Time Reavers

by Jacob Holo

  The three sat in silence for a few minutes.

  Amy poked Nicole in the ribs.

  “Stop it!” Nicole whispered.

  Amy kept poking her.

  “All right! All right!” Nicole whispered. “Just stop that!”

  Amy leaned back and grinned, clearly ready for the show.

  Nicole cleared her throat. “Uhh, Daniel?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Umm… do you… umm…”

  Daniel opened one eye. Her heart beat faster.

  “Umm… err…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you… do you think we’ll make it through this?” Nicole asked.

  “Not the right question,” Amy whispered.

  “Shut up!” Nicole hissed back.

  “Honestly, I’ve never seen it this bad before,” Daniel said. “I heard stories from the sixties when the idiots in charge tried to open the borehole. That was really bad, but Chronopolis pulled through. Let’s say I’m guardedly optimistic.”

  “So it’s not always this crazy?” Amy asked.

  “Normally, it’s pretty quiet.”

  “I can’t help thinking about how simple life was a week ago,” Nicole said. “The worst thing I had to worry about was my next track meet.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ve shown yourself to be damn tough when push comes to shove.”

  Amy leaned past Nicole. “And me? How about me?”

  “Yes, and you too, Amy.”

  “Yay!”

  “I certainly don’t feel tough,” Nicole said.

  “That’s because you don’t give yourself enough credit. I don’t think I’d be doing half as well if I were in your shoes.”

  “Thanks,” Nicole said.

  Daniel shrugged. “Besides, my feet wouldn’t fit.”

  “Oh come on!” Nicole threw her hoodie at him. “That joke’s so lame!”

  He smiled and set her hoodie aside.

  The train rode into a tunnel cut into the mountainside. Nicole’s ears popped from the pressure change. Lights flashed by.

  “So where are we heading?” Amy asked.

  “A safe house called Watchtower in the outskirts of Stuttgart. It has a tau tunnel linked directly to Chronopolis. So if Watchtower held out, we can take the tunnel straight to our city.”

  “And if Watchtower didn’t hold out?” Nicole asked.

  Daniel grimaced and said, “We may have to get there by using the Greek Road, but that path isn’t safe anymore.”

  “We don’t even know if there’s a Chronopolis to go to,” Nicole said.

  “Yeah, I know. I’d rather not think about that. If worse comes to worse… I don’t know. We’ll think of something.”

  Rüdiger walked over. Despite the jostling train, he kept his balance with ease.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t pestered me for this, Daniel,” Rüdiger said, holding a long cylinder wrapped in black cloth.

  “Oh! Gimme-gimme-gimme!”

  “Here’s your new sword. Try not to break this one.”

  Daniel stood up in the aisle and unwrapped the sheath. Its black lacquered surface shone in the cabin light.

  “This isn’t just a sword,” Daniel said. “It’s a katana. There’s a world of difference.”

  He checked the aisle in both directions. Satisfied they were alone in the train car, Daniel unsheathed the blade.

  “Ahh, would you look at this? Beautiful. Just beautiful.”

  “I believe Shoko left you a message just above the hilt.”

  “Hmm?” Daniel looked down. “What? What the hell is that? I can’t read that! And why the hell did she write it in pink? Rüdi, you can read this stuff. What’s it say?”

  “Danieru-chan no baka.”

  “Well, what the hell does that mean?”

  Rüdiger just grinned.

  “Fine, I’ll figure it out myself,” Daniel said. He sheathed the sword, picked up his trench coat, and started feeling around in its pockets. “I know I’ve got my Japanese phrase book here somewhere.”

  Rüdiger winked at Amy. “I really do love the Japanese language. It can be so efficient sometimes. What other language allows you to insult someone’s intelligence and masculinity with so few syllables?”

  “Ah ha!” Daniel pulled a slender paperback out of his coat. Its title read: Basic Japanese Phrases for Idiots. He opened it and flipped through the pages. “Baka… baka… I know I’ve heard that word before.”

  “Most likely from Shoko,” Rüdiger said.

