Time Traveler: Episode 230. Velkominn Rd 68

“Was that Jul?” Judith asked as soon as Dustin hung up the phone.
“Yes,” he sighed. “She saw that thing too. She’s scared, and very worried about Rob.”
“Do you really think he’s okay?”
“Well, Rob’s a smart, well-trained guy, after all he’s a Time Traveler, he should be able to deal with anything.”
“Not with this, I’m sure”, Judith thought to herself.

“Well, I’d better get going,” Dustin said, putting his phone away.
“How far is Robin’s house from here?”, Judith wanted to know.
“Not far, on Velkominn Road.”
“Velkominn Road? Isn’t that Jul’s street?”
“Yeah”, Dustin sighed. “He and his wife live just a block away from her.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Judith asked once at the door.
“Thank you, but no need. I got this, you go back to sleep.”
“I don’t think I can sleep knowing that you and Rob could be in danger.”
“Easy, baby, we’ll be back, safe and sound.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful. You guys don’t want to run into these… people”, Judith warned him.
“So you know who they are”.
“Yes, and trust me, they don’t play nice at all.”
“Have you seen them before?”
“Heavens, no. Not face to face at least. But I know how they look like and what they want from us.”

“How would you know how they look like if you’ve never met them?”
“I’ve seen them in history books, we’re taught to watch out for them since we’re children”.
“You’re telling me the aliens in fact exist?”
“They sure do. They invaded us in the early 30’s, stole our water and what not.”
“Your water? So that’s how the sea got dried in Oasis.”

“Yes, but – please don’t tell Robin I told you about it”.
“Wait, Rob knows about this too?”
“Every Oasis Landing citizen does”.
“Gilon as well?”
“Especially Gil, he’s an interstellar policeman, remember?”
“That’s true,” Dustin let out a heavy sigh. “Seriously, you future people need to stop hiding things from me”.

“It wasn’t intentional, we’re just not allowed to reveal this kind of stuff”.
“I see… Well, we’ll have a very deep talk about that later, now I have to leave. Lock out tight and don’t even think of going out, okay?”
“Okay”.
“Promise me you’ll stay inside.”
“I promise, and you promise me you’ll come back in one piece.”
“I’ll do my best. Bye.” Dustin gave Judith a quick kiss and darted outside.

VELKOMINN RD, 4 AM

“Velkominn Road. Okay, I’m past Jul’s house; Robin’s should be across from the mall over there,” Dustin spoke to himself, as he sped down the street.

Everything there seemed to be calm. It was hard to believe that this clear, starry night sky was the same one in which, just minutes before, he had seen that huge, scary-looking saucer fly.

Meanwhile, Ann was still standing by the studio window, her heart pounding, her brain trying to process what she had just witnessed.

“God, what was that all about? That flying object, where did it come from, where did it take Robin and why? I should go ask for help, but… to whom?

Knowing at that hour there might not be any awake neighbors to turn to, she decided to investigate herself. She got dressed in a hurry, made sure her daughters were all right, and ran downstairs to the backyard. She knew Robin wouldn’t be there anymore, but there might be some clue of his whereabouts.

Sadly, there wasn’t any. Only his phone, lying on the grass.
“It’s Robby’s cell phone! I saw it fall out of his hand; then it was all real”, she concluded as she reached over to pick up the device.

“No signal. Must have broken down with the fall. I wonder who he was talking to. Oh, Robby, I should be furious with you, but instead I pray you’re okay, wherever you are now,” she sobbed.

As Ann struggled with mixed feelings, Dustin parked his car right across the street and glanced at the house. “Velkominn Rd 68. This is the place. Just a block from Juliette’s… Ah, Rob, I love you and respect you, buddy, but this wasn’t your smartest call.”

“Though, in your defense, you didn’t know Jul lived on this street, so…” He mused as he moved along the opposite sidewalk. “Yep, this is it. Pretty big I must say, looks like building Plumbots pays off well.”

“Anyway, I’d better hurry up before that UFO or whatever that thing was, comes back,” he concluded, running down the street towards the house.

