Coma (Paranormal Romance) (20 page)

“Whoa,” was all I said, trailing off into the
moment when Zack flickered out.

“Here,” Zack handed me the glass, “It’s sugar
water.”

Still confused, I took a sip. “That means you
won’t die, we can be together, and you have your memories back?” It
finally dawned on me after downing half of that smudgy water.

“Aha,” Zack flashed a smug grin, leaning back
on the bench, draping one arm around me.

“Yeah, he remembers stealing you for me,”
Ethan chuckled.

Zack glared at him, “Shut up!”

But Ethan wouldn't, “I got you as an
assignment, but as soon as he saw you, he switched our envelopes
when I wasn't looking,” Zack bowed his head, and tucked a hand in
his pocket, his cheeks flushing, but Ethan continued. “He didn't
know I had already taken a peek at my next mission, and now he owes
me for allowing it to happen.”

“Jerk,” Zack smiled, and peeked sideways at
me, his cheeks flushing. I cracked a smile.

“So, tell me more about that Sophie chick,”
Ethan darted his glance toward me.

“Sophie?” I looked at Zack, confused, and
then back at Ethan.

“I owe him, remember?” Zack winked, and then
turned to Ethan. “I gave you her address. Scan her frequencies, and
we'll meet tomorrow with her if she has necessary
predispositions.”

“You're getting Sophie into this?” My mouth
dropped.

“If she's a good material, we'll give her the
same choice as you,” Zack said, crossing his fingers down my cheek
bone.

“And if she's cute, Zack will be off the
hook,” Ethan flashed a sly grin, his hazel eyes twinkled at the
prospect of that happening.

“She is,” I chuckled. “But I don't remember
you giving me any choices. Actually, you dropped your futuristic
bomb, and left me hanging. I don't understand any of this.”

“You will,” Zack tucked a strand of hair
behind my ear, and placed his head on my shoulder, his nose
tickling my neck. “I'll explain everything after this creep goes
away,” he moved away to look at Ethan menacingly. In a best friends
type of menace.

“Okay, I get it. You want to be alone,” Ethan
huffed, getting up from the bench. “Tomorrow,” he pointed two
fingers toward his eyes, then Zack's, and left.

Zack chuckled, and turned my chin toward him.
His face got serious all of a sudden, searching my eyes for
something. He closed his eyes, and lowered his forehead on mine,
our noses touching. Sweet scent of his breath stirred my sleeping
butterflies. He took my hands in his, inhaled a huge gulp of air,
and then opened his eyes, staring strongly into mine. “Lyra,” he
said, his voice enchanting, his gaze fixed on mine, “I think I—”
His lashes swept up and down, “No, I know I—” his lips curled ever
so slightly, “What I'm trying to say is—” He cupped my face,
detaching from my forehead, hypnotically staring at me, “I love
you.”

Eyes wide open, I drew a sharp breath, but
faster than I could utter a word, he kissed me like there was no
tomorrow. For a few moments, I tried to break free, to tell him
that I felt the same, but he wouldn't let go. He wouldn't allow me
to speak by deepening the kiss, and pressing me tighter against
him. The force behind his kiss was overwhelming, subduing me
completely to his will.

As all things come to an end, so did his
insatiable kissing. He broke off, placing a few smaller kisses on
my lips, as if he was trying to mend them after that forceful
kissing he had bestowed upon me.

“Zack,” I said.

“Shh,” he placed a finger over my mouth. “I
know.”

“No, you don't,” I opposed, taking his finger
off my lips.

“I do. I feel it. I feel your love, and it
makes me lose my mind,” his dark green eyes sparkled electric
green.

I smiled, “Why don’t you want me to say
it?”

A devilish grin climbed up to his eyes, “We
have to get you home,” he glanced at his watch, if that was a watch
at all. It looked like a silver bracelet, tightly plastered on his
wrist, with strange characters displayed all over it. “Or your
parents will send a search party after you.”

I snorted, noticing he was dressed
differently. He was back in those black cargos he wore the first
time I saw him, and that blue V-neck Tee with letters TGA
embroidered on his chest.

“You have to. I’ll come by later to explain
everything.”

