Through Time Chapter One

Like a celestial river, time flows. Pouring over the stars for all eternity a heavenly river never changes, never meanders, and never ceases to bubble up and gurgle on its path. Time is the same. Once started it cannot stop and it cannot disappear. There are no ways to stop time once it’s started, and like a rivers mighty force, it cannot be reversed. A drop of water cannot traverse upstream against the currents, just like a second, once past, cannot go back and relive itself.

---

“Are you sure this blasted old scrap heap will move?”

“Wow Jake, your confidence in me is inspiring,” a voice answered from beneath a large contraption. “And it doesn’t move, not physically at least.” He slid out from under it, blond hair dirty with grime and rust. “It’s a time machine Jake, not the Tardis.”

“The Tardis is a time machine.”

“It’s also a spaceship.”

“And bigger on the inside.” The boy’s friend laughed and grabbed a wrench. “So if you’re the Doctor do I get to be Amy?”

“Hm?”

Jake knelt down, “You know, the Doctor’s traveling companions. Do I get to be your Amy?” Jake couldn’t tell, but his words caused a faint blush to spread across the other boy’s face. “So, what happens if you boot it up and in the past there was a river here or something?”

“I honestly have no clue,” came the reply from beneath the metal. “I hope you can swim.”

“Dirk!” All he got was a chuckle as an answer. “You are not making a gentlemen feel very safe.”

“I’ll have to remember that if I invite any gentlemen along,” Dirk slid out from the machine again and looked into pouty green eyes. “Come on Jake, you know I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.” He got up and made his way over to a side table. There spread across the surface was sheets and sheets of paper. “I’m not even sure if these notes are correct. The calculations are decades old. Some of this shit is so faded and smeared I had to guess.”

Jake walked over to where Dirk was flipping through paper, “Di Strider? Who’s that?”

“I thought I told you, he was a relative of mine, from a long time ago. Apparently the instructions for this machine were locked in a safe in the old family home. Instead of tossing them I expressed interest. He has so many notes, it’s crazy. There are all types of things in here, flying machines, improved cotton weaves, and even some engines. The guy was a genius, I wish I could have met him.”

His friend took the worn down leather bound book and flopped down on a dusty couch. “Some of this stuff is really cool. Wow! Dirk did you see the section on guns and weapons? Holy moly this is some neat stuff. Dirk he made prototypes for a double barrel rotating pistol. And look at this long clip design, oh man this has to be before clips were widely used in pistol manufacturing.” He paused flipping through more of the book’s antique pages, “I wonder what caused the shift?”

“What do you mean?” Dirk inquired from inside the machine this time.

“Well, if you look at the previous inventions they are all mechanical or practical, then bam! There are all these gun designs and models.”

Dirk shrugged, “Maybe he hadth a new inthpirathion or thomething.”

“What was that buddy?”

“Sorry I had a wrench in mouth, I said, ‘maybe he had a new inspiration or something. Wasn’t there a war or something back then? A civil one? Damn I should have paid more attention in history class.”

Jake shook his head, “I dunno, I don’t remember any, maybe it was remnants of emotion from the First World War? That could be. I sure know that’s one adventure I’d never want to live through.” He flipped through the rest of the pages, glancing at anything that caught his fancy. There were models for so many things, some of them quite bizarre and some for things Jake didn’t even think they had a grasp on. “Dirk there’s something in here for a portable music player? Are you sure you didn’t make this up to mess with me? I’ll have you know my brain is sharp as a knife and can cut through your tomfoolery like butter!”

Turning back to Jake he answered, “No, see that’s the really bizarre thing. Some of these look like prototypes for iPods and combustion engines that had nowhere near the complexity available back then. Sometimes even I doubt the authenticity of these…”

“But who would go through the trouble of making all these just to screw with you?”

“There’s no way Dave or Bro would give this much of a shit. I’m sure these are real. And if they aren’t’, then I guess I just built a really cool lawn ornament.”

