We headed back towards the secret time travel supply room, each with a gun in our hands and me with the key cards. It was the current me, not the me from the past that I had freed from the prison, who had the key cards.
When we got to the door other me asked, "You haven't seen what's inside yet, have you?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Not yet."
"How do we really know this is everything?" she asked. "Maria has lied to us about a lot."
I looked back at her. She had a point. "That is a good point," I said. "We, or I, will have to take Maria and find some way to make sure there isn't a secret secret stash or something."
"You're going to kidnap Maria?" the other me asked, apparently shocked.
I shrugged. "It was going to end up that way anyway."
The other me was silent after that as I opened the door. I don't think either of us was prepared for what we saw inside. "Was she going to send the whole world back in time?" I heard past me whisper behind me.
I wasn't sure how to respond, since it was the exact same thought I had been thinking. There were boxes and boxes pull of what appeared to be the hand cream. I went over to one and opened it up. There were large jars of the cream as well as the little vials. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about sending you back with enough of the vials," I said turning back to other me.
She laughed that nervous chuckle-like laugh that I apparently have. "How are we going to destroy it all?" she asked.
This I had thought about, but my original thought of burning it up in the lab seemed much less feasible now that I saw just how much of it there was. Then I thought of the weapons locked and said with a shrug, "Grenades, I guess?"
Her eyes got a bit wider, but then she smiled. "Well, we do want to destroy this place," she said. "That would probably do it."
"Probably," I agreed. I paused and then said, "Tell you what. Why don't you go to the lab, collect the vials hidden there and destroy whatever other equipment and stuff needs to be destroyed, at least to slow them down if they want to make more of the stuff. I'll go get the grenades and blow this room to bits. I'll get some more ammo while I'm at it, too."
"What if I can't access the supply in the lab?" she asked. "Wouldn't Maria have revoked my access."
I smiled the smile of someone who knows something the other one doesn't. "I was worried about that in the future, too," I said, "but I was able to get in to get the vials needed to come here. If she hadn't revoked access in the future, it's unlikely she's revoked it here in the past."
"Okay," other me said skeptically. I got the sense she was starting to wonder if I was really me or if this was some elaborate trap. We had, after all, just seen a photo of someone who looked like Jason but probably wasn't. It was the kind of thing I would be worried about in her place, and she was me after all.
"Roger Elroy," I said to her.
"What? Oh..." She smiled. "Our first crush."
I nodded. "I'll bet Maria doesn't know about that," I said.
"Mom and dad don't even know about that," she said. She shook her head. "This is so weird, but I guess its really happening."
"Yeah, I guess it is," I said. As she turned to leave I said, "Oh, and by the way, make sure you save at least one vial from the hidden supply. You can burn the rest if you want."
"Why should I save one?" she asked.
"Because I came here with all twelve," I said, "but now I only have eleven, and when you go back..."
She gave an understanding nod. "Continuity," she said.
"Continuity," she agreed. Then she added, "Well, good luck."
"You, too," I said. "If either of us dies, we might both be screwed."
"Or not," she said with a shrug. "Who really knows."
"I suppose that's true," I agreed. "Who really knows."
With that, she ran off to get to the lab and I hustled to the weapons locker to pick up some bullets and grenades, hoping that Maria wouldn't wave up and stop us before we could finish this. She would probably stay unconscious for a while though, or so I hoped.
I got to the weapons supply area without incident, but encountered the problem of a locked crate when I got there. Usually someone would give me a key to get equipment or else one of the trainers would get the equipment for me. Since neither of those things had happened or seemed likely to happen, I decided to just start banging on the lock with the butt of my rifle. I checked first to make sure there was no one near by, and then started attempting to break the lock.
I had expected this task to be a bit easier than it actually was. I also did not realize how noisy it would be and was quite started when I heard a voice behind me. I spun around to see a muscular woman in a tank top with a long brown braid down her back. I vaguely recognized as one of the trainers. She seemed a bit surprised to see me, but not angry or scared. I wondered if she realized I was the one they had been holding in the prison, or at least a version of that one.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked.
"I was trying to get into this crate," I said, truthfully. Then I decided to try a gambit. "I need some grenades for the mission Maria wanted to send me on, but when I got here I realized she had forgotten to give me a key." I sighed, trying to appear annoyed. "I guess I'll go back to her office and ask for it."
The woman smiled, much to my relief. "There's no need for that," she said, "You can borrow my key." She held it out to me.
I was a bit concerned this must be a trap, but if she was suspicious of me, hesitating would only make it worse, so I took what she offered.
"Thanks," I said.
"No problem," she replied. She watched as I opened the crate, trying to keep from shaking nervously, and then took out a box of grenades.
I was concerned I might need more, so I didn't quite lock the crate when I closed it, but hoped I did enough to make it look like I had locked it. As I was doing this I heard her say, "You're Anna, aren't you?"
Oh boy, I thought to myself. Now I'm done for. I turned around with the box of grenades tucked under my arm and smiled sheepishly. I gripped my rifle, ready to hit her with it if I needed to. "Yeah, I suppose I am," I said.
She didn't attack or make any move like she was going to. She just kept smiling. And then she said something that truly startled me: "You're one of Maria's favorites, you know."
I was shocked. "Favorite what?" I asked.
The woman shrugged. "Employees. Maybe people in general."
I wanted to say, "What on earth are you talking about?" But instead I said, "That's very kind."
She looked like she wanted to say more on the subject, but then she just said. "Maybe I have my key back?"
"Of course," I said, probably blushing a bit in embarrassment as I handed it back.
"Well, good luck on your mission," she said.
"Good night," I said.
