Infinite Time: Time Travel Adventure (9 page)

“We will be there in a minute, Parker.” I let out an alarmed snort as Scarlet’s voice wakes me.
Did I just dream in a dream?
But it wasn’t a dream. It was true, like Tora's situation. I nearly lost both of my parents within a year, one by murder and the other of a broken heart covered in cancer. The cancer didn’t kill my mom in the end, but it filled her with poison, stealing the mom she used to be and replacing her with a depressed, bitter woman.

I look down at Tora. She lost all she cares for and is still searching to get them back. And I still have someone I should care for: my mom. I have to try to forgive her for the years she left me alone to grieve silently for my dad, because she was drowning in her own sorrows. The thought of getting rid of my anger for my mom weighs down on me, as if letting go of that will open the door to the emotions I’ve had to lock away.

“Jesus. Sleeping on the job,” Scarlet says with disapproval.

“No. No—” I pause as I try to get back in the moment, and away from my past, which is more painful to confront. “I was thinking. You called her an agent, right?”

“Yes.”

“What’s an agent?” I ask.

Scarlet mumbles something under her breath as she takes a hard left.
Is she trying to kill us before we get there?
She glances at me. “An agent is someone who used to travel but is sort of retired.”

“You can retire from time travel?”

Scarlet rolls her eyes. “That’s what you take from that?” She glances at me, but the car is moving so quickly that she can’t take her eyes from the road for long. “Anyway… an agent is put in place to help other time travelers with their assignments. This is the first time I’ve had to call one.”

“Really.”

“If not for you, I probably wouldn’t have needed to call her.”

“Me?”

“You’re slowing me down, Parker. Stopping for ice cream, having to explain everything to you—”

“Well, excuse me for existing.”

“It’s not your existence. It’s your timing.”

I shake my head as I stare out the windshield. “Like I want to be here. Like I want to be involved in this nightmare. If it were my choice, I would be at home watching TV or playing a game.”

“Is that all you do? Play games?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. But at your age—”

“Stop!”

I look down and Tora is staring at me, her eyes wide and her cheeks stained by tears. My heart immediately melts. I run my hand down her back again and whisper “I’m sorry,” but I’m not sure if she understands me. I’m not sure she understands much of what’s going on around her. I didn’t even know she knew any English.

Silently, we arrive at our destination a few minutes later. Scarlet climbs out of the car without saying a word to Tora or me. We follow her. Tora grabs my hand and clings to it as we cross the street.

Our destination is a small, residential home at the end of a path. No other houses are visible for the length of the road.

There are two little girls playing in the grassy, overgrown yard. They are identical. Twins, perhaps. But there’s something about them that makes me wonder if maybe there is more to their appearance than just a fluke of genetics. They look like someone, someone I know.

As we approach the door, I can see faces poking out at each of the windows. Again, they all look eerily similar, only their age separating them.

They all look like Kimi.

Scarlet seems nervous as she approaches the door. Her hands rest on her weapons, which are tucked into the holders on the back of her black leather jacket. She knocks and the door is wrenched open immediately as though the young woman who answers—a young Asian woman in her twenties—was standing there waiting for Scarlet to knock.
 “Isamu?” I say. Of all the people I want to see today, Kimi’s meaner older sister is definitely not one of them. She’s always stalking Kimi’s life. She's a walking advertisement for depression, with her goth clothing on, heavy black eyeliner, and her long black hair.

“Kimi?” Scarlet says.

We both look at each other in surprise.

“What do you want?” Kimi’s sister demands.

“Is Kimi here?” Scarlet asks, taking control.

“No,” she says. But voices behind her yell, “Yes, she’s here.” Yet others yell that she’s not there, and an argument breaks out between the unseen women.

Hands appear around the door, with an array of nails painted in different colors. Tora hides behind me, and Scarlet’s grip tightens on her weapons. I begin to wonder when this dream turned into a zombie nightmare.

Then the women disappear as the door suddenly swings open, revealing one unconscious body on the floor. There are all these other girls, all of their faces identical except for their age.

And that’s when it hits me.

They’re all the same person, they are all Kimi, just from different times. Isamu and Kimi are the same person. The thought sickens me.

More and more versions of Kimi come up from behind us as we stand in the doorway, surrounding us.

Scarlet pulls her electric rods free. I leave my blade in my pocket; it's useless because there are too many of them.

A few Kimis lift the unconscious version and carry her away.

More and more of them pile into the living area of Kimi’s house. I can’t even guess how many. They range in age from young teens—thirteen or fourteen—to old, like my teachers. Fifties, maybe.

The oldest Kimi—I’m guessing she’s probably the present-time Kimi—gestures to Scarlet to put her weapon away. Wait, so the Kimi I know is really an old woman?

“They won’t hurt you,” she reassures us. But even as she says it, I can see that several of the others have pulled weapons, too.

