Die Back Read online

"I am the oracle of our beloved Sun God, Pachakutiq, of course."

  I take another step. "But you speak English. How could you possibly know English?"

  "I am the oracle of a God. My powers cannot be bound."

  Jules, her child's body suspended in the Oracle's grasp, spits out her words. "You're an Inker."

  The Oracle tightens her hold on the child, laughing. "Of course, I'm an Inker, my little bird."

  I take another step putting me only a few feet away. "Why are you doing this?"

  "Far enough, Addison."

  Jules and I look to each other.

  "What, you think two League Inkers can come into my world and I wouldn't know about it?"

  "Your world? Why are you doing this? Why destroy the time continuum?"

  She presses her blade. A rivulet of blood dribbles down Jules' neck. "Why did Pachakutiq build this city? Because he could. Because he believed he was a god and deserved a city in the sky." The blade presses deeper into Jules, who lets out of cry of pain. "Because he wanted to demonstrate his great power."

  "So you think you're a god?"

  "With control of the time continuum, yes, I will be a god. You and your girlfriend will never stop me." Jules screams, flailing in the Oracle's grasp. I rush them, a desperate maneuver to keep her blade from the child's throat. The Oracle flings her away, stepping into me. A molten hot jab tears into my chest, paralyzing me. We are bound by her blade thrust up through my heart. The Oracle glares. She smells of incense and sweat. Our eyes meet.

  "Die back, Addison Shaw. And don't return."

  Jules lies in a pile, moaning. A small child alone with this monster. I can't die back. I can't leave Jules. I can't let her die here. "No, please. I can't leave…Jules."

  "Don't fight it, dear boy. I'll see you again, soon enough." Her lips curl into a slight smile. "Die back." With a twist of her knife, a second jagged agony clutches my chest.

  "No… Jules…"

  The room darkens to nothingness.

  Tawantinsuyu Rising

  Addison shoved himself away from the table, tearing aside an unseen blade from his chest, Jules' name screaming from his throat. He stood gasping and stumbled against the wall. I was right there. All I had to do was destroy the rock. He paced, running his fingers through his hair. Jules. If the Oracle killed Kushirimay… He pushed the thought from his mind, his heart pounding.

  I could have stopped all of this.

  But he failed. He tried to let the scenario develop. The oracle, however, tossed him aside and left everything in ruins. He stood motionless, the pen still resting on the oak desk, his insides churning, knowing he had once again shifted the temporal flow.

  Breathless, he dragged himself up the ladder to exit the Tempos Refúgium, pushing the heavy hatch door open. Free falling, his body, mind and spirit reeled through space time, until the whirling chaos released him…in his living room. Addison took in a deep breath to squelch his nausea. Dammit, another shift? He went to the study through the time lock and into the safe room. A concrete floor met plywood walls painted an institutional white. Photos, news clippings and handwritten notes covered all four walls. String ran from thumb tacks holding each piece of information in place, creating a web of interconnections. The high tech Alchi̱meía from the previous time shift, as well as the walls of binders from the original continuum had vanished. The bookcase entrance to the Tempos Refúgium held stacks of yellowing papers tied into stacks with twine.

  Another time shift.

  Addison struggled to breathe. So many changes, so quickly. So much loss and chaos. He paced the room like a trapped animal, bits of information flowing through him. A photograph of maimed and burned Sudanese corpses littering the streets of Khartoum, a printout of a news blog report on a buildup of troops and equipment on the southern border of North America and a Spanish language news clipping accompanied by a handwritten translation: Barcelona fire -bombing death toll rises to 1.8 million.

  Addison grabbed a chair, shouting as he hurled it across the room. "No, no, no!" Screaming he flipped a table over, pens and paper scattering across the floor. He dropped to his knees, head in his hands, a lonely desperation creeping into him. If only Nikki were here. She'd know what to do. Addison hesitated with a thought. If the continuum has changed again, maybe Nikki won't be the amnesia version of herself. She'll be back. Addison leapt up, running out of the safe room through the time lock, into the study and out his front door, bounding down the steps to the street, and racing as fast as his legs would carry him to Cafe daVinci. He almost smashed the glass door banging his way into the cafe.

