An hour and a half had passed, and the sun was rising above the horizon. It was a beautiful Thursday morning back on June 10th in 1971.
The Burkeville police department searched all floors of the Engineering and Science building and didn't find a soul. So they figured that it must have been a glitch with the alarm systems. None of the two cops on duty that night thought about checking the basement. The officers were back in the police station ending their night shift drinking coffee and reading their favorite magazines.
Darin was exhausted from walking north on Brightwood Avenue with his suitcase in hand. Even though his janitorial job had a lot of walking, this was still too much for him. He had to take numerous breaks to suck in some fresh air into his clogged lungs.
He was in the northeastern part of Burkeville and headed east down Marshall Avenue. Marshall Avenue ran east and west through town.
He walked for another ten minutes and soon found the Burkeville Motor Court. This was a small hotel with thirty rooms in total. Fifteen on each side of the small office.
Darin stood at the entrance to the motor court and remembered it from when he grew up. In 1984 the place was torn down after the owner Vince Barnes died from lung cancer.
Darin recalled how Vince would let some of the football players pay hourly rates to take girls into a room for naked fun. He never took Sheryl there back then as he was afraid her father would kill him.
Darin took a deep breath and headed to the office located in the center of the long building.
He opened the door and stepped inside, heading to the counter.
Nobody was inside the office while he walked up to the counter. He glanced around the office for signs of life while he put his suitcase on the floor. "Hello," he called while he rang the bell on the counter.
A few seconds passed, and Vince Barnes walked out of his small off. He had a Camel cigarette in his mouth and a coffee cup that hadn't been cleaned in years in his right hand.
"You need a room?" said Vince while he walked up to the counter and put his Camel out in one of those ashtrays with had a glass bowl and a rubber tire around it.
Darin was speechless the second he saw Vince. It was so surreal that he once again saw the man he saw so many times while he grew up.
Vince and Darin's father Henry were old high school friends. Vince joined the Navy after high school and had a twenty-year career at sea. After he retired and moved to Burkeville, he took over his father's motel.
"Yes," said Darin and still couldn't believe that he's reliving his past again.
Vince took a drink of his coffee then placed the cup on the counter. He reached under the counter and grabbed a small form. "Fill this out," said Vince while he slid the guest registration form across the counter to Darin. He gave him a pen.
Darin glanced down at the cup and saw the black ring inside that indicated Vince never cleaned it. He then glanced down at Vince's arms and recalled those two familiar tattoos. On his right forearm was a ship's anchor. On Vince's left forearm was a sexy woman in a bikini with the words "Rose" under her feet.
Vince took a drink of coffee while Darin looked down at the form.
Darin started to fill out the form and started to write down his real name. He stopped just in time and thought for a few seconds for a fake name. His eyes lit up with a cover name. He jotted down David Thomas, as his name, and gave an address of 5987 Adams Avenue, Orlando, Florida.
He slid the guest registration form across the countertop back to Vince.
Vince looked it over for a few seconds. "You're from Tampa Mister Thomas?"
"Ah, yes."
"What brings you up here to Burkeville?"
Darin thought for a few seconds. "Ah, your university. I'm looking for a teaching position hopefully at the university. History."
"Ah, you're a professor."
Darin nodded in agreement while Vince stared at him, making him nervous.
Something about this old hippy felt odd with Vince. "You know something, for some strange reason, you remind me of the son of a friend of mind. The kid's name is Darin. Ready to graduate from high school. I'm a friend of his father, Henry," said and couldn't shake off this strange feeling.
Darin felt caught. His eyes widened a little. "Well, if this Darin is a teenager, then I can't be him. I mean, I'm forty-one years old."
Vince thought about Darin's reply for a few seconds then he chuckled. "Yeah, I guess what they say is true that we could have doubles out their somewhere."
"Yeah, I guess it could be true," said Darin and wished Vince would shut-up so he can get some rest.
There were a few seconds of silence between Darin and Vince.
Vince's eyes widened a little. "Your room. That'll be fifteen dollars a night, paid in advance," he said.
"I'll stay for five nights," said Darin then removed his wallet out of his back pocket. He removed four twenty-dollar bills and handed them over to Vince.
Vince glanced at the bills in his hand. He opened up his cash drawer and placed them with the other twenty-dollar bills he had. He removed a five-dollar bill and handed it to Darin.
He reached back under the counter where he had the room keys on a small rack. He removed a key.
"Room thirty is at the far end," said Vince and pointed to his left.
"Okay," said Darin while he grabbed the key.
Vince watched while Darin grabbed his suitcase and headed to the door.
After Darin left the office, Vince watched him while he walked over to Room 30. "He sure looks like Darin," he said then paused for a few seconds. "I sure hope Darin doesn't grow up to be a piece of shit like that old hippy," he said then removed another Camel from his pack. He lit it and watched while Darin unlocked his room and went inside. "I hate it when my generation tries to look like today's kids. Fucking pathetic. Just fucking pathetic," he said then grabbed his coffee cup and Darin's registration form.
"Oh well, I guess that's why I fought in WW two so assholes like that can have their freedom to look like hairy women," said Vince while he headed back into his office.
Inside Room 30, Darin removed all of his clothes from his suitcase and placed them in the small dresser.
Darin's stomach growled.
He walked to the door and left the room.
Darin walked out of the motel's parking lot and headed back down Marshall Avenue heading back west.
He removed a Marlboro from his shirt pocket and lit his morning cigarette. He smoked while he walked down Marshall Avenue remembering the sights he recalled from when he was a kid. He started to get nervous with being back in time to 1971.
Five minutes had passed.
Darin walked across Marshall and headed over to Jake's Country Diner just off the south side of the street. The diner was built in 1945 and burned down in 1989 from a kitchen fire. So seeing this diner again was good for Darin.
