So as it turns out, time travel is a completely plausible thing.
Luka didn't really care for the specifics, and why should she? This wasn't her field of study and if you tried to bring up the subject of how this was possible in the first place, Luka would swear that she could hear the faint sound of static. You could throw whatever kind of quantum-psychic bullfuckery you wanted at her; none of it would stick. She wasn't exactly the pioneer of the future.
This was more of her mom's area of expertise, and good on her for that. Luka would be a liar if she said she wasn't interested in the concept of time travel; she had always wanted to know what it would feel like, what it would look like, and what the world would be and what it was. But knowing how it would work less than interested her. Knowing the ins-and-outs was something that maybe some people would get enjoyment out of, and Luka's dear old mom did in fact enjoy the details. Her mother was the lead researcher on this project and whenever she was home long enough to have dinner, it was all she ever talked about (aside from the unprofessional antics pulled by some of her peers on their off time). Good stuff, bad stuff, the inevitable and horribly confusing stuff. Luka did her best to try and follow, but after a while it became clear to even her mom that nobody really knew what she was talking about.
"Hey Luka, are you just about done up there?"
Luka turned her head towards the source of the sound. That was right, mom and her research team finally had something to show for their years slaving away in a lab. They had already built the very first prototype for their time machine. It was a huge clunky device that was so heavy, enough so that other groups of researchers and scientists would have to come over to their lab rather than bringing it over. There was going to be a reveal to a small portion of the public today, which also included Luka and the rest of her family. Mostly because her mom was stubborn about the whole thing, insisting that her family was allowed to see all of her hard work come to fruition.
"Yeah dad, I'll be down in a sec," she called back, slipping on a hoodie. Hardly appropriate wear for something as grand as this, but in the end she knew that nobody would object. Well, aside from her father giving her a raised brow that screamed 'are you sure about that?', but that didn't deter her either.
Her dad gave up, instead opting to shake her shoulder in an excited gesture. "Come on, kiddo. Look alive out there!"
Giving him a sincere smile, she shrugged her shoulders. "Dad, I'm like twenty already. You don't need to keep calling me kiddo, you know?" Not that she minded or anything. She wouldn't dare let her dad know out of fear of the teasing she'd receive, but there was a sense of security that was to be had when a parent called you an affectionate name. Even apathetic losers like Luka had to admit that. "Besides, I am excited! This is like, serious sci-fi shenanigans. It's about time they had something to show for their work."
That kind of awful pun won Luka a snort and a half-assed punch on the shoulder. "And you say that I make awful jokes? My gosh, Luka." She snickered in response, wrapping an arm around her father. "Your mom's already at the lab finishing up preparations, so I say we lock n' load, alright?" Her dad wrapped an arm of his own around Luka, rubbing her back swiftly before pulling away and heading for the garage, where Luka followed.
Ten minutes later and they were out of town and on their way. The research lab was in another city, seeing as they had access to easier supplies as well as replacements as seen necessary. Or something like that, Luka assumed. "You know how they're gonna like... Prove that this machine is actually a time machine and not a total flop or something?"
"The government grant they received is likely proof enough that they're not mucking around," her dad replied steadily, eyes focused on the road. "Though your mom mentioned that the test they'd be conducting was something they had done before; sending a little rover-like thing through with a camera that's set to go off three minutes after bein' sent in. I think it's goin' to the future? Whatever photos are taken are then sent to a monitor and displayed for us, the hungry crowd."
Luka frowned, slipping her shoes off and crossing her legs. "No offense or anything, but that doesn't sound like the most sound proof? I mean, wouldn't people think that they're showing photos from any old place?"
Her dad gave her a very small shrug. "First of all, I'd put your shoes back on. Second of all, she didn't exactly tell me about the goods, but she mentioned somethin' about how the future was 'much different than how we expected it to be', and she seemed pretty excited about it. I trust her." Luka nodded, slipping her shoes back on her feet (with some reluctance).
"Well I mean, alright then." Luka made a face, slipping her ear buds into her ears.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful.
