by Melanie Ray
"Yed honey, please. Don't do anything like that again. I already lost your father."
Scolding voice, yet simpering from grief. His mother. He was still waiting for another voice though. He traced an M in the air and received no response. He tried again.
"I don't know what you're trying to say, Yed. Let's get some paper."
Yed felt paper in one hand and a writing utensil in the other. He couldn't see what he was writing, but did his best to spell out Muin. He felt the paper leave his hands along with the pencil.
"Muin. My sister? We haven't seen her since the war. She left to another planet with her family and my mom. Remember?"
Muinela. Wasn't there? Yed tried to concentrate, but he felt himself fading. Why wasn't Muinela there?
Why wasn't Muinela there?
"Hey, Yed. Wake up. We're going home soon."
Yed opened his eyes, seeing Xiam in clear vision. "Xiam."
"You've been down for some time. Surgery. Bibble took over, so they didn't see your X-rays." Xiam sat on a chair beside him. "Once you get a little better you can come back home."
"Yeah." Yed felt his head. "I thought I'd never see Double Yella again."
"Double Yella?" Xiam blinked. "Who's that, a girl?"
"You don't remember Double Yella?" Yed looked around himself, remembering the last time he woke up. "You don't remember M-Win?"
"M-what?" Xiam put his legs up on the bed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Look, I've had a hard time." Yed settled on that. "Can you tell me what happened during the war?"
"The Great Destruction?" Xiam pulled his legs down. "If you think it'll jog your memory. We thought you were dead, but then you came back. Zaria and I went out to look for food while you were gone, but Zaria didn't come back at first. We got a call from Grammy Fornotia about a transporter, so we headed there. Ezra had her babies, was kidnapped for a little while, but then you rescued her. Iri was kidnapped, but you rescued her too. Muin, Zaria, and her unborn children took off to another planet. We think Fala." He stood up and stretched his hands. "We were okay for some time, and you were bent on finding transporters to go to Earth. We found one down in an old basement. You and I got in, but Ezra and Iri got nabbed by the waryes right before takeoff."
"Right before takeoff. That's why Ezra's still here, and Iri too."
"Yeah," Xiam rubbed his nose, most likely ignoring the feelings Yed was invoking by bringing up the past. "It's all done though."
"Tigeravich and Carressela." Yed looked over at him. "Where are they?"
"Oh." Xiam looked away a minute before looking back. "We went high and low looking for a transporter. You said it was our best option, but the travel was too intense for them. We went days without water or food, and they couldn't keep up with us."
"Wait. Dead?" Yed grabbed his head, "I killed them."
"The journey, not you." Xiam punched him in the shoulder playfully. "It wasn't meant to be any way, trust me. Don't worry about it, ancient history. Let's go home already, okay? Ezra will be happy to see you. She wants to put another puzzle together again with you. She said she thinks better when you're around."
"I killed them." Yed repeated. "I killed them. Life hadn't been the greatest, but I killed them."
"They couldn't have survived by themselves anyway," Xiam said.
"Carressela and Tigeravich had guts, and had courage. They were alive and I-I stole their lives away." Yed lied back down. "I didn't think I could make things worse."
"Look on the bright side. At least you have your sister and mother back," Xiam said. "We have a great life on Earth now. No waryes have followed us back."
"Yet," Yed sniffed. "they'll come. The way you speak of Ezra, I know it's true."
"Yeah. You know, maybe in a couple of days your memories will come back. Then you can concentrate on the good again." Xiam pushed away the chair to the wall. "I'll see you later."
YED SAT IN HIS WHEELCHAIR quietly as Iri helped Ezra make a castle of blocks. She smiled at him as she tried to add a block that would obviously fall. His mind returned back to the past. When she looked at him with eyes not of a kid, but with maturity. A mature and wonderful friend he loved. He squeezed the sides of his wheelchair. The house was quieter without any children running around. Only the sound of tea being sipped and gossip being exploited between his mother and sister. No earphones making some kind of buzz in the background from Muin, she was light years away. Alive or dead, he'd never know.
