Chapter 11
"Billy, you beat Kim over," Adam said, opening the door to the cool breeze of autumn morning air.
Billy stood on the other side of the threshold, bundled in his grey sweatshirt and dark blue jeans. Adam noticed the brief shiver pass through his body as he moved to allow him to walk through the doorway.
Billy, however, stood hesitant and unmoving. "Should I come back later?"
Adam, surprised by Billy's unwillingness to walk in the apartment raised an eyebrow at this question. "Why? We made enough breakfast for you both."
"Kim mentioned that you and Aisha were…I um…don't know how to put it delicately," Billy said, his face taking on a shade of blush even the chilled air could not be blamed on.
"She had better not!" Aisha exclaimed, putting down a full plate of waffles on the counter and picking up the telephone in one smooth glide across the kitchen.
Adam's face flushed as he looked over to Aisha for words to counter the likely explanation given to Billy.
"Billy, just come in," Adam said, pulling Billy over the threshold by the arm.
Adam closed the door behind the reluctant and confused Billy, listening as Aisha waited for what he assumed was a voice belonging to Kim.
"I only came by because I needed to talk to Aisha about some of the data I went over last night," Billy said, taking a seat at the counter.
"Kim! How could you tell Billy something like that?" Aisha said into the phone, "…that is not how it sounded!...of course we're awake! You spoke to both of us!..."
Adam reached over Aisha's head, taking a glass and plate from the cabinet above her. With a quick acknowledgement of her eye roll at the words on the other end, he handed both to Billy.
"Actually, Aisha, I would like to take another look at your data from your animal studies," Billy said, taking a waffle from the large stack, "I want to compare the cell cycle times between the monocytes and tissue samples you collected in West Africa."
Aisha looked to Billy and nodded, "Sure—hey, grab the green box of floppy disks from my dresser…it's the only green box on the dresser, Kim…look next to the lamp…okay, see you in a few."
Aisha nested the phone back into its place on the wall charger and turned back to Billy and Adam who were both seated at the counter.
"So," she said, her expression quickly becoming all business, "what did Dr. Montoya say about the data?"
Billy tapped the fork on the side of the plate as he thought.
"She said we have a zebra," he said.
"I thought you guys were looking at DNA and monocytes?" Adam asked.
"We are. However, there have been abnormalities in our results over the last few weeks. The zebra reference here is not to an animal, but to the possibility that our abnormal results could be due to something we think is impossible," Billy explained.
Aisha was in deep thought as she turned the words over in her mind.
"Did you tell her about your theory?" she finally spoke, looking Billy directly in the eyes.
Billy looked down at the half-eaten waffle and eggs, swirling the syrup around with the fork.
"I am not sure if I should. I would rather test a few more areas before conferring with someone else about this. There is always the possibility I am wrong."
Adam looked to Aisha and Billy, attempting to decipher the unspoken words.
"What's the theory? I'm starting to feel lost in this conversation," Adam said.
Billy and Aisha exchanged glances and remained quiet as if each were waiting for the other to speak up. Finally, Aisha spoke.
"Well, Billy thinks there could be something affecting the flow of time. Sort of like what happened four years ago."
"You mean like the Orb of Doom? I don't want to be a child again. Three times was enough!" Adam said, holding up three fingers for emphasis.
Billy contemplated Adam's words.
"Actually, I am not sure what this all means yet. But from comparing other anomalies that I noticed over the last four years," Billy stopped to consider his next words. He was unsure how even Aisha would react to his next revelation.
Aisha noticed his abrupt pause and fixed her gaze on him as he thought. "Billy, what are you not telling us?"
Billy sighed, "Looking back at some of the data I collected from when we were turned into children up through when I began to age rapidly, I have noticed a disturbing pattern. When I attempted to reverse the effects of the Orb of Doom, it only affected me. Every time I go back over that experiment, I get the same calculations. And, from those calculations it should have worked on all of us.
