Hunter of Time

'Yeah, that's right... Name's Bill.' His brows scrunched a little, but maintained a little smile. He leaned on his extended suitcase handle, his hand rubbing his chin in a mock investigative pose.

'It says on this note my landlord gave me,' Elizabeth handed him the handwritten note from yesterday. 'if you wanted to know how I got that information.' She smiled.

Bill fumbled the note as she released it. Smooth. He read the note, wondering what the hell Tim did to send his name through time. The note was dated 24^th October, 1985, which mostly confirmed his whenabouts.

He'd made it, and cracked a smile. A smile of joy and gratitude. Elizabeth wondered what was funny about the note.

'Well, nice to meet you, Elizabeth, but I'm starving right now. I might head out for breakfast.' Bill pointed to his suitcase. 'I have to unpack first though. Hey, you know any good brekkie places round here?'

Elizabeth was deep in thoughts about Bill, still staring dreamily at the handsome man standing before her, his face conveniently located at her eye level. Bill coughed loudly a couple of times.

'Oh! Ha, I thought you were talking to someone- nevermind.' Elizabeth's brain got into gear, at last. 'Brekkie? Like breakfast?'

He nodded.

'Well I guess I'll whip up some bad breakfast and let you drool over it, neighbour.' Elizabeth said almost lucratively, her finger dragging down from her bottom lip. Bill almost didn't catch that invitation.

'Bad breakfast?' He remembered the time period he was in. Different time, slightly different culture. 'Oh, right. I'll be over in a jiffy, but for now I'm just gonna go in and take a shower.' He said, now unlocking his door. Bill trekked for God knows how long in the night, his clothes were smelling of himself, the umbrella did very little to protect him from the thunderstorm last night. Elizabeth's eyes followed him like a sunflower in heat until he disappeared into his apartment.

A man over for breakfast. Elizabeth haven't had anyone over for breakfast before. She usually ate at the diner where Cindy worked, just a few minutes away. This new neighbour, although still a stranger, she already trusted. At least he didn't look like a tried murderer, or something. She stepped back from her doorway, closed the door, and got started on the cooking.

Bill jumped out of his attire; a blazer, shirt and long jeans. He wanted to see her again as soon as possible, just the sight of her body could fill his hunger. Her now-evident dark-brown hair, her irises dyed green, resembling a big, beautiful pearl... Bill had never seen eyes like that before, eyes that drew you in, to be mesmerized by them. He hopped into the shower, and washed off whatever grime and sweat was on him.

After he was done, he went into the living room, which served as a dining room as well. The walls were decorated with cream-coloured wallpaper with vertical white stripes, the ceiling painted white. There was only an armchair, which faced a TV cabinet, but without a TV. Luckily, within Bill's suitcase was an LCD TV, which only just fit into the suitcase. He also brought along some modern appliances which he could not live without. He placed them out of sight, into the cabinets, into the cupboards, in case anyone came in and saw futuristic electronic gadgets that won't be invented for another 30 years.

Bill swapped the blazer for what he thought would be the 80s fashion; a bomber jacket. Everything else seemed fashionable enough for the time period, as he exited his apartment, and knocked on Elizabeth's door, practically reachable from within his own apartment if he wanted. His nose detected some toast within her apartment, the smell seeping out under the door. The smell of burnt bread never escapes somebody.

'Come in!' Elizabeth shouted happily. 'The door is unlocked. Just this once only, though!' The door opened, as Bill walked through the doorway, his mental needs satisfied with the sight of her. She apparently slipped into a miniskirt in the time he was gone. But his body needed a fill of physical breakfast.

'So, Elizabeth, are we having some toast today? That would be... mega... rad.' Bill said awkwardly, trying to use some 80s lingo. He wasn't doing a very good job at it. Even though it's the same language, it might as well be a new one. He decided that he would just speak normally, however different he'll sound.

'Oh, yeah, about that...' Elizabeth said, still facing the stove, her back facing Bill. Not that he had a problem with the sight of it, her long legs no longer hidden by her jeans.

'It's not toast.' She said apologetically, turning to face Bill. She turned off the stove, now holding up a frying pan in the air, the contents still sizzling away in the residue heat.

'Hey, I don't mind.'

-

'How do you screw up pancakes?' Bill thought silently as he ate the pancake, oddly only burnt on one side, the other side almost perfect.. He could care less right now, if there was a rat in the kitchen he would've jumped for it.

