TIME & TIED: ESCALATION

ARC 2.4 - From the Future

PART 44b: TURNING POINT 2

To Julie’s surprise, the message she held simply read: ‘Sorry we had to send the guys. Come back safe, okay Julie? We miss you.’ It had been signed not only by Luci, but also Laurie and Chartreuse. Exactly how many people knew about the time machine now??

Julie snapped her gaze back up. All that had happened was that Corry and Frank had taken a step back, leaving Phil in front. “Carrie didn’t sign,” she observed.

“That’s because she needs you back most of all,” Phil said softly. “Jewels, please - don’t do this. Don’t let them get to you this way."

“Who?”

>

“You know, Jewels. It’s time to stop letting them control you.”

“No one controls me,” Julie snapped. She dropped Luci’s letter, hoping two hands on the gun would provide a better grip. “Phil, in all the time we've been at school together, when have I ever, EVER let anyone else tell me what to do?"

"I'm not talking about at school."

<< “Juvenile delinquent," her father spat out. "Well, you've forced the two of us to use your birthday as an excuse to come back here to handle things. I hope you're happy."

>

The gun began to shake dangerously in her hands. "Phil... don't do this to me... don’t make me choose..."

"I have to," he said sadly. "Don't you see, Jewels? I have to. Because if you go through with this, and you die - they've won. I can’t let them do that.”

<< "Leave it to a girl to take things too literally."

>

“It was my fault..."

"No."

"I didn't do it right..."

"They never gave you a chance!"

<< The document she'd signed with the principal that morning was soon scattered on the floor like so much confetti.

>

"I love them," Julie whispered. “Why don't they love me, Phil? Why??”

“I don’t know, Jewels.” Phil took another step forwards. "I don't know. But I want to help you understand. To help us both understand."

<< "This is going to give me a headache."

<< “Juvenile delinquent.”

<< "She's your *daughter*, after all."

>

"No... No, I can't!!!" Julie said, desperately trying to cling to the only reality that had ever made sense. Without it, what did she have left?

"It's okay, Jewels," Phil soothed. "I know you're hurting. But please. You're stronger than this, I know you are. We all know it. And we all care about you so very, very much."

The tall blonde took another two steps forward. Julie blinked the tears out of her eyes and cocked her gun back up, now pointing it directly at his chest, point blank range. "I should kill you now for speaking ill of my parents.”

"But you won't."

"How can you be so sure?”

"Because of what I see now. The brooch. Even after everything you've been through, after exchanging the rest of your clothing... you kept my birthday present."

Julie’s eyes fell back down to her chest. The silver brooch in the shape of a rose seemed to smile back up at her. "It w-was pretty.”

"As are you.”

Julie slowly brought her gaze back up.

>

"Phil..."

>

"Oh God..."

>

"Oh PHIL,” The gun clattered to the floor as the brunette flung herself at him, pulling him to her, burying her face in his chest, blinded by tears. He was really there this time. It wasn’t her imagination. "They tore it up, Phil," she choked out. "They tore up my whole agreement!"

"There, there, Jewels," Phil said softly, hugging her back. "It'll be all right. Everything's going to be all right now.”

He held her tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. 

***

Seeing his opportunity, Corry quickly dodged around Clarke and Julie to retrieve the gun from the floor. Opening the chamber, he removed the bullets, then allowed himself a long sigh of relief.

Frank moved up next to the redhead and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Corry," he murmured. “Hardly the most well organized approach, but your plan sure got the job done." 

Corry allowed himself a relieved smile. “Yeah, well, it seemed to me that, deep down, Julie didn't really want anybody to die. With me to remind her of that, you to remind her that we all cared, and Clarke to follow up with his more personal connection... that felt like our best shot.” He looked at the gun, then tucked it away. “Ugh, BAD way to phrase that. Anyway, with the right counselling, I hope Julie can pull through."

“She’s in pretty good hands already," Frank observed, looking towards Clarke. “At this point, I figure we let her calm down a bit more, then ask what she did with the missing microchips. Once I have those, it shouldn't be too difficult for me to repair the time machine." 

