Altered Maybe

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the line:" I'm not going and that's final."

Altered Maybe

Elliot called up the Casting App for the third time in less than a minute.

Just like the other two times, the "jump imminent" light was flashing.

"Julia, we can't stay."

"You're half right, Elliot. WE can't stay, but I can, and I will."

She pushed away from the side of the pool and floated towards the deeper end of the Tranquility Pond. The effect was much stronger there. A look of pure bliss washed across her face and she seemed to forget that her twin brother was even there.

"You know the rule," he said loud enough for her to hear, "Miss a jump and they terminate your lineage. It's the only way to avoid both the time-paradox and altered futures. When they do that, you and I will no longer have ever existed."

That last comment hit home. Julia opened her eyes and then swam over to her sibling.

"Listen, my little brother (he was younger by 2 minutes), you go back to the Present Time if you want. I'm not going, and that's final. I've had enough of the rat race. flying cars, teleportation, and trips to Mars – I'm sick of the whole thing. Besides, since we're twins, the Casting App won't know that we both didn't jump back."

She had a point.

"Promise not to change anything that will affect the future," he said.

"You have my word," she said, pushing off towards the deep end.

The air began to shimmer. He only had a few seconds to look around and appreciate the past of 50 years ago: crude holographic viewers, cars that hovered but couldn't truly fly. It would be nice to get back to 2013.

Elliot stepped through the portal and discovered his sister was right – The app didn't know she'd stayed behind.

Word Count 299