“Hey guys, how are you all doing? Are the animals treating you well?” Cal asked the group of kids, who all ran to him the moment he was in their sight. Apparently, he had made quite the impression during their rescue.
“Cal, you didn’t tell us how amazing Bug was!” Rusty yelled over the other kids.
“Yeah, she’s the best sister anyone could ask for, and that’s why she’s going to stick around while we tell you all a very long story. Each of you will get a choice at the end of what you want to do, and it may take a while to give everyone their choices, but it’s going to be important you decide either way,” Cal said seriously, making sure to keep the smile off his face.
“Do we have to decide immediately?” Rusty asked.
“Nope, you’ll have a few months to really make a solid choice. Sarah, you and your kids are going to need to make the same decision eventually, though I imagine you already have a good idea of what it is and will want to discuss it with your husband more,” Cal said.
“Already made it,” she said, nodding at Cal.
“Alright then, everyone ready for a true story?” Cal asked.
“What’s it called?” one of the kids shouted from the back
“The many lives of Cal Marshal and friends,” Cal answered, his smile getting the better of him. Bug plopped herself down next to Cal and laughed at the name.
“Oh, are you gonna tell them how I ate glowing rock?” Bug asked.
“Yes, I am Bug. Alright, everyone, many lifetimes ago I was a pretty lonely guy, delivering food for a living. I spent my time off in a not-so-great apartment playing video games. I didn’t have my dad, Bug, or any of these people and animals around to keep me company. Then, on one delivery attempt, I had the fortune, or misfortune, depending on how you look at it, to be delivering to the building that was under attack by Gryalth in Dallas. Andrew was working at this building, and he injected me with something right before we both died in the alien invasion,” Cal started the story.
“Wait, if you died, how are you here now?” Rusty asked.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I’m getting there, I promise. For more questions, let’s hold them til the end, please. After I died, I woke up in my bed in the same body I’ve got right now, a kid all over again, on what turned out to be the day I met Andrew for the first and only time before that incident, when his grandparents moved next door. Andrew had been trapped in time loops for so long that he had lost track and finally found a way to use me to start them even further back. This gave him a real chance at changing the future and stopping the Gryalth. I’d love to say I helped him immediately, but I didn’t. I spent the first loop being selfish, and I will not apologize for it. I made sure my dad stayed alive and kept Bug around a lot longer. I did start working on what was going on in the loops after that. Bug here was the third person to join the loops after she ate a mana-infused stone. Slowly, over many further loops, new things happened, including an event that brought a lot more people into the loop, like Sarah’s husband and most of the people you see here. Andrew developed a way to give others loop-awareness, but it takes about a decade to develop a single dose. This is where the question comes in that all of you need to decide. Each one of you has special powers, which is why the Agency kidnapped you. We will be dealing with them, I can promise that, but what do you all want to do after that? We can find a way to return you to a mostly normal life, or you can get in line to become loop-aware and join the fight to save the planet. I know it’s a lot to ask and a completely unfair choice to put on you all, but sometimes there aren’t fair choices. As I said, I don’t need any answers right now. In fact, over the next year, I plan to work on testing each of your abilities to see just what you have,” Cal finished his story to a crowd of blank stares. It looked like the kids had no idea what to say next.
“So kids, what Cal is saying here is you have to make a very grown-up decision, do you want to eventually remember the time-loops and train to fight against the aliens, the Agency, and anything else that is out to destroy the world, or do you want to live a quiet, much less stressful life with your families, who we promise to do everything we can to find,” Sarah summed up the choice better for Cal. He hadn’t been sure what exactly to make of Glenn, but her, he liked her so far.
“Will it be possible for me to join this loop immediately?” Rusty asked.
“We might have just enough for an extra dose at the end of the loop if that’s your decision,” Cal answered.
“Okay. I’m in. You won’t be able to save my family, and someone needs to remember at the start of the next time loop to protect these kids. I already promised to do that, so I’m not backing down now,” Rusty said. Cal decided not to press on why they couldn’t save his family. He did consider it might be time to find a therapist who wanted to join the void house.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do to make that happen,” Cal said.
“Emily wants to join too,” Bug said, signaling to her new friend that it was safe to talk.
“The bad people hurt Emily, and others a lot. Emily needs to remember the better place to properly fight back,” they said.
“I understand. Well, I think since we’ve all had a super hard day, it’s time for more fun. Bug why don’t you and Frank teach Emily how to wrestle, and I’ll see if the capybaras can break out the games,” Cal said, happy that the conversation had gone easy enough for now.