The explosion was followed by what seemed to be a deafening silence; though, Tyrone couldn’t tell if there was actual silence or his ears were just ringing too hard from the explosion, failing to identify any other sounds.

Occasionally, he would feel the panicked rams of those that were trying to get to the exit.

When the ringing in his ears slightly subsided, Tyrone cracked open his eyes just a bit and found a small splinter of the table embedded in his shoulder.

Surprisingly, he found that while he could feel everything else, the pain had become a somewhat foreign concept.

‘A dying man not feeling pain is never a good sign…’ he thought jokingly, referring to the fact that he could feel the sickness progressing inside his blood at every organ.

Sadly, his invulnerability didn’t last long as a surge of pain racked through his body, causing his eyes to open fully and his awareness to heighten.

It was as if for a few seconds, he was anything but human… almost…

“IMMORTAL!” Tyrone mumbled, thinking back to his conversation with the version of himself from an alternate universe.

Tossing the complicated thoughts to the back of his mind, Tyrone was pleased to see that the table he hid behind was able to mostly withstand the impact of the explosion.

Of course, there were huge chunks of the table missing, along with the edges smoking from the explosion, but a splinter to the shoulder was a small price to pay for survival.

‘What is a little pain to a dying man?’

Tyrone promised himself to never forget the noble sacrifice of the table, it had done more for him than Tandy ever did.

Even in this situation, an entire universe away, and his impending death, Tyrone still felt bitter towards his former lover.

“Tyrone… Tyrone!”

“Tyrone!”

“We have to go…”

“Tyrone!”

Staggering to his feet amidst the chaos of the conference room, Tyrone was greeted to the faint buzzing of Betty’s voice, but he couldn’t identify what direction it was coming from.

Usually, he would be able to sense Betty out of a crowd by some sixth sense but with the entire atmosphere reeking of fear, his senses were hindered.

The escalating chaos didn’t help.

While the movies of the 21st century made it look cool, Tyrone was now aware that being caught in an explosion, even a small one, would fuck with your senses more than any lover.

However, even as frightened as he was, Tyrone could still identify the redness of blood carried on the clothing of all the committee members who flocked towards the doors.

He had to admit that even the thought of someone being a suicide bomber made his stomach a bit queasy.

Still, if he had to guess, Tyrone thought that the blood on everyone’s clothing came from smashing into each other in a hurry to get to the exit.

Admittedly, he came from 2020, not a warzone that hardened his heart to the acts of terrorism.

Sure, he had dodged a bullet or two while playing basketball on the court, but nobody was tossing grenades in the hood…

At least, not yet…

Living in the hood meant dodging bullets like Neo in the Matrix, but Tyrone felt like the chaotic situation at hand resembled Rambo more than any other movie.

And loathe as he may be to admit it, Tyrone didn’t feel anywhere close to Sylvester Stallone.

“Tyrone… Tyrone!”

“Tyrone!”

“We have to go…”

“Tyrone!”

With a couple more shouts from a far corner across the chambers, Tyrone was finally able to follow the true direction of Betty’s voice.

Had he been in his correct state of mind, Tyrone would have probably warned the committee members that the doors were chained, but right now he could care less about anyone who didn’t have a ‘B’ in their name.

“Tyrone!”

There was another shout from Betty but Tyrone noted that her voice was steadily drifting further and further away.

He quickly found himself at a section of the chamber where there was no one in sight, but Tyrone could swear that this was the exact location he had heard Betty’s beckoning earlier.

“My mind must be more messed up than I thought...” Tyrone complained angrily, feeling the pounding headache that just grew more intense by the second.

The scent of fear that saturated the room was also not helping his anxiousness. The more time passed, the more frightened he became…

It was almost as if he was taking everyone’s fear as his own… feeding on it and hastening his own death in the process.

Glancing down at his hands, Tyrone could see the faint silhouette of dark veins spreading from his fingertips.

It was like witnessing the poison taking a hold of your body without being able to raise any resistance.

At the peak of cluelessness, just as he was about to give in, Tyrone noticed a door that was blended into the wall, almost like a chameleon hiding in plain sight.

It was not surprising to discover such a door since he could tell that the chaos in the chambers was beginning to lessen with the decrease of people.

