Future Lincoln slept soundly in the hotel he was staying at until a sudden force sense awakened him. He groaned and adjusted up in the bed and saw his hand glowing. He raised an eyebrow and summoned a light orb, and saw Present Lincoln talking to Lucy. His eyes widened as he heard their conversation.
"Shit! You told Lucy? I didn't see this coming," Future Lincoln said out loud.
He tapped his finger on his knee, thinking. Then he used his future visions to see the outcome of this.
"Hmm, okay. This can work. My plan can still work," Future Lincoln said.
However, Lincoln saw something coming very shortly. Assassins from the future were traveling back in time to get him. Future Lincoln rolled his eyes and groaned a growl as he got dressed. Then he teleported to the area where the assassins would appear outside of Royal Woods. Future Lincoln stretched his body, cracked his knuckles and neck–both audible.
Then a portal opened up, and ten people walked through. Five men and five women. All of them were armed with advanced weapons and gear. Once the portal closed, Future Lincoln snuck up behind one of them, grabbed him, and slammed him into the ground before throwing him into a faraway boulder. The boulder shattered, and the assassin was dead. The others didn't expect that at all as they stumbled and aimed their laser guns at him.
Then their leader smiled and chuckled. He still had the burn scars that Future Lincoln gave him on their last encounter.
"Well, well, well . . . if it isn't the White Death, the Space Ghost."
Lincoln shot him a glare, "Brian."
"It took a while to find you . . . but I always find my target," Brian said confidently, "Now, drop your goddamn weapons . . . or we're gonna kill you."
"You know, Brian, you're not the first to say that, and you probably won't be the last," Future Lincoln said.
With a wave of his hands, the White Death shot big energy beams out of his hands and killed two assassins – they both had big burning holes in their chests. Then he popped a smoke bomb and blinded everyone. Future Lincoln dashed around killing assassins, grabbing and lifting them up before smashing their heads into the ground. He stabbed one assassin in the chest and used his laser gun to kill others. When it was over, they were all dead – except Brian.
Future Lincoln saw him running, so he teleported in front of him. He gasped a squeal.
"Nowhere to run, Brian," Future Lincoln said.
He fell on his back but then hit a button on his wrist. It beeped several times while blinking. Then Brian started laughing.
Future Lincoln grabbed him by the collar, "What was that? What'd you do?!"
"You can kill me, but more will come!" Brian answered.
He looked up and saw more portals opening up with more assassins entering through. Brian laughed again, but Future Lincoln ripped him in half like Kratos in God of War. Blood and some of his organs fell all over the place. To make sure he was dead, Future Lincoln stomped on his skull, smashing it. Two giant robot bounty hunters tried to attack, but Lincoln dodged their attacks. He threw a left punch in the gut so hard that he flew and crashed into a boulder. Then Future Lincoln grabbed the other one, slammed him into the ground, and spun and threw him so hard and fast that he busted through three boulders before being driven into the ground.
"Looks like I'm gonna be busy," Future Lincoln said as his hands glowed a bright light.
Meanwhile
Lincoln and his sisters had breakfast before heading to school. Their father had emerged from the master bedroom to get some coffee. His eyes were red with black bags showing he did not get an ounce of sleep. No one said anything. Lori looked unsure at first, but then she offered her dad the milk for his coffee. Lynn Sr. looked up with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but he knew not to push his luck. So, he accepted the milk and softly said, 'Thank you.'
"Oh, that reminds me. Mom, my friends, and I are going to a Mick Swagger concert, so I'm going to be home a little later than usual," Luna said.
"All right, just don't be out too late," Rita said.
Lucy tugged Lincoln's arm, "Lincoln, let's spend some time together after school at the Zombie Escape room downtown."
"Oh, that actually sounds fun. Yeah, let's do that."
Lucy gave a thumbs up at her sisters, and they returned the same with a smile.
After breakfast, everyone headed to school. Lincoln was still the most popular kid in school as everyone wanted to be his friend, get a selfie with him, sit next to him at lunch, etc. Lincoln wasn't sure when to tell his girlfriend and friends about Lucy knowing about his future vision powers. When they were alone and in a good setting would probably be best.
Once school was over, Lincoln and Lucy went to the Zombie Escape room. Since it was a school night, there weren't as many people there. Zombie Escape was like an epic laser tag, but with zombies. Lincoln and Lucy worked together as a team covering each other as they went through shooting zombies and dodging traps. The room was dark with dim, occasional flashing lights and audio recordings of screaming and zombie growls for haunting effects. Lincoln had to admit he had a lot of fun with Lucy – she even smiled more than usual.
