Time Crossers 01: The Final Six Days

by Agster, Joe

  “Necesito una caja de sus fresas frescas, por favor,” Mason replies.

  The man pulls out a box of fresh strawberries, picked nearby. Mason explains that this area is known for fresh fruits and vegetables, ones he loves to cook or just eat raw. Friend suspects that they didn’t just come here for fruit, that he has other plans while in town. Mason pays for the strawberries and wishes the merchant a good day.

  They walk along the road toward the gap between the mercado and the next building. Mason quickly makes a sharp turn, scurrying into the gap.

  “Okay Friend, find your way back to the ranch,” he commands, before disappearing.

  Friend is left alone standing on the sidewalk in the strange city, scoffing at the realization that the eccentric old man is testing him again. Just as he attempts to enter the gap, he encounters the stares from a few of the local inhabitants. He returns to the sidewalk, and walks at a brisk pace. The people increasingly are taking an interest in him, as his clothes and demeanor are making him stick out.

  He comes upon a small alleyway where no one will notice him disappear and be stunned by it. Walking alone, he can feel the gaze of the eyeballs wondering what he is up to. Realizing he has little time, he starts to visualize the ranch, focusing hard on it. As the seconds lapse onlookers begin to crowd the alleyway. Feeling trapped, he continues to hold the visual on the ranch, then just as he wills himself, he is stoked by fear.

  He finds himself not at the ranch, but back on the busy street, this time standing in front of the church he had walked past moments ago. The people are now intrigued and frightened, pointing and him and shouting in indiscriminant phrases. As the moments pass they get closer, the shouting more pronounced.

  “¡El demonio!” they shout. “¡Él es el demonio! ¡Allá!”

  As the mass of people converge, they become emboldened and fearless, throwing rocks and charging at him with sticks. Friend begins to run away, not sure what to make of it. He sprints from the busy street, turning on the first intersecting road as the crowd gives chase. As other bystanders witness the melee, they too give in and start chasing him. Within moments, a swell of dozens of angry citizens rapidly charge toward him, believing him to be their enemy.

  He continues to sprint down the road, as the business becomes houses. He immediately cuts through a yard and into the back, hopping the fence. He decides that his best chance of escape is to find an empty house, giving him enough time to focus. He understands the intent of the lesson, to teleport under duress.

  He continues to cut through more yards, until he is hidden from view of the crowds. He finds a pink house, grass growing tall as if it hasn’t been lived in for a while. From the backdoor, he quickly grabs the knob of the door, discouraged at first by it being locked, before he barges through the door with all the weight of his body. He stands in a small kitchen, with a tiny rounded dining table, pink walls, and blue and white tiling throughout.

  He breathes easy for the moment as he collects his thoughts. Okay, think, visualize, he tells himself. He focuses on the ranch, closing his eyes. But just before he can will himself there, a little girl begins to scream. Almost instantaneously after, an enraged grandmother enters the room, waving a large wooden stick.

  “Shhh, no preocupado. Estoy perdido.” He tries to explain, amazed in his own ability to speak Spanish. He always felt he had that ability in him, hearing it a lot of the past several iterations spent with Mason, and now has finally let it out. He holds out his arms as if to calm them down. The grandmother retreats, yelling at him to leave the house at once. But Friend realizes it’s now or never, he embraces the challenge that Mason set up. He closes his eyes, oblivious to the consequences and feeling the air currents from the angry woman’s stick brush his face. He focuses hard again on the ranch while calming his mind… until he disappears. He opens his eyes, looking around to confirm that he is indeed back at the meditation patio.

  “You finally return!” Mason exclaims, congratulating him.

  Friend recounts the recent experience to him, the calling him “the demon” and chasing him profusely through the streets. Mason smiles as he hears the story. Friend analyzes Mason’s expression before he comes to a stunning revelation.

  “Did you somehow convince them I was a demon?” Friend asks in bewilderment.

