Shifted
“Not by half!” Mark screamed over the howling wind; gusts had been blowing for the better part of a day and along with random pockets of time distortion in the area made for a distinctly unpleasant outside environment. “But it's our only chance! We let this thing keep going and we all die!”
Deidre frowned. She didn't like the idea of destroying something she didn't understand, much less using a hammer instead of something a little bit safer – like a gun or Mark's hand holding a tool instead of her own. Trouble came in the fact that she was the only one who could get near the crystal without vomiting and anything thrown or shot at it simply disappeared ten feet out. It was going to take something in her hand to ruin the pulsing gray-green formation that had sprung up in the middle of the city – she just wasn't sure she wanted to be standing next to it when it shattered.
“Please!” Her companion called again. Mark had been the only one standing around gawking at the crystal when it appeared two weeks ago that seemed to have any idea what it was, and though he hadn't uncovered its exact purpose, he'd been the one to realize that Deidre could get near it when everyone else was doubled over screaming. As its area of influence increased and the world began to deform, it became apparent that drastic action was needed – but really, a hammer?
Gritting her teeth and throwing out a small mental prayer, Deidre swung. There was the sound of metal hammerhead on crystal as it made contact and she felt a laugh bubbling up inside – it had done nothing!
A sudden cracking sound changed her mind and she stepped back as the entire structure of the time crystal began to crumble, falling away in chunks to reveal a pure white light. It burned where it touched her and she fell to the ground, trying to cover what little flesh was exposed. A roaring sound built, quickly overtaking even the wind and Deidre felt a twisting, as if her entire body was being turned inside out. She screamed, and mercifully passed out before she was torn apart.
***
“Deidre!” Her mother was yelling. Why was she yelling? “Deidre!”
“What?” She sat bolt upright, confusion and comfort coming in equal measure. The off-white walls of her room surrounded her, along with the glowering form of her mother at the foot of the bed, but she was quite certain she'd just been...elsewhere was the only word she could find.
“It's eleven o'clock – don't you work in half an hour?” Her mother's voice was distant – she assumed her daughter had been out all night drinking again. From the taste in her mouth, Deidre would have said the same thing except that she didn't feel that hungover just...strange.
“Right,” she said groggily, swinging her feet off of the bed. “Thanks.”
Her mother grunted and stomped out into the hallway, likely to go call her father and complain. It wasn't that Deidre wanted to be living with her parents in her late twenties, but that the market for cyber-clothing designers had taken a turn for the worse. With the economy slipping, people just weren't interested in paying for custom clothing their virtual avatars could wear to virtual festivals any longer.
Stumbling into the bathroom Deidre felt her stomach roll over and a wave of heat flash over her body. Strange thoughts crowded in - the crystal had been destroyed...She shook her head. What the hell did that mean?
Hopping into the shower she made sure the water was as cold as possible, hoping to shock herself out of whatever had gotten into her system or whatever crazy drink she'd tried. Though she let out a small squeal as the cold droplets hit her flesh their temperature didn't do any good – strange flashes of a tall man in a black coat and a distorted vision of the city kept pounding through her head.
A glimpse of her father's hammer lying on the broken toilet's tank filled gaps in her memory with a punishing clarity and Deidre was running, throwing on whatever clothing she could find in the bedroom and bolting into the kitchen.
“What day is it?” She screamed at her mother, who didn't bother to look up from the paper.
“March 3rd, dear – Sunday. Now run along and I'll see you when you get off work.”
Deidre didn't respond but charged out the door, running at full speed. Mark had said this might happen, told her that crushing the crystal might send her back in time but he couldn't say how far or what state she'd be in when she got there. Two weeks didn't seem like a lot for what he'd told her about the power of the crystal, but it might just be enough to change what was going to happen.
Skipping the subway fare she rode the line to Union station and dashed up to street level. By the time she'd reached the main hall of Quentin University she was out of breath but didn't let that stop her as she raced up the stairs to Mark's third-floor office.
“Mark,” she cried, throwing the door open and saw him jump up from the large oak desk he'd said was a gift from his first wife. “Mark, you have to help me!'
The fear in his eyes said he didn't remember what had happened like she did, and his hand on the office phone said he was getting ready to call security.
“Wait!” She cried. “I'm here about time crystals! There's one coming – and soon. You sent me back here with a hammer!” Deidre knew it didn't make any sense, but couldn't think of a cohesive way to tell the story.
“Time crystals?” Mark's eyes lit up. “Tell me!”
“No time,” she screamed, lunging forward to take his hand. “I'll show you!”
- D
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