Lincoln and Lucy made it through with twenty minutes left to spar – because of this, they both won a prize of their choosing. Lincoln picked a new zombie t-shirt, and Lucy picked a dark fantasy cup with a grey wolf with white fur and blue eyes. Lincoln headed to the food court nearby to grab a bite to eat. The sun was setting in the cloudless sky, casting a bright orange light on Royal Woods and making Lincoln and Lucy's shadows stretch long on the sidewalk. Lincoln was struck with a sharp pain in his head.
"Ah!" Lincoln groaned as he held his head.
Lucy turned to him, "Lincoln? What's wrong?"
Lincoln ached in pain as he saw visions. He saw his sister Luna upfront, watching Mick Swagger playing on stage with his band and having a good time, but then he saw three men with guns. He saw them firing at her and the crowd below. He could hear the screams and see the blood. The last thing he saw before opening his eyes was his older sister Luna lying on the ground, dead, with her eyes open.
Lincoln gasped when he opened his eyes and leaned against the wall. He was panting and in a cold sweat.
Lucy held him by his arms, "Lincoln! What's wrong?! Talk to me!"
Lincoln cleared his throat, "Luna . . . she's in danger."
"What?"
"I had a vision. A shootout at her concert."
Lucy gasped, "We-we need to call the police."
"Wait! We need to narrow down what to tell them. When's Mick's concert?"
"In an hour or so."
"Okay, there's time. Follow me," Lincoln said.
They went down an alleyway to a small courtyard with a lone tree in the middle.
Lincoln explained, "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Lucy, I will use my future visions to see who the shooters are, where they live, and what they're driving. Get your notebook and pencil out. When things, I'll say them out loud, and you'll write them down. Then when what we need, we'll make an anonymous call to the police and give the information we got. Do you understand, Lucy?"
Lucy pulled out her poem notebook and pencil, "Got it."
"Okay," Lincoln said before inhaling and exhaling.
He closed his eyes and held out one hand and the other hand to his forehead. He concentrated, and his hands glowed. His visions zipped and flashed. He groaned as his head hurt. Then he saw the shooters' faces.
"Okay, I see them. Three adult males, mid to late thirties, one redhead and two with black hair, all Caucasians," Lincoln stated.
Lucy wrote that down, "Three adult males Caucasians, mid to late thirties, redhead and two black hair."
"Names: Bryce Shimmeruski, Keith Maddison, and Eric Walden."
"Got it."
Lincoln groaned in pain as he focused on a location or an address. Then he saw visions of a house.
"I see a house!" Lincoln said.
"What does it look like?" Lucy asked.
"Brown house, one story. The address is 6378 Freville Rd."
Lucy wrote that down. Lincoln started to feel dizzy but growled and shook his head to stay focused. Lucy glanced back at the alleyway to make sure the coast was clear.
"Breathe, Lincoln!" Lucy called.
Lincoln took several deep breaths as he continued to focus. Then he saw a white Chevy box truck and its license plate.
"They're driving an old white Chevy box truck. The license plate number is A93K-015!" Lincoln exclaimed before feeling so lightheaded that he collapsed.
Lucy frantically wrote that down before running over to her brother. His nose was bleeding, and he looked pale.
"Lincoln!" Lucy cried while shaking him.
Lincoln opened his eyes halfway and faintly told her, "Call 911, tell them everything. Tell them . . . shooters are going to shoot up con-concert. Give them names, the address, the vehicle, but tell them you wish . . . you wish to remain anonymous. Do it."
"But Lincoln, you need help!" Lucy protested.
"Don't worry about me. Save Luna . . . save her," Lincoln said.
Lucy nodded and laid her brother gently down. She used her backpack to rest his head. The last thing Lincoln saw was Lucy calling 911 while looking at her notebook. He faintly heard her talking before everything went dark.
Later
Lincoln groaned and moaned as he slowly opened his eyes. It took a while for his blurry vision to become clear. When it finally did, he saw that he was resting on Lucy's lap as she was rubbing his head. He saw Lucy looking down at him as she stroked and scratched his head.
"Hey, Lincoln," Lucy spoke.
Lincoln groaned, "Lucy? Ugh. What happened?"
"You passed out. You've been out cold for about twenty minutes or so. I was going to call an ambulance, but that anonymous call to the police took a while to get the information across."
"You told them everything?"
"Everything. I followed your instructions, and they believed me," Lucy answered.
"They did? Did they catch them or stop them?" Lincoln asked.
Lucy pulled out her phone and showed a live news feed, "See for yourself."
"Police have successfully apprehended three adult males in a truck full of firearms before they were on their way to a Mick Swagger concert. Authorities found dozens of assault rifles, boxes full of live ammo, pipe bombs, and a detailed map of the concert and where to hit. The three men were arrested and taken to Royal Woods Police Department," a newscaster explained.
