by Logan Castle
Sirius stared right into KT-1’s blue orbs when he spoke. “No, KT-1. I will not. We will find another way. That will end this conversation, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” KT-1 said, sounding defeated.
“Do not despair, my friend. We will find another way. There is always another way,” Sirius promised. There was sincere belief in what he was saying. The Time Force was too dangerous, and its effects too unpredictable. Perhaps that was just what he told himself. The truth of the matter was that he simply didn’t trust himself enough to wield it. Not anymore. They would have to combat this threat using whatever other tools they had at their disposal.
Realizing there was no swaying him, KT-1 turned back to the console. “It seems we would be better off to wait until he uses the Time Force again. Doing so would cause a measurable amount of temporal displacement, not only in the reality he leaves, but also in the one he enters. Of course, it will be a very small amount and probably not enough to give us an exact location, but it should be enough to give us some idea of his whereabouts.”
Sirius cursed himself under his breath as he listened to KT-1.
You old fool! Your stubborn pride and short-sightedness could bring about the end of all there is, everything that you dedicated your life to protect.
It was true. This man, Isaac Kent, was every bit as dangerous as Sirius had guessed. Yet, he still underestimated the true extent of the power that Isaac wielded. In his pride and haste to eliminate the threat, Sirius failed to consider or even try to understand what he was really dealing with. Unfortunately, being face-to-face with Isaac Kent and seeing the true extent of his powers reflected in the form of the tattoos on his forearms, Sirius did not fail to notice the ease with which Isaac managed to escape. Now he realized just how foolish he had been to assume that this threat could have been neutralized so easily. There was another factor contributing to Sirius’s anger as well, one that he had not felt in a long, long time.
Helplessness.
From the moment he became the Time Keeper, he could influence countless realities across the Multiverse. He liked to watch their individual futures playing out in one way, and then ending in a completely different way in an opposing, yet very similar, reality. It wasn’t really playing god, but certainly still a place of privilege and power. One that never, at any point, made him feel the least bit helpless.
The very day he discovered the existence of the Multiverse and the Galaxies that created it, he had a terrible feeling. Everything seemed to be falling apart around him, a ceaseless feeling of doubt arose in everything he knew was true and once considered fact. There seemed to be very little he could do to stop it.
For now, only one option was left to him. They would have to wait until Isaac Kent used his powers again before they could track his whereabouts.
“Get to it, KT-1,” he snapped at the robot. “The instant the systems detect the usage of the Time Force, I want to know about it.”
“Yes, sir,” KT-1 responded, instantly busying herself with the task.
To his utter shock and bewilderment, Sirius found himself hoping. And it was something that he never would have thought he’d hope for in a million years or a billion different realities. He was hoping that Isaac Kent used the Time Force again…and soon.
Chapter 7
I am not a coffee person at all. A long time and a different dead-end job ago, I was. Today, however, coffee was everything. Without caffeine, there was no hope of making it through the morning, let alone the day. I was on shut-down mode and every movement I made became an arduous task. My head, while physically still attached to my shoulders, seemed to contain a space of sprawling emptiness between my ears.
I could barely keep my eyes open and my limbs refused to cooperate with the simple act of driving. Out of pure morbid curiosity, I made an exploratory scan of the sky. I was relieved to see it was a clear and calm blue.
I drove in absolute silence, no radio or anything else, concentrating only on staying inside the lines of the road, as if I hadn’t driven in years and was trying to reacquaint myself with the skill. During the drive, I became increasingly aware of my internal battle to stay awake so I opened the window to allow the frigid morning air to sting my face.
I didn’t understand what was happening to me. It seemed like I was unraveling, piece-by-piece, into somebody I didn’t recognize. What made it worse was that I couldn’t talk to anyone about it. I was afraid a psychologist would tell me I was bipolar, schizophrenic or something equally unappealing. No, there was no way I could even consider a visit to one of those quacks.
The only person who could provide me with any sort of relief was Plum. Granted, she couldn’t possibly understand what I was going through either. Not like I gave her that option since I never really explained any of it to her. Even so, her presence calmed me. Just seeing those bottomless, blue eyes and that sweet smile was enough to help me despite an almost systematic dismantling of my mind.
The image of Plum this morning, screaming with wide, panicked eyes was almost too much for me to bear. In the moments following both of us awakening to each other’s screams, Plum pressed me for the details from my dream; but I wasn’t ready to open up about that yet. At the moment, the one thing I desperately craved was space. I made a lightning quick decision to throw on some work clothes and retreat to my office for the better part of the day. Since it was the Monday after a holiday, the office was closed, meaning it would be empty and quiet, two things I sorely needed right now. I knew that wasn’t being fair to Plum. Whatever was going on inside my head wasn’t limited to me any longer. My paranoia and fear were affecting her as well… but I just couldn’t deal with that right now. I had more than enough on my own plate.
Enough!
I wanted nothing more than some semblance of normalcy restored to my life, if that were even possible. After the critical events of the past few days, I was determined to go a full day, or at least a healthy portion of one, without being drawn back into the muddled quagmire that I called my mind.
