Once upon a time, there lived an amazing, awesome, super-rich, mega-hottie time-traveler guy from the year 2012. He was always so carefree about what the future might hold because he felt invincible. This ingenious hero also had a way with the ladies…
…And that’s pretty much all I’ve gotten so far on that little piece. I might finish it later. Preferably on a day that I don’t die. Yeah, that’d rock.
How’re you hanging with the story so far, whoever-you-are? Is it the good, gripping tale of bodacity that you were hoping for? I sure hope so. It’d be a real bummer to find out I went to all this trouble of recording this thing and you weren’t having a great time out there.
What time is it, anyway?
Chloe was silently pacing on the other side of the room after my rant about helping them save the world and her father was tinkering with the gloves. Dr. Sparks had started working on mine first, which was fine by me because apparently that was the only one that mattered anyway, it seemed.
I decided that Chloe needed a little cheering up. I mean, sure she was a big girl strutting around in a suit of super-armor, but everyone needs a hug every now and then.
“So what’s the plan, exactly?” I asked her. I know, right? Not exactly the best way to take a girl’s mind off of death and destruction. I thought this after I’d already spoken so I tried to avert the question I’d just thrown out by adding, “’Cause I was kind of thinking that you and I needed to go out sometime and the end of the world would put a big damper on my sweeping you off your feet and all.”
Chloe smiled and said, “It would be nice to eat a meal when you didn’t have five other girls drooling over you.”
“Always back to Denny’s with you, isn’t it?” I said, “I mean, don’t you remember all the other things about me?”
Frowning in thought, she asked, “Good things?”
“Duh, the good things. I sure don’t want to hear the bad things.”
“Alright, good things, then…” she said, closing an eye in thought. After a few seconds Chloe said, “I can’t think of any.”
Laughing, I shoved her shoulder, “What the helheim, man? I was an awesome teacher.”
“’Oh, Mr. Johnson, you’re, like, the most amazing teacher ever.’” Chloe said in the most amazing teen-chic voice I’ve ever heard someone mock, “OMG, I totally have to Tweet all my friends about you catching the fry I threw in your mouth.’”
I wasn’t used to being mocked. I mean, just being honest. I was usually the one on the dishing end of mockery- not the receiving end. “Whatever,” I said, “Forgive me for being incredible. If I recall you tossed a fry in the air that night, also.”
Shrugging, Chloe leaned against the table I was leaning against with my arms folded. “There really isn’t a plan yet,” she said, back to business. Wow. And I thought I was supposed to be making her feel better. But, I guess, her mocking me was fun for her and, don’t tell her I said this, I really didn’t mind it and, also don’t tell her this, she was actually really a blast to be around.
You know, when we weren’t fighting for our lives against huge robots, freezing elements or giant man-eating spiders.
Anyway, the point is, the past three consecutive days that I had just spent with Chloe was actually the most time I’d ever spent with one girl, almost. Not saying I was this womanizing player, or anything- just stating the facts. Most of the girls I sent packing weren’t mean or psychopaths, I just didn’t really care to be around them anymore.
The only other girl I’d spent an enormous length of time with was Piper from my trip to the Vikings.
Chloe, on the other hand, was someone who I was thoroughly enjoying being around. Maybe because I can literally count on one hand the small amount of women that I don’t mind being around or that all the other girls thought I was some dude who could tell the future that made them unappealing. I’m not really sure. All I know is that Chloe Sparks knew the real me, with all my flaws, yes, I admit I have a few, and she still hadn’t gave me the boot so I’m guessing that she was starting to enjoy my company, too, maybe.
And I don’t have that many flaws. Maybe, like, two or three, max.
And I suppose my helping save her daddy was one of the reasons she didn’t give me the boot. Just saying.
Then I was thrown from my thoughts by Chloe saying, “I’m really glad you came, by the way. You didn’t have to help me.”
I have this weird habit of not being able to hold eye-contact with people who are talking directly to me. It’s not that I’m embarrassed or shy or anything. I just can’t, for some reason. But I’m smart enough to know when eye-contact shouldn’t be wavered because of the importance of what whoever is speaking to me is saying.
I turned my head to look at her and, sure enough, she was looking at me. What was I supposed to say? I mean, I wanted to say a lot of stuff but only, like, two of them had anything to do with what she was saying. I was so glad none of my inner-turmoil showed on my face and I really looked like I was content just staring into her gorgeous face.
Reaching over, she touched my armored hand with hers. “Thank you.” Was all she said. Then she was gone, walking to the other side of the room where her father was working on the gauntlets.
And that was pretty much it. I mean, really, Jericho? You couldn’t have said, oh, I don’t know, anything?
Just wow.
Since I had apparently made her feel better somehow or another, I waited a few minutes, mainly because I didn’t want her to think I was following her like a rat terrier, before crossing the room. “Sooo…” I said, “How’re the gloves going?”
“Yours is basically finished.” Dr. Sparks said, holding up mine for me to, I don’t know, examine, I guess, to see if it, you know, was all back to its time-traveling self, and all.
I took it from him and turned it over in my hands, “Chloe said there wasn’t a plan. So, how would a dude go about making one? ‘Cause I’m not digging this whole end-of-the-world thing. Just saying. And what’s up with Chloe’s gauntlet?”
