The Journey (Sanshlian Series Book 2)

by Dani Hoots

  Tim, who apparently was Thomas, leaned forward with a sly smile. “What gave me away? Does he have some kind of nickname for you in bed?”

  I scowled at him. “I’m going to kill you!”

  I tackled him on top of the bed, throwing punches at his face and ribs. He just laughed as he tried to block them, thinking it was just some kind of joke. To think I could have… With Tom of all people. I just wanted to throw up or kill something. Probably both.

  Even though I was beating him up, Tim still laughed. “Wow, you are quite feisty in the bedroom. Jack must like it kinky.”

  I threw punch after punch. “Shut up! Where is he? Tell me right now!”

  “Gone,” a voice said from behind me. I turned to find Joss and Logan standing in the doorway. Why did they have to be here, seriously? Why couldn’t I just kill Tim in peace?

  There was always someone stopping me.

  “Gone? What do you mean?” I asked slowly.

  “I killed him the moment we came to this time,” Joss said straightforwardly. “You think I would let him live after he stole my girl away from me? After making you go against me? I would never let that happen again.”

  The words hit me like a wall. It couldn’t’t be true. It just couldn’t’t. Jack couldn’t be dead, there was no way I was that unlucky. There was no way he could be killed that easily.

  But then, where was he? Why wasn’t he here? And why would Joss lie about something like that?

  I shook my head. “You are lying!”

  “No, Myra, I’m not. And now you have proven to me that you can’t be trusted. Logan, Tim, lock her up. I will come deal with her later.”

  I kept shaking my head. Logan and Tim started for me. “No,” I shut my eyes. “Just stop!”

  What happened next I never did figure out. When I opened my eyes, I found everything frozen. Not in the ice-sort of sense, but like in time. They just stood there like statues, not moving, almost like mannequins. I blinked a couple of times but they still didn’t move. I didn’t know what to do, or how it happened, but I knew this was my only chance to get out of there. I quickly turned and headed to the door.

  As I left I found Dan coming towards the room. He saw the frozen men standing there and gasped. “What happened? What did you do?”

  I shook my head, crying now because of Jack and not knowing what exactly was going on. “They killed Jack. They killed him.”

  He looked even more surprised by this then the frozen men. “What? But Tim...”

  “Isn’t Jack. They tricked me. I made them stop and now.” I burst into tears. I never showed sadness around anyone, but I couldn’t stop now. Jack was the only thing I cared for and he was gone.

  Dan wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay sweetie. Just listen to me okay? Run. Get away from here. I don’t know how long whatever you did to them will last. You have to go.” He mumbled a few words into my ears that a second later I didn’t remember what those words were.

  I nodded and I ran down the corridor as fast as I could and found a ship.

  Then I left Anosira.

  CHAPTER 18

  I ditched the ship I left Anosira with as fast as I could. Joss and the others would have been able to find me with it, though they'd have a bit of a tougher time since the Empire’s control wasn’t so large yet. If this was the future, if I had ever tried running away like this, I would have had no place to go. Well, other than Valle but the moment I got near there I would have been shot out of the sky, so I guess I really didn’t have anywhere to go at this point.

  So I landed on the closest planet, which was Cisum, and bought a Class One, which was a public transportation ship, ticket to Recar.

  Why I wanted to torture myself even more about Jack, I had no idea. Everything on Recar would remind me of him and I would probably keep hearing his voice as other Recarians were chatting all around me. Their accents were always so thick that a lot of people sounded the same unless you really listened. I never thought I would miss that voice, miss always trying my hardest not to pick up the way they talked, but now I desired it more than ever.

  I couldn’t believe that he was dead, after all this time. I wanted to curl up and cry, but no more tears would leave my body. I felt dead inside, as if it was a struggle to keep on going. I had lost the only person who cared about me, who really knew me and still cared about me regardless of my past offenses. And it hurt worse than any torture that has ever been bestowed on me.

