Time for School Ch. 18

"Oh, hi!" she exclaimed in a rather friendly tone. She quickly reached for the door to exit the vehicle. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare can of gas, would you? Maybe a siphon?"

"Sorry, I walked here," I explained while she closed the door behind her. "I didn't think I really needed gas on hand for that."

She chuckled. "I like you," she responded before extending a friendly hand. "My name's Ophelia."

I shook her hand and then wondered aloud, "Ophelia? I've never met anyone with that name before."

"I know, I get that a lot. My parents were huge into the whole 'peace and love' movement. They wanted something 'beautiful' and 'unique' when they named me. Although most of my friends ended up calling me 'Opie.'"

"Sounds rough," I replied. "I'm Anthony. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, it totally is!" she exclaimed with a grin.

Well, she seemed like an extremely sunny spirit. I was curious, though, about why she would have a 60's-style van like that. She didn't look much older than a college girl.

I decided to ask. "So, what made you want to carry on the 'peace and love' thing with this van?"

"Parents got me into it. It's all I grew up on at home and so, I started to enjoy it. Gotta love those old seventies songs, right?"

"Yeah, there are actually some good ones." She grinned and nodded. "But, why are you parked under here?"

"I know it sounds weird, but I liked the view here and how quiet it was. So, I wanted to hang out by the water for a little bit. Then I'm getting ready to leave and only then do I realize I'm out of gas. It's no sweat, I'm sure someone will come along soon. I'm just making the most of it enjoying how peaceful it is here."

I was surprised at the idea. Yes, it was weird, but it actually sounded like something I would do. Just enjoying random points of scenery - no matter how off-beat or out of the way it may be - was something I enjoyed from time to time.

"You know, I never did actually notice how nice it is under here," I replied as I took a good look around.

"You should totally think outside the box, more," she said with a hippie stoner vibe. "Spread your wings and be free like an eagle, man." The two of us shared a laugh.

"Well, hey, I don't want you to be stranded under here with no food or water or anything. I can go and get you some gas."

She seemed astounded. "You'd do that for a stranger? That's so nice of you!"

"I just want to help out, that's all. If it helps you get back home, then that's all I need."

As much as I also wanted to add 'it's the superhero way, ma'am,' I somehow managed to keep it inside.

"That's so, so sweet of you. Thank you so much, really."

"No problem," I said as I began to walk away. "I'll be right back!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" she called out. I smiled and shook my head.

Once I was out of sight behind the bridge's concrete base, I stopped and thought for a moment. I made the handle of a red plastic, portable gas can appear in my hand. I took hold of it and held it up to my head, rolling it around. Felt like there was a really good amount of gasoline in there. My options at that point were to either wait around for a while and come back, making it seem like I'd traveled a good distance. Or...

"Hey, check it out!" I exclaimed from afar as I began walking back.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I found this can of gas just sitting along the sidewalk. Looks like someone left it there."

She looked at me in disbelief. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure it has gas in it? Could be anything in there."

"Well, let's see," I said as I neared her. I popped open the cap to let her take a whiff. She immediately pulled her head back.

"Yep! That's definitely gasoline!" she said, coughing a bit. "But who the heck just leaves a tank of gas on the road like that?"

I shrugged. "Maybe someone who wanted to be kind to a person who runs out of gas nearby?"

"Well, that is extremely fortunate and very thoughtful of them - if that's the case."

She turned around to open the van's gas flap and unscrew the top. I slowly poured the entire contents of the can into the van's gas tank. Then, I closed everything up and she was good to go. I turned to see her smiling thankfully at me.

"I think you've got plenty here to get you to the nearest gas station," I said as I clamped the gas can nozzle shut.

"Sure am," she happily replied. "I don't really have anything to repay you with. I'd sure like to pay you back somehow."

"It's fine. Like I said, I just wanted to help to get you back home."

"Well," she said as she casually slithered her arms around the back of my neck, "you won't mind if I insist on repaying you, will you?"

