I couldn't react quickly enough; he grabbed me by my neck and choked me. I struggled, I kicked him, but he didn't budge, no matter how many times I kicked him. "Let go of me!" I yelled. It felt as if he was becoming bigger and bigger. His skin turned from human to serpent-like, and he threw me aside before I knew it. He threw me at a pillar, and I felt my ribs crack. I coughed, and I saw blood. Chunks of my lungs were out, and everything hurt. My rifle was broken; I only had my pistol left. Slowly, I stood up, and I aimed the gun at him. I was about to pull the trigger when suddenly the girl with the knitting needles came. She pointed above, I looked up. I saw it, a large stone snake, a petrified boa frozen in stone on the sky-like ceiling. "Should I shoot it?" I asked. I could feel myself slowly dying. The girl nodded. I aimed up and emptied my magazine on it. The stone cracked and came falling from a large snake, larger than a school bus in diameter and even longer than a football field in length. The girl grabbed my hand and she smiled. "Now what?" I asked her with a smile. I'm probably going to die here. I dropped my empty pistol. I can see Connor heading towards me, the snake behind him.
"YOU FREAK! COME BACK HERE!"
"Go," she said as she pushed me off the stage. I couldn't react; it was too late, and I was falling too fast. I wanted to scream, but maybe I was just too hurt to do that. I can see Connor trying to reach for me from the top of the stage, but I suppose it was too late. The snake ate him, and a blue light flashed across the entire cavern. I closed my eyes and I felt myself hit the water. Cold and dark underground water. I felt like drowning. I could feel myself slowly dying in the cold, but I couldn't swim up. My eyes won't open. All that I could feel was pain and then nothing else. I need to fight it. Water was filling the insides of my lungs. I needed to open my eyes, and I did. I saw the stones glowing brightly as they approached me. One by one, they hit water and passed through. I'm not dead yet, I'm dying. At least the sight was somewhat beautiful. The moment they hit the water they sink and leave a glowing blue trail behind. Then there it appeared, one that was headed right at me. My body was broken beyond repair, I couldn't move at all. I closed my eyes and I felt it went through my body. it wasn't pain; it felt more like I was being lifted, then everything felt like nothing, I was no where anymore, I'm dead.
I heard the faint beeping. I'm familiar with that noise. The faint beeping of the machine that's letting others know that I'm still alive. "She doesn't have much time left," I heard a man say. I did fall off from a stone pillar that was almost 50 floors up, I won't put it up against him. I opened my eyes, and I saw the ceiling. It was sterile. I sat up. I felt short, shorter than I usually was. I looked to my side and saw Pop-pop, Luan and Lynn, but they were younger. Pop-pop is wearing his navy uniform, Luan and Lynn was wearing hospital gowns, and they look the same way they did back then. How did they become younger? Wait. I pulled the blanket off, and I saw my legs; they were short. I looked at the hands, and I saw the bandaged arm after the accident all those years ago. This must be a dream. I'm dead. I smiled. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't.
"I'm dead," I cried as I hugged myself.
"You're not," the girl's voice came from my right. I turned my head and I looked at her. She was smiling. "You died in the cavern, but you came back. You defied your fate, only this time, you're back here."
"What?" I asked, was all that blood for nothing? I still have all of the memories; I still have all of that blood in my head. All of that pain. It was all for nothing?
"No, you stopped it from ever happening in this life, no one is under the command of them anymore," she reassured me, as if she could read my mind.
I felt tears flow down my cheeks. "So, you're sending me back in time for what?" I asked with a slight chuckle.
"You helped us stop them; it's only fair that we give you all the time denied to us," she said.
"Thanks," I said. "I never really got your name."
"You'll know it when you see me again," she said. I could see her slowly turning into dust. That never happened before. "So long, old friend,"
"See you when I see you."
As the dust parted ways, I could see her face without the knitting needles in the eye sockets; her hair was blonde, and her eyes were dark brown. Then she disappeared.
