"Who are you?" Josie cried out.
The arm released her. "It doesn't matter who I am Josie. The only thing that matters is you. You and your choices in the future."
Josie stood up to confront the man before her. He was tall, slightly balding, and she had the vague sense that she knew him from somewhere but couldn't place him.
"What are you talking about? Where's Vaughn?"
"Vaughn was never supposed to be here… I didn't factor him… I forgot about his genetic makeup, how he's connected to you. He's not strong enough to handle the truth yet, which is why he was pulled back."
"Pulled back? Pulled back to where?"
"My, but you do ask a lot of questions, don't you?"
"Look, can you just tell me what's going on?" Josie asked impatiently.
"Follow me."
The man began to walk away, with long strides. Josie had to run to catch up. She recognized almost instantly where they were going. Back to the room that she and Vaughn had hid in, the room with Josie and Vaughn and Victor.
Josie caught the mystery man's arm. "I can't go in there… What if they see me?"
He caught her arm, and pulled her into the room, but none of the occupants noticed them. They continued to talk amongst themselves, something about limitless power, and Josie Qi Gong ball.
"They can't see you Josie, you're all right." He nodded in the direction of her future self, and the two men. "Now, down to business…"
And suddenly Josie could see Pearadyne industries before her. She could see into every room, see every occupant, see how vast Pearadyne actually was. But Josie knew she hadn't moved a step.
"What is all this?" she asked curiously.
The mysterious man tapped her on the side of the head. "You know what all this is."
"It's Pearadyne, isn't it? It's Pearadyne in the future."
"That's right. And all of it could be yours. If you make the right choice."
Josie turned away from the spectacular sight of Pearadyne laid out before her, and suddenly she was back in the room with Victor, herself and Vaughn. "What do you mean, right choice?"
"That's you standing there… The you you should be. The you you can be. But only if you make the choice. She did. And now she owns all of Pearadyne, along with Vaughn."
"Is choosing between Lucas and Vaughn the choice I have to make? Because if it is, I can tell you right now that I'm not going to choose!"
"No," he replied impatiently. "That's not the choice. It's only a tiny part. You could end up owning Pearadyne whether you're with Vaughn or Lucas. The choice is all about you. At some point in your life, you will come to a crossroads, and when you do, you'll know that you have to make a choice… And now you know what one of the endings of that choice could be. The other could be this."
He swept his arms out wide, and turned around. When he turned back to Josie, she looked around, and all she could see was smoke, dust and rubble.
"So, to recap… You could have it all, or you could have nothing Josie. It's your choice. Just promise that when the time comes, you'll make the right one."
Josie shook her head. "Okay, I get all that, but where do you fit in, and you still haven't told me where Vaughn is! Or why he wasn't 'factored' into your plan. What was your plan?"
"Vaughn is safe Josie, he's back at school, with your professor and the rest of your friends. My plan was to get you here alone. To do that I needed you to be sick, really sick. As in dying, so you'd be open to the experience. I transmitted a disease from the future into a bug, which then stung you. Which is why none of your friends have been able to heal you. As for me, let's just say I'm a concerned friend and leave it at that."
"Let's not. You're just as cryptic as the Janitor, and I'm getting seriously annoyed. No one wants to answer all my questions. You make me sick, you take me away from friends… How can you be a 'concerned friend', as you so eloquently put it?"
"You'll find out in time Josie." He laid his hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Just promise me that when the time comes, you'll make the right decision. Promise me Josie."
Feeling creeped out, she replied, "I promise." Then she shrugged his hands off her shoulders. A sudden pain attacked her stomach. She doubled over and gasped in shock. "What's going on?" she cried out.
"It's time for you to go back."
"But I want the answers," she cried, slumping against the wall, in pain. She was being blinded by her headache.
"It's not time."
"Make it time… I want more time to have my answers! I need more time!"
"You do need more time…"
She disappeared.