How To Go Back in Time Book One: Chapter Eleven

Rosa dropped me off back at my motel. I spent the rest of the day lying in bed and watching
television. I rolled a joint or two and smoked that. The strain was Blue Dream and it made everything
look like it was in HD. I knew that I’d have to pay a fine for smoking in the room. But… I didn’t really
care about that.
The case was “over” and I was just waiting for the call to go home. And then, since I thought of
it, I hadn’t gotten a call yet. Either my superiors knew something I didn’t, or they had forgotten. And I
knew my boss wasn’t one to forget.
It was midnight and the station gave their closing broadcast. I fell asleep rather stoned, staring
straight at the grainy American flag. Within seconds, I was passed out.
* * *
AN HD TRANSMISSION SENT TO YOU
FROM OUTER SPACE
“Hello, Mr Sander.”
It was that voice again. Him, again. “Are you going to hurt me?” I kept my eyes focused on the
wall in front of me. Though, out of the corner of my eye I could see his charred flesh.
“There would simply be no point to that.”
“…Why?”
“Because, Mr. Sander, I need you. I am here to guide you into doing something for me.”
“Are… is this manipulation?”
“Not at all. Trust me, you want to do this too. You just don’t know it.”
“Uhuh…”
He raised his leg up and crossed it over his knee. Like a trainwreck, I couldn’t help but stare.
“On another note,” he said, clearing his throat. “I see that you want to give up.”
“How’d you know that?” I yelped.
“Because I am you, Mr. Sander. I have experienced this too. I’m older than you and yet we wear
the same skinsuit.”
“So… you’re future me?”
“Exactly.”
“Tell me what happens tomorrow.”
“You’re gonna end up going for a drive, and you’ll find a second murder weapon.”
“And why would I do that?” Damn flies. They were buzzing around and crawling at the light.
“Because, I’m gonna tell you this. If you walk away now, you’re trapped here forever. You
simply must try. There is no other option.”
“There’s no other option?”
“Yes, Mr. Sander. There is no other option. You are stuck in a time loop, created by me, and
now I need you to claw out of it.”
My blood ran cold. Chills ran up and down my spine. What the fuck was happening? “I’m in a
time loop? And you mean that seriously?” Upon realizing the absurdity, I broke down laughing. I fell to
my knees and pounded the wooden floorboards. “This is it!” I cheered. “I’ve lost my mind!”
“Mr. Sander, you have not lost your mind. I can assure you that what you’re experiencing is
perfectly real. Just on another plane of existence.”
I sat up with a smile. “A plane of existence? Like the after life?”
“Similar, but no. You are halfway in the material world, and halfway in the astral world. I am a
spirit communicating with you. That makes you a shaman.”
“…”
“Is that all, Mr. Sander?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
He smiled. “Then I shall bid you farewell. Follow your intuition, always—it’s your compass.
You know what to do.”
* * *
THE PRESENT
I drove down the dusty road and arrived at a stop light. This road connected to a small highway
leading to other small places which lead to smaller places. A barren clearing of dust and dirt laid forth
upon me. In the distance, mountains.
It was the morning and the sun was just beginning to rise. I woke up sometime around three,
thanks to the weird-ass dreams I was having.
The light turned green and I could finally move forward. I crossed over the dips, and over the
cattle guards, to the where the road turned to dirt. Dust flew up behind me as I trotted. Further into the
distance, the road became smaller and curved around towards a farmhouse made of junk. By the side,
was a weeping willow tree.
This was where Rosa and I had our little date. I wondered why I had come here unintentionally.
My future self did say I’d find a murder weapon that day. I began scouring the dirt and digging through
the ruts. Came up nothing.
Tumbling up rocks did nothing, and so did sifting through the grass. Almost all hope was lost
until Irwin had an idea. The tree.
Upon inspection of one the limbs, I noticed a crack. I broke the branch off and saw a hole
burrowed into the wood. Sticking my hand down there, I felt my fingers graze metal. I saw that it was a
bloodstained knife. The same one Justin had.
At first, I just stared. I didn’t know what to make of it. And as an eerie chill descended upon me,
it was understood that I found evidence of Justin’s innocence. The first instinct after was making a call.
“Rosa! Do you know that old tree by the farm?”
“…Yes.”
“Okay, I need you and James to get here as fast as possible. Quick!”
“What? Why?”
“I found a second murder weapon. Completely identical to the first.”
I heard a sigh over the phone. “Irwin, that’s crazy.”
“I found it! I’m not lying! Get over here!”
“Okay, alright. We’ll be there soon.”
I shut off the phone and burst of wind made the tree shake. There was still some blood in the
soil. Though, it was clumped together and tinted red. Eventually, we all return to the Earth some day.
Energies get transmuted.
Twenty minutes would pass with no sight of James or Rosa. I sat against the tree, staring off
into the barren wasteland. The sun was higher in the sky, with much more heat. Thankfully, I had found
shade. Eventually, I went back to the car to grab my things. Rolling papers, a tip, tobacco, and weed. I’d
be smoking a spliff.
So there I sat again. The smoke curled around the edges, and up into the air. The tree’s leaves
were baptized in the smoke. Anytime I’d take a drag, I’d feel a little lighter. Like I was in some serene
garden. Everything was just a little quieter.
A cloud rolled by and blocked out the bottom part of the sun. The cloud then became enveloped
with light. And an orange glow descended upon the area. In the distance, the gate swung open and a
police car came storming through.
They pulled up by the tree, and James stepped out. “So you found a knife?”
I tossed it into the air and it dropped by his feet. “Yeah.”
He picked it up and gazed at it for a second. “You’re right. Completely identical.”
“What?” Rosa cried. “Lemme take a look at it.” And once her eyes had gotten enough of it, she
came to the same conclusion too. We had seen this before.
“So what does this mean?” James asked.
I chuckled. “It means we have a second murderer. The case ain’t over.”