He stopped once he stepped inside the restaurant. He smelled the aroma, and it brought back memories when he worked here with Sheryl back in high school.
Darin wasn't at all disappointed when it was torn down in 1983 to make room for a small medical center.
"Want a table?" said the voice of fifty-year-old Gracie Howell.
Darin glanced over to his left and saw Gracie. He smiled at the sight of that woman that he hadn't seen since 1983. "Yes, ma-am."
Gracie looked at Darin, and something felt odd about this old hippy. "Do I know you? You seem familiar."
"No ma-am, I just arrived in town this morning. Came up from Orlando, Florida."
"What brings you here to Burkeville?"
"I'm looking for a job," he said.
Gracie looked at Darin and still felt she knew him. "Good luck. Now, please follow me," she said then shrugged off that feeling she knew him.
Gracie walked off down the windows were all the booths were placed. In fact, all the booths were by the windows, and tables were in the center of the diner.
Darin followed her.
While Gracie walked Darin to a booth at the other end of the restaurant, he started to get uncomfortable with stares from the town folk of Burkeville. They thought it was odd that an older man had long hair and a beard. The men at the same age of Darin thought that Darin was some type of old queer. A few of the guys wanted to beat the crap out of the old hippy, but they refrained.
Darin sat down at the booth on the side where he had a view of the front door.
"Would you like some coffee?" said Gracie.
"Yes, please."
Gracie turned around and walked toward the door for the kitchen.
The other patrons of the restaurant returned to eating their breakfast and decided to ignore this old hippy.
A few minutes passed and Gracie walked back with a cup of steaming hot coffee. She placed it down in front of Darin.
"Know what you want?"
"I'll have two eggs, over easy with bacon and toast."
Gracie smiled then walked away and headed back to the kitchen.
Five minutes had passed, and Darin started to fill his empty stomach with much need breakfast and hot coffee.
He glanced around the diner and looked at the people eating. Some of them he remembered some of them and recalled when they died. He got nervous. What am I doing? He asked himself and started to worry about this trip. I better go back. I made my bed. I better sleep with the skank I married. He thought in his head.
Something caught Darin's attention when he glanced out the window by his booth.
He saw a 1957 Studebaker drive into the parking lot and park. He got curious about that car.
Darin's eyes lit up when he saw a young Dr. Bowman, now thirty-six years old, get out from the driver's side of the Studebaker.
Dr. Bowman immediately donned his white cowboy hat, and Darin could see he wore his Thunderbird Bolo tie with his white shirt. "Some things never change," said Darin recalling that's what Dr. Bowman wore in 1995.
Then he saw someone get out of the passenger side of the Studebaker. Darin's eyes widened when he recognized his high school history professor Jimmy Newton.
He watched while the two headed to the diner.
After a few seconds, Darin's heart raced while he watched Gracie, Dr. Bowman, and Jimmy up to the booth next to Darin's.
Jimmy looked at Darin while he sat down. There was something about that old hippy that appeared familiar with him. But he couldn't place a finger on it, so he shrugged it off.
"The usual, Gracie," said Dr. Bowman.
Gracie smiled and walked away.
Darin craned his next toward the next booth. He had to hear their conservation.
"How's your new interesting project coming along?" Jimmy asked Dr. Bowman.
"Still in the concept phase. I'm working on a book on the topic," said Dr. Bowman.
"Interesting. Do you think your theory will work?" said Jimmy.
They remained quiet while Gracie walked up with two cups of coffee in her hand. She placed a cup in front of Jimmy, and Dr. Bowman then walked away.
"I have the utmost confidence it will," said Dr. Bowman then he took a drink of coffee.
"How long until you see results?" said Jimmy, then he took a drink of coffee.
"Mmm," said Dr. Bowman while he pondered for a few seconds. "Maybe ten years if I'm lucky."
"Well, you know what I want to do with it," said Jimmy, and he took another drink of coffee and thought about his first task to be done with the project.
"I know," said Dr. Bowman, and he thought about his first mission with his project.
Jimmy and Dr. Bowman continued to drink their coffee.
Jimmy's eyes lit up when he remembered something. "Listen, Ervin, I have this student named Darin Archer."
Darin's ears perked up, and he craned his neck closer to the other booth.
"He's a natural with history. I think he would make a great history professor at the university after he gets out of college in four years," said Jimmy then he took another drink of his coffee.
"We could use him in a few years. Doctor Thorne will be retiring by then," said Dr. Bowman then he took a drink of coffee.
"Great," said Jimmy, and it was quiet in their booth while they waited for Gracie to walk their scrambled eggs with bacon up to their table.
Darin finished his breakfast and decided to press on with his mission. He motioned for Gracie that he wanted his check.
Gracie walked over a few minutes later with Darin's check.
Darin grabbed his check and got out of his booth.
While Darin walked past Jimmy and Dr. Bowman's booth, Jimmy glanced up at Darin.
Jimmy's eyes widened a little and turned around to look back at Darin. He looked back at Dr. Bowman. "That old hippy looked extremely familiar. Like I've met him before," he said to Dr. Bowman.
Dr. Bowman looked at the cash register where Darin was paying his bill. "He doesn't look familiar. Maybe you knew him from a previous life," he said.
"Yeah, maybe," said Jimmy and shrugged off that feeling.
Jimmy and Dr. Bowman continued with their breakfast while Darin left the diner.
Once Darin stood outside the diner, he lit up another Marlboro. After he took a drag and exhaled, he looked around the area. He didn't feel like walking for the next three days. He didn't think this part of the plan out very well. His eyes lit up when he remembered a solution.
He walked out of the parking lot of the diner and headed west on Marshall Avenue.