Broderick: “Such a shame I couldn’t mark your flawless skin as well.”
Riley: “Where are we going?”
Broderick: “The very same place that you were a few minutes ago with lover boy, except I want to travel back eight years.”
Riley: “Do you have a specific date?”
Broderick: “June 14th.”
Chapter 7
June 14th, 2:22 p.m., eight years ago
Much as I had done previously, I created a fake timeline that paralleled the world of eight years ago. Broderick and Jordan would have no idea it was not real, despite how drained I felt. Using so much energy in such a short span of time, over the last few days, had indeed made me tired. My knees even momentarily gave out, but luckily, Jordan caught me.
Broderick: “What is wrong?”
Riley: “I need to rest.”
Broderick: “This is what happens when you get lazy and don’t practice your abilities as you should.”
Once again, Broderick was having a mood swing.
Riley: “You don’t have any idea how much power it takes to travel back in time, let alone do it as much as we have.”
Broderick: “Very well. You can rest once Jordan teleports me into my old room in the east wing of the Security Safe House.”
Riley: “What is there?”
Broderick: “Something I need to do.”
The fact that the braggart wasn’t talking made me nervous, but nevertheless, we teleported inside the Security Safe House. Broderick didn’t set off the sensors as at this time, he was still one of the good guys. Jordan and I were still cloaked by my ability, unbeknownst to both men. After being told to wait outside a room, I was a bit confused as to what was going on when ten and then fifteen minutes past.
Jordan: “Where are you going?”
Riley: “To see what the monster is up to. He is being too quiet.”
Jordan: “Maybe Broderick just wants to relive his glory days?”
I stepped passed Jordan and opened the door to the room that Broderick was in. Much to my horror, I saw a naked and bloody Arcadia lying in the bed. What the fuck had just happened? I couldn’t even begin to process what I saw and fell to my knees in shock. Someone was talking, probably Jordan, but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears and feel my heart beating almost erratically in my chest.
Jordan: “Riley. Riley. Riley!”
Snapping out of the trace I was in, reality began to sink in. Arcadia had been murdered by Broderick, the psychopath. The worst part was that Broderick didn’t mind his own lunacy or care that he was naked and covered in HER blood … my friend’s blood.
Broderick: “Got to love soundproof rooms.”
Jordan: “Why?”
Broderick: “Did I ever tell you that I never celebrated my honeymoon? I was on a talk show that evening, so a trip to my beloved bride’s room in the afternoon seemed like the perfect idea. Without having absorbed Pious’ powers, killing her was the easy part, so I took care of that as she slept. And then came the fun part.”
Jordan: “You … you …”
Jordan finally snapped and punched Broderick, who in turn stumbled back from the hit. After smugly spitting blood, Broderick stood in triumph for, with a mere thought, he had Jordan doubled over in pain. I guess Jordan wasn’t in enough pain for Broderick as he was about to take it a step further by kicking him in the chest. I stopped Broderick’s foot from coming in contact with Jordan by putting up a protective field.
Broderick: “Remove the field! He needs to be punished.”
Riley: “No.”
Broderick: “Then he will suffer.”
Riley: “You do that and you will forget about all this.”
Broderick: “Would you really choose Jordan over Arcadia?”
I would choose Arcadia, no matter how much it would hurt me. Arcadia was a hero and my friend, which was not something I would walk away from. If it came to it, I would protect my friend with my life.
Riley: “You are not going to like the future this unforgiveable action has created.”
Broderick: “So you are saying you will allow her murder to stay?”
Reminding myself none of this was real, I opened a portal to present day. We didn’t even have to go through for me to recognize that we were stepping into a dark and twisted reality and sure enough, I was right. The Security Safe House was no longer vibrant and filled with life but a former shell of itself. The roof was missing and everything was dark.
Riley: “Remember, this is the world you created.”
Broderick: “Where on Earth are we?”
Riley: “Same place as we were, jackass.”
Broderick: “Can’t be.”
Riley: “Perhaps we shall find a television or newspaper as it may bring us up to speed with today’s world events.”
Broderick: “You are toying with me.”
Riley: “You wanted this. Now, Jordan, if you are capable, please take us to Washington, D.C.”
Jordan, who I could tell was still a bit drained by the poison that coursed through his veins, grabbed hold of Broderick and me. Then the three us traveled to America’s capital and much like the Security Safe House, everything was dark. It appeared that the city was abandoned and so we traveled to Philadelphia, but that, too, was the same story.
Just as we were about to leave, we saw a little girl with a teddy bear come out of a decrepit building. The girl was crying because she was hungry and begging for food. What exactly had happened in this world? But before I could ask her, a boy of maybe thirteen came running over to us.
Riley: “Excuse me, boy, what happened here?”
Teen: “What do you mean?”
Riley: “Why is Philadelphia in ruin?”
Teen: “You are kidding, right?”
Riley: “We are not from around here.”
