"I won't physically be traveling through time, Linda. This isn't Spaceman From Pluto. I don't have a car that will take me there."
Jay said this, consoling his worried wife as he held her in his arms, loving on her.
Linda wanted all of this to end. She was so tired of the constant worry about what was coming next that this ordeal had created.
"I knew it would be up to you, but it doesn't change how I feel."
She pulled away from him and looked up at him and into his eyes.
"I don't trust any of these people here. Not this place. Not this group. Especially not him."
"I know you don't. I don't either. But for some reason, this being chose me. I have to trust that."
Linda laid her head on Jay's chest.
"I wish I could go with you."
Jay pulled her away, "That's actually a good thing you can't. I need someone I can trust here. Especially because of who you have been with lately."
Linda looked toward Rob, who was standing there watching people work on the apparatus that would house Jay. Linda looked back to Jay.
"He is Pat's son but also helped save my life."
Jay sighed, "But can you trust him despite that?"
Linda was silent momentarily, then replied, "I don't know."
"And that's the reason I need you here. If he is Pat's son, that means we have two people here we absolutely cannot trust."
Linda nodded in agreement with Jay.
"It's just you and me, Seymour." Jay smiled after saying that.
Linda smiled, loving that nickname from Jay she had known for years. "Do you know how long you will be in this dream?"
"I don't know. We'll have to see. But just be patient, and whatever I bring back with me, just be ready."
"For what, exactly?"
"Anything."
That last statement from Jay did nothing to help Linda's feelings.
***********************************************************************************
Pat sat in the interrogation room alone. Still a smile on his face. Even in the midst of chaos, Pat never broke his smile. It was like he thought of himself as invincible.
The door opening to the room grabbed Pat's attention. He assumed a guard was checking on him to do a bathroom or meal break. But instead, in walked Jay alone.
"Ah, Jay. So good to see you again."
"Likewise," Jay replied.
"Did you enjoy your time with Rapha? I'm sure it was...dreamy."
Jay pulled out the chair on the other side of the table away from Pat as the door closed behind him. He sat down, got comfortable, and looked directly at Pat.
"So, what would you like to talk about?" Pat asked, smiling as usual.
"Tell me about the time machine."
Pat began to chuckle and looked down. He had a good laugh and looked back up again at Jay. Jay was not amused.
"Time machine? That's cute, Jay."
"You opened a doorway to Anderson of the past, and you put my wife there. Why and how are all I want to know."
"Well, the why should be obvious, to get rid of a distraction. The how is much more complicated."
"My wife is not a distraction."
Pat leaned on the table, interlocking his fingers, "Oh yes, she is."
"Maybe to you and whatever it is you want, but not to me."
"You want it too, Jay. Just remember that."
"I want my life back."
"What life? A family and kids with a dead-end career? You were made for more than that, and deep down, you know it."
"They are my life."
"Really? I thought you were the way, the truth, and the life? You really don't know your full purpose here, do you, Jay?"
Jay was intrigued, but all he wanted was answers from Pat. Pat, in his customary way, did circles around his speech of whatever truth he might know.
"I know I brought something back once from a dream. From Anderson. The zombie. If I can do that, I can do it again," Jay said calmly.
"Yes, indeed you did. But I can assure you, Jay, the only time traveling that has ever gone on here was broken the minute Rapha appeared. I'm not even sure if your abilities can be used now because you were connected to that world, too. But you certainly are welcome to try whatever your team of researchers and the GASONs can concoct. As far as a time machine, well, that's never existed. Not even in the advanced civilizations of the past."
Jay knew he couldn't trust what Pat was saying. It almost felt like a waste of time. But Jay did have some truths of his own to share.
"Pat," Jay said, leaning in over the table. "I know what the Fleece is. Where it's been and what it can do."
Pat smiled, "Oh, really. How great for you."
"What I don't know is how you know so much about everything. Where do you come from?"
"That, my dear boy, is for me to know and you to find out."
Pat smiled.
Jay leaned back in his chair again, "I'm going to bring back whatever I need to make sure we deal with you once and for all."
Pat continued to smile and leaned back in his chair, "Good luck with that. In the meantime, I'll just be waiting for your triumphant return."
***********************************************************************************
"Did you get anything?" asked Dr. Kelley of Jay.
"No. About what I would have expected."
"That's about what I expected. He's never been forthcoming about himself or how he does some things he does."
"He says there is no time machine of any kind. Not even in the past."
"Right. Well, we know he never opened the portal to the Anderson loop. What we don't know is how he sustained it once something did. The fact it collapsed when Rapha was here implies..."
"Rapha was behind it," Jay interrupted.
