T-minus one week until the world breaks.
The hospital was operational and mostly normal, with a tired woman looking over her glasses at me from the desk. I nodded to her and went into the elevator, holding my watch to the panel. Nothing happened. I looked at the buttons, finding no basement.
"Hey, uh," I said, approaching the lady, "is there a basement here?"
"A basement?" she asked, eyeing me up and down. "No, this is a research hospital. We're right above the foundation. You might be thinking of the hospital on fifth street, I think that one has a sublevel?"
"Sorry, I must've gotten my buildings confused. Thanks anyway," I said, wandering around to find the stairwell. The first three I found only went up. I walked easily, with no excuse ready if someone asked to see my credentials. One of the stairwells had a scratched off sticker still clinging to it. I looked around before pulling a lockpick from my pocket. Couldn't train me out of everything, Nash. I slipped in and shut the door behind me, finding stairs that only went down.
The power was shot, the stairs spitting me out near the weird fake apartment lot that was, so far, still missing its building. I didn't realize how fast the elevator was until then - we weren't one level down, we were about fifty. The only way to break the real lab was if it imploded; nothing could touch it from the surface. My flashlight ran over the cold, white tile. I walked around the abandoned lab slowly, my breath and boots the only sounds to be found. Boss' office didn't have a door yet. An empty closet of concrete walls, that's all it was. I picked up the broom against the wall and started sweeping, leaving the dirt in the hall. I didn't need everything spotless yet, just an empty patch on the floor.
I set my flashlight on the floor with my tree book. I wrote the coordinates on my arm and poofed away, having a vague idea of where those pieces always vanished to. I had the glass and the number roll in my pocket. I landed in the office and noted the time, picking the bullet off the desk. I shook my head at the door. It was always you, dumbass, that's why it felt weird. I stole the indenter we found in my dorm... in six days, the tin I'd found under the burning boat the first time, the watch crown I'd found in the pill case before the car accident (when did Nash actually break out of there?) - I froze, looking up at the door to the office. Nash didn't break out, not anymore. He didn't hunt me, didn't grow old, didn't wear a mask over the face I'd melted. He didn't leave himself on the side of the road or point a gun at my head in a hospital.
"Overlapping memories," I mumbled, grabbing the crown and porting back to the dark closet. I sat on the floor and laid out all the pieces, including Nash's cracked watch. I twisted open the bullet, pouring out its contents. A tiny screwdriver with the note reading microwaves. I set it aside, opening the water tin and pulling out the gear. I picked up the flashlight and looked over the pieces as they surrounded Nash's watch. I chewed the inside of my lip, completely lost. I knew what I had to do, but knowing how to do it was a completely different beast. I looked back to my watch, tapping the glass as I noticed the seconds hand ticking back and forth. My blood ran cold and I looked at Nash's watch, doing the same.
I took off my own watch, setting it next to Nash's. Mine had three dials, his had two. My glass was scratched - it was when I got it, his was shattered but otherwise fine. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. There was a note with my watch when I got it, what did it say? It was in my own handwriting, that I remember. I remember ignoring the obvious cause of it, too. I opened my eyes, looking between the watches again. Remember rule eleven. What were the first ten rules? Some shit Nash tried to teach me, but anything could be rule eleven, it wasn't fair to leave me with just that.
Whatever. You're smarter than you think, Freeze, just figure it out and deal with that later. I picked up Nash's watch and pried the broken glass off with my knife. I poked around the dial a bit, but it was responding like normal, other than the back and forth. I took a deep breath. It could always be a fluke, a weird magnetic pulse from the sun, maybe I was too close to a machine in the hospital, it could be anything.
"Doesn't mean time is stopped, not on a back and forth. Only stopped clocks are broken time," I whispered, picking up the screwdriver and opening Nash's watch. I sighed in frustration, moving to open my own. I didn't know anything about watches, what the hell was I doing? How was I supposed to make something I didn't understand? I opened my notebook, writing comparisons between the machines. They were nearly identical, with some obvious man-made indentations in mine, alone with a tiny chip. I cocked my head, removing the chip and trying to put it into Nash's watch. It sparked before it even touched. I tried again, feeling the walls stretch and shiver in displeasure before I even got close. I looked around the room. Okay, maybe not...? So nothing from my watch could go into Nash's. Cool. Super helpful.
