Bill smiled as he closed the book right after the first page again. Over the past weeks since he had found this life changing pages he could barely contain his joy everytime he opened it up again. After beeing puzzled the first time he held it in his hands and flipping throug the pages, he eventually came to understand that there was more to that story than met the eye. the concepts seemed alien to him. First describing that his universe was in fact not the only one in existence, but then also that by traversing through the plains of the universe, huge gains could be made if one was willing to take adequate risks.
He felt the right pocket of his tailored vest again. Nowerdays, he seemed to do so without stop when he was in public. By chance, he had found a string of reality that took carbonated bottled water as a ridiculously high priced currency. With the bottle he had in his backpack on one of his first experimental travels, he was able to trade for a strange artifact in the form of a pocket watch. This watch was now happily ticking away in his vest. Whenever Bill felt as if his story was just to crazy to believe, he would grab on to that watch that allowed him to look one minute into the future just a little tighter. All he had to do was move its finger that showed the minutes in a clockwise direction by a small amount. A rather dull smile crept on his chubby, slightly shiny face. This ability was just to good to keep away from. this weekend alone, he made a fortune in a betting parlor at a roulette table in a shadier part of town. Although the merchant had warned him to never, under any circumstance, use the power of the clock more than once a month, unless he wanted to incur a terrible backlash, Bill had discovered a simple loophole around that condition. If he constantly kept the fingers of the timepiece to that one minute in the future, he would permanently see what was about to happen. So nothing ever could happen to him because he would always be 60 seconds ahead of disaster! That way he was able to get away from the bouncers at the gambling den just in the nick of time before they would drag him to the basement never to be seen again.
Bill Gonzo never could be considered a ladies man before he found the Travel Log's third book. He always wondered what the first two books were about, since that third volume seemed to contain the very start of the author's adventure, but then again, as a simple man, he could not really be bothered to find out more about that mystery. While going on in his head about ways to exploit these new found opportunities and powers, maybe even taking revenge on some of his childhood bullies, his future sight caught a girl walking down the street. His unfulfilled lustful nature sprung immediately into action as he saw himself stopping her on the walkway after buying her what seemed to be no less that a hundred roses from a flower shop on the other side of the street. She smiled at him and leaned over, whispering something in his ear seductively. If he wanted that vision to come true, he would have to act now and fast. Taking his hand out of his pocket, Bill looked diligently left and right before crossing the street in the morning traffic.
A little out of breath because of his out of shape body and his short legs he told the shopkeeper "Give me all the roses you have at this little shop of yours"
"That will be quite the sum young man, are you sure?" asked the shopkeeper in a slightly annoyed tone because of the belittlement he just had to endure. "I don't have all day, chop, chop!" Bill answered. Deeming a fistful of paper money adequate, he dropped the notes all over the counter and picked the flowers up himself, telling the shopkeeper "Just keep the rest and buy your wife something nice. Shoes or something..." the shopkeeper just shook his head at the arrogant fella.
"What a typical money for brains guy. Seriously..." If Bill wanted to impress the girl, he had only a little time left. Because of all the thorns on the roses, he had to use both hands not to scratch himself, while constantly feeling the weight of the watch in his vest. He made it over the street and walked directly up to the girl.
"Heeeey sweety, hows it hangin'? These are for you, but they only barely match your beauty! How about you and me get real' comfy later on?" Bill felt really smug as he said the line. He figured, since the girl smiled at him in his future sight, he must have hit the bullseye with his smooth talking. And in fact, the girl leaned over and smiled directly at Bill. His heart began pumping. Would this be the glorious tale of his first time at seducing a woman?
"I would never date a short and chubby guy like you." the girl said grinning. "Do you really believe I would carry those things around with me all day and then go with you to dinner? Dream on, fool." She said while pointing at the huge amount of thorny roses. "Best bring those back. Who knows, the shopkeeper may even refund you half of your money. And 'get comfy'? Seriously..." And with that, she moved around Bill and went her way.
"That bitch. In my vision, she smiled at me. I took it as interest. Better bring those back then..." But of course, Bill was not done. "One day, I will make cheap girls like her mine by the dozens! Hear that, world? This is not the last you have heard of BILL GONZO! Ha ha ha!"
He shouted that last part while he crossed the street. Unfortunately, some of the flowers started to fall out of his arms as he went, so he bent down to get them back. Bill was a stingy guy by nature, so naturally he would not have these flowers go to waste. Bending down, the ticking of his watch came closer to his ear.
"That reminds me...hm?" realizing that his constant future sight had run out about 40 seconds ago, he put his hands around his watch and manipulated the fingers of the watch in his usual fashion, but all he saw was first white and than right after black. Confused and in concentration, he looked up from his crouched position. He noticed the screeching of tires and the headlights coming straight towards him.
PANG!
thud
Bill Gonzo's dying thoughts where actually "That merchant should have warned me more" before he regretfully breathed his last. He died with a fractured skull and open eyes in the morning traffic, looking at the leaving silhouette of a man in a white robe. "my watch...he...took my...watch..."
During the commotion, a young adult with clear blue eyes had gone through the gathered crowd.
"Let me through, I am a doctor." While some people took pictures only to find them later on distorted or missing from their phones, the young man crouched down. After a brief pause and a thorough investigation of Bills whole body he said: "There is nothing I can do to safe him. What a shame. A precious life is lost in such an unnecessary way." Getting up and preparing to leave, he looked back at Bill one last time, a faint smile flashing across his face. In his lab coat, an ever so slight ticking could be heard.
At a safe distance, Madruan spoke to himself "What an idiot. Even getting guidance from a traveling string merchant just to ignore it. He had it coming but it is a miracle that it took so long. Baseline reality is just to gentle it would seem..." With these words, Madruan disappeared into the crowd of the buzzing city, only to be seen again later.