Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself to jump down and catch the two men. He leaped in the dark, grabbed the first person, and turned to see the shocked look on their faces. "Huh, what did I miss?" Quiggly asked. The first man said, "Is that really you, Quiggly?" Quiggly nodded. "What did you miss?" The man said, "Wait, that was you?" "Yeah, what did I miss?" "Wait, who are you?" Quiggly looked at them. "I'm the kid who helped with the food and cleaning, remember?" One of the men looked at the other and said, "Is he the one?" The man nodded. "Quiggly is the one." Quiggly saw the look of relief and fear in the other man's eyes as he said, "Oh man, oh man, it's you. Why are you here, what is going on?" Quiggly said, "It's ok, it's all ok. I'll tell you everything." The man smiled as he said, "Great, I can't wait to hear the story." Quiggly noticed the expression on both men's faces, the fear of what was going to happen next and the anticipation of what they had been doing. Quiggly said, "This is Quiggly. He is the one who was sent into exile with you, but he's special. He remembers everything." The man looked at him a long time, a smile across his face. Quiggly said, "I have to go now." The man looked at Quiggly and nodded. "I'm Daryl. This is my good friend Mark. When did you get back?" "Let me think. It's been about an hour." Mark looked at him and said, "We had forgotten about you, you have no idea." "Quiggly, do you remember the time when everything changed?" Daryl asked. "Yes," Quiggly replied. "Well, the food didn't arrive." "I know, I know." "Why?" "I have no idea, you're all gone." The men looked at each other and burst into laughter. "Let's see your hands." Daryl said. "Okay," Quiggly replied. Daryl grabbed his hand and said, "They're perfect." Mark laughed. "It's all starting again," he said. "We'll go outside now and see if we can bring the food back for everyone." "No, no, I don't need that," Quiggly interrupted. "What do you mean you don't need that?" Daryl asked. "Nothing," Quiggly said. "No, tell us," Daryl said. Quiggly said, "I'm not here to bring back food, because I don't need it. You never have had to worry about where your next meal was coming from." "What are you talking about?" Daryl asked. "You know exactly what I'm talking about," Quiggly said. "I was sent back in time, because I was sent back in time, to give you what you need so that you never have to struggle again." Quiggly felt himself shivering as he said, "I had that all the time, in my own time. I am sent back here, but the food never arrived. So, I'm returning to my own time now. For all of us." Daryl said, "But why?" Quiggly looked at the men and said, "You will understand when I have left." Mark took Quiggly's hand and said, "You're talking in circles." "What do you mean?" Quiggly asked. "We've been here for what, five minutes, and we're just now hearing about it. What did you do back there for five minutes, exactly?" Quiggly's mouth dropped as he began to shake. He said, "I don't have time to answer your questions." "What do you mean you don't have time to answer our questions?" Daryl asked. "Why don't we have time?" Quiggly grabbed Mark's shoulders and said, "I don't have time to say this twice, but you've got to listen." Mark nodded and said, "Yes, of course." Quiggly looked at both of them and said, "In the beginning, this time right now, you have no idea how bad the reality of life was. There was starvation, people were starving to death, the children were dying, and there was so much pain, so much heartache and agony, and everyone was in so much distress that life just seemed to have no meaning anymore. But there was hope in the future, hope to improve, hope to fix things. In the early years people thought we could repair the Earth, but it was impossible, no matter what you did, it was impossible." Quiggly paused. "But the key to my time is in you. You're the hope to this time, you were the future. If we can save you, everyone can live happily." Quiggly turned and walked away before they could reply. He said, "I know you understand. I know you'll find out the truth soon. I promise, nothing will be wasted. You'll see." Quiggly heard Mark call out, "Wait, don't leave." Quiggly reached the edge of the clearing and stopped. He turned and looked at them, before making a choice and saying, "Mark, Daryl, I'll be back." Quiggly started to run, moving toward the edge of the field. "Quiggly," Mark called out. "Wait." Quiggly stopped and turned. "You're going to see me again very soon." He turned and ran into the darkness. Mark and Daryl looked at each other and finally followed. ### Thanks for reading. If you liked the book, check out my free sci-fi short story: Time Storm. I'm an Australian, born and raised. I used to be an advertising executive and graphic designer in Brisbane, but now I spend my days creating stories and games. A few years ago I started writing novels and short stories. You can see more of my work at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/sirjordancook I love feedback. Please write me a review at https://sirjordancook.wordpress.com/contact. Thank you. Connect with me at: Blog: http://sirjordancook.wordpress.com Email: jordancook@outlook.com Twitter: @jordancook Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jordancook/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/jordancook YouTube: www.youtube.com/jordancook Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jordancook Instagram: @jordancook