“I think we should just kill her now,” one of the Kimis says. A few others titter in agreement.

“No, it’s not her fault,” another says. And, of course, others agree with her.

Talk about being of two minds.

“What’s not whose fault?” Scarlet asks, lowering her rods but not putting them away.

“You’re the reason we die,” one of the Kimis tells her.

Scarlet frowns. I lean into her.

“Do you know Kimi?” I ask.

“Never met her before in my life. How do you know her?” Scarlet asks me.

“She’s my friend, one of my best friends from school.” Some Kimis laugh when I say that, and others blush and some scowl. I look over to the Kimi that looks most like the one I was talking to in class today, the one I had lunch with. The Kimi I know is standing beside the oldest version of Kimi. She nervously nudges her glasses up the bridge of her nose and I instinctively do the same. That’s my Kimi.

“Your school?” Scarlet turns away from me and toward Kimi. “You knew he was a time traveler? How?”

“Leave us,” the older Kimi says, and takes hold of my friend’s arm and shakes her head. “Not you,” she clarifies as she smiles warmly.

“We shouldn’t,” one of them says. “What if she—”

“Nothing will happen now. And I can’t think with all of you around.”

“Yes, let’s go,” one of the others says. But then other Kimis argue.

“I can’t think when you do that,” the older Kimi yells. “Please, just leave us.”

They argue back and forth for a few minutes. It looks either like a crazy woman arguing with herself, or a mom arguing with her children. I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable and catch myself glancing back at the door several times, making sure our escape is not getting cut off.

Eventually, the others finally acquiesce to the older Kimi’s demands and leave.

“I apologize for that. I like to surround myself with my younger selves, but sometimes I spend so much time with them that I forget who I am and what time I’m from.”

“What do they mean, I kill you?” Scarlet asks.

“You don’t kill me, but I die the day we meet. Today.”

“Why?”

Kimi shrugs. “It happens different ways in different timelines. But it all ends the same. I’m dead by the end of the day.”

“You’ve tried to change it?” Scarlet asks, caution in her voice.

“I have. But each change I make has no effect. And some make matters worse.”

“What do you mean?”

She studies Scarlet’s face for a moment. “I’m to die today. There is no way to get around that fact because it is that. Fact.”

“What if you left here with us?” I ask.

She focuses on me a moment. “Then we all die.”

“But what if—”

“Trust me, Parker. I’ve tried everything.”

“Then why did you answer the phone?” Scarlet asks.

“Because there is no avoiding it.” She drags her fingers through her wiry white hair, suddenly looking quite exhausted. And then her eyes fall to Tora. “This one is special,” she says, her eyes shifting to mine. “You must protect her at all costs.”

“But—”

“You are also special.” She smiles at me fondly. “Parker. Pay attention. Stay alive.”

Scarlet’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t say anything.

I focus on Kimi again. “There must be something we can do for you.”

She shakes her head. “This time I shall just wait for them.”

“For who?”

“Vandir’s men. It is Vandir’s men who kill me.”

The older Kimi looks toward her younger self, and nods toward a back room, making Kimi look embarrassed. The older Kimi returns the look with a stern one.

“Either you speak to him or I will,” she says.

Younger Kimi sighs. “Parker, may I speak with you?” she says, walking to the room.

“Sure. I’ve been wanting to speak with you. Scarlet, watch Tora,” I say as I head toward Kimi. The older one smiles fondly as I walk past her. It’s creepy having all these different versions of Kimi.

Kimi nervously fiddles with her glasses.

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Sixteen,” she replies, puzzled.

“No, the real you?”

“The real me? I am real!”

Great way to start the conversion, Parker, way to go. You upset Kimi again. “No, I mean…”
What do I mean?
“How old is the original Kimi—the oldest Kimi?”

“She’s sixty-six.”

“Is it weird seeing your older self?”

Kimi smiles, but not a happy smile. “Yeah, it’s not fun seeing what you look like when you are older.”

“So you’ve been time traveling into the future, to my time, why?”

“To stop today.”

“Are all the other Kimis doing the same? Trying to stop today?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me with all your time-traveling powers all you have done is try to stop your own death?”

“It wasn’t my idea…w, it was. There was part of me that wanted to change time. You know when you’re a kid you want to live forever, but… once I started, each version of me wanted more than the last.”

“That explains Isamu,” I interject.

Kimi nods. “It took me fifty years to realize that this wasn’t the right thing to do with my life, wasting it on something I couldn’t change. I spent my life chasing a dream, a dream of a stupid girl with a crush,” Kimi says, looking down at the carpet.

“A crush?” I say awkwardly.

“You’re the key, Parker. The key to everything—my life, everyone’s life. You’re the key.”

