The Millisecond Men Part 7: Time Waits For One Man

I know it's been a while, but here is the conclusion to THE MILLISECOND MEN, my little act of improv sci-fi writing.

THE MILLISECOND MEN
Part 7: Time Waits For One Man
by
D.R. MacMaster

"You know where the Stone of Time is?" asked Quo Vida.

"Yes," answered Bob. "It's at the old make-out spot about a half mile east of here."

"Hmmm," said Quid Civitas, the ghost in the alien's machine, "But the Treskarians went west."

"It could be some sort of distortion in their temporal scanning devices," said Quo Vida.

"Or they could be just stupid," said Bob. "Let's take advantage of the situation and save the universe."

"I'll wait here," said Quid Civitas, "what with me being dead and all."

"Let's go," said Quo Vida to Bob, but then she paused and turned to the hologram of her dead colleague. "And when this is done, I'm going to go back in time and kick some sense into your head when you were alive and stop you from starting this mess."

***

"Can you do that?" asked Bob as he and Quo Vida ran across the high school's football field. Since everything and everyone around them had been frozen in time and space, he wasn't really bothered anymore by being out in public in his pajamas and housecoat.

"Do what?" asked Quo Vida, running a good clip despite her impractical looking purple high-heeled boots.

"Go back in time and prevent this from happening?"

"That's what Quantum Agents do," said Quo Vida. "Though we are only allowed to directly interfere when someone, like the Treskarians, tamper with the timeline."

"Cool," said Bob.

"Where's the Stone of Time?" asked Quo Vida.

"Over there," said Bob, "behind the bleachers."

The pair ran around the bleachers until the both stood before a massive slab of stone.

Quo Vida took out her Does-All and scanned the edifice.

"This is it," said Quo Vida, "it's the stone of time... oh?"

"What's the 'oh' for?"

"I now know why you weren't frozen in time like everyone else," said Quo Vida.

"I'm full of tachyons," said Bob resting his hand on the ancient stone, "you explained that."

"But I couldn't explain why you're full of tachyons," replied Quo Vida. "Now I can."

"Why?"

"You were conceived on this rock," said Quo Vida, pocketing her Does-All. Bob retracted his hand.

"One word," said Bob, "eeeewww."

"Well," said Quo Vida, "there's only one thing we can do to set everything right. We have to destroy it."

Bob drew the Treskarian pistol. "I guess it's good that I brought this."

"Threeble!" screamed a high pitched voice behind them.

Bob and Quo Vida spun around to see the remaining Treskarians, weapons drawn, staring at them with their blank masked faces. The center Treskarian was holding some sort of glowing staff in his hand.

"Oh crap," said Bob, pulling the trigger on the strange looking weapon.

It was then he realized that he was holding it wrong again.

A brilliant orange flash went right by his head and struck the Stone of Time directly in the center. There wasn't a roar of destruction, but rather a strangely anti-climactic popping sound. Then a ring of white light shot out from the stone.

The Treskarians collapsed, first their flesh and bones turned to ancient dust, then their spacesuits began to rust and crumble.

"What's happening?" asked Bob.

"The time stream is going back to normal," said Quo Vida, "you did it. You saved the universe."

"I got to get home," said Bob.

***

Bob shook the dust from the alien vessel, now decayed into a flaky green dust, of his father's shotgun and put it back in the closet. Although things still looked frozen to him, time was passing, and quickly for some people.

By the time they returned to the Treskarian ship, it was a pile of rust and the alien that once menaced them was now only dust. Only the shotgun remained unchanged.

Bob ran to the kitchen, pulled a cup from the shelf and crouched down beside the blob of coffee that still hung in the air, though a millimeter lower than when he left it.

"One...two... three..." said Bob, and the coffee splashed into the cup.

The sound of cars passing outside, and the shower running upstairs returned.

Time, and the universe were now safe, thanks to Bob.

Bob took a swig of coffee. It all seemed like a strange dream now, and with the passing of just a second, all trace of the alien attack, and his heroism vanished.

Footsteps came down the stairs.

"Is the coffee ready honey?" asked Jennifer, in her bathrobe.

"Yep," said Bob, pouring her a cup.

"What's that in your pocket?" asked Jennifer.

Bob looked down, sticking out of his housecoat pocket was the Treskarian pistol. It was then that he realized that it had somehow survived the transition, probably due to that tachyon thing Quo Vida talked about.

"This?" said Bob. "Well, it's a bit of a peculiar story..."

THE END