"Chronoton particles spread and affect each other across spacetime…if the physical parameters of our world are as they should be. When I studied the Orb of Doom closer, it should not have affected spacetime the way it did—the Earth's rotation reversing in direction would not cause our time to reverse. The only effects we would have noticed would have been dramatic shifts in weather patterns and geological events. Moreover, even if the time were reversed by the Orb's physical effects on spacetime, the chronoton particles shifting in one location should have affected the entire thread of spacetime in a predictable manner around the gravity well of the planet. Shifts in spacetime may run into weird physics, but there are still laws that matter must follow. Again, why was I the only one affected by the disruption when I attempted to reverse it—regardless of the explanation we were given?"
"But, what about the animal studies? We saw the effects on the cells at the molecular level. The cell cycle rates for not only the gut epithelial cells we observed, but also the bacteria that we isolated from the animals were erratic. Billy, you took that data to Aquitar and no one could make sense of it," Aisha said, leaning back against the counter in thought.
"That is why I want to take another look at your data. But I want to compare it side-by-side with the data we collected this week," Billy said, taking a sip of water, "By the way, Dr. Montoya doesn't want us to run any more experiments until we sort through the anomalies with our cell cultures."
"Great! That means we have the rest of the day free after we leave Kat and Tanya's!" Aisha said.
Adam looked to Aisha, "At least that sounds promising."
"Since Kim is bringing the disks, I'm going to run back to my apartment to grab my laptop. There is a program I want to run in a few different locations that I think will help me draw a better conclusion to what we are observing," Billy stood from the counter and made his way to the door. "I'll be back in about ten minutes."
Adam closed the door behind Billy and looked over to Aisha, "Hey," he whispered, "since you are free this evening, what if we go on a proper date?"
Aisha looked at him, suspiciously, "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Anywhere you want to go or anything you want to do," he said.
Aisha smiled, looking away from him, "So, I get to choose the place?"
"As long as it's in the budget of a college student," he grinned.
Before she could respond, they were stopped by a knock on the door.
"That must be Kim," Aisha said, walking over to the door. Aisha opened the door as Adam walked back to the counter. Once the visitor was revealed, they were both surprised.
"Billy? That was fast," Aisha said, watching as Billy stood on the other side, his hands bundled in his pockets.
"Yeah, how did you walk over to your apartment that quickly? And where's your laptop?" Adam said, walking over to the doorway.
"What are you talking about? I just walked over here," Billy said, shivering in the cool morning air.
Aisha and Adam exchanged concerned glances and looked back to Billy who seemed hesitant to walk into the apartment.
"Billy, you just left and said you were going to get your laptop from your apartment. That was barely five minutes ago," Adam said.
"That's impossible. I just spoke to Kim after I called looking for Aisha, but she said you were here," Billy said, still seemingly hesitant to enter the apartment.
"Are you feeling well? Billy, you just sat here with us and ate breakfast," Aisha said, pointing to the plate of syrup and bits of egg left on the counter.
Adam thought for a moment as he watched Billy's demeanor. "Why don't you come on in?"
"I was unsure if I should. Kim mentioned that you and Aisha were…I um…don't know how to put it delicately," Billy said, as his face reddened.
Adam looked to Aisha who was visibly worried.
"Wait, that's exactly what you said when you were here earlier," Aisha stepped back inside, clearing the doorway.
"Just come on in. Something weird is going on," Adam said, pulling Billy into the apartment by the arm and closing the door.
Billy sat at the counter, in front of the plate he had earlier. He glanced around and looked to the clock, his eyes narrowing at the time.
"Hey Adam, have you checked your clock lately? I think it may be about an hour fast," Billy said, puzzled.
Adam and Aisha looked to the clock, registering the time.
It was ten thirty-three.
"Billy, out of curiosity what time did you leave your apartment?" Aisha asked, turning back to Billy.
"It was nine-twenty-five. It only takes a few minutes to walk across the courtyard from my apartment."
"But you were just here and sat in the same seat. The plate in front of you is yours from earlier," Adam said, point to the plate.
"And you sat with us for at least thirty minutes," Aisha added.
