Time Warp

by Steven Brockwell

  .

  CHAPTER TWO

  Earth present day

  Carl handed Jessie the last sample container; she placed it inside a plastic, holding rack while air bubbles slowly made their way to the surface, as they breathed. Carl formed part of a marine, biology team stationed in the Mediterranean Sea. They were on an expedition, collecting sand and mud samples from the seabed just off the coast of Greece, studying the effects of pollution in one of the major shipping lanes.

  Carl gave the ok signal and Jessie responded, they started to make their way to the surface, following the anchor - line where two spare, air-tanks lay dangling half –way, They would need the extra air to complete the decompression, process.

  Carl got there first taking the demand valve; he placed it into his mouth, and pressed the release button expelling a blast of air. Jessie did likewise and winked over to Carl, He ignored her, not that he did find her attractive more the contrary, having the figure and pozaze to go with it.

  Jessie knew she had what it took, although, she was considered too be some - what of a tease. Carl never gave Jessie the attention she wanted; maybe that is what made her try that little bit harder. Jessie continued teasing Carl rubbing her hands up and down her slim curved body, she even lowering the sip on her wet suit exposing a lot of cleavage, Carl just shook his head and looked at his watch, their time was up. Carl pointed to the surface; Jessie gave the ok signal and slowly followed behind. However, as they began to ascend, Carl noticed the waves were breaking on the surface; it seemed the weather had changed since they had begun their dive. White crest could be seen everywhere as Carl and Jessie tried to swim to the back of the cruiser, That would sometimes rise and fall with the swell that had now developed, making it extremely difficult for them to climb on board.

  Nick, a skinny looking guy with scraggly long hair, which he tied up into a ponytail, Reached down to take the sample box before helping Jessie out of the water and onto the diving ledge where Jessie took off her mask, and unbuckled her diving gear. Carl on the other hand was not as lucky as the waves pounded their boat; Carl had to swim away forever escaping being crushed as their cruiser constantly rose out of the water, only to come crashing back down again. Carl waited for the right moment and took the chance, kicking his feet as hard as he could; he scrambled on board just before another big wave struck their boat.

  Jason, a tall dark skinned masculine bloke, watch Jessie as she was making her way towards her bunk. He smiled at her, as she brushed passed him on the narrow gangway, only she lost her balance just as another large wave struck. Jason held out his hand and grabbed Jessie from around the waist,” Thanks Jay”, she said.

  “My pleasure mam”, replied Jason, who had his eyes fixed on her partly exposed breast. “Yea right in your dreams “, said Jessie, as she knew what was going through Jason’s mind, and instantly pushed him away, “If you were in my dreams girl, ids never wake up” ,replied Jason bearing his white teeth as he smiled. Carl and Nick laughed; although, to Jessie it was all fun and games, part of her daily routine.

  Jason shouts to Carl, “You all clear?”

  “Yes! Take her away. “

  Jason started the anchor winch, the engine roared to life sputtering water out of its cooling system. Jason gave the thumbs up and slipped a CD into the disc drive, the music blared, adding spirit and rhythm to the air. Jason swayed and jived to the sounds of his favorite R&B songs, turned the cruiser around and heads for Rhodes harbor. Nick stowed all their gear away, securing the air tanks so they would not bounce around, while Carl stripped down to his bathing suit, and throws a towel over his course, curly dark hair.

  Jason pushed the throttle lever three quarters of the way down, bringing their 35-foot cruiser, up to planning speed. They glided across the sea, sometimes a wave would break on the bow sending water across the deck, sea spray would filled the air dampening the heat from the afternoon sun. Jason pushed on wanting to make good time since the boys had a basket -ball match that evening, the last in the series, Land Miners against Amphibians, which Really meant the off - shore expedition team, against the on- shore team. It was no big league; however, it meant the losers would have to pay for their night out on the town.............

