Time Flux: Welcome to the New World

Two Knuckles

Hannah was sat on a metal chair, head covered by a hood, awaiting recognition. She had been sat there for what felt like hours. No one had come in to check on her or ask her any questions, she felt ever so alone. Her hands were clamped into cuffs that were tied to the chair she was sat on. She shook with fear. She was a scientist, she didn't know how or why this was happening. A small tear fell down her face and was absorbed by the hood that hid her face.

"Don't do that" A man said as he quickly whipped her hood from her

After her eyes adjusted, she recognised the familiar image of One. He stood there with her hood in his right hand, unmoving. He leaned in and looked at her damp cheek with a puzzled look.

"Why cry? It served no purpose at all" One said calmly

"You have me tied to a chair, my friends are no where to be seen and you threatened our lives. I'm sad, okay!" Hannah said, shouting

One placed the hood on her cheek and wiped away the left-over residue of her tear from her sun kissed skin. He walked over to the door and handed the hood to someone outside and then he walked back to Hannah. He crouched down and sat cross legged on the floor in front of her. He pulled his weapon from inside of his coat jacket and placed it on the floor next to him.

"So, who are you?" He asked

"I'm nobody" Hannah replied

"Never, ever lie... to me"

"I'm just a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

One paused for a moment before crossing his arms and creasing his face into a frown. He breathed in slowly and then let out an audible sigh.

"Listen, I have over time, completely eradicated any semblance of a conscience from my mind. If you do not give me the answers that I seek willingly, I will begin to search for them, piece by piece."

"Why are you doing this!"

"Because I am the only one who can. Now, who are you?"

"..."

One closed his eyes and stood up quickly, leaving his weapon on the floor. He walked slowly over to Hannah as she tried in vain to move away from him. He pulled a small pocket knife from inside of his jacket and grabbed her left hand.

"There are no second chances here" He said as he quickly sheared off the tip of her little finger

Hannah screamed out in agony. It felt like her finger were inside of a bunson's flame. She looked down to see that her little finger now had only 2 knuckles instead of 3.

"Next I will take your beautiful eyes. Now, who are you?"

Hannah looked up at him, calm as he ever was. He stood with a bloody knife in his hand staring down at her as if she was nothing. She now knew that One was incapable of human emotion.

"Hannah! My names Hannah!" She said in agony

"So, Hannah, where are you from?"

"London"

"London, intriguing. Where is your accent?"

"I'm from a multicultural place in London, I probably have a mix of them"

Hannah wasn't lying because she knew that One would be able to tell. Instead she decided to give him simple truths. She was from London, but not the London he knew.

One opened his mouth to ask a question but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He walked over and the men behind the door handed him a small telecommunication device. He put it to his ear and then turned in shock and looked directly at Hannah.

"Is that possible?" One asked "And you are sure the readings are accurate?"

Hannah waited as One questioned the person on the other end of the call vigorously. One was smart, he asked questions that gave no specifics to her. He gave the phone back and shut the door behind him. He stood for a few seconds completely still staring at the door before quickly spinning round and walking toward Hannah. She looked away from him in fear, expecting him to deliver some more of his pain.

He leaned over and grabbed her by the chin to spin her face around to look at his. His foul breath spilled out of his now familiar creased grin. He looked into her eyes one by one, back and forth until he finally spoke.

"I'll ask you another question. And remember, this could be the last thing you ever see"

"What you freak!?"

"I've asked you where you are from..."

"Yeah... so..."

"Now I'll ask you WHEN you are from?"

"What?"

One sat back down onto the floor, unblinking. He reached for his weapon and placed it into his lap, still holding onto it. His grin did not leave him, he had learned something that excited him.

"In the room adjacent to this one, your friend Clock sits having his mind harvested"

"You bastard..."

"Usually by now we would have a complete map of how the individual had lived up until this point. Your friends mind seems to be protected in some way, making our process take far longer"

"Ha! You have no idea"

"That's going to change"

Hannah gulped.

"One thing that we have been able to decipher is that your friend James, wholeheartedly believes he was born on August 17th, 2098"

"And you believe that?"

"I have seen more kinds of people than you could ever know. I know insanity, I can smell it. Your friend James is not insane."

One stood up once again and put his gun back in his holster. He pulled his pocket knife back and quickly grab held of Hannah's injured hand. He placed its tip into the nub of her now incomplete finger and began to slowly insert the blade into her exposed flesh. Hannah let out a blood curdling cry as One grabbed her hard by the jaw as he smiled at her.

"Now, tell me how you traveled back in time. Start at the beginning..."