Just tuning in? Great! You’re not too far behind in one of my latest short story attempts. Here is my sacrifice to the WordPress Gods that this post doesn’t up and disintegrate like my last one! Some changes have been made from the original writing that no one ever got to see, but each was for the better. The last piece of this story (Renamed The Journey – Broken Dreams) is located -> Here! <- Enjoy!
***
“Wake up.”
“Huh?” I asked, my voice weak and from the depths of slumber.
Once again the voice penetrated my comfort, harsh and stern, it was at least familiar. “We don’t have all day.”
I opened my eyes wide and the stark white room sent my head spinning. I sat up abruptly and closed my eyes in defence, my hands rubbing half of my face each. “More questions?”
“Of course. Perhaps you’d enjoy some breakfast?” The voice asked again. I immediately made the connection between the voice and Doctor Harris. My stomach grumbled for me and I slowly opened my eyes. Through the narrow slits, I swallowed my morning breath and blinked at him. “That’d be good.”
He motioned toward the table and I adjusted my hospital gown, to at least appear somewhat decent. Of course, at the look of the incredible looking sandwich on the table, all of that went out the window. “Oh my god…” I said between mouthfuls, it was uncontrollable, as though I were watching myself with utter embarrassment. “Ham, cheese… this is so good!” If it had been poisoned, I wouldn’t have even noticed. It was gone before I considered examining it.
“Ahem…” Doctor Harris cleared his throat at my incredible display of gluttony and smiled politely. “Where were we yesterday?”
I felt the air evacuate my lungs and my heart skip a beat as the images from the crash came flooding back. Couldn’t I have a moment just to forget? I stared at him, my heart as cold as his icy blue eyes. “I don’t quite remember… something about where we are?”
“Yes, good. Your short term memory doesn’t seem to be affected.” He glanced up at me from his notebook, and I detected a hint of sarcasm. He took a sip from a glass of water before him and leaned back in his chair. “Well, I suppose I’ll ask again. Do you know where you are?”
“I’m in Morning Sun, Iowa…” I could tell even I was unsure of my answer, my tone completely giving me up to the Doctor. “At least, I was… No idea where I am now.”
“I told you. You’re in a hospital. Not in Morning Sun, but in Mount Pleasant.” Doctor Harris stated. He didn’t realise it, but he hadn’t actually told me all of that. But new information, was good information.
“Why am I still here?” I could feel my panic begin to choke me. “Where is my father?” I stood and leaned across the table, hands firmly on its top, waiting for his answer.
The doctor stared at me for a moment and his eyes squinted for a second. “Tell me about your father.”
“No, not until you tell me if you found him or not!” I yelled, and could feel my pulse pumping through the veins in my neck and hands.
The doctor calmly motioned for me to sit down as he fumbled around with some papers until he found a plain white envelope. I sat, breathing heavily and stared at the parcel as he passed it to me. “Here,” He said in the most emotionless voice I’d ever heard. “Are these your parents?”
“Parents?” I asked, dumping the photos clumsily onto the table. I stared at the two images before me, a young couple most likely not even thirty in age. “No, I’m almost as old as these two… they’re not my parents at all!”
Again the Doctor calmly motioned, but this time it was for me to be quiet. As his hand hovered in the air, I stared at him. With the adrenaline in my veins, I considered ripping that arm off and beating him to death with it, but alas, I needed answers. “If those aren’t your parents…” He said, his hand lowering to retrieve the folder. “Then I’m afraid your father wasn’t involved in the accident.”
“That’s stupid! I was there, I was in the accident!” I yelled with no concern for volume, my head shaking in disbelief. “Look, we were driving a van and we got hit from the driver’s side… the vehicle divided in two and I was separated from him!”
“I’m sorry, we only found you and those two at the scene.” Doctor Harris said softly. “There was no van, and certainly no other victims. You were lucky that a man came bumbling by and spotted you in the snow.”
Was this another dream? They always felt so real. Maybe dear old Dad had put me in a mental institution, guess I pushed him too far. The words crept from my mouth amid my confusion. “But I-”
“But nothing. It’s time for more of my questions.” The Doctor sternly interrupted. Shocked at his sudden bravado, I felt as though a mute button had been pushed and my words were gone. “Okay…” He said with a sigh. “Next, do you know what day it is?”