I scratched the indents into Nash's watch to match mine, moving the gears around and adding the one from the tin (after blowing the sand off). I painstakingly carved a hole in the case for the new crown stem, sliding the dial onto it and screwing it down. The only thing I had left was the glass, but that central indent was still empty. It wanted the chip, but I didn't have another one of those. I sighed, leaning against the wall and picking up my frozen book. I hadn't read it since I came back a few years ago - maybe something in there could help me?
I started flipping through pages, barely skimming the second and millisecond labels at the top of each paragraph. I didn't want to remember it. I flipped to the end, wondering what I last wrote before I hid it away forever. A small chip fell onto my lap from the last page, the last entry reading only "I can still feel my blood". I picked up the chip, looking at it under my flashlight. Oh you cock, I thought, leaning forward to put it into Nash's watch. No sparking. I'm going to be such an ass to myself. I finished putting the glass on the watch, twisting the dials to make sure they moved smoothly, shaking my arm to make sure I'd screwed everything down right. I put together my old watch and shoved it in my pocket. I looked down at the new watch, all hands spinning around the face. I tapped the glass and they gradually came to a stop, the second hand ticking evenly around again.
"Now you work," I said, writing down the time. The third dial was automatically set to one. I twisted it back, landing it at zero. The seconds stopped ticking. I twisted it further, down to nine. Nothing happened. Can't move backwards in time, you'd die near instantly from body failure, I thought. Right, so I'm not so stupid to let myself suicide on the first play-test.
I walked out of the room, staring down the dark hallway for a moment before turning around. The pieces were cleaned up, a nice desk sitting in the middle of the floor. I smirked, pulling out my notebook to write down the time.
"Thank you, me," I said, tucking the notebook back into my pocket. "I'll return the favor when I have the chance. And the desk." Return the favor. Ah, crap, Juniper! I never paid her! Wait, but she said I paid her the next day... I twisted my watch, landing in her empty workroom. Nothing was on the counter. I told her I'd repay her with something amazing, or irreplaceable... I looked at my watch. I knew what I could do now, but what did I have to? I thought back to the first round of everything, before I had the pieces, before I'd gone back at all.
"Oh, for fuck- ugh, fine," I sighed, twisting my dials again.
I landed in the dirt, immediately twisting my third dial and holding my breath. I looked around, and slowly stepped forward. No one was pointing at me, not a single bullet was rushing towards me. Cooper was in front of me in a French uniform. Nash and I were nearly to the trench. We were out in plain view, it was a miracle we didn't get hit in the crossfire. Then again, I supposed I was the crossfire. I walked around Cooper, taking in his details. It was the one thing I dared not do to people when time was working - too much explaining, too much eye contact. Looking at him like this, I really could see the resemblance in Juniper. They both had sharp eyes, smarter than they let on. I looked around him, finding the coiled end of a barbed wire line. I picked it up gently, avoiding the barbs as I traced it to its sprouting point in the dirt. I gave it a small tug, not wanting to slice my hands, and found it solidly buried. I looked back at Cooper, crouching down to wrap it around his ankle. He'd get out of it after a second, and I didn't fully understand why I needed to trip him, other than a need to fulfill my paradoxes.
I walked back to the fallen wall and twisted my dial again, watching him trip and run towards the mud pit again. He was nearly there when a bullet split his head, throwing him to the ground. I froze time and stared, unbelieving. That wasn't possible, I stopped him from dying. I'd even killed Nash after he was saved, they were all supposed to be alive. I ran up to him, throwing myself to my knees. His eyes were as open as they could be with his chunks painting the ground. I fought my stomach and checked his neck - no tags. I took the watch from his wrist, checking my own. There was a nearly invisible one scratched onto the glass that hadn't been there before. I squinted at it, porting back to the payment day in Juniper's workshop. I left the watch on the counter with Cooper's dog tags, fished from her basket in the back.
Juniper's been paid, I thought, looking back at my watch. The one was still there. I growled and went back to the field. His leg was wrapped up. He tripped, freed himself, ran forward, got shot. Nobody went after him. I looked down to see another scratch, now reading two tallies. I went back to Juniper's, landing on the field one more time. Three tallies. I paused time and looked around me. I was landing in the exact same time and place every time, but there were no conflicts. I let time run again, watching closely. A gunshot into the air, and Cooper landing in the mud pit with us. I looked back at my watch. What else had happened?
