Dissonance (The Machina of Time Book 2)
Page 42
Wyatt adjusted his wrist terminal as Lenny started walking away. Off to his left, he saw the figure in the gray windbreaker that was the older Avery. At least that was happening the way he remembered it.
After adjusting his wrist terminal to April 12, 2090, he checked the current time. It was 11:15 am. In fifteen minutes, his earlier version would arrive and lose his wrist terminal. He wanted to see how that happened.
"Do you want to see what happens?" Brooke asked, startling him.
He turned to look at her and saw her bright smile. Her tired eyes reflected a bit of the mirth she felt. His mind knew he should have figured something out, but he simply watched her smile. It distracted him.
"Come on," Brooke said. "We don't have much time, and you need to see this."
He moved carefully across the aisles, keeping the shelving between his location and the location where Brooke had hidden. he got a clear view of the shelving across the open area from where he knew Brooke had hidden, crouched, and waited.
Hannah stood in the opening, and he tried to determine if it were the same version of Hannah that had just left with Gene. Seeing Gene moving farther along the open pathway, he decided she must be.
Resonance hit Wyatt as his earlier version joined Hannah. It was tough to watch.
"Did something change?" he heard himself ask.
"Yeah," Hannah answered. "Ever since I met you, people have been watching me. It's not just that woman dressed in white, but there are others." She sighed. "Even when I leave here, they follow me." That statement finally made sense to Wyatt, and he laughed quietly to himself.
"Sorry," Hannah said. "I've been struggling with this lately."
Their words faded for a bit as Wyatt moved closer with Brooke.
Wyatt heard himself ask her an important question. "The last time I came back here, you were happier. What changed?"
"I don't know," Hannah said. "I think I've felt this way for some time. From what I remember, this started in that other time my cousin placed me in. When it got too bad, he moved me here."
The conversation flowed in the way Wyatt remembered it. It seemed like it all happened so long ago in his mind.
"They've been following you since then?" the earlier Wyatt asked as someone coughed from a nearby aisle.
Hannah shrugged out of his arms and rose to her feet. "You need to go back, now."
"What?" the earlier Wyatt asked.
Wyatt watched the scene unfold the way he remembered it.
"It's Gene," Hannah said, and really sounded nervous. "Don't let him see you."
The earlier Wyatt rose.
"Go on," that version of Hannah said. "Get out of here before he sees you."
"Watch this," Brooke said from beside him. "You're going to love it."
Wyatt remembered the anxiety his earlier version must feel in that moment. Hannah motioned for his earlier version to move, and that version activated his wrist terminal's portal. With one last look over his shoulder toward the old man, Gene, that version of Wyatt stepped through.
The portal began to close around the earlier Wyatt as the version of Brooke that had hidden to watch it raced out into the open. She caught the earlier Wyatt's left wrist, pulled the wrist terminal free, and turned to face Hannah.
Wyatt heard the version of Brooke beside him giggle, the cadence of her laugh making it contagious. He looked at her, and she smiled at him. "I told you it would be great."
The portal closed and they doubled over from the effects of the resonance. Out of the corner of his eye, that earlier version of Brooke also doubled over.
"What was that for?" Hannah asked standing over the earlier Brooke.
That earlier Brooke said something as she rose to her feet. Whatever she said, seemed to appease Hannah who backed off.
"Why did you do that?" Wyatt asked the Brooke beside him.
Brooke shook her head, with a few coughs. After a moment, Wyatt realized she was laughing. "It had to be done," she said. "Lenny told me to. It's part of preserving the memories we have."
Wyatt thought back to that experience. He couldn't help laughing along with the Brooke beside him as the earlier Brooke placed the wrist terminal on the empty shelf nearby.
The earlier version of Brooke looked toward Hannah and the approaching figure of Gene.
"You guys need to get out of here, now," Brooke's earlier version said.
Hannah nodded and began walking away from Brooke. She moved directly toward where Wyatt and the later version of Brooke hid.
"Now is when you should go and talk to her," the version of Brooke with Wyatt said.
"Right now?" Wyatt asked.
"Just go with it," Brooke said. "We need to talk later, anyway."
Hannah continued moving along the aisle toward Wyatt and Brooke. Wyatt's mind replayed all that had happened with the older versions of Hannah. His interactions with her had caused the troubles, but she had also helped him.
With a sigh, Wyatt stepped through a gap toward Hannah.
"So, this must be where you give me that notebook," Hannah said, shaking her head. "Does that mean Brooke is out there somewhere?"
Wyatt shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "All I know is that it has been a long day." He glanced at his wrist terminal and saw it was nearing noon. "One of your older versions said I was in a hurry. But I don't feel so rushed right now."
Hannah laughed. "How many versions of me have you seen."
"Don't worry," Wyatt said. "You seem to be everywhere I end up in trouble." He watched her smile fade at that.
