Aliomenti Saga 6: Stark Cataclysm (33 page)

And then he saw Arthur’s face.

Arthur didn’t look surprised at all.

In fact, he looked like he knew it was coming.

~~~~~

Fil breathed deeply through the mask. His eyes watered slightly in the smoke, which made it more difficult to see. Thankfully, he was moving through his childhood home. Memories filled his consciousness with every step, and he knew instinctively where to move, the most efficient route to each of his targeted pickups.

The timeline was critical; they had to arrive after he and his mother had arrived in the basement, and leave before the Hunters realized where his father had been taken. Everything else—boring the tunnel, planting the time capsule, retrieving the items, checking the time machine for damage and recharging the batteries, getting his father into the time machine, and talking to his invisible mother and younger self—had to be completed in that timeframe. He wanted to walk around, to visit his old room, to march into his father’s upstairs office and scare the Adam from 2030. But he couldn’t. There was work to be done.

He found Will’s spare set of eyeglasses inside a hard case on the kitchen counter next to the extra ammunition. He offered quick whisper of thanks to his mother, wherever she might be, for setting everything out where could find them. He dropped the items in the backpack, and then saw the baseball he’d thrown into the Assassin’s face. He grabbed that as well. Some mementos shouldn’t be left behind. He zipped the pack up, threw it over his shoulders, and approached the man lying unconscious on the floor.

He’d kept his rage suppressed for a long time, well practiced by now at calming himself in the face of every adversity. He needed every bit of self-control to avoid exploding at the sight of the Assassin. The man lying prone before him had tried to kill him, and worse, he’d tried to kill his mother. And he’d stabbed Smokey. Who could stab a dog?

The worst part for Fil was the realization that, by transporting this man to the future, he was making the position available to Abaddon.

He’d known that at a deep level for quite some time, and had wondered why he’d drawn this duty. But it wasn’t difficult to understand. He’d resent Angel or Adam if either of them had carted the Assassin to the time machine. In doing the deed himself, he kept all blame for the deaths of Sarah and Anna at Abaddon’s hand to himself. Where it belonged.

The Assassin’s scarred face did little to calm him. He saw the man’s lip curl into a smirk. Was it his imagination? Or was this man mocking him even now?

He kicked the man in the groin, and watched as the unconscious killer’s body recoiled, watched as the phantom smirk vanished. “
That’s
for my wife,” he hissed, his teeth clenched. Images of Sarah’s smiling face, memories of her joyful laugh, the memory of her touch… all came back to him.

Then he saw Anna’s face, the child who’d been taken from him before she’d ever had the chance to live her life. Fil felt his face contort, and it took a renewed burst of focus to keep his Energy in check. He settled for slamming his black boot into the Assassin’s rib cage, hearing the satisfying cracking sound as ribs snapped. The man’s scarred face scrunched up, an unconscious admission of pain. “
That’s
for my daughter.”

He looked up, away from the scarred face, away from the body now quivering even in its unconscious state, to compose himself for what was yet to come.

Then he saw Smokey.

She’d been his faithful companion and friend through those early years. She’d tried to help them, to save them from the Assassin’s attack. Now she was lying here, bleeding, probably near death.

He stomped the heel of his boot into the Assassin’s face, smashing the man’s nose. The force drove has face to the side and knocked out a tooth, watching as blood spurted from the killer’s mouth and nose. “And
that’s
for the dog.”

He remembered a story his mother had told him in the bunker, a story about the amazing invisible machines that could follow his commands. Some of those tiny machines monitored his bodily injuries and aided his natural healing ability when necessary. When his mother had been nineteen, the other villagers attacked her and nearly succeeded in killing. His father had ordered those healing nanos from his own body into hers. That extra support had kept her alive and accelerated her full recovery. He did the same now for another family member in need, shifting his nanos to Smokey.

He glanced back at the Assassin. He didn’t see the man; he saw an obstacle to getting his dog to safety. Fil stooped down, threw the Assassin over his shoulder, and hurtled toward the stairs, moving into the basement, oblivious to the sounds of the Assassin’s body crashing into the walls.

~~~~~

Her father emerged from the tunnel inside Adam’s nano cocoon, the last bits of dirt and rock sliding out ahead of him. She announced a mass reversal to the nanos; they needed to carry dirt and rock and other debris back into the tunnel, pushing it toward the surface. With the command given, Angel allowed herself to look at Will.

It was the first time she’d ever seen her father.

She put her hand to her mouth. As excited as she was, the physical damage he’d absorbed horrified her. She’d seen the damage in Fil’s memories, had watched the Hunters’ blows rain down from Will’s own memories, had seen from her brother’s vantage point what the damage looked like.

Seeing it in person was something entirely different, though.

She could smell the charred clothing and the burning skin, watched as another bit of burnt skin flaked off. She felt every ache and stab of pain he experienced.

The most powerful emotion he emitted wasn’t the pain. It was the agony of a man who believed he’d failed those he’d care for most of all.

Angel sucked in her breath. Keeping the truth from him, knowing the relief it would bring, had suddenly become a far, far greater challenge.

~~~~~

Adam watched the cocoon-encased Will emerge into the basement. The dirt and rock still in the tunnel fell off the nano shield that had protected him from the attack and the journey through the ground. The physical trauma was apparent, and Adam forced himself to look away. The healing would begin, but the Hunters had been merciless. He wished he’d been faster, that he’d gotten the shield up sooner, to lessen the blows.

But they’d talked about it before coming. They knew from Fil’s memory how extensive the damage would be, and knew that if they’d protected him sooner, the Hunters would be alerted to Will’s hidden assistants too soon in the process.

“I’m so sorry, Will,” he whispered.

