It was dark when Nick left the portal. He didn’t expect that. He thought it would be around the same time as when he left. Nick thought he had programmed the portal to transport them to day-time. But now it was night. Maybe that was better. They hadn’t been seen. But how late was it? The few shops he could see from the alleyway when he had stepped out of the portal, appeared to be closed. And there was a fine rain falling. He had to get to the hotel and get booked in before the weather worsened. He couldn’t stay out here in the rain with 3-year-old child. The Premier Inn was just a short walk from where he was. He had checked its location before he came here. It was a new building and was only a few months old. However, if he had got the time wrong, then maybe he had got the date wrong also. There was only one way to find out.
Nick began to walk out of the town centre and as he did, he saw the clock on the town hall. It wasn’t as late as he thought, just 6 pm. But if it was this dark at this time, then maybe it was a dif-ferent time of year also. Nick had programmed the portal for late spring. It should have been lighter at this time of year, or at least for the time he had programmed the portal for. Something

had gone wrong somewhere.
As Nick approached the area where the hotel was supposed to be, right next to the local Sains-bury’s, he saw nothing there but an old pub. This wasn’t the time he had programmed into the time device. So, if this wasn’t 2023 what year was it? Nick had wanted to arrive after the pandemic of 2020-21 but it appeared to be before that. He would have to go out and buy a newspaper in the morning and find out exactly when he was. At least he was in the right place. Ripley, Derbyshire. He had got that bit right.
Nick looked around him. He would have to find another hotel to stay at that wasn’t too far away. Luckily, Nick had done his research beforehand and knew of another hotel close by. It was attached to a pub, but he had discarded it before because of the bad review. That’s why he had chosen a different time. It would have to do for now.
Nick looked down at his son in his arms. He was leaning his head on his shoulder and falling asleep. He had to get out of this rain soon. They were both getting quite wet. After a short walk Nick caught sight of the hotel, The Moss Cottage, and began to quicken his pace.