Chapter 12
Déjà Vu
Thursday 13 November 2036
Austin looked around in alarm, just as there was another flash from the third rail, and he screwed his eyes up in pain. He could hear the water rushing closer, and he wondered briefly how it would feel to drown. This can’t be it, he thought, not after all I’ve been through! Not after all the time I waited for Jordan! He felt his daughter’s breath warm against his cheek, and felt her little arms tighten around his neck. She was awake again, and trembling with fear. No way will I let her die, he thought. Not here, not now, not ever.
‘Let’s move!’ he yelled. ‘The water will be here any second!’
There was a scream from the front of the line, and as the rail flashed again, lighting up the tunnel like a firework, Austin glimpsed Maya falling off the side, taking with her Private Jenkins, to whose arm she desperately clung. The rail flashed one final time, accompanied by a very loud bang, and Aurie screamed loudly in his ear. Austin saw Jenkins twist mid-fall, so he bore the brunt of the impact as they crashed onto the floor of the tunnel. Then the tunnel was plunged back into darkness, and the sound of rushing water became louder.
‘We’re okay!’ yelled Jenkins. ‘Just run!’
Austin held Aurie tightly to his chest and moved forwards as quickly as he dare along the narrow walkway. He could hear Jordan running just ahead of him, and the others further ahead still.
‘Are you okay, Zoë?’ he yelled.
‘I’m okay,’ she replied from behind him, ‘how’s Aurie?’
‘She’s okay,’ Austin said.
As he ran, he tried to ward off the feeling that every step would somehow be his last, and all the time he was more and more aware of the sound of water getting closer and closer, louder and louder, the rushing sound of their imminent death overtaking every other thing, drowning everything out, until he could no longer hear his footsteps, his breathing, or anything else around him.
And then it stopped.
And Austin collided with Jordan.
‘What are you doing?’ he said, ‘keep going!’
‘It ain’t me,’ said Jordan’s confused voice, ‘it was Sita! She just stopped dead in mid-run!’
And then Austin realised that there was no more rushing sound. He could hear himself breathing again, he could feel Aurie trembling against his chest, and he could hear Jordan gasping.
But that was it. Everything else had just stopped.
And then Austin had a strong feeling of déjà vu. He remembered that moment, 13 years ago, when he saw Jordan again for the first time in 13 years. He was at the window of number 13. Austin had seen the look in Zoë’s eyes. He had turned and seen him, not a day older.
Austin turned round to look behind him. What he saw would stay with him for the rest of his life. It would haunt his dreams. It would invade every peaceful moment, like it had imprinted itself on the back of his eyes.
It was the water. It had rounded the bend of the tunnel, and was about to engulf them. But it was frozen there, in mid-gush, like a still from a disaster movie. It was illuminated by the light of the torch that Mildew had shone on it. Mildew himself was frozen as well, like a mannequin in a museum display. And Zoë, too, mid-stride. Then the torch light moved, and Hoodie jumped down onto the floor of the tunnel and shined the torch up at his face. It took a moment, but Austin recognised him at last. He was five years older, but it was definitely him.
It was Jordan.
It Ain’t about the Science
Thursday 13 November 2036
Jordan stepped forward with the torch still shining up at his face, as if he was about to start telling a spooky story on halloween.
‘You can come down from the walkway,’ he said, ‘the third rail’s dead now. It blew out when the tunnel collapsed.’
He shone the torch onto the ground in front of them, and they clambered down to join him on the floor of the tunnel. He approached them, and for a second or two he thought they had also become trapped in the time freeze, so still were they standing. Then, Aurie looked up at him from the safety of her father’s arms, and said simply, ‘You glow all the colours, Jordan!’
Jordan looked at his younger self, who now had a glimmer of recognition. So did Austin, who was hugging his daughter. I can’t quite believe I’m doing this, he thought. I’ve sort of been here before, but this is still all new. It’s well weird. There, in front of him, was his younger self, so he should already have experienced this moment. But he hadn’t. This was new.
This was impossible.
‘Hello me,’ he said to himself, ‘it’s older me!’
‘Hi,’ came the feeble reply.
