The lights of the studio in the Chronix Bay Universal building were hot and bright. The cameras focused their attention on one person, Sylvia Armstrong. “That is what happened folks. The world’s first teleportation device as devised by Temporo, Inc. is a failure that has taken a life. The State Governor has ordered a full investigation and the spokesperson for TI, Mr. Broad Staffnight could not be reached for comment. It appears that the breakthrough in the next step of transportation would be set back for a long while. This is reporter Sylvia Armstrong signing off, Channel Nine news.” The television clicked off and the remote control slammed onto the desk.
“Get me Staffnight, now!” screamed an elderly crumpled voice cloaked in darkness and rage.
“Yes Sir, Mr. Cumberberry,” spoke a corporate official running out of the office in a panic.
CHAPTER 12
Alone on Main Street, James thought a lot about what Syrus said and he wanted to better himself so he decided to go to the clinic address on the business card. He turned the street corner onto Bang Avenue nearly tripping over himself as he stumbled back after almost bumping into a woman taller and better built than he was. He dropped his hands as he saw the badge on her chest and the patch on her sleeve reading Chronix Bay Police Department.
“Going somewhere, punk?” she said cockily to him, her arms crossed.
“I am uh just going home” he lied shifting his eyes and speaking in a breaking tone.
“Come on you are coming with me.”
She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on his wrists behind his back.
“What? I didn’t do anything wrong” he shouted struggling in her grasp.
“Relax,” she pointed her finger in his face, “come peacefully or I will be allowed to use authorized physical force.”
“Am I guilty of something?” he shouted back at her.
“Must be something” she snorted as she shoved him in the direction of her waiting police cruiser. “You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney and have him or her with you during questioning, you can stop answering questions at any time if you so desire.” She read him his Miranda warnings as she patted him down and slamming his body up against the cruiser. “Do you understand your rights as I read them to you?” She asked.
“Uh huh” he sighed looking at her name plate, “Officer Hennessey.”
She shoved him into the cruiser after opening the door, “Watch your head” and slammed the car door shut beside him as she yelled, “Punk!”
CHAPTER 13
The morning after being in jail, going through the booking process of being fingerprinted, photographed, and strip searched prior to being detained, was especially difficult for James. Not because he was a first time arrestee but because for the first time ever he began to feel worried about his immediate future, not just his distant future. He was being escorted to the court to be held in detention. He was worried about his immediate future, his wellbeing, and how he would fare in court, since he was completely clueless as to what charges he was facing. He stood in line at the side entrance to the court in chains awaiting his turn to enter and face the swift hammer of justice. As he stood there feeling sorry for himself he saw the last person he expected to see in court. A few meters away, the police were escorting another prisoner to the court. It took three officers to parade her up the stairs, wearing full restraints but putting up a strong spirited and incredible fight of great resistance. She struggled against their will endlessly even as she was overcome, the perspiration dripping down her face and dark brown hair, made James feel sympathy but also a reluctant attraction. A dozen loose emotions surged within him with a sudden shock as he saw her full face from the front. “Tina?” He questioned with a frown, feeling sorry for her. The three officers shoving Tina up the stairs were soon joined by two other officers and pushed her up the steps into the Chronix Bay hall of justice without a problem and the line continued, men and women having been caught in deceit and crime by one way or another now heading into the proverbial lion’s den of the criminal justice system.
CHAPTER 14
The process in the courthouse was long and arduous most of the time consumed by relentless waiting. James was processed in jail and appeared before the court where he was forced into taking a quick plea deal to lesser charges without dispute at the advice of his very nervous court-appointed legal advisor. He still didn’t understand completely what he was actually being charged with and the entire time in court felt like a blur. He was advised that it was a complicated matter and best swept under the rug. He felt cheated and abused as he was on the street: in one instance a homeless yet free young man in his mid-thirties and now a prisoner and property of the criminal justice system being criminalized, shackled, and sent into a lead cage of those termed outcasts and outlaws, as Officer Hennessy told him when he was brought to the court “punk losers of society.” He felt lower than ever in his life. Officer Hennessy was not that much older than him but had a steady job, career, family, and roof over her head. He had absolutely nothing, had accomplished nothing, and felt that he was exactly that, nothing. He regretted his choices in life not caring about his life and his future when he was younger. He began to care now but he wondered, “is it too late for me?” He was dragged out of the courtroom in chains and brought to a ring of jail cells in the basement of the courthouse to carry out the beginning of his sentence. He sat in a jail cell as the guards left him alone for the time being. Somberly, he shook his head and cupped his face in his hands and was about to sigh when he heard a weeping sound coming from nearby. He looked over to his left to see he was not alone after all but he was with another prisoner who he had seen before.
“Tina?” he whispered.
“Huh?” She looked over slumped down on the floor of her cell, her wrists and ankles shackled as his were and she was weeping profusely.
“James, why? I‘m confused.” They stared at one another thinking it odd the guards would put them side by side.