"So, I'm your rescuer?" Hannah asked. Her smile showed her white teeth for several seconds. She shook her head as she smiled. "This kind of relationship"—she pointed between herself and Wyatt—"will be too hard to maintain."
Her words shocked him. He looked away and stepped back. "Are you breaking up with me?" he asked.
Hannah laughed. "Wait. How many days have we known each other?" She paused to laugh a little more. After a second, she held up her hands. "I'm more than happy to be your friend, and part-time rescuer. But a relationship, with me here in 2039 and you in 2090, just wouldn't work."
"Is that because of your cousin?" Wyatt asked, but it surprised him as a wave of relief washed over him. With the messes that time travel had already created, a relationship would be terrible. "Never mind. I think I understand. A long-distance relationship is hard enough. Add time travel and it would be impossible."
"It's for the best," Hannah said, frowning for a moment and glancing toward where Brooke hid. "You really should find someone that feels the changes like you do."
"Okay," Wyatt said. "Will you still help me."
Hannah nodded, as Wyatt caught Brooke moving out of the corner of his right eye. He smiled as he realized Brooke would have heard the whole exchange.
He pulled the older black notebook out of his front pocket and flipped through it. The pages were nearly full, compared with the version he carried in his back pocket. "This is for you," he said, handing it over.
"That's all?" Hannah asked, taking the notebook, and watching him. She opened it halfway. "Did you write all of these?"
"Evidently," Wyatt said. "I have an earlier version that doesn't have as much"—he touched his right rear pocket—"but that is my handwriting. Those are the codes, times, and notes I left."
Hannah nodded. "But it doesn't really do me any good."
"I know," Wyatt said, removing his wrist terminal. "You're going to need this also."
She took the wrist terminal and flipped through some more pages. "This looks like it is your journal, basically." She held up a page. "You got some strange notes here. Something about driving an automatic car in manual."
Wyatt remembered the car in the business park and seeing a couple versions of Hannah there. He nodded. "Supposedly, I gave you instructions to help me out in several areas."
"Pull yours out," Hannah said.
Wyatt complied with her request and held it in front of her. "It doesn't have
everything that copy does."
"But it will," Hannah said. "I see why you would give this to me. I don't feel the resonance, so there are some things I can fix that maybe you can't."
"Just don't mess me up," Wyatt said, replacing his version of the notebook into his back pocket.
Hannah stuffed her version of the notebook into the front of her orange shirt and put on his wrist terminal. "Come back and visit." She wrapped him in a hug. "Don't let me grow old without seeing you once in a while."
Wyatt smiled and shook his head slowly. "That's silly," he said. "Take care of us." He let her embrace remain for as long as he could. As she released him, he felt her lightly kiss his cheek.
"You take care of your group," Hannah said. "Especially that one." She pointed toward Brooke who had stepped out of the gap in the shelving on their right.
Wyatt nodded as Hannah turned and left. This time she walked in the same direction Gene had gone.
"You didn't seem to be rushing around that time," Brooke said.
"Do you think, because of all the changes we caused, she won't have to use that wrist terminal?" Wyatt turned to face Brooke as he spoke.
Brooke shrugged and blinked a few times.
"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked.
"It's dusty in here," Brooke said. "I think I got something in my eye."
Wyatt smiled at that, and Brooke laughed as Hannah vanished out of sight through a gap in the shelving. "I've never had a relationship breakup like that before," he said.
"You think that was a relationship?" Brooke asked. "Like she said, how many times have you seen her?"
Wyatt laughed again, watching the smile grow on Brooke's face. "Are you happy about that?"
Brooke looked away, but he thought he could see a hint of red on the darker skin of her face. When she turned back to him, she smiled broadly. "Do you want to grab some lunch before we go back?"
"Sure," Wyatt said. "Lunch would be great. Do you remember how to get there?"
"If we need to, we could take a few tries to get there," Brooke said, holding up her right wrist with the wrist terminal.
He smiled back, gesturing with his right hand for her to lead the way. They had several hours before he needed to return. "Would this count as a date?"
Brooke rolled her eyes at him over her right shoulder and started walking along the aisle. He caught up to her, keeping close, but not too close. No matter what she thought, it was a date, he told himself. He laughed.
She looked over her shoulder and smiled again. Wyatt smiled back and they walked together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
If you've read this far, I hope you liked it, paradoxes and all. My name is Daniel R. Burkhard, and I have always loved good stories. I guess my love for some of the classics of science fiction came from my parents' bookshelf. As a kid, they always had science fiction and fantasy books around. One of those books got me in a little bit of trouble with a fourth-grade teacher who, after finding the book on my desk, demanded to know if my parents were okay with me "reading this crap." I've been hooked on science fiction and fantasy ever since. If you enjoyed this book, check out my website for info on my other books and forthcoming works.