58 When The Facade Breaks 6

(Carter POV)

Jumping or teleporting myself had always been an easy feat after a few months of training, but trying to jump objects that don't fit on me or are heavier is like trying to bench press the item in my mind. The largest I could do after nine years now was a truck. A whole sixteen-wheeler.

It felt as if my brain was going to explode out of my head for trying, but I did it anyway. It knocked me out for a day, but I did it. Thankfully, I was able to jump back to my apartment and lay down before mental exhaustion took me. But milestones were being met, if not slowly.

Years of gathering supplies in various things from across the world had definitely started to stack up as I had essentially created a mini Library within my warehouse filled to the brim with various books from fiction to nonfiction, as well as having a television and a bunch of DVDs as well as saved movies. I have entire crates filled with gold and silver that I found and appropriated for myself.

I mind a decent amount of it myself, and it is truly a wonder what one can do in ten years. The movie's plot had already passed, and I saw David once as he returned to his apartment. It was funny. I was able to see him leave the place in a huff, finding all of his money gone.

He was a jumper, though, so you would always be able to find more money, so I just lived for me. Surprisingly enough, Roland survived being stuck in the Grand Canyon for a few days, but after watching the cave from across the canyon and trying to decide whether I should or not.

I had a grenade in my hand that I took from a few of the drug houses I raided, and I held it in my hand. As I watched him sit and wait as if nothing was wrong, I considered all of the innocent jumpers he killed, their families and friends, and I made a choice. Pulling the pin down the lever and taking off the safety pin I waited a few seconds and jumped into the cave Roland was in and dropped it right on his lap.

I jumped away from there and watched as the cave exploded, and Roland was reduced to blood and guts. I would know as I checked after the grenade went off. Looking around the cave, I found his upper body blown to bits and his legs just gone along with one of his arms. Looking at the body, I threw up immediately inside a bag I had before lighting his body on fire and making the body unrecognizable before jumping back home.

Taking off all the clothes that I had on, I burned them in the fireplace at my apartment and watched as they turned to dust, and I just sat there contemplating how I killed a man. He could barely even blink at me before I ended his life.

Maybe I wanted to take out my anger on someone for living these years in a bit of fear, and when the opportunity presented itself, I took advantage of it. Shakily breathing, I came to terms that this was my choice, and I made up excuses and tried to psych myself up, but I knew I couldn't.

"Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward." The mantra repeated itself in my mind. While I felt relieved, I knew it didn't really matter as there were still thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Paladins worldwide. While being a senior Paladin, Roland was one of many, and while I avenged some jumpers, more will die before this last year is out.

And I lived with that thought in the back of my mind for two years.

The guilt faded with time, thanks to my self-centered drawback ironically, but it was still there. But most things fade with time, and I kept living my own life and avoiding the Paladins, but I did make one change other than killing Roland.

Teleporting to the warzone in Chechnya, I found Griffin left to die among multiple power lines in that place. By the time I jumped in, the battle had moved further into the city, and Griffin was still screaming in pain.

Looking at him, I jumped at him, and against the pain, I jumped us to the ground. And as he writhed in pain, I waited for the electricity to flow out of his system, and after ten minutes, he finally became lucid enough to speak.

"Who..who are you?" Griffin asked as I sat him down on the Saint Louis Arch.

"A Jumper, I saw your fight with the Paladins and followed the scars. Your friend, however, ditched you, my man." Griffin just scoffed as I handed him a bottle of water.

Drinking it, he nodded in thanks before asking, " What about Roland? What happened to that bastard?" 

"He was left in the Grand Canyon by your friend alive. I think David wanted to prove something to the guy." Griffin's eyes flashed with rage as he then tried to stand up, but I kept him from moving as his electric burns were not healed. He shoved me away while I just raised my hands in surrender.

"After all of that! After saving his damn bitch and leaving me for dead, he just lets him live! That is bloody stupid! He won't ever stop looking for him. AHHHHH!" He yelled out in utter anger, but I just said one thing.

"I killed him." Griffin stops punching the roof of the arch and looks at me.

"How?" he asks, bewildered if not a bit disbelieving.

"A grenade to the face and burning his body to a crisp. He is not coming back from that." After hearing that, Griffin slumps on the ground and stares off into the distance.