Xiam had been convinced that what Yed said had happened was only inside his head, his memories screwy from his near death experience. He knew that wasn't it, he couldn't make up eighty years of fake memories. He apparently still knew Bibble, still lived in Dallas, but Muin not being there affected more than where they lived. They knew different beings, had different experiences, and had moments he'd never know. Yet, he went along with his brother. Trying to recall memories that didn't exist to him, remembering names to beings he never met. Time didn't undo itself in his head. Even a week later, there was no more of a feeling of belonging than there was in the past. There had been even less.
Yed hadn't escaped from the machine without his own scars too. He would be in a wheelchair for months before he healed enough to attempt walking, and he had to take physical therapy for his body. He had burn scars along his legs and arms, where he was hooked straight up. They would never disappear. He screwed his timeline up, and everything in him said he couldn't live with it. Not like this.
How could saving Iri and Ezra change so much? He tried to save his family the first time, and lost contact with them all. When he found them again, they were taken away, bit by bit...mind by mind. Even going back to the past made no difference in that department, he still couldn't do it. It was not possible to escape their fate. As long as the waryes remained in charge, his chances would never change. Earth would always be in danger as soon as Pagnia was expired.
His mind had entered his past self while his present self had been brain dead. That's why there were not two presences, only the mind moved through time. Time must have flowed differently from past to present too, a few minutes being a few hours. However, it wasn't enough. He needed to correct what happened. He needed to rewrite time itself again. Not to be perfect, just to be a little better.
For the whole week, he tried to imagine other ways to fight. But even if he could, he couldn't make everything happen himself. Xiam said that he never spoke of time travel after they left Fornotia's, it was 'gut instinct' to find a transporter and go to Earth, so his past mind would be sent unconscious signals. If he could write a note to himself, and get his instinct to trust it? He had to know about what happened to Ezra if she ever went to Earth. He had to know the numbers for Fala to escape the impending doom of Earth, and he had to know not to ever, ever mess with time given the chance.
Xiam strutted over to the couch as everyone got ready for bed. He smiled and held out some cards to Yed. "Want to play?"
"Xiam. I screwed everything up," Yed said as Xiam began dealing cards out on a card table he set up between them. "I don't belong here. You know that."
"How about Slapjack instead?" Xiam grabbed all the cards and redealt them. Obviously he didn't want to listen.
"Xiam, I have to correct this." Yed grabbed the cards tightly. "I have to."
"Bibble said no. She won't help, no one's left." Xiam grabbed the cards from him, but he wouldn't let go. "A different game?"
"I've gone through all the options in my head, I know what I need to do, and I have to fix it." Yed held the cards strong. "I have to fix it."
"The past isn't a clog in the toilet. It happened, get over it." Xiam pulled the cards toward him. "You belong here, I've already told you; your mind is messed up."
"You have to help me." Yed let go of the cards. "It has to be you."
"Sure, let me tell Iri real quick I'm helping you commit suicide because you don't like our future." Xiam placed the cards in a stack on a table. "This is our future Yed, and it
could be worse. We have shelter, food, friends and family. Even if Ezra was mistreated, she is still Ezra. We're together. You know, we were close here. We thought we were brothers for several decades."
"I know, but I lost my sister though," Yed reminded him. "Muin should be here."
"Muin's my sister, not yours."
"She was mine too in the end. She was Wye's." Yed looked downward. "Even when she started to remember, she still called me Wye. Wouldn't let me forget."
"Well, she's fine wherever she is. Want to go first?" Xiam gestured to the first card in the middle of the table.
"I lost my kids too, Xiam." Yed took the first card and peeked at it. Joker. Perfect card for him. "I messed up everything."
"If you go to the past, you could screw it up more. If what you say is quite true, you might end up hurting all of us. What then?" Xiam hit the card as Yed laid it down. "This is our life, and you need to stop daydreaming about that machine. If you don't, I'll take care of it."
"Empty threat. I see in your eyes you won't do that. If that changes, then I will head back to Pagnia and search for the remains of the others." Yed grabbed his next card. "Let me go."
"I know you're upset about your babies, but it’s not like you knew them." Xiam played his card, an eight of spades. "Muin's better off on Fala than you think, and she has her family. Everything is better than it seems. We've had fantastic times on Earth, best ever. Don't you remember anything? Something that will make you forget this nonsense?"
