The Time Bubble

by Jason Ayres

  Dawn had broken by the time they left the tunnel, and the sun was already shining. It was 7.03am on a glorious spring morning, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, the first one Peter had seen for over 22 years.

  Over the next few weeks he learnt everything that had happened while he had been away.

  He learnt about the revolutionary new cancer treatments that had saved millions of lives across the globe.

  He learnt about the devastating asteroid impact that had wiped out millions of lives and blocked out the sun for two years, plunging Britain into chaos.

  He signed up with a new GP, his old one having long since retired, and got started on the treatment that would save his life.

  He explained away how he looked so good for a man 71 years of age by claiming he’d spent the last twenty years in a remote Himalayan monastery. The simple life of meditation and an extremely healthy diet were well known for the benefit of longevity, and he just about managed to get away with it.

  He learnt all about the awful things that Dan had done over the past few years which more than justified them getting rid of him the way that they had. It seemed that the fat, obnoxious schoolboy had grown into a thoroughly nasty adult human being. His track record included things such as football hooliganism, involvement in a new and sinister far-Right political party and severe misogynistic behaviour.

  When law and order had broken down during the global winter his true colours had really come to the fore. He’d done some really nasty things for which he’d never been brought to justice. Now Charlie and the others had administered their own. The town was well rid of him.

  He was delighted to find that Kaylee and Charlie were now married and, not only that, they had named their first-born son after him.

  He got to know the daughter who’d grown up without him and spent as much time as he could with her to make up for the years he’d missed.

  He rekindled his romance with Hannah, and the two of them made plans to spend the rest of their lives together. On November 2nd 2041, 22 years to the day after he’d first stepped into the Time Bubble, they walked down the aisle with Charlie as his best man.

  He spent weeks reading, learning and catching up on twenty years of history, not to mention getting to grips with the latest technology which had continued to advance at a staggering rate.

  He sat down and watched a recording of a moment he thought he’d never see – England winning the World Cup Final in 2026.

  Life was good and it would be another 22 years before they’d have to worry about the Time Bubble again.

  Epilogue – The far future

  An old man emerged from nowhere, gasping for air in the burning, poisonous air of the dying earth.

  It was billions of years in the future. There was no vegetation or life of any kind as far as the eye could see. All that could be seen was the black and red scorched earth covered in rocks and rubble. All signs that man had ever existed here were long gone.

  The skyline was dominated by a huge, angry, blood red sun, many times larger than it had been when the man had begun his journey back in the mid-21st century.

  In 2063 Peter had made the decision to enter the Time Bubble again. After twenty wonderfully happy years of marriage he’d lost his beloved wife, Hannah, to an illness that even the modern medicine of that time could not cure.

  By 2063 his health was also failing him, and he knew he had only a short time left. He hadn’t wanted to leave his daughter behind, but when the alternative was nursing him through a long, slow death, they agreed this was the best thing for him to do.

  His quest to see the future had not diminished, and this was a unique opportunity for him to see things that no other man in the history of the earth would ever get the chance to see.

  When Dan emerged from the tunnel, disorientated and confused by everyone’s disappearance, Peter had been waiting to jump in.

  Completely in the dark about the nature of the Time Bubble, and having been declared legally dead, Dan found he was unable to continue his unsavoury lifestyle in 2063. Eventually he ended up in a psychiatric hospital and there he stayed, continuing to stick to his seemingly delusional tale that he was a time traveller from the year 2041.

  On the day Peter left in 2063 there was a train going overhead, but by the time he arrived in 2108 the line had fallen silent. Huge advances in teleconferencing facilities and holographic techniques had rendered the HS2 more or less obsolete by the time it was completed.

  Less than twenty years after the first train ran, the lines fell silent. The whole thing had been one huge, expensive mistake.

  By the time Peter arrived in 2198, the tunnel was gone altogether and the tracks removed. He was out in the open and there were people around. He couldn’t hang around or one of them would end up in the Bubble. So he jumped on to 2377 and then 2736.

  By now the world was completely unrecognisable from the one he’d left. Around him rose amazing futuristic, gleaming metal and plastic buildings, more fantastic than anything that he’d ever seen in any science-fiction movies.

  Every time he jumped the world around him changed dramatically. Each time he tried to spend a little time looking around but he could never stray far from the entrance to the Bubble for fear of not finding it again. He wanted to go on as far as he possibly could.

  And then suddenly it was all gone. He arrived in the year 7760 to discover everything in ruins, rusting girders and collapsed buildings everywhere. By the time of his next visit in 13,506, all evidence of it had vanished completely, replaced by huge giant tropical rainforests, populated by some seriously huge and nasty looking insects.

  As his jumps got longer and longer, the climate seemed to lurch from one extreme to another. Of mankind there was never another sign. Either they were all dead or they’d gone off into space and abandoned the Earth.

