NINE TIME MACHINES: Do you want to undo your entire life on planet earth?

CHAPTER 173

The voice splashes both ears with water then speaks again.

"How about now?"

I would recognize her from a mile off. The way it beats down on a tin roof from light to heavy.

"Kat? But why?"

"I can become any of them whenever I want. You can too, if you learn how."

Now the scenery changes again. I can see Kat's shadowy form. She is three feet away from me; her red eyes switching to white then red and white again. But we're no longer in a room. We're standing atop a flat rock – more like a stone, and surrounded by an almost motionless ocean. A stark reality hits me that I'm not in control.

"Tell me what kind of life you really want."

I take furtive glances at my surroundings. There's no land mass for miles. Come on, Mary. Play this one cool until you reach civilization.

"What, what do you want to know exactly?"

"Let's start small," she says. "What can you do?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"What are you good at?"

"Well, the only thing I've ever done was odd jobs here and there."

"Did you learn anything about yourself on those jobs?"

"Like what?"

"I know you left all of them. What happened to make you leave?"

"The same old story. Nothing new. Just advantageous evil people everywhere I go."

"And you stood up to them, didn't you?"

"Then I had to leave." I sigh. "Is there a reason you're bringing this up?"

"Yes, there is Mary." Kat moves towards me. "You're good at standing up to bad people."

"Yeah, right," I chuckle, "and then I have to run for my life."

"Not after you enter that building."

"I'll stop running? Just like that?"

"Not only will you stop. But you'll flip the script and chase whatever chases you."

"All from entering a building?"

"Exactly."

"Look! I'm just in this to find hidden treasure."

"And you'll find it."