Thaddeus and I ventured out into the forest. After escaping the Kings prison, we both agreed it was better to stay as far away from civilized life as possible. We started out into the forest and didn't stop until both of us were exhausted.

We came to a clearing in the forest and noticed the chill in the air. I stop suddenly.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What about here?”

THADDEUS: “What about it?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “It's getting colder. Snow is in the air. I'm thinking we should build a fire and camp here for the night.”



Thaddeus looks around, then up at the sky. The clouds roll by quite quickly. The faster they go, the more they compact.



THADDEUS: “Here will do.”



He and I get to work. Both of us use our daggers to cut through tree limbs and branches to start our fire. We drag out a log and we sit upon it as the fire warms us up.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “So you don't know how you got here, only that you're here.”

THADDEUS: “That sounds accurate.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You know your age, and your name, yet nothing else.”

THADDEUS: “We've been through this.”



Indeed we have. I can not help myself though. He's my son. He's also much older than he was when he left his native time thread. The child just intrigues me.

I tread cautiously though. I don't want to come on too strong and scare him away. He's already so confused. I also don't want to be too light with him. After all, his safety is my one and only concern. I have to be certain he remains safe for the duration of our time here. One day, I'll tell him the whole truth about what exactly is going on. Why he doesn't remember anything about his life. Why he doesn't remember his family, let alone his parents. If I told him now, it could prove to further confuse the child and he may turn away for me.

It's not as simple as just coming out and saying 'hey kid, you're from a different time thread, I'm your Dad and you have to choose to come back with me to our time.'

I wish it was.

Part of me anyhow. Another part of me finds this time thread so damned intriguing.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What's the last thing you remember?”



He looks down at the ground, then up at the dark sky, then at me.



THADDEUS: “Nothing. The first thing I remember was waking up in the King's castle. I was lying on the floor and I thought things were familiar, until I stood up and looked around the room. The room looked familiar but its contents did not.

“That's when the King and his guards found me and apprehended me. I have no idea how I got there or why I was even there in the first place.”



The snow begins to fall.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Maybe we should get some sleep. We'll start fresh in the morning. We'll figure out what to do and where to go from here.”



I look over at him for confirmation and he's already asleep. I want so much to tell him that I am his father and that I love him. He must feel so alone in the world. That's when I begin to drift off to sleep as well.

---

I wake at dawn, but not on my own. I feel something cold pressed against the side of my neck. Like steel. As I blink furiously in order to thrust the sleep out of me, I begin to realize something bad is happening. A long haired, long bearded man stands above me. Not real tall. Short even. Maybe five feet six. His sword pressed against my neck. I try to look over at Thaddeus, but he's nowhere to be found.



MAN: “Who sent you!?”



I'm unable to answer. Partially because I'm half asleep. Partially because I'm worrying over my missing son. Partially because there's a god damned sword pressed against my neck.



MAN: “YOU! Answer me! Who sent you!?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What the hell are you talking about?”

MAN: “Are you one of the Kings men!? I'd answer quickly and truthfully if I were you!”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “No, I'm not one of the King's men!”

MAN: “You dare trespass on our land!?”



I hear that oh too familiar sound of metal gliding across metal.



THADDEUS: “I'd remove the sword from this mans neck, if I were you.”



Ahhh, my son finally got to try out his sweet spring loaded dagger thingy. I glance to my right and Thaddeus stands behind this strange man, his dagger pressed against the mans jugular.



MAN: “Ohhh damn it! You guys had one job! Look out for intruders! Not only did you miss these two camping in our forest, you also missed the one behind me with a knife to my throat!”



Guys? Was that plural? I begin to gently look to my right. I see a collection of ragged-type men on horseback, staring at the turn of events.



MAN ON HORSEBACK: “We're not yet trained in battle!”

MAN: “You're supposed to be my General!”

THADDEUS: “Remove your sword, sir, or pay the ultimate price.”

MAN: “Very well.”



The man above me sheathes his sword.



THADDEUS: “Sebastian, you can get up.”



I'm proud at this moment. He'd gone out of his way and could have potentially been killed. He put that aside in order to save me. He had no way of knowing whether the men on horseback would engage him or not.

Once I'm to my feet, Thaddeus hits the trigger in his palm and the dagger disappears into his sleeve.



MAN: “Soooooo. You're not of the King's men?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “No.”

THADDEUS: “In fact, we escaped the King's castle just yesterday.”

MAN: “Is that right?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “It's true. He'd apprehended us yesterday in his castle. He wanted to behead us both. So we escaped into the drainage tunnels below.”

MAN: “That man is a tyrant! The worst tyrant to lead the Great American Empire in over five hundred years!”



American Empire? Come again?



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Out of curiosity, what year is this?”

MAN: “What!? Are you mad!?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “No, not particularly.”



He turns toward his men.



MAN: “He doesn't know what year it is!”



He and his men start laughing hard.



MAN: “The year, is 2514.”



Christ. I'm 500 years ahead of where I was.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What happened to the United States?”

MAN: “Do you not know your history?”



Well, I know mine. Not theirs.



