CHAPTER TWENTY THREE - READ MY MIND
“Is this it?” Brian asked wearily as they slumped atop another high, rocky hill in the darkness.
The sun had set a while ago just beyond the horizon and now the night sky was rolling thickly in upon the land, herding dark clouds across the sky to blot out the icy droplets of starlight and the glowing orb of the full moon.
He tried to stifle a yawn as he blinked in the gloom to pick out the small buildings below them that nestled in the crook of an overgrown valley. “Is that the village?”
“That’s it,” Bri replied proudly. He scanned the surrounding area with his night vision binoculars.
“Good,” Brian murmured. It had taken much longer than they had expected to come this far because of the Gerai following them. Their stalkers had tried to cut them off at one point and their only chance at missing the ambush was to change their route to take them through a boggy marsh of swamp weed and foul smelling mud. They had left it wet, cold and reeking of rotting foliage and dead fish but they had lost the Gerai and now finally they had reached their destination.
“There’s no sign of Gerai,” Bri murmured. “I think we lost them.”
“Even better,” Brian added. They couldn’t have walked much further today. Brian’s legs had become dead weights of lead and with each step his feet became heavier until he wanted to do nothing more than allow himself to sink into the ground.
Brian glanced beside him at Nick and even in the darkness he could see the man’s pale face and his closed eyes. Whoever tired Brian felt, it was worse for Nick. He had a sprained arm and a bad ankle, which meant he had been limping for most of the day as he struggled not to fall behind. At the moment he appeared to have fallen asleep upright.
Bri caught Brian’s stare his eyes fell upon Nick. He gently placed a hand upon his friend’s shoulder. “It’s okay Nick, we’re here now. You can rest.”
Brian watched Nick closely and his stomach twisted slightly. Part of him felt ill. Nick had been in no state to continue this trek. They should have taken him back, but at the same time Brian knew that neither himself nor Bri could have done that, especially now that Brian knew something bad was happening to B. There was no time to waste and they had no choice but to press on. Both of them were tired of being kept away from B and Sammy. Brian had thought that he had saved them last time, but that hadn’t been the case but this he was determined not to mess anything up or settle for anything less than their absolute safety.
“I think I’m too tired to sleep,” Nick mumbled as his blue eyes flickered open. He rubbed encrusted sleep from his eyes with his good arm and yawned.
“You’ll feel better soon,” Brian assured him. His own body was crying for rest. He was used to hard exercise, but today had taken its toll upon him. They had walked for endless hours upon the hostile plains and Brian’s battered and once expensive Nike trainers had been torn almost completely apart by the rocks that ripped into the souls and the mud that had squelched inside to soak his socks. Beneath all the mud, leaves and twigs that covered him he could feel the throbbing bruises of his blackened skin.
“Let’s go,” Bri said as he took Nick’s arm to help him walk. “We know most people here so we won’t have to be interrogated or anything,” he said to Brian.
Brian’s brow creased. ‘Interrogated to enter a village?’ he thought. This time really was full of paranoia.
“It’s in case any Gera try and dress up as civilians and enter,” Bri explained.
Brian gasped slightly. Bri had not even looked at him, so he couldn’t have read Brian’s expression and Brian had not asked anything either. He stared at Bri’s back for a moment and then shook his head. Maybe he was so tired he’d spoken out loud without realising it.
The village was surrounded by a high wooden fence with bolted gates at intervals. Brian stared above them at the wooden and in some cases slate topped roofs that loomed over the fence. Everything was so… primitive. What had happened to the big towns and cities that had flourished in America in his time?
There was an open gap in the fence a few metres away that Bri was leading them to. He raised his hand and waved at the two guards that were standing watch.
“Guys! We need help!” he called as Nick leaned heavily upon him breathing deeply.
Brian watched Nick slump against Bri’s shoulder in concern . Nick had managed to cope with the walk to the village, but now everything had seemed to give way and suddenly he collapsed in Bri’s arms. “Is Nick all right?” he asked anxiously as he rushed forwards to help Bri carry his friend, who was now moaning slightly.
