I, the Storm: I, the Storm, #2

By Sean O'Leary

This is the second book of three in this series. The series is a story of a musician's journey to find out why he is time traveling. When he learns that he is an embodied concept of storm, his life is forever changed. He helps direct hurricanes on their correct path, travels through time and space, and battles someone that is committing genocide. Through this, he finds his meaning and the things that he can change. Through everything, we will see how much we all change and how necessary it is to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anomaly Seer Publishing
• Release date: Sep 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393769637

Book preview

Recapitulations from Journal of a Traveler

A ‘Journal of a Traveler’ opens and Isaac reads from it while the recaps happen.

Tomorrow I will have my first discussion with Andrew. I can finally find answers to some of these questions that I have had. It seems that I must answer these questions, not just for myself but for the world as well.

––––––––

There’s been a storm coming and I can see you going off in it, Mia says. You’re destructive to yourself and those around you get pulled in with your distressing nature. I’m done with you and the band – I’m leaving.

––––––––

But now I am here.

––––––––

You know where he is, Hanna asks.

I do – Galveston, Texas, Helen responds.

What is he doing in Galveston?

He has ascended and he took over Hurricane Ike.

What do you mean he took over Ike? How is that possible?

I don’t know, but that’s not the only mystery. He also did it without leaving his body, Helen says.

How do you know that, Hanna asks.

I followed him to a beach and watched him fall asleep. One moment he was sleeping, and then he stood up – appeared to still be sleeping – and just started floating off over the ocean.

Did anyone else see this?

I don’t believe so – no one else was around and it was a dark night.

How do you know he took over Ike?

Earlier today Andrew told an accomplice that a man tackled him out of Ike’s eye. Not only that, but Isaac ended up in Galveston in 2010.

––––––––

In this place with people that can answer some of these questions.

––––––––

If Isaac is the third ecstorm though, shouldn’t Conception be made aware, if it isn’t already, Hanna asks.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he is an Alter, but again, regardless of the reason, we still have to be obedient, Helen says.

This isn’t a part of our duty though, so why obey?

Ida is your family and she loves you, isn’t that enough?

I guess, but I just think that she can tell me more than she has been.

She’ll let you know what you need to know when you need to know it.

I know but I just think that, since he is the third, everyone should know – especially him.

What about Andrew, Helen asks.

Of course he should know, Hanna says.

Have you not been told about how upset he is with Ike being taken from him?

If he learns that it’s his own brother though, and that it wasn’t intentional, he will understand.

––––––––

Andrew has done a lot to find me.

––––––––

Pictures are being taken of Desiree finding her car. A phone rings inside of the photographer’s car. The man puts the camera down and answers the phone.

Hello, Mr. North, the man answers.

Where the Hell are you, Mr. Berger, Mr. North asks on the other end.

Look, I know I messed up with the Maria girl, but I am on to something that I know the boss would like.

And that would be? Mr. North says skeptically.

Find the Quincy’s, find Nathaniel, right?

How did you?

Well, I found the daughter. Her name is Desiree and I’m looking right at her.

––––––––

So this is Ms. Quincy, Andrew asks as he moves a hanging picture.

Yes, Mr. Rye, Desiree Quincy. I found her in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, sir, Mr. Berger says.

And she is still there?

She stayed for another couple of months, trying to fix up her house. She said she got it from her father.

Did you see him?

No, sir, Mr. Berger says as he hands Andrew a stack of photos.

So where is she now, Andrew asks as he looks through them.

She ended up selling the house and moving to the Tampa Bay area.

Great job, Mr. Berger, truly. You have redeemed yourself here.

Thank you, sir.

Andrew stops at a picture of Desiree hugging Isaac, Who is this, Mr. Berger?

I don’t know but they were on a date before the hurricane. He helped her board up the house and drove with her to the Superdome, but I never saw him again. She called him John though; I never got the last name.

Do you have any other pictures of him?

Yeah, Mr. Berger says, gathers some pictures and hands them to Andrew.

Andrew looks through the pictures.

Mr. North, Andrew says.

Sir, Mr. North responds.

Look into this John, see if we can find out anything else about him.

Of course, sir.

It might be nothing, but I have a feeling about this guy.

––––––––

And now we finally found each other.

––––––––

Well, the day after we met, I met with Hanna Graham. She talked to me about an ecstorm Alter, Katrina says.

Isaac, Andrew asks.

So, you are aware?

Not exactly.

Well, she wasn’t aware if he was an ecstorm or an Alter but she seemed to expect both.

To be honest, that is why I came to you as well.

So, is he, Katrina asks.

I still don’t know for sure, Andrew says.

Well, he is a Rye.

What?