  Mason pauses before he relents, taking a bite from the strawberry. “That town is full of superstitious people. There are old folk tales a plenty of demons, especially from their ancestral Mixtec heritage. The town is already on edge as they sense the evil of the asteroid. Besides, it’s not hard to rile them when they see you disappearing and reappearing on the streets erratically.”

  They continue to enjoy the fresh strawberries for breakfast. Friend is still a bit shaken from the incident, but welcomes more of these types of challenge. Mason explains that although there is more training just ahead, he is soon ready to take the next step, putting Friend’s newfound skills through the ultimate set of tests.

  18

  Iteration 28

  The past six iterations have been a grueling yet exhilarating test of his training abilities. They rehashed much of the training over and over in an endless barrage of repetition. Friend has finally mastered teleporting, as he has zipped around Las Vegas along with various spots in Mexico including Acapulco, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. He even jumped in to the Hanford facility, before he had to jump out to avoid being caught.

  Friend has also mastered hand to hand combat, besting Mason a majority of the time. Mason continues to preach tranquility of mind, fluidity of motion, especially during a battle, and above all, visualization.

  On this morning of day one, as he dusts off the sand Friend can’t help but imagine what the next step is upon him—“The Tests” as Mason calls them. He looks down toward the city of Las Vegas just as he awakes, longing to visit once again, missing Cassie. In terms of days it feels like months since they last spoke, and the longing is eating him up inside. But he knows that he is close now, and he takes one deep breath, one sigh of anticipation, before he teleports to the ranch.

  Mason greets him instantly, standing right in front of him when he arrives. “We will rest for a couple days before your first test. Come, let’s enjoy a meal.”

  They enjoy a plate of roasted potatoes and jalapenos. Friend enjoys the spicy flavoring, which can be at times overpowering. It seems each iteration Mason has a slightly different set of recipes to try. He explains that he has amassed countless cuisine arrangements from being here forever.

  On the afternoon of day three, Mason explains it is time for his first test. “My favorite days to visit Las Vegas are after day three. You get to see the city in its raw state, as the people who remain are there to defy death, and some are trapped.”

  Friend thinks about this and concurs in agreement. After all, the parties, the people, the social masks come off and everyone sees each other for who they really are. For those final days, it’s as if they are like children, innocent and playful, uncaring about appearances, bereft of any vanity.

  Mason grabs Friend’s arm and they teleport. They find themselves in a parking garage in Las Vegas. It looks familiar to Friend, taking him a moment before he realizes it is the one adjacent to the New Hacienda, the one where he was shot by the policeman, left for dead before being healed by Mason. It is empty, devoid of people and mostly cars, save for three, including the van that belongs to Steve Correia. They hide outside, ducking under the wall and out of view.

  “Check your watch, Friend,” Mason calls out. Friend sees that it is 18:13.

  “Without your help, Steve and his family make it, but it takes him longer. He will get here at 18:22. Meanwhile, the cop is hiding over there, patiently waiting to ambush them,” Mason explains, pointing to a stairwell on the second floor accessible by the incline, a perfect vantage point to stake out the van until someone arrives to claim it.

  “Your test is to defeat the armed officer in hand to hand combat. Remember he is a skilled combata
nt, having been trained and being a member of their police force for over a decade. This man has seen and defeated every type of criminal there is. It’s not a surprise with your raw, unfocused skills you were easily defeated in your prior encounter.”

  Friend looks on as he sees Steve slowly approaching, his wife and children hanging back until their safety is assured. Mason whispers, stressing the final, most important point. “Remember, this man may have a gun as a weapon, but you… you are the weapon. Remember that. You are the weapon.”

  Friend gets up and moves closer, watching as the cop comes down the incline, unbeknownst to Steve as he disables the security of his van to open it. The assailant cop pursues fast, pointing his gun right at Steve as he shouts at him, commanding him to back away from the vehicle. It’s go time for Friend.

  He emerges into view, casually walking over until he is two meters from both men. Friend takes one look at Steve, remembering him well, even if the familiar feeling is not reciprocated.

