FF: Seven days in Hell ch.1

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

See Disclaimer in prologue.

Chapter One: Your assignment, should you choose to accept it...

Parker was just entering the hanger when he heard Olga's familiar voice
coming up behind him. "Mr. Parker, please wait." Parker stopped, turning
to stare at the beautiful scientist as she made her way toward him. "Olga,
shouldn't you be in the control room?"

"Yes. I will be...in a moment." Olga looked around furtively, almost as if
she were trying to make sure nobody was watching them, even as Frank felt
every eye in the hanger peering over his shoulder. "I just wanted you to
have this...just in case." Olga said quickly, and Frank felt the chain as
it slid across his palm before cool metal rested lightly in the middle of
his hand. Looking down, he shivered as the gold cross in his palm gleamed
up at him, reflecting the already eeirie atmosphere of the hanger back at
him. He eyed Olga questioningly, but she merely tightened her lips in a
hesitant smile and turned, heading for the control room.

He was frozen in place, staring after the scientist, wondering, quite
frankly, what would bring a rational minded scientist like Olga to even
seriously consider the spirtual world, not to mention the world of the
occult. He'd have to ask her after he got back from this
trip...if he got back. He felt another shiver creep up his spine, and for
the first time began to dread the upcoming backstep.

"Let's go Mr. Parker. We don't have all day." Luckily, Ramsey's caustic
words broke Frank out of his befuddled stupor and he waved at the control
room before turning and walking towards the sphere.

He breathed in slowly, regulating his heart beat as he climbed the metal
staircases heading for the ship that would propel him back seven days in
time. He had lost count of the number of times he had climbed these very
steps, each mission seeming more complicated, and more harrowing than the
last one, but this time as he climbed those steps he felt an unfamiliar
feeling of dread creeping over him, as if this just might turn out to be his
last back step. He gave the cross in his grasp a tight squeeze before
climbing into the sphere, strapping himself in place, and waiting for that
magical word that would send him on his way.

*****

"Reactor at eighty-five percent...ninety..." Olga read off as she watched
the percentage on the gage gearing up toward the necessary one hundred
percent. She felt a tightening in her stomach as she watched the sphere,
sparks shooting from it as it powered up. "God speed,
Mr. Parker." She whispered to herself as the reactor reached ninety-eight,
and then ninety-nine percent. When it reached one hundred percent she sent
a quick prayer to whoever was out there watching. "Reactor at one hundred
percent. Engage." Outside she
was calm, and clear as she said the words that would send Frank Parker
racing back in time. Inside she was shaking like a leaf.

*****

You know, I'm not quite sure why I seem to see things on these trips. I'm
not really sure how to explain it really, like time slows down or speeds up,
I'm not sure which, and I see flashes of the alternate timeline I just left,
images of faces, rocket explosions, bomb
explosions...it gets kind of unnerving. Of course, I've never told anyone
about it...I'm afraid they'd think I was insane and lock me back up in that
hellhole that I just managed to get out of. In a way though, I kind of
enjoy them. They tend to distract me from what's
really going on in that sphere as I rocket through time and space. You
can't understand the force of the pressure that's involved in one of these
flights until you strap a nuclear reactor to your ass and hit that button,
take that journey. You never quite get used to the mind
numbing agony as your body fights against being torn assunder. Yeah, I'm a
real sight when I crawl out of this thing, blood dripping out of my eyes,
nose, ears...one of these days I'm going to get into this thing and my
brain's just going to explode all over the nice pretty buttons in here. The
lab guys would be cleaning up the remains of Frank B. Parker for weeks. I
wonder if Olga would miss me? Well, I've reached my tolerance level, time
to scream now.

*****

"Conundrum." Was usually the first word spoken after a Backstep, and as
Frank spoke through the phone lines to his superiors, namely Talmadge and
Ramsey, he thought the word was pretty appropriate. These trips are vicious
little circles.

"Where are you Frank?" Talmadge asked, his voice coming over the line loud
and clear.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Frank said, shaking his head as he
looked over the small, quiet, yet strange town of Sunnydale. "Look, I don't
have time to go into it. I've got five days to stop the death of a teenage
girl."

"What? That's it? One death?" Ramsey asked, glaring at the telephone in
Talmadge's office. "I don't get it, Parker...why'd we send you to stop the
death of one teenage girl...as tragic as that is, it doesn't sound like a
national crises." He said cantankerously.

Parker rolled his eyes, growling under his breath. "Just look up a file on
a girl named Buffy Summers...it will tell you everything you need to know
and let me tell ya, it's interesting reading material."

"What? You mean that's all you're going to give us?" Ramsey asked, clearly
not happy with the brevity of Frank's report.

"You'll find all the info you need in there, trust me...now I'd love to stay
and chat longer with you Ramsey, you know how much I love talking to you,
but I've only got five days to prevent her death, and something tells me
things are going to get pretty hairy between now and then, so if I can't
call in, don't worry about me...I'll get a message to you some how." Parker
said, then hung up, a smile on his face as he pictured Ramsey's fuming. He
just loved tweaking the guy.

to be continued...


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