My name is Roy, I'm 20 years old, and was recruited by the Area 51 reverse engineering team. I am thin, half brown, with dark brown eyes, dark brown hair and average height.

Almost six months ago, mysterious men in black had kidnapped me from the university campus, vaguely telling that they needed me in their reverse engineering project. They explained that wanted to start recruiting younger staff and that I would be the first.

And as expected, I was forced to sign one of his famous silence contracts, although at this point it should no longer be necessary.

Since 2034, gray aliens revealed their presence, eluding the government. They were very peaceful beings, and according to them the only extraterrestrial species in the galaxy besides us. Actually, they live normally in our cities, and there're also humans on their planet. Some of them even have human couples, something increasingly common and accepted.

Furthermore, according to presidential conferences, Section S4 of Area 51 had become a division of NASA charged with the most ambitious projects, almost everything without direct help from aliens.

During these 6 months I have learned incredible things. Thanks to the experimental technologies of this base, I was able to finish my degree and complete a postgraduate degree in flying saucers engineering in record time. In fact, my last test was an interstellar journey to the planet of aliens at 30 light years away just to test the efficiency of the experimental warp 3.

I was currently in the cockpit of a sport style flying saucer, analyzing the indicators and controls of its transparent screen. Unlike other spacecraft, this was mentally piloted, hence the lack of conventional manual controls. I would try this technology for the first time.

I wore a navy blue uniform, which had the logos of NASA and the Air Force. This suit protected me against pressure, radiation and dangerous particles. I also wore a special helmet, which would capture my brain waves in signals that would be captured by the ship's OS.

They told me that this prototype was capable of time travel, something really incredible, considering that even aliens managed that technology a few centuries ago. Furthermore, only humans participated in its construction. In resume, humans aren't primitive.

My test would be to verify that this ship could safely travel to the past. The dangers were many, but without risk there's no reward. The good news was that I could travel to a date of my choice, as long as I met the safety requirements.

At last the preparations for the test finished. I was eager to start, I never thought this day would come. "Command, I'm ready."

"Aware, permission to take off. Remember, imagine that you are the ship that floats. Warn when you reach 1500 feet," said the scientist through the communicator.

"Understood," I nodded, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes.

I turned my full attention to thinking that I was floating in the air. Took me a bit to concentrate for the emotion, but could take control completely. Until after 1 minute of attempts I could feel the vibration of the reactor on ignition.

Gradually the ship emerged from the moving platform, a blue glow emanating from below it. Cameras located around the platform closely followed the takeoff.

"Hey boy, you don't need to think all the time. The ship has already received the order," the scientist got me out of my thoughts.

I growled annoyed. "Oh, NOW you tell me?"

Shortly after I reached 1500 feet. I reported this through the transmitter.

"Ok, now I want you to think of any past date, free of war..." he ordered.

I stopped listening to him when he said: Choose a date. The time had come. I had to try to contain my joy, so I just chuckled. I immediately came up with the perfect date. "I want to travel to the year 1886."

"And why that year?" He asked puzzled.

"Because I want to greet my friend Nikola Tesla," I said amused.

The scientist pondered the idea for a few seconds before answering me. "... Permission granted, but find him in a safe place. We don't want to cause unwanted paradoxes," he nodded hesitantly. It would be impossible for him to know where I could safely appear when I got there.

"Understood," I nodded, the date appeared on the screen. Then the vibration of the reactor suddenly stopped.

I checked the odometer and saw that I was rapidly losing altitude. "I am falling!" I screamed panicking, this wasn't normal. The indicators soon marked the fault. "Command, I have an engine failure!"

"Try to reactivate!" The scientist shouted worried.

I tried to imagine again that I was flying, but it didn't work; The reactor didn't respond. My heart was already beating at 1000 a second. Now it turns out that my dream would be the cause of my death; what a disgrace... Well, all in the name of science.

I tried to restart the engine for the last time, and just before touching the ground, everything around me became silent and bright and then turned completely dark.

I snapped my eyes open, panting heavily and noticed that I was still inside the ship. Yay! I had survived, although I still didn't feel my body.

The flying saucer was tilted and the windshield was broken. I doubted that I was still in Area 51, because from where I could see, there were dense orange clouds that slightly dimmed the sunlight. Possibly I had finished over a century in the past. Damn, now how could I go back to my time? But hey, first of all, I had to take an inventory of the damage to make a plan.

The first thing I noticed was that the automatic door was damaged, but then I remembered that each ship or plane had a laser gun under the seat, for emergencies. I reached down to reach it, and felt the worst pain of my whole life, which made me drop the gun. "Auuuchh...!" The pain came from the right side of my stomach, a metal bar of the seat had pierced my abdomen.

Holding back a shriek of pain, I took the laser gun, and began to heat the metal bar with this to cauterize the wound and stop the bleeding, then I applied disinfectant and some bandages from the medicine cabinet that was on my left. I had no words to describe that hellish sensation.

I needed help immediately, was no longer concerned with paradoxes; I wanted to survive, even if the odds were low, especially in this epoch. Damn, they wouldn't even have antibiotics here, and I still didn't have the tetanus shot.

After catching my breath a little, I used the gun to very carefully cut the end attached to the seat and free myself. I hope I don't end up bleeding to death.

I opened a hole in the ship's door to get out. Outside I saw that the ground was sandy and orange. Hell, the situation was worse than I thought; I had ended up in a fucking desert. This made me doubt much more, but I wasn't going to give up.

As I continued to analyze my surroundings, I noticed something even stranger; It wasn't hot at all and the orange hue of the clouds didn't appear to be sunset. This wasn't a common desert, it could even be another planet, Damn!

Then I heard a noise coming from the top of the ship. I looked towards the origin, and fell on my back scared to see a strange creature on the flying saucer. The being looked like a kind of flying feathered snake.

I quickly took the gun and pointed the laser directly at his head. The being just looked me up and down with his bright blue iris, before spreading his wings and walking away, disappearing from my sight.

Apparently, the accident sent me to another star system or even to another universe... Damn, I was lost; The chances of returning were low, but I would focus on that later; I had to seek help first, no matter what. I could only pray that the civilization that might exist here is kind and advanced enough to help me.

Then an intense pain brought me out of my thoughts. My wound had opened by the fall and was bleeding again. I had little time, and could pass out at any time.

I quickly climbed the sand hill where the ship was half buried. The view left me really shocked.

Near the horizon there was a huge castle floating above the landscape, of which, a brilliant blue material cascaded from it.

That made my eyes light up with hope. Ignoring the bleeding, I ran to the ship and took a piece of the fuselage to get someone's attention with a flash of light.

I could only hold the heavy piece for a few seconds, before collapsing due to the growing weakness of my body, my vision became increasingly blurred.

I could only wait on the floor for someone to rescue me before it was late. "H-help me..." I said weakly, a couple of tears came out of my eyes.

The last thing I could see before passed out was a strange winged silhouette that landed in front of me and enveloped me in a kind of green energy.

Author's Note

http://www.boblazar.com/