Nano XXX

"That was easy," said Michael.
The man in the suit smiled and patted him on the back.
"Come on," he said, "We have more work to do."
Michael understood.
As they walked back to the van, he noticed a shiny sheet of metal leaning against the building and took in their reflections. Two completely identical men in two completely identical suits.

Nano XXIX

Michael held both hands aloft as the man in the suit stuck the gun in his back and marched him towards the men.
"Is everyone here?" asked the man in the suit.
"This is all of us. Why?" asked one of the men in lab coats.
"You won't want to miss this," laughed the man in the suit. "Michael?"
Michael opened the box.
Fifteen men collapsed amid the bright light and screeching, clutching their ears and trying to cover their eyes.
Once they'd all stopped moving Michael closed the box and turned to the man in the suit.

Nano XXVIII

They drove between the buildings and to what the man at the gate called the back door which had once been known as the loading bay.
"They're all here. Excellent," remarked the man in the suit.
The van stopped and he got out. He pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Michael, motioning him to get out. He winked at him.
"I caught him. He's willing to co-operate," he announced to the men on the loading bay, 15 of them in total.
There were nods of approval from the men. They wanted the box and to harness its power.

Nano XXVII

"I've brought him back, he surrended," said the man in the suit through his open window.
"I'll radio the others and have them meet you by the back doors," replied the man in the balaclava.
There was a crackle of static and he said something into his radio.
"Ok, you can proceed."
"Oh, one more thing," said the man in the suit.
"What's that?"
He turned to the passenger seat.
"Michael, open the box."
He did so and the man in the balaclava collapsed.
They drove in.

Nano XXVI

They drove for a long time along the country lanes and eventually the factory loomed into view.
"Remember this place?" the man in the suit asked.
"I used to work here. It's the old steel works, isn't it?"
That was an eternity ago now, before the war and before the box.
A man in a balaclava flagged them down at the gates.

Nano XXV

The man in the suit drove.
"How are we going to do this?" asked Michael.
"We're going to say I caught you after escaping and you surrendered. Simple, really."
Michael wasn't sure how they could pull this off. The van slowed.
"Why have you stopped?"
The man in the suit pulled a small remote control from his pocket and pushed a button.
"Don't forget the shield!" he said.
They drove on.

Nano XXIV

"Are there any more?" asked Michael after he'd closed the box.
The man in the suit shook his head.
"Where to now?"
"We're going to go back to the factory and kill all of them," said the man in the suit.
"Is that necessary?"
"You saw what they did to you, right?"
Michael remembered the flickering images. The man in the suit was right.

Nano XXIII

"What now?" Michael asked.
"Now we have the power, Michael."
The two men stood and headed for the door, stepping over the bodies as they crossed the kitchen floor.
Two men in balaclavas with guns ran across the farmyard towards them and Michael activated the box again. They met the same fate as the others.

Nano XXII

Michael held the box between two fingers, squeezing both ends at once. With his other hand he grabbed the two longer sides and squeezed those too.
The box opened.
The brightest light ever seen filled the room and the sound of a high frequency screech filled the air.
The kitchen door opened and two of the men in balaclavas entered. Within seconds they collapsed, bleeding from their ears and eyes.
"I guess it works," said Michael.

Nano XXI

"We need sunglasses and we need ear plugs," said Michael.
The man in the suit reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out two pairs of both, placing them on the table.
"You've thought of everything," said Michael.
The man in the suit grinned as he put on the glasses and inserted the plugs into his ears.

Nano XX

A glass of water was placed on the table in front of Michael and he took a sip from it.
"OK," he said. "I think I know now."
"Good," said the man in the suit.
The small box was on the table.
"Open it," said the man in the suit.
Michael smiled.
"I think I remember how," he said.

Nano XIX

Images flickered. It was like watching a fragmented film on fast forward.
Michael felt sick.
What he was seeing was horrific. Had he done all this?
The images stopped and Michael saw the man in the suit at the kitchen table who had one eyebrow arched.
"Well?" he asked.
Michael vomited.

Nano XVIII

The man was carrying a large case of some kind. He placed it on the table and opened it. It contained what looked like a colander with wires coming out of it. Michael felt uneasy.
"Wha...what are you d-doing?"
The man in the suit stood behind him and held his shoulders as the other man tied him to the chair.
"No! No!" yelled Michael.
The colander was placed over his head and the wires were attached to a large unit which was on a trolley next to the table.
"This might smart a little," said the man in the balaclava.
He flicked a switch.
Michael screamed.

Nano XVII

"You really remember nothing?"
"Yes, really. I only know my name because you keep using it. Are you sure I am who you think I am?"
The man stood and walked over to the kitchen worktop and returned with a folder which he placed on the table in front of Michael. He gestured for him to take a look.
Michael opened the folder and began to look at the documents. There were photos of him and a lot of documents that were heavily redacted and marked CLASSIFIED.
"None of this means anything to me."
"We need to jog your memory."
The man in the suit walked to the door and called in one of the other men.

