Chapter 19: Somebody Up There

Casey didn't want to stray far from Headquarters waiting for time to pass. It was already late evening. He lingered in the nearest town, checking out the local attractions and later scouring over maps in a greasy spoon. He needed to find the fastest route from Lane's hideout to the Buy More. Casey was a bundle of nerves and Rhea warned him it'd be best not to eat beforehand. He chugged down the last of his coffee, restless with fear. Major John Casey never showed fear.

He checked his cell phone; there were a slew of angry voice mails from General Beckman and he left them unanswered. As he deleted his voice mail history, he came across one from Thursday night that turned his blood cold.

"Oh my God…that's a call from Chuck! It wasn't there before!" He replayed it.

"Casey! It's Chuck, pick up! I'm seeing red lights all over my room and I think someone's trying to kill me. Okay, I'm gonna page you now… bye!"

Casey held his head and rubbed his temples. Chuck must've left the message when they had the power surge at the Headquarters and lost the monitor feed for a minute. Casey remembered his phone vibrated on the second call that night. He didn't bother to check the first message; he just went to Chuck's window.

"Amazing…damn amazing!" He muttered in awe.

He glanced at his watch again; it was still only half past eight. He debated on renting out a motel room and taking another nap. He didn't want to wake up and have it be two in the morning. His intuition for danger gnawed at his bones. He kicked himself for leaving Rhea alone at the complex, but she insisted she had a lot of work and packing to finish up. He jumped in a car service and headed back to the base.

~Oo~

Whatever orders Costa gave had sent everyone running for the hills and the Headquarters sat in darkness. It was too early for Rhea to be at the 'No Entry' door, but his impulse told him to go to the Tracking room. The room illuminated with the soft glow from the monitor, and an image of planet earth shining like a jewel. His gigantic shadow loomed across the floor.

"I wondered if you'd show up early, John. Telling you midnight was a stretch. I already had Simon set up the computer systems for your transfer. It's good to go. He fought me tooth and nail, but he did it. Believe it or not, they're all gonna miss you."

Rhea faced him, and smiled through her tears. Locking the door behind him, Casey strode into the room. He pulled her in a hug and she choked with grief.

"I'm…I'm so…so scared, John. We're toying with something beyond our comprehension! If this fails…"

"Rhea, it won't fail! Please trust me."

"I do trust you, it's this machine! It's space, ions, and physics! Anything can go wrong!" She wailed. "Think about it! Four days ago, you're sitting at home about to start your vacation, you get an urgent call from the hospital telling you to come to the morgue and you see yourself lying on the table. Do you know what the consequences of that are?"

Casey shook her to her senses. "We have to try! That didn't happen! I would remember it, wouldn't I? Like I remembered my conversation with Chuck! I have to stop Lane and Costa, even if it means my life."

Rhea held back from more displays of anguish. She ran to a box of office supplies and pulled out a black marker.

"Okay, Major. Strip."

Casey gave her a double take. "What? Now?"

Rhea sighed and grinned slyly. "Oh alright! Keep the boxers and undershirt. But shoes, socks, any jewelry, wallet…off."

~Oo~

Ten minutes later, Rhea led him to the 'No Entry' room and generated the transporter.

"There's no flies in this thing, right? I'm not gonna mutate or anything?"

"John, that's science fiction." She chuckled.

Rhea opened the hatch and readjusted the boundary bars as wide as possible.

"You're not as small as a piece of paper. Okay, whenever you're ready, climb aboard."

Casey climbed on the step stool and pulled himself into an upright sitting position. He barely had room to move inside the oval structure. He drew his legs in tight against his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He struggled to curl his long feet in.

"Try to duck your head down too. Think of it like an airplane crash, your departure from this might be a little bumpy."

"Gotchya. I feel like a contortionist."

Before he lowered his head, Rhea stroked his legs. "Hey, you know, you're quite a man. A real man, John."

"Well that I'm completely confident of. What gave me away, my devastatingly attractive smile and hairy chest?" He cracked a large grin.

Rhea play slapped his arm. "Yeah, that too. Oh…and I won't forget these long, muscle-bound legs."

"Ha!"

"John…do you believe in God?" She asked quietly, putting her hand over the handle of the door hatch.

Casey gazed at her serious. "Rhea, I got this far, I know somebody up there likes me. If anything, I believe life is what you make of it, we're not designated by fate."

"How do you figure?"

"If we were, I wouldn't be able to change a damn thing. And I did it with just a penlight. Think about it, we can always change our present life course for better or worse, right? Either way, I won't let destiny make me a puppet."

"That's for sure, John. Well…this is it. It's been interesting, to say the very least."

Casey attempted to shift his body into a more relaxed position. "Yes, it has been. And that is the very least. It was much more than that. Goodbye, Rhea."

Rhea started to close the hatch.

"John…"

"Yes?"

"I just want you to know … I've fallen in lo…"

Casey gently raised his eyes one last time, but his expression contorted into a shocked rage.

"No Costa, don't!"

"Get away from my system!" Costa bellowed.

His gun went off and Rhea tottered forward. Blood seeped down her back and a searing pain engulfed her. She purposefully slammed her body against the hatch and the chamber locked. Casey banged fiercely on the small window.

"No! Rhea! Let me out! Rhea! No! I'm sorry!" He screamed and jostled the hatch.

She thrust her hand against the window. "John! Save them! Save them!"

Another shot fired just as she activated the release button and Rhea slumped to the floor. Casey spilled hot tears. There was no turning back or getting revenge in the present. He curved his body again as the time machine whirled to life. Costa rushed forward and shot at the hatch, but the bullets deflected. The illumination from inside the time machine almost blinded him as it poured through the air vents. Once again, the entire State of California blacked out. Casey nearly fainted and his body trembled uncontrollably. It felt as though his head would explode.

He steeled himself as the light exploded and his body disappeared.