Lincoln breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He summoned a light orb showing Luna getting killed and saw the orb lose its light and color, indicating that the dreadful future would no longer happen.
"Oh, thank goodness. You did great, Lucy. I'm proud of you. Thank you," Lincoln praised as he made the light orb vanish.
"No . . . thank you, Lincoln. You saved Luna, Mick Swagger, and who knows how many people at that concert," Lucy replied.
"I saw the future, but you are the one that took action. So, we're both heroes today."
Lucy nodded with a slight smile. They stayed there quietly as Lincoln slowly got his strength back. He took what was left of his meds and was ready to get up.
"You're sure you're okay?" Lucy asked.
"I need to eat. I'm low on energy," Lincoln answered.
"The food court is closing, but I know a hot dog stand nearby."
"That'll work."
They found the hot dog stand that Lucy was talking about. It was a cute trailer in the shape of a hot dog with a board menu up top. Lincoln was so low on energy that he ordered three hot dogs and a snack bag of chips – Lucy bought herself a hot dog and two sodas for her and Lincoln. They sat by a park bench to eat.
"That vision channeling really took your energy out, didn't it?" Lucy asked.
Lincoln nodded and finished chewing, "Future visions usually come naturally in my dreams. Those take no effort. Unlocking them while I'm awake takes a lot of concentration and focus. If I stay at it too, then I pass out like I did earlier."
Lucy nodded in understanding. They sat quietly while eating. When finished, Lincoln's phone rang – a group video.
"Lincoln, we just saw the news. Was that you?" Clyde asked.
"Were you the anonymous caller?" Stella questioned.
Lincoln sighed, "I saw it coming and what would happen, but I didn't make the 911 call. She did."
Lincoln turned the phone to his younger goth sister, Lucy. She gently waved. Their eyes widened when they saw her.
"Lincoln! You told her?! She knows?!" Ronnie Anne questioned, raising her voice.
"Yes, she knows. Guys, let's talk about this in person. Let's meet at the park fountain," Lincoln said.
In no time, the five of them met at the park fountain that wasn't far from their homes. The sun was almost entirely down, and the street lights were coming on. They made sure that they were alone before speaking.
"Lincoln! Are you out of your mind?! Why did you tell her about your powers?!" Ronnie Anne demanded.
"Ronnie Anne, calm down," Clyde requested.
"Calm down? He just told one of his sisters about his powers. Don't tell me you forgot Lincoln's visions of what happens if his family finds out about his powers."
"We all saw them. No one forgot. Let's hear Lincoln explain," Stella said.
"I told her because she's the least offender," Lincoln said before summoning a light orb of her with Leni and Lana defending Lincoln, "Unlike the others, I didn't have to earn Lucy's trust and love. I just showed her, and she believed me."
"And now, I want to protect him, even from our family," Lucy said.
"So you know everything? You know what's going to happen?" Ronnie Anne asked.
Lucy nodded.
"And you're okay with your family being torn apart in the near future?"
"I'm not okay with it, but from what Lincoln has shown me if the only outcomes are either he's treated like bad luck, and he calls the cops after he's kicked out, or he shows our family his powers, they treat him like a crystal ball to win lottery tickets, and we all go to jail. One is a lesser evil," Lucy explained, then she hugged her brother's arm, "If there's a future where they don't hurt you or mistreat you anymore and we can stay together as brother and sister, then that's the one I want to happen . . . I don't want to lose you, Lincoln."
Lincoln held her hand and gave a gentle smile.
"Guys, we can trust her," Lincoln assured.
The others glanced at each other.
"If Lincoln trusts her, then so do I," Clyde sided.
"Me too," Stella said, crossing her arms.
Ronnie Anne sighed heavily, "Fine, but you better keep your mouth shut about Lincoln's powers. Once Lynn loses her game and the family shows who they really are, we'll call the police to get Lincoln out of this mess. That's the least bad outcome because he'll be free."
Lucy nodded, "Okay. What'll happen to our family exactly?"
"In short, your parents and Lori will go to prison. Your older sisters will go to juvie while you and your younger sisters will go to foster care. Lincoln will get adopted by good people," Stella answered.
"And me?" Lucy asked.
"I'll have to look at my future visions. Hopefully, the answer will come in my sleep. Until then, pretend you don't know anything. Act normal like usual," Lincoln instructed.
"Sigh . . . okay, Lincoln."
"Lucy, you helped save lives today. I'm proud of you. You're a good person."
Lucy looked up and smiled at Lincoln before gently kissing his cheek – Lincoln kissed his little sister on the head. Then Lincoln hugged his friends and kissed his girlfriend before everyone headed home.