed hysterically. Katrina glared as he finished, wheezing and wiping away a tear.
"Ooh, my sweet fuzzy cheeks, I've been doing this for three days, and nothing has happened."
"Don't jinx it." The hamster retorted, progressively becoming increasingly mortified by Nate's actions each time he revealed another skeleton in the closet.
"And how can you be sure? That-that it could happen?" Nate stuttered.
A paranoid Katrina opened her mouth to refute, but the words never came. She will admit this was pure speculation, but she didn't want to take that chance.
"There's nothing to worry about. This ordeal will be over before you can even close your eyes. It may drastically change the timeline, but it's a noble sacrifice. And, if I have enough time, I could also score an invite to the party that I wasn't included in, something you may think my girlfriend would tell me about since she got invited."
The hamster's whiskers wiggled tremendously, her eyes filled with guilt. As the ram unconsciously placed the pill in the bottle, he nodded.
"That's what I thought."
"Nate, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was just swept up with my swimming tournament and forgot."
"Did you?"
"Yes. But it's no reason to time travel, especially if it's all for the wrong reasons," Katrina said.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I'm saying that you are not using it to its full potential you are not using it to its full potential for a powerful, time-be, ending, and altering device."
"Oh?" Nate said, not liking where this was going.
"You should use it to help solve world hunger, poverty and the economy."
Nate resoundingly raised an eyebrow at the last part.
"OK, that was wishful thinking, but I stand by the rest."
"Sorry, Katrina, but you know by now that I'm only out for number one."
"That's why you're not fit to have it."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"This!" The rodent leapt up like a frog, tackling Nate to the ground.
"Give me it! Give it to me now! You're not fit to have it!" She shouted.
"Make me," Nate growled, arms outstretched beyond the hamster's reach. But all she had to do was bite his
nose, making him scream and thus dropping the flask. Airborne split and landed on both of them. Before both of them knew it, they were whisked away bombastically.
___________________________________
The two tumbled onto a field, where they continued to wrestle for the flask, with the apparent winner being Katrina, who began dancing.
"Ha! That's right! I hope you learnt a valuable lesson, Nate. You don't mess with prey! We're the superior ones compared to your predators."
Nate grimaced, only for that expression to fade in a flash when he finally took hold of his surroundings. He got up and stood with his jaw on the floor.
"Katrina, you may want to look at this," he ordered.
"Yeah, right. I'm not falling for that. You want my guard to be down to retrieve the flask."
Nate froze the second she said this as he was moments away from getting said flask off her paws.
"Just look!" Nate demanded, grabbing the hamster, lifting her and making her look in his direction.
"Hey! What is the big idea..." Katrina trialled off.
Now, both the ram's and the hamster's hands were on the floor, and can you blame them?
Over the horizon was a spectacular view of a futuristic world meticulously designed to perfection. The silver skyscrapers that towered above the cityscape were a sight to behold, with their streamlined, modernised architecture that exuded a sense of sleekness and sophistication. The flying cars darted around with incredible speed, leaving trails of light that added to the overall spectacle. At the same time, the cross-species citizens casually walked by, rode hoverboards, flew with jetpacks or wore boots that propelled them forward with ease.
The sky was a consistent shade of clear blue, stretching out endlessly into the horizon with no sign of any clouds to interrupt the view. The hovering architecture was fascinating, seemingly suspended mid-air and giving off a mesmerising and hypnotic vibe. The citizens went about their daily lives with the help of an array of gadgets and gizmos, with each piece of technology seeming more advanced and innovative than the last.
"Urm, Fluffykins, where are we?" Katrina asked.
Nate tsked.
"It's when. When are we?"
Katrina glared at his sly comment.
"3054. We're 20 years into the future," Nate answered.
"Oh no!" Katrina screamed.
Nate swiftly covered the girl's mouth, muffling her dismay, getting the security drones off their backs. Only then did he let go of her.
"You crazy?" Nate snapped at her.
"Number one rule of time travel, don't let anyone know you've time travelled! We can't bring too much attention to ourselves; otherwise, see,s,e, the time stream could fracture."
"Oh, now you care about the precious time stream!" Katrina hissed.
"Usually, I have to remain on the down low and disguise myself as one commoner so I can-"
"Steal?" Katrina interjected.'
"Explore. I was going to say explore. I will explore until the hour limit is up, which I teleport back to my time," Nate explained. "But now that you're here, it changes everything."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Katrina challenged.
"It means we have to stay here and pray to God we don't get caught from now till the hours up so we can go home. Doing absolutely nothing."
"Seriously?"
"Don't blame me. I wanted to rectify my mistake, but somebody had to be nosy. Now a good time travel has been wasted on this. I hope you're happy." Nate defended, arms crossed, looking in the other direction.
But the hamster could tell by the ram's demeanour that there was more than meets the eye. She made a sly smile.
"If I didn't know any better, you're only keeping me here because you can't bear losing me in there."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nate blushed.
"Go, don't go. See if I care. I'm not your dad."
"Whatever you say!" Katrina cooed, scurrying off.
"Hey! Get back here!"
He ran in after her, unbeknownst that he was about to sprint headfirst into his most humongous, dangerous and incredibly intense adventure yet.