Chapter 20
by Dan Kirk
“On to the most important question: Does Sean know enough to build another time machine?” President Reagan’s voice was tired as he asked this. It was nearly eight in the morning back in Washington, and I imagined he’d gotten about as much sleep as I had in the last day. Sean still hadn’t returned to consciousness, but the news about him was not something I could sit on. I had a duty to report it as soon as possible, and this information was so ‘hot’ that I would only report it directly to the President.
“Not on his own, sir.” I answered in relative honesty. I was in the General’s office, the only part of the base besides the Operations Center, or my office back in the house, that had the highest security scrambling system available. There was even a guard out there to make sure no one came close enough to overhear, and I’d instructed Ridgeway to make sure no one talked to Sean if he woke up.
“But he could do it with some help?” The President pushed.
“Yes, if he was willing, eventually, when the technology becomes available.” I answered, again honestly. “Sir, have you really thought over the ramifications of building another time machine? Each time it seems the situation grows worse, and I’d think people would take the hint by now.”
“What if they know enough to build another one instead of us?” The President asked and I sat back in the General’s comfortable chair and let my mind float along that train of thought.
“Sir, the Russian’s efforts based on information that Shevardnadze gave them didn’t pan out.” I said after a moment. “He didn’t know enough to give them a working machine. The Chinese traveler isn’t a scientist, which is why they went for Waszaclowski. Put the Russian research and Sean together, and you get a working machine. Separated from each other, you have a lot of work ahead of you. Also, it requires computer equipment that won’t be available for at least a decade.”
“What are you recommending we do about your friend?” The President asked me in a sudden topic change. I took that as hope he would agree with my points on the dangers of building a new time machine.
“Sir, we’re already bringing the others here, and we’d planned to keep him here anyway. Make it permanent. He’s… he’s been through a heck of a lot more than I have. He’s not going to share any information with anyone, and the use of a hostage against him isn’t going to work unless they invade the United States and seize this place. Then, they’d have to capture us alive and we’re well-protected on this base.”
“That base is about to be even more well-protected.” The President said in a tone of voice that sounded dangerous. “You’re right in that we should keep him there. I’m sending Mike Andrews out to debrief him, but he’s going to have orders to not write anything down. You are hereby ordered to not reveal to anyone but me that Sean is anything other than a normal teenage boy. This information will be limited to three people alone, you, Mike Andrews, and me. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Mr. President.” I answered with some surprise and relief.
“David, I also want you to think about something.” The President said in a much softer tone. “What defense do we have against the improbable concept that the Chinese combined with the Russians will be able to retrieve enough Do Over technology to make a machine of their own? What can we do to prepare against such an eventuality without building a full machine of our own? Think about that, and discuss it with Sean.”
“I will, Mr. President.” I answered. His questions were good ones, and valid. He wasn’t talking about sending someone back in time again, but rather to protect against anyone else doing it again.
“Good, David, I knew you would be reasonable.” President Reagan said with a soft chuckle of fondness. “Now, let’s discuss your situation with your parents.”
“Its bad, sir.” I said softly. I didn’t think it possible but this morning I’d run into an even angrier mother who had just been told she would not be able to go back to Modesto for the funeral of her parents. “My mother is quite upset, and not being able to go to the funeral is really making things a lot worse. I’m hoping maybe that if she could go, she’d calm down a little.”
“That’s a pity.” The President said quietly. “I like your mother. Maybe something can be arranged for her. Now, on to a permanent solution with your friend. The best solution I have to the new situation is to get a court to give your parents full custody of Sean and have him live with you out there. Apparently, his parents are getting a lawyer to protest his removal from that damn clinic. I’m talking with the AG on how to handle that, but we think we’ll be able to quiet them down by pressing charges of child abandonment and endangerment. General Barstow reported that he’s arranged temporary ‘care’ for you with one of his soldiers. Do you think that will work out?”
“Yes, sir, it will.” I said quickly. “I’ve known Petty Officer Ridgeway for a year now and he’s a good man.”
“How about we put Sean with you for now, legally? The President asked.
“That’ll work, sir.” I said immediately. “Sean will take a week or two before he’s ready to rejoin the rest of the world. He’s… he’s not as quick to adapt to the situation as I was. It will do him good though to go back to school and acclimatize to being stuck back in the eighties.”