“Well it is instructions for a time machine. What if your relative actually succeeded?” The excitement rose in his voice, “What if this is really going to work? Oh gosh Strider, think of the possibilities! Maybe your dear departed relative Mr. Di managed to get into our time period! And he brought back these drawings?”

“Jake let’s slow down and work on finishing this first.”

The other boy nodded and took a deep breath, “So what’s next?”

“I’m installing the control panel now; I made some tweaks to it, because these notes are really old.” He took a screwdriver and tightened a few loose screws. “Next we have to work on the power source. The notes say to use electricity, but it needs so much. I’m not sure how it’s even possible.”

“You’ll have to get some plutonium,” Jake laughed. “Or run a bolt of lightning to it, too bad we don’t have a historic clock tower that got struck by lightning.”

“Do you have a movie reference for everything?”

“You’re making a time machine, how could I not reference “Back to the Future”? Great Scott Dirk!” Laughing Jake grabbed a different type of screwdriver for Dirk, “Maybe we should look into another power source though, have you talked to Roxy yet? She might have some ideas.”

“No not yet. She’s so busy with school right now I don’t even want to think her name. The last thing she needs is me stressing her out over a problem for a hypothetical machine. And Roxy will stress about it. There are no doubts about that. She can’t leave any challenge unfinished.”

“Haha, yeah that’s true, I shouldn’t have suggested it.” Jake moved over to allow Dirk more room, “So what would happen if we zap ourselves into another time period and we can’t get back?”

“Well first off, that would suck. Second, we’d have to live there I guess. Let’s pick a good travel point.”

“What if we go three hours into the past to start with? That way if we mess up we’ll still be in the same decade at least.”

Dirk thought about it, “Yeah that could work. I’m worried about one thing though, I’m concerned about time loops and making reality unstable.”

“You mean like in that short story where a bunch of people go back in time to hunt extinct creatures and that one dude steps off the floating path deal-y and kills a butterfly and screws up the whole reality?”

“Yeah something like that. There’s no guarantee that when we return to our present time the history wouldn’t have changed.”

“Or we could make a bunch of new timelines and just fuck theirs up.”

Dirk nodded, “That could happen too. I have no idea which one it’s going to be though. Not now, we don’t have any data.”

Jake leaned against the wall of the machine, “Perhaps we could try going ten minutes back and only doing one thing? Like spray paint the wall, then go back to the moment just after we left and see if anything happened?”

“Yes, good idea, if there’s no paint on the wall then that means we created a new timeline, it will also mean our actions don’t mess with the future we have presently.” Dirk stepped back and admired his work. “I think it’s done, we’ll need to test it tomorrow and run some checks, but I think all the mechanical work is done.”

“Oh man, really? This is going to be so friggen awesome. Dirk, if this works we should tell somebody. You’ll get national recognition!”

Dirk disagreed and started putting away tools, “I don’t think we should tell anyone Jake. Humans aren’t pure souls like you seem dead set on believing. Somehow this little invention of mine would end up causing the world great harm. This stays between you and me.”

Jake knew he was right. There was no way someone wouldn’t try to use this for world take over or to change the course of events for personal reasons. “I suppose you’re correct. I wish you weren’t though. Think of the grants you could receive for research.”

“I know, believe me I know.”  The two boys were in a small shed outside Dirk’s house. Pulling back the curtain from the window revealed that it was now quite dark. Jake was never bothered by the lack of real lighting whenever he was with Dirk, he knew the older boy had sensitive eyes and needed constant shielding. It was one of the reasons he wore those ridiculous shades and kept the blinds drawn in every room. “We should get something to eat, it’s late.”

Together they left the newly completed machine and ordered pizza. They retreated to the roof of the shed to eat. “Hey Dirk?” Jake asked while demolishing a piping hot slice of pizza. “If this thing works, what do you want to do?”

Dirk leaned back and stared up at the stars. The roof was a great place to relax after a hard day’s work. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “Time is something that shouldn’t be messed with you know? It has a lot of responsibilities. I think…I think I just want to prove it works. Nothing more.”