  “How about you leave my friend Steve alone?” Friend suggest to the cop.

  “See this gun asshole!? How about I ram it up your ass?” the cop angrily replies, unloading a lifetime of anger and animosity at Friend, probably from years of bottling it up inside dealing with bad guys.

  Friend inches closer, just starting to reach for the gun, as the cop fires a bullet. Friend already sensed the pulling of trigger, giving him enough time to react to slow down time, easily evading the bullet. He then scoops in and delivers a hard combination of punches to the abdomen then throat, knocking the cop back but still on his feet. The cop tries to raise his arm to fire again, but Friend kicks the gun hard, knocking it several meters back.

  “Without your gun, who are you?” Friend taunts.

  The cop responds with a heavy roundhouse punch, easily evaded by Friend. Having enough and heeding Mason’s words about the cop’s abilities, Friend winds up a short burst and unleashes it, knocking the cop back about five to six meters, his head hitting the pavement with enough force to render him unable to continue. The gun however lies about a bit longer than an arm’s length away, and the cop goes to grab for it. Friend uses a small burst of energy to thrust it sideways and away, as he walks calmly toward the cop.

  Friend picks up the gun, taking out the magazine and emptying the chamber. He approaches the bleeding cop, kneeling low so as to come in close face to face to hear Friend’s words. The cop continues to grimace in pain as Friend looks directly at him.

  “A crude weapon these guns are,” Friend speaks softly, staring at the gun in amusement, deprecating its purpose. He places the emptied gun upon the cop’s chest and walks away, letting the cop continue to bleed and persist in pain. Steve meanwhile loads his family into the van, hoping to make a quick getaway before others try to commandeer his vehicle. Just as he enters the driver’s side of the van, he leaves Friend with some parting words.

  “Thank you, amigo, whoever you are.”

  Friend grants him a smile, and waves as if to say goodbye. Steve acknowledges the gesture and they swiftly speed off.

  Mason approaches from behind. “Well done. Now let’s get out of here.”

  They teleport back to the ranch.

  Iteration 29

  Mason spends the last days of the previous iteration and the first days of this current iteration going over more examples of distorting spacetime besides the burst. He details how Friend can also distort the space around him to deflect bullets. Projectiles traveling at high velocities directly into a distorted field will be dissipated and shredded apart at the quantum level. He discusses how there are hundreds of other uses to this one power, providing a boost to jump at high and long distances, using the gravity of a singularity to pull objects toward him, or push them away. All of these tricks are practiced, Friend finding them easy to master.

  On day four, after Friend has greatly enhanced his abilities, Mason reveals the second test.

  “In the last test, you had to contend with one man. In this next test you will contend with eight, fully armed combatants with more advanced guns. They are more calculating, more daring and ruthless than the cop. They are taking advantage of the fallout to ruthlessly pillage and dominate a neighborhood in Los Angeles. They believe they aren’t affected by the asteroid, that they are the army of the next civilization.”

  Friend expresses a sign of contentment, as if it will be easy.

  “Your goal is to disarm and defeat each combatant, without killing any of them. Where we come from we are not killers, we are peacekeepers. You will need to rely on all your powers this time: teleporting, bursts, super speed and slowing time.”

  That sounds more difficult. Friend never had planned on killing them, as his instincts are in line with what Mason has said, but they could put each other in harm’s way by over aggressively attacking him.

  “Let’s go!” Mason commands, grabbing Friend’s arm to be whisked away to the neighborhood.

  It’s earlier in the morning there, the sun yet to peak out, the darkness making it more of a challenge. Friend looks around at the ravaged neighborhood, cars burnt or wrecked, some even flipped over, houses with windows broken. Even more disturbing is a rotting smell that he quickly determines is radiating from decomposing dead bodies, a few on the sidewalks, and guessing by the stench, some inside the houses. In just a couple short days this area has become a complete wasteland.

  Friend looks at his watch to see that it is 5:22 in the morning. They immediately take cover inside a backyard bordered by a wooden fence, peeking through the gate.

