A Precarious Waltz

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the Window in his room.

“This is illegal, you know? Not to mention extremely dangerous, Cael.”

The Window buzzed and emanated high-frequency vibrations with unchecked waves of energy. She made sure to keep her distance, but even from across the span of the room the hair on her arms stood at attention and pin-pricked goosebumps littered every inch of her skin.

“Illegal? Yes. Dangerous? I’ve taken great measures to encrypt it so no one – on either side – could possibly pick up its signal. And if somehow, they did, I’ve installed a fail-safe so if they tried to track it, it wouldn’t bring them here. So, dangerous? Only just enough.” He flashed his teeth in a mischievous grin.

She shook her head. “I’m serious.”

“So am I, Bea,” he pleaded in earnest as he took her hands into his. “I mean, come on. You can’t tell me you have never wanted to see the outside world. You’re really content living a life stuck with this place being all you will ever know? This isn’t even our time, Bea. We were meant to live our lives out there,” he motioned towards the Window.

She looked at it, really looked at the Window, this time trying to see what was on the other side. It was hard to make out. Windows only offered streaky, flashes of color, but sometimes, if you caught just the right moment…you could almost make out…there! A landscape of green, the brightest green she had ever seen before. She gasped and squeezed Cael’s hand involuntarily. His smile was softer this time, and hopeful as he watched her expression.

Cael’s father was a scientist with the BHP, the Bureau for Human Preservation, and his mother was one of Nova Tera’s top neurologists, but Cael was a genius in his own right. He went more the engineering route, and when he did something, he did it all the way. He spent years learning all there was to know about the Windows, the portals to the past, to the world that used to be. Outlawed fifty years ago, as far as the general population knew, they didn’t exist anymore.

But of course, Cael had figured out how to build one and had done it right here in the middle of his bedroom. She wasn’t surprised.

Idiocy and genius seemed to dance along a very fine line together.

***

Eighty-seven years ago, well, technically one hundred and eighty-seven years ago depending on which way you wanted to look at it, a woman by the name of Amelia Rodriguez, along with her husband Samuel L. James, invented the first ever “Window” time portal.

They first used it to travel only seconds into the future, bending time and space as they knew it. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, until one day they attempted their biggest jump yet: ten years into the future. They wanted to see what the world was going to look like in ten years’ time, as well as study the physical ramifications on the human body of traveling such a great length of time. Would their bodies age ten years? If so, would they return to their time aged or revert to their original age?

The world they found on the other side of the Window that day was a horror of epic proportions. The world had finally resorted to using the nuclear weaponry they had been honing and threatening for so many years. Humanity was on the brink of collapse. The Earth was barren and empty, those who were spared still seemed to be fighting a war the world had already lost. Humanity had finally reached its end, and unlike with the dinosaurs and the big bang, the short-lived reign of the human species would culminate in a violent eviction by their own hand. The most intelligent life-forms ever to walk the Earth, and they would die out in record time due to their own discord.

Idiocy and genius engaged in a precarious waltz yet again.

Amelia and Samuel returned to their own time having not aged ten years physically, but the trauma of witnessing the near extinction of their own species had caused unfathomable damage to their psyche. They had also sustained radiation poisoning from the toxic nuclear environment of the future to boot. They were on a strict timetable to save the species, due to the eminence of the extinction level event to come, and their own sickness rearing more and more of its ugly head each day they awoke.

Their first thought was to travel back to the past, before the invention of nuclear weaponry, and somehow prevent the scientific discovery that would eventually end it all. However, they discovered their Window could not take them that far into the past. It could only take them as far back as the very first moment it was created.

They thought of showing the world their invention and revealing to them their future demise so as to make them renounce nuclear weaponry forever. But they knew that humans were fickle creatures, motivated by fear and greed. That kind of knowledge in the hands of the masses, or worse, the people in charge, would be catastrophic. More likely than not it would only bring the human race to its downfall even more rapidly.

