Chapter 5 - The Timekeeper

A Chapter by lepetitprince

The Timekeeper continuation

e variedly discussed what would be our next course of action. So to make things short, Kieran took us on what he called a “required shopping spree”. Gap, Banana Peel, Armani, Gucci (for Diana, of course), and almost any brand that you might think of as expensive, we came into. Kieran just flashed around his black Amex card, which from Diana’s mental nudging, was also known as the Centurion card. According to her, still using her mental ability, it’s acquired only by the crème de la crème of elite people. Pretty affluent.

When we went back to his underwhelming dwelling quarters, I asked him what the need of all these expensive stuff is. He responded in an almost monosyllabic tone. “You’re obviously not British citizens. If they see your passports, they would double check with Foreign Office, where we could encounter a lot of trouble. By employing a show of affluence, as you may say, they might intimidated by it, lessening your chances of being scrutinized.”

He led us to his attic, in search of some luggage pieces that can carry our newly-bought wardrobe. Since I only got two pieces of shirts, a pair of walk shorts, and new pairs of shoes, I picked a gym bag, which I must admit, looks and feels pretty expensive. When I checked the label, lo and behold, it was Bulgari. I didn’t know they even produce such bags. Diana settled on a Vuitton hand carry. It really was suspicious for a man like Knight to have Vuitton bag pieces in his attic. But I let it go. Maybe it was left by his girlfriend or whatever.

Outside, I hailed a taxi to take us to the airport. Kieran loaded all our bags on the trunk, while Diana and I got inside. He said he’d like to take the front seat, so I got stuck with Diana on the back. Judging from our outfits, no one would be able to see that we’re people who can control time, see the future, and has the power of alchemy. I guess Kieran did a good job of concealing who we are. When he finished, Kieran jumped in the front seat and barked at the cab driver. “Heathrow Airport. If you can get us there in 15 minutes, I’ll double our fare.” Sparing no time, the guy stepped on the accelerator like his life depended on it. And since Heathrow is about 10 miles from here, I guess it would be a big break for him.

Arriving at the airport, we breezed through customs and security, perhaps because they’re so fed up seeing young, wealthy British couples who want to burn their money by going to the U.S. Before going to the area where people are patted down manually by guards, I can’t help noticing this young man who’s respectably clothed and clean shaven and cut. He was eyeing us three, most especially Diana, which was kind of creepy, considering we, well, I, don’t know him. I relayed this to her while eating my store-bought ham and Gouda cheese sandwich.

“Hey, Diana. There’s this guy who’s staring at you. Any chance you know him?”

She looked discreetly where I told her the guy was. She answered in the negative. “I haven’t seen him my entire life.”

“Maybe he’s following us?”

She just stared ahead, I bet with some calculation and plans of knowing who he is and what to do. “He’s a Minuteman. He’s sent here to kill us.”

I gulped the bitten sandwich a little early than I was supposed to. “How did you know that?”

“He was thinking of ways of how to take care of us. In his head, he’s imagining scenarios on how to bring down the plane where we’re on.”

“Well, isn’t that comforting? We’re about to board the plane in 10 minutes. How are we supposed to, you know, not get ourselves killed?” I was kind of starting to freak out. It was my first time on an airplane and I want it to be sort of momentous. It is a personal achievement I must admit. I know, a twenty-five year old’s first plane ride, shut up.

“I’ve got an idea. Call Kieran, he should be here and know what we’re talking about.”

We had a little conferencing done in the airport lobby. It was very hard not to raise suspicions since we were at the dead smack center of the waiting area and we had been talking at hushed tones, prompting a few passengers to raise eyebrows. All I could do is smile at them assuringly, mentally telling them that everything is all right. The desk aired over the intercom that our plane was now ready for boarding and that we should prepare our tickets and boarding passes.

In the first minutes, I was very nervous. You could say that I am a little innocent when it comes to the little joys of life, such as riding a plane. But having a saboteur in the plane with you, whose sole purpose in boarding one is to kill you, well, that ramps up my adrenaline to 300%.

Since it was a 3-4-3 layout (four seats on the center aisle), and we were at the right-side of the plane, I took the middle seat, with Kieran on my left, near the aisle, and Diana on the window. I strapped in belt and fervently prayed that nothing too stupid or dangerous would happen whilst we’re mid-air. Diana and I talked telepathically about the guy. I opened up the conversation.

“Have you seen him?”

“No, I lost him from my sight when we were boarding the plane. You do know that this jet has a lot of entry ports, right?” she asked sardonically.

I didn’t reply. I am still dead-frightened by the prospect of being killed in my very first plane ride. Before I knew it, the doors were being closed, the plane taxiing towards our destined runway, and the flight stewards were doing their thing, showing people what to do when there’s fire or whatever. My knuckles were already turning white due to fright. Kieran noticed this and smiled. “Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be all right. This is your first flight, yes?” he asked me, still laced with his British tone, every word accented differently from what I was accustomed to. I just nodded.

I heard the plane’s engine whirr a notch higher than it was before. Ever so quickly, when I noticed it gaining force, I was suddenly thrown back by momentum towards my seat as the plane lurched forward. On my right-side of vision, I saw the trees lining the tarmac skew at an angle that’s driving me wild. Then, I saw the clouds, which gave me a kind of comfort.

After about a couple of minutes, the seatbelt sign went off, indicating that we can go wherever the hell we want. I felt I have to go visit my friend, the bathroom, real quick. I excused myself from Diana and told her that I’m not feeling so well. She told me okay. “But be cautious: there are people on board who want to kill you.”

I replied viva voce. “There are people? You mean there’s more than one? How did you know?”