Nano XVI

Michael and the man in the suit sat at a dusty old kitchen table in the farmhouse. The rest of the men in balaclavas waited outside. At least two of them were carrying guns from what Michael had seen.
The small box was in the middle of the table.
"How does it work?" asked the man.
"I don't know."
"Come on, Michael. We both know you're the expert on this."
"Am I? I don't know anything."
"Don't be so modest."
"No, it's true. I remember nothing from before when I was lying in that field. What happened before that? Who am I?"

Nano XV

"There's no need to run!" the man in the suit shouted.
Michael continued to run, past the buildings and into a field.
He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He felt like he'd hit a wall, but there was nothing there.
He stood up and held out both hands. There was definitely something solid in front of him - solid, yet transparent.
The man in the suit was close behind him.
"There really is no point in trying to escape."

Nano XIV

Michael grabbed the door handle and pulled it, but it was locked.
The man in the suit laughed.
"You're perfectly safe, Michael."
He doubted there was any truth in this. The man was about to beat him with a metal pipe only hours earlier. He tried the door again.
The man in the passenger seat who was still wearing a balaclava got out and walked around to the side where Michael was sitting and opened the door.
Michael saw his chance and dived out, barging past the man and making a run for it across the muddy farmyard.

Nano XIII

Michael got in the van and it sped away before he'd even closed the door.
Nobody said a word.
They drove alongside what looked like a factory where he'd been detained and out on to country lanes.
For almost an hour the van drove along narrow roads surrounded by fields and finally stopped in a farmyard full of rusting tractors.
The man who had been driving turned around and removed his balaclava.
Michael gasped.
It was the man in the suit.

Nano XII

After a few minutes of drilling there was a hole of about two feet in diameter in the wall.
A man in a balaclava stuck his head through the hole.
"Michael, come with us," he said and disappeared.
Michael walked apprehensively towards the hole and looked outside.
The man in the balaclava was sitting in a van with several other men in balaclavas. The engine was running.
Michael climbed through the wall.

Nano XI

The man in the suit left the room and the door was slammed shut and locked.
Michael sat against the wall, relieved to have escaped a beating.
He could hear the sound of drilling. Something was boring into the wall behind him.
He stood and moved to the other side of the room.
The tip of a large drill appeared through the wall and then disappeared. The drilling continued.

Nano X

Michael shuffled backwards away from the man and towards the wall.
"Now. Are you going to give me the box?"
He continued to slap his palm with the metal bar.
"I...I don't h-have it."
"Oh come on, you're not fooling me with that."
The man in the suit raised the metal bar and took a step towards Michael, ready to strike him.
A crackle of static came from the man's pocket.
"Boss? Boss? We've found it," a distorted voice said.
The man in the suit smiled and lowered the metal bar.

Nano IX

He was awakened by a bucket of water being thrown over him. The concrete floor on which he was stretched out was sodden and it seemed like they'd been trying the same method of awakening for some time.
He glanced towards the man who had woken him who was heading towards a door. He left the room and another man entered.
It was the man in the suit.
"Why are you making it so difficult for yourself, Michael?"
He was slapping a metal bar against the palm of his left hand.

Nano VIII

Michael knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them.
He reached into his pocket, took out the box and tossed it beneath a hedge as he hobbled into the next field.
He felt a sudden stabbing sensation in his back and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.
He saw boots approaching and heard the crackle of a walkie-talkie before he passed out.

Nano VII

It looked like a helicopter, but much larger and it was lowering directly above him.
A hatch beneath it opened and light shone out. Michael could see a figure next to it.
"Stay where you are," boomed a voice. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want the box."
Michael knew this wasn't right and panicked, limping away as fast as he could.
As he reached the edge of the field he turned around and saw the massive helicopter land with a huge thud. Several armed men were jumping out of the doors on the side and making their way towards him.

Nano VI

Michael stood and instinctively touched his pocket to see if the box was still there. It was.
He couldn't determine where the sound of a motor was coming from, the noise seemed to surround him and it was getting louder.
He limped off across the field, having twisted his ankle in the fall.
It was getting dark and the engine sound was becoming almost deafening.
He glanced up at the sky.

Nano V

"You won't get far, Michael."
He glanced over his shoulder as he ran. The man in the suit wasn't giving chase.
He approached a gate and attempted to vault over it, but caught his foot on the top and collapsed into a pool of muddy water on the other side.
There was the sound of an engine and it was drawing closer.

Nano IV

"Did you get the box?"
Something about this man wasn't right.
"What box? What are you talking about?"
The man smiled.
"Come on, Michael, we both know you have it."
The man had adopted an aggressive stance.
Michael turned and ran.

