Sequel: The Fifth World 2

The Fifth World

Torn Between Two

Bo: "Have you ever met a Hybrid before?" I ask Calhoun, finally, "are there more like me? Could these Thornes that have been genetically engineered be like me?"

Calhoun sighs unhappily and runs his finger over the map just to entertain himself as he thinks, I have only known Calhoun for a few hours but I can already tell that he is a troubled, impatient and probably obnoxious and arrogant old yet young alcoholic. I shouldn't judge though, I mean, if I were leaving down here, barely getting any interaction with other humans and knowing that your own government killed the most precious people to you... I think I would be insane too.

"Must I repeat myself?" He sighs but continues anyway, "The Thornes are not like you in any way. They are still a Thorne, they are not a hybrid, they simply contain different genes."

I am not sure why but something within me falls a little, as if some kind of hope of knowing that someone out there is just like me has just fallen from the sky and exploded. But then again, why would I want a Thorne to be just like me? To understand what I am going through?
"Seabrooke," we all hear a deep and familiar voice come from across the room and we all turn to meet Cynric's gaze, he is still somewhat tired, dirty and there is a small cut on his left cheek, "will you take us there?"

I notice Calhoun smile a fraction, "you will fight against your own government?"

Cynric folds his arms, his expression stays exactly the same when he speaks, "I will fight."

That night Calhoun and Nancy prepared a feast. It was fantastic. There was bacon, there were eggs, salads, steak, basically every vegetable and meat you could imagine. The sauces and dressings were to die for. With Nancy's natural talent for cooking and Calhoun's hundreds of years of preparing meals we were all quite satisfied with our dinner. After cleaning up Calhoun assigned us bedrooms. I was given his daughters bedroom, Nancy and Janine were given a guest room with a queen sized bed, Felicity was given a guest room with a single bed and Cynric was given the couch. I offered him my bed but he politely refused. The night dragged as did my temporary insomnia - I am finally in a warm comfortable bed yet I cannot find myself drifting off into sleep. All I can think about is Mum, Adam, Callahan, Calhoun, Cynric, Jonathan and whatever lies in the future. If only I could go through time now and find out for myself. I sigh unhappily and roll over, pulling my blankets over my shoulders. It isn't cold in Calhoun's home but it isn't warm either. I yawn and then feel that irritating pulling feeling. I groan loudly, quite loudly actually, and then I disappear from Calhoun's little girls room.

It is day time and I am standing outside of Derek Brown's home. It is a little strange seeing his home, seeing the typical English buildings that have been here for decades. I am used to seeing buildings made from stone that are hundreds of years old. I am used to the Fifth World already. I take a closer look at Derek's home and realise that it is a little more run down than from what I remember. I feel myself squint as I stare at it, the garden is a mess, vines have always ran up the sides of the house but now it seems that they reach even further. I shrug it off and begin to walk the streets wondering how long I will be here now. I am dressed in sweats and have nothing but socks on my feet. I keep my eyes on the ground, watching out for glass or anything that could stub my toes. I make it to Jonathan's house quite quickly and only realise that when I stop outside. I sigh and stare up at it. I can't help but feel excitement knowing that he is only inside, so close to me. I have missed Jonathan, it is difficult to admit. He is kind and gorgeous and lovely in a strange way. His front door suddenly opens and he emerges. He is wearing jeans and a black trench that reaches his waist. He looks perfect. His eyes connect with mine and I recognise the stubble on his face, the length of his chocolate brown hair. His beautiful blue eyes beam at me. A warmth fills me and I cannot understand whether it is the fear of knowing that I am in the future or the excitement I feel knowing that he is happy to see me. He runs towards me and literally sweeps me off of my feet and into his arms. I cannot help but hug him. When he lets go he holds my face between his hands and grins but his expression changes, "you are different," he observes, "oh my goodness, you are time travelling." I suddenly feel as if every bone in my body has turned cold, as if my heart has stopped beating. My eyes widen in shock and my arms suddenly let go of him.

