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  Chapter Fourteen

  They spent their days on the mountain hiding for the most part. Alex’s house was a good safe house still for now – no one had stopped by to show the place yet. The real estate market in Onyx was dead at the moment. Too many houses on the market, and not many people wanted to move up to the mountain for good.

  But, they knew they couldn’t stay there forever. Being December, Christina, Scott and Emily were able to get jobs at the local ski resort. But that wouldn’t last. Spring was just around the corner and they needed higher paying jobs than the $5.00 per hour they were getting at the resort.

  After some time, the trio fell into a routine. Christina and Scott were enjoying their days together. The flirting had started small, Emily had noticed. But eventually she had caught them getting close on the balcony. She had only smiled and wondered where Alex was right at this moment.

  Her only hope was that Alex stayed safe – wherever he was.

  For her part, she spent her nights waiting for Alex. He had promised to be right back, and she had taken that to mean he would have found her by now. She wasn’t losing hope, not yet anyway. Scott had told her about Doctor Who and how time worked a bit differently for those folks who traveled through it all the time, and to make some allowances for accuracy.

  Each night however, after Scott and Christina had gone to bed, Emily remained restless, spinning the time travel stone on the kitchen table in front of her.

  What if she was supposed to use it? What if Alex needed her? The longer you wait, the longer he’s trapped in the past.

  She had been using the stone at night after Scott and Christina had fallen asleep. Every time, she would clutch the stone and ask it to take her to where Alex was. But, each time, it only sent her to a random point in history. She never stayed in one place long enough to create any paradoxes. She kept her visits around time and space limited to five minutes total.

  And each search had proven just as fruitless as the last one. Scott and Christina had already been in bed for the last hour, so it was almost time for her to go out. Emily wondered where the stone would take her tonight.

  But before she left, she wanted something warm to drink. Something to keep her going. The night was cold, and the fire Scott had built for them was finally dying down. It was nearly midnight, and she needed to be at the resort by six, lest her supervisor dock her pay again. She didn’t have much time left in the night to go out and look for Alex.

  Emily had asked why they couldn’t get better paying jobs, but Scott warned that their advanced knowledge of the future might accidentally spoil the timeline. Even Scott admitted that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from showing off his advanced knowledge of computer engineering should he get a job that played to his skills. Better to work at a job that kept him from accidentally creating a paradox.

  She spun the stone on the table one last time before getting up and moving to the stove. She turned it on, heating the water. Hot chocolate technology hadn’t come far since the early 90’s, but, she was still looking forward to the warmth between her fingers.

  “I don’t believe you. Why not just warm up the milk in the microwave?”

  The voice came from the shadows, and for a moment, was excited that Alex had returned. Instead, her face fell, and she became grumpy once again.

  “Oh, it’s you…” she said, staring at the Old Man who was currently leaning on the wall of the kitchen. “What bad news do you bring us this time?”

  The Old Man smiled. “I’m not here to make things worse.” He nodded to the stone. “In fact, I’m here to take that off your hands. It’s time we used it to full effect.”

  Emily stepped between the Old Man the stone, glowering at him. “The last time we trusted you, things didn’t end so well.”

  The Old Man sighed. “And that was my fault I’ll admit. I…” he waved his hand absentmindedly. “I was distracted.”

  “Fat lot of good that does Alex right now,” she snarled. “You know where he is right now?”

  “I do,” the Old Man replied. “It’s none of our concern at the moment anyway.”

  She looked shocked, “None of our concern? I’d say it’s exactly what we need to worry about. Kline isn’t going to stop. Not now.” She looked at him, her eyes narrow. “Where did you go after New York?”

  The Old Man remained still, and didn’t respond at first.

  “Well?” Emily asked.

  “I had things to take care of,” the Old Man answered diplomatically. “It’s hard to answer at the moment.”

  “Why?” she asked, her eyes blazing red hot with anger toward the Old Man. “Alex was always there for you, doing everything you asked of him. Why couldn’t you have been there to help?”

  The Old Man shrugged. “Because I haven’t been there yet. I have no idea what’s going to happen in New York.”

  Emily’s anger melted down into confusion, until she made the connection.

  “You’re describing something I’ve yet to experience,” the Old Man explained.

  “How did you find us?” she asked slowly.

  He nodded to the letter sitting on the kitchen table. They had been waiting to mail the letter. They had no idea how to make it end up in Kline’s hands yet. For the moment, they had hung onto it.

  “That stupid letter,” Emily sighed. “We can’t seem to figure out how to get it into his hands.”

  The Old Man looked down at the table covered in research about the 1987 version of Rupert Kline. There wasn’t much, as he was beginning to just make an impact on Wall Street and the real estate market. He wasn’t quite a billionaire yet, but he wasn’t doing too badly for himself.

  “Seems as if you know where he is,” he said. “What’s stopping you from just dropping it in the mailbox?”

