Oliver stared down into the swirling vortex. Whatever it was, Armando had believed it would be necessary in the survival of the human species. But on the other hand, hed been trying to protect Oliver from it, to keep him away from it as long as possible. Whatever it was, it was a thing of immense glory, an invention with shocking magical properties.

The pounding on the doors grew louder. Oliver tore his gaze from the vortex over his shoulder and saw a huge indentation in the middle of the door. They were getting through, quicker than hed have expected.

There was no time to waste. Oliver hurried around the vortex, searching for any sign as to what the machine might be, or how it might be operated.

At last he caught sight of a large button on the wall. It was a huge red push button, the type youd expect to operate a nuclear weapon. Pressing it seemed like the last thing Oliver should do, and yet some instinctive knowledge within him knew it was precisely what he had to.

He ran for it, just as the steel doors yielded to another blow. They were opening a crack now, enough for him to see Lucas and the security guards on the other side. The battering ram theyd been using was thrown to the side and in its place was a large jack, the type that could be used to winch a vehicle as big as a monster truck. In just a matter of moments, theyd be inside.

Without another second to deliberate, Oliver slammed his palm on the big red button.

Immediately, the purple vortex began to swirl. And from inside came the sound of ticking. Not the ticking of a bomb, but the ticking of a clock. An enormous clock. The ticking grew louder and faster, and a display screen that had been in darkness before came suddenly to life. There was a string of red numbers upon it and they were quickly counting backward. It took Oliver a matter of seconds to work out that he was staring at a dateyear, month, day, hour, minute, secondand that they were reducing at an increasingly fast pace.

The pieces all clicked into piece. Armando had told him to remember the time. The vortex was a time machine! Olivers quest, his destiny to save mankind, meant going back in time.

Suddenly, the doors behind him sprang fully open. In bounded Lucas and his security. They ran for him, arms outstretched.

Without missing a beat, Oliver ran full pelt for the vortex, propelling himself as fast as his legs could go. The guards were right behind him, barely millimeters from grasping him. With every ounce of power he possessed, Oliver leapt. He felt fingers clasp onto his leg but it was too late, he was already airborne, the force in his leap strong enough to overpower the fingertips that had only just caught him.