I needed to focus. I was sitting in my classroom, trying to remember the vocabulary from Chapter 14 of my Advanced Physics. Staring at the paper, I decided that I really was going to become a stripper. What was the point of studying so much for a degree which wouldn't guarantee me a job, all while digging myself deeper and deeper into debt? I placed my head on the cool table in front of my and inhaled deeply, not wanting to fail the test despite just deciding to be a stripper. Just as the definition came to me, my Professor called out; "Pencils down! You have just completed the semester final for my class." I placed my pencil down and groaned as the incomplete page stared back at me. "Now, most years half of my class fails this test, and if you do, I suggest dropping the class next semester, you can always come back next year, however the second semester is twice the workload."

I groaned as passed my paper to my right, not wanting to look at it anymore. Once the papers made it to the person in the front right seat, he slid out of his seat and handed them to the waiting Professor. She nodded and we all stood at once, as if our minds were synchronized. Filling out of the classroom, I pulled my phone from my backpack and switched it back on. As my screen flashed the red Verizon logo, I exited the building and was greeted by a raindrop on my face. I smiled as the cool drop slid down my cheek and off my chin. I placed my finger on the back of my Google Pixel and it unlocked, revealing my wallpaper which was my favorite photograph of myself and my boyfriend of five years standing in front of the beach on vacation this year.

As I smiled down at our faces, my phone vibrated and alerted me of a text. I opened the app and saw that my best friend, Graham needed my help in the lab. I replied quickly, telling him I'd be right over. Once it sent, I pocketed the device, pulled my hood over my head, and made my way to the lab.

"Graham?" I called out once I entered the dark building. "Graham?"

"In here!" He called back, his voice seemingly coming from two doors down and to my left. I followed the sound of his voice, then threw the door open. I knew I was in the correct room when I saw his brown hair swaying in the dimly light room.

"Found you." I grinned, but I wiped the smile off of my face once he turned to look at me, revealing what he was working on. "You actually did it?" I demanded to know, rushing forward, my jaw dropped in awe. He stepped aside, gesturing to the metal contraption to his left. It was about 6 feet tall, circular on the bottom but came to a rounded point on top. There were three lights on the outside, which looked eerily familiar. In the dim light, it was difficult to see, but it looked as if he had welded together a bunch of scrap metal in order to make the device. "You were the one who stole the street light? How did you even pull that off?"

"I have my contacts." He smiled wickedly. "As you can see, I have spent a lot of time getting this ready."

I inched closer, astounded by the ability Graham had. "Does it work?" I asked. His smiled only grew as he nodded. "How?!" I demanded, reaching out and touching the cool metal. "Have you used it?"

"I have, but at the same time, I haven't." His smiled faltered slightly. "I sent a puppy back, and found it as a dog today." He pulled his phone out and showed me a photograph of a grown Golden Retriever with a white mark on its forehead. He then showed me a photo of a puppy with a matching mark.

"You could have faked it." I shrugged, trying to not be too impressed. I pulled on the latch which swung the metal door open. "Anyways, why have you called me here, and you Professor or a board if you have a working time machine?"

This is when his smiled disappeared completely. "It only worked the one time. I tried to send myself back, but it started overheating and I had to turn it off before…" He trailed off, his eyes moving to the ground. "It runs on Dark Matter."

I pulled away from the device, terrified to even be in the same universe as it. "What? How did you manage that?"

"I have my sources." He shrugged, not telling me anything else.

We stood in an awkward silence as I processed what he had just told me. "Show me." I demanded, turning to my insane friend. "I need to see it."

He nodded grimily, then walked over to a desk and grabbed a wrench. He gestured for me to follow him to the back of the device. I followed closely and watched as he knelt, and then used the wrench to open a panel I didn't know was there. He lay on his stomach then, and reached his hand inside. He seemed to rummage around for a moment, but then produced a glass tank with an odd substance inside.

It was a ball of black energy, about a centimeter in diameter, and it was floating in the center of the glass cylinder and seemed to have a slight glow to it. He waved it in front of my face, grinning madly. "It only takes that much?" I asked, staring at the tiny ball.

"It only takes that much." He nodded, but frowned quickly. "Something isn't working right. I'll step inside and try to send myself back," He placed the container back inside and I watched closely. "You stay down here and try to see what is going wrong, okay?"

"I don't know," I said, frowning deeply. "Not only is this untested, but we have no idea what Dark Matter can do when stressed and-"

"You'll be fine." He said, smiling at me. "Please, do I this favor?"

"Graham…" I said, watching his features. "How do we even know this really is Dark Matter? How trustworthy is your contact?"

"Please, Artemis?" He begged, quivering his lower lip. "We are on the verge of something groundbreaking! Wouldn't you want your name in the history books?"

I felt my heart jump up in my throat. I could be someone. I could be remembered long after I was gone, make a difference. "Alright." I sighed. "But you will be paying my hospital bills if something goes wrong. "

He stood and pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you! You won't regret this!" He bounded over to the door of the machine and climbed inside. I heard a slight whirling sound which slowly grew louder I watched the inside of the machine and noticed that the Dark Matter was now stretched into a thin line which spanned the length of the glass tube. I frowned as I saw the blue glow around the circle and cursed as I tried to access the situation, but had no idea where to even begin with this.

Frantically I hit the machine. "Get out!" I yelled. Graham either didn't hear me, or didn't care because the sound still grew louder. I stood, not wanting to be anywhere near that, but then I heard a small ping as the glass container fell out of the machine. "Oh shi-"I didn't even have time to curse my luck before the glass cracked. Instinctively I reached down to cover the crack, but that was my downfall. Just as my hand covered the crack, the matter expanded and latched onto me. I screamed, but nothing came out of my mouth, instead it expanded and covered my whole body, pulling into…something.

