12 Hours

On December 26th, 2026, World War Three started. No one saw it coming, and no one could have stopped it. It was perfectly planned. You may be wondering how do I know this if we haven't reached 2019? There is a secret laboratory in Southern California created by TWW3 (Terminate World War Three). TWW3 created a time machine, not to travel in the past, but to travel into the future. Obviously, their goal is to stop World War Three. On December 26th, 2018, I flew to Southern California because I was online searching for jobs and somehow I came across this sketchy website. Me being me, I clicked on it and unfortunately, it was TWW3's website. They needed two people for their job and I was desperate at that point in time, I

would take anything. I was scrolling down the page looking for how much the pay would be, then all I saw was a one and six zeros, It paid a million dollars. I clicked on it so fast, I think I could have actually broken my finger. I filled out an application, and approximately two hours later I had a job. 30 minutes later they sent me an email saying that their facility was in Southern California, and they were going to fly me there the next morning. So I was sitting at my desk thinking of how I was going to tell my parents I applied for a job, got the job, and I had to fly to Southern California the next morning. Probably two minutes after thinking I looked up how much plane tickets were for Southern California. There was no way my parents could pay for a plane ticket. My family would literally go broke if they paid for me to fly to Southern California. So I decided to email them back asking them if they were going to pay for me to fly to their facility because if they weren't I would have to withdraw my application. You're probably assuming that they emailed me back in two seconds. You're wrong. They didn't. They emailed me back 30 minutes before they came banging on my door. The good thing was they said they were going to pay for everything.

" Open up, we're here for Alexandra Brown." a man yelled.

My mom looked over at me with pure confusion wiped across her face.

" Alex, who is banging on our door? It's 7:30 in the morning." My mom asked as she walked downstairs.

I looked up at her a tried to make up a lie, but there was no suitable or workable lie in this situation.

" There is something I have to tell you. I don't have much time, so sit down." I said.

She nodded her head nervously and sat down.

" Alex, what is going on?" she asked

I sighed and attempted to explain what I had done.

" So you know how we're poor right? I applied for this mysterious job that would pay me a million dollars, and I got accepted. They told me that their facility is in Southern California and they had to fly me there.....like right now." I said.

My mom just sat across from me at our dining table like a corpse. I didn't know if she was mad, sad, frustrated or anything.

" Open the door now! We need to go now Alexandra Brown. The flight leaves at 8:30 a.m." The man yelled.

I looked at the door then at my mom.

" Mom, I already have my stuff packed. I really have to go." I said.

   My mom just looked up at me with a blank stare. I began to walk over to her until she looked up at me.

" Get out. GET OUT, Alexandra!" My mom yelled.

She definitely answered my question. I ran upstairs, got my bag from my room, and went to the front door and opened it. There were two men dressed in all black with black shades on. I looked down at the ground and sighed.

" I am ready to go," I said.

Then men looked at each other and nodded their heads.

" Good, because we have to get going." one of the men said.

I looked back at my mom hoping she was looking at me, but she was just looking down at the table crying.

" I love you, mom. Tell dad and sis I love them too."

She didn't reply.

" I'll take care of your bags ma'am."

   I looked back and one of the men was holding their hand out to take my bags. I gave the man in the suit and black glasses my stuff. I stood on my porch for a while. I felt dead inside. I was about to fly to some secret facility with these men in suits and black glasses without telling my family goodbye. My dad and sister are going to wake up and I'm going to be gone. I don't even know if my mom will be ready to even tell them I left with these top-secret agents looking, people. While I was standing there it suddenly hit me that it never said what I was going to be doing.

" Ma'am, we are going to need for you to get into the car." one of the men said.

I looked up at him and flashed an awkward smile. When I walked over to the vehicle, another man in all black was already holding the door open for me. When I got in, there was another man sitting in the backseat on the passenger side.

" So I was never told what I would exactly be doing," I said.

