Another Step

Just another step.

Flames and sparks erupted from her invention, which I pitched as flawless and fantastic to my team. I bragged if anything went wrong during the heist, we could learn from our mistakes and make the plan perfect. I did not account for how many blunders we would have to correct and the impact of repeated uses on the power cells.

Unexpected guard? Try again. Tripped alarm? Try again. Double-crossed. Try again. How foolish was I to think I could have unlimited mistakes? I was too hopeful everything would align. The data we were after would save lives.

"We could pivot forever," I said, unleashing all of my built-up sarcasm against myself. "Until the machine overheats from our constant screwups."

The localized cyclone caused by the invention knocked me off my feet as I tried to take another step forward. I knew–or at least theorized–that if I could reach the control panel, I could rewind time to before this whole mess started. Most likely, this last reset would destroy the machine in the process, but everyone would be safe.

I forced myself back up against the pounding winds. Time was no longer on my side.

Just another step...