Gladiator Wars

Chapter 18: Time Travel (Catherine and Johnnie)

Catherine's Point of View

"First things first Johnnie, I did not trip. Second of all if you don't stop laughing, I'll will grab that tree limb and beat you with it." I said sitting on a rock in who knows where with Johnnie who was laughing so hard he needed to support himself against a crumbling pillar.

"I know you love me when you start threatening me." He said composing himself with a wisp of a smile barely visible. "Anyways we need to get to the weak spot in this universe and get back home. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"I'm not sure where we are, but this place does feel familiar. I just can't put my finger on where I've seen it before." I answered. "Kind of like Déjà Vu, but I only can remember half of what it is I saw."

"Yeah, place does seem super familiar." Johnnie thought for a minute and then realization dawned on his face. "I think we're-"

"How much longer? I can hardly see anything." Said a voice from behind the trees, a voice that should belong only to me. Johnnie and I made eye contact and we walked toward the trees towards the source of the voice.

"Not much longer now, darling." Said another voice that I recognised as Johnnie's. I moved the low-hanging branches out of the way and I saw past Johnnie and I talking.

Suddenly, I realized that we had unknowingly gone back in time and nonetheless to the exact moment when all of our lives took a drastic turn. An insane and dangerous thought crossed my mind and I was tempted to follow my crazy whim.

I watched past Johnnie and myself replay the exact events that brought us to now. I was about to walk out of the bushes and stop our past selves when Johnnie grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the trees.

"I know what you're thinking," Johnnie started in a hushed tone, "and I had the same thought, but you and I both know that stopping ourselves now would just cause some sort of anomaly."

I still wanted to walk through those trees and change things to the way they once were. I wanted the way things were before.

"I want our old life back." I said in a whisper. "I want us to go back to causing minor trouble and dreaming of ruling the world. I don't want to be a hero." I finish as I looked back towards the trees. If I didn't act now past us would leave and I'd lose my chance.

"Catherine, " Johnnie said in a stern yet care-ridden tone, "you and I don't have to be the heroes, but we can't change this. We've both learned that if we mess with something we don't understand, bad things happen."

Johnnie walked over to the trees and moved aside the low hanging branches. I could see us entering the tomb and I understood what he was getting at.

"Exhibit A." He said with a small sad smile. I was about to say he was right, but since he's my boyfriend I knew I couldn't admit that.

"What's exhibit B?" I asked smirking. He shrugged and I knew I got him.

"You just can't admit I'm right." He said. I decided to do what I count as mature and stick out my tongue at him. He rolled his eyes at my so-called immaturity and I smiled happy that he had grown to somehow be more mature than I.

"Let's go find that weak spot in this universe and leave." I said hooking Johnnie's arm with my own.

"Let's go save our world," Johnnie said, "but only so we can rule it later." Johnnie added.

"Sounds like a plan." I looked at where the tomb was and decided that maybe that direction wasn't the smartest choice. "I'm thinking we go this way." I said pointing in the opposite direction of the tomb.

"If you say that way, we definitely need to go in the opposite direction of what you say." He said with a smug look on his face.

I thought about being mature and letting bygones be bygones, but then I decided to just punch him. He barely flinched and gave a very unsatisfying 'ow'. I put on my mental list to punch him later just for fun.

We started walking in the direction that I pointed out, despite Johnnie's attempt at teasing my sense of direction. After what felt like an hour of silence, but most likely just five minutes, Johnnie spoke.

"Right here." Johnnie announced pointing at a tree.

"How do you know?" I asked unsure if this was it.

"I'm not sure," Johnnie said furrowing his brow in thought "but I know for a fact that this is the spot."

"If you say so." I replied while grabbing the piece of paper that had the spell written down on it.

"Do you want to do this or should I?" Johnnie asked. I weighed the options in my head and decided I would do it.

"I've got this." I answered back. I looked down at the spell and started reading it.

"Foro Fatum Lapus Potestas." I finished the spell and a maroon coloured portal was created before our very eyes.

"You ready to be a hero?" I asked Johnnie. He smiled at me in a his usual dark manner.

"Sure, but afterwards we go back to being bad and annoying my brother." Johnnie said his blue eyes staring into my black eyes.

"Sounds like a deal." I said grabbing his hand. We smiled happily at each other and jumped through the portal hand-in-hand. I was happy we had each other and I knew he felt the same way.