The phone rang out next to the computer, shattering the darkened silence as well as Meg's relaxed nerves. She jolted awake. "But officer, I swear, his face looked that way before!" She announced, reflecting from the dream she'd just encountered. Her eyes squinted as she took in her surroundings. As reality sank in, she realized that she wasn't being pressed by police for assault against Darren. She heard the cause of her disturbed sleep as the phone continued it's obnoxious song. She moaned as her hands searched and padded in the faint light for the receiver, knocking things about. She hit the bull's-eye as her hand finally grasped the phone. Her eyes still closed, she lifted the receiver from it's cradle and raised it to her ear.

"Yeah?" She mumbled sleepily, still not fully awake.

"Meg, it's me!" Came the voice from the other line.

"Zebra?" Meg yawned, making her way clumsily towards Zebra's bedroom. "Where are you and why aren't you in your bed?" Her words slurred.

Zebra rolled her eyes. "Take a guess. And I'll bet you fell asleep at your computer again, right?"

Meg pressed a hand to her forehead, her eyes still trying to gain focus from the preasure pressing on her head. "No. What're you kidding me?"

Zebra shook her head, knowing the truth in the matter. But that wasn't important. "Whatever. Listen Meg, I need your help. Do you think you could come down to Homer City?"

Meg glanced at the red digital numbers, glowing 2:05 A.M. on the clock radio near the phone. "Zebraaaaa....." She whined. "It's after 2 in the morning. Can't it wait for a more reasonable time?"

"No", Zebra insisted. "It has to be done tonight." She quickly thought of an convincing motive. "Look Meg. If you help me tonight and nothing comes of it....I promise I'll drop the whole time travel notion and we'll sell that thing for scrap metal, just like you said. I'll even let you keep the profits", she threw in as a clincher.

Meg considered her offer. She wanted nothing more than to have Julius Sanders and his over grown toaster oven out of their lives. It would give her great pleasure, indeed, to bust that contraption into a million pieces. "Alright", she sighed, giving in. "Alright, I'm on my way."

Zebra smiled to herself. "Oh, and bring...."

"Ya, ya I know", Meg said, predicting Zebra's next request. "Bring my laptop."

Zebra laughed. "Yeah, thanks. I'll see you soon and be careful." The phone clicked.

Meg reluctantly got up from her swivel chair. She was still in her sleeping attire, which consisted of; a pair of flannel pants, striped with blue and lavender, and a plain white tank-top. She quickly ran a hand through her hair. Not really caring how she looked, (who would see her in the dead of night?) she stuffed her laptop into her backpack. As an afterthought, considering the crisp, Fall air, she grabbed her blue and white Penn State Lions sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. She then slung her pack over her shoulders. Before stepping out, she locked the door behind her.

So not to disturb the neighbors, Meg made her way quietly to the underground parking garage to retrieve her scooter. She boarded the machine and directed it toward the brightly lit street. Just before take-off, she stopped suddenly to glance at her, so called, home. For some odd reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that this might be the last she'd ever see of it. As if some life altering event was about to take place if she chose to take this path. She shook her head, trying to physically remove the idea from her thoughts. She was freaking herself out, for no reason at all. Her and Zebra would surely be back in three hours, tops. A loud thunder bolt cracked overhead. Meg looked toward the heavens and beheld the darkest, most threatening storm cloud, she'd ever laid her eyes on. The storm it threatened was not yet upon her. But, judging by the wind and it's furious movements, it would move within range within the hour.

"Looks like we're in for some rain", she commented to herself as she inserted her head into the sleek helmet. Meg kicked the starter and headed on her way. The roads were refreshingly calm and almost empty, except for some graveyard shifters, returning home after hours of labor. Meg felt the first rain droplet slap her cheek as she picked up speed. She casually brushed it away with the back of her hand. The sky lit up briefly as an electric bolt blazoned across the city. A bit jolted herself, Meg shifted to a higher gear, more anxious than ever to reach her destination.

Meg arrived in Julius Sander's driveway and took notice of the lightning rod erected upon the roof.

'What has that gal been up to?' She shifted the weight of the backpack strapped over her shoulders and approached the front door. Before Meg could grasp the knob, to let herself in, the door opened from the other side. Without even a 'hello!', Zebra swiftly pulled Meg inside.

"What took you so long?"

Meg pulled in her chin defiantly. "Excuse me?! Nothing was said about being prompt. Besides, I rather think I made good time." She brushed a wet strand of hair from her face. Zebra took Meg's hand and led her downstairs. Upon reaching the lower floor, Meg beheld a more 'put together', machine. For a moment, she let her imagination run amok. Perhaps there was something to this theory of traveling through time. But her common sense won over. She sighed and set her load on the cold, cemented floor. "So, where do we start?"

