A Paradox of Fates

by Rebecca Hefner

  “Oh, god,” she moaned, spearing her nails into his back.

  He hissed, his muscular body tensing further at the coarse contact, and took the lobe of her ear between his lips. Steady and sure, he began to suck it through his teeth, the tip of his tongue lathering the minuscule spot, showing her what he would do to other tiny nubs on her body.

  Eventually, he ceased, lowering his forehead to rest at her temple. Exhaling a deep breath, he squeezed her ass in his hand, pulling her tighter.

  “I can’t keep kissing you. Otherwise, I’m going to fuck you right here on Lewis’s desk. I’m not sure that’s what he had in mind when he recruited me.”

  Lainey stiffened, taking stock of her wanton position. Her leg was thrown around his waist, hugging his erection into the juncture of her thighs as she clung to his broad back, nails extended, for dear life. The man she’d professed to hate only seconds ago. What the hell was wrong with her?

  Furious at herself, she slowly let go, lowering her leg to the floor and unclenching her fingers from his shirt. Realizing the moment was broken, he gradually released her.

  They stood frozen except for the rush of their breath, Lainey wary, Hunter resigned.

  “I don’t care what type of fate you believe in,” she said, striving to keep the anger from her tone. “There’s no way in hell I’m marrying you or anyone else.” Needing to dismiss him and escape the disaster that just occurred, she lifted her chin in the air and pivoted, stalking toward the door. Once she pulled it open, she turned, finger extended. “And if you ever lie to me again, I’ll put a bullet between your ears.”

  Feeling she’d at least regained one percent of the footing she’d lost during the most explosive kiss of her life, she stormed from the office.

  Chapter 18

  Hunter ran his hand through his hair, silently cursing himself for the way he’d handled the entire situation. He’d thrown the stunning scientist off-balance yet again, and he knew that was something she detested. Sighing, he acknowledged he needed to return to the foyer to discuss next steps with Eli, Lainey, and Cyrus. But first, he just needed a damn moment.

  Hand clutched over his chin, he remembered his first encounter with Lewis. The kind man had found Hunter at his cabin, fifty miles north of Terrum, where he was living off the land, solitary and broken. They’d sat on the weathered couch in the sparse living room, Lewis reveling in the taste of the strong coffee Hunter had served. His wife Mara didn’t let him drink coffee anymore—the caffeine wasn’t good for his heart—so it was a vice he often longed for.

  Eventually, Lewis had explained he had a secret alliance with Eli Hernandez. Hunter’s reaction had been to lift his gun from his belt and aim it at the scientist’s forehead. After several minutes of calm pleading, Hunter gave the man a chance to explain.

  Lewis recounted that Eli had approached him one day when he was fishing in the river that ran north of the hub. The man had irrefutable evidence he’d been contacted by Lewis’ adult daughter Elaine in the past, even though Elaine would’ve only been a child when they made the supposed contact. It all seemed impossible, and Hunter realized he was listening to the rantings of an old and unstable man.

  Until Lewis pulled the pictures from his coat pocket. Pictures of a large machine with metal arms, looking like something from the science-fiction graphic novels Hunter’s grandfather had loved to read. Pictures of the hub, of pages and pages of scientific equations, and lastly, pictures of his daughter.

  Lainey’s amber eyes had called to him from the photographs. They held a deep sense of purpose and in some, such unbearable loneliness. The same loneliness Hunter saw each time he stared at his reflection.

  “I haven’t done well by her,” Lewis said, rubbing his finger over her face in the photograph. “I’ve trained her for one purpose and placed such a burden on her. She doesn’t understand love, except in the context of the few people at the hub. In preparing her for the doom of the world, I inadvertently made it her reality.” His irises lifted, the same stunning ochre as Elaine’s. “Eli has given me information that perhaps this reality will change for Lainey one day, but that is for him to tell you. I’ve done my piece here.”