“I sensed him talking to another person, just now. But they are not close. Just, take care, okay?” she finally said. I just nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt and went towards the comfort room. On my way there, I saw a man outside the door, waiting it to be vacant. As I lined up, I smiled at him, offering whatever friendliness I could muster to give despite my overwhelming dizziness. He warmly grinned back. The gruff man was about my height, but certainly doesn’t have a scrawny body. Then I heard the door lock click. At the same moment, the guy in front of me dropped something that rolled under the seat of a fat lady, so he urged me to go before him.

When I turned to look at the man that just departed, I saw his back. Chills suddenly went up from my spine towards the base of my head, raising my nape hairs. It was the man that Diana and I saw at the airport. With fear, I quickly slid into the cubicle and almost hyperventilated at the scenario unfolding in my hands. I splashed some water onto my face, trying to calm my s**t down. I looked at myself in the mirror and told me that I’m a Timekeeper, and nothing’s gonna hurt me, because I’m powerful, and I’m gonna use it if need be. With that little mantra I recited, I started to gain some confidence back in me.

Just when I was prepared to leave, I saw a piece of scrunched-up paper near the mirror. Probably because of my curiosity, I turned it open and saw a horrific message written across it in scribble.

“Kill the Timekeeper and his acquaintances before 1400. The quicker, the more silent, the better.”

After reading the message about five more times, convinced that it wasn’t a mistake and that the note was not simply a product of my imagination, I shoved it back in the way I saw it in its original place. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 1340. No f**k*ng way that I’m gonna die in twenty minutes.

I got out of the cubicle, briefly thanked the man next me for being patient, then almost ran towards my seat. Diana looked up from her magazine, and seeing the state that I was in, began to look worried. “What happened to you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I relayed all that I’ve seen, also filling in Kieran on the details of what happened in the cubicle. Diana just scrunched up her knows and eyebrows, obviously with something in her mind. “Okay, don’t worry. Let’s stick to our plan. Just think of it as an advanced attack.” Well that did not comfort me.

Settling on my seat, I asked Diana something about using my Time powers. “Joshua said that only other Timekeepers can move when pausing time. Will they notice?”

“Yes. You see, when you pause time, it’s your time ‘branch’ that gets paused, not theirs. Timekeepers live on different, but constantly moving, timelines. Think of it this way,” she demonstrated. “There is an aquarium divided into two. Still one chamber, but two vacant spaces. You occupy one, he occupies the other. No matter what you do on your side, he notices but doesn’t get affected. Whatever you do doesn’t affect the whole time continuum: it only affects yours. Unless you go back in time.”

“What’s there in the past?”

“Since it has already been well-established, unlike the present that has fluctuations, though minute, all time continua gets merged as one. Ergo, if you alter a significant event, the succeeding continua receives the necessary ramifications.”

“So, in short,” I clarified. “If I pause time, they would be able to still move, right? So if I pause time, all the Timekeepers around the world will notice?”

“Not if you don’t want them to. Say you want to only stop this timeline,” motioning to the rumbling plane. “You can do so, provided that you focus on it. You can even stop the time of a very small space, but that takes a lot of effort and energy. In all, small spaces mean big energy, and big spaces, means small energy. If you’re gonna ask why,” sensing the incoming question at the back of my mind. “You asked the wrong person.”

I nervously tapped on my armrest, viciously waiting for the moment to come when I would be killed. I cannot recall another moment that I felt this scared in my whole life. I think I‘m about to puke or something. I called on Diana that I will go back to the bathroom. As I walked towards it there’s this man again, the one that hid the message. When he saw me, I instinctively looked at my watch. What do you know, it’s already 1400. I rapidly pressed the ruby on my pendant and paused time. All people froze except for the very people I want frozen. How unfortunate. “Diana!”

Diana leapt from her feet and took to the other aisle. “Go settle in the back. Unfreeze Kieran!”

I looked at her frantically, not knowing what to do. “How the hell am I gonna do that?”

“Just do it! Now!”

Since I was facing my could-be killer, I just focused on a thought that Kieran is moving and alive and all that. I was just passing Kieran by the row when my focusing worked. He was already moving at a speedy face. The combat began. Diana took out a dagger (a dagger? On a plane?) and fought hand-to-hand with a man with the scruffy beard. Kieran on the other hand did a really cool thing: he tapped the plane’s floor with his foot and instantly, the guy went through it. Kieran immediately closed it up and went to fight with another person. I on the other hand got up and looked around searching for a puke bag, when a man appeared in front of me. Unlike the others, the only thing I can control is time. So when he launched towards me, all the weapons I really have where my hands. Nearing me, I pushed with all my might with my two palms facing him and closed my eyes. But I never felt it touch with the person’s body. When I looked, I saw him bedazzled on the far end of the aisle. Kieran and Diana actually stopped for a moment to see what I did.

Bolstered with my newfound ability, I turned to Kieran’s opponent, and did the same thing earlier, but this time, with my eyes open. I saw him got blasted by an invisible force, landing him on his face. Next was Diana’s. He too was thrown towards the other end of the narrow aisle. Kieran immediately sank them to plane’s floor, presumably at the cargo holding. I, feeling slightly dizzy, went back to my own seat. After we have properly taken our places, I un-paused time. Just then, I heard screams of men radiating from the plane. The cabin stewards immediately assured us that everything is fine and that they would check whatever it is that happened. Diana and I exchanged glances and concluded that the guys died from rapid oxygen asphyxiation.

For the remainder of the flight, I sat and stared at nothing but the pendant that I have in my hand. I just thought of mainly two things: one, how I’ve almost screwed up my life, and two, the trouble I went into just because of wishing to be a Timekeeper. Oh brother.

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