Rewriting Time

Chapter 9

"A test? What kind of test?" Sebastian said, incredulous. He couldn't think of a valid reason for the envelope to be a test of any kind, but he kept that thought to himself. He wanted to hear what his gracious host would say.

"Simple. I wanted to see how much you remember. Alfred's instructions were to approach you and assess your state of mind. Had you recognized Alfred at first glance, he would've just taken you straight to your apartment, and later to me," Nacht explained.

"Why would he take me to you? What do you want from me?"

"Nothing has changed, Sebastian. You're still part of my team," Nacht said with a sneer.

"What? I don't even remember you!"

Nacht sighed and rose to his feet. He walked to one of the shelves and pulled out a thin, leather-bound book. "I'm afraid that traveling so far into the future has somehow affected your memory. But believe me, we used to work together. See for yourself if you doubt me." Nacht put the book in front of Sebastian and returned to his seat.

It was opened to a picture of a group of people staring solemnly at the camera. All were wearing white lab coats and standing around a man seated behind a desk. It was a younger Nacht. The caption read: Dr. Maximillian Nacht and his team of geniuses after the successful defense of their paper: 'Theories on Time and Time Travel' - St. Thomas University, Beachcastle, December 12, 1918.

He recognized Alfred immediately. It was the man beside him that made Sebastian's blood freeze. Just like in the pictures Solomon showed him, this one also looked like him, his doppelganger.

"You doctored this picture," Sebastian said, pushing the book away.

"Stop denying the truth, Sebastian. Your assignment was to infiltrate the Toledano lab, be part of their team, gather information and use their technology to develop our own-"

Sebastian didn't hear the rest of Dr. Nacht's words.

So, it's true. Everything Tobias said. Everything I read in that journal...all true. I was the spy...

I sabotaged the launch...

I killed Elizabeth...I killed...

"Sebastian!"

Sebastian looked up and saw Alfred's face looming over him, concern written in his gray eyes. "Wh-what happened?" He was lying on the floor.

"You must have blacked out," Alfred said, "You fell off the couch."

"Truth is a bit hard to take, isn't it?" Nacht said in derision. "What is it that you find hard to accept, that you betrayed me or that you failed to save your precious Elizabeth? Do you even remember her? She was just a means to an end, Sebastian. You shouldn't have let yourself become involved too deeply. In the end, you're nothing but a foolish boy, too eager to-"

"Enough! I get it, okay? I get it...I killed her. Now, what do you want from me?" Sebastian hardly noticed Alfred pulling him away from Nacht. How he got there, he couldn't remember.

Nacht's face was ashen. He walked away as he straightened his tie and vest with shaking hands. "You know what I want, Sebastian. I want your machine and the names of the people that Solomon warned during his unfortunate trip to 2018."

"What people? I don't understand a word you're saying. Look, Tobias brought me here, to a place I don't have any real memory of. I actually thought someone was playing a prank on me. Solomon said that I helped him design and create a...time machine. The only time machine I know of is the one that I made up in my series - The Shadowman. Other than that-"