Bastard Son of Nelson Creed part 7

2012…

The Time Jacket had been safely placed in storage for decades and Gus was relieved that the rumors of its existence was one of many within the milieu of weirdness in the Winghaven area. By the time reporters came to Widow Springs in 1979, the Time Jacket had gone “missing” and beyond that, the media was more interested in the story of Nelson Creed’s mysterious death. It had been a little over 30 years since all of that but for Gus, it was a story that had an end but no beginning. Once he entered the little office, Creed looked up from his desk, “Can I help you?”

“Uh,” Gus had played the conversation over in his head many times but still got caught up in awkward stutters, “Yes, I’m Gus Davidson. I run the Winghaven Museum. I-I’m purchasing something for my museum. I’m trying to start a library in the place so I bought some books… I’m buying them from some fellas who want to meet up with me but they seem a little sketchy. I was wondering…”

“I can do a background check on ‘im, sure. Just give me their names.”

“Okay, um… Would you provide protection as well? I know PIs don’t normally do security but you’re a big fella and everything. Like I said, these dudes were sketchy.”

“Yeah, I’ll ride along. Just give me the time and place.”

Gus knew the men were harmless but he had to find a reason to meet Creed. The long car ride would result in a friendship as well as a business partnership. He wanted to tell him the truth and even made a few attempts over the years but the Time Loop was always maintained.

1979…

Everyone was silent. The truck was not a model they recognized; moreover, there was a large, unconscious man wearing the Time Jacket in the bed. “Hold on, what does this mean?,” asked Charlie. Gus held up a hand to caution them, then slowly approached and leaned over to take a closer look at the man. He had no idea what to do about the situation but as he was the one who led them to that area, he felt responsible nonetheless. He got in close, attempting to see who was inside the dark helmet when suddenly, a gloved hand snatched him by the throat with an iron grip. The people of Widow Springs didn’t know what to do as he struggled to breath and escape the abnormally large and strong man. Luckily, the figure pushed him to the ground before removing the helmet. Gus sat on the grass, coughing and trying to regain his breath as the mob saw the face of Farrell Creed for the first time. He leapt down and began tearing at the suit in a manic state but it was difficult to take off quickly, especially if one wasn’t used to wearing outdated diving equipment.

“Is this the sign?,” Beau asked.

“How should I know?,” Dale answered.

“What should we do?,” Miriam asked in the vain hope that someone had an idea.

Farrell gave them a confused look before disappearing into the woods toward the town. Katey took a closer look at the truck and noticed a leather bound book in the passenger seat and as Gus picked himself off the ground, she handed it to him, “I think this is for you.” Gus took the book in his hands, opened to the front page and exclaimed, “Hol-ee shit!”

Sometime later, Farrell Creed was starring through the window of the local grocery store at the 1979 calendar on the wall. Nothing made sense. He looked down at the suit he was wearing and began to connect dots. He had read Heinrich Mason’s journal and often gave tours regarding the man in addition to his work for the Winghaven Museum, so he was familiar with the inventor’s obsession with time as well as the rumors of a strange diving suit found in the mine in Widow Springs that had gone missing shortly after its discovery. As he had witnessed many strange things over the years, up to and including an alien invasion, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he was sent back through time. He only needed to find the reason for it, why his friend Gus was responsible and how he could get back home.

“Farrell Creed.” When he turned, he saw Gus standing alongside the townsfolk, a leather bound book in his hand. At this point, Creed recognized him despite being younger but as Gus seemed even more confused than him, he opted not to say anything. Next, he recognized Beau as the strange old man who grabbed his arm outside Town Tavern. When he saw Dale and Katey, he wondered if they would eventually have a daughter named Darla going by Katey’s pregnant belly and her resemblance.

“Your name is Farrell Creed, correct?,” Gus asked.

“Yeah,” Creed was still finding his bearings and considered Gus’ reaction to everything odd but played it safe by only giving basic information, “What do you want with me?”

“This might be hard for you to believe but I don’t want anything from you,” he held up the book in his hand, “This book contains notes that were written by me a… long time… from now. See, that suit you got on…”

“It’s Heinrich Mason’s Time Jacket ain’t it?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“I’ve heard of it. Let’s keep it moving.”

“Okay… Apparently, I’ll use the suit… we’ll use the suit to send you through time… See, it’s the year 1979 right now but you’re from…”

“Time travel! Got it! I’m gonna ask again what you people want with me.”

Gus became flustered, “Mean to say… Look, going by this book, you’re gonna… be asked to kill someone,” he waited for a response.

Creed scratched his beard, “I’m a private investigator, not a hitman. You want someone dead, why not shoot `im yourself?”

“That’s what I said!,” came a voice in the crowd.

“Well, see, that part is due to what is apparently a Time Loop,” Gus continued, “Out future selves will send you back because it’s already happened for them and they have to maintain their timeline. I’m trying to wrap my head around it so maybe I’m talk’n nonsense.”

