Then There Was New York

by Kristina Garlick

  Riley: “No, but for shits and giggles, I will tell you since none of this matters.”

  Agent Bernard: “What does that mean?”

  Riley: “None of this is real. I created this world only to get Jordan the medical attention that he needs. As soon as I find a way to unlink him from Broderick, this world will be no more.”

  Agent Bernard: “So you are saying none of this is real.”

  Riley: “This world is an exact replica of mine from eight years ago. Things change in this timeline based on my actions and those of the people I am with.”

  Agent Bernard: “Why did you travel back eight years ago?”

  Riley: “Broderick does something inexcusable in the near future, so I had to bring us further back than that.”

  Agent Bernard: “What does he do?”

  Riley: “He links the man I love to him so that whatever happens to the jackass happens to Jordan.”

  Agent Bernard: “He did more than that.”

  Riley: “He destroys New York City and takes over the world until Arcadia stops him.”

  Agent Bernard: “Yet you are with him now.”

  Riley: “Jordan’s coma is because of a beating Broderick received. They need to be disconnected, but I came here so I could have some peace to think.”

  Agent Bernard: “Did you come up with a solution?”

  Riley: “No, and the fucked-up thing is I know that I will have to eventually kill Broderick. I cannot allow him to make Jordan and nine other men suffer, even if most are probably bad, bad men.”

  Agent Bernard: “Why are you telling me this?”

  Riley: “Needed someone to talk to.”

  Agent Bernard: “Don’t you have anyone?”

  Riley: “Everyone just tries to manipulate me, even Jordan.”

  Agent Bernard: “But you love him.”

  Riley: “What we have is doomed. I am just delaying the inevitable.”

  Agent Bernard: “Why do this to yourself?”

  Riley: “We all want more time. I have it.”

  Agent Bernard: “So why leave tomorrow? Enjoy being with him for a couple of days.”

  Riley: “I will discuss things with the jackass. Most likely Broderick wants to get his dad’s letter, cause chaos somewhere, and see if it benefits him in the future, but it won’t, because evil never wins.”

  Agent Bernard: “No, it doesn’t.”

  Riley: “Oh, as my temporarily nominated shrink, you must keep this information between us as Jordan and Broderick do not know this truth. They believe everything that has happened is real, but everything else can easily fade away.

  Agent Bernard: “Well, as your temporary shrink, as you call it, I should inform you that this is a dangerous game you’re playing.”

  Riley: “Probably, but that is why I decided that this would be the last scenario I allow to play out. As soon as I collapse this world, time is up, whether my heart is ready or not. At least that is the plan right now.”

  Agent Bernard: “I’m sure when the time will come, you will do the right thing. Any idea what you will do afterwards?”

  Riley: “Probably just go back to my normal life but the difference is, I won’t have to be on the run anymore.”

  There was a knock on the bedroom door.

  Riley: “Enter.”

  Broderick opened the door, wearing a tight tank top and once again standing in the doorway. He was making it a habit to learn in my doorway, but at least this go around he was wearing pants and had a shirt on—kind of. Still disgusted by Broderick’s general presence, the fact that Ruby and Calypso were with him only added to my dismay. While I knew Ruby and Honey’s murders hadn’t triggered the tide wave, it had been the start of that ill-fated New York. My heart began to quicken as I recalled the tidal wave that Calypso had unleashed on the city per Broderick’s command.

  Sure, I had seen Calypso in the stadium but adrenaline hadn’t allowed me to fully process seeing her in the flesh. Calypso was as evil as Broderick, but that dumb look of love on her face could make her an easy target for manipulation. I knew I was one to talk because Broderick was attempting to manipulate me, but the difference was that I was still the one in control and I would never do what Calypso did; I would never destroy a city even if I threatened to rip apart time for Alyssa. No, never would I resort to such ruin but I would find a way, always find a way to save my niece.

  Riley: “For the love of everything holy, please put a real shirt on. You are going to give me nightmares.”