  Rising from the couch, Lewis pulled a letter from his pocket. “I’ll tell you not to read this, but you will anyway. You’ll wait a few days, but curiosity will get the best of you. That’s fine, my boy.” Eyes shined as he patted Hunter’s cheek. “There is continuity in chaos, and you’ll discover that eventually. Love is not linear, Hunter. Take it from an old man like me. I know you mourn Kara terribly, as you should, but you will discover a new purpose, and love will take shape in new ways. Your past was with Kara and the man you used to be. Your future is yours to decide.”

  He set the mug on the table and circled the scarf around his neck. “Be kind to Lainey. She’s cynical but practical. You’ll always reach her if you remember that.” Tipping his hat, the genial and cryptic man exited the cabin.

  Hunter sat frozen, the chill of the air from the now-closed door wafting over his lifeless body. He’d been like this for so long, ever since the New Establishment bastards killed his wife. Deadened. Hardened. Empty.

  Resolved to stay that way, he resumed his day, milling about the cabin, chopping wood for the fire. Living the life he’d promised Kara he wouldn’t end, even though it was pointless.

  But, curiously, Hunter’s eyes kept darting to the photographs on the coffee table, situated beside the folded letter the strange man left behind. For days, he convinced himself he didn’t care. The rantings of a washed-up scientist had no place in his squalid world.

  Until the curiosity won out. Days later, Hunter sat in the threadbare chair spreading the pictures across the table. The time machine was something out of his wildest imagination, causing his eyes to narrow as he studied the photos. Beside them, images of Elaine smiled up at him, and he felt some untenable connection to the woman behind the depiction.

  Days bled into weeks as Hunter slowly began to live again. He resumed jogging and lifting the weights that had gathered dust in the corner of his cabin. When his body was strong enough, he assembled supplies and his stockpile of weapons and headed to find his battalion mates from the Old Rebellion. Locating several of them, they formed a rebel squad, their allegiance to themselves and justice. Although they didn’t align with the Insurgency, they would help them in battles against the New Establishment they deemed worthy, usually as unknown militias, fighting from behind the trees and in the shadows.

  In the year 2069, Hunter made first contact with Eli Hernandez. The New Establishment leader was visiting the troops stationed west of what was formerly known as Washington D.C. They’d built a new compound from whence to spread their evil upon the isle. In a rare moment of privacy, the dictator had entered a small clearing in the forest outside the compound walls to experience a moment of solitude.

  The click of Hunter’s trigger sounded as he held the barrel of the gun to Eli’s head.

  “Hello, Hunter,” Eli said, his tone nonplussed. “I’ve often wondered when you were going to find me. Took you long enough.”

  “Let’s get one thing clear,” Hunter gritted through his teeth, observing the man in the shards of moonlight that shot between the tree branches and rumbling clouds above. “I’m basing this meeting on information from a man I’m convinced is half-insane, so tread lightly. I’m not above killing you. I have nothing to live for anymore except the promise I gave my wife that I wouldn’t end it all. My bar is exceptionally low.”

  Eli sighed and placed his hands in his pockets.

  “Hands where I can see them,” Hunter gritted.

  Eli pulled them free, rotating them slowly. “It would be nice if you removed the gun from my temple, but I won’t push my luck.”

  Hunter backed away, cautious and wary, but kept the gun aimed at Eli’s heart. “Okay, start talking.”

  Eli recounted the tale of Lainey’s visit when he was only seven and the arrowhead she’d left him. He detailed his journe
y to build a reputation so disastrous, not even the most skeptical would dare assume he wasn’t on board with the New Establishment’s plans for world domination. Then, he lifted dark eyes to Hunter’s, full of sorrow and compassion.

  “I searched every scenario possible to prevent Captain Gibson’s execution of your wife. For years, I postulated a thousand ways I could manipulate the outcome. In the end, I couldn’t do it. Although I am admired and feared, there are powerful men who watch me closely. Any opportunity to take me down would derail my chances of success. Even now, I chose this wooded area hoping this would be the night you made contact, but who knows who’s watching? I’ve learned we never fully comprehend the complete truth of any situation. In the end, I couldn’t save her. I’m sorry, Hunter.” Eli laid a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder even though he was pointing a gun at his chest. “It’s one of my greatest failures.”