I landed back in the unfinished office, now sporting new bookshelves. It had only been two seconds, but when you can freeze time, I guess that means infinity. Which means I'll have to do it later anyway, I remembered. I flipped open my notebook, still cursing myself for not writing down everything from the start. I landed on the page of microwave codes. Oh, piss it, the codes! Nash didn't do anything until we hit the safety net, and even then, now he didn't... do anything. I squinted at the book in confusion. Cooper died, and died, and then lived.
"How the..." I looked at my watch. No scratches on the glass. "No way," I whispered. "I'm jumping between the timelines. Goddamn, Nash, you weren't kidding with loop risks." I twisted my dials and ran back to the dorm, sliding to a stop in the basement kitchen and pausing time. I could see my boots through the window. I opened my notebook to the list. I'd never been very consistent with technology during my own freeze, but it typically worked for a fraction of a second before remembering time wasn't moving. What a weird fucking power I have.
Cook time, 86:25, don't hit start. I nodded, impressed that it seemed to be working. I moved the speed dial for a second, seeing the screen unchanging. That works, I said, taking off through the building. 42:38, 85:09, 19:22. 5:13, 91:25, 42:38 again. 19:54, 35:56, 19:22 again. 42:38 again (man I really wanted me to figure out it was Nash), 91:25 again, 9:35. I ported into our dorm room, El frozen at his desk. I crouched down to my microwave behind the door, setting the cook time for a single second. I let time run, watching El with his headphones on. He wouldn't hear it go off. It sounded and I kicked the side of the microwave lightly, silencing the half-dead speaker. I looked down at my watch. No scratches. I'd only come here once, so sure, why not.
I landed in the cabin, peeking into the frozen rooms. Nash was still dead on the bed, I was melted onto my mattress. I walked back into the kitchen. The microwave was already flashing stop time.
"Well, I guess that one really was just an accident," I mumbled, moving on. I flipped through my notebook again, trying to remember any oddities from the island and the ship. There were some close calls, and I'd already led Nash away from danger on my other runs, but I couldn't think of anything that I would've done with dead time. I landed on the ship, writing down the time. A single tally sat in my glass. First round, what happened on round one? Juniper died, I went in the water with Nash. There was already an arrow downstairs, and it was there when I killed her. So if it was there on round two... I ran downstairs, porting into the cafe again. I pulled out my knife and looked for the tin, finding it already sitting in the sand. Not thinking about that one yet. Still don't know how my old watch is doing or if it would break everything to rip it apart. I scratched the arrow into the window, porting back to the deck. I checked my watch again. Still round one.
I jumped to the office and back, my glass now sporting two marks. Round two, I killed Juniper. I shot at her, missed, set the boilers to pop, then locked her in a burning room. Her watch failed. I took a breath. Step one, I shot at her. Then, I set the boilers, losing my gun in the process. I took my reliable gun from the lockbox room.
I moved along the deck to the lockbox room, pausing in the doorway to look at the sky. Frozen clouds and unmoving birds. I shook my head, reminding myself who was in control. I closed the door and looked at my watch. Port forward ten seconds, still frozen. Port forward another ten, still frozen. Another ten and there I was, frozen in my panic as I faced the door. I turned to the drawer, picking the lock and opening it, porting outside as I let time run. I heard my boots grow distant. Then I trapped Juniper and watched her burn because her watch broke.
I set my speed to zero again, porting into the flaming room. It was getting easier and easier to feel out my coordinates. She was looking at her watch panickedly, twisting the dials. I stepped forward, carefully watching the fire. I ran my hand through it, feeling no heat. It was almost silky in a way, but still ghost-like. It had been a while since I played with frozen fire. I gently took the watch from her wrist, flipping it over in my hands. It was Cooper's, that I knew, and it was a loop-rider in itself. Back in the office, I opened it with the screwdriver, taking out one of the connecting gears. The dials would still twist, but they didn't touch anything anymore - she wouldn't move. I put her watch back on her and ported to the hall to listen for her final scream. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw as it sounded, the crash of crushing rubble drowning it out. I paused time and leaned my head against the wall. It didn't matter now, I got her out on round three. That was all I had to remember, that it took a few tries to get right. I went back in to find her under a heap, swimming in a puddle of red. I crouched down next to the pile. I hadn't noticed her bracelet, her ring. I took the watch from her wrist and popped it open again, adding the gear and closing it again. I almost put it back on her when I hesitated.
