I want to end up with Jake and I realize now that's not going to happen. How the last two people on Earth don't end up with each other is ironic. The preacher goes about his business like nothing is going to happen. They check the squirrel and fish traps. They bring back food to eat. Even Lisa seems to be settling into life here.

Doing the same thing day after day is boring. I think it's funny because back in the village I would be doing the same thing day after day and be okay with it, it was comfortable. It seems like everyone is getting comfortable with our new life except for me.

I think about Katy a lot. I wish my Katy were here. The Katy I grew up with. I'll never see her again. I'll never see my parents again. I'll just cease to exist and I won't even know it. Life feels meaningless. Several days pass and the Preacher calls a meeting.

"Nia," The preacher starts off, "We are all concerned about you. It is clear you are suffering from a state of depression. The resolution is too increase your physical activity. Physical activity causes the brain to release natural anti-depressants and will help you feel better. We will start by jogging to the fish traps at the lake."

"What's the point, it doesn't matter." I tell him.

"It matters to us." He says back.

"I don't want to jog all the way to the lake." I tell him.

"It wasn't a request." He answers back. So I'm forced to jog to the lake. I start jogging and whenever I slow down to a walk, the preacher yells at me to start jogging again. I feel like I'm going to die right there. I can't remember the last time I jogged. When we get to the lake I collapse. The Preacher checks the traps and removes the fish he caught. I am so exhausted I can barely move. My breathing is heavy and I'm pretty sure I'm going to die.

"Do you feel any better?" the Preacher asks me.

"I feel like I'm going to die." I tell him.

"You're not going to die. You will probably fall asleep though but don't worry, I won't leave you." He says. I end up falling asleep. When I wake up the preacher is sitting on the grass beside me staring at me. It seems a bit creepy.

"It's about time you woke up." He says, "How do you feel now?"

"I feel better." I tell him, "Maybe I just needed to get some sleep."

"Maybe ... Have you changed your mind about Jake, I've noticed your attitude toward him is less hostile." The preacher asks.

"I think I have." I answer.

"That is good." The preacher comments. As the preacher is speaking the scene changes. The lake is still there but the tress are gone and buildings take their place. The preacher also disappears. Instead of lying on grass I'm lying on a concreate sidewalk. I sit up and take a look around. There are people everywhere. I realize that I'm in Katy's future. But how did I get here and where did the Preacher go?

I get up and look around. Nothing looks familiar but I start walking toward where I think Katy lives. As I keep walking things start coming back to me and I remember where our apartment is. As I exit the lift on our floor, I see Jake. What is Jake doing here? I run up to him and put my arms around him.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"I don't know. I'm scared." I tell him.

"That's understandable, I take it there have been no changes then." He asks.

"No changes?" I ask confused.

"To Katy's condition." He explains.

"No" I tell him. I'm not sure what he is talking about but I don't want to seem like I'm dumb. Lidia comes off the lift and sees me with my arms around Jake.

"Are you Okay?" She asks. By the tone of her voice I can tell she's concerned.

"Nia is still upset over Katy." Jake explains to Lidia.

"I just came over to see how Katy is doing." Lidia says. I go into the apartment and head straight to Katy's room. She is lying on her bed and her eyes are closed. The Doctor is here. What is he doing here? It's the same doctor that locked me up and hypnotized me but it can't be. When the Doctor notices me he gives me an update.

"There have been no changes in Katy's condition." When he notices that I have no idea what he is talking about he continues, "Katy has been in a coma since she collapsed playing that virtual reality game. We have no idea when or if she will ever wake up. Her brain activity has been off the chart but we still haven't figured out what is causing it."

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I'm the doctor that was assigned to your sister's case." The Doctor explains.

"You're not supposed to be here and neither is Jake." I declare.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asks. This doesn't feel right. As each second passes I keep remembering things about this life but it's not mine. My life is back in the village. Will I forget that life completely?

"Is Katy still stuck in the game?" I ask the Doctor.

"The game is over." The Doctor says, "It looks like Katy lost."

How am I going to get back to the village now?

The End

though

dead

they live

yet

no heart

beats, burns

or breaks

thus

nightly

they seek

that

which

makes

them

feel

“How are we going to do that?” I ask him. If Katy has left me here to rot, I have no idea why she would come back for me. I can understand why she would want her own Nia but wasn’t I also her sister? How could she just leave me here? I thought Jake was trying to save the future and now I am beginning to think that Katy is just trying to destroy it.

“I don’t know yet.” The doctor says. “I’m going to have to give it some thought.”

“So you don’t believe I’m crazy then.” I ask.

“No. I don’t believe you’re crazy. But I can’t just let you go until we figure out a way to get your sister to come back. Also I’m going to have to explain your condition somehow. Of course if we are going to be eliminated by your sister I guess it doesn’t really matter.” He reasons.

“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t. Okay, I guess I can put up with staying here till you figure out what we should do.” I tell him. I really have no idea how to get Katy to come back and since I’m stuck here I really have no choice anyway.

I go through the rest of the day like I did the previous day. I ‘play’ in the ‘toy’ room. I refuse to eat dinner. I go to bed. I remembered that the doctor said they gave me some hallucinogenic drug while I slept. I didn’t really care if they did that tonight since the doctor knew everything anyway. Still before I fell asleep I wondered where I would wake up.

I woke up nowhere. I was standing on something that felt solid but when I looked down there was nothing. It was like I was standing on nothing. When I looked around I couldn’t see anything.