Teen: “It’s not just here. London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., and even St. Petersburg fell to King Moss. There were about twenty major cities in total left in rubble.”
Broderick: “All this because Arcadia does not exist?”
Teen: “Who?”
Broderick: “Never mind.”
Teen: “All right, stranger. But anyway, my sister and I really should be going. It’s past curfew and I don’t know about you all but I don’t want to be thrown into a work camp.”
Jordan: “Work camp, by who?”
Teen: “King Moss, of course. Where are you all from, again?”
Broderick: “Never mentioned it. Is this King Mackson Moss?”
Teen: “Yes, now keep your voice down as there are machines everywhere and we are out past curfew.”
The teen took the girl’s hand and ran off. A few seconds later, a drone began firing at us. I used my powers to block the laser from hitting us but I must say it was unexpected how strong the drone was. If it had fired with a bit more strength, it could have broken through my time energy field.
Suddenly, a few more drones appeared and I knew I would be no match against them; okay, that was a lie, but I didn’t want Broderick to know the full extent of my power. I decided the best plot was to flee so I screamed for Jordan to teleport us elsewhere and so that was what he did. Before I could blink, Broderick, Jordan and I were standing in front of an old pharmacy on some abandoned Main Street in the middle of America. I thought only the cities had gotten destroyed, not suburbia, but I guess everything was intertwined.
Riley: “Ready to leave?”
Broderick: “No.”
Riley: “Seriously?”
Broderick: “I am curious to see how Mackson outdid me.”
Riley: “You seriously admire a world in ruins.”
Broderick: “Admired is such a strong word. I am intrigued, but don’t worry as soon as we discover the truth, you can return everything as is.”
Riley: “Whatever.”
Broderick: “Where are you going?”
Riley: “Going to take shelter in the pharmacy.”
Broderick: “Wo
n’t it be dirty in there?”
Riley: “Would you prefer a drone to shoot you out in the open as you sleep, say, under a tree?”
Broderick: “Fine, to the dirty pharmacy we go. Maybe, if we are lucky, there will be some of the good stuff still left.”
Riley: “Classy as always.”
I decided to bed down on a table in the employee breakroom of the pharmacy. I liked the idea of being off the ground to make it a bit more difficult for any potential critters to get to me. Not sure where Broderick and Jordan laid down for the night, but I needed to be away from both of them after seeing the trauma of my friend’s lifeless body. I knew Jordan was not involved, but it was because of him that I couldn’t rip out Broderick’s still- beating heart.
Before I fell asleep, I popped over to the real timeline to call Arcadia. Once it was confirmed that she was okay, which I knew to be true but wanted to hear anyway, I asked for Alyssa. As soon as Alyssa got on the phone, she asked me when I would be home; I couldn’t give her a clear answer but I promised it would be soon as I could. Surprisingly, Alyssa accepted my answer and asked me to tell her a story, and since I had a gift for memorizing fairy tales, I recited the tale of Snow White and Rose Red. Afterwards, I could tell that she was ready to sleep so I hung up the phone.
Now that I had taken care of the most pressing of issues, I could find myself a blanket and bring it back to sleep in the rundown pharmacy. Luckily, the pharmacy still existed intact in this world so I walked down the aisles until I found an orthopedic pillow and two throw blankets. Satisfied by what I’d scavenged, I went back to other timeline only to be greeted by Jordan, who was sitting nonchalantly in the breakroom.
Riley: “What are you doing here?”
Jordan: “Where did you go?”
Riley: “Stole a blanket and pillow from the past, when things weren’t so broken.”
Jordan: “How many years back did you go?”
Riley: “Five.”
Jordan: “I don’t know. The items look relatively modern.”
Riley: “Five years ago wasn’t that long ago.”
Jordan: “But that cartoon character on the one blanket didn’t exist until two years ago when the television show debut.”
Riley: “How do you know about children’s programing?”
Jordan: “It was the hottest Halloween costume last year.”
Riley: “Oh. Learn something new every day.”
Jordan: “So where did you go?”
Riley: “Being that you are connected to Broderick, it is better that you don’t know certain things.”
Jordan: “You might be right.”
I threw the pillow down on the table and the blankets. Both he and I glanced at one another and I knew we were thinking the same thing. Jordan wanted me, and I him, but with Broderick not so far away and everything that had happened today, it just didn’t feel right.
Riley: “Well, if there is nothing else to say, I guess this is good night.”
Jordan took three short strides and closed the distance between us. Then his mouth descended on mine and ravished mine like I was the only woman who mattered in the entire world. As soon as the kiss began, Jordan pulled away from me and practically fled the room, closing the door behind him. I had to lean on the side of the table and gather my thoughts for a few minutes.
Riley: “Well, I guess I know what I will be dreaming about tonight.”
October 10th, 10:10 a.m.
Broderick: “Wakey, wakey.”
Riley: “Fuck off.”
Broderick: “Someone is not a morning person.”