  I had always told myself not to grow attached to anyone, that it would cause more pain and more complications in missions and the like. I had truly believed I was successful in that, that Jack and I had a relationship where we didn’t worry about the other, that if something happened, it was just part of life. That was exactly what I had told my brother, why he needed to let go of his worry for Amanda, to realize more important things were at stake. Now I realized I was in the same boat, that every logical decision had left my mind. I didn’t know if things changed when we were on Sanshli, that I started caring for him more, or if I simply had been lying to myself this entire time. Either way, I was in a lot of pain and didn’t know if it would ever subside.

  Even with this pain, I still didn’t understand my brother’s rash decisions, how he could do the things he was doing. Yes, restoring balance to the universe and destroying Nygard could bring back Amanda, but that didn’t mean killing innocent people in the past would solve anything. Although I did want to punch someone, mainly Tim and Joss, I guess I did get a few punches in with Tim before I was stopped. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t start a full-blown war like my brother was doing right now.

  I wondered if all this was done, if Jack would be okay. How did that even work, anyways? I didn’t want to get my hopes up though, I was never one to hope for things, especially after watching Father be murdered right in front of me. I didn’t hope that I would see him again, because there was a high chance that it would be crushed. I couldn’t stand hearing he was dead twice in my life. So I wouldn’t have hope, I would just do the things that could bring them back, but simply realize that it will probably not go the way I wanted it to.

  The ship started its way to Recar and I checked out the ship. It had been a while since I was on a Class One ship. I also needed some clothes, as the ones I was wearing were the only ones that I had with me, and with Recar being a six day trip away, I definitely needed something else to wear. It felt weird, looking for something to wear on a ship, as most of what everything I had worn was given to me by one person or another. Jack had bought me clothes once, but I told him never to do it again. I didn’t want to be caught dead wearing what he had bought me. Then again, he said it was just for him to see.

  I shouldn’t have thought about Jack. I was trying to get through this, to get away from everything. Now I was just sad again. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what I should do next. I was heading to Recar, and from there I was clueless. I still had the gem with me, gladly I had it in my pocket with my watch before I ran away. I still had to defeat Nygard, restore peace, and so on, and so on. Dan had taught me enough that I could train on my own, I knew. Well, at least for the elements—there was theoretically a lot of other things I could do with my powers that I didn’t know.

  Then there was what happened right before I ran away, when everyone froze for a millisecond. I really didn’t know how that happened, how I was able to make time appear to stop, yet other than those in the room, time just kept going on. Had it been me that did that? Was I able to do such things, being an Illusionist? It was hard to think that I was capable of such things, that I had been so angry, so distraught, that I could even stop time itself.

  So had I been wrong this entire time? Should I have been using my emotions as my strength instead of seeing it as a weakness?

  There were so many things going through my mind, things that I didn’t want to think about. Yet I was doomed to ponder on them, let them observe me in what I was doing. The realization that I was capable of such power made me
wish I didn’t run away, that I stayed with Dan so that he could train me in such things. But he was the one who pushed me to talk to Tim, whom I thought was my love, only to find out that I had been tricked, that it was all a set up.

  So did Dan know? He didn’t seem to when he ran to the room after I had froze everything. He was as surprised as me, and he let me run and get away from all that was happening, to gather myself up once again and keep fighting.

  If that was even possible.

  I ended up just buying some plain t-shirts and adequate pants for fighting, and some underwear of course. I also got a bag that I could store things in. I was able to steal some credits off of some gentlemen who were easily distracted by the events that were happening outside the port. It didn’t surprise me that such people didn’t keep a close watch on their money, as they had much to spare. So I would be good for quite some time now.

  As I stepped outside the store, I took a deep breath. Joss was going to kill me if he ever found me. I was good at hiding and he knew that, it all just depended on if he could read my mind. Which he couldn’t anymore. So, theoretically, I should be good, if just for a while anyway. That was all that mattered, to get some breathing room, to take in what had happened. Then I could finally finish what I had started. Finish finding Sanshli.

