Ben McQueeney
The Infinity Order
Copyright © 2020 by Ben McQueeney
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Ben McQueeney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Ben McQueeney has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
First edition
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Contents
Foreword
1. The End
2. A Knock
3. Drinks
4. Lust
5. Blood
6. The Past
7. Ouroboros
8. The Beginning
Have you got a further minute?
About the Author
Also by Ben McQueeney
Foreword
Thanks for taking a read of this short story. This is where my published writing began. It has a special place in my heart. I’m excited to share it with you. Perhaps, in the future I may publish my other short stories. But for now please enjoy the next hour of reading.
1
The End
The man opened his eyes with a degree of difficulty, a sticky mucus binding them together like glue. It obscured his sight, making the room appear blurry as if a thick haze covered it with a blanket. The first sensation that greeted the man as he awoke was a pungent odour that hung heavy in the air. The grotesque stink invaded his nostrils and felt to him like it was saturating his skin. It smelt like animal faeces mixed with something sweet, a sickening blend within its vile fragrance. It made the man’s mouth flood with bile and nearly brought his stomach to heave.
He stood up shakily and peered about the room. It had four stone walls with a high, barred window at one end that allowed rays of the sun to just peek in. It showed dust motes dancing in the beams of sunlight. At the other end was a heavy metal door, covered in a jacket of rivets. It looked strong enough to withstand a blast from a canon. There was an old wooden bucket with an oxidised brass fixing that appeared to hold some sort of dried dark matter that the man didn’t want to investigate too much. Lastly, there looked to be an old stained bed close to where he had awoken that was likely to be crawling with lice.
The man rubbed his eyes to clear his fuzzy vision and was surprised to discover he was sharing the room. In one corner, under the high window was a bedraggled corpse. The remains of a person who had long since died, the flesh all but rotted and the bones from under the thin dark skin could be seen clearly. The source of the vile smell clearly had presented itself. The man wandered over to the rotten body. It was sitting up with its head resting on the stone wall. Looking defeated. It was more of a skeleton now than a corpse. Its clothes looked like it had been gnawed on by rats or maybe this corpse had clothes like that at the time of death. The man couldn’t be certain.
He looked closer and saw that the skeleton was holding a device. It looked basic and broken. It was a mass of circuit boards and loose wires. On one side there was a flat surface which appeared to be a screen. The man picked to the device gently removing the bony fingers of the corpse. He investigated it for a short while and concluded that it didn’t seem useful. Just a piece of junk. Suddenly, the device beeped and came to life in the man’s hands. The screen flashed up a word for a brief second.
‘OUROBOROS’ it read then disappeared as quickly. The man tried to get it to work again for a minute. But nothing happened. The Powercell must be exhausted. He put the crude mass of wires and circuits back in the skeleton’s hands. He didn’t see any benefit in keeping a dead man’s device. That was his.
He spent the next couple of hours investigating the room, looking for a way out. The door may have been the heaviest metal door he had ever encountered. Even when kicking it he could feel how thick it was. There was no way he was getting that door open. The high window opposite was equally no option for escape being set twelve feet high and out of jumping reach. The bed was unfortunately bolted to the wall so he couldn’t use that to get to the high window. Essentially, he was stuck in what appeared to be a jail cell with his only company a rotten old corpse. He opened his lungs and tried to signal someone close by to no avail. It seemed useless.
He sat opposite the corpse and took a break, trying not to panic, his head feeling muggy and thick. He was beginning to get thirsty and he could feel how dry his mouth was becoming. He closed his eyes briefly but felt from somewhere in the room a vibration. Flowing in rhythms. He tracked the source to under the filthy bed. He peeked under it. It was a grey item, roughly the shape of a book. He reached under and pulled it out. The back of the object had a design etched into it. It was of a snake eating its own tail with the words ‘Property of The Infinity Order’ printed in black below it. The man turned it over and saw that the screen was illuminating in waves and with each flash, the object would vibrate. The words on the screen were clear. ‘Awake? Press here.’ The man pressed the screen and a video played instantly.
There was a man with white hair and glasses speaking on the video. He wore a lab coat that shared the same logo as the device. He spoke.