  Daniel looked up. “You know, now that you mention it, I do remember her using it a lot. I thought it was a term of endearment.”

  “Here’s a hint. It’s not.”

  Daniel sat down, sword over his lap and phrase book in his hands. He seemed intent on figuring out Shoko’s message.

  “Nicole, do you have a moment?” Rüdiger asked. “Melanie has some pictures I’d like you to see.”

  “Sure. Daniel, do you…”

  “I wonder if chan is an honorific…” Daniel muttered, not looking up.

  “Never mind.”

  Nicole stood up and followed Rüdiger to the train car’s front.

  “I’m coming, too,” Amy said.

  The train shook back and forth, forcing Nicole to steady herself against the chairs. Rüdiger didn’t miss a step.

  “So what does baka mean?” Amy asked.

  “Just that he’s an idiot.”

  “Oh my God!” Amy said, grinning ear to ear. “She wrote that on his sword?”

  “Apparently she still hasn’t forgiven him,” Rüdiger said. He stopped next to Melanie’s seat.

  Melanie looked up from her tablet. “Ah, Nicole. Please take a look at dis.”

  “Sure.” Nicole sat down next to her. Melanie passed the tablet to her. She had a webpage open. From the title, it looked like a German site. Melanie scrolled down, revealing several pictures of an expansive yellow mansion and its immaculate flower gardens.

  “Is that what you saw?” Rüdiger asked.

  “Yeah, that’s it. But I’ve never been there or seen pictures of it before. Is that Ludwigsburg Castle?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you tink de reavers are planning?” Melanie asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Rüdiger said. “Watchtower is close to the tunnel nexus at Ludwigsburg Castle. The tau guards stationed there may know more about what is happening. I just can’t shake the feeling this sounds like a second borehole.”

  “You’re jumping to conclusions,” Melanie said. “I never bought into dat doomsday scenario.”

  “A second borehole?” Nicole asked.

  Rüdiger smiled reassuringly. “Melanie’s right. I’m jumping to conclusions. The tau guards at Watchtower should be able to clear this up. If not, perhaps we should check the castle ourselves.”

  Nicole felt sick just thinking about going there.

  “Only if absolutely necessary,” Rüdiger said. “In the meantime, would you two young ladies like something to drink? The bar is only two cars down.”

  “Sure, why not?” Amy said quickly.

  Nicole gave her a look. Amy stuck her tongue out.

  Nicole stood up, shaking her head. She followed Rüdiger and Amy.

  “We’re underage, you know,” Nicole said.

  “Not in this country, I think,” Rüdiger said. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I’m seventeen,” Amy said. “Nicole’s sixteen.”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

  The bar car also turned out to be the smoking car. A thin gray haze hovered in the air from half a dozen smoking passengers. Rüdiger led her to the bar in the far corner. The young woman at the counter nodded and smiled at her. She was slim and perky, wearing a white shirt and maroon vest.

  Rüdiger put his elbow on the bar. “So, what would you like?”

  “Actually, I speak a little German. I’m studying it in high school,” Nicole said. She cleared her throat. “Umm… Ich
möchte Mineralwasser, bitte.”

  “Of course,” the bartender said in English. “Would you like that with or without gas?”

  “Uhh, gas?”

  “She’ll have it without,” Rüdiger said.

  “Certainly. And for you, miss?”

  “I want a beer!” Amy said.

  “This is not a good idea,” Nicole said.

  “Don’t care.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about,” Rüdiger said. “Zwei bier, bitte.”

  “Was für ein Bier?”

  “Umm… Pilzner, bitte.”

  The bartender set their drinks on the counter.

  “Danke schön,” Rüdiger said, pulling Euros out of his wallet.

  “Bitte schön.”

  Nicole and Amy followed Rüdiger out of the smoking car. He stopped in between cars and opened his beer.

  “Cheers,” Rüdiger said. The three of them clinked their bottles together.

  Nicole drank a sip. She forced herself to swallow. “Uhhh, the water’s warm.”

