System Nullification

Chapter 15

~"Saying goodbye is the most painful thing that can happen to a person. Never being able to say hello again, that can kill you." - Will

 The phone call was from the London city police. Somehow the government officials I worked for knew of my friendship with Anderson. So they called me to tell me something about Anderson.

 The night before, I was talking to Anderson, then he said, "I have to go, Will. To a job. I don't know how long it'll be before I return, or if I even... anyway, bye Will."

 "Aww, bye Anderson. I'll see you later, I guess," I said.

 He didn't answer that, and simply gave me a small wave and disappeared from my sight.So on the following day, March 14th, I picked up my phone on a seemingly normal day. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

 "This is William... William De' Soto, correct?" a woman asked.

 "Yes... what do you need?" I asked."I just called to tell you... about Anderson Black," she said.

 Right, I had not heard from Anderson since last night. "What is it?" I sighed, assuming he got himself into some kind of stupid, silly trouble again, like fucking up a night club.

 "Anderson was murdered yesterday," she stated. "I am sorry for your loss, and—"

 I hung up the phone, sank to the floor, and screamed and broke down crying as if the world was ending. It felt like it was.

~

 "Okay... another mile north... then the nearest shack... someone check which way north is," Jackson said.

 I took out my communicator. "That way," I pointed at a path up ahead. I was finding it fascinating how the people here varied from looking rich to really suspicious. I also found it fascinating how William used to be one of the seemingly suspicious people, because now he was a stereotypical sassy British guy. Just some guy that wore a stylish trench coat and liked tea and crumpets. It was strange... to see how time could change some people immensely and other people barely changed at all. I felt like one of the people that barely changed at all.

 Out of pure curiosity, I read Will's mind for a bit. I kind of expected to see his mind on Anderson, but yet feeling either nostalgic or bitter over being in the United Kingdom. My predictions were false. His mind was only centered on learning about Anderson. Logically, it seemed like learning about Anderson wouldn't affect the future at all. We're only looking at the past, and the past only. At the same time though, I understood why Will would want to find out more about his best friend. It would be something to make him remember Anderson more, and if we figured out all of the secrets of the past, Will could think back, knowing why all of Anderson's unexplained goodbyes happened.

 "Hey, you think we could also enjoy ourselves a bit in London?" Zephyr asked. "This place actually is starting to look pretty cool to me."

 "Pfft, I hate this place," Will replied. "And this place hates me just as much."

 "C'mon, Will, tea and crumpets. You know you want to," Jackson grinned. "The soft texture of those crumpets and the sweet taste of that tea..."

 "Stop making me drool," Will laughed.

 "I actually have no idea what British tea and crumpets taste like, sorry," Jackson confessed.

 "How close are we to reaching that one mile?" Zephyr asked. "Because Will isn't the only one here that wants to find out... everything."

 "We're pretty close," I said. "I already pinned a spot on the communicator to go to so even if you guys want to go get sidetracked by tea and crumpets, we can get back on track."