~*~

Back at home, Mom and Dad were watching TV,
comfortably slumped on a couch, acknowledging my presence with two
nods, and not removing their glances from the screen. Mom mumbled
something about dinner in the stove. I knew I had to be hungry, but
I didn’t feel it. Not to raise any flags, I decided to force-feed
myself.

My world had just been through a pole shift,
and Mom and Dad were clueless. Nothing changed for them, and
everything changed for me. My worst nightmare, losing Zack, was now
a mere memory, and that filled me with happiness. But. All that
other stuff about temporal guards, war, time travel—I couldn’t wrap
my mind around it. I looked at my palm at the lifeline splitting at
the end, wondering if it meant I would be taking that road, or did
it signify a choice. I smoothed my palm over the lifeline.
Was
it always meant to be this way?

I informed Mom and Dad that I was tired, and
went to retire in my room. As soon as I opened the door, Zack
cracked a smile from my bed. My heart did a jingle.

“I didn’t expect you till much later,” I
said, closing the door behind me.

“I don’t have my Lyra radius anymore,” Zack
was grinning wide.

“No?” My mouth formed a circle, and stayed in
that position. I felt a bit sad that he wasn’t bound to me anymore,
but at least he didn't have to go to the end of his radius to get
snapped here.

“No. But my heart does,” he started toward
me, “And it cannot stay away from you for more than five minutes.”
He put his arms around my waist, his head slightly tilted, with a
broad smile. I couldn’t help, but grin. He was so sweet.

“Wanna tell me more about stealing missions
from Ethan?” It itched to get out ever since Ethan had mentioned
it.

“Erm, no,” Zack turned away, and sat down on
my bed, his cheeks flushed.

“Oh, come on. I wanna know,” I joined him on
the bed, folding hands in my lap.

“Ethan said it all,” he said, gazing at a
spot on the floor.

“He didn’t say why you did it,” I tilted my
head, smiling.

Zack let out a long sigh, then nudged his
head toward me. “You enjoy torturing me, don’t you?” I just
chuckled, so he said, “You know why,” and he kissed me, long and
soft. Relaxed, without haste that usually colored our kisses in
fear of it being our last. “Let’s move on to more serious matters,”
he said, after a while.

“Okay, fill me in on that temporal guard
thing,” I said, telling my butterflies to settle down till
later.

“This is the thing,” Zack started pacing.
“First of all, I’m not in a coma anymore. That means I have more
freedom to move around, and I occupy a slightly different realm
than when I was in coma.”

“But, everything looks the same to me,” my
eyes bulged.

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you that it’s
not. I can jump to other times, and places at will. But we’ll leave
it at that at the moment.”

“Okay.”

“Next, my body is in my original space-time.
It’s frozen in a cryobox, hidden away from anyone that might harm
it. I have a total of sixty-five years to live in any time or
space, because my body will perish in 2156. Twenty-two have already
passed.”

I gulped. “Can’t you move your body to an
earlier time?”

“No. We haven’t figured that out, yet. Every
time traveler’s body is bound to its chronological, linear time,
like it has a sand clock running in that time-space, and once it
runs out, you're gone no matter which time-space you reside in,” he
chuckled, not at all bothered by that fact.

“Jesus,” I breathed.

“That’s the reason we’re looking for new
temporal guards that were born in earlier centuries. If our
opposing party changes history again, that will move the end date
closer, potentially wiping Ethan, me, and other TGAs from
existence.”

“Oh my God!” I shrieked. “But, but—”

“I know. We’re not safe yet,” a sour smile
crossed his face, “We need you, and others like you to take our
place if the worst should happen. So far, we’ve managed to stop
them.”

“I’m sorry Zack, but if that happens, I’ll
join the changing history team,” I sputtered. Zack looked at me
shocked, and then I said, “What would you do? Accept that I’m
gone?” I demanded, and he shook his head. “Neither will I. I’ll
join those that change history to get you back.”

“Hold your horses,” Zack grabbed my hands,
“Before you let your emotions guide you, hear me out. There’s a lot
at stake.”

“Like what?”

“Before we can proceed, you’ll have to try to
move your consciousness to my realm on your own. If you can make it
happen, then I’ll use this gadget,” he took out a little, square
patch out of his pocket, and held it up for me to see. “It will
stabilize you in my realm until you can manage to ground
yourself.”

