Chains bit at Hijikata's wrists where he leaned against the wall of a prison cell. The walls were made from concrete, which he had only learned after being in there when Kenneth first brought him to the Museum. He had resisted for several months, unwilling to teach the visitors who came there, but eventually, Kenneth and his men tormented Hijikata enough that he finally, reluctantly, agreed.

Rather than iron or wooden bars, as Hijikata would have initially expected, the doorway was blocked with the same mysterious glass energy that surrounded their pedestals when the people ripped from the past would stand in their areas to teach visitors. Not only did it zap the skin and cause it to burn in severe agony when touched, but it was impossible. Hijikata had tried more times than he could count.

So this time, as he sat in the cell, he simply placed his left knee up to his chest, tucking his right leg beneath him. It wasn't exactly the way a samurai would sit, but it was comfortable. The chains connecting his wrists and ankles together didn't give him much leeway, so he decided against pacing as he wanted.

While he sat, though, he wracked his brain for any information he had overheard. He wanted to know who the kingly man was that had taken charge and what type of warriors had been working for him. Hijikata thought he had seen men dressed similarly to Joel as well as medieval knights from Europe - which he only knew due to their trip back to Italy during the time of the Black Death. There were other warriors among them - a few Egyptians, by the looks of them, similar to Ahk, whom Hijikata and his team had worked with before.

From what he understood, the warriors and the kingly figure wanted to establish order within the Museum. Without Kenneth and his agents here, many of the other historical figures who hadn't gone back were causing trouble. Even some who had gone back on missions were now trying to use the time machines to return home or change history like Hijikata had. That had messed up the timeline even further, thus causing them to have to send more teams out on missions to fix it.

Hijikata sighed, wondering how long they planned to keep him here.

*****

Joel crossed his arms where he stood beside Leo as he spoke to the king's advisor. Not only was Khutulun now missing and no one knew where she went, but the king planned to keep Hijikata in the prison cells indefinitely.

"What's the man's name?" Joel glanced at another soldier from World War II. Joel didn't know him personally, but the soldier's name was Peter. Apparently, he had been fighting in the toughest parts of Europe against the Nazis. For that reason, Joel respected him.

Peter shook his head. "None of us know his real name. I guess he changed it or somethin'. Rumors are he's a king from sometime in the middle ages in one of the smaller countries. He has a lot of Knights following him. From what I know, he wants to establish order and that's what he's done. He doesn't hurt anyone in the prison cells like Kenneth did. My buddies and I wouldn't be serving him if that was the case."

Joel nodded but narrowed his eyes. Part of him wanted to rescue Hijikata but the other part of him didn't. Even though he sympathized with what Hijikata went through and logically he knew Hijikata didn't have anything to do with the Japs in the war, his feelings weren't exactly listening to him on the matter. It was an internal struggle in a time when he didn't need one.

Leo shrugged. "What can it hurt? I've been down there more times than I can count."

Joel shot Leo a look and then glanced back at Peter. "If they ain't hurting him..."

Peter shook his head. "No. They just want to leave him somewhere where he won't be able to change the timeline and mess history up. We like existing and there's no tellin' what would happen."

Joel had to agree there. After all that Hijikata had been through, Joel couldn't blame the man for wanting to change things but at the same time, he couldn't let him either. Even Joel understood that he couldn't change the war - part of the reason why he hadn't read to see how the war ended. He didn't want to know. Not yet, at least. Either way, he understood where Hijikata was coming from, and at the same time, Joel knew he couldn't trust him. Not to leave time alone, anyway.

"The bigger concern is where Khutulun is at. Zhen's - " Leo paused, looking at Joel, who shot him a glare.

Joel hadn't had a chance to cope with Zhen's death yet. Caesarion's hurt, too, but Zhen was quite a doll. Not just her looks but inside and out. She hadn't deserved to die and certainly not so brutally. It made him sick to think about, so ever since he'd found out, he hadn't thought about it.

"For all we know, Khutulun could be dead."

Joel nodded and if she was, they needed confirmation. "We'll see what we can - " The tablet's loud beeping is what interrupted what Joel had been about to say. After reading it, he gestured to Leo. "We need to get William and Star. There's another problem we have to fix."

*****

William couldn't take his eyes off Star. He knew she wasn't fragile by any means, but witnessing such a horrible massacre - even he still had nightmares about Culloden, especially with how he'd recently gone back - had brought bad memories back to his mind. Star was strong; William had no doubts about that. All he wanted to do was take away her pain and how bad she was hurting.