  “That is something I will never understand about Americans,” Rüdiger said. “Even in the dead of winter, you like your drinks freezing cold. And worse, the water is still.”

  “Still?”

  “No carbonation,” Rüdiger said. “I honestly don’t know how you drink that.”

  “I guess I’m just used to it.” Nicole took another sip and winced.

  “Your German was very good, by the way. I’m surprised you don’t have a stronger accent.”

  “My teacher is originally from Germany.”

  “Ah, that would certainly help.”

  “I’m learning a foreign language too!” Amy said.

  “Yes? Which one?”

  “French!”

  Rüdiger rolls his eyes. “Uhh, the French.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Have you ever been to France?”

  “No.”

  “You would understand if you had. Lovely language. It’s a shame about the people who speak it.”

  Nicole looked out the window to see a city flashing by. “What city is that?”

  “I’m not sure. That might be Darmstadt already.”

  “It’s interesting how some parts of these cities are completely new while others look like they’ve been around for hundreds of years.”

  “That’s normally an indication of which sections were bombed flat during the Second World War.”

  “Oh, geez. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “No offense taken,” Rüdiger said. He took another sip of beer. “We take our national shame very seriously. After all, how many countries make denying their darkest chapters a crime?”

  “You mean the Holocaust?” Amy asked.

  “Precisely.”

  Nicole thought on this. She took another warm, disgusting sip and stared out the window.

  “Now I must confess I have an ulterior motive for taking you two lovely ladies aside,” Rüdiger said. He laughed when he saw the nervous look on Nicole’s face. “Oh, please. Nothing like that. I am a gentleman, after all. No, I’m curious how you were discovered. It’s rare to find someone with tau abilities so late in life. Would you mind telling me how the tau guards found you?”

  “No, I don’t mind,” Nicole said. She did her best to recount the tale of the Saint Petersburg subway. Compared to all the craziness since, it seemed almost normal now, but Rüdiger developed a thoughtful expression the deeper into the story she went.

  “I see,” Rüdiger said when she finished. “So you have met Viktor Surikov.”

  “The big, unfriendly Russian commander guy? Just briefly. Is that important?”

  “Maybe. Let me ask you this. Has Daniel told you what he does?”

  “What do you mean? He’s a tau guard.”

  Rüdiger chuckled. “Mein Gott im Himmel. He really hasn’t told you? Nicole, I am a tau guard and Melanie is a tau guard. Daniel is something else entirely.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed how he can end a tau freeze in a different place than he enters it.”

  “Of course,” Nicole said. “He’s always popping out of nowhere and startling me. It gets really annoying, sometimes.”

  “Yes, I see Daniel’s lack of manners remains intact,” Rüdiger said. “But have you ever given thought to what that ability means?”

  “I’m not sure I follow you.”

  “Daniel is a tau shifter. There are only a dozen alive today, perhaps less given current events, and they all answer directly to Viktor Surikov.”

  “I’m still not sure where you’re going with this.”

  “You’ve seen it yourself. Daniel can bypass any security system. He can go anywhere at any time, instantly moving from a real world perspective. And he’s well-armed. Try taking Daniel out of the equation. For all his flaws, he at least has a strong sense of duty. What do you think a less disciplined man would do with such power? Someone like a terrorist or dictator or an ordinary man or woman with a huge chip on their shoulder?”

  Nicole thought for a moment. She remembered how Daniel had entered her room through the locked door brandishing a sword. She hadn’t realized he was there until Amy turned on the light.

  What could people do with power like that?

  Anything, Nicole thought. They could do anything they wanted and no one could stop them. Who could keep people like that in check?

  And then it came to her. The answer was simple in its symmetry. Another tau guard could stop them.

  “So what does Daniel do for the tau guard?” Nicole asked.

  “I’ll leave that for him to explain,” Rüdiger said. “Ask him yourself if you want to know.”

  “I kind of don’t want to.”

  “That’s fine. Personally, I stay as far away from Chronopolis politics as I can ever since… well, I have my reasons. I’m not saying you can’t trust anyone. All I advise is a little caution around your new friend in the black coat. And especially around his friends. They will not have your best interests in mind.”

