Project Cleopatra

Chapter 9:

"What the hell are you doing here?! I should have known when I saw you bite your thumbnail," Marcus said in a hushed tone.

It was so weird. My mind couldn't grasp the idea that, even though he looked like Antony, the man before me was actually Marcus.

"Um, should I call you Antony or Marcus?" I asked and he gave me a look of disbelief.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes?"

"Marcus! I'm Marcus. Antony's real name is also Marcus."

"Huh. Isn't it weird you happened to be Antony and I happened to be Cleopatra?" I interrupted before he could continue. I knew I should have been more distressed but for the first time since I'd arrived here, I wasn't alone. I could relax, even if just for a moment.

He paused and sighed. "Yeah, that is a pretty strange coincidence. Maybe there was something we missed in the calculation. Wait– getting back to you – you're here?" He gave me a sceptical look, narrowing his eyes. "How good is your memory? Is Cleopatra still talking to you?"

"Um... Cleopatra?" No response. "Nada. She does that sometimes. Anyway, we should really start planning that wine party."

Marcus's face fell. "Oh no." That didn't sound good. "Oh no, no, no."

Out of nowhere, he grabbed my face and inspected my eyes, searching for something.

"What?" I asked him, feeling oddly calm. Antony was acting weird.

Wait, no. Marcus was freaking out as he should have, considering our situation. He was counting on me being back home the same way I had been counting on him.

"Don't think about it. Answer my question: where is Cleopatra's room?"

"My room is right–"

"Shit!" Marcus started to panic and oddly enough so did I.

"Marcus, what's happening?" he seemed to relax slightly at the fact I had called him by his name.

"Well, in layman's terms we hypothesized that if transported into the past, your physical body does not travel with you, just your consciousness. Therefore, you share the mind of the host body. After a certain amount of time, your mind and the mind of the one whose body you possess will become indistinguishable. It's also why we suspect that someone has been able to time travel in the past and never made it back home."

Oh, so that's why I was so calm. I was becoming Cleopatra, so this felt normal for me. I froze over as the seriousness of what Marcus said hit me. "WAIT, WHAT?" He cringed as I stuttered back and forth. "You're telling me I'm gonna forget who I am?" Bile made its way up my throat.

"Well, normally, yes but thankfully I have been trained for such events." I gave him a scowl which caused him to gulp. "Look, luckily we have each other. As long as one of us remembers who we are, we can help the other remember too. That's why protocol says we should travel in pairs. The best sign that you won't forget is when you hear–"

It is quite impressive what your people have accomplished, Cleopatra's voice reappeared which sent a flood of relief through me. I mean, imagine walking the world, when the gods roamed. That is what I would have done but to each their own.

"I didn't have a choice," I replied.

"Thea?" Marcus gave me a worried look and I realized I had zoned out.

"Sorry, Cleopatra spoke to me."

He beamed. "That's great! If she's talking to you, you know you're okay... Is she freaking out?"