Lately, she'd been quieter than usual, but she'd also taken the news of Zhen and Caesarion's deaths hard. Between that and Khutulun going missing and Hijikata being imprisoned, there was only four of them left from their team.

William glanced down at the tablet Joel had given him. Now that there were only four of them, he had given one to each of them that could read English. Star was almost always with William, so he translated it for her, since his tablet had been set to Gaelic. "Och, Joel and Leo wanntae see us in the meetin' room, lass." William glanced at her where she had been braiding her hair.

She finished the braid and nodded at him silently. William slid the device back inside his pocket and placed his arm around her as they made their way up the stairs from the basement. Their team had found several old offices, most of which had been claimed as meeting rooms for the other teams but there was a small one the others hadn't claimed. Joel and Leo had taken it, so the four of them decided to use it when they needed to return to doing missions to save the ever-changing timeline.

William shut the door behind him as Star sat down in one of the chairs in front of the table. It had room for eight, but as William sat down across from Joel and Leo, beside Star, it made him realize how dwindled their team really was.

"We have another problem." Joel's voice sounded empty - something William wasn't used to from the typically calm man. Zhen's death had taken its toll on them all.

"Will they not release Hijikata?" Star quietly murmured.

Leo shook his head. "No, but we aren't worried about him right now."

Joel swallowed. "There's information missing about a shipwreck called the Titanic. I haven't heard of it, but there are almost no data on it at all. We have a date - April 14, 1912. That's it."

"Och, so wha' do we do?" William leaned his arm on the table, shifting a close look at Star.

Joel glanced down at his tablet. "I think it'd be best for only one of us to go back. We can collect as much data as possible on the tablet before the wreck happens. The tablet will upload the data right to the time machine. It'll be easier for one of us to escape the wreck than all of us."

William's jaw clenched. As long as Star didn't go, he didn't care who went. "Och, I'll go if ye want."

Star's eyes widened and she looked at him in horror.

Joel and Leo both noticed it but it was Joel who responded first. "I'll go. No need to trouble anyone else about it. I know how to work the tablets and the time machine best."

Leo glanced at him. "You're not planning to actually go through the wreck, are you?"

Joel creased his eyebrows. "There isn't another way to collect the data. I'm a good swimmer, been on several ships before. They should have lifeboats. Before it sinks, I'll get on one of those."

William's gut disagreed. The whole thing gave him a bad feeling, but Joel knew what he was talking about. "Och, lad, maybe ye should read more aboot it first."

Joel's hands clenched on the table. "There isn't anything. Just that it's a wreck on this date. I mean, the name sounds familiar and it's only a few years before my time, but I didn't exactly pay attention to shipwrecks. I wish I remembered more, but I don't. Trust me. It'll all be fine."

"We'll stay here and see if there's anything else we can do," Leo said.

William nodded. "Aye. Dinna fash yerself aboot things here."

Joel inclined his head. "Thanks."

Leo stood up from the table. "So you want me to use the control panel from the Hub to take you back and bring the machine back here?"

Joel nodded. "Yeah. We can't risk it being damaged in the wreck, so I need to get in and out of there as quick as I can."

William and Star said a quick goodbye to Joel and he and Leo left the room.

*****

As soon as Joel exited the time machine and it disappeared, he gazed at the ship in awe and wonder. It was larger than he'd originally expected. Unfortunately, from what the data gave, the ship would sink early the next morning, before dawn. If the information was true, that meant Joel only had a few hours to obtain whatever information he could gather.

He found an isolated place on the front deck. People walked to and fro here, most of them wearing fancy clothing. Some even walked dogs. He hid behind a corner where no one could see him and used the tablet to begin a detailed scan.

Immediately information started piling through. As it came in on the tablet, he uploaded it to the main Hub in the Museum - straight to the time machine's database.

The Titanic is an Olympic-class ocean liner. It's 882 feet and 9 inches long, 175 feet high. It has nine decks - A through G. It has 24 double-ended and five single-ended boilers that feed two steam engines for the wing propellers. Currently, it is cruising along at 21 knots and holds 2,436 passengers - 2,435 are registered. It has 20 lifeboats, enough for about 1,178 people.

As soon as he read the last bit of information that came through, Joel's heart sank. Only twenty lifeboats - enough for only half the people on board. How could he take one, take the place of someone who was probably supposed to live?

Joel being here compromised everything.

