Time Travel

Part Two: Chapter 1

A water gun flew through the air, rapidly followed by an uninflected balloon, bubble gum cards, toy dinosaurs, action figures, a handful of comic books and a rock of two. Objects of little to no value were flung everywhere, and still Calvin remained in his room, trashing the room in some sort of frenzy. "Where is it?" He shouted.

Standing calmly to one side, and drinking a glass of lemonade, Hobbes watched him. "Where's what?" He dodged a Captain Napalm table lamp that came hurling towards him next.

Calvin's eyes bugged out and he pointed furiously to the time machine in the corner. "The instructions for this thing! It's got a glitch in the system and I need the manual to fix it!"

"Is that all?" Hobbes asked him, still fairly calm. For this he received an angry glare as Calvin continued to tear his room apart.

In the middle of June, years after the Battle of Gettysburg and the end of the Civil War, General Lewis A. Armistead found himself standing on the porch of his close friend, George Pickett, with a box by his feet. He paused for a moment, just standing there before raising a hand and knocking.

The door opened with a flourish, and Pickett stood there, grinning at him. "Lo! How are you?"

"I'm doing well George," Armistead replied, "I've been busy testing something lately." He gestured towards the box by his feet.

Frowning curiously, Pickett didn't notice the gesture. "Testing you say? Upon what, may I ask?"

Again, Armistead pointed to the box. "Doesn't it look at all familiar to you?"

"As a matter of fact…" Pickett plucked at his beard for a moment while thinking. "It just may. Wasn't there a rather similar object at Gettysburg, with that group of strange young women?"

Armistead nodded, and Pickett raised an eyebrow. "Well, may I inquire how you came about this duplicated version of it then?"

"I made it." Armistead reached into his pocket and pulled out a manual. "They dropped this, I found it the day after they left."

Taking the manual from him, Pickett looked it over carefully. "Instructions for assembling a machine that will effectively bear a person or persons through separate realms of time and space to future of past lands (not without hazard, however). Caveat emptor." He looked at Armistead and again raised an eyebrow. "This paper is genuine then?"

"I believe so George," he replied, "It's how they got here of course. You remember how they all jumped as soon as the tiger gave them away. This is exactly what they made. And I managed to make another one."

"Why, Lo," Pickett said, "I never knew you had the blood of an inventor within you."

Armistead shrugged. "I didn't invent it, I followed the directions."

"Very well, I'll bite," Pickett remarked, smirking. "My guess is you wish to test its properties, then?"

"You know me too well George," Armistead told him.

"Everyone knows you Lo…" The voice sounded from the bottom of steps. "Is this a reunion of sorts?"

Armistead turned around and was greeted by the sight of his good friend Winfield Scott Hancock. "Win!" he said, "I didn't see you there! You're just in time."

"Perfect timing, Whinny Boy," Pickett said right after him, grinning.

"Just in time?" Hancock hesitated. "For what?"

"To take a trip." Armistead gestured to the box at his feet, the one that was also a time machine.

Hancock looked at the box. "Where is this trip?"

"You'll see," Armistead said, "Just get in."

"Get in?" Hancock was confused.

Armistead pointed to the time machine. "Get in the box."

Stepping towards the box, Hancock looked skeptical. "Lo… how do you expect to go anywhere…?"

"You'll see. All you have to do is get in." Armistead glanced towards Pickett. "That means you too."

Pickett grinned and climbed in. "I would not miss this for the world. I'll have you both know."

"Don't keep us waiting now Win," Armistead told his friend, climbing in after Pickett.

Hancock shook his head as he followed the two of them into the time machine. "Someday I may actually understand you two… but it isn't today…"

Grinning, Armistead tossed a pair of goggles at each of them. "It says in the book we have to wear these."

As Pickett raised an eyebrow at him, Armistead just shrugged. "I'm only following instructions."

"Alright…" Hancock stared at the goggles then looked up at Pickett.

"Just put them on." Armistead fumbled with the time machine to try and get it started.

Pickett smirked. "If we must, then I suppose it's only proper.

He put the goggles on as Armistead got the time machine to take off and then Pickett grinned. "My God, Lo! Ain't it marvelous?"

"This time I can agree with you." He nodded.

"You still haven't told me where we're going!" Hancock reminded them.

"You'll find out when we get there," Armistead replied.

Pickett nodded and winked at him. "You'll see."

In a slight shock, Hancock said, "I'm surprised I'm still living, with you two as my friends."

And then, as Armistead shrugged, the time machine entered the vortex.