Author's Note: Sorry about how long this chapter took to finish. This one required a lot of thought and, when you read it, you'll find out why. Enjoy!
-x-
Peter Petrelli
A door opened and he entered it. Immediately, a strong icy wind hit him in the face and he held up a hand against it. Snow. He was trudging through snow and didn't know where he was. Opening his eyes to a squint he saw someone coming toward him in the white world surrounding him. A nurse. She had her head down and made no tracks in the snow.
"Caitlin?" Peter asked. He recognized her immediately but she obviously didn't recognize him. She passed him by without a glance, went through the open door and shut it. Snap!
The wind calmed down to a wisp. He was in Nathan's hospital room though the windows were all iced over. The metallic beep of the pulse monitor echoed through the room. Nathan was hidden from view, bed sheets covering him from head-to-toe. Peter shivered, walking across the snow-covered tiles to one side of the bed.
"Nathan?" He pulled back the bed sheets. Nathan wasn't there. In his place a perfectly shaped pile of snow was sitting.
"Peter." He turned. It was Nathan, pale-skinned and eyes dilated. The sight was less jarring but made him look less loving, more serious. "Don't be afraid."
"Nathan, I'm not – "
"FIND HIM!"
"Peter!"
"Caitlin!"
Gasp! Peter jumped up in his hotel bedroom. Sitting straight up in bed, he breathed quickly trying to recount what he'd seen in his dream. It was Nathan again, but it was different. Something was colder about it. Snow everywhere and ice on the windows. That and…
"Caitlin…" RING! He picked up the phone on the night stand. "Hello? Hey Matt. Yeah, I'm alright. Just a dream. I – " But as he leaned to the left he noticed something. The notepad and pens from his night stand with the hotel's brand label were in bed with him. He picked up the notepad and looked it over. "Hmm. Oh, it's nothing. I must have woken up at some point. Because I drew something. And it looks like Hiro's got his own problems to deal with."
He had drawn a picture of Hiro trudging through snow on an icy street.
Las Vegas, NV
Three Months Into The Future
Hiro Nakamura
He walked along in the freshly dropped snow, his footsteps leading farther back than he could see. His teeth were chattering, his body was shaking and he'd seen no one since he arrived. Finishing another block, the only thing that kept him going was the prospect of finding somewhere warm. And something told him if he did not find that place soon, he never would.
Warm-blooded animals need to generate warmth through energy, inside and out.
He looked ahead at the Las Vegas strip. Icy towers of the world that once was sat dormant and, he assumed, empty. This wasn't a bomb that went off. This was a full-blown evacuation.
But what happens when all around us a sudden chill turns into a frozen tundra?
Cars were abandoned in the street, shop windows were broken into and the cold was unbearable. Suddenly, he saw a figure walking toward him. He could barely smile, but he quickened his pace. With people there were homes, and with homes came some semblance of warmth.
"Hello?" Hiro called. He was closer to the figure. It was a woman in a dark blue dress with red hair. "Hello, miss?" But she didn't respond. The snowy air made her look like a walking statue. "He – hello?" He walked right up to her and stopped completely, horrified.
She was pale all over. He realized why she looked like a stature from afar – she might as well have been up close. And her eyes… Her eyes looked permanently dilated. She continued to walk past as though she couldn't see or hear him, as though he wasn't there at all.
Can we adapt? Can we survive?
She was not alone. A man and woman sat on a bench on the other side of the street. Both were still and as pale as the last woman. A man with brown hair walked by. He wore sandals and, like the red-haired woman, did not notice Hiro walking in the opposite direction. More arrived, as oblivious as the others, and Hiro felt surrounded. All of them were wearing regular clothes. All of them didn't seem to notice they were walking through two inches of snow. It was like they were in a trance, like they lived out their daily lives without knowing the world around them changed and that they had changed with it.
Or will ice fill our veins until we are no longer as alive as we once were?
Hiro continued forward, unsure of what was going on around him. As he stepped forward, large black lettering appeared around his last four footsteps.
Chapter Four
Ice Man
One question plagued him through the blistering cold – where was he at? The last time he had gone into the future he had run into himself. Was his future self trapped in a trance as well? And, if so, how was he able to send himself a warning?
"Hiro…"
He turned quickly or as quickly as he could with his frozen feet in the snow. He could see a figure far back where he had been ten minutes before. He squinted but could barely make out who it was. If anything, the wind started to pick up, tossing snow off the towering buildings and swirling in the street. The more he squinted though…
"Ando…?" It was a stretch as the person appeared covered in a dark coat, but it looked like the kind of coat Ando would wear. "Ando, is that you?" he called but wasn't sure if the person received the message.
"Hiro…" The voice was calling to him. He made his decision. He started to walk back where he came. At the very least he would find someone, anyone who knew him and could tell him what was going on. He walked so fast he hardly noticed the truck driving down the street from behind him.
"Stop!" Hiro jumped as the megaphone called out to him. "Identify yourself!" Three black Parka-ed individuals jumped out of the truck, the driver with a handgun pointed. The other two held their hands out to him. They surrounded him easily. He was so cold it was pointless to resist.
"My name… is Hiro Nakamura," he said.
"Are you one of us or one of them?"
"I… I do not know what you mean."
"Are you one of us?" the man with the gun asked. "Are you special?" These were the special people? Had people with abilities taken over? Against his better logic, Hiro nodded.
The two without guns grabbed him by the arms. "Come with us. We'll take you to see The Leader." Moving him toward the street, Hiro had no option but to follow. Suddenly…
"Hiro!" The three guiding Hiro turned, one who's hands turned blinding white as he focused them toward the sidewalk. Hiro looked as well but saw… nothing.
"It's him," the one with illuminated hands said, stepping forward and shining light back and forth in front of him. Him? Him who?
CLANG! The man who stepped forward was knocked sideways, sliding down the icy street a few feet. Another's hands burst into flame and he started to swipe at the air blindly. CLANG! He fell to the other side.
The last forced Hiro close to him, the gun to Hiro's head. His eyes darted all around him frantically. "Make another move and he dies!" Confused beyond all reasoning, Hiro stared around wildly waiting for either the gun to go off or the next clang to knock him down, too. …CLANG!
Hiro flinched as the person behind him fell to the icy concrete. "Please… please don't hurt me!"
"Why would I hurt you, Hiro?" The voice didn't sound familiar. It was an accent he didn't recognize. Suddenly, the voice materialized before him into a person. He had scraggly black hair, blue-grey eyes and was wearing a large white coat and pants. Dropping the shovel in his hands, he stepped up to Hiro who stepped backward in fear. "Hiro, what's wrong?"
This man was talking to him like a friend, like he knew him. "Who… who are you?" Hiro asked. The man frowned.
"The Haitian…" the man said, sighing angrily. "I heard rumors that he was under The Leader's control. Um… What's the last thing you remember? …Well? Think, time traveler! What is it?"
"I… I came from the past, from three months ago." Hiro had no idea who this was, but if he knew he was a time bender he must have known him at some point.