‘How are you doing this?’ asked Austin.
Right, thought Jordan, I’ve gotta get this right. Their lives depend on this. ‘We ain’t got much time,’ he said, ‘Freezing time like this takes a lot of energy, so listen. I’ve got a lot to tell you, and I’ve gotta tell you on the way.’
With that, he started to jog along the tunnel, and then stopped when he realised that they weren’t following him. He turned back to see Austin looking up at Zoë. His younger self was looking back and forth at the two of them. Oh no, he thought, I was dreading this bit. But before he could say anything, he felt a stab of pain across his chest, and realised that the strain of freezing time was already starting to take its toll.
‘You’ve gotta leave her here, Austin,’ he said, ‘she doesn’t survive.’
‘How can you be so callous? I’m not leaving her,’ said Austin. ‘She’s my wife, and Aurie’s mum!’
Jordan remembered what he’d been told, and came forwards to them. ‘I’m sorry, Austin,’ he said, ‘but this is the only chance we have. I can save you, and Jordan, and Aurie, but nobody else.’
‘Then I’d rather die,’ said Austin.
‘You don’t get it, do you?’ said Jordan, losing his temper. ‘This ain’t about you any more. This ain’t about any of us. This is about the future of this planet. Only you and Jordan have the power to finish this, together. Now move!’
‘I can’t leave her!’ said Austin.
‘You don’t have a choice,’ said Jordan. ‘Just like I don’t!’
‘What do you mean, you don’t?’ said Austin.
‘Exactly that,’ replied Jordan. For a clever dick, he sure is thick! ‘I ain’t goin’ through. I have to shut the time hole from this side! And when I do, time will unfreeze!’
For a moment, there was silence, and then the full realisation sunk in. I can’t save myself, thought Jordan. Why am I doing this? He considered going back, leaving them to their fate, and then realised that he couldn’t, because he’d already changed the time stream, purely by being there. It’s too late, came a voice from deep within his mind. You must persevere. Use the fourth hand. Use it now! Then came another stab of pain, only this time it was worse.
‘You’re sacrificing yourself?’ said Austin.
Jordan nodded. ‘To save Aurie,’ he said, ‘she’s real important in the future!’
‘What do you know?’ said Austin. ‘Tell me!’
‘I can’t,’ shrugged Jordan. ‘Now come on!’
Jordan watched as Austin carried Aurie over to Zoë, who was still frozen in mid-stride. He kissed his hand, then nodded to Aurie to do the same. They each reached up and placed their hands on her foot. Jordan turned away, and saw that his younger self did so, too. It didn’t feel right to intrude on so powerful and private a moment. He heard Austin say goodbye, and then a tiny little voice as Aurie said goodbye, too. It was unbearably sad, but Jordan knew there was no other choice.
Austin walked back towards him, and he could hear him whispering things to Aurie, who was sobbing quietly into his shoulder again. Austin gave him a look which Jordan didn’t fully understand, but he knew that it was something that he never wanted to experience himself. They started to jog along the tunnel, and Jordan began to tell them what they needed to know.
‘By coming back here, I�
�ve changed time,’ he said. ‘Originally, everybody but me was drowned. I survived and I was lost for ages, but then the Time Pilgrim found me, and taught me what I needed to know.’
‘The Time Pilgrim?’ said Austin, ‘where’ve I heard that before?’
‘Don’t interrupt,’ said Jordan. ‘Now listen carefully. Time is not set. You can go back and change things. They don’t have to stay the same.’
‘But what about Novikov’s -’
‘It ain’t about the science,’ said Jordan, ‘it’s never been about the science!’
‘What’re you talking about, “not about science”? What is it if it isn’t science?’
Jordan was about to answer, but his younger self beat him to it. ‘It’s magic, ain’t it?’ he said.
‘Magic?’ spat Austin. ‘You mean like Abracadabra magic?’
‘No,’ said Jordan, ‘I mean like freezing time magic. I mean like being able to travel through time holes and open and close them at will magic. I mean like creating new time streams magic. Like saving your friggin’ life magic!’