"Oh," I replied in amazement before she planted a brief kiss on my lips and grinned. "... Wow."

She giggled. "You are pretty cute, you know. And very helpful."

To my surprise, she began leading me back toward her van with a mischievous look in her eyes. I was very intrigued as to where this was headed.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

She blindly opened the back door of the van where she'd been lounging earlier.

"Super serious," she replied with a big smirk as she tumbled back into the van. She laughed as she pulled me in with her, causing me to drop the gas can on the ground. I couldn't say I didn't appreciate this kind of reward for being an upstanding citizen.

We eagerly moaned as our lips pressed and danced deeply within one another. Her lips parted away from mine, giggling again as she looked at me.

"You're a great kisser," she said, causing me to smile before she hungrily went back in for another kiss.

Considering how serious she seemed, I decided to give us some privacy. In the quiet of the van, I casually froze time around us while leaving the automobile intact. Her music on tape continued to play while we played with no interruptions.

She went right for the kill, rubbing my crotch in her palm. I responded by kissing downward, to her chin, and into her neck. She moaned happily, throwing her head back in excitement. As I continued to kiss around her neck, she suddenly became very quiet and very still. Her skin oddly felt like it was made of hard porcelain. My kisses came to a slow, confused halt.

I pulled away and looked at her. She was completely immobile. Somehow, she'd been frozen in time as well. That didn't make any sense...

"... What?" I uttered in confusion. I hadn't froze time for her. Was it some sort of malfunction? Did I mess up somehow?

Then, ... my head buzzed.

Oh, no.

I quickly turned around. There they were - tall, bony and clad in black. The three of them were standing a short distance away from the van. In a panic, I quickly dashed out from the backseat and stood before them. I clenched my fists, staring them down with a serious expression. It had become a standoff. My new new powers had bolstered my confidence to a point I needed to deal with these guys. They weren't going to jump at me and scare me off. This time, I was ready to fight back.

"Back again so soon?" I joked before my tone became more serious. "What did you do to her?"

"It's time..." I was told yet again. I was getting tired of hearing that.

"Time for what?" I dared ask.

That's when the center one rushed at me in the blink of an eye. It moved so fast that it completely caught me off guard. Next thing I knew, its sharp, bony fingers were buried into my stomach. I stared at its indiscernible face in disbelief. They weren't screwing around. The excruciating pain of my abdomen being torn open was proof enough of that.

It whipped its hand out of me, blood pouring out. My body shook uncontrollably in fear for my life. I'd never been so grievously injured before. I couldn't think straight, but I absolutely had to if I was going to live. I immediately clasped my arms over my abdomen, gritting my teeth as I stared at them with rage in my trembling eyes. I was able to get a handle on my thoughts before I could go into shock. My wound rapidly healed itself within seconds - organs and all. As I looked down at my torso, I impressed myself to see I'd even fixed my torn shirt and removed the blood from it as well.

I looked up at them again. I immediately remembered the last time I took my eyes off them, they'd vanished. This time, however, they were staying. So was I. I was pissed. These guys have toyed with me, screwed with my head and kept me up at night guessing as to who or what they were and what their motives are. No more. It's going to end now.

"Hmm, ... you are as resilient as we predicted. Our apologies for being so brutish." The voice that they spoke with changed considerably from the last time. It was no longer just one of them speaking. Now, all three of them were speaking in unison, three different tones and pitches in their voices.

"Apology?!" I shouted. "You just tried to kill me!"

"A necessary strife in the grand scheme of things. Your life is meaningless to us."

I narrowed my eyes at them. "Funny, I feel the same way about you."

"You wanted to know about us, now ... we will explain everything to you."

I scoffed. "Whoopee. It's about time."

"We have existed since the beginning - the beginning of time. Everything that was created and had a history was on our watch. We see everything, we know everything. Our knowledge surpasses far more than you could ever know. In simpler terms, we are the keepers of time."

I was intrigued, processing what they said for a brief moment.

"So ..., you really are time gods."