Nano III

"You made it!" exclaimed the man in the suit as he drew nearer.
The man who couldn't remember anything smiled and nodded thinking this was the appropriate response.
"How did it go?"
"How did what go?"
"You know, the little, err, 'journey' you took." The man used his hands to make exaggerated air quotes.
"I don't know. I don't remember anything."
"That's pretty normal. You'll be fine in a couple of hours. Did you get the box?"
He had no idea who this man was and he didn't think he should give up the box. It was too important.

Nano II

He looked at the box. He shook it and it rattled.
The box was now more important to him than anything else, he knew that.
He saw a figure approaching with great purpose from the far side of the field. It was a man in a suit and he was heading straight for him.
He stood up and slipped the box back into his trouser pocket.
The man in the suit waved at him.
Who was he?

Nano I

He awoke face-down in a large field. His head was pounding. How much had he had to drink last night?
He didn't even remember drinking at all. In fact he remembered very little about anything at all, ever. He didn't even know where he was or even who he was.
Something was digging into his leg and he rolled on to his side to investigate.
There was something in his pocket. He took it out. It was the size of a matchbox, but made of seemingly much tougher material. There was no opening anywhere on the box. It was for all intents and purposes a solid lump of some kind of substance.
Except it wasn't solid because something inside it was rattling.
He turned the object over and over in his hand.

Trick or Treat

The three children approached the house and knocked on the door, their unconvincing, cheap supermarket "horror" costumes showing they'd put the absolute minimum amount of thought into the whole operation.
A man dressed as a wizard opened the door.
"Yes?"
"Trick or treat!" the children beamed.
The wizard looked at them with one eyebrow raised.
"Really? You've made no effort at all."
"Yes we have!" one of them claimed, knowing the wizard was actually spot on.
"Here," said the wizard handing them one rotten apple.
"What's this?"
"It's me putting as much thought into my treats as you have into your costumes."
The door slammed in their faces.

Cure

He wasn't well, not well at all. He'd been bitten and he needed the antidote, but he was delirious.
"What is it?" his assistant asked as he crawled into the tent.
"An...ant...an..."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Ant...ote."
"What?"
"An...ote."
"Anecdote?"
The ill man appeared to nod.
His assitant started: "There was this one time at the conference when we all..."
The ill man headed towards an everlasting sleep as his dim assistant continued the story without pause.

Polite Notice

She tore the sheet of paper from the notice board.
"What are you doing?" asked her supervisor.
"That note, it was an absolute joke."
"It was a polite notice."
"There was nothing polite about it."
"But it said very clearly 'polite notice' at the top of it."
"You can't just write 'polite notice' and then say absolutely anything you want."
"Of course you can."
She thought for a second.
"Polite notice: I'm going to punch you in the face."
She felt her supervisor's nose break as she landed the blow.

The Cave

He entered and it rapidly became the darkest kind of dark he'd ever experienced.
Something brushed past his face and he let out a little gasp.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he screamed. It echoed all around him. Another hand covered his mouth and he drifted away.

Negative Approach

"Can you do me a copy of this photograph, please?"
"No."
"I have the negative."
"The answer is still no."
"Why not?"
"Because I say I can't do it."
"Do you develop photographs?"
"Yes."
"But you don't do copies?"
"Yes."
"Yes you do or yes you don't?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"I said yes. It's not that difficult, is it?"
"I'll just go somewhere else then."
"No."
"No, what?"
"..."
"You said no?"
"Yes."
"Are you as confused as I am?"
"No."

The Bus

The bus was coming, they could see it in the distance. There were seven of them at the stop altogether and they had been growing impatient.
The bus turned down a side street.
"What the...?" a woman muttered.
"It must be a different bus," a man remarked.
"There are no different buses. There's only one comes down this road," the woman stated.
A couple of minutes later a bus emerged from another road a hundred yards ahead of the stop.
"Look," said the man.
It was their bus alright and now they'd all missed it.

The Field

She looked across the field. It was still there, right where it had first been seen the day before. The weird metallic object glowed in the sun.
She climbed over the fence and headed towards it just as a helicopter appeared and began to land and a man with a bullhorn yelled at her to stop.
She couldn't stop and ran towards the object.
A single shot rang out.

Meal Time

She opened the fridge. A big wedge of that cake stared back at her.
It must be at least a week old now, she thought. And truth be told she was sick of the damned cake now.
She needed something healthier. There was the makings of a decent salad in the clear drawer at the bottom.
That would be the best option, she thought.
She sighed and pulled a fork from the drawer, delving it into the cake.

Time to Dye

He didn't like having grey hair and he'd bought some stuff at the chemist's to colour it.
Just For Men? He thought that sounded like some kind of seedy magazine rather than a hair dye, but the assistant had recommended it and he'd bought the stuff.
Now he was in the bathroom, brown dye all over himself and the tiles and the carpet and his wife's favourite towel.
She was going to kill him when she got back.

