THE MOMENT
The world changed in the blink of an eye, quite literally. Terri was walking along a frigid boardwalk under a grey sky, and occasionally passing a bundled-up jogger braving the elements on habit alone. The year was 1985, her favorite year, and she'd taken that particular walk on that particular day dozens of times. The frosty air on her face helped her think.
Except, she blinked in between thoughts, and the sun appeared, along with a dense wave of beachgoers suddenly dotting the sand and surf. The cold was gone, and it felt almost like a warm Spring afternoon, with everyone in appropriate beachwear. The most striking thing, though, was that they weren't all human. She walked by a couple of elves who seemed amused by her puffy orange winter jacket, beanie & mittens. And then, before she could completely assess the situation, she noticed someone approaching her with deliberate attention. She locked eyes with a pale woman with long white hair and orange eyes wearing a black dress, and the woman made it clear she had business with Terri by holding her gaze.
"Hi, you're out of time," the woman said once she arrived in front of Terri. "My name's Minuette, and I represent Void Holdings. We're integrating your Earth into our portfolio, and I'll be happy to get you re-oriented with the new timeline."
"What?" Terri tried to ask all her questions at the same time and only managed that much.
"That 'Anomoly' you time travellers on this Earth have been avoiding; it's us," she nodded. Terri still seemed to be processing things, and she continued. "Void Holdings is a multiversal corporation. Thanks to your governments, we own this Earth now, it's one of billions," she winked. "But, with so many time travellers hopping around, we needed a temporal rollout, instead of a single transition point. Having a single timestream is kind of important for multiversal operation."
"Am I... in trouble?" Terri asked. It was all too much to take in, and the hair on her neck stood on end. There was a lot happening, and she felt like she should be panicking a lot more than she was, but she couldn’t identify a reason. She needed to know why Minuette was there now talking to her.
"Not at all," Minuette smiled. She reached forward and presented a clear glass card to Terri. "This is called a node," she said. "It's like a smartphone from the 2040s, except it'll also text and call across universes. There's also a detailed tutorial to help you get acquainted with everything you have access to now. And, all the time travellers on this Earth are surprisingly tight-knight," she added. "You'll find the contact information for all the previous ones we've met. Although, of course, you're prohibited from returning to any periods outside the anomaly."
Terri accepted the card with some trepidation, and she didn't want to take her eyes off Minuette yet.
"Is that it..?" Terri asked. The longer she stood in Minuette's presence, the more uncomfortable she felt. She, and plenty of others, could travel through time surprisingly easily. It was more like a super power than using a high-tech contraption, and it came with a particular intuition. It was how they found others, and sense them to a certain extent.
The closer they became, the easier they could sense each other across temporal distances. And, it was startlingly apparent when they began disappearing. Everything about Minuette screamed danger. And, she seemed to know that, lingering with a smile.
"That satisfies my purpose," Minuette nodded. "Did you have any questions?"
"No," Terri shook her head. "Thank y-," she blinked partway through, and Minuette was gone again. The boardwalk remained sunny and crowded, but Terri was glad she was wearing a jacket. She felt a chill in her core as she started walking again to try to warm up. She hadn't even glanced at the node yet; she was too distracted. It felt like she'd had a brush with death.