by Al K. Line
"Well we need to do it. We need to get that Hexad back there."
"Tell you what, let's worry about it later shall we? For now, just enjoy the surprise."
Amanda smiled slightly, returning the huge grin on Dale's face. "What are you playing at?"
"Nothing babe, just check the kitchen will you?"
"What for?" asked Amanda warily. "Not something gross is it?"
"Like this is the right time for anything horrible. Just go check will you? Please."
Amanda returned a minute later, soft tears rolling gently down her cheeks. She clutched the roses tightly, hugging them like a baby. "Oh Dale, they're lovely. Thank you. It's just what I needed."
"You are more than welcome." Dale checked his watch. "Okay, turn toward the kitchen," he said, as he walked over and gave her a kiss, facing the kitchen with her. They both heard the 'Whooosh' of a Dale about to jump, but Dale kept hold of Amanda as she went to turn around. "Just wait a moment."
"What are you up to?" Amanda couldn't help but smile; Dale's energy was infectious.
"Okay," said Dale.
They turned back around.
Over by the TV cabinet was a mannequin with the most exquisite of black dresses, a simple affair yet inordinately elegant. It was as black as the night sky, tiny diamonds twinkling like distant stars.
"Oh my god, oh my god, it's beautiful." Amanda kissed him then rushed over to the dress, still clutching the roses. She placed them down and touched the fabric. She turned, eyes sparkling like the dress. "It's gorgeous Dale, so elegant. What did you do?"
"Well, I had an idea to use up some jumps before sending the Hexad back with the note, so I went and got flowers. Those are, um, kind of special you know?"
"Really? How?"
"Well, remember our first anniversary of being together, when I bought you roses and then the next morning they were just gone, no explanation?"
"Oh my god, I'd totally forgotten about that. That was you?"
"Yeah, turns out it was. I didn't even remember it, but when I thought about a jump to get roses I ended up stood right in front of them, I could hear myself snoring in the other room. Another mystery explained."
"That is probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever done in the history of the world." Amanda hugged him tight, then said mischievously, "Now, about this dress?"
"Try it on."
"What, now? With all that we've been through, all that we have to do?"
"That's exactly why you should try it on, right now."
"Well, okay." Amanda stripped down to her underwear and wriggled into the dress. "How do I look."
"Absolutely amazing. Like you should be taken out somewhere special, maybe somewhere like The Sole for instance?"
"Haha, fat chance. You have to book like a year and a half in advance if you..." Dale was smiling like the cat that got the cream. "You didn't, did you?"
"Yep. I just went back and booked it for us. We could actually have got in sooner, I jumped back two years, but insisted on tonight."
"Thank you Dale, thank you so much."
"Anything for you my love, anything. Let me get changed and we'll be off."
"What about the Hexads?"
"They aren't going anywhere, if they were then we would already know all about it."
Dale returned a few minutes later, best suit on, nice crisp shirt, hair under control, for now. It had grown very long over the intervening years, and he liked it, even if the gray was beginning to poke through in more places than he was happy with.
"Wow! A suit, I'm honored."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it, I'm feeling uncomfortable already."
"My hero."
~~~
Beep, beep.
Dale put the key fob back in his pocket and opened the door of the Porsche Carrera, waving Amanda in.
"No way. Where'd you get it?"
"Let's just say that the police won't be looking for it until tomorrow, and they'll find it not far from a rather nice restaurant. No harm done. Well, almost none."
"Hmm, I don't know that I approve of stealing." Amanda got in nonetheless.
Dale got in on the driver side then started the engine, the deep rumble vibrating through their seats. He grinned like a maniac at Amanda, saying, "I know, but it will get found and returned, and I figure that we deserve it."
It was obvious Amanda wasn't feeling that strongly about it either. She squirmed in the seat, enjoying the luxurious interior before being pinned back a few seconds later as Dale tore through the streets, keeping to speed limits but getting up to them extremely fast indeed.
~~~
Amanda um-ed and ah-ed about the dessert, until eventually Dale just ordered four, taking such a momentous decision away from her — she could pick a little of each, problem solved.
"That was the best meal I have ever had. No wonder this place has to be booked so far in advance."
"I know, can't wait to try the dessert. If there's any left of course," said Dale, having as great a time as Amanda. He knew it was a strange way to spend the evening after waiting for the day for ten years, but as he picked up the Hexad to perform the first jump, just to get the count down so he could deliver the note back to them ten years ago, he'd realized that what they needed was something to snap them out of the despair, the misery of what was to come, what they could hopefully stop somehow. It was working.
Dessert came and went, Amanda complaining that she didn't think she'd be able to get out of the dress, but not really caring. Dale felt surprisingly energized — fish never seemed to fill him up, and the sweet dessert, along with the wine, had given him some kind of clarity along with the sugar rush.
"Thank you Dale, this was perfect."
"My pleasure," beamed Dale, pleased that he'd got everything just right.
"Shall we go?"
"Sure. We just need to park the car up somewhere, not too close to here. Then I'm afraid it will be a taxi home."
