Amongst the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  23

  JUST AS UGLY INSIDE

  E ric and I arrived home before dusk to find Ariane gone. According to her text, she was due home from the market any second. Wrapped in a fleece blanket and perched outside on the front courtyard glider, I waited for her return while I fulfilled the dual task of acting as sentry and relaxing in secluded meditation.

  The crackle of gravel and the purr of her Fiesta turning onto our street alerted me to her return. I sat upright for a second and then slumped low on the glider.

  After Ariane parked, I waited by the door. Carrots and lettuce stuck out of the bag she carried. The drag in her step revealed her dark mood, nothing as cheerful as the lime-green car. As expected, curiosity made her stop. I adjusted my sunglasses, the heavy frames slipping down my nose, and poured on my infamous puppy-dog expression.

  “Surprised to get your text. I thought you’d stay overnight. Were you successful?” Ariane eyed me with care as is she tried to break through my pensive mood. Without success, she asked, “Where’s Eric?”

  “We raced all the way home,” I said, thankful I didn’t run across any speed traps. “Eric’s zonked out on the couch.” I paused to examine her stance. Her weight kept switching from one foot to the other. Bored or impatient? No need to admit how I had lost the drive to Wayde, not yet, anyway. Nor did I have the heart to tell her about Sabree. The next scavenger hunt would be different. I’d be ready. I’d go alone.

  As she stepped through the front door, I ignored her comment about making a late dinner. Eating no longer served any purpose. Instead, I gazed at the setting sun. Its warmth could not mask the encroaching dread in the guise of twilight’s tendrils as it invaded our territory.

  A shimmer stirred near an outcrop of rocks, spiraling upward like a dust devil until a solid figure formed. With its materialization, apprehension filled my entire being.

  Nope, not on my watch. I launched off the glider, my back stiff and my fists clenched when I sensed the familiar presence, the one microwaving my insides to a boil. I marched to the end of the driveway safely beyond my sister’s ears.

  “That’s as far as you go.” Sabree and I had never exchanged words at the aquarium. What I would say to the avenging fiend flashed through my mind as I drew near, pausing four feet shy of him.

  I couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop myself as my mouth dropped at the sight of his pitiful state. No words except a hiss of disapproval escaped my lips. The wraithlike immortal and his rasping breaths reminded me of the living—aye, the walking dead. Thinner than on the day I shot him, his blond hair had lost its luster. Had Sabree forgotten to groom since that fatal day? Odd, how he didn’t look that bad at the aquarium.

  Sabree glanced up and down the road. His slender fingers twirled the flashy ring on his middle finger. Dark eyes glistened with a crazed passion, one objective—to collect revenge. His velvety voice broke the silence, pitchy as if he suffered from laryngitis. “So, we meet again. How’s life treating you? Death has treated me most unkind.”

  The shock of hearing his voice derailed my ability to produce a witty comeback. Three bullets, two in the heart should have taken more time to heal. Did his sickly appearance result from the months of healing? Sabree stood before me dressed in an expensive black leather jacket, black pants, and boots. For now, the clothes made the man unlike his unhealthy exterior. I cleared my throat. “Why did you kill Duncan?”

  His fists balled tight. “No how do you dos?” Sabree gazed beyond the ranch at the ledge.

  He sought comfort from the impending nightfall, letting darkness conceal his repulsive self. I refused to feel sorry for him and rolled my shoulders to relieve the tension. “You got what you deserved.” I scoffed, my next comeback even more brutal. “No longer Mr. Eye Candy, you’re just as ugly inside.”

  “You don’t know how ugly I can get. Duncan found out the hard way, got what he deserved. The human was never your father. The bastard teamed up with a Judas.” His eyes darkened as a warning to let him finish. “The zygotes’ survival,” he said, nodding at me, “was my responsibility, which I mucked up three thousand years ago. I mourned their deaths. To my surprise; however, and thousands of years later, some meddlesome scientist created two monsters from the zygotes, and unlike Dr. Frankenstein, Duncan met his fate at the hands of an even deadlier monster—yours truly.” Sabree’s jaw tensed as though he fought the urge to say nothing more.