  Hunter slowly lowered the gun, letting his guard down as he rarely did. If Eli wanted an opportunity to kill him, it was now or never. But the enigmatic man only squeezed Hunter’s shoulder before his arm fell back to his side.

  “The only thing I can surmise is that everything happens as it’s supposed to. A sequence of events that can’t be changed, no matter how many instances of time we travel through. As tragic as it was, Kara’s death led us here.”

  Hunter’s gaze dropped to the ground, his grief still raw though it had abated to a dull ache over the years.

  “One point of solace is that you’ll find happiness again. For that, I am truly grateful.”

  Hunter’s gaze latched onto Eli’s. “What does that mean?”

  “With Elaine,” Eli said, his raven-black eyebrows drawing together. “You were married when she came to me as a child. You accompanied her.”

  Shock spread through his frame, slow and sticky, as he digested the words. “That’s impossible,” he said, nostrils flaring. “I will always love Kara. I have no desire to be with anyone else.”

  Eli’s lips quirked. “Lewis didn’t tell you. Slimy bastard. He always did leave the dirty work to me.” Shrugging, he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Sorry,” he said, “it’s a habit. I don’t have a weapon in my pockets, I assure you.” Compressing his lips, he finally said, “I need your alliance, Hunter. We’ve got to set this right.”

  Gazing up at the half-moon, Eli’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve already been gone too long. Continue your fight against the New Establishment. In a few years, we will begin seizing the scientific hubs. For now, the regime is intent on keeping the world bereft of technology because they want people kept in the dark. That won’t last forever. Once we start occupying the hubs, approach Lainey. She’ll be resistant. Lewis told me she’s quite distrustful of men thanks to a disastrous relationship with someone in her past. It’s best not to tell her you’ll eventually marry until absolutely necessary. Her belief that you’re still in love with your wife will help ease her cynicism and help you gain her trust.”

  “I’ll always love Kara,” Hunter repeated, not understanding how he could ever share something so extraordinary with anyone else.

  “I know, but love is not linear, Hunter. I’m sure Lewis told you that. It’s my favorite quote of the old geezer’s. I hope it’s true. Otherwise, what the hell is this all for?”

  Hunter felt his forehead furrow, questioning.

  “Yes, my friend,” Eli said, chuckling. “Even I wish for love. For companionship. I was raised by a beautiful, passionate woman who instilled that in me. Being the vilest dictator in the world doesn’t lend to happiness, but I hope I’ll procure it one day. For now, I must go.”

  Extending his hand, Hunter grasped it and shook, finding the man’s grip strong and steady. He struggled to speak, unable to process Eli’s predictions.

  “The more you digest the information, the less insane it will sound. Take it from a once-seven-year-old boy who was visited by a woman from the future and told he must become evil to vanquish it.” Granting Hunter one last smile, the New Establishment leader quietly stalked from the clearing.

  Hunter returned to his men, shaken to the tips of his boots from their conversation. As weeks bled into months, he did his best to process the snippets of his future that seemed impossible. If Dr. Elaine Randolph was going to solve time travel, he’d just go back and save Kara and resume their life together. Simple as that.

  Lewis contacted him again in late 2069, several weeks before his death, the note asking Hunter to meet him by the river while he fished. There, they discussed the paradox of time travel. Even if he traveled back to 2063 to save Kara, Hunter was now almost forty, and she would be years younger. A younger version of himself existed, and that would be the one who would thrive with Kara if she survived.

  “I know it’s all quite confusing,” Lewis said, coughing as he held the rod. Hunter could sense his looming death and he found himself wondering how Elaine would process it. Mara had died a few years ago, leaving her with no one but the few people who lived at the hub. Effectively, she was as alone as Hunter.

  Hunter lifted a hand to pat Lewis’s back, trying to ease the coughing.

  “Eh, I’m fine,” he sputtered, waving him off. “Damn old age. It’s a bitch.” He began reeling in the line, the circling of the spinner soothing. “You can only save Kara for your younger self. To that end, it’s best if you go back to 2035 and help Elaine stop my father.”