If I could visit these other timelines as easily as other times... did they need to keep the watches? I only had one functional watch right now, able to do everything. But the rest of the team, all five of them, had two-dial watches. Juniper's was Cooper's, so that brought it down to four watches. Doc had his, Nash's turned into my super watch, so he couldn't have his own, and my old watch was still twitching in temporal confusion. Jaysk had to turn his watch in, and nobody ever saw it again.
"Oh you dumbass," I whispered. "It's not just you that can cross timelines, you gave them their own watches. That's why your third dial didn't work, you probably broke it on purpose." I rubbed my face. "Jaysk's watch becomes Nash's, issued at the same time, Nash's becomes yours, Cooper and Juniper share, Doc has his own." I took out my notebook, making a note to eventually make 3 two-dial watches.
"Wait, then what does mine do?" I asked the notebook. I glanced up, remembering that I was still crouched in front of my dead friend's, dead daughter's body. I glanced at her watch, shoving it into my pocket and porting away. Here comes your x-ray machine, Doc.
I went back to the office, now sporting a stack of blank notebooks on the desk.
"Oh, I still have to write them myself, huh? Fair enough." I laid Juniper's watch on the desk, next to my own, busted one. I picked mine up and put it in a box with a note, leaving it on Cooper's lab bed the day he left home. He wouldn't know anything was special about what he was about to destroy, not until the machine was already made.
I landed on May ninth, my stomach cold with what I was about to do. 10:28 I walked into my dorm room, El still in class. I watched myself, looked around the room, tried to remember if anything else was wrong when I woke up. At 10:30 I put the watch on my wrist, twisting it to stop. I took it off and tightened it around my own wrist, setting time to run again, just barely. I tucked myself into a nook in the hallway, where he blurred past so fast I nearly missed him.
"Welcome back, Freezerburn," I said quietly, landing back in the office. I sighed and rubbed my face, taking out a pad of stickies and beginning to write the notes I'd need. After all, none of it had happened yet. Cooper was still at home with his kid. Doc was getting his training to be, well, Doc. Juniper was still young, far too young to understand anything that had or would happen. Jaysk was still unknown, but I'd find him eventually. Nash was still unknown, and he didn't have an infinity code.
3549. He was sitting patiently at his desk, a steaming mug of coffee by his monitor.
"Ah, Freezerburn. How are you?"
"Tired," I said quietly, pulling up a stool.
"Did you get everything sorted?" I looked at my watch. No marks.
"Yeah, I... I guess I did. It's weird, typically I have a tally running on the glass telling me which timeline I'm in. I mean, I'm here, so I guess it all worked, but..."
"My infinity code is a bit different than the others, Freeze. Can you figure out why?"
"Well it's not like you're my kid or anything, I saw you in college, you're older than me."
"Those things aren't perfectly exclusive anymore, but correct, I am not related to you."
"You sleep in a different time so you never miss anything..."
"What else? How am I different than everyone else that made it to the end?"
"Well you remember, that's one thing," I said, looking around the room. I slowly turned back to him, finding a supportive smile. "You never died. I never saw you die, I ran away and then I saw you port... I never killed you."
"Even doctors cannot overcome death, Freeze, but some of us are luckier than others when it comes to unobservant patients."
I smiled, my mind blank on what else to say.
"He doesn't have a future, does he?"
"No," I said quietly, looking down at my hands. "Not in... well, this timeline I guess... But it should still say three."
"Unless..."
"Unless it's a convergent point?"
"You're growing smarter by the hour, Freeze."
"But the lab is gone."
"Yes, but it isn't gone yet."
"You looped back on yourself? And you're alive?"
"It's a funny thing, seeing yourself. Turns out if you don't care and you don't ask questions and nobody sees you, it doesn't matter if there's two of you."
"You're so chill with mind-bending concepts you just... what, tap out and swap bodies with younger you?"
"For this one instance, yes. I figured I may as well hang around my code to see if you come back. When did you last sleep?"
"A long time ago," I admitted.
"Perhaps you'd like to visit where I spend my sleeping hours. It's quite peaceful."
"I can't Doc, not yet."
"Well, you have to get the company started, I get that, but it would be a lot easier with a good night's sleep."
