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Player twisted the wrench one final time, his creation now complete. He let out a laugh, strangled by time and grief. But that would all be over soon. He wouldn’t have to grieve anymore. He looked down at his watch, before removing it and plugging it into the computer. He had remembered the timeline by heart, he knew just how much time he needed. He won’t fail. He can’t.
The watch had now been synced up, and Player turned the dial on the side. One hour, that’s how much he’d given himself. One hour to fix everything. The portal started glowing, somehow generating a wind that stirred his papers on the bulletin. Player approached, steeling himself for the most important task of his life. He caught a quick glance at himself in the reflection in the steel frame: dark eye bags, unkempt hair, somehow scrawnier than in his teenage years.
‘Wow,’ he thought to himself, ‘I really let myself go. But it’s fine, I’ll fix it.’
Player takes that final step through the glowing frame, stepping out more gracefully than he had expected onto the clean linoleum floors of the warehouse. His watch would have synced with the time here, so Player checks to see how much time he has until Carmen shows. 1:34 a.m, she won’t be on site for another 30 minutes. Player scanned his mental map of the layout again, figuring the best route for him to go. He makes a sharp turn left, down a corridor with flickering fluorescent lights.
He had been running down the corridor for around 15 minutes when he came across the door he was looking for. Player plugged in his usb to open the door, then quietly slipped inside. What greeted him, however, was not the storage room as he was expecting, but instead an empty door. Player silently screamed at his mistake, now set back having to retrace his steps. He doubles back onto his previous route, until he made it to the main foyer of the warehouse. Player quickly ducked behind a crate, careful as to not breathe too loudly, as a flash of crimson crossed his peripherals. He was doing this for her, but he couldn’t let her see him.
After the coast was clear, Player made a dash to the other side of the warehouse, Carmen’s movements almost second nature at this point. Though it seemed that luck was not on his side as he nearly ran head-first into a guard. He narrowly missed and jumped into the rafters above the hall, though it seemed he wasn’t fast enough as the guard shouted for backup and started fanning out below him. Player was paralysed in fear, not only of getting caught but also of running out of time, jumping back before he could save her.
After a tense few minutes, the guards finally dispersed, and Player fell back down and continued running to the room. He checked the timer on his watch. 10 minutes remaining. He picked up the pace, he couldn’t afford to run out of time, not now. Eventually, he finally made it to the actual room in question. He cast another glance. Just under a minute left. Player frantically took the usb out again, plugging it into the door. After the soft click of it unlocking was heard, Player yanked the door open running inside. Except Player’s feet came out from under him, causing him to knock into the explosives. Player braced for the heat of the blast to consume him, swallowing him while, instead hearing a soft beep. Player looked up. He was back in his base, right where he started this hour long journey. Not a moment had passed since he left.
He screamed, guttural, filled with all the pain he kept locked up these past few decades. He worked day in, day out since Carmen died that night, only for it to be his fault? Player sat there for hours, curled up on the floor. His tears had long dried out. He stared listlessly at the wall. Eventually, Player got up, put on his well-worn coat, and walked out the door, taking a singular red flower with him.
Player arrived at the graveyard just before dusk, the waning light casting eerie shadows across the area. Looking back, Player never did say goodbye, did he? Though late, Player knew he had to do it now. He made his way to where his friend was buried, placing the flower he brought on the tombstone. He knelt down in front of it, offering what few words he had.
“I’m so sorry Red, I tried, really I-I did. I didn’t mean to set it off myself. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”