Brink by Mikel Parry

CH- TEWSDAY

Thomas looked down at the array of graphs, readings, and other data hovering around his wrist. It was amazing. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined such a thing being possible. It seemed to defy all forms of logic. For a moment, he felt like a young boy again. His imagination was being jogged around a track containing all possibilities. He had rehearsed the steps many times now, with Banks’s aid. He was now competent enough to attempt an actual glimpse, as they called it. But he still wasn’t sure. Somehow, he felt like they hadn’t told him everything. Would his deal with the devil go sour?

“Are you ready or should we rehearse?” questioned Banks, standing a few footsteps away.

Thomas smirked.

“You really don’t get just how good I am at this, do you?”

The comment looked to have mildly insulted Banks.

“Right . . . as you keep reminding me. Just try and remember one fact, alright? It’s one thing to play your little game of hocus-pocus and then take a bow here. When we step back, it’s a whole new world. Forget everything you know about physics right now. I promise you that nothing you’ve done up to this point will have prepared you for this.”

Thomas’ eyes rolled around in one full circle. It was clear that he felt Banks’s depiction of the soon-to-be was a bit exaggerated. Thomas had been on many cases and seen many things; so what if it was at another place in time. He could tackle anything.

“As for encounters, I’ve never had one, but in the event you do, be ready. There’s no way back once you’re dead. Your line ends.”

“So do we even know what to look for, and in what general area?”

“The brink will put you as close to the epicenter of the ripple as possible. From there you are on your own. With any luck you’ll be close enough to stop whoever this is. So far, we haven’t. We’re either too early or too late to catch them before they jump back to the present.”

Thomas looked up at the white ceiling. His mind was wandering about, trying to formulate a plan.

“Are you coming?”

Banks shook his head.

“It doesn’t work that way. Our windows would have to align in order for us to exist relative to each other. If not, I’d pass you or you’d pass me in a flash. Remember—it’s all relative. But you can use the brink. It can help lead you towards the epicenter of the ripple. But it’s not precise enough to track exactly what created the ripple. That will be up to you to find.”

Thomas rested his eyes for just a moment. He could feel his nerves humming in anticipation. This would be the moment that he would put all of their so-called technology to the test.

“I’m ready to do this.”

“Alright, then fire it up,” said Banks.

Thomas hovered his hand over his wrist. Instantly, an array of projections streamed out, prompting him for input. Quickly he began recanting his training. He set the date and time given to him by Banks’s intel.

“How do you get this thing to target again? Is it acquire, target; or target, acquire?”

Banks looked displeased.

“For someone that remembers so much, you’d think you could remember the order.”

“Always had a bit of a problem with order; it’s the details I never forget.”

Thomas input a few more parameters before gazing over at Banks. Banks sat patiently watching as a teacher would a student; arms crossed, eyes focused on Thomas.

“I think I’m ready,” said Thomas.

An ever so tiny smile returned to Banks’s face but was quickly erased.

“Good, let’s go then. Oh, and one more thing I almost forgot. When you do jump, it’s going to feel like a million icy daggers are stabbing into your heart. It’s a horrible feeling, but you get used to it with time.”

“Wait, what? Are you joking right now?”

Banks grinned. It was obvious he was going to enjoy this. Without hesitation, he thrust his hand over to Thomas’ wrist and hit a small button. The world instantly began to slow down. The images of reality shifted around Thomas like dripping paint. He watched as Banks’s silhouette rapidly disappeared into nothing. Then, without warning, came a piercing ray of light. The light swirled around his body, blotting everything else out of view with its blinding luminescence.

What’s happening?!

Soon the light had completely enveloped him. It pulsated around him like a beating heart. But the awe inspiring beauty was shattered by his deafening scream that echoed into nothingness. The description that Banks had given was accurate to the letter. The shocking amount of pain ripped him into another sense of reality. His eyes jutted wide open, while his veins began to surge with rushing waves of pulsing blood. Then, at the very precipice of being able to take no more, he collapsed down to the ground. Instantly, the blinding light was gone and all that was left behind was a world unlike anything he had ever experienced.

