Leaning on the too comfortable seat, I gazed through the airtight glass window towards the cloud as the plane carrying us pierced through it. We were traveling at a supersonic speed, breaking the sound barrier.
Going at such speed was indeed outside of the norm, but not when you fly in the private jet of Nefion Industries. Their jets were specifically designed to sustain worse, and according to the pilot this speed was rather on the lower side.
If I wanted, he could show me the worst but I was not a fan of that.
And the credit for all this goes to Anniliese who declared an emergency and this plane was pushing the limits. It was supposed to take ten hours by air but the too daring pilot said he would do it in six.
Thus, most orders were violated but when you fly at 80,000 feet, most rules did not matter. It becomes your sky.
Anyways my mind was preoccupied with many things and one of them was piecing the entire picture together.
There were so many things happening that I had lost count.
I met Anniliese the very day I spawned here, totally deviating from the plot. 'Red flag there.'
She acted too friendly, differing from her original characteristic. 'Red flag.'
She now hated the protagonist for obvious reasons. 'Another red flag.'
Then that Isaac guy who dug my history which must not exist. But it did, without my own knowledge.
'Another flag.'
'Wherever I go something is already wrong with the plot.' I wailed inwardly.
'I am supposed to know everything, but here I am… knowing literally nothing.' I heaved a deep sigh, gazing at the leather coated interior of the plane. 'I don't even know who I am anymore.'
My parents, my dog, that imaginary town, how the hell did those things come here? I never wrote them.
'It is all messed up…' I was now having a mild headache, thinking over all this nonsense.
"But how? Why?" I mutter out loud, failing to control my frustration "Just how bizarre things can go?"
"What bizarre?" Annie who sat directly in front of me, reading something on the tablet, gave me a puzzled look.
"Nothing! I am just talking nonsense." I lightly shook my head sideways, leaning on the chair even more or rather I was practically sleeping.
"You look stressed, Tim!" She said softly, placing the tab on the side. "We have been together since the day we opened our eyes and I have never seen you like this. What's wrong? You can tell me you know."
'What did she just say? We were together the whole time?'
My brows knitted together as I stared at her, wondering why I didn't know any of these, even though I created her character and her entire lifecycle.
'Wait, I did not create her entire lifecycle, did I?'
I started writing her character when she was 21. Before that, I never mentioned anything about her life. But she couldn't just be born at 21 out of nowhere. Someone else was at work here, doing God's work.
'Finally, it all makes sense. I am not the God of this world anymore. I am just a passenger along the ride with no idea who the driver is.'
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Annie asked, blushing a little.
"Oh, it's nothing," I replied, putting a break on my chain of thoughts. "Anyway, I'll tell you everything when the time comes. Now is not a good time."
Anniliese nodded silently and I did not object.
'The more she knows, the more issues I will get.'
It was abundantly clear that something big was at play. Or how would literals worlds intertwine with each other.
Someone was orchestrating everything and I was just a pawn.
'I can't let that happen.' I clenched my fist, my eyes glinting with desire to take back control. 'It is my goddamn world.'
Soon the plane lowered bit by bit and within five minutes the lights on the ground were clearly visible.
Many small and big structures were scattered throughout the area and in the midst of all stood an enormous skyscraper trying to reach the very sky.
'It is just like I imagined.'
The plane drew closer to the monstrosity and lading gears were engaged.
Except using the conventional runway, this plane used a giant helipad atop the high-rise building to land. It landed like a VTOL or in other words used a Vertical landing system.
The two engines attached to the plane's tail turned upside, followed by reverse thrusters that helped the plane touch the ground.
Samuel, who was acting as the co-pilot, entered the cabin with his usual poker face and escorted us out.
'Now this is called a bit too realistic!' I exclaimed looking around and the only thing came to view was mountains in the distance where the beautiful sunset was visible. Countless small and large elevations were running around the edges of the town, peaks covered in snow.
This entire town was surrounded by the Evelin Mountain range which was in the novel but I never designed it to surround anything.
The air was chilly as the icy winds were blowing constantly.
We quickly got down through the elevator and headed towards the grand limousine waiting for us.
We boarded the car and it sped on towards what I presumed to be my house. The tall building was left behind and soon disappeared from view.
"You sure about this?" asked Anniliese again in a concerned tone.