I got off the bed and walked over to Pop-pop, Luan, and Lynn. I sat down on the floor, and I rested my head on Pop-pop's knees. It's good to be back.
20 years later...
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're not supposed to eat the cables!" I scolded the young boy chewing on my earphone cables. "Luan, can you train him not to eat my earphones?" I asked Luan, but she's asleep; she's married, still living in the two story home we moved into years ago. Benny, Luan's husband, came by and grabbed the child by his diapers. "Thank you, Benny," I grabbed the earphones and I wiped it on my jeans.
"No problem, Luna," Benny said as he brought the boy downstairs.
I put my belt on, and I holstered my pistol. My badge hanging from my neck, I wore my jacket over my light gray work shirt. I need to get to work. I got downstairs and I saw the chaos we're living in. I looked at the other two kids running around and I saw the oldest trying to shove baby carrots in the middle child's nose. The middle child just laughed. Benny slapped his own face. Luan was out of commission; she was on the couch, and she was snoring loudly.
"How durable are they?" I asked as I stared at the baby carrot shoving ritual. "I'm going to work. If any of them dies, there's a shovel in the back and alcohol in the shed," I said.
"Duly noted," Benny replied. He looked lifeless.
I stepped out of the house and got in my car, an older 1999 Honda Accord, but it got the work done. Just as I started the car, I saw Lynn running out of the house, wearing her tracksuit. "Wait up!" she shouted as she opened the passenger side door. "Drop me off at the school, would ya? I'm late for work," she closed the door.
"Didn't get much sleep?" I asked. I looked at her eyes from the rear view mirror, and I saw the eye bags. "Sheesh, those are deep," I said.
"Luan's kids are louder at night, and I'm way too fucking tired to deal with it anymore. Probably why Pop-pop sleeps with gun range ear muffs," Lynn replied. "Your eyes are swollen too, sheesh, I thought you had your earphones,"
"They are louder," I said. The car is now out of the driveway. "I'm gonna go get breakfast. wanna come with?"
"Nah, I have a class in 20 minutes," she replied. "By the way, there's a teachers' dodgeball game tonight. We need one more player to make it even; can you come?" she asked. "With your arms, my team might even win."
"Aren't you like the most athletic teacher in the entire school?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's why they put the most unathletic teachers on my team. no one can run in that team," her face dreaded. I laughed.
"Sure, I'll come," I replied with a smile.
I sat down at my desk and took my jacket off. I sat it down on the backrest of my chair. I was about to sit down when I felt a punch to my arm, It was Greg. "Detective Loud, had breakfast yet, asshole?"
"About to," I said as I took out a roll of kebab from the paper bag on my table. "Extra spicy, beef kebab from that Amin's."
"Holy fuck, that sounds better than my sandwich, he said as he pulled a chair and sat down on the side of my desk. He took out his sandwich and a medium-sized thermos. He grabbed the mug I sat beside my PC monitor and poured me some coffee.
"Thanks!" I said as I grabbed the mug.
"What the hell? You're having breakfast together?" I heard from behind me, it was Jane. "Without me? You assholes!" she said as she pulled another chair and sat the opposite side. "Just because you managed to escape me being your FTO doesn't mean you can forget about me," she said as she took a bite from Greg's sandwich.
"What the fuck was that for?" Greg looked disappointed. I chuckled. I took out another kebab from the bag and I gave it to him. "Luna, you're a fucking goddess, a kebab goddess," he said dramatically.
"Just eat the fucking thing Greg," I laughed as I ate mine. Fucking hell. Maybe things do go right once in a while. Just as I was sipping the coffee, someone came and dropped a mountain of files on my desk. "What the hell is this?"
"Captain Jenson told me to transfer all cold cases to you," the officer said before pushing his cart elsewhere. "Goodluck!" He said.
Greg and Jane looked at me, and they laughed. "Fuckin' hell,"