‘And just how’re you going to do that?’ said Austin. ‘We’re stuck in a tunnel. Our time hole’s miles away.’
‘Your time hole is,’ said Jordan as they rounded another bend in the tunnel. They came to a sudden stop as the tube train that had so cruelly left them behind loomed out of the darkness. It, too, was frozen in time.
Jordan’s younger self let out a cry. ‘Dad!’ he said. ‘My Dad’s on there!’
‘Don’t,’ said Jordan, ‘you can’t. We’re running out of time.’
‘What did you mean, “Your time hole is”?’ said Austin.
‘Just what I said,’ replied Jordan. ‘Your time hole is miles away, but Aurie’s time hole is right here!’
On the Count of Three
Thursday 13 November 2036
Aurie’s eyes went wide at the mention of her name and she looked at Austin for confirmation. You poor thing, he thought, as he nodded to her, you’ve been through too much for a little girl. You should be playing with your friends, not travelling through time. He watched as her expression darkened, then tears came to his eyes as she bravely said, ‘We’ve got to go through. It’s what Mummy would have done. We can come back for her later, can’t we, Daddy?’
Austin had always promised himself that he would never lie to his daughter, but that was before the time holes. Forgive me, he thought, this is for the best. ‘I hope so, Aurie,’ he said, hugging her, ‘I really hope so.’
Austin took a deep breath, then said, ‘Okay, Jordan. What do we do?’
The older Jordan shone the torch up at the end of the tube train. ‘You have to climb up to the doorway. The time hole is up there.’
‘How do you know?’ asked younger Jordan. ‘Can you see it?’
‘Are you sure it’s there?’ asked Austin. ‘I don’t feel anything.’
‘I’m sure,’ said Jordan. He gave the torch to the younger Jordan. ‘Here, hold the torch will ya? Shine it up at the train,’ he said.
The younger Jordan did so, and Austin looked up at the back of the carriage. There was a red door in the middle with two windows either side. Underneath the left window was a sign which said ‘Northern Line, High Barnet via Bank’, and next to it, just underneath the glass of the door, was the number of the train.
It was, of course, 13.
Austin laughed, as did the younger Jordan. ‘Of course it is,’ he said. ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’
Then, he suddenly felt the familiar twinge in his stomach, and Aurie looked up, a frown on her face. The tube train door glowed for a second, then disappeared altogether. What was left was not the inside of the carriage at all, but nothing. A big, black, gaping nothing where something should have been.
Austin felt the inevitable tugging sensation in his stomach. It was as if the time hole were exerting it's own gravitational pull on him, but he knew that both Jordan and Aurie were feeling the same thing. He wondered how the older Jordan was opening the time hole. What things has he learnt in so short a time, he thought, and who taught him? Just who is the Time Pilgrim?
The younger Jordan started to climb up onto the buffers, and then turned to Austin and beckoned for him to hand over Aurie. Austin stepped towards the carriage, and tried to prise her from his arms, but she wouldn't let go, and clung on even tighter.
'Come on, Aurie love,' he said, 'it's only Jordan. He won't hurt you, will he?'
Aurie looked at Jordan, then turned back at her dad and shook her head. Austin carefully handed her over to him and then climbed up onto the buffers himself, at which point Aurie was already leaning back from Jordan to gain her dad’s comforting embrace. Then, just as he had hold of her again, the torch light jerked upwards and the older Jordan let out a cry of pain. The torch went out as it clattered to the floor of the tunnel.
‘Are you alright?’ shouted Austin into the darkness, panic rising.
Aurie shrieked. Austin felt the younger Jordan grab his side.
‘I’m okay,’ said a voice a little distance in front of him. ‘Just step through. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.’
‘What’s on the other side?’ asked the younger Jordan.
‘Just go!’ shouted the older one. ‘I can’t hold it any more! Go!!’
Austin turned to Jordan and grabbed his arm. ‘Hold my hand,’ he said, ‘and don’t let go! On the count of three. One… Two… Three!’