“I don’t know…” he shook his head.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Do I look alright?” She shrugged showing her bindings. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt and sweatpants. “I didn’t even know why they grabbed me. This is insane.”
“Come on. I can tell you know why. ”
“OK, I’m a hooker. Happy now?” She snapped crying.
“I know,” he said frowning then decided to quickly change the subject.
“I saw you put up quite a fight with the guards on the courthouse steps. It was very impressive.” He smirked.
“Thanks” she laughed slightly wiping her face with her bare hands. “I guess I can be pretty rough when I need to be. My dad used to be a boxer.”
“What did they give you?” James asked her the question curiously.
“Seven years. And you?” She asked.
“More or less but I think it was a case of mistaken identity.” He shrugged then slumped down to the floor in his cell and saw her eye to eye.
“Yeah that’s what they all say.” Tina smiled with a sense of resilience.
“Prosecutor said something about murdering some guard. It can’t be us.” Tina added. “At least I thought it was crazy. I didn’t kill nobody!” Tina exclaimed.
“Murder. I didn’t murder anyone either.” James said shocked. “This is my first time in the system.”
“I have been arrested more times than I can count in the past few years,” said Tina coolly.
Tina May Prescott spent time with her old acquaintance and new cellmate listening to his tale of woes and explaining that they were not as far apart in life circumstances as they would imagine. She explained how she wound up in jail this time. Tina had always needed money fast and found it by turning to a life of crime. She knew that she would need to come up with more money fast to avoid being disassociated by her pimp and becoming completely destitute and homeless. She explained to James that she had w
alked into the approaching street which she knew very well. She was afraid of dying alone on the streets due to lack of nutrition, stable employment, or adequate resources. Each day and the night that followed were especially long and hard. Tina sat on a small stoop and rested for a moment. Each breath was a simple sense of sweet relief and recognition of life in the harshest of circumstances in the inner city but also carried with it the innate fear that it could inevitably be her last. She had regretted the sad life that she had grown accustomed in the proverbial middle of nowhere lifestyle in Chronix Bay. A loud noise crackled across the darkening sky and rain drops began to fall in a massive storm. She sat with her head slumping between her legs and groaned incessantly. Then she was approached by someone who appeared to be a perfect John, tall and well-dressed even in the slums of the inner city of Chronix Bay. She approached the man who turned out to be an undercover police officer. Tina explained that she was arrested for prostitution but was now being accused of some murder she never heard about.
“That’s awful” commented James.
“It’s life” Tina shrugged slowly pulling up her sleeves and shaking her head. “It sure is super-hot in here.”
“Yeah, I see you changed attire since we last saw one another out on the street.” He hinted at her sweat suit having replaced her scantily clothes.
“Yeah, courtesy of the CBPD,” she smirked adjusting her shackled wrists in the tight compartment of her jail cell. “This is no different for me, dude. I’m just tired of the bull crap. But…” she paused in midsentence looking at James suddenly stop all motion and stare directly in front of him as if in a trance.
“Hmm” he suddenly froze as he eyed the bars before him in still shock.
“James, are you OK?” Tina asked abruptly, but received no response.
James’ mind raced, swirling before his vision. Lights of every color immersed into a spiraling vortex, tunneling forward and hitting an empty darkness sending him back against the wall in shock hitting his head.
“Wow!” In a brief moment, he saw several visions. One was a vision of a car hovering in midair in a city he has never seen before and two passengers in the car, Tina in the passenger seat and he in the driver seat, both wearing unusual fluorescent and multi-colored clothing made up of a shining metallic fabric, a green pentagon-shaped emerald in between them shining brightly, like a precious stone. There was a subsequent explosion and the car vaporized before his mind’s eye, screaming and agony beyond imagination heard in the distance. He could feel the heat from the burning inferno smoldering near him, the smell of burnt ash and brimstone frizzling before him as he sensed a shiver to his bones like someone walking on his grave.
The sound of voices emanated into and out of his cranium, “Why did we end up here?” … “An android!” … “Sometimes you have to go your own way.” … “In the name of Justice, I fight!” … “Knowledge is power.” … “The key to salvation is….”…
He snapped back in shock and saw the jail cell bars once again in front of him after having experienced his mental trip through a massive void of thought and several voices emanating almost at once.
“That was freaking amazing!” He spoke slowly.
“What was? James, you scared me. For a minute you were moving your lips without talking and your eyes looked bugged out man.” Tina added fiercely looking at him.
CHAPTER 15
“Happy Summer Tidings to all citizens of Chronix Bay both young and aged!” The traditional mid-year greeting was shouted by Mayor Trump Wellington over the series of microphones on the podium before him.
“There you have it folks” the familiar face of Sylvia Armstrong, anchor person for the evening news covering the unveiling of the new breakthrough of Temporo, Inc. in downtown Chronix Bay.
