Special (3/?)
Title: Special (3/?)
Word Count: 3,241
Pairing: This chapter has some Webgott...kinda.
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special.
Beware of confusing time travel talk. Oh and there is a crime scene in here but..not very graphic.
Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Here’s a link to the previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/ihave_no_idea/24749.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/ihave_no_idea/25233.html
Ronald Speirs, NYC, New York
Ron had to admit, the scene in James Miller’s bedroom was not at all pretty and he felt that maybe now he understood what Buck and Lewis had been so worked up about.
He heard Christenson enter the room behind him, “Oh sick.”
Ron just nodded in agreement.
James Miller was slumped against the wall of his bedroom, legs spread out before him, head tilted to the side, and eyes wide open.
That obviously wasn’t the disturbing part.
The top of James’ head lay on the ground beside his hand and blood had been splattered onto almost every portion of the wall.
It was horrifying.
Buck strutted in behind them, having been talking with the policemen outside. “Let’s work quickly; they’re going to need to take the body soon.
Figure out how he died exactly.”
Christenson raised an eyebrow, “I thought that would be fairly obvious.”
Ron looked around, “No sign of the brain?”
Miller’s brain was gone. From both his body and the crime scene. Whether or not it was just a signature of the killer he didn’t know. He suggested it to the others.
“I don’t think so. I mean that’s a bizarre trophy, right? Who collects brains?” Christenson pondered as he surveyed the scene.
“Psychopaths do.” Lewis had finally joined them it seemed. “Some killers have taken the hearts of their victims, so a brain doesn’t seem to be too much of a stretch.”
Speirs shook his head, “I think Burton’s right. Besides, pending further examination of the body, taking the brain seems to have been the sole purpose of the attack. That’s the link in your other killings I’m assuming?”
He looked at Lewis while he spoke but the question was directed towards Buck, who nodded.
“You assume correctly.”
Christenson seemed to pick up on his train of thought. “You think it’s something in their brains? That got them killed and abducted?”
Ron nodded, “Possibly.”
“Only problem with that,” Lewis broke in, “is that we don’t know what that something is.”
“And we won’t find out without one of the brains. That’s if we’re even on the right track.” Christenson added.
Speirs knelt down to inspect Miller’s corpse, “Well we have a whole list of people. Surely one of them has had a CAT scan?”
Buck seemed to be thinking on it, “Or maybe they’d be willing to submit to one.”
Christenson paused and with the worried look on his face, Speirs already knew what he would say, “Shouldn’t we start looking for the next potential victim?”
“There’s no apparent pattern,” Ron answered, “Do you suggest we just warn everyone?”
Christenson shook his head, “No. I suggest we find a pattern.”
Ron stood and faced him, “We may have to consider the possibility that our killer or killers aren’t going by our list. That they have no idea about the abductions.”
His partner stared at him in disbelief, “You mean consider that it might just be a coincidence?”
He shrugged, “No not in every sense. But what happens if he kills someone who’s not on our list?”
Burton looked at the file that Speirs was still clutching, “The three victims in New York to die were also the first three to be abducted here. Same as the one in California was the first to be abducted there. There were a smattering of other abductions in other states between them, but those people were skipped over. So far at least.”
Ron could see where he was going, “So what your saying is we need to find the people who were abducted directly after our murder victims.”
Christenson nodded, “Both here and in California.”
Speirs glanced down at the file. The names were sorted alphabetically, with their locations next to them. He certainly didn’t remember who had been abducted when.
“Then we need to go back to the office.”
George Luz, Brooklyn, NY
When he pulled his car around to pick up his son, Luz noticed that Eli wasn’t waiting for him alone. Putting his car into park he got out and walked over to where his son was waiting with his teacher.
“Mrs. Keller,” he greeted the elder woman after raising an eyebrow at his son. “Is something the matter?”
The grey haired woman put a hand on Eli’s shoulder, “Eli, do you mind if I have a quick word alone with your father?”
Eli looked up at him desperately and Luz smiled as his son whispered, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He clapped Eli on the shoulder, “Yeah we’ll see. Go wait in the car kiddo. I’ll just be a sec.”
The two adults watched as the 8 year old trudged to the car reluctantly. When he was inside, Luz turned towards Eli’s teacher.
“So you want to tell me what the problem is?” Although to be honest, he already knew.
The woman sighed, “It’s these stories he keeps telling. You know, about the future?”
