Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 42

                I am thinking of the best way to answer to her question without lying. I hear another boom.  She must’ve blown up the room. If she hurt my dad! I look down the hall way and I see Rev and him running toward me. Rev must’ve my made the bomb to get her and my dad out. To see my dad again even as an old man. “I would stop right there if I was you Rev.” Lily says over the speakers. I start waving my hands at her. Rev stops running and grabs my dad. “Why don’t you come out and face me?!”  Rev yells back. “Rev is that you?!” Its James’ voice over the speaker. Rev grunts. “Come out here and face me!!! Don’t you dare use him!”  Rev screams out. Everything is starting to get less sharp.  I feel my legs giving out. I use the orb to pull Rev and my dad to me. “Sweetheart your bleeding bad.” My dad says. I send all of us back to Kora.  I see Kora before I feel my legs finally give out.

                I wake up to Rev asleep next to me. I look down and my cut has almost healed. I get up and try not to wake Rev and walk out to see Kora. “How long was I out for?” She hands me a glass of water. “5 days. Give or take a few hours. That’s how the healing serum works. You sleep until you’re healed. You know, she never left your side.” She must mean Rev. “Really?” Kora starts to walk outside. I follow her and look up at the night sky. “It’s like she didn’t trust us to take care of you.” That sounds like Rev. We didn’t get the orb. Not to mention where is my dad. “My dad?” I look at Kora.  “He is safe with your mother. If you would like to go see them, you can.” I’m overwhelmed with excitement to go see them. I want to run over there right away, but I can’t seem to move my feet. “I’m shocked you’re not taking off to see them.” Kora says to me. “I killed a man.”  I look at Kora to see her face. “We have all killed a man or two. As long as you don’t unnecessarily take a life. Then you’re doing alright.” How could she say that? How is it so easy for her and Rev? 

                I start walking back to the room I woke up in. I see Rev is already awake. “How are you feeling?” Rev asks me. “I am feeling really good, it seems that I am almost completely healed. Thank you for not leaving my side.” Rev shrugs. “How are we going to save James? We just left without him.” She’s right, but it’s not only James we left… we never got a chance to grab the orb. “We need a plan. One that will get us James and the orb.” She gets out of bed. “How can we get both? I mean we would need a something incredibly well thought out.” Rev gets out a piece of paper. I wonder what she could be planning. She is writing very fast on the paper, so she must be on to something. “Well I got nothing... I say we just save James, kill her, and take the orb from her dead body.”  But how… I need Kora. I walk out of the room to go find Kora. I can always see my parents later. I don’t want James to suffer any more then he already has. Kora is sitting at the table with the orb, like she was waiting for us.

                “Are you ready?” She asks us. “Ready for what?” I ask her. “To go get Lily’s orb.” She says it like it is so easy. Like we can just walk up to her and ask for the orb. Lily knew we might come and planned for us, so I know Lily will be ready. “I’m sorry did I miss the plan? Because you’re asking if we are ready like there was a plan told to me.  Because I know I didn’t hear a plan. Did you Ava?” Rev has a tone that I don’t really understand. She knows I didn’t hear any plan, she has been right behind me this whole time.  I just look at her, she’s right about needing to know what the plan is. Then I look at Kora. “We are going to have to know what the plan is.” I tell Kora. “You are going to go back to the second you left. She will never know you are healed.” I nod at Kora. “We are going to need more weapons for that.”  Rev says as she walks away. “Are you ready to face Lily?” Kora asks me. “No I’m not, but we can’t just leave James there. We also need the orb.” I tell Kora. Something about all of this doesn’t seem right... Lily was way too prepared. How do we know she won’t realize we’ve time jumped? I guess we just have to go and find out. Rev walks up to the table with more metal balls and guns. She is loading all the guns. “Oh if she thinks for a second that I am not going to get her… well she is in for a huge surprise.”  Rev throws all of it into her back pack. Kora smiles as she lights up the orb.