“You make it sound like torture.” The President laughed.
“Sir, you try listening to Madonna’s new album when you’ve already heard it a thousand times before.” I whined slightly. “I miss my Green Day, my Rob Thomas, and all those other groups. Heck, I’ve even started listening to country music because it’s all stuff I haven’t heard before!”
“You could do worse than listening to country music.” The President laughed readily and I realized I was relaxing as always when we talked about stuff besides the end of the world. “Well, I’ll let you get on with your day. It’s going to be a busy one.”
“Not as busy as yours, I’m sure.” I said with a genuine chuckle. People often remarked about how different the man was in public versus in private. Reagan was sharp, and witty, and he knew how to charm people. He also knew when it was time to conduct business and could wield a very sharp blade at those times.
“General Barstow has recommended that I speak directly with a Mr. Mulkey.” The President continued. “I understand he’s the father of one of your friends and the Superintendent of your school district. The General has said Mr. Mulkey has a few problems with you being in school out there.”
“Yes, sir, and that may be a good idea.” I admitted.
“Well, we’ll arrange that call this morning. You take care.” He said by way of dismissal and the line clicked as he hung up. I let out a sigh and hung up my phone. It was going to be a busy day and I’d already missed the morning run. Actually, there had been no morning run because the soldiers I ran with had been up all night, but I still missed the regular routine the run offered.
“All good?” Ridgeway asked as I came out of the General’s office. I just nodded and headed out of the office. It was on the first floor of the Admin building and the General’s secretary (a young woman from town), picked up the phone to tell the General I was no longer using his office. It was time to meet with my father, and while I wasn’t particularly nervous, I wasn’t exactly happy about this either.
“Any word yet on the arrivals from Modesto?” I asked Ridgeway as we walked down the hallway. I wasn’t use to calling him Kevin yet. He had a radio that he was using to communicate with the Operations Center, so I had to ask him for any updates.
“Nothing new.” Kevin Ridgeway said as we neared the door to the room where I was supposed to meet Dad. “Their plane won’t be leaving Modesto for another two hours.”
“Okay.” I said as we reached the door. I took a deep breath and walked into the room. It was a smaller meeting room than the main conference room upstairs. It had a small table, four chairs and a single window looking westward. Dad was seated at the table, and he was dressed in his Navy whites with the rank insignia of a full Lieutenant and the cross of the Chaplain’s Corp on his shoulder boards. He’d just gotten that promotion two months ago.
“You cut your hair.” Dad said as he stood up and gave me a hug. There were bags under his eyes, but he looked okay otherwise.
“Yeah, it was getting to be too much to deal with.” I said softly as I broke the hug and sat back down. He took the chair he’d been sitting in earlier, which was next to me instead of across the table. As he sat, his face got a concerned look.
“I guess I should start by telling you that your mother is still angry.” He said with a heavy sigh. “From where I’m sitting, I’m of a split mind on what to do. Most definitely I’m not going to throw you to the curb because of what happened yesterday. It was not your fault.”
“Dad, I’m sorry about Grandma.” I said softly. Thanks to the President’s order regarding Sean, I couldn’t tell him the reason why the attack happened the way it did, but most likely the second Chinese officer going back in time had precipitated the attack we’d just experienced.
“Son, I know you are, and about Nanny and Papa, Aunt Bev, Ron, Michelle, Brian, Shantill, Chris, Josh, Tiffany, and your Aunt Fran.” Dad said. I hadn’t heard the full list of dead family members until just now and I sat back with a feeling of total shock washing over me. The Chinese had just killed twelve of my family members!
“I…I…I don’t know what to say.” I said softly. Strangely, no tears were coming to my eyes. I think I was too mad to grieve right now. “Maybe… I guess… I just talked to the President and he’s going to reconsider allowing the three of you to go to the funeral. Do you think that will help with Mom?”
“A little.” Dad said. “You won’t be able to go?”
