Discovering how to safely travel through time is as complicated as it sounds. Tyler Bone had no choice but to accept the risks and become the world's first confirmed time traveler.
Turning back the calendar and the clock offered the only foolproof way of rescuing a missing pet.
Tyler made a vow when he crafted blueprints for a spacetime chronometer. His first stop after working out the bugs would be his childhood home. Specifically, one week after his 12th birthday.
That's the last time he ever saw Brownie.
“Someone cat-napped her,” Tyler insisted to his mother while tears rolled down his cheeks. “We need to call the cops.”
Brownie loved to go out into their backyard during the day and explore. Sometimes, she would sunbathe on a picnic table near his father's grill while settling in for an afternoon nap. His family adopted the little tortie cat from a local shelter when Tyler was only three years old. They became best friends and were inseparable.
Her sweet personality convinced Tyler some awful person had stolen his beloved pet. She sought out attention from everyone who visited the house, rubbing against their legs in a friendly feline hug.
Tyler blamed himself for getting distracted by a new video game he received as a birthday gift. While he racked up zombie kills, Brownie wandered off to entertain herself. By the time Tyler realized she vanished, it was too late to do anything. Far too many hours had passed for him to save her.
“It's not your fault, honey.” He recalled his mom's reassuring words as she hugged him.
“You know how much Brownie loves being outside,” Tyler said, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. “I should have been in the backyard with her. I shouldn't have ignored her.”
He threw the video game cartridge in a round wastebasket after Brownie disappeared. His love of video games died on that day. Missing posters stapled on telephone poles and pleading posts on social media led nowhere.
Brownie never came home.