  “What did Duncan do to you?” The blow of him calling my father a bastard outweighed the news of him not being our real father. Most of Sabree’s deranged rants was vengeance speaking. Aye, Duncan had infected us with the zygotes’ DNA, but I refused to believe we were the actual zygotes.

  “Enough talk!”

  “Then why are you here?” I stepped closer, my bravado urged on by his weakened state. “To kill me? To feed on Ariane? You were here last night, weren’t you?”

  His eyes widened when I bared my fangs. He held out his hands as if to propose a truce. “A necessary evil.”

  “I swore I’d kill you if you ever touched her.”

  “Threats don’t become you. You suck at killing me.” Sabree rushed forward and shoved me upward, sending my body airborne until I landed on the gravel in front of the mailbox.

  He leapt over me and slammed a boot into my ribs before I could scramble to my feet. My muffled cry incited another kick into my kidney. Sabree leaned into my face, his breath hot and foul as the steam from a witch’s brew. “It’s too late, Ariane is already mine.” He hissed before he used my gut to launch himself upright.

  Scrunched in fetal position, I squinted. He circled around me as if he couldn’t decide where to land his boot next. My eyes watered from the pain not receding fast enough.

  With catlike agility, Sabree dropped to crouch beside me. His eyes brightened when I flinched. “You lost the first drive to Wayde. Big mistake. The next one’s mine, this I promise, or else I will demonstrate how I do not suck at killing those close to you.” He leapt to his feet and leaned over to offer me a hand up. Instead, I swiped his hand aside and struggled to my feet, making sure to keep the distance between us ample.

  “Until the next adventure...” Sabree bowed and walked toward the Jaguar parked down the street.

  Dusting myself off, I stayed put until the sports car drove off and the distance between us increased. I rubbed the small of my back as it healed. The encounter had turned out better than most of my worst-case scenarios, imagining hundreds of morbid ways he could have avenged me. Not the case. The journal held more importance. No question though, Sabree was a killer and his threat branded my thoughts: I will demonstrate how I do not suck at killing those close to you.

  3 3 3

  That night, I paced the length of the bedroom. Sabree’s bold visit had robbed me of sleep. Everything about the blond bloodsucker annoyed me to no end. Somehow, I’d make him pay for the way he attacked Ariane. An idea popped into my head only to fizzle out. She would never stop taking the serum. She clung to humanity like a burr on a wool sock.

  My mind raced as I continued to fume. Without realizing it, I had wandered down the hall into my office. Bare feet chilled, I slumped into the computer chair and stared at the wall. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. The wall shimmered at first. Then the drywall faded until the studs appeared and I could see into the kitchen. I continued to stare as the walls disappeared entirely. Blue sky blinded me as my eyes adjusted. Along with the desk, the chair vanished next. I fell on my backside onto soft sand. “What the—”

  A quick scan revealed high walls of rock and sandstone. I recalled my last visit to Canyon de Chelly. This time I wasn’t alone. Another guy appeared twenty feet away. Someone who came across as more formidable and definitely out of place.

  The man dressed as if he was going to the Scottish Games for the weekend. In my opinion, he could’ve been the main attraction. Black powder smudged the length of his eyes. I recognized the warrior knee-length kilt as the Scot red modern tartan: red, green, and white-lined p
laid. A matching shoulder sash was wrapped around the leather body armor. Three layers of darker leather shielded his shoulders while fitted leather elbow protectors and eight-inch wrist cuffs covered his arms. A bronze circle broach held the sash at his shoulder. A leather sporran was attached to the belt.

  The outfit looked authentic. Closer inspection revealed the warrior looked just like me. I rubbed my eyes when my mirror image stared back. “Wait a minute. Who are you? Me?” Unlike the doppelganger, I wore a red sweater, jeans, and my renowned bomber jacket. I didn’t recall grabbing the jacket when the house disappeared.

