NOVEL WEB Loop 13
Cal woke up to the feel of a large object crashing down on him. “CAL, I WAS SO SCARED! EVERYONE WAS GONE!” Bug shouted at him between licks of his face.
“It’s alright, girl, we got through the loop. Later today, though, I’m going to need you to tell me what happened while I was captured. First, let’s go make breakfast and start our day one routine.”
“Yes, I can’t wait to see Dad and Ethel again. Are we going to tell Jen and our brothers about everything again this loop?”
“That will be for Dad to decide.” Cal stood and left his room. He was starting to enjoy the relative peace that came with the start of a new loop before his actions started the branching chaos. His thoughts then slipped into a debate of who to engage this loop, Agency or aliens?
*
It had taken three weeks, but Cal finally had Stan, Bug, Andy, and Ethel in a group call. “So the big things we need to discuss, the aliens are already here, at least they are a year before the end of the loop, though based on what the one who was trying to interrogate me said, I have to assume they have been here longer. He called the ripple we interacted with a natural mana pool with a connection to the Earth plane. So, as much as you may hate it, Andy, especially your future self, I think we need to all accept magic is real and exists. Considering we don’t have sorcerer kings running around blasting fireballs everywhere, it’s either very weak or very well-controlled. We can also assume the Agency is aware of the magic based on the aliens, assuming I may work for them. I’m also going to guess the two government agents who knocked on my door before the end of a loop were from this Agency and not tied to aliens. What this all leads me to think is that while it may be exceedingly dangerous to do so, we should try contacting the Agency this loop. I have a feeling we might be able to get some answers to our long-running questions. What are the rest of you thinking here?”
“I’m deferring to what you think is best. My past loop selves likely agreed, but without previous knowledge, I’m not sure how useful I can be to you as this goes on,” Stan said
“You are always useful, Dad, but if we can this loop, there is still an experiment to try to see if we can bring you in on the loops.”
“Thanks, Cal.”
“I think approaching the Agency is probably a good idea, but we shouldn’t mention anything about the time loops or my future self. Let’s stick with a cover story of spotting the aliens trying to follow Cal and just reveal his abilities.”
“I agree with Andy. Also, I don’t like the idea of trusting mysterious government agencies. I’m old enough to remember a lot of conspiracies, and they are always at the center of them,” Ethel added.
“So, how do we get in contact with them?” Stan asked.
“I think I’m going to try to just go to a local FBI office, and demonstrate my ability and see what happens. I figure the worst thing that could happen is I spend the rest of the loop in some jail cell. Bug, Andy, as happy as I was with your rescue last time, there are no crazy rescues this time. I want to learn as much as I possibly can no matter what happens.”
“Well, this is a terrible idea, but good luck, you’re the idiot kid with superpowers and a talking dog. I’m just old Ethel.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
*
“Hello, my name is Cal Marshall, and I was hoping to talk to an agent about a problem I’m having,” Cal said this to a woman behind the glass at the nearest FBI building.
“Young man, can you tell me what the problem is, please?”
“I think I have magic powers, and there are some weird creatures after me. I have no idea what to do.”
“Uh-huh, and what makes you think you have magic powers?”
“Can we do this in private? I don’t want anyone seeing.”
“Fine, follow me.” She opened a door in the lobby and motioned for him to enter. She then led him to a small room with a table and a few chairs. Take a seat, and someone will be with you shortly.
Well, this was going well so far, Cal thought. He fished a stone out of his pocket and looked into one of the cameras in the room. He then doubled the size of the rock, making sure it was in plain view of the camera. “If anyone is watching, I really do have powers and am being chased by some weird creatures. Please help.”
The door swung open thirty seconds later, and two men dressed similarly to what Cal had previously seen entered the room. “Tom, kill the cameras and confiscate the recordings of this room and the lobby, please. No record of the kid being here.” The man spoke into the camera.
“Hi, I’m Cal and…” Cal was interrupted before he could finish.
“We know kid, we saw it on camera, and you are real lucky we were in town today. Then again, maybe you weren’t, and it was your energy signature we were trying to trace. Either way, we saw what you did in here on the camera. You’re going to come with us, and we will continue this conversation in a secure environment.” The man finished speaking and motioned for Cal to follow him.
The two men were joined by a third carrying a bag as they entered a parking complex. “You’re in the back with Grant.”
“Who is Grant?” Cal asked.
“I am,” said the man with the bag.
They all loaded into the black SUV and drove off. “So, can I ask questions yet? Not including this one, obviously?”
“No, but we can ask you questions now.”
“Okay, I guess,” Cal responded.
“How long have you had your powers?”
“A few months, or at least that’s when I first realized I had them. I tripped when I was playing with my dog, and I hit a rock as I fell to the ground. I was able to change its shape.”
“They just showed up one day? You didn’t encounter anything somewhere in nature, no hiking trips or anything?”
“Nope, just one day I could do this.”
“And the creatures you say are chasing you, describe them.”
“One of them had too many fingers, and its skin was very pale with large eyes and no hair. It was pretty creepy to look at it, but I managed to get away from it and ran here.”
“You were able to outrun one of their snatcher units. Impressive kid.”
The car pulled into a gated lot of an office building. The driver rolled down his window and flashed his badge to the attendant. “Take your visitor to subfloor two for examination.”
“Understood.” The agent responded
The agents parked the SUV and brought Cal inside. “Do you want some water or a donut? You’re going to be waiting for a bit in the room.”
“No thanks, I’m not hungry.”
“Alright, then follow me.” The agent who was driving broke off from the group and escorted Cal to the elevator and down to the examination room. “Here’s where I leave you, and kid, some advice: if you’ve in any way been compromised by those snatchers, tell the examiner. It will go much easier for you if you just tell us.” He closed the door behind him once he was done speaking.
Cal looked around the room. It was similar to a doctor’s office exam room, but it had an extra door in the back. Cal assumed there was more equipment back there for other experiments. The door was locked, so he started rifling through the drawers, checking for anything interesting. He was hoping to learn anything he could, but after nearly an hour of searching every inch of the room, he found nothing remarkable. He gave up and settled into the chair, waiting on his examiner.
The door opened around ten minutes later, and a short woman in glasses and a white lab coat entered. “Cal Marshall?” She said his name in a way that sounded like a question.
“Yep, that’s me, Cal, the rock shaper.”
“Hrmph and you are sticking with the story that you have no idea how this happened.”
“Well, considering I don’t, I'm going to have to stay with that story.”
“Fine, come with me.” She opened the door in the back of the room and pointed at a reclined chair in the center of it. “Please lay down there. We will begin your medical examination.”
Cal listened but glanced around the room as he did. This room was much larger. High above, it was overlooked by several windows around a domed ceiling. He wondered if he was about to have an audience for his examination.
“First, I’m going to take some of your blood, and then I’m going to inject you with something that will block their tracking of you.”
“You will feel a small pinch.” She drained three vials of his blood. He noticed something flash red at the desk she had been sitting at.
“Okay, now for the tracking vaccination.” She injected it into his other arm, and he started to feel very tired. Shit, they drugged me, was Cal’s last thought as he fell unconscious.