by Dean Waite
Without warning, the full force of what had happened today suddenly hit me. I had met the most incredible woman – my future wife – and we’d been harassed by brutal assassins for hours until I was eventually left cradling her lifeless body in the darkness of a tiny safe-room.
The rush of emotion flattened me like a speeding semi, bringing me to an abrupt halt at the edge of the pavement with tears welling in my eyes.
I’d never felt so utterly crushed and hollow.
Or so horribly guilty, knowing that Veronica had died to save me.
Then I felt my anger surge. Damn her! Why did she have to stick so stubbornly to a plan she knew would cost her her life? Why had she stayed here in the city where Baseball Cap Man and his mates could so easily keep up with us? Once we got in that car she should have just kept on driving! We could have been halfway to Sydney by now … hundreds of miles from those killers and both still alive!
I could feel myself trembling with bitter rage. All the more bitter because deep down I knew Veronica had done the right thing. As difficult as it was for me to comprehend, according to her, without me in the future the entire world was in grave danger. She hadn’t sacrificed herself just to save me. She’d also done it to save the billions of innocent people being oppressed under Sahissi’s ruthless future regime.
I just wished to God she could have found some other way!
Frustration and anger continued to swell inside me until I felt sure I’d explode. Then, as swiftly as it had come, the raw, angry emotion abruptly left me. I still felt utterly devastated, but I found I could suddenly think clearly again, and I realised my mental ranting about potentially being halfway to Sydney and both safe was little more than a sadly misguided delusion.
No matter where we’d gone, Sahissi’s men would have followed us … and killed us both.
Now I felt a sudden blaze of pride for the beautiful woman who had saved my life. Veronica had planned it all, down to the last minute detail, exactly the way she’d had to. And she’d executed that plan to perfection, despite knowing that it would end her life. Just the thought of her going through everything while carrying that awful knowledge was nearly too much to bear.
Although I hated the thought of what had happened, at least most of it made perfect sense now that I could see, in hind-sight, why Veronica had done it. As I looked ahead at the crossing, however, it suddenly seemed odd to me that this whole insane ‘game’ had almost come full circle: following our wild and convoluted flight, here I was standing less than twenty metres from where it had all begun.
Out of the blue, it occurred to me that it was almost as if Veronica had planned that too, though the idea made no sense at all to me.
“Are you okay?”
Startled, and suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious about my watery eyes, I roused myself from my baffled thoughts and turned to see a woman of about forty peering sympathetically across at me from the pavement nearby. Mortified that someone was seeing me in this state, I hurriedly turned away, wiping roughly at my eyes.
I was still in a public place – I really needed to get my act together!
A second later, I looked back and blinked when I sensed something vaguely familiar in the woman’s face. Then, while I puzzled over whether I knew her from somewhere, my eyes flicked across to find a gangly teenage girl standing just behind her, giving me a concerned look.
For one endless, astonished second, I peered into those strangely familiar brown eyes. Then it felt oddly as if the sun rose inside me; like it was the dawning of a brand new day.
Despite everything, I felt myself smile.
“Umm … actually, I’ve just had a pretty crummy day,” I stammered, turning back to the woman while my mind did summersaults. “I came into the city to go to the dentist and got caught up in all this madness. Now the buses aren’t running and I’ll have to call my parents then wait till one of them can pick me up. I guess I’ll be stuck here for a couple more hours at least.”
“Where do you live, dear?” she asked sympathetically.
“Sherwood,” I replied as an intense sense of expectation flared inside me. “Park Terrace.” I threw another smile at the girl and she grinned back shyly.
“Well that’s just amazing,” the woman replied with a wide-eyed smile of her own. “Almost like it was meant to be! We’re heading home to Laurel Avenue – it’s just over the train line in Graceville, only a couple of minutes away from Park Terrace! Would you like a lift, dear?”
I glanced at the girl and her grin widened into that wonderful smile I’d grown to love so much during the last few hours.
“Yes. I’d like that, thanks,” I said as the last piece of this crazy puzzle finally slotted into place. And despite my misery at what had happened today, I found I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face as I headed off across Edward Street with Veronica and her mother.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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2 Lives 2 Live 4 by Dean Waite
I’d thought I’d come to terms with it all. But I hadn’t.
Not by a long way.
The full force of it only hit me once I was well out of the City centre, sitting opposite teenage Veronica in the back seat of her family car and staring out at the slow-moving waters of the Brisbane River flowing along-side us. Out of nowhere, crazy visions began racing through my mind. Visions of insane things that before today I would never have believed possible, even in my wildest dreams. Or nightmares. Visions of things that had happened to me during the last few hours while I’d raced madly across the CBD with a woman I now felt convinced was the very same person sitting beside me as a gangly teenage girl!
A woman who’d insisted she was my wife!
With my mind reeling, I turned to teenage Veronica and found her peering intently, though a little shyly, back at me. Then, like a B-grade movie fade, her face seemed to slowly dissolve to be replaced by a vision of her gorgeous older self staring up at me with wide, unblinking eyes while I cradled her lifeless body in my arms.
