Reversion (The Narrows of Time Series Book 3)

by Jay J. Falconer

  Fathers must have that innate power over their sons, he decided. Maybe it was a genetic ability, or perhaps it was all part of some divine master plan, passed down and honed over the millennia. Either way, he was worried his response was going to make him look weak and vulnerable in front of Zed, but it wasn’t going to stop him from saying what he needed to say.

  “I’m sorry, Father. I truly am, but I don’t know what else to say. If I could travel back in time and do it all over again, I’d do it all differently. Just give me a chance. I swear, I’ll make this right.”

  “Doubtful. You can’t un-ring a bell,” Riku said. Pointing at Zed, he asked, “Who’s this guy?”

  “Zed Bradshaw. My second-in-command.”

  Zed nodded confidently. “Heard a lot about you, sir.”

  “You know my rules about outsiders,” Riku snarled at Rocket, folding his arms across his chest.

  “You can trust him. He’s a stand-up guy and a believer in the cause, too. He came here with me to find Masago.”

  Zed straightened his posture, taking a firm stance in the dirt. “I stand at the ready, sir. Whatever you need.”

  Riku hesitated while his eyes wandered for a bit, obviously thinking things through.

  Rocket expected this level of cynicism from his old man. It wasn’t the first time or the last. But he’d manned-up and offered his apology and it would just have to do for now. There were more important issues at hand. He made firm eye contact and switched to his confident voice.

  “Did you see that intense flash earlier? In the direction of downtown?”

  “What flash?” Riku asked without hesitation.

  “I take that as a no. Trust me, it wasn’t something you see every day.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Riku asked.

  “Neither did you.”

  “Get to the point, son.”

  “It was damn far away. Possibly near downtown Tucson, but yet, it was still massive and bright. It only lasted a second or two and wasn’t followed by any sound or signs of smoke. I’m guessing you were on your way here and had your back turned.”

  “Obviously.”

  “If Masago’s in town like I think—”

  “Then we need find her.”

  “Sort of my point, Dad. Earlier, there was a low-level air force flyby of our camp on their way to Tucson. Then we saw a massive flash in town and it looked like it was directly under their flightpath. I don’t know what’s going on, but if we’re looking at some kind of attack or a prelude to military occupation, things could get out of hand quickly. If it escalates, it’s only going to bring the worst out in every survivalist, militant, and prepper in the area. The desert’s filled with them.”

  “I agree. Where do we start?” Riku asked.

  “Thanks to your son’s quick thinking, we planted a GPS tracker on your daughter, but we’ll—”

  “Need to be in range to pick up its signal,” Rocket said. “If she’s in town, we have to head there now.”

  Riku’s face tensed. “No, we activate the device now, just in case your sister is not where you thinks he is. Let’s pray that’s the case.”

  “Roger that,” Zed said.

  “We can’t cover much ground alone. How many men do you have?” Riku asked.

  “Plenty,” Rocket told him, trying to decide how many men he should task in the search for his sister. At first thought, his heart wanted to send them all. But his logic took over and reminded him he had a duty to protect those in his camp.

  “How many do you think we need?” he asked his dad, hoping the number was small. Otherwise, he’d have to debate the decision with his old man, wasting even more time.

  “I’d suggest—” Riku said, stopping in midsentence with his mouth hanging open. He pointed at the horizon. “Are those what you saw earlier?”

  Rocket spun his boots in the dirt and saw three brilliant, white-colored objects off in the distance. Again, they were in the direction of Tucson, but this time they didn’t blink out after a second or two. They were pulsating and shaped like massive domes.

  “Hell no. This is something new. We need to move, now!”

  32

  Lucas Prime couldn’t believe his eyes when they locked onto three brilliant objects out the back window of Masago’s truck. A trio of energy domes had just spawned in sections of the city they’d just left behind. He pointed from the front seat, trying to get Bruno, Drew, and Lucas two’s attention. “Shit! It’s already started!”

  Everyone in the backseat spun their heads and shoulders.

  Lucas two gasped. “What the hell?”

  “Faster, Masago, faster!” Bruno yelled.

  “I’ve got it floored now,” she yelled back. “This is as fast as this beast goes!”

  “What are they?” Drew asked.

  “Krellian energy domes,” Lucas Prime said.

  “What?” Drew asked.

  “You’ve seen them before?” Lucas two asked, now with a makeshift bandage wrapped around the self-inflicted gash in his arm. Drew had cut a strip of his T-shirt off to make the wrap and tie it around the gaping wound.

  “Oh, yeah. Many times. Even had one of them chase me.”

  “What are they doing?” Drew said.

  “They’re sucking up everything in their path, pulling matter into their universe for processing. This is how it starts. This is what I was trying to stop.”

  “Oh my God!” Masago yelled. “All those poor people! And children!”

  “An invasion?” Lucas two asked with a steady voice.

  “An extinction.”

  “Jesus Christ! Why?”

  “Because you ran the experiment without permission and did so at full power.”

  “Me? I’m responsible?” Lucas two said.

  “Yes, you and NASA. Haven’t you been paying attention? This is what I’ve been trying to tell you this entire time.”

