There Comes a Time

There Comes a Time-3

THE SECOND TIME THEY sent her she had two hours. A pig, a dog and a monkey had survived four hours in the future, so there was no reason to suppose a human wouldn't survive half that, they had reasoned and she had agreed. Caris sat down to be transported. The last thing she saw was Lieutenant Merritt's face through the observation screen. He looked anxious, poor guy. Anyone would think it was him travelling into the future. Then came the dizziness and blurred vision.

The Stockbridge of fifty years hence surrounded Caris. It was a wrecked town. The buildings that were still standing were advanced in the process of disintegration. Weeds and saplings opened wide cracks in the sidewalk and roads. Concluding it wouldn't be safe to enter any buildings, as they all seemed in a state of imminent collapse, she leaned in through the windows. Rats scuttled away at her approach.

Apart from the rats, the place seemed devoid of life. It was silent and nothing moved in the streets. Caris walked to the places she knew, the sun hot on her skin. The sports stadium was a shell and the shopping center had clearly at some point collapsed in spectacular fashion. Now it was little more than a heap of concrete blocks, glass, rusting girders and dust. She remembered a small post office a few blocks downtown and headed there.

What remained of the post office was in no firmer state than the other buildings, but Caris had to risk entering it if she wanted to try and find out what had happened. Piles of yellowed, decaying papers covered the floor. Letters, postcards, bills, advertising. She dug down to reach less weathered paper on the lower layers, but they were sodden mush. The print on the papers on top was so worn and rain-damaged it was illegible. Caris lifted telephone receivers and listened to the silence. The computer screens were dead and cracked, the wiring rotten.

Caris estimated she had about forty-five minutes left. Enough time to get to the government buildings if she ran. Her orders were to bring back information on future technologies and survey the broader aspects of civilian life. If there was anyone left at all, they could be there. She ran through the empty streets, the sound of her footsteps echoing from the vacant, desolate buildings. A faint tingle of unease ran down her spine. The absence of life intruded into her senses, and the hairs rose on her neck. The empty windows seemed full of eyes, watching her. What had happened to all the people? Where had they gone? The derelict buildings seemed to be burgeoning with their ghosts, willing her to find out.

Caris stopped, resting her hands on her knees. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She stood straight and looked around at the buildings, willing the illusion away. Closing their eyes, the ghosts retreated.

In another five minutes she was at the central offices. The wide glass doors had shattered and glass crumbs adorned the grassy weeds growing through the sidewalk. Placing her bare feet carefully, Caris stepped inside. The ground floor had retained its ceiling, and the interior was dark. Caris waited a moment to allow her eyes to adjust, but she knew she had only a few minutes left. Squinting into the shadows, she walked through the reception area. Her foot caught, and she stumbled. Turning back to see what had tripped her, she gasped. Rotten clothes hung from a skeleton. She stood, and swiveled, surveying the room. Similar heaps were scattered across it. Bones and skulls, yellowed and stained, made disorganized piles on the floor. Caris' hackles rose as she felt herself grabbed back.

After the vomiting came oblivion.

***