They found only one feasible solution. It would require them to sacrifice the many in order to prevent humanity’s extinction. They invited to a fake convention scientists, engineers, doctors, nurses, chefs, farmers, and more people that offered necessary services to the world under the guise of either having been nominated for an award or having won a grand prize of money. They chose each person meticulously, making sure they lived their lives under the radar, had little to no family, were generally healthy, and had ample years left to procreate.

All in all, three-hundred and forty-three people showed up. Once they had arrived, Amelia and Samuel revealed the real reason they were all there, and provided them with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join them in saving the human race, by creating a new civilization one hundred years into the future, long after humans were done killing themselves. They laid it out honestly for them. If they did this, their children, their grandchildren, would have a chance to survive and live good lives. In the new world, Amelia told them, they would all be wealthy aristocrats, valued members of society. Otherwise, all that awaited them in this time was certain death.

Two-hundred and twelve people weighed their options and chose to place their trust in this couple, in this new society. Many others did not believe the couple despite all the evidence presented to them, and many others believed what they were doing was wrong, and that the world should know what was to come.

Amelia and Samuel had given them all a clear choice, join the cause or accept certain death. What the dissenters had not realized, though, was that their demise would be executed swiftly that same night. They could not be allowed to leave with the knowledge they possessed.

The passengers to the new world traveled in stages and wore radiation suits to protect from the remnants of nuclear fallout still left decades later. They took equipment and provisions with them, as much as they could. The engineers worked with the scientists to build a giant structure that would protect them from the outside radiation. Within that shelter they built smaller buildings, houses, a small replica of the society they all came from.

They named the city “Nova Tera,” New World in Latin, and slowly but surely, they rebuilt and reproduced. The founders of this new world died mere months after the journey was made from several aggressive forms of cancer caused by the radiation they had been exposed to. But now, nearly one-hundred years later, their legacy lives on in the future of humanity: Nova Tera, home to nearly two-thousand four-hundred souls who cheated extinction.

***

As Bea looked at that Window, she felt frightened. Every cell in her body was telling her this was wrong on every level. The feeling was…exhilarating, like nothing she had ever felt before in this giant metal cage she called home.

She bit her lip and took a long, deep breath before looking over at Cael who was working his magical puppy-dog eyes on her.

“What are we waiting for?” she asked.

Cael’s face lit up as he pumped both fists in the air like a child who had just been given the toy he really wanted for his birthday.

“Yes!”

“But listen, we are in and out. We don’t take any longer than we need to just to see the place, and we do not, under any circumstances, interact with anyone. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he teased.

“Is it going to hurt?” she asked hesitantly, not quite sure if she wanted the answer.

His hand wrapped gently around hers, his body language a juxtaposition to the blunt, sarcastic nature of his words. She felt safe in that moment, with him to hold on to.

They stepped through the window together, holding onto one another tightly.

A jarring white light and a cacophony of unnerving pitches surrounded them and filled their ears for but a mere second before they hit the ground.

Sight was not the first way in which she sensed this old world, for her fear kept her eyes shut tight. But she smelled and she felt, and it was like nothing she had ever smelled or felt before. The ground beneath her nose had a dense, wet, rich, intoxicating scent, much different from the acrid, dry smell of home.

She squeezed her fingers together, having sensed something there. The soft, waxy grass, she deduced, felt like magic against her skin. Was it true that the Earth could once produce such delicacy, such softness and pleasantry? The Earth she knew was hard and ugly, cracked and burned.

She had to open her eyes, she knew, but she thought she may go into complete shock at the sight if she did, due to her overwhelm at the mere smell and feel of the place.

She worked up the courage to part her eyelids. A bright white light again accosted her sensitive pupils, and she thought perhaps she was still in the Window, stuck between worlds. But as she blinked and squinted through the light, she began to see.

Surrounding her was a world teeming with the most vivid colors she had ever seen. The sky was a shade of blue she didn’t know existed, and the grass was so green she thought surely it must be artificial. The clouds were a sparkling bright white. Around her was a myriad of small squeaks and sounds she didn’t recognize. She could not discern what was producing them. They seemed to be coming from all around her.

