Timelines Collide

Chapter 13: Unknown Arrival (Lincoln)

'Destiny's calling,' my father would tell me. 'It has greatness for you and you alone. You can't imagine what it has in store for you.'

I'm destiny for greatness. I believe every word he told me. I can feel it in every inch of fibers and bones. All I need is a chance to prove it to his grave. It looks like God is telling me to see it now because, in the crosshairs of my sights, something soars through the sky's baby blue barrier with its crimson flames sheltering it like a child hiding from a monster.

No one else seems to see it. With that in mind, I watch it with glory and pride. While Eddy watches in modesty, frankly I'm surprised he hasn't peed himself. Whatever it may be, it's coming in fast with the flames seeming to get hotter after every second. That's when the blue fireball flies right above us landing charcoal bits on Eddy's shoulder. 

I have never seen him so quickly throw his shirt to the side. My eyes are too blind to care about the black clumps searing a dent into my white uniform. It's pure beauty. It's what I've been craving. It's a way to prove myself a true man. 

To my disappointment, like a bat, it disappears past my line of sight. However, my mind draws up the image of where it should end up, and let me say, the results seem promising. 

"What the hell was that?" Eddy yells, still stomping on his shirt.

"Something we're going to check out," I reply, my smile finding it hard to contain its excitement.

"You can't be serious."

Afterward, our faces exchange a wild western style. The clock hits ten his eyes buckle, the clock hits eleven my eyebrows narrow, and then, the clock hits twelve. I take my shot which I never miss; he knows that.

With that settled, we jog toward where I believe it to be. To keep up with my body, I take jagged leaps as we get closer and closer. That's when the worriedness and drag start tugging at me. At this point, I'm sure I know where it has landed, I just don't want to believe it. 

A smirk never appears faster on my face seeing the bottoms of whatever it is filling the dirt of my front yard. The smoke spreads its way like a can of hairspray over a fire. Luckily, the air glopped it all up, letting us take a good look

It definitely isn't a space rock. Even if it does look like one at this point. It smells of burnt metal and leaking oil. Still, my nose has no reaction, and neither has Eddy's who's been over countless times since we were five. 

Nobody comes our way or even shoots a glance while we parade the thing. Most of our neighbors probably thought it's one of Lisa's gizmos that went arise, once again. I start to think that to myself as my eyes saw the design. I place my hand upon its side and even burnt, it still feels icy.

The smoke finally lifts, so now we both can see the full picture. It has the wings of a rocket, the legs of a spider, and the blast power of a missile. A strange piece of art indeed. Its front legs are caught inside the ground while the hind is caught in the air. It's all too advanced, yet simple. It reeks of Lisa's design.

"Hey Lincoln," Eddy's voice shakes. "You might want to see this."

His fingers shiver at a black square button only inches from the dirt. Right above is an egg-shaped dome yet that's not what terrifies me. A thick fog is enclosed upon it and my eyes squint to see a black figure on the other side. Eddy's eyes register it a few moments later.

"What should we do", He says with his body beyond trembling.

My eyes dart back and forth from the dome to the button. I must have done it like five times before the dots connect my suspicion. I can't even make it past my shadow before Eddy blurts out