  “Yeah, I heard you. But I thought you were exaggerating. You know, to get my attention and drive home a point.”

  Prime turned to Bruno. “Was I really like this?”

  Bruno shrugged and nodded, almost as if he was embarrassed.

  Prime dropped his head for a moment, then locked eyes with the security guard again. “Wow. I’m sorry.”

  “What’s NASA got to do with this?” Drew asked.

  “NASA built technology very similar to yours. When you powered up your reactor, so did they, amplifying the E-121’s incursion effect across spatial dimensions.”

  “Those bastards! They stole our ideas?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Since you’ve lived these events before, you know what’s coming next, right?” Bruno asked Prime.

  “Not exactly.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Lucas two sat forward in his seat.

  “Events are different this time, both in the future and in the past.”

  “A predestination paradox,” Drew added, with a touch of excitement in his voice. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

  Prime nodded. “Yes, the bleed-back effect seems to be intensifying as I move forward in this time thread.”

  “What do you mean—intensifying?” Bruno asked.

  “The list of changes is growing, like what we’re seeing now. The first time around, the energy domes didn’t appear right away. The Krellians used a slow rollout, spread over days. It’s almost like something is controlling the timeline now—speeding it up.”

  “How is that possible?” Masago asked from the front seat.

  “I’m not sure. But I get the feeling Father Time is trying to stay ahead of me,” Prime replied, wishing she’d keep her focus on her driving duties and not be distracted by the discussion in the backseat. He looked at Drew, hoping the timeline copy of his younger brother could add some insight to the discussion.

  Drew only shook his head slowly.

  “So, this all revolves around you?” Bruno asked.

  “That’s what I was told.”

 
“By who?” Masago asked from the driver’s seat.

  “Master Fuji. Your great-great-great . . . whatever. A little over four hundred years from now.”

  Lucas two tapped Prime on the arm. “I think I remember reading a thesis that suggested time passes at different rates in each universe. Something about the flow of time is not a baseline constant. Could that have something to do with this?”

  “Actually, it wasn’t a thesis,” Drew said to Lucas two. “It was a guest lecture Dr. Kleezebee gave last year in Phoenix at ASU. We tagged along with him so we could swing by and visit Mom afterward. We sat in on it together, remember? It was pouring rain during the drive up there.”

  “Oh, yeah, you’re right. That was the day the fat chick in the front row totally lost her cookies. Vomit everywhere.”

  Lucas Prime didn’t remember the lecture in his version of the timeline, and wasn’t sure if the missing lecture was a good thing or not. “As it turns out, Kleezebee is correct. Of course, since he’s actually from a different universe where time does proceed faster than here, he already knew his theory was correct.”

  “A different universe?” Drew asked.

  Prime shot a concerned look at Bruno. “Damn. I wasn’t supposed to disclose that, was I?”

  Bruno turned to the brothers in the backseat. “Just forget you heard that, okay?”

  Drew shrugged.

  Lucas two rolled his eyes.

  Prime continued. “One thing I’ve learned the past couple of years is that the future and the past are not set in stone, though they tend to end up exactly where they were intended, even if you attempt to make changes.”

  “More circular logic?” Lucas two snapped. He threw his hands up and shot a hard glare at Bruno. “We gonna listen to this wacko?”

  “Yes, we are. Now keep quiet unless you have something useful to add,” Bruno scolded, turning his eyes to Prime. “What’s the plan from here?”

  “Same as before. We get to Rocket’s camp and out of harm’s way. Then I contact my people and have them send me back earlier to fix this.”

  “What if more of those energy domes appear? Won’t we still be in danger?” Drew asked.

  “If the pattern holds true, their initial focus will be on densely populated areas and military bases—high-value targets. I doubt Rocket’s compound will fit into that category. I’m pretty sure we have some time”—Prime said, swinging his focus to Lucas two—“as long as nothing happens to you. Otherwise, I cease to exist.”

  “If you’re correct about the future and past being set on a collision course with a specific destiny, how will you be able to travel back and fix the timeline?” Lucas two asked. He turned to Bruno, not waiting for an answer. “See, something useful.”

  Prime cleared his throat, making sure everyone was focused on him and listening. They were.

  “I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but future Kleezebee and Master Fuji should have the answers. They usually do. Somehow, some way, we’re gonna stop all of this from happening once and for all. We just have to target the correct anchor point.”

  Prime felt the truck climb an incline, then lean to the left as Masago navigated the dirt road. He gripped onto the seat back, keeping himself secure while looking a Drew in the back.

  “Guys, we have a problem!” she yelled from the front seat, hitting the brakes hard.

  Prime lurched forward, slamming his back into the dashboard. When he spun around in the seat, he instantly understood her concern.

  The road was blocked by three flatbed trucks, two Jeeps, and a Dodge Ram pickup. Every vehicle was painted using desert beige camouflage colors. At least two dozen men stood with assault rifles pointed at Masago’s truck—each wearing tactical gear: helmets, goggles, boots, and chest rigs with ammo pouches.

  “Back up, now!” Bruno shouted from the backseat.

  Masago jammed the stick shift into reverse, then looked over her shoulder and out the back window.

