TILL THE END OF TIME

Danielle Michael

Student at Airforce Institution of Technology

2 articles

September 3, 2023

Open Immersive Reader

At 2 months shy of 28, Jane had always been sure her lifelong addiction to sugar would ultimately have an adverse effect, other than her hourly restroom trips, but had never thought it to be a derail in her sanity.

She half expected a jolt waking her from this aberrant dream but studied the imagery before her anyway.

Two odd-looking people stood at the right-hand corner of the room. Having seen them appear out of thin air, she rather them stay put and ignore her but unfortunately, they looked to be quietly conversing about her as they talked in hushed tones, none of their gazes straying from hers.

“Does she speak?” she heard the shorter of the two ask at almost the same time she realized the two people were real and not figments of her imagination.

Still in a state of shock, Jane had managed to squeak out a response barely two decibels above a whisper, “Yes I can”, but due to the deafening silence, her words did not go unheard by the two.

“What is your name?” the shorter one asked.

Jane could not think of a good enough reason that someone might play a very expensive prank on her. She already knows most of the staff did not like her- being a woman of color and all, and the non-racist ones are indifferent towards her- but to scare her into quitting this way was just inhumane.

“What do you want?” she fired back, her hands going to her buckle but coming to a stop as she remembered her lazy streak this morning which had caused her to leave her pepper spray at home.

“Do not fret we are just from your future, our present” the taller one said.

Yeah, she thought, that’s a perfectly normal thing to say. And who says ‘fret’?

The shorter one seemed to have the same line of thought, as he communicated, clearly agitated, with the taller one in hushed tones.

“I’m not quitting” she announced, successfully putting their discussion to a halt as they turned to face her “You can tell whoever sent you that I’m not afraid of them” she completed, her shaky tone contradicting her message.

“We will do just that” the shorter one replied.

“It may seem as though you have forgotten that we are on a self-appointed mission, Philip,” the taller one said to whom Jane just learned was called Philip. “Or maybe the machine has rendered your memory frayed”

Philip let out what seemed to be the verbal equivalent of a face-palm, just as the words registered with Jane “What do you mean mission?” she asked.

“I’m afraid my friend here simply has a lack of the ability to actualize the right humor for some situations,” said Philip punctuating his words with a less-than-believable laugh.

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