Head throbbing with a dull ache left by whatever sedatives had been in the gas, Anna slowly picked herself up off the floor of the tube. When first stepping inside, she had felt a quiet, humming vibration through her feet. The machine was still and quiet now and only the faint glow of the display panel told her that it still worked. A pang of anxious fear trembled through her at the thought of being stuck here. Wherever - or whenever, rather - that was.
The room beyond stood in dilapidated ruin. Cobwebs hung in thick sheets from the sagging ceiling; broken and collapsed support beams letting twisted tangles of debris press down into the room. The drywall had long-ago rotted away, the bared cinder-blocks cracked and fallen in at places. Roots snaked across a floor that was layered in dust where it wasn't covered in dirt. The air hung heavy with the stench of mold, mildew and must; every breath made Anna want to wrinkle her nose in disgust. It was warm, at least, if slightly damp. Moisture leaking in from above and through the gaps in the wall had allowed a wealth of tiny creepers and fungi to flourish. Several luminescent varieties provided a faint, phosphorous light to pervade.
Heart pounding fit to explode, her stomach fluttering queasily, Anna pressed herself up against the back wall of the tube. This couldn't be happening; this wasn't real. Time machines didn't actually exist; they were only in books or movies. She must have hit her head when the gas knocked her out. The whole "spinning clock hands" thing must have been some kind of trick. A...a projection against the glass door or something.
"Okay Anna, time to wake up now," she said shakily, feeling her knees start to tremble. Nothing happened and with each passing second that she felt that she was indeed awake, that this was not a dream and that the time machine she'd blithely walked into was real, she felt her grip on herself crumbling. The world seemed to spin as disbelief gave way to panic. Chest tightening, her whole body trembling, each breath grew quick and frantic. Madly, she threw herself at the glowing console jabbing at it blindly with shaking fingers. A message in blocky blue lettering suddenly scrolled across the display. POWER SOURCE DEPLETED. RECHARGING. TIME TO FULL CHARGE: 144 HRS.
A strangled cry of anguish and dismay burst out of Anna's mouth. Her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor, already feeling the first sobs overwhelming her. For long minutes she sat and cried, knees hugged tight to her chest and her face buried in them. She was stuck here. For an entire week she was trapped in this unknown future; this unknown world. For a time she contemplated just sitting there for all six days, un-moving, until the stupid machine was ready to work again. A useless idea, she knew. She'd skipped lunch and was killing time until supper when she'd discovered the secret room and the machine within. She'd be hungry before long and even if she thought she could tough out six days without food, she'd need water before then.
Drying her tears and steeling her resolve, Anna climbed back up to her feet. Tentatively she stepped out, shivering at the cool ground underfoot. She spared a moment looking hopefully for her clothes before sighing in mute acceptance that, however far into the future the machine had taken her, they too were long rotted away. She hoped maybe some of her other clothes had survived; tucked away in her dresser or even in the pile she sometimes ended up kicking under her bed to get her dad to stop nagging. There was no telling what kinds of dangers she might run into and the thought of facing them naked made her almost nauseous with worry. Not that simple clothing would offer much protection but at the very least they'd make her feel better about her situation.
Directly across from her, the doorway that led into the room stood partially blocked by debris. Crouching down to peer through, it looked as though there was a tight but clear passage back to her bedroom. What was left of her bedroom, anyway. Just off to her left, a broken spar of floor beam and part of the floor above slanted down almost to the ground. More beams and broken chunks and wood and brick had fallen in around it but there appeared to be a very narrow, twisting space through to the floor above. Short and slim as she was, Anna thought she might be able to climb up and squirm her way through.
Which way does Anna go?
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