Cavern 13
Thursday 13 March 1997
When Jordan regained consciousness, his head was throbbing, and his left cheek was cold and wet. Then sensation came back to him bit by bit, and he realised that his entire left side was damp. It was quite cold, and he could hear the sound of water dripping not far from him. He opened his eyes, to discover that it was still very dark. He blinked once or twice, and then his eyes adjusted and he saw that there was a light source. It was emanating from Austin and Aurie, who were also sitting up. He raised his hand to his face and realised that he, too, was glowing. So this is what an aura is like, he thought. Cool!
‘Where are we, Daddy?’ said Aurie. ‘I’m all wet!’
‘So am I, sweetie,’ said Austin. ‘Are you okay, Jordie?’
‘Yeah, I think so. What is this place?’
‘Well, I reckon we’re in the same place that we were originally, but it’s just a cave or something now.’
‘A cave? I think I know where we are!'
'You do?' said Austin, as he rose to his feet, and bent down to help Aurie. 'Where?'
'We went to some caves with school before you came,' said Jordan, as he picked himself up, 'and I reckon that these are them!'
'Well, let's hope so, or we're stuck down here,' said Austin.
'I don't like it down here, Daddy,' Aurie said, 'it's cold and it's dark, and I'm all wet. I want to go back and see Mummy!'
'I'm afraid we can't, my love,' replied Austin, 'if you go through that time hole now, you'll just end up 13 days ago, but here in the cave alone!'
'But I want to see Mummy!' Aurie cried. 'You said we could!'
'We might be able to one day,' replied Austin, 'but for now, we've got to find a way out of here. Any ideas, Jordie?'
Jordan thought hard. He tried to remember what the school trip was like; there had been a guided tour of the caverns, he recalled, but that was as far as it went. Then he remembered being told off for mucking about with his mates, and realised that he’d been sent back out as a punishment, so he’d barely started the tour, much less finished it.
He was about to tell Austin that he had no idea, when suddenly the lights came on. They weren’t bright, and they faded in like a sunrise. Aurie gasped, and clung to Austin’s leg. Jordan looked about him as the lights grew stronger. He didn’t remember this cave at all; it had obviously been later on in the tour. The ceiling was quite low, and there were a few small stalactites hanging from it. The lights gave the whole place an eerie atmosphere, and cast long, suggestive shadows over th
e various outcrops of limestone.
‘Well, that was unexpected!’ said Austin.
Further down from where Jordan, Austin and Aurie now stood was a pool of water that looked absolutely still. The ceiling met the pool further on, and Jordan imagined there was an underwater chamber they would have to swim through to get out. Then he looked up from where they were standing and was relieved to see a wooden walkway where the cave visitors could walk. It had a sturdy looking wooden handrail attached to it, and was supported by solid wooden struts underneath. One of the lights was aimed at a plaque which was attached to the cave wall just above the walkway. On the plaque were two arrows, one pointing left and the other right. Above the arrows were the words Cavern 14 and Cavern 12. We must be in Cavern 13, thought Jordan. I’d be more surprised if we weren’t.
Jordan climbed up onto the walkway, which was quite a job, considering nobody was supposed to be off it in the first place. Then, he managed to reach down and lift Aurie up, so Austin could climb up himself.
‘Which way?’ said Austin.
‘I don’t know,’ said Jordan, ‘I ain’t been this far in.’
They elected to go towards Cavern 12, and started to walk in that direction. Once or twice, Austin had to bend down to fit under the cave roof, which was never very high to begin with. Jordan quickly began to feel quite claustrophobic. Presently, they heard voices, and Jordan realised that a group of visitors was coming their way.
‘What do we do?’ he asked Austin.
‘I’m not sure. Perhaps we could find a place to hide, then join the group at the end?’ he suggested.
Jordan looked around for a place to hide, but none presented itself, and the voices became louder and louder. He began to panic. He imagined being arrested for trespassing, and ending up in prison. It'd be just the sort of thing that would happen to me, he thought, 'specially lately.
'I've got an idea,' said Austin. 'In my experience, people tend to believe the most rational explanation you give 'em, especially when they're busy.'
'What do you mean?' said Jordan.
'Just follow my lead.'
