Gods and Monsters

VIII

Capaldi Tower - Twickenham, London

The high-rise tower block soared high into the sky almost touching the grey clouds above it. Anton slammed into the door hard as he attempted to get inside, sirens blaring in the distance. He wasn't sure how an ordinary flight had turned into him on the run, but Anton was sure he wasn't going to get caught, especially after he had revealed his power to the detectives on the plane. If he could get to Deborah, maybe they could just get away together, escape the madness and start anew. Whilst traveling here, Anton had noticed so much different with the world. Cars were sleek and futuristic, phones fit into pockets and fashion and hair were wildly different.

Anton ran his hand along the buzzers until one of the residents let him into the building, and he didn't waste any time in getting the door open as he charged into the lobby and scanned the mailboxes for Deborah's name.

Bishop - 229

Kirk - 230

Gordon - 231

Grey – 232

There she was. Apartment 232. Anton couldn't help but chuckle to himself; the lift was out of service, and with his body exhausted from the strain of teleporting he was forced to take the stairs. He had never meant to teleport at all, let alone take a whole flight full of passengers with him too. Anton had found his powers becoming more and more proactive to the point of almost being out of his control. The last thing he remembered before the jump was slipping into a peaceful sleep, thinking of how he would soon be with Deborah at the airport.

He rushed up the stairs and hammered on the wooden door with his fist, desperately hoping Deborah was home. Wiping the sweat from his face and patting his frizzy hair down once again, Anton pulled his hand away to find dabbings of crimson on his palm. Reaching back up towards his lip he felt the warm blood dripping from his nose and onto his tongue. Wiping his face with a tissue, Anton looked up just as the door was opened and he was met with the face of the beautiful owner.

Her blonde hair had a few silver streaks among it, like needles in a haystack, and her face was slightly more mature, but Deborah was just as beautiful as she had been the last time that Anton had seen her. Slightly puzzled with the aging, Anton paused for a moment, but he was too much of a gentleman to mention anything.

"Deborah..." Anton sighed as he continued to regain his breath after running up the stairs.

Her pink lips were slightly upturned in a confused grin. "How can I help you, Sir?" She politely asked

Now Anton was the one who was confused. "Babe, it's me..."

"I'm sorry Sir, I think you may have the wrong address. Have a nice day." Deborah pushed the wooden door shut but Anton threw his foot into the tight gap, ensuring that it didn't lock. Anton stormed into the apartment causing Deborah to stumble slightly, terrified by the intruder.

"Deb, now's not the time for games. We need to get going – now!" He shouted. Anton hated having to be so forceful and aggressive with the woman he loved, but he knew they probably only had minutes before the police would be up here and putting him in handcuffs, and he was still too tired to stop them.

"Sir, I'm going to give you one chance to leave, or else I will call the police." She said, her voice trembling as he moved further back into the room, and closer to the telephone on the side.

Anton couldn't understand what was happening. It had only been four months since Deborah had been in New York before she had to return to England, yet she looked at him as if he were a stranger. Clearly his aggression wasn't helping though.

"July 4th, 1992. That was the day you and I met, Deb. We had been at that party over in Hell's Kitchen before we snuck off and went to Jimmy's Bar. Then I walked you home and your Dad chased me down the street after he had waited up all night for you."

Deborah's face went as white as snow. This intruder must have been some sort of crazed stalker, watching and researching her over the years, but his eyes, as bloodshot as they were, looked so similar to her Anton's. It couldn't be him though. Anton had been missing for the last 20 years in a plane crash. Just as Anton went to reel off another memory he and Deborah had shared, he caught sight of the TV to the side of the room as "BREAKING NEWS" was displayed across it before a beautiful woman reported on events.

"Sources are reporting that the incident today at Heathrow Airport involving the missing Oceanic Airlines Flight 616 - which has not been seen since it departed JFK Airport in New York in 1995 - was actually an elaborate training exercise to see how airport security would respond to a threat of this scale. Police have apologised after some people have accused them of being insensitive to the victims' families, and they have announced they will contact each family personally to explain the situation. Sarah Solo is at the scene with all the latest."

Anton couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had been on that flight just a few hours ago. There was no training exercise or test. They had all been real people on that plane, and what did the reporter mean the plane hadn't been seen since 1995?

"What year is it!" He screamed.

Deborah stuttered as she shrivelled into the corner of the room, unable to get the words out. The click of a door to the side of Anton caused him to turn as two young girls left what he could only presume to be their bedroom. Their faces remained blank as they stared at Anton. "Mummy, who's this man?" One of them asked as they saw Deborah weeping on the floor.

Wiping the tears away, she looked over at her daughters. "It's okay babies, just go back in your room and I'll help you with some colouring in a bit, okay?" Both of the daughters waited for a moment, still confused at the odd man in their home, but they shrugged it off and returned to their rooms.

Anton moved over to a nearby armchair and sat down. "You...have kids now?"

"Yes, so please leave us alone. I'll stay quiet but just please leave my kids alone, Anton"

He smiled as Deborah said his name for the first time. Whether or not she truly recognised him was irrelevant now. She was happy, and it wasn't up to him to disturb that. Anton would go and start a new life somewhere else, somewhere he could keep his powers hidden and start again. Florida sounded nice...

The detectives and Charlie peeked round the door frame and into Deborah's apartment as they observed the scene. Peggy instantly saw Deborah crying on the floor with Anton on the opposite side of the room and could tell their exchange hadn't gone too well. She and Mike entered the room with Charlie and Atlin protecting the perimeter as some neighbours left their own homes and attempted to get a look at the domestic they had heard from down the hall.

Peggy went straight for Deborah to check she was unharmed, whilst Mike moved closer to Anton who remained sat in the chair.

"C'mon sunshine. We don't want any funny business. Just stand up and face the wall with your hands behind your head. Anton did as requested as Mike slowly edged towards him, his handcuffs ready to be placed around Anton's wrists.

"It's amazing how one small accident can change your life, isn't it detectives." Anton began. "I just nodded off to sleep and then bam; I wake up and suddenly I'm suspected of murder. Now you know what a freak I am, what are they going to do to me? Tie me up and experiment on me? Find out exactly what I am and how I do what I do, yeah? Does that sound about right to you detectives?" Anton was clearly growing in anger as each passing second ticked by. Mike could really have done with a taser to shut Anton up, but he moved closer and closer as accusations and hyperbole were thrown around. Despite Anton's clear anger, Peggy couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him. Whether he had teleported the flight on purpose or not, this was just a man looking to get back to

Mike clasped one of the metal rings of the handcuffs around Anton's left wrist as he turned to speak to Deborah once again. "Deborah, whether you believe me or not, know that I always loved you. I hope you and your family can forgive me for this." Deborah smiled slightly, although she couldn't help but notice Anton was speaking in the past tense. Mike reached forward to grab Anton's right wrist but was unable to grasp it as Anton snatched his hand away and peeled towards the balcony.

"Oh, for fuck sake!" Mike called as Anton charged through the glass doors and onto the wooden surface before leaping over the metal handrail and making the 100-foot descent. The team managed to rush over to the railing as Anton's body smacked into the concrete below, quickly surrounded by passers-by's below.

Continued in Part 9