[year 2242.]
Where was I…?
Right.
The day we left for Norway.
It was already afternoon when the three of us rushed toward the nearby travel hub, though "rushed" was a generous word because Anthony had, as usual, managed to delay us long enough to almost miss the schedule.
Anthony was never on time. In fact, he was one of those people you had to tell to arrive an hour early—and somehow he would still show up late.
We finally reached the hub at around two o'clock, breathless but relieved since our tickets had already been booked.
William's phone buzzed again.
And again.
And again.
His mother had already called him four times.
Anthony and I immediately burst out laughing.
"Come on, guys," William said while checking the screen and sighing. "I just have a caring mom."
"Oh yeah, she cares about you a lot," Anthony replied while throwing an arm around my shoulder. "The night you get married she'll probably sit in the room too—just to make sure the romance is going properly and her son isn't facing any problems."
William rolled his eyes.
"At least I'm getting married someday, Anthony," he shot back. "Not like you… you'll probably end up marrying a guy with the kind of clothes you wear."
Anthony froze for half a second before slowly raising his water bottle like a weapon.
"Oh… you're dead now."
William instantly turned and ran.
Anthony chased him across the polished floor while people around us laughed, and I stood there trying to breathe through the laughter building in my chest.
The travel hub itself was buzzing with activity. Families dragged luggage toward departure gates while large digital boards flickered with teleportation schedules, and somewhere nearby two passengers had begun arguing loudly near the security line.
"Not fair!" one of them snapped.
"Your fault!" the other shot back.
Their argument echoed briefly through the hall before security staff stepped in to calm them down.
A moment later the announcement speakers crackled to life.
"Teleportation security checks for the Norway route are now open."
Still laughing, we walked toward the scanners and passed through the security gates before entering the departure hall.
This was the section from where we would be teleported to Norway.
Teleportation wasn't exactly cheap, but it was completely worth the money because it saved days of travel time. In less than an hour we would be standing on the other side of the continent.
"William, you know how this works, right?" I asked while glancing toward the long row of teleportation pods lining the hall. "You must've read about it somewhere."
William pushed his glasses slightly higher.
"Yeah… kind of," he replied thoughtfully. "It disassembles your atoms and reassembles them somewhere else."
He paused before turning toward Anthony.
"In Anthony's language… you die and then respawn."
Anthony's eyes widened immediately.
"I've never used one before," he said while knocking lightly on the glass chamber. "Woooh… I'm excited, idiots."
The three of us stepped inside.
The teleportation pod looked like a transparent chamber that slowly adjusted its size until it fit snugly around us, and once the door sealed shut the entire structure rotated smoothly into a horizontal position while a faint mist of gas began filling the space around our bodies.
A soft humming sound built around us.
The lights flickered.
For a moment it felt like every cell inside my body had been pulled apart into fragments of light.
And then—
The world snapped back into shape.
We were standing in Norway.
And someone was already waiting for us there.
"Hey—" the man shouted something in Norwegian.
The three of us looked at each other in confusion.
A man was waving his arms wildly at us from across the teleportation hall while shouting in what was most probably Norwegian, though the strange part wasn't the language—it was the expression on his face.
He looked far too excited… and far too relieved.
Cold air drifted through the massive glass hall the moment the teleportation chamber behind us opened, carrying with it the sharp, clean scent of rain and pine from outside.
Large digital boards flickered overhead with Norwegian text and arrival codes, while travelers moved past us with luggage carts and quiet conversations echoing across the polished floor.
Then he suddenly started running toward us.
Halfway through he nearly tripped over his own feet, stumbled forward awkwardly, and somehow managed to keep running.
"I think… I think we should prepare for—" Anthony muttered nervously while slowly stepping behind me.
William grabbed his sleeve immediately.
"Just stay still," he whispered sharply.
The man finally reached us, bending forward slightly as he tried to catch his breath.
"I am… uh… Erik," he said between breaths while pointing at himself. "Your travel guide. I've been waiting—waiting for you…"
He paused, placing both hands on his knees while breathing heavily before finally forcing the rest of the sentence out.
"—for a very long time."
Something about the way he said that made my stomach tighten slightly.
He was only a few years older than us and dressed in clothes that looked suspiciously similar to Anthony's fashion choices.
William leaned closer to me and whispered quietly,
"I think we just found Anthony's brother."
I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.
Still trying to stay serious, I stepped forward and asked the obvious question.
"How long did it take?"
The guide looked up at us with an expression that now seemed far more anxious than relieved, his eyes briefly darting toward the teleportation chamber behind us as if expecting something else to appear.
"You were supposed to arrive…"
He paused.
"…two days ago."
"What are you saying?" I asked Erik, who finally stopped pacing and looked at us with nervous eyes.
"Yes… you heard—heard me right," Erik said while running a hand through his wet hair, still breathing unevenly.
Anthony stepped forward and waved his hand impatiently in front of Erik's face.
"Catch your breath first, damn it," he said, frustration clearly visible in his voice.
Erik inhaled deeply a few times before nodding.
"Okay… I'm fine now," he said, straightening himself slightly. "You were supposed to arrive on the 4th of June, 2242… but instead you came on the 6th."
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"My supervisors have been troubling me since yesterday… thank God I finally found you."
I exchanged a glance with William before asking the question that was bothering me.
"Uhm… Erik, we've used teleportation travel for the first time. Does this happen often?"
Erik shook his head immediately.
"No… I mean, I don't know exactly. I've guided more than a hundred travelers before, but something like this has never happened with me."
He paused before continuing.
"Anyways, I already spoke with the hotel staff. They agreed to start charging you from today only, so the lost days won't affect your booking… and I will be staying very close to your hotel."
"You can stay with us," I said, interrupting him slightly. "We already lost two days of the trip, so we'll need more time to explore Norway properly."
Erik's face lit up instantly.
"I—I thank you so much, sir," he said quickly while nodding repeatedly. "This way please."
"I'm Justin," I said while gesturing toward my friends. "That's Anthony, and he's William. We're from the United States."
"Pleased to meet you, sir… this way please," Erik replied politely.
He guided us toward a mag-train station just outside the teleportation hub. The train looked similar to a bullet train, except it floated a few centimeters above the road thanks to powerful magnetic fields beneath it.
Within minutes we were moving through the city.
The ride was smooth and almost silent, and the glass windows showed a breathtaking view of Norway's streets, mountains, and distant coastline as the city lights reflected off the wet roads.
Soon we arrived at our hotel.
It was decent… not luxurious, but not bad either. The rooms were comfortable enough for the few days we planned to stay.
We booked a room next to ours for Erik, and for some reason he seemed far too grateful for the gesture, even though most hotels already gave heavy discounts for guides and usually had separate accommodation for them.
Still, Erik seemed like a genuinely nice guy.
Relaxed, friendly… though sometimes strangely nervous.
I wondered how someone with that much anxiety handled a job that involved guiding strangers all the time.
"I should call my parents and tell them about this," Anthony said while pulling out his phone.
But before he could dial, William grabbed his wrist immediately.
"Don't do it, Anth," William said quickly. "If my mom finds out about the delay, you know exactly how she'll react."
Anthony paused.
"Yeah… you're right," he sighed. "But what do I tell her then?"
"Just tell your mom we extended the trip by two days," William replied calmly. "You should do the same, Justin."
I nodded...It sounded like the easiest solution.
I sent my father a message telling him that I had reached Norway safely with Anthony and William, and that we would return in four days.
Everything seemed normal.
But the next day…
we encountered something even my constantly racing mind could never have imagined.