“That would be nice. But you know, if you ever change your mind…I think Pharaoh Dirk sounds pretty nice.”

“Jake!” Dirk elbowed him. “We can’t take over the world or be millionaires. We shouldn’t make ourselves kings or leaders of any sort. It wouldn’t be right.”

“But it would be fun,” Jake commented. “Think of the adventure Dirk!” He fell back too, green eyes shining in the dim light. “I’d sure like to spend forever adventuring through time with you. That would be an alright future, I think.”

“Jake? What do you mean?” Dirk asked sitting up a bit. He could tell his friend had suddenly become flustered.

“You know, two friends traveling time, it would be great.” Jake covered quickly, “Who wouldn’t want that?” He watched the stars and the inky black clouds, “Tomorrow is going to be a big day, I can tell.”

“Yeah, it will change our lives forever,” Dirk chuckled, “Or not, you never know, the damn thing might not even turn on.”

Jake was about to disagree when something flashed through his mind, “Shit, Dirk, I can’t be there to test it tomorrow!”

“Oh fuck, I might not either, now that you mention it. I forgot Bro set up a meeting with me for lunch. I have to go across town; I’m supposed to get on the subway at like eleven. What do you have to do?”

“A dinner party with the Egbert’s, I completely forgot I agreed to visit them with my Grandma. Shoot. I was really looking forward to testing that machine tomorrow.”

Dirk was quick to reassure, “Don’t worry, we can always try it the day after. It’s not like we’re going anywhere.”

“Yet!” Jake added. “We’re not going anywhere yet. But soon we’ll go where no one has gone before.” The moon seemed suddenly closer than Jake ever imagined. “Dirk, when we’re done with this, we should go to the moon. Think you can build a rocket?”

“I did just make a time machine, I’m sure I could manage a rocket.”

Jake nodded, “Hey Dirk…”

“Yeah buddy?”

“Can you promise me you won’t go somewhere I can’t follow?”

“I, yeah Jake of course.” Dirk sat back up and looked over at Jake. “What brought this on?”

“Sometimes, when I think of all the great stuff you can do…I feel like you’re moving too darn fast. And you’ll go somewhere I can’t. So don’t do that, please.”

“Jake…I won’t. I promise I will not go somewhere you can’t.”

---

Time flows steady and constant, washing away the present with the tides of tomorrow. Sometimes the gentle waves feel more like a crushing flood.

---

“Yeah Bro, dude don’t worry I won’t be late. No, we did not fuck last night, jesus you’re a creepy fucker sometimes. Yeah, yeah I know. Fuck that shit, you hang out with those puppets too much. Hahaha, yeah man I’ll be there in a half hour. Yeah, the 11:45 train, Central Station. You got it. See you soon. Hey Bro? Thanks. You know for everything. Sorry I was such a little shit growing up. Yeah, I’ll hang up now; don’t want you drowning in sudden fatherly feelings.”

“Dirk, before you go, you were a great kid, no one could be prouder.”

He hung up and looked at the stations clock; he still had a few minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. Something was bugging him, way back in the recesses of his mind. “Why did I say all that crap to Bro? That’s not like me. It’s not like that couldn’t have waited another half hour till I saw him in person…” The station was busy with people, all moving and talking and rushing on with their day.

There was a small stand set up on the outskirts of the platforms. It was selling stupid hipster like slogans on t-shirts like “never give up” or “stop and smell the roses”. Dirk had to chuckle at the “live each day like it was your last” shirt. It seemed to cause no end of amusement to the boy, now that he had a prototype for a time machine. “As long as it can be powered, no day will be your last.” He couldn’t wait to get back home and do the test run. He felt a bit guilty that he thought about sneaking out in the early morning hours and running the diagnostic tests without Jake, but he held himself back. Jake had been there from the start, he didn’t think it would fair to do one thing without Jake there beside him. Dirk chuckled to himself as he passed by a stand of mugs, one of which said “World’s Number One Dad” he seriously contemplated getting it for Bro as an ironic gift. “I know he doesn’t like me thinking of him as our father,” he thought to himself, “but that’s the role he played. And without him, I don’t think Dave or I would be where we are right now.”