" We will clarify everything when we reach our destination." He said.

" Why can't I just know now?" I asked.

" It isn't our job to tell you what you'll be doing. We know you are anxious to know, but the time will come when you will be able to find out." One of the men said.

" I'm not anxious to find out, I just want to know what I applied for."

No one replied to what I said. They were silent for the rest of the way to the airport. I don't know if they were ignoring me on purpose or they were quiet for some top-secret reason. Maybe they had told me too much information. I just really wished they could act like normal people so the car ride wouldn't have been so boring.

Finally, we arrived at the airport and I can finally continue from where I started off. On December 26th, 2018, I flew to Southern California. The most fun part was probably finding out what kind of plane I was flying on. They flew me to California in a private jet. It took about three hours and a couple of minutes to get there. When we reached the airport, there was already a car waiting for us. Then I started thinking, what if this job is illegal and I end up getting arrested and put to death. What am I doing with my life? I just took this mysterious job and it could possibly be illegal. I walked to the black car and once again, a man was standing there holding the door open for me. I took a big breath, gave him a smile and got in the car.

" Your name is Alexandra, correct?" The man said.

" Yeah, that's me," I replied.

I was expecting someone to tell me where we were going and what's my job. Well, now I know in the future when you apply for a job, make sure you know what the job is. I was totally fine with riding with a bunch of secret service looking guys until we started driving to the middle of nowhere. After thirty minutes passed and I started to see this big black building in the distance.

" We are approaching, so be ready to say your name into the microphone." One of the men said.

" Is it some voice recognition thing or something?" I asked.

" No, we just need you to say your name." He replied.

" Why can't one of you guys just tell me what's going on?!" I yelled.

Then we came to a stop. Everyone got quiet. One of the men got out of the car and got my bags out of the trunk.

" We are finally here now, so any questions you have will be answered." One of the men said.

I rolled my eyes and followed one of the men to the front door. One man was in front of me and the other three were behind me. We walked up to this large metal door and to the left of it there was this microphone. I was guessing it was what I had to speak into.

" I'm guessing I have to speak into that?" I asked.

"You're very smart. Make sure you say your full name." One of the men said.

I walked up to the microphone, cleared my throat and took a deep breath in.

" Alexandra Brown," I said.

The microphone beeped twice, then the light under the microphone turned green. We stood there for a good 15 seconds until the large metal doors slowly opened. The man in front of me turned around and stepped aside

" Right this way ma'am," he said.

I was in no hurry to find out what was behind those doors. I was still kind of shook by this whole situation. I felt like we were all walking into the building in slow motion, and at that moment I asked myself who is the other person who signed up for this? What if I was the only person who signed up for this. I literally started to pray that I wasn't going to do this job by myself. As we got further into the building I realized it was really nice, like a billion dollars nice. I understand why I am getting paid so much now, whoever owns this place is stupid rich. They could afford to fly me and someone else to Southern California in a private jet. They also bought this huge facility in the middle of nowhere. I became more curious about who this person was. We didn't walk much longer until we reached this cozy living room area.

" I will take your bags to your room." One of the men said.

I nodded my head and handed him my belongings.

" What's your name? I should know since I am working with you." I said.

" It's Richard." He replied.

" Mine is Alexandra, of course, you already know that," I replied.

He laughed and walked to drop my stuff off. I decided to walk around and try to get the feel of this place. It was very modern. They had white furniture in the living room with one or two colored pillows on each sofa. It also had a bar. There was actually a bartender making drinks.

" I am so happy you applied for this job. I didn't think anyone would have done it."

I looked around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.

" I think I would like talking to someone I can actually see," I said.

An old man walked out from this dark hallway. He had curly gray hair and a white beard. He was wearing black metallic glasses with a white vest and white suit bottoms. His outfit was very confusing.

" So you're the guy that hired me?"I asked.

" Yes ma'am that's me." He replied

" Did anyone else apply for this job?" I asked.