Isaac Rye, that’s what she said, Katrina says reserving any confidence.

So, he’s...

Your brother? Not only that but it would seem an Alter as well.

––––––––

We can develop the relationship that we never had.

––––––––

So, what’s going on, Dr. Rickman asks.

Remember, a while back, when someone tackled me out of 2008-Ike, Andrew asks.

Yeah, we talked about it for hours.

Yeah, so I took your advice to never stand for ignorance and I went in search of the person that’s responsible.

I didn’t say that, that night, Dr. Rickman says.

But you have said it; I know, it stuck with me, Andrew says.

So, have you found him?

Sometimes.

Sometimes?

Well, that’s what I need to ask you about.

You think I might know where he is, Dr. Rickman says.

He might be my brother, Andrew says.

Why wouldn’t we know about him?

That’s just it, he is an Alter. If he was an EC, I could just track the Beacon molecule, but I don’t know why I can’t track Alters.

That would explain why we wouldn’t know about him until now.

––––––––

I don’t know if I can help him much.

––––––––

What if we couldn’t find the mysterious atom because we looked In the molecule? We should have been looking at how it is connected, Andrew says.

What are you saying, Mr. Earnhardt asks.

We were looking for the atom that holds the markers for our reassembly after a jump, but what if it was not on a smaller scale but a slightly bigger one - maybe a cell, a system, a circuit even.

So, that is along the lines of a hypothesis.

Right, if I make an official proposal to the board, would you vote to fund it and maybe even allow me access to your research?

Of course, I would be glad to, provided you clarify your means of experiment. I remember, after all, that you are very idealistic and focus more on the beginning and ends, rather than the middle, Mr. Earnhardt says.

Thank you for your honesty, Andrew says.

––––––––

He seems to be quite powerful.

––––––––

Judging by the healing, a nurse says, it appears that there was severe muscle atrophy, she says as the scene of Andrew staring at Teddy, as he groans on the ground, shows. All the way to the point, it would seem, that organs began shifting. There is trace evidence that the patient’s eyes popped out of his skull, she says as Teddy’s eyes pop out. You don’t seem bothered by this?

Ahh, Hanna says.

––––––––

I’m not saying that I haven’t known powerful people.

––––––––

Adam sits with Isaac at a table, on a patio, by a courtyard 

‘You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices,’ Adam recites.

So what then of free-will and determinism; what do you advocate, Isaac asks. And don’t feed me some quote you read, although they are relevant.

Both, really, Adam answers.

Me too, but how?

I think determinism exists because of free-will. If everyone has the will to make choices, then the effects of those choices cause determinates.

I’ve always pictured it like a grand hallway, you are traveling down it and you can go anyway you choose but, at times, you will come to a wall that you cannot go through. Thus, you change direction and continue down the hall.

––––––––

Rather, that any I have known would not be able to answer the questions that have arisen in these past 5 years.

––––––––

You just keep older bills, Adam asks.

Well, I am a time-traveler after all. It is a smart idea to hold onto older bills, Isaac says.

My grandfather always did that too. Come to think of it he lives in San Francisco at this time. Also, he said that I could always go stay there. I found it strange that he specified that one house when I know he had others in other places. I mean there are some that are on the east coast.

Do you remember the address?

Yeah, Adam says

I can’t even imagine that conversation, Adam says. I’m not even born yet and I’m in a 20-year old’s body to boot.

What are you doing in my house, Isaac says mocking an old man. He switches voices to mock Adam: Ahh, yes, hello, I am your grandson, sir. Switches back to the old man: I don’t have a grandson. And back again to Adam: I know but you will in 1994 because I am from the future. Bum-Bum-Bahhh, Isaac finishes dramatically.

Nice. That really sounds like me. Also, my grandfather would be like 50 now, hardly that old.

Whatever.

––––––––

The only other person that seems to know anything about me is Andrew’s wife, Aura.

––––––––

I appreciate that you came to me about Isaac, Aura says.

Well, even though it’s privileged information that our family has access to, it seemed relevant to the situation, an older gentleman says that is standing across from Aura in a dining room of a flat.

Being that it involves a change to the ecstorm structure, Aura says, and that we are both on the brink of that structure, you said.

Exactly.

Well my brother-in-law and your grandson surely have their work cut out for them. It’s good to know that I have someone on my side to aid them through this crucial matter.

My thoughts, exactly.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Thank you, Mr. Jones, I will contact you soon.

Goodbye, dawn, I must leave for the day awaits.

––––––––

She has only alluded to me being some kind of change, though.

––––––––

So, wait, Isaac says and stops. Why are you in such a hurry?

There are people here that should not know who you are, Aura answers.

You already said that, I know.

