After Tomorrow: A CHBB Anthology

by Samantha Ketteman

“We’re glad to help.” Cassidy added. “I’m sorry for your losses.”

  The older woman sighed; her short, silvery curls framed her head, bobbing slightly. “I lost her last year to cancer. No one should have to outlive their own children. But we had many wonderful years together and she knows I loved her. I have grandchildren too, now. But I have one regret...”

  “Your husband?” Cassidy asked.

  Mrs. Reddings nodded. “He never got to see our little girl dance. I’d so very much like for him to know what happened at her first dance recital. It was very important to him. His grandmother was a dancer.” She handed Cassidy a small envelope that she took carefully. “They said you would know what to do with this. It seems odd that the very object that took my love from me is the only thing that can now send him this message. How cruel fate can be.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Reddings. I promise we’ll make sure the message reaches him safely.” Cassidy assured.

  “You can count on us.” Collin agreed. They watched Timothy as he escorted the elderly woman to a waiting room then turned to Cassidy. “What an unusual one.”

  Cassidy nodded, smiling, “Definitely a record.”

  Collin grinned. “You can’t wait, can you?”

  “Nope! Let’s get to the temporal technicians so they can plot the portal to send us back.”

  “What, no waiting?” Collin blinked. “Are you sure you want to do this before looking into the building?”

  “What’s the point? The military said the building was leveled and we know how they are about classified plans. There is no way they will release floor plans to us. We know where he’ll be and when. All we have to do is ride the wave into the room, talk to him-”

  “Without getting shot.” Collin pointed out.

  “-and ride the wave out.” she finished, “We’re not going to get shot. Accidents like the one involving Mr. Reddings rarely happen. It shouldn’t have happened in his case. But that isn’t our assignment. Let’s do it and bring some peace.”

  Collin took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright, Cass. Let’s do it.”

  

  The temporal technicians didn’t take long to input the coordinates and prepare their temporal wave, and Cassidy and Collin were even pleasantly surprised to find out they would have two minutes ahead of time instead of the one they expected. It was more time to ensure a safe delivery, even with their flawless record. It was the first time a message would be allowed a full two minutes. As exciting as it was, it made Collin nervous. From the way she kept biting her lip, he expected Cassidy felt the same way.

  “Now, when you get back there, be careful and stay out of doorways or large openings. Sgt. Reddings should enter the room sometime within thirty seconds of your arrival based on the military’s Intel, but we still don’t know where the shot came from or by who. Watch your backs.” the technician warned.

  Collin and Cassidy gave him their thanks and stepped onto the loading platform. Although they were both nervous, each time they saw a temporal wave form before them it brought them a strange yet fulfilling sense of peace. They looked at one another, smiled, and stepped through together.

  The world around them disappeared as they felt the familiar motion sickness wrenching them back. When the feeling stopped, they looked around a darkened room, lit only by a single yellow light bulb, the sound of gunfire nearby. A small explosion shook the walls, dust dropping around them.

  “Fire in the hold?” Collin muttered, looking at Cassidy to make sure she was alright. She nodded to him and they stepped away from their entry point, to a wall that would be adjacent to where the military expected Reddings to have entered. They didn’t have long to wait. The door flung open as a man in early issue fatigues came through, his gun sweeping the room until he saw Cassidy and Collin.

  Sgt. Reddings recognized them as civilians instantly, “Who the- Wait, who are you?”

  Collin held up his hand. “Sir, we have a message for you.”

  “A message? Are you nuts? This is a live fire exercise. Who let you in here?”

  “We’re authorized by a superior officer. We’re here to deliver a message from your wife about your little girl.”

  “My wife? Rosie? What about my little girl?” he demanded, taking a step forward.

  “This is taking too long,” Cassidy whispered. “Sgt. Reddings, the message is ‘She dances so beautifully...’”

  Sgt. Reddings stared at her for a moment before he closed his eyes tightly, tears falling. “My little girl...” he whispered. “She dances beautifully.” Then he opened his eyes and smiled at them. “Thank you. I understand.”

