by Jason Ayres
“What have you got in mind? I’m listening,” replied Kent.
“You can photocopy all of my sports results – they go up to about the middle of the next decade. Add them to the winners you already know from the next two or three years and you can become a multimillionaire if you want – assuming the bookies don’t close you down, that is.”
“How much do you want?”
“Not much. Just a couple of grand to get me somewhere to stay for a couple of weeks while I get myself sorted. I can use the sports results, too. I’m pretty sure it’s the Cheltenham Festival this week. Lord Windermere’s going to win the Gold Cup on Friday at 20/1 so that’ll set me nicely on my way.”
“I’ll have to have a few quid on that,” remarked Kent. “Is that all?”
“Well, some help with creating a new identity would be useful. All I need is a passport and driving licence. I’m sure you must know people. A new name would come in handy, too. There’s a thirteen-year-old version of me living in this town, not to mention all the others in the multiverse who might decide to pop in. I don’t want any more awkward mix-ups.”
“I’m sure we can arrange something. Now, can you do something for me?”
“I can’t send you back to 2018 if that’s what you want,” replied Josh.
“God, no, that’s the last thing I want,” said Kent. “I’m happy to get there the long way, and I much prefer this timeline to the old one. However, I am interested to know how all this happened in the first place. If you ever manage to get home and figure it all out, can you come back and tell me?”
“If I do, and it’s safe for me to travel again, I will,” replied Josh. “But if I do get back, I don’t think I’m going to be taking any more trips for a while. I’ve had enough these past few weeks to last a lifetime.”
He thought about the holiday he and Alice had planned to go on. How he wished he was on that now.
The door opened, and Hannah came in, the vinegary waft of the chips preceding her from the large carrier bag she was holding.
“Perfect timing,” said Kent. “This chap’s off the hook, Benson. Did Johnson tell you?”
“He did,” replied Hannah.
“Brilliant,” said Kent. “Then we can all enjoy a lovely slap-up meal with no unpleasant charges or anything else hanging over us and be in the pub by teatime.”
He reached into the bag grabbed a can of Fanta, and opened it.
“Bloody hell, it’s warm,” he said. “I told you to make sure they got it from the fridge.”
“I did,” she said, “but it’s been in the bag with the hot food.”
Rummaging around in the bag, Kent added, “And you’ve forgotten my battered sausage. Bloody hell, I can’t rely on anyone around here, can I?”
Despite his traumatic few days, Josh found himself chuckling at Kent’s comments. It was all so trivial and normal, which was exactly what he needed right now.
He began tucking into his food. He didn’t think he had ever enjoyed a bag of chips more.
Chapter Eighteen
June 2014
Josh awoke early to the sounds of birds tweeting outside. He had left the window open to let some cool air in overnight and the dawn chorus had started early.
He got up, stretched, and walked over to the window of his rented luxury flat in the centre of Oxford, looking out to the streets below. It looked as if it was going to be another beautiful summer’s day.
For the last three months he had been settled and comfortable, enjoying a life of leisure in the heart of the city.
After a few weeks in hotels, he was sufficiently affluent to be able to move into this flat. He started to make friends, some old, some new, and began to come to terms with the idea that he may have to stay permanently in the past.
Despite his comfortable existence, the idea of getting home was never far from his mind. He spent many nights tinkering with the tachyometer, wondering if there was any way of getting it working properly again, but he just didn’t have the tools at his disposal to do so.
He kept toying with the idea of going back in time again, but his next jump would take him to 2002 and he couldn’t see himself getting help there. After that, it would be as long ago as 1980, and he definitely didn’t want to go there. The idea of living in a time when technology was so primitive horrified him. What was it his gran used to go on about all the time? “I remember when we only had three TV channels?” That definitely didn’t sound like fun.
He had one hope left which was to try and get back to a time when he could catch one of his other selves on a visit to that past. In his diary he had a record of every trip he had ever taken, but trips back this far were few and far between.
He had only travelled back further than 2018 three times. Two of those revolved around Thomas Scott, in 1974 and 1990, and the other was to attend his parents’ wedding in 1992. There was no way he was going to travel back to 1980 and wait around a whole decade in the vague hope of bumping into one of his other selves. And that of course was making the big assumption that he would arrive in some sort of normal and safe world.