“No.” I said softly. Part of me wanted to go, and another part didn’t. “If you do go, I imagine there will be heavy security. Dad, this was a direct attack by China on the United States and we can’t admit it now or ever. We can’t expel diplomats, we can’t bomb them in retaliation. There will be no visible retribution for what happened. It’s not likely they have the resources for another attack, but if I do go, it could give them an indication that I’m vulnerable to an attack of that nature. Then we’d have to force every Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin to move out here and you know some of the people in our family. What if Tracy figures she can make a million dollars by luring me into a trap for the Chinese?”
“Son, you’re too hard on some of your cousins.” Dad said warningly.
“Dad, she turned her own kid in for a reward in 1992.” I said softly. “She did it in BOTH time lines.”
“Okay, okay, maybe you’re not so far off with some of them.” Dad said with a slight smile while holding up his hands. “Actually, your Mother is so angry it probably wouldn’t be a good thing for you to go anyway. She’s likely to spout off that it’s all your fault at the graveside. At least if we leave you here, she may not mention you at all, or just to the family. Son, about when we come back and the house…”
“Dad, she’s not going to change her mind any time soon.” I said for him and he nodded sadly. “General Barstow is going to arrange housing on base and officially put Petty Officer Ridgeway as my ‘guardian’. He knows the full story now so he won’t go overboard and he’s accepted what amounts to almost a permanent assignment here. He’ll probably get Chief on the first go around once he’s had enough time-in-rank because of that, and he’s unmarried so there’s no family to worry about. The base is only a few miles from the house, and you’re here half the time these days anyway, so we’ll be able to keep in touch.”
“I don’t want to lose you, son.” Dad said, putting a hand on my arm. For some reason, that gesture did bring the tears to my eyes. I’d never had this close of a relationship with my father before, and it was… nice.
“You won’t, dad.” I said softly. “That house is the parsonage and you can’t leave there, which would mean Mom would leave and take Jenny with her. That isn’t something that would be good for you or them. I’m still going to be close enough that you’ll be able to see me and be involved in my life probably as much as you are now. Hell, I can’t spend money from any of my accounts without your co-signature and that’s not changing any time soon, and there’s still the mobile home park to take care. Dad, me living here on base isn’t going to change those responsibilities that we have together. More importantly, Dad, I love you and I don’t want you to disappear from my life.”
“I love you too, son.” He said with a slight smile. “It’s good to know where we stand with each other, despite everything. I’m not going to do it right away, I know your mother too well, but eventually I am going to start talking to her about bringing you home. I believe that eventually, she’ll see the reality of this situation and want you back home. When that happens, will you come back?”
“As long as it’s before I’m eighteen and I’ve graduated from high school, yes.” I said without hesitation. I loved my family, no matter what. “If it’s after that, I’ll be home for the holidays.”
“Thank you, son.” Dad said as he shifted forward to give me a hug. That lasted a lot longer than I had expected and we finally broke apart when there was a knock at the door. Ridgeway stuck his head inside and nodded at me that it was time to get a move on. He took the lead and didn’t have to say anything as he led me towards the infirmary. It was a bright day outside, far to warm and cheery for everything that was going on. My opinion was that it should be dark, stormy, and full of thunder and lightning to match the way I felt my day was going. Maybe even a wildfire in the middle of the sagebrush.
“Ah, there you are!” Dr. Breshears stated as we came into the infirmary. He looked much the same as he had the first time I saw him this morning and, of course, he had another cigarette between his lips. When he’d first arrived, General Barstow had made a comment about the dangers of smoking around patients and the good doctor had blown a perfect smoke ring at the General. Since then, no one complained. At least he did put them out when he was with a patient who was on oxygen. “Your boy has been awake and demanding to speak with you for the past twenty minutes! He won’t touch the food or take the medicine I’ve prescribed.”
“I’ll talk to him about that.” I said firmly and then moved to where Sean’s bed was located. Another nod at Ridgeway told him to keep people away and I moved to sit down on the same stool. Sean smiled when he saw it was me, and I noticed he looked a little bit better today. The I.V. was not in his arm anymore, the catheter was gone, and his hands were no longer restrained.
“I was beginning to think I’d dreamed about seeing you last night.” Sean said as I sat down. “Those fucking drugs at that clinic put me into a really whacked state. I swore I talked to you in there. Um, I may have said stuff about time travel to them in there as well.”