And then the crowd were upon them. The tour guide rounded the corner, closely followed by a small group of tourists. She wore a fluorescent yellow jacket and carried a torch in her hand, although it wasn't lit. Jordan thought she looked surprised when she saw them, but before she could wonder where they had come from, Austin stepped forward and said, 'Surprise! Sorry, love, but my daughter ran on ahead, despite being told not to, and I had to fetch her straight away!'
To Jordan's surprise, the guide believed every word. 'Children, eh?' she said.
'Yeah,' said Austin, squeezing Aurie's hand as she opened her mouth to protest, 'What are they like, eh?'
With that, the tour guide continued, and the group of tourists followed, snapping pictures with their cameras as they went. Jordan looked at Austin and grinned. Austin winked back, and then picked up Aurie.
'Sorry, Aurie love,' he whispered to her, 'Daddy had to tell a little white lie then, but don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything. Okay?'
Aurie nodded, and the three of them joined the end of the group. As Jordan walked along behind two men from the group, he overheard their conversation. They were talking about the cameras they were using, comparing the models.
'I got this one last month,' said the taller of the two men. 'It's one of them digital cameras, see? No film inside, just a little memory card. Takes brilliant pictures.'
'Really?' replied the shorter man, 'I've had this camera for ages. I develop the film at home myself.'
'So do I, sort of,' said the taller man, 'only I use a computer.'
'Do you? I haven't invested in one yet. Are they any good?'
'Yeah. I got Windows 95 the other day. Much better than Windows 3.1.'
'Sorry, mate, that went right over my head,' said the shorter man, making a whooshing sound and passing his hand over his head to indicate that he didn't have a clue what the other man was talking about. 'Mind you, it isn't hard, being so short!' he added, laughing.
'Man, you've gotta get with the flow,' said the taller man, 'you'll be left behind, mate! There's a rumour they'll be releasing a new one next year.'
'Humph,' said the shorter man, who seemed very unimpressed. 'I wonder what imaginative title they'll use?'
'Windows 98, I should think,' said the taller man, completely missing the other's sarcasm.
Wait a minute, thought Jordan, Windows 98? Next year? That would mean... No! He looked up at Austin to see if he had heard the men, but he was busy chatting to Aurie. It can't be, he thought. It can't be 1997. I was born in 1997!
Year Zero
Thursday 13 March 1997
As Austin came out of the cave entrance into the sunshine, he took a deep breath and smelled the fresh spring air. Aurie giggled, and did the same. He took a look around him at the trees. The last time he had seen trees was months ago, and they were devoid of leaves. Trees were in short supply in 2036, and those that still grew were not the healthiest of specimens. These trees looked vibrant and robust, and what's more they were sprouting leaves. It's not Winter any more, thought Austin, so let's find out what the year is. He looked at Jordan, who was walking just behind him, and appeared deep in thought. Poor lad, thought Austin. He's been through such a lot in so short a space of time. I wish I could hear his thoughts still.
'Are you okay, Jordan?' he said.
'I think it's 1997,' came the reply.
'What?'
'You see those two guys over there?'
'What about them?'
'They were talking about these cameras that they had? And one said, "this camera's amazing and that," and the other said, "I still use film," and then the first one said "I got this computer with Windows 95," and then he said Windows 98 would be out next year and that.'
'Did he?' said Austin. 'Now that is interesting. You realise what this means, don't you, Jordan?'
'We're still lost?'
'Well, there is that,' said Austin, 'but think back to the hive a moment, when we were all hooked up to it.'
'It's all fading now.'
'Is it? I can still remember all of it.'
'I can never remember stuff,' said Jordan.
Oops, thought Austin, I've said the wrong thing again. 'Well, I think I know why we've come here,' he said, 'and it makes a kind of sense.'
At that moment, Aurie tugged at Austin's sleeve and pointed to the gift shop and restaurant just down the path from where they were walking. 'I'm hungry,' she said.
'Of course, honey,' said Austin. 'Daddy will see if he has any money, okay?'
