The Last Time Traveler Read online

  The Last Time Traveler

  By Aaron J. Ethridge

  Additional info can be found at:

  TheLastTimeTraveler.com

  Copyright © 2015 by Aaron J. Ethridge

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First Printing, 2015

  ASIN: B019FM67FK

  Kindle Edition

  Ethridge Publishing

  2311 Lake Drive

  Williston, SC 29853

  Aaronjethridge.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Morgan

  Chapter 2: Cleo

  Chapter 3: Vox & The Doc

  Chapter 4: A Plan of Action

  Chapter 5: To Kill A Time Machine

  Chapter 6: Ach, Zombies

  Chapter 7: Azure

  Chapter 8: Pick Up & Delivery

  Chapter 9: Tea for Two

  Chapter 10: What is Love

  Chapter 11: Electric Avenue

  Chapter 12: The Sword in the Stone

  Chapter 13: Double Date

  Chapter 14: You Maniacs

  Chapter 15: If You Can't Take The Heat

  Chapter 16: All's Well That End's Well

  Thank You!

  Chapter 1: Morgan

  “So who are you again?” Morgan asked.

  “As I've told you numerous times already,” the young man replied, “I'm the last time traveler.”

  “And what do you mean by the last time traveler?”

  “I mean,” the time traveler said, waving his hands before him, “that out of all the time travelers that ever were I'm the last!”

  “Yeah,” Morgan nodded. “But what if someone from the future...”

  “No,” he interrupted. “That's what I'm trying to explain to you. I come from a time where there is no future, and there never will be.”

  “That's not possible.”

  “I'm sure from your point of view that's so,” the young man replied. “But trust me, it's more than merely possible.”

  “Okay,” Morgan nodded. “Let's say I believe you. Why come here?”

  “Why come now would be a better question,” he replied. “And I've come to try to undo all the damage.”

  “What damage?”

  “I think I'm getting a headache,” the young man said, rubbing his forehead. “All the damage done by the previous time travelers.”

  “Why would they...”

  “Look!” the time traveler exclaimed. “In the not so distant future mankind figures out how to go back in time. First they start observing, then they start correcting. And before you know it, just a few thousand years later the future is gone. Time travel was an unmitigated disaster and I'm here to fix it.”

  “So, are you like a cop,” Morgan asked, “or a secret agent, or Doctor Who, or what?”

  “Yes,” he nodded. “Basically. Love Doctor Who, actually. It's ridiculous, of course. I mean, time travel: as if.”

  “But you said...”

  “Yes,” he nodded again. “Being funny. Try to keep up.”

  “Well then,” Morgan began, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Isn't talking to me messing up the time-lines or something?”

  “No,” the young man assured him. “Because you don't matter.”

  “Everybody matters!”

  “Not to the time-lines,” the time traveler corrected. “Had history gone the way it was supposed to you would simply be a missing person. A time traveler changed that and I'm here to change it back.”

  “Whoa!” Morgan exclaimed. “So you're going to make me a missing person? No thanks!”

  “Let me ask you a few questions Morgan.”

  “Alright.”

  “Where do you work?”

  “Taco Palace.”

  “How much do you make?”

  “Minimum wage.”

  “You a manager?”

  “Nope.”

  “How long you been working there?”

  “Six years.”

  “Got a girlfriend?”

  “No, but...”

  “Right,” the time traveler nodded. “Trust me, you're better off missing.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  “Look, Morgan,” the young man said shaking his head, “I said you were missing, I didn't say you were dead. Hasn't it ever struck you as strange that so many people go missing near the Bermuda triangle?”

  “I guess...”

  “Right. Well a lot of them aren't dead. They're working to save the future. This is your chance to be somebody.”

  “Alright,” Morgan nodded. “So do you have a time machine?”

  “Yep.”

  “What do you call it?”

  “The Time Machine.”

  “It doesn't have a cool nickname like The TARD...”

  “Watch that!” the traveler interrupted. “The BBC is crazy zealous about copyright infringement.”

  “They can't hear us all the way out here.”

  “Why take chances?”

  “Well you just said Doctor Who,” Morgan pointed-out.

  “That's just the name of a show,” the traveler retorted. “I'll take my chances.”

  “Either way, does your ship have a nickname?”

  “Nope.”

  “We should call it The Morganatron.”

  “No,” the time traveler said shaking his head. “We shouldn't.”

  “Well I think...”

  “Why don't we just call it The Phone Booth?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “How old are you?”

  “Why? What happens in phone booths that I'm too young to know about?”

  “We really don't have time for this, Morgan,” the time traveler replied. “I'm Robert, by the way. Oh, and let me hold your jacket.”

  “Why?” Morgan asked, removing his coat and handing it to the traveler.

  “Actually, just hold it up for me,” Robert said, pulling something from his pocket. “You see, according to history, real history, all that's ever found of you is a bloody jacket in the woods.”

  “Why do you say it like that?”

  “I think it makes it sound spooky,” the traveler replied.