  “And you do?”

  “That is an excellent attitude. I suggest you keep it.”

  “You’re not very reassuring.”

  “Just remember one thing as we get closer to Chronopolis,” Rüdiger said. “Sometimes the most dangerous foe a tau guard will ever face is not a reaver, but another human being. I’ll leave you with that thought.”

  Rüdiger walked into their train car.

  Amy leaned close. “Sounds like your boyfriend is a bad boy. I like him more every day.”

  “Oh, shut it!” Nicole’s ears popped. The train entered another railway tunnel.

  Amy started to laugh—

  * * *

  —but stopped. The smile melted off her face. The rhythmic sounds of the train ceased.

  “Oh, no…” Amy whispered.

  Nicole pried the car door open. “Get your crossbow.”

  “Uh, right.”

  Daniel already had his sword and compass out. Melanie pulled her own collapsed crossbow out of a backpack.

  “Where is it?” Rüdiger asked.

  “Clear signal. Front of the train.” Daniel pointed with his sword. “Looks fairly distant.”

  Melanie and Amy finished readying their crossbows.

  “Okay. Let’s go!” Daniel kicked the door off its hinges and checked the next car. “Looks clear.”

  Daniel bashed the next door down. Nicole, Amy, and the two Germans hustled through before it reset back into position. They moved through the train, one car at a time in a slow, methodical fashion. Nicole felt a sense of organization and training in the way Daniel, Rüdiger, and Melanie moved. They knew what the others were doing without looking or asking.

  “How big do you think it is?” Rüdiger asked. He followed a few steps behind Daniel, squeezing past a young couple standing in the bar car.

  “Looks small.”

  “Are you sure?” Nicole asked pointedly.


  “Not really.” Daniel held up the compass and shook it. “This thing is a little temperamental.”

  “I hadn’t noticed,” Nicole whispered.

  The group crept forward, exited the bar car, and passed through three crowded passenger cars.

  “Any closer?” Rüdiger asked.

  “A little,” Daniel said. “Damn. I think it’s outside the train.”

  “Is that a problem?” Nicole asked.

  “For you, no,” Daniel said. “For me? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t reset like you do.”

  “Uhh… yeah, I noticed.”

  “That can be a bit of a problem if I’m standing in front of a train.”

  “That… oh.”

  “Yeah. Instant human pancake.” Daniel took a deep breath. “Damn, I hope this isn’t a mistake.”

  “Would you like me to hold your hand?” Rüdiger asked wryly.

  Daniel extended a hand, followed by a single finger.

  “I will take that as a no.”

  “Okay, let’s do this.” Daniel kicked open the door and jumped out of the train. Rüdiger stuck his arm through the opening, which seemed to retard its reset and allow everyone else to join Daniel below.

  Nicole hit the ground and took a few steps across coarse gravel. The railway tunnel was very narrow, barely large enough for the train to fit through. Lights on the locomotive illuminated a nearby patch of gray walls. Two rails reflected brightly on the ground, their tops smooth and shiny from constant use. Beyond that, the path ahead was pitch black.

  “Keep your eyes open,” Daniel said softly. “Watch the walls and ceiling.”

  Daniel led the way forward. Gravel crunched under their feet. Slowly, they made their way deeper into the train tunnel, which began to curve to the right.

  When the tunnel’s curvature began to block the locomotive’s lights, Rüdiger ignited a blue point of light above his palm. With a gentle gesture, it ascended a few yards over his head and stopped. The blue light gave the tunnel ahead some definition and shape, but not much.

  Keh keh keh…

  “Did you hear that?” Nicole whispered.

  “Yeah,” Daniel whispered. “Compass still says it’s ahead, but keep checking around us.”

  A faint reddish glow reflected off the rails.

  “There,” Amy whispered. “Around the bend.”

  “I see it,” Daniel whispered. He pocketed the compass and pulled a knife out. Rüdiger conjured a ball of flame in his hand.