She gave me a nod and walked away. I hoped to high heaven that she didn't notice the cameras I had shot out. Had I realized that Maria apparently didn't even tell people I was being held captive, I probably wouldn't have shot so many out. That whole encounter was just too weird. I decided to not think about it and take what I had come for back to the storage room. I re-opened the not so locked box and took a second box of grenades and a small box of rifle ammo. I slung my rifle over my back, tucked the rifle ammo in my coat, and carried one box of grenades under each arm, hoping I didn't encounter anyone else on my way back to storage. I was fortunate enough to make it back without incident.
Just after I arrived, and had started opening the boxes of grenades the other me arrived as well. "I messed some stuff up," she said. She held up the one vial of time travel lotion. "And here's the one I didn't burn," she added.
I gave a nod. "Good work," I said.
"I take it the crate was locked," she said.
"Yeah," I admitted sheepishly. I considered whether I should tell her about the woman or not. When she went back and redid everything I was doing now, should she know about the woman ahead of time or not? I decided it was better to share than to not and said, "I did encounter one of the trainers. Even spoke to her."
She looked as shocked as I had felt when encountering said trainer. "What that...? You didn't...?"
I shook my head and smiled. "No," I said. "She didn't even know I, or you rather, had been captured and were being held."
"Did you know who you were at all."
"Yeah," I said. "That was the really bizarre part. And she said that Maria likes me."
"What? That's crazy!"
"I know, right?"
Other me just sighed and shook her head. Then she looked down at the grenades. "Well, should we get on with it?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah I suppose so," I said. "But first, since you're here, take this." I set down my rifle and took off my jacket. "I don't know where I got this, but I was wearing it when I went back, so you should probably wear it too. After we're done here, I want you to go back to a time just a few minutes before you woke up in your cell."
"And do all the stuff you've been doing since," she said, nodding her head knowingly. "Yeah, I've figured that out already."
"I know," I said. "I just wanted to be explicit."
"Make it spoken and not just thoughts," she said with a smile.
"Exactly," I replied. "Oh, and here's some extra ammo in that coat, too."
"Thanks," she said, feeling around in the pockets and giving a nod when she found it. Then she looked back up at me. "So what are you going to do after we blow this stuff up and I go back again?"
"Take Maria and go find Jason," I said.
She looked quite surprised at that, even more surprised than when I had come to free her. "I wouldn't have thought to do that..." she said.
"Well, you didn't see what I saw," I said, feeling like I had said this already. "We basically ended up kidnapping Maria anyway in the future."
"And you think you need to do that now?" she asked.
I nodded. "I know it's a risk, but I think its the best way."
She shrugged. "Alright well, I certainly have to trust you. And I'll try to convince the next me of the same thing the next time through."
I gave an approving nod. "That would be good," I said.
She looked back at the grenades. "Well, shall we?" she asked.
I gave another approving nod, this one to echo my words as I said, "Let's do it."
We ended up not quite needing all of the grenades to destroy the merchandise. We tried to do the destruction as quietly as one can with a bunch of grenades, but even when we closed the door after tossing them in, it still made enough of a bang that anyone nearby surely would have heard them. And yet, no one came running. Lucky us.
"Maybe we should use the last couple to blow up the lab," other me suggested.
I nodded. "Good idea," I agreed.
So we did that. It should have been exciting, but it was really without incident. When we were done, other me said, "I thought I would have felt more closure or something."
"Trust me, you will," I said, trying to be reassuring while also not being all that sure even I was feeling all the closure I had expected.
"Well, I guess it's time now," she said.
I nodded. "You to the past and me on into the future."
"I'll be there soon enough," she said with a smile.
We each made a step forward as if we were going to hug, but then quickly stepped back and laughed. We both had the same laugh and it echoed through the hall. "Well, that's as good a good-bye as any," she said. "And if there is anyone nearby..."
"They would have already heard the grenades," I said.
"Right," she said with a smile and a nod. "Well, see you later," she said as she popped open one of the hand creams.
"I sure hope not," I said.
She laughed again as she rubbed the cream on. Then there was a blur and a flash and she was gone. "Huh," I found myself saying to myself, and now only to myself. I shrugged and hurried off towards Maria's office. It seemed pretty clear there was no one else in the facility any more, but I still hurried, just to be safe.
I was relieved to find Maria unconscious on the floor, just where I had left her. I was also relieved to find she was just unconscious and was still alive. If she died, well, that would have messed everything up. I didn't want to be a killer. I shifted my rifle and flung her over my shoulder, surprised at how heavy she was. I certainly couldn't run while carrying her, so I just strolled out of the building, hoping no one would see me and stop me. No one did. It was all so strange. It was all so easy. It seemed way too easy. I had only seen a total of four other employees, not counting myself, while on this little mission. I started to wonder... but then I stopped. I was just going to count my blessings and move on. I had to get to Jason and I had to stop the broadcast from going out, or else this whole trip would have been a waste.
Once I got safely out of the warehouse and a good distance away to an area that had some trees I could hide behind, I searched Maria and was relieved to find a communication device. I synced it up with the contacts stored in my lens implants and used it to call Jason.
"Maria," he said angrily on the other line, "What do you..."
"No Jason, it's me," I said.
He paused and then. "Anna? But how are you?"
"I'll tell you everything," I said. "Just come get me, please. I'm a few blocks south of the warehouse. And whatever you do, do not release the broadcast."
"I won't," he said. "I'll tell your parents you escaped, though I still don't know how."
"Let's just say I used their weapon against them," I said.
"You didn't kill...? Wait, do you mean time travel?"
"Yes," I said, giving a nod that he couldn't see.
"Holy... so you're...."
"Yes, I'm now technically two days older than I was before. Will you please just come get me."
"Yes, of course. On my way. And, Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
I smiled. "I love you, too."
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