He cursed, clenching the tablet tightly. They had information, but they needed more about the wreck. Was it really that important to know the details of the wreck? Or, if he didn't get it, would more information about other pieces of history start to disappear?

He could send Leo an email from the tablet, straight to the Hub. Leo could send the time machine back and Joel could be picked up long before the wreck ever happened. But if he abandoned this mission, what would the consequences be?

Joel had no idea.

Fingers lightly shaking at the potential mistake he was making, Joel wrote Leo the email.

Leo,

I got some information so I hope the Hub receives it. Look, there are only enough lifeboats for half the people on board. If I take one, I could potentially let someone important die and their death could change things.

I can still go through with the plan. Do my best to survive the wreck without a lifeboat, but it's your call whether you send the time machine back for me or not. Just let me know. I trust your judgment.

Sincerely,

Joel

*****

Leo cursed. It always seemed like there was one problem after another around here. He fetched Star and William and as soon as they were all seated around a table in the meeting room, Leo explained the current situation. "According to some of the other teams, there's technology supposed to be here that's going missing. Tablets are disappearing, some of the translators aren't working. Even the pedestals where Kenneth's men used to keep us during Museum hours vanished."

"Has someone taken them?" Star lifted her eyebrows.

Leo shook his head. "I don't think so. There's no way anyone could steal that many of them. Trust me. I used to be a pirate."

William nodded. "Something's wrong wi' t'timeline then."

Leo ran his fingers through his hair. "Looks that way. We've narrowed it down to a few years. Some other teams have used their time machines to travel, but there's one more date not covered - April in 1936. I have to stay here and wait for news from Joel. Do you both think you could take our time machine and find out why the technology is going missing?"

William glanced at Star, who met his gaze. "Yes," she said. "We will help."

William nodded in agreement. "Aye. We'll do it, lad."

Leo walked them to the time machine, dozens of possibilities on how things could go wrong running through his head. He always did that before a heist and this time was no different. William and Star stepped into the time machine as Leo started up the controls of the Hub. He set the date.

"Och," William called, his voice muffled through the glass walls of the time machine. "Wha' happens when Joel's ready?"

"I'll send a message to your tablets and you both can use the time machine to go get him, then return to finish your mission if it isn't done by then." Leo met William's gaze as he grabbed Star's hand. "Ready?"

William and Star both nodded.

Leo pressed the button and sent them back. Not even a few minutes later, his tablet beeped; a message from Joel.

As soon as he read it, he cursed.

*****

"Traitor!" The Mongolian warriors screamed at Khutulun. They were held up in an isolated part of the Museum on the third floor if Khutulun counted their steps right. They had blindfolded her on the way there, probably to keep her from discovering their location. Now that it was off, she took in everything she could about their surroundings.

Her wrists were tied to a post behind her back. They were inside one of the Museum environments made to look like a camp of some sort, complete with wooden posts to hold up the tent. One of those posts is what they tied her to.

The leader, a gruff man with thick muscles, whom she didn't know the name of, sneered at her, flicking a bullwhip in his hands. It was from another time period, but Khutulun recognized it all the same. "You deserve to be punished for betraying us. You are no longer a Mongol! You consorted with those that we are meant to attack!"

"We are no longer in our own time period! Our way of life is finished!" Khutulun glared at him with all the ferocity she could muster. If her hands weren't tied, she would easily best this man. "You murdered my friend - two of my friends! They were both innocent!"

The leader laughed mirthlessly. "Friends! Listen to yourself! You will pay for what you have done!" He nodded to two of the other Mongolian warriors.

One of them drew out a dagger and started toward her. Khutulun growled at him. "Untie me and fight me like a man, you coward! I could best any of you! You're acting like frightened children!"

They ignored her protests as one of the warriors grabbed her cheeks in his thick fingers. He clenched her jaw tightly, making her wince from the pain. She kept her face impassive, unwilling to show any of them her pain, no matter what.

The second warrior sliced the dagger across her hair. She closed her eyes, unable to look at the black locks falling to the ground in pieces. They were trying to shame her and though they succeeded, she wouldn't show any of them that.

When the men were finished, they backed away, except for the one who gripped her face. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She growled and bit him but he cried out in fury and smacked her face. Reeling sideways from the blow, Khutulun spit blood onto the ground, heaving.

The leader nodded. "Strip her."