“Don’t worry about that.” I assured him. “They’ll just chalk it up to your imagination. According to Dr. Breshears, they gave you a hallucinogen in there so that could be part of the problem. He wants you to take the medicine he prescribed. It’ll help. You can trust the man.”
“If you say so.” Sean said with a shrug. “You know, this is why I didn’t want to come back in time. Life was a pain in the ass the first time around and you seem to attract trouble.”
“Oh fuck off.” I teased him. He was always giving me a hard time about trouble following me around. “I seem to remember YOU were the one who went to work for Waszaclowski before I showed up. YOU chose me for this mess…”
“And I’ve had to go back in time to save your life… twice now.” Sean said with a small laugh and I joined him. I was suddenly confident my friend would make the adjustment in time.
“Yes, you did.” I said, trying not to let my sadness show. He caught it though, and frowned.
“What is it, Davey?” Sean asked me worriedly and I let out a sigh. He’d find out sooner or later, and he’d be madder if I lied to him now.
“Sean, we didn’t know you were in that clinic until… until something happened.” I admitted. “I didn’t think you would come back, I had no idea there were Chinese left alive. Yesterday there were some attacks in Modesto.”
“You say that like we’re not in Modesto.” Sean said with a frown.
“We’re not.” I answered. “We’re in a place called Eureka, Nevada. I’ve lived here since 1981 with my parents and sister. A military base has been built out here and we’re on that base.”
“Oh fuck, no wonder you weren’t at school that day.” Sean said softly. “I thought maybe you were at Beyer, or Ceres, or one of the other schools in the area.”
“No, we’re hundreds of miles away from Modesto.” I said. “Sean, you know how you always said you’d love to live in the middle of nowhere? Well, you’re going to get that chance out here. I’ll tell you about it all later. For now, though, let me tell you what has happened. Yesterday there was a major attack on our friends in Modesto and my family there. Twelve of my family members are dead and several of our friends’ parents were injured. They’re on their way out here now.”
“Oh great, so you haven’t been their friend for the past few years?” Sean asked me with a big frown. “Davey, I don’t think you’re going to like them as much this time around. You changed them, made them more… human than they were. I remember them vaguely from our first timeline. They were assholes and jerks most of the time.”
“Sean, I never remember them being like that.” I said sharply.
“That’s because you are six-foot plus, weigh nearly two hundred pounds and could smash them to pieces.” Sean said. “You were that way in all three time lines and they HAD to be nice to you or you could take them on. Do you think no one remembers that story about you and the Custer kid in the sixth grade? You gave the biggest bully in school a concussion and he spent three days in the hospital, all because he swung at your sister! That story followed you around all through La Loma! Why do you think I was so glad to be your friend in that first time line? Whenever you were around, none of the bullies ever picked on me!”
“Oh, um, I never… I never knew that.” I stated softly.
“That’s because even in your first life you always tried to see the best in people and ignored the rest.” Sean said passionately and I was surprised at how… strongly he felt about this.
“No matter what, Sean, we’ve been friends now for over twenty years
and we’ll be friends for another twenty.” I told him, holding out
my hand as I said that. He just nodded with tears in his eyes and shook my hand
before pulling me into a hug
“Oh, fuck, this puberty shit sucks, you know that?” Sean swore and
I laughed.
“Yeah, but you’ve missed the worse of it.” I reminded him. He just grimaced.
“So, what happens with me now?” Sean asked, getting a slight look of fear again.
“You’ll be happy to know that while there are some major changes in this time line, I’m still friends with President Reagan.” I said with a cocky smile.
“Thank God for small miracles.” Sean retorted. “What major changes?”
“We’ll talk about those later.” I said uncomfortably. He was going to freak when he heard about the AIDS stuff. “For now, you’ll be staying with me and Petty Office Ridgeway here on base. He’ll officially be our ‘guardian’. Right now he’s not cleared to know about you, but that’ll change soon.”
“I thought you were here with your parents?” Sean asked with a slight frown. “Did they suddenly find out you were gay and kick you out again?”
“No, my Dad’s been aware that I’m gay for two years now.” I said sadly.
“And you’re still alive and not thrown out?” Sean said incredulously. Oh yeah, he remembered Dad from the last time line. “How’d you manage that?”