He passed up buying anything and wandered back to the platform to wait for his train. A quick check of the clock confirmed that it should be here any second. Dirk slipped on his headphones and boarded the train when it arrived. There was a steady stream of bass and pounding notes to distract Dirk from the world that moved around him. It was a beautiful day, and from his window seat he watched the scenery pass by in a blur. Something seemed off today, but Dirk couldn’t quite place it. He raised his eyes to the sky and watched birds soar high above the ground.

They seemed so free up there. Sometimes he liked to imagine he was up there too, soaring with the white birds and leaving so much of stresses behind. “But life isn’t that easy,” he thought again, “the joy of living is defeating the struggles you face. I can’t just fly away, I can’t leave everything behind. Especially Jake, Bro, and Dave…I couldn’t.” Behind his shades he watched true freedom move further and further away with every down beat. “Maybe someday I’ll invent wings and fly.”

His eyes followed the birds and were suddenly confused. The ground was on the wrong side. Briefly his heart dropped and his breath caught in his chest. Then there was pain and screaming. He caught a glimpse of a wall heading straight for the window he was next to before being thrown across the train and hitting the opposite side. His headphones where knocked off and the piercing shrill of metal scraping together overtook his ears. Everything was blurry, there were people everywhere, but they weren’t where they were supposed to be, some were in the air, other tossed to the floor which was now the ceiling of the train.

Children were crying, adults screaming and even the train was screeching. Dirk tried to stand but the floor beneath him lurched again and he was tossed like a limp doll. His shades crunched as his face hit the wall of the train and he could feel something pierce his chest. Gasping he fell to the floor and put a hand to his chest. There was a metal shard penetrating through his body. “S-Shit,” he breathed and cringed in pain. Blood was everywhere, dripping from the metal and the corners of his mouth. He could feel it, warm and sticky, pool underneath him. Through cracked shades he watched as more of his own life force leaked away. “N-No,” he choked on the blood gathering in the back of his throat. He coughed harshly sending a spray of red to the mangled seat next to him.

The train appeared to have stopped moving and people were beginning to move around and call for help. He overheard the swirling voices of a few people call for an ambulance and fire truck. There was a man that knelt down beside him and tried to ask him questions. Dirk was vaguely aware of what was going around. The man told him everything would be ok, and that help was arriving soon. But Dirk knew soon wasn’t soon enough. Weakly he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. With blood covered hands he hit speed dial number two and left the phone against his head.

“Oh bollocks, you’ve reached the voice mailbox of Jake English! I’m sorry I’m not answering the phone right now; I’m probably on a grand adventure! However, if you leave your message after the beep I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!”

“Sorry Jake. I-“ His body convulsed and he dropped the phone. After throwing up more blood than he had ever seen Dirk knew this had to be the end. Everything was numb and didn’t hurt anymore. Dirk’s body seized one last time before his eyes glazed over and everything went dark.

---

“Jake!” An excited voice called from across a yard. “Oh man it’s been ages!”   Jake was then tackled by another boy slightly shorter than himself. “You live so close, why don’t you ever visit?”

“Haha, John, I don’t know. I’m busy, I guess that’s why.” Jake pulled the boy away and smiled, “Good to see you.”

“Same! Tonight is going to be awesome! My dad made a whole bunch of really awesome food! And Karkat’s already over. Did you know…” he paused and leaned in a bit closer, whispering, “Did you know Karkat and I are dating?” Jake shook his head, “We’re going to tell my dad tonight after dinner, I hope he takes it ok…”

Jake ruffled John’s hair, “Of course he will, it’s your dad, no one loves you more than that guy.” He gave a small laugh, “He tells you that every day, remember?”

“Haha, yeah, you’re right.”

“Anyways, congrats on Karkat, I’m sure you’ll be perfect for each other.” Jake was pretty relieved, he thought that fiery little albino kid would never confess.

