by Holly Hook
The crowd gets thicker. We're nearing the middle of the Hub. I dodge people, people from every time and place. A man in farmer overalls. A soldier in fatigues. A woman in a veil. Even a girl dressed a lot like Arnelia. How many Timeless are here?
“Here,” Frank says.
We're at the center of the Main Chamber. The star pattern in the floor looks dead and lifeless in the mist.
We stop. I don't dare let go of Simon.
“Do you know what is the matter, sir?”
A man in a powdered wig leans towards Frank, expecting an answer. Gold glints in his eyes. It seems like we're the only four who know.
“You're fine.” Frank turns away from him. “You won't remember this, anyway. You never do.”
“We should work on an escape,” I say.
Simon nods. He's shut down. The brown in his eyes is dead like he's given up.
“Snap out of it, Simon! We have to think before they get here. I'm not going to just stand here and wait.”
“There isn't a way out. I've told you. They're coming up all the corridors," Frank says. He storms up to us. Glances at our interlocked hands. Something burns in his eyes. Jealousy? Hate? "Enjoy your last few minutes together. Like I said, death would have been better for you."
"Would you shut up?" Isabel pushes between us and Frank. Arnelia's butterfly dangles from her grip. I can't remember giving it to her.
"There must be a way out of this. Stop letting fate rule you!" I'm going ballistic.
"What else can I do?" he asks. "Messing with fate just made things worse. My brother no longer even exists! Sven's also gone forever."
"It was all for nothing," Simon mutters. "All for nothing." Then he kicks the air, sending mist curling away. "Nothing at all!" He takes in a breath and stares into the air.
Scrape.
And then there's a loud sucking sound out in the mist, like someone's turned on a giant vacuum cleaner. The fog zips away from us and towards some maw. Wind blows against my face, sweeping my hair along with it.
One of the Chronophages is close. It's ready to pounce. Eat.
Mutters sound through the air as the other Timeless huddle closer together. The caveman nearly backs into a girl in a robe like Arnelia's. The Mongolian guy and the Victorian lady press together and hug. Isabel turns away from Frank, keeping her death-grip on the butterfly and my memories.
I know what has to happen if we're going to get through this.
If we're going to save my family.
If we're going to save ourselves.
I slap Simon. He snaps out of his daze, blinks, and faces me. Even Frank's watching.
"Listen," I say. I'm speaking for all four of us, even Frank. "The rifts won't open until those things eat Simon and me. That's what's going to have to happen."
"No!" Isabel grabs my arm so hard I lose Simon's grip. "You can't do that. It'll ruin everything."
"Wait." I can speak freely. All the Timeless here will forget this, anyway. "Aren't we both still waiting back in 1912 to get my memories of all this back? And Simon, too? I'm still sleeping in my bunk on the Titanic behind that rift. It doesn't matter what happens to the Timeless us now. All that matters is that you do your part in this. You're human now. You have a way to cheat the memory wipe thing. The Chronophages can't hurt you."
There's another, stronger sucking sound. I struggle to stay upright in the wind. A woman screams somewhere and starts babbling in a language I don't recognize.
"You should be," Isabel says, staring down at the butterfly in her hand. There's doubt in her voice. "What if those things erase even your past existence? Do they do that?" Her eyes dart to Frank.
I study him. I wait for him to try to stop us, to threaten to murder Isabel if she goes through with this. But he's still. Listening.
"I don't think they do," he says. "That would change history. Time doesn't want that."
"Then why haven't you tried to save your brother again?" I ask. I have to keep talking to fight the terror down. "He's still waiting. You should have another go at it. I don't believe in fate. You're not its slave." Why am I trying to help Frank? He tried to murder me. He shoved Eric into a pond. He doesn't care if my family lives or dies.
"But the Chronophages--"
"Only attack us Timeless," I say. "Isabel just got around that. Maybe you should find a way to make sure you stay human in your old time. And alive."
I can't say the rest. If he does that, he will never try to hurt my family. He will never shove Eric into the pond or threaten Arnelia or make my little brother scream. He won't be there to stop us from getting to a lifeboat in time in case the worst happens and we can't stop the sinking. Sven and his twin brother can still exist.
Simon wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. He's shaking. "Julia--"
I follow his gaze.
Something huge moves in the mist, like a giant, filmy ball ten feet high. It slides closer inch by inch, eating the precious space between us and it. The other Timeless back out of its way, silent. Two sunken areas near the top resemble lifeless eyes on a face of wax. A jagged, eight-foot-wide crack spreads across it like a mouth. If someone magnified a white blood cell by a million times, this might be the result.
It's a Chronophage.
The thing that's going to suck us out of existence.
I shove Isabel. "Run! Get to 1912 before anyone can stop you. You should be able to go through."
Isabel backs away. Fumbles with the butterfly.
Runs right at the Chronophage. She brushes against its side and it jiggles like ancient gelatin. It ignores her. Slides closer to us.
Nancy. Monica. My father. Melvin. If I want to see them again, Simon and I will have to navigate unspeakable dangers as mortals. Our stint as Timeless is over. Time will never save us from death now. Not after this.
