4.8 Trouble With Time

Kimberly found herself alone facing two heavily muscled men. Where had everyone else gone? There had been several students milling around between classes. "Who are you?" she demanded keeping her voice firm, unafraid. She hoped she could stall long enough for someone to come along to help her.

"We've already told you," one of the men told her his patience slipping as his fake smile slipped and faded away. "You're grandfather sent us to escort you to Moonlight Falls."

"No he didn't" she took a couple of steps back "he would have told me to expect you."

"There wasn't time," the man's companion snarled. Turning to his partner he said "I told you this wouldn't work."

Nodding the other man said "she's too smart for her own good."

While the men conversed amongst themselves Kimberly observed her surroundings. If she was quick enough she might be able to make it to the science building. Then what? All they'd have to do is wait for her come out again.

A second later she decided that doing something was better than doing nothing. She took off running. Sprinting for the science building. She could hear them behind her breathing hard. She concentrated on looking ahead, refusing to look behind and risk stumbling over something in her path. The door flew open just as she got there and a couple of teachers walked out. She slipped past them inside the building. She leaned against the wall, breathing hard trying to catch her breath. The men didn't follow her inside. Once she had calmed down she walked to class trying to decide what to do when she had to leave again

***

Heath breathed a little easier knowing his daughter was safe for the moment. "Find someone to walk with you to your next class," he told her "I'm going to talk to dad about what just happened." Turning to his brother "can you get through to dad?"

Shaking his head Keenan looked at the necklace in his hands "not if he's still wearing this." He bit his lip savoring the copper scent and taste of his own blood. "Come with me..." he said hopping off the bed "I've got an idea."

Heath followed the boy wondering if he should be following a teenage boy. Sighing he decided he didn't have any other ideas. Keenan knew his way around Moonlight Falls. He also knew how to contact their dad when he was in lock down mode. He had no reason to be jealous or feel like price had been wounded. He followed his brother into the basement of the house. He couldn't refrain from asking "where are we going?"

"A lot of  these old houses have secret passage ways to the castle. This one has a tunnel that leads into Dad's office. We should be able to slip in without being noticed."

"What if dad's not there?" Heath asked.

Looking down Keenan shuffled his feet "I'd prefer that he wasn't. He doesn't know...."

"I see" Heath gave his brother a thoughtful glance "I suppose this comes in handy when you've been grounded." The boy nodded "I wont' say anything to Dad....as long as you don't tell my kids about the secret tunnels."

Giving him a wide grin Keenan said "it'll be our secret."

***

An hour later Adam walked into his office. "Dad" Keenan and Heath said simultaneously. Adam's shock at finding them in his office soon turned to anger. "I told you to stay at the house."

"I know dad but...." Keenan's voice faltered as he became unsure of himself in the face of his father's displeasure. "I'm sorry," he mumbled looking away.

"This is an emergency," Heath said capturing his father's gaze.

Locking onto his eldest's son's steady, determined gaze Adam asked " what's so important that you had to bypass my security measures?" Glaring at Keenan he continued "don't think for a moment that I don't know how you got here. I've known about the secret passageways to the castle."

"But dad..."

"I've closed off all the others. Too much of a security risk. I kept the one from our house to the castle open just in case we needed an escape route. I've closed my eyes on your escapes from the house in the past but this is too much. When are you going to use your head...."

"We don't have time for this," Heath interrupted "Keenan wouldn't have shown me the tunnel unless it was an emergency." He looked at his dad willing him to calm down enough to at least listen to them.

Sitting on the edge of his desk Adam took several deep breaths before saying "alright I'm listening."

"Did you send someone to bring Kimberly to Moonlight Falls?" Heath asked.

Adam's forehead crinkled in concern. "I sent guards to everyone in the extended family to keep watch over them. I didn't tell them to bring anyone here. My orders were to observe and only let their presence be known if anyone was in immediate danger." Turning to Keenan is asked "did they have the security code?"

"No, that's why we thought you needed to be informed right away of what was happening." Keenan explained hoping to redeem himself in his dad's eyes.