Nap

He drifted off in his chair and slept a dreamless sleep. When he woke up it was dark and he climbed out of the chair and up the stairs to continue his sleep in more comfortable surroundings.
He crept towards his bedroom in the dark because he knew the way perfectly well and didn't want to be properly woken up by the light shining right in his face on the stairs.
If he had switched it on he would have noticed his full beard in the mirror on the landing, a full beard that didn't exist on his face when he'd fallen asleep in the chair.

Flood

He was building a huge wooden boat in his garden. The neighbours thought he was mad and called him Noah, but he knew. He knew the flood was coming. He could feel it.
He put down his tools after a day of working on the boat, satisfied that it was nearly ready.
He went in the house and there was water everywhere. It was cascading down the stairs like a carpeted water feature.
His boat wasn't going to be needed.

The Last Man

He looked out of the window of the space station as he sucked on the straw of his protein drink. He was all alone while he waited for the next crew to arrive in a few days.
He looked down at the planet, every other living being that was known of was down there.
A huge flash of light and a rumble which shook the space station and the planet disappeared.
He went to get another protein drink from the fridge.

Gym

He always went to the gym early. He said it was because it was quiet at that time of day and all the machines were free.
There was truth in this, but it didn't tell the whole story.
He'd assume the position to bench a hundred kilos or so and then take out a book and begin reading.
This was his routine every day. Nobody ever saw him.
He'd throw a little water over his shirt before he left to make it look like he'd been sweating and then go to the cool cafe where they did the best breakfast.
Today was different though. There was another man in there. He looked shifty. They stared at each other for almost ten minutes, a kind of stand-off developing. Eventually they both chose a bench and took out their books.

Jehovah

"Can we take a minute of your time to discuss our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?"
He'd spied the magazine in the hands of one of the women as soon as he'd opened the door. Was that what Bob Dylan had been singing about? Was he one of them?
He slammed the door shut without a word.
"Ooh! Wasn't he rude, Mabel?" he heard from the other side of the glass.
He tore the door open again.
"Rude? Fucking rude? I'll tell you what's fucking rude, shall I? Knocking on people's doors and trying to get them to buy into your fairytale bullshit. Trying to convert people to your backwards way of thinking. Attempting to trick people into buying one of your crackpot magazines that frankly aren't fit to wipe my arse. Anyway, I don't believe any of your creationist fiction; I'm a proud atheist who trusts 100% in science," he raged.
"Yes, but isn't God wonderful?"

Today's the Day

He tore open the curtains, full of positivity. He'd woken up with an unmistakable feeling that something good was going to happen today. He hadn't felt like this since the summers of his youth and he was determined to carpe the hell out of this diem.
He looked across the road and saw two men arguing. All part of life's rich tapestry, he thought.
One of the men pulled out a gun and shot the other in the face.
He drew the curtains and got back into bed, his mind changed about the day.

Best Mates

You were there when I was down. You were there when I was happy. You were there when we were young. You'll be there when we're old. You were there when I did that thing, you know, the one we said we'd never mention ever again? You're always there, waiting, in your bottle.

Progress

He stood looking down the old cobbled street, hundreds of years of history staring back at him. He wondered which great figures had stood on this exact spot taking in this exact view. Founders of the city, kings, warriors, leaders - they'd all surely stood here at some point.
Would people remember him in the same way? Probably not.
He put on his hard hat and ordered demolition to commence.

Spelling Mistake

"According to this guidebook we will have to walk across the desert to get there," he said.
We packed food and water enough for the two-day journey into our backpacks and set off at nightfall at a brisk pace.
It was heavy going. My feet felt as if they were being sucked down. It was unlike any sand I'd encountered.
Maybe it's quicksand!
I looked down and saw cream and fruit everywhere, glistening in the moonlight.
"Hey!" I said to him. "This isn't a desert. It's a dessert."

The Aftermath

It had all seemed so good at the time, but now it was a different story. The world had ended and it was apparent that it had been a mistake, the foolish actions leading to today's devastation.
Now he sat in the denouement of a drinking session which went awry, hoping he would soon feel even slightly human again.

Going Out

The anticipation had been high and now, three drinks in, the novelty was wearing off.
Forty hours of work waiting for this moment and it was such an anticlimax. The people, the pub, the whole damned experience. She realised she didn't like any of it. It was mostly her workmates though; they were insufferable in the office and now she had actively chosen to spend her free time with them.
She finished her drink and went home, where the wine was better and the company of her cats was preferable to these loud-mouthed Neanderthals.

Working Hard

She sat in the corner reading a book. The computer screen hid her activities and anyone who walked into the room would have no idea what she was doing.
This was how most days were. There wasn't enough work to go around for the seven of them and so time was filled in ingenious ways. By skiving, mostly.
Their clueless boss walked in.
"How's it going?"
"We'll probably make our target this week," said the book-reader.
The boss gave a thumbs up and left.
Seven raised middle fingers behind his back summed up workplace morale.