“Am I… the crush?” I ask with confusion. I’ve never been anyone’s crush; I’ve never been anyone’s
anything
.

Kimi doesn’t answer; color begins to tint her skin.

Douglas?!” I ask, confused

Kimi starts to laugh, removing her glasses. “As if! Not Douglas,” she says, looking up at me. Our eyes lock. I’ve never seen her with her glasses off. To be honest, I’ve never really looked at Kimi like I am now. She is pretty.

I get a big gulp in. “Kimi, do you like me?” my voice quivers with nerves.

Kimi smiles, to my relief. “Yes, Parker, I like you,” she says, as timid as a mouse.

A pretty girl likes me!

“Vandir’s men are here!” one of the Kimis announces as she runs into our room. “Damn, I forgot this was our one chance.” She stands for a moment, then adds, “Go on, kiss me.”

I look at her and frown. Kiss a version that’s more like Isamu than Kimi? Not a chance.

“Sorry, little Kimi, told you he wasn’t worth saving,” she says, ducking out of the room.

“Your older versions suck,” I say with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m a wee bit bitter as I get older.”

“A little?” I lean in and kiss Kimi on the cheek. I can feel the warmth emanating from her cheeks as I move away from her. “You can start a new life after today. A less bitter one. No more Isamu. Just because the old Kimi dies today doesn’t mean you will. This is your second chance.”

She looks at me with none of the hatred the others show me. “Thank you, Parker. Thank you.”

“Kimi. It’s time,” the oldest version says from the living room.

I don’t hear anything, but I see something as I look through the window—a sort of ripple.

Suddenly, there are dozens of suited men—Vandir’s—outside Kimi’s home.

When I turn back around, different Kimi’s reappear. They aren’t Kimi, they are Isamu.

“Take care,” the oldest version, the one most like Kimi, says to me, placing her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let the power go to your head like I did. Have a life. Enjoy yourself.” She looks down at Tora and smiles.

“We have to go,” Scarlet says, grabbing my arm.

“Take them out the back,” Kimi tells Scarlet.

“Where should we go?” Scarlet asks.

“To the police station. What better place to hide that child?” says the older Kimi.

Some laughter and lots of agreement bursts around us from the Isamus.

Others have a glare in their eyes, as if they want to go against what the older Kimi said.

“If we have to fight, then so should she!” Fingers point toward Scarlet. “She’s the reason they are here.”

The chaos of the different Isamus dampen the sound of Vandir’s men as they burst through the door.

Kimi from my class heads out of the living room. I follow her, Scarlet close behind us. She leads us into a kitchen that isn’t missing the female touch. There are trinkets lining the kitchen window. And it’s shiny clean, which is surprising, based on the amount of people living here. But what’s more surprising is the kitchen countertop with rows of guns. They really have been preparing for this fight.

“They’re just stun guns,” Kimi says, taking one then grabbing a key hanging by the back door and exiting into the backyard. “This way,” she says, then runs behind an old shed that looks like it will crumble from one touch.

“Our car is at the front,” Scarlet tells Kimi.

“No wonder you get everyone killed. There’s not a chance you’re seeing that car again. What do you think Vandir’s men will do? Stop fighting and help you into your car?” Isamu says with a scowl as she steps out from behind the shed. “She gets everyone killed.”

“Arh,” Scarlet yells, jumping back with her electric rods out, ready to attack.

“What are you doing here?” Kimi says to her older, not-as-nice self.

“Finishing off what you started.”

“No. I said we aren’t doing it!”

Isamu lunges at Tora, knocking her to the ground with a thud.

Scarlet thrusts one of the electric rods into the side of Isamu, who dives out of range of the rods.

“What are you doing?” I yell at Isamu as I lift Tora to her feet. Tora scowls at Isamu, brushing the dirt off her knees.

“Isamu, you can’t do this,” Kimi pleads, standing up to Isamu.

“This was your idea. Eliminate the target.”

“Kimi, tell me it’s not true,” I say.

Kimi lowers her head. “Isamu, I was wrong, you know what will happen if we hand her over,” Kimi says to Isamu.

“Wait, so you’ve done all of this before? You’ve handed her over to Vandir’s men?”

Kimi places her hand over her mouth and nods.

“How could you?”

“It’s nature. Only the strong can survive. I’m surprised you have so far,” Isamu says bitterly.

“Isamu, leave him alone,” Kimi snaps.

“Kimi, you know he won’t even come near you when he sees… what was that bubblehead called? Oh yeah, Clara. Who I have to say, Parker, is way out of your league,” Isamu informs me of something I’ve always known.

“I hate to break up the happiest school reunion, but you guys seem to have forgotten Vandir’s men are after us,” Scarlet growls.

Isamu steps toward Tora. Scarlet points her electric rods at Isamu. “Don’t even think about it.”