  Cassidy smiled back at him. Just as she opened her mouth to respond, a shot exploded from behind them and a bullet tore into his chest, sending him flying backwards.

  “Reddings! Cass, get down.” Collin grabbed her and dove next to Sgt. Reddings’ shaking body. He pressed his hands to the wound, knowing the man’s death had already happened in their time but the instinct was overpowering. His actions were for naught, however, as Sgt. Reddings died with tears of joy and pain still on his face. Collin hit the ground in frustration. “I don’t understand! We should have had almost another full minute. How could the military have messed up this bad?” Collin growled.

  Cassidy shook her head. “It was amazing they managed to pin down the time of death so accurately. Can’t blame them for being a minute off.”

  Collin looked up and saw two men standing in the open doorway. They were each wearing West Guard uniforms.

  “Collin, they’re-” she began.

  “West Guard.” Collin nodded grimly. “Yeah, I noticed.”

  One of the men raised his gun and pointed it at them, “Looks like I missed, Karl. Shall I try again?”

  The other man looked worried. “Ah hell, Jackson. You weren’t supposed to shoot any of them.”

  “Who cares!” the man named Jackson snapped. “They are trying to destroy our world!”

  “Do either of you understand? You just killed an innocent man!” Cassidy cried. “We’re here because you idiots shot him.”

  Jackson shrugged. “No harm done then if it’s already happened. Right, Karl?”

  Karl looked ready to be sick. “I don’t know... I just don’t know... we were supposed to bring them back, not kill them.”

  “Collin, run!” Cassidy shouted as she flung Sgt. Reddings fallen helmet at the two men who cried out in surprise. Collin grabbed her wrist and ran for the doorway as Jackson recovered and started shooting. Collin did his best to barricade the door after they were through but Cassidy continued to drag him away before he could strengthen the jamb. “Cass? What the heck? How could they have known we’d be here? We were just told ourselves. There wasn’t even time for a leak.”

  “Collin, someone obviously did leak the mission. Someone who knew before we did and gave the West Guard something from Hermes, possibly the dog tags. We’ve been betrayed. This means… No… He… he died because of us!”

  “But who-”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, Collin. We’ve got to get out of here! Let’s get out through the back of the building and use the device.”

  Hermes agents were forbidden to carry firearms in case they accidentally affected the timeline, but the West Guard didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to them was stopping the paradox they feared would destroy the future. Whatever the intentions of those men were, an innocent man had died; someone who shouldn’t have.

  Together they ran down the hallway. “Will our portal work this far from the entry point?” Collin gasped, trying hard to breathe.

  Cassidy shook her head helplessly, “I don’t know. One of the technicians admitted there might be up to a one hundred and fifty foot maximum radius, but it’s never been tested.”

  “Guess we are about to find out.” Collin grimaced.

  Cassidy didn’t respond and he didn’t blame her. They cautiously turned a corner. He went first in case any other West Guard members we
re nearby. The sounds of gunfire seemed closer, and images of the late Sgt. Reddings spurred both Cassidy and Collin to hurry. Then he heard Cassidy cry out. His whole body jerked around to see her frozen in place, her face white.

  “Cass? What is it?” He looked down. There was a small rectangular box on the floor with a blinking red light on it.

  A time trap.

  Somehow he’d missed it when he’d rushed by. Cassidy hadn’t been so lucky.

  “Oh no- Cassidy, hold on. We’ve got to get you out of here!”

  She shook her head, her face covered in tears. “Collin... you can’t... it will kill us both.”

  Collin took a step towards her. “Don’t be afraid. We’ll figure something out. Just give me a minute to think.”

  “No, Collin, I won’t let you die. You need to get out of here. Please, go!”

  “No!”

  “Collin!”

  “Cass, hang on!

  “No, if I move you’ll get caught too...”

  Collin stared helplessly, “Cass...”