Riley: “Nope.”
Broderick: “Well, your boyfriend is back with food, so I suggest you get some before I eat it all.”
Riley: “Such a gentleman.”
Broderick: “Hey, where did you get the blankets and pillows?’
Riley: “They were in an employee’s locker.”
Broderick: “You didn’t think about sharing one of the blankets?”
Riley: “Just be thankful that I didn’t smother you to death in your sleep.”
Broderick chuckled as he exited the breakroom. Not sure why he was in such a good mood. The scumbag was probably dreaming about desecrating another dead body; ugh, there went my appetite. Just when I thought he couldn’t get any more depraved, he went and did—stop thinking about it.
I hopped off the table and walked into the main area of the pharmacy, where Jordan greeted me with fruit and a change of clothing. I was happier about the clean attire than anything else. Actually, what I really wanted was to just go home to my house and live a normal life but that would never happen with Broderick still breathing. I wished my future self would just pop up and tell me what to do.
Jordan: “I found out something interesting when I stole, oops, I mean commandeered this food from the rich.”
Riley: “What did you find out?”
Jordan: “On Saturday, the power comes back on and a live feed is broadcast on all televisions, worldwide.”
Riley: “Vegas.”
Broderick: “Well, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”
Riley: “Considering you have been in jail, you probably don’t know what happened.”
Broderick: “So what occurred?”
Riley: “Two years ago, Vegas went off the grid. She left a note saying that she must repent for her sins. I assume she was referring to helping you. In this world, it would appear she didn’t discover religion but instead became a servant or maybe something more to King Moss.”
Broderick: “How revolting.”
Jordan: “Anyway, the girl who controls technology is not the most interesting part of the story. The intriguing thing is that there is a special prisoner who is to receive punishment on live television. I guess every few months, people get to vote on what happens to him. After the punishment is inflicted, the doctors heal him and things are repeated. I wonder who this gentleman is that pissed off the king.”
Broderick: “I wonder what the punishment options are. Doesn’t matter. I pick the most depraved one.”
Riley: “Of course you do. One of these days, karma will bite you in the ass.”
Broderick: “But not today … not today.”
Jordan: “Apparently, each Saturday there’s a different theme. The third and first Saturday of the month are always reserved for giveaways. The king’s staff hand out substantial gifts to lucky winners in the crowd. It is for this reason that Moss does his Saturday updates in different locations, primarily stadiums or other large venues throughout the world.”
Riley: “What time does this thing start?”
Jordan: “Noon. And it runs however long it needs to.”
Broderick: “We should watch it in person.”
Riley: “I have no desire to see someone be tortured.”
Broderick: “Your loss. Jordan and I will go alone.”
Riley: “So what am I supposed to do?”
Broderick: “I honestly don’t care, but after the show is over I want to go back eight years ago and get a second chance to redo this day.”
Riley: “Desecrating a dead body once wasn’t good enough?”
Broderick: “Sex isn’t fun if there isn’t a fight. If you must know, I just want to go back and get a letter that my dad wrote me and also stop myself from hurting Arcadia.”
Riley: “Why?
Broderick: “While I revel in this chaos, a world where Mac is king, I simply cannot stand for. Arcadia’s death is obviously the trigger that causes him to turn evil.”
What harm could there be with Broderick retrieving a letter? Was that all that he really wanted? It honestly could be a possibility, given how much Broderick’s parents meant to him and at times, he could be sentimental in a screwed-up kind of way.
Riley: “Fine, when you both return, we will travel back eight years. I swear, if any shit is pulled, linked to Jordan or not, I will end you.”
Broderick: “Fair enough.”
Riley: “Yo
u’re going to agree, just like that?”
Broderick: “I know when I am bested.”
Okay, now I knew not to trust him.
Jordan: “So we better get going if we want to get good seats.”
Broderick: “Just sing them a song and we will get the best in the whole stadium.”
Riley: “Do you even know what stadium the king is at today?”
Jordan: “Yep, I will give you a hint. Famed Texas stadium in Arlington, Texas.”
Riley: “That basically gave it away.”
Jordan: “Maybe I am just that good with hints.”
Riley: “Both of you, leave.”
Jordan grabbed hold of Broderick and they teleported away. At first, I considered going back to bed but instead, a better use of my time was a call home to the real world. Just like last night, everything was okay. As expected, Arcadia had no knowledge of this famed letter that Broderick sought, which made his request even more suspicious.
Before I decided to return to the fake timeline, I took a small portable radio and batteries. I was surprised no one tried to stop me, especially after my thievery last night. The camera in the corner of the room must be fake or whoever was watching had failed at their job. Much to my delight, the radio did, in fact, work in King Moss’ world. Apparently, I had returned just in time as Mac’s weekly program had just began. I might not want to watch an execution but that didn’t mean I was not curious about what the king spoke about every week and why an unknown man was regularly tortured.
Then There Was New York Page 11
