Time Spent

by J. David Clarke

  "Oh yeah! I pretend to give a shit all the time," Becca said with a wide smile.

  "Well you keep an eye on this one, hah?" He reached over one meaty hand to give Tyler's butt a pat. "He going places!"

  "Okay, we'll be right back, Dario." Tyler ushered Becca from the studio.

  "Ty," one of the men on set called after him, a young guy with blond streaked hair, wearing headphones and a three-piece suit. "you're on for the club later, right?"

  "I'll be there!" Tyler said with a wave.

  In the hall, a girl passing by said "Tylerrrrrrr!" loudly.

  "Hey girl, hey!" Tyler waved. "I have no idea who that is," he said to Becca.

  "I bet." Becca said. "Just like you had no idea that old man's hand was on your ass."

  "Who, Dario? He's harmless. He just likes to flirt."

  "Ew."

  "Come in here," he said, ushering her into a small room with a few couches and tables. Once they were inside, he turned on her. "Why do you have to be that way, Becca?"

  "What way?"

  "You know what I mean. 'I pretend to give a shit all the time'? That way."

  Becca shrugged. "Born without the capacity for bullshit, I guess."

  "Okay, well this isn't bullshit, this is my life, and these people have a lot to do with how my career goes. So you have to put up with some bullshit, so what?"

  "Fine," she said, throwing up her hands. "Sorry!"

  "Why are you here?"

  "I came by to see you."

  Tyler stared at her.

  "Ugh. Okay. Look, I just...the truth is...I don't have anywhere to go."

  "What do you mean? You always have places."

  Becca sat on one of the sofas. "Yeah, I mean, I can have a place, if I want one. I can always have a place. I'm trying to stop. I've been trying to stop."

  "Stop using your power, you mean. To control people."

  "Yeah."

  Tyler sighed, and sat next to her. "Okay."

  "I never told you, but my mom...she killed herself."

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  "You didn't do it," she said.

  "I didn't mean...."

  "I know. It's just...my dad left us when I was a kid, and then my mom killed herself, and then the bus crash on top of that. When I found out I could make people do anything I wanted, I...I went off, I guess. I went too far. You don't know."

  "I remember," he said.

  "No, worse than making people wash my hair," she said grimly. "Way worse. I was using people all the time, and using drugs to make myself feel better about using the people. I thought it was a non stop party, but...I think..."

  "What?"

  The next words came out in a whisper. "I think I was killing myself."

  Tyler looked down.

  She swallowed. "Not at first, but after a while. I wasn't thinking about a future anymore, not after a while."

  Tyler looked for a moment like he had something to say, but then he shook his head.

  "I don't want to be like that anymore," Becca said.

  Tyler nodded. "Look, you can stay with me for a while, okay?"

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. No more talking shit to industry people, though, deal?"

  "No promises," Becca said.

  Tyler laughed. "Well, at least you're honest."

  "Always."

  They stood, and Tyler put his arms around her. "Everything's going to be okay," he said.

  HHOW DO YOU KNOWW

  I just do, Tyler sent, and tried to cover the real thought behind it: I don't.

  ______________________

  The sparks were flying between them with greater and greater frequency, soon becoming lines of energy that arced from one to another and leaped into the sky.

  There was a flash then, all around them. For just a moment, Tyler lost his sight, except for a point of light in the sky.

  "My eyes!" he cried, putting a hand to his face.

  The point of light in the sky expanded to form a shimmering circle. A sound rose, like the sound of cracks opening in ice, only a million times louder.

  Through the hole in the sky, Tyler saw the vastness of space.

  ______________________

  What remained of the soldiers ran in all directions, firing at Brock's cybernetic zombies and at some of the other super powered people who had run away. Tyler and Becca made their way to where Zachary stood, near one of the tables in front of the three school buses.

  "Zack! What are you doing?" Tyler asked.

  "More importantly, why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Becca asked.

  Zachary turned from the body he had been examining. "I know you," he said to Tyler.

  "Yeah, I know!" Tyler said.

