Rescuing Brownie
An original sci-fi story
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.
That singular moment seemingly touched off a slew of misfortune that overtook the Bone family in subsequent years. His father got laid off from his job after spending two decades with the same company. Terminal bone cancer claimed his oldest sister's life a few months after Tyler went off to college. During his senior year, his fiance ended their engagement one week before their wedding was supposed to take place.
Going back and saving Brownie offered a new chance to pivot his life in a better direction.
Tyler activated the chronometer and drew in a deep breath. Flashes of lightning circled the cylindrical glass chamber. A featureless white light consumed the entire room a second later.
When his vision returned to normal, Tyler found himself standing in the backyard of his parents' home. He brushed lingering mist off his jumpsuit and searched for signs of Brownie.
His childhood pet bounded through a pet door leading from the kitchen after a couple of minutes. Tyler watched Brownie trot over to the backyard picnic table and hop up to settle in for a nap. The sun kissed her colorful fur as she stretched and let out a big toothy yawn. Tears rolled down Tyler’s cheeks.
He had a chance to save his childhood friend.
“Hi Brownie.” Tyler called out to her in a soothing voice. “How’s my little girl? You’re such a sweet kitty.”
Brownie raised her chin and watched him draw closer to the picnic table. Even though nearly three decades had separated them, a look of recognition seemed to be present in the little cat’s yellow-green eyes. Tyler scooped Brownie from the table and settled her into his arms. He stroked her fur and kissed her furry little head.
“Let’s go home,” Tyler said.
He adjusted his chronometer's destination date and location. A flash of blinding light enveloped both Tyler and Brownie. When it faded, he stood in his home office inside his townhouse. Tyler gently set his beloved cat in a nearby pet bed he previously laid out on the floor for her. She sniffed the bed for a few seconds and then started making biscuits against the cushioned edge. A happy smile adorned his face.
Brownie was safe. Tyler foiled her would-be abductor.
He needed to return to the lab before the rest of the team wondered what became of him. Taking care of Brownie took first priority. Now that she was safe again, Tyler could embark on other assigned temporal destinations.
A loud buzz from his phone greeted Tyler's ears. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw his mother's phone number on the screen. His smile broadened as he swiped the screen. Mom would be so excited to learn he found Brownie.
“Mom, I've got something exciting to tell you about Brownie.”
“Our old pet cat? You were so heartbroken when she went missing.”
“Yeah. It took a long time to heal.”
“I'm happy you found closure. It took me a long time too. I always worried I lost my mind when I saw her vanish.”
Tyler paused. His smile melted into a frown. Mom witnessed Brownie get cat-napped? Why didn't she ever say anything to him? Countless hours spent searching for his cat and not a word.
“What do you mean you saw her vanish?” he finally asked, trying to conceal fresh anger bubbling below the surface from his voice.
“I'll never forget what happened as long as I live,” she said. “I walked past the kitchen window and saw Brownie sitting on the picnic table. Then a man in a strange jumpsuit — who looked oddly familiar, by the way — scooped her off the table and they disappeared in a column of harsh white light.”
Tyler's mouth dropped open. He glanced over at Brownie, now curled in a ball in her new bed and sleeping. His mind connected the dots.
Oh no.
It was his fault.
He was the one who stole his childhood pet.
“I wish I told you about it before today, sweetie.” The tone in his mother's voice grew apologetic. “I convinced myself I hallucinated the whole thing out of grief. It ate at me for years that I never even got to say goodbye to Brownie.”
A lump formed in Tyler's throat. He searched his memories from after Brownie's disappearance. Nothing changed. All the same traumatic events he endured had not been erased. They lingered like permanent stains on his mind.
“So, what did you want to tell me about Brownie?”
Tyler shook his head and searched for the right words. What could he say now? Disclosing the existence of time travel would blow his mother's mind. Once she recovered from that revelation, learning he abducted Brownie in the past and caused all their grief would surely turn her and the rest of his family against him.
“It can wait,” Tyler said, finally breaking his silence. “I gotta go to a meeting. I'll call you later tonight after I'm off work.”
Their conversation lingered in his mind long after the call ended. Tyler stared at Brownie and concern flooded his eyes. He needed to install hidden cameras and other security devices to keep his little friend safe. Hopelessness set in as he contemplated what to do. Would any of those measures work in the end?
How could he prevent a future version of himself from stealing Brownie again?
What do you think will happen to Tyler and Brownie next?
Did you enjoy this sci-fi tale? Browse through other stories at Strange New Worlds and check out my Alien People Chronicles series.
Nice story John 👍🏼
That’s the danger with time travel. When would you stop trying to “fix” things ? 🤔
Nice causality loop story. Well done.