Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 3 - Out Of Time

Lincoln coughed and opened his eyes with a groan. He blinked and struggled to bring the ceiling into focus while he wiped saliva off his cheek with his sleeve. The right side of his body throbbed with dull pain and it felt as if his head was being poked by a thousand needles.

He braced himself as he rolled over onto his left side and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His head started spinning as he sat up, and he promptly closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Where am I? What happened?

Lincoln struggled to focus his thoughts as he opened his eyes. Then the memories rushed back like a flood. Marie. The failed assassination, the botched escape, the injury. Everything had gone wrong.

Bracing himself against the wall, he struggled through the pain to get onto his feet. The spinning sensation returned as he straightened up and he leaned against the wall, panting, his hand on the wound in his side.

As his nausea dissipated, he staggered over to the window. His fingers found the latch in the dark and moments later, he breathed the cool evening air. Only then did he notice the noise of the crowd gathered in the courtyard and street below. He furrowed his brow. Where did they come from?

His eyes drifted to the sky, and he caught sight of the glowing object hurtling towards them. Is it time already? It would explain the crowds. Lincoln stepped over to the desk, sat down, and flipped open his laptop. He loaded the website of a local newspaper and stared at the headline posted less than an hour ago.

DEFLECTION ATTEMPT FAILED. IMPACT CERTAIN.

A chill ran down his spine as he saw the time displayed on the computer. 3:10:27 AM. I'm late, very late. He slapped the laptop shut and stood with such force that the chair flew backward and ended up on its side on the floor.

The pain in his side forgotten, he hobbled out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the front door. He turned the handle and pushed. The door opened a crack before colliding with something solid. Off-balance, he hit the door with his shoulder and let out a grunt as he heard a scream and a thud of something landing on the floor outside. He ignored the moans as he pushed the door open enough to squeeze through and limped down the stair as pain radiated throughout his body with each step.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs and burst into the lobby, the onset of adrenaline took the edge off the crippling pain. He pushed through the crowd milling about, ignoring those protesting his forceful advance. The front door was wide open and moments later, he stood outside with the gathered crowd, most of them staring up at the approaching object in the sky. He couldn't help but take a quick look at himself.

3:11:01 AM.

There was no time to waste. There were just over two minutes to get where he needed to be. With renewed determination, he squeezed through the crowd on the street. Around him, cars honked, and the people pointed, many with mouths open, eyes wide in disbelief. A grandmother held her grandchild tightly in a rocking chair outside a residential building across the street, content to sit in the shadow of what had been her entire life, holding her most priced possession while tears streamed down her cheeks.

Lincoln had known the moment would come when the governments of Earth had done everything they could to prevent an impact. As the news spread, hope gave way to despair as the realization sunk in that the impact could not be prevented. Until now, the world had survived on hope that now was extinguished. Most of those around him would die.

3:11:20 AM.

He rushed into a narrow alley between two apartment buildings. Dark and damp, it was empty except for a few rats that scattered as he rushed towards the street on the other side of the alley. For a few moments, the noise of the street and the crowds faded, replaced by the echoes of his footsteps.

3:11:40 AM.

As he emerged from the alley, the street in front of him was as crowded as the one he had just left behind. Drivers resigned to their fate had left their cars packed on the street like sardines in a can, some with their engines still running and doors wide open. Stuck in the middle, a gray-haired couple sat together in their classic convertible, holding hands as they watch the end of their lives approach in their finest Sunday clothes.

Lincoln saw little chance of making it across the street between the cars and the crowd lingering between them. Instead, he jumped up on the hood of the nearest car to get a better view. Across the street, a park full of lush bushes and birch trees was full of gawking residents. Beyond the park, the high school stadium was visible between the trees. There it is!  

With no time to waste, Lincoln jumped across to the next car. Once back on the sidewalk, he cut into an apartment building, nearly knocking down an elderly lady on her way out to the street.

"Watch where you're going, young man!" she yelled after him as he rushed through the lobby and out the back door. The playground behind the building was empty. He ducked under a set of swings and jumped across a bench before he reached the fence around the stadium.

3:12:35 AM.

From prior visits, he knew the gate in the fence would be unlocked. It opened with a drawn-out squeak as he yanked it open and limped towards the closest entrance to the stadium. The throbbing had returned and Lincoln grimaced with each step.

"Almost there, almost there," he grunted and gritted his teeth.

3:12:50 AM.

Lincoln crossed under the arched gate that led into the football field and moved towards center field where he fell to his knees. He reached into his right pocket, then his left. He paused when he found his pockets empty.

Where is it?

His breathing quickened and his chest tightened as he checked the back pockets of his pants and his shirt pocket. The portal key had to be there, somewhere, yet Lincoln came up empty.

"No no no no no no," he muttered with increasing intensity and leaned forward, his head on the overgrown grass as he pounded the ground with his fists. Without the key, the portal would never open. He would be just another casualty in a world doomed to die.

3:13:20 AM.

He sighed. There was no time to get back and look for the key. It was too late. By the time he returned to the stadium, the predetermined moment in time would have passed and the key would be useless. His mission a failure, he would now also not return to base. Maybe it was for the best. His parents would never know how he squandered the chance to serve, how he failed to make a difference. Those he had sworn to protect at all cost would never have to be disappointed in his failure. They would never know what had happened.

3:13:30 AM.

Just as he straightened back up, head bowed and hands on his knees, he felt a disturbance in the surrounding air. A strong breeze had entered the stadium and blew around him. A bright flash blinded him and he felt himself tumble forward into nothing where there once had been grass. The nausea and the pain in his side overwhelmed him as darkness closed in around the periphery of his vision. When he surrendered to unconsciousness, he was sure his last moments had arrived.