Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 46

                I stand up and walk over to Lily. How can I feel bad for someone who killed the way she did? But being in that cage was like nothing I had ever felt. It was lonely and sad. I’m trying not to feel anything for Lily, but I can’t help it. “How long were you in the cage for?” I ask Lily. “I was locked away for 8 years.” Lily says, and Rev looks confused. “Wait what? Who was locked in a cage?” Rev asks.  “I was. I was locked in a cage far from my country and alone.” Lily looks Rev right in the eye. “Nope not going to do it, nope I am not going to ask how you ended up in a cage.” Rev says and walks away. I know her by now, she will come right back. Rev turns around. “How the heck did you end up in a cage for 8 years? And why would you put that memory into the orb?” Rev Asks Lily. “I put them in the orb so I would never forget the day I started living. The day Charles saved me. As for the cage… well I blew up a high official’s daughter. When he got a chance to catch me, he put me in prison with all the other people who did something bad to him or who disagreed with him.” Lily says. “Yup and I’m done feeling bad for you. You were in the cage for being a killer.” Rev says. Lily laughs, “I am no different from you. We are both killers and did what we had to for survival. We would do anything to survive and to pretend otherwise would be a lie.” Lily thinks her and Rev are the same, but Rev kills because she has to.  “You’re nothing like Rev. She doesn’t kill to suit her. Survival is different than murder. I felt what you felt when you killed those you were jealous of.  You were sick in the head long before they locked you in a cage.” I don’t mean to be so harsh but there is something very wrong with Lily.  She starts laughing. “You might think that, but I know evil when I see it. Rev is just like me.” Lily says, and Rev looks over at her. “Look 2 screws short. No one cares what you think. The only question now is where to hide you until we are done here.” Rev says completely ignoring what was just said.

                Lilly is remaining tied up while Rev and I try to figure out the best way to get James’ daughter back. “How do we get James’ daughter out without killing anyone?” I ask Lily. She laughs right in my face. “You’re assuming she doesn’t want to be there. She is a loyal Timetopian and will do what she has to for the good of Timetopia.” Rev grabs me and pulls me to the side. “What if Lilly isn’t lying and she is loyal like that?” I shrug at Revs question for I have no answer. We might be able to find out if we go there but what if she isn’t lying, what would we be walking into? “I think we should talk to James.” I tell Rev. “No, he will just say that Lily is lying. This is his daughter we are talking about.” I don’t get why that is such a big deal. James would want to know the truth. “So then what should we do?”  Rev looks at Lily tied up on the floor. “Get proof.” Rev walks over to Lily. “How do we know you’re telling the truth? I mean you lie to yourself all the time saying you’re pretty when you’re clearly not.” Rev is being something I have never seen before. I look at her. Lily seemed angry at what Rev said. “Check the computer in my office. There is the video footage of all of it and that’s where you will see everything.”  Rev looks at me. “If it’s on her computer or screen as you guys like to call it, can you access it from any screen in the house?” Rev asks me. “I am not sure but I can try.” I tell her and I start walking down the hallway to the screen. “Why can’t we just go to the office to her screen?” I ask Rev as she follows me dragging Lily behind her by the hair. “It could be rigged with bombs. We can’t take that chance.” I walk up to the screen and get the cameras pulled up. “I mean it could be a bombed I get that, but why are you dragging her by the hair?”  I stop to look at Rev. “Dragging her is just for fun. Plus I mean she deserves it.” I shake my head at her. I am not sure what to say. “Okay. What am I looking for exactly?” I ask Rev and she shrugs. “What proof do you have that you’re not keeping James’ daughter hostage?” Rev immediately puts her hand around Lily’s neck and shakes her. I grab Rev and pull her back. I’m not sure how she wants her to answer when she can barely breathe. “Thank you Ava. You can pull up the cameras from the questions hall on there if you jump onto the network and bypass the firewall. The computer in my office already has an open portal.”  Lily says this like I know what any of this means. “I grew up here in Timetopia, so you have to know I only know what you guys taught me. With that being said, what is a computer and a fire wall?” Lily shrugs and gives a giggle. “Untie me and I would gladly help you.” I look at Rev. Rev nods yes and Lily smiles. Rev kicks Lily in the head and Lily passes out. “Yeah right, we are not letting crazy psycho bomber loose. You can figure this out Ava. I have faith in you.” Well I’m glad Rev does because right now I’m not sure if I can do this.