Bea stood up to find Cael already upright, staring in awe with that cute, stupid grin on his face. She rushed over to him, and before she knew it, she was kissing him. She didn’t know what had come over her, but it was as if every worry, every inhibition she had ever had had been washed away by the beauty and wonder of this place. She had never felt so purely happy in her entire life.

Their lips separated and he peered down into her teary eyes, his hands gently cupping her cheeks.

“We made it,” he whispered.

Bea laughed out loud in a giddy burst of emotion. She twirled in place and felt the cool breeze comb through her hair.

“What are all those sounds, Cael? Those beautiful, wonderful sounds?”

He smiled. “Birds,” he proclaimed with a twinkle in his eye. “And squirrels, and moles and every other incredible little creature that humans used to share this Earth with.”

“Where are we, exactly?” she questioned further. She wanted to know anything and everything she could in the limited time they had.

“I believe it’s called a park. A place undisturbed by the toiling of men, where humans, plants, and animals alike can come peruse and have a bit of peace.”

“A park. Oh, I wish we had these back home. I wish we had any of this back home.”

Cael’s voice was quieter when he responded, more subdued than his former jubilee.

“Me too.”

He took her hand as he had before they stepped through the window, though this time he gripped it tight, in a way that communicated a sense of urgency.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” His mischievous grin was back.

As they rushed to the other end of the park, Bea began to notice all the people bustling about. It felt impossible that they could not know who they were, that they were from the future, and that they were all surely doomed. And yet, none even spared them a sideways glance. Everyone seemed so preoccupied, it was like they weren’t even fazed by the wonders that surrounded them. Of course, they weren’t, this was their world. They didn’t know any different. Incredible, Bea thought as she was hit with a pang of jealousy.

Cael was moving faster and with more fervor with every step, towards a tall white building that sat at the edge of the park. Bea laughed with excitement, still reeling from the high this place gave.

“Where are we going, Cael?” she asked, not really caring the answer as long as she could continue to see more of this realm.

“Don’t worry, you’re going to love it.”

Why would I be worried?

Suddenly, something dawned on her.

“Hey, how do you know where we’re going?”

They had reached the entryway to the colossal white building, and made their way inside, where there were a million more things for Bea to marvel at, but Cael headed straight for the elevator at the end of the hall and hailed one to fetch them.

As they stepped into the mobile metal box and he pressed the button dawning the number eighteen, Cael finally turned towards her, his eyes expressed a level of excitement that almost scared her. It was as if he weren’t looking at her but straight through her, unable to see past whatever scene was playing out in his head.

“Alright, so I wasn’t completely truthful with you back in my room. I may have come through the Window before. But just once! And only because I had to make sure it was stable and safe before I took you with me.”

Bea processed the information as the number at the top of the elevator increased.

“Alright, I understand, though that was extremely reckless and stupid of you. But seriously, you’re starting to scare me a little. Where are we going?” She said it more firmly this time, hoping to provoke a serious answer out of him.

At that moment, a loud ding rang out and the elevator door opened out into a pristine hallway. The walls were white with intricate crown molding, and the carpet was an elegant navy blue, decorated with a pattern of white flowers.

Cael grabbed her by the wrist this time, and tugged her out of the elevator and onto the twelfth floor. Her eyes shifted back and forth nervously as they walked.

He stopped in front of the last of many doors lining the hallway and pulled a small, gold key out of his pocket. She would ask where he had gotten it, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to give her any answers yet.

He unlocked the door and they stepped into a luxurious place one could hardly call an apartment. It was large and spacious, with giant windows lining the back wall. The place was beautifully furnished, but somehow felt cold and unattached.

Cael led her through the living room, then through the bedroom to the closet. There was a code on the door that he somehow knew: 558390. With a click, the door unlocked, and Cael held it open for Bea to see.

The place looked like a laboratory of some sort. There were all kinds of machines and equipment, metal tables, computers, books open and spread across the tables. There were no windows in this room, it was illuminated only by the fluorescent beam lights hung from the ceiling. It reminded Bea of the artificial light back home. The only kind of light her and Cael had ever known prior to this.

Something caught Bea’s attention out of the corner of her eye as she looked around, and her breath caught in her chest.