Memory

"Where am I?"
He was lying in a field, that much he knew, but as to where the field was he had no idea.
His head pounded and his throat was dry. It felt as if he'd been drinking heavily the previous night, but he didn't drink anymore. Or did he? He wasn't sure.
He tried to stand up, but he was too dizzy.
A man in a robe walked towards him. He looked familiar somehow.

Classroom

He sneaked in and sat at the back. Nobody would notice he was late.
"Good of you to join us, Kendall," the teacher's voice boomed.
How did he know? The door had been open and he'd tiptoed in. The teacher's back was turned and he was busy writing something unintelligible on the blackboard.
"I know, Kendall, because I know everything."
What?
"You heard me Kendall."
Fucking hell!
"I will not tolerate that kind of language."
The teacher span around and launched the piece of chalk he had in his hand at Kendall, hitting him squarely in the middle of the forehead.

Clickbait

It was just an ordinary day.
The couple walked along the street holding hands. They were on their way to eat brunch at that new place they'd heard about.
What happened next will shock you.

Coffee

First cup of the day.
It made him feel human again, or at least that's what they said.
He laughed as he caught the reflection of his green, scaly skin in the chrome of the taps.

Hole in One

He was playing the round of his life. Who cared if it was raining?
It wasn't just raining, it was persistently pissing it down. He sank the easy putt and reached into the hole for his ball.
He was soaked to the skin, but with one hole to go he was five under par and knew he was going to do it.
Thunder rumbled as he made his way to the 18th.
He was going to get a standing ovation in the clubhouse for this.
As he swung to tee off lightning had other ideas for him.

The Pier

The boy loved coming to the seaside. He stood in the arcade on the pier feeding coins into various machines which were designed to take all your money with no reward.
He was engrossed and unaware of people running out screaming.
As the tsunami tore the pier apart he fed another coin into the machine that wouldn't let him grab a teddy bear properly.

Tide

It came in and went out, depositing detritus on the beach as it receded.
What was it that it had left this time? It looked like a huge sack or something.
She walked across the sand tentatively.
As she drew closer she was filled with dread. It looked a bit like one of those bags that you put a suit in only it was incredibly bloated.
She reached the bag and opened the zip against her better judgement.
There was a suit inside. It was being worn by a man with no eyes.

Early Start

It's still dark and the streets are quiet. A flashing light on a vehicle in the distance signals the arrival of that man who's always friendly and will keep me chatting for at least 10 minutes who empties the bins.
I nip down a side road and take the long way - it's still going to be quicker. A flashing light on a vehicle appears at the end of the road. Strange.
I turn around and head back the way I came. There are two more vehicles with flashing lights on their roofs. Others appear from side streets. What's going on?
One of them passes me and a man dressed in orange smiles and waves. It's him.
Another one passes. It's being driven by the same man.

After the End

The dust started to settle and there was an intense ringing in his ears.
It wasn't just in his ears, there were alarms going off all over town. Alarms that were now alerting nobody to nothing. None of it would matter any more.
He had survived. How many others made it? Time would tell.
He climbed out from his bunker, the bunker he had dug out and fitted only a week ago on a whim which didn't seem so crazy now.

New Dawn

He sat on the beach and watched as the sun came up, illuminating first the sea and then the sand on which he sat.
The windows in the buildings behind him started to twinkle as the sun rose yet futher.
Or at least they would have done in the days before the bomb.

Escape part 15

"Was that me in that tree?"
"I guess so," Devorian answered.
"What now?"
"Now we go, I guess."
Devorian held the watch and pressed both buttons. Nothing happened.
"Shit."
"What's wrong?"
Devorian looked at the display on the watch. It was blank.
"What year do you think it is here?" he asked.
The man shrugged. Whatever the year was there wasn't exactly an abundance of convenience stores selling batteries. They were trapped.
The warriors turned and spotted them and began to advance up the hill.
"Leg it!" shouted Devorian as he began to retreat.

Escape part 14

The noise was now a loud scream. The man's ears were bleeding.
"DO SOMETHING, DEVORIAN, FOR GOD'S SAKE!"
Dr Devorian was trying to think. They were inside the watch which seemed ridiculous. He put his hand in his pocket and there was still a watch there. How could there be two? He had no idea and he couldn't think of anything to do other than to press the buttons on the watch he was now holding one more time.
The two men landed on the top of a grassy hill, ears ringing and eyes struggling to focus on the new landscape.
Below them in the valley the warriors were charging into the forest. There was something up a tree which interested them.
A flash of light came from the tree top and the warriors shouted.

Escape part 13

The brightness was so extreme that even with eyes tightly shut and a hand over them it was too bright.
"What the hell is going on Devorian?"
The doctor didn't answer.
A low humming noise began.
The sound increased in pitch and volume until it was almost unbearable.
"DEVORIAN!" screamed the man.

Escape part 12

"Where are you?"
"Over here," answered Dr Devorian.
He could have been standing right next to him or he could have been a million miles away. Sound was peculiar in this place.
"Where are we?"
"It seems we're inside the watch."
"How is that possible."
"I'm trying to figure that out."
At that moment there was a blinding flash of light.