" Yes actually. He is up in his room right now. I think he is cleaning himself up actually." He said.

" It's a guy that I am doing this job with?" I said.

" I'm pretty sure, yes," he said sarcastically.

I gave him a straight face. I really didn't have time for sarcasm.

" So what exactly is our job?" I asked.

" As soon as Bryson gets finished taking a shower, I will tell you guys everything," he said.

Bryson....that name sounds familiar.

" I've literally have been waiting five hours to know what my job is, and now I have to wait for some stranger to freshen up?!" I yelled.

" Just sit down. We really don't have time to argue over a pointless topic." He said.

About 15 minutes later this guy with dark brown, almost black, hair and blue eyes walked into the living room.

" Sup, you're Alex right?" He asked.

" It's Alexandra actually," I replied.

" Can't I just call you Alex though?

" No, only my friends call me Alex, and your not my friend. I don't even know who you are."

" Well, I'm Bryson, nice to meet you." He said holding his hand out.

I just looked at him and squinted my eyes.

" You're not gonna shake it?" He asked.

" I don't know where your hands been," I replied.

" Where do you think it's been?" He asked.

Before I could answer, the boss walked over to us. That's what I'm calling him because I am 95% sure he is the guy in charge of all this.

" I hope you guys got to know each other because in 15 minutes we are going to put you eight years into the future.

" What do you mean eight years into the future?!" Bryson asked.

" I mean I am going to transport you and Alexandra eight years into the future." He replied.

" Why are you going to transport us?" I asked.

" Well Alexandra, you've been wanting to know your job so I am going to tell you." He said.

He sat down on one of the white chairs in the living room.

" Your job is to stop World War Three." He said.

" WHAT?!" Bryson and I screamed.

" I know it sounds crazy. And no, it was not started by some crazy president. It was actually started by a robot organization called RC Líder del Día de la Muerte."

" What kind of name is that? Is that even English?" Bryson asked.

" No, I think it is some secret language the robots created." the boss man said.

" How do you know so much about these robots? I asked.

" Yeah, how did you even find out about World War Three?" Bryson asked.

" Research. But the important mission now is to stop them."

Bryson and I gave each other looks. Something wasn't right about this man, but I couldn't put my finger on it. However, I need the money, so whatever manipulating plan he has in mind, I'm gonna have to go with it.

" We don't have much time left. We have to get you to the Time Chamber. Follow me." He said.

He led us into this small white room. It had marble ceilings and a shelf with some black suits.

" The male suit for you Bryson is on the left shelf and the female suit for you Alex is on the right self. Get changed fast please." He said.

" Wait, where are we supposed to change?" I asked.

" You will change here of course." He replied.

" In the same room?" Bryson asked.

" Where else would you change?" He said.

He closed the door a left us in there.

" Oh, press the buzzer when you're both finished changing." He said through the door.

Bryson and I just stood there for a second, then we went to grab our clothes.

" Ok, you change over there next to the buzzer and I will change next to the shelves," I said.

" Sounds good to me," Bryson replied.

" And no peeking," I replied.

Bryson just laughed and began to change. There was a small round mirror to the right of me and I could see Bryson through it.

" I know you're looking at me creep," Bryson said.

" What? No!" I said nervously.

" I could see you through the mirror. There's a mirror over here too you know." He said.

" Sure," I replied.

" It's ok though, I was looking at you too." Bryson chuckled.

I finished changing first surprisingly. Bryson was mostly checking himself out though.

" Ok Alexandra, I'm finished changing. So you can buzz that buzzer."

I walked over to the buzzer and pressed the button below it.

" Mr. um, I don't know what your name is, but we're finished changing," I said.

The door immediately opened up, and a guard was standing there waiting for us.

" This way." The guard waved us.

The guard led us down at least three flights of stairs to this decent sized, white room.

