Chapter Nine - One Meal Down

Jake has this self-satisfying smile on his face. I want to slap it off. He is holding a couple dead squirrels that he intended to skin and fry up for dinner. The preacher also has a smile on his face.

"The hunt went better than I expected." The preacher declares, "I didn't think Jake had it in him."

"You expect me to eat that?" I ask.

"Well, it's either that or go hungry." Jake states matter of fact, "It's not like I've ever eaten squirrel before either." Jake adds. Jake and the preacher go into the kitchen area to make our 'dinner'.

"I'm going to go crazy." I tell Lisa under my breath, "I can't stand Jake. Everything he does irritates me. The way he talks and the expressions on his face. I just want to give him a good slap."

Lisa laughs, "The idea of starting things over with Jake doesn't sound very appealing to you."

"I feel so screwed over." I confess.

"Well, the sooner you make the best of it the better things will be." She answers.

"Thanks mom" I mock giving her a fake smile.

"That's what moms are for." She shoots back not missing a beat.

"I think I'm going to go take a walk." I say to whoever is listening as I get up.

I go outside for some fresh air. There is a warm wind blowing and the rays of sunlight that shine through the trees feels good. I just start walking in some random direction but I make sure to keep track of where I am. I've walked these woods a million times. I don't think I could get lost in them even if I was blindfolded. After walking a little bit I hear a twig break behind me and I freeze. I slowly turn around and I she her.

"Hey there sis, you doing okay?" She asks.

"Am I doing okay? You ask me if I'm doing okay. You said that the future was going to be amazing but instead there's no one here. Everyone I ever loved is dead and who knows what future you came from." I unload on her.

"I understand that you're mad." Katy says, "But I don't have much time. I have to figure out which future is real."

"What do you mean? Which future is real?" I ask her.

"There are three possible futures that I can see. There's the future in the little village, there's the future in a big city and there's this." She says motioning with her arms all around.

"And you don't know which one is real?" I ask her.

"No, I don't." She says.

"But you can still move through time while I'm stuck in this hell?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I can still do that." She confesses.

"I'm going crazy, you have to take me somewhere, anywhere besides here." I beg her.

"Where do you want me to take you?" She asks.

"Take me home. Take me back to the village. Life in the village was good." I tell her.

"I don't know if I can but I will try." She says. She takes my hand and looks into one of the tiny holes. There is a flash of light and when our sight returns to us . . .

I'm in the village again! Everything is right where I left it!

"Look, there's Katy." She says pointing to Katy coming out of school.

"How is this possible?" I ask her, "The village was completely gone."

"You're just in a different future, that's all. Lisa and Jake and the preacher are still in the other future." She tells me.

"You mean the preacher isn't here?" I asked her.

"Nope. There's no preacher or any other type of machine here. Look for yourself." This time she points to where the Assembly Hall used to be.

"The Assembly Hall is gone?" I ask confused.

"It got destroyed a long time ago." Older Katy tells me. I turn around and little Katy is there.

"Nia! You're back! I can't believe it's you." She says.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"No one has seen you for years. They thought some wild animal had killed you and dragged your body off into the woods. They looked and looked for you and now you're here! Mom and dad are going to fall down dead when they see you." Katy explains.

"What is she talking about?" I ask older Katy.

"I wouldn't know." She answers. Somehow I think she's lying.

"I'm your sister, you can tell me." I beg.

"Just because I can move through time, doesn't mean I know everything." She says, "Do you want to stay?"

"What?" I ask.

"Do you want to stay in this future? I can't guarantee this is the right one." She warns me.

"What do you mean the right one?" I ask.

"Look, once the right future becomes clear, these other futures will disappear and everyone living in them will disappear too, including you." She says.

"Yes, I want to stay in the village. It's the only future I want." I answer.

"Okay. I love you Nia." Katy says. She looks into one of the tiny holes. There is a flash of light and she's gone.