MAN: “The United States fell a half century ago. The last President tried too hard to take the rights of the people. A new revolt was started and the American government was overthrown. They didn't stop there, though. The revolt ventured into Canada and Mexico. Now both former nations have converged to form the American Empire.

“Hundreds of years ago, royal lineage determined who became King or Queen upon the rulers death.

“Today, whoever kills the King, becomes the King.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “So, it's like live-action chess.”

MAN: “What the hell is chess?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Never mind that.”

THADDEUS: “Are there other empires?”

MAN: “Three. The one you stand in, the British Empire, which is all of Europe and the African continent. The Soviet Empire is all of Asia.”



Thaddeus and I begin to follow the man as he walks back toward his men.



MAN: “We've fought hard to enjoy the land we have. Against the King's men. We're basically confined to this small forest.

“We intend to change that, though.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “How do you plan to do that?”

MAN: “We're going to overthrow the King. Once we've trained.”



Suddenly, the wheels in my head begin turning.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What if we make a deal?”

MAN: “What kind of deal?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'm well trained in combat. If you and your men welcome my son and I into your community...”



I feel Thaddeus' eyes burning through me. I mouth the words 'go with it' to him. He smiles and I continue.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Feed us, keep us warm, things like that. I'll train you and your men, to fight the King and his.”

MAN: “You're a warrior?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I am.”

MAN: “Could you prove it?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “A million times over.”

MAN: “Then I suggest a fight to the death!”



What the hell did I just get myself into.



MAN: “I'll choose one of my men. You'll battle with swords. It will not end until one of you has drawn his last breath! If you win, you've proved yourself worthy and can train my men and live among us.

“If you lose...”



The man pats me on the shoulder and smirks.



MAN: “Ha! Then it was nice knowing you.”



The man continues into his crowd of ill-trained men. I stay back with Thaddeus.



THADDEUS: “My son?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I had to say something. What plausible reason would explain why a six foot eight guy with dark hair hangs out with five foot eleven blond kid?”

THADDEUS: “You're fucked.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Want to place a wager on it?”

THADDEUS: “A what?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “A bet. You want to place a bet that I'll lose?”



I squeeze my right hand into a fist and my twelve inch dagger makes its presence known.



THADDEUS: “No. I don't want to take that gamble.”

---

---

The men gather around in a large circle. Their leader comes to the middle with Thaddeus behind him.



MAN: “Gentlemen! We've come to a head, here! These outsiders would like to live among us. This man...”



He points to me.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Sebastian.”

MAN: “This man Sebastian, would like to train you to fight the King in return! So what we're going to do is have a fight to the death. When... if our George wins, Sebastian will die, and so will his son!”



I guess that puts this into perspective.



MAN: “If Sebastian wins...”



He laughs, and like sheep, his men follow.



MAN: “If Sebastian wins, George will die and Sebastian and his son, will live among us and train us to take what is ours!

“Gentlemen! Your weapons!”



The man hands George a nice looking sword. Then hands me a rusty, ratty sword, not fit for anything but scrap metal.



MAN: “FIGHT!”



George advances toward me, with his sword in hand and out in front of him. I hold my ground. He closes in and swing his sword in a chopping motion. I reach up and grab his wrist, then shove him away.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You'll have to come at me better than that.”



I didn't expect it, but the man charges at me this time, with his sword pointed straight out. I step out of the way and the sword plunges deep into the trunk of a tree. George struggles to pull it out by placing one foot against the trunk. I take my sword and smack him in the back of his knee. He collapses to the ground and laughter can be heard from his buddies surrounding us.

George jumps back to his feet, embarrassed. I grab his sword and pull it out of the tree, then hand it back to him.



MAN: “We have an honorable fighter among us!”



Not really, I'm just starting to have a little fun.

I back off and allow George to get to his feet. The man charges at me once again and swings his sword. I block his swing with my sword, effectively busting it into pieces. George smiles. He keeps coming at me as I toss the sword handle to the ground. He swings like a crazed lunatic in all directions. I dodge and weave every attempt until I stumble on a small tree stump.

I lay flat on my back and George places the tip of the sword against my throat. He smiles. I smile. A look of confusion crosses his face. I bat the sword away from my neck and plunge my right fist toward his stomach.

That sound of metal gliding across metal as my dagger protrudes and plunges deep into George's stomach. A collective gasp is heard from his boys and a look of shock appears on George's face. He drops his sword to the ground then drops to his knees, straddling my legs.

I direct my left fist toward the mans throat. That sound again, as my dagger plunges into the mans throat and out the back side of his neck, severing the mans spinal cord.

He chokes and gargles for a split second. Long enough for me to retrieve my daggers from his body, then he collapses on top of me.

Complete silence.

I push George's lifeless body off of me and climb back to my feet. The leader steps toward me.



MAN: “The name is Zachariah. Welcome to our community.”



I smile as he and I shake hands. Thaddeus runs over to me to celebrate my victory.



ZACHARIAH: “Men! Sebastian and his son will join us from now on! Prepare George's body for feast!”



Thaddeus and I stare at each other. Both in disgust as we hear that we're going to eat George.

Fade to Darkness.