BLAM! One shot. BLAM! BLAM! Followed by two more.
Hector reached the sixth floor first. No sign of the XLS agent. The shots had been fired from somewhere nearby. Across the hall a door stood ajar. Hector and Jack took positions on either side of the doorframe. Three. Two. One. Jack shoved his foot through the door.
A young man carrying an old, bolt-action rifle rose from his spot at the window. He swung the rifle around. Jack dove aside. Hector’s gun flared. Green energy snagged the man’s torso and arches of lightning spread through his body. He gasped and dropped the gun as he lost all muscle control. He stumbled to his knees.
Hector rushed to the window. Mayhem had erupted in the city streets below.
“Where’d he go?” asked Jack.
The shooter stared.
“Where is he?”
The man’s eyes darted to the side. He squinted. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout. I’m alone.”
Jack scanned the young man’s eyes. A positive match. He showed Hector, who engaged his communicator.
“Subject found. Oswald, Lee Harvey. XLS footprint evident. This is the guy they targeted.”
Hector peered out the window at the grisly scene below. Mass hysteria spread like a swarm of locusts. He set his jaw and frowned. The Union had failed. Hector headed for the door and Jack followed close behind. A quick sweep of the sixth floor revealed nothing. The clamor downstairs grew—shrill screams and sirens.
Oswald made a run for it and bolted toward the staircase. Jack moved to stop him, but Hector grabbed his upper arm. “Let him go. There’s nothing more we can do here.”
If you read any of the original drafts of Timeslingers.com (legacy fans should remember), then you know that Episodes 1-1 and 1-2 used to be our starting point for the story. For various reasons (some of which will come out in the storyline later), Episode 0 needed to be written, and not just for backstory, but also for perspective.
Sure, utilizing the scenario described above is a little cliche. There’s enough conspiracy talk about Oswald and Kennedy to fill the book depository itself! So, why’d we choose to take you there? A couple reasons: 1) We wanted to draw people in with a story that they already know. With the writing style we use it can be disorienting to know what’s going on, but if we start by telling a story most are familiar with, we immerse the reader faster. This situation is recognizable. It’s familiar. When the writing doesn’t completely fill in the gaps the reader can still hang in there. 2) How do you know this isn’t really how it went down? 3) Now readers understand that some of what we know to be true history is actually based on timeslinger plots.
This is one of the first illustrations Nathan ever did for Timeslingers. It’s still one of my favorite. Hope you guys are enjoying the story! Don’t forget to sign up to the RSS feed so you don’t miss a single installment!