Aurie nodded, an expectant smile on her lips. Austin rummaged through his pockets and was relieved to find his wallet still intact. He looked inside and found a couple of tens and a twenty pound note. He showed Jordan and was relieved to see a smile edge its way onto his face, too. They made their way through the gift shop and into the small, cottage-style restaurant, and found a table to sit at. Austin handed a menu to Jordan and then took the other one for himself. A waitress came up to them, pad and pen in hand, to take their order. Austin hadn't realised just how hungry he was until he took in the aromas coming from the kitchen. We haven't eaten since that meal back at the farmhouse, he thought. He looked up at the waitress to order for himself and Aurie, when he registered the look she was giving him. It was one of distaste and disapproval. He quickly glanced at himself and then at Aurie and Jordan, then realised what a state they were in. We’ve been asleep for days in the hive, he thought, and now we’ve been lying on damp rocks, too.
‘We had a slight accident in the caves,’ he blurted out to the waitress, who hadn’t realised her distaste was showing, and she immediately reddened in embarrassment. ‘My little one slipped through the railings onto the rocks, and in going to rescue her my, em, ‘son’ here fell over too!’
‘I’m sorry,’ she replied, ‘I didn’t mean to - ’
Austin waved away her apology. ‘No
matter,’ he said, ‘now let’s order, I’m famished!’
Austin ordered a big breakfast, and a child’s portion for Aurie. Jordan ordered the big breakfast, too. Austin looked at him as the waitress went through to the kitchen with their order. Beneath the sweatshirt and jogging bottoms, both of which had damp patches from lying on the rocks, and the school shoes which really didn’t go, there was still a frightened 13 year old boy. A boy whom Austin had badly let down. I never should have gone along with Mr Pilgrim’s plans, he thought.
‘Jordan?’ he asked.
‘What?’
‘I want to apologise to you. I want to start afresh.’
Jordan looked at him in surprise, and a memory surfaced in Austin’s mind. He pictured himself outside the Head’s office back at his school, waiting for his parents to come out. Mr Jones had been with him, and he had apologised for failing him. Now, it was Austin’s turn to do so to Jordan.
‘I failed you,’ he said. ‘I went along with Mr Pilgrim’s plans, when I should have known better. I should have told you the truth from the word go. So I’m sorry, Jordan.’
Jordan looked down at the table for a moment, and Austin feared his apology would not be accepted, but when the boy looked back up, he had a smile on his face.
‘You called me ‘son’,’ he said, ‘to that waitress.’
‘Sorry,’ said Austin. ‘Was that weird?’
‘A bit,’ said Jordan, ‘but not half as weird as the truth!’
‘You mean that we’re both born on the same day of the same year, but one of us is three times the other’s age?’
‘Exactly,’ said Jordan, then his smile faded to be replaced by open-mouthed amazement.
‘What?’ said Austin. ‘What is it?’
‘Do you think it really is 1997?’
‘Why?’
‘Well, it’s Spring and that, ain’t it?’
‘Apparently so,’ said Austin, then realised what Jordan was on about. ‘Bloody hell,’ he said. He beckoned the waitress to him, and asked her if there were any newspapers around that he could look at. The waitress fetched one from a nearby table that was still waiting to be cleared up. Austin took it, saying thanks, and looked at the date on the front page. Sure enough, it was Thursday 13 March 1997. He turned it round to show Jordan, and the boy let out a gasp.
‘Our birthday!’ he exclaimed.
‘And not just any birthday,’ said Austin. ‘It’s year zero, Jordan! Our actual birth date. The day we were born!’
Tridecagon
Thursday 13 March 1997
As Jordan ate his big breakfast, savouring the taste of egg and bacon, and enjoying a large dollop of tomato ketchup, he let the latest information sink in. It’s my birthday, he thought. My actual birthday! Right now, I’ve just been born.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ said Austin, conducting his words with his knife and fork.
‘We’ve just been born,’ said Jordan.
‘Yes, and our parents are in hospital right now, this very instance.’
‘Mum!’ said Jordan, and let his knife and fork clatter down onto the plate. ‘My mum’s alive! I can see my Mum!’
‘Wait a second!’ said Austin. ‘We can’t just go running off to a hospital and burst in on your Mum and Dad. They’ll think we’re mad or something.’