"It's not that," I laughed. "I mean, yeah, I have to do that... but I have to find Nash first. I mean, I have to get everyone... set, hired, whatever have you, those I can find easily because everyone has those codes. Well not Jaysk, he might be a hard man to find."
"As I recall from a slightly older you, yes. Yes he was."
"But Nash doesn't have a code. I can't track his infinity code or trace it through his personal timeline because it doesn't exist."
"Well, what are the codes?" Doc asked, folding his hands over his stomach and leaning back. I liked seeing him like that.
"Four numerical digits, a... quantifiable, understandable way to track people using the biotracker in my watch."
"Oh, so you've figured that out."
"Well no, I just kinda... found it. But I'll learn it eventually, I mean, I have to, if I want to give Cooper instructions on how to build that goddamn supercomputer." I rubbed my face. "But Nash doesn't have a code."
"What are the existing codes?" His voice was level like a therapist.
"Your code is 3549. Meds. Makes sense, considering you're essentially the stationary hospital."
"And "Doc" is only three digits, yes."
"Cooper is 6250. P. Lot, short for pilot I'm guessing."
"Well you made them," Doc muttered, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Juniper is 0149. Juni."
"And not June. Interesting."
"Why's that interesting?"
"Not many would survive calling her that, that's all."
"Well I saved her dad and gave her his watch when he died in another timeline, I'm sure she'd be fine with it," I grumbled.
"And you have no code for Nash?" Doc asked.
"No. If it followed the same numeration it would be 4198, but that doesn't actually put me anywhere. It comes up blank, it zeros out, it doesn't exist. I mean... I guess it wouldn't... if he's dead..."
Doc sighed dramatically.
"You're all so... stupid!" he said, putting his mug down.
"What?"
"Stupid!" he said, throwing his hands up. "You're stupid! Every single one of you. Cooper's stupid and he can build fantastical machines out of material that doesn't exist, Nash is stupid while being smart enough to track you across the time-space fabric over multiple timelines without being destroyed until you literally erased the possibility of his future, and you're the dumbest of them all! If you took the time to read the rule book that you wrote, maybe you'd understand some things about what exactly you're doing. What happened after the lab collapsed?"
"Huh?"
"Nash broke at some point, the lab collapsed, I'm guessing they were connected in some way. His original break, timeline one, that was from what?"
"Everyone died, and then he wanted to kill the murderer as revenge, wreak havoc on his past to turn his existence into torture, and I ran away from him."
"Where were you?"
"We were..." I squinted at him.
"Yes, yes, come on! You may not have told me everything, Freeze, but that boy wouldn't dare break in the lab, and he's stupid enough to not think of going back in time before the collapse to have his mental breakdown to me. I know you. And I know Nash. And I know Nash is dumb enough to forget he's a time traveler, should his heart break hard enough. Where did he snap?"
"An old rusted room..." I said, shaking my head. "He... he called it a safety net, it was the final proof he needed that the lab was gone."
"And?" Doc urged. I shrugged, shaking my head. He sighed, dropping his head. "Freeze. You used my infinity code when the lab was down."
"But the codes are biotracker codes."
"No, they're place codes. You could port to Juniper's room right now using that code while she's off in World War One, or on the island, or helping Cooper in his hangar. It's a place. That place is tied to the biochemical reactant sample taken from us, therefore giving you the ability to use the code as a shortcut to track our lifelines. The lab was gone, the code put you in the safety net."
"So even if Nash was dead, the code would still put me in the safety net instead of doing nothing."
"Yes!" he yelled, his hands flying to his face. "Gods, you're practically idiotic sometimes, Freeze! All the power you have, all the understanding you gained of the universe from your misadventures in murder, all the change your individual thought processes have gone through to understand simultaneity across variable timelines and you still thought the code was broken."
"Well I still don't have a code then, do I?" I asked defensively.
"You do," he said, his neutrally calm voice returning. "You just picked the wrong one."
"The code isn't 'Nash' I tried it."
"So what does Nash mean to you?" he asked, leaning forward. "My code isn't my name, it's Meds. Cooper's code isn't Coop, it's Pilot. Juniper's code isn't the name you're allowed to use, it's the sacred nickname she'd kill you over. What does Nash mean?"
My last sight of Nash flashed across my mind. Eyes closed but looking towards the one missing panel in the safety net, finding the one inch of a bright, living sky above him. I looked at my watch.