"Why? You weren't involved. Why did you do that?" Griffin asks as he looks me in the eyes.

"Because I knew he wouldn't stop. And maybe just because I wanted to stick it to the man. I got my powers years ago, and I only heard of the paladins from whispers in the wind. They have terrified me for nearly my entire life, and I just wanted to do something for myself. So I did." Griffin smirked at me and shakily stood up.

Holding out my hand, I helped him up, and as he took it, he gave me a hug. He just reached around and hugged me out of nowhere. While I did return the hug, I made sure to come here without my wallet or card because I knew this guy was a thief, along with other jumpers, so there was nothing in my pocket.

 Patting him on the pack, he lets go and wipes away some tears before saying, " I don't know your name, but thank you, mate. Was he your first kill?" I reluctantly nodded, and he gave me a small look of understanding.

"We've all been there, mate. I had to kill my first one when I was 7. How did you avoid them until now?" Jumping us to my apartment, he sat down on my chair, and while I was miffed that I would have to clean that later, I explained a bit.

" I just didn't jump and gave myself a fake identity. Anytime I jumped, I made sure to do it in an enclosed room without any lines of sight at all times, and I even went out without knowing someone saw me leave; I always did so in masks and used gloves. I was just as smart as I could be about it." Griffin nodded while drinking the water I gave him.

After swallowing the water, he sighed and said, " Well, now that he's gone, I'm gonna need to find a new place. And find that bastard, David, maybe." I slightly chuckled at that thought.

"And good luck finding him cuz he's on the run now, and you probably know how hard it is to catch an experienced jumper." Griffin then stopped and nodded in acknowledgment of that fact.

" Not going to tell me not to do it?" Griffin asked with a bit of an edge in his voice while I just sipped some OJ and shook my head.

" I wouldn't be able to stop you if I did. And besides, he did fuck you over. I'm not going to say he didn't, but I hope you realize he is very impulsive. Honestly, I'd focus on setting yourself up again because I think your base is destroyed." Griffin narrowed his eyes but nodded.

Getting up from his seat on my couch, he walked up and gave me a handshake as I said, " No offense, my friend, but I would appreciate it if I don't see you again."

"None was taken, mate. Thanks for the save.. and the closure. I really needed him dead. See you around." Griffin then walked out onto the balcony and jumped off before teleporting away, and I felt a small weight disappear off my shoulders.

With Griffin gone, my life continued on as normal. I spent months building up resources and readying myself to leave this world, and as I talked with my broker and told him to sell the stocks and transfer the funds to my account, he asked me why, but all I said was that I was going on a retreat.

I never saw a hair or jump scar of Griffin or David again, but I did sometimes notice a gift or two on Christmas from a man with the initial G, so I had something to remember this world by once I left. But in a true sense, it wasn't really a goodbye. It was more of a see you later for all of my jump worlds.

The next time I come to this world, I will actually be able to change things. For better or worse I don't know. I didn't know all the rules of this jump chain, but I knew that time in every world I went to would stop once I left, which was a comfort as I did not need to worry about missing anything or having to worry about any friends I made dying while I'm gone.

I gathered all of my stuff into my warehouse and watched as the ceiling clock ticked to zero. The same terminal appeared in front of me, and one jump document showed itself to me. Thankfully, all of my perks and powers remained, and this wasn't some elaborate prank or dream, but then came the problems.

Years worth of selfishness came down on my head as my drawbacks were deleted, and all of the guilt and pain hit me all at once, so I spent hours in my warehouse in a ball while trying to come to terms with what I did and everything I didn't do. Regrets and negative emotions came to a head as I formed a fist in my hand and punched the wall over and over and over again.

My right hand bled, and I saw my knuckle bones begin to appear as blood poured out of the wound while I just stopped and breathed. I held my broken hand and just shuffled over to the Jump Document terminal. I looked over my next jump and saw one word at the top.

Chronicle.

Shakily laughing at the option, I laughed at the thought that after everything I had done and the millions of dollars I made, I would be going to school. The pure ridiculousness of such a thing slightly brought me out of my funk, and after reading over the basics of the perks, my eyes stopped at the fact that I would be able to fly.

I wanted to fly. So, I began to fill out the document while holding my bloodied hand.

(Next Jump: The Movie Chronicle) (It's time for some telekinesis teenagers.)