Time Wardens

The light on the walls was blinking a putrid yellow. Sirens were going off in rhythm with the ugly lights. People were running through the halls, casting odd shadows on the walls, floors and ceiling. The chatter echoed as a buzz under the alarm.

Adam ran into a room with a small sign '20th'. That door led into a small space occupied by random pieces of furniture and equipment. He slammed the door and quickly engaged the several locks. Inside the room, no outside noise, Adam could hear the quiet beeps of the various machines. Hidden in the back was a large bubble like contraption. It was currently showing an alley from a different time, encased in a purplish cloud. There were several people in suits discussing the scene.

"Who got out and where did they go?" The man in the nicest suit demanded.

"Right now, we just have a partial number." a guy behind the huddled group interjected

"It is Christian Michael Thompson, sir!" Another guy behind them said.

"Sh …," the man in the nicest suit started.

"It appears he escaped to April, 1912." A third guy interrupted

"You've got to be kidding." The nice suit declared.

"Reginald … Reginald, what does that mean?" The only woman screamed over the murmuring the name had generated from everyone in the room.

"How did he get out?" A new suit asked.

"Sir, we're not sure …"

"What do you mean? How did he get out?" The new suit demanded, "Someone give me something!"

A few very long seconds went by before anyone could fill the request.

"Sir, he was being escorted to the third floor for his appeal hearing." A random voice announced

"What? Why wasn't the visit on a screen in his cell?" The man in the nice suit screamed towards no one in particular.

"There are none on his floor, sir!"

"Right," The boss replied, "Who is on for tonight?

The crowd silently looked around.

"Adam Clark and Faith Turner." Someone said from behind the boss.

"Nice of you to join us, Adam. I hope you are ready for a level four fugitive." The boss smirked, "Where is faith?"

"Here, sir!" A young woman squeaked.

"Get in there and retrieve that fugitive!" The boss yelled.

The 2 of them ran towards the bubble and slowly disappeared through the surface. They both hit the ground with a thud. Their clothes slowly morphed from the futuristic garb to a tuxedo, bow tie and top hat, for Adam, and gown and gloves for Faith. They looked at each other before scanning their surroundings. They seemed to be at a county fair. Miniature horses passed by the opening to the street. The smell of hay and horse wafted in the air. A few people walked passed and Adam remembered they were on a mission. Adam grabbed Faith's hand and she stepped in close. They walked out of the alley together and turned right. The road was dirt and horses were pulling carriages. They had trained for this, but being here was completely different.

It it wasn't for technology they would not have been able to understand the primitive people of the early 1900s. The strange choice of words and word placement made it like another language. Their technology made others sound normal and made them sound normal to whomever they were speaking.

The pair calmly strolled down the street. They were looking for any sign of a visitor from another time. People usually crowded around, pointed or whispered. All of the things the people of 1912 did not do when Adam and Faith stepped out of the alley. A few odd looks in a single direction got the attention of Adam. After seeing a few scared people Adam's decision was made.

He tightened his grip on Faith and they made their way through the crowd. Most people moved when they saw them coming, so they made it to the next road quickly. And in the middle of the street lay two people. Both were clearly dead. As they got closer the police covered the bodies with white sheets. The two of them stopped, making it look like they were discussing which way to go, and listened to the police talk.

"This is the 7th and 8th body, today!" One of the cops said.

Adam and Faith turned to one another and, in unison, said, "It's him!"

A few more minutes and they learned all they needed. Their fugitive had found a gun and was robbing and shooting people. He was also screaming about being from the future. The man from the future was making his way down the main street before he disappeared. With this much to go on the pair slowly made their way up towards the main street.

"How will we know it is him?" Faith asked.

"Are you new?" Adam asked.

"What? No, why would you think that?" Faith wouldn't even look his way.

"Do you not know how to use your headset?" Adam sighed

"I thought I was." Faith stated.

"Are you a rookie?"