"Go on," Doc said quietly. "I'll be here. We can go to the forest later, I'll even pack us tea. The children will love it," he chuckled, "instead of one man ruling the Sleeping Forest, it can be two."
"Thanks Doc," I whispered, tapping the glass on my watch.
8565. He was in the lounge, the main office, the computer room before the computer, reclined with his feet up on a desk as Cooper was explaining the connection between pieces of information pinned to the cork board. He wasn't wearing shoes. He was still in pressed pants, his shirt cuffed at his elbows and open at the top, a tie hanging loosely around his neck. Brown suspenders ran over his shoulders and his hair was stiff with gel. Nobody saw me at the edge of the hallway. This is your infinity. Working just after a mission, not even taking a shower between runs.
I twisted my third dial and walked into the room. Cooper was wearing old army browns tucked into cargo pants with black boots from the Old Field, his camo top tossed over a chair. His aviators were folded into his collar. A dirty towel was tucked in his back pocket and his fingernails were dark from his machines. Jaysk was pouting in the corner, looking up with his head tilted down. He looked younger. He still had a watch on. With an oversized sweatshirt, he looked like the unwanted younger brother at a birthday party. Nash's shoes were tucked neatly under the desk. His eyes were distant in contemplation.
I sighed, twisting my dials.
When I landed in a hospital wing, I knew I'd gone too far. I moved forward a touch, instead landing outside another nice house in suburbia. No wonder you all follow the rules, I thought. It wasn't terribly distant from Cooper's childhood house, except this one didn't border the woods. It was a nice two-story, a tire swing on the tree in the front yard, a small, fenced in backyard with a wooden playset. I ran my hand along the wood. So you came from money. Not exactly surprising, Shoes.
It was easy to move when time was still. The glass door leading into the house from the back was quiet, dropping me into the kitchen. It was small, but workable. Tiny clay creatures sat on a baking pan on the stove, ready to be hardened. I picked one up gently. No infant's hand could have made it. The dining table was covered in stacks of books, the chairs holding a few different backpacks. The couch in the living room was big and well-worn. The stairs were carpeted and the top overlooked the entryway. A bedroom down the left hall was fit with bunk beds, a room beside it housing countless toys. Down the right hall was the master bedroom, and next to it, a nursery.
I leaned over the crib. He was absolutely tiny, tiny and pink. I fought back laughter. He was born blonde as a Swede, but I knew he'd be dark brown within the next few years. He wore mittens and socks, his blanket holding pastel elephants on it. I looked around the room and moved forward. Landing in an empty room, I decided to let time move.
I immediately covered my ears to the screams of children. I stopped time again and breathed in relief. It had me trained like a dog, those fifteen years of silence, and now everything hurt. I left the nursery to investigate the screams, finding three young children fighting over toys down the hall. Tiny humans, all with dark hair and angry faces. A girl had her hair in a braid. A toddler was crying in the corner. My heart ached to see him snot-nosed and wailing with a red face, but I couldn't do anything. I followed his eyes.
"Noise or anger?" I asked quietly. "What's got you so hot, Nash?" I moved forward again. A cake at the kitchen table, siblings impatiently crowding around as he spit over the candles. I cocked an uncomfortable smile. You could see it in the air, but they'd all eat it anyway. A woman bent over with a camera, a wide smile holding silent, happy commands. He wore a birthday hat and a colorful woven bracelet. I moved forward again. His nursery was a bedroom now, and he was taller. Stacks of books flooded over his desk, walling him in as he concentrated on homework. I picked up one of the books, a textbook on the fundamentals of math and science. I went into his siblings' room. Nothing of the sort. The master bedroom held only a handful of books, most of them religious.
I moved forward again. Now he was starting to look like Nash. Tall and gangly, dressing nice, whispers of an adult face around his baby cheeks. He had a comb on his dresser, with product and a tie holder. His siblings had a TV in their room, along with a beanbag and some game consoles. The playroom was another bedroom now, dark and covered in posters. I spotted a bong tucked behind the bed. Nice, I thought, rolling my eyes and shutting the door behind me. The fridge hadn't been updated in a few years, the yearbook photos old. The kitchen was cold, as was the dining room and living room. It made my chest tighten. I shook it off.
