Time Riders

CHAPTER 6

2001, New York

The coffee was gone and one last unwanted doughnut sat in the box.

‘We’ve been… did you say recruited?’Maddy repeated.

‘Yes, that’s right. You’re working for the agency now.’

Liam leaned forward. ‘Uh… Mr Foster, sir, what exactly is theagency?’

‘Let me go through everything I need to say first. Then you can all ask as manyquestions as you like. It’ll be much quicker if we do this my way.’

They nodded.

Foster pointed out at the darkness beyond the alcove. ‘I left the other lights off inhere so you wouldn’t see it all — this place, the equipment — and beoverwhelmed by it. Right now let’s just pretend there’s only this little brickarchway, that light bulb, the four of us and these beds… and that’s whereI’ll start.’

He took a deep breath.

‘Time travel exists, boys and girls.’

He left that statement hanging in the air for a few moments before continuing.

‘A theoretical physics paper demonstrating the possibility was written in 2029. Thefirst successful prototype machine was constructed in 2044.’ He sighed. ‘Now thatwe’ve opened that can of worms we can’t close it.’

He studied them with deep stern eyes hidden between furrowed eyebrows andsallow cheeks etched with criss-crossing wrinkles.

‘Mankind was never meant to dabble with time. Never! Butnow that we know how to somebody needs to make sure that nobody actually does so. And, if some fool does go back in time, then it’s someone’s jobto fix the damage caused as quickly as possible.’

There was a faint tremor in his rasping old-man’s voice.

‘Time travel is a terrifying weapon, far more powerful than anything ever beforeconceived,’ he said grimly. ‘Mankind just isn’t ready for that kind ofknowledge. We’re like children casually playing toss and catch with an atombomb.’

Liam cocked his head questioningly. ‘What’s an atom b-?’

‘I’ll explain later,’ replied Foster. ‘Which brings me to you three,and this place,’ he said, gesturing at the darkness beyond the pool of light. ‘Thefact is there are too few of us TimeRiders — groups like us dotted around the world,dotted through time, watching and waiting patiently.’

‘Watching for what?’ asked Maddy.

‘For a shift.’

‘A shift?’

He nodded. ‘It starts as something ever so slight, almost unnoticeable to the eye. Youcatch it then, when it’s just a ripple. You have to because, before you know it, itbecomes a tidal wave; it becomes unstoppable, uncontrollable. And then we’re all trulyscrewed.’

Sal’s eyes had been lost in the darkness, still far away, but she turned to look atFoster. ‘What is a shift?’

‘A shift is the result of time being disturbed.’

Foster pursed his lips in thought for a moment. ‘OK, think of it like this: time is like a still pool, or a bath. Have you ever tried stepping into a bath without creating a ripple? It’s impossible, isn’tit?’

The three of them nodded as the bulb above them flickered and fizzed ever so slightly.

‘In the same way, it’s impossible to step through into the past without creatinga ripple. But the problem is the ripple spreads and grows from the point at which someonesteps in. From that we get a tidal wave that increases in size and destroys everything in itsway to replace it with a new world… a universe that might havebeen.’

Liam shook his head. ‘Not sure I understand.’

‘I get it,’ said Sal. ‘If you change the past a little, you’ll changethe present a lot.’

Foster nodded. ‘That’s exactly right, Sal.’

The light dimmed for a moment, then winked on and off. Foster looked up at it, irritated.‘The bulb’s worked loose again.’

He stood and, carefully covering his hands with the sleeve of his jumper, twisted the bulb.The flickering stopped.

‘We need to rewire this place… but there never seems to be enoughtime.’

Maddy looked around. ‘Where are we? It looks like some skanky old railwayarch.’

Foster smiled. ‘That’s pretty much what it is. It’s actually a-’

The light dimmed and flickered once more and his eyes suddenly widened.

‘Oh no.’

The others looked up at his face, all of a sudden a shade paler.

‘What’s up?’ asked Maddy.

‘It’s here…’ he whispered.

‘A shift?’ asked Liam.

‘No — ’ he shook his head — ‘worse.’