Escape part 11

It was pitch black, if not darker.
He felt around and there was nothing. His feet felt like they were in treacle, unable to move.
"Where the hell am I?" he muttered to himself.
He sensed he wasn't alone.
"Hello?" he called out.
Far to his left a voice replied.
"Devorian? Is that you?"

Escape part 10

Dr Devorian swore he could hear a voice shouting. He shook his head. He'd been working long hours and was probably just tired.
The faint shouting continued. He thought it sounded like it was coming from his pocket.
He reached in and took out the watch. He held it to his ear. There was definitely a voice coming from inside.
He pressed the two buttons and there was a blinding flash of light.

Unfinished Business

He put down his phone. Was that really the last part of the story? There was so much left to say about it. Maybe there would need to be another part to the saga? He thought about it briefly and then began to type...

The Break

"Where have you been for four days?"
"I was having a break."
"But why?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Well yes, I would. That's kind of why I asked."
The statement hung in the air like a bad fart.

Escape part nine

The darkness was lit up, brighter than anything he'd ever seen before and he closed his eyes.
"Why is this here?"
He recognised the voice. It was Dr Devorian, the man who had made the watch.
The man opened his eyes, but it was too bright to see anything.
"How peculiar," said the doctor.
The light disappeared and he was plunged into darkness again. He then felt like he was being lifted and then felt like he was falling. It was like being inside a washing machine, he thought, although he remained standing.
Dr Devorian picked the watch from the table, dropped it into his pocket and left the lab.

Escape part eight

He pressed the buttons on his watch and departed from the road.
He experienced the flash of light and then it was dark, pitch dark.
He was lying on the ground, but it didn't feel like the ground. It was both hard and soft at the same time, like no material he'd ever touched. It was so dark he couldn't see a single thing. He looked at his watch. Or tried to. He couldn't see the display. Had it died?
He stood and tried to walk. He couldn't.
He opened his mouth and tried to shout. He couldn't.

Escape part seven

His vision adjusted quickly.
Cars.
Cars?
Why were there cars beneath him?
He slammed into the road and heard a mass of horns and screeching rubber.
He expected to be hit and covered his head with his hands, as if that would somehow stop his head being crushed like a walnut. His eyes were tight shut, braced for a fatal impact.
A car door slammed shut and he opened his eyes. He saw a pair of boots walking towards him.
The voice of the owner of the boots said something incomprehensible too him.
A woman appeared who said something similar.
What language were they speaking?
Where was he?

Escape part six

The warriors shielded their eyes from the bright flash from the top of the tree and the man vanished once more.
He was appearing in another bright flash of light and felt himself falling. He guessed there was no tree there in his own time.
As he fell he saw the mass of colour moving below him. Something wasn't right.

Escape part five

They were getting close, very close. He had climbed the tree, but there was no way he could stay out of sight where he was - they weren't stupid.
He needed to go right away, but he wasn't sure it was safe. The field was still a field in his own time, but the trees were a different matter. Some had grown a lot and some had been cut down. How would that affect his re-entry?
"There he is!"
A warrior was at the bottom of the tree staring up at him.
It was now or never.
He pressed the buttons.

Escape part four

He sat beneath a tree with the watch in his hand. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.
There was only one avenue left to explore, a reboot.
He removed a penknife from his pocket and began loosening the tiny screws on the underside of the watch. He removed the cover and took out the battery.
He wasn't sure how long to leave it, but he counted to thirty in his head before putting the battery back in place and reassembling the watch.
He could hear the warriors returning.

Escape part three

This was ridiculous.
He was back in the field where he had originally stood. The warriors were advancing up the hill away from him, but it was only a matter of time before they saw him.
He ran towards the woods on the opposite side of the field. He needed time to figure out what to do.

Escape part two

The warriors scratched their heads, both literally and figuratively.
Where had he gone?
On a hill above them the man now stood looking down on them. He was equally baffled. The watch was meant to move him through time, not space.
He pressed the buttons on his watch once more and there was a blinding flash of light before he vanished.
The warriors looked up at the hill having seen the flash and began to climb it.

Escape part one

The warriors were advancing towards him from all sides. There wasn't long left.
He rolled up his sleeve and pressed the two buttons on his watch simultaneously.
There was a blinding flash and he disappeared.

Back in the Saddle

It was always tough after a three-day weekend. 72 hours of couch-surfing and excessive drinking went nowhere and now it was time to return to reality.
He rolled his bike out of the shed and swung a leg over it. He closed and locked the shed and began to cycle down the alley behind his house. The cobbles made the bike's frame and his frame shake violently and he was feeling too fragile for it. He stopped and vomited.
Monday had come a day later than usual, but it was still definitely a Monday.

Car Boot Sale

"Unwanted shit for sale. Get your unwanted shit here."
Nobody wanted most of it.
Landfill beckoned.