Obviously, almost everyone had their own unique exit in the off chance of unexpected occurrences.

Wasting no time, Tyrone swung open the door and darted forward with haste.

Even if he had taken the wrong route, he wasn’t about to remain in a room with a bunch of rich, white people who would probably blame this act of terrorism on him just because of his skin color.

This was the 1940’s after all… if things were bad in 2020, he would hate to imagine what they would be like in the 1940s…

Maybe he would even be whipped as a punishment… the mere thought sent shivers down his spine.

The corridor seemed to be a semi-secret passage that could also act as an escape route from the main conference room.

He had also left the door wide open, so anyone that remained in the conference room should be able to find their way outside with enough observational skills.

“Anthony… Anthony… Stop please!”

Just as he could see a ray of light at the end of the corridor, an alternating path presented itself to Tyrone and his body moved that direction on instinct when he realized Betty’s voice was also in that direction.

With a speed unrivaled, Tyrone darted around the corner, his shoulder colliding with the opposite wall due to fright and anxiousness at hearing Betty’s pleading voice.

Betty was his meal ticket and while he had an idea of how difficult it was to be a black man in the 1940s, he had no intention of garnering practical experience.

Losing Betty would be like losing housing and free meals, there was already no internet, if he was forced to make any more sacrifices, Tyrone was sure that he would go crazy.

Tyrone didn’t think of himself as a hero but he was raised with the virtue to help others when he could.

With a couple more steps, Tyrone was greeted by a bloody sight that sent chills down his spine, and that was considering the fact that he saw someone blow themselves up just a couple of minutes earlier.

In front of him were the dead bodies of three soldiers on the ground, probably the security detail assigned to Colonel Philips.

Colonel Philips was pinned against the wall by what could only be identified as an Assassin.

Anthony was being beaten half to death by another Assassin, while Betty was slumped against the floor helplessly with her body paralyzed, though her eyes still showed some movements.

Judging by the suits, the silencer guns, and the professional atmospheres around the individuals, anyone with a brain could tell they were professionals.

‘I am going to die!’ Tyrone thought as one assassin pointed the gun in his direction.

----------------------

Thirty Minutes Earlier

After the initial ringing subsided, Betty pushed Anthony up and out of her embrace, groaning and straining as she did.

The first thing she did was to look around for Tyrone but everything around her was rubble and chaos so she couldn’t remember where he hid.

Betty didn’t even have enough time to gather her wits about her before she was dragged aside by a soldier under Colonel Philips’ employ.

“Let me go!” Betty yelled, struggling to be released so that she could also retrieve Anthony from the ground.

While it had not occurred as yet, Betty was sure that soon everyone would be flocking towards the most obvious exits, and they wouldn’t care about Anthony who was passed out on the floor.

Anthony would be squashed by the crowd like a horde of African Bisons stampeding.

“Hey, we have to leave!” Colonel Philips yelled, grabbing Betty and staring her in the eyes intensely.

“Why?” Betty yelled back, finally released from the soldier’s grasp “We can just wait for help to come!”

“I don’t think you understand…” Colonel Philips said with a stoic face as he gestured for his soldiers to wake Anthony “Your husband is a part of a secret Senate group that is in the process of approving a Project called ‘Rebirth’… only he was advocating for a special division to be reserved for only African Americans…”

“My husband is doing that?” Betty asked surprised, grabbing the dazed Anthony from the soldier’s embrace.

Colonel Philips didn’t get a chance to answer…

--BANG--

--BANG--

Two gunshots rang loudly in the room…

If the committee members were startled by the explosion, then they grew outright terrified by the sounds of gunshots.

It didn’t even take a second for the largest senator, weighing roughly 500lbs, to reach the doors faster than anyone else, ramming the door with strength rivaling Hercules of legends.

Everyone flocked to the door like a rushing tide of hands and arms as they punched and kicked each other without pause.

“Tyrone… Tyrone!”

“Tyrone!”

“We have to go…”

“Tyrone!”

Betty began shouting, hoping that Tyrone would follow her voice.

She was not particularly attached to Tyrone but he had proven himself useful during a crisis on multiple occasions.

Sadly, she could not stay in the conference chambers shouting for all eternity.