John turned away, blushing slightly, “I…I think so too. So what about you and Diiiiirk?”

“Me and who now?”

“Oh man you and Strider! You have a crush on him, I know it. How else can you stand to spend so much time with him? When are you going to tell him?”

“We’re friends, John, that’s all.”

“Really? Karkat doesn’t seem to think so, and you know how crazy accurate he is with anything romance.”

Jake sighed and followed John into the house, “Well he’s wrong, it’s not like that. We’re just really close friends. That’s really it.”

“Is he in denial still?” A gruff voice called from the living room.

“Yeah,” John called back while walking into the room.

“Hey John, check this shit out. Look at the news.”

The TV displayed an emergency news bulletin. “Oh jeez,” Jake said eyes fixed on the screen. “That looks awful.”

“Isn’t that near your shitty apartment Jake?” Karkat asked turning up the volume.

“What happened?” John asked sitting down next to Karkat.

Karkat replied quickly, “About an hour ago a train de-railed, it was a noon departure heading towards downtown. So far the reports say there has only been one casualty and forty six injured. But the train lines will be backed up for a few days while repairs are being made clean up finished.”

“That’s horrible,” John said quietly, “At least only person was dead…I’d liked it if no one was hurt, but man, look at that wreck, it’s a miracle only one person died.”

“Yeah a friggen miracle,” Jake couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t place it. “What time was Dirk’s train…” he tried to remember in his thoughts, “I think he said eleven…yeah it was eleven. Good thing, I’d hate to have him caught up in that mess.”

Before any more time could be spent on the disaster John’s dad called them all in for their early dinner. “I still think your family is fucking crazy for eating dinner at one in the afternoon. Seriously who even does that?”

“One that makes enough desserts to eat for a million suppers combined,” John replied un-amused. “I wish we’d eat at a regular time and not have pounds of cake to rely on for consumption after three.”

Nervously Jake sat down at the large table and watched everyone else seat themselves. One leg bounced up and down as he fidgeted and shifted uneasily. “Jake are you alright?” John asked sitting beside him.

“Y-Yeah I’m fine. I’m just worried about Dirk.”

“You said his train was an eleven departure right?” Jake nodded, “He should be fine then, don’t worry. We don’t even know if that was the station he used. It’ll be fine.”

John’s words reassured Jake slightly, but not enough to completely put out his fears. They burned low in his gut and made the food tasteless. Finally he got up and excused himself from the table, “I need to go make a call. I’ll be back quickly.” He just had to know if Dirk was ok, he needed to know now. He went around the corner into the hallway and opened his phone, “one missed call” flashed on his phone’s screen. “It appears I missed a call from Dirk…” but before he could dial his voicemail he got an incoming call. This time it was from a number that rarely called.

“Bro?” Jake questioned, “Why would Bro call me?” He slid his finger across the screen to answer the call. “ ‘Ello, Jake here.”

There was a horrible pause before Bro responded on the other line, “Hi Jake, something happened.”

The fear that was just a burning ember suddenly flared up into a raging storm. “What happened?” There was more sickening silence on the other end. “Where…where’s Dirk? He was with you right?” He heard a muffled sob from the other end. “Bro?” Dirk had always said Striders don’t cry, but the man on the other end was crying.

Back in the dining room the others heard Jake scream. John was the first one up and sprinting around the corner. Jake was slumped against the wall crying and screaming, his phone clutched tight to his chest. John was at Jake’s side trying to calm him down and stop the wailing.

John’s dad quickly entered the hallway and reached for the phone that was still on. Jake gave it up and instead wrapped his arms around John and cried harder. “Hello?” John’s dad spoke into the phone.

“He’s lying!” Jake screamed, “He has to be lying. There’s just no way…” But Jake knew that it wasn’t a lie or a joke or sick prank. Striders don’t cry. John’s father moved outside to better hear the broken voice on the other end.

“Shhh Jake what happened?” John asked, rubbing his friends back.

