Hexad: The Factory (Time Travel Thriller) Book 1 (15 page)

"Bloody hell." Dale looked at the Hexad, for some reason the 6 was flashing faster and faster, as if telling him that he better use it or lose it. He had no idea if that was true or not, but figured that it wouldn't hurt to try what they had been talking about on and off over the years. He didn't know where Amanda was, but maybe this would bring her back — life could be resumed like Hexads never existed, and they would remember none of it. It was worth a shot.

Dale pressed down on the domed top and went to kill a man.

New but Old

35 Years Future

Dale hid behind one of the most important ruins the planet had ever seen, carefully watching the activity going on all around him. It broke his heart to see the carefree way the ancient monuments of Machu Piccu were being treated in the name of progress.

He'd jumped on impulse, picking a nice round number to jump forward, unsure just when the world first knew about Hexads but thinking that if humanity disappeared probably only a few years into the future then he would hopefully appear at the beginning of Hector's insane plan to put them into mass production high up in the mountains of Peru. So here he was, years before it all went so horribly wrong, and the vast complex of buildings and production facilities, labs and storage areas, the remains of the buildings left as a way to welcome visitors and wow them with the views, all of it was almost ready to begin the end of the world.

There was only one thing on his mind: kill Hector, stop any of it from ever happening.

The whole vast steppe was a hive of activity, the huge constructions almost complete, but Dale knew that nearly all of the important stuff was underground, the few changes to the surface completed more as a greeting and a way of ensuring visitors knew just how special the facility was, that their lives would never be the same again. He stepped out from his hiding place, noting the 5 on the Hexad, praying it wouldn't start beeping again, wondering why it had in the first place, before stashing it in his satchel.

Just act casual. Nobody knows you here apart from Hector. Um, does he know me yet? He said he'd tried to kill us before, stop us. Has he tried already?

Dale shook such thoughts away — he had to keep it together if he was going to kill Hector before the operation got up and running. If he stopped him now then it would all be over, right? No mass production, nobody else to know the secrets of how Hexads worked apart from Laffer, and he didn't seem like the talkative type.

Whistling, Dale wandered over the stubbly grass, chest feeling tight, getting a little light-headed due to the elevation, oxygen in short supply making it hard to act and think at normal speed. He grabbed a reflective jacket from a chair where the workers relaxed on breaks, although why you needed such things up a bloody mountain he had no idea.

What first? Where should he go? Down, down into the bowels of the terrible place, where the heart of production would be, where the foul giant lab was, where they'd seen the terrible sight that Dale would do anything to eradicate from his mind and Amanda's.

Where's Amanda now? What are those people doing to her?

There was nothing for it, he had to do this, it was the only way he could think of to get Amanda back. He walked toward the large entry to the complex, marching like he knew where he was going, what he was doing. Through the entrance, past the lobby that was soon to be a hive of visitor activity, and then there he was: Hector, Laffer beside him.

Uh-oh
.

Dale turned sharply, he'd never get to him like this. He'd have to bide his time.

"You stop," shouted Laffer, voice booming around the massive interior, all other noise cut off in an instant.

Dale kept going, marching faster, hearing footsteps behind him, struggling with the buckle on his satchel. Faster and faster, the floor like a never-ending sea of tile. Dale ran, and as he turned he could see that Laffer was almost upon him. Finally the buckle was free and Dale pulled out the Hexad, fumbling awkwardly with it as he set the dials.

Yes!

Dale tapped the dome and disappeared.

~~~

35 Years +5 Seconds Future

Dale watched Laffer running toward where he had been five seconds ago, before stopping and drawing out his own Hexad. But that wasn't his main concern, no, he was now stood directly behind Hector, so close he could see the wispy hairs on the back of his neck, strangle him right there if it weren't for Laffer who was right now turning, his eyes widening as he saw Dale.

There was nothing for it, he adjusted the Hexad, grabbed Hector by the upper arm, and pressed down on the number 4.

~~~

Present Day

"I'm going to kill you right now, then this will all be over," said Dale, standing over the prostrate figure of Hector, still an old man even though it was years into Dale's future before they had last met.

"You can't," gasped Hector, getting cautiously to his feet, as if he feared his bones were so brittle the movement could break them.

"Why not?" Dale hated Hector more than he had hated anything in his life; now it could be over.

"Haha, you don't get it, do you? I've met you before Dale, in your future. Laffer has chased you across universes, he hasn't caught you yet, but he will, and—"

"That's what you think, old man, but I've met you too, in your foul future, and trust me, it doesn't end well for either of you."

Hector waved away Dale's words. "That's as may be, but as I was saying, I've met you in your future, my past, and that means you can't kill me. If you do that now then how could I have met you when you are older?"

"Goddamn this time travel!" shouted Dale, frustration building as the complexity of it all reared its ugly head once more. It didn't matter what Hector said, he was going to kill him now, then it would be over. Amanda would be saved; he would be saved.

Dale thought for a moment; something wasn't right. "Hey, hang on, nothing has gone wrong yet, with the future. So how do you know you've met me?"

"Because the Laffer you just met isn't my present day Laffer, he's a future one, come back to warn me, silly fool got it rather wrong and—"

It was too much, Dale couldn't take it, nothing was making sense.

It doesn't matter, just kill Hector, it will all be over.

Dale lifted his Hexad, he'd slam it down right into the old man's head, again and again until he was dead. Yes, that's what he'd do.

A second of inaction can change a man's future forever.

He was gone, just like that. Laffer appeared, grabbed the old man then disappeared, all in under a second, probably taking him right back into his correct time.

"Argh, will this never end?"