  “Collin, I love you. Please, just go. The West Guard will be here any second.” She begged.

  “No! I won’t let them have you. I won’t leave you behind.”

  “Collin there isn’t another choice! Just go. Go!”

  Collin stared helplessly at the woman he loved. If he entered the range of the trap it would go off. If she tried to disarm it, it would go off and he would never be able to reach her in time. Any moment the West Guard would arrive and they would either shoot her on sight or trigger the time trap manually, sending her spiraling backward or forward through time. Collin would never see her again.

  “Cassidy, I’ll come with you.”

  “What? Collin, no!” she cried out. “Listen to me. Be smart about this. Even if you tried you’d never reach me in time.”

  “No. There has to be something else we can do-” A crazy idea formed in his mind. There was only one option. An option he would hate himself forever for considering. But it was the only way she might live.

  “Cass, when the West Guard get here they’ll likely kill you.”

  “Not if I let myself fall through the time trap. I won’t live for long, but at least the West Guard won’t get me.”

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  “Collin, you need to accept that we’ll never see each other aga-”

  “I won’t believe that!” Collin said. “Even if you are sent forward or backward through time, I will find you. Let yourself fall. But just know, I will find you.”

  “We’ll never see each other again,” she whispered, “You’ll never find me.”

  “I swear I’ll find you Cass. I found you once. We’ll find each other again.”

  She nodded, tears dripping down her cheeks. Collin stared at the face of the woman he loved, memorizing all of her features again. When they’d first gotten to know each other at Hermes she’d seemed so headstrong and determined not to let him see her heart, believing that no one could ever understand. Collin understood her. His own heart had sought her through time and he would do so again. He didn’t care how long it took him or what he had to do. He would find a way to be with the woman he loved.

  “Cassidy, I love you.”

  “I love you too, Collin. If you can’t find me...”

  “I will find you.”

  “But if you can’t, please try to get my letter to my parents. Somehow please find a way.” She pulled the letter out and tossed it to him. He caught it and slipped it inside of his pocket.

  “We’ll do it together.”

  He wouldn’t let the possibility of not finding her enter his mind. He couldn’t, or he would crumble right there in front of her, and she needed him to be strong. For once, he had to be the strong one. “Are you ready?”

  Cassidy took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, but let’s make history anyway.”

  Collin gave a small, heartbroken laugh as he struggled not to cry. He wasn’t sure he could do it but the shouting from behind him had reminded him - Cassidy was out of time. It was now or never, he thought. “Fall, sweetheart. You’ve got to let yourself fall.”

  She nodded, but he could see the panic in her eyes. “Collin... I can’t do it. I can’t lose you forever.”

  “Cass... I love you.”

  “Please, Collin, I don’t think I can do this. You have to help me.”

  Collin closed his eyes as tears clouded his vision. The sounds of struggle were getting closer. He took a step forward and opened his eyes. Cassidy reached out a hand toward him while her other one clutched the seashell he’d given her. He lifted his own arm, stretching his fingers toward hers. For one brief, heart-wrenching moment their fingers almost touched.

  Then, she was gone. Collin continued holding his hand out, desperately hoping she would reappear, take his hand and tell him everything would be fine. But she didn’t. She was gone. Time itself had brought them together, and now, it was ripping them apart. The girl from the beach was gone. Cassidy was gone. He turned around and saw Timothy standing there with a rifle in his hand, wearing a West Guard uniform.

  

  “Timothy? What are you doing here?” Collin stared as everything clicked into place. He didn’t want to process it, to admit it to himself. Timothy had kept their secret, he wasn’t the one to betray them… he couldn’t be the reason she was lost in time.

  “Oh, Collin... I... I didn’t mean for this-”

  “Timothy…” Collin warned, holding his emotions captive. “Tell me you didn’t do this.”

  “I swear I didn’t know about the time traps. They told me they were planning to take you hostage, to hold you for ransom and make them stop sending anyone else back. We just... we need to protect our world.”