  “Scott and Christina are worried that if we don’t do this just right, we could create a paradox that would destroy us all,” Emily said. The exasperation and exhaustion in her voice was evidently catching up with her. It was clear that she was getting close to some kind of breaking point.

  “How often have you been using the stone?” The Old Man asked her.

  She looked up at him in his eyes, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The Old Man smiled, and gently took her hand. “I know you’ve been traveling at night while Scott and Christina are asleep, searching for Alex.”

  She withdrew her hand, and stepped back, looking down ashamed of herself.

  “How did you know?” she asked him, her voice sounding small.

  “Oh Emily,” the Old Man said, his voice filled with compassion. “The last thing you need to feel is guilt about using the stone to look for Alex.”

  A tear began rolling down her cheek, and she fought the urge to cry. “I don’t know where he is. I’ve already gone through this one before with his so-called ‘death.’ I thought I was through with loss like this.”

  “No one is ever through with loss,” the Old Man said quietly. “From this, I know of which I speak.”

  She stared at him. “Why don’t you just take me to him?”

  The Old Man didn’t answer at first. He just looked sad. Emily didn’t want to press it. From the look on the Old Man’s face thought, she wouldn’t have to.

  “It doesn’t work like that,” he finally replied. “Alex needs to complete the journey he’s on by himself for now. The long dark night of the soul as they call it. What he’s doing now will help him become the person he’s always wanted to be. That’s what life prepares us for. And when we’re ready, we take the opportunities presented to us. Make the most of them so we can grow as human beings. And for now, he has to do this alone. You can’t help him now.”

  She turned and looked out the window at the snow covered yard, the moonlight glinting off the ice forming on the snow. She shook her head. “He’s our best chance against Kline. I can’t believe we would just abandon him.”

  “You’re not wrong about that,” the Old Man said. “But Alex isn�
�t ready to face Kline, and neither are we. Kline is growing ever stronger, and closer than ever to finding the last stones.”

  “I don’t understand,” Emily said, “Why don’t we just take the stones? We could just grab them where they are now.”

  The Old Man shook his head. “Not without creating another paradox. That’s the kind of ripple that would destroy the local quadrant, and there are several species out there who wouldn’t take kindly to that.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “There are more than just the Patrons out there?”

  “Well of course there are” he said, smiling at her reaction. “What do you think this whole thing has been about? If we unite the stones and can prevent the Patron’s star from exploding, we’ll be welcomed into the galactic council, representing Humanity out in the cosmos. Isn’t that a grand idea?”

  “And if we don’t?” she asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

  “Then we’ll have failed,” he said. “And our species will be thrown onto the ash heap of history.”

  Emily didn’t know how to react to that. She turned back to the yard, watching the snow fall. She gingerly touched her stomach, and wrapped her arms around herself, pulling the thick sweater in around tighter.

  “It’s snowing again,” she said, a tear finally retreating down her cheek.

  The Old Man approached her, and stood beside her for a moment, watching the snow fall with her. “So it is…” he said.

  They stood there, trapped in their own thoughts.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex sat there eating breakfast with his parents for the first time since he was a child. The scrambled eggs tasted as if they had been made by a Michelin star chef.

  He watched his parents interact, enjoying the scene. He hadn’t seen his father this happy in life growing up. There hadn’t been a chance for them to grow old together.

  Alex’s smile faded for a moment. Was this real?

  Did it matter?

  He was stuck here after all. What could it possibly matter?

  Alex stood and walked to the door leading to the backyard. The last time he had been this close to happiness, he had been eight-year-old.

  But the happiness quickly faded when he remembered this was all just a simulation. Nothing was real. Not even the happiness he was feeling.

  His father stood, and walked over to Alex, staring out the back window.

  “Is this simulation displeasing to you in some way?” his father asked.

  Alex jumped, startled at his father’s tone. “You’re not my father, are you?”

  “I’m a simulation of what your father was like,” he replied. “Based on our scans of your brain and memories of the man, the personality should match with 99.995% accuracy.”

  Alex stared at his father, or what his father was in this reality anyway. Alex couldn’t quite bring himself to call the simulation his father.

  “If you are unhappy, we can change the simulation to better suit your tastes,” his father said. A screen appeared next to his head and options began playing out over the screen.

  “I can simulate anything I want?” Alex asked.

  “Of course,” his father answered. “All you have to do is visualize it.”

  Alex considered this for a moment. “And the alternative is just…” he waved his arms. “Going to sleep for a million years?”

  His father nodded.

  “Well that sounds boring.”

  “It would be,” his father said.

  “I’ve always wanted to serve on the Enterprise…” Alex said hesitantly.

  His father smiled. “I think that sounds like a lot of fun.”

  The scene surrounding them changed, and all at once, Alex was faced with a bank of electronics and unfamiliar people, all of whom were staring at him, looking concerned. Alex glanced around in confusion, his eyes widening.