It was too much. I spun away and peered out the side window again, embarrassed by the tears I could feel pooling in my eyes, blurring my view of the sleek CityCat ferry slipping smoothly past along the River, heading back towards the City. Back toward the chaos I had left behind me.
I’d never felt so confused. I didn’t know whether to be overjoyed that the younger Veronica now sat safely beside me, or devastated that earlier that afternoon her older self had been brutally murdered by an assassin from the future. And it was killing me that her murderer had escaped with barely more than a scratch! I’d never really thought of myself as an overly aggressive guy, but right now I felt like I’d gladly do unspeakable things to that guy if I was given the chance.
“So, Daniel, what was it you said you were doing in the City today?”
Jolted back from my vengeful, confused thoughts, I flicked my eyes across and noticed Veronica’s mum tilting her head slightly, trying to see me in the rear vision mirror. Without turning, I leaned away a little while pretending to scratch the side of my forehead, doing my best to obscure her view of my eyes.
“Just a check-up at the dentist, Mrs Kale,” I reminded her, thankful that at least my voice didn’t betray my dismal state-of-mind.
From the corner of my eye I watched Veronica’s dark-haired, well-groomed mother frown faintly.
“All on your own?” she asked, though I’d already explained that this was the case. Clearly she was having a little trouble accepting the fact.
I nodded. “Yeah - my parents are both really busy people. Dad lectures in Engineering at UQ and he’s always doing some research project or other on the side. And Mum’s always got more work than she can
handle for her web page business. Most days, I hardly get to see them at all.”
I noticed Mrs Kale's eyebrows rise a little.
“My goodness … they do sound terribly busy.”
Her eyes went back to the road as she caught a green light and turned right onto Moggill Road, heading sedately past the shops lining both sides of the street.
“You must get pretty lonely,” Veronica commented after a few seconds thought. “I don’t know what I’d do if Mum had a job.” She smiled at her mother. “She’s always there for me when I need her.”
Mrs Kale smiled too. “We’re always there for each other, dear,” she pointed out, her fondness for her daughter clearly evident in her voice. “You know you help me out at least as much as I help you.” She grinned suddenly as her eyes flicked back from the road, trying to find me in the rear-view mirror again. “I don’t think I’d ever have gotten on-line if Veronica hadn’t been so patient and helpful. And she taught me how to use my mobile phone, the I-pod, the … what’s it called again … oh, yes, the PVR, …” She chuckled. “To be perfectly honest, without Vee, I’d still be trapped back in the twentieth century!”
I turned to Veronica and couldn’t help smiling. She looked really good, even though her early-teenage body and face still only hinted at the rare beauty she would become. And it wasn’t just her looks that made me smile. Even at this age, she was showing the same loyalty and devotion to her mother that she’d shown to me during the few short hours I’d known her. Despite her brutal death earlier today – no, I corrected myself - because of it, I knew I was damned lucky to have her in my life at all!
I blinked. Despite peering at Veronica, I’d been so completely lost in thought that I'd missed the confused half-smile she was directing at me. When I finally spotted it, I swallowed uncomfortably - I’d been staring at her with the kind of idiot grin that probably had her wondering whether I was some kind of half-wit stalker-type!
My embarrassment deepened further when her smile wavered and I realised she’d noticed my reddened eyes.
Spinning back to the window, I cringed, hearing the older Veronica’s words echo inside my head: nothing is set in stone.
Lucky to have her in my life. Who was I kidding? She was as much 'in my life' as I was in the life of the old, balding guy with the bad breath, who’d sat beside me during my bus ride into town today. And if I didn’t stop acting like a complete moron, she’d never want to see me again once her mother dropped me home.
The realisation shook me to the core. And it finally drove home just how attached to Veronica I’d become during the few short hours we’d spent together. She was – or at least, would be - my ideal mixture of Lara Croft action hero, Playboy centrefold and devoted friend. A one-in-a-billion lady. Hell … before today, I was more devoted to my skateboard than to any girl! Now I suddenly discovered I couldn’t imagine life without Veronica in it.
When I snuck a look back at her, she was staring ahead through the windscreen and I had the awful suspicion that she might be thinking about what a dope I was. Unable to help myself, but feeling a little guilty about it, I flicked my eyes down over her lithe body then back up to rest on her lips. Deep down, things began to stir - even at this age those lips already had that full, sexy, Jessica Alba pout.
I heard her words inside my head again: nothing is set in stone. If I really wanted her to become a part of my life – and I really did - I needed to start giving her some reasons to want to be a part of mine.
*****
2
Before long, we were gliding down the hill towards the Indooroopilly roundabout. Behind it, the huge Indooroopilly Shopping Complex sprawled across the side of a low hill, almost filling the vast area between the two roads that speared out almost at right angles from the far side of roundabout. While I wracked my brain for some way to win over Veronica, her mum veered onto the first of these roads - Coonan Street – and headed on towards Sherwood.
Summoning my courage, I turned to Veronica. With maybe three or four more minutes left to make an impression (other than the ‘I’m an imbecile’ one I’d already nailed!), I really had to get a move on.