“I don’t know!” Bri cried desperately. He waved again frantically to the guards who finally began running towards them. “Nick? Nick, can you hear me?”
Nick tried to mumble something as Bri placed him on the ground, but it was nothing intelligible. Hastily Brian pulled his water bottle from his pack and handed it to Bri who tried to pour a few droplets into Nick’s mouth.
“Who are you?” a stern voice suddenly asked.
Brian’s heart jerked as he heard the click of a weapon and his head snapped around to see that the two village guards now had both of their guns aimed at the three in traders. Brian gulped slightly and glanced at Bri for instructions as to what to do next.
“Guys!” Bri snapped irritably. “It’s me! Brian Littrell, son of B Littrell? You know that cute kid with the chip in his arm?” Only Brian heard the slight gulp in his voice and seemed to see Bri waver for a moment. He felt it as well. A wave of emptiness at the words as he thought of B and Sammy…
Bri cleared his throat. “I’m from Darren’s base and we did send a signal two days ago to tell you we’d be coming! I need help with my friend,” he said as he carefully tried to tilt Nick’s head up.
One of the guard’s eyes flickered between Bri and Brian. “Um, why is there two of you?”
Bri looked blank for a moment and then he realised. Everyone had become used to two Brians back at the base that they had not foreseen any problems about there being two of them. “Oh, forget about him he’s not important,” Bri said dismissively.
Brian eyes gaped at him. “What do you mean I’m not important?” he snapped. “I - ”
Bri waved a hand up to silence him and Brian felt his blood beginning to freeze unpleasantly within his veins as he saw both guards aim their guns at them again.
“Long story,” Brian mumbled as he averted his eyes.
“Can you please help us?” Bri asked. “Nick is hurt! Where’s your village leader Josphin? He’ll know it’s us!”
Brian stared pleadingly at their faces. Nick had turned deathly pale and he didn’t want to think of what would happen to him if they were forced to spend another night in the open.
“You have weapons,” the first guard said cautiously.
“Oh for God’s sake!” Bri snapped angrily, causing both men to point their guns at him. “Here!” He pulled the laser from his back and tossed it at their feet before emptying his pockets of a disturbingly large amount of knives, mini lasers and scanners. He pulled up the leg of his trousers and unstrapped another mini laser from there and tossed it onto the pile before dropping his bag and gesturing for Brian to do the same. “There? Happy?” He frowned for a moment. “Oh, wait.” He pulled up his sleeve and unstrapped another mini gun and tossed that down. “Now I’m done.”
Brian stared down at the pile and eyes Bri cautiously. He would have to remember not to fight with him again… There was no telling what he’d pull out on him. “How many did you have?” Brian hissed out of the corner of his mouth as he watched a splinter of moonlight from behind a cloud pick out the serrated edges on some of the knives.
Bri shrugged. “There’s Gerai around! Can’t be too careful!” he said innocently.
“So it would seem,” Brian replied dryly. He stared up at the guards, wondering if they would actually give them a chance to run before they started firing at them. Brian wouldn’t let anybody like Bri anywhere near his village if he owned one.
“Uh…” the first guard hesitated.
“Oh let them in,” the second said. “It’s Brian after all. So what if there’s, uh, two fofthem.”
Brian felt his chest heave as he breathed again. He stared at Bri as he felt his heart still slamming hard against his chest. “Um, can you drop the guns now?” He could hardly dare to believe that they were letting them in after Bri had basically turned out to be a walking armoury.
The second guard immediately dropped his weapon and slung it across his shoulder and was slowly followed by the second one.
Bri threw his arms up. “Finally,” he muttered. “Now can you help us with Nick and then take me and my…” He only hesitated for a moment. “Friend, to see Josphin?”
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The village was mostly made out of wood and in some cases slate or a few clumsy bricks had been used to construct some of the larger buildings. Paths were made of loose stones and there was no roads or cars anywhere in sight. Instead Brian watched horses and ponies staring at him as they chewed grass. This had never been how he envisioned the future… until he’d heard about the war with the Gerai anyway.