"That means…" The man shook his head, thinking it over roughly. "Bloody hell, you and this time business is confusing. Come on, follow me." He looked over each shoulder and ran in high boots through the snow toward an alleyway. Hiro, shivering, followed gently. The man was pacing back-and-forth when Hiro caught up to him.
"Okay," he said, scratching his fading beard thoughtfully, "I think I know how this goes. I met you first a few weeks back, which was either you in that present or you from the future. Now, you're meeting me for the first time by coming from your present into the future. You know," he added, stopping in place with a stern glance at Hiro, "things would be much easier if your lot weren't around, mate."
"I'm very sorry," Hiro said, not trying to cut him off, "but I still do not know who you are."
"Well, I guess today's your lucky day," the man said sarcastically. "My name's Claude Rains and you've just stepped knee-deep into what I like to call… the beginning of end of the world. Now, come on!"
Costa Verde, CA
Davenport Regional Hospital
West Rosen
He awoke slowly, his eyes straining to open. There were no windows to the outside in his room, but he could tell it was still late. He winced. His right arm was hurt but it didn't feel broken. Hurt enough for him to feel it, though. His chest hurt as well, his insides aching as though he'd fallen on his chest, but used his arm for support. He couldn't even remember what happened after he lost consciousness. This was what he got for playing the hero. "Claire…" He winced again.
She was standing on the other side of the door to his room. When she looked in through the glass, he smiled. At least that didn't hurt.
Claire Bennett
There he was, finally awake. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She finally had gotten him back and he was almost gone again. No, she wasn't going to lose him, she didn't lose him, she couldn't. Not like before, not like her father.
"Hey." She turned around. Oh no.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, glaring. Jonah shrugged.
"I just wanted to let you know what happened."
"Oh, I know what happened," Claire sneered, ticking what she heard on her fingers. "Broken ribs, fractured arm and wrist. Do you hate him that much that you had to attack him?"
"I didn't attack him!"
"Oh, of course, you didn't," she said skeptically, shaking her head, "but that doesn't mean your friends didn't. Oh, but you're the Good Samaritan that brought him in here. And that makes it have nothing to do with you. Well, I'm sorry, Jonah, but you're wrong. Like it or not, whatever happened to West is your fault."
"You don't get it, do you? He's the one who attacked me!" Jonah started to huff, anger growing in his face. Claire rolled her eyes.
"Then, why's he the one in the hospital, Jonah?" Claire asked, eyes glaring beadily at his. Jonah opened his mouth but closed it soon afterward. Run out of lies? Claire turned away toward the hospital door. She wasn't going to give this jerk the satisfaction of lying to her face again. "It's… complicated. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me." Still not looking at him. Jonah was silent.
"I… I can't."
"Then, I think you should leave. You've already caused enough trouble." He sounded as though he wanted to say something else, but instead of saying it, he walked away. Claire watched him walk down the small hallway and through the double swinging doors. Good. West was better off without him around and so was she. With a huff of relief, Claire walked through the hospital door and closed it behind her.
West Rosen
She walked in after what looked like a fight with Jonah. She smiled immediately and he did, too. He knew this whole thing was probably his fault, but at least she was yelling at someone else, especially Jonah. "How are you?" she asked, standing by his bedside.
"Just great," West said, wincing slightly, "but I think I'm in this hospital bed for a reason." She laughed, placing a hand on his bandaged arm.
"They've already called your parents. They're on their way." West nodded as best he could. Claire sighed in the way she always did when she had something to say that she didn't want to. He remembered it from before when he found out that her father was the man in the horn-rimmed glasses, the man that had kidnapped him for a full day when he was a child. She hesitated once more before she spoke. "Did you… Do you remember what happened tonight?"
"Tonight?" He remembered some of it, but she probably didn't want to hear most of it. "Why?"
"Well, um, Jonah said that you tried to attack him." She folded her hands in front of her, squeezing at each finger nervously in sequence. West froze a moment. Could he tell her? She stared at him expectantly, but he stayed silent. "Well… Did you?"
The moment of truth. He exhaled. Tell her or don't? His brain ran circles around the question as she continued with that expectant stare of hers. He sighed.
"No," West said, feigning ignorance. It wasn't important. She didn't need to know. Not now, at least.
"Okay," Claire said, smiling. He smiled back. Why couldn't he tell her what happened? He hardly remembered himself, but why not that little detail? "I'll be outside if you need me."
He nodded, the feint still ripping his head in two. She didn't need to know. Not now. Claire gave him one final squeeze to his bandaged arm, him wincing, and headed for the door.
Las Vegas, NV
Three Months Into The Future
Hiro Nakamura and Claude Raines
Warmth. He had never appreciated warmth so much in his life. They were in a small store off the Vegas strip with it's windows boarded up and the back area turned into a hideout. Bundled up in a couple blankets with a battery-powered space heater three feet away, Hiro was still shivering a bit but he was getting there. Claude had given him three layers of coats to wear until he had gotten used to the temperature change. The cold seemed better, more bearable, in this confined space that Claude brought him to.
"It's not much, but it keeps me warm and off the radar," Claude said, wrapping his coat around himself. "Two things that are scarce around here: warmth and privacy. And it's Vegas, for God's sake!" Claude plopped down into the armchair by the couch Hiro was sitting on. The two pieces of furniture barely fit into the tightly packed room, but they were better than nothing. Hiro squirmed. Claude kept looking up at him then turning away.
"I have so many questions," Hiro said and Claude smirked.
"I'd expect nothing less," Claude replied. "Go on, then. Ask away."
"What happened here?" He picked the one that troubled him most. Claude sighed heavily.
"Well, that's quite a story, isn't it?" He rubbed his hands together. "Where to begin? I guess I'll start where I came in. I was in Manchester when I heard about it. People doing outrageous things all over New York. I hadn't been there in months and felt like it could use a visit. Hopped on a plane in a way only I could just to see what was going on." He shook his head grimly.
"By the time I got there, the situation was worse than I thought. Manhattan was overrun. People were terrified in the streets. I'd heard rumors that it affected people with abilities worst, but that wasn't the half of it. It wasn't just a few people with abilities who had it. Random people, normal people, had gotten it, too. It was insane."
"What did they catch?" Hiro leaned forward with interest.
"Catch? Do you really think I'd go head first into No Man's Land if it was something you could catch by breathing or getting touched?" Hiro shrugged. "I may have made some stupid decisions in my time, but not that stupid. No, it wasn't like a virus you could catch. It was a serum, an injection, and a powerful one at that."
"Someone injected people with it?"
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Claude taunted and Hiro frowned. "One drop. One drop into your bloodstream and you're a bloody robot. No free will, no choices, total control. I've seen it happen." A shiver went down his spine. "I wouldn't recommend it."
Control. That's what the e-mail said. People under other's control. Hiro had a shiver go up his spine at the thought of it.
"And then, somehow, it started to spread. People injected left, right, and center. All under one person's control - the Leader."