“Don’t worry, I saw Back to the Future.”

“What?”

“Nevermind,” he rubbed his brow, “What if ya’ll decide right now to just leave me alone in a few decades?”

“I don’t think we can,” he flipped through some pages, “If this really was me writing this book, I’m gonna be studying Mason’s Time Jacket for a long time to get it right. Mason thought traveling through time created a… a loop and if that loop gets broken, then it would,” he read the words directly off the page, “… Rend the veil of time and space… That don’t sound good.”

“Wonderful. I guess you’ve known about this shit coming for a while now,” Creed grumbled as he finally slipped the suit down to his feet, “So why am I the guy for this job? Seems like ya’ll could’ve gotten just about anyone for the hit so I must be here for a reason.”

Gus looked at the crowd gathered behind him and back at Creed, “That, uh, that part’s the rub… See, some of the people here had certain… ideas concerning the Time Jacket. They were just thoughts spoken out loud in the heat of the moment but apparently that shit manifested itself in the Time Loop. I guess just talking about it in regards to that thing, pre-destined us to carry out this plan,” he took a breath, “… The idea of a son being made to kill his father was brought up,” Gus waited for the realization.

Creed’s eyes widened. The shock of his journey briefly distracted him from what had been on his mind since traveling to Widow Springs. He turned back to the calendar in the grocery store and took a closer look at the days that had been checked off. He had known the exact date of Nelson Creed’s death his entire life and it would be occurring in a little over 24 hours.

An hour later, Creed was in the back of the grocery store, drinking a beer that Beau gave him. He said nothing and tried to make up his mind on how he should be feeling.

“He’s really Nelson’s boy?,” Miriam whispered to Charlie, “Can we trust ‘im? Is he even gonna go through with it?”

“If what Gus said was true, he already has,” Charlie whispered back.

Gus looked at Creed sympathetically, “I’m sure this is a lot to take in but if you don’t mind me asking… Have you ever…?”

“Killed anyone?,” Creed raised his head and gave him a cold stare, “Yeah.”

“Of course he has…,” Miriam called out bitterly, “… if he’s Nelson Creed’s kid.”

Creed gave her an annoyed look, “Yeah, I killed the kind of people who kidnap teenagers and bleed them out,” he took a swig of beer, “None of ya’ll are ready to have that conversation so just go ahead and make up your mind about me. I’m used to it!”

“I understand you never met Nelson Creed,” Gus said softly, “I know you’re not your dad.”

Miriam shook her head, “I’m still not sure. How do we know this ain’t a trick somehow?”

“You wanna know my priorities?,” he stood up defiantly, “I know everything Nelson did to ya’ll,” he pointed to Dale, “If I had to guess, you’re the one he shot and stole cattle from,” he motioned toward the cigarettes at the front, “I know he stole smokes and booze from this place more than once,” Creed moved through the crowd, “He’d beat you, steal from you, pull his gun on you for shits n’ giggles and he always got away with it. The main reason why I know this is because, ever since I was about five years old, people never let me live it down. I end up being born and raised in Winghaven but trust me, your stories carry that far. I went to Juvenile Hall because some teacher talked too much shit about my family and I’m not even gonna mention what went on while I was there. Don’t get used to seeing my face because I’m gonna try my whole life avoid’n this place,” he grit his teeth bitterly, “And one more thing ya’ll seem to be forgetting is my mom. She was groomed as a little girl and Nelson chased her parents out of the whole damn state so he could marry her. He’d slap her around, say nasty shit to her and generally made her life hell and she didn’t get through that for a real long time and people around this area didn’t make it any easier. Nelson ruined my mom’s life and my own and you honestly think I wouldn’t wanna put a bullet in that sonuvabitch’s head? You also gotta remember that, from my point of view, you people just drugged me and sent me through time to kill my dad, then had the audacity to question me! So you’ll have to excuse me if I got a little extra ‘fuck you’ in the tone of my voice.”

“We wanna believe ya, so tell us about the future,” Dale stated finally, “You said earlier Nelson gets shot down while sitting in his truck. That right?”

“Yeah. He’ll get off for shooting you then head to the tavern which is where ya’ll get together and next thing anyone knows… he gets killed with his own guns,” Creed looked down at the floor in contemplation, “And I guess I was the one who pulled the trigger all this time.” He continued to stare at the floor, obviously preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Katey noticed stepped forward, “You’ve killed before,” she began, “And you mentioned that you have just as much of a grudge against Nelson as anyone here. Is there anything that could make you hesitate?”

He swallowed and then said quietly, “My mom will be in the passenger seat when it all goes down.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder, “We never meant any harm to Mary,” she smiled warmly, “She’s one of us and we know that,” she ran her hand over her pregnant belly, “That’s the word of a mother.”

Continued…