  A few million years into the future, he found the planet once again blanketed by snow and ice. It was so cold this time that it made his previous experience in the frozen tunnel seem like afternoon tea on the lawn. He didn’t hang around long there, he wouldn’t have lasted more than a minute in those temperatures.

  The next time he jumped he found himself in the middle of a vast ocean with no sign of land anywhere to be seen. Circling overheard were vast swarms of what looked like giant flying sharks with wings where the fins should have been, and huge teeth.

  When they spotted him they began swooping down towards him. He just about managed to swim back into the Time Bubble before they devoured him.

  Fortunately he emerged to find himself once again back on dry land, once again surrounded by tropical vegetation. He didn’t think he’d be safe for long, though. There were horrible screeching and roaring noises from who knows what kind of horrors emanating from all around him.

  And so he jumped on and on, losing count of the number of times he’d leapt. Josh had estimated he’d need to jump about 27 times to reach the end of the world and now as he emerged he was pretty sure he was there.

  The heat was unbearable; he couldn’t breathe and he knew that this must be the end. His eyes gazed in wonder at the huge red giant the sun had become, dominating the skyline as it prepared to swallow up the earth.

  As he fell to the ground dying, he was comforted by the thought it had all been worth it. He’d cheated death, spent two decades with a woman he loved, and brought a lovely and caring daughter into the world. He’d seen things with his eyes no other human ever would see and he’d outlived them all.

  His mind went blank and the last man on earth closed his eyes for the final time.

  The end…but the story continues in Global Cooling.

  If you have enjoyed this book, would you be kind enough to leave a short review on Amazon? A few words and a star rating is all that’s required. This will help other readers to discover the book. Your help is greatly appreciated.

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  Also by Jason Ayres:

  My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday

  When 54 year old Thomas Scott wakes up in a hospital bed on New Year’s Day he has no memory of who he is or why he is there. Racked with pain from a terminal illness, death swiftly follows.

  The next day he awakes to find himself alive again and confused, especially when he discovers that it is now New Year’s Eve. As the days pass he begins to realise that he is living his life backwards one day at a time.

  So begins the extraordinary tale of a man who goes to sleep on Sunday nights and wakes up on Saturday mornings: A man who cannot form a meaningful relationship with a woman because when he jumps back to the previous day, she has no memory of him. And a man who can win a fortune from gambling any time he likes, but has only one day to spend it.

  Trying to find some purpose in life he resolves to find out as much about his own personal history as he can. Learning of the death of his wife and an attack on his daughter, he prepares to make changes in the past to secure their future.

  From middle-aged father all the way back to childhood, the passing years present all manner of different challenges as he grows ever more youthful.

  Set in and around Oxford between the years of 1970 and 2025, this unique concept for a time travel novel features plenty of humour, nostalgia and “what if?” moments.

  Taking place in the same universe as the author's Time Bubble series, this is a standalone novel that can be enjoyed without the need to have read those earlier books.

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UDHAD0M

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UDHAD0M

  Also by Jason Ayres:

  Global Cooling

  In 2029, Earth is facing a major climate catastrophe. An asteroid strike blankets the globe in dust and ash, blocking out the sunlight. Soon temperatures begin to fall.

  As weather conditions worsen, the residents of a small market town in Southern England must make a decision – flee south or wait for the worst to pass. Choosing to stay, D.I. Hannah Benson soon has more to worry about than keeping law and order. With power supplies failing and food scarce, survival itself is at stake as those with darker motives seek to take advantage of the situation.

  At Gatwick airport, Charlie Adams and his heavily pregnant wife, Kaylee, discover that all planes are grounded. Desperate to escape to mainland Europe, they travel to the coast to find a way to cross the Channel. Meanwhile, time-travel expert Josh Gardner may have found another way out. He and his partner, Alice, head for Cornwall to investigate the possible existence of a new Time Bubble, but their travel plans are also disrupted by the deepening winter.

  Global Cooling is the second part of a trilogy which began with The Time Bubble. Set a decade after the main events of the first book, this story picks up the lives of the main characters as they reach their late twenties.

  The trilogy concludes with the final volume, Man Out Of Time.

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00OTTETV4

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTTETV4

  Also by Jason Ayres:

  Man Out Of Time

  What would you do if you found yourself cast 22 years into the future? Into a world where your home is no longer your home and you’ve been declared legally dead?

  This is the situation that Daniel Fisher finds himself in at the beginning of this novel, the latest release in The Time Bubble series.

  Stranded in the future, in a place where his outdated currency is worthless, things go from bad to worse for Dan very quickly. Before long he finds himself incarcerated in a secure psychiatric unit, his hopes of ever returning to the past looking bleak.

