FABULA TEMPUS PART V | PART- VI | PART-VII

PART-V

He was in the past now. He was walking along the street. He looked around. This was much better than in 2044. He knew that the bombs had dropped. There were not many people around. However, it was almost like a regular life. He asked a guy passing by,

“Sir, can I just have a quick look at that newspaper you are holding?”

“Sure.” The man handed him the newspaper. On top of the newspaper, in tiny numbers it was written: MAY 29TH 2028.

“Thank you,” Bram said, handing the man the newspaper back. The man smiled and nodded. So, this was 2028. This was the year he was born. The problem was that he did not know what he would change. He was certain that he would not do anything to make his life better. That could have serious consequences. And certainly not a change that would worsen anybody else’s life. There was someone else. Someone he could help, a friend.

I can save Samuel’s grandfather.

How good would that be; if his grandfather did not die, his father would not kill himself. That was the best thing that he could think of.

“Excuse me, do you know where Mr. Hale lives?”

“Up to three blocks ahead. It’s a pretty big house.”

“Thank you.”

There he was, up to three blocks. Standing in front of the big house that almost looked like a manor. There were three stories. There were two buildings beside it, one on the right and the other on the left. He looked around and saw him, the shooter. He was standing on top of the right building. He was setting up his gun. Bram rushed inside. He pushed open the doors of the manor and pushed every person who was coming in his way aside and shouting,

“He is about to get shot. He is going to shoot Mr. Hale!”

He ran up the stairs to the top floor and pushed open the door of the room.

Empty.

God, I have got to save him.

He pushed open another door and looked at Hale who was also looking at him with startled eyes. Bram shouted,

“Mr. Hale, duck! He will shoot you.”

It was like strength had been sucked from Hale’s knees for he almost dropped on the ground and a bullet hit the table in front of him. Almost twenty more bullets hit the table and the drawer. Then they stopped. Bram, who had himself ducked, looked up. He was gone, the shooter. Mr. Hale was safe. Bram Cape had saved him. He had done what he had always wanted to do. A good deed. He had made someone happy.

Hale was staring at Bram with wide eyes. He called,

“Martha! Is Little Sammy all right?”

A woman came running into the room.

Samuel’s mother.

“God! Father, are you all right?”

“Does not matter. Is Sammy okay?”

“He is. Who are you?” She said looking at Bram with suspicion. “What did you do?”

“Martha, he has not done anything wrong. He saved me. He told me to duck and listening to him was what saved me. I would not be standing here in front of you right now if not for him. What is your name, lad?”

“Um... Ash”

“Well Ash, I can never thank you enough for what you have done today. I will forever be in debt. Tell me, what is it that you want?”

“Oh no, nothing, sir. My wish has already been fulfilled.”

And Bram left the house with questions coming upon him from every side. Tempus. He had left it outside the house. He walked quickly and reached it. Wrapped his fingers around it and…….

 

 

 

PART-VI

He just could not wait to see how the future had turned out. Would his act have some major change? Perhaps worse? What mattered to him was to see where Samuel was.

However, it was not the building he was at this time. It looked like 2046, the year he had come to before. He was pretty sure that it was the present he had thought of while coming back. He was looking around. It was not 2046, the ground did not have blood. It was empty. The whole world was empty. That was when he saw a figure walking towards him.

“Elijah! What is this?”

“Excuse me, do I know you?”

“What? Elijah, it’s me. Bram.”

“You seem familiar but I don’t remember you perfectly. How do we know each other? Tell me the whole story.”

“You sent me to the past to make a change.”

“I did? And what change did you make?” Elijah was amused. He also looked very different. He was wearing a short-torn pant and a shawl.

“I… I saved Samuel Hale’s grandfather from dying.”

Elijah’s smile dissolved. On his face was bewilderment,

“You did what? You saved Rafael Hale?”

“Yeah, I did. What’s so astonishing about that? Elijah, what’s going on?”

“Now I am certain you are not from this world.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Tell me everything.”

“Boy, if you did what you are saying you did, then you made the gravest mistake a man could make. Tell me, what side are we on?”

“We are Arcum. You told me yourself. You remember now.”

“No, I don’t. I’m afraid you are talking about someone else.

We were the Arcum. All of it fell. Rafael Hale was the one having the Tempus. He was with the Audeo. He wanted to make some changes in the past that we knew would cost us heavily. So, we hired a hitman to bring him down. The hitman failed. A mysterious man showed up and warned him.”

God, what have I done?

“Elijah, who was the hitman?”

“His name was Danny Cape.”

I have changed everything. I did everything that Elijah told me not to do.

“Where is everybody?”

“You changed the whole timeline. You see, when Rafael Hale got the Tempus, he dragged people to his laboratory and made them use the Tempus. All of them disappeared. I am one of the survivors.”

“So, did you.”

“Maybe the Elijah you know did that. And he was not murdering anybody. People don’t die. They disappear to no one knows where. What matters is fear. If you have no fear, there is no chance Tempus will fail you. Those people, they didn’t know what they were doing. That’s why they failed. They were too afraid. What separates your Elijah and Rafael is that Rafael had no heart. He used his son and grandson.”

It all ended like it had to. Worse.

“Elijah, I have to fix this.”

Elijah remained quiet. Bram knew what he had to do. He had to go back again. Whatever he would do later, all that mattered to him was that he had to redo his mistake. But everything has its cost, does it not?

PART-VII

He was back. Right on the same street, he had come to before. He saw the man with the newspaper pass him. He saw himself. His past self was walking so fast. It was hard for him to catch up without running into him. And so, there he was back. With himself standing outside the Hale house. He saw himself getting shocked at seeing the hitman.

Only hours ago, it was that he was here. With a purpose and now with a completely different one. It was only a test. A test that he failed miserably. This was less than half the work that had to be done. If he had made so many mistakes already, how would he be able to stop wars?

Father.

Bram ran after himself. He would have to get there early. How startled the people would be, to see the same person running after the other. Bram could not hold himself. He shouted,

“Stop! Stop you!”

He was ignored. Would he fail again? Was that how the future was supposed to be? Bram from the past pushed the door open and was just about to shout when Bram pounced on him. There was an equal shock in both their eyes.

He heard a loud thud. He fell lifelessly, he was dead. Rafael Hale was dead. Another bullet fired. Bram felt a piercing pain in his stomach. He put his hand on his stomach and brought it before his eyes to see scarlet blood. His head hit the floor. The first bullet killed Rafael Hale and the second bullet killed Bram Cape from the future.

BRAM CAPE WAS DEAD.

Bram from the past was looking at him with a mixed feeling of confusion and sadness. Was this how he would end up too? Blood spurting out of his stomach. He said,

“Who are you?”

Bram chuckled.

“You are asking me that? I’m you, Bram. I am from the future. Lucky it wasn’t you that bullet hit. If you had been dead, I would have been dead too.”

“Tell me what I have to do.”

“That is the right question. Smart. You are me, after all.”

He chucked again. Time was running out. He said,

“Bram, don’t feel afraid. Hale had to die. He was a threat. Now I am going to tell you what you have to do. You shall go to the past. Before…” He coughed. “Before any war had begun. That would be 2020. You will have to destroy the time machine at that time and come back to the future. You will return to see your dream. Our dream. Everything would be fine. No, leave me here. You have to hurry. And Bram, one more thing I have to tell you. I want your promise that you will not meet him.”

“I promise. Who are you talking about?”

“Our father. He is the shooter. He was part of the Arcum. They sent him to kill Rafael Hale.”

The words that followed were the last to come out of Bram Cape’s body,

“Don’t make the mistakes I did. The…They are not dead.”