“That is another long story.” I said with a smile. “No, what’s wrong now is that Mom blames me because of the attacks in Modesto. Her parents are dead, and a sister, and she blames me for that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sean said. “You know, as bad as being stuck in that clinic was, this sounds worse.”
“They were both bad things.” I agreed.
“So, what’s this place that we’re stuck in really like?” Sean asked. That started a conversation that lasted us through lunchtime. A nurse brought us both platters full of food, and we ate together while Sean got the story of the AIDS quarantine and my family’s reactions to things over the last few years. After lunch, I made it a point to introduce Kevin Ridgeway to Sean, and the two of them talked for a few minutes. I was surprised because Ridgeway had to know that Sean was gay, but he treated him more like a little brother than anything else. That gave me a small feeling of relief that maybe Kevin wasn’t as prejudiced as many of the people in the military at this time. It was Kevin’s radio that ended our visit with Sean. The plane carrying the Rush, Walker, and Breckenridge families had landed and they were on their way to the base.
“Good luck.” Sean said simply as I got ready to leave. I gave him a nod in response and followed Kevin out to the Admin building. It would be a few minutes before they arrived, and I headed into the first head I spotted. I had to rinse off my face first and use the bathroom. My hands shook because I was nervous. Kevin waited outside until the cars had arrived, and then he stuck his head inside to tell me that we were expected up on the third floor conference room. It was the same room we’d used the night before and I had to shake off a sense of foreboding at that. With trepidation, I followed Kevin upstairs and was surprised when he stopped just outside the door.
“Take a deep breath.” He whispered to me and I nodded as he opened the door. His advice was good, and I stepped into the room while General Barstow was speaking. The words of the General were mere gobbly-gook because I was transfixed by the sight of all these people who had formed the core of my family in my last lifetime. Mr. Breckenridge had his arm in a sling, and was dressed in slacks and a white dress shirt. Mom B was wearing a blue skirt and green silk blouse that showed off her figure and blond hair wonderfully. Like everyone else, she had bags under her eyes, but appeared to be alert. Mr. and Mrs. Rush were both dressed in old jeans and collared shirts. Mr. and Mrs. Walker were also wearing jeans, but more casual t-shirts. They were all arranged around the table closest to the door while the kids were at the farther end of the table. Brandon and Trevor were there, dressed in jeans and t-shirts and looking just as I remembered them. Brandon’s younger brother and younger sisters were also there, all dressed in jeans and t-shirts as well. Brian was the one who held my gaze though. He was tall, as I remembered, my height, just a bit taller than Brandon. His build was leaner though, I could see through his t-shirt and jeans, but his dark eyebrows were furrowed together and his blue eyes flashed at whatever the General was saying.
“…the staff at this base will do everything possible to make sure you are comfortable during your stay with us.” The General said as I concentrated on actually listening to what he was saying. “I know all of you are anxious to find out why the events yesterday happened to you and as promised, everything will be explained here. I want to stress that everything you will hear has been classified at the highest level by the President. We won’t force the issue, but I’d like to recommend the younger children be excused for this briefing. You have my personal assurance they will be well cared for until you are done. You may later tell them whatever you wish, without restriction.”
“Ah, man, we never get the juicy stuff.” Brandon’s little brother Michael complained. I smiled at the memory of him always griping about being excluded when we went to the batting cages.
“I think it would be best for now.” Mr. Walker said and his wife nodded.
“Very well, if you guys and girls will step outside, there’s a young lady who’s ready to take you to the cafeteria and then on a tour of the base. If you want, you can even visit the commissary and pick out any single thing there as a gift from the Air Force.” General Barstow stated with a genial smile.
“Rad.” Michael said with a smile and smirk towards Brandon as if to say ‘I get free stuff while you’re stuck in a room with the adults.’ When they were gone, I felt several eyes on me. I realized I was standing in front of them with a buzzed head, in a military uniform and they may have thought I was a regular soldier, even. When the door was shut, the General nodded at me and turned back to the assembled families.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this young man here is David Jones.” General Barstow said as he leaned forwards with his arms on the table. “He is the young man who will be explaining things to you.”