"Who is the Leader?"
Claude frowned. "Nobody knows. Rumors ran around that there was some Leader overseeing it all. Rubbish, if you ask me. I think people got a hold of the serum and just started to inject everyone they hated, everyone they wanted power over. People... Always looking out for themselves. And this Leader's no different. It's probably just a name this dealer coined to fancy himself more powerful than he actually is. That... or the worst thing we could possibly imagine." Hiro's eyes went wide, but Claude shrugged. "Just rumors I've heard."
"What rumors?" Claude hesitated, leaning back in his chair.
"People saying that this Leader is a person with abilities. One that enjoys gaining power over people and taking their abilities away from them." Hiro shook his head, knowing what that sounded like. Claude, however, laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Relax, friend. They're only rumors. And I'm here to prove them wrong."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Ah! The question I was most waiting for!" Claude stood and rounded the armchair he was in, reaching into a crate behind it. He pulled out a large rolled-up piece of paper dusted with snow and unrolled it over a row of crates in front of the couch. Hiro leaned forward, taking in all the measurements and notations across it. "This is Caesar's Palace, once a casino, now the infamous central command of 'The Leader.' I swear, the ego on this one must be huge to choose that place. Sure, it's the center of the city, but it's a bit much, don't you think?"
Hiro looked over the schematics again, some of the notes (he noticed) in his own handwriting. With a sigh, he turned to Claude. "What can I do to help?"
"What? Not afraid you'll change something and make the space-time continuum collapse?"
"I'm already here. I want to help." A gleam of fire stood behind his eyes. "And I think I know the space-time coninuum better than you do." Claude smirked.
"I knew I could count on you. Whether future or past, you're always ready to pitch in. You and that ruddy sword of yours." Hiro smiled. Claude stared a moment, then turned away frowning. He cleared his throat then returned to the schematics. "Anyway, to this. I've been doing surveillance for a week and a half. Those who haven't already fled get processed here." He pointed to a loading dock toward the back of the building. "Those that refuse to be processed... are terminated. Most of the security are people who've been injected and security is everywhere."
"It doesn't look like there's any way inside."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of being invisible. They know I'm in the area, but there's no way to tell where I am. It just takes the right person at the right time and nowhere is completely secure." Hiro nodded. He inched closer to an area with an abundance of notes toward the center-right. "What is that?"
"That is where The Leader addresses his people. The stage. Big open area with no way to get close to him."
"You mean..."
"Yeah, I've been inside. Took me forever to get it right, but I made it in. Hardly made it out, though. That was a few days ago." Claude frowned again. And that's when it hit him. The surprise when he met him, the constant glances and the question that had plagued him since his arrival.
"Claude..." Hiro said, taking a deep breath. "Where am I?" Claude didn't turn to look at him. He continued to stare down at the papers on the crates.
"You... are fantastic. Only know one other person as determined to see this over and done with, to help these people. Not for yourself and not just for your friends. For everyone."
"...But where am I?" Hiro held the coats surrounding him tighter, unsure of the answer to come. Claude hesitated.
"You went with me when I went inside Caesar's Palace. When we were found, we ran as fast as we could trying to find an exit. I found the door, but was grabbed from behind by one of the guards. You knocked him out and I broke free. Wasn't until the door closed behind me that I noticed you hadn't gotten out."
"Am I - ?"
"I don't know. I don't think they'd kill you on the spot." Claude turned. "But I know you'd rather die than turn into one of those things under his control. So, I don't know. But I think you're still in there." Hiro could tell Claude was at odds with himself. Hiro smiled and put a hand on Claude's shoulder.
"I know I am." Claude smirked, shaking it off. He jumped up from his seat and crossed the room, staring out of cracks in the boarded up window.
"It's a chilly one tonight. And that's when we'll strike." Claude turned around, a renewed vigor as he stood at the Hiro before him. "So, what do you say, friend? Ready to face the robots?"
Hiro grinned, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Definitely." Claude grinned.
...and the boarded-up window behind him exploded!
Boards and glass flew across the room, Hiro shielding his eyes as debris clunked down everywhere. Coughing and sputtering as the tide of cold air flew into the room, he got up just in time to see three black-Parka-ed individuals step inside - two men with guns raised and one female with glowing red-and-gold hands. The woman with the glowing hands ran up to Hiro, grabbing him by the coat. The material began to smoke and sizzle.
"Where is he?" she yelled. Hiro stared around the room. Claude was nowhere to be found.
"I... I don't know what you are talking about." Even if he did, he wasn't going to tell her. She sneered, tossing Hiro back for the men with guns to hold. They were pale-skinned and eyes-dilated, just like the people in the street.
"He disappeared again." Her hands glowed brighter but Hiro was the only one to cringe at the sight of it. "Take him back to the base. The Leader will want to see him." The pale Parka-ed men with guns nodded, gripping Hiro tighter and leading him out of the door. Hiro glanced around a final time, but it was pointless. Whoever this "friend" was obviously didn't care that these people were taking him away. Claude was gone and Hiro was alone.
Austin, TX
Billy Baker and James Silverton
He zipped up the stairs, down the hallways, almost ran into an Asian man listening to an iPod, tripped, rolled, and landed just in front of the door to his apartment. All done in eight seconds flat. Breathing heavily, he clambered to his knees to find someone else had been standing in front of his door moments before.
"Mr. Baker." He looked up, glad to find the voice coming from his landlady. "Your rent is late."
"Sorry, Ms. Sikora," He said, getting to his feet. "It's been kind of hard getting money lately with my mother in the hospital."
"That's... unfortunate." She spoke sympathetically but her eyes were lacking compassion. "Still doesn't get the rent paid. Do you have a job?"
Billy wrestled a hand into his pocket for his keys. "I'm kind of... between jobs." She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. He didn't notice as he forced the key into the lock and turned.
"Between jobs doesn't cut it, Mr. Baker," she said as he opened the door hurriedly. "Hey!" He turned. "You okay?"
"Fine." He may have said it a bit too fast but Sikora seemed to take it.
"Your mother always had the rent in on time." She stared him down angrily. Billy shrugged, getting the hint. "You should follow her example. If you don't, I'm kicking you out."
"Thanks, Ms. Sikora." He started to enter the apartment.
"You have until the end of the week."
"Okay, Ms. Sikora." He closed the door.
"How's your mother?" But he didn't hear her as the door shut. He was too busy getting slapped on the back of the head by Jay.
"Ow! Hey, what the - ?"
"What did you do?" Jay was looking more serious than he ever did. "I waited ten minutes then heard the sirens coming from a mile away. What did you do wrong, Billy?"
"It wasn't me."
"Oh, sure. And the fact that when I drive past cops are swarming the place doesn't mean anything. That's crap, Billy!" Jay grabbed him roughly by the shirt and shoved him up against the door. "I'm not having another Bolton, Billy. You can't make stupid mistakes! If you're going to get me caught then I want nothing to do with you!"