Sunday, Hoodie Sunday

Everyone started later.
There was no point meeting at McDonald's at 8:30 when nothing else opened until 10.
It was a short shift, only 6 hours, but it was important that they hung around outside the shopping centre and looked menacing.

Suspense

He was lucky to still be alive following the crash and he'd made it out of the car in the nick of time before it exploded.
Now he needed to get out of there before they turned up. They'd soon realise he wasn't killed in the crash and they'd come looking for him.
He started to jog to the west. He could hear a helicopter approaching in the distance.

Cooking

She was making the cake along with the TV chef. She imagined millions of people all across the country were doing exactly the same thing at that moment.
"Add the cinnamon and the nutmeg," said the man with the creased forehead on her TV screen.
She looked back and forth across the worktop where her ingredients were assembled. Neither were there. She picked up a piece of paper that was next to them and scrutinised it.
"But they weren't on the ingredients list," the woman protested to the television.
"I bet you're all saying 'but they weren't on the ingredients list' and you'll be right."
"What are you playing at?"
"I like to mix it up a bit. A real chef doesn't follow set recipes and none of you are ever going to be real chefs."
"What a shit he is," said the woman and turned off the TV.

Running

His foot slapped into a puddle, sending a jet of water up his leg and soaking his tracksuit.
He hated running in the wet, but if he was seriously considering the half-marathon next month he couldn't skip a day because of the weather.
He continued through the park. There was a large, dark shape on the grass.
He stopped running and approached the shape with caution. It appeared to be a person.
He reached down and touched the shape/person.

Customer Service

"Press 1 if you have an account query. Press 2 to change your payment details. Press 3 to cancel your account. Press 4 to speak to an advisor. Press 5 to hear these options again."
She pressed 4.
The same speech was repeated.
She pressed 4 again.
The speech was repeated again.
Were the options wrong?
She pressed 5.
The speech was played once more.
She pressed 1.
The speech...
She hung up.
Her phone rang.
She picked up the receiver: "Hello?"
"Press 1 if you have an account query..."

Fairground

The ferris wheel was their favourite. They'd gone on one exactly like this on their first date nearly fifteen years ago.
The only problem was the near-constant stopping and starting to let people on or off.
The carriages swayed in the wind.
They sat there for five minutes and still there was no movement.
Five more minutes passed.
They looked down across the fairground as all the lights were turned out and both of them shouted into the wind.

Distraction

"Stop!"
There was no point in shouting that after the robber. They were never going to stop and nobody was going to stop them.
The shopkeeper stood and stared up the street, watching the teenager who had so brazenly ran out of his shop with two tins of beans become smaller and smaller.
Inside the shop another teenager filled his rucksack with notes from the till.

Beach

It was a nice evening and as he sat and watched the sun sink beyond the horizon he decided to spend the night on the beach.
He stretched out and put a rolled up raincoat beneath his head as a pillow.
He closed his eyes and within seconds he was asleep.
When he woke up he felt like he was floating. He was floating.
He looked around and he was surrounded by water. There was no land in sight.

On the Loose

The storm had been worse than predicted and the people had returned to their homes. Now everyone had been ordered to stay indoors due to the mass escape from the zoo.
Don paid no attention to this warning and reclined his sunbed on the patio, got comfortable and dozed off.
He was woken by his dog kicking his face an hour later.
This was peculiar as he didn't have a dog.
As he became more awake he saw that the dog was in fact a cat. A big cat. The biggest of cats.
Don peed himself as the lion's coarse tongue drew blood from his chest.

Early

Woken by the birds an hour before the scheduled alarm clock call, his day didn't start well.
Now he was going to be tired and irritable all day. Or was he?
He cancelled everything and went back to sleep.

Text

C U l8r.
He pressed send.
He hated communicating in this way, but it was the only way to talk to his teenage daughter.
The phone vibrated in his hand. He had a new message.
It was a series of small pictures.
He had no idea what it was supposed to say, but sent a smiley face back to her.
He hated his life.

Straight Ahead

"In 500 yards, turn right on to Market Street."
He loved his satnav. It completely eliminated the need to read maps or memorise the route you needed to drive. This freed up valuable brain space to remember the score in every match his team had ever played and the full cast list to all the Star Wars films.
"Turn right."
He turned right.
"Continue straight ahead."
He did as he was told, jumping a red light and causing another motorist to break and lean on her horn. He was oblivious to this.
"Continue straight ahead."
He followed the instructions and crashed through a fence, drove down an embankment and came to rest in a stream.
"Continue straight ahead."

Old Joke

The chicken stood at the roadside. It looked right, then left, then right again.
It stepped out on to the asphalt and walked across to the other side.
I did it! thought the chicken.
But now the chicken was on the other side of the road and all its friends were still on the opposite side. They wouldn't follow because they were scared.
The chicken lifted a wing to wave the others to follow, but they weren't interested.
This sucks, thought the chicken.