"Oh poor me, the injustice of it all." Amanda was flushed and her eyes were sparkling. Dale loved her more than ever, pleased beyond words to have dragged her out of her thoughts, just enjoying being together, plus expensive gifts, food and wine of course.
~~~
The house was quiet; the trunk was still there, full of humanity's downfall. Dale tried not to get depressed about it, but it wasn't easy.
For Amanda, stay positive for her. And yourself Dale, you need your wits about you.
They had changed into more comfortable clothes after they got home, and were sipping on wine in the living room, side lamps giving the room a pleasantly subdued atmosphere.
"I've been thinking about how to get that Hexad back to us with a six still on it," said Amanda.
"Come up with anything? I can't figure it out."
"Yes, it's simple."
"Bet it isn't," mumbled Dale. He knew her too well, if she said it was simple it would be the opposite, for sure.
"No, listen. I use one Hexad to jump back, take another with me. Then I just put it on the table, jump away, done."
"But if you did that then we'd see you, and we didn't."
"Haha, now here's the clever bit. I jump back again, as now I know exactly to the split second when we see the Hexad, only this time it's in another room, and I make a noise, to distract us just long enough for me to put it down, the other me, without actually being seen."
"Huh, that's stupid. If we already saw you do it then how could you distract us so we didn't?"
"Duh. Do you remember seeing me put a Hexad on the table?"
"No," said Dale warily, feeling his head begin to hurt.
"Me either. But do you remember maybe thinking you heard something in the house? Maybe just for a split second, but not really taking much notice, but maybe looking away? Maybe?"
"I don't know, I don't really remember. We were pretty pumped up on adrenaline by then, and kind of getting bored of waiting at the same time."
"Exactly," said Amanda triumphantly. "It must
be what happened. I'm going to try it."
"Be careful honey, that sounds very complicated. You jumping where you see yourself, it could lead to all manner of repercussions."
"How?" shouted Amanda from the kitchen, returning with the Hexads. "If we don't remember seeing me then it must have worked."
"Or we come up with another plan later on," suggested Dale.
"I'll be fine. See ya."
Amanda just stayed were she was.
"Well, do you remember seeing me put it on the table?"
"No, but you haven't jumped yet."
"Of course I have silly, I just jumped back to the same time I disappeared."
"Ugh, I need a drink. Do you think that doing that changed the past? That in another timeline we did see you, and now we have forgotten as you went back and changed it?"
"Yes, I think that's what happened. But does it matter?"
"Oh. No. Dunno. Ugh, I really need a drink."
"Okay, one more, then we have to go and bury the tin."
"Damn, forgot about that. What a long day. I'll be glad when this is over."
"I won't, I very much doubt tomorrow will be a good day. But thanks for this evening, it was lovely."
Dale tapped his knee and Amanda walked over and sat down. "Amanda, for you I would do anything. Anything. I love you."
"I love you too."
They had a drink, jumped back and buried the Hexad, pretending that they didn't know that a younger version of them was spying on them in the bushes, and they tried not to act too wobbly on their feet from the wine.
Then it was done, events from the past caught up with.
Now all they had to do was save the world.
Ending the World
Present Day
It felt strange calling the police; Dale was nervous on the phone even though he hadn't actually done anything wrong. Okay, he'd stolen a car, but that hadn't happened yet, it was just the feeling he always got when dealing with anyone in authority, especially the police.
If he was driving and he saw them his palms began to sweat, thinking he'd be pulled over even though he wasn't speeding and for some reason some criminal would have hidden bags of drugs in his car and he'd protest his innocence but get banged up for years in some horrible jail surrounded by men that wanted to do things to him he really didn't want them to do.
Damn, now I'm getting even more nervous.
"Yeah, I think they might be bombs." Dale listened to the woman gasp, then recover and talk to him professionally. The conversation went on for a few more minutes, with the advice given to vacate the premises and get well away from the house, and he was sure he heard her tutting when he said that the trunk was found when they were gardening but then they'd brought it inside. He knew he sounded foolish — what person in their right mind would drag a box full of what could be bombs into their home? Still, it did the trick, and he was informed that the police, along with the bomb squad, would be around as quickly as possible.
It promised to be a rather interesting day. Just not in a good way.
He couldn't have guessed quite how interesting, or quite how bad, even if he'd tried.
Dale wandered outside, where Amanda was hanging up the bird feeders, scowling into the hedge where she knew the squirrel was waiting. She turned when she saw him and said, "Don't know what's going to happen, so I thought I'd fill them up... Just in case."
"It'll be fine honey, they're on their way." Dale patted his pocket. "You sure we just need one Hexad? Maybe we should keep a few?"
"Dale, that's not what happens. We have one."
"What, because Hector said so?"
"Yes. He may have been the most evil man I've ever met, but I think he was telling the truth. We had one, we need one, and somehow it gets discovered. We just have to do something to ensure that things change."
