Chapter 113 - Revelations

Blake gestured to the other cots within the jail cell. “I’ll answer any questions you have now.”

Within reason.

Both Jennifer and Bobby seemed nervous, but he could not blame them. A jail cell was a harsh place for an interview. Unfortunately, it was the only location where he was certain their conversation would remain private. 

“Okay,” Jennifer sighed after she carefully sat on the cot adjacent to Blake. Bobby remained standing. “You got us here. What did you do that was so bad, you couldn’t just tell us outside?”

“It’s not like that.” Blake furrowed his brow in slight annoyance. “Everything I’ve done has been to save lives. But, when you purposefully take partial video clips out of context to make me look bad, it pisses me off.”

“I didn’t do that!” Jennifer protested. “I aired the entire video that was making the rounds, and I even warned viewers that we were missing the whole story!”

Blake snorted and shook his head. “I read the comments. The only thing they saw was me killing people who weren’t fighting back. And, all they heard from you was that I refused to comment about it. They were primed to believe the worst.”

Jennifer looked frustrated. “If you had a good reason to kill those people, then why didn’t you respond to me when I reached out? Why didn’t you just tell people your side?”

Blake sighed and leaned back against the wall. “Because people won’t understand. Not yet. Everyone is still acting like the United States and its laws still exist.”

“It does,” Jennifer corrected him. “President Warner created a faction named ‘United States’ that will contain thousands of sub-factions across the entire continent. He said he plans to unite the entire country within thirty days.”

Wow. I really did change things.

Blake brows rose and he sat up. “That’s actually, really good.”

Jennifer frowned. “Wait, you support President Warner? Even after he tried to kill you?”

“No, I support his cause, not him,” Blake clarified. “The more factions we create, the more people saved. That’s all I really care about.” Blake chuckled to himself. “I’m actually kind of relieved. I thought I would have to do everything myself. It’s nice knowing that even if I fail, others will step up.”

“Then, do you plan to pledge our faction to him?” Jennifer asked.

Blake snorted. “Hell no.”

“He won’t like that,” she warned him.

He shrugged. “Tough shit. He’ll have to get over it.”

Jennifer sighed and moved on. “You said people won’t understand why you killed those people. Why not? And know, I intend to tell my viewers the truth.”

Blake paused as he considered how to explain things to her.

She needs full context.

He took a deep breath and began. “You know I went back in time, right?” After a tentative nod, he continued. “Then let me explain how things were in my past life. On Invasion day, Earth’s Scion of Humanity was some Chinese man who didn’t know what was going on. He probably stumbled into a portal, survived, and then stayed holed up in his apartment for the next few months. He looked pretty terrified.”

“Did he eventually form a faction?” Jennifer interrupted.

Blake shook his head. “No. He was never heard from again. We had all kinds of theories about his government kidnapping him, or someone else killing him, but in reality, no one knew. But, that was pretty par for the course. No one knew anything about anything.”

Jennifer interrupted again, while Bobby finally relaxed enough to sit next to her on the cot. “Who’s we?”

“Everyone in the faction I joined.” Blake replied. “If you keep interrupting me, I’ll never finish.”

Jennifer ignored his statement. “How is that possible for him to just disappear? Someone must have known. Anyone could’ve just shared the information to the world through the interface. It’d be out there.”

Blake paused again as he considered how to answer.

Should I tell her about the deal I made? Can I trust her?

After a moment’s thought, he realized he needed to. His reputation was already destroyed, and with his title, it would only get worse. People would assume the worst. Without her help, others would likely turn against him and attack his faction.

He must have paused for too long, as now even Bobby leaned forward in anticipation.

“In my past life, the social media functions didn’t exist. If you wanted to talk to someone through the interface, you had to have physical contact with them first, just like I stated in my guide.”

Jennifer frowned and opened her mouth to ask another question. Before she could, he raised his hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain later. For now, just accept that it didn’t exist.”

She slowly nodded.

“Okay. After Invasion day, no one knew what was going on. Everyone was scared, and most people hid within their homes, just like they’re doing now. Three days later, monsters began to appear, and made things even worse. Over the next week, millions of people likely died in their sleep. They thought they were safe behind a barred door.”

“That’s awful,” she commiserated.

He nodded. “It was. My family only survived because of luck. I’m not sure why no monsters portaled into our apartment, but that’s what saved us. We were holed up, just like everyone else, and didn’t leave until we ran out of food.”

“What about water?”

“My dad suggested we fill up both bathtubs before the pressure ran out, so we were fine on water,” Blake explained.

“What happened when you left to get food?” Jennifer asked. Her curiosity had temporarily overridden her concern.

I guess everyone likes a good story.

“That’s when we finally ran into the monsters,” Blake said dramatically. “Mom, dad, Oliver and I left as a group with our backpacks full of supplies. We had some makeshift weapons, mostly wooden sticks, and we hoped that’d be enough for a goblin or kobold. Unfortunately, we didn’t run into those, we ran into humans.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Blake saw Bobby nod to himself.