  “Lieutenant!” The voice screamed from behind him. “Status on those shields!”

  Alex looked around in panic, and then down at the console. Somehow, as if based on instinct, he knew exactly which button to push, to activate the shields.

  The screen flashed several times, the bridge rocking back and forth.

  “Shields up Captain,” Alex called back, swallowing back his excitement.

  “Fire all phasers!” the bald man in front of him called out furiously.

  With a glint in his eye, Alex smiled and punched the console. The phasers landed precisely on target, burning through the enemy ship’s hull.

  “Damage report!” the bearded man sitting next to him called out.

  Flashing lights and buttons lit up in front of him, and for some reason it all made sense in Alex’s head. He knew what every square inch of the console did, despite never having seen it before in his life.

  “Crew accounted for. No casualties.” Alex called out. He felt a thrill unlike anything else in his life before. He was on the Enterprise! He was living out one of his biggest dreams as a child. Something he could get used to.

  If he was bound to spend the next million years doing something, it may as well be something fun.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kline stared at the walled enclave standing in front of him settled in the middle of Rome. At a little over 110 acres, Vatican City by itself was an incredible piece of architecture and engineering in a city known for some of the best in the world.

  People were currently gathering in St. Peter’s Square, praying for salvation. After the events in Hong Kong, New York, and other cities across the world, people were beginning to question whether or not they were living in the end times. With Kline declaring himself as the new savoir of humanity on television, it was hard not to argue with those folk standing on the streets declaring the end of the world.

  Kline brushed past the throngs of people heading for the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica. He had always suspected the church might have come into contact with one of the stones early on in its history. How else did a minor religion turn into one of the largest and dominate for so long? Kline was basing his guess purely on instinct, but he had a good feeling about this one.

  As he moved past the people in St. Peter’s square, some began to recognize his face. Some panicked, and began running for their lives, while others threw themselves at his feet begging for mercy. Kline ignored them all. The closer he got to the basilica, the more certain he felt that there was another stone inside.

  The Swiss Guards, seeing the commotion in the square began to approach Kline, who waved them off with a simple twitch of his finger. He didn’t want to kill these men. They were just following orders. They would be more valuable to him as assets in the future.

  The guards approached Kline in their brightly colored uniforms, menacing the billionaire with their pikes. Kline only smiled, and nodded a greeting at them.

  The stone of control began working its magic on them and the Swiss guards’ eyes glazed over. They turned, and formed a circle around Kline, pushing people out of his way, escorting him into the world’s most famous church.

  “Thank you gentlemen, the people out there do not seem to be a fan of mine.” Kline said pleasantly.

  The guards, completely under Kline’s spell ignored the man as they entered the church. Kline’s shoes echoing through the cavernous marble rooms.

  “And where is the Pontiff located at the moment?” Kline wondered. “I’ve always wanted to meet the man who has God’s ear.”

  The guard turned and began leading Kline down a hallway, facing no resistance along the way. The rest of the priests inside having evacuated the facility once Kline entered.

  They reached the end of a hallway where the Swiss guards turned and opened up a door. Kline nodded to the commander who he could see was crying. Kline may have taken the man’s body over with his stone of control, but it seemed as if the man’s will still burned inside him.

  Kline turned to the proud Swiss Guard and nodded, acknowledging the pain he was causing.

  “You’ll see…”
Kline said softly. He brandished the stones in front of the guard’s face. “You’ll all see soon enough that all of this was necessary. You’re like children now being punished. You’ll come to see that I was right to take control of this world.”

  Kline brushed the healing stone against the guard’s cheek, and the man’s eyes went wide at the shock of feeling it gave him. “You’ll all see…” Kline whispered.

  He turned to enter the office of the Pope where he saw the man himself seated, waiting for him.

  This Pontiff had been different than the last few administrations. A more liberal pope, his policies had made him into one of the most popular in history, the people admiring his simple, well-educated background. Atheists, Muslims, and Catholics alike all agreed that they liked the man who currently had God’s ear.

  “Mr. Kline,” the pontiff said, his accented English tinged with a South American accent. “It’s so good of you to stop by.”

  “Your holiness,” Kline thought it best to address the office and not the man. There was a lot at stake right now.

  “You should know, the church does not approve of how you are acting on the world’s stage.” The Pontiff looked down at Kline gravely, “God sees and judges us always Mr. Kline. You would do well to remember that.”

  “Your holiness,” Kline began flexing his hand with the stone. “You must have seen by now, I myself am a God walking among men. I do not…”

  “DO NOT BLASPHEME INSIDE THIS OFFICE!” The pontiff commanded loudly and even Kline was impressed by the man’s power.

  Kline cocked his head and decided to play things civilly for now. He bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Of course your holiness. I only wish to impress upon you that I have the actual power and ability to demonstrate miracles. Who is to say I am not the second coming?”

  The Pope settled back into his chair, examining Kline from behind the desk. “And you believe this?”