Every one of the warriors was eager to carry out his order. They untied her which was their first mistake. She immediately pounded one into the ground and grabbed another around the neck with both her legs. As she twisted them and broke his neck, she threw her elbow behind her to jab another warrior in the throat. By that time, five more of them surged on her, one on each limb and another pressing a knee into her back.

They had her.

Khutulun screamed and thrashed but the men had overpowered her. They stripped off her clothes and retied her to the post so that her back was exposed to the leader. He cracked the whip along the ground, making her wince.

Tears threatened to spill over, but she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for what lie ahead.

"I will enjoy every moment of this. And afterward... Well, you will regret betraying your own kind."

The leader snapped the whip across her back and it sliced through her flesh.

*****

The more Joel learned about the Titanic, the less he wanted to know. More information continued to upload through his tablet and into the Hub. Titanic left Southampton on April 10, 1912, and was heading for America.

In a few hours, around midnight, the map on the tablet showed that Titanic was about 375 miles south of Newfoundland. A few minutes earlier, he had felt a sharp impact. When he had dashed to the other side of the ship, an iceberg loomed overhead. It was barely visible in the thick of the night and he shivered from the cold, not having a coat or anything to keep warm with. What few people were on board didn't appear worried after it was over and a few people even started playing around with the pieces.

This is it, Joel thought, doing another scan on his tablet. This must be what causes it to sink. His chest clenched at the thought, especially as he stared at the people playing around. Two brothers kicked a piece of ice back-and-forth and they ended up wrestling around on deck while their father and mother watched them with smiles on their faces. Half the people on this ship will be dead by morning. If not more. Joel gritted his teeth.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

According to his tablet, Titanic's hull plates had already buckled inward on her right side. The watertight compartments along the bottom were already flooding. Joel kept up the scan, hoping to keep track of how many would continue. He had no idea how long it would take her to sink, so he stayed on deck as the ship continued to sail through the cold Atlantic.

That was the second part of his plan ruined. After knowing he couldn't take a place on a lifeboat, his second thought had been to simply swim, but the tablet's geography showed they were in the Atlantic and it wouldn't take Joel long to freeze to death. His heart went out to the people who wouldn't be able to find a lifeboat.

His tablet beeped with an email from Leo.

Joel,

William and Star have taken the time machine on another mission. Our technology is disappearing. I'm concerned even the time machines will disappear before they can return. I'd come to get you if I could. You have to survive. We can't lose anyone else, mate.

Leo.

Joel's hands shook as he held his tablet. He checked the settings to make sure it was waterproof. If he somehow managed to make it out of this alive, he at least wanted to make sure he had the data they needed.

*****

William hated being the one to have to rely on a tablet. Star couldn't read one, so it was up to him to help them find where they needed to go and what they needed to fix to save technology. Already, the time machine had stuttered twice on their trip here.

They landed in London on April 12, 1936. "Och, accordin' ta t'device, a man by t'name o' Alan Turing made a Turing Machine. He's supposed ta write a paper aboot it and publish it, but t'device here says he dinna do it."

Star glanced at William. "Then we must find this man and make sure he writes these white man's words."

William nodded in agreement, sticking his tablet back in his pocket. Grabbing Star's hand, he led them down the street to Alan's house which was near the university he went to. The city itself had far more objects and technology than William himself could fully explain in words. So far, the extent of his knowledge about the mysteries of technology was what holos he saw in the Museum. Now, machines covered the streets and large buildings released smoke into the air which caused both he and Star to have trouble breathing.

At last, they came to Alan's house. William knocked on the door. If he was being honest, he had no idea how they would make sure Alan published the paper, but all he knew was that without it, technology with computers and then later, holos, would never come to be.

"Can I help you, sir?" A man with short hair and a pointed chin answered the door, looking at William and Star in surprise. They had dressed for the occasion, thanks to a few artifacts from the time machine, but to Alan, they probably looked out of place.

William nodded. "Aye. I heard ye had a proposal aboot a universal machine." William hoped he remembered the term right.

Alan sighed. "You may be interested, but I am no longer submitting that proposal. If you'll excuse me..." He went to shut his door.

William grabbed it and politely smiled at him. "Och, well, I think it's a braw idea! Ye - ye should stick wi' yer guts, Mr. Turing. Dinna let anyone tell ye any different. I'm lookin' forward ta readin' yer proposal. Plus, ye never know what can happen if ye go through wi' it." He took a deep breath, keeping a smile on his face, hoping he convinced him.