  Jan was still in Brussels, where she had attended a seminar on the effect's earthquakes, and seismic tremors had on building structures. After the disaster in Turkey, where a medium size earth- quake had a devastating effect, causing a lot people to lose their lives due to poor building materials. Jan and her colleagues were giving scientific facts on just how earthquakes actually affected building structures, and what means could be implemented in the building codes, to minimize their affect as much as possible.

  Carl and his crew had just docked inside the calm, waters of Rhodes harbor, Jessie got off first wearing a tight pair of shorts that reveled, the cheeks of her buttocks, her golden hair swayed from side to side as she walked down the gangway. Nick and Jason whistled as Jessie walked over to a flashy convertible, where her middle age boyfriend waited patiently. She raised her middle finger in the air, just as her boy friend started to drive away. Nick cried out, “any time! “, and gave Jason a high five, Carl just let them have their fun, and was just about to disembark when his phone rang. “Hello.”

  “Carl its Jan, are you picking me up from the airport tonight? “

  “What time do you get in? “ Asked Carl, “About six thirty. “

  “Sorry Hun! I have a game at that time, “replied Carl. “ Fine I will meet you at the gym, “said Jan, and cut off.

  It appeared she had forgotten that Carl had a game that evening, it didn’t bother her as they had a mutual under- standing not to put each other out, maybe that’s why they got on so well. “Hey Carl don’t forget tonight “, said Nick.

  “ Don’t worry I will be there “, answered Carl, walking towards his car, leaving Jason and Nick to hose the deck down, and clear all the scuba- gear away.

  Carl still had to take the mud samples they had collected, over to the lab to be analyzed, the data they had collected would give vital information on how bad the pollution in the Mediterranean had become. Since the sea’s only main opening was bottled necked, the Mediterranean was considered to be one of the most polluted waters around the globe. Strict measures had been implemented to minimize raw sewage and chemical dumping, to be completely abolished from entering these waters. However, only so much could be done to avoid further depletion of marine life.

  Carl had just reached the administrative buildings, which housed the foundation for the protection, of marine species and water contamination unit. He parks his bright, blue pickup truck right in front of the stairway, and then briskly walked inside. The cool, air hit Carl as soon as he walked into the corridor, were checkered tiles lined the floor way. Several old photos, hung on the walls, showing how the old building had changed over the years. Carl walked towards a reception desk only no one was there, in fact it seemed like everyone had already gone home. Then out from nowhere, he heard a familiar voice, it was Steve, “hey Carl, glad to see you made it back in time.” Carl turned around, and gazed across the hallway, as a young man about the same age as himself, walked towards him, his footsteps echoed in the silent corridor. Carl pulled his sunglasses onto his head, smiled and picked up the sample box, being pleased to see a familiar face. “So where is everyone?” said Carl.

  “It’s Friday, We close early”, replied Steve, who worked as a lab technician, and had stayed behind just to finish off some paper work, before he knocked off for the weekend. Carl held out his hand, Steve grasped it with a good steady handshake, took the sample container, and placed it onto the reception desk. Steve did the usual thing and began filling in ex amounts of forms, asking Carl where and when the samples had been taken, before they could be brought towards the lab for analyses. Carl began fidgeting, hoping all of this would not take too long, he couldn’t wait to get back to his apartment, and shower, maybe even get an hours or so sleep before his big game that evening
.....

  ” just sign here”, said Steve.

  Carl scribbled his name across the bottom part of the page, slapped Steve on the back, pulled his sunglasses back down, and said,” see you at the game tonight.”

  Steve, being one of the land miners laughs and shouted back to Carl just as he ran down the hall way,” bring you lucky mascot your goanna need it!”

  Carl laughs back, and pushed open the glass door, The beading sun had taken its toll on his pick-up truck, the heat inside escaping as soon as he drove off, to his 2-bedroom apartment on the other side of town. Carl slumped down on the sofa, throwing his bag to the floor. He still had a few hours left before the game started, and Carl stretched out on the sofa trying to get comfortable. He could hear the clock, which was across the hallway slowly ticking away, the second’s, hand circling around its dial as if it were racing, trying to catch up with time itself however, impossible that may seem?