"Oh no," he says, "you don't know that I know yet. Oh... wow." He lets go of me but doesn't move away from me, instead, he runs his hand through his perfect hair and acts as if he is thinking hard. Finally after thirty or so seconds silence he turns to me and smiles, "perhaps we should discuss this over coffee?"

I manage to shrug at him. He is overly confident and kisses my cheek before taking my hand and leading me from his home and down the street. How the hell does Jonathan know about me? This is absurd. This is uncanny. This is ridiculous. Jonathan is my Average Human - he is one of the only people that I care about that are relatively normal. Within a few silent minutes we are down the street that Cynric and I walked down that one time, that same day when Jonathan asked me out. I am absentminded, I am watching everything around me but barely noticing it. All I feel is that I am now sitting down, Jonathan is across from me, a cup of coffee in his hand and an untouched coffee on the table in front of me.

"You look petrified," he says to me. I finally look up at him, the first time I have laid eyes on him since he held me outside of his home.

"I am so confused." I watch him take another sip of his coffee and then he gulps down another three mouthfuls. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

He smiles, "I'm eighteen." Jonathan is a year older than me.

"Then the Bo from the present, now, is seventeen but I am seventeen now. What is the date?"

He smiles at me, "it is the fourth of January 2011." I feel my head spin a little and my hand automatically touches my forehead.

"Ooh," I say to myself, concern washes over Jonathan's face, "I'm sorry," I say to him, "this is just a bit much."

"I'm sure it is."

I look up at him, swallow as I try not to throw up Calhoun's and Nancy's lovely dinner from tonight, and ask, "how do you know about me? About... my abilities?"

I'm not exactly sure about how much Jonathan knows. He could just know about me time travelling or maybe he knows that I am a Time Jumper. Maybe he has no idea that the Fifth World even exists.

He smiles at me, "everything. You have told me everything - from beginning to end. I know about Cynric, about Felicity, the war, your biological parents. You had to tell me after Christmas, Bo. Things had changed so much that you just couldn't keep it a secret from me anymore. Believe me, it was difficult to understand that my girlfriend could teleport and time travel."

I hold my tongue, I can't ask questions, questions lead to unwanted answers. I could just ask away right now, Jonathan would tell me. I feel like I need to know the future but at the same time knowing it could ruin it. If I ask questions about the future during this conversation, this conversation could never happen.

"It's a strange thing," I say, "time travelling. You would expect to remain in the same place you were standing in in the present when you arrive in the past or the future. But you don't. It's as if events in your life, important occurences, pull you in and push you away again. I am almost never in a place I don't recognise. The time travelling I experience revolves around me whereas others experiences would revolve around events in their lives." I am beginning to mumble, I am letting words roll off my tongue just so I don't ask questions that I so desperately want to know. "I feel a pulling feeling within me when I am about to leave. I can't exactly explain it but it is as if I am being pulled in all directions and then I feel nothing, I just... disappear."

I look up at Jonathan and he appears to be studying me, taking in each word I am saying, "if it helps," he says, "you learn to control time traveling. I know you do."

I feel myself smile a little at him and I reach across the table and caress his cheek, "you are amazing, Jonathan. Has anyone ever told you that?"

He laughs once, "I get told that everyday of my life, actually." Good old Jonathan, a cocky basterd but a fantastic person. He looks down at my coffee and smiles, "judging by the footwear you don't have and the clothes you are wearing and the fact that you have not touched your coffee... I am guessing you were in bed sleeping?"

I laugh, "you're good." I then feel that pulling feeling, the one that means goodbye future or present, goodbye whatever time I am in. "I'm going," I say quickly to Jonathan. I stand up quickly and pull him from his chair. I wrap my arms around him and hold him for as long as I possibly can. I prepare to be dropped into Calhoun's home but rather, I feel a gentle tugging of my hair, I look up at Jonathan and he gazes down at me, smiles and plants a soft kiss upon my lips. I disappear.