I just shut down after the adrenaline of trying to survive passed from my system. I was useless from the moment Jane disposed of Sabrina’s body to the arranging of the funeral to anything short of dressing myself for today. The funeral was something I should have taken care of, but it had fallen to Anna to do alone.
God, Anna, there was someone I’d mistreated awfully during my time here. I’d barely explained Jane and my absence from H.O.P.E. when I’d turned into another useless pile of fear and depression. Still, it had been her that had made it possible for Dad’s friends and former colleagues on the force to have a time as well as place to grieve. It just wasn’t going to help me any.
Anna’s family, ironically enough, ran a funeral service and had been willing to waive some of the charges to give him a proper burial. My father getting fired days before his death meant I would also have to deal with the fact we didn’t have a source of income coming into the house anymore. That, in its own way, was every bit as intimidating as the fact a time-traveling assassin had just murdered my dad.
My fault.
My failure.
I kept running over events in the back of my mind, trying to figure out something I could have done differently. I couldn’t have warned my father, as he wouldn’t have believed me, but maybe I could have run like Jane suggested. If I had, then my father would still be alive. There was no getting around the fact my cowardice had gotten him killed.
God help me.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jane said, reaching over and taking my hand.
I looked up from where I’d been staring at the floor to take in the faces of those around me. Anna’s family provided a limo to take me to the cemetery and I was surprised that Jane and Anna stifled their passive aggressiveness towards one another long enough to accompany me. Even Christine came into town for the funeral and rode along with us. It was the first time all four us had gotten together but couldn’t have been under worse circumstances.
Jane was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a leather jacket, which contrasted with everyone else, but was all that she owned that was appropriate. I got the impression funerals were a different sort of affair in the future and a lot more casual. Still, her expression was cold, and I could tell my father’s death had affected her. A lot more than I expected.
It was a comforting lie, but a lie, nevertheless.
“Thanks,” I said, my throat dry.
“I hope they track down whoever was responsible and burn them alive,” Anna said, adding her own insight.
Anna was wearing a beautiful black dress which kept her shoulders bare and a corsage on her left side. She had helped me when I hadn’t been able to do anything. Anna had even been willing to work with Jane despite how much my “guest” bothered her.
“Yeah,” I said, knowing Jane had already made Sabrina’s body disappear. It was hard to fathom that little girl would eventually grow up to be the woman who murdered my father. What would happen if she died before then? What if I killed her? Not that I would, but the thought had occurred to me in my darkest moments. Would my father come back to life or would the entire universe break down or nothing at all? No one had those sorts of answers and I suspected time travel wasn’t much better understood in Jane’s time.
“I’m here for you,” Christine said, speaking after mostly being silent in our time together. Christine was wearing a black skirt, a white blouse, and a vest. Her legs were covered in black pantyhose and I felt a little sick that I found myself checking her out, despite the circumstances.
Anna looked to one side. I wasn’t sure how she would react to Christine but, so far, she’d been polite. My girlfriend had been dying to meet H.O.P.E.’s leader long before she invited me to march with her in Chicago. Anna wouldn’t admit it, but I suspected she was always a little jealous by how Christine had taken a liking to me. So I could hardly be upset that Anna took every opportunity to talk Christine’s ear off about H.O.P.E.’s future, when she thought I wasn’t looking, of course.
“Thanks,” I said.
The limousine stopped at the New Detroit cemetery, which had been constructed over a bunch of cheap housing Butterfly had demolished in recent months. Row after row of identical headstones filled the grassy knolls even as the sun shined brightly on the small service being conducted around the open grave.
The chief of police and a few of my father’s friends from work, none of whom I recognized, sat in the folding chairs in front. Reverend Tully was present beside the coffin and readied himself to start the service. I didn’t know how my father would feel about a known H.O.P.E. supporter conducting his funeral, but the reverend was a friend of mine and I wasn’t going to turn away his offer to help. There was also a podium that I would have to give a speech in front of. That terrified me. Strangely, there were a few cameras and a local news crew here as well.
“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine,” Christine said.
I was getting tired of their platitudes. I gestured to the chief of police. “What’s he doing here?”
“Chief Williams wanted to make a speech for a fallen officer killed by leftist radicals,” Anna said, shrugging. “He already made one on the steps of City Hall.”
“Leftist radicals?” I said, staring at her.
“He means H.O.P.E,” Christine said, rolling her eyes. “They’re trying to pin your father’s murder on us.”
“That’s…” I clenched my fists, “ludicrous.”
“Yes,” Christine said. “However, it’s just part of the propaganda campaign they’re trying to wage against us. It’s actually working to our benefit to an extent. They’re throwing everything at us so it’s getting our name in the news more than anyone expected. I received over a hundred thousand emails at our existing address. It almost crashed the server.”
“They know a good leader when they see it,” I said, smiling at her.
“Do they?” Christine said, sighing. “It’s overwhelming.”
“I’ll help,” I said, surprising myself.
“What?” Jane said, doing a double take.