I perfectly understood her worries and was thankful for all this arrangement, but what more could I do? I was blank as a paper.
"Yes, I am." I shook my head, focusing outside the window where many pedestrians were gawking at the convoy.
Four armored SUVs rolled on the road and in the middle was the limousine we were in. People getting shocked was more common than anything but it seemed most were not. They kept doing their job, not minding anything as if it was a daily ritual.
"Strange…" I mumbled under my breath and soon the entire fleet came to a slow halt.
The gate of the SUV's opened and dozens of foot soldiers rushed to their position, outside a huge mansion. Hundreds of drones on the air were patrolling the area trailed by occasional helicopters passing.
The passenger side door was opened by Samuel, and I exited first followed by Anniliese whom everyone gave a solid salute.
'Power huh…' I sighed making my way inside the boundaries through the large golden colored gates.
The well cemented road was beautifully colored and each side was filled with flowers enhancing the beauty but my mind was too busy to find the owner of this house.
'We are never rich enough to afford this.'
My pacing increased as I climbed the stairs and dashed through the doors and what welcomed me next was something I never dreamed of seeing.
Two people sat on the long sofa talking with each other but their attention shifted towards me instantly.
"Mom… Dad!" I said, raising my tone a little, face beyond skeptical at this point.
These two really looked the same. My father had blonde hair and blue eyes and here too he had the same. It was the exact same with my mother who had raven hair and obsidian eyes.
Their features were the literal copy-paste but younger, just like me. But how? Why? They were not supposed to be here.
They were supposed to be chilling, back in home, in their late sixties.
"Tim!" Both hurriedly ran towards me with a perplexed expression on their faces.
"How did you come here?" My mother Krystin spoke grabbing my shoulders but she got her answers when Anniliese appeared from behind.
"She helped me." I pointed at Annie as she grinned awkwardly.
"But how did you know?" This time my father Philip questioned.
"What?" I had zero idea of what he was asking.
"I was going to call you to return as soon as possible, but surprisingly you are already here." He added, taking out his mobile and showing me the call logs where my number was on recent calls. "Did you receive any calls from someone else?"
"Dad, I have no idea what you are talking about." I was running out of patience by now. "If there is something you want to tell me, then please do, if not then I have a million questions to ask."
"Your grandfather is not doing well and he wants to see you." My father responded in his usual tranquil voice.
Hearing his words, I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds then let it out slowly. Things were not making sense and the best I could do was handle the situation calmly.
"So, what about grandfather?"
"He is waiting for you in his room." My mother gestured towards upstairs. "His health is deteriorating fast. We don't think he will survive long if this continues."
'Wait… didn't my grandfather die when I was twenty? But I am twenty one now, so… how is that even remotely possible… Ugh, this is getting too much to handle.'
I was not sure if my parents were real, but decided to roll with it as I lacked proper evidence to prove anything.
I knew nothing and if my grandfather had any answers then that was it.
'I needed answers, in any way possible. There was no going back now.'
***
I opened the wooden door leading to my grandfather's room. He lay on the bed motionlessly. A heart rate monitor was connected to his chest beeping constantly and a pair of nasal oxygen pipes were connected to his nose.
It seemed he was sleeping but as soon as I took the first step, he opened his eyes and tilted his head observing me.
"Tim…" He said sluggishly, trying to move his frail hands, but unable to.
"…" I was left speechless seeing the man I once knew. He looked the same as I remembered. Blonde hair, sapphire eyes and a face that showed the passage of time in a blink.
"Come closer!" He said again and my legs went on their own.
"You look handsome." He commented, gesturing me to sit on the stool beside him.
"You look more handsome than me, gramps!" I replied with a gloomy chuckle. 'All this must be a simulation, right?'
"Oh Yes, I am. I have always been handsome. Or why do you think your grandma married me?" He let out a laugh but soon started coughing. I lowered my head, failing to control my sentiments.
'He is the same.' I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time but could not. Just smiled helplessly.
"How you doing, kid?" He asked, glaring outside through the large window protected by a thick layer of glass.
"Fine!" I looked at the clear night sky where the moon shone upon with all its glory. "What is going on grandpa?"
I was desperate for something, anything to quench the thirst of my curiosity and the more time passed, the more impatient I became.
His hands jolted a bit as he turned around and stared at me, dead in the eyes.
"He is coming…"