  The bolder lookalike smirked as he eyed me with great care. Then he bowed and zoomed toward me, slamming into my body, knocking me on my ass, until we emerged as one minus the warrior Scot’s finery. The experienced time traveler inside my mind took charge instead of control and insisted we rescue the zygotes. No idea why, I agreed to his terms and together, acting as one, we arranged to steal the zygotes from Sabree. I chuckled, the task easier now that two great minds worked against one—Sabree’s flighty mind to be exact.

  Before I climbed to my feet, I caught sight of the goggles and black hood at my side. I put the hood on first and then fitted the goggles over my eyes. This was the day I—we—planned to take what was rightfully ours. “Sorry, Sabree,” I said in advance and without remorse.

  Like so many visits before, dreams or whatever, I searched for the Caderen backdoor, hidden from invaders and intruders alike. The entrance was close, and with the help of my doppelganger, I sauntered around to see if our trespassing sparked a reaction.

  “Ouch!” I glanced down at my scuffed shoe. Something had stubbed it, although nothing caught my eyes. No doubt, Caderen camouflage. My arms and fingers stretched out, they explored empty air for a solid surface. The elevator shaft flickered into view, activated by contact. I stepped back, worried I might’ve triggered an alarm. No sirens screeched, so I tapped it again and said, “Open sesame.”

  Grinding doors parted to reveal a modern compartment. A tap, tap in my mind startled me. The doppelganger tapped again to urge me on. “Aye, give me a sec.” I peeked inside and cocked an ear to listen for elevator music or mechanical sounds. Silence drew me inside.

  The elevator jolted as the doors zipped shut. My arms shot out for support when the car plunged into the earth. My knees caved while my stomach remained above ground.

  A light flashed on and off to alert the passenger of each descending floor. I lost count after ten. Both feet planted firmly, I leaned against the inner wall until the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. The tension between my shoulders eased as I peered out to an empty hallway.

  Danger neared. The familiar aura of Sabree reached my senses. I tucked the loose strands of hair under the hood and tightened my goggles. Identity secured, I hugged the elevator wall to reevaluate my strategy, if I had one. Maybe my doppelganger had one, since this was his idea. Spoke too soon. Tense fingers squeezed my skull to ease the rush of jumbled thoughts gathered from excessive time travels whether my own or the future Brian’s.

  “Concentrate.” The voice came from the Scottish warrior who lingered as a distant observer.

  The quirkiness of his plan could nosedive if we—he—miscalculated the exact day and time Sabree hid the zygotes. Chance guesses and do-overs warped our mind, our sanity. I tousled the hood in an attempt to dislodge the stubborn warrior. How did he manage to get the time travel ball rolling? Was this his first attempt or one of many? Did he or did I fail a hundred times only to get it right by random chance?

  “Enough questions,” the doppelganger’s voice thundered inside my head. “The time is right.”

  Then another familiar voice rattled my spine. Footfalls approached. I backed into the corner of the elevator to blend in with the darkened wall.

  “Go away, Euriel,” Sabree said, the anger in his voice pronounced. “I will hide the zygotes without your help.”

  “No one can mist with such a large object in hand. At least let me fly it to your destination.”

  Stunned laughter filled the hallway. “What do you take me for? A fool?” He stepped up to the elevator without looking inside. “I have it all figured out. Together, Serine and I will mist with the zygotes in tow.”

  “Why trust her over me?”

  “Don’t make me laugh,” Sabree said. “I don’t have time for petty resentment. Leave us now.”

  Footsteps echoed down the hall. “Good, Euriel’s gone. Let’s get this over with.”

  My arm pulled him all the way into the elevator and the door zipped shut.

  Turquoise irises darkened as Sabree glared at me. He cradled the dome close to his body like a quarterback ready to sprint. “Who are you? Where’s Serine?”

  “I’m my own savior.” I imagined how odd I must’ve looked—a hooded intruder with blue bug-eyed goggles. But before Sabree could react, I grabbed the dome from his clasp and pressed the surface button. The car lurched into ascent. “I will make sure it’s well hidden and safe from all.” I studied his eyes for a reaction.