The Mayor continued: “Today was a good day for all of us as we come together in joy and harmony to celebrate the beautiful day as a symbol that all our citizens are worth counting on. The beautiful forty-foot teleportation device sits in the center of the city with fifteen yards of multi-colored lights adorning it. We have also had an increase in law enforcement officers due to the surplus budget this year and seventy-five percent drop in crime rates as each of these brave men and women have been pulling major overtime. Surely this is something that we can all be thankful for on this summer day.”
The television screen flickered off and on again. “Humph” uttered Trump Wellington under his breath as he held his scotch on the rocks and stared into the LCD image projected on his High Definition Television set in his office showing the image of Sylvia Armstrong reporting the evening news after his public speech. His eyes stared into the television set like solid steel beacons as he drank from his glass in the desolate evening. He observed her carefully as she continued with her report.
“And in other news, a mysterious figure has been spotted throughout the city with the apparent ability to vanish into thin air. Many spectators witnessed the unusual sighting of a woman dressed in garb reflecting the period of ancient Amazon tribes that appears without warning and then vanishes in a brilliant array of white and yellow light. Many called it a miracle or godly blessing while many call it hallucinations on the part of the observers. For those who have witnessed her, it is something that will not be forgotten as each of the witnesses was someone whose life was in danger and was rescued by this mysterious woman. She does not say that much but appears during a dangerous situation and saves the person, then vanishes as quickly as she came before she could be questioned. ‘In the name of justice I fight’ were the last words mentioned by this woman in the last encounter.
“One example has been when one old lady was going to be robbed by street thugs; this mysterious woman appeared and thwarted their efforts. Conversely, on another occasion, one young man was allegedly being stopped and assaulted by officers of the Chronix Bay Police Department and this mysterious woman appeared and subdued the officers. The authorities with the Chronix Bay Police Department want to talk to this mysterious woman as a person of interest. Members of the famed organization No Pride Left Behind Movement, a not-for-profit organization, have stated that this mysterious woman is being named by their organization as Soteria after the ancient Greek goddess of rescue, safety, and of deliverance and preservation from harm. Based on their interpretation of the myth, she is being claimed as a role model for all citizens to help one another out when needed and not to let the law of man or the police department stand in the way of upholding justice in the truest sense of the word, togetherness and working hard toward a positive end. This is Sylvia Armstrong, Channel Nine news.”
CHAPTER 16
“What the hell happened to you when you passed out on me like that?” asked Tina.
“I wish I could tell you. I saw something that gave me a bad feeling that I can’t explain. Have you ever seen things that you could not explain, Tina?” asked James.
“Like hallucinations and stuff?” Tina asked.
“Kind of but internal, kind of in your mind like a dream but able to participate in certain interactions of these remote environments. They were not really the past or the future like anything I have ever seen before, but actual goings on as if I was there. It smelled real, sounded real, seemed real to the eyes, even felt real…lucid you know?” His eyes seared through the bars and seemed to penetrate her soul.
“Deep, Man! That’s like that lucid dreaming stuff. I read about stuff like that being very common but not when you’re awake. What does this mean? You’re some kind of psychic?”
“Maybe I am losing my mind.” He shrugged it off.
“Well we shouldn’t rule out anything… you know it’s weird… many religious believe in this type of stuff. There is even a science about it… um parapsychology or something.”
“You sure know a lot about this” James said with a curious brow.
“Well ancient folklore across the world is sort of a hobby of mine and I know that psychics have been revered for centuries by many different cultures, lik
e the Haitian Voodoo priests, Native American Shaman, and even modern fortune tellers on the streets of Superior City.” She laughed to herself not realizing that James was mesmerized in another trance having his mind’s eye focused on the bars and roof adjoining their heads.
“James… James…?” She shouted at him but his mind remained fixated. “Oh great,” she grimaced. “Give me a signal when you go out like that” she crossed her arms pouting to herself.
James’ mind raced with the colors of the spectrum as he gazed inward again seeing the courthouse above them, the exterior, the rooms where they were sent for arraignment, the booking areas, the holding cells, a lounge where guards played poker and smoked cigars while cracking jokes of their latest collars. He saw all of this in a single moment of time and realized he was more than a conscious observer this time, he could willfully manipulate things. He focused his mind on a stack of papers in the corner of the desk of one of the guards and the papers fell to the ground.
“What the hell? Is there a draft in here?” One of the guards asked his colleague curiously.
“How should I know?” The other guard responded curiously but turned his attention back to reading his newspaper without a second thought.
“Oh well” the guard nodded picking up the papers and dropping them on the desk.
James realized if it worked with the papers why not with something heavier, “like the keys” he thought to himself. He focused on a set of keys hanging from a ring on the guard’s belt slung to a coat rack in the outside hallway. The keys slowly began to jingle and James feared they would be heard. He focused his mind as if developing two invisible hands one slowly grabbing the bundle of keys and squeezing them together to avoid too much noise and the other hand unhooking them from the belt and together both hands carrying them slowly through the hallway down to the ring of cells and into his waiting lap. With eager excitement in his inner spirit, he awoke suddenly in his physical body.
The Time Stone Page 4