Elizabeth wasn't a bad cook by any means, her parents taught her to fend for herself when she was just 13. While the pancakes were frying, she left to change into her miniskirt, keen to show off her long, white legs. She got a bit... carried away when she took off her jeans.

They sat at the small dining table, facing each other. The plates took up most of the room, as the table was only designed for one person. Normally Elizabeth sat facing the television as she ate with Cindy, but today she has something more interesting to look at.

'So, Will...' Elizabeth said as she swallowed a crispy bite. 'Willy' seemed like an appropriate nickname, but she didn't tease him about it.

'Can I call you that? Will? Isn't that basically the same?'

'I still prefer Bill, but yes, Will is also fine.' He nodded.

'Okay, Will, where are you from? You don't seem like you're from around here. You speak kind of... weird.'

'Oh, you've noticed that, have you?' Bill hung his head in shame, taking another bite in the process. 'Well, Elizabeth, I was born here, in Downtown.'

'I've figured as much, nobody from out of town knows of this place.' Little does she know that 30 years later, this complex would be replaced by the largest skyscraper in town, housing companies making millions in stocks every day.

'I guess you could say that I left town for a very, very, long time. But I just flew in yesterday. I had to walk from where I landed, though.' Bill said innocently.

'Whoa, the airport is like miles away!' Elizabeth gasped. 'You poor thing, you walked the whole night?'

'I know, right? I had a car, too.' Bill said, now remembering the Camaro. 'Dude, where's my car?'

'Oh, you have a car! Can I ride shotgun?'

'Sure, sure, the back seats are missing anyways.' Bill replied nonchalantly. He was serious, though, the equipment took up all the room in the back of the car.

'Let's go get your car!' Her voice raised in excitement.

'Now?' Bill was still trying to chew through the crispy surface without breaking his teeth.

'Well I doubt you'd want to eat this.' She said, indicating at the pancakes.

'You read my mind.'

Bill stood up, taking his plate. He was still hungry, but maybe the trip would take his mind off things.

Shit. The trip.

'Elizabeth, you said it before, I walked the whole night. I also doubt that you want to walk 8 hours with me, just to get my car.'

'No worries!' She chirped. Bill's brows drew close together in confusion.

'I've got a Mustang just downstairs. Didn't you see it when you walked through the parking lot?'

'You had me at "Mustang".'

-

'Woman, that is a god-damned blasphemy.' This time Bill said it out loud.

'Chill, Will.' She giggled at the rhyming. 'And that is a good car.'

'No, the hell she isn't!' Bill stared at the brown, near beige Ford Mustang II. This car is designed to save gas, not to go like the clappers. He can turn a blind eye to the horrific engines, but he absolutely cannot ignore the styling.

Elizabeth ignored him, and hurried over to the car in the rain. Bill reluctantly followed, Elizabeth's long legs being the only incentive.

'It's a convertible!' She was excited to show off her car. shouting as she was running to the car.

'Looks like we won't be needing it today!' Bill shouted, referring to the weather. He was glad too, he wouldn't want to be seen in that mess of a car in public.

They got into the car, only slightly wet from the rain. Elizabeth turned the key, the engine whining to life.

'Great!' Bill said sarcastically. 'She's a 4 cylinder, isn't she?'

Elizabeth nodded, smiling at Bill's grumpy attitude to this car. She rolled forwards a few feet before stopping.

'Will, you do know the way, right?'

'Yeah, yeah, hold on.' Bill reached for his jeans' pocket. An inner voice reminded him that no smartphones have been invented yet. 'Wait, no, shit.' He said defeatedly.

'What's the deal?' Elizabeth looked over at Bill.

Bill quickly came up with a solution.

'Do you mind if I sit in the back?'

'Uh, yeah, no, go ahead. I'm not that scary, I'm sure.' She half-joked.

Bill got out, leaned his seat forward, and got into the back. It was cramped, but at least she couldn't see what he was doing if he sat directly behind her.

'No, no! It's not that, I just... remember the roads better... in the dark.' He made up a poor excuse as he clambered into the back. 'Now, let's go.'

Elizabeth drove out of the parking lot, and asked Bill for the directions. The circle on Bill's screen stopped spinning, as it finally triangulated Bill's position, and gave out the instructions.

