Well done on being fully caught up on all comments! I am impressed, as that must have been quite an effort to keep setting time aside to handle them :) I apologise that I'm a little slow on posting to some of these: at work we've just had notice that the bank is closing our accounts (not just us, they're throwing away anything risky... which means we can expect to see them fail next year) and we're in the middle of finding a new one.
Hmm, well, I like how you've had Tristam handle the situation that he's in, and you've not made a firm yes-or-no decision for him. I think you're instincts are right though, I don't think he really enjoyed his first transition.
Vancouver Irrealis Tristam shook his head. "I can't," he said. "Not... it's not that I don't understand or don't want to help, but... but there are people here. It's not just me. I might be unique in all the Worlds, but there's still someone here who loves me." "We can fix that," said the guard. "In fact, I'll go check and see if it's fixed already." He turned smartly on a single heel, unlocked the door of the room, and left. Tristam heard the door lock behind him, a click that sounded as loud as the cocking of the trigger at a pistol execution. What did he mean, he can fix that? he wondered. How can you fix me having a family here, having Anne-Marie he-- "NO!" He flung himself at the door, crashing into it and jarring his shoulder. Uncaring of the pain he picked himself up and slammed his body into it again, and again, and... the door opened and he collapsed on the floor. "You only have to knoc--" the receptionist outside, a handsome young man in a cheap blue suit started to say, then Tristam was up off the floor and running out of the room. He raced down the only corridor to the end, and then paused: left or right? He looked both ways and saw the olive-green of the uniform to the left, and ran up to it. He seized the woman wearing it by the shoulders and stared into her eyes, hoping he would be able to tell if she was telling the truth. "Where is she? Where's Anne-Marie?" "Who?" Tristam's eyes raked across her face, struggling to find any clues. She just looked puzzled, maybe scared. "Anne-Marie! Anne-Marie! You're going to kill her!" That might have been a mistake; the woman pulled away. He tried to keep hold of her but she broke his grip easily, and then she was holding his wrists in hands that felt like they were made of steel. "What?" "Tristam?" It was Anne-Marie's voice, behind him. He turned, dreading what he was going to see, and when he saw her standing next to the guard from his room, looking healthy but concerned, the adrenaline coursing through his system overwhelmed him completely and his knees gave way and he collapsed to the floor shaking.
"We spoke to Anne-Marie yesterday," said the guard. They were back in the interview room, and Tristam was now lying on floor with a cushion under his head. Anne-Marie was sat cross-legged next to him, holding his hand. There was a soft smile on her face that suggested she'd never seen a bigger, or more glorious, idiot in her life. "She knows a lot about what happened, although she never transitioned, so bringing in her to the organisation is a sensible precaution. We're discussing with her how we can use her to help you: probably mostly by being your base-link back in this World, but in Worlds where Anne-Marie is already gone through accident she can transition with you." "I said I needed to talk to you," said Anne-Marie. "I thought here made sense. Away from home, away from things that have memories and might influence us. Neutral ground." "And please remember," said the guard. "We're not asking for your lives. We're asking you to do a job."
Tristam looked around the empty field he had been left in, the knee-high grass whispering against his pant legs as the gentle breeze surged and faded. Surged and faded. Surged an-
"You're sure this is the best location?" He spoke into the black walkie talkie he'd been assigned. He wondered what it would look like on the other side. And whether it would be of any use to him there.
"Our field here is a field there," a voice came back. One of the guards, he thought. "You'll come through a safe distance from the city. Just make your way there, like we talked about, and find your target. Then you do what needs to be done."
"And then get your butt back to the exact spot you arrived at." Anne-Marie must have grabbed the ComDev out of the guard's hand. She sounded like she was trying to be calm and confident, but he could hear the fear lurking behind her words. "I'll be here, waiting to grab you, when the next transition occurs."
Tristam scanned the distant treeline. Somewhere in there, he knew, they were watching him. Keeping far enough away to not be caught up in the transition. That, for some mad reason, he was intentionally catching.
"And that's going to be, what? Twelve hours after I arrive?"
"Yes." The guard again. He sounded annoyed at having been interrupted. Tristam smiled. "If you miss that one, we know there will be another six hours after that. Beyond that..."
"Who knows, right?" Tristam was starting to sweat again. It felt like the butterflies in his stomach were on speed. "I guess I better be there for one of the two, then."
"That would be our preference, yes." There were muffled voices, then the guard came back on the line. "Get ready. It's coming."
Tristam wondered if it was too late to change his mind. The wind was increasing now, blowing hard enough that he had to concentrate in order to keep his balance. He knew it was almost certainly past the point of backing out, but maybe if he started running now he could get clear. He hesitated a moment, then took his first step toward the trees and his waiting wife and-
And the trees disappeared. He could see Vancouver now, his view unobstructed. The grass at his feet was no longer a lush, waving green, but a flattened, dead yellow. It took him a few breaths to notice that the air had changed as well. There was a smell of smoke, with something more foul fighting to be acknowledged.
