very wet, and very angry, large man appeared above the surface and shook his head like a dog that had been thrown in unexpectedly. He waded easily through the water, no match for his bulk and power.
He was huge, bigger than Dale had thought. He must have been seven feet at least, and it was all muscle. His black shoulder length hair was plastered to the sides of his face and the bushy beard dripped beads of water onto his chest, the man's shirt unbuttoned enough to reveal a mat of short, curly hair. His arms were even hairier, with muscles like bunches of ripe grapes bulging on forearms thick with writhing veins.
Now that is one hairy guy. Hairy and scary.
"Nice one," said Amanda accusingly.
"What? That's not my fault. Come on."
They scrambled to their feet and ran up the deserted beach, no time for Dale to open his satchel and retrieve the Hexad. Dale turned and the hairy giant was already out of the water and sprinting up the beach, water dripping from him like it too wanted to get away from his anger. He stumbled on a loose lace, and shouted as he fell onto his knees.
Dale took the opportunity and unbuckled his bag with nervous fingers, pulled out the Hexad and set it for another jump, trying to focus on the location and to land on solid ground. As he grabbed hold of Amanda, he panicked and wondered what would happen if they jumped and landed not above the ground but a little beneath it. There was a lot more to time travel than he'd ever considered, and he got the feeling that maybe it was best not to think about it too much. Heck, what happened if there was a passing cat right where you jumped to, would you end up with it inside you?
Dale's hand paused above the flashing dome of the Hexad, nerves getting the better of him.
"What are you waiting for? Press it," said Amanda, eyes wide with fright as the giant came thundering towards them again, brow creased in anger, jaw muscles clenching like he was grinding his teeth to dust just like he wanted to do to them.
Dale pressed down on the dome with his thumb; it blinked to 1 as they disappeared.
Really Bad News
75 Years Future
"Happy?"
"No," replied Amanda, running beside him.
At least we landed on our feet and started running right away; we're learning.
They sprinted down the steep hill, a stationary cable car halfway down, seemingly just abandoned. Dale knew they'd landed in the right location: San Francisco.
Stupid. Should have picked somewhere less hilly.
"No cats," offered Dale, hoping maybe that would cheer Amanda up.
She looked around, panting hard, almost tripping before Dale grabbed her at the elbow and then held her hand. They kept running.
"No cats, no people either. What year this time?"
"I set it for seventy five, just so we would know if it was like Venice. That all right?"
"Better, yes, but San Francisco?"
"I know. Next time no hills."
"Hmm."
Dale steered Amanda left at a junction and they ran down the middle of the road, no traffic at all, not a single vehicle moving. Cars were just parked, like nobody had bothered to go out to work or run errands, just staying at home and relaxing. Dale very much doubted that was the case though. The cars were strange too, designs he'd never seen before, with registrations that made no sense, so at least it meant that the world didn't end straight away back in their own time. Hopefully.
Where are all the people?
The street leveled out so they settled into a steady jog, both turning repeatedly to see if they were being chased yet — so far so good, they were alone. But too alone. Dale had a horrible feeling that the city's occupants were all watching from inside their homes, just observing the strange scene, no interest in participating. It was like a warped movie where people were viewing them as if on a TV screen, entertainment for the masses, nothing to do but stare.
It gave him the creeps, as if he wasn't in the real world, just a stage set on an epic scale, spanning
He was huge, bigger than Dale had thought. He must have been seven feet at least, and it was all muscle. His black shoulder length hair was plastered to the sides of his face and the bushy beard dripped beads of water onto his chest, the man's shirt unbuttoned enough to reveal a mat of short, curly hair. His arms were even hairier, with muscles like bunches of ripe grapes bulging on forearms thick with writhing veins.
Now that is one hairy guy. Hairy and scary.
"Nice one," said Amanda accusingly.
"What? That's not my fault. Come on."
They scrambled to their feet and ran up the deserted beach, no time for Dale to open his satchel and retrieve the Hexad. Dale turned and the hairy giant was already out of the water and sprinting up the beach, water dripping from him like it too wanted to get away from his anger. He stumbled on a loose lace, and shouted as he fell onto his knees.
Dale took the opportunity and unbuckled his bag with nervous fingers, pulled out the Hexad and set it for another jump, trying to focus on the location and to land on solid ground. As he grabbed hold of Amanda, he panicked and wondered what would happen if they jumped and landed not above the ground but a little beneath it. There was a lot more to time travel than he'd ever considered, and he got the feeling that maybe it was best not to think about it too much. Heck, what happened if there was a passing cat right where you jumped to, would you end up with it inside you?
Dale's hand paused above the flashing dome of the Hexad, nerves getting the better of him.
"What are you waiting for? Press it," said Amanda, eyes wide with fright as the giant came thundering towards them again, brow creased in anger, jaw muscles clenching like he was grinding his teeth to dust just like he wanted to do to them.
Dale pressed down on the dome with his thumb; it blinked to 1 as they disappeared.
Really Bad News
75 Years Future
"Happy?"
"No," replied Amanda, running beside him.
At least we landed on our feet and started running right away; we're learning.
They sprinted down the steep hill, a stationary cable car halfway down, seemingly just abandoned. Dale knew they'd landed in the right location: San Francisco.
Stupid. Should have picked somewhere less hilly.
"No cats," offered Dale, hoping maybe that would cheer Amanda up.
She looked around, panting hard, almost tripping before Dale grabbed her at the elbow and then held her hand. They kept running.
"No cats, no people either. What year this time?"
"I set it for seventy five, just so we would know if it was like Venice. That all right?"
"Better, yes, but San Francisco?"
"I know. Next time no hills."
"Hmm."
Dale steered Amanda left at a junction and they ran down the middle of the road, no traffic at all, not a single vehicle moving. Cars were just parked, like nobody had bothered to go out to work or run errands, just staying at home and relaxing. Dale very much doubted that was the case though. The cars were strange too, designs he'd never seen before, with registrations that made no sense, so at least it meant that the world didn't end straight away back in their own time. Hopefully.
Where are all the people?
The street leveled out so they settled into a steady jog, both turning repeatedly to see if they were being chased yet — so far so good, they were alone. But too alone. Dale had a horrible feeling that the city's occupants were all watching from inside their homes, just observing the strange scene, no interest in participating. It was like a warped movie where people were viewing them as if on a TV screen, entertainment for the masses, nothing to do but stare.
It gave him the creeps, as if he wasn't in the real world, just a stage set on an epic scale, spanning
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