  “Looks like they have us surrounded,” she shot back, never stepping on the gas.

  Prime whipped his head around. She was correct; four more vehicles had pulled in behind them.

  The man in the middle of the roadblock ahead stepped forward, aiming his assault weapon at the F-250.

  “Exit the vehicle with your hands up! I won’t ask again.”

  “What do we do?” Drew asked.

  “We get out with our hands up,” Lucas two answered.

  “What about me?” Drew asked his brother. “My wheelchair’s in the back.”

  “You’re gonna have to stay low until I can get it for you.”

  “You can’t just leave me here!”

  “I won’t. Just stay out of sight until we figure this out.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t worry, bro, it’ll all work out. Even these animals aren’t going to shoot a disabled kid.”

  “You can’t know that,” Masago told him.

  “I’ll carry him,” Bruno said, patting Drew on the back. “Right, little chief?”

  Drew nodded with a petrified look on his face.

  Prime looked at Bruno. “These guys don’t look military.”

  Bruno shook his head. “Not with those vehicles. Looks like militia to me. With all that’s happening in town right now, you can bet the area is crawling with them.”

  “You recognize any of them, Masago?”

  “Why you asking me?”

  “I thought they might be friends of yours or your brother.”

  “Never seen them before in my life.”

  The armed leader fired a single round from his rifle into the air. “That was my last warning. You have ten seconds to surrender, then we open fire.”

  Everyone in the truck stepped out except Drew, who was being carried Bruno’s arms.

  “I said, hands up!” the leader screamed. “That means everyone!”

  Drew put his hands up, but Bruno couldn’t. Not with his hands full.

  “Drop the boy, now!”

  “He’s disabled and can’t walk on his own,” Bruno told him. “His wheelchair is in the back of the truck.”

  “Secure them,” the leader commanded his men. “Then search for weapons and ammo.”

  Six men moved closer, taking positions in groups of three on each side of the truck. They pushed and shoved Bruno, Prime, and the rest into a tight circle ten feet in front of Masago’s truck.

  Bruno bent down and put Drew on the ground. He repositioned himself and stood in front of the group, puffing his chest out. He didn’t take his eyes off the leader. “What do you want?”

  The leader ran his eyes up and down the guard’s body, focusing the longest on Bruno’s duty belt and equipment. “I hate cops.”

  “I’m campus security.”

  “Even worse. A rent-a-cop.”

  “I demand to know why you stopped us.”

  “You’re in no position to demand anything,” the man said, stepping back and turning his head to the southeast.

  Prime looked in the same direction. A moment later, he heard a faint noise that was growing louder. It was the distinctive, heaving, chopping sound of military helicopters. Obviously, they were not in whisper mode like on the mountaintop when he’d first arrived.

  “Incoming!” one of the armed men screamed, grabbing a cohort by the arm and tugging him toward a flatbed truck.

  “Spread out!” another one yelled, sprinting to a defensive position behind the closest Jeep.

  Bruno turned to the group and whispered, “Get low. When I signal, everyone crawl behind Masago’s truck. Understand?”

  Prime nodded. So did Masago and the Ramsay brothers.

  “Alvarez?” Masago asked Prime in a soft voice.

  “That’d be my guess. I’m sure the energy fields in town have activated all civil and military defenses by now. You can bet the air force and National Guard are on high alert.”

  “Why focus on us?” she asked, as more of the men standing watch scrambled away.

 
“Who’s to say that’s what they’re doing? Could be on their way to somewhere else. Probably fly right past us.”

  The sound of the rotors continued to chop louder, making Prime rethink his last statement. He looked in the direction of the noise, waiting to see if the helos would appear overhead or fly past in the vicinity. But he saw nothing, realizing it’s impossible to judge distance and destination from only the echoing, thundering sound of the choppers approaching.

  As soon as the last armed captor stepped away to hide behind one of the vehicles, Bruno turned and gave the group a follow-me wave. Everyone crawled behind Bruno, inching their way around the back end of the truck.

  Bruno was first to arrive next to the driver’s door, then Drew, Masago, Lucas two, and finally Prime. They huddled together like a bush family trying to generate body heat during winter in Alaska.

  “Now what?” Masago asked Prime in a whisper.

  Before Prime could respond, he heard a high-pitched buzzing sound whipping about his head. He swung his hand at the noise, trying to shoo the insect away or kill it. He didn’t care which. However, the noise continued. First, it annoyed one side of his head, then moved to the other side. Finally, it moved in front of him and held its position six inches in front of his face. It was staring at him with its tiny wings fluttering.

  Prime raised his hand to swat the insect, but Masago stopped him, grabbing his arm and pulling it down.

  “No, don’t! That’s my brother.”

  “What? Are you nuts?”

  “It’s his micro-drone. Look at it. See the tech?”

  Prime leaned in for a closer look. “Oh, yeah. Amazing. A mosquito-cam. I’ve heard about micro-drones, but never saw one up close.”

  “Rocket must be here somewhere,” she said as a massive grin took over her lips.

  “I hope he brought help. We’re gonna need it!” Prime yelled at her just as the helicopters arrived, the sound of their engines and rotors now at an almost deafening level.