Random Short Story: Media Machine

   They fear the faith in me. I am not sure why me knowing exactly who i am fears them. I suppose it is because they are all just lost souls. But if they aren't care he will take them in the night. He shows know mercy to those who will not fight. I am happy i know who i am he will never come for me. I am not sure when he started taking lives. I just know every one fears him even if they don't know it. Lets start on the day he took my sister. Maybe then you will understand exactly where i am. 

    It was a day like any other i got up and through my pants on. Grab a tee shirt out of my closet and ran down stairs to get some food before my day begins. My mother as usual asking me about why i hide my shapely figure behind boy clothes. I always wonder who decided which clothes are for who? Why do boys get to wear comfy closes and girl have to have clothes that are skin tight? It was probably some one who never knew what it was to try and climb a fence in a dress. Oh well she will never catch me dead in those clothes. This is my time to run and jump maybe one day when i'm older i will see things her way. But most likely i will still stay the same until the day i die. I am happy just the way i am. My sister on the other hand. She was the pretty girl in whole city but i know she didn't see it that way. She often listen to what everyone else said. She listen to the TV and the videos online. She did her hair just like all the celebrities and her make up was always prefect. How ever in her head it wasn't good enough. That must of been how she attracted him. I heard whispers about him. A figure selling the impossible dream, making promises he knew he could not keep. I was not there that night. but this was the day my sister lost her life. Some are luckier then her they just come out different. They become deformed figures of people they once where. Some like their new found deformity while other might never be happy. 

   I still remember coming home to see the cops in-front of my house. I thought my mom called them because i was a little late home that day. Well 4 hours late to be exact. I ran up with the waving my hand in the air at my mom.  She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I told her i was fine. She didn't have to worry i was out roam exploring the world. I was not lost of hurt. But she seem to only cry harder. My dad who most days didn't look at me, looked me right in the eye. I will never forget what he said. "Your sister passed away. It seems she skipped school and went to get a boob job. She lied about her age and a few other things. Their were compilations and she died." The most beautiful girl in all the world let him get her. She gave in to the lies the TV told her. I could bare to see my parents face and i pushed my mom away.  i ran as hard and as fast as i can. I didn't get far before the pain set in. I thought of all the time i teased her for stuffing her bra. I regret all the time i let her paint her face instead of telling her how pretty she was. I regret not staying home to sit with her and make sure she was okay. I looked around that when i seen it. The billboard, benches and all over the place. This fake image she thought she had to be. That how he got in. Through her phone at night. Creeping feeding on the insecure the media had given her. If by the end of my tail you cant relate to her i am happy for you and if you don't know the figure i speak of your one of the lucky. But if you lay there late at night wish when you woke and looked in the mirror you saw a different sight. He is coming for you. he will make  promise he can't keep. I have warned you but i cant watch you back when i'm asleep. 

Poems: Brown eyes filled with hope.

Ghost of loves past i hear you call me through the night.

I hear the cracks in my heart they so carelessly left.

I use to hear them every day. 

Not all left from lovers but from the betrayals of those i once trusted.

But some how in a kiss......

I heard his laugh. 

The laugh that spooked away all my ghosts.

A kiss that stopped my demons in their tracks. 

The warmth from his untainted heart that is bright even in the dark.

But nothing silences the cracks and scares me more

Then the look he gives me every night. 

The look of hope and caring.

The fear it leaves me is over whelming.

The fear that he might see the true evil in me.

The me i wish never came to be.

But sadly is just as much me as the girl who holds him through the night.

Maybe for him i can try to be the best me.

But with my luck i never win....

Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 41

                I have no words for what just happened. I knew he was going to kill Rev. I climb down from the tree. “Key card!” Rev yells at me. More wellness checkers are running our way. I throw it to her and she opens the door. I run in and she locks it behind us and break the key pad. “Let’s find James.”  I nod as we start to look around the house. This house is big like a museum. It most likely is a museum when the Five aren’t staying here. Managers start walking down the hall way. Rev starts shooting them down one by one. “REV STOP!” a woman yells. “Give me James and I won’t have to kill your whole team.” The look on Rev’s face says she is going to kill everyone in here if they don’t give her what she wants. “You can have James and leave. But you must leave here. Whatever reason you have resurfaced, forget it.” She waves a key card at us. I know we can’t just leave. I hear the managers moving in behind us. I see the look on Rev’s face and even I’m not sure what she is going to do. “Do you know what I think?” Rev says. The lady steps toward us on the stair case. “No I don………” Rev shoots her right between the eyes. Before the lady even had the chance to finish her sentence. Rev turns back to the managers who all look horrified. “If you don’t leave now, I will blow this whole place up.” She smiles as she pulls a metal ball out of her jacket pocket.

                 Everyone has cleared out. “Grab the key card.” Rev tells me as she makes sure everyone has gone. I try not to look at her dead body on the floor. She seems to have dropped the key card, so I don’t have to get to close to her. I pick up the key card and run it down to Rev. She looks at the card. “How the are we supposed to find him with this?”  I look at the black card with no marks on it. There is no way to figure out what room he is in. “Just show me to a screen. I’ll be able to find him.” I tell Rev. She starts looking around. “Okay, let’s find one then. Come on.” We start wondering down the hallways looking for a screen. There has to be a control room somewhere.  We continue to look around. “James!” Rev starts yelling. Rev stays quiet for a second after yelling but there is no answer. I see a screen at the end of a hallway. “Look!” I tell Rev. I try to access all the rooms from the screens. Looking for any movement, but I don’t see anything. I start to feel like James isn’t really here. I think they somehow tricked us. I look over at Rev and I see the same fear in her eyes.  I am scanning the rooms as fast as I can. “Stop!” Rev tells me. I stop and see something covered in what looks like a sheet. Hard to tell what is under the sheet. “What room is that?” I am trying to make the sheet bigger to see better what it might be. “Room A24 but Rev I don’t know if it’s him.” She sticks her hand out. “You keep looking. Ill check it out to make sure.”  I hand her the key card and she starts to head to A24. I am looking at the screens to make sure no one else is here and to watch over Rev. I watch as Rev gets to the room. I can feel her hope through the screen. 

                She gets up to the sheet. She pulls it off and there is someone under it, but it’s not James. I just start running to the room. That’s when I hear laughing over the speakers. I stop running for a second. “Did you think you could come to my house and take what you want?” I look around. I know this voice… but from where? I close my eyes to take a second to think. It comes to me. I remember the voice from a video they made us watch in school. Its Lily! She is the voice. I need to get to Rev. I keep running to the room. I need to get there. I need to see him. “Stop running Ava.  If you don’t, I will blow them up.” I keep running. I hear the boom. I feel myself fly back. I hit something. I can feel it. “I told you to stop running. That was a warning blow Ava.” Lily blew up the hallway. I look down and see a piece of wood in my side.  I am starting to bleed. I need to get to Rev, but I feel so weak. I must fight it. I need to get to them. How did they get him here? There are so many things running through my mind. I need to get up. I start to get up. “Ava, I am not kidding. If you make it to that room I will blow them up.” I stop moving. “What do you want me to do?” I hear her laugh again. “That’s much better. I want you to tell me why you two are here? And where you have been for the past 40 years.”  I wonder if she looks at time the same way as Kora does. “I’m sorry or should I say why did you jump 40 years?” Okay how did she do that? I feel like she is reading my mind. I just want to save him and find James. How am I going to get Lily’s orb without her knowing why we are here? 