In the middle of it, there was a big, metal, round object with a hole in the middle of it. It looked like a big ring. I was guessing that was the thing they were going to use to transport us.

" Alex, you might wanna put your hair in a ponytail." The man said.

One of the guards handed him two, black, leather satchels.

" I am giving you both these bags that will hold items that will help you defeat the robots." He said.

" Are these robots like vicious?" Bryson asked.

" Well of course! If they were nice robots there would be no World War Three." He laughed.

" So you want to transport us to stop these mean robots? I don't even know how to fight." I said.

" Yes. Oh and I think I forgot to mention you have 12 hours to do this." He replied.

" Why 12 hours? Why not 24?" Bryson asked.

" Well, the time machine has a 14-hour battery charge. If the time machine dies, you will be stuck there forever." He said.

" Well can't you just charge it if it dies," Bryson asked.

" Well yes, but you'd still be stuck in time." He replied.

All of the sudden a big flash of light blinded me. Once I was able to see again, the time machine was on. It looked like it had a purple and white substance that was swirling in the middle.

" You guys ready to do this?" He yelled.

The time machine was actually really loud, so we all had to yell because it would be hard to hear each other if we talked in a regular voice.

" No dude! I'm not ready to fight robots!" Bryson yelled.

Bryson and I walked up to the time machine, and I started to think about why I did this or what if I die? Then I started to realize I was moving forward, and I looked behind me and no one was pushing me.

" It's the time machine Alex! It's pulling us in because it's so powerful," Bryson yelled.

I looked behind me and the boss man had a devilish looking facial expression on and then two guards came up behind us. One went behind Bryson and one went behind me.

" What do y'all think you're doing!" Bryson yelled.

Then they pushed us into the time machine. Going into that time machine was probably the most painful thing in my life. It felt like someone injected arsenic into my bloodstream. Disclaimer, going through the portal looked nothing like it does in movies. There are no flying clocks or weird animals, and our bodies didn't change. It was a painful, but quick process. It probably lasted for one second. But it was painful coming out because we were practically thrown out of the portal, and I landed on my face. Literally. We both up got off the ground, and when I looked up I was horrified. I looked over and Bryson was just standing there in awe.

" I don't know if I wanna do this anymore," Bryson said.

" It's gonna be hard to stop whoever did this," I replied

" Oh, do you mean the EVIL robots?" Bryson said sarcastically.

The sky was mixed with black and gray clouds and there were factories everywhere. We could see robots flying in the distance. The most horrifying thing of all was the ground. It was made up of skulls, bones, and dirt. Every time I moved I'd hear them snap under my feet. Then I began to see a gray and green object moving towards us.

" Hey, what's that thing in the distance?" I asked.

" I don't know?" Bryson replied.

I stepped forward a squinted my eyes.

" It's getting bigger....." I said.

The object kept getting closer. The closer it got the more clearly I could see it.

I started to realize it was actually coming at us pretty fast.

" Oh shoot Alex! It's a freakin robot! RUN!" Bryson yelled.

The robot started to shoot green lasers at us, and its eyes turned red. Bryson and I hid behind a demolished car, and in the corner of my eye to the left of me, I saw something moving. I looked over and saw that it was an old man.

" Oh my god Bryson, there's a man! Maybe he can help us." I said.

" If we go back out there we will get blown up," Bryson replied.

" We need to help that man Bryson! He can help us. Maybe he knows who created the robots!" I said.

" No Alex! We are gonna wait for the robots to leave then try to stop this, ok?" Bryson said.

" I'm sorry Bryson." I sighed.

I got up and ran after the old man. Unfortunately, as soon as I got up the robot noticed something or someone was moving. It obliterated the old man. It all happened in slow motion. It's like I knew he was going to blow up the old man because I stopped right before he got shot. I saw the laser come out of the robot's arm, and go straight through the man's chest. I watched all of his body parts slowly detach limb by limb and rip from his body.  I then slowly turned my head, and the robot was looking dead at me. I  suddenly felt someone grab my arm and I yank me to the ground. In a blink of an eye, I saw my head barely miss getting hit by the laser. I could feel the heat of the laser. Even though it didn't hit me, I still felt the skin on my cheek become inflamed.