The only way I can describe what happened next was nothing. There was nothing. No color, no taste, no sound, no feeling. Just empty time. For all I know I could have been stuck in that state for weeks, months… years. My brain couldn't even process what was happening. One second I was in this…rip, the next thing I know, I am tumbling forward and landing on something hard. I scream and throw my arms up to cover my face, but I still feel something pierce my face and wince.

It takes me a moment to gain my bearings, but once I do get up, I turn and see headlights. I jump back and squeal, just as the vehicle goes by. I fall onto my rear and watch as the vehicle backs up, this is when I notice that it is a motorcycle. "Hello?" The man on the motorcycle calls. "Miss?"

I don't attempt to quiet my sobs as I crawl backwards, away from the stranger. "Don't come any closer!"

"Are you alright?" He asked, stopping in front of me. I saw then that he was very handsome, blonde hair, bright blue eyes and seemingly, friendly. "Miss?"

"Where am I?" I demanded, scooting back even farther from the dirt road.

"Iowa." He said. "You're in Iowa." He then frowned deeply. "How did you not know where you are? Were you kidnapped?" He reached an arm out and I stared at him. "Come on, I don't bite… Unless you asked me too." He chuckled to himself.

"I wasn't kidnapped." I said, standing and sniffling. "I… well I don't know what happened. A moment ago I was in a lab, helping… Graham!" I shook my head. What happened to him? "He had created a-"I cut myself off. Why was I telling a stranger this? "Who are you?"

"Jim. Sorry, James Kirk." He smiled brightly. "And it wouldn't feel right leaving you out here alone. Can I take you somewhere?"

I scowled. "How do I know you won't murder me?" I frantically pulled my phone out of my pocket, but it seemed to be dead. "Do you have a power bank?" I asked, flashing my now-dead phone.

Jim reached his hand out and I handed him the phone. "Where did you get this dinosaur?"

"What are you talking about? It's the newest model. The Google Pixel."

Jim looked at the phone, then me, then back at the phone. "What day is it?" He asked, looking spooked.

"June 17th, 2017?" I said, confused.

"No," He said, handing me the phone back. "The year is 2232."

I felt all of the color drain from my face and I let my phone drop to the ground. "What?" I staggered back as the tears escaped. "No, it isn't. Its 2017."

"Miss?" He asked, dismounting and walking over to me. "What's your name?"

"A-A-Artemis." I said, shaking. "Artemis Westfall."

He smiled. "Nice name… Well Artemis I promise I'm not some sort of psychopath, so can I please take you somewhere." I felt a bit faint. "Are you alright?" He asked, slowly coming closer, one arm out to catch me if I fell over.

"2232?" I asked. "How the hell did I get here?" He grasped me arm and I didn't do anything. "My family is dead." I realized. "Everyone I knew, they're all dead."

"Artemis?" Jim asked, concern lacing his voice. "Let me take you to my place, I have an extra room. You don't look too good."

"I don't…"

He gently pulled me towards the road. "It's only a few minutes away. Come on…" He placed me on the back of the bike, and then mounted it himself. Just as we were about to pull away, he hopped off, grabbed my phone off the ground, then hopped back on. He did a U-turn and off we went… to where ever he lived.

We pulled up in front of a small house and he parked in the driveway. He got off the bike, then helped me off and led me to the front door. What was I doing? "Wait." I asked, backing up.

James sighed, turning to me. "If I wanted to kidnap you, I would have done it already. I found you on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere with no working phone and you are very agitated. Do you really think I would still hurt you?"

I frowned, but nodded and he opened the door, leading me inside. We walked into the house and when he turned the lights on, I wasn't too impressed. He either was a minimalist, or didn't have the funding to decorate how he wanted to. He led me down a hallway and into a room with just a bed and tiny television. "Here we are." He said. "Please, sleep as much as you need. I have nowhere to be tomorrow, we can talk more about what happened to you then."

I nodded. "Alright, thank you."

He smiled softly. "No problem." He then noticed how dirty my clothes were. "I can also take you to a store to buy more clothes. For tonight, I can give you a t-shirt of mine and some pants then wash your clothes."

I thought that for a moment. "Sure." He nodded and walked off. I took this time to looked around the room. The bedframe seemed to be made of a dark oak paired with a navy blue bedspread. There was a crack in the wall and there seemed to be a button next to it. I wandered over, and pressed it. I jumped back as the panel slid out and became a closet. I was amazed at how much space it saved, then pushed the button again, causing the closet to slide back into the wall.

"Here you go." Jim said, walking in and handing me a grey t-shirt with a pair of grey sweat pants with an adjustable waist.

"Thank you." I said. "Umm, where is your restroom?"

"Oh!" He chuckled. "Follow me." He led me out of the room and down the hallway. We enter the last room on the right. "Here it is." He stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I'll wait in the spare room." He let himself out and the door slid shut behind him. I used the toilet and changed as quickly as possible. I exited the bathroom and made my way down the hallway back into the room I was to stay in. Jim was standing by the bed where a nightstand appeared. "Oh, that was quick." He said, turning to me. "I found an old charger that works with your phone." He pointed and I saw my phone charging on the stand. "Once you wake up, come into the living room. Goodnight." He smiled, then walked past me and closed the door behind him.

I sat on the bed and waited until my phone turned on. Once it turned on, I unlocked it and opened my gallery. I swiped through all of my photos and started bawling. Everyone I knew and loved was dead now. It became too much and I put the phont back down and climbed into bed. Just before I fell asleep, I could of sworn I heard Graham's voice. "I'm sorry". Did he do this on purpose?