2 comments:
Well done on being fully caught up on all comments! I am impressed, as that must have been quite an effort to keep setting time aside to handle them :) I apologise that I'm a little slow on posting to some of these: at work we've just had notice that the bank is closing our accounts (not just us, they're throwing away anything risky... which means we can expect to see them fail next year) and we're in the middle of finding a new one.
Hmm, well, I like how you've had Tristam handle the situation that he's in, and you've not made a firm yes-or-no decision for him. I think you're instincts are right though, I don't think he really enjoyed his first transition.
Vancouver Irrealis
Tristam shook his head. "I can't," he said. "Not... it's not that I don't understand or don't want to help, but... but there are people here. It's not just me. I might be unique in all the Worlds, but there's still someone here who loves me."
"We can fix that," said the guard. "In fact, I'll go check and see if it's fixed already." He turned smartly on a single heel, unlocked the door of the room, and left. Tristam heard the door lock behind him, a click that sounded as loud as the cocking of the trigger at a pistol execution.
What did he mean, he can fix that? he wondered. How can you fix me having a family here, having Anne-Marie he--
"NO!" He flung himself at the door, crashing into it and jarring his shoulder. Uncaring of the pain he picked himself up and slammed his body into it again, and again, and... the door opened and he collapsed on the floor.
"You only have to knoc--" the receptionist outside, a handsome young man in a cheap blue suit started to say, then Tristam was up off the floor and running out of the room. He raced down the only corridor to the end, and then paused: left or right? He looked both ways and saw the olive-green of the uniform to the left, and ran up to it. He seized the woman wearing it by the shoulders and stared into her eyes, hoping he would be able to tell if she was telling the truth.
"Where is she? Where's Anne-Marie?"
"Who?" Tristam's eyes raked across her face, struggling to find any clues. She just looked puzzled, maybe scared.
"Anne-Marie! Anne-Marie! You're going to kill her!"
That might have been a mistake; the woman pulled away. He tried to keep hold of her but she broke his grip easily, and then she was holding his wrists in hands that felt like they were made of steel.
"What?"
"Tristam?" It was Anne-Marie's voice, behind him. He turned, dreading what he was going to see, and when he saw her standing next to the guard from his room, looking healthy but concerned, the adrenaline coursing through his system overwhelmed him completely and his knees gave way and he collapsed to the floor shaking.
"We spoke to Anne-Marie yesterday," said the guard. They were back in the interview room, and Tristam was now lying on floor with a cushion under his head. Anne-Marie was sat cross-legged next to him, holding his hand. There was a soft smile on her face that suggested she'd never seen a bigger, or more glorious, idiot in her life. "She knows a lot about what happened, although she never transitioned, so bringing in her to the organisation is a sensible precaution. We're discussing with her how we can use her to help you: probably mostly by being your base-link back in this World, but in Worlds where Anne-Marie is already gone through accident she can transition with you."
"I said I needed to talk to you," said Anne-Marie. "I thought here made sense. Away from home, away from things that have memories and might influence us. Neutral ground."
"And please remember," said the guard. "We're not asking for your lives. We're asking you to do a job."
Tristam looked around the empty field he had been left in, the knee-high grass whispering against his pant legs as the gentle breeze surged and faded. Surged and faded. Surged an-
"You're sure this is the best location?" He spoke into the black walkie talkie he'd been assigned. He wondered what it would look like on the other side. And whether it would be of any use to him there.
"Our field here is a field there," a voice came back. One of the guards, he thought. "You'll come through a safe distance from the city. Just make your way there, like we talked about, and find your target. Then you do what needs to be done."
"And then get your butt back to the exact spot you arrived at." Anne-Marie must have grabbed the ComDev out of the guard's hand. She sounded like she was trying to be calm and confident, but he could hear the fear lurking behind her words. "I'll be here, waiting to grab you, when the next transition occurs."
Tristam scanned the distant treeline. Somewhere in there, he knew, they were watching him. Keeping far enough away to not be caught up in the transition. That, for some mad reason, he was intentionally catching.
"And that's going to be, what? Twelve hours after I arrive?"
"Yes." The guard again. He sounded annoyed at having been interrupted. Tristam smiled. "If you miss that one, we know there will be another six hours after that. Beyond that..."
"Who knows, right?" Tristam was starting to sweat again. It felt like the butterflies in his stomach were on speed. "I guess I better be there for one of the two, then."
"That would be our preference, yes." There were muffled voices, then the guard came back on the line. "Get ready. It's coming."
Tristam wondered if it was too late to change his mind. The wind was increasing now, blowing hard enough that he had to concentrate in order to keep his balance. He knew it was almost certainly past the point of backing out, but maybe if he started running now he could get clear. He hesitated a moment, then took his first step toward the trees and his waiting wife and-
And the trees disappeared. He could see Vancouver now, his view unobstructed. The grass at his feet was no longer a lush, waving green, but a flattened, dead yellow. It took him a few breaths to notice that the air had changed as well. There was a smell of smoke, with something more foul fighting to be acknowledged.
Then the bombs began to explode.
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