Free Hexad: The Chamber by Al K. Line

water pistol fights with my mates.
    "Eh? Oh, sorry. No. Well, go and get them then, that's what you are here for, we won't stop you."
    "I don't think so, do you? Move, to the door." Cray motioned for them to lead the way, tapping his foot impatiently while he waited for Dale and Amanda to put on footwear that was normally banned from anywhere apart from the kitchen. Cray had clearly not been told to take his shoes off by Amanda — it just wasn't the kind of thing you did to a man that had ruined countless versions of your world, your life.
    "What's the point of this?" asked Dale, hopping on one foot trying to do up his boot.
    "Of what?" Cray motioned them out the door with the gun.
    "Of going through this charade? Why bother digging them up? You must already have the Hexads if you are here, and have already got rid of the version of you that would have found them."
    "Because this is how I discover them, so this is how it has to happen. Time's funny like that Dale: some things simply cannot be changed or you risk ripping the world in two."
    "And you know what happens if you do this? That reality won't stand for it, that everyone disappears?"
    "It doesn't matter, there are countless timelines to explore, and there is always the past. I can spend forever jumping back to before things close down. I survive, that's the main thing."
    "Wow, nice guy aren't you?" muttered Dale.
    "Just move," said Cray impatiently.
    They made their way out into the garden. The robin came in to land on a low fence that bisected the garden and formed a backdrop for clematis in full glorious flower. It watched to see if there were going to be any tasty morsels uncovered — its favorite occupation as far as Dale could tell.
    As Cray moved them up to the large flower-packed border that ran parallel to the fields bordering them on one side, Amanda almost tripped and held out a hand to steady herself on Dale.
    Before Dale knew what was happening he found himself staring not at his own lawn but at a man dressed in full armor with a huge sword raised, ready to chop their heads off.
    "Bugger," said Amanda.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Could be Worse
    7 Years Future
     
    Dale jumped back, pulling Amanda with him, realizing he wasn't in the middle of some kind of archaic battle but was in a large room full of antique furnishings stood on a very lush blood-red rug before he backed them up and they toppled over the back of a brown chesterfield sofa. The smell of ancient leather sank deep into his nostrils before dust fought for supremacy and won.
    Dale sneezed loudly then managed to right himself while Amanda was already adjusting a Hexad he didn't even know she had with her.
    "Be back in a moment," said Amanda, and flickered before Dale had a chance to react. "Here." Amanda handed Dale his new leather satchel, stuffed full of Hexads; Amanda had her own canvas bag, also bulging with the now all-too-familiar shape.
    "What the...? How...? Why...?"
    Amanda smiled mischievously and just said, "I jumped back and got our stuff while he was still leading us up the garden."
    "Good idea." Dale marveled at the courageousness of Amanda. She really was a great woman.
    "Look, I don't know how good Cray is at tracking but let's not stay here too long. I can't believe what he's like now, so different to how he was before." Amanda paced nervously around the room, inspecting the rather eclectic furnishings.
    Dale tried not to get too uncomfortable as he noticed a giant moose head on the wall that really seemed to be staring at him accusingly. He sneezed again at the movement of a heavy drape as he pulled it aside to stare out at a beautiful open view of the English countryside.
    "And what was he like before? I thought that he was the one at the heart of the problem in the end? Didn't he become like a mad tyrant or something?"
    "A little, but—"
    "A little bit of a mad tyrant! What—"
    "As I was saying," Amanda shut Dale up with a stern look. "But he wasn't evil, not like this