“So, what does your dad do?” I asked before wincing uncomfortably at how tense I sounded.
Before replying, Veronica gave me a long, quizzical look, as if she sensed something odd in my manner but was unsure what it meant.
“He died when Vee was six,” Mrs Kale replied for her.
Nice one, Dan, I thought miserably. While the car headed down beside the Eldorado Cinemas, with the Indooroopilly railway station disappearing past on our left, I looked out the window and wracked my brains for some way to recover. Ahead, I could see the old Walter Taylor Bridge stretching across the western reaches of the Brisbane River. I’d always been fascinated by the Bridge which was unusual in that it had living quarters built into the main supports above either end. It reminded me a little of London Bridge, though it didn’t lift up in the middle and was nowhere near as grand. Still, ever since I was a little kid, I’d wondered what it would be like to live up there. Of course, now that I was a bit older and wiser, I’d realised ‘noisy’ would feature pretty prominently in the description, but the idea continued to fascinate me.
I peered absently up at the living quarters closest to us, barely noticing the figure standing way up on the rooftop balcony. I knew time had pretty much run out for me to think of something to say that would let Vee know how awful I felt about her Dad having died and would have her pleading to be my girl. But I still had nothing! Then I squinted as a bright, green light flitted briefly across my face. My worried eyes focussed on the figure up on the balcony and I noticed he had some kind of laser mounted on a stand! After everything I’d been through, my heart went ballistic while my eyes swivelled madly about, nervously searching through the car windows for signs of danger.
It took me a second or two to come back to earth. Veronica had assured me Sahissi was out of energy. Which meant this guy was most likely just a surveyor using something like a laser alidade, perhaps to help map the area in preparation for future road works. Our science or math teacher – I couldn’t remember which – had told us about them, though I wasn’t sure exactly how they worked. Anyway, if it had been anything sinister, I’d probably be watching the guy launch a missile at me right now!
I really needed to chill.
Smiling wryly to myself, I peered more closely at the guy as we drew nearer … and frowned when I noticed he was dressed entirely in black and that his lips were moving as if he was talking to someone on a phone. As we cruised closer still, then beneath him and onto the bridge, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prick up – was it just my imagination, or did he look one hell of a lot like Snake Eyes?
Nervously reassuring myself that I’d seen that particular scumbag lying dead back inside the Myer Centre, I glanced ahead, once more scanning the area for signs of trouble - right at the exact moment that two enormous tanks appeared out of nowhere, crouched side-by-side across the far end of the bridge!
*****
3
At the same time, a different guy in black with a massive tripod-mounted cannon appeared up on the balcony of the southern living quarters, directly above the row of tanks. My heart-rate went through the roof as the cars ahead of us squealed to a halt. Alarm bells were blaring crazily in my head as I whipped my head round, terrified of what I’d find. Sure enough, behind us two more massive tanks were now crouched across the entrance to the bridge, blocking our retreat! The sound of screeching tyres carried from behind the pair of huge war machines, while up on the balcony above them, a second gunner was swinging his massive tripod-mounted gun towards us! I didn't need to look to know the first one would be doing the same thing.
We were trapped on the bridge … and about to be blown to hell in a devastating cross-fire!
My mind raced. For some reason, despite what Veronica had told me, Sahissi’s energy supply was obviously in fantastic shape! Hell … he’d probably
just sent through more heavy firepower than I’d seen during the entire day up to that point! And with a flash of despair, I realised this was a completely new game for another very important reason. Beside me, Veronica was now little more than a girl, and obviously had no idea what was even going on. Last time she’d saved my life so many times I’d lost count. This time I was pretty certain she’d have trouble looking after herself, let alone me!
I drew a deep breath and tried to ignore the way most of my body seemed to be shaking. If we were going to get out of here alive, it was going to be up to me.
The realisation hit hard. I had no weapon and I’d never even learned karate or boxing! How could I possibly beat even a single unarmed man, let alone two trained assassins with cannons? And that wasn’t even factoring in the four wicked-looking mega-tanks that had me suddenly wondering if a closer inspection of the ones we’d fled from earlier that day might have revealed the word ‘Matchbox' engraved into their chassis.
As Veronica’s mum hit the brakes hard and the gunners lined us up, I knew we had absolutely no chance.
But I wasn’t about to just lie down and take what these mongrels were dishing out.
“OUT, OUT, OUT!” I screamed as I unclipped my seatbelt and reached across Vee’s lap to grab the door handle while my other hand unclipped her belt too. Throwing the door open, I shoved her roughly out ahead of me and we tumbled awkwardly onto the road beside the car.
"Stay low," I told her as I scrambled up into a crouch, glancing back through the side window just in time to catch a glimpse of some guy wrenching open the passenger-side front door. My eyes flicked to the left and I felt my stomach churn - Veronica’s mum was still in her seat!
I felt like throwing up. There was no way I could get Mrs Kale out and away before that guy put a bullet in her … or one of those huge guns obliterated the entire car with her still inside it. I’d just end up getting Vee and myself killed as well.