Nodding Adam new that when the castle went into lock down mode he was next to impossible to contact. At those times he would remove his necklace to connect with Keenan to check on the family. 

"You did just fine son," Adam assured his son noting the look of relief that came over the teen.

***

Another week passed as Don watched the boy grow younger still. It was odd to watch the aging process in reverse. Don knew he was aging backwards too but he had more years to play with then Malachi did. Time wasn't a luxury they had here.

Looking up from where he was sitting glumly watching the bustling city landscape. People coming and going but never towards them. "Do they even know we're here?" Malachi asked.

Sitting beside him Don shrugged "I don't know. I assume not since they don't seem to notice us up here."

"You'd think they would since we look so different from them." Malachi muttered "have you ever tried to go out there?" he asked waving towards the city.

"There's a force field around the property..."

The boy looked up catching on the note of uncertainty in the older man's voice. "Haven't you ever try to go beyond the boundary?"

It seemed impossible to think that neither he nor Heath had attempted to do that. Although the majority of the time one or the other hadn't been healthy enough to do much exploring. What if they had? Would they have found people who could have helped them?

Shaking his head to dispel the nagging questions. Don looked up at the darkening skies. "Tomorrow" he said "tomorrow let's explore your idea."

Smiling Malachi stood up "I'm hungry. Want anything?"

Following him into the kitchen Don watched him prepare a simple salad from the remnants inside the fridge. "I've always wondered how they restock our food supply."

"We may have to stay up and watch" Malachi suggested setting a plate in front of Don "it may prove useful to us."

After lunch they spent the rest of the day jeer rigging kitchen utensils into a drill. After several hours they had a hole big enough to see through but small enough that they hoped wouldn't be too noticeable.

***

The rest of the day went on uneventfully. Kimberly kept a wary eye open for the two men from earlier but didn't see them hanging about anywhere. Either they had left or were well hidden out of sight. Despite their disappearance Kimberly made sure she walked in groups instead of alone. At times like this she felt the absence of Malachi the most. His disappearance made her studies even more important than they were before. There had to be a way to close the bubble universes once and for all times. One of her current theories was that once the bubble universes were closed for good that would get rid of the Watchers for good too. It would trap them inside their own realm and leave their's alone. 

Of course that was just a theory and one her grandparents didn't agree with. She understood why they felt that way. If she was right that would mean their time has been distorting and changing for centuries, since the day Silver came into existence. To Kimberly it only made sense. It would explain why the time distortions and deviations were becoming worse and more numerous. If they didn't do something soon time would completely unravel and their world would implode. If she could figure out a way to destroy Silver the time line would right itself.

She walked into the house absorbed in her thoughts she failed to notice the two men standing in her living room. When she looked up it was already too late to do anything about it. "Shut the door," the man closest to her commanded.

Shocked she turned frightened eyes towards Gwen who looked liked she was about to feint. "Dad" Kimberly cried out in her mind "they're back and they have Gwen and me trapped."

***

Heath jerked as Kimberly's plea penetrated his thoughts. Falling to his knees he wordlessly whimpered on the floor. He felt someone touch is shoulder but their words were lost to him. A jumble of emotion swamped him. "Kimberly calm down and breathe" he pleaded. He squeezed the hand that was offered to him to help him up. He tried to focus on her voice as she attempted to do as he requested.

"Dad they say Gwen will be released once I agree to go with them," she said her voice less frantic but no less fearful. "I can't let them take her. She's so scared..."

"Who are they?" Heath asked knowing it was pointless at this point to her not to sacrifice herself and go with the men. It was what he would do to save someone he loved. What he was prepared to do to save Don. The silence in his mind was frightening as he waited for her to respond. He looked up and found his dad and brother staring intently at him. They both had removed their necklaces from round their necks listening.

"Kimberly" Adam interrupted breaking into their combined thoughts "are these men colorful or different from us in anyway?"

"No" she replied somewhat subdued "they look just like us. They're not Watchers."

"Good" Keenan said with emphasis "it's also not Silver."