Alan's eyebrows furrowed at first, but then his features relaxed. "You know, you're quite right. Give me a moment." He shut the door but after a few minutes, opened it, clutching a briefcase. "Thank you for your encouragement, sir. I do believe I will submit my proposal. But how did you find out about it?"

William and Star exchanged a glance. "Och, I've read yer other works at t'university." He hoped that sufficed; according to the tablet, Alan had done other work before.

Alan nodded, seemingly satisfied with William's answer as they walked down the street. "Well, if you'll excuse me."

William waved at him. "I'll be lookin' forward ta readin' it, Mr. Turing!" His tablet beeped, but he ignored it. People walked by on the streets on either side of them, most giving he and Star odd glances.

"Do you think it worked?" Star looked up at him, hope flickering in her gaze. After seeing so much death and grief in her beautiful eyes, William was happy to see something different, even if it was brief.

He nodded. "I dinna ken, but let's return ta t'machine and find oot, lass." On their way to the machine, they walked by a newspaper stand. His eyes caught sight of a disturbing sight - a newspaper heading.

"New evidence found on Titanic. Strange computer."

Beneath it was the picture of a tablet. It was covered in seaweed, coral, and dust, but William easily recognized it.

Star gasped and pointed at it. William paid for one and grabbed the paper. "Och, no... It - it's from t'Titanic. Same place Joel went ta."

Star clutched his arm tightly, tears in her eyes. "Does that mean that he...?"

William swallowed back a lump in his throat. Shaking his head, he threw the newspaper down, gently grabbing Star's hands as he pulled her back toward the time machine. "No. No' if we have anythin' ta say aboot it, lass."

*****

Hijikata's wrists had gone numb hours ago. He had no idea how to pass the time to tell how long he had been inside the prison cell. Stomach pangs churned his stomach and his tongue felt thick. Briefly, he wondered if any of the soldiers would give him any food or water.

Suddenly, Leo strolled up to the strange glass energy and peered at him through it.

"Leo."

Leo nodded his head. "I came to tell you that I have news on Khutulun. I think she's been kidnapped by whoever killed Zhen and Caesarion."

Hijikata narrowed his eyes. "Zhen and Caesarion are dead? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He couldn't keep from snapping at the pirate.

Leo crossed his arms. "Joel's probably going to die and I don't know if William and Star will return from their latest mission, so excuse me if I've been a little busy. Kepler helped examine Zhen and Caesarion's bodies. Based on the wounds, it looks as if they might have been attacked by warriors from an older era. Between that and the body of a Mongolian warrior that was found...I think they're the ones that have her, but right now, they're on the top level and the new guards don't want any of us to get involved. Until we can find a way to rescue her..." Leo shrugged. "I have to focus on saving William, Star, and Joel if I can. I just - I thought you should know."

As Leo turned around to walk away, Hijikata grunted. "Leo."

The pirate turned to face him.

Hijikata stared at him, strictly business. There was no way he was going to leave Khutulun to suffer at the hands of her own people. "How did you escape from here before?"

Leo glanced around but the sides of his mouth curved up into a smile. He stepped closer to the glass-energy and then slid a tablet through it, using his foot to kick it across the floor to Hijikata. "I thought you'd say that. Brought an extra just in case. I've already set it to Japanese for you. There's a program in there you can tap into. Use it to lower the energy. I'm sure you can take care of the guards by yourself."

With that, Leo disappeared down the hall. Hijikata had to stretch his wrists to reach the tablet, which caused the chains to bite painfully at his wrists. He didn't care that the metal scraped his skin raw; he had to find Khutulun. Fear and panic laced through him, making his heartbeat quickly, but he refused to think about the worst-case scenario; her death.

She's alive, he thought firmly. His finger slid across the tablet and he played with it for a few minutes until he found the security program that Leo was talking about - after several wrong guesses, that is.

Confirmation. Unlock all nearby cells and chains?

Hijikata clicked yes and held his breath, waiting.

The chains came loose and when he glanced up at the doorway, the glass energy had disappeared. Kenneth underestimated us. Connecting his security to the prison cells on all these tablets? What would have stopped us from escaping from him ourselves? Hijikata thought. He slipped to the corner and glanced down both sides of the hallway. So far, there were no guards, so he went to the right and followed the hallway to the stairway out of the prison itself.

At the door, two soldiers, both from Ancient Rome from the looks of them, guarded the door. Hijikata had no weapon, so while the guards were distracted letting Leo through the door, Hijikata came up behind one and slammed his head against the wall.