  Collin felt his control slipping away as reality set in, “It was Cassidy… Cassidy, Timothy!”

  Timothy looked nervously at him. “I’m truly sorry. This wasn’t supposed to-”

  Collin roared and charged Timothy before he could swing his weapon around. Collin drove his fist into the younger man’s stomach, dropping him. He grabbed the gun and stepped back as Timothy coughed, struggling to his knees. When he saw Collin with the gun, he sank back to the ground and hung his head.

  “I’m sorry, Collin. I thought... if the world could see how much you and Cassidy loved each other, they would understand why we couldn’t risk the timeline. I didn’t want anything to happen to you. After you and Cassidy crossed through the portal I contacted the West Guard and tried to work out a deal. I came along to make sure they wouldn’t hurt you…”

  Collin stood over Timothy, pointing the younger man’s weapon at him. He wanted justice. “What’s the point?” Collin whispered, defeated. “She’s gone now.” Collin dropped the weapon over the edge of the catwalk and began walking away.

  “Collin, what will you do?” Timothy called out.

  It was a long moment before Collin answered. “I’ll find her. Somehow, I’ll find her.”

  “But without something from the timeline?”

  Collin shut his eyes, “I’ll find a way. It goes without saying, if I see you again-”

  “You won’t…”

  “Deliver a message for me, Timothy.”

  “What?”

  “Tell the West Guard that Hermes won’t take this lying down anymore. I’ll never let this happen again. Once I find Cassidy, I’m coming for all of you.” Collin activated his portal and passed through.

  

  The return to Hermes passed in a blur. Having returned without Cassidy was a shock for the crew on duty. Westin questioned Collin about the West Guard and the events that had caused the ‘tragedy’.

  “Collin, I understand how you feel but-”

  “Do you, chief? Do you really?”

  Westin nodded. “I lost my wife fourteen years ago in a plane crash. My message was one of the first Hermes ever delivered. I had to use a piece of the wreckage because I had nothing left of her.”

&nbs
p; Collin didn’t know what to say, shock at the idea of having lost Cassidy overwhelming him, tearing him apart. “I’m sorry, Chief Westin.”

  “Me too, son. I know she meant a lot to you. You thought you were being cautious, but it’s easy to see the way you looked at each other.”

  Collin snapped, “She’s still alive, chief. I’m going to find her.”

  Westin’s expression was deadpan for a moment before he put his hand on Collin’s shoulder. His eyes filled with pity, “Collin, we both know that the time trap will continue to send her back until she reaches the point of her birth. Once that happens, she’ll cease to exist. That’s why we never allow anyone to cross their own timeline. We can’t risk it.”

  “I’ll find her. Somehow I will find her.”

  “Collin... take some time off. I don’t want to see you around here for a few days. Go see your family. Relax. Just… don’t be here.”

  Collin gritted his teeth. Westin didn’t want him trying anything stupid and it was obvious, but he wasn’t about to give up. Even if it took him years he was going to find her… even if it meant joining her and traveling back through time together. He stood and excused himself.

  After he had stepped out of the briefing, Collin noticed the elderly woman. She must have been waiting for him; wanting to know if he’d successfully delivered the message to her loved one.

  “Ma’am?”

  “Hello, young man.” she stood stiffly and walked slowly toward him. “Did you manage to deliver my message?”

  Collin closed his eyes and nodded, trying to shut down his emotions. “We succeeded.” he confirmed, “Your husband said, ‘My little girl. She dances beautifully... thank you’.”

  She smiled through her tears, “Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

  Collin nodded and turned to go, but she caught his arm. “Here. She’ll want this back.” She pressed something small and cold into the palm of his hand. Collin watched her go, clutching the object loosely. He didn’t bother turning around when he heard the section chief’s voice behind.

  “Collin? You alright, son?”

  He didn’t answer. “You’ve got to let her go, Collin. Even if you had a way to find her, Hermes couldn’t let you go back.”