Cogs Of Fate

The Game Changer

Flynn found the team back inside the church. The young boy from the river sat by the iron stove for warmth, the wool blanket still draped around his small frame. The old priest passed him a mug of hot tea before lifting his gaze up to the approaching Flynn.

Lucy's eyes lingered on the man as he crossed the room toward them. She could see it on his posture and expression that something horrible had happened. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Flynn's eyes remained locked with the young boy sitting by the hot fire. He feared answering the question - not because of the answer he'd give but because of what he wanted to suggest they do.

Lucy saw the confliction on his face. She glanced at Rufus and Wyatt, motioning for them to join her as she approached Flynn. When they clustered together, she whispered, "What's going on?"

Flynn couldn't tear his eyes away from the child. "That boy is Hitler."

The team whirled around, glancing at the boy in stunned silence. Rufus stammered, "Hitler? As in the Hitler?" Flynn nodded glumly. Rufus groaned. "You mean, I gave Hitler mouth-to-mouth? I saved his life?!"

Lucy shushed him, hoping it wasn't too late. She didn't want the boy to know they were speaking about him. Her dark eyes darted behind them at the boy who seemed blissfully unaware of their conversation. She turned back to the team. "So, what do we do?"

Wyatt shook his head, readjusting the blanket around his shoulders. "We can't let him live, right?"

"What?" Lucy gasped.

Wyatt glared at her. "You can't be serious." When he saw her 'we can't destroy history' look that she gave frequently, he added, "You can't seriously be okay with letting that monster live after you know full well what he's capable of doing-"

"Maybe he won't-"

Flynn interrupted her. "Just like Rittenhouse all over again." He pinched the bridge to his nose as he recalled the day he tried to stop Rittenhouse before it began and Lucy put herself between the boy and his gun.

She scoffed, shaking her head. "We're talking about murdering an innocent child-"

"Hardly innocent," Wyatt remarked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lucy turned her gaze back to Flynn. "Imagine if he were Iris...could you really do that to someone's child? Give them the same kind of pain you went through?"

Flynn clenched his fists as his heated gaze turned to her. "Iris wasn't a notorious monster!"

Rufus glanced between the two, feeling the tension rising fast. He cleared his throat. "Do you think Emma was sent here to kill this kid?"

Lucy sighed heavily, thinking over the details. "Huh."

"What does that mean?" Rufus asked. "What's 'huh'?"

Lucy glanced about the group. "There was a brief mention of something like this in history books...about a priest rescuing a boy from the river and the boy turned out to be Hitler but it was always sort of rumor...The people of Passau claimed it to be true for years after the war - "

Wyatt pulled the blanket tighter around him. "Maybe we should have listened to Emma-"

"You can't be serious," Rufus muttered.

Wyatt blinked at him. "What is with you guys? We know what horrible things he ends up doing-"

"We're talking in circles," Flynn complained. He shook his head. "If we are going to let him live, then why are we still here?"