‘But I wanna see her,’ said Jordan. ‘And you can’t stop me!’
‘I don’t want to stop you,’ said Austin. ‘We’ll go, okay? But we’ve got to have a plan!’
‘Like what?’ said Jordan. It seemed quite simple to him. I can just go to the hospital, walk up to where the babies are, and say hello.
‘Like how are we going to get there? We haven’t got a car, and we’ve virtually no money left. We’ve got no place to live, even, and I’ve got Aurie to worry about, too.’
Jordan looked down at his plate. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘but it’s been ages since she died. I just thought…’
‘I know, Jordan. I know. But at least you were born here. I moved here shortly before we first met, so there’s no chance of me getting to see my Mum and Dad.’
‘So what are we gonna do?’
Austin sighed, and looked in his wallet. ‘I reckon I’ve got enough money to get us to the hospital,’ he said, ‘so let’s finish up here and try and catch a bus or something, okay?’
‘Okay,’ said Jordan, shovelling a large forkful of food into his mouth. I’m gonna see my mum again, he thought. I’m actually gonna see my mum!
After they’d finished their meal, Jordan led the way from the restaurant and out through the woodland walk that led back to the main road. This route bypassed the small car park which was mostly empty. Jordan was enjoying the feeling of the spring sunshine on his face. It had seemed ages since he saw good weather. He was beginning to feel human again, even if he did badly need a good bath and a fresh change of clothes. There was the scent of blossom on the fresh vernal breeze, and it caressed his face instead of whipping it.
Soon, they left the woodland path and exited onto a country road, with high hedges on both sides. It wound down quite steeply, and several times they had to press themselves into the hedge to avoid an oncoming car. Jordan looked back and saw that Austin had lifted Aurie up onto his shoulders so she could see over the hedge.
‘I can see a town!’ she exclaimed.
‘How far away is it?’ asked Austin.
Aurie lifted her hands off Austin’s head, where they had stayed to balance herself, and stretched them out on both sides.
‘That far, huh?’ said Austin, and chuckled.
‘That was helpful,’ said Jordan, ‘…not!’
‘She’s only six and a half,’ said Austin. ‘I suppose you’re not used to a sister, huh?’
Jordan frowned. ‘She ain’t my sister,’ he said, ‘and you ain’t my dad either. My dad’s at the hospital with my mum…’
‘…And you?’ said Austin.
Jordan stopped in his tracks. That’s well weird, he thought, I’m gonna see me as a baby.
‘On that subject,’ said Austin, who continued to walk on, ‘I’ve been thinking about what we can do when we get there.’
Jordan quickly caught up with Austin. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, put yourself in your dad’s place. You wife’s just given birth to your first son, and then some teenager in a grubby sweatshirt comes into the ward and tells you that he’s your son from the future. What would you think?’
Jordan shrugged. This wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
‘He’d think you were crazy, Jordan. Unless you can tell him or show him something to convince him.’
‘Like what?’
‘I’ve been thinking about what we learnt in the hive, Jordan. How we were born at exactly the same time, to the nano-second. How our lives are inextricably bound together. The moment we appeared in that cave back there; that was the moment of the collision. The moment that the fracture in time became a crack. That was when the first time hole was created. Not when I went through the doorway in number 13.’
‘But I thought - ’
‘I know, that’s what we all thought, and it was true at the time, but that’s the funny thing about time, see? I thought time couldn’t be changed, that it was immutable.’
‘Immuta-what?’ said Jordan.
‘Fixed,’ said Austin, ‘unchangeable.’
‘But it ain’t?’
‘No. It’s not. I read up about it and researched it for ages, Jordan. But now my eyes have been opened.’
‘Yeah?’ Jordan wasn’t sure where Austin’s rant was going, but he was surprised to find that he could keep up. Must’ve been that time in the hive, he thought.
‘Yeah,’ said Austin. ‘And they were opened by you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yup. Well, future you. Future you that won’t exist now.’
‘You mean Hoodie?’
‘Yeah, Hoodie. He told us that it ain’t about the science.’