  "You were on the bus with me. Your name is Tyler."

  "Derp, we know that already," Becca said.

  "I think I saw you, too," Zachary said to Becca.

  "Zack, we know all that already," Tyler said. "What are you doing here? Now?"

  "And where are your clothes?" Becca asked again.

  "They burned all up," Zachary said.

  Tyler and Becca looked at one another.

  "I found these people. They must have got hurt. I was asking God to help them."

  Tyler looked down at the table, and his jaw dropped.

  The body on the table was Marcus Villalobos. He was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing the last time Tyler had seen him. His dark hair was slicked back, as if it had dried in that position.

  Tyler grabbed Zachary's arm. "Can you bring him back?"

  "I can only ask God to do it."

  "Then ask him. NOW."

  "What the fuck are you doing?" Becca asked.

  Zachary placed his hands on Marcus' chest.

  "When we were on the bus," Tyler said. "I saw a face. A face that was beyond the whole universe, or maybe was the whole universe."

  "Was it God?" Zachary asked.

  "I don't know."

  "I saw God. He spoke to me." A soft light passed down Zachary's arms and into Marcus.

  Becca frowned. "What does that have to do with this guy?"

  "This is Marcus," Tyler said. "He was my...well I don't know what he was. But if it was the face of God, maybe he's looking out for me, giving me a second chance."

  "A second chance to what?"

  Tyler didn't answer.

  "You're both crazy," Becca said.

  "Did you see God?" Zachary asked her.

  "No," Becca said, "I most certainly did not."

  Marcus' eyes opened, and he sucked in air.

  "Marcus?" Tyler asked. "You're alive! You're alive!" He crossed around as Marcus swung his legs off the table and helped him into a sitting position. "I'm so happy you're here...I thought you were dead."

  "Tyler?" A cold anger filled Marcus' eyes. "Where am I? Why are you here?"

  "It's a long story," Tyler said.

  "Yeah I bet." Marcus swatted his hand away.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, you made it pretty clear you didn't give a damn about me."

  "I...I'm sorry," Tyler said. "I told you I was sorry."

  "You can see." Marcus said.

  "Yeah...Yeah, I told you, my sight came back after the bus crash."

  "You weren't on the bus," Marcus said. Something was happening to the pores of his skin. They glistened.

  There was a rustling sound behind them as Zachary pulled the sheet off another corpse, but they were too preoccupied to notice.

  "Yeah, I was."

  "You should have never gotten your sight back." The glistening of his skin spread as a reflective surface spread over the pores. From wherever the new surface spread, a glow began to emanate. "You deserve to be blind."

  "Marcus...what..."

  Marcus' skin became a solid glowing bulb, and the light grew and grew. Tyler was forced to shield his eyes.

  "You deserve to be dead!"

  Marcus became a beacon of light, so bright that Tyler couldn't open his eyes for fea
r he'd be blinded again.

  "Okay, that's about enough of that, Sparky," Becca said. She took control of Marcus and kept him motionless.

  A female voice spoke from behind her. "Miller? What are you doing here, you bitch?"

  Becca spun around to find the person on the next table, a tall redhead, standing up. White lightning arced from her eyes to her hands, and gathered there, until long flowing whips of electricity extended from her hands. Nothing had changed about her face, however, she looked the same arrogant cheerleader she always had.

  "Tiffany?"

  ______________________

  When Tyler and Becca arrived at the club, they were ushered into a small VIP room off the upper balcony. Music bumped from the speakers and spotlights roamed here and there in their pre-programmed sets.

  "Tyler!" called the guy with the blond-streaked hair Becca had seen earlier. He was sitting at a small table with two women and one man. One of the women had straight black hair and a nose ring, the other curly bottle blonde hair and a tiny outfit that showed off an impressive amount of cleavage. The other man had a Tony Stark goatee and wore a suit much like his friend's.

  Tyler spread his arms wide. "What is this? Did you start the party without me, Blaine?"

  TTHE GUY'S NAME IS BLAINE? YOU HAVE TO BE JOKINGG

  Shh.

