The children felt themselves being buffeted by a strong force from behind propelling them inexorably forward. The sensation was not unpleasant, merely a little uncomfortable. Brandon hoped he would not vomit at the end of the journey and embarrass himself.
In a few seconds, the three of them found themselves at the delivery ward of the hospital where Brandon had been born. The time was just after his birth.
Brandon watched in amazement as he saw a younger version of his father (he had more hair, and what there was, was not flecked with grey) smiling tenderly at one of the screaming babies in the baby room. Crossing the hallway, Brandon approached the large bay window which afforded a view of the babies within the room and read the name of the baby which his father had been cooing delightedly at.
BRANDON CHAN YONG JUN, the label at the side of the cot stated in clear block letters which brooked no argument, complete with details of his weight, length and head circumference.
The red-faced infant bawling in the cot was definitely him.
His mind reeling from the shock, Brandon stumbled back to Mr Dux and Emma. Emma was looking smug and had I-told-you-so written all over her face.
"Let's go somewhere where we can talk," said Mr Dux. "I have a proposal to present to the both of you."
With another WHOOSH, the group found themselves seated on a park bench. It was less unpleasant the second time round, and Brandon found himself getting to enjoy it. It was almost like a theme park ride, he marvelled.
"Botanic Gardens, in the 1970s," said Mr Dux succinctly.
"I've been watching you," the gentleman started. "I believe you are kind-hearted and when the situation calls for it, you are able to find courage within yourselves to do the right thing. This is an admirable trait and very necessary in my line of work. My associates travel through time to help children in need. Some of them, like you, possess their own time travel apparatus. For those who do not, I provide them with a time travel device similar to the one I wear on my wrist. All of them are young men and women like yourselves, wanting to help children in need. I am offering you the opportunity to join our team. You will have many adventures and you will be helping others. However, the job is not without danger, as you have seen for yourselves. If you die in another time period, you will also die in your own time. Nonetheless, here is a chance to make a difference. What do you say?" he spread his palms invitingly.
"I'm really honoured to be asked, Mr Dux," said Emma, choosing her words with care, "but I have to be honest with you. I'm not sure if I'm up to the job. I admit I was surprised with myself for having the guts to translate what Tian Wen said back at the Kempeitai HQ but the experience took a lot out of me, and I don't know if I can go through something like this again," she ended uncertainly.
Looking at Emma in the eye and putting his hands on her shoulders, Mr Dux said, "I've seen you in action and I know you'll be fine. You were terrified at times but nonetheless, you followed through with what needed to be done. That took real courage."
Mr Dux then turned to Brandon. "Young man," he intoned, "you like to take the easy way out. It may bring you results for a while but in the long run, there's simply no substitute for hard work. However," he added, quelling Brandon's indignant protests with an upright palm, "you have a good heart and a good brain. Make use of them! And to give you a heads up, you've been carrying your mobile communications device in your pocket all this time. You could have used it to your advantage."
"Oh, I didn't know we could use the gadgets from our time. Thanks for the tip, Mr Dux!" chimed Emma.
"Well, your watches work, don't they?" Mr Dux waved at the watches on the children's wrists.
"So, what's it to be? Will you join me and my associates, or will you treat this as a one-off escapade and head home tamely? The decision is entirely up to you. Rest assured that I will not think any lesser of you if you choose not to join me."
Emma and Brandon headed for a nearby bush where they could converse without being overheard.
"Just think of the danger we'll face every time we go on a mission," said Emma, wringing her hands nervously. She had only ever seen the phrase written in books, and could hardly believe that she was doing it now.
"But we'll get to travel to many places throughout history, and see for ourselves all the places and eras which other people only read about!" contended Brandon. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," he added cheekily, knowing that this would get a rise out of Emma.
Sure enough, a spark flashed in Emma's eyes and she came back with a fiery retort. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much! You're the one who needs me, I'm the walking encyclopaedia!"
"Okay, you win, I need you. Can we go tell Mr Dux now?" Brandon was raring to update Mr Dux.
Returning to the gentleman, they told him of their decision. "Good job, both of you!" Mr Dux gave them each a high five. "And now, you had better head on home, children. You've been out of your own time long enough. This is your initial foray in time travel and there may be side effects."
"All right, Mr Dux. We'll be on our way," said Emma.
After they had taken a few steps, Emma turned back suddenly, just in time to see Mr Dux departing into the distance. "You didn't tell us what your group was called!" she shouted.
"Pathfinders!" came the reply from Mr Dux, before he vanished completely.
The two children continued on their way when Emma ground to a halt abruptly.
"I've just realised I don't know how we can get home," she said sheepishly.
"I thought you said you were the walking encyclopaedia?" teased Brandon. "Anyway, you don't need to worry about going home. I've got it all planned out, " Brandon said smugly. "We came to Singapore in 1942 because you took a picture of me with the antique camera when I was holding my Social Studies textbook which was open at the page which showed Singapore at that time."
"Yes, I remember, but how does that help us? We don't have a photograph of your room," fretted Emma.
"No, but I have something just as good!" Whipping out his mobile phone, he showed Emma a picture of Ah Gong, his parents and himself during the recent Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner at his house.
Emma could barely contain her joy and hugged Brandon. "What are you waiting for? Get in position and I'll beam us back!"
Emma extricated the camera carefully from her pocket and aimed the viewfinder at Brandon. Brandon held the phone close to his face and grinned madly as Emma clicked the shutter.
SNAP!
Once again, the children spun through time and space. Thank goodness it gets easier each time, thought Brandon.
Soon, they were both seated at the dining table in Brandon's apartment. Brandon gave a minute for his knees to stop knocking into each other and then walked cautiously to his room and checked the calendar on his desk.
"Hurray, it's the right day!" he breathed thankfully.
"Look at your clock, Brandon," said Emma, pointing at the digital clock which stood on Brandon's bedside table. "It says 3.05pm. Didn't I get to your house at about 2.40pm? Did time pass, I wonder?"
"I think time did elapse but very slowly," answered Brandon. "I seem to recall that just before you took my picture, the clock said 3.03pm. If we're physically still here, that means my phone can still access my modem, and I can still surf the Internet and check my email. That might come in handy for our next mission!"
"Great! And now, let's get back to our project," reminded Emma.
Ignoring Brandon's groans of protest, she put forth her ideas of what they could do for their assignment. After all, they had experienced wartime Singapore first-hand. They would have plenty to write about.
Brandon and Emma tried to concentrate and pen their thoughts, but their minds could not help wandering. Instead of coming up with points on how people adapted in war-torn Singapore, Brandon wondered where their next mission would take them, and when they would be called to service. He daydreamed about saving the early humans from sabre-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths. On her part, Emma was imagining herself in America when it was wild and unexplored. There would only be vast plains, animals and the big blue sky. With any luck, contact with people would be minimal. With these pleasant musings keeping them company, Emma and Brandon completed their school project.
- THE END -