Seeing that five minutes had passed with no sight of Tyrone, Colonel Philips ordered the soldiers to grab Betty as they were escorted to the opposite end of the chambers, sliding open a door hidden in plain sight.

“Tyrone… Tyrone!”

“Tyrone!”

“We have to go…”

“Tyrone!”

Betty tried shouting once more but still got no reply and was forced to enter the corridor as well.

Anthony was also now conscious but never once raised an objection to the way the soldiers were treating Betty, and that infuriated her even more.

“You’re gonna allow them to treat me like this darling?” Betty grumbled angrily, shaking her body free from the soldier’s hands and walking ahead of the group.

Colonel Philips sighed in frustration since he would have very much preferred to leave the loud-mouth woman behind, but protecting Anthony was of utmost importance, while Betty just came along with the package.

‘What a shame that I had to leave that kid behind…’ Colonel Philips thought, already thinking that Tyrone would make for an excellent Army recruit.

Not only had Tyrone warned them of encroaching danger with his keen senses, but he also demonstrated knowledge beyond his age during his speech.

The two soldiers walked ahead, checking the corridor for any dangers. Betty walked next to Anthony, grumbling all her discontent into his ears.

Anthony was physically fine but his mind had suffered a bit of shock so his responses were half-hearted.

Colonel Philips just glanced around, wearily inspecting his surroundings since his instincts were telling him that things were far from finished.

It didn’t matter which organization had targeted the committee meeting, the only thing that mattered was the important person who would approve Project Rebirth.

Trials had already started for the Project but willing participants were few and far between.

“We should slo-”

Colonel Philips clamped Betty’s mouth shut with his hands when he noticed the soldiers up ahead had stopped.

Anthony was about to take a couple of steps forward to show Betty that he wasn’t afraid of some little noises, but the next two sounds frightened him back into a state of shock.

--BANG--

--BANG--

Two shots and the two soldiers in front collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

Colonel Philips, despite his old age, darted forward and threw a right hook towards a shadow, sending the hidden assassin staggering a bit.

However, Colonel Philip’s advantage was short-lived when another assassin pointed a gun at his head from behind.

Thankfully, as scared as she was, Betty was also someone to lash out at anything that threatened her safety.

The second assassin gave a loud squeal when Betty hopped on his back and bit a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.

Tyrone had taught Betty how to throw a punch during their time together but in a moment of life and death, Betty decided to stick with the technique she knew best – biting and scratching.

Colonel Philips battled with the first assassin while Betty scratched the second assassin with all the sharpness her nails could provide.

It wasn’t long until Colonel Philips's punches weakened and the first assassin easily pinned him against the wall.

Betty was no different, the assassin spun and slammed Betty against the wall, paralyzing her immediately after with a vial of poison.

Finished with Betty, the assassin was racked with pain once more as Anthony crawled to his feet and chewed a chunk of flesh from his ankle.

“Fuck!” The Second Assassin yelled, “Why are you fuckers trying to eat me?”

Anthony blushed a bit, he really was embarrassed that he couldn’t fight at all.

As someone rich, he never felt the need to learn, but now he was witnessing the folly of his ways.

The Second Assassin was beyond angered at the way their basic ambush had turned out and chose to vent his frustration on Anthony’s head.

--pat--

--pat--

--pat--

Soon, Anthony’s face was bloodied beyond recognition, but Colonel Philips could not help since he was still struggling, and losing, against the first assassin.

“Anthony… Anthony… Stop please!”

Betty pleaded with all her might for the assassin to stop but she couldn’t muster the strength to rise to her feet.

Just when Colonel Philips, Betty, and Anthony were sure that their fates were sealed, Tyrone appeared at the beginning of the corridor, looking frightened as hell but also intimidating.

Betty was sure that Tyrone was just terrified, but his intimidation still shone through his scared face due to his 6”2’ height, brown skin, and toned body.

Betty was just thankful that Tyrone had provided a distraction, and even if she couldn’t move, she believed that everything would be solved now with Tyrone’s appearance.

The assassin that was beating Anthony stopped and raised his gun to shoot Tyrone.

While Betty was relieved, Tyrone had a different thought in his mind ‘I am going to die!’…