  "We had to, you never get anywhere on time!"

  They laughed. Blaine stood and stepped up and he and Tyler exchanged a hug.

  "Sit, sit," Blaine said.

  "Thanks," Tyler said, motioning Becca to sit next to him. "This is Becca," he added.

  "Becca, lovely to meet you. I'm Blaine, this is my club."

  Becca smiled a smile that did not touch her eyes.

  Blaine continued. "This is Jonas, Candy, and Gia."

  "It's Candace," said the blonde girl.

  "Whaaat?" Blaine said, laughing.

  "My name. It's Candace, not Candy."

  "Well, you look like a Candy to me!" Blaine said, and Jonas reached up to high five him.

  Becca turned to Tyler. TTHIS FUCKING GUYY

  Becca, don't. Please, just don't.

  "You want a line?" Blaine asked. He gestured at the glass table. Behind a champagne bottle and several glasses were several lines of white powder and a straw.

  "I'm good, thanks," said Tyler.

  "Becca?"

  "No, I'm -" Tyler elbowed her in anticipation of her snarky comment. "I'm fine."

  "Yeah you are!" Jonas said, and high-fived Blaine again.

  Becca glanced at Tyler, who reached over to touch her hand. Just let it go.

  "Ty! Come on, you gotta hit this! It's Bolivian or something man, I'm talking good good shit."

  "Ah, you know, why not?" Tyler stood.

  In that moment, Blaine sucked in a giant lungful of air and leaned forward, expelling it in a massive puff, blowing cocaine all over the table and into Gia's face.

  "The fuck?" Gia said.

  "DUDE!" Jonas said. "What the hell, man?"

  Blaine looked as if waking from a dream. "What? What just happened?"

  Tyler turned to Becca, who was sitting back with a satisfied look on her face.

  "Guess Blaine's had a little too much huh?" Becca said, and reached over to high five Jonas. Jonas reached out to high five her, then looked at his hand like it was possessed.

  Tyler sat back down and glared at her.

  "Now it's a party," Becca said.

  ______________________

  Comets, asteroids, stars, all hurtled past as Tyler's vision raced into the cosmos.

  He could only stare as the shimmering portal grew huge, dwarfing his tiny body and revealing to him millions of stars, then galaxies, swirling through space, moving farther and farther apart.

  Galaxies collided with one another and gave birth to even larger shapes. There was something in the distance. The galaxies formed a pattern, the pattern coalesced into a shape, the shape grew definition, and the image stood before Tyler. It was so vast that it beggared the mind, destroyed imagination, and defied understanding.

  For the second time in his life, Tyler beheld the face at the end of all things.

  ______________________

  Tyler stumbled backward, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Marcus stood and advanced on him. Behind them, Tiffany lashed out, and one of her energy whips wrapped around Becca's neck.

  "Ahh!" Becca fell to her knees.

  "Stop it!" Zachary cried.

  "Marcus, this isn't you..."

  "How would you know? I loved you, and you didn't care about me at all." The light mounted again, and a solid beam lanced out from his face, narrowly missing Tyler. It lanced into the wall, cutting through it and causing the wall to collapse.

  The hangar had suffered too much structural damage with two of the walls partially collapsed. The ceiling buckled, and giant beams fell, followed by fragments of other building materials. Tyler managed to open his eyes just in time to see them. He couldn't freeze them all, so he ran to the side, Marcus right behind him. The beams rained down behind them, cutting them off from the others.

  "You're not getting away," Marcus said.

  Tyler's eyes dialed open, but the light built up again quickly and he was forced to close them. "Marcus, this is crazy!"

  "Is it?"

  Another beam lanced out.

  ______________________

  "Why did you do that? You knew that those were industry guys. They can get me work!" Tyler slammed the door behind them.

  Becca snorted. "Oh yeah, and you definitely want more work like that, old men slapping you on the ass and such. Can't lose a job like that!"