“In English, please,” I grimaced.

Zack chuckled, “It will make sense further
down the road. When you do succeed, we’ll have to build a cryobox
for your body—”

“—what?” I cut him off. It hadn’t crossed my
mind, although he was saying it all along.

Zack bowed his head, biting his lip, “That’s
the hard part. If you decide to take this road with me, you’ll have
to be dead to your parents and everyone you know. It's the rule all
time-travelers all have to follow.”

My heart stopped for a moment. Numbness crept
up from my toes to the top of my head. Dread gripped my stomach. “I
can’t do that to my parents, Zack,” I looked at him, surprised that
he even considered that option. My lower lip trembled.

“I’m not asking you to do it. I’m just
telling you how things are, so you can make an informed decision.”
He sat behind my back, spreading his legs along side of mine,
locking his arms around my waist, and leaning his head on my
shoulder. I placed my hands over his on my belly, and pressed my
cheek against his, staring at nothing in particular.

“You don’t have to decide anything right
now,” he said after a few moments.

“I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that
I have to choose between my parents and you,” I darted my gaze
toward him. “It is that kind of choice, isn’t it?” He nodded, his
head still on my shoulder. “I can’t keep you both?” He shook his
head, and sighed heavily.

“I wish you could,” sadness flickered in his
gaze, “You are choosing for both of us. I'm bound by the rules I
have to follow. I will respect your decision even if it’s not in my
favor. That’s how much I love you,” he kissed my cheek. “Believe
me, I'd give anything to come and live here with you,” he bowed his
head, “But I don't have a say in it. I'd be stripped of
time-traveling privileges if I tried. That would make me stuck in
my time and you in yours.”

I turned around, and knocked him down on his
back, then spread my body over his, resting my head on his chest.
His arms locked on my back, his heart rhythmically beating under my
ear. “Tell me more,” I said, flipping my head around, placing my
chin on his chest.

Zack folded his arms behind his head, “About
what?”

“You stopped at building a cryobox,” I
reminded him.

“After we build it, we have to find a safe
spot where it will be secured for a long time. You go into stasis,
switch to this realm, and then we activate the cryobox to freeze
your body.”

“What happens if it malfunctions?”

“You wake up,” he chuckled.

“Why didn’t you wake up? You ended up in a
coma,” I furrowed a brow.

“Because that wasn’t a malfunction. It was
sabotage,” he grimaced. “Look. I’m not gonna pretend it’s 100%
safe. It’s not. But it’s not more dangerous than a normal life,
either.”

“Okay, and then what?” I rolled off of him,
adjusting to a new position on my back.

“Then we jump through space and time in
search of changes made by our opponents,” he moved to his side,
propped on an elbow, resting his head on his palm.

“What do we do when we see a change?” I
asked, rubbing my weary eyes.

“We fix it,” he cracked a smile. “It takes a
lot of effort, and intelligence to do it. It’s not easy. Neither
side can kill or harm anyone; all we can do is talk to people to
persuade them to do something.”

“Like you did with the nurses?”

“Yes. But, insignificant things like opening
a folder that I wanted will go smoothly. On the other hand, if you
tried to talk Hitler out of making Hell on Earth, you couldn’t.
It’s been done, and he never moved away from his initial plan. His
own will power was stronger than any influence from our side.”

“So you’re like good and bad angels
whispering to people,” I chuckled.

“Exactly,” he chuckled as well. “But I
wouldn’t call our opponents bad. We’re both good angels with
difference in opinion.”

“I'm sure the Devil would argue the same,” I
snorted. “Since they’re your opponents, I figured they were the bad
guys.”

“To become a time traveler, you have to have
a certain level of ethics and moral. That excludes bad people,
doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so,” I scratched my temple.

“Both sides have good arguments. Their side
wants to get all those people that perished back to life by fixing
history. Our side doesn’t want more people to perish, because there
are no guarantees that it can be fixed, and end-time gets nearer
and nearer at each attempt. It’s a moral dilemma! Who can say the
one side it good, and the other bad?”

“Hmm, but you said before that realms are
under intelligent design. Is that still true? Now that you have
your memories back.”