Shorter Adventures Into Time: Supplemental Diary Entry 1

From Shorter Adventures Into Time

Why You Should Never Have Lunch In A Lonely Coffee Shop

I remember in the first few awkward months after the accident happened. My family called it a miracle from God and they didn't know how close they were. My friends were just glad that I had lived and couldn't wait for life to restart. My ex-teachers were all hoping that I wouldn't have to come back to finish my last year of high school. All of the blessings and prayers and stuff was great but really started to conflict with my religious beliefs. To my family and a few teachers I was still a Catholic and to my friends and most teachers I was still an atheist. But John was starting to remember the crash and I couldn't let him do that.

No. Of course I didn't kill him. I was tempted to but I didn't. I should have been more specific about what I didn't want him to do. I didn't want him to go through the pain of remembering or passing the information to doctors along the way. They either would have deemed him insane or gotten the government involved. The last thing the MIIA needs is a bunch of agents pointing guns at us when they can't even shoot straight.

So on the first day he was realeased, I chose a coffee shop we had gone to many times before. It was crowded enough, that no one would shoot me but quiet enough so our conversations wouldn't be heard. I've inserted memories before but never to people whose health was well. Yes I gave my knowledge of the universe to Adam, Mike, Luck, and Gabe but they were already half dead when I made the decision.

Our conversation drifted from place to place but never landed on the accident. I was glad for this. I needed as long as possible to build up my confidence. I wasn't sure how much I should share, I was after all trying to avoid as much pain as possible. He didn't know what happened to me the first time. He didn't know of the pain as I was crushed and then slowly pieced back together like a puzzle. He was also spared from knowing how painful it is to first destroy everything that has ever existed and then re-create it.

Our simple chatting continued on until interupted by gunfire. Yes I said gunfire. This is New York City after all. John made no mention of it other than a joke.

"Perhaps the mob is after us."

An extremely normal human joke I didn't realize at the time.

"I wouldn't doubt if they were on my tail."

Perhaps this was the wrong response but his simple mind caught it as a joke.

"Why what did you do?"

This was the point I realized the joking tone had turned serious. In the exact second of laughter, I had touched his palm, transferring the info he needed to survive.

The coffee shop stopped breathing for a minute and then the silence was surrounded by gunfire and a door being kicked in. Turns out it wasn't the mob but the FBI. My friend continued to stare at two objects- myself and the group of FBI agents holding rifles.

Booths turn out to be really useful because you can hide and easily teleport while sitting there. I pulled a small pocket watch out of my pocket and placed it in his palm. I waited for the rush of air and counted down the seconds before the agents spotted us.

Their questions to the patrons were fairly regular.

"Have you seen this person?" or "Does this woman look familiar to you?"

I didn't dare look up as they continued around the restaraunt. I saw an young lady look to the agent and then stare me in the eye. This wasn't the time for a watch to be malfunctioning.

Then there was some bullets as the tornado formed around us and I'm pretty sure the lead agent hit someone. Those guys are really careless with their ammunition.

Finally we were out on the street.  But it was unfortunately the strong street, in the wrong city, in the wrong time.  The watch read out to me Chicago, 1929.  And I looked up to find another gun pointed at my head.