'In 300 yards, turn lef-' A feminine but robotic voice spoke up. Bill immediately flipped the mute switch, but Elizabeth heard the voice.

'Don't tell me you're harbouring a woman back there.'

'Oh, no, that was just me trying to be a woman.' Bill said nonchalantly, trying to pass it off.

'Totally.' She rolled her eyes. She knew he was lying, but before she could give it any thought Bill instructed her to take another left.

-

Half an hour later, with Bill reading the instructions, Elizabeth neared a park with a group of people gathering about. Bill couldn't see much in the dark last night, and this all seemed foreign to him.

'Stop, right here, this is it.' The app showed this location as the starting point of last night's journey, but he couldn't see anything from within the car. He could only see large, flat grassfields.

The Mustang ground to a halt, as both of them exited the car. It'd stopped raining as they drove, eliminating the need for an umbrella. Elizabeth looked at Bill, dressed nicely in a brown bomber jacket.

'What's that bulge there?' Elizabeth pointed at his jeans. Bill's head snapped downwards, afraid that his arousal might be showing up. Thankfully, the only bulge she saw was from the jeans' pockets.

'That, Elizabeth, is my...' Bill couldn't think of anything from the 80s that was the shape of an iPhone.

'Oh, I know!' Elizabeth figured out what it was. 'It's a Walkman, isn't it?'

Bill nodded, playing along.

'Yours actually fit in your pocket, lucky you. Mine only fits in like, a pouch. Can I get one of those from Walmart?'

'Yeah, yeah, in about 30 years.'

'Pfft, I'm sure. And by then we would have mobile phones about that size, or a cassette player that size...' She rambled on about the future, Bill couldn't help but chuckle at how accurate she'd came to actual gadgets of 2015.

As she spoke, hands waving up above her head, exaggerating her thoughts on the future, Bill took the time to look around. He remembered only walking a few feet at max, but there doesn't appear to be any sandy areas immediately next to the road, there are only a few large grassfields about. His vision honed in on a crowd formed by the previous groups of people they saw.

'Elizabeth! This way!' He gestured towards the crowd, surrounding something. Where there's congregations, there's always... something, Bill guessed.

They walked over to the crowd, as people parted with a gentle push, letting Bill and Elizabeth pass. Bill heard the sounds of a couple of women arguing, the words becoming more audible as he got closer. The ground gradually turned into sand as they weaved through the crowd.

'How do we start the match with this car just sitting here?' Someone said.

'Shit.' Bill cursed quietly. Match... Sand... Women...

Women's beach volleyball. On a very limited beach with artificial sand. And he'd landed right in the court last night, the Camaro now obstructing their matches.

'Some drunk asshole prob- Hey you!' One of the women called out to the new face, now bursting through the wall of people. 'You know who owns this car?'

'I do, and I can tell you that he isn't a drunk asshole.' Bill pointed to himself.

Elizabeth now joined Bill, having squeezed through the crowd. Her eyes darted to get a better view of the volleyball court.

'Will, why are we spectating a volleyball match? If you're trying to hint something at me, no, I'm never playing volleyball. Like, never. And why is there a car in the court?'

'Because, Elizabeth, that is my car.'

'Oh.'

'Now, back your car up so that it's just on the edge of the concrete.' Elizabeth went back to her car, and slowly reversed to the volleyball court, as Bill hooked an emergency tow cable into the front of his Camaro, the other end tied to Elizabeth's car. The pony pulled the stricken Camaro out of the sand, back onto the concrete road.

The V8 roared to life with a turn of key. Elizabeth gasped, her body tingled, the noise vibrating her inner parts. She didn't know a car turning on could do the same to her body. And it made her leak certain fluids.

'She's a beauty.' Bill said with a drawl. 'Let's go home now, you can follow me if you don't know the way.' He quietly turned on his phone in his pocket.

By dinnertime, as they said their goodbyes and went off into their own apartments, Bill thought about Elizabeth. She was pretty, nice, there's no denying. Boning her, getting in her pants, that also be pretty nice too, but Bill didn't feel the need to. He was happy from just being around her, as if she radiated happiness and... love.

Maybe it was love.

*****

The end, for now. I can't promise how often I'll work on another chapter, but it will come eventually. I wrote a bit skipping straight to December, but I felt the need to work on the relationship between the two mains.