Chapter 19: The End
“ Guys, there’s something I want to ask you to do.” Marcus said to Gillean and Gwen.
“ What’s it?” Gillean asked.
“ Actually, we’ve done everything to help the city and our country as a whole. I’ve practiced the experiments and manipulated the memory chair. It’s time for us to go back home.” Marcus said musingly.
“ Frankly speaking, bro, I don’t hanker for it. At first I’d been wondering how to go back, but now my home’s here. After the elbow grease we had to endure I don’t consider abandoning this place.” Gillean confessed.
“ Remember our first talk?” Marcus asked.
“ Hm, yes. But not explicitly.” Gillean answered with bafflement in his voice.
“ We made an arrangement. To conduct experiments with the memory chair. And then our incentive developed in another type of activity- saving the damn dystopian city. We’ve done what was asked, so our conscience is innocent and pure.” Marcus insisted.
“ All right, I got it. So Lucas and Asteria are staying here?”
“ Yeah. But we can come and visit them any time we want.” Marcus replied.
“ Another question: how are we gonna restore the time-machine?” Gwen asked.
“ It’s pretty apparent. I talked to Brandon once in a while , and gave him a clue where my blueprints are stored. He managed to mend it a couple of weeks ago.” Marcus said casually.
“ Hm… Okay. I didn’t think he’s such a tech-savvy guy.” Gillean answered with surprise.
“ By the way. How are you supposed to figure out the murder of Anne-Marie Hansen?” Gwen questioned.
“ I’ve already found a solution for it too.” Marcus whispered mysteriously.
“ But how? Not only are you a know-it-all, but also a person capable of anything!” Gillean exclaimed.
“ I don’t want to go into details, but Brandon helped me with it and I can carry on conducting my experiments peacefully.” Marcus responded.
“ But what do we have to do? You were asking to do something before.” Gwen reminded.
“ We need to hide the memory chair. In a secure space. Asteria is planning to rent an apartment, and Lucas wants to go back home, to his fancy neighborhood. Which means this place will be dilapidated. And there’s no denial that someone may try to sneak in.” Marcus pointed out.
“ Do you know where to hide it?” Gillean asked.
“ There are dungeons beneath this lab, so we can go down and leave it there. And seal all doors ,ventilations and etc., for leaving no potential entrances to it.”
“ All right. Let’s start then?” Gwen said.
“ Yes.” Marcus responded .
***
Having carried down the chair, they sealed three ventilations, the doors, and a trapdoor in a room above the dungeon.
“ Are you certain it’ll be secure?” Gillean and Gwen asked in chorus.
“ Of course. “ Marcus said confidently.
“ So now we’re supposed to say goodbye to them?” Gwen asked.
“ Yes.”
Gwen , Gillean and Marcus went to their bedrooms to pack their things. Marcus urged Gillean to wear his broken time-belt because of which he’d been stuck in the future, and the bracelet. Gwen had her VR-helmet made by Brandon. They were all set, and went to their friends for the last visit.
“ Asteria, Lucas. We’ve got something to tell you.” Marcus announced.
“ What is it?” Asteria asked, suspecting what it could be.
“ We’re …going home.” Marcus, Gillean and Gwen said simultaneously.
“ I’ll definitely miss you. We’ve been trough a lot, though I’m a relatively new member in your group.” Lucas said gently.
“ I can’t imagine my life without you. Promise, that you’ll come to visit us someday. “ Asteria said, her voice shaking because of crying.
“ By the way, haven’t your parents tried looking for you?” Gillean asked.
“ They’re alcoholics and don’t care about me at all. I made up the story about college, cuz I’ve been renting a random room at the college dorm where my friend studies.” Asteria said pitifully.
“ Oh, girl, I’m so sorry…” Gwen said and hugged Asteria.
“ It’s okay . I’ve got you, people who I really care for.”
Asteria took out the phone from her pocket and took a selfie with the guys. They all hugged each other and Marcus gave Lucas and Asteria two packages. “ These are gemstones. You know my passion for such things. Asteria , you have rubies. Lucas, in your package are sapphires.”
“ Goodbye!” Gillean, Gwen and Marcus yelled.
“ Goodbye!” Lucas and Asteria yelled back.
***
“ Now brace yourselves. Had you been wondering if I ‘d travelled in time before?” Marcus asked in an intriguing way.
“ Sort of. You don’t seem to have the belt and the bracelet, or at least a similar helmet as Gwen does. What device do you have?” Gillean said.
“ It’s a tablet. It has a special chip inside. It looks like a sim-card , I’d put the thingy in the slot. It’s connected to the time machine , so I just specify the date , press the button, it starts scanning us, I put it in my bag, hold your arms and we get home.” Marcus described.
“ Have the colleagues been looking for us?” Gwen asked.
“ Brandon filled some documents on your behalf as though you were on a long job trip across in some states.” Marcus responded.
***
The tablet blinked, indicating the start of its work. Marcus scanned himself, then Gwen and Gillean. Everything started swirling around, blurring the surroundings for Gillean. He closed his eyes not puke because of the kind of rollercoasters they had in space and time. Suddenly, Gillean saw his mother and sisters in front of him. “ Gilly, you’re coming back!” his younger sisters-twins said , and mom beamed. He fell on the ground, hitting his head hard . “ Guys, you here?” Gillean asked, not opening his eyes.
“ Ouch. Yes.” Marcus replied.
“ Me too. “ Gwen said.
They were in Marcus’s lab in the abandoned mansion. “ You should try to redecorate it, it’s sort of neglected.” Gwen said.
“ I definitely will.” Marcus assured her.
“ Bye , Marcus! “ Gwen and Gillean said simultaneously.
“ Bye. Going home?” Marcus asked.
“ Yeah. Gwen is moving to me today.” Gillean replied.
“ Wish you many happy years to come!” Marcus blessed the couple.
“ Thanks ,bro.”
Walking down the streets of the present version of Detroit felt like something odd, otherworldly. He hasn’t been here for almost a year. It’s cold again. It was unusual that this period of his life was in the same city, but the time frame was different, the surroundings were of another kind, people were not the same. He had the opportunity to learn to appreciate the place where he lives, after being deprived of it for a time being . Now he knew in what direction he wanted to go, what to develop and how to move forward.