How had everything come down to this? There had to be some towns and cities left in the country. So far everything he’d seen had been barren plains of dying trees and rocky hills, but there must be something more advanced.
Nick was carefully carried away to the doctor’s hut by a few of the villagers. They’d only gone a few metres into the village before people had started to recognise Bri and rush forward to greet him. Nick had also appeared to be well known and there was one woman in particular who seemed concerned over his welfare.
“We come here a lot,” Bri said to Brian. “I know a lot of people here. I used to live in village that was half way between here and the base.”
“What happened to it? If it was closer than we could have taken Nick there,” Brian replied.
Bri hesitated a moment. “The Gerai burnt it down. It wasn’t as well protected as this one.”
Brian stared at him suddenly and remembered what B had said to him about the Gerai destroying the village he lived in to get at him. Bri had turned away from him and was busy greeting some of his friends. Brian gulped and tried to keep his head down, but people had begun to spot him all ready. He was aware of mouths gaping open and the way people stared at him as if he were a ghost. He found himself shrinking closer to Bri in an effort to stay hidden.
“Bri, what’s going on?” someone asked. “Who the hell’s that?”
“My God, what’s going on?”
“Hey, I’ll explain later,” Bri said as he held up a hand. He peered over people’s heads as he tried to find the village leader among them.
“Who are you looking for again?” Brian asked as he tried hard to ignore the curious stared that followed his every step.
“Josphin. I’ve known him for a while, even before I…” he trailed off. “He worked with Darren in the early days and now he’s in charge of this village.”
Brian glanced at him, waiting for him to tell him more but instead Bri suddenly seemed over anxious to greet an old friend. Brian watched him carefully. He had seen the haunted look that had flashed into his eyes.
“Josphin!” Bri cried suddenly as a grin lit up his face. “It’s great to see you!”
Brian turned and saw a blonde haired man emerging from a small house that looked exactly the same as all the others. He smiled as he caught sight of Bri. “We’ve been expecting you for sometime. What took ya so long?”
“Long trip,” Bri replied. “My friend Nick’s got hurt by the Gerai and it’s made the going a little tough.”
“Is Nick all right?” Josphin asked hurriedly. “He’s a good man.”
“He doesn’t have any serious injuries and I think he was just tired.” Bri’s shoulders sagged slightly, showing that he felt the same guilt that Brian did.
“Don’t you worry,” Josphin said as he threw an arm about Bri’s shoulders. “He’llbe fine and I doubt he’d have allowed himself to be taken back. He cares about B and Sammy.” His voice was soft and understanding and at the words Brian knew that he was right. Nick would never have let them turn around.
Josphin’s eyes slowly settled upon Brian, who was a few paces behind Bri, and he could feel the curiosity burning in the blue robs. “And who is your evil twin?” he asked, his brow creating slightly.
Brian felt another reminder diving into his stomach. He didn’t belong here. In this time, Brian was the impostor. He found his fingers curling into the palms of his hands and for the first time he felt something beginning to creep over his wearied mind. What would Sammy think when he saw both of them? B had seemed all right with two of them, but how would they react when they saw them again?
Bri glanced back at Brian and smiled slightly. “My evil twin is actually my self from the past. He’s helping us out.”
Josphin’s eyes sparkled slightly. “And if you can’t trust yourself to help you then who can you trust? Though it’s a little unorthodox I grant you.”
Brian tilted his head slightly at the saying and he couldn’t help but realise the truth it seemed to hold. It sunk into his chest like the way ice melts in the sea. He may not have liked Bri very much, but he trusted him. Somehow he felt he could trust him with his life…
“We’re going after B and Sammy,” Bri said determinedly. “We’ve come this far and we’re not going back. We know a little about what’s going on and it doesn’t sound good.”
Brian gulped in agreement. Sammy was being blackmailed from the sounds of things and B’s situation was a still a terrifying mystery. He couldn’t bera to think about how long he had been separated from them both now. It seemed such a short while ago that himself and B were having fun together in his own time and that had only been the beginning of a long spiral that had led downwards into hell.