  Broderick: “Riley, Riley, are you sure that is the real reason your hands are sparking? Also, I prefer to keep women up at night in different waves.”

  The jackass winked at me.

  Riley: “Why do you continue to make my skin crawl?”

  Broderick: “Well then, maybe I won’t tell you your boyfriend woke up without a scratch on his back unlike mine, which is still hurting, by the way!”

  I rush past Broderick and his lackeys. When I arrived at Jordan’s room, he was already sitting up in his bed and eating a hamburger with tater tots. He even had a chocolate milk and cookie on his tray.

  Jordan: “Supervillains don’t get cookies, my ass.”

  I innocently walked over to Jordan and hugged him. As we were hugging, I swiped his cookie without him noticing. Then I stepped away and nonchalantly took a big bite of the chocolate chip cookie right in front of Jordan.

  Riley: “You still don’t get a cookie.”

  Jordan pushed his food tray away and jumped out of bed. After letting out a yawn, I took another bite of his cookie. As Jordan took a step towards me, I took another back and in the processed shoved the rest of the cookie in my mouth.

  Jordan: “You’re going to pay for eating my cookie, little vixen.”

  Riley: “And your wounds might open back up if you do anything to taxing.”

  Jordan: “I feel a hundred percent.”

  Should I test Jordan to see if he was fully recovered? If I ran, how long would it take for him to pop in front of me? But if he wasn’t better, should I really do that to him? The lacerations on his back might return, or he could teleport into the walls or someplace he shouldn’t be and get stuck there.

  Agent Bernard: “Am I interrupting something?”

  Jordan: “She ate my damn cookie.”

  Agent Bernard: “Well, if you are feeling better, Jordan, I would like to talk to you a bit and go over your test results.”

  Jordan: “Is everything okay, doc?”

  Agent Bernard: “Yes, you are perfectly fine and I’m actually not a doctor. My name is Agent Bernard and I work for the Superhero Resource Initiative.”

  Jordan: “Yeah, you can kiss my ass.”

  Agent Bernard: “All right, I guess I will be going then. I believe one of the on- site nurses left fresh clothing on the chair over there. You can have a shower and a change in your attached bathroom.”

  Agent Bernard exited the room. By this point, I had completely eaten the rest of the cookie, which was really bland. Other than wanting to annoy Jordan, I wouldn’t have touched the thing.

  Tersina: “Gluten free. Just awful. Needs grain.”

  Riley: “You can make plants grow, right?”

  Tersina: “Someone has been doing their research, I see.”

  Riley: “I met you a few times in the future, but I never actually saw your powers in action.”

  Tersina: “It would appear the rumors are true. You can control time.”

  Riley: “Yes, I can.”

  Tersina: “Will you be staying here for a while?”

  Riley: “Probably not.”

  Tersina: “So you won’t be participating in the games?”

  Riley: “What game?”

  Tersina: “Our biannual game of Capture the Flag. No powers, two teams, and of course, bragging rights for the winner. It’s a really big deal.”

  Riley: “It does sound like a lot of fun.”

  Broderick: “What does?”

  Once again, Broderick would n
ot leave me be. He decided to just stroll into the room and make himself comfortable on a chair in the room. Didn’t this jackass have anything better to do other than bother me?

  Riley: “Why are you always lurking wherever I go?”

  Broderick: “It’s a gift.”

  Tersina: “Hi, Broderick. I was just telling her about Capture the Flag.”

  Broderick: “I’m down to play. When’s the next game?”

  Tersina: “In two days.”

  Broderick: “Prepare to lose again, Tersina.”

  Tersina: “Arcadia, Mr. Cash, and Zafer are away on an undercover mission to take down some drug cartel in South America, so I don’t know, Broderick. I think you might lose.”

  Broderick: “Please, I don’t need Mr. Cash and Zafer to win. We can even mix up the teams and I will still crush you.”