After I parked in the underground garage of my office building, I noticed my brow and the armpits of my collared shirt were soaked in sweat. I wiped off the sweat from my forehead and then, using a blazer that I conveniently carried in my car, I covered up the embarrassing swimming pools that would have been visible to everyone. The office was probably empty; either way, I refused to take the chance of someone seeing that. I grabbed my briefcase from the back seat and walked to the elevator. I felt like I was floating as my legs moved completely out of sync with each other.
The elevator ride to the fifteenth floor was enough to turn my stomach. Once the doors opened, I practically flung myself out of it and into the hallway. I sprinted for the kitchen and, more specifically, the coffee machine.
I poured myself the largest cup I could find, walked out of the kitchen and took a left through a pair of propped-open wooden doors. I walked into a very large bullpen of a room with a dozen cubicles to my left and on my right, roughly the same number of individual, window-lined offices.
The offices were for the heavy hitters, only the agents who made the big bucks. Year-to-year, it seemed to always be the same people who reached the big list. I’d been waiting for an office here for years and, most likely, would continue waiting. Although I didn’t care to admit it to myself, my general productivity and the money I earned for the company probably weren’t enough to warrant giving me one anyway. It bothered me for sure, but I wasn’t under any illusions as to why.
I hated my job.
Despite the usual disappointment I felt as I approached my cubicle, it was the only place I wanted to be today. I pulled out my chair and its wheels screamed along the plastic cover that protected the floor underneath. I practically dropped my briefcase on the desk and slumped into the chair before propping my feet up. I just stared at the white ceiling above me, exhaling a deep sigh of relief. Finally, peace and quiet….
“There he is! Wh
at’s up, Isaac?!”
Caught completely off-guard, my feet fell from the desk and the chair lurched forward as they did. Whatever sense of calm I so briefly attained instantly vanished.
You were saying something about ‘peace and quiet’?!
I swung around, seriously contemplating the merits of curling my fists together and pounding the owner of the voice’s face into a bloody pulp. Walking towards me was a tall, lanky figure, whose long, dark, wavy hair was pulled up into one of those stupid man buns. His brown eyes were a little too far apart, his crooked nose a little too big and his smile a little too wide and boastful. He must have assumed it was going to be a ghost town here today as well because he was dressed very casually. His brown cargo shorts ended just below his knees and he wore a loose-fitting, blue V-neck shirt.
His name was Aaron Walters and we’d both started in the company about the same time. He hadn’t received the full-fledged agent title yet, but was probably a whole hell of a lot closer than I was.
“We missed you this weekend, buddy!” Standing right behind me, he slapped my back hard. A little too hard for my liking but I decided to grin and bear it. “Hey Jeff! Look who’s here!”
Any hope of sneaking a nice, quiet couple of hours swirled down the fucking toilet. Turning my gaze behind Aaron, I could see Jeff’s short frame walking up to join us. Even from a distance, he was dwarfed next to the much taller Aaron. Standing at about five feet, six inches, Jeff was one step away from the infamous “dad bod.” However, it never stopped him from reminiscing over the “glory days” in college when he allegedly excelled at every sport. If that were true (and I had my doubts), those days were long gone. Jeff had youthful features and a very engaging, boyish smile. His reddish hair was cut almost to the skin on the sides and an absolute mop on top. He wore casual garb as well: shorts, T-shirt and sandals. Unlike Aaron and I, he was already an agent and had been for about five years now.
“Wasssssssssssup!” God, really?! “You missed out on some good times in Vegas this weekend, bra!”
That’s when I remembered. The two of them, along with a few other guys, went to Las Vegas for the weekend. It was an annual trip they’d been repeating for a few years now. As I thought about all the fun they must have had over the weekend, I was plagued by a deep-seeded jealousy.
Memories of my shitty New Year’s Eve immediately saturated my brain and I had to forcibly shove them away. I was invited on their trip to Vegas and, while I desperately wanted to go, I declined. Concerned with the state of disarray in my relationship with Plum at the time, I didn’t believe a trip to Vegas was a good way to repair it.
“Glad you guys had fun,” I responded tersely. I decided not to ask questions. To do so would have only encouraged them to remain standing there, when all I really wanted was for them to go away.
“Oh, come on Isaac! Don’t be bitter!” Aaron flashed a victorious smile, displaying a full set of opaque white teeth.
“I’m not. I had a long weekend myself,” I replied. I kept it short, hoping that one of them might sense that I wanted to be left alone.
“I’m sure it was nothing like ours! What did you do?” Aaron exclaimed.
Still, no such luck.
Aaron was baiting me. He wanted to flaunt their stupid, inane misadventures in my face. But I wasn’t biting. I turned and looked him squarely in the face, making sure to include Jeff as well. “What are you guys doing in the office today anyway? I was expecting it to be dead here.”
This time, Jeff was the one who replied. “We all flew back yesterday afternoon. Aaron and I figured the office would be empty today and it was a good place to relax, and you know, get away from the wives if only to recover from all the shit we did.”
“Well, you had the right idea. It’s definitely empty here.” Clearly not empty enough, however.
Not only did I want them to realize that I didn’t want company, but I really didn’t want to talk to them about any of the events that had occurred this past weekend. As I thought about it, there was one conversation I was actually interested in having. “By the way, what do you guys think about everything that happened yesterday??”
