Blaze of Glory - Chapter 5
Does destiny choose the person, or does the person choose their destiny?
He's supposed to be just another guy. Just another notch on Brian's belt.
But Justin has other ideas; a whole other master plan that's going to shock Brian about everything he's ever known.
One thing is for sure: whichever road Brian takes, his life is never going to be the same again
Chapter 5:
Brian looked at Justin, over the brim of his glass of scotch in contemplative silence. When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Or so Sherlock Holmes had said. However, Brian was unaware of the great detective’s position when what remained was not only improbable, but also insane.
“I’m supposed to believe that you’re from the future?”
“It’s the truth, whether you believe it or not. Do you really think that your own experiences of the last 48 hours just didn’t happen?”
“It’s not that it didn’t happen, it’s just…this is stuff of science fiction, not real life.”
Justin frowned. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure of what to say. Truth is stranger than fiction. I mean…I’m not trying to be dismissive of…it’s just…”
“It’s just that you don’t have any time to waste.” Brian had some memory of their conversation from the ‘morning after’.
Justin seemed to visibly brighten at that comment. “Yes!”
“So…let me get this straight. Donald Trump becomes the President of the United States in…”
“In 2016, he won the election,” Justin supplied.
“Right. And then the whole world goes to hell in a handbasket.”
“Gradually, yes.”
“And, somehow, I can change this, so you’ve come back in time to turn me into some…saviour?” Brian laughed, because the notion sounded even more ridiculous, now that he was sober.
Justin frowned again. “Is it so impossible for you to imagine that you can be the agent of change? I mean, yes, granted, I have doubts as well, but I’m a stranger to you. You, on the other hand, should be thrilled. Don’t most people jump at the chance to be a hero?”
Brian rolled his eyes. “You will soon learn that I am not most people.” He chose not to respond to the rest of Justin’s questions.
“One of the many reasons why you are the one who is going to save us.”
“Donald Trump is…how the fuck does he become president? That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard, and I don’t even follow politics.”
“Yes, well, we’re going to be rectifying that immediately.” Justin looked Brian up and down. “In fact, we’ll have to rectify a great many things immediately.”
Brian looked at the blond suspiciously. “What does that mean?”
“I need to begin your training as soon as possible. We’ve lost so much time already. My…the future…it’s disintegrating. We’re at war again, and there’s no way we’re going to be able to…” Justin broke off, and for a second, Brian was afraid that Justin was going to become emotional and tearful. However, he composed himself quickly, and continued to speak. “I don’t know what the future is for the…for the time I come from. But, given the situation when I left, it doesn’t…I have grave doubts as to whether things will turn out well. So, from my perspective, I need to get you trained, ready, and then leave to go back to help my team as soon as physically possible. From where you stand, you’ve been decimating almost everything you touch in the last two days, and I’m assuming that you want a course correction on that. At the very least.”
Brian groaned, leaning back against the couch. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!”
Any hopes he had of this whole thing being some kind of mistake that could be undone just disappeared before his eyes.
The transformation happening to his body was undeniable. That was the cold reality Brian had been forced to face in the last two days. He had held on to some faint hope that if he just managed to find Justin, the blond would find some way to undo the effects of the potion, and everything would return to normal.
Listening to Justin speak…Brian knew it would be a fool’s errand to even bother asking Justin.
Brian was trapped in some sci-fi nerd-geek’s wet dream, and apparently, there was no way out.
“You have to at least try and control yourself,” Justin said.
“What?”
“You haven’t broken anything, hurt me - or yourself - since I’ve been here. Haven’t you noticed?”
Brian looked around in surprise. Indeed, he had managed not to destroy anything since walking into the loft and finding Justin there. Brian hadn’t noticed this until Justin had brought it up. “How…”
“I’m controlling the energy coming from you. But it’s exhausting, and completely draining me. Brian, please. You have to make an effort to control your temper…all this rage emanating from you. Otherwise, I’m going to be useless to both of us, very soon.”
Brian realised that Justin actually did look weaker and paler. “Are you okay? Do you need some water?”
Justin nodded, and Brian got up to get a bottle out of the fridge, trying to clamp down his frayed nerves.
“I still don’t understand. This ‘training’ you’re talking about…”
“You have so much raw power inside you now. Brian, you’re not just a normal human being any more. You’re…you’re more than human. You need to learn to channel that energy. You need to learn how to control your power, how to use it, how to manifest that part of you. Plus, you have no skills right now…well, I’m assuming, from what happened that morning. You have no combat skills, no fighting techniques, no self defence ability…I have to train you in all of that.”
“But why? THIS world is not at war. I don’t have a president who is insane. The America of today is not the fascist dystopian nightmare that you describe. Why do I need any of these skills? What the fuck am I supposed to do?”
“I…I’m not sure.”
“What the fuck do you mean you’re not sure???” Brian exploded. “Weren’t you sent here to…to…”
“I was sent here to train you. I was explicitly not given details of what you’re supposed to do, because…because if I know, then you could get it out of me. Or worse, someone else could potentially get it out of me.” Justin paused, as his hand felt something around his neck. Brian couldn’t see what it was, as it was obscured by Justin’s t-shirt. The blond continued to speak. “Well, they could try, anyway. Point is, if I knew your ultimate future, it’s a risk to both of us, and puts us in jeopardy, and could potentially compromise everything. Ergo, I was only given information on a need-to-know basis.”
“Well, isn’t that just fucking brilliant?” Brian saw Justin wince, and realised that he needed to rein it in before Justin collapsed in front of him. “How am I going to know what to do? Especially if you leave?”
“You just will. Look, I’m not the one who chose you. The Professor did, and he did so with very good reason, whatever that reason is. You have no idea the effort that has…from the day I was born, I was raised for this mission. Raised to come and find you. Everything I learnt, everything I was taught, was in anticipation of the day I came to find you. It may seem incomprehensible to both of us right now, but if he chose you, that’s because there’s something in you. Something in you that is right, that is good, and that is going to save us. I have to believe that.”
Previous
Next