Billy shoved him off. "It wasn't my fault, okay? Not now or then! And, if I remember correctly, last time I'm the one who had to save you!"
"You wouldn't have had to save me if you hadn't screwed up in the first place! If you had just stuck to the plan - "
"Just shut up!" Billy yelled. "It's over, okay? What's done is done. We need to focus on what's going on now."
"Alright," Jay said, folding his arms in front of him, "what did you do now?" Billy barely let it slide. He had more important things to get through than arguing.
"There's this guy after me, maybe us. I don't know. He said his name was Burbank, Mr. Burbank or something."
"Mr. Burbank?" The skepticism was thick in his voice. "You're saying some... guy saw you robbing a convenience store... and played the hero? And you couldn't handle him?" Billy shook his head.
"This was different." Jay still didn't seem to be convinced. "He was... It was like he was looking for me, he found me. He knew my name."
"Whoa..." Jay stepped backward without meaning to. Billy moved over to the cough, sitting on the arm rest.
"And it's not just that. I... I think he's like me. Not fast or anything, but he can do things people shouldn't be able to do."
"I guess you're not one of a kind anymore." Jay smirked and backhanded Billy in the arm, but Billy brushed it off.
"I'm serious." Jay backed off. "I... I don't know. I've just thought that ever since I found out about this... this thing I can do, I knew there had to be others like me."
"And even more that want to take it from you!" Jay said, sticking out his arms like Frankenstein. He let his tongue fall out for effect. Billy stared at him blankly. After a moment, Jay stopped, shrugging and leaning up against a wall. "I get it, okay? You're not alone. Big whoop. It's weird enough that you can run a mile in two seconds, but to think that there are others out there... and that one is after you... I don't know." The TV near Jay began to flicker. "It all just seems so... weird." The lights above them flickered twice. Both of them looked up. "Don't tell me they're turning the electricity off."
"No," Billy said, glancing from the TV to the ceiling, "I think... I think it's him."
"He can... Wait, he can make the lights go on and off?"
"The same things happened in the police station." Billy began to go across the room, grabbing things and throwing them in a pile on the couch.
"Wait, wait, wait... You have a record now?" Jay asked, bewildered. Billy ignored him.
"The longer we're here, the closer he gets." He grabbed a bag from the corner of the room and started to pack. "If he can find me in a convenience store in Houston, he can find me at home."
Knock, knock, knock. Billy turned. "He's here."
-x-
Burbank was about to try the door when an ounce of compassion wrapped around his brain. He looked over at the woman sprawled on the floor beside him. Mid-forties, dark brown hair and a little too good at her job for Burbank's purposes. Sikora he thought her name was. There she laid, silent as the strike that put her down. She was only knocked out, but still he hated involving those that didn't need to be.
Oh, well.
SLAP! Sounded like something closing shut. Couldn't be good. Throwing caution to the wind, Burbank summed up what physical power he had and kicked the door in.
It was a small apartment with a hallway that led to only two rooms and a bathroom. He'd done his homework beforehand so he knew the only places they could be. He checked the apartment quickly, hands at a ready position. Any attack from all sides would be covered - this wasn't his first time checking around someone else's home.
Vrr... Vrrooomm... No, it couldn't be. Vrrooom... VRROOOOOMMM! There was only one way in and one way out. Unless...
Burbank ran to the window just in time to see a red convertible pulling off down the street. He'd read the layout wrong. The fire escape did reach this level in the complex. No matter. He straightened his trench coat as the convertible turned the corner down the street. He smiled. The chase was on. And who doesn't love a chase?
Costa Verde High School
Jonah Parrish
He had to tell her. Claire walked up to her locker and twisted the combination into it. Jonah hesitated from across the courtyard, surrounded by his swim team colleagues. They were laughing and joking about practice the other day and what they heard happened to West. Yeah, it was funny, but a small part of him twinged when he thought about it.
"Hey, Jonah!" He turned to his friend Mike. "I heard you're the one who pulled West back from the brink. What's up with that, man?" The rest of the group's heads started to turn toward him. He shrugged.
"It was nothing," Jonah said.
"Didn't sound like nothing from what I heard..." The eyes of the group were still upon him.
"So, I took him to the hospital? So what?" Jonah said, smirking slightly. "I found him and he was hurt. He owes me big time for even considering to take him there. I'll tell you this, though. Whoever messed him up deserves a medal." Cries of agreement littered through the group and Jonah's smirk widened. He glanced over his shoulder, though, and his smirk failed. Claire was watching. And she didn't look like she wanted to hear the truth of what happened. As soon as she saw him looking she continued to grab her books, head turned away. Now or never.
He stood up and left the group as they continued sharing rumors of what happened to West. Walking up to her hurriedly, she didn't look up when he approached. He crossed his arms in front of him, hoping to be noticed. "Claire?" She tensed up when she heard his voice.
"What, Jonah? What do you want?" She turned and stared into his eyes intently.
"You're wrong," Jonah said with conviction. "And I can understand that you hate me for whatever reason, but I just wanted to let you know what really happened."
"Oh, I've already heard." She narrowed her eyes. "Someone 'messed him up' and, whoever they are, they 'deserve a medal'. That's what you said, isn't it?"
Jonah frowned angrily. "I was just joking around."
"And it was so funny," Claire shot back, turning away.
"Why can't I just talk to you?"
"Because I don't want to!"
"Just listen to me!"
"Just leave me alone!" Claire turned quickly, grabbing for her last notebook and closing her locker at the same time. "Ow!" Jonah gasped in shock. The tip of her finger was caught in her locker door! Teeth gritted, she yanked away leaving her exposed index finger with one less section. She looked up, eyes widened, and Jonah took one step back...
...into their speech teacher, Ms. Copper. He turned around quickly, adrenaline pumping after one shock after another. Ms. Copper, eyes narrowed, stared at them both. Claire held her hands locked behind her back.
"What is going on over here with you two?" Ms. Copper said, scowling.
"Uh..." Jonah didn't really know what to say. How could he tell a teacher that a girl slammed her finger in her locker and he had nothing to do with it?
"Sorry, Ms. Copper," Claire said sympathetically. "We didn't mean for the argument to get so loud." Jonah looked at her in disbelief.
"I thought I heard you yelp, Ms. Butler," Copper said, examining her with her eyes while darting glances of suspicion at Jonah. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," Claire said with a smile. Jonah tried to look as innocent, but still couldn't believe the way Claire was acting. "Everything's fine. Just an argument." Ms. Copper looked at the both of them suspiciously, but walked away without another word.
When Copper was out of earshot, Jonah finally was able to breath. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" Claire tried to keep her look of innocence shining through, but Jonah knew different. When Claire went to unlock her locker again, Jonah grabbed at her injured hand... but it wasn't injured anymore. The section that was missing before was back. "Hey!" She swatted her hand out of his grasp.
"But you..."
"I what?" Claire snapped at him. She stared him down beadily.