As soon as she got out of the car, Luka stretched herself out. "This the right place? Looks a bit empty if you're asking me."
"I wanted us to arrive a little earlier before the crowd so we can get to the front before anyone else does," he spoke with a grin. Luka grinned back as they headed into the facility. This place used to be used by students before her mom's research team got the research grant. The students had another facility to use, so it wasn't really as though they were intruding too much. Still though, Luka could only wonder how safe technology produced in a lab that was once used by high school students was.
Luka looked around as they stepped in. Pretty standard, actually. This part of the place was just for public consumption, exactly what was expected. Like her dad had mentioned, there were two giant monitors on either side of the room.
"Oh, you guys!"
The breath was taken out of her as Luka felt a force run right into her. "Christ! Hey there, mom." Luka could practically feel the energy rolling off of her mom in waves. Definitely for a good reason, but it was rare to see her mom like this. Then again, with all the work she was doing, it was kind of rare to see her at all. Nonetheless, it was a refreshing thing to see from her.
"You guys are so early, d'aw! Welp, you can both take a look around if you want!" Her mom was practically glowing with how much energy she was giving off. "If you go anywhere you shouldn't, there should be people telling you about that. Basically I'm just saying explore to your heart's content, 'kay? If my memory serves me correct, I think I heard Mew talking about doing something rather... unprofessional before the huge reveal, so I gotta go and chase her down. I'll catch you guys later though, okay? Love you! See ya! Smooches, mwah!"
Just as quickly as she came over, she was gone. "You know, she's so cute when she's excited, isn't she?" Her dad said with an airy smile. "Well, I need to use the bathroom, so heed your mother dearest's advice and look around for a bit! Lemme know if you find anything interesting, aight?"
And then there was one. Well alright, Luka thought a little stiffly. That didn't take very long to transpire at all. But seeing as both her parents were encouraging her to get a good look around the place, she supposed she might as well make due on those suggestions. The place was pretty empty though, Luka guessing that most of the interesting stuff was safely hidden out of sight. Still, it wouldn't exactly hurt to see if she could catch a glimpse of whatever was being worked on, right? Worst come to worse and then she'd be told to return to the main room.
Yeah, that logic seemed sound enough. So she went poking into rooms, stopping when she caught attention of someone other than her and turning back. Still nothing exactly revolutionary, but...
Hey, wait.
Wasn't there a no pet sign plastered all over the front door? So why was it, Luka wondered, that there was a cat right in front of her.
Kind of a rather weird thing to be seeing in a science facility of all places. You know, cat hairs causing some whack shit to happen or something along those lines? Maybe, probably not. She definitely wasn't imagining the "no animals" sign at the front though, and she figured that this cat would be another excuse to do some even... Deeper exploring. She could just pull the "hey, uh, just following this random cat that shouldn't be here s'all" card. The cat was kind of... Creepy though. Maybe it was the fact that Luka didn't exactly harbor the same positive feelings everyone else did towards these feline fiends. But this one was different. Hell, that didn't make sense even as she was thinking that.
Point was, it was staring at her and she didn't really like that. The cat mewled before disappearing behind a corner. And what choice did Luka have to follow? Occasionally, the cat would stop and check behind it to see if Luka was still following. Then it'd keep walking. The cycle repeated for quite some time. Perhaps it was the fact that Luka was starting to grow bored of this little adventure of hers, or maybe this cat really was choosing to take the longest damn paths to it's destination. It struck her as peculiar though; there was nobody else in these halls but her and this cat. Maybe there was just nothing of interest here? The halls were getting a little dark as well, and Luka pulled out her phone, setting it to flashlight mode in order to accommodate.
Finally the cat stopped walking, but probably only because there was nowhere else for it to go. It's paws batted the wall gently. Luka held her phone up to the wall, figuring out that it wasn't a wall, but a really dark-looking door. She didn't understand why it was necessary for things to be this dark in a science facility where it was probably dangerous for one to be unable to see but oh well. She wasn't a science major.
