Well there you have it. I went from being a master of time and space to being stuck in a tiny little space of a cell and not even knowing what time it was. I mean, I could tell the rough time of day from the light coming through that tiny window way up where I couldn't reach or see. But I didn't know if I was still in my time.
At first I had assumed that they hadn't sent me back because I hadn't felt the usual nausea and temporary disorientation, but by the time I woke up in the cell, it was possible all that had passed. Then again, I have never been sent back while unconscious before, so maybe it wouldn't happen at all. I would have thought it wasn't possible to be sent back while unconscious because they always told you to focus on your destination when traveling back, but I wasn't convinced I knew anything anymore at that point. Their mind altering powers had turned out to be greater than I had thought. I was pretty sure they were hiding other things from me, too. I just hoped Jason was okay, that he could hold out until the greater help came.
Three days into my imprisonment, I was starting to get a little nervous. No one had come to talk to me. The only person I had seen was a silent guard type who brought me my food and water every day. I could not tell from his clothes, nor for the "delicacies" of bread, meat-like product, and mushy carrots that they fed me whether the year was 1950 and 2150. I tried to ask the man the date, being careful to say "date" specifically and not "year" so that if he wasn't in on the whole time travel thing he would think I just lost track of time, but he didn't say anything. Then I tried demanding legal counsel. He just smirked at that.
"At least tell me why I'm being held," I demanded, deciding to play dumb, just in case that might work.
It didn't work. He just smirked at me and said in a low, grumbly voice the only thing he ever said to me, "You know why."
That was the evening of day two that that exchange happened. I was waiting for my lunch on day three (they didn't give me breakfast), feeling nervous, when I heard the door open above me, but instead of my grumpy guard companion coming down the stairs with a tray, it was Maria. I hadn't expected to be so relieved to see her, but I was. Seeing her meant that I was in my own time, or at least that there would be a way she had to get back to my own time. He dour look on her face made me feel even greater joy. I knew it was time, past time in fact. Maybe she knew. Maybe she was scared. I did wish she looked a little more scared, but at that point, locked behind bars, I would settle for annoyance.
"Would you like to explain this to me?" she asked.
She didn't even have to flip the tablet around to show me. I already knew what she was talking about. She probably already knew that I already knew, but she flipped the tablet around anyway, and I couldn't help but smile as I saw my own face, looking serious, facing back at me. Maria pressed play and the me on the screen began to speak.
"My name is Maria Larue," the digital me began. "You might know me from school or through my parents or you might not know me at all. You're seeing this message because I'm being held hostage by a secretive agency that claims to value science and the good of the people, but in reality is run by a horrible monster named Maria Rodriguez. I know you have no reason to believe me just based on this video, so I invite you to come see for yourself. Go to building 586 in the Factory District of Old Hampton Village and you will see what appears to be an ordinary warehouse. But if Maria Rodriguez taught me anything, it's that looks can be deceiving. If you care about the truth, go find it, but be careful. Maria is not someone to be trifled with."
The playback ended and Maria sneered at me. "Not someone to be trifled with, huh?" she challenged. "If I'm not someone to be trifled with, then what the hell were you doing with that video."
"Raising an army," I said. "An army of truth seekers who aren't afraid of you."
"Only because they don't know enough to be afraid," Maria spat.
"I know enough, and I'm not afraid," I said.
"Really?" Maria challenged. Then she sighed and looked sad, almost like her old self, like the self I thought I could trust. She wore the face I had when I came back from that "failed" mission that prompted her to send me back to kill Connor/Jason. "I'm disappointed in you," Maria said quietly, almost sweetly. "Before I said I was proud of you for doing the right thing, but this? Exposing us? How can that be the right thing."
"I didn't say anything about time travel," I said. "I was going to. I thought about it. But I decided it was best to let people dig for the truth."
"Why?" Maria asked. I almost thought she was going to cry. "Why would you do this?"
I couldn't help myself. I sneered back at her. I hated Maria in that moment and I felt just a little bit evil. "If we happen to find an opportunity for an interesting side project, an experiment, of course we'll take it," I said.
Maria began to open her mouth as if she was going to say something, but a banging at the door interrupted her. "Maria, we need you up here," I heard a male voice mutter. I thought I recognized that voice, but I dared not hope.
Clearly, Maria didn't hear what I heard, which just shows how little she cares about anyone, because she called out, "Coming, coming."
I watched her climb up the stairs, but the next thing I knew she was tumbling back down them and landed at the bottom with a thud. My heart skipped a beat, fearful she might be dead, but then I saw her try to lift her head with a groan before she passed out.
My worry about Maria quickly passed as I saw who was coming down the stairs wielding a sniper rifle. I smiled at him and he smiled back. "Please tell me you have the keys," I said.
He jingled them in front of me. "It would be a pretty lame rescue attempt if I didn't," he said. "I'd have to try to shoot the lock."
"You know that's a sniper rifle, right?" I asked as he threw the gun over his shoulder on the strap and started opening the cage.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "It doesn't even matter. It's not even loaded. I'm choosing to assume that most of the people here were just as much the victims as you and I. In fact, some of them even joined us in rushing this place."
"I am a little nervous about getting out of here," I said. "An angry mob was really supposed to be our last resort."
Jason nodded to Maria's unconscious form. "Well, she pushed us to this," he said. "If she hadn't locked you up, the video never would have gone out."
"At least she didn't lock you up," I said as the cell door swung open.
"It was a near miss," he admitted. "I saw someone coming towards my car right before you shouted for help. Driving away while you were calling out nearly killed me, but I stuck to the plan. If I was spotted outside the compound, I was supposed to run. So that's what I did. I feel awful about it, but I did it."
I smile and stroked his cheek. "My only fear was that you had stormed in on your own and gotten yourself captured, hurt, or killed," I said. "I'd much rather meet up with you again this way than have had you or your body in a cell beside me." I frowned then, finally looking at Maria again. "What should we do with her?" I asked.
Jason shrugged. "Leave her down here to rot. She is a monster and this seems like a fitting dungeon for the likes of her."
"She might be a monster," I admitted. "But she's still a human being as well, and seeing myself on that video screen... I fear I may have been a little too harsh on her."
Jason scoffed. "Too harsh? Not possible."
"Well at any rate," I said, "if we kill her, we're just doing to her what she asked me to do to you. We have to find a way to get her out safely, have her stand trial or something."
"How on earth do you stand trial for time travel crimes?" Jason rightfully wanted to know.
"I don't know," I admitted.
He sighed. "Alright," he said. "Here, you take the gun." He handed it to me. "Bullets or no bullets, you're probably better with it than I am. I'll carry her out of here like she was the held captive or something."
It was clear Jason did not like this plan any more than the plan where he had left me in this cell to rot for three days, but he trusted me, and so I smiled and said, "Thank you."
"Yeah, well, you saved me," he pointed out. "Saving you and then saving the person who imprisoned you is the least I could do."
I laughed, just a little. "Stay strong, Jason," I said, not knowing what else to say. "It will all be over soon."
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