  Tersina: “Let’s do that. I will put everyone’s names in the hat and will draw new teams at breakfast. Standard rules apply. From sunrise to sunset, traps can be set up, and also, the flag is to be hidden. Calypso will put a water barrier around the isle so nothing comes via water onto the island while the games are being played. The drones in the air will keep out intruders and keep people honest.”

  Broderick: “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Tersina: “Great. So, are you in Riley?”

  Riley: “I guess so, but I need to be on the opposite team as Broderick. Everyone else can be picked out of a hat”

  Tersina: “Me and you will be on one side. Everyone will be left to fate. What about your guy, Riley, is he playing?”

  Broderick: “Jordan is in.”

  Tersina: “Riley?”

  Riley: “I guess it’s a yes.”

  Tersina: “Great. This will be fun. Until tomorrow.”

  Tersina briskly left the room. What had just happened? Was I really going to be playing Capture the Flag with Broderick? Hmm, Agent Bernard had said I should spend some time with Jordan, and perhaps it could be fun to knock that smug smile off the psychopath’s face …

  Earlier than expected, Jordan came out of the bathroom with his towel low on his hips. Let me just say, I never got tired of the sight, and how I truly wished that we were alone. Maybe if I pretended Broderick wasn’t here, he wouldn’t be.

  Broderick: “Good news. We will be playing Capture the Flag in two days. You will be on my team, Jordan.”

  Riley: “Oh no. He will be on whatever team the hat decides.”

  Jordan: “No clue what’s going on as I just came out here because I forgot my clothing.”

  Riley: “We are playing Capture the Flag because Broderick is feeling nostalgic and still thinks he’s got it despite the fact that he is a loser who has been sitting in prison for the last few years.”

  Broderick: “We will see.”

  After getting up from the chair, Broderick tossed the clothing that were there to Jordan. Then he strangely bowed and waved before leaving the room. I would never understand Broderick or why people ever thought he was cool. In the comics and the television show which featured him, Broderick was made to be the most desired man alive. People either wanted to sleep with him or be with Broderick and, disgusted by that fact, especially after he took over the world, I burned my comic collection.

  Jordan: “Why do you always do that?”

  I check the door to make sure it was bolted shut.

  Jordan: “What are you doing?”

  Riley: “What do you think I am doing?”

  With a seductive smile on my face, I walked over to Jordan and took the clothing from his hands. I tossed them back onto the chair before I began toying with his towel. Desire was evident in Jordan’s eyes, so I untucked the towel and let it drop to the floor.

  Riley: “What are you waiting for?”

  Jordan’s arms encircled my waist and as he pulled me against him, his lips crushed mine. We might only have a few days left together, so why shouldn’t I enjoy the time we had left? With my mind made up—who am I kidding, the minute I saw him in the towel, I knew this was going to happen—I quickly let Jordan undress me. As I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his torso, we didn’t break the kiss. Jordan carried me to the bed and we tumbled onto it together. Then he began to explore my body with his mouth and it felt like everything just stopped. It was me, Jordan, and nothing else mattered …

  Chapter 8

  May 5th, 6:30 a.m., eight years ago

  Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Jordan and I explored the islands so the others wouldn’t be at an unfair advantage for the game today. We even ended up making love a couple times on the other side of the island. First on the beach and then in this cave that we found, which was not on the map that Tersina had given us.

  When we got back to the Security Safe House, it was almost dinner time. We decided to meet with the rest our team, which had been choose earlier that day. It was me, Jordan, Wino, Vegas, Symphony, and Tersina. Broderick was with Calypso, Ruby, and three other people I had never heard of—Shaky, Papercut, and Echo. While they seemed nice enough, something just seemed a bit off with them. They were advanced people I had never heard about before and my gut said that if they were one of the good guys, Arcadia or Mac would have mentioned their names before. My friends often liked to pay respect to the fallen heroes by keeping their memories alive, but not these three.

  Riley: “Are you sure that we can’t get Mac to play?”

