It was a quiet evening, the kind that wrapped the world in a blanket of stillness. The sun had long dipped behind the hills, leaving a lingering orange haze in the sky. The only sound in the clearing was Jack's ragged breathing, each inhale shallow and sharp, as if even air now resisted him.
He was drenched in sweat, his shirt clinging to him like a second skin. His body trembled, too weak to stand. Every muscle ached, every joint burned. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the dirt, panting. His arms felt like they were made of shattered glass.
He'd been at it since sunrise, trying to lift the truck with his powers. Not just lift, hold it. Control it. Master it. But despite all his effort, the truck had only budged, barely rocking back on its wheels.
From the edge of the field, Dr. Kim's voice rang out. "Keep trying, Jack! You'll get it eventually!"
He lifted his head, fury flaring in his chest. "What are you talking about?" he snapped. "I've been out here all damn day! I can't even feel my arms anymore. My bones feel like they've been ground to dust. This is impossible. The time machine can't be this heavy!"
Dr. Kim's silhouette approached, arms crossed. "Jack," she said, her voice hardening, "you, of all people, should know by now nothing is impossible. For heaven's sake, you cured death."
He scowled, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"So stop whining like a child," she continued, "and lift the damn truck."
Jack glared at her. His chest rose and fell, quick and shallow. Anger, frustration, exhaustion they churned inside him like a storm.
Dr. Kim stepped closer, her tone turning cold. "Or don't. I get it. You don't want to. I always knew you were a quitter. When things get hard, you run. Just like you did with this project seven years ago."
His jaw tightened. A spark of pain and guilt flickered behind his eyes.
"This time," she added, her words sharp as glass, "you won't just be disappointing me. You'll be letting Maya down because you'll fail to bring her mother back."
Jack froze.
"I heard you two talking on the rooftop," she said. Her eyes locked with his, unflinching. "You made her a promise. Are you really going to break it?"
Her voice was calm now quiet, but deadly. "After everything, you're going to lose the one person you love. Maya won't even be able to look at you. And all you'll prove is that you're the loser I've always known you were."
A silence stretched between them.
Then she said the one thing he couldn't bear to hear.
"You said you loved Joan, didn't you? What a pity. No wonder you couldn't protect her."
Jack's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white. A low, burning rage rose in his chest but deeper than that was sorrow. Guilt. Shame. Because she was right.
Dr. Kim pointed at the truck. "This is the smallest challenge you'll face. If you can't lift this, how the hell are you supposed to defy time itself to bring her back?"
For a long moment, Jack didn't move. Then, slowly, he rose. His legs trembled beneath him, but he stood tall. Her words rang in his ears like a war drum.
I have to do this. I must do this.
"You're right," Jack said quietly. "I am a failure. I couldn't protect Joan. And every day, that guilt crushes me."
He looked her straight in the eye.
"But I won't disappoint Maya. That's one promise I'll keep. One way or another... I will bring Joan back."
With a roar, Jack thrust his hands toward the truck. His whole body shook as the metal groaned, lifted, and began to rise. Higher. Higher. Until it hovered in the air.
It stayed there suspended for thirty-one agonizing seconds before Jack collapsed, the truck crashing down into the dirt.
Dr. Kim gave a small nod. "Not bad. But not good enough. You need two minutes. And next time, try running with it. Now go get some rest."
The next morning, long before sunrise, Jack was already up. The world was still sleeping when he took Dr. Kim's car keys and drove off into the fog.
The graveyard was quiet, birds just beginning to stir in the trees. Jack stood behind an old oak as they lowered Joan's casket into the earth. He didn't cry he wouldn't let himself. But his heart clenched with every scoop of dirt that fell.
When the last mourner had left, Jack stepped forward. He laid a bouquet of soft white lilies on her grave.
"Nothing in this world will stop me," he whispered. "I'm sorry for waiting so long to tell you, but I love you, Joan. Not being able to share that with you… it's the worst pain I've ever known. But I swear one way or another, we'll be together again."
He stayed a few minutes longer, then turned and walked away, determination burning behind his eyes.
When Jack pulled into Dr. Kim's driveway, she and Maya were already loading equipment into the truck.
She turned the moment she saw him. "Where the hell have you been?" she demanded.
Jack kept his voice calm. "I needed to clear my head."
Dr. Kim rolled her eyes. "Well, while you were doing that, I found out something useful. They're moving the time machine today. If we want it, we'll have to steal it in transit."
Jack's spine straightened. "So what's the plan?"
"I don't have one," she admitted, then threw him the keys. "We'll figure it out on the way."
He caught them, nodded once, and climbed into the driver's seat.
They had a time machine to steal.
And nothing, not guilt, not pain, not even time itself was going to stop him.