  I headed towards the dining hall. I didn’t really feel like eating but I honestly didn’t feel like standing around feeling sorry for myself. Later I would find somewhere to exercise, like a gym. If I was lucky, maybe they would have a boxing arena where I could take out a few people. Maybe that would help with the stress.

  The dining hall was busy, which I figured it would be at this time of day. Some people made it the goal to stay in here every hour they were awake to get all the deals they could for food. I was never big on food, as long as I had a meal I was fine. That could do with the time I spent at the Kamps, having times where I would be starved for days.

  I still had no idea why I had that stupid mark on my wrist. I was in an entirely different body and yet it was still there. Then again, it could have to do with me simply morphing into another person, that was still me, instead of being thrown into a new body as the others had. Either way it wasn’t fair. I wanted the mark to be gone, I didn’t want to remember the horror I had witnessed there. I swore fate was playing some cruel trick with me. For all I knew, the mark could have been all in my head, just my paranoia.

  No, Dan had seen it too. He had asked me what it was for.

  Grabbing a seat at the bar, I grabbed a menu and ordered a smoky whiskey. I knew a beer wasn’t hard enough and needed something to dull the pain. As for what I would do later, knowing I couldn’t mask the pain forever, I wasn’t sure. Probably running, running far, far away from anything familiar and focusing on completing my mission without the support of anyone.

  The bartender gave me my drink, after carding me, for which I was glad my age was a bit older on it than I was actually. It came in handy for some things, like this. I then ordered some hummus as it was really the only thing that sounded good at the moment. If I did have a preference, it was definitely healthier food. Junk food just always gave me a stomach ache.

  A couple moments later, a plate of food appeared in front of me. I thanked him and dipped some of the veggies in the hummus. Taking a bite, I sighed. It tasted… plain. Hummus gave one so many possibilities, yet most of the time it was always plain, especially in restaurants like this.

  Though I really didn’t know if it was because it was a horrible restaurant or if it was because of how I felt. Everyone around me seemed to be enjoying it, maybe it was just me, or maybe they had a bit too much to drink already. Whatever it was, I didn’t really care. I just couldn’t wait to get off this ship.

  As I picked at my food, one man sat down next to me and also ordered some whiskey. I guess it was the best thing they had, which wouldn’t surprise me, especially if this ship was owned by Recar authorities. The Recarians were the best at making whiskey, and really any other type of hard alcohol.

  “So,” the man turned to me. “Where do you come from?”

  I glanced over at him. He reminded me a lot of Jack, the way he grinned, his messy dark hair, his scruffy face. His clothes were well worn as well. If I didn’t know Jack was dead, I would have definitely thought for a moment he was Jack sent to the past. But Joss said he killed him, so that wasn’t possible.

  I took a sip of my drink. I didn’t really want to deal with anyone like him, or anyone at all really. “None of your business, now is it?”

  He laughed. They always laughed when I made such blunt statements. It was strange, as if they thought it was some kind of challenge.

  “Ouch, I was just trying to start up a conversation with you.”

  I shook my head. “Not interested.”

  “How do you know before you even talk to me? Before you even know my name?”

  Turning to him, I frowned. Creeps like him were all the same, pushing until they thought I would crack. Usually by now I would have walked away but we were on a ship, I couldn’t actually leave unless I jumped out the airlock, which honestly wasn’t sounding half bad at the moment.

  “Look,” I began. “I’m not interested in you, in anyone here, nor anyone in the future. I just want to be left alone, all right? So leave, before I punch that cocky grin off your pathetic face.”

  He rubbed the scruff on his face. “Well, well. Someone must have broken your heart.”

  Now he was going to try and analyze me? Fine, I would play his game and make him feel bad about it. “I just found out he was murdered. So back off.”

