by I. T. Eren
Mark made this all up because he had remembered that they did have a teacher trainee at some point. Mr. Klinger didn’t even consider turning down such an attractive offer, especially because Mark could help him take better control of so many naughty kids.
“Come on in, Mr. Schiller,” he said. “Let me introduce you to my colleagues.” This was perfect! Now it would be easy for Mark to keep a better eye on younger Mark.
At that moment, a fire brigade was staging a show in the camp to show the children how to put out a fire. Mark suddenly caught glimpse of his younger self among the kids! He felt excited. People would give so much just to be able to take a look at their childhood again, and there was his child self, in front of Mark’s very eyes! But what was young Mark trying to do? He was pushing his friends, in an attempt to start some chaos. He wondered why he had acted so stupidly as a kid. And then he noticed little Pierce was there as well.
After the fire brigade’s performance, the students played fastball. Mark was consumed by strange thoughts. He couldn’t help thinking, “If this is the same Pierce who tried to get rid of me, then I will have saved myself by getting rid of him before he does anything to me.”
But he couldn’t do that. He felt mad at himself for thinking about harming a young, innocent boy who used to be his best friend.
The next day the whole group set off to hike the valley. A strange thing took place during the excursion. Although none of the teachers witnessed it, some students reported that many rocks tumbled down the cliff and that they hardly saved their lives. Some of the students, including young Mark, even cried when telling the teacher what had happened.
Thinking that Pierce could have a role in this, Mark decided to take a closer look around. He left the group and started climbing the rocky hillside. Ten minutes later, he was on the top, where he was able to have a clearer view of the entire valley. When he walked around, he found a few detonators on the ground—just as he had expected. Pierce must have created a small quake to cause the rockslide. Mark shivered. He knew for sure now that Pierce wanted to take his life.
When he returned to the campground that evening, he talked to many students, including the young Pierce.
He asked, “Pierce, did you see the rockslide?”
Pierce shook his head and said, “No! When I turned the corner and reached the others, everything had already happened. But I did see a lot of dust up in the air.” This was no joke. He hadn’t been able to do anything for Mark that day; young Mark had just been very lucky.
When he woke up the next morning, he was determined to follow young Mark closely. He kept an eye on the kid, starting right after breakfast. He saw the young boy go into his bungalow and return with his backpack. The kid was heading for the forest. He started following him but lost track because he didn’t act fast enough. By the time he had reached the end of the forest, he saw that young Mark was already climbing the hill. Even though he called his name, the boy didn’t hear him.
He ran back, picked up his car, and drove to the main road. However, he couldn’t see young Mark anywhere.
“Stupid kid,” he muttered, “there’s no place he can walk to from here. He must have hitchhiked!”
What could he do now? Why had he left the camp fifteen years ago? Then he remembered—he left because he had wanted to go to a nearby hamburger place! He kind of remembered where the place was and started driving in that direction.
A little farther down the road, he saw a bunch of farmers standing next to their tractors. “Have you seen a kid about twelve pass by?”
One of the farmers said, “A truck has just passed us. I think I saw a man with a kid in it.”
Without even thanking him, Mark hit the gas. A little later he saw a dirt path and took that road. There it was—a truck parked in front of a cabin. He tiptoed to the building from the back so that no one could see him. He saw little Mark sitting inside the truck. Maybe he should take the young guy and run away while Pierce wasn’t around. But at that moment, Pierce came out of the cabin with a shotgun in his hand. He was screaming at young Mark like a lunatic.
Mark had to do something before it was too late. He took out his narcotized arrow. If he aimed well, he could hit Pierce from there.
Pierce shouted, “This time I’m making sure, Mark Spinner! You won’t be my rival anymore. No one can prevent me from changing the world!” He directed his gun toward the young boy.
At that moment Mark shot his arrow and hit Pierce, who then fell on the ground, wriggling in pain. Even though young Mark was shocked, he immediately gathered himself and started running away as fast as he could. The effect of the arrow would last at least for another ten minutes. Mark decided to remain hidden. Young Mark had not seen him, and this would make things much easier. He wouldn’t have to explain anything to anyone.
As the young boy ran without even looking behind him, he didn’t question what had happened. After a while, he reached a few farmers who were standing by the side of the road. He told them about what happened and asked for help. Although the farmers didn’t take the boy seriously, they did take him back to the camp. When he told the teachers what had happened in detail, they believed him, especially after what had happened earlier. They called the police, who came and took Mark’s testimony. Mark told them that he thought he had seen the attacker before but couldn’t remember where or when. The police wondered why an adult had said such strange things to a little kid.
Meanwhile, adult Mark was thinking about what to do with Pierce. This man, who lay paralyzed on the ground, was apparently the adult version of his best childhood friend. Still writhing in anguish, Pierce would not be able to notice Mark’s presence for at least another five minutes. Mark would not kill Pierce, but if he didn’t do anything at all, then Pierce would continue to be a threat to Mark.