  "Hi, Addison."

  A new girl stood behind the counter, but he must have met her previously since she knew his name. In which continuum?

  "Is Nikki around?"

  She gave him a blank look. "Nikki?"

  "Is your manager here?"

  "Yeah, sure." The girl called to the back office. "Hey, Annie, Addison wants a word."

  He scanned the cafe, which looked similar, but different to previous incarnations. A man and woman in a military uniform unlike any U.S. service uniform Addison had ever seen, held hands sharing an intimate conversation. A 3D video poster on one wall featured a woman, dressed in the same gray uniform with an NHAAF emblem on the breast pocket, urging patriots to join the Northern Hemisphere Alliance Armed Forces. Annie, the same woman whom he recalled panhandling on the street corner, emerged from a back room, stepping up to the counter. On the street she looked fifty, worn down and sick. Definitely a time continuum shift. This Annie had the lean, athletic build of a triathlete in her early thirties.

  "What's up, Addison?"

  “You look…well, fantastic.”

  Her brow furrowed for a moment until the corners of her mouth curled up. “Thanks. I guess. Did you need something?”

  “I’m looking for Nikki. Is she off today?"

  "Who's Nicky?" She grabbed a towel, wiping down the counter.

  "Short blond hair, French accent, pain in the ass?"

  She stared at him, her brow furrowed in concern.

  "She may not be a blond in this…" God, he hoped Nikki was playing one of her jokes. Please. "Did she put you up to this?"

  Annie was not laughing with him. "Addison, are you doing okay? I mean losing your father and all?"

  "This isn't about my father." A band tightened around his chest, the air growing thinner with each breath. "I just need to find Nikki."

  "Addison, I don't know a Nicky. There's no one working here by that name."

  His heart caught in his throat. "But she's got to be here."

  She looked down at the counter, and back to Addison. "Was Nicky one of your Army buddies?"

  Faint memories of battle slipped across his mind, a jumbled mess of dream and ink state. Were these images from this continuum or another? "Army buddy? Yeah, like I joined the Army. Christ, Annie." He fought back the blood and terror, grasping for any thread which might lead him back home. "This isn't funny anymore. Where the hell's Nikki? Just tell me where she is."

  A police officer, latte in hand, approached them. "Everything okay here?"

  "Don't talk to her like I'm some crazy-ass cripple, dammit!"

  The officer, a sinewy Native American, his shoulder length black hair tied in a ponytail, took a step toward Addison. "Son, you need to calm down."

  He didn't want to calm down. He wanted to tear everything apart, destroy this nightmare before it destroyed him. Nikki had to be here. "Look, all I want to know is where I can find Nikki." He turned to Annie, pleading. "Please. Just tell me where she is."

  The officer set his latte on the bar. "Why don't we step outside and see if we can sort this out about your friend." He put a hand on Addison's arm. Addison yanked away, blood pounding in his head.

  "I don't want to go outside. I need Nikki."

  Instead of talking to him, Annie turned to the cop, tears welling in her eyes. "Please don't hurt him. He's a veteran. I think Nicky must have been one of his platoon buddi
es."

  Veteran? Of what? What is she talking about? "Annie!" Addison lunged for the bar, but the officer anticipated his move and before Addison could fight back, had him pinned against the counter, cuffing his hands behind his back. Cafe da Vinci somehow turned into Cafe Kafka on Addison's way to find Nikki. Outside, the cop leaned Addison face first against a wall.

  "Calm down, Addison. That's your name–Addison. Right?"

  "Yeah." An altered safe room, military uniforms, the video poster. My god. I've shifted Nikki into non-existence. He stopped struggling.

  The officer, his voice calm, kept him pinned to the wall. "Here's how this is going to go down. I'm willing to let you go with a warning. If you're a vet like Annie says, I'm not willing to haul you in for being an asshole. At least, not a first-time asshole. I've lost a few good friends in Tawantinsuyu myself. But here's the deal. You've got to promise me you will not go back in that cafe today and harass Annie or any of her employees."