  The object he had in his hand was a switchblade, which he immediately snapped open before beginning to slash Morgan's jacket to shreds.

  “What are you doing?!?!” the rather heavy set young man exclaimed. “Are you nuts?!?!”

  “Oh,” Robert replied, “I should have said shredded bloody jacket.”

  “Don't say it like that... it is spooky... and you owe me fifty bucks for the jacket.”

  “No problem,” the traveler replied. “But no way it was worth fifty. Now, throw it on the ground.”

  Immediately Morgan obeyed as Robert pulled a red aerosol can from his other pocket. He shook it vigorously before spraying the jacket thoroughly with it.

  “No one, anywhere, ever, is going to believe that's blood,” Morgan asserted.

  “Why?” the traveler asked. “It is blood... In fact, it's your blood.”

  “What?!?!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing with a spray can full of my blood in your pocket? How much did you take? What's my blood-pressure right now? Everything's getting dark! I need to sit down!”

  “Calm down!” Robert demanded. “I took a single cell from you while you were asleep and cloned the rest. I didn't even break your skin.”

  “You've seen me sleeping?” Morgan asked, slightly calmed, but perhaps more creeped out.

  “Trust me, man,” the traveler said, shaking his head. “It's nothing to write home about.
”

  “Okay,” the young man replied. “So, seriously, stop for minute. Say that I believe this, which I don't for a second, by the way. And you're making me really nervous with the switchblade and everything...”

  “Here,” the traveler said, folding up the knife and handing it to him. “I'm done. You hold on to it. Oh, and I've got the fifty with me, I figured you'd be like that.”

  The traveler pulled a wad of bills from his pocket, took a note from the top, and handed it to Morgan.

  “This is a hundred...”

  “Eh, keep the change.”

  “So seriously,” Morgan said, glancing around the woods that surrounded them. “Are you like a thief, or a counterfeiter, or just some loony escaped from the crazy bin, or what?”

  “I'm telling you the truth, Morgan,” the traveler replied. “I'm the last time traveler. I really, honestly am. And, in fact, I can tell you a bit of the future. You're about to ask me why was my shredded bloody jacket found out here in the middle of the woods?”

  “I wasn't,” Morgan replied, shaking his head. “But now that you mention it: why was my shredded bloody jacket found out here in the middle of the woods?”

  “Aha!”

  “That's not predicting the future you loony!” the young man chuckled. “That's tricking me into saying something.”

  “Okay, you're right,” Robert admitted. “And enough of the parlor tricks.”

  As he said this he glanced down at his watch.

  “And so, in the spirit of that,” he began, watching the time and slowly lowering his finger toward the woods, “there's your answer!”

  The moment he said this a giant grizzly bear strode into view.

  “What do we do?” Morgan whispered.

  “Well,” Robert replied. “I plan to run.”

  And the last time traveler was as good as his word. He had no sooner finished speaking than he burst into a run in the opposite direction.

  “No way we can outrun a grizzly bear!” Morgan screamed.

  “Don't need to!” the traveler replied. “I Just need to outrun you!”

  “What?!?!”

  “Just kidding! The ship's not far!”

  “Don't you have bear tranquilizer in the future?” Morgan asked.

  “You have it in the present, Morgan. However, as neither of us thought to bring any that hardly matters now!”

  “I'm not going to make...” Morgan began.

  At that moment he struck something with such force that it knocked him to the ground. His eyes rolled around in his head in search of whatever had hit him as the time traveler grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him into an invisible chamber. As soon as they were inside Morgan could see that the room appeared to be a box made of glass.

  “What is this?” he asked, slowly sitting up.

  “The loading platform,” Robert replied, before pushing a button causing them to rise into the air.

  “What did I hit?” Morgan asked.

  “The loading platform,” the traveler chuckled. “Anyways, we weren't really in any danger. I actually did bring...”

  As he said this he jammed his hand into his jacket pocket.

  “Meant to,” he nodded. “I meant to bring a tranquilizer pistol.”

  “You what?!?!”

  “I'm kidding,” the traveler said, drawing the weapon from his coat. “I'm just kidding. You need to lighten up, Morgan.”

  “I'll try,” the young man replied, clutching his chest. “But are we likely to end up chased by any more bears?”

  “Eh...” the traveler replied, rotating his hand back and forth.

  “Well if you had tranquilizer, why didn't you just use it?”

  “I had to get you to the ship,” Robert replied. “You thought I was crazy, remember?”

  “I still think you're crazy!” Morgan said.

  “Maybe I am,” the traveler chuckled. “Either way, let's get on board.”

  Robert helped the young man to his feet before brushing him off and leading him into the cargo bay of his ship. The interior was a rather audacious shade of aquamarine that somehow didn't seem to match Morgan's idea of how a time machine should look.

  “What color is this?” he asked, gazing around, a puzzled look on his face.

  “No idea,” Robert replied, shaking his head with a wink. “I've always just called it spanking mermaids.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “No idea. Let's go.”