After pondering the problem for a while, he decided to tie Pierce up. Then he could wait for the cops to come and pick the guy up. He went into the cabin and found some rope in the basement. After securing Pierce against the trunk of a tree, he got into his car and drove away. He had better return the car to the rental company so that he wouldn’t leave any traces behind. He gave back the car and returned to the camp by taxi. Another teacher there told him about the excited events of the day including the police investigation.
After young Mark explained exactly what had happened to the police, they asked him to show them where he left Pierce. But when they drove to the scene of the incident, Pierce was nowhere to be found!
CHAPTER 14
Adult Mark pressed the button on his watch to return to the headquarters, where he was expected to report on the situation. Soon after, he was there. Everyone gathered around him and asked excitedly, “Any new developments?”
Mark said, “I joined the camp as a teacher trainee, and no one was suspicious. It turns out to be my best childhood friend Pierce is Candidate Y! But I still have no idea why he did it. I prevented him from harming myself as a kid by shooting him with a narcotized arrow and tying him to a tree so the cops could catch him. I drove away not to attracting any attention and then returned the rental car. As far as I can tell, however, Pierce was not where I left him when my younger self showed the police where the incident took place. I have no idea how Pierce was able to escape and where he is now. So all I can do is go back to the past to protect myself again.”
Mark explained all of this while he was still standing. Then they all moved to the large meeting room to discuss what to do next. Mr. Kurzin , the chief psychologist of the center, was worried that Mark would harm young Pierce because he was angry with him now and that was human nature. So he proposed that someone else who could act objectively should do this job.
Mark couldn’t let that happen, so he said, “You have to trust me. If I had wanted to, I could have already gotten rid of Pierce—right there and then. I can’t believe you still don’t know me well enough and think that I would do something like that!”
Mr. Mallhan got to his feet and res
ted his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Mr. Spinner entered the camp without causing suspicion. It would be right to continue with his service. Looking for an alternative will be nothing but a call for unwanted adventure.” Mark smiled. He had to admit he really liked this fatherly guy.
Half an hour later, Mark had already been beamed back to the campground. He kept a ceaseless eye on young Mark. It really sucked to witness your childhood self be prone to danger. When he glimpsed into Mark’s bungalow, he saw that the kid was in a deep sleep. And Pierce was sleeping two meters away from Mark. Mark couldn’t believe this little kid would turn into a monster after growing up. Suddenly, he remembered Mr. Kurzin’s words. If something happened to Pierce, Mark would never have to worry again. But even thinking about this made him feel embarrassed. He left the bungalow.
The next day, the whole camp resounded with a loud wake-up call over the loudspeakers. According to camp rules, this meant that breakfast would begin in ten minutes. Some of the kids washed their faces and ran to the lunchroom, while the teachers tried to wake those who wanted to sleep a few more minutes. Young Mark was among the dozers. After a teacher warned him severely, he finally got up for breakfast without washing his face.
It was cloudy that day. There was a gentle breeze, and by looking at the sky, one could guess it would rain soon. Today, the group would go on a nature hike and learn about plants and animals. In one hour, everyone was ready. They had to take along some utensils because they would cook their lunch on a campfire. Even though they also took along enough ready-made food with them, the teachers told the students that their main course would consist of what they would hunt and cook.
Fritz said, “What? Are we going to eat the living beings in nature? Disgusting!”
Mark couldn’t help saying, “Yeah, sure. I’m planning to eat a lion’s shank or an alligator’s tongue. But if I can’t find those, I’ll be happy to fill my stomach with one of your ears or noses. Roarrrr!”
Chris added, “I’m taking along some ketchup. I can eat anything—even you—as long as I have ketchup.”
Each student was given a fishing line. They would be fishing the lake, using worms they found in the ground.
They began to walk. Because it had already started to drizzle, they were following the path between the trees. According to the weather report, it was only supposed to drizzle that day so the teachers had decided not to cancel the outing. Besides, keeping so many kids indoors or under shelters without any scheduled activity would be nearly impossible.
The teachers showed the students different plants. “This is Swiss chard. It’s really delicious when boiled,” one teacher said.
Another pointed out a bright green plant, saying, “This is stinging nettle. You can distinguish it from other plants because of its hollow stinging hairs.”
They also gave the students information about different fungi, and other plants. By the time they reached the lake, the rain had stopped, and everything was perfect for preparing a fantastic feast. The worms were coming out of the wet soil on their own. A few teachers picked these up and put them in a glass jar. The kids lined up. Each kid took a worm from the jar and put it on his or her fishing line. In just fifteen to twenty minutes, about one-third of the kids had already caught fish. Soon after, they started preparing the fish they caught, as well as the edible plants they had picked up on the trail.
Some of the materials they had brought along to make a fire didn’t work since there wasn’t much sunshine. So they tried to rub sticks against each other, but the wet wood didn’t create sparks. Eventually, they had use the matches the teachers had brought with them. In half an hour, the food was ready. No one was really interested in eating fish, but the barbecued meat they had brought with them was really popular. The edible plants they had turned into a stew was also not a favorite. If they found a way, the students would surely prefer a ‘natural meal’ made of hamburgers and coke.
