Knock Knock (A Tempus Rock short)

This was written in response to MidWeek Flash Challenge No. 319 the final prompt! Please head over to Miranda’s blog to see the picture that inspired this short and to see her work and previous prompts. I shall be going back and using some of the older prompts but thank you to Miranda for having run this for so long!

‘Have you looked out the window?’ While wandered into the main bar area where Tobias was sat scribbling notes on his latest report.

‘In general, or today?’ He answered without looking up.

‘Toby.’ While sounded impatient. Which didn’t bother Tobias too much as that accounted for about eighty percent of the time. The other twenty was spent mocking him. Tobias thought for a second, probably more like sixty, forty. ‘I’m serious.’

‘Not today While, no, as every time you look out of a window here you see the same thing. Nothing. There is nothing outside Tempus Rock.’

‘Oh, okay then, I’ll just ignore the big swirling lights then.’ He lumped down into a wingback chair and grabbed the nearest paper, flipping through the pages far too quickly to be reading anything. Tobias just stared at the cover of the paper. Eventually, While peered over the top of the page at him and disappeared back behind it.

Tobias slammed his pencil down on the table. ‘This is some prank isn’t it? There’s nothing there While, nothing.’

‘If you say so Toby.’ While ripped across another page. ‘Must just be seeing things.’

‘Fine. Fine, I’ll look.’ Tobias got to his feet and stomped over to the window in the far corner of the bar. He pulled back the red velvet curtain; they were aways drawn as looking out into abject darkness didn’t do much for one’s spirits. He blinked. Then he let the curtain drop. ‘How have you done that?’

‘Excuse me?’ While closed the paper and threw it down gracelessly. ‘I’m flattered you credit me with the skills to pull that off. But no, not guilty.’

‘You said that when you landed us in that weird marshland and made me believe we were on an alien planet.’

‘Fair point.’

‘And when you paid that woman…’

‘Ok, so in the past, I may have pulled one over you but this, is definitely not me.’ While’s eyes narrowed. ‘Where’s Cantarell?’

‘He’s over…’ Tobias pointed to the bar where he could have sworn the giant man had been just before While walked in.

‘Well, that’s not a good sign is it.’ While huffed and stood up, wandering behind the bar to try the door to the back rooms. It was locked. The other agent turned back to his partner, folding his arms over his chest and his shirt that not only didn’t have any kind of necktie with it, but had the top button at the neck undone. Tobias really couldn’t understand his futuristic fashions. ‘You do know whose signature this has though, don’t you?’

‘This doesn’t look like the wormhole she conjured up before.’ Tobias shook his head, unconvinced their boss was behind this.

‘Well, it can’t be a multiverse.’

Tobias stared at him.

‘Well, it can’t.’

‘I know, what I don’t understand is how you know.’

‘I watched the Marvel films.’

‘What are you on about?’ A flash seemed to flare form beyond the curtains so Tobias had another peer. It was as if the sun had suddenly appeared in their endless night and it was spinning, sending out tendrils of light in a spiral.

‘Of course, what if we’re not the only creatures in space that discovered time travel?’

Tobias let the curtain drop. ‘Aliens again, are you quite mad Sir?’

‘Just saying.’

‘If another species in the universe was advanced enough for time travel, they would have already done it and we’d know.’

‘Except we’re outside time, which could be linear in the grand scheme of things, the one place you can’t go to a previous point in? I mean we never come here and see ourselves. Do we?’

Tobias shook his head, ‘You don’t understand it’s…’ Then he stopped as he desperately tried to find a flaw with what he’d just said. ‘Dear gods.’

‘Hello?’ The voice came from outside.

‘Oh heavens, you’re right, aliens! Why do these things only happen around us!’

While wandered over to the window. ‘Aliens, that speak English?’

‘Perhaps.’ While hooked a finger around the curtain just opening up a crack. ‘Well, I was half right.’

‘The Minister?’

‘No,’ While shook his head and went to sit back on his chair. ‘One of the other clones. And I don’t want to know.’

‘Oh, it’s not her, is it?’ Tobias peered again and saw a small blonde girl standing on a disc of light. His shoulders sagged as she caught sight of the movement and waved.