  A fist smashed into my jaw. I almost dropped the prize when the back of my skull smacked the wall. Blood trickled from my lip. When Sabree tried to slap off the goggles, I ducked and twisted in the opposite direction. Before he struck a third time, I drove a knee into his groin. As much as I hated to lowball the man, I could not afford to reveal my identity.

  A gasp escaped his pursed lips. The elevator doors opened, and he toppled back, rolling onto the desert sand into a fetal position. “I will cut you in half,” Sabree whimpered. His hand rummaged for something inside his robe.

  “Watch it. He’s reaching for his mister’s sword,” the Scots warrior voice informed me. “Spitfire.”

  I played on a hunch and held out my free hand. “Never mind him, come to me, Spitfire,” I commanded. The animated stone glowed as it flew into my hand. My fingers fondled the smooth surface.

  “That’s mine!” Sabree yelled. “Who are you?”

  “Your worst enemy.” I bowed and snapped a finger to let the future Brian finish, “and a friend for all eternity.” Was my future counterpart daft? “Friend?” My body began to fade. I had no clue where the next destination would take me—us. Irrelevant since my alter ego had everything planned from the get-go.

  “Take care.” I tossed the stone back to Sabree, who caught it and shouted for me to wait. The plea faded along with the desert. The muscles in my body relaxed as the future Brian ceased his hold on me.

  “You travel alone now. You know what must be done.”

  Every muscle I owned retightened. Nights, days, winters, springs, summers, trees, cities, oceans sped by, repeating thousands of times until the top of my favorite crags in Edinburgh came into view. Not only did I travel into the future several years short of present day, I also traveled thousands of miles east to Scotland.

  The dome cradled in my arms survived the trip. Weird how I couldn’t remember standing here three months ago when I first returned to Edinburgh to seek the ghost. “Damn you, Sabree.” What puzzled me more was what the future time traveler Brian had said. “And a friend for all eternity.”

  The task seemed easy enough. But how would stealing the zygotes affect the natural course of time? Had the theft and rescue resulted in our memory loss? My near insanity? I wished the future Brian had taken the time to clue me in on some of the answers.

  I learned from my doppelganger that Serine intended to take the zygotes from Sabree, so she could help Duncan. But why? Help him with what? Since I intercepted the elevator first, I took control of the natural course of events, which prevented Serine’s intervention. Now my mission to stop Sabree, prevailed over all others. How long would this hold true now that I had to see this through all by myself?

  I gazed down at Edinburgh University to focus on the destination and conjure my enhanced speed. A blur of myself flew down the crags and zigzagged between buildings until I crossed the front steps of Professor Colton’s research hall. Screechin
g to a stop, my fingers tapped the amber dome while I examined its outer rim for a way to open the metallic shell. Held up to my face, a low thrumming tickled my ear.

  “Cool looking ball,” a young man said. “Are you Tim E. Traveler by any chance?”

  Oh no. The fact that Eric Tripper worked for Duncan back then had completely slipped my mind. I hesitated at first and nodded, my eyes adjusting to the blue lens against the overcast sky. I smirked, realizing the future me must have chosen Tim E. Traveler on purpose, an oddball name anyone could easily recognize.

  “Professor Colton’s waiting. Follow me.” Eric stared at me when I refused to budge.

  Who arranged this rendezvous with Duncan? Myself? Serine? Tim E. Traveler? I’d never be able to sort out the details. “Go on,” I said in a gruff tone to disguise my voice. I followed Eric inside and almost pulled an about-face when I saw Wayde behind the lobby desk. The younger version flirted with the clerk. Aye, old home week for sure. I kept the dome to one side, away from Wayde’s line of sight. While fixated on my nemesis, I missed seeing Eric leave to fetch Duncan.

  “Mr. Traveler, I’m Professor Colton.” The redheaded jovial man in his early fifties held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He glanced at the dome and then at the goggles.

  With the dome tucked under one arm, I offered my free hand. It felt strange to touch the man before I was officially born. Released from the firm handshake, my fingers tapped the rim of the goggles. “Sensitive eyes.”

  “Understood. Please follow me.”

  “No,” I said as I held out the dome to Duncan. “Keep them safe. Teach them your Earthly morals and customs.”