“I’ll help H.O.P.E. in any way I can,” I said, my voice stronger than before. The Scorpion’s people were born from H.O.P.E. but they’d perverted everything about it. It was supposed to be something that was meant to bring peace, but they’d turned it into a tool of violence. I wanted to stop that. I was also furious at Butterfly’s planning to turn my father’s funeral into a propaganda tool.
“I’d like that,” Christine said, cheerfully.
“About time,” Anna said.
Jane didn’t speak.
I stepped out of the limousine and sat down in the front. Several of the cops gave me dirty looks and I wondered if any of them believed the chief of police’s ludicrous suspicion. Then again, was it so ludicrous? I was the reason my father had been killed. It wasn’t H.O.P.E.’s fault, though, but the thing I … no, the Scorpion, had turned them into.
Jane whispered in my ear. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“I’m not sure about anything,” I whispered back. “But there’s got to be a better way to do this.”
“Yes,” Jane said. “But don’t let your guilt cloud your judgment.”
I glared at her, feeling the urge to lash out. It was the first time I’d really felt something more than the pain or momentary feelings. Instead of seeing Jane’s normally passive face, though, I saw she was on the verge of tears herself. It was like her father had died rather than the reverse.
“I won’t,” I said.
I walked up, instead, to the chief of police. “What are you doing here?”
Chief Trask Williams looked down at me. He was a redheaded man with a short beard and beady eyes. “I’m here to honor one of our fallen soldiers.”
“You fired him.”
Chief Williams stared. “His loyalties were in question.”
“Isn’t your loyalty to the people?” I asked, barely able to contain my sarcasm.
“Don’t be naïve,” Chief Will
iams said. “Your father knew what it took to make this city great again. He covered up for you and had to constantly tell us it was a phase, or you were just playing. However, here you are, standing with terrorists.”
I stared at him. “Protesting isn’t terrorism.”
“Rioting is, as well as vandalism and sabotage,” Chief Williams said. “The government is eventually going to come down hard and arrest all of you.”
“So you can have your shiny, happy city of rich white people,” Anna spoke behind me. “You think Butterfly is going to protect you, but they don’t need you. They have their own troops and soldiers to beat up the poor. You think they’re going to let you do your job when they have Monarch? Don’t make me laugh. They may have bought you, but you don’t have anything they want. Not for long.”
“Disrespectful little—” Chief Williams started to say something vile.
That was when Reverend Tully came up behind him. “At a funeral, sir? Can you not hold a civil tongue for a boy who has just lost his family?”
Chief Williams glared back at him before shaking his head. “I’m just here to say my piece of mind. That is, unless the boy objects.”
I almost did but didn’t want to fall into the trap he was setting for me. He wanted me to make a scene and get it on camera. “No, my father believed in what you do, no matter how wrongheaded it is. Go ahead and talk your head off.”
The chief balled a fist then walked over to the podium for what I was sure was a canned speech designed to turn my father’s death into something he could use.
“When did everyone on Earth start worshiping Butterfly like God? It’s just a corporation!” Christine said, staring. “An awful one.”
“No, it’s more than that,” I muttered, shaking my head. “People have lost faith in the government. They saw politicians slave themselves to the corporations over and over again until it looked like they were the real power in this country.”
That was barely scratching the surface, though. Colin Reilly had waged a propaganda war since becoming the head of Butterfly and had succeeded in getting all the other corporations to dig in. I wasn’t a conspiracy nut, not like some of the people in H.O.P.E., but it felt like they were actually trying to take over the nation, which they would succeed in doing if the Scorpion didn’t stop them. He’d just ruin the world in the process.
“Christine,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Can you get the cameramen to watch the eulogy?”
“Maybe,” Christine said. “Channel 7 isn’t exactly all that fond of the corporations. It’s still owned locally. They’re always eager for a scoop, too.”
“Good.”
“What are you doing?” Jane asked, blinking.
“Making a scene,” I said, ready to speak.
“You can’t do this,” Jane said. “They’ll find out.”
“Who will find out?” Anna said, making me realize she was listening.
I grimaced, cursing myself, then took a deep breath. “Christine, I’d like you to speak.”
“What? I didn’t even know your father,” Christine said.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, taking a deep breath. “His death has become a political talking point. This is a chance for you to fight that.”
“Then why don’t you do it?” Anna countered.
I knew the answer but balked from saying it aloud.
“Can you give us a minute?” I asked Christine, to which she obliged with an understanding smile. I then turned my attention back to Anna and chose my words carefully. “I can’t be on television. I have—”
“Enemies,” Jane said, showing a bigger part of our hand than one might think. “That’s what he’s been hiding.”
“Jane…” I said, hesitant about the impending conversation.
Anna, however, stared at me. “That explains a lot. Did they kill your father?”
I paused, aware I could now share something with my girlfriend I hadn’t been able to before. “Yes.”
Anna reached out and held my hand. “Are you in danger?”
“Yes.”
Then she asked something I didn’t expect. “Did you kill the person who killed your dad?”
I didn’t answer.