“I know you!” Mom B said excitedly, interrupting General Barstow. He turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow as she continued. “You’re the kid who helped Brian get in to see Rich and whose Dad was shot outside the hospital. You remember him, don’t you Brian?”
“Yeah.” Brian mumbled as he looked at his hands. Sean’s words about them being different rang though my head. The Brian I knew would never have been embarrassed by the association. I knew him though, and his reaction was embarrassment. I could see the puzzled looks on Brandon and Trevor’s faces as well.
“Yes, well, um it’s actually good that you’ve met before.” General Barstow said carefully, regaining control of the situation. “Mr. Jones here is the personal representative of the President of the United States in this matter. I have been instructed by the President to introduce you and leave it for him to explain everything. I won’t be in the room during this explanation because some of what he will talk about is classified beyond my security level. Since I won’t be in the room, I want to assure you that whatever he tells you is the absolute truth. If you do not believe him, arrangements will be made for you to speak to an agent of the CIA who will be arriving later today. If you are still not satisfied, a secure phone call will be arranged with the President. Do you have any questions before I leave?”
“Is this guy James Bond or what?” Dad B. asked with a slight smile. I could tell he was hiding his shock behind a joke, but all their eyes were on me, weighing me and wondering just what I would be telling them.
“Maybe we should go with the little kids.” Trevor joked aloud and followed it with a nervous patter of laughter. Brandon looked as if he agreed while Brian was still looking at his hands on the table.
“Sorry, guys, you need to be here for this.” I told them softly but firmly. “Unlike Michael, Jennifer, and Alison, this concerns you three directly, just as much if not more than your parents.”
“So you are James Bond?” Mr. Walker asked. I had never paid much attention to him in the last time line. He was tall and lean like his middle son, Brandon, but his hair was far thinner than Brandon’s had ever been. He had a pointed face, though, and the scars from really bad acne as a kid. His wife was so similar in looks they could have been cousins.
“No, I’m not James Bond.” I said with a chuckle. “James Bond never traveled in time before. General, thank you for the introduction.”
“You’re welcome, and good luck.” He told me while giving my shoulder a friendly squeeze before leaving. I sat down at the head of the table, steepling my fingers in front of me and waited until he left.
“You are making joke.” Mr. Rush said nervously as soon as the door was shut. “Time travel is not possible.”
[Uncle, as a man who defected from the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic, a physicist who studies the decay ratios of neutrons in the moment of nuclear fission, and a man who can quote any poem by Pushkin or Derzhavin should know that anything is possible.] I said in Russian, stumbling a little over the scientific terms. He reacted with shock at my words and looked like I’d hit him over the back of the head with a two by four. I switched my gaze to Tyatya, and my language to even rustier German. [You, Aunt, as a woman who saw her dreams of raising a handsome son in a free society come to fruition should understand all things are possible.]
“What did he say?” Mr. Walker asked of the Rush couple with a confused look.
[Not all those here speak Russian.] Mr. Rush admonished me softly.
[Nor German.] Mrs. Rush said as well. [Although your grammar could use some improvement in both languages.]
“Forgive me, it’s been a while since I last spoke either language with you two.” I said in English.
“We have never spoken before.” Mr. Rush pointed out.
“We’ve never spoken before in this time line, sir.” I corrected him. I looked around the table and saw mostly confused looks. Good, their confusion would help them accept what I had to say. They needed a little more unsettling, though.
“Trevor, your biggest fear before every game is that you’re going to throw another interception.” I said, moving to my old friends first. “Brandon, you love football mostly because Brian and Trevor play, but your real love is baseball. One of your favorite memories has always been the first time you hit a home run in little league. There are more things I could say to convince you and Trevor I know some of your deepest secrets, but I don’t think your parents would be happy to hear them. Although, Trevor, I should warn you, the barn isn’t as secret as you thought it was.”
“Holy shit.” Trevor murmured while both he and Brandon blushed. That earned them a few looks from the parents. The Walkers probably assumed it was alcohol, but from the looks on Tyatya’s and Dyadya’s faces, they knew what I was referring to now.