Changing the way that you ask a question does not necessitate a different response. It is essentially the same question, therefore, the same response.

Alright, that I agree with. Is your husband one of those people?

Yes, actually.

How do you know what I am but I don’t?

Through a series of unfortunate events.

Where are you taking me, Isaac asks.

Away from this time, she says and then opens a vortex.

You still didn’t tell me what I am.

There is not enough time.

I am a time traveler and it seems you are too; we have all the time we want.

One does not imply the other, in theory or reality.

I am not leaving until you give me something.

You are change, Aura says and pushes Isaac through the vortex.

––––––––

I don’t know what I am changing yet, but I hope it’s better than some of the things that I’ve done.

––––––––

Oh my god, Adam says in disbelief.

Panning outward, blood is scattered around, bits of human flesh are thrown about. Isaac looks down at a piece of Graham’s face with his arm mutated out of its forehead. He looks up to Adam in shame.

––––––––

I am excited about tomorrow, obviously, but I think it also has to do with the fact that I haven’t really had the chance to talk about it with anyone.

––––––––

Have you ever felt like your whole life is just engulfed with storms, Isaac asks.

Yes, I believe I understand your sentiment, Tipton says.

I mean, at first, it felt like a dream, like I wasn’t even really making these storms happen. Then I witnessed myself doing it and now I don’t know what to think, Isaac says.

Do you think you are out of control, Tipton asks.

Not really. It is more like I’m starting to realize my control but that I am not fully aware of the parts of me that control the whole action.

Sounds deep.

It sounds insane.

––––––––

I used to be able to talk to Adam about all these crazy things.

––––––––

A vortex opens. Isaac and Adam step in and disappear. They come out to an unfamiliar world. They look around in a seemingly futuristic society. Adam points to a building, with a sign saying the ‘Ceptine Capitol Library.’ Isaac shrugs and they go up the steps to the library.

––––––––

Adam and I got to go to some strange places.

––––––––

A woman is at an information desk and looks up to see Isaac and Adam walking in the library. A flashing light goes off on a computer in front of her that alerts that non-ECs have come in the building.

––––––––

But I lost him.

––––––––

I think it’s about time to get out of here, Adam says to Isaac while they run.

"I might be able to project a vortex a little up the way, so we can run through it.

Go for it.

A light appears on the other side of the hill in front of them. They start going up the hill and they reach the top. They run down the hill.

There it is, Adam yells forward.

Almost there, Isaac yells back to Adam and then trips.

Isaac smacks his head and causes Adam to fall. Isaac rolls down the hill and into the vortex. Isaac smacks his face on the ground and lies there. Isaac’s eyes flutter. His eyes open and he gets up. He looks around and notices that he is in a canyon.

Adam, Isaac yells, Where are you? Adam! Isaac continues to look for Adam and calls out for him.

––––––––

In his absence, things have only gotten weirder.

––––––––

Isaac is on a hill on the Japanese countryside. He breathes in and hears the unintelligible whispers. Mr. North jumps off of a cart and watches Isaac on the hill in front of him. The whispers form their first word: Ike.

––––––––

I am, somehow, existing between these two worlds. This fantastical world.

––––––––

A man looks at the cluster and is suddenly shot toward it. The entire stadium lights up with swirls of bright colors speeding around and throughout. Everything goes black again. A spotlight shines on the man as he floats in the center. Projections fade in around him that take the form of black holes and light starts coming off them. The man stretches his arms and legs out while the light coming off the black holes gets brighter. The man brings his arms toward his chest and his legs toward each other while the light sucks into him. His hands reach over his heart and then he motions outward, directly in front of him. A sphere emerges and floats in front of him. He motions as if he was pushing it and it begins to spin and fly off. He stretches, again, while the light coming off the black holes gets brighter. Then the spotlight and other lights fade out into darkness.

––––––––

And this normal one that I started off in.

––––––––

Mia and Hanna make out in a kitchen, at a party, while Isaac and others cheer in the background.

Hanna kisses Isaac and takes off his shirt. Mia slips off her dress and joins them. She kisses Hanna’s neck from behind and takes off her skirt. Mia kisses Isaac and Hanna takes off her top and underwear. Mia takes off Isaac’s pants and pushes him on the bed.

––––––––

Now, all of this can happen.

––––––––

The door opens and Andrew stands behind his desk.

Isaac, at last, Andrew says as he goes to greet him.

And you are Mr. Rye, Isaac asks as he shakes his hand.

Please, we are family, it’s Andrew.

So you know about what I can do?

Yes, and I will show and tell you everything that you should know about your abilities, where you came from and, of course, about the family that you didn’t know you had.

Seriously, this is really happening right now? I’m not dreaming?