The Geniuses touched ground.
Einstein, Hawkings, Vinci, Curie, and Maria,-who still did not have a nickname-glistened in the sunlight.
In school uniforms, they crouched behind an old, crumbling stone wall. There was no way anyone could have seen them. Not yet.
"Change we shall," Maria said, dropping her bag. "Turn back."
Einstein lazily lifted a hand. "We just close our eyes, I promise."
The boys covered their faces as the girls were swapping their clothes behind them.
"Done," Eliza whispered.
The boys were peeling off their uniforms and folding them quickly. Vinci glanced at Eliza. "You should look away too."
"No point," she shrugged. "Hurry up."
Einstein smirked. "So equal."
The girls snorted but covered their eyes anyway.
Within minutes, they were dressed in plain robes-faded from ancient times, so dull nothing really stood out, with their packs cushioned under the folds.
As they mixed with the crowd, travelers is what they looked like-a bit odd, that is, but not really suspicious.
"What are they carrying?" somebody mumbled.
They didn't care. They had two weeks.
Day one was a mess. Here and there, with no notion at all. In the town square, a street performer was spinning glowing energy through his fingertips. The crowd gasped.
"That's… magic?" whispered Eliza.
"Not an illusion," said Vinci. "Just pure energy manipulation."
Einstein very nearly took out his camera, but those eyes stopped him.
They continued walking and then noticed a boy of their age. Einstein stepped forward.
"Hey, where can we find Hypatia?"
The boy passed by and offered no reply, nor did he look back.
Another man pointed toward a far-off hill.
There it was.
The School of the Neoplatonists.
No thought on it they ran. Sandals slapped on dry dust. Robes flared. The school towered above like a temple of thought.
Yet, they did not enter. Instead, they dropped their bags and sat themselves down.
Waiting.
Einstein scribbled in his notebook. Vinci traced outlines of cloud patterns. Eliza shared a snack with Maria. Silence set in, till now never an awkward one but heavy with thought. Can
"So… now what?" whispered Eliza.
"Just wandering till destiny bumps into us?" Maria jested.
Vinci sat upright again. "Maybe the one who rules the kingdom. Like the court of Alexander. Whoever is important might know."
No one responded. The stone upon which they were sitting radiated heat. From far below came the hum of merchants. Up here—peace.
They did not know where they would sleep or who would help. They did not even know what it was that they were chasing.
The sun still existed in the sky.
And they had each other.
Hours passed. Hypatia had not yet arrived.
"Let us attempt once more, shall we?" Vinci at last spoke.
Back they went. The school was alive this time. Every student in existence. Scrolls. Sandals. Silence.
No sign of her.
They sat silently among the others.
One hour. Nothing.
"Still not here," whispered Vinci.One hand signal and they rose.Back into the city they melted.They wandered.Fresh loaves: warm, sharp, and heavenly.
Einstein flew to a stall: "Trade?"
With a raised eyebrow, the woman responded, "With what?"
He gave her ginger cookies. She laughed while taking them and gave him a loaf in return.
He broke the loaf and shared it, eating along as they walked discreetly, sneaking photos and grabbing a few recordings when no one was looking.
Still no Hypatia. No answers.
Evening crept further in, casting longer shadows.
They found an abandoned stall to crouch behind with hay.
Not much. But quiet.
"Let's try the school one last time," said Vinci, sitting up.
They moved.
Something had changed.
The air was wrong: thick, still, cold.
"Oh, do you feel that?" Maria froze.
No one spoke.
A whisper then.
Whispers.
Something was walking behind them.
Einstein turned.
And stopped breathing.
A woman stood there, cloaked, in the shadows.
Holding a scroll. Her face--ancient. With eyes too dark.
She looks like " he started.
But she shifted.
Her fingers grew long, contorted. Hair whipped like fire. Flares of coals were in her burning eyes."Are you Christians?" she croaked.
"Guys," Vinci started to say. "We need to "
Too late.
Run.
Footsteps thundered down marble alleys. Nobody ever dared look back.
They were panting upon barging out into a courtyard.
"That's not Hypatia!" Eliza gasped. "She isn't supposed to be a ghost!"
Vinci went pale and confused. "Wait… what year did I set?"
Einstein stared at him. "You said 420 AD…"
Vinci shook his head. "I set it to 410."
A silence.
Eliza groaned. "We're in the wrong timeline."
"We only have two weeks," Hawkings interjected while checking his prototype, "and it's ticking."
Einstein's bag began to buzz. His device blinked.
7… 6… 5…
"WHATS GOING ON!?" Maria screamed.
Hawkings called, "Look!"
The ghost came again. Hovering. Writhing. Opening her mouth in a silent scream.
3… 2…
They grabbed each other's hands.
1..
Black.
When they opened their eyes...
Home.
Only things were strange.
Very strange.
And they were about to find out why soon...