Modern Life

The DC-3 cargo/passenger plane wasn’t that unusual. Some still flew even in 2015, long after the first one took off in 1935. It’s sudden arrival over the airport was a surprise, but what shocked onlookers was its arrival from a single cloud surrounding an anomaly of blue light.

The passengers exited the plane and were swarmed by airline reps and government investigators. Hampton Claypool didn’t understand the fuss. He boarded the plane, it entered a strange cloud then exited it, landing shortly after.

He just never expected to land seventy-eight years later.

The group of eight were examined by doctors. Hampton tried small talk with his. The doctor only said, “Modern life is far better than in your time. You’ll live longer.” After that the doctor became unwilling to chat. Hampton couldn’t ever recall a doctor with so little interest in his patient.

The eight were ensconced in a room for several hours before Marjorie arrived, stating she was their legal representative in this time. She escorted them to a van that would drive them to their debriefing. Hampton noted the very tall cup in her hand. “What’s that?” he said.

“Espresso. Just one espresso shot has more kick than regular coffee. This is a quadruple espresso. It helps me wake up after my sleeping pill from last night.”

Hampton noticed her taking a pill. “Sleeping pill?”

“Oh that’s for my Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). My legs are always twitchy. No one knows why.”

Hampton refrained from comment.

Later, Hampton asked why Marjorie took yet another pill. She replied, “It’s for depression. No more suicidal thoughts for me!”

Like the other travelers from the past, Hampton marveled at the number of cars. He said, “Impressive parking lot.”

Marjorie smiled. “Oh this is the highway. It’s faster.”

“But we aren’t moving. Was there an accident?”

Marjorie grinned at his naivete. “It’s always like this.”

“Well, where are we going?”

Marjorie pointed to a building a half mile away across a grassy field. “It’s right there.”

“Well let’s just walk.”

Marjorie stared in shock. “Are you kidding? It’s too far!”

One hour later they arrived at the debriefing building. Hampton and his fellow passengers in time were frustrated, angry, and impatient. Marjorie left to find their debriefer.

When she was gone, Hampton stood up. The other eight stood up too. Woodrow said, “What’re you planning, Hamp?”

Hampton opened the exit door. “I’m flying back into the anomaly before this modern life kills me!”
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Written for Matthew Wright’s weekly Mega Short-Story writing challenge. Look here for the original post: https://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/this-weeks-mega-short-story-challenge-16/