PATH OF TOTALITY

Sofie walked into the police station and looked around. It wasn’t as busy as she was expecting. But, then again, she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Today was the first total solar eclipse in almost seven years. Everyone all over the country had been talking about it, and the citizens of Rucker, Texas were no different. In the week leading up to it, people were starting to go a little stir crazy in anticipation.

“Hey, lieutenant!” Troy smiled. “Didn’t think you’d be coming in today.”

“And miss all the fun?” Sofie smiled back. “How’s it been here?”

“Oddly calm.”

The phone rang and Troy immediately picked it up. “Rucker Police Department. Troy speaking. How may I help you?”

Sofie continued on into the station, nodding hello to a few of the officers as she passed by. She stepped into her office and set her bag down on her desk. Almost immediately, there was a knock at her door.

“Lieutenant?” 

Sofie turned and saw Jerry Adams, one of her lead investigators, leaning halfway into her office.

“I could use your help on something over here.”

“And she hasn’t said anything?” Sofie asked.

She and Jerry were standing at the small bank of monitors that showed the feed from all of the cameras placed throughout the station. The one they were focused on showed the interview room. Sitting at the far end of the table, the furthest from the door, was a young blonde woman, about twenty-five years of age. She was obviously exhausted, but clearly too frightened to let herself relax. Her wide eyes betrayed at least that much. 

“No. No, not really. The few times we tried talking to her, she almost got violent with us. I thought maybe letting her relax for a bit might help, but not so far. She pretty much won’t let us into the room.”

“Who took her in there?”

“Doyle,” Jerry said.

Sofie nodded. Doyle was always good with people, especially women. Her naturally kind face put everyone at ease.

“She was first on the scene?”

“Yep. There were a few phone calls about a young woman running through the streets, half-clothed, pushing into people and talking crazy.”

Sofie gave him a look.

“Those were their words, not mine.” Jerry explained.

“What was it she was saying?”

“Nothing that made much sense, apparently.” He looked at his notes. “Mainly gibberish and half completed sentences. A lot of who and wheres, things like that.”

“Did she say anything to Doyle?”

“No. She just stared out the windows on the drive over here, like she was in awe of her surroundings. Doyle said she seemed utterly confused.” He put his notes away and looked at the lieutenant. “About everything.”

Sofie studied the image on the monitor. The young woman was wearing torn shorts, a police issue sweatshirt, and slide sandals. “She wasn’t wearing a shirt or shoes?”

“She barely had one on. And,” he looked at his notes again, “no shoes, and really only one sock. The other was almost completely fallen apart.”

Sofie shook her head slowly. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “I’m going to go in and talk with her.”

There was a knock at the door. The young woman immediately tensed and pushed herself back into her chair. The door opened, and Sofie stepped inside the room. She didn’t go much farther than the doorway, just enough to close it behind her. She smiled.

“Hi. I’m Lieutenant Stevens. I’d like to talk to you, if that’s okay.”

The young woman didn’t say anything.

“Are you hungry, or thirsty? We have some sandwiches in the breakroom, and there’s a soda machine in there.”

The young woman just stared at Sofie.

“Maybe in a little bit, then.” She took another step forward. “Is it okay if I sit down? I’ll stay on this side of the table. I just want to be able to talk to you.”

The young woman still didn’t react. She just continued to stare intently at Sofie, drawing back slightly as Sofie sat down at the table.

“Thank you,” Sofie said. “Like I said, I’m Lieutenant Stevens. Can you tell me your name?”

No answer.

“It would just make our conversation go better if I could refer to you by your name.”

At first, the young woman still didn’t respond. Then, softly, she said, “Taylor.”

“I’m sorry?” Sofie asked.

“Taylor,” she repeated, louder this time.

Sofie smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, Taylor. My name is Sofie.”

Taylor just sat there.

“Do you have a last name?” Sofie asked, adding a slight chuckle. “I mean, of course you do. Everybody does, right?”

“Humphrey,” Taylor finally relented.

Sofie gave a warm genuine smile. “Thank you for telling me, Taylor. I appreciate you doing that.” It was definitely a step forward. But, it also meant that Jerry Adams was now running Taylor Humphrey’s name through the system.

“You’re not from here, are you, Taylor?” Sofie continued. “I mean, I don’t recognize you. Do you have family here?”

Taylor shook her head. “Oregon.”

“You’re from Oregon?”

Taylor shook her head again. “No. Seattle. My aunt is in Oregon. Eugene.”

“You were visiting her, then?”

Taylor nodded.

“Like a family reunion sort of thing?”