“Hello, Rai. You are probably feeling a bit disorientated now. With the dilation sickness. Don’t worry, this will pass. If our research is correct. If you are having trouble remembering who you are, this is totally normal amnesia from the time travel, we think…” He shuffled in his seat and adjusted the camera, revealing he was sitting in some sort of lab. “You, Rai, have been sent back one thousand years into the past with one single mission. Save humanity. In our future two great families control our world of Ios. The Raines and the Pandoras. The Pandoras have created a bomb that will wipe out every living soul on the planet. The Pandora’s box it is aptly named. They plan to open it shortly; they have given the world three days to say their goodbyes. Then humanity will cease to be. This is the climax to the one-thousand-year war. A thousand years of fighting between these two families and the world. One thousand years of death.” His face went grey. “We here at The Infinity Order have one goal, keep humanity alive forever. We will do anything we can to make that goal happen. We have developed the technology to make a single trip back in time. You were selected as the best of us. The single human to save us all. You have been sent back to save Saskia Raine from being murdered in the next few days. If she dies, it sets the wheels in motion for the thousand-year war between the two families and will bring us to this point in the future.” He picked up the camera and pointed it at a large piece of advanced technology that looked like a portal gate. “I have just sent you back moments ago, the first and last voyage. You will receive these messages shortly after you arrive. On this device. This is your Time Dilation Manipulator or TDM for short. There is an info screen where you can find more about your mission and Saskia Raine. You should have landed very close to her vicinity if our calculations are correct. You only have enough power for one further Time Dilation jump on
this device so ensure she is completely safe before returning to us in the future. Good luck to you, Rai, the whole human race is depending on you.”
The screen went blank. Rai looked at it for a moment. It was true that he didn’t remember who he was. The man in the video certainly knew about him. Rai scrolled the TDM menus and found a button that simply said, ‘Call for attention’. He pressed the button, and instantly a high-pitched sound screamed from the device which made him grab his ears in pain, dropping the TDM on the floor. He scrambled to pick it back up and press the ‘Cease’ button. When he did, the sound stopped immediately. The continued ringing still present in his ears was enough to make him dizzy. Rai felt like he may have deafened himself but was relieved to hear the heavy door unlock from the outside suddenly and swing open creaking upon its hinges as it did.
2
A Knock
Standing in the door was a woman dressed in light armour with her hands on her hips and her head slanted to one side. There were plates of metal covering her body and she had a sword attached to her hip. She had long black hair that was wild and hung free to her shoulders. Her eyes were a radiant hazel colour that cried for the attention of his. Rai felt himself immediately attracted to this woman much like a moth is to light.
She broke the silence between them first. “What was that? Magic? That sound?” Her voice was sweet and clear with an accent long forgotten in the future.
Rai didn’t know what to say or do, so instead tried to lie. “A bird in the window. Very loud. It has gone now. I scared it off.”
She frowned which made her look even more beautiful than she already was. Her thick eyebrows were perfect, and her lips were naturally pink and plump. Rai couldn’t stop staring at them. He wasn’t sure if it was the time dilation sickness or if it was just her who was having this effect on him.
“I see,” she said, rubbing her small chin and perfect jawline. “Ah yes, that one over there was an assassin coming to kill me. Luckily, my brother dealt with him. Locked him in here and threw away the key months ago. He screamed every night for a few days, but the sounds died down and eventually faded away.” She looked over at the corpse, holding her nose at the smell of it, repulsed. “How did you get in here?” she asked, looking back at Rai.
“I… I was… drunk last night and I think someone put me in here for a joke or something.” He thought quickly and that was the best he could come up with.
She seemed appeased by that. “You guards are always doing silly things. Come on, daft arse.” She motioned for Rai to follow. It was only then as he gazed down that he realised what he was wearing. It was some sort of uniform. White tunic and rough leather trousers, with some sort of decoration or symbolisation on the front. When he matched his garments’ patterns to hers, he knew that The Infinity Order must have dressed him to blend in. Very clever.
3
Drinks
He followed her down the winding corridors of the castle. He decided to question her casually. “What’s your name?”
She started laughing. “You must have had lots to drink last night. I am Saskia, the daughter of your lord. Surely you know that?”
Rai was instantly angry with himself because he could have probably found that out on his TDM.
“Yes, of course. I was just checking.” He started to laugh with her to cover his idiocy.
She looked confused at him. “You’re a very strange guard. Not at all like the others.” She felt his face. “I like your short beard. Most guards let theirs grow out and go wild.” She smiled, and he could feel himself glowing red at her touch. Like the blood in his body all reached the surface of the skin at once.
“Thank you,” he said with a crackle in his voice. He could smell her pale skin she was so close. It was like wildflowers and earthy. It was a wonderful fragrance. A sharp contrast to the awful one in the dungeon moments ago.
They passed through the halls of the castle, walking casually. It was huge and grand. Clearly a castle from a thousand years in the past. The grand castle of Lord Baron Raine. The the walls had candle stands every few feet to light the corridors during the nights. They walked upon stone floors and through huge grand arches until they reached what appeared to be a taproom full of life and the sounds of laughter. Saskia skipped over to the head of the room, pulling him by the hand to follow. It was full of guards all enjoying a good watering of gentleman’s beverages and getting rowdy.