Isamu turns toward Kimi. “You’re weak. That’s the reason we all die.”

“I’m stronger than you will ever know. You let anger eat away at you, making you weak.”

Isamu steps closer to Kimi. “But you are me.”

“Let me do the honors,” Scarlet says a second before sending an electric shock racing through Isamu’s body. Her thrashing body drops to the ground.

“I can see why Isamu doesn't like you,” I say.

“What’s not to like?” she jokes bitterly, waving her rods about.

“Parker, don’t trust her,” Kimi says, looking at Scarlet.

“Bite me,” is Scarlet’s response.

“Speak to Mr. Conrad,” Kimi says, passing me the keys, like I can drive.

One of Vandir’s men steps out into the backyard, his weapon at the ready. Kimi stuns him with a gun and gestures for us to go.

“Mr. Conrad, our history teacher? Is he a time traveler?” I ask.

“Just speak to him. Hurry. Over the fence there is a car for you.”

“Come with us,” I ask her. Kimi steps closer to me. “I wish I could.” She leans in and kisses me firmly on my lips. My first kiss.

“Romeo and Juliet, Vandir’s men are coming. If you want to end up like them, carry on kissing.” Scarlet’s words pull our kiss, which turned into an embrace, apart.

“Go now, don’t come back!” Kimi says, pushing me away.

Tora pulls on my arm, dragging me away from Kimi and toward Scarlet, who is rushing over the fence. I glance back one last time and see Kimi falling to the ground, revealing one of Vandir’s men with his gun pointed at her. He shot her. I want to go back for her, but Vandir’s men aren’t far behind us.
It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream—I will see her in class tomorrow.

I grab hold of Tora, swinging her up into my arms, and do my best to keep up. Just as I begin to hear footsteps close behind us, my back stiffens in anticipation of being hit by a bullet or a stun gun or some other weapon.

But the sound from the gun never comes.

Instead I hear the thuds of Vandir’s men slamming to the ground as other Kimis and Isamus fire their guns at the men.

Scarlet sprints through the overgrown field several yards ahead of me, and climbs into the rusty car.

The engine revs. Scarlet doesn’t need the keys when she has gadgets from the future.

I dive inside on my back, protecting Tora from the weight of my body, and the car begins to move just as one of Vandir’s men hits the window.

Tora lets out a scream. “Hush,” I tell her, “we made it.” The car falls silent as we drive away. I stare back at the house until I can no longer see it.

“Are you okay, Parker?” Scarlet asks.

I pause for a moment, and remember this is a dream, even though it feels painfully real. “Yeah. Where are we going now?” I ask.

“Our assignment is to protect her,” Scarlet says, as though trying to work something out in her own head, “so turning her over to the police should do the trick.”

“I suppose,” I say, my hand continuously running over Tora’s back. She buried her face in my shoulder and refused to move once we got into the car.

“Why do you think they laughed back at the house when Kimi said to take her there?”

“I don’t know. That’s what’s been running through my head. But really, if she told us to take her there, it's for a good reason.”

“True, why would they lie? Now what?”

“So we’ll report what happened and turn her over to them. That should send us home.”

“Okay,” I say, but I don’t feel it. Anger burns in my chest as I draw Tora closer to me. It isn’t right, really. They shouldn’t be letting this happen to this poor little girl. She’s defenseless. If we hadn’t shown up… but, again, I suppose that’s the point, isn’t it? We’re here to save her.

“How did they know where to find Tora and her family?”

“Hmm?” It takes Scarlet a minute to focus on me, so lost is she in her own thoughts.

“Vandir’s men?”

“They probably do what I did. They look her up on the Internet or city records or whatever computer files they can access and track her by big events in her life.”

“Like what?”

“Her birth. Her christening. School plays and award programs. Graduations. Things that make the newspapers or generate new city records.”

I glance down at Tora’s dark head and wonder what happened to her these last few days that would have drawn them to her now. Today.

Scarlet brings the car to a halt. “Let me do the talking.”

I smile. “Yeah, I was thinking that, with me not speaking Japanese.”

She rolls her eyes and gets out of the car. She really is fun to be around.

Tora is still clinging to my body. My arms burn from her weight as I carry her, hopefully for the last time, up the police station’s steps. She’s lighter than the groceries my mom makes me carry into the house once a week. And that seems sad. Such a tiny child… she shouldn’t be caught up in this mess.

We walk inside the surprisingly modern building. It looks kind of like I imagine American police stations might look. There are chairs positioned along the walls and a large window at the back of the room that reveals a young woman in a pretty blue blouse, with her shiny black hair resting neatly on her shoulders.

“Here goes nothing.” Scarlet speaks to the woman in quick Japanese. The woman responds in a voice so small and feminine that I can’t imagine it holds much authority. Scarlet bows her head and speaks to her in a soft, reverent voice just the same.