  Addison couldn't believe what was happening. Nikki had disappeared. And what was Tawantinsuyu?

  "Can you promise me you'll leave her alone, Addison?"

  "Yeah, I, I promise."

  "Good, because if I get word of you going back in there or harassing her again, I will personally haul your butt to lock up. Because of your service to the Alliance, I'm giving you a free pass here. But don't push your luck. Understood?"

  "Yeah, understood."

  He turned Addison around, the cuffs clicking as they opened. A small crowd had gathered to see the action. The cop made a "move along" sweeping motion with his hand. "We're done here, folks. Everyone can be on their way."

  Addison looked at his black high-top sneakers and a small patch of lime green gum, pounded into a thin, flat oval into the sidewalk. Across from him at the curb a kiosk with Seattle Intelligencer emblazoned in red across the sides caught his eye. A flat screen showed video of a battle, explosions, smoke, and fire filling the picture. A war. Please be something small in a far corner of the world.

  Looking across the street, the RPM sign over Jules’ shop had been replaced with a digital sign—Reprodigits. Something's gotta break my way. Maybe Jules is alive in this continuum. Addison stepped into the street, so focused on Jules he forgot the traffic. A loud dinging noise startled him back to the present.

  "Ding. Ding. Mind the Pods. Ding. Ding. Mind the Pods. Ding. Ding. Mind the Pods."

  Enclosed, two passenger egg-shaped pods, each balancing on two wheels, surrounded him. Some passengers looked up hearing the safety notice, while most continued in conversations or reading, paying slight attention to events outside of their glass-encased vehicle. A woman in a candy-apple-red pod, probably late for an appointment, glared at him. Besides standing in the midst of what looked like a life-sized Weeble convention, the lack of road noise became apparent. A kid whizzed by on a skate board levitating just inches off the ground without the aid of wheels. Something akin to a herd of vacuum cleaners whined in the distance. Hovercars? And above, a blimp lumbered by with the Alaska airline logo, a smiling Eskimo, across the side. The time continuum has definitely shifted, but the safe room had a definite analog set up, as if intentionally designed to be offline in this digital world.

  He wove his way through the stationary pods, crossing the street to Reprodigits. He took a deep breath and forced himself to step into the shop. A ringing bell announced his passage. Instead of the rows and rows of vinyl records or auto parts from previous continuum shifts, the shop consisted of several small kiosks and a display of various thumb drives and memory cards. Maybe she made it back somehow. Just be here Jules. Anything's better than Peru. He let himself imagine their meeting. How they'd find a bar and do shots to celebrate their survival.

  A familiar woman emerged from a back room, stepping up to the counter. Her skin a lighter shade of brown, her features more Native American, but her eyes… His heart skipped a beat. Jules. A knife at her throat, blood streaming down her neck, had been his last memory of her, but she stood before him, her black hair long and straight past her shoulders, her hazel eyes alive with energy. Alive.

  "Jules, is that you?"

  She looked up, eyes alight with recognition and something else. "Hey, Addison."

  His heart caught in his throat. "I don't believe it. You're…alive."

  "I like to think so."

  Pulse racing, he fought back tears. "I mean, you look…different."

  She rested her hands on her hips in a familiar pose Addison had seen many times before. "Excuse me?"

  "No, no. Different fantastic."

  She cocked her head with a bemused smile. "Didn't expect to see you until later this afternoon." She stepped over to him, planting a kiss with some tongue on his unsuspecting mouth.

  Addison flinched at the overt sensuality of her presence. They never kissed, really kissed, before.

  “You okay, Addison?"

  Jules, his inking partner who always gave him shit, just kissed him like she meant it. Light-headed, out of breath, he held on to her. "I'm just happy you're here, Jules."

  She leaned back, locking eyes with his. "We've both lost a lot in a short time, but our lives will get back to normal. I'm sure of it." She pulled in tight, grabbing his ass with both hands. "God, you're distracting." She swatted him on the butt. "Now how's a girl supposed to run a business when her fine man shows up all hot and sexy."