Yed threw down his card. "I'll save her. Ezraponia has brain damage, don't hide anything from me, I need to know. Was there surgery done on her yet?"
Xiam continued to look at his cards. "Your father tried, and so did Bibble. There is still a small piece that will eventually become a problem. But she's happy right now, that's all that matters."
"It'll press, the waryes are coming. You know she's doomed. Got any eights?"
"Go fish. We'll take the transports and go to Fala when they come."
"The damage is done, Fala can't save her. I can."
"I don't care what you say, Yed. You can't prove to me that by putting your life on the line, I will make things better!" Xiam threw down a two. "Life already sucks, I know. Your mom and your sister are here. I have Iri. We have each other. I am not losing you, Yed. Besides, what's to say it will work and you won't just die?"
Yed looked around the cozy home. The quiet, unfamiliar house. He heard Ezra behind him.
"Ezra, go back to bed. It's too late for you to stay up." Xiam grabbed the cards again.
"Sorry, Xiam. I thirsty. Want water?" Ezra looked at Yed. "Water? Thank you? Please."
Yed gestured to the kitchen and looked over at Xiam. "I could change it for her." Xiam looked at the cards again and reshuffled. "You love your sisters. I'll find out about Muin, and I'll save Ezra this fate. I'd know what would happen if she got taken and sent here, I have that info now Xiam." His eyes reached Xiam's, almost in a daring glare. "I am her Protector. Let me save her. I'll get her and the babies safely to the safe house. After that if I'm not brought back, I'll free some of the Protectors that I can to help give others a fighting chance. That's it."
Xiam continued to reshuffle even faster. "You could be killed, and I refuse to do that."
"One brother for two sisters. If I can do it, you won't even remember doing this. The future will change back to normal." Yed held out his hands for the cards. "I can't flip the switch, X."
Xiam held his cards strongly as they trembled in his hand. "You know, I honestly thought everything would be okay once we came back to Earth. It's a safe haven, nothing serious happens here. Little squabbles between the humans, but no galactic warring. I thought life would be happier, and I could live in peace with my family. Maybe even start my own one day with Iri." He looked over at Yed. "It's a lie, isn't it, Yed? We'll never live in peace."
"Let me get Ezra and the kids back." Yed knew he almost had him. He was getting edgy and fidgeting with the cards. "Xiamipoc." He held his hands out again for the cards. "You have to trust me. I need to do this."
Xiam rubbed his head. "How do you know where you'll end up? I don't know."
Yed watched Ezra take off to bed. "It doesn't matter, just help me save her." He looked over at Xiam, his eyes pleading. "Let. Me..." He stopped to sniff the air. “Something’s burning.”
He wasn’t the only one that smelled it, all around the room everyone was starting to sniff at the air. They looked around the kitchen, washer/dryers, outside, and inside. The smell remained though.
“It’s the strongest in your room,” X said as he covered his nose. “Yed, I think it’s in here, I see smoke.”
Yed looked around his bed area. His sheets were fuming, but there was no blazing fire. He moved the messed up sheets around and saw his Chronicle. “Is this possible?”
The smoke was coming from inside, but the book itself was cool. He took it out and showed everyone. “Anyone heard of this?” He opened it up and almost fell over. Inside the pages, were what he had written recently. From the past he remembered. He mentioned Aryu, he mentioned the war, remembering, leaving to Earth, and he even mentioned Tiger hogging the popcorn. “Here, here, it’s here. It’s all here!”
Everyone gathered around and pointed to the pages as they read, but the inside was burning hotter.
“Yed, put it down,” X said. “It’s gonna burn your fingers.”
“Yed, your fingers are trembling, put it down,” His mother insisted.
Yed held on as long as he could as he finished reading the entry. He could feel the pages curling beneath, when his pain instinct made him drop it.
The pages had burned completely with no remains. Behind only older entries remained, untouched by fire.
“Time. You see?” Yed looked at Xiam. “You saw it yourself. Things were different.”
“In another time, maybe.” Xiam looked over at Yed’s father. “Have you ever heard of this?”