“Dirk…D-Dirk…Dirk!” He screamed again.

Eventually John and Karkat were able to move Jake to the living room and sit him down on the couch. He was now silent. His breath was erratic but he stopped screaming. Tears streamed from his face and he couldn’t look any of his friends in the eye. John’s father returned and set the phone down on the table before speaking quietly, “Dirk Strider is no longer with us.”

“What? Dad…how?” John was shocked and confused.

Karkat immediately put a hand on Jake’s back, already sensing the shift in mood. Jake turned and leaned against the other male while John’s father told them what had happened. The words washed over Jake without having any true meaning. He had already heard it from Bro, he wish he didn’t hear it again. Nothing could stop the story from entering his head again, so he listened in a numb silence.

“Dirk was on that train when it derailed,” Dad said grimly.

“So then Dirk was the one death?” Karkat asked, as he resumed rubbing circles in the same place John had. He was concerned that the boy had gone still and silent. John’s dad nodded and Karkat swallowed dryly. “I think Jake’s in shock. He’s not moving.”

“Jake? Jake can you hear me?” John’s dad knelt down beside the couch and tried to get the boy’s attention. He watched as dead green eyes moved from staring at the couch fabric to his own face. “Jake I know it’s sudden…I’m sorry.”

In the end Jake’s grandmother ended up driving him back to his apartment. “Are you sure you’ll be alright Jake?” She asked worriedly as he got out of the car and stumbled up the stairs to his door.

“Fine,” he mumbled, “I’ll be fine.” Trembling hands unlocked the door and collapsed just inside. Somehow he managed to crawl into the shower and force more tears from his eyes before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

The funeral was two days later.

---

When a river floods much is destroyed and so much is lost.
Before healing the waters must recede.
But sometimes the scars they leave will never disappear.

---

Rain pounded the ground as the service proceeded. It seemed that the movie cliché of rain was present even in real life. However, it couldn’t do anything to hide the tears. Jake stood off to the side, a white rose between his fingers and tears cascading down his cheek. He didn’t cry out loud, instead he listened as words were said and the body lowered deep into the earth.

It was an open casket funeral, and before everyone shuffled into the rain Jake got one last look at his best friend. A better thing would have to avoid it. He looked almost alive; Dirk had always been deathly pale so the lack of color on his cheeks didn’t stand out at all. Instead it was the un-shaded closed eyes that bothered him the most. It was the idea that this would be the last time he would see his friend. The last time he’d look at that blond hair or porcelain skin. His eyes lingered over every part of Dirk’s face before he was finally gently pulled away.

The beat of the raindrops on various umbrellas almost seemed like the rhythmic bass notes that frequented the workshop where they hung out. Jake stole a glance at the other Striders. Like usual their shades hid their eyes, but they couldn’t cover the steady stream of tears flowing from underneath them. He had to look away. One by one people dropped their roses into the hole and left the grave site. Everyone but Bro, Dave, and Jake.

They stood and watched as earth was thrown over the top of the casket, and slowly Dirk Strider was covered up. The rain never ceased and seemed to have soaked them to their core. Jake fell to his knees and openly sobbed. Bro knelt down beside him and put a hand on his back. This was a man Jake had always seen as strong and unshakable. Quick with a sword and even quicker with a snarky comeback and way to put a smile on the younger Strider’s faces. But now his face was broken down and tired. Jake could see the deep dark rings from sleepless nights on the older man’s face. Dave was crying and had to walk away out of fear of breaking down and losing it.

“He was a good kid,” Bro said softly. “I don’t know if I ever told him how much I was proud of him. It was just…never our thing. I wish I had though.”

Jake choked on another sob before saying quietly, “He knew it. I know he did.”

Bro’s eyes never left the gravestone and the lines carved into it, “Dirk Strider December 3rd 1993 - April 13 2013 Brother, Friend, and Son, may his soul rest in peace.” Carefully Bro took off his own shades and hung them on the tombstone. “I should go find Dave,” He said while standing. “I’ll leave you alone; I know you two were close.”

