Page 136 of A Stop in Time
Her tone is coarse and firm. “You deserve better. You need to be with someone who’s good.” A flash of pain crosses her features, and she presses her lips thin. “You need to be with someone normal, and certainly not a murderer.” She turns around, effectively dismissing me, and my knees nearly give out.
Even though my vocal cords feel severed, something still compels me to push the words out. “I love you.”
“No. You don’t.” The finality in her tone combined with her refusal to face me feels like someone’s gutting me with a dull spoon. “You love the Mac who doesn’t exist.” She pauses the briefest moment. “Goodbye, Daniel.”
I close my eyes with a wince, childishly hoping this is all a fucking nightmare I’ll wake up from. But when the man lays a hand on my shoulder, I know it’s not.
When I open my eyes to see the sympathy swimming in the woman’s eyes, it nearly breaks me.
I rake a hand through my hair with a ragged breath, my voice raspy with emotion I’m barely holding at bay. “At least keep me posted on how she’s doing?”
They exchange a look before he finally offers a simple, “Yeah.” He hands me my gun. “Thought you might need this back.”
I slide my gun into the holster at my back. I dip my chin with a quiet, “Thanks,” before opening the door and letting myself out.
She may be the one who’s died and been revived, but I sure as hell feel like I’m the one who’s just bled out and on the verge of death.
And the only hope for my revival just sent me away.
LOCAL NEWS STATION
“Our next news story sounds like it’s from a movie.
“An isolated abandoned building bordering a section of land nearby a local military base exploded late Thursday evening.
“It took more than a day of round-the-clock work by firefighters to extinguish the flames.
“Rumors have since spread with claims of CIA involvement in human experimentation on military personnel taking place in the building.
“It first began among subgroups on Reddit before leading to more mainstream Internet chat forums and eventually going viral on TikTok and Instagram.
“A representative for the CIA responded to our request for comment, only offering this very brief response:
‘While we are grateful no lives were lost in the explosion, we can say with great certainty that no connection exists between our agency and what occurred at the base facility.’
“Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
“In other news, authorities are celebrating the apparent end to the mysterious body count here in the downtown area. There is still no confirmation as to whether it was the work of a serial killer…”
63
MAC
A Week later
Recovering over the past week has forced me to do a lot of thinking.
Hannah and I sit, curled up on my couch, while Jonah’s—the man who can turn invisible—off doing whatever it is he does.
She looks completely different now that she’s recovered from reviving me. Gone is her white hair and wrinkled skin. Now, she appears youthful, with shiny black hair and a smooth complexion.
And…she’s been really nice to have around to talk to.
Hell, she’s basically the closest thing I’ve ever had to a female friend. Anxiety swirls in my stomach knowing she and Jonah are planning to leave tomorrow morning, but I have to move on with my life, and they need to return to theirs.
Still…meeting others who have unique powers has been reassuring, making me feel not nearly as much of a freak as I had, not to mention a whole hell of a lot less alone in this world.
“Go ahead.” She nudges my knee with her foot, a gentle smile gracing her lips. “You have something on your mind, I can tell.”