When All is Null and Void

Chapter Thirteen

Caleb's eyes drooped as he attempted to mull over what he'd just read, and part of Caleb wondered if he'd even understood it at all. He rubbed at his blurring vision, and when his eyelids were shut it became easier to just let them stay closed for a second longer, and then a second more until he wasn't "resting" his eyes anymore.

He didn't wake up until the next morning when Alexander popped his head into the room and said, "Wakey, wakey, time to exercise," in a horrible, sing-songy tone. Caleb's glasses were folded up on the bedside, and the light was off. He'd done neither of those things the night before.

"Exercise?" Caleb was still disoriented with sleep. He'd been dreaming of a teddy bear with fangs and claws chasing him through the James Estate. Caleb shivered, scratched his belly.

"Yeah, come on!" Alexander was dressed in a pair of exercise shorts and shirt, his shoes a mixture of bright greens and blues. "I'll be downstairs. Meet me in four minutes." He walked out of the room, and Caleb could hear Alexander's footsteps in the kitchen. A clock on the nightstand said it was 7 a.m. Caleb yawned and rolled out of bed. Walking across the hallway to the bathroom, he flipped on the light and tried to pat down his hair. The curls were tightly coiled from his shower the previous night, and tangles upon tangles that could only be removed by tenuous brushing.

"Two minutes!" Caleb jogged down the stairs, his hair an un-resolved issue.

"Whoa!" Alexander guffawed. "Put a hat on." His mentor walked to the closet near the front door and pulled out a blue baseball cap with a small, cartoonish whale on the front. He tossed it to Caleb who caught it and stuffed it on his head.

"Good?" Caleb asked.

"Where'd the monster go?" Alexander looked around like he didn't see Caleb.

He yawned. "Don't make me throw something at you."

Alexander opened the front door and said, "The first thing we're going to do is run." When Caleb groaned, his mentor clapped him on the shoulder. "What are you supposed to do if a giant legion of Hun warriors come chasing after you? Fall down and get stabbed?" They took off at a jog.

"Probably just Hop out of the situation," Caleb pointed out. Though the sky held a sparse smattering of clouds, the air was crisp and dry, cold as the blue above. He didn't enjoy it for very long. Because Alexander was taller, and faster, and far more fit than Caleb, he struggled to keep up, huffing and puffing until his tonsils itched and he tasted copper. He may have been thin, but that didn't mean Caleb was able to do this.

They slowed after a million years, and Alexander said, "Good, now run back to the house." They took off again, and Caleb was almost positive he was going to vomit by the time they got back. Dark spots danced across his field of blurring field of vision, and no matter how much air he took in, Caleb craved more. He wanted to walk, to lay down, to do something—anything—other than this torture.

Finally it was over.

Until Alexander said, "Timewalkers can't afford to be unhealthy. So every morning we'll be exercising. This was only a mile run. Soon we'll do three, four, even five." Caleb nearly asked for a shovel to dig a grave to save Alexander the trouble.

"Only a mile? Are you sure?" He took a heavy gulp of air and held it for a second, sure his face was redder than a tomato.

"Yep," Alexander replied. "It's not over either."

"What?" Caleb nearly shouted. He flopped over at the waist, elbows to his knees.

"Twenty-five push-ups."

Turns out there were worse things than running: trying to do push-ups while your heart beat out of your chest and sweat streamed down your face, clammy hands slip-sliding on the hardwood floor. Caleb eked out ten before collapsing to the ground. Muscles in his lower back screamed, and arms like par-cooked noodles, Caleb tried to do another.

"Keep going," Alexander's voice brought a stream of expletives to the forefront of Caleb's mind.

Finally,

Finally,

Caleb was done. Alexander nodded, stood up from the ground and offered Caleb a hand.

"I'm just going to lay here a sec," Caleb groaned. "I just need a moment."

"I'll make breakfast."

Caleb shot up from the cement and followed his mentor into the house. "What are we having?" He ripped off the hat and tossed it onto the counter, but, seeing the sweat stains, picked it up again. Salty drops slid down Caleb's forehead and into his eyes.

Alexander fried bacon in a little oven above the stove top. "A microwave," his mentor called it when Caleb asked. "Technology isn't thatdifferent between our times, is it?"

Caleb shrugged.

While eggs fried and bacon sizzled, Caleb read more in the codex on the history of the rings. The section culminated in a statement about Rhea James.

"What does it mean, that Rhea James is Queen of Time?" Caleb asked. He pointed the book toward his mentor, his thumb resting on the period. "I thought that was just a nickname."

Alexander didn't say anything for a while, though he glanced at the book. He plated the bacon and eggs before setting them in front of him but stayed quiet until he'd taken a few bites. Caleb's knees bounced as he waited.

At last, Alexander cleared his throat. "Thatis a very good question." He took another bite, chewed slowly. "In our world, she's our leader. In her mind, and many others, too. The government isn't a part of what we do. They don't know, although I'm not sure how or why."

Caleb let the book fall closed in front of him.

"When Gregorio Fontana created the rings, the Museum started. There were five founders but the James' were given authority. They were told the secrets, and she has all the authority to recruit or discharge ring bearers at will."

"So what makes her so special?' Caleb asked.

"Her family above the others? Or her?" Alexander asked. "She's the only known Timewalker who can Hop without a ring."

Caleb swallowed another bit of bacon, coughed as it threatened to lodge in his throat. "How's that work?"

"Two Timewalkers have a child together. There's so much we don't know about the rings, and yet we use them every day. She doesn't purposefully elevate herself above others, but because of laws she made—no Timewalkers can have a child together—it elevates her above the rest."

"Hmm..." Caleb said, clearing his plate. "Is that why you don't like her?"

Alexander flicked his eyes to look at Caleb over the cup of water he was drinking from. "No," he said. "What gave you the idea that I don't like her?"

"You just seemed different when she was around." Caleb took a sip of his own water cup, and attempted an aloof expression. "Did you two have some sort of relationship?"

Alexander choked. It took him a moment before he gained his composure, the redness of his cheeks fading back to normal. "Nothing like that," he said gruffly. Caleb got the impression Alexander found this idea somewhat repulsing.

Caleb let the book drop to the table. "Oh," he replied, unsure if he was allowed to ask further questions.

"Would you like more?" Alexander offered to take his plate, but Caleb had had his fill.

"No, thanks," he replied with a smile.

Alexander took his and Caleb's plate to the sink. He rinsed them and set them inside the dishwasher. "Are you ready to start training?" Alexander asked, turning around to face Caleb.