6 Call of Home (Part 3/3)

"Well, Mr. Wood, how would like your present to be?" She said in a deep calm voice.

Stanley's teeth were gnashing because of anger but he realized that as mush as he want to vent out his anger to the Continental Leader he will be in big trouble if he won't participate. In his eyes, you can see how his anger filled him. He always do his job required by the council but they haven't even recognized his team's hardship throughout the years. They were just merely a peasant in her eyes, nothing more than that even though they proved themselves many times.

She was despicable that she would eradicate someone who have the guts to oppose her views of life. The way she compose herself and look Stanley was deviously intimidating but Stanley wasn't afraid of her even though she's the leader. Him and his team has been treated by the council like a trophy, the rusted one. The trophy that they once cheered upon but abandoned after many years of using them. They were a prized possession for the government until they knew how rugged the political system and views of the council. They tried to boycott the government by not meeting the conditions of their previous continental project, The Atlas project.

The Atlas project was one devious plan requested by the council to all of the scientists that they've been supporting. It was all about creating a new artificial planet that would segregate the nobles and commoners. The commoners will be thrown out to the Great Void. Stanley's team was one of the teams who denied and encourage others not to be involved with the council's twisted plan. Now they met again and clash for what could be the greater good for the humanity.

"How twisted can you get Ms. Scott?" Stanley asked her controlling his anger.

"Twisted? Didn't you like the gift we've made just for you? We just tried to be nice by giving you a taste of failure you've chosen." Ms. Scott reasoned out.

Stanley couldn't take how evil the council has been.

"So, you tried to threaten me by merely ending someone's life?!" Stanley vented out his anger.

"You and the rest of the council are full of shit! Just because of what happened you tried to change someone's fate? You tried to ruin an innocent civilian! I thought the humanity's safety is your law?" Stanley said questioning her views on protecting the humanity.

"You know the rule! If we would've have the Atlas project done, all will be well!" She argued tracking back when the Atlas project was issued.

"And let the commoners die in the void?! Stop pushing your twisted views as if they were good for all!" Stanley shouted.

"They were criminals for fucking sake Stanley! They began to lose their sanity--" Ms. Scott was cut off by Stanley.

"Because you didn't treat all of them -- No, all of us fairly! Because you can't get anything from them!" He shouted.

"Is that what you think of what success meant? Getting what you want?" He added to hit her head and stop from her twisted thinking.

"Don't question my views and authority!" Ms. Scott was not having the conversation get pointed back to her.

"You failed on protecting them, they died because of your limited decisions! You don't want to step out from your seat and now don't question my failure because I know I can fix this!" He argued.

The commoners died before the Atlas project because of uneven distribution of food. The nobles were drowning from their greed while the commoners died of hope. The government was like an oligarchy that the nobles tried to influence and intervene the political system of the government. Ms. Scott was a victim of power and greed by the nobles. She was afraid that if she did the right thing she will be thrown from her position and she don't want that.

"You can fix it? huh.." Ms. Scott sarcasically said. She knew something he didn't know.

"Yes I can fix it!" Stanley firmly said.

"You better fix this as everything will be at stake because of your selfishness." She knew the reason of him travelling back to time.

"The timeline is compressing and the longer you can't fix it the bigger the tear on our timeline will get." She said, putting a pressure to him.

"A tear?" Stanley was confused as he thought that only the past has been affected of the phenomenon.

"Yes, a tear and we don't know yet if it'll just be one or many. As the past is compressing the magnetic impulses release by the activity in the past becames unstable causing a tear in our timeline." She said and suddenly smirked.

"See how your failure brought doom to the humanity?" She pinned to his head the result of his failure for him to feel the pressure of saving the future.

Ms. Scott achieved what she planned. She can see in Stanley's eyes how he felt guilty and she felt good looking at that moment. Seeing others be eaten up by the result of their failure made her felt good and not felt by her decisions. She was blaming Stanley because of the abrupt cancellation of The Atlas project and now she wanted him to suffer, suffer by attacking and surprising him slowly.

"If I were you destroy the link." She added and disconnected.

Stanley felt the pressure again and Anna has been involved in this mess. It seems that he was unsure anymore of himself getting through all of this mess but he won't easily give up to fix the future and especially Anna's future. He wasn't hoping anymore that they would be together but he will be there to protect her just like he promised even if it would cost him his life.

***

He got back inside the hospital to Anna's room. He slowly opened the door and Anna woke up to the sound of it creaking.

"Umm.." Anna grunted from the pain on her back.

She opened her eyes and saw Stanley standing beside him.

"Anna?! Thank God you're awake? Are you alright?" He asked her as he heard her grunting.

"Yeah, I'm alright my back hurts a little bit..." She remembered all of the things happened and tears started to flow from her eyes again.

"Ah.. why are you crying? Tell me.." Stanley softly asked Anna what made her cry.

"My dad died then there's a box.. Exploded.." She said while staring at the window.

"Mr. Walters? He died?" Stanley was confused as if he remembered Mr. Walters would've died after Anna got a job, not this time.

"The timeline." He said but Anna was just staring at the window.

She began to cry heavily.

"I thought I was going to die too.. I thought of how would my brother take if I died that time.." She hugged Stanley and cried to his shoulder.

Stanley didn't know that Mr. Walters died and all of this happened. He felt sorry for Anna as she wouldn't have experienced this if he didn't go back in time. Anna stopped hugging Stanley wiped her tears.

"I'm sorry if I made a trouble for you but thank you." Anna said to him.

"No, it was my fault." Stanley said to himself. Seeing Anna apologized in front of him was heartbreaking as he knew it wasn't her fault at all.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Stanley asked Anna to get a better picture of everything.

"Dad died after weeks of his successful operation.." She said to him.

"I heard the news from my brother saying that it's because of heart failure. He just wanted me to go home but I oddly said I don't want to." She was controlling her tears because she's of crying again and again.

"I heard an explosion through the phone." Stanley said to her.

"There was a box.. I thought it was from you and I felt lured to touch it. The box was out of this world. It was like a stone carved with symbols in a box shape." She said. Confusion was seen to her face as she was telling Stanley about it.

"A stone?" Stanley asked. He remembered the rock ion. It was a powerful stone that could produce great force.

"It didn't explode but it broke when I touched it. I flew away but someone catched me." She stated.

"I didn't see him because fire then broke out, smoke was thick and I passed out after." She added.

"Did you see what he was wearing?" Stanley immediately asked.

"No-- but I saw a pin on his chest." She said.

"00331." She added.

Stanley's eyes widened by what Anna said. He somewhat panicked and let Anna have her rest.

"You should get some rest first." He said to Anna.

Anna laid herself to the bed and Stanley covered him with the blanket.

"Thank you, Stan." She said to him. She felt that Stanley was there for her everytime to help her.

Stanley suddenly kissed her at her forehead. She didn't expected it but she felt her heart beat so fast. Stanley realized what he had done apologized to her.

"Uh.. I'm sorry.. you.. you should get some rest.. I'll leave you be." Stanley started panicking because of what he did.

Stanley was about to leave but Anna grabbed his hand.

"Thank you for everything." She said to him and smiled.