"If that is what you wish to see us as. For an infinite number of years, we have cared for and maintained the delicate fabric of time. We maintain every thread within its spool and we must act accordingly should we ever find ... knots."

"I suppose I'm a 'knot,' then."

"Correct. Many beings have attempted to elude time or to defy it. None have ever succeeded ... until you came to be. But you must understand that every time your power has been used, you have caused undue ripples in the fabric of time. Those ripples have recently begun to form tears. If you were to continue on, all of time itself would be completely disintegrated with your power."

Sarah really did have a good idea when she asked if I would give it up. I'd have to thank her the next time I saw her.

"Then I'll just stop using it," I replied.

"A wise choice. But you see, we cannot go simply upon your words alone." I watched as the center one held its palm upward, creating a strange orb of light over its hand. I gazed curiously upon it. Within it, I was able to see moments of my life over the past month. "We have watched you since the birth of your powers; studying you. We've watched you use it for your own amusement and your own pleasure. It is truly disrespectful for you to abuse an embodiment that governs all life - one that has existed long before you have lived, and long after you die." The orb dissipated, his hand calmly lowered to his side."We can see everything - past, present, future. We knew that you were arriving to use your power. We knew that you would evade us the last time we met by simply spinning the wheels of time once more — after all, we foresaw it."

Then, they spread their arms out at their sides.

"Now, for the final image we have foreseen of you - your death." My eyes understandably widened in confusion and shock. "You are going to perish here, in this place ... now."

"... What?" I uttered in disbelief.

"Your ability to manipulate time has gone on for long enough. We will no longer allow an ignorant mortal child such as yourself to continue to molest time in the way that you have. We will end you by our own hands. We will be obliterate your very being and you will disappear — forever."

I recalled my last run-in with them and how I was simply able to blink time back on to make them go away. I could easily just do that ... and simply never use my power again to avoid all future interaction with them.

I smirked confidently at them. "Well then, I'll just end this little conversation like I did last time. So much for your predictions."

I blinked to resume time — only time wasn't starting again. The three of them were still very much in front of me.

"What happened?" I remarked, completely confused.

"Foolish," they calmly replied. "We knew you would try this. We merely vetoed your power to stop and resume time as you please. We are the ones that control time - not you." I stared at them, unsure of what to do next. If they could simply cancel out my power with their own, what could I even do to stop them? "Now, allow us to end your life quickly so that we may return to undoing the damage that you have caused."

No. I couldn't just let them win. Maybe they could stop my time-warping powers ... but so what? I had plenty more powers where that came from. I was not going to go down without a fight - certainly not to these jerks.

"Not a chance!" I exclaimed. "You may be gods that have existed since the dawn of time and I may just be some teenager with powers I don't fully understand. I don't know if I can beat you, but I've got some pretty powerful ideas!"

"You are delaying the inevitable," they replied. "We know everything you will do before you-"

Suddenly, I created a massive explosion around the three of them. Smoke and ash erupted all around me, whipping my clothes around in the dead silence. I didn't even know I could do that, but like I said, I had ideas.

Once the smoke cleared, I stood triumphantly.

"Ha. Talking too much like a cartoon villain."

Then, I sensed them behind me and immediately spun around.

"Foolish, again," they said. "Resistance is not an option for you. Retreat, you will find to prove impossible."

"I'm not going anywhere," I replied with a confident smirk.

My senses were in overdrive as the first one attempted its same attack as before. I managed to swiftly evade it, both of our actions as quick as the blink of an eye. I retaliated with a superpowered punch to his face, sending him flying into the distance.

"Got ya!" I exclaimed just before the other two swooped in to continue the brawl. Now, I was evading two sets of lightning-quick slashes. I took to the air, wondering if I'd had an advantage there. The other two simply watched me ascend without following. That's when I sensed something behind me and quickly turned to the side to avoid another lethal strike from the first man in black. Well, looks like they're able to teleport. What's more, they most certainly could fly.

Just then, it held its palm out to me. I reacted without thinking, lifting my leg away just as a strange, small portal opened up at my feet and then closed back up.