"Right then," Corry said, dusting off his hands. "Mission accomplished. Good to know that we're finally through the worst of it!" 

***

There was nothing but blackness all around. She was floating in it, surrounded by feelings of loss and loneliness. It was completely overwhelming. Chartreuse wondered how anyone could possibly deal with this.

"Hello?" Chartreuse called out into the void. "Carrie?"

Lee and Jeeves had remained with their captive back at the LaMille mansion, while Chartreuse had returned to the hospital with Luci. After all, the pink haired girl reasoned, there had to be some way to get through to the blonde cheerleader. Now that they knew about the problem. I mean, sure, Carrie held within her the power to destroy the world - but she was still their friend. Right?

Once in the hospital room, Chartreuse had laid out a series of meditation crystals around the bed. Then, holding a small healing orb in her hand, she had worked to form a connection with the unconscious girl for the second time today.

It had apparently succeeded, in as much as it had brought her here. Wherever here was. "Carrie?" Chartreuse called out again.

The sound of someone singing floated towards her from out of the darkness. The voice sounded as hollow and empty as their surroundings.

"I once wished to travel through time. To have such a power seemed really sublime. But I never imagined the problems I'd face. So now I'm lost in time and also in space."

Chartreuse looked, but saw nothing. "Carrie, is that you?"

"I can speak of tomorrow but not yesterday, for when history changes your past goes away," the singing voice continued quietly.

Chartreuse shivered, as she recognized the song Corry had sung at the dance. But the familiar tune was a bit off key, and there was an eerie tone of finality to the vocals.

"I see now that these forces can't be understood, I'd return things to normal if only I could, but the ramifications have damaged my brain... it won't be long now before I've gone insane..."

"Carrie, if that’s you, please stop this," Chartreuse pleaded. She tried to push forwards, into the darkness. There was a shadowy outline there. It resembled Carrie, but it was facing away, so it was hard to tell for sure.

"Where are we, Carrie?" Chartreuse asked. "What's going on?"

The singing stopped. Then the voice murmured, “You should not have come back, Chartreuse.”

Chartreuse stared. "Back?" she asked. "Have I been here before...?"

"Ah, that’s right. I removed that memory. Thing is, you should not have saved me then. Part of me was looking forward to death. Now, now this pain within me, it has become too great to bear..."

"Carrie, don't give up,” Chartreuse interrupted. “If the problem with timelines is whatever’s happened to Julie in the past - like, we’ll do whatever we can to fix it for you. Surely you’ve realized that by now.”

The shadowy figure of Carrie seemed to think about that. “No, the ripples from the past are subsiding," was her eventual reply. “Those who travelled back, and caused the waveforms to appear - the waves which were amplified at this time by my premature awakening - they will have been collapsed. There is no longer a... Schrodinger’s Julie. She has survived.”

“Oh... good?”

“But what of the future?” Carrie challenged. “Julie will be wanted for attempted murder. She will face severe punishment from her parents. One of many things that should not be occurring to her. One of many things that have come about, because of me. Me... the girl who who didn’t even exist, in the original timeline.” She laughed.

And something about that laugh was off, and somehow, Chartreuse knew that Carrie was broken.

“That’s the real problem, you see,” the blonde concluded. ”How it’s all about me. This story has always been all about me.”

Chartreuse swallowed hard. “Carrie, please stop. You’re scaring me."

"None of this should have happened, I know in my gut," Carrie’s voice sang again. "Yet our future is hist'ry, and I've lost what's what. We must now beware, time is not playing fair, I would solve this crime it's just I'm... outta time... outta time... outta time..."

Carrie’s silhouette spun, her palm thrust out towards Chartreuse. With a cry, both of surprise and pain, the mystic felt her spiritual self being hurled backwards. She collided with her own body, then somehow continued moving, her physical self propelled back into the far wall of the hospital room. The pink haired girl hit hard, then slid down onto the floor with a groan, struggling to remain conscious.

Carrie Waterson sat up in her hospital bed, her formerly blue eyes now blazing brightly with golden fire.