“What are you talking about?” Aaron retorted with a frown. “What happened yesterday?” Then he turned to face Jeff with a snicker. “We must have been too busy recovering from all the drugs and alcohol.”
“The clouds?” I prompted, my tone of voice suggesting he should know what I was referring to. “You know, it’s only been on just about every news station?”
Aaron looked at Jeff and just laughed. “Clouds? Really?” He snickered as he faced me again. “Can’t say I was really focused on clouds this weekend, Isaac.”
“Yeah, sorry, man. Can’t say I was in any condition to watch the news yesterday either,” Jeff added.
“Well, I’m glad you both had fun,” I gave them a façade for a smile as I shook my head and wondered why I even bothered trying. “But I actually came to the office to work so if you both don’t mind.” I turned away from them, swiveling my chair back towards my desk.
“Okay, whatever, man. We just came by to say what’s up and see how your weekend was,” Aaron said, audible annoyance in his voice.
“My weekend was great. Glad yours was too,” I said dismissively.
“Great. Well, you have a good time, bro. Enjoy doing whatever the fuck you’re doing,” Aaron finished as he and Jeff both walked away.
His last comment had me seeing red. I knew my reaction was exactly what he wanted, which bothered me even more. I shouldn’t have cared but I couldn’t help it. I could feel the blood rushing to my head as memories of my New Year’s fiasco flooded me again. I wanted to get up and knock that cocky smile right off Aaron’s face. I felt my whole body seizing up as my anger boiled over into fury. My hands were already clenched and ready for action.
I nearly lost control of myself in that second and what scared me even worse was that I wanted to. Every ounce of me was fighting to surrender to the anger and unleash itself on my hapless target. I flexed my legs to rise, and then…my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced down at the screen, reading Plum’s name. In the distance, I could still hear Aaron and Jeff cackling about their misdeeds and bad behavior. I did my best to tune them out but it wasn’t easy. For a moment, I considered letting the call roll over to voicemail. I was finally alone and I wanted earnestly to decompress.
Maybe it’s important. Besides, you should speak to her after practically running out of the house this morning. Anyway, after what happened this morning, leaving her to emotionally fend for herself…
Annoying though it was, the voice in my head was right. Begrudgingly, I slid my finger to the right to answer the call.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she replied but the tone of her voice sounded burdened, sad.
“Are you okay?” I asked, immediately worried about her.
“Isaac,” she started, but her voice trailed off. I wondered if she were going to ask me to explain why I was so panicked this morning and ran out of my townhouse as quickly as I did. Of course I owed her an explanation but I wasn’t ready to give her one. Not yet. Not until I understood better what the hell was happening to me. For now, I just needed to hear her voice, if only to remember how she felt in bed next to me, and to imagine inhaling the sweet aroma of her hair.
“I can’t continue doing this, Isaac,” she said, her voice nearly a whisper.
“Doing what?” I demanded as my heart dropped down to my toes before it started hammering against my ribs. What did she mean? What was she talking about?
“This. Us. You and me,” she sighed and there was a level of pain in her voice that I hadn’t heard for a long time, not since she and I discussed Tina. “You know I love you more than anything in the whole world,” she started and her voice hitched.
“And yet it sounds like you’re breaking up with me,” I interrupted, deliberately sounding hard, angry and defen
sive. I wasn’t prepared for this. Not after everything we’d just been through.
“I don’t think we can be together right now, Isaac,” she said, her voice breaking as she started to cry.
“Plum, don’t say that,” I replied.
“Isaac, I can see the way you look at me. I know what you’re going through. New Year’s Eve killed you. I know it because you look at me differently now. You even talk to me differently.” She paused for a few seconds. “We are different now.”
“I love you,” I insisted as I shook my head. I felt like throwing up all the coffee I’d consumed.
“And I love you… I love you so fucking much, but sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“No,” I answered. “I refuse to believe that.”
“Sometimes, people can love each other but that doesn’t mean they are good together, Isaac,” she continued, her message insistent and unrelenting. “Sometimes they both need to have the strength to walk away.”
“New Year’s wrecked me, yes Plum,” I started as I clenched my eyes shut, the memories of New Year’s Eve stabbing me all over again. But those memories paled in comparison to the pain Plum was imposing on me now. I just couldn’t comprehend what was happening. I couldn’t accept that she was really breaking up with me. Not when I loved her as completely as I did. Not when I needed her more than I needed anyone. “But I can get past it. I know I can. We can.”
“I’m not convinced,” she answered. “And it’s not just that, Isaac. I can’t stop thinking about what you did… you know, with Tina. I promised myself I would get over it because you meant so much to me that I knew I had to try. And, I have tried, Isaac! I’ve tried so hard to put it behind me and move on but I can’t stop thinking about it. And every time I do, it breaks me all over again.”
“Plum, you know how sorry I am,” I said. The words sounded hollow because I’d said them so many times by now. I inhaled deeply and remembered the night of the Christmas party, which made me nauseous all over again. “You have to know how much I regret that decision, and how much I hate myself for it.”