"You shut your finger in your locker, that's what!" Jonah said in an active whisper. "I saw you! And now... How did you do that?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, but couldn't meet his eyes. This had to be a joke unless... Then, it started to click.
"He was flying..."
"What?" Claire stopped what she was doing immediately.
"West. He was flying and you... You can do something, too, can't you?" He could see it, the fear spreading across Claire's face. He'd figured it out, what was different about her. Most of all, though, he found out why she liked him. And he smirked, her looking at him with uncertainty.
"There's something I have to show you, Claire."
Las Vegas, NV
Three Months Into The Future
Hiro Nakamura
The truck took him to a side entrance guarded by four security personnel - all ordinary enough looking people in regular clothes. More drones. Flanked by the same two gun-laden drones of his own, Hiro was starting to feel as though he was surrounded. The woman who captured him led them inside past the ornate golden door. Her hands were no longer glowing but there seemed to be a fury in her eyes whenever she looked back at him. Hiro chose not to speak as he walked on.
The inside of the casino was strange. Bare of activity with wisps of ice and snow, it felt like the tomb of a great king that had long since died. This had to have happened only weeks before yet it looked like it had been years. A fountain that adorned the central area looked like it was made of part-gold, part-stone, and part glass, the water frozen in place. The woman leading him walked right up to the fountain where a man was sitting on the edge. As he stood, Hiro recognized him. He was the man who had held a gun to Hiro's head only hours before. Now that Hiro wasn't afraid of freezing to death, still wearing the several coats Claude had given him, a rush of anger flowed through him and his eyes narrowed. The man stared back, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing.
They whispered to each other, Hiro couldn't hear. He didn't want to hear. He wanted to meet this Leader so that he could see what he would have to go back and stop when he returned to the present. Each of the whispering duo glanced at him every so often but kept their voices low. Finally, the man nodded to the woman and started to walk away. She grabbed quickly, gently, at his hand, but he pulled it out of her grasp and disappeared into the sea of slot machines. She stood there for a moment before walking back up to Hiro, sneering.
"It seems you are of great interest to the Leader."
"I want to see the - !" She grabbed him by the throat, squeezing slightly.
"I can make your throat implode on itself." Hiro choked, eyes wide, as she squeezed a bit tighter. "Don't tempt me." Hiro sputtered as she let go. Somehow he had the feeling that Future Hiro had left his mark on her. "You will follow me. No questions. Clear?" Hiro glared up at her but nodded.
He was led up a spiral escalator with a statue of Caesar just beyond the railing. The head and shoulders of the statue were removed with a diagonal slice. She took him down a hallway lined with security drones and stopped at the second to last door. Hiro gasped. Standing at the door was a man he only knew briefly and only when he had last gone to the future. Claude was right. The Leader had gotten to the Haitian.
"He's here," the woman leading Hiro said. The Haitian nodded and opened the door on command. His eyes were just as dilated as the rest of them. Hiro had never known The Haitian personally, but as he walked into the room he couldn't help but feel sorrow for him. "Watch him. Make sure he doesn't escape. By force or by ability."
"Ability?" Hiro said, turning around. "You know that I can - !" Thud! The door shut. That's right. He just remembered. The Haitian wouldn't let him stop time in the future. He concentrated hard, trying to slow down time, but only felt an absence of his ability. Even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't.
"You have an ability?"
Hiro turned toward a corner of the large room. There was a desk on the left broken in half, papers all over the floor, and a normal albeit untrimmed looking man sitting in the far corner. He had thick sandy-brown hair and a mustache and his clothes had rips along the sides. Hiro didn't know what to say. Was this person to be trusted?
"It's been a while," the man said, wiping his nose with his sleeve, "since I've seen anyone. They grabbed me. I was so... so stupid. But you!" He flung his hands forward and Hiro stepped back. "You can get us out! ...Can't you?" Hiro frowned.
"I'm sorry," Hiro said. "I cannot. That man outside the door. He can stop people from using their powers." The man's excitement faltered. "I can't do anything."
"You...you can't..." His knees shook. Without warning, he fell into a sitting position.
"Are you okay?" Hiro came over to him cautiously, unsure of what was wrong with him.
"Then... Then I can't..." His head sagged and he stared at the floor. "It's all my fault... Why is it always my fault?" He punched the floor, but it didn't seem to help his cause. His shoulders shook. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Hiro knelt down and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "
"I wish there was something I could do." The man looked up slowly. His eyes were full of tears. He smiled somberly.
"Don't worry," he said. "I know that we're stuck here." Hiro frowned, wondering what could have done this to this man. "I just... I could have used a hero, you know?" He'd lost his hope. Hiro watched as the man's head sagged once again and he knew without asking that this man had been broken. No, he couldn't let him give up. If there was anything Hiro was good at, it was giving hope.
"And one has found you." Hiro held out his hand. "Hiro Nakamura. I bend space and time." The man looked up, surprised to see a hand held out to him. After a moment, he smiled slightly and shook Hiro's hand.
"Sam Jacobson," he said. "And I don't know why these people have kept me here."
-x-
"So, you… jumped from one time to another?" Sam asked. Hiro grimaced.
"Not exactly." It had been an hour since Hiro arrived and Sam was already enthralled with his ability. He had asked questions incessantly and Hiro answered to the best of his ability. "I don't know how I am able to do it, only that I can. This power, this ability – it is a force that I do not fully understand."
"And you came here from three months ago?" Hiro nodded. Sam scratched at his chin, confused. "Then… does that mean this has to happen? Can the future be changed?"
Hiro smiled. "Yes. That is why I am here. To make sure that none of this happens. And all I have left to find out is who this Leader is." The wait was making him anxious. "Why are you here?"
"Me?" Sam shrugged. "I was just trying to catch a story. Do you have any idea what kind of news this is? The desert turning into the Arctic Circle? How the hell does that happen?" He shook his head. "But me? Nah… I'm nothing special."
"There has to be a reason they've kept you for so long."
"Well…" He paused, glancing at the door. He leaned forward and so did Hiro. "When they first brought me here, they took everything off of me. My notepad, my pens, my tape recorder, my camera – gosh, I loved that camera." He gave a sigh of mourning, but continued. "But they didn't find these."
Sam took a deep breath then reached into his coat. He pulled apart the rips and reached deep into the lining of the coat and brought out… sheets of paper? No, he held them up and Hiro realized that they were –
"Photos?"
"I took them when I first got here," Sam said. "The city was… full of people. I mean, it's Las Vegas. There's always people. But after I heard about what happened… I kept thinking about what got hit and not who. I expected to see people running for their lives, and they did." He paused a moment. "I never expected to see dozens, hundreds of people who were caught when the city iced over. They were statues. Frozen to death." Hiro turned away, not wanting to imagine it, but Sam grabbed him by the arm. He handed Hiro the photos. "These are from the first time I came here. After I heard about this Leader guy, I came back… and that's when they caught me. Been here ever since."