“They held us up with guns and demanded we hand over everything we owned. Then, even though we gave up all of our stuff, they beat the crap out of us, for no reason. The bruises lasted for weeks. I think my mom even had a broken rib, but she wouldn’t tell,” Blake trailed off.

He took a deep breath. “Anyway, after they left, we hobbled down the street to my dad’s old restaurant in Show Low, with just the clothes on our backs. That’s when we ran into our first non-human monster. Once we limped inside, we found a goblin with a club. It saw us and attacked. Without weapons, we were forced to just rush it and take the beating. Unfortunately, before we were able to wrestle the club away from it, that bastard shattered my dad’s knee.”

“That’s awful,” Jennifer said with compassion.

Blake shook his head. “No, what was really awful was what happened next. My dad and I could barely hold it down, and it hurt for my mom to even breathe, so it was up to my brother to kill it. Oliver wrapped his hands around its skinny neck and squeezed.”

He paused for a moment as he remembered the scene. The 

memory was vivid, and had stuck with him for over a decade now. 

After a moment, Blake continued his story while he stared at the stone floor of the jail cell. “I don’t know if Oliver kept relaxing his grip on purpose, or if he just wasn’t strong enough to hold tight that long, but it took him five minutes to kill it. Every time the goblin was able to take a breath, it pleaded for its life. By the time it died, Oliver was in tears and shaking. He had to stare it in the eyes the entire time.”

When Blake finally glanced up to Jennifer, tears had formed in his eyes. He wiped them away and told them, “By the time we woke up the next morning, Oliver was dead. I don’t know if he couldn’t handle the guilt… if it was an accident… but he overdosed on drugs while we slept.”

“I’m sorry,” Jennifer said softly.

Blake took a deep breath. “Somehow the three of us survived in the restaurant for months. After a monster appeared right before our eyes, we made sure at least one of us was awake at all times. We rationed our food and water, and pulled the monster’s bodies we killed into the deep freezer to escape the smell.”

He cleared his throat. “We survived, but barely. I don’t think my mom’s ribs ever healed right, and my dad’s knee was completely shot. Eventually, one of the roving gangs we spied through the barricaded windows found us. They held us at gunpoint and demanded our food.”

When Blake paused, Bobby spoke for the first time since he began his story. “I can see why you’d have a hatred for criminals.”

He nodded. “Without any food, we’d be forced to leave. My dad couldn’t walk, and my mom was in constant pain already. It was a death sentence, and we all knew it. My dad…” Blake shook his head. “My dad told them no. He held them off and told me to run, to survive.” 

His gaze fell and in a quiet voice, he added, “Like a coward, I did.”

Bobby placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Blake took a deep breath. 

Why is this still so hard to talk about? It’s been ten years and they’re alive again.

After Bobby lifted his hand, Blake continued in a rough voice. “I survived on my own, going from house to house, scavenging for supplies. I always made sure to stay away from other humans. I slept in the smallest closets I could find, and killed every monster I saw. It took a while, but I learned how the Collective worked. Eventually, I earned enough nano to gain my class.”

“That must’ve been hard,” Jennifer said sympathetically.

 Blake nodded. “After that, I grew brave. When I found a group of scavengers, I approached them, ready to fight. But, it turned out, they were from a local faction, and were good people. They convinced me to join them. After that, things became easier, but I’ll never forget,” he stared into Jennifer’s eyes. “It wasn’t the monsters that killed my family, it was humans.”

“Is that why you killed those people in Payson?” Jennifer asked.

Blake nodded. “They staged an ambush, and would have killed everyone in our convoy if I hadn’t been there. That video you posted didn’t show that, or when the leader pulled his gun and shot me. It picked up at the very end, when I told them to never do it again.”

Jennifer frowned. “Why would you say that before you were about to kill them?”

Blake snorted wryly. “Because I actually hadn’t planned to kill them. I took their guns and just wanted them to stop. But, when I looked into each of their eyes, I saw the eyes of every evil human I’ve ever met. I didn’t see any remorse or guilt. I knew the second they got a hold of more guns, they’d do the same thing again. It hadn’t even been two days, and they were already preying on their neighbors.”

“They obviously deserved what they got. Why didn’t you just tell me all of this? Why stay silent?” Jennifer pressed him.

“Because I’ve been working my ass off ever since I got back from the void. When was there time? When I was busy transporting people to safety, or in between killing monsters to defend the new town? You have to remember, I went ten years without social media. I’m not used to using it. Honestly, I probably would’ve completely ignored everything if it wasn’t for my mom. She seemed to think you could restore my image, and that I should come back to get your help.”

“I can,” she promised. “But, you have to tell me everything. You can’t keep me in the dark anymore.”