Series Wednesday: Timetopia Page 40

                “Where are we?” Rev asks as she looks around. “We are in the forest.” I respond pointing at all the trees. “Yes I can see that. But why? I thought we were going to Lily to fight.”  I point at the house a few miles up. “That’s where the Five stay, it’s Lily’s house.” Rev nods her head as I talk. “Okay... The booby-trap thing must be why Kora put us all the way out here.” Rev says as she looks at all the trees. “Yeah that makes sense. What are you looking at?” She is getting down low. “I am looking for triggers. Like wires or lasers maybe even motion sensors.” I look too, but I have no idea what to even look for. “Oh well do you see any?”  She stands up. “I’m not too sure. Only one way to find out. Come on.”  We start heading toward the house.  Rev is walking kind of slow. So I follow her lead. We are walking past all these big beautiful trees.  Then I hear the crack of a branch. Rev pulls me behind a tree. “That wasn’t us.” Rev whispers. I peak out from behind the tree. I see wellness checkers. I pull back behind the tree. “Wellness checkers.” I whisper back to Rev.  Rev smiles as she grab her guns out. “If you kill them, I am sure she will hear it and we will never get the orb. She will time jump to keep it safe.” I simply explain to her. I can see her thinking but she knows I’m right. She starts to put her guns away. “I can’t shoot them but I can still kill them.” She says as she grabs her knife. She smiles once again at me as she slides away from the tree. I get this feeling like I can’t breathe. I peak out from behind the tree and I don’t see Rev anywhere. I look up at the branches above me. The trees are so big, all the tree branches intertwine. I could run right across them, no one would ever even see me.

                I put the orb in my bag and I start to climb. I run across the branches and see Rev below me. “Rev!” I whisper. She can’t hear me. I see her sneaking up on one of the wellness checkers. She walks right up behind him and grabs him. I need to stop her before she does something she doesn’t need to.  I start to climb down. “Tell me what you know. How do I get into the house?” The wellness checker looks at Rev for a second. “This is Lily’s house. You can’t just go in unannounced. You can go in at the appropriate time like all the others wanting to see the Five.”  She puts her knife to his throat. “I think I can go in whenever I please.” He hands her his key card. “This only lets you in the front door.” She smiles at him. He is being helpful, I don’t want her to hurt him. “Can we let you go and you not say anything?” He looks at me. I know my question is kind of hard for him. “No, I have to tell when I don’t have my card.” Why would he say that? Why couldn’t he just lie? Rev runs her knife across his throat, I close my eyes.

                I climb back up the tree as Rev hides his body. “Why is it always so easy for you to kill?”  I ask her as she climbs up to me. She looks at me, “Killing isn’t easy, it’s surviving that is the easy part.” I shake my head. I am not sure what to say to her. So I just start walking towards the house.  The branches hold us up no problem. The closer we get to the house the more Wellness checkers I see. I never realized how many are needed for one of the Five. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to get in one of the Five’s houses before. I would’ve never thought so before today. “Stop.” Rev grabs me. The branches are all cut off by the house, they must have thought someone might be coming for her. Why else would you cut all the branches near the house? “How are we going to get in?” I ask Rev. “We are walking in the front door. We have no other choice.” I look around at all the Wellness checkers. They are bringing a man in with his hands are tied together. He is an older man from what I can tell, and I can’t help but think I know him from somewhere. I hit Rev and point for her to look at him. “Bond.” She says. Wait James? That can’t be, that man is like 60 years old. We must be in the future. Why do they have James? They take him into the house. I look back to my side and Rev is gone. This can’t be good. “Give me the old man!” she yells as she walks up. “I am sorry miss, we are going to need you to go back to town. That old man is needed by Lily of the Five. It is an honor.” Rev laughs. “You know what else is an honor? Dying for your beliefs no matter how wrong they are.” The men look at each other very confused. Rev pulls her gun out and starts shooting. I stay up in the branches to hide from all the bullets, but I keep a close eye on Rev. From the corner of my eye, I see a man run up behind Rev with a gun. Before I know it, I have the gun that was in my pack, in my hands and I’m aiming at the man that’s about to hurt Rev. Without hesitation, I shoot and the bullet hits him right between the eyes and he collapses. Rev looks back at him and then up at me with an expression I can’t read. I… I… I just killed a man. 

Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 39

                I am not sure if I would want to feel everyone’s pain. I need to get back to Kora.  “I promise to try and make things different in your future. I will really try.” I get up off the floor.  He hugs me. “Please just make sure she doesn’t die that way. I can’t lose her like that.” I look back at him. “So what now?” Rev rudely intervenes. “We go back to Kora.” I put my hand out for the orb and Rev hands it to me.  “I hope things are different for you if I ever see you again.” The orb feels more powerful than before, it takes a little more to drop it.  “Later Erick.” Rev says as she walks through. I step in right behind her.

                Kora is out in the garden. I walk out to her with the orb. “Here, where to now?” She looks up at the orb. “Without Erick’s Blood they can’t be separated again. Not that we would want to separate them. All five orbs are one machine that we separated. When you put the pieces back together it will be one.”  I nod. “So if Erick is the only one willing to give it willingly… who is next on the list?” Kora gets up from the garden. “Lily is next. Before you go to her, get her orb. You must know a little more information about her.” She dusts herself off and heads inside. Rev is sitting on her counter top eating a bowl of fruit. “Down please.” Kora tells her as she walks into the room. “Yeah yeah yeah.” Rev says as she continues to eat her fruit. I look at Rev wondering if this is a good time to tell her. How would I even start? I look at her for awhile. “Fine I’ll get off, stop giving me that look.” Rev jumps off the counter top and walks over to the table.  Kora walks over and puts a book down on the table. “Lily is a bomb specialist. Her country sold bombs to just about everyone who could pay. Everyone was a part of it. The children made bombs, the adults sold them, and even their education system was based on bomb making. They weren’t a cut throat country like mine or West’s, but they had a few hiccups when bombs went off and there were unexpected casualties.”  She hands me a piece of paper with stories about the bombings. It says a school went up in flames after a third grader put a charger on a bomb too soon. All of kids died. “What is this?” I ask her. “It’s a newspaper clipping” she says to me a like I am supposed to know what that means. “What is a newspaper? Is it like a history book?”  Rev does that thing where she moves her head back and forth. “Yeah its like a day to day history book. It’s just as honest as a history book. It is as true as the person who writes it believes it is.” I look at the newspaper clippings. I don’t understand. “Okay, but why are we looking at them?” Kora points at a part of the story. It says only one child survived the explosion… Lily was the lone survivor. “How did she make it out?” Kora sits down. “It was no accident Lily didn’t want to get executed for not being the top of her class. I am not sure why she thought she would though because the kids who didn’t make bombs got sent to work in the factories. As far as we know, none of them were ever killed. But it was always a fear of hers.”

                 I keep reading all of the newspaper clippings Kora had on Lily, it seems that she was an extremely good bomb maker. She became the go to woman to call whenever you needed things to be turned into dust. This is a very different story then what was painted for us in the history books, but at this point I am no longer surprised how much the history books lied to us. “So what does all this mean? Why are you showing me this?” Kora grabs the clippings out of my hand. “She might have a fail safe on her orb to blow up. I know she booby-traps all of the houses she stays in. Only her trained staff knows where they are. Well, you get the idea.” The idea??? “Bomb!” Rev says as she laughs. “Not funny.” I tell her. “Finally something exciting.” Rev sounds actually excited for this. She goes to get her back pack. “Have you decided when you’re going to tell her?” Kora asks me. “No. I am not sure if when we’re getting the orbs is the best idea. I am waiting.” Kora looks up. “Yes well, I wouldn’t wait too long. You’re her friend and it doesn’t seem like she has too many of those. So she might take you waiting to tell her the wrong way. But that’s just what I think.” I think she should’ve told her and not left it on me.  I just look down at the clippings, I am not sure what to say. “So are you ready?” Rev asks me with a smile on her face and her back pack on and ready to go. I can see her gun holster already on under her jacket. “I am not even sure where to find her.  I have never met her before.” Kora grabs the orb. “Come on. I’ll send you there.” She gets up and drops the orb. “Let’s do this.” Rev walks right through. “Ill see you once I’m done.” I follow after Rev being sure to get the orb on my way through.