“Thursday, twenty third of October.” I shrugged as I spoke, in all honesty I assumed the accident was two days ago. Maybe it had been only one.
“Good.” Doctor Harris said with a reassuring smile. “And what year is it?”
“Twenty twelve.” I said confidently.
The Doctor suddenly stopped writing in his notepad and glanced up again. “Sorry, could you repeat that, a bit louder please?”
“Twenty twelve…” I said confidently. “Two thousand, and twelve.”
The Doctor leaned back in his seat and raised his eyebrows as he stared at his small notepad. The year was written on the page and underlined three times. “Is everything okay Doc?” I asked uncomfortably.
“Oh yes. Everything’s fine.” He quickly replied as he glanced to me and back to the pad of paper.
Suddenly, a voice crackled over a speaker in the corner. “Harris, that’s enough for the moment. Can I see you in the office?”
Doctor Harris hurriedly hopped up and gathered his belongings. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Who was that?” I asked, the whole situation suddenly made me feel extremely uneasy.
“That’s my boss.” He said quickly as he made his way to the door. “Feel free to have a rest, you need all the energy you can get to recover.”
“Thanks…” I said as the door slammed shut behind him. “…for nothing.” At least he hadn’t found my Dad’s body. Perhaps he was still alive and wandered off.
***
“What is it Val?” Doctor Harris asked. “I’m on the verge of-”
“I know.” Val said, his tone sharp. “Listen, this girl just confirmed she came from the twenty first century. Before you go back in there, you need to do your research.”
“Of course, how silly of me.” Doctor Harris smiled nervously. “I’m just so excited. If she can naturally travel through time, imagine what this could mean for us!”
“Yes. But it’s only a matter of time before the others catch wind of this.” Val stated, his tone grim.
“We already know.”
As Val and Doctor Harris turned to the clean cut man standing behind them, he smiled politely. “James Hargrove. Nice to meet you gentlemen.”
“Who are you?” Val asked, annoyance in his voice. “And how did you get in here?”
“The same way you two travel through time. The only difference is, I’m a few tiers higher than you.” Hargrove said as he leaned and stared into Tamara’s room. “Do we know what we’re dealing with here?”
“A natural traveler!” Doctor Harris proclaimed. “She somehow can see the fourth dimension.”
“That’s preposterous.” Hargrove said calmly. “The human brain cannot handle such a thing. To see every point in time at a location in the universe is simply too overwhelming for the mind to comprehend.”
Val suddenly pushed his way between the kind doctor and Hargrove. “Well why don’t you tell us how she travelled back from twenty twelve to nineteen thirty four with nothing but some cuts, scrapes and head trauma!”
“I’m not sure.” Hargrove said. “But she’s my prisoner now. You know the laws against unauthorised time travel. She’s killed eight people just by appearing and causing the car accident in your time.”
Doctor Harris cut in. “Yes but-”
“No excuses, you have a code to uphold!” Hargrove yelled as he turned to face the doctor. “You two have both made some terrible mistakes. I’m sorry.” As Val and the Doctor were about to protest, they disappeared into dust and Hargrove stood between the piles as they settled to the floor. “All unauthorised travellers are to be handed over immediately to our group.” With a shake of his head he turned to the nearby door. “Come in and clean this up. The girl is coming with me.”
The door opened and Val and Doctor Harris entered the room. They looked to Hargrove who stood amid the settling dust and gave a quick smile. “Now remember, you’ve been brought here for a purpose. Once the girl and I leave, things are to continue as though we were never here.”
Val and Doctor Harris nodded as they cleaned up the piles of dust, unbeknownst to them, that they were cleaning up their own remains.
***
I’d love any and all feedback on this piece of writing, or any piece of writing I’ve posted! Hell, even just an email to say Hi is fantastic by me! I seriously try really hard to get back to everyone who takes the time to leave a comment or email! Thanks and I’ll most likely post again later, hope this was worth the Digital Devils and the wait!