Out Of Time (TID and TMI)

Chapter 5

 ^  The pic made me sad.  I must spread The Feels^

Recap:

 Footsteps came nearer. The sound of a doorknob turning. As quick as a flash. Jem was down the hall and into his room. He looked down at his hands and realized he was shaking. Walking over to his bedside table, he grabbed the box that held the drug he took to survive. Taking a pinch of the silvery powder, he dropped it into a glass of water and watched it dissolve with sick pleasure. Mixing it once with his finger, he downed it in one gulp.  

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"It's more of a fick, not a thrust." Will said for the fifth time.

"I know, I know. That's the seventh time you've told me." Jace muttered.

"Actually, It's the fifth." Will said under his breath. Jace's golden eyes shot daggers better than he could at his target. He grabbed another dagger and flicked it at the target. It hit on the edge of the bullseye. Yelling a stream of curses and throwing his hands up in frustration. Just as he threw himself at the floor, Jem walked in. He looked at Jace on the floor and raised and eyebrow.

"Will, I need to talk to you," He eyed the others wearily. "Alone."

"Okay." Will nodded to the others and followed his Parabatai out the training room door. He followed Jem into his bedroom and he watched him shut the door and lock it.

"What's going on? Why are you so secretive Jem?" Confusion was evident in his midnight blue eyes.

"Listen, Will. What I'm about to say may sound insane, but it's true. You see, I was eavesdropping on Tessa an-"

"The great James Carstairs doing something wrong? I am aghast."

"William," Jem had a hardness to his tone.

"Alright, alright. What do you need to tell me?"

Will noticed that Jem started to fiddle with the sheets on his bed. He was twisting and wringing them- the only sign that showed he was nervous. He looked up and his silver eyes had sincerity and. . . fear.

"I- I think that Zachariah is. . . I think that he is me. The future me, I mean." Jem looked up, willing Will to believe him.

Will barked put a laugh. "You must be mad! We're both dead. It's been one hundred thirty years and Tessa said that-" He stopped abruptly. HIs face reddened and looked down. They both knew what he was going to say. The words hung in the air, unsaid, but not unheard. You only have a little longer to live.

"That's the point Will. She said 'till I left,' not 'till I died'."

"You're serious aren't you. You really believe this."

Jem raked his hand through his hand. "That's what I've been trying to tell you the whole time. Zachariah looks and acts so familiar." Will opened his mouth, but Jem still had more to say. "Don't deny it. Knowing you, you would go to the ends of the earth trying to figure out what they were hiding."

"I'm saying that I became a Silent Brother and somehow got cured one hundred and thirty years later."

"I think so, but it doesn't make sense. Why did you chose to be a Brother in the first place? If it is because you don't have yin fen, then you would have much longer. Unless. . ."

Jem looked down, not wanting to tell Will the ugly truth: that he had been taking more of the drug to seem healthier- for Will and Tessa. He was ashamed. Ashamed of how the drug made him- nothing but an addict. Living longer, but dying slowly.

"James, what is it?" Will looked concerned for his friend.

"I- I'm going to go out. I'll be back." Without another word, Jem grabbed his coat and walked out the door.

♠♥♣♦

Jem didn't know where he was going. He just left without a backwards glance. Trying not to bump into pedestrians, he blindly made his way through the city. The future was louder and more hectic. Hundreds of mundanes were walking by, going to stores and restaurants. Large screens showed adds and moving pictures. Distracted by the chaos, he bumped into someone.

"Oh. Pardon me I-" He looked up and saw a man with black hair and two runes on his cheekbones.

"Jem, what are you doing here?" Zachariah, really it was himself, said.

Ignoring the comment, Jem moved on. He missed the carriages and the clear night sky. Heck- he even missed the smell of the streets a bit. A hand grabbed his wrist.

"James."

Jem turned around, facing the former Silent Brother. For the first time, he studied him. Jet black hair and golden-black eyes. He had fair skin and his eyes had a slight slant. This is what he would look like if he was. . . normal. He felt a pang of sadness that he hadn't recognised himself. If he couldn't then nobody else could. Someone shook his shoulders.

"Jem? You there?"

"I'm fine," he hesitated. "Zachariah."

Confusion crossed his eyes. If Jem looked closely, he could see a few flecks of silver in his eyes. He was right. He was Zachariah. He would get a life- a long one.

"Jem, is something wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost." Zachariah still talked in an old manner with a british accent.

"I- I know who you are. I heard you and Tessa talking. I didn't mean to, but something was going on and I had to know." Zachariah froze and took a shaking breath.

"I have to tell Tessa. Does Will know? What am I kidding? Of course you- I -told Will." Zachariah was pacing in the middle of the street, in distress. His hands started to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. This was a small nervous habit that Jem did when he was thinking or frustrated. Zachariah reached into his pocket and pulled out a square object. He tapped it, then put it to his ear.

"Tessa. I need to talk to you. I was just talking to Jem and he and Will know who we are." He paused as he listened to it. "Yes. Mhm. Okay. By Tessa. Oh, and don't let Church into the garden. God knows what he'll do when he sees the catnip." Zachariah looked over at Jem. "We should go. Tessa'll be waiting."

Jem nodded. Walking side by side, they walked back to the institute. For the second time that day, Jem bumped into someone. A man with blonde hair and steady sky blue eyes. He tensed and reached for his seraph blade while elbowing Zachariah.

He looked up and froze as well as he saw the young man. He moved with a slight jerking in his legs. His blonde hair was fair, covering his eyes in a this veil.

"Pardon me." He said while grinning as if he was hiding something.  Jem and Zachariah continued on their way back to the Institute, unaware that the same man was following them silently in the shadows.