George tried to shrug it off, “He’s just playing fortune teller. It’s harmless.”
“That’s what I thought too at first. But it’s starting to upset the other children. Not to mention their parents.”
Luz crossed his arms, “How so?”
“Apparently Eli told one of the girls in class that her parents wouldn’t be together much longer. When she told her parents last night, they admitted that they were getting divorced. She seems to think your son can predict the future. “
“Well we both know that’s…impossible.”
“Regardless, many of the students are convinced that the things he talks about will come true. It’s getting a little out of control.”
“What exactly do you want me to do about it? He’s just messing around. You know him, he’s a good kid.”
The teacher nodded, “I know, but I’m getting phone calls from parents….”
Luz let out a frustrated sigh. He knew none of the other parents liked him all that much. But Eli wasn’t hurting anyone.
Mrs. Keller gave him a sympathetic smile, “I know being a single parent is hard. Especially in your case. But I’m sure that if you just talk to him, and let him know he’s frightening his classmates, he’ll stop on his own.”
Part of Luz wanted to argue that his ‘case’ wasn’t all that unusual. So he’ become a father when he was 16. Eli was 8, he’d kind of gotten used to being a father by now.
“I’ll take care of it.”
The woman whispered her thanks and waved at Eli in the car.
Luz got in the car and buckled his seatbelt. He looked at his son and sighed.
“Eli…” He began to speak but was cut off.
“Dad it’s not my fault!”
“Eli-”
“I shouldn’t have to pretend-”
“Eli!” Luz cut his son off harshly, “We have been over this a million times. No…more than a million times. If you have a vision at school, keep it to yourself. You can tell me all about it when we get home. But no one else.”
He looked over at his son’s disappointed face. God he looked so much like his mother. The same honey colored hair and watery, blue eyes. He hated having to scold him…
“Dad it’s not right. We shouldn’t have to hide what makes us special.”
“We’re not special Eli, we’re just different.”
“You can control machines…and I can see the future. Dad…that’s special.” Eli huffed and crossed his arms.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t have to hide. But we’re going to.”
Eli glared at him, “You don’t.”
Luz looked at him sharply, “That is different. That is very, very different. I use my abilities for my job. And I do not go around flaunting what I can do.”
“I wasn’t flaunting!”
“Well whatever you call it. You’re drawing attention to yourself and you need
to cut it out.”
“Mom wouldn’t want us to hide.”
“You’ve never even met your mother. You have no idea what she’d want.”
The moment the words left his mouth Luz couldn’t believe he’d even said them. Sure it was bad that she hadn’t been a part of Eli’s life. But that was no reason to rub it in. He knew that he was just bitter. She had disappeared only a year after Eli was born. And to this day Luz didn’t know if she’d run, or if something had happened to her.
Eli sniffled and looked out the window.
“Eli…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. She’d want what I want…to keep you safe. You remember went I went missing?”
Eli finally looked back over at him, “Of course I do.”
“It was scary right?”
“Yeah…”
“And you know that I think my…powers are what got me into that mess. Someone took me Eli. Because of what I can do. Whoever they were…I don’t want them to take you too. You want us to stay together don’t you? To stay safe?”
His son nodded, tears in his eyes. “Yes.”
“Then please tone it down. For me?”
“Okay…”
As Eli leaned over to hug him, Luz put a kiss on the top of his head.
“Thank you.”
Eugene Roe, New Orleans, LA
Gene sighed and closed the camera. He’d been watching the video of his latest suicide attempt. But it ended the same way all the others ended. Nothing changed.
He was still alive, and she was still dead.
“Why do you make me tape that anyways?” Gene’s friend and roommate Floyd Talbert came in from their kitchen and handed him a beer.
“It seems more real when I see it I suppose.”
Floyd sighed and sat down on the couch next to him. “Man I have to be honest-I’m getting tired of having to watch you kill yourself. You’ve done everything short of putting a bullet in your head-don’t even think about it by the way. When are you going to except that dying isn’t an option?”
When Gene stayed quiet Floyd continued, “I mean I’m a little insulted. You do realize that I want you to live don’t you?”
Gene just shook his head, “But I should be dead. I should have died. Not her.”
He knew he was a broken record, but it was hard to accept.
Renee had been the closest thing he’d had to family…ever since hurricane Katrina had killed his parents. He hadn’t been in New Orleans at the time…but he’d rushed back home to help as soon as he could.