; ‘…It’s about the magic,’ said Jordan, remembering what his future self had said.
‘Yeah. I’ve been trying to figure things out the wrong way. I’ve been going with theories and quantum physics. You come along from the future and turn that on its head. Future you sacrificed himself to save us and changed the time line.’
‘You mean he’s dead?’
‘I think he never existed. We’re in the past, yes. And it’s our past. But it’s a past that we can change.’
‘That’s what I was going to do in the first place,’ said Jordan. What’re you, stupid?
‘I realise that,’ said Austin, ‘but the question is, how?’
‘I dunno,’ said Jordan, shrugging again.
‘We have to convince your dad quickly that you’re telling the truth. And I wondered how I would do that, if I needed to.’
Frickin’ hell, thought Jordan, just get on with it!
‘And then I realised, that you and I… we’re the same. We’re two halves of the same whole. All these coincidences that happen. The way number 13 comes into our lives so much. It has to mean something. And then I thought, what if it’s all been leading up to something? What if it’s been leading up to this?’
At that moment, Jordan reached the end of the road, and stopped. There was now a main road in front of them, and they could go either way. But which way, he thought. Which way do we go? He looked both ways, trying to find a signpost that would lead him in the right direction.
‘I’m not sure which way now,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Austin. ‘The way will become obvious. Trust me. I’ve got a feeling about it.’
Trust you? thought Jordan. Look what happened last time I did that.
‘Let’s go to that bus stop down there,’ said Austin, pointing to the left. ‘We can catch the next bus into town.’
‘Okay,’ said Jordan, and they started to walk towards it. ‘You still ain’t told me what I should do,’ he said.
‘Yeah,’ replied Austin, ‘sorry about that. I do go on sometimes. I tend to think out loud a lot. I’ll get to the point.’
Finally, thought Jordan.
‘As I said, you and I are two halves of a whole. Now I’ve got a birthmark on my head, see, and I was wondering…’
‘If I have one, too?’ said Jordan.
Austin nodded. He lifted Aurie down from his shoulders, then stopped walking and bent down so Jordan could see his birthmark. Jordan looked and saw it immediately. It was a small, roundish deep red mark just above the nape of his neck. I don’t believe it, he thought, it’s exactly like mine.
‘Look closely, Jordan. It isn’t a circle. It’s a tridecagon.’
‘A what?’
‘A shape with 13 sides. Do you have one of these?’
‘Yes! I do!’ he exclaimed, and showed Austin his birthmark, in exactly the same place.
‘Then that’s it,’ said Austin, as they continued walking towards the bus stop. ‘You show your dad the birthmark. It’ll be on the baby you, too, won’t it?’
‘But will it be enough to convince him?’
‘No,’ said Austin, ‘but it will be enough to give him doubt.’
‘What good’s that?’
‘Listen Jordan,’ said Austin, as they reached the bus stop. ‘I’ve spent the past twenty-two years learning how to convince people that the impossible is, in fact, possible. It comes in stages. First, you have to tell or show them something that causes them to doubt their version of how things are. You then take that doubt, which is like the fracture in time, and turn it into a crack. Then eventually it breaks, and they believe.’
‘You really think it’ll work?’ asked Jordan.
‘We can but try.’
‘But what if it doesn’t?’
‘Then we go to plan B.’
‘And what’s Plan B?’
‘We plant a different seed, and hope it grows.’
Do what? Thought Jordan. He’s talking in riddles again.
‘Here’s the bus, Daddy!’ said Aurie, pointing.
Jordan looked up and sure enough, the bus was coming towards them. The bus that would take him to his mum. He looked at Austin who showed him his hand. The first and second fingers were crossed. Jordan did the same back to him. He closed his eyes and uttered a quick wish. When he opened them, the bus had signalled and was pulling in to the stop.
‘It’s going to work,’ said Austin and pointed. ‘Look!’
Jordan looked up at the front of the bus. Just above the driver’s seat was the destination, which read County Hospital. But that wasn’t what made him smile. It was the number of the bus.
The Number 13.
‘Happy birthday, Jordan,’ said Austin.
Now that’s magic, he thought.
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