CHRONOVORE 1

Hello, people of God. So, I haven’t tried my hands on Sci-Fi before, especially one of Nigerian setting, but recently, I was inspired to write two short stories based on Time travel. This one, Chronovore, is the first one.

I’ll update in series, and we’ll see how it goes from there. Are you ready?

December 23rd, 2013. 09:00 am

National Metaphysics Department (NMD) Lab: Room 5

The clock on the mantle struck nine, followed by a loud clang that jolted the quiet man from his task. Yelping at the sudden disruption, he dropped the metal clamp he was holding and it landed on a naked foot.

“Ow!” He raised the offending leg, limping away from his workbench.

He wore black jeans, a cream sweater, and a clean lab coat. His shoeless feet were a contrast to his covered frame and the haphazardly scattered laboratory. The tables were covered in tiny metallic pieces while the lights kept fluctuating. The only stable source of illumination came from a bright green tube standing upright in the middle of the lab.

The man adjusted his glasses when a frazzled woman rushed into the lab in her blue jeans and buttoned white shirt. She was equally barefooted and some of her braids had fallen out of the bun they were in.

“Is he back?” His baritone voice asked.

She nodded, while his lazy left eye followed the movement of her hand when she brought out a small shiny object from her pocket.

He smiled.

“You found it?”

“Hurry” She threw it at him and he caught it against his chest. “Doctor Osakpolor will be here soon. He knows I have taken the timepiece.”

“Thank you, Sarah. You have just taken a huge risk for me.” The man, Maximus Okoro said.

He began to walk briskly towards the big green tube while caressing the shiny object in his palm. It was a pocket watch. The intricately designed outer casing was made of polished gold, adorned with delicate engravings while the interior was a contrasting hue of vivid blue, complementing golden Roman numerals etched into the surface.

A humming sound came on as soon as he got to the tube and switched it on. The whole room became encased in brighter green light, while the watch in Max’s hand began to ring.

“We need to go now!” Sarah exclaimed when a loud banging sound could be heard on the door.

She ran into the opened tube, looking expectantly at a quiet Maximus.

“Doctor Okoro, if we don’t leave now, we will never be able to show them what Chron can do, and all our struggles would have been for naught.”

Still staring at the ringing object in his palm, Max remained transfixed to his spot. “I know that, but I just wished they could witness this glorious moment. Chron will do what Chronovore couldn’t do. What they laughed at me for. What they said…”

“Doctor Okoro!” Sarah shouted following another loud bang. “Now!”

“Ha yes, sorry Sarah.”

Maximus began to twist the dial of the pocket watch, and at the same time, swirls of what appeared to be different locations began to appear on the walls of the transparent tube. As soon as he stepped into the tube, it closed up, locking him and Sarah into what now looked like a loop of endless space. Pictures of locations, familiar and unfamiliar continued swirling around them.

“Haaa!” Maximus screamed in pain when something smashed into his head.

He collapsed to the floor, dropping the watch in the process and smashing its glass. Max’s sight was becoming blurry but he could see a familiar hand picking up the shiny object that had been in his grasp a moment before. As his sight and consciousness finally faded to black, he could remember seeing a pair of bare dainty feet walking away from his hunched form.

December 23rd, 2023. 09:00 am

St. Mary’s Chapel, Akure.

“Do you think he’s dead?”

“No, he moved just now.”

“Maybe we should call the soldiers?”

“No, alert the Reverend. He’s probably a robbery victim.”

“Yes, I can see the blood in his hair. Maybe they hit him there before robbing him.”

The conversation continued, but it wasn’t all Maximus could hear. Horns of vehicles signifying a busy highway was nearby filtered into his hearing. He wondered who had been a victim of the robbery the two female voices were talking about.

He tried to open his eyes, but the shocking brightness made him shut them back. A searing headache racked him, but he opened them again.

He was lying on the ground.

In shock, he scrambled off the ground, his joints, and headache protesting at the sudden onslaught of movements. He was still barefooted and he was still in his jeans and sweater, although his lab coat was now missing.

Two young women holding brooms stared at him with mouths hanging open, in expressions akin to shock and fear. He deduced them to be the ones talking about him earlier.

He looked around him, wondering how he got to be in a church compound. The building looked new, and the dry trees and air told him it was still Harmattan. He was certainly not in NMD, and Sarah wasn’t there.

Sarah! The thought hit him like a brick, his heart suddenly felt too big for its ribcage, his lungs couldn’t pump in air fast enough, and his eyes began to water. He placed a hand on his chest, trying to force lumps of air into his trachea.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” One of the women asked.

The other one dropped her broom and began to run towards the back of the church. “I’m going to get the Reverend.”

Maximus raised his head to look at the young woman. She was dressed in grey overalls like her counterpart, and she appeared to be frightened of him. He knew his experiment had been successful, but he wasn’t sure how successful it was.