Week 39.2 – The Last Time, Probably

Previously: In the cavern that holds the City of the Moon, Digger used the Cup of Regret to travel through time moments before being disintegrated by the Czar’s blue beam. And now…

Digger stumbled forward into what he was sure would be the flea market in Berkeley once again. A man was getting to his feet directly in front of him, but Digger couldn’t stop. They fell to the floor in a tangle.

Digger sprang to his feet, then offered a hand to the man he’d knocked down. It was the exchange student he’d already knocked down once before, the man he’d taken the crystal from. “Sorry, dude,” Digger said as he helped the man up.

“Stop that man!” the student said, pointing. Digger turned to see himself, mud-spattered and dressed in baggy skater jeans, disappearing around a corner. “He stole my necklace!”

“Not sure you want to say ‘necklace,’” Digger said. “Maybe ‘pendant’ or ‘amulet’ or…”

“Whatever it is, he stole it!” the man said. “We have to stop him!”

The man took a step as if to pursue, but Digger grabbed his arm and held him back. It wasn’t hard. The man’s struggle was half-hearted at best. “Look, dude, you’re not going to catch him. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” the man said, shaking his head. “It’s not as if you took it.”

[blockquote type=”blockquote_line” align=”left”]Digger turned to see himself, mud-spattered and dressed in baggy skater jeans, disappearing around a corner…[/blockquote]“Well, I’m sorry on behalf of the rest of us,” Digger said. “Look, the world’s full of assholes who will take what they want from you simply because they can. At some point, you have to make peace with that and do the best you can with what you have. I mean, it’s not like you can fight the whole world or something, right?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” The man looked outraged.

Digger shrugged. “I’m terrible at making people feel better. I’m not sure why I even keep trying. Oh, shit, I’ve got to run!”

He ran off, away from the sputtering exchange student and around the corner after his previous self. He rounded another corner and saw himself times two, the Digger in the baggy jeans being confronted by the Digger in the Chinese dress. Baggy Jeans disappeared as the crystal, swung by Chinese Dress, touched his cheek. Digger sprinted forward as Chinese Dress turned to talk to Caveat. “Excuse me,” he said as he leaped between them and grabbed the crystal.

The world swirled again, and Digger was once more in the cave, stumbling forward. He tripped over a chunk of crystal on the floor, went down sprawling on the stone floor. As he got up, he realized something was different.

The glow was brighter, for one thing, and the floor, which had had a cleared pathway through, was now littered with crystals large and small. He got to his feet and noticed the big difference: the wall between this chamber and the next, the Grand Cathedral as he  had dubbed it in his mind, was gone, apparently disintegrated by the Czar. If the cup hadn’t worked…

He turned at a sound behind him and noticed the really big difference. Somehow, the exchange student had followed him forward through time!

Whoa, what does this mean? To find out, don’t miss our next not-so-action-packed episode!

To read from the beginning, click here…