~~~~~

Fil paused at the bottom of the steps. His father’s battered body emerged from the tunnel and floated toward the time machine. In that instant, all the mental anguish he’d felt, all the emotional trauma of being abandoned by his father… all of those feelings melted away. He smelled the burnt skin and charred clothes. He watched as the man struggled to remain conscious to prolong his mental punishment for his supposed failure to protect those he’d loved.

In that instant, Fil thought himself the most unworthy person in the world to call Will Stark his father.

He moved forward, kicked the back of the time machine, and hurled the Assassin’s body inside. He wondered if he should follow.

~~~~~

Adam maneuvered the nano-encased Will toward the time machine as Fil reached the bottom of the steps. Fil stopped moving at the sight of his father. The sunglasses hid his eyes, but there was no mistaking the emotion etched across Fil’s face. Fil slid across the floor, kicked open the back of the time machine, and hurled the Assassin inside.

In seeing the results of the brutal beating, Adam understood how much Will would do or suffer for his family. Years ago, he’d faced a critical decision point in his life. He could walk away. Or he could help Will, Hope, and their children.

He was proud of the choice he’d made.

He set Will carefully in the back seat of the time machine as he watched Fil sprint back toward the steps. Adam frowned. They didn’t have time for extra trips upstairs. Why was Fil going back up the stairs?

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“There’s one more thing I need to get.”

“Why didn’t you get it before?”

“I had two hundred pounds of Assassin on my back.” And with that, Fil disappeared up the steps.

Adam sighed, grabbed the time capsule, and moved toward the rear wall of the house. He dodged the detritus flowing back into the tunnel and set the time capsule inside, wedging it between two stable bits of rock at the edge of the tunnel. It would remain covered, invisible to human eyes, until Angel retrieved her nanos decades from now. He shook his head. Time travel made things complicated.

He sprinted back to the time machine, brushed the dirt off his clothing and out of his hair, and dug in his bag for the incendiary bomb.

~~~~~

Fil sprinted up the steps. He might not be worthy to be Will Stark’s son, but he’d never pass up the chance to do a good deed. And as with his father’s example, he’d do that even if the effort put his own life in peril.

The fire had started to burn through the Assassin’s special accelerant. Walls finally began to burn. The true destruction of the house was underway. The heat intensified, but he ignored the pain as embers fell upon him, searing his skin and scorching his clothing.

He had a life to save.

Smokey recognized him. She didn’t mind that he’d aged decades in mere minutes. He watched as the dog’s body trembled, as she tried to get to her feet to greet him. The injuries were too extensive. She settled for twitching her long tail instead.

He knelt beside her, scooped her into his arms, and held her close, letting the familiar black fur ruffle against his face. “It’ll be okay, girl,” he whispered. “I promise.”

He moved carefully down the stairs this time, focusing on keeping his movements smooth to avoid jarring her. Smokey twisted her head to lick his hand. Fil felt his eyes mist behind the sunglasses. He moved to the time machine and placed Smokey on the front seat, giving her an encouraging pat. He had one more job to do, and moved to the spot he remembered so well.

He was there.
Him
. He was six years old, knew his name to be Josh Stark, and he was invisible behind his father’s covering of nanos. The words came easily. He remembered his mother’s decline, remembered her as she’d neared death, and urged her to seek and accept help. He remembered his confusion at that age, wondering where Dad was, and knew he’d start soon along the path of anger. He addressed his younger self, offering a heartfelt plea to the young boy who would begrudge his father’s absence when that absence represented a much greater sacrifice for Will. He stepped aside and watched as Angel addressed the invisible duo as well, keeping her eyes well above where young Josh Stark’s head would be.

They finally moved back to the time machine. Fil scooped up Smokey and set her on his lap.

“You… you saved Smokey,” his father whispered from the back seat. Fil thought the man had passed out; apparently not. “Thank you.”

Fil, not trusting himself to speak, merely nodded.

“My wife… my son… were you able… to save them… too?”

Fil glanced in the direction of his younger self, remembering seeing and hearing the conversation, and repeated the words he’d heard as a young boy. “They were already gone when I got there.”

He turned away as his father wept, unable to watch any longer, and tapped Adam. “We need to get going.”

Adam nodded and activated the machine, then pressed the remote to activate the countdown timer on the incendiary bomb.

The top formed above them, and they listened as the time circuits pulled electricity in from the batteries. Twenty seconds later, the top went opaque, and they felt the sensation of displacement once more.

Fil heard the audible sighs of relief, and scratched Smokey’s fur. “We made it, girl.”

Adam looked at him, then back at Angel. “We did it, my friends. I guess it’s time to hop out and get to work.”

He hit the button to open the lid.

Fil stopped moving and stared.

They weren’t back in the time machine room. They’d materialized somewhere he’d never been in his life.

XIX

Detour

2219 A.D.

He stood with Smokey in his arms, turned, and set her down on the seat. “Stay here, girl,” he whispered. After giving the dog a reassuring pat on the head, he climbed out of the cabin, joining Angel and Adam.

The air was fragrant, clean, with just a hint of salt. He could hear birds chirping and the sound of waves breaking. “We’re near the ocean. This can’t be the right place, can it? Is it the right
time
?”

Angel glanced back at their father, making sure he reclined comfortably in the back seat. “It’s not the right place. We were supposed to end up back in the camp, back in the same room we left. This?” She looked around. “This is much too nice.”