"No, I've been a Warden for four years now." Faith responded

"So you can see a picture of him in your field of vision?" Adam tried to verify.

"No?"

"Don't worry about it. I will tell you which one," Adam sighed again.

"How far behind him do you think we are?" Faith asked another question.

"Just follow me." Adam replied.

The two of them walked down the street, both still holding onto one another. Their target was nowhere to be seen. Adam started to pay less attention to his surroundings and relied on Faith to navigate. She failed at her job and ran Adam into a small wooden post that only came up to the man's crotch.

"Okay," Adam managed after needing a breather, "Historical records have Christian Michael Thompson hiding out in a warehouse a few miles South. If we …"

"What?" Faith interrupted, "How is that possible?"

"We do not have time to go over that," Adam hissed at her, "Now follow me."

They slowly made their way to the warehouse district and started looking through windows. The historical records didn't say which warehouse, but it did state it was next to the water. After coming up empty-handed the pair took a break. They decided to rest up and hope that Christian Michael Thompson would find them. It wasn't a good plan, but it was the best they could do.

Faith, as clueless as ever, asked Adam questions that led him to believe she was a rookie. Someone that had been a Time Warden for 4 years should know how the headset worked. They should also know how to access the historical records. All Adam could think was, "Why me?". This was the third poorly trained Warden he had come across.

Their stroll that night turned up nothing. It was the early morning of April 10th when they finally made progress. They found a woman that claimed to know the man. She said the man from the future needed to get to the states. She also offered up his transportation; the Titanic. He apparently told her he was going to be a stowaway.

With this information the duo made their way to the giant ship waiting for its maiden voyage. The security was tight, but not for a Time Warden. They used their pulse gun to stun a guard and quickly slipped inside the dock. After slipping inside they made their way to the ship.

It was early so the crowd of onlookers was miniscule. Adam and Faith were able to sneak aboard without pulling their pulse gun again. They found a closet they could use as a home base since they did not have a room. It was in the middle of the ship.

For the next five days the three of them played cat and mouse. Faith figured that since they were on a boat they had him cornered, but Adam knew better. Christian Michael Thompson might not be able to jump to a different time, but he was still dangerous. The first four days he managed to kill seven people without a single witness.

It was now the early morning of the fifteenth of April. Adam's headset showed him he was on the criminals trail. They had six positive identifications on Christian, over the four previous days, but now they actually had him cornered. He had killed a couple and was staying in their room. It was a mid-level room near the side of the boat. The plan was to wait for him to come out for breakfast and stun him with the pulse gun. Simple but effective.

The pair got comfortable, leaning against the railing, and waited for breakfast time. This was not a good idea. Around 2 am the door burst open and Christian darted out of the room and down the deck. Adam took notice and pulled his pulse gun and ran after him. It took a few more seconds before Faith took chase.

Christian Michael Thompson knew he was being followed. He had a surprise for the Wardens. He pulled a disrupter grenade from a front pocket and activated it. The tiny LED lights began to blink and he brought it above his head.

From his vantage point Adam did not know what Christian was fooling with, but when he twisted and appeared to start to throw something, Adam shot. The blue flash of the beam shot from his gun and hit the criminal. There was a wave of blue that enveloped Christian. His momentum propelled him at the side of the boat. Without being able to catch himself he plummeted towards the water.

A loud clap echoed out over the water and then a massive explosion pierced the hull of the giant ship. Adam and Faith locked eyes as they recognized the sound. They bolted towards the side just in time to see the second explosion plow into the open hole of the now sinking ship.

"What does this mean?" Faith asked as she caught up to Adam.

"It means The Titanic sinks," Adam thought he fully answered the question before seeing her face, "The Titanic was supposed to make it to America. A few millionaires are on here and they were going to jump start the next industrial revolution."

"So this will change the future?" Faith asked

"Irreparably!"

"Are we going to get in trouble?" Faith asked another question.

"Definitely."