Closer. The Chronophage's mouth peels open, revealing a darkness deeper than the farthest reaches of the universe. It's a gateway to a void where nothing can exist. Black pulses race through my mind. This is what Frank's brother saw before the end and what Sven saw, too.
I turn to Simon, staying in his arms "I'll see you back in 1912."
"You, too." He's trembling. Unsure.
"I will," I say and press my lips to his.
We kiss long and hard. I won't look at the Chronophage. It's all Simon. It's all there ever will be from now on.
Wind snaps, pulling us. It's close. The other Timeless are running. Shouting. But I stay there, embracing Simon. Our heartbeats match and become one.
There's one final gust of wind. I fly off my feet. Simon comes with me. There's dark. Unspeakable dark. We're falling through a void somewhere outside the universe, and--
...
...
Chapter Nineteen
Isabel runs into the entrance of the corridor. She can't miss the screams. The footfalls. One last gust of wind.
And then gasps. Silence.
She knows what's happened. She's still got the butterfly. Isabel keeps her hand wrapped tight around it. She remembers the way to the Titanic rift. This is the right hallway. There's no doubt. She holds the only trace left of Simon and Julia. Will the Chronophages want to eat these stored memories, too? Will they lumber after her next? They might not attack a mortal, but there may be no stopping them from taking her lifeline away. If she loses this, there will be no rescuing Simon and Julia. Isabel will never be able to step onto the Titanic without a memory wipe.
She catches her breath and slows in the red fog. How long before the Timeless come after her? She's a Rogue now, someone they'll want to send back to her original period. Her chance to make this work grows slimmer. If this plan's going to work, she needs to do this while all the Timeless are distracted. While Time is still sick.
Maybe it'll be easier for her to step back into 1945. Use her memories to keep her family safe from the end of the war. Forget this.
No. She can't turn away now.
Isabel stops before the curve in the hallway. The mist
this. The angry red fades from the crystal around her. The Chronophages have done their work. They've stopped the infection that was once her friends.
Soon some members of the Timeless will get assigned to go back and "fix" the sinking of the Gustloff. Isabel's life, along with many others, depends on Simon and Julia. If they don't get their memories back in 1912, they'll never save her family in 1945.
She's better than that. She is not like her father or...or his kind. She's not one of them anymore.
And besides, Simon and Julia deserve her help.
Taking a breath, Isabel runs again. Rounds the curve. The rift to 1912 is up here somewhere, not far from her own. Her memory hasn't failed. She'll know the rift when she reaches it even if she can no longer see the signs above the gateways.
More footfalls approach.
There's someone rounding the corner, running towards her. The last of the mist clears and she sees.
Her heart sinks.
It's her father.
The murderer. The monster.
Dressed in deadly black and silver, he runs for her. Breathes a sigh of relief.
Isabel skids to a stop. Holds back a scream. He must have seen her disappearing into thin air in the bathroom. Followed through the rift. Started running through the Hub, searching for her. He must have seen the Chronophages and thought the worst. It's on his face. There's no way he'll let her go now.
“Isabel!” He closes the distance between them and wraps her in a hug. It's the most revolting thing she's experienced in a long time. She doesn't return it. Frank's an angel compared to this. A real angel.
And now she stands in the embrace of a beast who murdered. Tortured. Piled emaciated bodies into trenches.
What is she going to do with him?
She's still holding Arnelia's butterfly. Isabel trembles. Her father asks if she's all right.
The wings do come to points. They're strong. Almost unbreakable. Above all, sharp.
Can she?
No one will know.
She raises the butterfly, wings towards her father's back.
End of 11:39 (#2 Timeless Trilogy)
1500 (#3 Timeless Trilogy)
Table of Contents
Chapter One
"Julia."
A girl's voice sounds the darkness.
"Wake up."
She whispers. Who is she? I've never heard her before.
I roll over and hit a wall. Rats. I'm in a bunk, not in my own bed. My father snores terribly above me. The world rocks gently, trying to lull me back to sleep.
I'm still on the ship. We're still on our way to New York. I must have been dreaming about the voice. It couldn't be anyone I've encountered before. I haven't spoken to any of the other girls on the voyage--I've been too busy taking care of my younger brother for that. I have been ever since Mother left us.
"Don't be alarmed. You won't know who I am yet." The girl has a strange accent. She pronounces her w's like v's.
I open my eyes.
I'm not dreaming.
The door to our berth is open just a crack, letting in the light of the hallway. It's the only reason I spot the dark figure standing next to my bunk, between me and my brother. Melvin sleeps soundly, unaware of the intruder.
My heart leaps and I do the same, smacking my head on the bottom of the bunk. Father grunts above me and shifts.
"Careful," the girl says. She sounds like she might be sixteen or seventeen, like me. "Don't wake them...never mind. Do wake them in a minute."
"Who--?" I begin.
"Step out in the corridor, please."
My head still throbs. I try to make out the girl. It's impossible in the dark, especially since she's backlit by the light outside our door. She shifts a little. Is she here to rob us? How can she? We have nothing of value except for Father's old pocket watch. This would-be mugger should try the rich people who sleep three or four decks above us.