series wednesday: timetopia page 45

                Rev is laughing, “Trust me honey, my maker is not ready to meet me.” Rev grabs a gun out of her back pack and Lily laughs as her orb starts to light up.  She is going to set off one of the bombs. There has to be a way to stop her.  What if I… I pull out my orb and to create an opening and I pull Lily and Rev through. Lily’s face is in shock as she hits the floor. Rev jumps to her feet quickly and kicks Lily in the face. Then Rev grabs the orb out of Lily’s hand. “Here you go. Now connect them so we can save James’ daughter.” Rev hands me the orb. “I need her blood.” I tell Rev. “How do you have an orb?” Lily asks me. “Its my mother’s.” I tell her. Lily’s face is in shock. She tries to get up off the floor, but Rev slams her back down. “You’re Kora’s daughter? How did she hide you for this long?” She asks a little muffled by Rev’s boot on her face. “Yes, I am Kora’s daughter. Look, I will answer any questions you have if you give me a little blood.” She starts laughing even with Rev’s boot on her face. “The only way you’re getting my blood is if you kill me.” Lily says. “Sounds like a good plan to me.” Rev says as she pulls out a knife. Lily lays there still as if she wants Rev to kill her. Something isn’t right.

                “Wait!” I tell Rev. “She wants you to kill her, there has to be a reason why.”  Rev looks at me. “Oh come on. I wasn’t going to kill her. I was just going to cut her a little bit...” Rev smiles. “Okay in all honesty a lot a bit.” Rev starts to laugh. “Why do you want Rev to kill you?” Lily is now laughing. There has to be a reason and her laughter is just proving me right. “Your mom didn’t explain how our orbs work? Just that you needed our blood or is she just having you collect them for her?” Lily asks. Kora just said I needed their blood to connect them. Maybe they need to be alive... I never thought to ask.  “I am reuniting the orbs.” I tell Lily as Rev ties her hands behind her back. Rev sits Lily up so she can look at me. “Why would you need to reunite the orbs? Unless you want to go back to when it started.” Lily says as I can see her putting the pieces together in her head. “To stop you from turning Timetopia into a land of enslaved people.” I tell her. Lily shakes her head. “What are you talking about? None of you are enslaved. We are simply guiding you. So the mistakes from our time are not made here.” She has no idea what the future holds. Or she is a good liar. She must not have made the choices yet that lead to the future.  “In the future you, Charles, and west enslave everyone to worship you.” I tell her. “How could you know that? The future is locked in the orbs. How could you possibly know that?!” She responds as if I am lying to her. “Wait, is yours locked too?” Rev asks her. “Yes, we all locked them. That way we wouldn’t take over too much of the future. Our plan was to eventually let Timetopia run itself. All of us are supposed to pick a time to live out our days.” Lily responds. She’s only telling half of the story. “Did you think that you and Charles were going to pick a time together?” Rev asks. Lily looks away. “Wow are you stupid. Did he tell you that or did you just assume? Because he claims to love you?” Rev is saying it in her voice that hurts your feelings.

                “Well let’s cut her.” Rev says. I nod yes and grab her orb. Rev cuts her hand and puts her blood on the orb. I am a little fearful to put her orb with Kora’s, but I must. I put them together and I feel my feet drift away. All of the sudden I feel jealousy toward a girl in front of me. I am in a classroom with no windows and I’m chained to a chair. All of the kids seem to be chained. I seem to have gotten out of mine and I stab the girl in front of me. All the kids scream and I realize I need to kill them to get out, so I run and stab the teacher. The other kids are chained and can’t get out, so I set off a bomb.  I run outside and watch the flames. I feel joy as I hear them scream. This isn’t the last time. I keep trying to be the best at everything I do, but anytime there is some one better than me I seem to kill them. Until the day I am taken and put in a cage. I seem to  be in this cage for a long time. I just want this to end no matter how much I scream they won’t let me out. Other people in the cages next to me seem to keep dying. I don’t stop fighting however. I scream every day. After a while my voice goes but I never give up.  Even without a voice I still try to scream. One day I look up from my cage and hear fighting in the room next to mine. I scream and scream and bang on my cage.  That when I see his face for the first time. It’s Charles. He unlocks my cage and lets me out. Then he wraps me in his arms. “They are taking all of the scientists to a camp. I am taking you with me. I will protect you. What’s your name?” He ask me “I am Lily.” He smiles at me. That was the moment I felt my heart warm, something I’ve never experienced before. I open my eyes to see Rev holding me in her arms. “What did you see?”

Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 44

                “We need to get something from Lily first, but I promise you we will get your daughter back.” Rev tells James. She looks at me. “Send him through to Kora, so he will be safe until this is over.”  I nod yes and pull out the orb. “No, don’t send me anywhere. I can help.” James says as I open the port way. Rev hugs him, “You can’t help this time James.” Rev tells him. She throws him through the opening and James disappears. “He is going to be mad when he gets back.” I tell Rev. “No he won’t. We will have his daughter for him when he gets back so he won’t be mad.” Rev tells me this like everything is going to be so easy. Nothing about getting the orb from Lily has been easy.

                We start running back up the hallway where Lily was coming for Rev. We see Lily standing there with her orb in hand. Lily is tall and thin with straight black hair. Rev says that she reminds her of this girl from a horror movie about a killer spirit that lives in a house. I’m not sure what a horror movie is but Rev seems a little frightened by it. “So you think you are better than me?” Lily asks Rev. Rev laughs. “I don’t think sweetie, I know I am. There is no question about that one.” Rev’s answer seems to anger Lily. “Why are you even here?” Lily asks. “For your orb.” I respond.  She looks at me like she had forgotten I was even there. “My orb??? Why are you calling my time machine an orb? Plus, you idiots won’t be able to use it anyway.”  She looks down at her orb. “If we won’t be able to use it, why don’t you just hand it over?” I am hoping she will. “No that’s definitely not happening. Why would u even want it?” I look over at Rev who shrugs at me. I am not sure if I should even try to answer. How do I tell her that I am Kora’s daughter and that we know she is going to enslave everyone with Charles and West? I think it’s best not to say anything. “Where is James’ daughter?” Rev asks, and Lily’s attention is now back on Rev. Glad Rev said something or we might all just have stood here for a while with no words.  “I am keeping her at the safe place.” Lily says. Rev shakes her head and starts to whisper to me. “She isn’t going to tell us anything and she isn’t that smart, listen to the way she talks.” But I don’t understand, Lily just told us exactly where James’ daughter is. “Rev the safe place is in the questions hall.” I explain to her. “Oh well how am I to know that? If you have ever seen a mob movie, you would understand my confusion right now.”  What is a mob movie? “Well, not that this hasn’t been fun but I am sick of looking at you two.” Lily says as her orb lights up. I feel the ground shake.

                I open my eyes and hear the ringing in my ears. Rev is shaking me. “Ava up! You need to get up!” I didn’t realize I had fallen down. “Where is she?” I ask Rev. “She ran off after she set off the bomb, but did you see her orb light up right before it went off?” I nod yes. That must be how she controls the bombs with her orb. Just another reason why we need to get the orb. “She must have linked the bombs to the orb. The bombs cause minimal impact to the house but knock us around.”  She has to have them on some kind of system. “Is there any way to find them and disarm them without her noticing?” Rev asks me. “I need a working screen and a lot of time.”  Rev helps me up. “I can get you to a screen and give you very little time.” That is not what I asked Rev for, but knowing her… she will do her best. “I’ll do what I can.” We run in opposite directions. I run to find a screen and her to find Lily. I see the screen I was using before and I run right up to it. I start to pull up the cameras on the screen. I see Lily walking around dropping a little box on the floor. That must be one of the bombs. She scans the box with her orb. That must be how she is connecting the bombs to the orb.  I have to do something to warn Rev where she’s dropping the boxes, but how? I start to try and find Rev on the screen. I can see her peaking around the corners making sure to watch her back. Oh no, she’s starting to get close to one of the bombs.  I can’t say it over the speakers or Lily will hear.  I am thinking but I need to come up with something fast. Revs approaching the bomb area quickly.  I don’t think they are motion activated but I am not sure. I start to make the lights flicker. Rev stops moving and looks up at the light above her blink. She smiles, I think she knows it’s me. I look at the other rooms and I see Lily coming down the hall way to Rev. “It’s time for you to meet your maker.” 