She was a nurse and he had just finished his first year of medical school.
They had both lost their families and thought that helping hurricane victims could ease their pain.
She was like a sister to him. They had gone through so much together.
Floyd interrupted his solemn thoughts, “You’re death wouldn’t have spared her life. You’d just both be gone. That isn’t any better. You just have like…survivor’s guilt. You’re not the only one that misses her man. But there are people here who still need you.”
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Gene started to think about that night.
They had been in a car crash…and everything had happened so fast.
He had been driving her home from the hospital she worked at…and a car had pulled up next to them, and tried to run them off the road. Eugene still had no clue who they had been.
He’d worked to get away but the other car rammed into their side and they had skidded off the street and flipped the car over several times.
Gene remembered waking up in the car to find a large shard of glass sticking out of his chest. He should have been dead. For reasons he still couldn’t comprehend, he’d pulled the glass out. Needless to say he had been shocked to watch his fatal wound heal itself.
Renee hadn’t been so lucky.
“You know...” Gene looked over at Talbert, “When I pulled her out of the car. She told me something.”
Floyd looked at him, “You never mentioned that.”
Eugene just nodded, “She told me that her family…was still alive somewhere. But that she couldn’t be with them, because she couldn’t lead them back to the people she wanted to protect.”
“Them? Them who?”
“I don’t know…but it was obvious that she was more worried about her family than she was about herself. Even as she was dying…”
“I still don’t understand why you feelyou should die. Maybe you should try finding her family. Tell them what happened. Give them some closure.
Besides, don’t you Catholics think suicide is a sin?”
Gene sighed, “Something like that. Although I don’t think we’re the only ones.”
Floyd still seemed concerned, “So what gives?”
“It just…it’s not natural. I should be dead! I shouldn’t be alive…”
“But you are alive,” Talbert interrupted, “you should look at this like a second chance. God obviously wants you to live. You’re just going to have to accept that.”
He knew, deep down, that Talbert was right. Even if he hated to admit it. He only wished he had known who it was that Renee had been running from…
Joseph Liebgott, San Francisco, CA
By the time he had gotten home, Joe was tired as Hell. He supposed it was his own fault for taking on a shift that started so early.
The fact was that all he wanted was to grab a beer and relax. He could stress out over the incident with Webster later.
Walking over to the kitchen he snagged a beer bottle from the fridge and decided to be lazy and open it up with a bottle opener.
As he opened one of his kitchen drawers he glanced out the window over his
sink.
What he saw in the slight reflection made him freeze.
In the window’s reflection he could make out a figure standing behind him in his kitchen. Whether the man knew he had been spotted, Joe didn’t know.
He glanced down at the open drawer and thought about the special he had seen on TV about circus performers. Particularly the knife throwers.
Snatching a knife from the drawer, Joe whirled around and sent the knife sailing through the air in an expert fashion.
But instead of hitting a man’s shoulder, like he had expected, the knife merely embedded itself into the wall.
“What the Hell…” he knew he had seen someone!
Suddenly a voice came from the far right side of his kitchen, startling him even further.
“Relax Joe. You could have really hurt someone.”
Not even bothering to look at the intruder he picked up his beer bottle and threw it at the direction of the voice.
He then watched as the man merely ducked and the glass shattered on the wall behind him, liquid splattering with it.
He finally got a good look at the intruder.
“Webster?”
It was indeed David Webster…or at least Joe thought it was. The man in his kitchen looked different somehow, from the man he had parted from only hours before.
He seemed…older. His hair was shorter, his face more serious. There was something in his eyes that just…made Joe’s heart sink.
But none of this caused Joe to drop his guard. If anything he was even more on edge.
“You’re not him…are you?”
The man smiled and slowly took a step towards Joe, who immediately stepped
back.
“I am David Webster…just not the one you know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m from the future.”
Wait…what?
When Joe kept silent Webster continued to talk, “I’m telling you the truth. I
come from a future that needs to be changed. I thought…”
“You thought what?”
The man sighed, “I thought that I could change things. I came back once before…to set a very important person free from captivity. But by releasing her…I only made things worse.”
“Things? What things?” Joe had too many questions. One of which being why he was even buying into this. Time travel? Really? But then he had to believe it…
Maybe because he knew this wasn’t the Webster he knew…or maybe because he needed to believe it. Because it might give him answers…
“You’re not the only one Joe. There are others with abilities. Not the same as yours but they are out there. And there are people out there who want what you have. To take your powers, and use them to control others.”
