Chapter 6 - The Connection

Chapter 6 - The connection

The seventh Elder, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. His voice, though gentle, carried the weight of centuries—each syllable heavy with secrets too dangerous to reveal.

"One person can change everything, Jenny. A single action ripples through time, reshaping history in ways beyond our sight. The question is not *how*, but whether he has the strength to face what lies ahead."

Jenny's chest tightened, her vision blurring with unshed tears. The enormity of it all pressed down on her, suffocating. She understood the stakes, but the thought of James standing alone against unimaginable odds gnawed at her soul, leaving her feeling raw and helpless.

"But..." she whispered, her voice trembling.

"What if he fails? What if... he doesn't come back?"

The fifth Elder, who had remained in the shadows, now stepped forward. His stern face softened, his gaze gentle as he rested a hand on her shoulder. It was a rare moment of tenderness, a break in the severity that defined him.

"If he fails," the Elder murmured, his voice as heavy as the silence that followed,

"we all die. Not just James. The world dies. But if he succeeds, Jenny, he will do more than save us—he will change the course of history itself."

Jenny's knees nearly buckled, her heart pounding as her gaze drifted to the machine in the center of the room. It hummed with life, its gears turning faster, as if it could sense the tension building in the air. Each metallic clank seemed to echo her own racing pulse.

"James," her mind screamed, her heart aching with fear and longing. "Please come back. Don't leave me in this broken world."

The first Elder, the tallest and most imposing of the group, stepped forward. His long, dark robes seemed to absorb the dim light as he reached into his sleeve and produced a small, crumpled photograph.

Jenny's breath caught. It was a picture of her and James, taken long before they had heard of the CTL, before the Elders had drawn them into their dangerous world. They were laughing, carefree. So young, so full of life—oblivious to the shadows that would soon envelop them.

"He left this for you," the first Elder said, his voice uncharacteristically soft, like a distant echo from a time long past.

"He wanted you to remember that you are not alone in this."

Jenny took the photograph, her fingers trembling as she traced the outline of James's face. Her heart clenched painfully, the tears burning at the corners of her eyes. But she refused to let them fall. Not now. Not when everything was at stake.

"When the time comes," the Elder continued, his voice measured, "you will have a chance to help him. But until that moment, you must hold on. For him. For yourself. For the world that is waiting for his success."

Jenny swallowed hard, the weight of the world pressing down on her. "I will," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "I won't let him face this alone. Whatever it takes… I'll bring him back."

The Elders exchanged glances, but Jenny sensed a tension lingering in the air, a secret left unsaid. Their silence weighed heavy, as if they, too, carried doubts about what would come next.

She forced herself to breathe, standing tall despite the overwhelming burden. As she stood in the heart of the Founder's Lab, surrounded by the low hum of the machines and the flickering lights, she realized her life had irrevocably changed. She wasn't just a gardener from the Complex anymore. She was now a part of something much larger—a destiny that would shape the fate of humanity itself.

The photograph felt warm in her hand, not just a memory, but a promise. A vow to herself, to James, and to the fragile world that hung in the balance.

The Elders remained silent, their expressions unreadable. Were they testing her resolve, or did they already know what was to come? It didn't matter. She had made her decision. Her path was clear now.

Turning away from the machines and their relentless noise, Jenny whispered, barely louder than a breath, "James... wherever you are... I'm coming for you."

As she moved toward the door, ready to leave the room and the weight of their gazes behind, she stopped. Her heart tightened as she turned back to face the first Elder.

"First Elder," Jenny asked, her voice steady though fear clung to every word, "when can I use the time machine?"

The first Elder paused, his expression darkening, eyes narrowing as if searching for the right words. His hesitation told her more than his answer ever could.

"When the world is on the brink of destruction," he said at last, his voice low and steady.

"When James is on the brink of failure, and the end seems inevitable. That is when you will use the machine. If you save the world, Jenny… you will save him, too."

Jenny's heart twisted painfully in her chest. "Do you think James will fail?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, each word trembling with disbelief.

The Elder's eyes darkened further, his gaze piercing.

"I don't know," he admitted, the stark truth hanging in the air like a guillotine blade. "There is no certainty in this. The odds are against him. Even if he succeeds in his mission, Jenny... survival is not guaranteed."

The words hit her like a physical blow, but they also sparked something in her, a raw, uncontainable surge of anger and confusion.

"Then why?" she asked suddenly, her voice rising with a mixture of desperation and fury. "If you're not sure he can survive, if you think he might fail—why did you send him to the past? Why make him carry this burden?"

The room seemed to still, the soft hum of the machine fading into the background as the tension between them thickened. The Elders' gazes shifted, as if they had been waiting for this question, as if this moment had already been seen in some distant vision.

The first Elder sighed, his eyes softening, though they remained as unreadable as ever. "Because he is the best hope we have. The only one with the potential to succeed where others would falter. His connection to the timeline… to you… makes him our only chance."

Jenny's mind raced, her emotions spiraling. She wanted to scream, to demand more answers, but she knew there was no simple explanation. They had gambled everything on James, on his strength, and now his life teetered on the edge of failure or salvation.

"And if you're wrong?" Jenny pressed, her voice barely hiding the raw edge of her fear. "If you've sent him to his death?"

The Elder's gaze never wavered, though there was a flicker of something—regret, perhaps—behind his ancient eyes.

"Then we all perish. But understand this, Jenny: we didn't force him. He made the choice, knowing the risks. He chose to fight for this world. For you."

Her anger dissolved as quickly as it had flared, leaving behind a hollow ache. She couldn't fault James for choosing to risk everything. That was who he was—selfless, courageous, always willing to sacrifice himself for others. And now, he was somewhere in the past, alone and fighting against the currents of time itself.

"Then I'll be ready," she said, her voice firm, unshakable. "If he falls, I'll be there to pull him back. No matter the cost."

The Elder said nothing, but the weight of his silence lingered.

~~~To Be Continued~~~