“Chronicles decay with age only when open. I don’t even know the creator, no one does. Simply planet trading, like so many I assumed but...if anything outside of it changed, and the Chronicle was never opened, the words would be the last to leave.” Danva looked over at Yed. “You’ve been right, the Chronicle entry was proof. At some point, time had been changed.”
Yed shook his head. "I was saying something, but what was I saying?" He tapped his head. "It was important. Huh." He laughed, "Oh well. Uhh...playing cards, yeah playing cards...oy, nines? Did I say nines? Are we still playing?"
"Yed." Xiam stared at him, a somber expression. "Wye?"
"Wye what?" Yed laughed. "Haven't called me that in some time. Don't worry about me, I'll heal. Besides, I didn't change much. I don't think." He scratched his head. "Or did I. Did I change a lot?"
Xiam led Yed back to the card table, with everyone following behind in curiosity. "What was Tigeravich and Carressela like?"
"Who?" Yed laid down his own cards. "Guess I won. You quitting or something? Wait, Tigeravich and Carressela. I know that. Two kids. My kids." He glared over at Xiam. "What do you want to know about the babies for? They died. They died? Yes, they died. No..."
"Your memories are mixed up. You're remembering your real past and the past you say you changed." Xiam sat back down.
"Past. Yeah, past. With the machine, yes!" Yed hit the table hard with his hand. "I forgot? I forgot. Xiam, I can't forget the memories, X, help me before I forget everything. Or I'll do it myself. Even if I have to pay some yahoo off the dang streets, I'm gettin' back."
"You'll be fine, your memories will disappear, and your real ones will stay." Xiam stood up. "Even the Chronicle couldn’t hold what didn’t happen. This is what is best, this is what we wanted."
"Xiam." Yed tapped on his wheelchair. "Those kids deserved to live, and Ezraponia deserves better. If you wait, then you'll never save her. I'll never save her." He looked straight ahead. "I'm not worth anything if I can't save her."
"You're not Link and she's not Zelda
," Xiam said. "You're only Wye, and you did the best job you could."
"Fine." Yed chewed on his left nail. "We should start making arrangements then. Roses would be fitting with her red hair, and a casket in cherry wood. She would like that color. I'd set it up around next month, and have you asked her to make a will-"
"Shutup!" Xiam shouted.
"She's going, and you know it. She or I, Xiam. I risk my life or she is dead!" Yed pointed at his brother. "You can't get everything you want in life, you know it, and I know it. So let me do this one damn thing."
Xiam was silent for several minutes, and Yed didn't interrupt. "Yeducavich. What do you need?"
"A longer jolt, maybe. I only need time to get her to the safe house. From then on, she'll be okay. I'll warn you to never let her come to Earth. That's it Xiam, then I'll be back." Yed smiled at him. "Come on man, don't leave me hangin'. I'm a pro, I can handle myself."
"Don't get caught up then," Xiam said. "Promise you won't get caught up in things? Ezra stays fine, you tell her only what she needs to know, and me too. Nothing extra. I don't care what happens, don't tell anyone anything extra. Nothing anyone doesn't need to know. Remember, it's simply shadows of our past. Don't screw it up. Don't get close to my sister, and don't get wrapped up in anything. Don't try to be a stupid hero either, you can't stop The Great Destruction. Then afterwards, you're coming right back."
"Nothing, barest details. I know I'm coming back, I don't belong there. I won't tell anyone else anything extra," Yed promised, "not even you. So? Will you?"
"Not easy climbing in this time," Yed chuckled as he helped Xiam buckle him in. "Not good at walking yet."
"I-I think you're strapped in," Xiam stuttered as he pulled his arm strap tighter. "B-Bibble, could you-"
"No," Bibble shook her head. "Absolutely not, I saw what happened the first time. I don't care what you changed, or how it happened, Wye. I refuse to help."
"I will take the risk," Yed insisted.
Bibble groaned. "You are saying when you were being fried, you were there in the past. Hypothetically, according to you. Meaning when the waryes killed all those warnos your father had claimed before, they were in fact sent to the past for good. Killed in the present, to change the past."