The scene around him was slightly familiar; a cramped over-priced apartment building in the big city. What had him completely stupefied was the weird tempo of the objects and people that were frozen in time. The few things that appeared to be moving at all moved at such a stagnant pace that they appeared almost motionless. A woman sat crouching next to him addressing her child’s bad behavior. A man was stuck in limbo trying to catch his beagle who had run off, leash in tow. Another man was gulping down a soda, letting it hover just inches above his mouth. Thomas lingered for a moment. The sugary stream sparkled as the slowly moving liquid slid down the man’s throat like toothpaste. It was surreal.

Intrigued by his new surroundings, he touched the pouring, bubbly stream caught midair. In complete wonder, he watched as the liquid pressed back against him, fighting to keep its place in time. He licked his finger. There was the slight hint of flavor left behind. Glancing down at the dog on the run, he could see its drooling mouth exhibiting the same behavior. It was beyond belief. His curiosity began to overflow, pouring itself out into a delightful parade down the hall, touching, grabbing, and prodding as he went. It felt godlike to do so. He was so caught up in his mindless amusement that he almost had forgotten why he’d come in the first place.

Tommy, get it together. This isn’t play time.

He stopped and did his best to contain his out-of-control mind, which was screeching in delight. The power, the ability, was incredible. But he had a job to do. He had seen the very real, palpable pain that Banks had. He was beginning to understand the dire consequences of altering the past. There wasn’t any time for his selfish indulgences. Looking down at his watch, he saw the epicenter of activity on display, and he had arrived close to it. Realizing this, he began working his way rapidly through the building. He took a couple of turns, doing his best to dodge all of the objects and people on the way. He then went up a flight of stairs; the signal was getting closer.

This is unbelievable . . . absolutely unbelievable.

At the top of the stairs was yet another hallway filled with dazzling images. It was like a 3D painting that he could interact with first hand. He was now very close to the source of the signal. Looking around, he could see it all perfectly. He let his mind open up its insatiable appetite and feast. A literal ocean of details came funneling into him in just seconds. His eyes were truly the only limiting factor. But he had to be fast. That’s when he saw a door that was slightly ajar. Not knowing what else to do, he entertained the idea of entering it. As he scooted past a slender woman dressed in her workout clothes and talking on the phone, he met her eyes dead on. He felt a wave of panic ensue. It was beyond strange to be so close to someone, literally staring them in the face, and have them not see you. Perhaps a part of her would see him, but it would be forgotten in a brief flash.

I hope wherever you end up you don’t remember any of this.

The truth was, to her he would be nothing but a ghost passing in time, a ghost on a mission. And it was the mission that troubled him. It was completely chaotic. There seemed to be no logical cornerstone holding the house of cards together. But this detail was overshadowed by the paramount importance of stopping whoever it was that was setting up the murders. He was going to beat this.

Heading towards the cracked open door, he peeked inside. The center of activity appeared to be here. But from what he could see, it looked completely normal. Just another city apartment slammed between shoddy, thin walls. But the devil would be in the details. Grasping the door, he attempted to move it and slide inside. The door remained immobile. Its energy fought the rapid change trying desperately to keep its place. Frustrated, he dug his fingers a bit deeper to get a better hold. He arched his back and pulled. The door moved slightly, sending out a small wave of distortion through the air. The crack was now just wide enough to fit his body through. Sucking in, he threw himself inside of it as the door burst back into place. The force threw him to the floor.

This is insane.

The impact with the floor took his breath away. He could feel the jolts of pain race through him, reminding him that he was anything but god-like. He was very much human. He would have to be careful. Rising up slowly, he adjusted his hat and suit. Banks had yet again been correct in his description. He had never experienced anything like this. Even in his own unusually creative imagination, something like this seemed farfetched. He now clearly understood Banks and Jo’s explanations about change. If that was the amount of energy it took to only temporally displace a door, what would it take to permanently alter something? But he was sure of one thing. The pain he felt was the same regardless. The last thing he wanted to do was to become a victim in some brief moment of happenstance.

Okay, what now? What do you do now?