"Do they work for him though?" Heath asked knowing how Silver could disguise himself to look like anyone he wanted to look like. Was that what happened to Don? Had he really been living with Silver all those months? A shiver ran through him. He kept his eyes focused on the floor afraid to see the contempt in his dad's eyes. He should have been able to tell the difference. Should have been able to detect it.

"Daddy it wasn't Silver in disguise as Dad" Kimberly stated firmly "I would have been able to tell, to feel it." As frightened as she was she was still thinking of others. "These men say they're from a different dimension. Their world is falling into chaos because of all the time distortions. They need our help."

***

It was the middle of the night when someone came to restock their nearly empty fridge. Don motioned for Malachi to be on the look out for their visitor when they left. Malachi moved cautiously to the propped open door to peer over the balcony edge.

Lying flat Malachi had a clear view of the ground below near the road. There was a shimmer as their visitor lowered the force field allowing them to leave. The force field was reengaged almost at once leaving no room for the hope of making it through behind them.

When they were alone again Don joined Malachi on the balcony. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yeah, we're never going to get out of here," he slumped against the wall letting depression overwhelm him. Gone were the witty positive quotes it was all slipping away.

"Well we know more than we did before," Don said trying to sound positive. 

"What good is it? We still can't leave," Malachi wiped his eyes "we're never going to get out of here. We're going to fade away into nothingness."

There was  very little Don could say that would convince him otherwise. He didn't know what was worse having hope and having it ripped away from him or having no hope at all. He pulled the boy close and held him as he gave into the tears he had been fighting since he got there. If it was the last thing Don did he was going to make sure the boy got home. He wouldn't except defeat.

***

Several weeks later Peter sighed loudly rubbing his dry eyes. He slowly turned to towards Jean nodding wearily. "No absolutely not," her voice was firm with an edge of anger to it. 

"I don't see any other way" Peter tried to put his arms around his wife only have her push him away.

"No" her voice was low full of pain.

Adam watched silently. He knew what his dad was about to say and wished there was another way. "Dad are you sure?"

"I'm positive. The bubble universes are a direct result of the time distortions our dimension is experiencing. The bubbles will continue to multiply and sooner rather than later we'll have innocent people falling into them disrupting time even more." He rubbed his tired eyes "I've gone over the information every which way looking for another way. I keep coming up with one conclusion...I need to go back to Oasis Landing...."

"No, Jean's anguished cry was hard to ignore "what if you never come back?"

"I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was necessary," Peter tried to reason with her but she turned and fled from his touch. 

"I'll go," Adam told him "I've been there before. I can do the necessary adjustments."

"No son it won't work. it has to be me. I'm the one who will effect the time line the least if I don't come back." Peter tried to smile "I should have died years ago when you were a kid. I didn't because of Emit. Then I was stuck in the future. That may have been the timeline trying to right itself."

"It's too late for that," Adam shook his head "what about everyone who has been born since Emit saved you? Their kids? Don't tell me they shouldn't exist." Adam shook his head "Emit needed you to survive to preserve the timeline so he could exist in the future. Something else is affecting the timeline...."

Nodding he rubbed his bearded chin "you may be right but only Emit has the answeres we need."

"You hope," Adam amended "why can't we just call him and have him come here?" He was no more ready for his dad to go then Jean was.

"No Emit was injured pretty severely the last time he was here. He can't travel through time again."

"Chase married Jennifer Bennett, didn't he?" Adam asked thinking out loud.

"Yes," Peter gave him a thoughtful look "what are you thinking?"

"Chase is the product of the future right?"

"He's a halfling ... he was born in the future." Shaking his head Peter sighed "I don't get what your implying."

"I'm thinking that the imbalance in time may be a result of Chase marrying someone from our time. Their children shouldn't exist."

"And because they do the time disruptions keep increasing." Peter slumped against the wall "that's not what I wanted to hear."

Nodding Adam couldn't help but wonder how one could tell another parent that for the good of the world and countless other dimensions their children can't exist." There has to be another way." He spoke with fierce determination causing his dad to look at him with renewed respect. "Go to Oasis Landing. Talk to Emit. If we've figured this out, so has he. Maybe he has a solution we haven't thought of yet."