Chapter 18

The Changing World (III)

She ran like the wind, kicking up dust behind her, a panicked expression dripping across her face. Sweat coalesced, her thick eyebrows luckily holding it from slipping into her lime-green eyes. Though the streets surrounding her were familiar, everything appeared blurred but the path itself, and all sounds grew muted but those shouts coming from behind her.

Her heart drummed wildly, and she found herself growing short of breath. Dammit, dammit, dammit... I hate this fucking place... her thoughts raced, trying to think up a way to escape, to hide, to elope. Yet she found herself unable to even form direct thoughts, exhaustion slowly settling in.

In the end, she couldn't keep up anymore, her speed decreasing until, eventually, she gave up, stopping in place and bending over, hands on her knees, wheezing and panting. Droplets of sweat dripped down onto the dirt-paved path, all the colors in her sight blending together as though smudged with a brush. She felt her knees weakening as her legs began to shake, barely managing to hold her innards where they belong.

Slumping down, she leaned against a torching wall behind her, though managed to ignore the heat. It was all too much, all of it.

Her eyes inadvertently strayed up, locking onto the behemoth piercing the sky. She had thought she finally managed to change her destiny, escape the life that was grinding her into dust, but the reality... was never that beautiful.

“... stupid girl,” she mumbled bitterly, closing her eyes and surrendering herself to the feeling of defeat. “There’s no escape...”

“Mrs. Badami?” an unfamiliar voice startled, forcing her eyes open as they darted to the side where she saw a man in a black suit and sunglasses standing there, staring at her expressionlessly. She did not know him, of that she was certain. Rather, she would have known anyone idiotic enough to wear a suit in this heat.

“...” she remained silent, warily staring at him. Was he with them? No...

“Are you Mrs. Badami?” the man asked again, tilting his head slightly. American? What the hell?

"... w-who are you?" she asked back in strained English. It had been a long time since she last used it for longer than a few words.

“My name is Jamie Daynes,” the man replied, reaching into his pocket and taking out a card, handing it over to her. “I work for Mr. Rick Garcia and I am here with a business proposal -- for you, Mrs. Badami.”

“... me?” she tilted her head in confusion, alternating between looking at the man and the card in her fingers. The name ‘Rick Garcia’ was familiar, but her mind hardly had enough energy to connect a face to it at the moment.

“Yes,” the man nodded. “The men who were chasing you have already been dealt with. How about we go somewhere with shade and iced drinks and discuss the contract?”

**

Cain stretched and yawned lazily as he hopped out of the bed, glancing quickly at the clock and noting that it was just before six. After washing up, he brewed a quick cup of coffee and walked out onto the rather fancy balcony of his new residence -- a skyscraper just five minutes away from the Tower, his room overseeing the latter.

Some order had been restored since yesterday, though a quick glance down onto the streets told him that it was only just a beginning. People loved rushing into things, going both against and with the grain, whatever drew the attention toward them. The initial rush, or the ‘Tsunami of Death’ as it would later be called, resulted in nearly fifty million casualties across the seven Towers within two weeks.

There were many reasons for it, the creatures inside the Towers being only one-third of the responsibility. The rest had to do with the nature of people, especially with greed skyrocketing inside the Towers and accountability disappearing entirely. People killed others for items, for secrets, for fun...

It was only after this 'rush' that some resemblance of ground rules was established. Though no number of rules would ever entirely curb the situation into the Towers, they would lessen the horror that occurred during the initial craze.

Lighting up a cigarette, he leaned into a soft, cushioned chair and watched the sun slowly burned from beyond the horizon, washing over L.A. in a golden hue. It was a spectacular sight, one he never got to experience, be it in last or this life.

The phone on the table buzzed suddenly, causing him to reach over and pick it up. Emma? Curious, he pulled another puff of the cigarette as he answered the call. She and Lana were housed on a floor beneath which was why he found it strange that she'd call instead of just walk up.

“... mornin’,” he spoke in a somewhat strained voice as he was still sleepy. “Could it be that the first thing you wanted to hear in the morning was my voice? Adorable~~”

"Ah, no," Emma replied from the other side with a flaccid tone. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't head into the Tower without us. That's all."

“...”

“... I can literally picture your face right now, ha ha ha ha...”

“... I do hurt, you know?” Cain chuckled bitterly, sighing. “Especially if it’s you throwing punches. Where’s Lana?”

“Still asleep,” Emma replied. “I don’t have the heart to wake her up. I’ll just bring Jenny into the room.”

“... how’d she take the whole thing?”

“Eh, as well as you’d expect,” she sighed. “For now... she -- they all, really -- are just coping.”