He was clean shaven, dressed nice and fighting in the living room with his siblings. His eyes were sharp and brutal, he pointed accusingly to a man with a vengeful face and crossed arms. He was clean shaven and prouder, standing tall against an angry man in the kitchen. I pressed myself against the wall and let time run. They were shouting back and forth, that younger woman with the camera suddenly gray and hateful. He grabbed a bag from the floor and marched out as thunder boomed overhead. I watched from around the tireless tree as he slammed his car door and drove off through the storm, tires screeching on the water.
I stopped time and got in his car. It was a grab bag with only the bare essentials, but tucked into a side pocket was a handful of folded up letters from universities.
"You got out," I said quietly, tucking them back into his bag. I scrolled forward again, finding him studying late in a dorm. I moved his mug away from the edge of the desk.
"No man, I don't know who it is. Well, I mean it can't be that bad. Yeah, no, I get that, but... no, listen, he gave me a business card- yes, I know it's sketchy. Yes, I know it's unorthodox- No, why- why would a murderer offer me a job? No, seriously, what's the thinking there? Yeah, okay, if he wanted that, he could just find me at the bar, I work there four days a week. Yes I'm calling him!" Nash groaned and slammed down the phone, running his hands through his hair. I smirked from the doorway. Same old Nash, stubborn and slightly stupid. He was still in the dorm, but older and neater. I took out my notebook and made a note.
He was in his car again, its engine rattling in age and anger as he drove down the cracked roads to his house. I watched from behind the tree as he got out of his car, staring in awe at the ruins of the house. He looked down at his wrist and my chest grew cold. That's why you know how to run. He ported and I ported with him. The house was dark and quiet as he crept through the first floor. Buried in the back of the coat closet was a box. I watched from around the corner, hoping I wouldn't be seen. It would be pretty hard to explain myself, but maybe not as hard as expected now that Nash knew how to jump.
He took the old silver camera from the box and opened it, the screen illuminating his hard-set face. I gasped and covered my mouth, watching him delete every old picture of himself from the camera. He replaced it in the box and took out the printed album, looking around before porting away. I followed him to the remains of the house, where he stood ripping out the pages of his life, throwing them into the rubble as tears streaked his face. He threw a match onto the pages and ported back, leaving the book in its place, the box tucked away again. I leaned my head against the tree as he returned, climbing back in his car and driving away.
"You got out," I repeated. "And the first thing you did with travel was erase your own baby steps."
I skipped past every mission he went on. It didn't seem fair to read those details, even if I would have to deal with them later. I watched from hallways and around corners as he turned from a cold, nervous man into a confident team member, standing tall and taking care when needed. Finally the day came where he found a note on his desk. 231 Northstreet Compound. Pathway between Northstreet and Westbrook, bench under the lamp. Wear good shoes.
I smiled, shaking my head. Of course I'd mess with him, that was his confusion. My smile dropped. So this was it, this was when I'd met him the first time. I knew everything that happened after that. Maybe I'd check his later details another time, see if maybe the Mask really was watching over me as I tried to save everyone.
"Hey Doc," I said quietly.
"Freeze! Good to see you. Are you ready for that nap now?"
"I think so," I said, stepping forward. "Hey, Doc..." He looked up at me expectantly. "I'm uh... well I'm not gonna hang around this time too long." He nodded with a widening smile.
"You've found where you're going to start?"
"I think so, yeah. He's gonna be twenty-three soon... No one else could have hired him."
"He finished his degree."
"Yeah, I'm gonna give him that option," I said. "But I think... that's where I'm crashing. That's where... I'm going to start over."
"So you'll see me then, is that it?"
"Well you already saw me then, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. And you were barely dressed better than you are now." I shook my head, fighting a smile.
"You think Nash was hired by a guy in a suit?" I asked.
"Only one way to find out, isn't there? But before that, tea?"
It was made by Juniper after the lab was destroyed. She gave me sunglasses and good shoes to match, helped me with my tie, lent me some cufflinks. She gave me a wink as I left, and I knew what it meant. I knew that she knew, and we both knew that Cooper knew. Nash was really the only one that didn't, and he wouldn't, now that she'd helped me fake a voice and given me a haircut.
I knocked on his apartment door, writing the time on my hand. He answered, young and sharp, and looked me up and down.
"Can I help you?"
"Nash Skupper," I said, pulling out a business card. "We've heard a lot about you. How'd you like to be a Clock Breaker?"