The Spectre

Chapter Three

Ten Years Later

2041

Zack was twenty-three. Trae was twenty-three as well. Lauren was twenty-two. Yet it was a very, very, very big day for the three. The Priest stood in the middle of the platform, his white robes billowing in the heavy wind as he looked at Lauren, in her beautiful, creamy white wedding dress and Zack in his black, impressive Tuxedo. The ceremony passed way too quickly for Zack, all he really remembered was hearing the old Priest's voice as he loudly exclaimed, "You may kiss the bride!" So that was exactly what they did. Lauren and Zack kissed, and held that lock of lips for ten whole seconds, although it felt like several sunlit days. When they broke off, they just stared into each other's eyes as the few people attending stood and began clapping loudly.

Zack barely even recognized the day passing, the clouds rolling overhead like large curtains, or even the beautiful winds that breezed. He only remembered flashes. He clearly remembered a bit of Trae's speech, which went something like, "These two are perfect for each other. I have been their best friend for over twelve years, and I have always thoughts that nothing but death would tear them apart!" It was cringy, and Zack knew that, but he could see that his best friend really tried in his first best-man speech. Zack, Trae, and Lauren then took a photo, just the three of them, before jumping off the jeti at the end of the beach and into the cold water. Zack shivered at the thought, but he shook it from his head. Now, he was in a hospital, sitting right next to his wife's bed, a baby girl resting in her arms.

"What should we call her?" Lauren mumbled from the bed, clearly exhausted, but unable to wipe the smile from her face. "I think...Anne," said Zack, but Lauren chuckled, shaking her head. "She doesn't really look like an Anne." Zack couldn't help but agree, so he went further into thought, but then Lauren, as she always did, had a perfect idea. "What about Charlotte? Charlie for short." Zack laughed lightly and nodded, reaching down to stroke the top of the baby's head. "I like it," he said, "I really like it." Lauren looked thrilled, and Zack just knew that the start of something incredible was afoot.

2043

"Be careful, honey," said Zack gently, helping the two-year-old girl forward as she carefully placed the flowers on the two side-by-side graves. "Who are they?" she asked curiously, and Zack sighed, kneeling beside his daughter, Charlotte. "They are your grandma and granddad. They died a while ago." Zack knew it hadn't actually been that long, but Charlotte did not, and most importantly, Zack thought it best to keep it that way. "Are they coming back?" the little girl asked, staring at the two graves, and Zack again sighed as he crouched beside her. "No, sweetie, they aren't. They have moved on." Charlotte nodded, thinking she knew the truth when she really didn't. "Come on, let's go back to mommy," Zack said, fighting down the emotion that swelled inside of him as he stood, held Charlotte's hand, and began the walk through the graveyard over to their car, where Lauren waited.

2046

The figure leaped from rooftop to rooftop, rolling whenever he landed on the hard concrete and then continuing to run. His targets were running, but he would not let them get away so easily. He jumped again, his deep blue suit catching in the moonlight as he landed on the side of the building, his padded feet connecting to the bricks and allowing him to run vertically down. The window many meters below smashed open, and a steel wire shot out, impacting the next-door building. A zipline. The figure kept sprinting and he reached the window within seconds, kicking down and hitting a man on the top of the head. The man buckled forward and fell out the window into the dark night, and the figure gripped onto the top of the window frame before flinging himself inside. He was before several men armed with either swords or guns, but this was nothing to other things he had faced.