“Jerry, you can’t graduate,” Jerry’s mom explained to him.
“But mom–” Jerry began, but was cut off by his mom, who yelled at him for about an hour. He only slipped in a few words like “Sorry” and “Okay” here and there before he was finally able to give his explanation.
“Mom, you won’t believe me when I tell you,” he said.
“What could it possibly be?” she snapped back.
“I made a time machine,” he said, looking down towards his shoes. Without even reacting, his mom walked out of his room and slammed the door. It sounded like a gunshot.
That night, Jerry decided to use his so-called “time machine.” He called one of his close friends, Danny, to come test it with him. He thought that he should travel back a few weeks to fix his grades so he could graduate.
Once they arrived in his garage, they turned on the time machine. It was like a rattling washing machine. They stepped in, and at first, nothing happened. “This isn’t gonna work dude–” Danny started to say, until it shot them into a portal.
Boom! They came flying down from the air, and a big light flashed as they crashed on the ground. “Whoa dude, what is this?” Danny asked, as his eyes widened like an elevator door. Jerry didn’t respond. He just stood there in shock.
This isn’t a few weeks ago, he thought to himself.
“Who are you?” a man dressed as a soldier asked, pushing Danny. People started to form a group around them. Whispers from the crowd broke the silence.
“I think they’re spies.”
“Look at their clothes.”
“They just fell from the sky.”
Jerry’s heart started beating faster. He looked at Danny, who looked just as confused. “We’re not spies!” Jerry yelled. “We don’t even know where we are!”
The soldier grabbed Jerry’s shirt. “Then explain how you appeared from nowhere,” he demanded.
Jerry froze. What was he supposed to say, that he had built a time machine because he was failing school?
“It was an accident,” Danny said. He quickly thought of a lie. “We fell from the roof of that building right over there.” Danny grabbed his own arm and started to act injured. The soldier didn’t look convinced. Suddenly, another loud sound echoed in the distance. It sounded like cannon fire. Everyone around them flinched like they were used to it.
Danny leaned toward Danny and whispered, “Where the hell are we, and what the hell is going on?”
Jerry swallowed hard. “I think we’re in a war. I learned about this timeline in history class.”
“Wow, you remembered that, but couldn’t pass the class,” Danny said, snickering.
Before they could say anything else, the soldiers started arguing in Danish. Jerry couldn’t understand a single word, but it didn’t sound good. Two soldiers grabbed Danny’s arms.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Danny shouted, trying to pull away.
Jerry stepped forward. “Wait! Stop! He didn’t do anything!”
The first soldier pointed his rifle toward Jerry. “Do not move.”
Jerry slowly raised his hands. His mind was racing. This was supposed to fix his grades… not get them killed. “This is my fault,” Jerry whispered.
Danny looked at him. “Dude, if we get out of this alive, you’re never touching that machine again.”
Jerry almost laughed, but he was too scared. Then Jerry noticed something. On the ground near where they landed was a small metal piece. It had fallen off the time machine during the crash. His eyes locked onto it. If that’s here… maybe the machine is too.
“Danny,” Jerry said quietly. “I think we might still have a way home.”
Danny looked at him like he was crazy. “How?” he asked.
Jerry looked toward the forest behind the village. “Because if we landed here… the machine had to land somewhere too.”
At that moment, another explosion shook the ground. Smoke started rising in the distance. The soldiers got distracted for a few seconds.
Jerry whispered, “When they look away… we run.”
Danny nodded.
“3… 2… 1…” They took off running.
Behind them, soldiers started shouting. “STOP!”
But Jerry didn’t stop. He just kept thinking about one thing: If he didn’t find that machine again, then they would be stuck in the past forever.