Dr. Sparks stood, “I’m afraid the second glove is useless- at least for time-travel. The Z-90 shard was somehow de-energized from the grenade, I’m afraid. Removing a replacement would take days whereas we have an hour, at best.”
I frowned, “Hour to do what?”
Then, and I mean, like, right then and most certainly not a whole hour away, an alarm went off. Dr. Sparks, who, to me, should have been running around like a madman, simply sighed and said, “Did I say my hour scenario was wishful thinking?”
“Yeah, try like two minutes.” I shot at him. “I still don’t know what we’re supposed to do to save the world. I mean, not to sound ungrateful, but you’ve been a tad vague, doc.”
Dr. Sparks walked to the entrance way and punched away at the keypad, closing what looked like a blast shield on the lab side of the door. “This should by us about ten minutes.” He said before smashing the keypad with hard punch. “Get out of those suits.”
Without questioning him, Chloe and I proceeded to remove the armor. They were actually easy to get on and off, which was surprising considering how snug you felt strutting around in it. Dr. Sparks eyed our Nazi coats for a second before nodding, “I’d heard a museum had been robbed. I suppose they’ll be warm if you need them for your jump.”
“Jump to where?” I asked, adjusting my long coat, and looking at him hard thinking that I could stare more info out of him.
“We only have minutes, so I need both of you to listen carefully,” he said, looking ever the serious dude while he did so. “Klaus is not without friends. The only chance we have to stop him is two years into the future during a revolt in the middle of the city.”
I frowned. This sounded familiar. I raised my hand.
“Question.”
“Yes?” Dr. Sparks said, looking at me like I’d just grown another head.
“Would this happen to be the same revolt that I die in?”
Dr Sparks shrugged apologetically
then nodded. “The same.”
“So what, I just, uh, avoid anything that blows up? Is that your plan?”
“I was going to say not enter the city, but yes, avoiding exploding objects wouldn’t hurt, I’d think,” he said. Holding out his hand, he said, “Let me have the gauntlet one last time.”
I handed him the glove and looked at Chloe.
“Chloe?” I said.
“Hm?”
“I don’t want to die.”
Since I said this in a sing-song voice she smiled at me. “Who knows, maybe you’ll die before that so you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Gee,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “You always know just what to say.” Then, to her dad, “So why two years from now? I mean, call me crazy, but can’t we just bust in the dude’s office and, I don’t know, shoot him, or something?”
“Not possible. He’s on constant lockdown due to his numerous enemies in high places,” Dr. Sparks said, punching away at the gauntlet screen. “But, as luck would have it, Klaus is about to follow the two of you after your jump.”
“And this is a good thing how?”
“I’ve just programmed your glove to use some of your latest jumps as means to lose them. Since I don’t know where you have been they can’t get anything out of me.” He handed me back the silver-white gauntlet. “You kill Klaus in the revolt, Jericho. Him going after the two of you will put him right where we need him.”
This was going way, way too fast.
“Slow down a sec,” I said, “Let me see if I can try and zero in on your logic, doc. You want me and your daughter to get swept around random places in time so that Klaus will follow us and I can kill him two years from now?”
It sounded crazy. Like, really crazy. But Dr. Sparks nodded, and since I didn’t see any other plan in sight, and also since I’d already manned up again to save the world, I just said, “Okay. Just making sure we were on the same page.”
“We won’t have any weapons except the gloves,” Chloe pointed out.
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “I know a guy.”
Someone pounded hard against the door to the lab and shouted something unintelligible. “That’ll be Klaus,” Dr. Sparks said, seeming almost cavalier about the whole thing. “Chloe, could you give me and Jericho a second?”
Chloe was probably more than a little curious as to why her daddy wanted to have a talk with the dude she brought home and so was the dude, actually.
“I know you feel like you don’t know what’s exactly happening or how to act.” He started, looking at me intently, “All I know is when I met you two years from now, you knew what you had to do. I don’t know what happens along the way but in the end, you hate Klaus more than anything.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to grasp what the good doctor was getting at. “Don’t worry, doc.” I said, smiling reassuringly at him, “I’ll have her home before she turns into a pumpkin.”
“Don’t let her out of your sight, if you can.”
I was about to ask him why, exactly, when the pounding stopped and the grinding started on the door. Dr. Sparks pulled us into the center of the room and had to shout over the noise from the guards trying to gain entrance. “These jumps are each timed differently.” He told us, his loud voice echoing in our ears, “When it’s time to go you’ll have to be together or one of you will get left behind.” Then, he touched Chloe’s arm one last time before rushing to the door to, I don’t know, see if he could keep the bad guys out longer, I guess.
Wow. This plan just got more and more half-cocked by the second. We just stood there, not really sure what we were supposed to be doing- until I looked at the screen on my glove.
There was a timer on the bottom right hand corner of the screen that was counting down.
It had seven seconds left. Panicking, I grabbed Chloe around the waist with my left arm, pulling her to me as I checked what our destination was.
794 A.D.
“Hope you like Icelandic cod, sweetheart,” I told her.
The last thing Chloe said before her face melted away with mine into the fabrics of time and space was, “What’s cod?”
Oh yeah. This was going to be a blast.
That was sarcasm, if you didn’t catch it the first time.
Just saying
Chapter 22