She turned to face the machine, goosebumps prickling at her skin and the hair on her arms standing up. She could feel the blood drain from her face as all the elation from before melted into confusion and unease.

She faced the Window in confusion and disbelief. It looked slightly different from the one Cael had in his bedroom, but she still knew exactly what it was.

If they were here, in this time, and they were seeing another Window besides their own, there was only one place they could be.

Without taking her eyes off the portal, Bea addressed Cael in a hushed voice.

“Why are we here, Cael?”

He stayed where he was at the entrance of the lab.

“We have to destroy it, Bea.”

The sound of the front door opening startled Bea, and she flipped her head back to look at Cael. He was too calm, too collected. Like he was expecting all of this. He lifted his index finger to his lips.

“Shhh.”

He stepped back out of the lab and shut the door behind him, leaving Bea stuck inside.

“No,” she whispered to herself.

Suddenly she could feel her blood pumping again, she could move her muscles. She ran to the door and tried to open it. No luck. She pressed her ear to the cold metal, but it was too thick to hear anything through.

Panic overcame her senses as she began banging at the door and screaming until her fists were bruised and bloodied and her chest burned.

Her brain ran a million miles a minute searching for a way out until she realized there was only one. She looked back towards the Window, it was buzzing and crackling. She could go anywhere into the future with it, if she only knew how to program it. She cursed herself for not being more technologically inclined like Cael.

Bea heard a click come from the door. It was the same click she had heard when Cael had unlocked it. But it didn’t open.

She moved towards it cautiously, not quite sure if it was smart of her to open it. But there was nothing else she could do. The door creaked every inch that she painstakingly pushed it open.

The apartment was silent. She could see the bedroom through the doorway which was exactly as it had been minutes before when they had entered it. She walked out of the lab and through the hallway that led to the living room. She tried not to make a sound, but her shoes tapped on the white marble floors.

At the end of the hallway something caught her eye at her feet. She peered down. A red, oozing liquid was splattered on the tile. It took everything Bea had in her to step over it and round the corner to the living room.

There, lying lifeless on the floor, blood leaking from various fatal injuries on each of their bodies, were Amelia Rodriguez and Samuel L. James. Bea recognized them from her old school textbooks back home.

She gasped but couldn’t get enough air. Her lungs felt deflated no matter how much she heaved oxygen into them. Her legs trembled and she leaned on the leather couch to keep from collapsing. She didn’t understand this. She didn’t understand any of this. Had Cael murdered these people? The very saviors of humanity? Her sweet, curious, lighthearted Cael?

Cael…where was Cael? He had to have been the one to unlock the lab door for her, so where was he?

No.

Rejuvenated strength from her adrenaline rushed through her body as she pushed herself to her feet and tore through the hallway to get back to the lab.

The door was cracked open, and she knew he would be inside.

She threw it open and stumbled through.

“Cael, stop!”

He was crouched behind the Window. He didn’t bother to look up from his work.

“I have to do this, Bea. It’s what we both want.”

“No, no, no. I don’t want this.”

“Don’t you, though? Admit it, you have never been as happy as you were the second we got here. This is where we were supposed to stay. And when this version of Earth died, we should have died with it.”

“So, what? We somehow live here, and in ten years nuclear war erupts and we die in the apocalypse? That’s what you want?”

He looked up at her then. She had never seen his eyes as dark and lost as they looked in that moment. His whole face seemed changed. This wasn’t the Cael she had grown up with, played hide and seek with, kissed in the park. This was not her Cael.

“Wouldn’t you rather live one more second in this place than another eighty years in that putrid wasteland we were never supposed to survive to see? I would. This is the world that was meant for us, Bea. For you and me.”

Without breaking eye contact with her, he cut the last wire he was holding, and the Window went dark.

“I had already programmed the Window in my room to destroy its own coding and shut down the second we walked through it. That,” he said, motioning towards the blackened portal, “was the very last Window.”

He grinned at her, and as tears streamed down her cheeks, she wondered if that charming grin she used to love had always looked so terrifying.