"What the hell was that?" I asked in confusion.

"A dimensional rip." The other two calmly floated up to return to the first's side. "You are a worthy foe. Indeed, we have never had to use our power aggressively. Practical usage of our strength is as new to us as it is to you. However, be aware that you may be fast, but not fast enough. We will continue to create dimensional rips of any size we wish. Once caught in them, your body will be trapped, consumed, and then cease to exist."

Needless to say, I didn't really like the sound of that idea.

"Or you could just back off and let me get back to my normal life. I don't need to use my time-stopping power any longer."

"The risk is simply too great."

"Then catch me if you can," I replied before making myself invisible. The three seemed to be caught off-guard, slowly turning their heads in various directions. I circled around them, sneaking up behind and quickly landing a punch on the backs of each of their heads. It sent all of them all flying a good distance away, where they crashed into a building with no damage caused to the time-frozen structure - only damaging their egos. They quickly rebounded, however. Their bodies ascended airborne in unison, quickly returning to where they last were.

"This game is only a temporary delay," they said before I saw glowing pairs of yellow eyes beyond their hoods. As I began to cycle around behind them again, I watched them staring directly at me. When I stopped, they stopped.

"Oh, damn," I said before evading a three-peat of dimensional rips near my legs and arm. I boldly went in for another attack, but they were ready.

As I swung for the fences at their faces, they teleported behind me. They used the split second of recoil from my attack and grabbed my arms from behind. Then, the third one sent their dimensional rip right into my back.

I gasped in terror as it began to slowly envelop me. I looked down in horror, watching my body starting to fizzle out into nothing. I couldn't be done yet! Our fight wasn't supposed to be this quick! I couldn't lose - the good guy's not supposed to lose!

So ... this was it? This was how I was going to die? To some stupid, robed skeleton men and their stupid rips in the dimensions?! How did I even let it get this far? Tears began to pour from my eyes as I grit my teeth. It was surprisingly pleasant being faded away into nothingness. It didn't hurt at all, it was like all feeling in my body was being erased. Even still, my life was flashing before my eyes. So many wonderful memories - from childhood, making friends and playing outside. Riding my first bike and getting into all sorts of trouble. I had caused so many problems and made enemies I didn't even mean to. I'm so sorry for all of it. I tried my best to make up for it, but in the end ... it wasn't enough. All of my friends' faces appeared before me. What will they say? What will they do when I just ... stop showing up for school? When I'm not at home and nowhere to be found? Why did it have to end this way ...?

I didn't want to die. ...

I don't want to die!!

I clenched my eyes and my teeth as I felt the nothingness of the dimensional rip consume all the way down to my toes. I panted fearfully while it slowly absorbed up my neck. I imagined I was going underwater, and that I had to hold my breath as long as I could.

But then, as it touched my chin, I heard them speak.

"No. ... We have made a mistake."

I gasped, my eyes shooting open. I looked down, finding my body completely intact. I touched my chest and my face in disbelief. I wasn't dead? I wasn't eaten away into nothing? Well, hot damn - I was in one complete piece again! But I didn't have any time to enjoy it when I turned around and saw them staring at me. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes, letting my pounding heart calm down.

"We will spare your life, young mortal," they calmly said.

"Why?" I just had to ask.

"You must understand, we are infallible. We have kept time flowing perfectly since its inception. However, we have never dealt with humans personally. We have never interfered with life and death. We realize that we cannot do that now." I stared at them in amazement. "What's more, young Anthony, your powers are ... shall we say, quite intriguing. There has never been a human like you before. You have a pure spirit and a sense of wonder that is rare amongst your kind. We have found enjoyment in watching over you for the short amount of time you've used your powers. And so, we will continue to do just that. However, we must be completely clear with you in telling you that you cannot ever use your power to manipulate time ever again. Should you do so, we will not hesitate to engage you in another fight. When we do, we will pull you into a dimensional rip for good and not be as merciful as we were this time."