Roberts glanced over to the left side of his desk, seeking a particular folder.
"Ah", he thought, "there it is" as he reached to grab it.
Just then, the voice of Adrienne, his admin assistant, came through over the intercom:
Mister Roberts, Line Five. The Past Is Calling.
Reacting automatically, he picked up the handset and punched the fifth button in the row along the bottom of the telephone ...
For a moment, he did not know where he was. It was cold and darkness was closing. Snow all over the place and an uncomfortable sensation of long-forgotten weighty items. Ahead of him, a guttural voice spoke in a commanding tone. Instinctively, he dove into a snowbank just as a loud ripping noise rent the air above, with smacking sounds in the earthen bank behind him. Machine gun! Fear seized him and he curled into a fetal position as a vehicle with a loud motor and squeaking tracks approached his location. More voices in that other language. He realized he was tightly clutching a rifle, but couldn't shake his fear enough to point it to his front ...
A strange high-frequency noise steadily increased in volume and the entire area was suddenly illuminated as if a huge spotlight had been turned on. Roberts looked up as a loud pulsing sound accompanied what looked like elongated blobs of ... light ... energy ... shot over his position and impacted to his front.
Loud explosions and then screams ... and then silence.
But the illumination was still there and increasing in intensity. Finally it seemed centered over Roberts himself, bathing him in brilliant light. Shaking in terror, Roberts stared at the source of the illumination, amazed at how large it was. Putting his rifle down, he forced himself to speak.
"Are ... are you God?"
The "light" suddenly vanished and Roberts closed his eyes and felt as if he was falling.
After a moment, the familiar sound of the office air conditioning system filled his ears. Startled, he opened his eyes and stared at the telephone handset he was fiercely grasping. The line was dead, and he carefully replaced the handset on the receiver.
It took him a moment to stand; he felt shakey. Staggering to the door, he opened it and walked into the reception area. Glancing apprehensively at Adrienne, he mumbled, "I'm taking a short stroll, I'll be back."
Adrienne simply side-eyed him with a mysterious little smile.