He immediately began scanning the room. All of its many interesting details screamed at him, begging for attention. There was a kitchen sink full of dirty dishes. That day’s newspaper was sprawled out on the table next to a half empty glass of orange juice. And then there was a strange arrangement of magnetic letters on the fridge, spelling out the day of the week. Thousands of images, all containing something that he wanted to examine. But he had to prioritize. He needed to use every bit of his experience and ability to stack and attack them in order. He glanced down at his watch. He was directly on the epicenter. In his head, he was also tracking the time he’d been glimpsed. It had been just a few minutes—but a lot can happen in a few minutes. When would the change occur? What would it be? His heart raced under the bleak understanding that the killer was possibly sharing his space. Maybe he was being watched. Looking at the date on the paper he gasped. It was three months ago.

Calm down, the odds of him being here are slim. Just do your job.

He took a deep breath, and continued going through each part of the room, as quickly as he physically could. Something caught his eye. In the studio apartment was a small bed. Its covers were partly draped to one side. But it was what was in the bed that intrigued him; a beautiful woman. She lay dozing away, comfortably tucked under her warm covers. Thomas’ mind erupted. With the eruption came all of the painful memories of his time spent with Jena. He missed her tender touch, the warmth of her body. Here was what he could no longer have. This kind of life was someone else’s; it didn’t belong to him. And it was something he would never have. His heart ripped itself apart in jealousy and pain. It wasn’t fair. Standing just inches from the bed, he felt a tear stream down his cheek. Was he really so human? Would he ever be free?

I’ll find a way.

Suddenly, a brief blast of light pulsed through the room and then disappeared. His watch hummed as readings streamed across its face, divulging its details.

“What was that?”

Turning back towards the rest of the room, his eyes pranced wildly about. But he was feeling sluggish. His emotional fog was overcasting his ability. He needed to focus; he needed to forget.

Damn it, Tommy, just let it go. Why can’t you let it go?

But he knew the answer. He didn’t want to. Pacing back through the room, he began heading towards the door, discouraged. But a spark from his mind suddenly ignited a burning curiosity to look more closely at the fridge. Even with all of his moping around, his eyes had caught sight of it and made a note. He stared at the quirky, magnetic letters arranged on the front. Something had changed. The letters had been altered. It was subtle—so subtle that anyone else probably would have missed it. Where the letters had once properly spelled out the word Tuesday, it now incorrectly spelled Tewsday. It seemed so alarmingly insignificant. Why would anything that trivial matter?

Why, why would you change that?

He stepped up to the letters on the fridge. He tried to rearrange them but found that he couldn’t get them to budge.

What is going on?

He closed his eyes and dwelled for a moment in time. He was streaming over the possibilities that the slight change could create. Perhaps it was a distraction to modify someone’s schedule, if ever so slightly. The real question now became, what schedule was being modified? Looking around the room he desperately searched for any clues. Stacks of magazines, unopened envelopes and some empty boxes, but nothing seemed especially out of the ordinary. But maybe that was what he needed to look for, the ordinary. Realizing his time was probably short he darted around the room looking for anything he could find. He wanted to know this person, whoever it was. Soon his efforts were rewarded with a small, crisp business card.

David Schilling - Plumber

Now his mind was a sky of bursting fireworks. What could it possibly mean? How could this clue, buried in the past, help him save a life in the future? This was an unbelievable puzzle that he had been thrown into alone. One thing was for sure; he needed to track down David Schilling. This man was somehow connected; connected to a nefarious plot to murder yet another agent. Instinctively, he reached down to pick up the flimsy card. It stuck to the table like glue. He had to remember what he was up against. He would have to leave all of the laws of physics he knew behind. Taking a deep breath, he turned back towards the bed. He looked at the woman still stuck in time. Her luscious lips were slightly open. No doubt, her significant other had left her there, carefully sneaking off to work after a night of passion. He couldn’t resist. Sitting on the edge of the bed he breathed in the essence that was still frozen in the air. The tiny molecules that displaced themselves tantalized his nostrils. The alluring scent of her perfume was mixed with a peculiar musk of cologne. It was intoxicating.

“One day, I’ll have her back.”

He began to stand up when a bright light began to form directly in front of him. The light swirled uncontrollably until it encapsulated him entirely. The same blast of pain from before came along with the mind numbing lapse in thought. A scream of agony rang through the nothing before it came to an abrupt stop. The trip of a lifetime had just come to an agonizing end.