Page 89 of Echoes
Violet moved her hand to Rachel’s back and rubbed it, hoping this stress wasn’t too much for her or the babies.
“I saw something from my past. It was clearer with the device, and I was able to close a door that I hadn’t been able to for years.”
“I saw the present,” Rosie shared. “Well, one version of it, anyway.”
“My wife here saw a possible path to take where she could date me, but she chose to take the other way and ended up marrying someone else instead,” Felicity said. “I still give her a hard time about not choosing me first.”
“But you’re married now?” Rachel asked.
“We are. I tried the device again,” Rosie shared. “And, well, it gave me something, but not exactly what I was looking for. I’ve always kind of thought that maybe it gave me just enough, but the rest was up to me. I got divorced, and I ran after her.” She smiled over at Felicity.
“I saw Eliza breaking up with an ex-girlfriend,” Lydia shared as well.
“You tried it, too?” Violet asked.
“Accidentally. Both Eliza and I pressed it accidentally. I heard her and that ex talking. It was clear that Eliza loved me, so we confessed our feelings after that, and we’ve been together ever since.”
“We were together when we were kids and best friends for years after that, so, technically, we gotbacktogether after that,” Eliza corrected, earning a smile from her wife.
“So, is this some sort of time-traveling machine that brings love to a bunch of lesbians?” Rachel asked. “Not sure if you’re all gay or not, but seems like it helped us all find love.”
“We don’t knowwhatit is, exactly, but we got rid of it for a reason,” Eliza said.
“We went on a cruise and tossed the thing overboard,” Lydia added.
“Is it dangerous?” Violet asked, now even more worried about Rachel and the babies.
“I don’t think that the device itself is dangerous,” Eliza said. “Buthavingit is.”
“Why?” Rachel asked.
“El, why don’t you just start at the beginning?” Lydia suggested.
“And maybe we should have that drink,” Felicity added.
“I’ll get us all something,” Rachel offered.
“No, sit. I’ve got it,” Violet said and stood. “Is water okay, or should I put on coffee? We’re not big drinkers, but we have wine.”
“Water is fine,” Rosie replied before she sat down on the bricks in front of the fireplace.
Felicity sat down next to her, and Violet walked into the kitchen, pulling six glasses out of a cabinet and finding the pitcher of filtered water. She placed everything on a tray they used to eat in bed sometimes and carried it back into the room.
“Help yourself,” she said.
No one did.
“When I was a teenager, my father was murdered in front of me,” Eliza began. “It was outside, and it was dark, so I didn’t get a good look at the guy who did it. When I was cleaning out my father’s stuff years later, though, I found a metal case. Not the one you found.” She looked at Felicity and Rosie. “Or the oneyoufound,” she added to Violet and Rachel. “There was a note inside. We didn’t put the note in the new case because we didn’t expect anyone to find it.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Here.” She reached over and handed it to Violet, who unfolded the paper.
“Read it out loud,” Rachel requested.
“To Whom It May Concern: If you’re reading this, it means you’ve found the device. I can’t tell you too much, but I need to warn you: the things you’ll see, you weren’t meant to see. There was a tragedy, and energy was absorbed. This is confusing to you, I’m sure, but people died making this thing. Some people were brought back to life. One of them put the device inside this box and gave it to his son to keep it safe. Destroying the device was too risky, but keeping it safe and away from the government was paramount. Its original intent was something altogether different than what it does, and it hasn’t been explained by any conventional science. There was a team of people who were tasked with creating something. They were successful, but it was also very dangerous, so they protected each other. One night, something happened, and a woman died. Something about her death transformed the device. We can only assume it was the energy. Everything runs on energy, you know? We tested the device, butit no longer worked as intended. It did something else. If you’re reading this note, you’re now in possession of something that you cannot allow to get into the government’s hands or anyone else’s. It’s likely you’re related to the man we brought back. That man is me. I wasn’t supposed to have a family. I should have died, but the team brought me back. I came back, and I got married. I had two kids. My wife died young. So did my first son. I told my second son about the device and asked him to keep it safe. That’s as much as I can tell you without bringing you in all the way and risking your life. This should be enough to make you not want to learn anymore, but if no one has taught you about this because they died young, too, that should be a good enough warning to leave this alone. Lock it away and pretend it doesn’t exist. Bury it far from your family and forget the location, if you must. This note is confusing, but I don’t have time to type it again. I changed my name, but I know they’ve found me. It’s only a matter of time. I wish you luck.”
Violet stared down at the paper, trying to make sense of it all.
“Since we got rid of the device, Lydia and I did a little research on my family,” Eliza continued. “My mom died a couple of years ago and we found even more after that. We’ve done this quietly because we didn’t want anyone else to know. The man who killed my father is dead. After I went into the past, I was able to identify him. They found him, arrested him, and he supposedly killed himself in prison, but he didn’t. Someone else killed him.”
Eliza went on to explain that her father had been in possession of the device and that the man had killed him because he wouldn’t hand it over. She explained further that the man who had been killed in prison was the son of a man who had been in the CIA.