Jake waited until there was only the sound of rain around him before speaking. “So, uh, hi Dirk. Golly I’m sure going to miss you.” He stopped to collect his thoughts and avoid crying. “I just…Dirk you were always there for me, you were always by my side…like I was for you,” he felt the tears threaten to leak again. “You, you promised you’d never go somewhere I couldn’t follow. You promised Dirk…You fucking promised!” He shouted and pounded the soft earth. “You said you wouldn’t leave me behind. You lied…”

The days that followed the funeral were tough on everybody. Dave didn’t go to class for a week, Bro called into work for five solid days and Jake didn’t leave his apartment since the funeral. Eventually his grandmother paid him a visit to make sure he was still alive. She was rather surprised when he opened the door, alive and well.  Well, as alive as someone can be with hopeless eyes and an expressionless face. “Jake honey have you eaten?”

“Yes, grandma.”

She sat next to him and offered a comforting arm, “You know, when I was young like you, actually quite younger, my grandfather died. Like I am to you, he was to me. He was my only real family and parental figure. When he died I thought I lost everything.”

“Grandma I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Well that’s too damn bad Jake, we’re talking about this.”

Jake’s anger flared at his grandmother, “No, I really friggen don’t want to talk about Dirk, or death or anything. Just go.”

The boy got up and started walking towards his bedroom, “Do you think he would have wanted this?” She asked him before he could reach the door. “Do you think this is how he would have wanted you to remember him? A sulking, miserable, wreck who yells at his grandma?”

Jake froze, his hand resting on the door knob to his room, “N-No.”

“Exactly. The hardest part about death is that the living have to live on.” She looked down at the floor, her own green eyes seeing more memories than she could ever retell. “When you get to be as old as I am, you do a lot of living on when others can’t.”

Jake sighed and sat back down next to his grandmother. “I just miss him.”

She nodded, “Jake, think of it this way. He’s not really dead, because he lives in your memories and in your heart. As long as you’re alive Dirk Strider isn’t gone. Ever since you were boys you were always attached at the hip, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was floating next to you, trying to tell you to get up and smile. I know he made you proud, it’s time to return the favor.” Placing a firm hand on his shoulder and squeezing she got up and left the small apartment.

Alone, Jake was left alone with his thoughts once again. “Live a life he’d be proud of…” Jake murmured. “Live on because in life there are no do-overs…” Jake stared off into space and thought about everything he and Dirk had done together. “No do-overs…” He saw their first group science fair project, he watched Dirk get a new pair shades, and every single birthday party. He was there for their graduation, and the many camping trips he dragged Dirk on. Eventually he came to the more recent memories of late nights watching the stars and the machine they had both worked so hard on. “No do-overs…” Jake’s eye’s widened suddenly. “No do-overs!” He jumped up excitedly. “No bloody friggen do-overs! Not this time! Not this time!” He ran to grab his phone, boots and jacket before sprinting out the door and towards his friend’s house.

The door to the workshop was opened with such force it almost fell off its hinges. Jake threw the notes about the time machine in an old backpack that was lying on the couch before shoving a few bottles of water and a map in the bag as well. Inside he moved the dials on the control panel and set the date and time to April 13 at nine in the morning. “That should give me enough time…” Hurriedly Jake fired the engines and said a few silent prays before hitting the button to engage the machine.

---

There are times where trout and other strong fish work their way up a swift river. They battle and climb through the waters, and sometimes they succeed and leave behind something new.

---

The time machine was very loud, but very anticlimactic. It didn’t hurl the boy to the other side, it didn’t shake or rattle. It was just, loud. Jake pressed himself against the walls and held his head with his hands until the noise subsided and the machine stopped running. Hurriedly he pushed his way out of the door and froze.

“D-Dirk?” He asked hesitantly without even realizing it. Dirk wasn’t there, and now, he would never be. Because this obviously wasn’t their workshop, and it was certainly not the year 2013. Jake backed into the machine and blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes. “No, no, no, no, no, this isn’t happening, this isn’t right.” He stepped outside again and was greeted with the same features.

