Chasing Time

Running Away

Sector B, Middle Terragon.

19:07, 4th July, 3000.

Julia and Melinda sat on the floor across from Layana while Travis stood above them, eyeing Layana suspiciously. When they finished from work earlier, Travis bought a newspaper like he always did after than work. A headline caught Julia's eyes and she snatched it from him. The article about a nurse who had a seizure during a surgery and started ranting about monsters and the end of the world after she woke up.

Julia was still trying to convince her brother to help her find the nurse when one of their co-workers, Mike, walked up to Travis and said he had been laid off. It was just as Julia predicted. Mike was still moping about his layoff and how he would have to go to another sector to get another job when Melinda called their attention to what someone posted on The Lessers. It was Laylay, the nurse who always posted environmental stuff. After that, Travis no longer argued and it was just a matter of asking around before they found out where the nurse lived.

The three of them had no idea what to expect when they got there. For one, it was actually less upscale than they thought it would be. They had to pay to cross the borders and could only stay for a few hours but Julia did not care about money and just wanted to find the nurse.

"Uh...so I'm Julia and this is Melin-"

"What were they like?" Layana interrupted her. Julia frowned and glanced at Melinda who just shrugged, looking equally confused.

"What?"

"The monsters," Layana added and Julia sucked in a sharp breath "I've seen them in my visions but...Gaya tells me that you're from the future...so, what were they like?" she asked again.

"Wow. You brought us to the home of a crazy woman, thanks a lot sis," Travis commented.

"They..." Julia started talking without paying mind to her brother "they were...they were ugly. I...I can't..."

"It's alright. Gaya says it'll be alright," Layana said soothingly.

"Who's Gaya?" Melinda asked. Layana turned her moss green eyes on her and smiled.

"Gaya is the goddess of the Earth. She made me a Clairvoyant...against my will," she paused and leaned her head to the side like someone was telling her something "well I don't want any of this...you didn't give me a choice..."

"Damnit Julia, let's go home right now," Travis moved closer to her and tried to pull her up but she shrugged him off stubbornly.

"Is Gaya the one who reincarnated me?" Julia asked. Layana gave her a quizzical look then turned her head to the side again.

"Yes."

"Why?" Julia half screamed. Melinda and Travis looked at her in surprise "why did she let me watch that? Why?"

"I don't know,"

"Ask her!" Julia screamed and got to her feet suddenly.

"Julia! Calm down," Travis tried to grab her but she pulled her arm out of the way and approached Layana with anger blazing in her eyes. Layana sat still, looking calm and detached. Even as Julia grabbed her roughly by the collar and pulled her to her feet.

"Julia, please stop!" Melinda yelled but was ignored.

"Ask your goddess why she brought me back. It's going to happen isn't it? The world will end? Why didn't she let me die? Why did she let me watch all of that? Why did she let those beasts tear me apart before she brought me back...why...why..." her voice softened towards the end and she started crying. Layana brought her hands up and gently pulled Julia's hands away from her shirt, then guided her back down. She held her hands until her tears subsided.

"The Earth is dying Julia. We're killing it. Gaya wants to save her home,"

"This is our home too,"

"You're right. Gaya knows this too, which is why she wants to save some of us." Layana said and asked Travis and Melinda to move closer. They did so reluctantly. Then she started to explain what Gaya told her.

Julia stared at her as she spoke. She had the type of face that people liked. It was not like she was particularly beautiful, she was just attractive. Her nose was a bit crooked, she had a chipped tooth and freckles but her eyes, her eyes were the color of a river surrounded by lush green trees, they seemed to draw people in. Her auburn hair flowed down her back in soft cascades.

"I don't know what to say..." Travis was the first one to speak after a while when Layana finished speaking. He turned to look at Julia who looked close to tears again "you're really a reincarnation aren't you?" he asked and she looked at him with glossy eyes then nodded. He sighed and turned to face Layana again.

"What are we supposed to do now?" he asked her. She blinked at him then turned her head to the side again.

"Gaya says we're not complete yet. She told me some will find me and I'll find others. Until we find the others, we can't save anyone."

"So how do we find the others?" Melinda asked. Layana blinked again then started looking around like she was trying to find someone. She sighed and turned to face them.

"I guess we'll start looking."

•|•|•|•|•

Upper Terragon.

05:00, 6th July, 3000.