“That must be Rob’s stuff, it’s still here, then where is he and why isn’t he answering my calls? There has to be a logic explanation, no reason to panic yet, right?“

“But what if that artifact came through here first? What if that was the noises I heard on the phone, or those strange green lights Robin saw in the sky? I mean, Juliette lives on this street and spotted it from her window… Boy, I really hope I don’t have to give her bad news,” he thought, as he circled the house to head for the backyard.

“This must be the yard he said he’d go check out. Maybe what he saw was the same thing Jul and I saw,” he told himself, standing in front of the gate that separated the sidewalk from the Crane’s garden. “Nothing unusual seems to have happened here, everything looks so quiet.”

“Rob? Are you out there, buddy?” he called out. Only the chirping of crickets answered him amidst the crushing silence of the night. For a moment, he thought about breaking through the gate and into the yard to look for him, but he regretted it. It wasn’t a good idea to go in without permission; he didn’t want to scare the family in case Robin actually wasn’t there.

“Okay,” he sighed, back in front of the house. “I have no choice but to knock on the door, let’s hope Rob’s wife doesn’t get any angrier than she already is,” he thought to himself.

He approached the door and knocked, first timidly, then with louder taps, but he didn’t get any response.
“Hello? Robin? Please open the door, it’s me, Dustin!”, he called.

The banging on the door and Dustin’s loud voice echoed inside the house just as Ann returned from the courtyard:
“Robin? Are you there, buddy?”

She stopped dead in her tracks. The unfamiliar voice and the insistent knocking only made her more frightened than she already was. Who could it be at this hour? Perhaps a neighbor had heard something and had come to check it out? If so, should she trust whoever was on the other side? Her silent hesitation only made Dustin more impatient.
“Rob, is everything okay? Hello! Anyone in there?”

Overcoming her fear, Ann walked toward the door and stopped in front of it with her heart racing a mile a minute.
“W-who are you and what is it you want?” she asked, as loudly as her terror allowed.

“Hi, I’m Dustin Shen, a friend of Robin’s. Excuse me, is he home?

“Dustin. Isn’t he the brother of that woman, Juliette?” asked Ann inwardly. For a moment, anger overpowered her fear. She took a few seconds to ponder, then, mustering her courage, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Dustin froze. All this time he had pictured Rob’s wife as a wicked witch, but instead she was this blonde, angelic-faced young woman.
“Uh, hello, you must be…”
“I’m Ann Crane, Robin’s wife,” she muttered, as she examined Dustin’s face. He examined her in turn, her expression denoted great distress and there were traces in her eyes that she had been crying.

“Nice to meet you, Ann, I’m Dustin Shen, a friend of…”
“I know who you are,” she cut him off. Dustin blinked, then cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to intrude, I just… I was supposed to pick Rob up here. His stuff is out there, but he’s not… I thought he… C-could you tell him I’m here, please?” he snapped, trying his best not to sound rude

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Ann answered in a tearful voice.
“W-why not?”, Dustin asked.
“He’s not here anymore,” she answered, holding back a sob as her eyes filled with tears.
“What do you mean he’s not here?”
“I mean he’s – he’s gone”.

“Gone? Why, did anyone else pick him up, or… did he get a cab after all?”
Or maybe he’d decided to walk to Juliette’s house as he had suggested to him, but being Dustin the extremely proper person he was, he decided not to ask that last question so as not to look so reckless.
“No,” Ann responded, unaware of his thoughts. “What I’m trying to say is that he…,” she paused to stifle a sob.

“Sorry,” she whispered, wiping her tears.
“It’s okay, just – Forgive me for insisting, but is Robin all right?”
“No, he’s not. Something terrible just happened to him,” she replied through her sobs. Dustin’s heart sank.
“W-What happened to him? Is it serious?” he stammered.

“I’ll tell you everything, please come in,” she replied, stepping back to let him in. Dustin looked inside, unsettled by what his imagination, now running wild, anticipated he would hear or see. Then, holding back his panic, he stepped inside.

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Credits for the poses in this episode:

Convo/Emotion Poses – Set 2, Emotion Poses Adult, Standing Poses Set 2,  Emotion – Male Adult Poses and Adult Argument. All of them by @poses-by-bee. Thank you so much, dear Bee! 🤗💗