From: cheryl492@aol.com
To: alt-ql-creative@cisco.com
Subject: Twist in Time - Part 4
Date: Thu, 03 Jun 93 18:12:57 EDT
Message-Id: <9306031812.tn11459@aol.com>

Twist in Time 
Cheryl A. Bellucci

Part 4

     "That was very good," Sam declared once he finished eating.  "I'll
just wash up these dishes," he added, picking up his plate.  Then he
noticed the worried look Mrs. Garber gave him, and he quickly added,
"Just kidding, again, Mom."  He put his plate down.  "I'm going for a
walk."

     "Don't forget, the Academy Awards are tonight."  She picked up
their plates, put them in the sink, and started the water.

     Sam left the apartment and started back towards the park.  He
walked towards the downtown area but went a couple blocks west of where
the car dealership was located.  He found a bench across from the Court
House and sat down.  The town was relatively empty, and traffic was
sparse.

     He turned towards the sound of the imaging door opening.  "Any
news, Al?"

     "No, Sam," Al answered, carefully monitoring the handlink display
as the door closed, "no one particular event we can isolate that you,
or Wayne, would have the chance to change."  He looked up at the
buildings across the street.  "That whole block will be gone, Sam, so
will the block behind that."

     "Stop it, Al.  I feel wierd enough just knowing what's going to
happen, I don't want to start looking at everything like it's a ghost."

     "Sorry, Sam."  The handlink chirped.  "Ziggy says you might want
to start walking back to Wayne's apartment soon, there's a thunderstorm
coming."

     "Wayne's mom says they've been forecasting bad weather all week
but it's been sunny every day.  What's the chances that Ziggy is more
accurate than they are?" Sam smiled.

     Al looked up from the display as the handlink chirped.  "Ha, ha,
Sam, Ziggy didn't appreciate that very much."

     "You know, Al, " Sam replied, the smile vanishing from his face,
"one of the hardest parts of this leaping around in time is knowing
what's going to happen but not knowing what to do."

     "How's that, Sam?" Al glanced up as he shook the handlink.

     "Well, we know there's going to be a tornado tomorrow, right?"

     "Yeah."

     "But we don't know what event it is that Wayne could influence so
that I can leap out of here."

     "In the original history, Wayne went right back to his apartment
after the tornado.  Ziggy says there's a 65 percent chance that
whatever it is that you are supposed to do will happen between the car
dealership and the apartment."

     "But _what_ am I supposed to do?"

     "Can't help you there, Sam.  You'll just have to keep your eyes
open."

     Sam hadn't been paying attention to the sky while he was talking
with Al, but a bright flash and sharp crack of thunder certainly made
look up.

     "That's the direction the storm will come from tomorrow," Al said,
changing glances from the handlink display to the southwestern sky.  He
glanced down as the handlink offered a loud squeal.  "Ziggy says that
now you have an 85 percent chance of getting soaked before you get back
to the apartment.  She finds that piece of information rather amusing."

     Sam gave Al an "I'm not surprised" look.  "Tell Ziggy I want an 85
percent chance of knowing what I'm supposed to do tomorrow," he
responded, just as heavy raindrops started falling.

     As Al opened the imaging chamber door to leave, Sam turned and
started walking back towards the apartment.  He quickened his walking
to sprinting as halfway across the park the raindrops fell harder and
the thunder clapped louder.

     "Why can't Ziggy figure the chances of important things happening
right?" Sam mumbled out loud as he climbed up the apartment stairs and
opened the door.

     "Wayne, you're soaked!" exclaimed Mrs. Garber as she looked up
from the television.

     "Yeah, I got caught in the storm.  Guess the forecasters finally
got something right."

     "Go dry off, the Academy Awards are about to start."

     "No, I think I'll just stay in my room for awhile, okay?"

     Mrs. Garber gave him a worried look, but didn't say anything about
it.  "Alright, by the way, there's a chocolate cake out on the
counter."

     "Thanks."  Sam went to the kitchen and cut himself a piece of
cake.  Then he went down the hallway and found his room, which wasn't
too difficult since there were only two bedrooms.  He opened the
curtains and leaned against the window sill, watching the storm as he
ate the cake.  Since the apartment was situated on a curve in the
street, he could see all the way to the park.  The lightening made
eerie shadows on the buildings in the park.  Sam hadn't seen lightening
like this too often, the bolts danced across the sky, almost in slow
motion, instead of travelling down to the ground, and their movement
made strange patterns on the night sky.

     The storm passed after awhile, but Sam stayed at the window.  He
finally decided to go to bed after he heard Wayne's mother call out
"Goodnight" before she retired, but he found it hard to go to sleep,
and ended up tossing and turning all night.