Row houses as far as he could see, chimneys billowing with black smoke and railcars moving up and down crowded streets filled with people all in dress he’d expect to see in a historical reenactment. “Oh bloody hell…what have I gotten myself into this time?” Thankfully the time machine had appeared in a back alley that seemed pretty deserted. No one was walking near the entrance either and the other side was a solid brick wall. Jake walked back inside and flipped the controls on again, they buzzed and flashed once before going dark. “No! Shoot, no you have to turn back on, come on…come on…” But no matter how many times he flipped the switch on nothing happened.

“This is impossible,” he muttered, but he knew it was not, in fact, impossible. This was one of the very possible possibilities that he and Dirk failed to have time to check. One of the many bugs they didn’t have a chance to discover. The truth of the matter, Jake realized with wide eyes and shaking legs. The truth of his situation was that he was trapped in an unknown time period. He was trapped, and also utterly alone.

He collapsed to the floor and gagged, the stress causing a very unsavory line of bile to rise in his throat. Instead of vomiting he opted for water and a quick moment of hyperventilation. Then he carefully stepped foot outside the time machine.

Streets were still flooded with bodies and the buzz of life was overwhelming. Jake had no clue where or when he was. Dirk had told him that the machine did not move in a physical sense, only through time, so he assumed this was where Dirk’s house was in the past. This tiny dirty alleyway was the past home of his friend. Or, he considered, the future place of his home…he couldn’t count out the possibility the future was a regression of his present. He laughed at how silly that seemed. Jake glanced at the machine, that he now noticed stood out like a flashing beacon of light in the darkness.  Quickly he rushed back and pulled a moldy piece of cardboard off the ground and hurled it over the machine.

Jake watched as he succeeded to partially cover the device for about three seconds before the cardboard broke apart and slowly sagged to the ground. He turned around to see if anyone had noticed himself, or the machine, and was relieved to find that nobody was paying him any attention. Jakes focus was then put on hiding the machine once more, this time, without such haste. Jake found some scattered papers that were also rotting, and pulled some discarded and bent trash bins over to his machine. Carefully he constructed a large blind that would hide the machine for a few hours while he did recon.

There were so many people, that one thought couldn’t escape Jake’s mind. There were so many people, and so many unfamiliar faces and places, and sights, sounds and smells. It was like being in a foreign country, but he already spoke the language. Streetcars pulled themselves slowly up and down the road, while humans shoved their way past Jake. He didn’t even bother trying to ask the time, or let alone place, for fear of being called a loony. He had to take several breaks to catch his breath, not because he was running, but because of the smog that appeared to coat the town. The air pollution was astounding, and he found himself winded more easily than before.

In one blinding fit of coughing he stumbled into someone. “S-Sorry,” he wheezed and tried to move out of the way.

“No harm done,” said a calm and smooth voice. “Hey, are you quite alright? Sir?”

Jake froze. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He coughed again and refused to look up. There was no way he’d be hallucinating too, the labored breathing was enough.

“You don’t look fine,” the voice replied. “You reek of garbage, are you homeless?”

“I…No,” he had to look up now, he had to look up and watch as his perception of reality was shattered. “Dirk?”

The question came from a quivering voice and met disbelieving and confused ears. “Yes, that is my name stranger, how do you know this?”

“I…I…I found you,” he said quietly.

“Found me?” The stranger took a surprised step back when Jake embraced him. It was a spitting image of the Dirk he had lost. The same blond hair, white skin, and most recognizable of all, those blazing orange eyes. Everything matched his memory of Dirk.

“Yeah,” Jake choked out.

There amongst the hustle of the city two persons linked by fate met, if that is something to be believed in. One ignored the sounds of car horns and the shouts of an unfamiliar city, while the other stood in a confused shock at the bizarre person sobbing into his coat.  Unknown to either of them, this was the moment that sparked a change so big it re-routed the river of time.