Can I trust her? Do I really have a choice?

At that moment, he understood the urge Jennifer had to read people’s minds. It was a hard thing to give a stranger your trust. Especially if they could use the information you gave them against you. It would be so much easier if he could guarantee she was on his side.

Trust has to start somewhere.

For the next hour, he filled Jennifer and Bobby in on everything. He held nothing back, and answered every one of their questions to the best of his knowledge.

“Are they still alive, the scientists that invented time travel? What did Rajesh say, he’s at the same university in Phoenix, right?” Jennifer pressed.

Blake winced.

Shit. I can’t believe I forgot.

“Uh… I haven’t contacted Rajesh yet,” Blake admitted sheepishly.

“You what?!” her eyes widened in disbelief. “An alien AI tells you the fate of the world may depend on a group of scientists creating time travel, and you don’t do everything you can to make sure they survive?” By the end of her tirade, the volume of her voice had risen until she was almost shouting.

Blake ran a hand through his uneven hair. “You’re right, I screwed up,” he admitted. “But I don’t think that was the reason it gave us another chance. The Architect didn’t even seem to care about that. It just called it a fluke and assumed we wouldn’t be able to recreate it.”

Jennifer sighed. “Or the AI was bluffing you and really wants that time travel. You said it was manipulating you the whole time.” She groaned and stood. Blake watched as she paced back and forth within the small cell. “I hope you’re right, because they may already be dead.”

Finally, she rounded on him. “Okay, here’s what we need to do. This information needs to get out there, we need to make the public understand.”

Blake began to speak, but she shushed him immediately. “But, in order to do that, we have to frame it the right way.”

He nodded.

She began to pace once again. “I’ll do a series of short interviews with you. First, I’ll have you share the story of your first life and death of your family to build sympathy.” She paused and considered him for a moment. “You’re gonna need to cut your hair and wear something … well, more normal. Then, we’ll get into your struggles to save humanity. You tried to prepare us for the end of the world, but the government and police got in your way. Battle armor is good for that, but something nicer looking would be better. And lose those weird arm bandages.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied dryly as he unconsciously rubbed the strip of leather atop his tattoo. Blake was almost certain she did not hear him. Jennifer seemed to be thinking out loud.

Bobby snorted, then whispered. “Don’t bother responding when she gets like this.”

“Once people are on your side, we’ll talk about the ambush in Payson. I wish we could address it sooner, but if we start off that way, we’ll be on the defensive from the beginning. We can’t let that happen, we have to control the narrative from the start. By the time I’m done, the Murderer of Payson will be the Savior of Payson. You made a faction there, so I can interview some members, let them share how they were saved.”

Just like in battle. Always make the first move, never react.

For some reason, it never occurred to Blake until that moment to think of a public relations campaign as a battle. He had no experience in this area, and had assumed the rules were vastly different.

“We’ll only share your conversation with the Architect after we’re sure the public is on your side. Otherwise, it could bite us in the face. The title it gave you is bad enough. While all of this is happening, we need to release a series of recordings of you saving people.”

Blake cleared his throat and interrupted her. “Won’t that seem kind of disingenuous? Fake?”

Jennifer snorted and shook her head. “Maybe to a few people, but most will eat it up. Besides, it will take a LOT of work to rebuild your image. Every piece of bad press takes at least ten good pieces before they’re canceled out.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Blake frowned.

“Life ain’t fair, kid,” Bobby admonished. “You of all people should know that.

I suppose I do.

“But, we can’t just focus on you,” she told him. “I’ll need to release a series of segments that expose President Warner’s failings. We need to redirect people’s anger, and creating a common enemy is the best way to do that.”

Blake frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, the guy seems like an incompetent ass, but he seems to have left me alone since Invasion day. Won’t this escalate things?”

Jennifer furrowed her brows. “You really don’t know anything about politics, do you?”

“Not really,” he confirmed. “I was just a grunt. I went where I was told, and killed what needed to be killed. Politics always seemed kind of… dirty.”

“Oh, it is,” she agreed with his assessment. “But you don’t get to stay out of it this time. You’ll have to play just as dirty as the rest of them, or you’ll be crushed, and us alongside you.”

I guess that’s true. At least she seems to know what she’s talking about. I wonder where she learned all this.

“Blake,” she looked him in the eyes. “Trust me when I say this. President Warner has not forgotten how you humiliated him. He will never forget. The only reason he hasn’t attacked you yet is because he isn’t ready. You need to prepare for that day. Form alliances, and build support from the public. You know how to fight, but wars are different animals entirely than battles. Find someone you trust who can guide you. But most important of all, get strong. Get so strong, he can’t do anything to hurt you.”

Blake chuckled. “I already planned on doing that.”

“Good,” she nodded. “Now, can we get out of this shitty cell? We’ve got a lot of work to do, and you need to contact Rajesh.”

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