Free Hexad: The Ward by Al K. Line Page B

are more of you. How come?"
    "Ssh, they'll hear you. Be quiet, let me think." Amanda watched as a version of her and Dale seemed to be bickering, Dale holding a flashlight that wobbled like he was drunk. How could this be happening? They hadn't done their jump yet, so surely this was an impossibility? Then it hit her: they must have jumped to another reality, or, more precisely, back to their own reality, their own universe, the one they should have been in before their time travel exploits got everything mixed up. This was the them from their proper world, doing what they would have done themselves if they'd been there.
    "Amanda?" Dale nudged her on the arm. The jolt brought her out of her thoughts.
    "Eh? What?" It was hard to see, there wasn't much light from the moon and the streetlights didn't really cast their orange glow this far back into they garden. Amanda was just thankful that she'd jumped them to by the patio area rather than right up at the tree. Who knew what would have happened if they'd jumped right beside themselves, or even into themselves? She shuddered. It would have been the end of everything.
    "We need to go. Are you okay, you look funny? Amanda?"
    "I, er, I don't know, I feel odd." Amanda stared down at her hand. Was it the lack of light playing tricks on her or was she sort of turning a little translucent? She looked around in a panic. She heard a noise from the bushes in the border. She squinted. Was that another them? It was, there was another Dale and Amanda watching what the ones by the tree were doing. Would this madness never end?
    "Amanda!" Dale grabbed the Hexad, adjusted the dials, quickly took her hand and said, "Grab her, Peter," and as soon as he did he slammed the dome, 2 flashing with blue light that shone right through Amanda, into Peter's chest.
    Peter said, "Hey."
    They jumped.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    I See You
    Present Day
     
    "Is she okay?"
    "I think so, but that was close."
    "What happened? It was the other versions of you, wasn't it?"
    "I guess. I think a paradox was building, like maybe she was far enough away from the other hers to not create one instantly, but it got more likely the longer we were all close enough to each other. Phew, that was intense."
    "You're telling me, I could see right through her. But, Dale, we just jumped through time, I can't believe it!"
    "Well, make the most of it."
    "Huh?"
    "The Hexad, look. It only has 1 jump left now. That's it, we can't do any more."
    "What? Why not?"
    "It's Hexad, as in hex, meaning six. That's all you get, and trust me, you don't want to jump if it flashes zero, it gets kind of messy."
    "Okay, but you can recharge it, right? That can't be it, there are tons of things I want to do."
    "Sorry, mate, that was it. Hey, is she coming around? Amanda, can you hear me?"
    Amanda kept her eyes closed, listening to the voices of Dale and Peter as if she were far away, maybe under water and lying on the bottom of the ocean, their voices penetrating the depths, emotions stripped from the sound of them talking, just a noise, but somehow making sense.
    That was her Dale talking, wasn't it? She was Amanda, she was real, she was alive. Amanda focused as hard as she could, concentrating on leaving the dark depths and floating up toward the surface and the light.
    That's it, keep on going, break out into the air. You're alive, there's nothing be afraid of.
    "Ugh!" Amanda sat bolt upright and looked around in a panic. She was in the living room, lying on the thick carpet, that new carpet smell still lingering. Dale and Peter were crouched next to her, peering at her with concern, both hinting at a smile as she rubbed at her hands, turning them over to check they were solid. "You know what? I. Hate. Time. Travel."
    "Haha, it's great to have you back, honey. You had us scared there for a while."
    Amanda clambered to her feet. Her head felt funny, light, like her mind could float up and be with the clouds. She put a hand onto Dale's shoulder as she