“And that happens?” Joe asked. Why else would he be here if it didn’t?
“Yes…and no.”
“You said you only made things worse. How?”
“Butterfly effect. So many things changed. One of those things…was us.”
Joe took another step back and saw that the look in David’s eyes was a mixture of love…and regret.
“Us?”
Webster nodded, “We were supposed to meet a year ago. We didn’t.”
Suddenly so many things made sense to Joe, “You! You were the one who told David…or…yourself, to start following me!”
“My time may have been bleak for many reasons, but at least I had you. By trying to change things, I ruined the only thing that really mattered to me.”
“Why are you here? I mean...why are you telling me all of this?” Joe needed to know.
“Any minute now, a man is going to be at your door-looking for me. But when he realizes I’m not here, he’s going to offer you a very unique opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
“He’s going to give you the chance to learn more about what you can do. And
eventually he’s going to offer you a job working for a company.”
“What kind of company is that?”
“You’ll find out on your own. You have to accept. By accepting the offer you can succeed where I failed. You can find him before anyone else does.”
“Him? Who are you talking about?”
David shook his head, “I’m not sure who he is exactly. I only know that he’s the key, the most powerful of us all. Without him, no one can ever take control. Infiltrate the Company, find out who he is and keep him safe.”
“What? How?”
But David seemed to have realized or remembered something important. “I have to leave.”
Joe shook his head, “You can’t just go! I don’t know what you want me to do!”
The man…this Webster that wasn’t anything like the one he barely knew,
crossed the kitchen and pulled him into a kiss.
But this was certainly no small peck on the lips.
Webster pulled away and looked into Joe’s eyes, “Don’t let that be the only kiss I ever get from you.”
And then, just like the other David had done earlier, he vanished.
“Why the fuck does he keep doing that!?”
The doorbell rang.
Next time: Joe has an important decision to make while Gene tries to track down Renee’s family. Our FBI Agents rush to find and warn the next potential victims in their murder case and Dick is given an important assignment by the Company. Plus more special people will be revealed…
Word Count: 3,241
Pairing: This chapter has some Webgott...kinda.
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special.
Beware of confusing time travel talk. Oh and there is a crime scene in here but..not very graphic.
Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Here’s a link to the previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/ihave_no_idea/24749.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/ihave_no_idea/25233.html
Ronald Speirs, NYC, New York
Ron had to admit, the scene in James Miller’s bedroom was not at all pretty and he felt that maybe now he understood what Buck and Lewis had been so worked up about.
He heard Christenson enter the room behind him, “Oh sick.”
Ron just nodded in agreement.
James Miller was slumped against the wall of his bedroom, legs spread out before him, head tilted to the side, and eyes wide open.
That obviously wasn’t the disturbing part.
The top of James’ head lay on the ground beside his hand and blood had been splattered onto almost every portion of the wall.
It was horrifying.
Buck strutted in behind them, having been talking with the policemen outside. “Let’s work quickly; they’re going to need to take the body soon.
Figure out how he died exactly.”
Christenson raised an eyebrow, “I thought that would be fairly obvious.”
Ron looked around, “No sign of the brain?”
Miller’s brain was gone. From both his body and the crime scene. Whether or not it was just a signature of the killer he didn’t know. He suggested it to the others.
“I don’t think so. I mean that’s a bizarre trophy, right? Who collects brains?” Christenson pondered as he surveyed the scene.
“Psychopaths do.” Lewis had finally joined them it seemed. “Some killers have taken the hearts of their victims, so a brain doesn’t seem to be too much of a stretch.”
Speirs shook his head, “I think Burton’s right. Besides, pending further examination of the body, taking the brain seems to have been the sole purpose of the attack. That’s the link in your other killings I’m assuming?”
He looked at Lewis while he spoke but the question was directed towards Buck, who nodded.
“You assume correctly.”
Christenson seemed to pick up on his train of thought. “You think it’s something in their brains? That got them killed and abducted?”
Ron nodded, “Possibly.”
“Only problem with that,” Lewis broke in, “is that we don’t know what that something is.”
“And we won’t find out without one of the brains. That’s if we’re even on the right track.” Christenson added.