Stanley pulled his cloak over his head. Everywhere was still dark. He brought his hand to his hips and felt the gun and pack containing a flashlight, a phone and some money. His heart was beating really fast. Was he really planning to do this? He had been thinking about it for a long time but it was always just a passing thought. Until his father tried to take away the one thing that kept him going. Then he decided that if he could not have what he wanted, neither could Frederick Damien.

He already made his way to the foyer. A Defender was always posted at the door, so he hid in the shadow of the stairs and waited. The night shift would be over soon and another Defender would take over. Stanley was irritated by the thought of going through the Defender Training Academy just to end up as a door guard. The Defender finally opened the door and left. Stanley knew that this was the loop in their security. This Defender had to clock out before the next one can, so there's always a space of three minutes before the door is guarded again.

After waiting for a breath or two, he came out of the shadows and made his way to the front door, making sure he was walking in the blindspots. When he got out, the next thing was to leave the compound. The shrubbery provided enough cover for him. He snuck carefully to the nearest fence. When he was in high school, he used to go to rallies that protested against pollution, he always used a secret passage near the fence. When his father caught him returning to his room one night, he lied that their maid helped him leave the house every night because he did not want to give his secret passage up. His father fired the maid and probably sent her to become a Crusher in Lower Terragon but Stanley did not really care.

He rummaged around a bit before he finally found the hatch. It was rusted shut and took a few tries before he was able to pry it open. With a heavy sigh, he looked back up at the mansion he grew up in. He did not plan on returning but he found himself not wanting to leave. He shook his head to clear his thoughts then entered the hatch.

It was pitch black inside. He quickly fetched the flashlight and switched it on. It brightened up the space immediately. He pushed a button that would make the flashlight hover next to him and started walking forward. There were rats and other things crawling around in the passage but none of that mattered to him, he could almost taste his freedom.

The passage would lead him to a park close to the boarder of Upper Terragon, beyond which the oppressed lived. Stanley contemplated on where he would stay, it would most likely be Middle Terragon but it had to be far enough for his father not to find him. The hatch leading into the park was already open which was surprising. He wondered if the passage led elsewhere, it was entirely possible.

"You there!" Stanley froze as someone called out to him. He grabbed his flashlight and switched it off but another light was already shining in his direction. He pulled down the hood of his cloak, turned and gave his most dashing smile to the person.

"Good morning,"

"Lord Damien?" It was a Defender, his voice sounded like he was in shock. Stanley rolled his eyes at the pretentious title. The Thirteen families were basically royalty in Terragon. Stanley hated being called Lord, he didn't feel like the Lord of anything.

"Yes, good morning."

"Wh-what are you doing here sir?" He asked and was about to point his light in the direction of the hatch when Stanley quickly moved forward.

"Well, my father asked me to take care of some business urgently in Middle Terragon but it's supposed to be on the hush hush, you see..."

"Oh," he did not sound convinced "maybe I should call Lord Damien to confirm-"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Stanley let a gruff irritation into his voice and it had the effect he hoped it would.

"N-no, of course not...I just-"

"What is your name?"

"Gary, sir."

"Okay, Gary. You do realize that if my father dies tomorrow I will be the Head Councilman of The Council of Thirteen, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. But-"

"Good! Then we have no problem. Let me through immediately and mention this to no one," Stanley hated having to sound all authoritative but he had no choice. Gary sagged his shoulders in defeat then turned around to lead Stanley to the boarder gates. As they got there, other Defenders recognized him and saluted him. He forced a smile but he actually wished that he could have left unnoticed.

Gary unlocked the gates even though they were not meant to be open until it was eight o'clock. Stanley smiled at him then walked through the gates. His eyes caught a power bike parked right at the entrance.

"Hold on, Gary?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Whose is that?" He pointed to the bike.

"It's mine, sir."

"Give me the keys."

"Sir?" Gary looked incredibly confused. Stanley just raised an eyebrow in response as if challenging him to disobey. The Defender sighed and sagged his shoulder again before reaching into his pockets and pulling out the key to the bike.

"Toss it," Stanley said and caught the key mid-air when he did "thanks. You'll get it back or maybe even something better." That seemed to please Gary and he gave Stanley a shy grin.

"Thank you Lord Damien, stay safe."

"I will,"

Stanley mounted the bike and switched on the ignition. The rumble of the engine sent shivers through his body and made his hairs stand on end. He felt a little bad for lying to Gary but the feeling quickly subsided when he reved the engine and went off. The magnetic trails in the road made all their vehicles hover and move super fast. Stanley risked one last glance back at Upper Terragon. It was over now and he never planned to return.