The Regular Writing Rampage

the item number is 885855, but since i'm not an upgraded member, I've also included it here. Thanks for your time, and great contest!

He had told me to meet him here. The alley was right out of a movie; run down, paint chipping, urine soaked. A Mecca for drug dealers, stray cats and god knows what other creatures of the night.
I guess I’m part of them now, I thought, pulling hard on my cigarette. I looked around and felt a strange feeling of déjà vu. It was interrupted by a tapping sound.
Footsteps. He was here, looking exactly as he did the first time I met him. The illegitimate love child of a mad scientist and a loan shark. His hair was wild and untamed, but his long leather jacket was shiny and expensive looking. He slid next to me against the wall, plucked the cigarette from my hand, and helped himself to a drag.
“Uh, Do you want one?” I muttered, annoyed.
“Huh? Oh, I would, but I just quit yesterday.” He finished it off, flicking it into the darkness. “Let’s get to business, huh?”
“OK.” I turned to him. “Where is it?”
“It’s here. Why would I have you meet me in some scum sodden back alley, huh? Just for effect?”
“I don’t know.” I was starting to think this whole thing was a horrible idea. Most people would have entertained the thought sooner; after all, the average Joe would laugh in the face of anyone offering a time machine. But then again, the average Joe hadn’t done what I had. The average Joe didn’t pray every minute for a way to change his past.
The average Joe wouldn’t ever understand what I have to go through everyday, I thought.
“It’s a good hidin’ place,” he commented, reaching into his jacket. I stiffened up for a minute, and exhaled loudly when he pulled out a flashlight. “Come on.”
Sure enough, there it was, at the end of the back street. I suppose to anyone taking a stroll, it would appear as a big dumpster. As he had mentioned, it wasn’t in supreme condition. Dents and scratches covered the exterior, made of some kind of metal. He stood in front of it and smiled. Again, a feeling of unexplainable familiarity washed over me
“Here she is.” He tapped the side. “Can I see the money?”
“Now wait a minute.” I moved closer to the machine. “I mean, this doesn’t look like anything to me. What’s the catch? I’m not just going to give you $5000 for a slab of metal in some alleyway. Don’t I get a …test drive, or something?”
“Listen buddy, this ain’t no car dealership, huh?” He pressed down on a piece of metal, and the front glided up, revealing the inside. “So let me make this clear. Obviously, you need this for somethin’. You’re not exactly some science buff, right? You want to go back in time to change somethin’.”
I held my breath as he continued.
“Now, I don’t pretend to know what that somethin’ is, buddy, but it’s enough for you to meet me here tonight. It’s worth your $5000 dollars.” He smiled again. “So hop in.”
Sighing, I stepped into the device. He was right, and there was no arguing with that. I put my hand in my pocket, feeling up the wad of cash. “Here.” I handed it to him, and he laughed. The sound echoed in my ears; I had heard it before.
What is going on, my mind asked. I feel like I’ve done all this already. Have I?
“Yep.” The man answered, as if he peered into my thoughts. He lit a cigarette and I checked my pockets; he had stolen the pack from me somehow.
“What? What did you say?”
“Déjà vu, right?” He grinned and pressed a few buttons inside the machine. “What’s the catch, right? Well buddy, I’ll tell ya.”
I felt dizzy and confused as he went on.
“Once you get back in time, you don’t remember anything. It’s just another day to you. I had to fix that part on the new one I built. The effect lasts for about a week.”
My mind raced. A week. That’s when I met him, last Thursday.
“That’s right. Thanks for the dough, buddy. You’ve made me a very rich man. See ya last week!” Another button was pushed, and I flailed to get out of my seat.
“What? What are you talking about? No!” I tried to escape, but the machine was already going. I felt like I was being bulldozed into the seat, and with a blinding flash, I screamed.


I ran my hands through my pockets, confused. Hadn’t I just bought a pack of cigarettes? I spotted a drug store and sprinted towards it; I didn’t want to be late for work. Thursdays are shipment, and there would be tons for me to do. As I stopped in front of the door, a man approached me. Pulling a pack of Parliments out of his pocket, he offered me one.
““Pssst! Hey buddy! You looking for a good deal on a time machine? This one has a few dings and dents, but it’ll get you where you goin…mostly.”