Anna's Ether - Chapter 10 - The Illusion of Time
Anna's Ether - Chapter 10
William woke up early on Christmas eve day. From the window of his rented room on the edge of London, he scanned a beautiful, postcard perfect winter day. Pulling a pocket watch from his jacket, he carefully wound it. The beauty of the Christmas season and the tranquil scene outside his window quickly faded to dark gray as he looked at his watch. Tonight is the night Anna dies, again, he thought.
He quickly made his way down the stairs and made his way through the slums of East London. A Salvation Army worker stood on the corner, William reached into his pocket and placed most of the change from the gold sovereign into his hand, which amounted to a rather large sum of money. The man profusely thanked him and wished him a Merry Christmas as William continued to walk briskly down the street. At the moment, William had no use for money, the only thing he wanted was that confounded machine before it was too late to bring Anna back.
Pritchett's house was now in sight just down the snow-covered street. Williams paused to check his watch. 2:45 in the afternoon, he must be home by now, William hoped. He crossed the street and hurriedly knocked on the door. The Housemaid, Mrs. Walsh answered. "Good day Mrs. Walsh, would Master Pritchett be in?" William asked. "Sorry Mr. Sinclair, I expect the snow may have delayed him." She said. He pulled out a calling card and wrote his address on the back along with, "Urgent that I see you today, William Sinclair." He handed the card to Mrs. Walsh and asked her to keep his visits between themselves. He checked his watch before heading back to the East end. the only thing he could do now was to return to his room and wait for Mr. Prichett to show up... if indeed he would. Only six more hours until Anna would die in "the other" William's arms.
William sat in front of the window watching children play in the snow. A horse and carriage went past with two young lovers gazing into each other's eyes. Anna! His heart cried out for her with a force that felt like it might render him in two. Every time he checked the watch, a stabbing pain pierced deep into his soul. She would die in two hours if he could not get her to the device, wherever it may be. It was growing darker now. William grabbed his coat and decided to pace out front and watch for Mr. Prichett.
William calculated that, depending on where his machine was, he needed a good hour from the moment Mr. Pritchett showed up, to bring Anna to the machine in time. That window was fast approaching as the night grew darker. Around the corner, William heard a young man pleading for help. When he instinctively went around the corner to investigate, another young man came up behind him, pushing a gun into his back. The "victim" got up and tied William's hands and ankles with rope and pushed him to the ground. The young men quickly searched his pockets, took what little money he still had, and disappeared into the blackness.
Now William was the one pleading for help in the dark. After what seemed like ages, a gentleman came along and untied him. He reached into his pocket for his watch, but it, along with what little money he had left, was gone. He tromped through the snow and when he turned the corner, he could make out a man just leaving the rooms. When he got closer, he recognized the man as his Landlord, Mr. Pritchett.
"Mr. Prichett!" William shouted. "Is that you Mr. Sinclair?" Pritchett answered. William only had one thing on his mind, "Do you have the time, Sir?" It seemed an unusual way to greet the landlord one had skipped out on, but Prichett checked his pocket watch and replied, "9:46 pm" William hung his head and stood still for a moment. "William, I was sent here by your friends." William looked up and saw an excitement in Pritchett's eyes that was uncharacteristic of the old Landlord's usual dour demeanor. "Friends, what friends?" William asked. "From the military base... from the future!" Prichett exclaimed, his eyes now wild with excitement.
The men went up to Williams room and Prichett explained how he had taken the time machine to his storage building and was trying to sell it along with the rest of the contents of William's office. He assumed it was some sort of photography device and thought it might be easier to sell if he had some examples from it. "I ended up not far from where Nigel found you in the snow. They informed me how fortunate I was to be found by them and not Martin's men." Prichett said. "Can you bring me to the device?" William asked. "Yes, of course. You must go back to the base and try again." Prichett replied.
Prichett unlocked the warehouse doors where he had stored William's belongings. The machine was at the back of the room along with a few boxes full of Williams belongings that Mr. Prichett had confiscated. William noticed a silhouette on the opposite wall that looked a lot like Mr. Prichett. "Did the device do this?" William asked. "I suppose so, noticed it upon my return. There was one at your office as well... of you, I presume." Pritchett replied. He went on to explain that William was to use the device to return at midnight. Nigel would be waiting where they found Mr. Prichett, pick William up and bring him back to the Channel Island base.
I hope you're enjoying this short story so far... I've decided to remove it from Amazon until I come up with a better ending :)