Book 2: Preventing Londinium

Betrayal

I wake up the next day to see flames all the way around me. I realise that I am in my apartment and try to sit up, but I'm pinned under rubble. "Jake! Sarah! I can't move, where are you?!" I scream. I reach for a lever on my bedside cabinet, and I am barely able to reach it. I flick it forwards, and this causes my bed to completely tip forwards. The debris falls off of me, and I fall to my knees. I begin to navigate through my burning room, until I saw a pair of legs underneath an enormous chunk of brick. I rush over and shove the bricks off of whoever it is. "No, no, NO!!!" I exclaim. It's Sarah...she's gone. I reluctantly run out of the burning door, and launch myself out of the hallway's window down towards the street.

However, when I slowly get to my feet, a dozen armed guards point their guns at me. I put my hand behind my back, and await the gunshots. But they don't come. A masked man walks between some of the guards and squats down in front of me. He removes his mask, and says "I had such high hopes for you James....It's a shame that it had to come to this". It's Jake. "But Jake, why? What was it all for?" I ask him, not daring to move due to the risk of being shot by the guards. "Well you see James, when the New Militia brought me back to life, I decided to- Wait a minute! Why am I telling you this when I can just kill you?" he responds, proceeding to punch me square in the face, knocking me out cold.

I wake up being dragged along a bunch of rocks. I turn my head and see the edge of...a drop? I dart my eyes around and see fields stretching for miles on end. And at the bottom of the drop, there are many rocks and what appears to be an enormous stretch of water. "Is that the ocean?!" I say to whoever is dragging me, "Where am I?!". He turns around and lifts me with both hands by the throat, holding me over the edge of the drop. "We're in Dover, Mr Elshire," the man explains, "aka YOUR FINAL RESTING PLACE!!". As he yells this, he tosses me off the edge, and I'm sent free-falling. That is until, a few seconds later, a relatively tall wave crashes over the rocks and I slam into the water, but as I try to get my bearings, the current pulls me headfirst into one of the rocks. This, once again, renders me unconscious.

But when I wake up, I'm not in danger, I'm not in peril, And I'm...nowhere, really. I look around and see nothing but a gate. I enter through it and see a lady sitting at a table with a drink in her hand. "Uh, excuse me?" I call out to her, "But could you please tell me where I am?". She turns around, revealing herself to be Sarah. I run over to embrace her, but I'm suddenly grabbed around my ankle. A demon-like creature is pulling me downwards, screaming that I must atone for my life of sins. Luckily, Sarah walks over and drags me onto a chair, away from the beast's grip. "What was that?!" I enquire, "And how are you here?! You died!". She sits down and looks at me. "James," she replied, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you....you are...you're dead aswell.". I'm....flabbergasted. "But Sarah...what happens now? And why is it only you here?" I ask, desperate for answers. "Wait, only me?" she responds, sounding confused, "Can't you see the others?". I shake my head, and she tells me that it mustn't be my time yet. While I'm here, I tell her about Jake and his job with the New Militia. But before I can finish, she silences me. "You can't stay here.." she reluctantly informs me, "You have to go and save London.". But before I can object or question her any further, I snap awake.

"No no no no no no NO!!!" I call out, "I need more answers!". I then realise that I'm staring at something. A...seagull? I brush it away from me and sit up. "Hey sir, are you alright?" a stranger asks me. I assure him that I'm fine, and climb to my feet. But since I must have been barely afloat since I was dropped, I very quickly feel nauseated, and fall to the side. The man catches me, telling me that "No, you're not fine, so you're gonna come with me and stay at mine and my wife's house for a while." I initially refuse, but I need the help, so I hop into his truck and buckle up. "You don't mind me asking your name, do you sir?" the man asks me. I pause for a moment, before responding with "My name is James Elshire. In London I am known as Prime Minister Griffin, and I was previously using the name Maverick. What about your name?". He tells me that his name is Johnathan, and that his wife is called Alex.