“Uh-uh. First you have to promise me that you’re past trying to run away.”
I’m Annum Guard now. Annum Guard. An organization I’ve never heard of. I have to come to grips with the fact that time travel might be possible. I think. Ugh, I don’t know what to think. But one thing I do know is that Alpha is stronger than me and clearly has more combat training, so I’d be foolish to try to take him in a fight again.
“We’re past it,” I say.
Alpha’s hand reaches down again, and this time I take it. He pulls me to my feet. “Glad to hear it. Now you need to project again.”
My head snaps back. “I need to . . . what?”
Alpha takes hold of the watch hanging around my neck. “You’re not in the present.”
I blink. “How . . . I don’t . . .”
“When you go back in time, you lose time in the present day. If you go back twenty-five years, two minutes pass in the present for every one minute you’re gone. The further back you go, the more time passes. Ever heard of a Fibonacci sequence? It works like that.”
I try to process what he’s telling me. I don’t even know if I believe him.
“For instance,” Alpha continues, “you go back four hundred years, and every minute you spend there passes nearly two days in the present.”
My mouth drops open. I don’t mean for it to. It’s betraying nearly everything I was taught in Practical Studies about keeping my cool.
Alpha clears his throat and presses on the top knob of the watch. The lid pops open, and Alpha presses the top knob again. The dials fly around the watch six times.
“For future reference,” Alpha says, “whenever you need to get back to the present, just press on the top knob when the lid is open. It will automatically take you to the present. You’re about six hours behind, in case you were wondering.”
“What—”
Before I can finish the thought, Alpha pushes me backward into the black room and shuts the watch face lid. I’m sucked up again, and I choke from the shock. But only a second later I land in a heap on the same metal railing.
Alpha’s hand extends in front of my face. “We still past it?” he asks.
I think I’m going to throw up. The grate below me starts to swirl. “Past it,” I say.
Alpha yanks me up, and I follow him back into the too-bright hallway. He stops outside a door at the other end and enters a code, then turns the handle and cracks open the door an inch. He looks back at me.
“Are you ready to serve your country in a way you never thought possible?”
When he says that, the hair on my arms stands on end. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m more exhausted than I have ever been, or that it’s only about sixty degrees in this hallway, or that, maybe deep down, there’s a tiny little part of me hoping Annum Guard is for real. That there’s a secret government organization with the ability to time travel. And that they want me.
I nod my head.
Alpha opens the door and gestures me inside. The first thing I notice is the green-striped dress. That bitch who was tailing me is here. She’s taken off the hat and let down her hair. She has pale-blond locks that spiral in curls around her face, and she might actually be pretty if not for the look on her face. It’s the look you might get if someone was holding a bag of dog crap under your nose. I don’t like this chick. I don’t know anything about her, but a girl just has an intuition about these things. She’s not going to like me, and I’m not going to like her. End of story.
She’s standing off to the side of the room whispering with the guy who was tailing me before. He’s smiling at me, but it doesn’t annoy me like it did back in 1874. The smile is . . . friendly. Relaxed. But still I don’t return it. Not yet.
There’s a long table at the front of the room with two people seated behind it and an empty seat in the middle. One chair is set front and center before the table, and another row of chairs sits
I’m Annum Guard now. Annum Guard. An organization I’ve never heard of. I have to come to grips with the fact that time travel might be possible. I think. Ugh, I don’t know what to think. But one thing I do know is that Alpha is stronger than me and clearly has more combat training, so I’d be foolish to try to take him in a fight again.
“We’re past it,” I say.
Alpha’s hand reaches down again, and this time I take it. He pulls me to my feet. “Glad to hear it. Now you need to project again.”
My head snaps back. “I need to . . . what?”
Alpha takes hold of the watch hanging around my neck. “You’re not in the present.”
I blink. “How . . . I don’t . . .”
“When you go back in time, you lose time in the present day. If you go back twenty-five years, two minutes pass in the present for every one minute you’re gone. The further back you go, the more time passes. Ever heard of a Fibonacci sequence? It works like that.”
I try to process what he’s telling me. I don’t even know if I believe him.
“For instance,” Alpha continues, “you go back four hundred years, and every minute you spend there passes nearly two days in the present.”
My mouth drops open. I don’t mean for it to. It’s betraying nearly everything I was taught in Practical Studies about keeping my cool.
Alpha clears his throat and presses on the top knob of the watch. The lid pops open, and Alpha presses the top knob again. The dials fly around the watch six times.
“For future reference,” Alpha says, “whenever you need to get back to the present, just press on the top knob when the lid is open. It will automatically take you to the present. You’re about six hours behind, in case you were wondering.”
“What—”
Before I can finish the thought, Alpha pushes me backward into the black room and shuts the watch face lid. I’m sucked up again, and I choke from the shock. But only a second later I land in a heap on the same metal railing.
Alpha’s hand extends in front of my face. “We still past it?” he asks.
I think I’m going to throw up. The grate below me starts to swirl. “Past it,” I say.
Alpha yanks me up, and I follow him back into the too-bright hallway. He stops outside a door at the other end and enters a code, then turns the handle and cracks open the door an inch. He looks back at me.
“Are you ready to serve your country in a way you never thought possible?”
When he says that, the hair on my arms stands on end. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m more exhausted than I have ever been, or that it’s only about sixty degrees in this hallway, or that, maybe deep down, there’s a tiny little part of me hoping Annum Guard is for real. That there’s a secret government organization with the ability to time travel. And that they want me.
I nod my head.
Alpha opens the door and gestures me inside. The first thing I notice is the green-striped dress. That bitch who was tailing me is here. She’s taken off the hat and let down her hair. She has pale-blond locks that spiral in curls around her face, and she might actually be pretty if not for the look on her face. It’s the look you might get if someone was holding a bag of dog crap under your nose. I don’t like this chick. I don’t know anything about her, but a girl just has an intuition about these things. She’s not going to like me, and I’m not going to like her. End of story.
She’s standing off to the side of the room whispering with the guy who was tailing me before. He’s smiling at me, but it doesn’t annoy me like it did back in 1874. The smile is . . . friendly. Relaxed. But still I don’t return it. Not yet.
There’s a long table at the front of the room with two people seated behind it and an empty seat in the middle. One chair is set front and center before the table, and another row of chairs sits
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