  Mason begins to break down the scenario, something he’s become intimately familiar with before. “In five minutes, a young teenager will start running down this street here. Twenty-two seconds later, a large SUV will follow down the street, chasing the teenager at high speed attempting to run him over. Your test is to not only save the boy, but completely disable the group. Remember, no one dies. And one more thing, be prepared to handle lots of guns and bullets being fired your way. Now go.”

  Friend exits the backyard and takes cover behind a burnt car along the left side, the same side of the street as the house. He carefully moves forward, treading up the street to a spot where he thinks the kid will be run over. Hiding behind a boat, he watches the teenager frantically run down the street. As described, the large black SUV comes barreling down the road. Friend is situated in a perfect spot, timed so that as the kid arrives he snatches him in the middle of the road, grabbing his arm and thrusting him across the street. Once out of view he teleports the kid back to the backyard spot where he was stationed with Mason.

  “Here you go,” Friend tells Mason. “Safely away from harm.”

  He then turns to the boy, a dark boy wearing a hooded sweater and black jogging pants, with a look of complete panic. Friend commands, “Stay here.”

  Friend teleports back to the spot behind the boat, where the SUV has now parked, presumably searching for the boy. Five large guys emerge from the SUV, dressed variously in bandanas and black, blue, or gray heavy coats, three of them carrying large guns. Reeling in confidence, Friend emerges from behind the boat. The three guys with the guns begin firing toward the boat, urging Friend to return to cover. He ascertains that those guns are designed for rapid firing at longer ranges, and he stays put hoping that they expend their bullet supply.

  As the shooting stops he reappears from behind cover, charging the first guy with a teleporting flow attack, a super speed charge while teleporting in the air that lunges at the man, causing him to hit the ground with extreme force. Friend grabs the gun and throws it far, well behind the boat. A second man charges with a knife, but he defeats him easily with slowing down time and executing a combination of punches to the chin. Another man comes from cover and opens fire, stunning Friend, then another does the same from his opposite location. Friend has no choice but to take cover on the ground. In the fracas he teleports back behind the boat to regroup. Two guys are down, six to go. But Friend wonders, there’s only five
total so far, where are the other three?

  That’s when he sees a second car race from the other side. The three immediately jump out, all firing at Friend as their companions point to his position. It’s an endless barrage of bullets. Friend would love to teleport across the street, but there’s a problem, he’s never physically been there. They close in, coming from both sides of the boat. As soon as they see him they open fire, but he teleports out in time, back to the street. He gets behind the group on the right side of the boat, unleashing a powerful singularity burst, but a bit too late as they move out of the way in time and are only momentarily fazed.

  Friend realizes this is harder than he thought—they are evasive and skilled. They also seem undaunted by his teleporting abilities, and instead they fan out. At this point he feels compelled to attack head on. He telejumps to the two guys standing by the second car, using slowing down time enough to get in a few stunning punches before a burst, knocking them both unconscious. As he releases the burst, a hail of bullets heads his way. He evades most of it but not all, as one bullet strikes him in the shoulder. He throbs in pain, and realizing he hasn’t yet learned the art of healing, momentarily ducks for cover. He then telejumps directly to the man who was firing at him, grabbing his gun before he is shot in the back. Friend now lies bleeding on the ground. The leader, who has been doing much of the firing of the gun, approaches Friend with his gun drawn.

  “You shouldn’t have fucked with the New Kings of L.A.!” He taunts Friend with a merciless stare before he fires his large gun, pumping a storm of bullets into Friend, killing him.

  Iteration 30

  Friend opens his eyes as he is reinstated back to his starting point, dusting the sand as Mason appears with an outstretched arm. He then lifts him up.

  “You made a critical error in judgment. You weren’t tactical enough, instead relying on your raw power. I didn’t see any mindfulness, no fluidity of motion. Your movements weren’t orchestrated, they were erratic. Come, let’s meditate on a few things and try again.”