Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chapter Two "A timely idea"

Calvin bounded down the stairs three at a time and landed on the first floor with a thump. He shook himself and ran off without stopping for a second. His tiger friend followed, choosing to slide down the banister before gracefully leaping to the carpet below.

Hobbes found his young friend poking around in the garage.

"It's here, I know it's in here..."

"What's here?"

"Oh! Hi Hobbes," Calvin acknowledged, "look on the top shelves, wouldja?"

"For what?"

"A really big box. It's around here someplace." With those words of advice Calvin returned to searching.

Despite that rather hazy description, Hobbes began looking. There were plenty of boxes sitting around the garage - but no exceptionally large ones he could see right off the bat.

While he continued to look in his usual calm manner, Calvin began flitting about like a mosquito on steroids. "Arrrgh! Where did dad put it? He didn't have to hide it from me!"

"Hold on now. Just what is this 'it' anyway?"

Instead of answering, the young boy pushed past and peeked behind a rack of metal shelves. "Aha!" Gingerly he reached into the dark space and began pulling on the edge of something. After a few dramatic tugs a flattened, dust-covered box slid from behind the shelving. With some effort Calvin lifted it and slowly made his way out of the garage.

As the two made their way towards the front door, Calvin's mother called out to him, not looking up from her morning paper. "Going outside?"

"Yep."

"Playing with your box again?"

"Sure am!"

"Be sure to put it away before suppertime - and your stuffed tiger." You know what your father said about leaving your toys out."

"Yes mom."

With that assurance the mother returned to reading the fashion column. Her son going outside to play was usually a good thing - better he go burn off energy outdoors than in.

Calvin proceeded to the backyard with the giant box clutched awkwardly by the top. Finally he set it down and rubbed his sore hands vigorously. "Man, this is murder to carry. Hope it's all okay." With one last rub he began brushing cobwebs off the thick cardboard.

A curious tiger watched for a minute before coughing noisily. "Ahem. What is this 'brilliant idea' of yours if I may ask? And what is that big moldy thing you hauled out of the garage?"

That question earned him an irritated glare. " 'Moldy thing?' 'Moldy thing?' Just read the words you stripey fleabait! This is what's gonna make us rich and famous!" Calvin heaved the box up on edge.

Hobbes peered at the bold black lettering. "Acme Family Microwave...model TNETS1XEN0N ."

"Other side."

Hobbes walked around to the opposite side of the box, spotted some words scrawled in marker, and began reading them under his breath. Suddenly his feline eyes shot open as wide as saucers.

"Yeah! Meet our good old friend the Time Machine." Calvin began unfolding the giant box. "Gimme a hand here - this thing is hard to unfold."

"Calvin, for the love of tuna fish have you completely lost your mind? Do you remember what happened the last time we went time-traveling?"

"Sure...we got picture of dinosaurs and almost got rich and famous."

Hobbes looked him straight in the eye. "And also almost got eaten by a hungry dinosaur the size of the garage!"

"Oh, you make it sound like we went to Jurassic Park. And it'll be different this time - there won't even be any dinosaurs in the future."

"Well of course not," Hobbes said sarcastically, "in the future there'll be things like space pirates and mutants and security robots that zap you to a crisp. We might get really lucky and arrive at the start of a nuclear war, or when evil space aliens are invading! Or what about if the earth is horribly polluted or the future people throw you in a zoo as an exhibit...or..."

Hobbes' frantic predictions slowly faded to silence as he noticed that he had failed to make the slightest impression on Calvin, who was still diligently setting up the Time Machine. He also noticed that his tail had poofed out reflexively, which in his experience was a near-certain sign of impending disaster.

"Hey pal, grab that flap over...ah never mind, I got it."

For a moment Hobbes simply stood in place, contemplating his limited options. Obviously Calvin was on one of his 'adventure streaks' again, which meant he wouldn't be dissuaded by anything short of being hogtied to an immovable object. So he ought to do the sensible thing; stay behind. Refuse to participate in another one of the little monster's hairbrained schemes.

...and let Calvin probably get himself neck-deep in trouble.

After a fierce battle of wills, Hobbes sighed deeply, twitched his tail and spoke up. "Here. Let me unpack it the rest of the way."

Calvin looked pleasantly surprised. "Huh? Hey, thanks! I'll go find the vortex goggles!" He dashed off back toward the house, returning just as his friend was setting the box upright on the lawn.

"Got 'em?"

"Right there on the shelf. Oh yeah - and a marker."

"What for?"

"The master time dial."

Hobbes blinked. "Say what now?"

Calvin pointed to a crude dial - also of cardboard - fastened to the inside of the front of the Time Machine. "Don't you remember? We never went into the future at all. All the time periods for the dial to turn to are in the past."

It was true. At the top and center was the word 'Present'. To the left were a few numbers for times in the distant past...but to the right of the dial was only blank brown cardboard.

"Ah. We can't travel to a time that isn't written there?"

"Not with this Time Machine. I'll try and fix that someday, but this'll work just fine for now." Quickly boosting himself over the side, Calvin quickly scrawled "2100 AD" in an appropriate spot.

"Okay. Are the handles still here?" Calvin glanced at the sides of the box. The 'hold on' handles, carved from scrap plastic and securely stapled to the sides, were indeed still there. So was the Boy Scout compass taped to the front. And the cheap watch with the cracked face - to help them get home at the exact same time.

"Yeah! Dad didn't take anything off it! Get in and we can go to the future right now!"

Hobbes carefully boarded the Time Machine and sat down in the back. The box was spacious enough for the both of them and leg room to spare.

"Goggles on!" The two each put on their 'vortex goggles', old welding goggles Calvin had found in a junkyard long ago.

Calvin eagerly turned the dial to the future date and gripped the front edge of the box. "Here we go!"

Nothing happened.

"Whoops...heh, heh...it's been awhile." He leaned forward and stared into the distance.

Still nothing. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves on a nearby bush.

"Gee whiz! I'm really out of practice!" Calvin shut his eyes tight and concentrated hard.

Suddenly the Time Machine began to wobble as if caught in an earthquake. After a second or two of violent spasms it shot up like a bottle rocket and hovered in midair! A startled Hobbes dug his claws deep into the cardboard.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Seemingly powered by nothing at all, the box rose higher and higher, then pointed it's flat nose up and shot forward with a lurch. Soon the Time Machine was tearing through the skies above Calvin's home street.

Hobbes peeked over the side to admire the view from five stories up. He didn't look long before Calvin elbowed him firmly. "Eyes front, pal! We're gonna make the jump in a second!" Nodding in acknowledgment Hobbes turned forward again.

A moment later something appeared in the sky ahead...a black, swirling vortex that came out of nowhere. It looked somehow 'flat' - as though a paper cutout had been pasted into a three-dimensional world.

Ah yes. This part.

The Time Machine hurtled toward the hole in the atmosphere. With a swooosh heard only by the time travelers themselves, the box and it's passengers vanished into thin air.