  The last time traveler marched over to the door and pushed a button. Immediately it vanished, only to reappear after they stepped through the portal. The pair made their way silently through a long hallway of green to reach what appeared to be the bridge of the ship. Brightly colored buttons glowed along every panel and the displays were filled with information that Morgan couldn't make heads or tails of.

  “Dude...” he said slowly.

  “Yes?”

  “This is seriously like Star Trek or something,” Morgan asserted, gazing around in awe.

  “You think that's something?” the traveler asked, pushing a button and pulling a silver cylindrical object from a concealed drawer. “Check this out!”

  “Oh! My! Goodness!” Morgan exclaimed. “Is that a light saber?!?!”

  “What?” the traveler chuckled. “No! It's a flashlight that looks like a light saber. Still, pretty cool isn't it? I picked it up at a convention for next to nothing.”

  “Wait! Can we say light saber?”

  “Just say it as two words and we should be cool,” Robert smiled. “I don't think Disney will come after us over that.”

  “Can they hear us here?”

  “Never underestimate Disney.”

  For a few moments Morgan stood there staring silently at the traveler.

  “OK,” he said after some thought. “I was originally killed by a bear.”

  “I didn't say that. I said: all that's ever found...”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Morgan replied. “But I mean, hasn't saving me altered time or something. I mean now the bear's hungry. And I'm not complaining! I'm just asking is all.”

  “Oh yeah,” the traveler replied, snapping his fingers. “Follow me!”

  Robert leapt to his feet and quickly made his way back to the cargo bay.

  “Voila!” he said, pressing a button which raised a shield covering a tank filled with glowing red liquid and Morgan's body.

  “That's me!” the young man exclaimed.

  “That's a clone,” the traveler explained.

  “We can't just kill him and feed him to a bear!”

  “It's not alive,” Robert said, shaking his head. “It never was. It's just a bunch of you meat.”

  “Well... it's naked!”

  “Don't worry,” the traveler smiled. “I didn't look.”

  “This is crazy!”

  “True,” Robert nodded, before pressing another button that flushed the clone out of the ship. “Now, let's head out. We've got places to go and things to do, Morgan, my boy.”

  “You're not that much older than me,” Morgan said, turning to follow the traveler back to the bridge.

  “Oh... I wouldn't say that,” he sighed.

  “Well then, you look good for your age,” Morgan observed.

  “Thanks!” he replied, taking a seat at the controls and punching a number of buttons. “I try to take care of myself.”

  “Quick question.”

  “Lay it on me,” Robert said, turning his eyes to his companion.

  “Why couldn't I see the ship?”

  “Oh, I should have explained that,” the traveler replied. “It's invisible.”

  “And how does that work?”

  “Right, right,” Robert nodded. “Should have explained that too. It can't be seen.”

  “Yeah but...”

  “Morgan,” the traveler chuckled. “I don't have the time to explain every technological advancement that's been made over the past five thousand years or so. We've got all of time to save, man. So, just s
it back, relax, and maybe get yourself a drink. We got a ways to go before the sun sets.”

  “One more thing,” Morgan replied. “So our quest is to undo everything every other time traveler ever did, right?”

  “Quest?”

  “Yeah,” the young man nodded. “It's a quest isn't it? Anyways, is that what we're doing or not?”

  “Well...” the traveler said thoughtfully, rocking side to side in his seat. “Everything is one of the big words Morgan. And we may have a talk about the big words one day. But, for the moment, it's enough for you to know that we plan to undo most of it.”

  “If time travel was such a disaster,” Morgan began, “why not undo everything?”

  “Wow!” Robert exclaimed. “You're already beginning to think. This is awesome! That is seriously ahead of schedule!”

  “Could you just answer the question and stop patronizing me?”

  “Patronizing?” the traveler said, shaking his head. “You're so serious you're breaking out your big words. In that case, I guess I better answer. To begin with, we're not sure that we can undo any changes that led directly to the construction of my time machine. If we did that I might not have a ship to go back and undo things with. And that would be a paradox. And if we create a paradox...”

  “These monsters show up eating people until the universe is destroyed!”

  “No,” Robert replied, gazing at his companion from under a single raised eyebrow. “No, Morgan, that's not what happens. The universe is too well put together for that. You see, there are certain random elements that are always random. A lot of scientists in your day didn't understand that, but that's hardly surprising considering how long ago that was.”

  “How does that help?” Morgan asked.

  “Well, it means that the exact same thing almost never happens twice,” the traveler explained. “So, if we went back and undid my ship that would undo our changes which would give me a ship that would allow us to undo my ship. You with me so far?”

  “I think so...”

  “Good,” Robert nodded. “Now if there weren't any truly random elements this would create a never-ending loop. But those very elements prevent that. Because of them, at some point in the loop, I would fail to undo my ship or it would never be created. In either case, however, we'd have done something we shouldn't have done. So, we need to make sure that we don't accidentally do that!”