  "Yeah, I DO. Becca. That's what you don't seem to get. I do want more work like that. I like acting. I like modeling. I like old men slapping me on the ass. I like coked up executives inviting me to their VIP area in the club that they partly own."

  "You like attention, in other words. You're an attention whore."

  "Whatever, I know in your world everyone's on their own, or something. I happen to like being with people."

  "You like being with people who fawn all over how gorgeous you are all the time."

  Tyler threw down his hat. "Oh my god! And you don't? I seem to recall you were MAKING people do it with your god damn MIND."

  "Yes!" She balled her hands into fists and shook them at him. "Yes, I fucking was. Yes. Don't you get it? I know where you're going, because I've been there, and it's not GOOD. It's not fucking good at all. It's terrible and it eats at you until there's nothing left."

  Tyler breathed in, his eyes searching the ceiling. "I'm not going to end up like you, because I AM NOT YOU. I'm not some spoiled little girl who can't deal with people because her daddy walked out on her."

  Becca's angry green eyes closed in from all sides of his vision and slammed together in his mind. His throat closed and his teeth chopped down on each other.

  DDON'T YOU EVER FUCKING TALK TO ME LIKE THAT MOTHER FUCKERR

  Tyler's body walked itself over to a chair and sat down hard, clamping his hands to the armrests.

  YYOU DON'T TALK ABOUT MY FATHER, MY MOTHER, OR ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT ME YOU GOT THAT? NOT EVER. YOU DON'T KNOW A GOD DAMN THINGG

  I know one thing, Tyler sent.

  His eyes dialed open and the chasm inside Becca yawned open, revealing the worlds within her. Tyler remembered the stone in the yard at the army base.

  WWHAT THE FUCKK

  Stone began at the center of Becca's forehead and spread out, consuming her. Her entire body was transformed in an instant. Tyler's muscles unclenched and he sagged against the chair, weak.

  "You're not the only dangerous one around here," he said. He heard a distant, frightened bark. "It's okay, Max. It's okay."

  After a few moments, he looked into her again, and rearranged the worlds to their original shape. The stone shifted and melted away, revealing Becca's true self. She collapsed on the bed, gasping for air.

  "We need to stop fighting."

  "How
did you...how did you know...you could change me back?" she asked, clutching at her throat as the breath came in gulps.

  "I didn't."

  There was a long pause.

  "We're dangerous, Becca. We are dangerous people. Even without the whole end of the world thing."

  She didn't reply.

  "I killed someone. I killed Marcus...the real Marcus, the one from this world. He was my friend...my boyfriend, maybe? I think I loved him. I know he loved me. And I killed him, with these eyes. He's gone, and I can't bring him back."

  She looked at him. "I'm sorry."

  "I tried to kill myself. I held the soldiers until Kevin and the others could get away, and then I blinked. I wanted to die, but I didn't."

  "Because we saved you."

  "Yes."

  She stared up at the ceiling, just breathing.

  "I moved here for a fresh start. I'm not trying to kill myself...I'm just...I'm trying to make a life for myself. Okay?"

  She shook her head. "I'm afraid you're making the same mistakes all over again."

  He walked over and lay down on the bed next to her, taking her in his arms. "You're just gonna have to trust me."

  She sighed. "Okay."

  "I'm sorry about what I said."

  "Me too."

  ______________________

  The gravity of the massive galactic shapes held Tyler motionless, tearing him in different directions. The face moved, coming closer, and as it approached, Tyler realized there was a body attached. This was not some disembodied face, this was a being, and as it approached, as all the endless galaxies and stars that made her form grew closer, Tyler felt more and more trapped.

  The shape became that of a woman, and as Tyler watched, she stepped through the portal.

  ______________________

  Tyler ran blindly, Marcus chasing behind him. Every time he dared to open his eyes, the blinding light radiating from Marcus made him snap them shut. He heard more beams lancing out, destroying more of the hangar.

  "Marcus, stop this!"

  "Why, so you can go back to being some big star and forget about everyone you know? Everyone who LOVES you?"

  Tyler stopped. "I won't do that."