You gave one last deep hug to your daughter before handing her off to her mother
It broke your heart to see her cry, calling out to daddy to come with her
But you knew you couldn’t
They were coming for you, and being with your wife and daughter only jeopardized their safety
They were smart
They knew Kronii would be too hard to catch, though she was their primary target, same thing with her daughter, their time powers making finding and capturing them difficult
But you?
You were only human
Some random mortal among billions
You had no powers, no special abilities, nothing to help you run or hide
No matter how far you ran or where you hid, they would find you
And better they only get you than your wife, daughter, or unborn child
You closed the door to your house, locking the knob and deadbolt
Not like it’ll help much but it makes you feel more secure
You meandered over to a safe in the corner, opening it with the key in your pocket
Inside was your dad’s old Winchester, the one he used to go hunting with, alongside several cases of 12 gauge ammunition
You’d never handled a gun before until about a month ago, but you were a fast learner
In that time you’d tried your hardest to train but in the back of your mind you knew it was for nothing
How much time would this buy you?
A minute? Maybe only a couple of seconds?
You pushed the thought out of your mind as you grabbed the weapon
It didn’t matter how much time you bought, so long as you bought it
Every second you stood and fought was another that allowed her to get away
You looked the gun over
It was old, well worn, scratched up in places, but well maintained
Old, but not obsolete
Like you
Taking some shells from a box, you slid them into the strap of your chest harness before opening the breach of your weapon
Two barrels of 12 gauge
Enough to stop anything in its tracks, or just simply blow them away
You hoped it would be enough
As you finished loading, you felt a strange feeling wash over you
The wind outside died down and the birds stopped chirping
The whole world stood still and held its breath as your home was overtaken by a slight rumble
It continued to get increasing louder and harder, your furniture rattling against the floor as pictures frames fell from the wall
It started to move
You couldn’t describe it, but you felt it change direction
It was getting closer to your door
It was at it now, your door quaking on its hinges
Then it all abruptly stopped
You aimed your shotgun at the door, body tense and eyes peeled for the slightest bit of movement

The door suddenly flung at you from its hinges, as an unknown forced crossed your doorstep
You ducked, just barely managing to avoid being beheaded by the splintered wood before aiming at what had come through your door
It was strangely human looking, but it towered over you and had skin that looked like the darkest ocean that seemed to flow like water
It had barely poked its head through when you fired
The blast blew a chunk of the entity’s head off, sending it backwards to collapse on your lawn
Before you could confirm it was dead another came swinging from the top of the door, hitting you in the stomach with its legs as you were sent flying from the impact, landing hard against the side of your couch
It was hard to breathe and your solar plexus ached but you made it to your feet
Just in time to see the second entity charging at you
You barely had to time to aim your weapon, pulling the trigger to fire your second shot
The pellets caught it in the chest and arm, blowing off the long, slender limb
The creature seemed to recoil in pain for moment before continuing its charge
You were panicked, struggling to remove the shotgun shells from the harness on your chest
You didn’t have time to reload
Instead, you grabbed a large and jagged part of the broken door, using it as a spear as you impaled the creature’s chest
You used your weight to pull it to the floor before twisting your makeshift weapon hoping to cause it more pain as it died
The creature twitched slightly, then remained still
Out of breath, you panted hard as you reloaded your shotgun
You scanned all around you
All was quiet again
You heard a noise behind you, your adrenaline kicked in, and you spun around holding both triggers, unleashing both barrels upon the third creature
It blew off the creature head and a good part of this torso, splattering whatever it was made of on your kitchen walls and floor
That was satisfying
You reloaded your weapon again
You’d made it farther than you thought you would
You’d bought them a minute, maybe two
They were going to need more
You walked over to your second kill, pulling out the makeshift spear
Some of the creature’s deep blue flesh was still stuck to the end
But something was off
It was moving
Drops of it coalesced into larger and larger globs
They slowly trickled down, before turning to a small stream
As you followed it you noticed they flowed to the creature’s chest and blown off arm
A small part of the chest would regenerate each time a drop connected with its body
You looked in horror as it’s once blow off arm was quickly reattached, and it’s body seemed to come alive once again
You aimed your shotgun, hoping to finish it off once and for all, but it was knocked out of your hand and by the first entity which had somehow recovered from your earlier blast
It’s hand morphed into a claw, tearing into your side as it swiped
You were quickly bashed by its other hand which had morphed into some sort of club
You fell onto the ground, but the beating never stopped
The second entity had fully regenerated and joined in on the pummeling, kicking and stomping you repeatedly
They continued their assault, ignoring the blood that slowly leaked out of you after every blow
Bones snapped and skin flayed, but they didn’t let up
But as just quickly as it had started, it stopped
The two of them suddenly halted their beating, backing away from you
As you turned to face them you saw it
There stood the third one, fully regenerated
It grabbed you by your neck, lifting you into the air
You struggled to breath, your arms clawing desperately at the creature’s hand as you coughed up blood
Your head ached as it reached into your mind, it’s question burning into your brain
”WHERE ARE THEY?”
It began to search through your memories for where you had sent them
You fought it, determined to hold onto the memory
It renewed its assault, continuing to transgress your mind
It hurt so much you began to scream uncontrollably, your empty home echoing with the sounds of your agony
But you never gave up the memory
You felt it withdraw from you mind
You smiled weakly
They were safe
The entity tightened its grip on your throat before morphing its other arm into a large blade
Your eyes went wide as it plunged its sharpened limb into your chest
It slowly lifted your impaled body upward, causing you to fall further onto the blade
You groaned in pain as blood dripped from your mouth and chest
It left you there for a moment before flinging you off it’s blade and into the wall
You slammed against the it, then fell hard against the floor
The old grandfather clock in the corner suddenly sounded off, giving you the time
Time
Yours was running out
In between your bleeding chest and aching body you saw a brilliant blue figure with black hair, surrounded by light
She kneeled down and took your hand in hers
You felt the pain leave you, and your racing mind calmed
At peace, you closed your eyes hoping that you had done enough

Krinny had never known her father well
She and her mother had fled their home when she was young
She barely had time to hug her father one last time before they were on their way
It had been 18 years since then
Her mother had only told her how much her father loved her, how much she meant to him
She didn’t understand how you could abandon someone you loved so much
So she traveled in time, to the beginning of where it all started
She watched her father and mother meet for the first time
Watched them grow together, and eventually fall in love
She watched them get married and have you
She watched you raising with her
Giving her horsey rides
Kissing her booboos
Reading her bedtime stories
Giving her goodnight kisses
All of it
She watched you say goodbye to her and her mother
Only then did she understand
You didn’t abandon her because you didn’t love her, rather, you did it because you did
But she continued to watch as you fought
As you struggled
As you were beaten and cut up
As you died slowly on the floor
Her mother had warned her not to do something like this
That it could mess up the timeline
But she didn’t care
She approached her dying father
Watched your eyes light up at the sight of her
As she kneeled down, clutching your hand in hers
She had a million things to she wanted to say to you
But she only whispered one thing to you before you passed
”Thank you.”

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Pub: 04 Oct 2021 02:02 UTC
Views: 139