" A-are you insane? I mean I could have let you end up like that old man!" Bryson yelled.

" I thought I could save him," I said in a low voice.

Bryson and I just sat behind the car and waited for the robot to go away. Bryson had his hands on his head. I think he was crying. I sighed and began to put my hand on his shoulder, but I decided not to.

" I'm sorry I put you through that Bryson," I said.

" I didn't even get to tell my momma bye." Bryson cried.

" I didn't get to tell my dad and sister goodbye either, but we really need to start this mission."

Bryson nodded his head and before he could get up, a robot shot at the car we were hiding behind. I blinked and once again the slow-motion effect happened. I flew up into the air and I saw the flames slowly grow bigger. I looked to the left of me and Bryson was already starting to fall to the ground while I was still flying up from the explosion. Then all of the sudden the slow-motion effect wore off and I descended to the ground. I landed back first, then my head bounced off the ground. I layed on the ground for a second, not because I was in pain everywhere, because of what I had just seen. It's one thing to see people get blown up in movies, but it's another thing when you experience it.

" Alex get up! Follow me!" Bryson yelled.

I got up off the ground and ran after Bryson. He led me to this tall bridge. On the other side of the bridge, there was a wall. There were a couch and a small wooden bed with two pillows and a blanket on it.

" Did someone used to stay here?" I asked.

" Possibly, or maybe someone just camped out here for a few nights," Bryson replied.

Bryson and I searched the bridge for any clues about how this started.

" I still don't get how that guy knew about an event that happened eight years in the future. How did he know that robots started it." I said.

" Technology." Bryson murmured.

I stumbled upon an old, wooden, rustic desk. On it was an old, navy blue, journal. There was a photo taped to the middle of the front cover. I couldn't make out who it was or what they looked like because there was so much dust on it. After I blew off the dust, I could make out that it was an old man in the photo. But there was something strange about the photo. I recognized the man in the photo. It was an old white man holding a small remote control type object.

" What is that you're looking at?" Bryson asked.

" I found this journal. I know this man in the picture. I've seen him before." I said.

" How? How's that even possible?" He asked.

He walked over to the desk and picked up the journal. He looked at the picture for quite some time.

" The man in the picture is the old man you tried to save. That's why you recognize him." Bryson said.

" We need to keep that journal. Maybe he knew something about this robot organization. He might've written it down in that journal." I said.

" Good idea," Bryson said putting the journal in his satchel.

I took in a deep breath and sat on the couch. I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. Maybe going through the portal was still affecting me or maybe it was because of this entire situation. I just needed to take a breather.

" Hey, we have no time to relax Alex! We literally have 12 hours to save the world," Bryson said.

I nodded my head sunk into the couch. Bryson walked over and put his hand on my forehead.

" What do you think you're doing?" I said.

" Checking your temperature."

" Wouldn't you need a thermometer for that?" I asked.

" Does it look like there would be one around here?" He said sarcastically.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me off the couch.

" I know this is all a blur to you, it's a blur to me too, but we gotta push through this. Billions of people's lives are at stake and they need our help." Bryson said.

" I know." I sighed.

I walked to the entrance of the bridge and looked out at the dark, dreary sky. I felt like I was in a whole other dimension.

" So where do we go to stop these robots?"

" RC Líder del Día de la Muerte headquarters," Bryson replied.

" Is it that factory all the way over there?" I asked.

" Over where?" He asked.

Bryson walked up to where I was standing.

" That factory. It has to be where the head leader is. That's where we stop them." I said.

All of the sudden we started hearing a beeping sound. Bryson looked down and sighed.

" Alex, we have 11 hours left." He said.