Hiro looked down at the photos in his hand. He had to hold his breath. The people in these photos were helpless bystanders. An entire city full of bystanders… dead. He flicked through the photos cautiously, as though he were holding these people's lives in his hands, and just when he thought he couldn't take anymore… something caught his eye.
"Great Scott... I've seen this photo before!" Sam sat up, interested. It was a street corner with a lower torso showing, all covered in ice.
"That's impossible," he said, "I haven't shown these to anyone yet. I mean, I have shown a friend or two, but that's about it."
"This photo was linked in an e-mail I received three months ago!" Hiro started to smile. "This is why I'm here in the first place! I think… I think I need this."
"I don't know..." Sam scratched his chin and sighed. "You having a photo I took two weeks ago... It's too much of a coincidence."
"But it's not a coincidence. I've seen too many things that connect to each other too many times. It's fate. Destiny."
Sam shook his head. "And I've seen so many things that should connect, but don't. I've seen some strange things lately, but destiny isn't one of them."
"Then what do you call this?" Hiro waved the picture in his hand at Sam. "How else would I have had this picture, this exact picture, in my e-mail if I hadn't come to meet you here three months later?"
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He stared concernedly at Hiro, looking confused. "You could have gotten it from someone else, I don't know. I mean..." And he stopped himself again. "Look, just because you meet someone doesn't mean you were supposed to meet them. Some things just... happen. Dumb luck. The way you're talking I'm supposed to be here, and I wouldn't be here if I hadn't met Peter Petrelli." Sam sulked, but Hiro's eyes lit up.
"You know Peter Petrelli?" Sam looked dumbfounded.
"You know Peter Petrelli?"
"He's the one that led me on the path to becoming a hero." Hiro smiled, wondering where Peter was in all of this insanity.
"He's the one that got me wrapped up in this mess." Sam's face turned sour. "If it wasn't for him..."
"If it wasn't for him, you might have been one of these people." Hiro held up the photos, but Sam turned away.
"How would you know?" Sam asked, a sliver of anger in his voice.
"Because I know Peter Petrelli. I have faith in him."
"Then, you're a better man than me," Sam replied, turning to meet eyes with Hiro, "because if I ever meet Peter Petrelli again... I'll kill him myself."
The door to the room opened. Both of them turned quickly, Sam grabbing the photos and dumping them into a coat pocket as quickly as possible. Hiro held onto the photo in his hand, sticking it into his own pocket as the woman from before entered the room. She sneered, eyes darting from one face to the other.
"The Leader is ready to see you. Get up." Slowly, Hiro got to his feet. Hand still held tightly in his coat pocket, he held onto the photo for dear life. Whatever happened, he had to keep that photo with him. "Follow me."
He gave half a glance over his shoulder to Sam and started to walk out of the room.
"You're going back, aren't you?" Sam said, standing up quickly.
"Sit down," the woman said in a calm fury.
Hiro hesitated, then said, "Yes." The woman grabbed him by the collar of his coat.
"One more word..."
"Then tell Peter... to take the shot. Tell him he has to take the shot." Hiro turned his head, confused, but said nothing. Take the shot? What shot? Before he could reply, though, the woman threw out a glowing red-and-gold hand and half of the broken desk exploded in an cascade of bright light and broken wood. Sam was thrown to the floor, showered with splinters, but the woman closed the door roughly before Hiro could see how injured Sam was.
"Now," she said with a slight smile, "let's try that again. Follow... me." Hiro took a deep breath and nodded. He was ready. It was time to meet the Leader.
Costa Verde High School
Claire Bennett
"I've got to be out of my mind," she said, frowning. She followed Jonah down the hallway and past the classroom they were supposed to be in. She considered just leaving him behind. She considered demanding to know what he wanted to show her. She also considered that he knew what she could do and could tell all of his friends what a freak she was. Yet… something inside of her trusted him. He wasn't telling everyone and he wasn't running away from her. "Out of my mind…"
"It's just this way," he said, smiling. She didn't smile back.
"Where are you two cool kids off to?" It was one of Jonah's swim team friends. He had a smirk on his face that said much more than what he actually said and nothing she liked.
"Nothing much, Mike," Jonah replied, "Just, you know, hangin'." Mike nodded.
"Sure," Mike said, the look not leaving his face. "Hangin'." He grinned and Claire promptly wanted to knock the grin off his face. Mike and Jonah slapped hands before Mike went off to class. Claire glared in his wake.
"Nice choice of friends," she said, the glare moving over to Jonah.
"I could say the same thing to you," Jonah replied, still smiling. "Now, come on. In here." He opened a door and, reluctantly, Claire followed.
They were in an empty science classroom, one Claire had never taken classes in. There were rows of countertops with shelves and sinks. Safety equipment was strewn across hooks and cubbies in a closet in the corner. Jonah crossed the room, moving toward a sink. Claire stood by the door, arms folded in front of her.
"I'm here," she said, eyebrow raised. "Now what?" She didn't mean to be abrasive but she was late for class and had followed a boy into an empty classroom alone. She had every right to be suspicious.
"Well, come over here," he said, beckoning her over to the sink. "I don't bite." He grabbed a beaker from the shelf and started to fill it with water. She stayed standing by the door.
"You said you wanted to show me something." She was getting impatient. What exactly did she have to cross the room to see? "You can show me from over there."
"If you don't see it up close, you won't believe me," he said, holding the full beaker and turning off the sink. "Now, just come over here."
"I think I can see fine from here."
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you so pushy?" The longer she stood there, the more she started to think this was a bad idea. "Just show me whatever you want to show me!"
"Not until you get a bit closer." He had that smirk on his face that made her wish she hadn't come in the first place. The feeling of foreboding in her gut got worse and she started to tap her foot incessantly.
"Look, either show me whatever you want to show me or I'm going to class." She took a preporatory step backwards. Jonah's smirk fell. For the first time, Jonah seemed to lose his control over the room. Good. He needed a touch of reality as far as she was concerned. He swilled the contents of the beaker thoughtfully then looked down into it. He smiled. Why was he smiling? He looked up at her. What the heck did he have to smile about?
"I wonder," he said as he continued to move the water around in the beaker, "how well they clean these beakers out..." Claire raised an eyebrow. Wait... what? "Could have had just about anything in it. Poisonous. Toxic. Lethal."
That's it. She was already five minutes late and she was not going to waste time talking about how clean the beakers were. "I'm sure there was. Now, if you don't mind, which I don't care if you do, I'm headed to - "
"If you leave I'll drink the water from this beaker," he said without hesitation, the smile on his face growing. He could not be serious. Still, he had a look in his eye that most people didn't, a determination to do what he said he was going to do. She tapped her foot impatiently, the only outlet of her frustration. This was crazy! He wasn't going to drink water from some random beaker.
"You can risk your life if you want to. I'm leaving." She took a few steps toward the door and he, simultaneously, raised the beaker to his mouth. "Jonah..." She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She took another step and he tipped the beaker closer. "Jonah, stop!"
"All you have to do is walk over here." What was wrong with him? Did he have a death wish or something? She stared intently, biting her lip.