  Broderick: “That will make our teams uneven and besides, if that asshole wants to sit in his room and mope that the better man is marrying Arcadia, then so be it.”

  Since Jordan, Broderick, and I had arrived on the island, Mac had not left his room. Mac’s meals were delivered to and from his room by one of the kitchen staff. He had used the excuse that it was a big reveal soon to come, but Tersina said that she didn’t buy that. What Mac had told his friends might not be too far from the truth as he moved to Las Vegas next month and opened a West Coast Security Safe House just outside the city limits. Mac had made the move because he couldn’t see his best friend and true love marry Broderick.

  I imagined that Mac being locked away in his room was all a part of making that deal come true. It was a shame that my friend was hurting. A part of me wished I could tell Mac that everything would be fine, but what was the point since this world would not exist in the near future?

  Tersina: “Broderick is right. Even teams are the best idea. As per the agreement, my team will take the further end of the island. Since sunset is a bit late, it was agreed that we will stop setting up traps at 4:00 p.m. and flags must be hidden by then. We will have dinner. Afterwards, the hunt for the flags begin at 5:45 p.m. sharp. Remember, no powers or you will be disqualified. There are drones watching.”

  Broderick: “We will start promptly at 6:45 a.m. and so, Tersina, I suggest you gets to the other end of the island with your team.”

  For the next few hours, my fellow team members and I began setting up traps. We had not decided quite yet where we wanted to hide our flag but I was having a lot of fun. I had never been a part of a real team, even when I was younger. Growing up, I was always more of the loner type and had only a few friends, but we drifted apart after high school. Even when I’d first gotten my powers and had worked alongside Jordan, it had never really felt like I was a team member, and then those teens had gotten hurt …

  Tersina: “You okay?”

  Riley: “We can’t bury the flag or throw it into the ocean. At least a part of it has to be visible if someone is walking by.”

  Tersina: “Correct.”

  Riley: “I know where we should hide the flag.”

  Tersina: “And where is that?”

  Riley: “This little cave that Jordan and I found yesterday.”

  Tersina: “Cave. Cave … What cave? Wait, that isn’t really a cleft in the rocks north of here?”

  Riley: “It’s more than a cleft, as two people can fit comfortably inside.”

  Tersina: “Did you and Jordan—”

&nbs
p; Riley: “We were exploring, Tersina.”

  Tersina: “Whatever you want to call it. Your secret is safe with me.”

  Riley: “Can we hide the flag there?”

  Tersina: “I don’t see why not.”

  Tersina handed me the flag.

  Tersina: “I’ll tell the others and you hide the flag.”

  Once I reached the cave, I hung the flag from a hole in the wall. If someone was to enter the cave, they would not see the flag unless they tilted their head slightly up. I was not breaking any rules for the placement of the flag as it was very much in plain sight. We would have flashlights, so if Broderick or his teammates were shining the light in the right spot then it could be seen.

  After hiding the flag, I made my way back to my team and finished setting up the traps. We were all done by 3:00 p.m. so it was a good thing that everyone agreed to pause for dinner before continuing the rest of the game. In the past, the rules were much stricter and no one got food, unless they packed some, until the game was over.

  Everyone loaded up on food at dinner as it had been a long day and could very well be an even longer night. Teams were teasing one another and there was much merriment to be shared. While I was enjoying myself, I felt bad that Mac still hadn’t come out of his room. I’m not sure what possessed me but after having finished my dinner early, I scribbled him a note and slid it under his door. Basically, what I wrote said not to give up on Arcadia as he was destined to be with her. I didn’t sign my name to the note, just simply said it was from a friend.

  The hunt for the flag began promptly at 5:45 p.m. and we were only given a backpack of supplies to help us. The bag contained two water bottles, a knife, two flashlights, night-vision binoculars, and a flare gun that was to be fired once the flag was found. Oh, we also had walkie talkies that were tuned to our fellow teammates so we could communicate with one another.