“... what are you wearing?” Cain suddenly asked, breaking the somber silence that temporarily ensued between the two.

“... did you really just ask me that?”

"You're damn right I did..."

“... not much has changed since we shared a room, you know?” her voice turned into a soft whisper for a moment. “Still just the panties...”

“... damn, you sure know how to wake the guy up,” Cain chuckled, putting out a cigarette. “Send a pic?”

“Go fuck yourself...”

"Ah, come on. For you, it's only been a few years since I saw you naked, but for me it's been over twenty years, Em'. I'd almost forgotten..."

“Good.”

“No, no, you misunderstand,” Cain added. “I’d almost forgotten how women look naked.”

“... see ya’ later, C’,” she replied with a chuckle, and Cain could even swear he heard her shake her head. “I hope you’ll be just as energetic inside as you are now.”

“... see you later, Em’.”

He lit up another cigarette, a silly, stretched smile decorating his face, his eyes wandering over toward the Tower. He felt strange, oddly so. In his last run at this, he was part of the torrent that was unleashed on the Towers. He was part of the mass pandemonium that they caused. Yet, now... he felt strangely disassociated from everything.

He knew for a fact that hundreds of millions of souls across the world were in a state of panic, anxiety, uncertainty, and he knew that number would just continue to go up. Yet... it all felt so distant for him, stuck beyond a certain curtain that was blocking all of it.

His phone suddenly rang again, causing him to inwardly muse whether Emma had changed her mind, but quickly dismissing the thought as he knew that was impossible. Picking it up, he realized it was Rick, causing him to grumble as it looked like the old man wanted to make sure he didn’t rush in without them as well.

“... hello.” he answered with a low tone.

“Hm? Did I wake you up?” Rick’s rather merry tone came from the other end.

“What do you want? Don’t worry -- I won’t rush in without you...”

“... do I need to know?”

“No...”

“Right,” the old man coughed for a moment before continuing. “That’s not it. If you can delay our entering for a couple of hours, I’ll have your support here.”

“... huh? You... you fuckin’ found her?”

“Yup.”

“In a day?”

“Yup.”

“...” Cain fell back into the chair, muted, stunned, and uncertain exactly who knew magic the best here. “How?”

“Magic~~”

“... choke on some wax. You sure it’s her?”

“Yup,” Rick replied. “Diya Badami, age 22. My associates found her in Jaipur as you predicted, a few miles away from the Tower. She was in a sore spot, which made negotiations a bit easier.”

“... spoken like a true businessman...” Cain chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright. We can meet up in front of my place at around ten?”

“It’s a deal,” Rick replied. “What about the influx of people? Won’t it become cramped in there?”

"... you underestimate the size of that thing, Ricky," Cain chuckled. "The first floor alone is more than enough to house the entirety of L.A...."

“... not even gonna ask,” Rick sighed. “Anyway, gotta hang up now. See you later.”

"See you..." Cain contemplated how to waste a sudden few hours of time he'd gotten only for a moment before immediately dialing Emma. The phone rang just a few times before the annoyed voice on the other side picked up.

“What?”

“We just got an extra few hours to kill,” he said. “Before departing. How about a family breakfast?”

"... fine," she replied after a brief silence. "Come down here. I'll fix us something."

Tossing some basic, plain shirt and jeans on, he headed out and down a floor, finding himself opening the doors in less than a minute. Just as he did, at the end of the hallway, he saw a tiny figure holding a small, stuffed rabbit walking out of a room to her left, yawning and wiping her eyes.

“... e-eh? Dad?” Lana mumbled, wiping her eyes harder as she thought she was seeing things. Only after reassuring herself he was really there, her lips beamed into a smile as she rushed over, tossing himself into his arms as he laughed.

“Ha ha, good morning princess. You slept well?”

“Mhm,” she nodded. “What are you doing here?”

“Breakfast, kiddo. The most important part of our day!” Cain replied.

“... does... does mom know?”

“... do you really think I’d dare come here if your mom didn’t know?”

“No.” the girl replied without hesitation, causing Cain to chuckle as he closed the doors and headed into the kitchen where he saw Emma running between the stove and the fridge. “Mom, dad’s here!” Lana cried out, jumping out of Cain’s arms and racing over to Emma who turned around for a moment and smiled gently.

“That’s great, but it’s also not an excuse for you not to wash up,” she said. “Go. Quickly. Otherwise, no breakfast for you.”

“Fine, fine...” the little girl pouted for a moment as she walked past Cain and back out into the hallway.

“Morning, again.” Cain greeted her and walked over to the table, sitting down, eyeing the rest of the kitchen. “Goddamn... everything looks so expensive...”