“Here, weird guard, this will take the edge off.” She hit the large wooden bar and shouted to the barkeep. “Two pints of Amber, my good man, and don’t forget a decent froth.”
“My name is Rai if you were wondering,” he said, while a metal tankard of orange fizzy liquid was shoved in his hand from the barkeep who had a face resembling a lumpy potato. Rai drank deeply. It was surprisingly refreshing for ale.
“It is? Well, you just get stranger and stranger, don’t you, Rai? What a peculiar name!” She shoulder barged him jokingly and he sensed she may have been flirting. Was this the girl who he was meant to save from imminent death? Who would murder this wonderful woman? She was beautiful, kind and funny, a combination that everyone would love. She started chatting to a couple of other men Rai hoped weren’t guards to call him out as an imposter, so he thought quickly and said, “I am just going to the privy.”
She nodded and took a deep drink. He slipped away and found a quiet corner out of sight to bring out his TDM and review the data further. She was indeed Saskia Raine, daughter of Lord Baron Raine the third. History had it that she was due to wed Jax Pandora and it was called off suddenly as Jax suspected Saskia of being unfaithful with an unknown third party. The disrespect that this had caused Jax and his family was seemingly insurmountable to him. It was Rai’s suspicion that if anyone wanted to murder Saskia it would be Jax Pandora for the wedding slight. Jax was tall and handsome with long blond hair that looked like it had been brushed twice a day his whole life. He was of equal social standing to Saskia, being the second son of Lord Arden Pandora and certainly not a man not to mess with. The info on his battle prowess and ruthlessness in society were more in-depth than the information on his and Saskia’s short relationship. Rai knew he needed to quiz Saskia if he had any chance of finding out where and when she was due to be murdered.
Rai made his way back to Saskia and discovered that she had refilled his cup. “Another one for you, Rai. You are lagging. Breaking the seal this early will cost you many trips to the lavvy.” She started giggling at her own joke and drank deeply from her tankard.
Rai picked his up and sipped the yeasty beverage. He could immediately feel the effects of it. It hit him like a punch in the face.
“That one is much stronger than the last,” she shouted, smiling perfectly at Rai.
“Oh dear,” he replied, holding his tankard up for her to clink hers with.
4
Lust
They spent the next hours laughing, joking and chatting small things. She loved art, music but most of all she loved to laugh. Rai was finding out that he was mostly the brunt of all her jokes. It was okay though; when she laughed it was infectious, and he felt himself laughing along with her. Almost forgetting his mission, to save all humanity. To keep the human race alive forever. The Pandora’s box would wipe out every soul in Ios and if he didn’t save her there would be a thousand-year war before that bomb. One thousand years of death and suffering. He was the only one who could stop it. He tried to probe her about Jax. “Where is Jax Pandora, my lady?”
She gave him a cold look which was a stark contrast to her prior bright-eyed smiles. “Jax? He is a jealous idiot. I don’t want to talk about him.” She put a finger on Rai’s lips. Her finger felt soft against his mouth and her smile returned. He could feel himself falling for her. She was perfect. She got them more drinks and he felt himself becoming drunk. This wasn’t what he was there for. Frolicking. But maybe he could let his hair down and relax this one night and get back to the mission in the morn? He clicked his tankard with hers agai
n and they laughed and laughed. Later she took him to her bed.
5
Blood
In the morning Rai awoke with a thick head and a hung-over mouth. He was laid in a grand room in a huge bed. The sheets were fresh and clean and felt wonderful on his naked body. He remembered the night of passion he had with Saskia and he felt a smile creep onto his face.
“Saskia, are you there?” he said into the vastness of the room. She wasn’t in there, so he went to look in the little room he vaguely remembered as a bathroom from the night previous. He stretched and yawned as he walked and pushed the small wooden door open.
There she was, laid on the floor in a pool of her own blood that had grown dark all around her. Her throat had been cut, deep down to the bone, and her hair had become saturated and tangled in her own life’s blood. Her beautiful hazel eyes were still open and glinted in the morning sun shining through the open window. Rai dropped to his knees and picked up her body, nearly slipping in the red. Her pink lips had long since turned blue. She was dead and felt cold to his touch. Her naked body reduced to lifeless flesh akin to meat on an abattoir floor. She didn’t deserve this. Rai started to cry uncontrollably and shout. How had he been so stupid? He was there to protect her! Sent back in time a thousand years for this single task! Now her family, the Raines would revolt against the Pandoras and the thousand-year war would start. He hadn’t changed a thing. He looked down at her beautiful frail, cold body and couldn’t believe what had happened. He had slept while she was being murdered a room away. It was his fault she was dead, and he needed to solve it. It was on him to make things right.
The Infinity Order: Changing The Past With Time Travel Page 1
