Dulce Truths

“I hope the others are doin’ alright,” David says after a few moments of silence have passed.

“They’re set,” Charlie says, turning around to look at the others. “Donlon and Stu will have just gotten Tommy’s body into the morgue — their angle is set. Now, I’ve been thinkin’ about our situation here…” he says, grinning a bit and slapping one of his Colt .45’s down in his hand, “how ‘bout some payback for that traitorous bastard Aaron?”

“Now you’re talkin’!” David nearly shouts while beside him John says, “Not sure one helping’ll be enough — how ‘bout we use the time machines to go back and kill him twice?”

“Oh, we’re not gonna kill him,” Charlie says.

“Wait… what’dya mean?” David says, and several of the others echo the comment.

“I got a better idea, a lot better,” Charlie replies, and then stands there, crossing his arms and enjoying the look of confusion on the men’s faces.

“You wanna fill us in?” John asks.

“Yeah, what’s this all about?”

“Well boys, you remember the Lake Oswego Incident a few years back?”

“Ha!” Moses laughs. “How can we forget?”

“You don’t forget something like that,” David says.

“And I’m sure Aaron hasn’t either,” Charlie says, “it’s just today… he’ll be getting a front row seat to it.”

The men’s eyes go wide at that. If Charlie was going to do what they thought he was, then his reputation as one bad ass motherfucker was cemented in their minds, oh yes indeed!

* * *

A few minutes later a shimmering curtain of light appears within the time shed, though that’s not quite right either. If Charlie and the others hiding behind the crates and boxes had to describe it they’d say it was like looking at one of those rain puddles you’d see at a gas station, an oil sheen floating at the top and giving the water a purplish, greenish sort of look.

Then there’s a flash from within the shed, and through the window the men can see movement. It’s Aaron.

Inside the machine Aaron is eager to get out and find General Anderholt so he can tell him about Mark and Bennewitz being on the mothership. He’s about ready to open the door when movement outside the shed’s window catches his eye. Then a person is there at the window, and Aaron knows exactly who it is.

“Charlie!” he says, his mouth twisting into a sneer. It quickly morphs into a smile, however, for he’s already safe — he just has to hit the controls. He reaches forth to do so.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Charlie says quickly through the glass, nearly yelling to be heard through its thickness.

That stalls Aaron, but only for a moment. His hand continues toward the appropriate buttons to push.

“You ain’t goin’ to that mothership!” Carl then shouts, and that does stop Aaron. The master sergeant looks up, his eyes narrowing in skeptical confusion. Charlie nods toward the controls. “Look at the time.”

Aaron narrows his eyes and stares intently at the control panel that Charlie has just motioned to, and which he himself was just ready to touch. Then he sees the date, and his eyes widen and dart to Charlie.

“No,” he says.

“What?” Charlie replies.

“Not that time, anywhere but there… anywhere!”

“Oh, so you can dish it out but you can’t take it, eh?” Charlie says. “More than 50,000 died at Lake Oswego, and Portland was nearly engulfed. That whole timeline was disrupted, and word is that the Collective deems it worthless now.” Charlie shakes his head, glancing down at the floor before meeting Aaron’s eyes once again. “The Lake Oswego Incident was your doing, Aaron… and now you’ll get a taste of it firsthand.” He looks over to David and nods. “Hit it.”

David nods to that and does indeed hit it, banging his fist against the controls. The machine immediately starts to life, and sparks and mini bolts of lighting begin to crackle about.

“No!” Aaron shouts. “No, you can’t do this! Nnnnoooo!!!!”

That last shout is drawn-out, not because Aaron makes it that way, but because the time shed has fired to life. It pulls Aaron from their time and puts him back in a different one, one that was set by Charlie and showing on the control panel.

“Helluva way to die,” John says.

“Who says he’s gonna die?” Moses replies. “After all, we left him his machine gun and his knife.”

“Same knife he used to kill Johnny,” Charlie says.

David scoffs. “We’ll see how many Grays he can take out with the thing.

The men stare at the controls for a short time after that, wondering how Aaron would fare.

39 — The Lake Oswego Incident

Lake Oswego in Portland, Oregon

Monday, April 2, 1956

8:12 PM

Mini bolts of lighting crackle and spark, and a short distance over the parking lot, a shimmering portal appears. It holds there for a moment, then a faint sound begins to come through.

“Nnnnoooo… ugh!”