"Okay. Listen, I think that's the police. Sounds like a lot." Sirens could be heard blaring down the street. It sounded like the whole local force along with a number of fire engines and ambulances were all convening on their house.
"Let's go. Let's grab our bags."
Dale and Amanda went to meet their fate.
~~~
"Let me get this straight," said the slim, almost skeletal detective inspector, hands on the desk, staring at Dale and Amanda like they'd just admitted they were criminal masterminds, "you found it, you opened it, you dragged it inside, and didn't think to call us before doing that?"
"Um, yeah. I mean no. We just assumed it was, you know, something cool. We thought that maybe someone had stashed it, hidden it, waiting for the heat to die down. Um, not that we would ever do anything illegal of course. We just thought it was something..." Dale looked at Amanda for help.
"A new gadget, something someone had... wanted to keep hidden for some reason."
The detective stared at them hard, making Dale feel like a small child sent in to see the headmaster for being naughty. He really hated dealing with anyone that was to do with the law.
"So, you thought they were stolen but decided to keep them, eh?"
"What? Look, no, I called you didn't I? Isn't that what a good citizen would do?"
"It is, but a 'good citizen' wouldn't drag dangerous devices into their home, maybe thinking about keeping them for themselves."
Shouldn't he be fat? I thought all detectives were fat, living off junk food and never getting any exercise. What's the difference between a detective and a detective inspector?
"Dale, Dale." Amanda nudged him in the ribs.
"Eh? What?"
"I asked you a question," said the detective.
"Sorry, this is a strange day for us."
The detective huffed and said, "Do you have a criminal record?"
"Me? No, of course not!"
On it went; they were in there for hours. Dale wished he could see what was going on at the house and kept wondering what the police would do, how long it would take the bomb squad to clear the Hexads, if they could. He had a sneaking suspicion they would be closed to most of their equipment, after all, they weren't invented for... When were they invented? Dale realized he had no idea.
At long last they were allowed out of the room, questions over. Dale wondered why such rooms were always painted the same way: was the two-tone color scheme meant to make you nervous? Spill the beans on all the terrible criminal things you'd done or were aiming to do?
They were told not to go back to their house as the investigation was ongoing: it seemed that more specialist equipment and personnel were being enlisted, apparently the contents of the trunk were a real mystery. That was all they were told, just to keep their phones with them, not to leave the local area, and under no circumstances were they to tell another living soul about their find. The last thing the investigating team needed was for the story to get leaked to the media.
The detective warned them that if even a hint of the contents of their discovery somehow found its way to the papers, or it got Online, then it would be serious for them both. There would be 'consequences' for sure. They absolutely were not to raise any kind of alarm, especially as it seemed like the bomb squad were to be at their home for some time — whatever it was that was inside the trunk was giving the local experts a serious headache.
Finally they were free to go, although the detective kept stopping them as they were trying to leave, asking the same questions as earlier, as if he could catch them out and they would tell him something different to the story they had already told.
As they walked down the steps outside the police station Dale felt a wave of relief wash over him. It was stupid, but his hands were clammy, he was sweating, and he really wanted it to all be over — he knew that was wishful thinking though. There was a lot to do, he just didn't really know where to start. Even after all these years he still had no clue what to do to ensure what happened in the future didn't happen.
But he had to, he would do anything to ensure that what they saw at The Factory never happened so Amanda would have n
o memory of ever seeing it. As long as that was how time travel worked — he'd struggled with it for years, but, as with all things temporal, had to give up his pondering as it left him nothing but confused.
Heck, he wasn't even sure that he could change the future. It had gone around and around in his head, over and over, the seeming impossibility of the whole premise of time travel. How do you change the future when for those in the future it would be a past that had already happened? As usual none of it made sense and all Dale was left with was a pounding in his head like someone was trying to crack open his skull with a tiny hammer: insistent, relentless, infuriating.
"Well, at least that's done," said Amanda, looking rather bored.
"Yeah, but we can't go home yet. Wonder how long this is gonna take them?" mused Dale, amazed that Amanda was so calm after being inside the police station and the interrogation.
"Ages, I bet. They won't have a clue what the Hexads are, so you can bet they will be calling in specialists from all over the place. I bet they even get one of those robot things with a camera on. All we have to do now is figure out what we are going to do. Everything is caught up with, the things that happened in the past, so now we just need to fix the future, stop the devices from being mass-produced, stop the knowledge of them getting out."
"And how are we going to do it? All these years and we haven't got a clue."
"I know, but how could we make a plan? Everything just happens doesn't it? I was just assuming that today something would pop up that would allow us to get on with it."
Dale stopped on the bottom step, wafting away the smoke from uniformed officers that were grouped together puffing away rapidly on their cigarettes. "And now you're not so sure, right?" Amanda nodded her head. "Me either. I think it's going to be down to us babe. We have to make the decisions and we have to do it soon."
"Well, I don't know about that. It won't matter when we do it, will it?"
"I think it will, and besides, I know for certain I'll go mad with worry if we don't just get on with it and act. I need to know that we stop the madness that we saw. It's been haunting me for a decade now."