  Elsewhere, Josh has unlocked the secrets of the time bubbles, and can now freely travel in time. He returns to the scene of past encounters, as well as travelling to the future to join Peter on his adventures through time. But has he been careful enough to prevent others from discovering his secrets?

  This book concludes The Time Bubble trilogy, tying up all of the loose ends from the first two books, as well as linking in to the spin-off novel, My Tomorrow Your Yesterday.

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B013A0ZN7Q

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013A0ZN7Q

  Also by Jason Ayres:

  Fortysomething Father

  Jason Ayres is a father, a DJ, a junk food addict, a karaoke presenter, a wannabe writer and more.

  Fatherhood arrived unexpectedly for him in his late thirties. In the space of five years he went from suited-and-booted Account Director with a big global company, to stay-at-home Dad and mobile DJ.

  With time on his hands in-between karaoke nights and nappy changes, he began to keep a diary about his experiences. The end result is this collection of anecdotes about all of the topics above and more.

  From trying to track down the perfect buffet, to the pitfalls of shopping in Tesco, days out with the kids, and writing to Walkers Crisps with new suggestions for their product ranges, the chapters are many and varied.

  This book was the first of two volumes of the Stay At Home Dad Diaries. The second, "Austerity Dad", was launched in 2013. Jason then continued his diaries via a weekly column in the Oxford Mail.

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CPCYO1W

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCYO1W

  Also by Jason Ayres:

  Austerity Dad

  In this swashbuckling sequel to Fortysomething Father, Jason Ayres regales us with another year of random musings on his life as a stay-at-home dad and more.

  Along the way he offers lots of money-saving tips for the family on a budget. These vary from the reasonably sensible (don't be conned into pre-booking aeroplane seats) to those you probably shouldn't try at home (DIY dentistry and cheese grater pedicures).

  As always, the challenges of stay-at-home parenting are never far away. Taking kids on holiday, fussy eating, and the joys of nappies are among the many topics discussed. The writer's obsession with junk food also continues unabated. From misty-eyed reminiscences about the glory days of the Little Chef, to dreaming up strange new ideas for pizza toppings, there's plenty of food for thought.

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E83HM88

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E83HM88

  Also by Jason Ayres:

  The Sausage Man

  When Jason Ayres entered a competition to become Britain’s Official Sausage Taster for the 2013 Sausage Awards, he hadn't really expected to win.

  His unexpected triumph soon led to a whirlwind adventure in the world of sausages! From tastings to awards, newspaper reports to radio interviews, the author found himself thrust into the limelight as “The Sausage Man”.

  For a man with a lifelong love of pork products this was a dream come true – his equivalent of scoring the winning goal in the World Cup Final.

  Now you can read for yourself the full story of his six month adventure, from humble beginnings to fully fledged sausage taster.

  Along the way, there are anecdotes and factoids galore. Want to know the length of the world's longest sausage, or why we call sausages, "bangers?" It's all here and more - plus off-the-wall new recipe ideas (sausage mince pies, anyone?) and the answers to some reader's sausage dilemmas!

  UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IF4LB8S

  US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IF4LB8S

  About the author

  Jason Ayres began his writing career at Primary School in 1979 with a 94 chapter epic space adventure. It featured the exploits of Captain Jason who bore more than a passing resemblance to a famous starship captain of the era. Sadly, the plot was just getting going when his teacher firmly suggested that he try writing about something else.

  Never one to let the creative sap rest for long, by the mid 1980's he was furiously scribbling down plays in "spa
re" exercise books liberated from the stationery cupboard. These plays starred his classmates and girls he fancied in a number of outrageous and libellous scenarios. The plays have now been placed securely under lock and key with strict instructions never to release them to the general public.

  Unfortunately his budding aspirations as a writer were somewhat stifled in his twenties by an ill-advised fifteen year career in the Market Research industry. At this time, writing opportunities were somewhat limited by having to go to work every day. However he still found time to write numerous letters to various manufacturers advising them on their product ranges. He also produced many spoof newsletters for the countless activities that a social life based around the pub entailed.

  Eventually he left the world of sales figures behind to become a stay-at-home dad, giving him a whole new source of material to write about. His first two humorous parenting diaries, "Fortysomething Father" and "Austerity Dad", were published in 2013. This was followed in 2014 by a third book, “The Sausage Man”, recording his adventures in the world of sausages. He also continued writing about his parenting experiences via a weekly column in the Oxford Mail.

  In the summer of 2014 Jason released his first novel, "The Time Bubble", which was a huge hit both in the UK and the US, achieving the coveted #1 spot in the YA Time Travel category. The sequel, "Global Cooling" followed in November, followed by “Man Out Of Time” in September 2015, completing the trilogy.

  In March 2015, he released his latest time travel epic, "My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday". This story of a man living his life backwards, one day at a time, is set in Oxford between the years 2025 and 1970, and is ideal material for a film, according to the author!