Laffer re-appeared, and Dale could do nothing but jump.

~~~

39 Years Future

3.

The number flashed at him accusingly. The last Hexad and already it was half used up. No time to worry, Dale had to run. Laffer was dashing toward him pushing pedestrians out of the way on the busy high street like they were nothing but cardboard cutouts.

They were! Dale realized that they actually were nothing but cardboard cutouts, hundreds of them, lining the shopping precinct as if about to become animated and go spend some money — the stores were closed though.

What was going on? He was years before when it was all gone, the streets empty, so obviously it had happened before the furthest into they future they had jumped previously. Dale realized that he actually had no idea exactly when the Universe fought back and eradicated the problem caused by humanity, it could have been a few days ago, or years ago. Just how quickly had Hector produced Hexads for the world and caused everything to fall apart? How long had Hector then been trying to put right what he had done?

No time for that now, he had the giant to contend with, and Amanda, where was she? Was she safe? And where was he? The sudden succession of jumps left thoughts mangled like timelines across universes. Where had he jumped to?

That was it, he'd thought of Peter, meaning he must be around somewhere. But how? Where?

"You took your time," shouted Peter from up on the roof, taking aim and firing, the boom echoing down the street, cardboard people vibrating from the noise, store windows rattling.

Laffer ducked down, then disappeared an instant later.

Guess he'll try again another time. No matter, he won't get me, he didn't. Ugh. Damn, Peter, he's still here. Man, he looks old, seriously old.

"Hey buddy, what took you so long? I was beginning to worry."

"Why do I get the feeling that I told you in your past and my future that I'd meet you here?"

Peter just smiled then lowered the rifle and peered over the edge of the flat roof. "Good to see you. You won't believe how lonely it is here now."

"I think you'd be surprised. If I haven't already told you."

"Ha. Come inside, you look like you could do with a drink."

Old Friends

39 Years Future

Peter had been a friend of Dale's for about eight years. They'd met at some kind of convention, one of countless that both Dale and Amanda had attended in various countries over a few years until they stopped going as they were starting to draw too much attention to themselves.

The places ranged from small gatherings in cheap, sometimes seedy hotels, to huge events spanning a week or longer and centered around many, some would say crack-pot, theories and conspiracies that a surprising number of the population believed in with all their hearts. From UFOs to the advent of nanotechnology, conferences on esoteric mathematical theories and sometimes just the plain weird where time travel was the focus and a number of different lectures were given on theories that many believed to be true even while nobody really had an explanation for how much of anything actually worked, they attended them all, hoping to find answers, coming away sad, confused, and no better off for their trip, just out of pocket and depressed.

There were a series of faces that began to become familiar, people that seemed to spend their lives going from one fringe gathering to the next, seemingly with never-ending funds to allow such a nomadic existence. Those people may have been well-off enough to afford such a life but they were some of the unhealthiest people Dale had ever seen: living off fast-food, airport meals, or whatever they could get from the buffet table at the conventions they seemingly never tired of attending.

Peter was one of them.

He looked older now, but not as old as he should have been if he'd lived through the intervening years. Dale studied him carefully as Peter led him down through a series of tunnels until the twists and turns left Dale completely disorientated.

"It stops anyone finding us. The more convoluted the way then the less likely anyone will ever know where we are. You can't get a fix for a jump down here beneath so much rock and with so many different tunnels." Peter took him ever deeper, the rough rock tunnels illuminated by a simple torch, shadows flickering wildly over the damp surface.

"Where are we? Oh, sorry Peter, it's great to see you buddy, it's just, well, a lot has happened really rather quickly today. Amanda's gone."

"I know, you told me. But don't worry about that," said Peter hurriedly, "you just drop back to see me and fill me in quickly. Actually that's the reason I'm here. You came to me and told me that as soon as the Hexads were common knowledge then I was to get away, spend some time in the past, then jump forward to this place once everyone else was gone. It's pretty lonely you know?" It was a slight accusation, but there was no bitterness.

"Well, I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else." Dale didn't even try to figure it out, but it was clearly something he would have to remember to do in the future, so at least he had one. "Was Amanda with me?" he asked desperately.

"Sorry, no. Look, don't think about that for now, we have other things to do. Gotta save the world, right?"

Dale nodded, allowing Peter to lead him further through the tunnels. The rock pressed down on Dale's thoughts, sending them dark, heavy and grim, making his whole life seem futile. How could he beat time?

Finally they came to a door; Peter unlocked it, ushering Dale inside.

~~~

The room was vast, lost in darkness at the edges even though the center was well lit with a rather eclectic mix of light sources that could run on deep-cycle batteries. Dale sat in a comfortable armchair, feeling out of place, the situation too surreal for him to even consider relaxing.

The cave was all Peter: chaos in other words. Packed with systems that only Peter understood, huge mountains of 'important' stuff, vast now that Peter had countless timelines to delve in and out of.

It seemed that this Peter was the original but had spent a fair proportion of his time jumping around timelines, performing a trick that Dale and Amanda themselves had done: as soon as the news about Hexads broke he'd promised that in the future when he had one he'd send one back to himself, and that's exactly what he did. He turned his back on where he told himself he'd place it, then a few seconds later, after a "Here you go me," from a future him before he disappeared, he turned and there it was. He'd even tied a bow around it.

Since then he'd been exploring, seen so much he didn't know were to start, but telling Dale it could wait for another time. The main thing was that he'd found a way to get everyone back, he thought.

"How?" asked Dale, leaning forward eagerly despite the epic tiredness that was trying to pull him down into sleep.

"Look, when you visited me in the past, told me what had happened to you and that Amanda was taken, and how the Hexads actually run, which still freaks me out every time I use one you know?"