  CHAPTER THREE

  the game

  Jan had just flown in from Brussels; her flight had been delayed since during the summer months, air traffic was somewhat hectic. However, this was understandable due to the increasing tourist that frequented this part of the Mediterranean during the peak season, to enjoy the tranquil life style and archaeological features, which Greece had to offer. She had tried to phone Carl several times, although for some reason he was not answering.

  Carl was in the showers with the rest of the boys, cheering and chanting to one another when Jan arrived. She could hear the noise coming from the men’s changing room and figured they must have won the match.

  She walked over towards the locker room door and calmly walked in hoping to get a glimpse of Carl, who had most probably forgotten all about her?

  Jan paced up and down between the rows of steel lockers, and could hear the boys mouthing off who got the best shot, when out of nowhere Carl appeared on the scene, rubbing a towel over his head drying his dark, curly hair. He did not notice Jan until she spoke, “Hi stranger, what have you been up to? “ She said, leaning against one of the steel lockers. Carl looked up surprised and quickly covered his private parts, not that she had ever seen him naked before; it was just a reflex action.

  “Jan! This is the men’s changing room what are you doing here? “

  “ I am waiting for you! “ replied Jan, who was now walking towards him, Her hips and hair swayed with the movement of her curvy body; her skirt and blouse reminded Carl of their school days. Jan continued walking towards Carl, and put her arms around his neck; he grabbed her from around her waist- line, dropping his towel in the process.

  Nick had just finished showering, and walks around the corner stopping in his tracks, when he saw Carl naked, kissing Jan near the lockers. Nike waved Jason and the others over, they all stood there cheering them on when Carl realized he was standing there with nothing on, and blushed with embarrassment. Jan chuckled and gave Carl a kiss on his nose, and whispered into his ear, “I think something has just come up, I will wait for you in the parking lot. “

  Carl looked down to see that his penis was partly erected; he quickly swooped down to pick up his towel, and wrapped it around himself. Jan waved to the guys as she walked out of the dressing room, feeling rather embarrass herself, since god knows what Carl’s mate’s must be thinking after her small ordeal in the men’s locker room?

  Carl’s, pickup truck was parked just outside the gym, where Jan was sat comfortable on the front seat going over her finger nails with a small nail file, she saw Carl running towards her, wearing a smart pair of jeans and shirt to match. He instantly opened the door, slung his sports bag onto the back seat, and started the engine up. “Where are we going?” she asked. “We’re all meeting at Kim’s“.

  Kim was a short, blonde-haired plumpish looking girl, who owned a bar down town, it was nothing special however, the drinks were cheap, and the music and atmosphere were great.

  It was quite inside Kim’s lounge bar, Carl and Jan being the first to arrive sat over in the corner sipping on a cocktail, hoping to get a bit of privacy. Carl rubbed his hand up and down Jan’s partly exposed leg, the lights were dim, and the soft music made it a pleasant romantic place, until the rest of the gang showed up. Jason stood at the front of the line, and shouted over to Kim who was behind the bar, “its party time!” All the people cheered and lined up near the bar, while Kim flipped the CD, turned the volume up before she began to lay down a line of shooters to get the guys started. There were quite a few of them, since both teams had turned up to enjoy the evening, some even brought their girl friends along, adding more glamour to the evening.

  The drinks splashed on the bar, as Kim tried desperately to keep up with the demand.

  As the party got under- way, Jason and nick were downing shooter after shooter swaying, and teasing the other losing team, when they heard the door slam shut behind them it was Jessie, she had decided to join them after all.

  Jan asked Carl who she was, “Oh that’s Jessie, and knowing her she will have to make an entrance“.

  And Jessie did, she stood there wearing a tight fitted, three quarter length pair of jeans, that really showed her curves, a skimpy thin strapped top, that reveled more than most women would want to. Jason turned around arms open and yelled, “yahoo you made it!”

  “I wouldn’t miss this for the world “, replied Jessie snatching Jason’s drink, and downing it in one.