“Good,” Anna said, nodding to me. “That’s justice.”
I did a double take and looked at her like she was crazy. “It wasn’t me, I—”
Jane shook her head, standing behind Anna.
“Butterfly and its people are evil,” Anna said, assuming they were the parties responsible. “I should have guessed they would come after you and Christine after all you’ve done to fight them. I’ll be glad take up the cause with you.”
“Anna, it’s too dangerous.” I found myself surprised at how sincere I was. “We shouldn’t even be seen together.”
“Is that what you’ve been worried about?” Anna asked.
I stared at her. “I’ve lost my dad. I can’t lose you.”
Jane rolled her eyes behind Anna.
I ignored her.
Anna wrapped her arms around me. “It’s okay, Robbie. I understand the risks. We have to stand up to Butterfly now more than ever. If they’re going to start striking at our loved ones, it’s even more of a reason that we have to hit them back harder. It’s the only way we can be safe. We have to expose them to the world.”
I was speechless but nodded. “All right, let’s do that.”
Anna was severely underestimating the danger from both Butterfly and the people who had actually killed my father. However, I couldn’t bring myself to correct her on that. Also, I needed her help. It bothered me there was a part of my brain ruthless enough to use my own girlfriend, but if I was going to bring Butterfly down, then I needed both her and Christine’s help. I just didn’t have the pull with H.O.P.E. or skill at organizing people to get any operation against them done.
Even so, I could feel Jane’s disapproval. “What?”
“You manipulated her at your father’s funeral,” Jane said, “Isn’t what happened to your father enough?”
I should have been angry, at her or myself, but I was just furious with the police chief and the people he represented.
The rest of the funeral didn’t really matter. Chief Williams gave a despicable speech condemning H.O.P.E., which Christine negated with her beautiful one. Today, like any other, merely perpetuated the back-and-forth war between freedom and control. It was a line I had to carefully walk if I were to play a part in it. My father and I had never agreed on anything, but, in a way, I hoped he would be happy about what I was choosing to do.
If not … well, too bad.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Although I knew it was necessary, going back to school seemed trivial after everything that happened. The nightmare I had about being the Scorpion had only gotten worse since Dad died, and the only thing worse than a really bad dream about your murderous future was when you were haunted by it everywhere you went. I was a pretty imaginative guy and every time I thought about being that madman, I ended up daydreaming about other terrible things I might have done in the future. I saw myself killing people in fields, joining in with my troops as we purged those loyal to the corporations. I saw myself setting off bombs in crowded marketplaces. I saw myself stabbing people in covert ops. I would have thought it a bad joke if not for the fact the actual bad joke came up in English class.
“Today, we’re going to be talking about ‘A Sound of Thunder’ by Ray Bradbury,” Mr. Welles said as he walked around the front of the room. “It’s a story about unexpected consequences as those of you who have done the reading will know.”
John Welles was a curly-haired Caucasian man with a thick mustache, button-down blue shirt, and blue jeans. He used to be my favorite teacher, but I’d lost a lot of respect for him after I’d seen him endorse Butterfly when they conducted a seminar in the gym. He seemed to take a perverse pleasure in talking about how the company had the potential to replace the government on a local level.
At this point,
I was positively dreading his class. I hadn’t been able to do any of the reading because of the funeral. How could I focus on science-fiction month when my life had become one gigantic work of it? The fact we would also soon be having a field trip to the Butterfly building after they beat up dozens of my friends and tried to kill Christine just made my mood even blacker.
“Can you describe ‘A Sound of Thunder’ for the class, Robbie?” Mr. Welles asked, pointing a piece of chalk at the class.
I stared at him then blinked, realizing he was talking to me. “Uh, no sir.”
I found my eyes wandering to the windows and wondered if someone could be out there, watching us all with a sniper scope. Before Sabrina, I’d trusted in Jane to keep me safe, but now I couldn’t help but start to think like the Scorpion. There were a thousand different ways I could end up murdered and my mind couldn’t help but cycle through them all.
Mr. Welles looked disappointed. “That’s unfortunate, Robbie. I was hoping for better from you.”
I wanted to run up to him and slice his throat.
Jesus, what was wrong with me?
“Anyone else?” Mr. Welles asked.
Anna, of all people, raised her hand. “It’s a time-traveler story. A big-game hunter on a trip to the past kills a butterfly and it results in the future changing so a fascist dictator comes to power instead.”
“Good, good,” Mr. Welles said.
I stared at him with bloodshot eyes.
Really?
Are you kidding me?
Time travel?
It was official. God was screwing with me.
“Well, maybe he should have gone back in time and killed the dictator,” I said, louder than I’d intended.
Jane, sitting beside me, gave me a nasty look.
I didn’t care, though.
“That’s an interesting ethical question, actually,” Mr. Welles said, perking up. I hadn’t meant to egg him on but it seemed like I’d succeeded all the same. “If you had the power of time travel, like the protagonists of this story do, would you be ethically justified in going back in time to kill a monster before he became a monster?”
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