"Exactly," replied Dr. Kelley.
"Then I need to convene with Rapha."
"Can you still?"
Jay looked at Dr. Kelley, "I think it's possible in my dreams."
"Well, then let's get started."
Jay reclined in the chair as Dr. Blake, Dana, and other Fleece personnel prepped him for sleep.
"Ok, Jay. We're going to do this like at Crimson."
"You mean Clemson?"
"What?"
"My wife said the same university over there was Clemson."
"And what is Clemson?"
"Beats me, but who knows what I'll encounter next in these other places."
"Just keep that in mind, Jay. We don't know what those other worlds will be like. You brought a zombie back from that one. Who knows what might be waiting."
Dr. Kelley interjected, "That's why the strike force is here."
Dr. Kelley motioned toward the men in heavy body armor, with weapons, standing by.
"Sounds good to me," Jay replied.
Dr. Blake put the electrodes on Jay's head. "After this, it's dreamland. You ready?"
Jay thought for a minute, "Nope."
"All right, let's go then."
Dr. Blake stepped aside from Jay. The recliner Jay was in was within the artifact room, in the same location where Rapha had interacted with Jay earlier. The team wanted to provide the same circumstances Jay had experienced previously in the hopes of helping him sync up with another loop.
Linda stood beside Dana, who gave her a reassuring side hug as they both watched Jay drift off to sleep. Jay was at least getting real sleep this time, compared to previous shifts between realities. There was no more swapping consciousness with Rob. Finally, after a few minutes, Dr. Blake indicated Jay was fully asleep and later going into REM sleep.
"Now, we wait," Dr. Blake said as the team stood nearby. Dr. Blake, Linda, Dana, and Dr. Kelley stood behind a console, where Dr. Blake pressed a button labeled shroud. In a few minutes, an impenetrable encasing shielded the team from Jay's location. They could see through a view window but were now protected from anything else that occurred. After Dr. Blake's last encounter with one of Jay's dreams, he insisted on the extra protection. The elite special forces soldiers readied their weapons but kept the safeties on for now. They all watched intently as Jay slept.
***********************************************************************************
Jay didn't see anything at first. He was dead to the world, asleep. No thoughts permeated his mind. Although he as sound asleep, he currently wasn't dreaming. If Jay had been aware of anything, he would have felt like this was the greatest sleep of his life. Pitch-black darkness. No sounds. The ecstacy of nothingness.
But then a light began to faintly show. At this moment, Jay began to dream. He was dreaming about when he and his wife and kids were at the park. The kids were playing on the playground as they looked on. With them were Jay's parents. They were so filled with joy. Then Jay saw someone else beside him. It was his grandmother. She looked over at Jay and smiled at him. Jay smiled back as he glanced back over at his children. But then a thought went through Jay's mind. His grandmother has been dead for years. So, he looked back again, and now she was directly beside him, sitting on the wall next to the playground.
"Hello, Jay. It is I, Rapha."
Jay looked at her and knew the voice was not his grandmother's. He knew it was Rapha.
"You are wise to believe we can converse through dreams."
"Why did you disappear, Rapha?"
"Because I can only be with you a little while. Where I go, you cannot come. But I am always with you."
"Always with me?"
"Yes. In your dreams. We have spoken here before in dreams."
"When the zombies overran me?"
"Yes."
"So, what are we doing in this dream?"
"This is part of your consciousness. We are reliving a moment from your past but with elements of the present."
"My grandmother has been dead for years."
"Yes. But she meant a lot to you."
"That she did."
"You will need those feelings to help you on this journey you are about to begin."
"And where is this journey taking me?"
"Let me show you."
With that, Jay no longer saw the park or his family. Instead, he was in a totally different place. The land was jungle-like, with a massive river flowing nearby. He saw lights in the distance, what looked like a city of some kind. But then he saw something he had not expected.
"Rapha. What are those?"
"Those beings once enslaved humans. They are quite powerful."
"They are huge! They're like..."
"Giants. Yes."
"Where are we?"
"From your perspective, this time existed twenty-seven thousand years ago. They were called the Annunaki."
"That one in the middle of them, they seem like the leader."
"They are, Jay."
Jay saw the leader pick up multiple human beings like they were dolls. Then, the leader ate each of the humans, almost in one bite.
"What?!"
Rapha spoke up, "He is The Tormentor and the first step in your journey to saving your species."
"What do I have to do with him? Recruit him?"
"No, you must get his necklace and bring it back with you."
Jay looked at the elaborate and large necklace around The Tormentor's neck. He knew instantly this was going to be quite a struggle. He only had one thing to say, "Well, that's just great."
No comments:
Post a Comment