GONE DAYS

Straight lines.

0810 hours.

Thomas turns sharp left, pedal to the floor oblivious to the trooper chase car parked at the junction. He is in a frenzy and doesn't notice the trooper chase car barreling down the road after him until its sirens go off. He is not about to pull over and let this cop, who is unaware of the impending man-made armageddon, derail or slow him down. He knows what he is about to do will only escalate the situation but he doesn't have the luxury and time to contemplate the consequences. He knows the stakes involved and holds on to that knowledge as he breaks every traffic law in the book. He has to and must out-race all the cops in the state to get to his family in time. He doesn't understand how he knows the future but his conviction that it will happen is as real as the fear racking through every bone in his being.

His heart is beating almost as fast as his car but not out of thrill or fear of being caught. He feels his Aston Martin Rapide agree to the urgency in his every action. Every wheel turn, every sudden brake and acceleration, it is as if he is in synch with his car. It understands what he is going through. Its growl is a contrast to the fear he is facing. He cannot lose his family forever, again, oh no he won't. He swerves into a narrow alley without even breaking a sweat or even scratching his car. He is very confident in his driving skills, all those expensive airport runway races seem to be paying off. He doesn't know where the alley leads so he fires up his navigation system and hopes he gets to the end of the early before more cops block it. He can still hear the siren behind him but from a distance.

As he gets closer to the end of the alley, he can see there is little space at the exit and knows it would take a miracle to fit through but he is determined. Yes, he will lose both side mirrors, bad scratches on both sides but he is determined. All he has to do is drive very fast in a straight line. Straight lines. He hasn't had a straight line of thought for as long as he could remember. His thoughts would either be all over the place or he would try as much to shut his mind out. He could barely remember this morning but he remembers the next six years in detail. Is time really linear? Yesterday was six years into the future and today is six years and five hours ago. He couldn't tell how that happened and how it makes sense to him. He sees the exit rolling up to him and rams through the tiny space with spectacular sparks flying behind him.