  The party was now in full swing, Nick staggered to the men’s room beryl making it back to the bar, the music was hot, and so were the girls. Jessie did her usual thing and climbed onto the bar dancing her dirty dance for the boys.

  “Is she always like this? “ Asked Jan

  “Yep, Jessie makes a point of being the center of attention. “

  And she was, all the guys cheered her on although, tonight Jessie had competition as another good looking girl dressed similar to Jessie, also climbed onto the bar. The guys went wild, cheering them on just to see who would dare take their top off first, not that they really had to since the guys were already getting loads of exposure. Jessie winked over to the other girl, who in turn nodded, it was late, and they already had enough for one night.

  The following morning Jan wake up feeling relieved that she had managed to get a good a good night’s sleep, after spending, the best part of the week- end traveling, and half of the night at Kim’s. On the other hand, Carl had spent the night with his head stuck down the toilet, then ended up sleeping on the sofa over at Jan’s place, since he was in no condition to walk let alone drive.

  Carl was awake, his head throbbing trying to figure out how he ended up in Jan’s apartment when he saw her walking over towards him, wearing just a long sleeve shirt.

  She sat down on his lap, facing forward, her thighs gripping the outside of his. Jan slowly moved her lips towards Carl’s and quickly pulled back; His breath had the foul smell of stale alcohol. “Hey! What is wrong with you “, asked Carl.

  “You stink of booze! “ She said, as she made her way towards the kitchen. Carl staggered to his feet feeling a bit woozy and headed for the shower hoping to get rid of the foul smell of alcohol, and everything else he threw up last night.

  Carl turned the shower off, trying to remember what had happened the previous evening, He half dried his masculine, body and walked over to the kitchen, with just a towel round his waist. Jan was facing the wall buttering some toast, when Carl approached her from behind.

  “What do you want? “ Said Jan

  “I’m hungry! “ Said Carl, nibbling her shoulder

  Jan turned to face him, and put her arms around his neck still holding the buttered knife. Carl lifted her onto the kitchen cupboard, she wrapped her legs around his waist, their lips s met, while Carl started to undo the buttons on her shirt, “ What are you doing? “ she asked in an innocent voice. “Playing hide and seek”.

  “Yea, you’re hiding and am seeking “, said Carl, as He continued to undo her buttons. Their heads rested against each other’s, Car
l caressed her body, and began to fondle her well-sized breasts.

  Jan brushed back her long, dark hair and kissed Carl on his lips, then unexpectedly, pushes him away, “what’s that for? “ Jan laughs, “It’s that time off the month! “ She said and jumped down off the cupboard. “Shit! Shit! “Said Carl, pulling out a chair and sat at the table, while Jan walked over still smiling, and slipped him a piece of buttered toast, “here you go, if you’re still hungry you can eat that! Oh and don’t forget we have stop by your place later on,” said Jan.

  “What the hell for!”

  “Hello! So can you can move in?”

  Carl scratched his head, having no idea what she was going on about, “when did all this happen?” asked Carl.

  “Last night remember! Or have you forgotten already?” Carl pushes the toast to the side, feeling rather pissed off, and ops for the coffee instead.

  Jessie had spent the best part of the night at Nicks and Jason’s place, Nick had crashed out on the bar, and Jason was not much better off. Some of the guys from the other team gave a hand, in getting them into their own apartment.

  Jessie had just woken up; she had slept in one of the spare beds on her own, while Jason and Nick spent the night in the living room, sharing the huge sofa. Jessie was half-dressed and nearly ready to leave, when she decided to play a trick on the boys, just to let them know she had spent the night.

  She walked into the living room, wearing her skimpy top and just a tiny set of under wear, she pulled the curtains back, allowing the morning sun to shine through, and the bright light woke Jason up first. “Hey! What is going on, “said Jason. “ It’s time to get up boys, “said Jessie, standing there showing all her curves and most of everything else

  “That you Jessie, Wow I must be dreaming!” replied Jason