Zebra was pleased that Meg wanted to get right to the point. "Well, for starters, we need power to wake the computer controls. This is one of the reasons I called you here. What do you suggest?" Meg plopped herself into a chair that Zebra must have carried down, herself, from the upper floor, and contemplated some solutions.

"The way I see it, we have but two options", she said as she displayed the correct number of fingers. Zebra listened eagerly, ready to get things underway. "Number one; we could go and rent a small generator....."

Zebra immediately shook her head, dismissing the idea. "There's no time for that."

"I figured as much. I just thought you'd benefit from a variety of choices." Inside, Meg relished the pleasure of driving her best friend crazy with suspense. "Number two; we could.......'borrow' the power from the good neighbors, by transmitting it from their outdoor outlet....." She jerked her thumb in that direction.

Uh oh. Zebra didn't like the way Meg had emphasized the word, 'borrow'.

"But", Meg steepled her fingers. "This act, of course, is stealing, and we could face a hefty fine, or even jail time, if we're caught....." Meg let the last words hang desperately in the air, giving the idea time to properly sink in. She was certain this 'snag' would put an end to such nonsense. Zebra considered her options. She, of course, never wanted to go against the law, it wasn't in her nature. She usually upheld the law to the letter. She knew it was, especially, punishable since she was not a citizen of that city. But she'd made up her mind long ago to see this project to the end. She had to know what had happened to her missing grandfather. The possibilities seemed to out-weigh the consequences.

"Do what you gotta do", Zebra gave in, though reluctant.

Meg pursed her lips and nodded. "OK", she said, standing up. "Let's get to it." Taking the lantern with her, Meg rummaged through the garage, for an extension cord. After sorting through various tools, old Christmas decorations, and gardening essentials, Meg hit the jackpot. "Eureka!" A genuine, 100ft, orange colored extension cord. With some electrical tape and a length of copper wire, (also treasures of the garage) Meg constructed a make-shift connector, to plug the cable into the machine. With that end taken care of, she stepped outside to complete the chain. Zebra agreed to act as a look-out, so she could warn Meg if they were discovered. Before venturing next door, Meg glanced back at her friend. Zebra's face was flush with guilt and apprehension, her eyes darting this way and that to every sound and shadow. "You know Zebra....." said Meg gently. "We don't have to do this. We could just scratch the whole thing and go home...." She was hopeful.

As tempting as it sounded, Zebra didn't believe in un-finished projects. She couldn't quit now. "No. I've come too far to see it end now." To ease her nagging conscience, she figured she would just send the un-suspecting neighbors, an anonymous check, for the goods they would un-knowingly provide.

Silent and stealthily as a cat on her midnight prowl, Meg searched for an outdoor outlet. The rain began to pour more heavily, causing the soil to soften and shift. Meg made her way through the backyard, carefully placing her steps. Finally, she spotted her target, just above an abundant vegetable patch. She sloshed across the mud, avoiding tomato plants and Zucchinis, sitting above ground. Shielding the male end of the plug from the on-coming down pour, she inserted it snuggly into the outlet. 'Mission complete. Return to base.' Meg found her way back to the house and met Zebra on the porch.

"Well, let's see what we can do with that machine of yours." Together, they returned to the basement. To Zebra's delight, the machine hummed with newly found power. As requested, Meg plugged her laptop to the monitor on the time machine with a connector cable. She made herself comfortable, seating herself in the chair and propped her legs against a work bench. With her trusty laptop set upon, where else? Her lap. She cracked her knuckles, preparing her fingers for work, she logged onto the main screen. As she bypassed the massive security installations, she began to develop a growing admiration for the crazed scientist. He knew what he was doing, about wanting to keep his secrets hidden and private. After about a half-an-hour of non-stop typing and mind boggling puzzles, Meg finally reached the last hurdle. The screen before her now was the final entry to the machine's controls, but might prove to be the most difficult. Meg bit her lip and groaned wearily.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Up till then, Zebra had been making some last minute adjustments. Sensing the distressed tone of Meg's groan, she came up behind Meg, to peer over her shoulder and inspect the problem.

"I'll tell you what's wrong; Your grandfather was one complex guy. This is the last screen to pass before the file can be opened." Zebra couldn't see the reason to stress.

"So what?" Zebra shrugged, ignoring Meg's reference of her grandfather in the past tense, automaticaly asuming he was dead. "Just surpass it like the others."

Meg eyed her friend with some annoyance. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see..." She pointed out. "This screen requires a password to open the file....."

"So?" Zebra repeated. "Just keep guessing till you've uncovered the right one."