“... ‘cause it is,” Emma said, sighing. “The fridge alone is nearly ten fucking grand...”

“... fucking hell...”

“Why the delay?” Emma asked, switching the topic.

“Rick found us a support,” Cain said. “He’s bringing her over from India, though, so it will take some time.”

“... someone you knew?” she probed.

“Hm,” Cain nodded. “Don’t worry though. She’s barely in her twenties; too young.”

“Oh, shush,” she rolled her eyes at him, turning back and flipping the pancakes before they burned. “That’s right in your range.”

“What? Young, rosy-eyed, idealistic women? No, no. I like the grit and the grind and the wisdom of the old ones.”

“... are you calling me old?”

“... yup, knew I walked into that one the moment I said it.”

“If you knew, why not pause for just a second and re-think before speaking?”

“I’ve many abilities madame,” Cain chuckled. “But thinking before speaking ain’t one of them.” she shut off the stove and slowly began rolling the pancakes with chocolate syrup.

“... what was it like, C’?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

“... the... the last time.” she added, sounding uncertain. “Why did you come back? Did we lose?”

“...” Cain fell silent for a moment, leaning into his chair. “No... there was, really, nothing to lose against.”

“Hm?” she glanced at him quizzically.

“It was the same year after year,” he elaborated. “People went in, some got stronger, others died. The world changed completely, Towers becoming virtually everything. But... nothing ever came out of them, no matter what we did.”

“... then... why did you come back?” she asked in a soft tone.

“... I missed Wendy’s,” Cain replied with a grin. “Just had to have it.”

“C’!” she grumbled, rolling her eyes at him.

"You know why, Em'," he replied. "I've heard rumors about the Timecube -- the item I used to come back -- fifteen or so years from now. Since that day, I spent virtually every single bit of wealth, time, and inspiration I had to get my hands on it. Almost at the exact moment I got it in my hands, I used it, consequences be damned."

“...” she shuffled plates onto the table and set down the rolled pancakes at the center, sitting down and meeting his gaze. “I’m sure Lana would be happy to hear how far you went for her.”

“...” Cain smiled faintly, a sense of nostalgia hitting him like a truck. “For one of the most confident women I’ve ever met in my life,” he added with a chuckle. “You sure have some weird moments of insecurities, Em’.”

“... can you blame me?” she smiled back at him, taking a sip of her coffee.

“No, I guess I can’t. Give me another chance?”

“... I thought I already implied that.” she replied stealthily.

“... I’m a guy -- you know I need more than a fucking implication of a possibility,” he groaned, shaking his head.

"... take me out," she said, looking back up into his eyes. "When we get back, I mean. On a date -- a proper date. I want an expensive dinner, candles, romantic music, the whole nonsense."

“...”

“We’ll talk about our favorite movies, books, ridiculous stories from our lives, and we’ll pretend we have no history together.”

“... that entire facade will fall apart within like ten seconds of me picking you up.”

“... yeah, I know,” she smiled lightly, shaking her head. “We can try, though.”

“... I’ll try as though my life’s on the line,” Cain added as he glanced back, his ears picking up on the sound of the approaching footsteps. He looked back at Emma and smiled, winking lightly. “So, get ready to be swooned and floored and flooded and wooed all over again.”

“... can’t wait.” she flashed him a grin as Lana stormed into the room, leaping onto the chair and reaching out for a pancake with a wide smile, ignoring both of them.

How long has it been? Cain couldn’t even remember the last time he sat down so peacefully, especially with these two. He once again found himself pondering how he let it slip so easily from his fingers. How can anyone be so moronic as to walk away from this?

Hours went by quickly, largely with him playing around with Lana while Emma hit the gym she actually requested from Rick -- she specifically asked for a place with a gym, and the old man delivered. Time ceased to pass without Cain even realizing it as he found himself rooted in the reality he spent over twenty years dreaming up.

He was pulled back only when the phone in his pocket buzzed. Looking at it, he realized it was a message from Rick -- ‘We’ll be there in five’. Taking a deep breath and glancing at Lana, finding himself suddenly wishing to cancel, he shook his head and patted the young girl’s head gently as he walked over to the gym.

"Let's go," he called out, noting that she was hanging upside down on a bar of some sort, heaving herself up over and over again. How is it even physically possible to do that... “They’ll be here in five.”

“Alright,” she jumped away, dislodging herself from the bar and nimbly landing onto the ground. “Take Lana to Jenny’s while I take a shower. Meet you downstairs?”

“Deal.” he nodded, checking her out once more, up and down.

“Horny bastard,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes. “There’ll be time to stare and drool. Go now.”

"... fine, fine," he chuckled. "Let's go and raise some hell, then..."