Speirs knelt down to inspect Miller’s corpse, “Well we have a whole list of people. Surely one of them has had a CAT scan?”
Buck seemed to be thinking on it, “Or maybe they’d be willing to submit to one.”
Christenson paused and with the worried look on his face, Speirs already knew what he would say, “Shouldn’t we start looking for the next potential victim?”
“There’s no apparent pattern,” Ron answered, “Do you suggest we just warn everyone?”
Christenson shook his head, “No. I suggest we find a pattern.”
Ron stood and faced him, “We may have to consider the possibility that our killer or killers aren’t going by our list. That they have no idea about the abductions.”
His partner stared at him in disbelief, “You mean consider that it might just be a coincidence?”
He shrugged, “No not in every sense. But what happens if he kills someone who’s not on our list?”
Burton looked at the file that Speirs was still clutching, “The three victims in New York to die were also the first three to be abducted here. Same as the one in California was the first to be abducted there. There were a smattering of other abductions in other states between them, but those people were skipped over. So far at least.”
Ron could see where he was going, “So what your saying is we need to find the people who were abducted directly after our murder victims.”
Christenson nodded, “Both here and in California.”
Speirs glanced down at the file. The names were sorted alphabetically, with their locations next to them. He certainly didn’t remember who had been abducted when.
“Then we need to go back to the office.”
George Luz, Brooklyn, NY
When he pulled his car around to pick up his son, Luz noticed that Eli wasn’t waiting for him alone. Putting his car into park he got out and walked over to where his son was waiting with his teacher.
“Mrs. Keller,” he greeted the elder woman after raising an eyebrow at his son. “Is something the matter?”
The grey haired woman put a hand on Eli’s shoulder, “Eli, do you mind if I have a quick word alone with your father?”
Eli looked up at him desperately and Luz smiled as his son whispered, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He clapped Eli on the shoulder, “Yeah we’ll see. Go wait in the car kiddo. I’ll just be a sec.”
The two adults watched as the 8 year old trudged to the car reluctantly. When he was inside, Luz turned towards Eli’s teacher.
“So you want to tell me what the problem is?” Although to be honest, he already knew.
The woman sighed, “It’s these stories he keeps telling. You know, about the future?”
George tried to shrug it off, “He’s just playing fortune teller. It’s harmless.”
“That’s what I thought too at first. But it’s starting to upset the other children. Not to mention their parents.”
Luz crossed his arms, “How so?”
“Apparently Eli told one of the girls in class that her parents wouldn’t be together much longer. When she told her parents last night, they admitted that they were getting divorced. She seems to think your son can predict the future. “
“Well we both know that’s…impossible.”
“Regardless, many of the students are convinced that the things he talks about will come true. It’s getting a little out of control.”
“What exactly do you want me to do about it? He’s just messing around. You know him, he’s a good kid.”
The teacher nodded, “I know, but I’m getting phone calls from parents….”
Luz let out a frustrated sigh. He knew none of the other parents liked him all that much. But Eli wasn’t hurting anyone.
Mrs. Keller gave him a sympathetic smile, “I know being a single parent is hard. Especially in your case. But I’m sure that if you just talk to him, and let him know he’s frightening his classmates, he’ll stop on his own.”
Part of Luz wanted to argue that his ‘case’ wasn’t all that unusual. So he’ become a father when he was 16. Eli was 8, he’d kind of gotten used to being a father by now.
“I’ll take care of it.”
The woman whispered her thanks and waved at Eli in the car.
Luz got in the car and buckled his seatbelt. He looked at his son and sighed.
“Eli…” He began to speak but was cut off.
“Dad it’s not my fault!”
“Eli-”
“I shouldn’t have to pretend-”
“Eli!” Luz cut his son off harshly, “We have been over this a million times. No…more than a million times. If you have a vision at school, keep it to yourself. You can tell me all about it when we get home. But no one else.”
He looked over at his son’s disappointed face. God he looked so much like his mother. The same honey colored hair and watery, blue eyes. He hated having to scold him…
“Dad it’s not right. We shouldn’t have to hide what makes us special.”
“We’re not special Eli, we’re just different.”
“You can control machines…and I can see the future. Dad…that’s special.” Eli huffed and crossed his arms.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t have to hide. But we’re going to.”
Eli glared at him, “You don’t.”
Luz looked at him sharply, “That is different. That is very, very different. I use my abilities for my job. And I do not go around flaunting what I can do.”
