Conroe’s hand.
She screamed, pushing her leg muscles beyond their limits.
The wind blew even harder, threatening to blow them off their feet. They continued to push, leaning into the wind, into the blinding light.
Just when Crane thought his heart might explode from the stress, they fell out onto the grass.
They lay spent, looking up at a clear blue sky.
After he had caught his breath and regained his composure, Crane sat up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Conroe sat up and took both of his hands in hers. “I’ve got to tell you something.” Concern filled her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I really like you, Crane.”
“I really like you too.” Maybe she wanted him to kiss her—but that was nothing to be concerned about. He hadn’t kissed many girls, so he probably wasn’t very good at it, but…he leaned in.
“But I’ve been lying to you,” she said.
“Lying? No, you haven’t been lying —you just hadn’t told me yet. But I already knew anyway.”
“You knew what?”
“That you like me,” he replied.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“What then?”
“I tricked you. I told you I was taking you into a dream world.”
“Well, it was a very cool trick then,” he said, smiling and looking around.
“No, listen—this is not a dream world. We’re not dreaming.”
“Huh?”
“This is real,” she continued. “Everything you see is real.”
“Then where are we, and how did we get here?” he asked. “Wait—did you drug me or something?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that. This is…the future.”
“The future? ”
“Well, for you it is,” she said. “For me, it’s the present. I brought you here because I…fell in love with you while I was watching you grow up.”
“How did you watch me grow up? We just met. Wait—you’re in love with me?” He grinned.
“Yes. And I wanted you to come here and be with me in my world.”
“In your world…in the future? This isn’t the future, Conroe. It’s eighteenth-century England.”
“No, it just looks like eighteenth-century England. We’re in Texas.”
Crane began to feel dizzy.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“What year is it?”
“2521,” she answered.
He turned away and barfed on the grass.
“Oh, Crane, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you, but I just couldn’t think of any other way to get you here—to show you my world.”
“I don’t understand. Which part was real, and which part was a dream?”
“All of it was real,” she said. “As soon as you closed your eyes and relaxed, we went into transport mode.”
“ Transport mode? What the heck is that? What about the bridge and the Dream Tunnel? How could those be real? Every time we crossed the bridge, the thing fell apart, but then the next time it was back in its original state. How could that be real? And if it is real, I nearly died on that thing.”
“I don’t fully understand that part myself. I just know that it’s the only way to bring somebody here from another time.”
“But how did we go back so fast?” he asked. “We didn’t have to use the Dream Tunnel or the bridge to go back to my world.”
“That’s true—and I don’t know why. I didn’t invent the time travel computer—my great grandfather did. I found it in the cellar a few months ago. My great grandfather Harry was an inventor who lived in Conroe, Texas. He perfected time travel in the year 2037 and sent himself to the future—to the year 2400. He couldn’t wait to see how technology had progressed over the years. But what he found was shocking. The people didn’t even have electricity.”
“How did that happen?” he asked.
“That’s what Harry wanted to find out. So, he popped into various time periods to see what was happening, and he discovered war after war, with increasingly sophisticated weaponry that not only killed people and blew up buildings and roads and bridges, it also destroyed power grids, computer networks, and finally
She screamed, pushing her leg muscles beyond their limits.
The wind blew even harder, threatening to blow them off their feet. They continued to push, leaning into the wind, into the blinding light.
Just when Crane thought his heart might explode from the stress, they fell out onto the grass.
They lay spent, looking up at a clear blue sky.
After he had caught his breath and regained his composure, Crane sat up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Conroe sat up and took both of his hands in hers. “I’ve got to tell you something.” Concern filled her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I really like you, Crane.”
“I really like you too.” Maybe she wanted him to kiss her—but that was nothing to be concerned about. He hadn’t kissed many girls, so he probably wasn’t very good at it, but…he leaned in.
“But I’ve been lying to you,” she said.
“Lying? No, you haven’t been lying —you just hadn’t told me yet. But I already knew anyway.”
“You knew what?”
“That you like me,” he replied.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“What then?”
“I tricked you. I told you I was taking you into a dream world.”
“Well, it was a very cool trick then,” he said, smiling and looking around.
“No, listen—this is not a dream world. We’re not dreaming.”
“Huh?”
“This is real,” she continued. “Everything you see is real.”
“Then where are we, and how did we get here?” he asked. “Wait—did you drug me or something?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that. This is…the future.”
“The future? ”
“Well, for you it is,” she said. “For me, it’s the present. I brought you here because I…fell in love with you while I was watching you grow up.”
“How did you watch me grow up? We just met. Wait—you’re in love with me?” He grinned.
“Yes. And I wanted you to come here and be with me in my world.”
“In your world…in the future? This isn’t the future, Conroe. It’s eighteenth-century England.”
“No, it just looks like eighteenth-century England. We’re in Texas.”
Crane began to feel dizzy.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“What year is it?”
“2521,” she answered.
He turned away and barfed on the grass.
“Oh, Crane, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you, but I just couldn’t think of any other way to get you here—to show you my world.”
“I don’t understand. Which part was real, and which part was a dream?”
“All of it was real,” she said. “As soon as you closed your eyes and relaxed, we went into transport mode.”
“ Transport mode? What the heck is that? What about the bridge and the Dream Tunnel? How could those be real? Every time we crossed the bridge, the thing fell apart, but then the next time it was back in its original state. How could that be real? And if it is real, I nearly died on that thing.”
“I don’t fully understand that part myself. I just know that it’s the only way to bring somebody here from another time.”
“But how did we go back so fast?” he asked. “We didn’t have to use the Dream Tunnel or the bridge to go back to my world.”
“That’s true—and I don’t know why. I didn’t invent the time travel computer—my great grandfather did. I found it in the cellar a few months ago. My great grandfather Harry was an inventor who lived in Conroe, Texas. He perfected time travel in the year 2037 and sent himself to the future—to the year 2400. He couldn’t wait to see how technology had progressed over the years. But what he found was shocking. The people didn’t even have electricity.”
“How did that happen?” he asked.
“That’s what Harry wanted to find out. So, he popped into various time periods to see what was happening, and he discovered war after war, with increasingly sophisticated weaponry that not only killed people and blew up buildings and roads and bridges, it also destroyed power grids, computer networks, and finally
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