He realised it was probably foolhardy, but the nagging desire to try and go home kept eating away inside him. At night he had dreams of other realities, many of which turned to nightmares about some of the scarier worlds he had visited. It seemed that his subconscious mind at least, couldn’t rest, just as had been the case with Lauren and her nightmares about that night at the camp.
He also kept wondering why Alice had never come to look for him. That suggested that he had made it back eventually. She had a fully functioning tachyometer. If he hadn’t returned, there was no reason why she hadn’t been able to track him down. To him, that suggested he had made it home eventually.
What other options did he have? Instead of jumping, could he wait a few years for the time bubble to be unearthed? Could that help him? There were no guarantees. He would change the timeline, which might again lead to the Josh of this universe not following his time travel ambitions.
Maybe he could fix the tachyometer himself if he could get to the future, but he would have no money, identity or the resources of the university if he made it back there. The materials he needed didn’t come cheap. And it was another four years to wait anyway – he would be in his late-fifties by then. He just couldn’t wait that long.
After weeks of deliberation, a possible solution came to him. There was a way he could get to 1992, and then attend his parents’ wedding. This was a focal point in his life, and one of the first trips he had undertaken with the tachyometer. He would just have to hope that in the next universe things would be similar enough for his alter ego to attempt the same trip.
To get to 1992, he needed to re-create the situation where the Josh he had met in the nuclear war world had unexpectedly jumped through the bubble. He needed to send someone or something through to 2002, thereby resetting the device so it would send him back twenty-two years instead of eleven.
He didn’t have anyone handy he could send back to 2002. So what was to go through instead? It didn’t have to be human – all it had to be was above a certain weight and organic.
A horse could do it. He thought about the possibility of going to the races and creating a bubble in the parade ring while the runners were walking around. But he dismissed that idea as being too risky on a number of counts, not least that the horse’s lad or lass might enter the bubble instead. He had screwed up his own life enough, without messing up anyone else’s.
In the end, he came up with a similar idea, that of trying to lure a cow into the bubble. He could go off into the country somewhere, in a field and try and manoeuvre one in.
It wasn’t going to do the cow any harm – it would just end up in a field full of a load of other cows. It wouldn’t have any inkling of what year it was. One cow going missing in 2013 would be put down to rustling. Apart from some farmer in 2002 being perplexed at gaining an extra cow, it would be no big deal to anyone.
Manipulating
a cow into the bubble proved remarkably difficult. The animals had viewed him with suspicion as soon as he entered the field, becoming decidedly aggressive towards him. At one point he thought they were going to charge him.
Backing away from them and losing his footing, leaving him face-down in a cowpat, didn’t help matters either, but the plan did succeed. A particularly rambunctious animal, coming rather too close for comfort, fell right into his trap and vanished.
With that accomplished, he spent the next couple of weeks making every possible preparation for his arrival in early 1992. He had the date calculated to the day, a stack of old currency to get him started, and of course, that old standby, the racing results.
Now he had to hope two things. Firstly that he arrived in a normal and safe world – because if he didn’t, he would have to jump again. That would take him to 1947 which didn’t bear thinking about.
Secondly, assuming the world of 1992 was normal, all his hopes were pinned on the Josh of this world coming back in time to attend the wedding in June. He would be arriving in January, which would give him five months to prepare.
Heading for the tree on Christ Church Meadow, for what he truly hoped would be the last time, he reflected that this was a huge gamble he was taking and very likely to be his final roll of the dice. If he failed to find his other self, then hopefully he could forge a life in the 1992 similar to the one he had been living in 2014.
If the worst-case scenario happened and he found himself again plunged into danger, he would have no regrets. After all, how many people could say they had been able to have the sort of adventures he had?
Holding out the tachyometer, he pressed the button and stepped forward one last time.
The end…for now, but you can find out more about the mysterious backwards living Thomas Scott in the spin-off novel My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday.
You can also discover how Kent ended up in 2013 in Midlife Crisis.
Now, before you go, may I ask a small favour?
As an independent author, I don’t have the strength of a big marketing budget behind me. I rely on word of mouth to spread the word about my books, plus genuine reviews from enthusiastic readers who have enjoyed the book. These help potential new readers decide whether or not to try a story from an author they haven’t read before.
If you enjoyed the book, I would be hugely grateful if you would consider taking a few minutes to leave a short review on the Amazon website to let other readers know what you liked about the book. Every little helps, even if it is only a couple of short sentences.