“I wasn’t flaunting!”
“Well whatever you call it. You’re drawing attention to yourself and you need
to cut it out.”
“Mom wouldn’t want us to hide.”
“You’ve never even met your mother. You have no idea what she’d want.”
The moment the words left his mouth Luz couldn’t believe he’d even said them. Sure it was bad that she hadn’t been a part of Eli’s life. But that was no reason to rub it in. He knew that he was just bitter. She had disappeared only a year after Eli was born. And to this day Luz didn’t know if she’d run, or if something had happened to her.
Eli sniffled and looked out the window.
“Eli…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. She’d want what I want…to keep you safe. You remember went I went missing?”
Eli finally looked back over at him, “Of course I do.”
“It was scary right?”
“Yeah…”
“And you know that I think my…powers are what got me into that mess. Someone took me Eli. Because of what I can do. Whoever they were…I don’t want them to take you too. You want us to stay together don’t you? To stay safe?”
His son nodded, tears in his eyes. “Yes.”
“Then please tone it down. For me?”
“Okay…”
As Eli leaned over to hug him, Luz put a kiss on the top of his head.
“Thank you.”
Eugene Roe, New Orleans, LA
Gene sighed and closed the camera. He’d been watching the video of his latest suicide attempt. But it ended the same way all the others ended. Nothing changed.
He was still alive, and she was still dead.
“Why do you make me tape that anyways?” Gene’s friend and roommate Floyd Talbert came in from their kitchen and handed him a beer.
“It seems more real when I see it I suppose.”
Floyd sighed and sat down on the couch next to him. “Man I have to be honest-I’m getting tired of having to watch you kill yourself. You’ve done everything short of putting a bullet in your head-don’t even think about it by the way. When are you going to except that dying isn’t an option?”
When Gene stayed quiet Floyd continued, “I mean I’m a little insulted. You do realize that I want you to live don’t you?”
Gene just shook his head, “But I should be dead. I should have died. Not her.”
He knew he was a broken record, but it was hard to accept.
Renee had been the closest thing he’d had to family…ever since hurricane Katrina had killed his parents. He hadn’t been in New Orleans at the time…but he’d rushed back home to help as soon as he could.
She was a nurse and he had just finished his first year of medical school.
They had both lost their families and thought that helping hurricane victims could ease their pain.
She was like a sister to him. They had gone through so much together.
Floyd interrupted his solemn thoughts, “You’re death wouldn’t have spared her life. You’d just both be gone. That isn’t any better. You just have like…survivor’s guilt. You’re not the only one that misses her man. But there are people here who still need you.”
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Gene started to think about that night.
They had been in a car crash…and everything had happened so fast.
He had been driving her home from the hospital she worked at…and a car had pulled up next to them, and tried to run them off the road. Eugene still had no clue who they had been.
He’d worked to get away but the other car rammed into their side and they had skidded off the street and flipped the car over several times.
Gene remembered waking up in the car to find a large shard of glass sticking out of his chest. He should have been dead. For reasons he still couldn’t comprehend, he’d pulled the glass out. Needless to say he had been shocked to watch his fatal wound heal itself.
Renee hadn’t been so lucky.
“You know...” Gene looked over at Talbert, “When I pulled her out of the car. She told me something.”
Floyd looked at him, “You never mentioned that.”
Eugene just nodded, “She told me that her family…was still alive somewhere. But that she couldn’t be with them, because she couldn’t lead them back to the people she wanted to protect.”
“Them? Them who?”
“I don’t know…but it was obvious that she was more worried about her family than she was about herself. Even as she was dying…”
“I still don’t understand why you feelyou should die. Maybe you should try finding her family. Tell them what happened. Give them some closure.
Besides, don’t you Catholics think suicide is a sin?”
Gene sighed, “Something like that. Although I don’t think we’re the only ones.”
Floyd still seemed concerned, “So what gives?”
“It just…it’s not natural. I should be dead! I shouldn’t be alive…”
“But you are alive,” Talbert interrupted, “you should look at this like a second chance. God obviously wants you to live. You’re just going to have to accept that.”
He knew, deep down, that Talbert was right. Even if he hated to admit it. He only wished he had known who it was that Renee had been running from…
Joseph Liebgott, San Francisco, CA
By the time he had gotten home, Joe was tired as Hell. He supposed it was his own fault for taking on a shift that started so early.