"...I have to go," she said, turning away and reaching for the doorknob.
"So be it." And he tipped the beaker to his lips. She turned around quickly, horrified. Rushing over to him, she grabbed the beaker from him only to find that it was... cold. She looked inside and all of the water was gone. All of it had turned to –
"Ice," she said in disbelief. That was impossible. It was water just a few seconds ago until he... She looked up at him and he grinned.
"What?" he said, looking as though he was ready to laugh. "Did you think you and West were the only special people in Coasta Verde?" This was what he wanted to show her? He could turn things to ice? There was only one thing she could think of doing at a time like this...
-x-
Jonah Parrish
Claire put down the beaker, looked him straight in the eyes... and punched him in the arm.
"Ow! Hey!" Jonah rubbed the spot gingerly. "What was that for?"
"You couldn't just tell me. No," she said, bitterly, "you had to say you're going to drink from a dirty beaker to show me what a jerk you are. Well, thanks." Claire turned away and walked toward the door. His mouth hung open. He finally shows someone what he can do and they act like he offended them.
"But I wasn't lying." She turned around just before she got to the door.
"What?" she said.
"I didn't lie. West attacked me. Came up behind me and carried me into the air. We fell and, if it wasn't for me, he would have been hurt a lot more than he was." Not exactly true, but it was what he wanted her to know. She continued to stare at him, looking unsure. He shrugged. "I figured if I told you that before... you wouldn't believe me."
"...I still don't."
"Why not?!"
"Because he said he didn't." But even as she said it, he could tell her resolve was crumbling. She wanted to believe it, he could tell, but she couldn't. "And I trust him a heck of a lot more than I trust you."
"But you still trust me?" he said with a small smirk. She didn't answer. Instead, she exited the room and shut the door loudly behind her. He sighed. So, the bottom feeder lied to her. Then again, what do you expect a bottom feeder to do?
Las Vegas, NV
Three Months Into The Future
Hiro Nakamura
She led him back downstairs into the sea of slot machines. The Haitian followed closely behind. His eyes and, Hiro assumed, his concentration stayed on Hiro. They crossed an open section that led from one building to another, windows on either side that covered the walls from floor to ceiling. On one side was the desolated street that led to the rest of the Strip; on the other a small courtyard with flamboyant patio furniture. Sitting at a few of the tables, statues that used to be people were still there. People frozen in time. Hiro cringed and tried not to look.
In the next building a large central octagon station that used to be a ticket booth stood with two people inside. One was leaning over bored and the other stood stiff, a drone. The woman walked right up to them, Hiro staying a few steps behind.
"He's waiting," the man in the booth said, "They all are."
"All of them?"
"Yep. Got a full house in there. And all over this guy." He didn't care to even look at Hiro. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure if this is the happiest or angriest I've ever seen the Leader." A quick glance at Hiro. "That him?" She nodded. The man in the booth shrugged. "Kinda dorky looking guy, ain't he?" Hiro took an aggressive step forward, but the woman once again held out her hand in warning.
"Inside," she said and started toward a pair of double doors. Hiro grudgingly followed as the man in the booth gave him a sarcastic salute. She opened a door for him and he started inside, followed by the Haitian. Immediately, he noticed that she wasn't entering.
"Why aren't you - ?"
"We only come when he says to come. The Leader only wants you." She gave him one last glance and shut the door, encasing the room in darkness. Hiro took a deep breath and started walking.
He was in a theater and nearly every seat was filled. It was dark and he couldn't see who these people were but he could tell immediately what they were. More drones, people without choice or free will. He was easily outnumbered and probably couldn't run if he wanted to. Walking down the aisle, the loudest sound seemed to be his footsteps and the room seemed surprisingly warm compared to the rest of the building. There were steps leading up to a bright lit stage set up with a throne in the center and white columns in each corner. Hiro walked up to the stage and took cautious steps forward. The drones were silent and still, but where was the Leader?
"Where is he?" he called out to them. They stayed stationary. "Where is the Leader?" Still no reply. "Where is he?"
"Patience..." A voice came from the side of the stage and Hiro turned, eyes wide. "...Carp. I knew you'd be eager to see me, but demanding as well? It doesn't suit you."
No... No this couldn't be. He stepped forward from out of the shadows, but Hiro couldn't believe his eyes. He buried him! He buried him so that no one would have to deal with him again! And yet... here he was, standing before him in a crisp suit with a satisfied grin on his face.
"Kensei?" He was surprised he could muster that much. Adam Monroe stepped forward, rubbing his hands together.
"I believe that's 'The Leader' to you, now, isn't it?" Hiro took a step backward without meaning to. "Now, come on, carp. You really didn't think that little prison of yours would keep me forever, did you?"
"It was meant to keep the world safe," Hiro said, pointing out at the audience. "Safe from things like this. How did you..?"
"Another story for another time, Hiro," Adam said, wagging a finger at him. "Then again, time for you is quite relative... Grab him." Without warning, Hiro was restrained by two drones who walked up behind him. He struggled, but the hands had a firm grip on him. "Bring it out." Two more people walked out, but they weren't drones. One was a man in a silver jacket who rolled an IV on-stage toward the throne. The other was a younger woman with dark green hair drawn up into a disordered bun who held a vial with a dark blue liquid in it. When she looked at Hiro she smiled before attatching the vial to a needle-gun and handing it to the man in the silver jacket.
"What are you doing?" Hiro finally asked.
"Patience..." Adam said again. "It will all be over soon."
"Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain from taking away people's free will?"
"I can show the world that all it takes is one brave decision to make the world a better place. My decision. Sit him down." The two holding Hiro forced him over to the throne, sitting him down and holding him there. The man in the silver jacket came closer with the needle. Hiro couldn't let this happen. He had to keep him talking. At least enough to distract him.
"Why me?" Hiro asked. "Why would you want to take away my free will before you kill me?"
"Kill you?" Adam laughed. "No, I don't want to kill you... I've already done that."
"...What?" He... He was...
"I know that you have come from the past, Hiro." Adam's eyes were alight as he smiled. "And I know that the only reason you are here is because you sent yourself a warning. Well, that warning... was pointless. You failed to change anything. And, now, I'm going to have a little fun with the man who took my love away."
"I didn't mean to!"
"It doesn't matter!" Adam was no longer smiling. His eyes glittered with menace. Hiro sat in fear as the man with the needle came closer. "You brought this on yourself. I told you I would get my revenge... one way or another."
Hiro's breathing became shallow. The man with the needle was standing next to him, smirking. The woman with the green hair stood off to the side, a glint of mystery in her eyes. And Adam stood three feet away, waiting for the injection to commence. Hiro was out of time. He had to get out of here. He squinted his eyes, hoping, praying that his ability would work now when he needed it most. Concentrating as hard as he could, he tried to go back three months. He had to go back before it was too late.