Josphin nodded. “What help do you need?” he said quickly.
“Our friend Nick is hurt, and he’ll need to stay here. Can you get a message to Darren for us? He might wanna come pick him up. Tell him we lost the other two members of our team, but on a lighter side we’ve picked up Brian.” He nodded at Brian. “He’s safe and well and I’m looking after him.”
Brian raised his head slightly, but said nothing. Bri had said nothing about telling Darren to pick Brian up as well.
“Of course and no doubt you’ll want rest and supplies?”
Bri nodded and then turned towards Brian. “You get some rest,” he said. “I’ll sort the supplies and we’ll move out tomorrow afternoon.” He looked his twin up and down and his lingered upon the ragged shoes. “We’ll get you some decent clothes as well.”
“I’m all right,” Brian replied stubbornly. “I can help you.” He trusted Bri with his life, but he certainly did not trust him not to leave this village without him.
“You’ll get in the way,” Bri argued. “I know what we need and I know these people and my way around the village. You rest.”
Brian stared hard at him and allowed his mind to drift, trying to pierce his twin’s mind. Bri couldn’t lie to him, not when they were linked in this way. His eyes stared into his twin’s and he felt the strange and alien yet close thoughts on the edge of his mind.
“You don’t trust me,” Bri said as he began to lead him away from Josphin and the others who the leader had begun to order about. He closed his eyes for a moment. “You’re poking around.” He placed a hand on his head.
‘We’re linked. I might as well make the most of it,’ Brian thought, but instead of saying that he merely smiled. “I don’t trust you not to leave me behind.”
“Just because we’re linked, doesn’t give you an excuse to spy on my thoughts!” Bri snapped.
Brian jerked slightly. “You…” He placed a hand to his head. “I didn’t say that!” he protested.
“Yes you did! You said that as we’re linked, you may as well make the most of it,” Bri said as he rolled his eyes. “And then you said - ”
Brian’s heart had just begun to race again as he breathed deeply. “I didn’t say that,” he whispered. “But I thought it.”
“What? That’s ridiculous! You said it! I heard you…” he stopped as he grew confused. “I… This is too weird.”
Brian nodded weakly, his legs suddenly feeling watery and fragile. They could read each other’s thoughts? He remembered Nick’s warning from the other day. This could be damaging for them. What would it be like when they were finally separated?
“Get some sleep,” Bri whispered quietly. “I won’t leave without you, okay?” He sighed for a moment. “B would kill me,” he whispered.
Brian stared at him and again he felt the squirming pain that was Bri’s crumbling heart as he thought about B.
Slowly Brian nodded. “All right,” he said softly. “I think B will be more pleased to see you though. He wants to make things up with you. He told me so.”
Bri stared at him and his eyes glowed for a moment with a brief smile of light. “Josphin!” he called, turning to pick out his friend. “Any chance you can find somewhere for Brian to sleep?” he asked as he nodded towards Brian.
Josphin nodded. “Sure, I’ll have someone show him to a spare room. You and me can go sort the supplies out now so you’re ready to go tomorrow.”
Bri turned back to Brian for a moment and for a moment their eyes met. Bri was silent for a moment as he turned away, but there was a slight smile on his face that lifted some of the weary lines in his forehead. “Thanks,” he whispered.
Brian nodded and was going to reply but Bri was already running to join Josphin and his team. Brian smiled weakly at his retreating twin. Somehow he would have to make Bri and B see that they cared about each other. Maybe then he could sleep at night without worrying what would become of him and his son in the future.
He shivered though as he thought of Bri reading his thoughts. He had already realised that they could sense each other’s emotions, but this was getting a little too spooky now. He was also very much aware of the imminent arrival of the temporal remembrance headaches that would soon begin to violently kick inside of his head.
“Brian? I’ll show you to a room,” a light haired man said. “Follow me.”
Brian nodded as he snapped out of his thoughts. He took one last glance after his twin and then nodded. “Sure.”