Series Wednesday: Timetopia Page 43

                We are thrown back into the museum. Rev is next to me with a smile on her face. “Let’s get her!” Rev gets up, the hall way is destroyed by the bomb that hit my side. “I won’t ask again. Where have you been the past 40 years?” I look at Rev. “Take a good look at us. We haven’t aged. We haven’t been anywhere. You would think one of the all mighty Five would be able to see that.” Rev says almost shouting. Rev stands up and motions for me to do the same. I get up behind her. “I wasn’t speaking to you. Charles’ ex-wife am I correct?” Lilly says as she giggles. “Is that what he told you?? No sweet heart I’m not his ex-wife. I am his wife!” Rev I mad I can tell by the undertone in his voice. “We need to shoot out the cameras so she won’t be able to watch us.” Rev Whispers to me. “Well considering you were never born. It is a little hard to be his wife.”  Lilly says in a strange voice. Almost as if she wants Rev to kill her. I lean into Rev’s ear. “We don’t need to shoot out the cameras I just need to get back down that hall ways to the screen. If you can distract her. I can find her and take out the cameras.” Rev nods. “Oh you think you special because you have a thing with my HUSBAND!?” Rev walks out more into the hall way and is once again shouting. I think she is buying me time. “He is not your husband!” Lilly responds back. “Really!? I can show you the wedding photos if you want. Or from what I hear he keeps them on his orb. You can always go look for yourself.” Rev sounds happy as she says that. I run down the hall way back to the screen. “He would not keep something like that on his orb? Trust me you are not that special.” Lilly says over the loud speaker so I can still hear her no matter where I am at. I pull up the cameras on the screen to see what Lilly is seeing.  

                I start thinking. I can’t shut down all the cameras, how will I find James without them…. I can hear Rev still. “Oh Sweet heart let me break it down for you. Okay? Now after this brief moment with you. I can tell you not the sharpest tool in the shed. So I will take it slow for you. He married me. I was his first and only love. I can tell your nothing to him and do you know how I know this. Because Richard doesn’t like ugly, clingy and not that smart women.” I can hear the smile on Rev’s face after she says that. I am searching all the rooms for any sign of life. That is where I see him! I found James. It looks like a questions room. I wonder what they are questioning him about. “He does love me. I am smart and beautiful he tells me all the time.” Lilly response to Rev was short and I can tell she is losing steam. Now that I know where James time to find Lilly. Come on Rev keep her going just a little longer. Time to search for her. I avoid all the rooms I ready checked. “Oh I highly doubt that. Sweet heart I am just trying to help you out Richard doesn’t love you. You a chicken who won’t even face me! Richard could never love a chicken.”

                I can tell Rev is trying to get her to come out. Lilly is taking a while to respond. The screen is alerting me that there is movement. There she is coming down the hall way. Lilly is on the other side of the museum on the third from the opposite way of where James is.  We have enough time to get him before she can reach us. “REV LETS GO!” I wave at her. She starts to run toward me. I start running down the stairs to the question room where they are keeping James.  I get to the Questions room and put my blood on the lock to get it open. Rev runs past me into the room. James is cuffed to the table. “James!” Rev says. James looks scared to see Rev. “Rev why are you here? Where have you been all this time?” James ask well Rev looks at his cuff. “Get him out.” Rev yells at me. I run to the panel and cut my hand a little to put my blood on it. The cuffs unlock and James stand up. Rev hug him with his gray hair. He is clearly a different man. “Are you okay?” Rev asks him. “You time jumped that’s how you haven’t aged. Isn’t it?” James asks Rev. “Yes we did. We had to. We make it to Ava’s mom and this is all a part of the plan. We can send you to a safe place until it’s over.” James starts shaking his head no. “They have my daughter. I need to go get her.” Rev face falls flat. “Daughter?” he laughs. “I’m 65 Rev, I have a few kids. But my daughter Rosaline worked for the Five and yesterday when Erick went off line. They Found out who I was and took her. Lilly was hoping I would know something about you that could help.” Rev’s face has a look I know all too well.