“No,” Taylor said quietly. Her voice was steady now, but still very weak. “The eclipse. We wanted to see it. Together.”

“In Oregon?” Sofie furrowed her brow. “I didn’t think you could see it there. Or, did you mean that you all came here to see it?”

“No,” Taylor said, shaking her head. “We were in Oregon.”

“Okay, so then–”

There was a knock at the door. 

Sofie stood up. “I need to see what that’s about, but I’ll be right back. And I’ll bring you a sandwich or two. You can pick whichever you want. They’re all pretty good.”

Jerry Adams was waiting excitedly for Sofie. As soon as she stepped out of the interview room, he held up a piece of paper. On it was a photo of Taylor Humphrey, looking almost identical to how she looked now, only happier. She had a big smile on her face, and her eyes were bright and alive.

“Meet Taylor Humphrey, reported missing by her aunt, August 21st, 2017 from Eugene, Oregon.” He handed Sofie the paper. “They were there to see the solar eclipse.”

“Another one?”

“The last one that was visible in the United States. They got together, reportedly had a great time, but then Taylor up and disappeared without a trace. No one has seen or heard from her in seven years.”

“And she shows up here for another solar eclipse?”

“Well, I have a theory,” Jerry said, unable to keep himself from grinning. “But, I need you to hear me out before you call me crazy again. And, fair warning, you’re going to need to be willing to at least look into the rabbit hole on this one.”

Sofie rolled her eyes as one of the office phones began to ring.

Jerry didn’t wait for an official answer. “Okay, so seven years ago, there was a total solar eclipse, just like today. But, do you know what else happened today?”

Sofie obliged. “No. I don’t. At all, Jerry.”

“Today is also the day that the CERN Institute turned the Large Hadron Collider back on.” He waited for the realization to hit her.

It didn’t.

“I don’t know what that is, Jerry.”

A few more phones started ringing in the station.

“It’s a giant piece of equipment that they built in Switzerland to study atoms, and the beginnings of the universe, and something called the God particle. But, a lot of people believe, and this is where it gets weird, that what it accidentally did was tear a hole in time and space.”

Sofie stared at him. Then, “Are you kidding me right now?”

Jerry started to answer, but was cut off by Dan Phillips, one of the other officers.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys. But, we could really use some help on the phones out here.”

“What’s going on?” Sofie asked. Jerry went to answer yet another ringing telephone.

“We’re getting multiple reports of people going missing out of nowhere,” Phillips explained. “Eight so far.”

“Eight?” Sofie repeated in astonishment.

“Yeah. And climbing.” He picked up another ringing line.

Sofie looked over at Jerry, and listened in on his conversation.

“Was it in the middle of the square, or down one of the side streets?” he asked the caller. “In the square? Okay. And no one saw her wander off?”

Suddenly, Sofie’s blood ran ice cold, and she spun around towards the interview room. She broke out into a dead run.

She reached the interview room door and flung it open. Inside were the table and both chairs, just as they had been a few minutes before.

Taylor, however, was gone.

Sofie turned back around and called out into the station. “Did anyone see her leave? Who saw her leave?”

She quickly moved forward a few steps. The ringing of the telephones had completely filled the room. 

“Anyone? Did anyone see her leave?”

Amanda walked up the steps of the police station and walked inside. The station house was bustling as usual. She didn’t even make it to the detective’s bullpen before Adam Miller thrusted a handful of paperwork at her.

“I need your help in room two,” he said hurriedly.

"With what?"

“I’m not sure. We didn’t get a lot of information on her.”

“Her?” Amanda asked.

“Yeah. And she keeps asking for someone named Lieutenant Stevens.”

“Who’s Lieutenant Stevens?”

“Room two!” He shouted as he hurried away, tapping his earpiece.

Amanda thumbed through the paperwork. “Wait! No one did a retina-scan or a digi-print?”

Amanda opened the door to the interview room and walked in. Standing in the middle of the room was a young woman with blonde hair. Her sweatshirt was in tatters.

“Hello. I’m Detective–”

Taylor spun around. “Where’s Lieutenant Stevens?” She screamed.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who that is. I’d like to help you though. Could you–”

“Am I still in Texas?”

Amanda was taken aback by this. “No, you’re in Montana.”

Taylor’s shoulders slumped as she pushed her hair back from her face. “Is it at least 2017 again?” she asked softly.

A look of concern spread across Amanda’s face. “No. It’s 2044. August 23, 2044.”

Hearing this, Taylor collapsed into a heap on the floor. She began weeping. 

“I’m supposed to be in Oregon,” she said. “With my family.”

Amanda stood there, watching her cry.

From somewhere out in the police station, phones started to ring.