They hit the road again an hour later. As they were walking, Pierce collapsed all of a sudden. Another kid named Cliff, who was walking next to Pierce, screamed for help. Mark immediately ran over to them and asked whether Pierce had eaten anything strange.
Cliff said, “I think he was gathering a few of those mushrooms and throwing them into his bag. But I’m not sure if he ate them.” Cliff pointed to a patch of mushrooms that Mark thought looked quite poisonous. Upon hearing this, Mark pushed his finger into Pierce’s mouth and tried to make him vomit. Suddenly, Pierce started to cough and throw up. After much ruckus, everyone took a deep breath of relief—Mark, the teacher trainee, had saved Pierce’s life by taking action at the right time.
CHAPTER 15
When grown-up Mark retired to camp after dusk, he thought about what he went through recently, how his friend Pierce had turned into a monster, how he and Pierce had first met, and about Pierce’s life and family. Pierce had always been a little different than other kids. For some reason, Mark couldn’t bring himself to feel angry with Pierce. He almost felt as if it weren’t Pierce’s fault or as if he had been possessed by a demon. Suddenly Mark remembered something Pierce’s mother had told him. Pierce had stayed in the hospital as a baby because of a genetic disorder. Maybe that problem must have recurred causing Pierce to go do unpleasant things. What if it were possible to go back to Pierce’s stay in the hospital as a baby and enable a much better genetic treatment by using current scientific techniques? Once he’d thought of this plan, Mark pressed the button and returned to the present day.
Mr. Manson said, “What’s going on, Mr. Spinner? You’re traveling quite frequently these days. Did you forget your handkerchief or what?”
The guy’s tone gave away his disapproval. Each trip was very expensive, and it was probably taken from Mr. Manson’s budget. Hardly refraining from punching Manson right in the face, Mark said, “We have to go back to Pierce’s past—when he was a baby. He stayed in the hospital when he was very young. I’m sure he went through a serious problem back then.”
They immediately went to the computer and researched Pierce’s hospital records. They had to ask for a password from the ministry of health because of the rules concerning patient confidentiality. One of the detectives was an expert on genetics. Mark had even thought that the guy was probably a doctor before becoming a detective. It was decided that this particular detective should go back to the past when Pierce was being treated at the hospital.
Mr. Mallhan said, “Mr. Spinner, don’t enter this section of the security headquarters so that we can send our detective without breaching confidentiality principles. Why don’t you go home for a couple of hours and get some rest?” Mark agreed, although he didn’t want to, and headed for home.
It was already evening by the time Mark left the building. Ally answered the door, and as soon as she saw Mark, she asked, “What the hell is going on?” And then she started laughing.
Mark was wearing overalls that clearly looked as if they were from fifteen years ago. And his boots were muddy too. “Damn,” he thought. “As someone who cares about looking good, how will I be able to live this down?” Then he rushed to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, he made noises to cover up while thinking about possible scenarios. “I wore these clothes because I had to find something in the archives.” But what about the muddy boots, then? “I visited my mom and had to put on stuff that she gave me as a gift. I know they don’t look great, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.” Well, his mom had some taste, and Ally knew his mom. So he suspected this wouldn’t work either. “I was acting as a sideman in a movie, and this was my costume.” But he was sure she would want to watch the film later. “When my car broke down, I had to put on these clothes in the trunk so that I could do the repair work.” But everybody knew that Mark wouldn’t do any such repair work.
Eventually, he left the bathroom. Ally was standing in front of the door, waiting for him to explain. “Okay, spill the beans, Mark Spinner. What’s been going on?”
Trying his best to sound
confident, Mark said, “I spilled coffee all over myself at work today. Thankfully, a friend gave me these clothes. And I didn’t worry about how ridiculous they look since I would soon be home. Not a big deal, dear. Besides, this is called vintage fashion, isn’t it?”
Ally said, “Hmmm, so you spilled coffee on your shoes too? I thought they were covered in mud, but apparently it is coffee.” She was making fun of him.
Mark tried to end the conversation by saying, “I wore these because my dress shoes looked funny under the overalls. They’re a little dirty, but it’s okay.” Fortunately, Ally didn’t dig further. Mark tried not to think about this subject throughout the evening, although it disturbed him.
The next day he received a call around noon and was summoned to the headquarters. He put on the same old shirt, overalls, and the muddy boots. Then he headed for the center. He was consumed with excitement. When he got there, Mr. Mallhan welcomed him with a smiling face.
“Mr. Spinner, everything really happened the way you suspected. You have saved your own life again. Our detective performed the necessary intervention. He found out that the problem had not been fully solved in the circumstances of the past. As a result of the genetic intervention, he eliminated Pierce’s problem by ninety percent.”
“What are you planning to do about the remaining ten percent?” Mark asked. “I hope you won’t leave it to chance.”
Mr. Mallhan said, “It might be a good idea to return to the camp once again to keep an eye on little Mark. If we have been successful, then you won’t experience any problems, and you can come back with no doubts in your mind. Moreover, this will prevent a teacher trainee from all of a sudden disappearing from the face of earth.”