Indecent Proposal

"I'll give you a fiver."
The woman turned around and looked at the scruffily-dressed man lurking in the shop doorway.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I'll give you a fiver."
"What for?"
"You know."
"I think I know and I'm absolutely disgusted by the thought of it."
"Why?"
"I'm not going to sleep with you for a fiver. I'm not a cheap prostitute."
"How much then?"
"Ten."

Award

"I'd like to thank everyone who made this possible and I'd just like to say it's an honour even to be considered for this award and to be mentioned in the same sentence as such fantastic actors."
He held the golden statue aloft and the audience clapped politely.
Everyone knew that he didn't deserve it and the whole thing was a fix, but none showed this. They were actors after all.

The Heist

The alarm was sounding and his two friends raced out of the bank, balaclavas still in place and carrying bulging sports bags.
They jumped in the car and slammed the doors.
"Go, go, go!" shouted one of them.
He turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened.
"Why didn't you keep it running?" fumed the other.
The driver opened his door and got out.
"Where are you going?"
He could be seen on the pavement talking into his phone. He got back in.
"RAC will be here within half an hour," he said.

Autocorrect Nightmare

He dialled the number and it was answered on the third ring.
"Hello, Generic Employment Associates. How can I help you today?"
"Can I speak to your bus?"
"My bus?"
"I mean bus. For duck's sake. Bus. Err. Your manager."
"Oh, OK. Can I take your name?"
"It's Nail."
"Nail? As in the things you smack into a piece of wood with a hammer?"
"No, Nail. Shirt. I'll spell it. N, E, I, L."
"Neil, OK. And what is this call regarding?"
"Well I'm quite pussed off about the job you got me at the biker's. The hours are terrible and the condiments even worse. Also the pay is below mineral wag and it's not assertable."
"Biker's?"
"You know, making broad and Cokes."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"I'm sock of you counts."
He hung up.

Locals

"Help me!" he shouted as he threw the door open, out of breath with his face covered in fresh blood.
The drinkers inside paid him no attention.
"They're after me!" the man continued as he entered.
The drinkers drank and read their newspapers, or did anything they possibly could to avoid eye contact with the man.
"You want a drink?" the barman asked.
"No, I need help. Phone the police!"
"If you don't want a drink I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Cars

The car alarm was going off again.
She grabbed the keys from the table and went outside.
It wasn't her alarm, it was the neighbour's car.
She walked back up the driveway. Another car alarm began to sound, And another. And another.
She turned back around and walked towards the road. Every single car in the street was emitting an annoying sound and had flashing indicators and headlights.
Her own car sat silently.
There was a low humming noise in the distance which grew louder.
And then it appeared in the sky.

Slot Machine

He put in a pound coin and pressed start.
The reels span as he watched. They showed no sign of stopping. They span faster and faster and heat radiated from the front of the fruit machine.
He started to feel nauseous.
The reels continued to spin and a loud whirring sound came from the machine.
His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed, unconscious.
The reels span on.

The Code

The door was locked and there was a keypad next to it.
He'd been given the code and typed it in.
The pad glowed red and emitted a low beep.
He tried the code again and the reult was the same.
He looked at the piece of paper on which the code was written. He'd seemingly entered it correctly, but the 1 looked like it could be a 7.
He tried again, but with a 7 instead of the 1.
The corridor lit up red and a loud klaxon sounded.
A cage dropped from the ceiling and trapped him.
He wasn't going to make it to the toilet.

Epic

"That's epic!" he yelled as he opened the present.
Epic? It wasn't fucking epic, it was just a toy. Admittedly it was a toy which had cost a lot more than it should have, but it was what he wanted more than anyything else in the whole world.
What is it with kids these days and their misuse of language? They literally make my blood boil.

Chance

The dice were rolled and he theatrically tapped his metal car on the board as he advanced, landing on the Community Chest between his hotels.
"Tax error in my favour!" he laughed. "£200!"
The card was put at the bottom of the pack and he helped himself to the money from the bank. It was the fifth time he'd had that card during the game and I was sure he had taken more than £200 on at least two of the occasions.
I rolled the dice. Shit, it was Mayfair. He only had two houses on it, but it was still going to be costly. I handed him £600 which he made a huge show of checking before adding it to his pile of cash.
He picked up the dice and hurled them over the board. 5. That would take him to Chance.
He tapped the car around the board and picked a card.
"I hope it's fucking street repairs, you little shit," I told him.
My eight-year-old son burst into tears.

Mistaken Identity

Looking out of the window and seeing the magnificent tower, I smiled as I looked forward to the continental breakfast, a walk along the Champs, maybe a trip to the Louvre later. It was going to be a fantastic holiday.
I stepped on to the street and saw the litter strewn everywhere and the early morning drinkers cracking open their cans of breakfast.
That tower wasn't the old Tour Eiffel at all.
I lit a cigarette and waited for a tram to get me out of there.