By that time, the second guard turned toward him. Hijikata unsheathed the first Roman's sword and sprinted behind the second guard and stabbed him in the throat. Up ahead, Leo grinned at him.

"I didn't see a thing. You want my help to rescue Khutulun?"

Hijikata shook his head. "No. I'll have a better chance of rescuing her if I go alone. You said they're on the top floor?"

"Yeah. There's a section of camps they've turned into their base. Good luck." Leo nodded his head to him and jogged up the staircase.

Hijikata headed straight for the elevators. Beside it, locked inside of a glass case, was his katana, wakizashi, and blue Shinsengumi haori. He slipped it on and sheathed both weapons on his left hip, throwing the Roman sword to the ground.

The elevator ride went rather slow for Hijikata's taste, but the instant it landed on the third floor, he quickly jogged out of the elevator and crouched as he made his way down the maze of Museum hallways.

Voices carried and echoed through the walls from up ahead. The lights were dim and outside, night had fallen, which was fortunate timing. Hijikata slowly approached the archway leading into the camp Museum display.

Four warriors appeared drunk as they quietly conversed with their backs toward him. They faced a fenced-in area where there were two tents being held up by posts from the looks of it. Blood coated the floor outside one of them, so that was where he suspected Khutulun was being held.

His stomach twisted, but he shoved his feelings aside to concentrate on saving her. Hand on the hilt of his katana, he tiptoed to the back of the tent and crawled underneath it. What he saw made him sick to his stomach.

Khutulun lay on the floor on her stomach, back covered in lashes that bled, forming pools of crimson liquid beneath her. Her hair was cut short, just past her shoulders and she looked bruised from what he could see. Though she was naked, Hijikata averted his eyes to check her for any other injuries. Both her wrists were tied to a post above her head, just to his left where he came in.

A large Mongolian warrior lay beneath hide furs beside her, asleep. Fury gripped Hijikata with blackened hands as he unsheathed his wakizashi. Before the Mongolian warrior even knew what happened, Hijikata plunged his blade into the man's throat and held his mouth to muffle his dying gurgles.

Carefully, Hijikata slipped off his haori and wrapped it around Khutulun to cover her body as he picked her up in his arms. Gently, he slung her over his left shoulder and held her with his left arm, that way his right was still free to unsheath his katana and fight if he had to.

Then he snuck back out of the camp. As soon as Khutulun was safe, Hijikata vowed to return and kill the rest of them for what they had done to her.

*****

After messing back-and-forth with Leo, it was decided that William and Star would have to try to find Joel after the Titanic sank. They needed the data, especially according to the research Leo and a few of the other historical people had done to find out the consequences of such an action.

The problem was finding a place to land the time machine in the middle of the ocean. By the time the ship called the Carpathia would arrive, Joel could already be dead. Fortunately, technology had returned, so after some quick adjustments to the time machine - making it waterproof and adding in a floating mechanism that William didn't understand - they were ready to go.

Leo set the location and date. Just in case things went wrong, William convinced Star to stay there. She didn't like it any, but William didn't give the lass any choice. He refused to risk her life. From what Leo had explained to him, Hijikata had rescued Khutulun but she was in the basement receiving medical treatment from a few nurses and healers. The other teams decided to stay together in case the Mongols or other warriors turned on them. Not to mention the new king and his guards were all looking for Hijikata.

William wiped all of that from his mind as the world behind the glass walls of the time machine blurred and disappeared. When it stopped, his heart pounded furiously in his chest. Sure enough, though, the time machine's upgrades held. She floated on the water just like a sea vessel. He opened the doors and felt as if he was going to be sick.

Thousands of people floated in the water and silence stretched out eerily, making William shiver. Cold, winter air gnawed at him as he threw out one of the flotation devices and hopped in. To him, it looked like a rowboat, so he grabbed the oars and carefully navigated his way through the bodies.

Men, women, children, young, old... So many dead and frozen. Tears glistened in his eyes, but they froze to his cheeks. He called out for Joel, hoping and praying they found him alive. William refused to let another one of their team die, especially so needlessly - just for information. Anger took hold of him, and the more bodies he saw, the more infuriated he became.

At last, William's eyes spotted a body to his right. Frost covered Joel from head to toe and he looked frozen to the board he clung to. With a curse, William reached out and pried Joel off the board, dragging him into the floating rowboat. This time, as he rowed back to the time machine, floating in the water, he rushed.

Joel didn't have much time.