The fact was that all he wanted was to grab a beer and relax. He could stress out over the incident with Webster later.
Walking over to the kitchen he snagged a beer bottle from the fridge and decided to be lazy and open it up with a bottle opener.
As he opened one of his kitchen drawers he glanced out the window over his
sink.
What he saw in the slight reflection made him freeze.
In the window’s reflection he could make out a figure standing behind him in his kitchen. Whether the man knew he had been spotted, Joe didn’t know.
He glanced down at the open drawer and thought about the special he had seen on TV about circus performers. Particularly the knife throwers.
Snatching a knife from the drawer, Joe whirled around and sent the knife sailing through the air in an expert fashion.
But instead of hitting a man’s shoulder, like he had expected, the knife merely embedded itself into the wall.
“What the Hell…” he knew he had seen someone!
Suddenly a voice came from the far right side of his kitchen, startling him even further.
“Relax Joe. You could have really hurt someone.”
Not even bothering to look at the intruder he picked up his beer bottle and threw it at the direction of the voice.
He then watched as the man merely ducked and the glass shattered on the wall behind him, liquid splattering with it.
He finally got a good look at the intruder.
“Webster?”
It was indeed David Webster…or at least Joe thought it was. The man in his kitchen looked different somehow, from the man he had parted from only hours before.
He seemed…older. His hair was shorter, his face more serious. There was something in his eyes that just…made Joe’s heart sink.
But none of this caused Joe to drop his guard. If anything he was even more on edge.
“You’re not him…are you?”
The man smiled and slowly took a step towards Joe, who immediately stepped
back.
“I am David Webster…just not the one you know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m from the future.”
Wait…what?
When Joe kept silent Webster continued to talk, “I’m telling you the truth. I
come from a future that needs to be changed. I thought…”
“You thought what?”
The man sighed, “I thought that I could change things. I came back once before…to set a very important person free from captivity. But by releasing her…I only made things worse.”
“Things? What things?” Joe had too many questions. One of which being why he was even buying into this. Time travel? Really? But then he had to believe it…
Maybe because he knew this wasn’t the Webster he knew…or maybe because he needed to believe it. Because it might give him answers…
“You’re not the only one Joe. There are others with abilities. Not the same as yours but they are out there. And there are people out there who want what you have. To take your powers, and use them to control others.”
“And that happens?” Joe asked. Why else would he be here if it didn’t?
“Yes…and no.”
“You said you only made things worse. How?”
“Butterfly effect. So many things changed. One of those things…was us.”
Joe took another step back and saw that the look in David’s eyes was a mixture of love…and regret.
“Us?”
Webster nodded, “We were supposed to meet a year ago. We didn’t.”
Suddenly so many things made sense to Joe, “You! You were the one who told David…or…yourself, to start following me!”
“My time may have been bleak for many reasons, but at least I had you. By trying to change things, I ruined the only thing that really mattered to me.”
“Why are you here? I mean...why are you telling me all of this?” Joe needed to know.
“Any minute now, a man is going to be at your door-looking for me. But when he realizes I’m not here, he’s going to offer you a very unique opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
“He’s going to give you the chance to learn more about what you can do. And
eventually he’s going to offer you a job working for a company.”
“What kind of company is that?”
“You’ll find out on your own. You have to accept. By accepting the offer you can succeed where I failed. You can find him before anyone else does.”
“Him? Who are you talking about?”
David shook his head, “I’m not sure who he is exactly. I only know that he’s the key, the most powerful of us all. Without him, no one can ever take control. Infiltrate the Company, find out who he is and keep him safe.”
“What? How?”
But David seemed to have realized or remembered something important. “I have to leave.”
Joe shook his head, “You can’t just go! I don’t know what you want me to do!”
The man…this Webster that wasn’t anything like the one he barely knew,
crossed the kitchen and pulled him into a kiss.
But this was certainly no small peck on the lips.
Webster pulled away and looked into Joe’s eyes, “Don’t let that be the only kiss I ever get from you.”
And then, just like the other David had done earlier, he vanished.
“Why the fuck does he keep doing that!?”
The doorbell rang.
Next time: Joe has an important decision to make while Gene tries to track down Renee’s family. Our FBI Agents rush to find and warn the next potential victims in their murder case and Dick is given an important assignment by the Company. Plus more special people will be revealed…