“Brian, any fool could tell you that Uncle Rich’s death hit you hard.” I said to the young man who was once my husband in another time line. I tried to meet his gaze, but actually was relieved when he didn’t look up from the table. If he had, I’d have wanted to rush over there and smother him in kisses. He was so handsome. “What they couldn’t tell you is that you love wrestling more than anything else. Dad B, you love your wife more than anything in the world, and you take great pride in that she’s the only woman you have ever, or ever will be with.”
“What did you call me?” Dad B. asked while Mom B. blushed slightly at my words. Neither were really embarrassed though, because that commitment was a big part of their relationship and something both were proud of.
“I called you Dad B.” I answered calmly, leaning back in the chair and meeting his eyes directly. “I’m sorry if that was overly familiar. You see, in the last time line, you and Mom B. were closer to me than my own blood family.”
“What do you mean last time line?” Mom B. asked softly, leaning forward as she spoke and meeting my eyes directly.
“To your eyes I look like a young kid.” I said carefully, meeting her gaze first and then moving around the room as I spoke. “In truth, this body is fifteen years old. The mind inside of it though, is far older. That is because in the future, a man will invent a time machine that can transfer the memories, the consciousness, if you will, of a person back into the past. The process re-writes that person’s brain with the memories of their future self. In effect, a person’s memories and consciousness is transferred from their future body into their younger self. That has happened twice to me now. The first time it happened, I became friends with Brian, Brandon, and Trevor. We stayed friends in that time line for over twenty years until I was forced to come back in time in order to stop an attempt by the Chinese to change history. We had just finished fighting a war with them, and I commanded the fleet that sent their troops to the bottom of the ocean. We weren’t able to stop them from sending someone back in time, though, and I had to follow them into the past, again. When that happened, I contacted the government immediately and never had a chance to become friends with you again. We thought that would keep you safe, but it didn’t. Yesterday, you were attacked by Chinese agents who were attempting to find me, and either kidnap or kill me. We don’t know which. I’m sorry that you were dragged into this again.”
“My God.” Mr. Rush said softly, and I looked around to see all of them staring at me with wide eyes.
“You’re serious?” Dad B. said softly.
“Yes.” I answered honestly. “I’m sorry, but in a way it is my fault that you were attacked.”
“No, son, I don’t think so.” Mr. Walker said. “If I understand this right you gave up twenty years of friendship with our families to keep us safe and it didn’t work.”
“That’s correct.” I said softly. “We also thought it would keep my extended family safe, but twelve of them died yesterday including my grandparents, several Aunts and Uncles, and some cousins.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Mom B. stated with a look of genuine sympathy. “How are your parents taking that?”
“Very poorly.” I admitted with a shrug.
“So, you’ve come back in time trying to stop whatever these Chinese guys are doing?” Mrs. Walker asked quietly.
“Yes, and also a Soviet time traveler that came back from the very first time experiment.” I added. “It’s going to take some time to explain it all, but basically there’s three communist time travelers that we’re trying to counter here in this time.”
“Did…did you know about Uncle Rich?” Brian asked me softly, looking up for the first time and meeting my eyes. He had a look of pain in them that made me want to cry and hug him, but I found I couldn’t move. My mouth had gone dry, and it took me several moments to recover.
“Yes, yes I did.” I answered in all honesty.
“You could have saved him.” Brian stated with a hint of anguish in his voice. Mom B. reached out and took his hand, but he shook it off. There was anger in his eyes now.
“Brian, I couldn’t have done anything.” I said softly. “You have to believe me, I would have if I could, but national security issues aside, he was already infected when I came back in time.”
“No he wasn’t.” Brian stated. “When did you come back?”
“At the end of March.” I answered.
“That was more than six months.” Brian asserted.
“Honey, Rich was likely infected before March.” Mom B said but Brian shook his head.
My stomach sank into my feet at the look he gave me and I wanted to run out of the room crying, but I couldn’t.
“I’m sorry if you believe that, Brian.” I said instead, putting on a look of sympathy for him. If there was to be any hope, I couldn’t run from the man I loved. “If you don’t mind, we can talk about that some more later.”
“Nothing will ever convince me that you couldn’t have saved Uncle Rich! If you’d really been my friend, you’d have known how important he was to me!” Brian muttered and turned his back to look out the windows. Mom B. shrugged at me and I realized I’d have to continue, even though a hole had just been ripped through my heart.