To review in the UK, click here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074FHGSXZ/
To review in the US, click here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074FHGSXZ/
Also by Jason Ayres:
Midlife Crisis
If you were offered the chance to live six days of your life over again, which would you choose?
Richard Kent is feeling well and truly fed-up. As he approaches middle-age, his waistline is expanding, his career options are dwindling, and everything from pop music to television seems like it was so much better in the past. If that wasn't depressing enough, his wife nags him, his kids ignore him and his boss thinks he's a dinosaur. He's just about ready to give up but then a remarkable encounter with his younger self changes everything.
A trip back to 1984 in the body of his seven-year-old self is just the beginning of an amazing adventure revisiting key moments from his life. From an unrequited teenage crush to revenge on his evil boss, armed only with a large, rubber Brontosaurus, Kent sets out to right the wrongs of the past.
This novel is the first in a new series of spin-offs set in the same universe as the author’s Time Bubble series. A sequel, Rock Bottom, was released in early 2017.
UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GOZRI9U/
US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GOZRI9U/
Rock Bottom
Kay's life was in a mess - until the day her younger self appeared and offered her the chance to travel back in time.
At 18, she had it all. Brains, beauty, and plans for a glittering career in front of her. At 43, she finds herself barely scraping a living and renting a grotty flat above a chip shop. Traded in by her husband for a younger model, Kay has lost all self-respect, seeking solace in vodka and one night stands. But now she's been given the chance to go back and relive six days of her life over again. Can she use them wisely to turn her life around?
From reliving Christmas Day in the 1980's to turning private detective in her own divorce case, Kay makes good use of her trips to the past. But will an attempt to unmask a murderer in the local community be her undoing?
This novel is part of a new spin-off series featuring characters from the original Time Bubble books. Each can be enjoyed stand-alone, or alongside the other stories.
UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N76YM5M/
US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N76YM5M/
My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday
Meet Thomas Scott, a man living life in reverse, in this original new time travel novel.
When Thomas wakes up in hospital 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. Next time he wakes, alive again, he is confused to discover that it now December 31st. As the days pass it becomes clear that the calendar is running in reverse.
From middle-aged father all the way back to childhood, the passing years present all manner of different challenges for Thomas as he continues his journey backwards through the early 21st and the late 20th centuries.
Taking place in the same universe as the author’s Time Bubble series, this is a stand-alone story which can be enjoyed with or without having read the earlier books.
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UDHAD0M/
US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UDHAD0M/
The Time Bubble
Charlie and Josh’s interests were the same as most other teenagers: drinking, parties and girls. That was until the day they discovered the Time Bubble.
It starts as a bit of fun, jumping a few seconds into the future. Soon things take a more serious turn as the leaps in time increase in duration. When a teenage girl goes missing, and the police become involved, suspicion falls on Charlie. How can he explain where she is? Will anyone believe him?
Set in a small market town in Southern England in the early 21st century, this light-hearted time travel novel has plenty to delight readers of all ages.
This novel is the first part of a series which continues with Global Cooling and Man Out Of Time. A fourth volume will be released later in 2017.
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L3K1B8G/
US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L3K1B8G/
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. With power supplies failing and food scarce, survival is at stake as those with darker motives seek to take advantage of the situation.
For those heading south, can the discovery of a new Time Bubble provide a way out?
Global Cooling is the second part of a series 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 series continues with Man Out Of Time. A fourth volume will be released later in 2017.
UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00OTTETV4/
US Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTTETV4/
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?
&nbs
p; This is the situation that Daniel Fisher finds himself in at the beginning of this novel. 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 is the third in The Time Bubble series, following on from The Time Bubble and Global Cooling. A fourth volume is planned for later in 2017. The story also links in with 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/
About the author
Jason Ayres lives in the market town of Bicester, near Oxford, with his wife and two young sons.
Following a lengthy career in market research, he turned his hand to writing whilst bringing up his children. This included the popular Stay At Home Dad column in the Oxford Mail.
Encouraged by this success, he moved on to writing time travel novels, releasing The Time Bubble in the summer of 2014. This original and well-received story has since spawned a host of spin-offs and sequels.
Want to know more about Jason?
You can find his official website here:
https://www.jasonayres.co.uk/
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https://twitter.com/AusterityDad/
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