"Go away," I say, trying to keep my voice calm and level. I don't know whether this girl has--
A knife.
I catch the point, black against the light. It glints with red as if already stained with blood. The girl holds it at her side, ready for use. Next to her, my five-year-old brother continues to sleep. He mutters something that sounds like pie.
I stand up.
If anything, I must get her away from Melvin.
"Fine," I whisper. I know I should shout and wake Father, but she could stab me and run back down the corridor before he rouses. Maybe she's crazy.
"Be quick."
The girl opens the door for me. Light pours in, illuminating the side of my bunk and the cast iron sink. I'm still in my nightgown. It drops around my legs, complete with an unknown stain that's been there since it got passed down to me.
I slip out into the hall and she follows. I brace for a stab, but it never comes. Perhaps I'll get lucky and she will only try to rob me after all. If she wanted to commit murder, she would have done so while I was sleeping. Unless, of course, she's a lunatic escaped from the asylum.
I turn.
The girl stands between me and my berth. She has very long blonde hair and she's wearing a blue and white dress that matches her eyes. I spot no signs of madness. The girl watches me, serious and expecting. If anything, her gaze is sad. Guilty, almost.
I check up and down the corridor. Somewhere a man laughs. It echoes through the ship and off the fresh paint. I want to run, but I can't leave my family.
"How do you know who I am?" I ask.
The girl swallows. "It is a long story. A very long story." She gazes down at the object in her hand.
It's not a knife at all.
It's a crystal butterfly.
I've never seen anything like it. Its wings resemble stained glass, only much clearer and prettier. Every color of the rainbow shines in the light and reflects on the wall next to her. Its wings come to sharp points, glinting in the light. The butterfly's body appears to be made of metal, and...is that a red light blinking on its head? It can't be. This thing isn't connected to any electrical wire.
"We must hurry," the girl says. "Put this on."
"What is it?" I'm relieved that there's no knife, but what is something like this going to do?
"A hair clip. Put it on. Now."
"It looks like something someone rich would wear." If I do what she says, wouldn't someone around here, one of the stewards, maybe, assume I'd stolen it from a first class passenger? I don't need the trouble. Where did this girl come from, anyway? Simon wouldn't have sent her. He doesn't have the money to get me a gift like this.
The girl sighs. "Please. Hurry. I do not like ships. And soon you won't, either."
"This is the safest ship in the world.”
"For the next thirty minutes," she says, thrusting the butterfly at me. "Clip it onto your head. Now."
She's shaking. This girl's so nervous that I can't help but oblige. I take the butterfly in my hands and hold it tight, afraid that it's going to fall to the floor and shatter. At the same time, I want to drop it. The light on the butterfly's head flickers again as if warning me against putting it on.
The girl shifts leg to leg. "If you don't put it on, I'll do it for you."
"What's going to happen?"
She's getting more annoyed. "Do it before they find us."
"Are you sure you're talking to the right person?" Maybe this girl is a lunatic after all. Nothing about this makes sense. I'm just heading to the States with my family to start a new life. We haven't had time to get caught up in anything strange.
She charges me and shoves me against the wall. "Your life depends on it."
"Hey!" I shout.
Someone mutters from inside a neighboring berth. I try to shove the girl away from me, but she's already seizing the butterfly. It slips from my grasp and one of its points jabs into my forearm. It's sharp, sharp enough to cut if I lean into it. The girl fights back. She's too frenzied, too scared for me to push her away.
"Isabel."
There's a young man standing at the corner of our corridor. He's dressed in faded dungarees and overalls, with dark hair that hangs over a sharp, perfect face. I've never seen him before, either.
"No," she mutters.
"Who's this?" I ask.
The young man faces me. "Return to your berth," he says. "I will take care of this."
"Don't listen to him," Isabel says. She hides the butterfly behind her back like she's hiding it from him.
"Hand whatever that is over," the young man says. "I can take that from you with force. Please, don't make me do that."
"What is going on here?" I ask. It's time to demand answers.
The girl--Isabel--trembles. She backs away from the man. "I can't believe you, Frank," she says. "How did you get past those Chronophages?"
"The what?" I ask.
"They weren't after me. Just...those two," he says. Is that sadness in his voice? "The rifts all opened after that happened. I was able to get through. Time is still very messed up. If I don't fix this...they're going to consume me."
Isabel pales. "So it's you or me now?" There's hurt in her expression. "You're worse than my father."
"It has to be this way."
"My life depends on Julia. Don't you understand that? If you let her die tonight, then I perish, too."
"What?" I ask. "I'm going to die?"
Frank's mouth falls open. "You shouldn't remember any of that. Time should have wiped your memory of anything but this place."
Isabel stutters. She's clearly been caught at something she meant to keep a secret. "Just...just allow me this one thing. You never gave me anything else." Isabel wiggles the butterfly behind her back at me. I know what it means. Take it.
I don't know what to do.
That butterfly could hurt me. Why else would Isabel try to force it on my head?
But what do I have to do with this angry couple? What if, by some off chance, I really do have a hand in whether this girl lives or dies? Maybe she's not here to murder me after all.