Time Traveller. Epilogue. The Caches. The Portal

 - For heaven’s sake, man, how many of you are there, after all? Do you all look like this?

- We are a group of clones from the same original DNA. That’s why we look so much alike. We were thirteen… in principle…

- Oh, my sweet Lord!

The three friends looked at each other. Was History repeating itself… in the future? Or were they just playing it over and over again?

- What are these false ‘caches’, after all? They are certainly parts that match together, as far as we could find out.

The sudden change in the subject was more than welcome.

- Yes, they are. They are two parts of a single portal, placed separately, on purpose. They were not supposed to be used by anyone but the messenger… Me, in this case… They were left here for one specific purpose: the mission, I have come for, as you might have noticed already.

The three friends were not surprised at all. That conversation developed as an interesting series of mysteries unsolved, soon to be explained.

***

- The past, as well as the future, belong in where and when they are originally. They must neither be touched, nor changed, in any way. That’s a sacred rule and ought to be respected, above everything and all other existing laws, otherwise an unlimited chaos is the result. When there is a risk that this decree is being broken, the only way to interfere is to use a subterfuge.

- Oblivion…

- That’s correct. And then the portal to that opportunity is closed, so it will never arise or open again.

- How?

- It is completely destroyed at once.

- But there can be others…

- Time portals are not open unless there is a reason… And only the council and the Supreme can authorize the creation and opening of a new one. There must be a very good reason to come back to the past and the traveller must always come back using the same means.

- And there is a reason, right now, I guess.

- Yes. There is a reason… a good reason…

Anticipation was stamped on the three men’s faces. The traveller looked straight at the pale skinned man.

- There is a very good reason, indeed!

***

- I was sent here, by the scientists, to look for and take you back to the future, where you really belong in. It was not easy to find you, as I thought it would be when I arrived…  I have left some clues, but they’ve never been used. It seems, however, that someone else might have found them and started looking for the pieces that were prudently placed apart from each other.

- I read a post that there was supposedly a false geocache in the lighthouse…

- And I saw the one about the mill.

- Someone else must have read about them and wanted to verify what they were all about.

- I don’t think it was an innocent search. These people know what they are looking for.

- And that is…?

- Let’s get out of here. I’ll explain everything on the way.

***

- When you were sent back to the past, there was… there will be… whatever… a rumour about your presence there. Some say you’ve saved the future of humanity, some say you brought a critical suspicion about the intentions our Supreme Chief had about the planet itself.

- Maybe both things…

The man with pale skin spoke with a tone of voice that was very grave.

- And what do they say about the vaccine?

- The vaccine works well. Everything is under control.

- Well, it seems the voyage was worthwhile, after all.

- It looks like it, indeed.

The young man wearing glasses looked at the three men. He caught a glimpse of a strange gaze amongst the other three men. They did not seem to be very comfortable with the subject.

- What was that?

- What do you mean? What was what?

- You three are hiding something from me, aren’t you? What happened?

The stranger looked at the friends, as if waiting for a clue on what to say.

- He knows about the use of Oblivion and that it was obviously an ingredient added in the capsule before he was sent back to your past, that is, our present.

- Then it’s more than time for the truth.

***

- But why?

- They sensed you were going to break the most sacred universal rule.

- Did I do anything wrong?

- Not really. You just told Leona that the Supreme would explode the planet.

- Oh. And does it make any sense? Would he do something like that?

- Not likely, I guess. He cannot do that without the approval of the whole council.

The pale skinned man and the young man spoke at the same time:

- But he will!

- What?

- He will definitely destroy the planet.

- When? Why? How will he do that and how can you be so sure?

- That was how I landed here in this time and space, in a capsule that was sent on a trip back to the past, at the moment the planet exploded. He sent me here… And I did not come here alone…

***

- What do these people want?

- They are evil, rich and they control one of the most powerful Pharmaceutical Industries that  rule over the present and probably the future of mankind. They killed the other passenger. If they get access to the portal, they will have even more power and they can change the things in the future and past… or at any time… They would transform this world in complete chaos.

- We need to act immediately. We will be protected in the woods…

- So, what is the plan?

- We need to reach the facilities before the Supreme gets what he wants. Otherwise we will be lost in the middle of nothing, as well as the planet, which will be completely blown to ashes and cosmic dust.

- What if we get there too late?

- They are waiting for us. It will not be too late… Maybe late, but not too late… We got to talk to Leona, or her father… or both…

- First the scientists… Leona used the Oblivion against him, remember?

He pointed to the man wearing glasses.

- She is too faithful to the Supreme… she must be convinced first, and we have little time.

- What if you fail?

- Then our fate is sealed. But we must try. It is our only chance.

The four men got into the woods and found a small clearing where they put the two parts of the portal together and, with a key that was brought by the traveller, a curious door opened, as if by magic. The difference was that the magic was pure science, not yet available in the present time. That technology in the wrong hands would be a disaster to the world.

The two clones, similar in appearance and purpose, turned to the two young men and got ready to depart.

- We have little time. We better go. You will be OK.

The sound of a car stopping and the quick steps running closer put everyone in state of alert.

- Quick. Go!

They made it to the portal, running and without a proper goodbye. The gateway closed immediately as they crossed it. The young men ran away to the opposite direction, hidden by the trees and grasses, while two men dressed in black got to the clearing a fraction of a second too late.

- Fuck! We missed it! We are in big, big trouble now! The director is going to kill us.

- Let’s go back! We must report it immediately!

***

- Do you think they got there in time?

- I guess we will never know, will we?

- Probably not. I would like to think they fixed the things properly.

- Not an easy task, however… but worth the try…

- What do we do now?

- We go back home… There is nothing we can do about those things anymore… I read about a cache hidden in the other lighthouse… we must stop there and check it.

The young man wearing glasses opened his eyes wide.

- You must be kidding me! I want to be away from caches…for a time… Let’s just go back home!

The two men got in the Jeep. The night was falling slowly. The red light flickered in the lighthouse, when they drove past, as if blinking invitingly to them.

***