Outta Time - Part I - Introduction

The Wind was brisk in the mountains surrounding Big Bear, Ca. Snow had fallen the night before and the early morning chill was extreme. The snow was starting to seep into Dr. Jennings' Sorrel's, giving him intimate knowledge of cold that was surrounding him.

Dr. Jim Jennings came to his cabin every year in January to get away from life in the Think Tank. Jim had come here every year for the past seventeen years with his wife. This was only the second since her death. He hoped that he never got Cancer as he saw first hand how it slowly sucks the life out of you. He was happy to be here. He felt that it brought him closer to her, even though she has passed on.

Jim looked forward to this trip every year and even more so this year as he feels that he has come to terms with his wife's death and and could focus on the normal chores that accompany living in a cabin for 1 month a year.

Dr. Jennings slid the axe through his gloves in well honed fashion. Cutting wood was one of his favorite chores. He liked to be able to be outside and breath the cold air, it made him feel alive. The wood split into two pieces and fell on either side of the chopping log. He picked up the twelve or fourteen pieces in his wood sling and wandered back to cabin.

As Jim was finishing putting the cut wood in the wood pile, which was piled very neat and precise, he heard his cell phone ringing from inside the cabin.

Jim was in no hurry to answer the phone as this was his vacation, dammit! The phone stopped as he was done stomping off his boots in the mud room and finished putting his jacket and gloves on their respective pegs on the wood paneled wall. The Mud room was covered with widows on all three outward facing walls. It was very bright and somewhat blinding from the sun and all of the snow outside.

Jim made it inside the cabin, the warmth of the wood stove was almost unbearable, even being as chilled to the bone as he was. His ears felt it first, then his face. He felt flushed and slightly uncomfortable as he made his way to the kitchen where the cell phone was sitting on the counter, next to his keys.

The cell phone was a candy bar-like phone, sleek in design and very thin. The LED message light was flashing. He was a bit disappointed that his service provider was able to put up repeaters out here and reminded him that work never stopped, no matter where you were. Even on vacation.

He dialed his VM and listened to the message. His jaw dropped and he felt more flushed than ever, adrenaline rushing through out his body. He listened to the message again and hung up. Putting phone down he thought that it was all a dream, I mean no one ever thought that they would see this project come to fruition in their lifetimes. I mean, Time Travel successfully attempted in their own lifetimes!

Tune in next time for another episode...