"Very useful," Adam said, causing Hiro to look up, "that Haitian man. Especially for those few powerful people that would have given me so much trouble." He had forgotten. The Haitian was still focusing on him and as long as he was around Hiro was helpless. "Face it, carp. These are your last moments of freedom." Adam came a few steps closer, kneeling down to head level with Hiro. "And I can't wait to hurt you as much as you've hurt me. Ready?"
The man in the silver jacket nodded. "Ready when you are." Adam smiled, getting up from his kneeling position and turning to the crowd of drones in the audience.
"People of Las Vegas," he said, spreading his arms wide, "Your Leader has found another person willing to sacrifice themself for the cause of a better world! A new age is arising - a perfect world! And we will be the beginning of it!"
"You're wrong!" Hiro shouted in Japanese. He may have run out of time... but he wasn't going down easy. "You cannot make a perfect world by taking it away from everyone else!"
"I think I know much more on the subject than you do, carp," Adam replied. "I have lived on this Earth for nearly four hundred years. I know what needs to be done. I can make this world better and you know it!"
"You cannot make it better because there is no such thing as a perfect world!" Hiro shouted. If there was one thing his father had taught him, it was to do what was necessary sometimes was to know when to stop. Adam had to be stopped before he ruined the world he tried to save. "Even you must realize this."
Adam stared at him intently. "It is true. There is no such thing." Finally, he was talking sense. "But there will be before I'm through."
"No!"
"Prepare to inject." The man with the needle positioned it accordingly.
"Where?" the man asked.
"The neck." The needle was positioned beside Hiro's neck. "One drop, Hiro. That's all it takes."
"You can't do this!"
"I can and I am. Get ready!" Hiro stared him in the eyes. "And..." BANG! Adam tripped over the ordering word. His breathing went shallow a moment. "What was that?" he asked.
"Adam..." the man in the silver jacket said, lowering the needle, "Your shirt." Adam looked down and saw that his white shirt had a red hole in it. He was bleeding.
"Someone shot me," he said, a mix of surprise and confusion on his face. "Hey! Who shot me?"
"I did," said an accent from the crowd. Adam turned as a man stood up near the front row. Hiro grinned, relief spreading across his face. Claude stepped out of the crowd, gun raised and eyes locked on Adam. "And I hope it hurts like hell."
But Adam was smiling now. "It did. ...Grab him." Before he knew it, the two drones holding Hiro ran toward Claude. Hiro, taking advantage of who they focused on, tripped one of them up. He fired off two shots, taking down the first one easily, and fired another at the downed drone. Hiro ran up to join Claude as he ran on stage, gun still poised.
"Couldn't have started that a few minutes ago?" Hiro asked. Claude shrugged.
"Thought you might have appealed to him with that pleasant conversation in Japanese," Claude said as they both backed away. "He really hates you, though."
"You know Japanese?"
"We already had this conversation a week ago and I don't think this is the right time to have it again." Hiro nodded. "Now, why isn't he dead yet?"
"He can... regenerate." Claude looked at him, bewildered, and Hiro grimaced.
"Of all the things you could do, you pissed off an invulnerable foe." Claude shook his head, holding in his anger as the three on stage started to come toward them. "Here's a thought, Hiro, now would be a great time to go back to three months ago!"
"I can't. The Haitian." Hiro pointed to the side of the stage. Claude raised the gun, but Hiro grabbed his arm. "Don't kill him!" Claude looked at him wildly as the others continued to move in. Hiro shook his head. It was a crazy decision, but something told him to make it. Claude bit down hard.
"Bloody time traveler." BANG! The Haitian fell to the ground, holding his leg and gasping in large breaths. "Now, go!" He shoved Hiro behind him and held the gun up decisively.
Adaptation is human nature, but there is another option... extinction.
"Get them! All of you - get them!" Every single person in their seats began to rise, heading for the stage. They were blocked in. Adam closed in on stage and the masses closed in from behind.
Claude turned. "Go!"
"Come with me!"
"Just do it already!"
If anything happened to our world, would we be able to endure? Or would we fall, piece by piece, person by person?
Hiro concentrated hard on three months back. He'd seen so much and yet he had so much left to do. He gave one last glance around him - and saw the throne from the stage flying through the air toward them!
"LOOK OUT!" Claude turned back around, gun pointed. It was too late.
WOOSH!
-x-
The world is a much colder, darker place than what we imagine and, as climates change, it will only get colder.
Gasp!
He felt air fill his lungs again. Where was he? He prayed silently in the dark world around him that he had moved, that something had happened... but no. He hadn't moved, just woken again from an endless nightmare.
Here lies Adam Monroe, buried by the traitor Hiro Nakamura and doomed to live and die for all eternity. No one to mourn him and no one to realize that he wasn't dead yet... again.
Thump. There went the pounding in his head again, the one sign he'd grown fond of in his wooden prison. He'd hear the thumps in his head, then he'd lose consciousness, suffocate, and reawaken minutes later. It was a bit soon considering he usually had a few hours or so between each death but he supposed there wasn't much air to use now. Only his own breath filling the casket and the soil around it.
He imagined that the virus had been released. Not like he had much else to do. Whether or not The Company was controlling the situation, he assumed he had caused enough trouble to last them as long as he was imprisoned. And if the virus wasn't released... Well, he had time to think on that as well. Even if the virus strain had been contained, he was sure something was keeping The Company busy. Something always did.
Change will happen. No matter what we hope for, change happens.
Thump! Louder this time. He held his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples. He'd died too many times to be afraid of death, but the circumstances never pleased him. He thought on how he had gone wrong, why Hiro was so determined. He knew it was partially his fault, but after all these years he'd forgotten. How could he have been so foolish to underestimate Hiro Nakamura, especially after killing his father.
Adam smirked. It was the one pleasant thought he'd aquired from this situation. He had nearly completed killing the other founders and the sweetest revenge he could have had thus far succeeded. Kaito Nakamura was dead and he had been the killer. Not exactly a morally right thought, but a triumph nonetheless.
THUMP! It had never been that loud before. It couldn't be coming from his head. And the more he thought about it, the wider his smile became.
Will we know when this change occurs? Has it already begun? Or is it only just the beginning...
The sound of sifting dirt could have been the song of angels descending upon him. He folded his arms in front of him and waited. No prison was too secure. Just as The Company had learned, Hiro would learn only too well. THUNK!!
Metal hit wood and the roof of Adam's wooden prison was pierced. A shovel was removed and, for the first time in days, he saw light through the crack in the casket. Moments later the top was flung open and a figure above him held out a hand. He took it and was pulled up and out of the casket. It was night, but the moonlight sustained a feeling of hope that he had not felt since days before. He looked into the face of his savior... and his face went pale.
"...Thomas?" he said, the slightest bit of fright and defiance in his voice.
CLUNK! Adam fell into the dirt wall behind him, knocked unconscious by the very shovel that helped him out. The figure stood before him a moment, staring at his helplessness. Then, with a heft of strength, he threw Adam over his shoulder and started to climb out of the grave.
TO BE CONTINUED...