  Addison thought she was about to grab his crotch, so in a defensive move he grabbed her by the wrists. “Jules…”

  "Do what you will with me, I won't confess." She moved into him, her breasts hot against his chest, their lips once again connecting. After a long, sweet kiss, she pulled back, looking directly into his eyes. "Something's wrong."

  He looked around the now unfamiliar shop, hoping to change the topic. "What happened to the shop?"

  "Nothing. What do you mean?"

  "The vinyl. Where's all the vinyl records?"

  She laughed a lovely, bubbling laughter filled with life. "Right, Addison. Vinyl. God, where do you come up with this stuff? Vinyl." She playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "You want to listen to a vinyl disc on your record player while you talk on your nineties-era cell phone? Are you some kind of retro time traveler?"

  A nervous queasiness came over him. Vinyl. What am I saying? Don't be an idiot.

  She stroked his cheek with her hand. "What's the matter?"

  "Nothing. I'm fine." He couldn't explain himself. She's not an Inker. Don't get her involved.

  "Nothing? Bullshit. How long have we known each other?"

  He had no idea.

  She cocked her head, hands on her hips. "I thought we were always there for each other. When you asked me to marry you, isn't that what we promised each other?"

  Marry? A memory of his proposal flooded over him before he could resist. "But we're not…married."

  "No we're not married, yet. But don't you think we should be building the foundation now?"

  "Well, yeah. Sorry, I just…don't want you to get hurt."

  "Addison. I trust you. I know you'd never let anything happen to me." She poked a finger at his chest. "And if anyone tries to hurt you, I'll fight for you with my dying breath. I love you." She kissed him gently on his cheek. "And I know you love me, too."

  "Yes, I do." Did he? Why did I say that when I don't really know her? Maybe I want to love her. Maybe I wanted to love her all along. He bit his lower lip hard enough to hurt, to keep him present. I've got to stay focused. If I don't, I'll lose Nikki. And Jules, the Jules I know.

  "So, what's going on, Addison?"

  "It's nothing. Really. Just a crappy day."

  She looked around her now empty shop. "It's been pretty slow. Why don't I close up right now and we can go to your house." Her eyes rolled toward the stairs to her apartment above the shop. "Or I suppose we could do the same thing here."

  "I, uh, need to take care of a few things first. Okay?"

  "Since when do you say 'no' to this?" Jules stood before him in all
her sexy glory. Under any other circumstances that didn't involve the annihilation of reality as he knew it, he would find it hard to say no. But not today.

  "Yeah, well, there are some things I have to take care of." As the words left his mouth he knew what he needed to do would also remove this Jules from existence. He offered the only small bit of hope he could to her. "Maybe we can get together later." Addison couldn't shake the image of Peru, her life in his hands.

  She smiled. "Get together later. I like the sound of that."

  Addison read a news flash across a digital tablet screen on a nearby kiosk:

  Threat Level Raised, Prime Minister Addresses the Alliance

  He grabbed the tablet, reading the headline story.

  Seattle, New Washington. -- The Threat Level has been raised from orange to red after recent attacks on the two-hundredth anniversary of the Grand Northern Hemisphere Alliance, when Asia, Europe, and the North American People joined in solidarity against the Tawantinsuyu Empire.

  As feared, simultaneous attacks have occurred across the country, including bombings at Alliance buildings in Los Angeles, Prague, and Bejing; a hacker attack of the NHA Airspace System which temporarily shut down all transhemispheric commercial flights, and the interception of an improvised nuclear device by NHA Security in a sting operation in Mumbai.

  In an emergency press conference, the Prime Minister said terrorist attacks would not break the will of the Alliance. Even though Inca military units continue to advance on Old Europe and Southern Asia, she noted the Alliance members had been consolidating military resources in the Northern Hemisphere for a long-awaited global offensive.

  "We have drawn a line in the sand at the 30th Parallel North. We will fight them in Marrakesh, Tunisia and the streets of Cairo, we will fight them in Bagdad, Kandahar, and Kathmandu, and we will fight them at our southern border of the Great River. We will fight as a people united as one against the tyranny of the Inca Imperial State. We will fight them until the Empire is crushed and the four corners of Tawantinsuyu are eradicated.”