Billy looked to both of them, thinking through their words and considering likely reasons for his lapse in memory. His brow furrowed as he came to a conclusion. He looked down at the plate, curiously.
"Odd that I don't taste any syrup. If I were just here, I should have the taste of syrup or food in my mouth. But I still taste the toothpaste from brushing my teeth this morning. It would seem that somehow I have been affected by an independent repeat loop."
As they contemplated Billy's words, there was another, softer knock on the door.
"That has to be Kim," Aisha said, going to the door.
"Hey guys!" Kim said, walking into the kitchen. "Aisha, is this the right box? I noticed you had another set of floppies on your nightstand, but they were labeled 'games.' Plus, I grabbed your laptop just in case."
"Wonderful," Aisha said, pulling Kim into the apartment and closing the door. "Billy, you don't even need to go back out now. Maybe we can figure this out."
"What's going on? I feel like I walked into something weird here," Kim said, handing the box of disks over to Aisha.
"Billy was here a few minutes ago, left to go get his laptop, but came back without any memory of being here," Adam said.
"Kimberly, did you happen to look at the time when I called you this morning?" Billy asked, still in deep thought.
Kim pondered the question before answering, "I think it was around eight-thirty. I had to shower first and look for Aisha's disks before heading over."
"What time did you leave the apartment?" Aisha asked.
"It was like ten minutes ago—about nine-forty-five," Kim said, looking down at her own watch.
Billy's expression tightened as he glanced at the clock and then to Adam and Aisha. Aisha was now leaning against the counter next to Kim, her eyes shielded by one hand as she seemed to be working out a logical explanation for the differences between each clock.
"Adam, your clock is off by like an hour," Kim said, looking up to the ticking clock.
"Maybe Rocky was right, at least about the time" Adam said, walking over to the clock and removing it from the wall mount. He turned it around and removed the battery.
Billy lifted his head, looking to Adam curiously, "Rocky?"
"Yeah," Adam said, taking a fresh battery from the kitchen drawer, "he noticed that there was about a forty-minute difference between the time he had and the time on this clock."
"But Adam, the amount of time that passed for us was about forty minutes—maybe more. We had enough time to talk to Kim and get breakfast started," Aisha said, opening the laptop that Kim had placed on the counter.
"So what time am I setting the clock?" Adam asked, winding the clock around to read 'nine o'clock'.
"I would not set it just yet. Since it seems we are all on slightly different times, we need an outside source," Billy said, walking over to the phone. He dialed a few numbers and waited.
"I'm, like, really lost right now. Why are we all on different times? Did your power go out or something?" Kim asked, taking a waffle from the plate on the counter.
"No, but it does seem that we are dealing with an anomaly that is spreading further. I think you guys should hear this," Billy said. He pushed a button at the top of the keypad, turning the speaker audio function on.
"At the tone, Pacific Daylight time will be eleven fifty-eight and fifty-nine seconds," the female voice announced from the other end of the phone.
They each looked around the kitchen, confused.
"How did we lose another hour?" Aisha said, looking to Billy.
"Billy, this is really bizarre. I'm sure it was at least a quarter-till-ten when I left," Kim said as she corrected her watch.
Adam corrected the time on the clock and placed it back on the wall. "I even remember asking Rocky the time when he came in and it didn't seem to match the amount of light outside."
"I am beginning to form a hypothesis," Billy said, clicking the phone off, "But I really hope I am wrong."
"Well, I guess we should get showered. We have to get over to Kat and Tanya's soon if that's the correct time," Adam said, looking over to Aisha. "Why don't you use my shower? I can shower in Rocky's bathroom."
"Sure, the last thing I need is Rocky walking in on me naked—by accident," Aisha said, making air quotes as she walked over to the sofa to pick up her duffle bag.
Billy looked down to set his own watch, remembering that it would still be off by at least two hours.
Twelve o'clock noon.
"I really hope I am wrong about this," he said aloud, removing his watch and placing it in his pocket.
Kimberly looked up, letting Billy's words register as she watched Aisha and Adam disappear to separate rooms.