  Hunter stared at the water, contemplative.

  “She’ll need your military competence, along with Cyrus’s. You two together will be formidable. When you stop the apocalypse and reset the timeline, you’ll have the opportunity to provide the details of Kara’s death to your younger self. I suggest a letter,” Lewis said, sparing him a glance, “because you should in no way have contact with yourself in a different timeline. It could quite literally set off another apocalypse, one we will never recover from.”

  Hunter nodded, all of it sounding far-fetched and quite ridiculous.

  “But the fate paradox has been theoretically proven, Hunter,” Lewis continued thoughtfully. “There is a chance Kara’s fate is to die on the same exact date in every timeline. No amount of meddling or space-time travel can prevent it. This is the great beauty and the great curse of knowledge.”

  “I understand,” Hunter said, allowing it all to sink deep into his bones. For the second time in his life, he had to acknowledge and accept that his time with Kara was over. Once when she died, and he knew nothing of time travel. Now, again, when he’d learned people could travel through time—as preposterous as it seemed—but he still could never be with her. The rest of his days in the body he inhabited now would be lived without her, however long they may be. The realization was paralyzing and overwhelming.

  “Now, now,” Lewis said, patting his shoulder, “I know this is all gloom and doom, but you’ve got a good heart, Hunter. The fact you were able to love Kara so deeply gives me hope for Lainey.” Maple-colored eyes seemed to drill into Hunter’s soul. “I only ask you to consider the possibility you are a very lucky man who was destined to love two incredible women, each in very different phases of your life.”

  “My life has been anything but lucky,” Hunter muttered.

  “Then change the narrative, son,” was Lewis’s cheerful response. “Only you can.”

  Hunter had left him by the river, learning of his death only weeks later. In the years that followed, he kept a close eye on the hub, wanting to ensure its inhabitants were safe, and Elaine could continue her work.

  At night, he would study the now frayed photograph, staring at Elaine’s amber-colored eyes, not understanding how he could ever open himself up to anyone again. She would stare back, frozen and smiling, and he would wonder. About her. About her desires. About the loneliness that emanated from several of the other pictures Lewis had left sprawled on his coffee table.

  Over time, his wonder turned to curiosity. Could he actually find it in his heart to love again? When Kara died, it seemed impossible. Now, it seemed…like a di
stant notion. Far away and clouded, not quite tangible, but on the edge of possibility.

  As the inquisitiveness overtook him, he eventually searched her out. From behind a thick tree hidden in the dense brush, he observed Elaine at the spot where she came to find solace. Two comfortable, high-back wooden chairs sat in the clearing, and she would relax into one and close her eyes. With nimble fingers, she would massage her temples, and Hunter realized she suffered from migraines as Kara had.

  Elaine would sometimes reverently stare at the chair beside her and clutch the arm with her hand. Hunter understood she was remembering Lewis, and his heart would constrict as tears rolled down her cheeks in the darkness. He knew it was a violation of her privacy and told himself he should be ashamed, but surveillance was a skill he’d learned long ago. Who better to observe than the woman destined to save the world? The woman two intelligent men insisted was an integral part of his future? His voracious mind craved knowledge of her, and the infrequent yet poignant eavesdropping sessions cemented something inside his broken soul he couldn’t quite name.

  Not wanting to be a creep and certainly not wanting to be discovered by Cyrus, who monitored the premises extensively, Hunter kept the surveillance sessions short and sporadic. But over time, they became an escape for him. He began to look forward to the nights she would appear long after the moon rose and will away the pain in her head. She would talk to Lewis about all sorts of scientific equations and theories even though he wasn’t there. The conversations were a metaphor for her solitude, causing Hunter to wish she had someone to talk to who was real.

  The years dragged on, Hunter fighting with his men while his fascination grew. Ultimately, he decided he was open to whatever the future held and would continue to do his best to honor the promises he’d made to Kara, Lewis, and Eli. Kara had often told him that if something happened to her, she wanted him to find love again. In the arrogance of his youth, when he’d believed them invincible, it had seemed a waste of breath. Now, he wasn’t so sure.