  His eyes widened, as if he didn’t think that was going to be my answer. Not many people would bluntly say that their love had been killed. I would though, but then again I was used to being surrounded by death, though this one stung more than I could have ever imagined.

  “Oh… I didn’t realize. Here, let me buy you a drink.”

  I couldn’t believe he was still trying. Whoever he was, he must have dealt with this situation before. If I wasn’t so preoccupied, I might have tried to figure out exactly what that was. But I knew at the moment it would be a waste of time.

  “I already have a drink,” I said. “What I want is to be alone. Understand? Alone.”

  He picked up his whiskey and left me alone. Thank goodness. I didn’t want to have to punch him in the nose. Well… I did, but I didn’t want to get in trouble for it and have to worry about my brother seeing me on the news. Or Joss. Or really anyone if I was honest. That would be my luck, being caught because I couldn’t control my anger. I was surprised that actually didn’t happen.

  I wondered if my brother was searching through video cams for me with facial recognition programs. It would be quite hard, actually, since the galaxy was so large, and the fact Recar didn’t quite like the Republic spying on them. Or anyone. In fact, if I recalled my history well enough, the first time security cameras were put on Recar, different gang members used them as target practice.

  Luckily, the footage from the cameras usually didn’t last a week.

  Though, as of now, they were still sided with the Republic, but that would change soon. I wondered if they would still become independent when the time came, though really at this point in time they really were independent. The Republic just kind of let it slide as long as the time came, that they would bear arms to help the Republic when need be.

  Problem was that they didn’t, but instead started a rebellion in order to free themselves from the entire messy system. Sounded about right, knowing them. I guess you could say they were autonomous.

  But that was up in the air. This timeline had changed, between Wes being an idiot and Joss focusing on finding Sanshli and bringing destruction upon the Republic, probably wanting to squash it under his foot more so than the actual Emperor from this time did. He probably wouldn’t let anyone start up the PAE, wouldn’t let any Republic sympathizers escape his wrath.

  And who could blame him. It was why we w
ere here, because some stupid idiot pulled out the sword and sent us in the past to battle it out once again. And just to be clear, that stupid idiot was my brother.

  I finished up my hummus, or at least how much I wanted to eat of it, and went to the room I had purchased to stay in. It was more decorated, in a very artificial way might I add, than any room I had ever had since I was taken from Garvner as a child. I wanted to rip it all away, but I also didn’t have that much money to cover the charges I would receive if I did such a thing.

  Sighing, I fell onto the bed. I wanted to sleep forever, but knew that sleep would probably never come to me, not to mention I would just be plagued with a series of dreaded nightmares. I glanced up at the mirror in my room. It was strange, I hadn’t seen Violet since I had left Anosira, after we had that argument about my powers and Nygard. I didn’t know if she was mad at me or if something happened, if anything really could happen. She was a ghost projected through time and space, how could she simply disappear? I guess it was possible that she had lost the remnants of her power just as Brayen did. I prayed that wasn’t the case, as I knew I still needed her help, needed to figure out how to use the gem to find Sanshli. She wouldn’t just leave me now like this, would she? I highly doubted it, it was probably just because we had argued, she wanted to let me cool off.

  I pulled out my pocket watch and stared at it, letting my mind resonate with the ticking noise, but it seemed impossible. There was too much going on in my head. I wanted it all to stop, wanted it all to go away. But it wasn’t going to, it wasn’t going to end, ever. I needed to stand tall, I needed to finish this for once and for all.

  And that’s exactly what I would do after training on Recar.

  CHAPTER 19

  The ship landed at the port outside the city of Himeo. The city looked the same as it did in the future, the same buildings, chaotic streets, underground rail system that made very little sense to the normal person. At least it could get you where you needed to go, as long as you knew it well enough because quite frankly it was like a maze. To the tourist, however, it was practically impossible. I loved watching people pull out maps and try to figure it out, curse a bunch out loud as they had missed their exit and would have to either reroute or get off and go back. Very entertaining to say the least.