Meg pinched her thumb and index finger together to demonstrate. "There's a slight snag in that plan of yours though. According to the database, it will only allow us three chances to enter the correct password. If we fail to do so, the whole system will shut itself down, and lock us out for good." Zebra's heart catapulted to her throat. She couldn't imagine loosing all she'd worked so hard to gain. The keys to the mystery, only a moment ago, seemed within her grasp. Why did it have to be so complicated? "Did that journal give any hints or clues of what the password could be?" Zebra drew herself from her self-pitying gloom, to seriously ponder the question Meg had pronounced. "Special dates? Names? Places? Anything that would stand out as significant or dear to him...." Meg offered when Zebra didn't answer right away. The obvious first choice, would be the name of his deceased wife. After all, wasn't she the sole purpose of his expeditions, retrieving her from time?

"Try Layla'" Zebra urged. "My grandmother's name."

Meg looked doubtful. "His wife? It's a bit cliche, but alright." She did as she was requested, and punched the name into the computer. After hitting, 'ENTER', an obnoxious buzz sounded, like the kind you hear on various game-shows, when a contestant answers a question wrong. The screen flashed; 'INCORRECT PASSWORD!' Then there appeared a countdown in the corner of the screen, that indicated they only had two guesses remaining.

Zebra smacked her forehead with the base of her palm. "What?! How could that NOT be it?!" She protested. "I was sure that would work."

Meg only shrugged. "I don't know. But you'd better come up with the right password, quick."

Zebra slowly lowered her hand to look at Meg. She didn't appreciate the casual tone in her voice. "Why?" She asked.

"Well......there's another, small dilemma, I never got around to tell you." Zebra's muscles tensed, dreading what other mishaps could possibly befall them. "You see, there's also a time limit to how long we have to guess."

She didn't like asking, but she needed to know what they were up against. Zebra sucked in a breath to ask the all, burning question; "How long do we have, exactly?"

Meg's eyes returned to the screen. "About....ten minutes. No, wait. Scratch that. Eight minutes."

The blood rushed into Zebra's face, heightening her anger. "You knew this. You knew this all along, didn't you?"

The right corner of Meg's mouth steadily climbed up her cheek, as her lips curled into a half-smile, finding Zebra's temper quite humorous. "Well, if you must know, then.......... yeah. I was aware of that."

Zebra's jaw dropped a mile. She grasped Meg's shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

Meg coughed, hiding a chuckle. "I didn't wanna worry you."

Zebra released her grip and began pacing, marching back-and-forth continually, spinning on her toes as she turned. "OK. I can do this. I can think under pressure." The panic in her voice said everything, but. She clenched her fists, urging a solution to surface.

"Take it easy Zebra." Said Meg, motioning her hands downward. Only when she complied, did Meg push forward. "Now. I know you can figure out the correct password. Just try and recall anything else he would think to use to lock in his secrets."

Zebra snatched up the infamous journal from the workbench, and flipped through it's pages, searching for any clue, any hint, to free them of this road block. Nothing really seemed to stand out in his writing. It appeared that Zebra was on her own. If only time wasn't constantly pushing against her. Wait a minute.....that could be it! TIME. After all, it appeared to be a common theme throughout his life. "Time!" Zebra shouted frantically.

"Yes, I know we're running out of time." Meg sighed. As if she didn't alread know.

"No!" Zebra shouted once again. "Type in the word, time! Type in time!"

"Alright, alright", said Meg, sensing the diar stress in Zebra's voice.

So, she did so. Again, the computer denied their attempt. 'ACCESS DE-NIGHED, INCORRECT PASSWORD!' Zebra shrieked aloud, like a mad banshee. Meg cringed at the sound of Zebra's frustration.

(2 minutes left)

All seemed hopeless. The man had left no trace of his hidden password. Thunder crashed loudly outside, pushing Zebra to her limits. She plopped herself down onto the workbench, holding her head between her hands in utter despair.

(1 minute)

So it had all come down to this. All the careful preparations were for not. Why?

(49 seconds)

The computer screen began to flash red, as the seconds ticked silently away.

(35 seconds)

Apparently, the brilliant college professor had beaten them. Zebra suddenly released her head, as a possibility crept into her thoughts. Was it sheer coincidence that she attended the very same school, where her grandfather had taught. He had enjoyed his career at the home of the 'Nittany Lions'.

(18 seconds)

Zebra scrambled to Meg's side. "Quickly!" She cried in haste. "Nittany!! That has to be it! There's a legend behind it that he mentioned. I can't remember the details now, just put it in!" Prepared to enter the word in herself, if Meg didn't comply.

(9 seconds.....8......7......6)

N-i-t-t-a-n-y.

(5 seconds.....4....3)

Enter!

(2 seconds)

Zebra and Meg held their breaths still, awaiting the system's response.

'PASSWORD ACCEPTED. WELCOME BACK MR. SANDERS!' The screen scrawled happily.