"Well, you damned rascal. Why the hell not just waltz on in?" She was talking more to herself rather than the cat, who's batting at the door only seemed to increase with each passing second. "Yeah yeah, calm down," she muttered, jiggling the knob and pushing the door open. She expected to see something just about as standard as the main place. Probably just some bottles, or perhaps this was a storage room for certain chemicals.
But there it was.
Rather, there something was. Luka completely forgot the cat, instead directing her attention to the quite massive machine in front of her. In the back of her mind, she wondered if this was the time machine. It was hooked up to a lot of wires, thick and thin. There was stairs that... Lead up to a capsule. The whole thing gave off an eerie vibe. There was a small monitor next to the machine, the screen far too bright for Luka to tell the numbers that were on it. She circled the machine, taking care not to trip over wires. "Futura Tech" was painted on the side of the machine. She could remember her mom talking about Futura. Or maybe it was just future? Fuck, she was an awful listener. The number "001" was painted on the door to the capsule. Likely signifying that this was the first iteration of the product.
It was the absolute worst time for Luka to let her curiosity get the better of her. She knew this. Yet she couldn't stop her feet from climbing up the two steps, in an almost... Enchanted way. "The... The thing's probably not on right now." She swallowed, holding the doors open as she stepped inside. The doors closed behind her. This was a bad idea, this was such a bad idea. But it was exciting, to be one of the first people to even enter the time machine. If this was what it was, but what else could it possibly be?
Two seconds pass.
And then thirty.
"Alright then, I think that's about enough excitement for one week," Luka muttered, feeling around for the door. Her dad was probably wondering where the hell it was she went, and she didn't know how long she had been here anyways. Hey, that was funny... There. There was no door. The whole thing was completely smooth. Luka tried her best not to assume the worst, she really did, but. It was dark, her phone did shit to help her find the exit (of which she was sure there was none), and she was slightly claustrophobic to boot. "H-hah, alright, calm down Luka. Your mom's gonna come in here to do the demonstration and she'll let you out, nothing too bad. Nothing... Nothing too bad at all."
Truthfully, she kind of wanted to cry, but she could leave that for afterwards. Instead, she sunk to the bottom of the capsule. She could feel the cat batting the. Some part of the capsule. But then there was something else. The sound of heels clicking against the ground. Luka could feel hope swell in her heart for a mere second.
Her mom didn't wear heels. She wore flats.
"Oh my, you naughty kitty," the voice spoke. It was feminine and smooth. Almost seductive in a way. Luka frowned, pressing her ear against the cold metal. "Luring someone in here already? You should know that these doors... They're not set to unlock unless something's been sent through, just to prevent any accidents from occurring. And for whoever is in there, well... I have unfortunate news for you."
Luka held her breath. She could feel the sweat in her armpits and this was less than comfortable.
"The future isn't kind. I'd say that's it's a rather unforgiving place. Exactly the reason as to why I wish to conquer it for myself. Quite admirable, wouldn't you say? Well. You'll be dead soon enough, the only thing to say is that I'm sad that I wasn't prepared in time to rescue you. But people, we need some means of getting back. I'll send you off right now, make your last moments quick if nothing else."
She didn't know what else to do but to bang on the metal. "Hey hey hey! N-No, you don't need to do that at all!" She could hear some kind of furious typing. Now Luka was crying. "Hey! HEY! Are you even listening?!"
The typing stopped. "Oh. You know. I can see you in there. You're her kid." Luka stopped the banging to cradle her hand. She hit in the wrong place and too hard.
"Well. I never really liked that wench anyways. Farewell, and once again, my apologies."
Something was pressed. The clicking was going somewhere else.
Luka could only let out half of a choked cry before passing out.
[author's notes]
whoa, it's a thing that i'm writing for and hopefully plan to continue writing for. *shrug kaomoji*
maybe leave a review if you're so inclined so i can write updates knowing that there's an audience for this story.
thank you for reading!