“Katy!” I screamed, “I know you’re here. Were you just going to leave me in the village to rot? Were you really going to eliminate me? Your own sister? How could you be so cold?” Katy appeared in front of me.

“Nia, I would never leave you to rot. What I am going to do is pick the future I want but don’t worry you’ll be there. Well, a version of you will be there.” She says.

“I don’t want to die. Please don’t do this.” I beg her but before she answers she disappears.

I wake up in the plain white room. I do the same things I did the day before except the doctor doesn’t see me. It really does seem like I’m left here to rot. That night when I fall asleep I anticipate waking up somewhere else.

I wake up in the assembly hall. I get up and walk into the kitchen area. Jake, Lisa and the preacher are sitting eating breakfast. I sit down and join them.

“You were right preacher.” I tell him, “I am still back where Katy sent me. This is all just a hallucination.”

“Now that you figured it out, what are you going to do about it?” He asked me.

“I don’t know. The doctor knows everything. He knows about time travel and he knows about Katy.” I tell him.

“What about Katy?” the preacher asks.

“She can jump between futures and she is going to decide which future she wants and get rid of the rest.” I tell him.

“Which future is she going to choose?” He asks me.

“I don’t know but I don’t think we are going to be in it.” I tell him.

“Well, I might not be in it but some version of you will be” He says, “and you won’t realize anything has happened.”

“It still feels like death though.” I say.

“But it will still be you and you will still be alive.” The preacher says again.

“Aren’t you afraid you might not be alive” I ask the preacher.

“I’m a machine.” The preacher says, “I’m not alive to begin with.”

I wake up back in my room. This goes on for several days. I do the same thing during the day and at night I wake up in different places. Then one day I go see the doctor.

“How have you been Nia? I apologize for not seeing you before now.” He says.

“Did you figure out a way to get my sister back?” I ask him.

“I think I have.” the doctor says. He takes out his watch. I don’t really remember anything that happens after that.

“Are you going to tell me?” I ask him when I remember where I am.

“I will tell you when the time is right.” He says, “You don’t need to worry. I can send you home now. Your parents have come all the way to the city to take you back.”

“Really? You’re letting me go?” I ask confused.

“There’s no need to keep you here any longer. I’ve explained that your memory is beyond repair. I have told them that you may remember in time but that you are not a danger to yourself or anyone else. I apologized that I could not help you further. They had to accept my explanation because I am an expert. I will be in touch when I need you.” He explains.

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” I say.

“You are very welcome.” He answers. They take me to a room where my parents are waiting.When my mom sees me she puts her arms around me. Tears flow from her eyes.

“I am so happy to have you back. I love you so much.” She says. It makes me feel guilty because I know I’m not really the Nia she thinks I am.

“I love you too mom.” I tell her back.

“Let’s go home.” Dad says. Walking out of the building I feel a sense of relief. I don’t understand why the doctor let me go but I’m glad to be gone. To celebrate we eat at this fancy restaurant in the big city before getting on our train to go back to the village. I sink my teeth into some steak and it tastes amazing.

“The doctor says you may never regain your memory” My dad tells me, “How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know.” I say back, “I’m just taking it one day at a time. I want to get my life back.”

“We just want you to know we’re here for you” Mom says.

“I know mom” I can tell my parents have no idea what to say to me. I guess if I were in their shoes I wouldn’t know what to say to me either. I was mad at Katy. Why did she have to bring me here?

I actually fall asleep on the train. When we get back to my house. There are two beds in Katy’s room. I looks a lot like I remember it.

“Everything will be Okay. You’ll see.” Katy says. When I fall asleep I don’t wake up anywhere else but here.

I look at Lisa and I can’t believe she is here. She is an adult and older than the last time I saw her. I wish Katy was here instead. Jake releases his hold on her.

“How did you get here?” Jake asks her.

“It’s a long story.” She replies. I guess we aren’t going to get any details.

“You wouldn’t happen to have the keys to get into the Assembly Hall would you?” I ask hoping against hope that Lisa would be able to get us in.

“Assembly Hall?” She asks confused.

“That’s the name of this building in the future.” Jake explains, “At least the future that Nia is familiar with.”

“Oh right, let me check.” Lisa pats the pockets of her jeans and eventually pulls out some keys. She tries several keys until one of them opens the door. Lisa goes into the building and Jake follows her. I bring up the rear.

The room is almost pitch black. There are no windows and the only light entering the room is from the open front door. Lisa locates a light switch but when she flips it, nothing happens.

“What are you doing here?” Jake asks.

“I don’t know.” Lisa answers.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here because something has gone really wrong. The computer you built and programmed sent us into the past to feed it information so it would be able to fix something. When we got to the future, the village that was here before is gone so we are wondering what went wrong.” Jake explains.

“Let’s see if we can find out.” Lisa says calmly. “This building had its own power source, we will have to go down a few levels but maybe we can get it to work.”

“It’s really dark in here, let’s all hold hands so we don’t lose track of each other.” Jake says. Jake takes one of Lisa’s hands and then with the other hand grabs a hold of mine. Lisa leads the way and we both follow her. We have no idea where we are going so it’s a good thing Lisa is here to guide us.

Lisa being here can’t just be a coincidence. I mean the one person that could help us just happens to show up. I can’t help but feel like someone is controlling us but I don’t know who. Is it the computer Lisa build? Is it the preacher? Is it someone we haven’t met yet? I’m not even sure what we are supposed to be doing. I do know that I don’t trust Lisa. Jake may trust her because she’s his sister, but she didn’t tell us how she got here and I know there has to be other things she isn’t telling us. I can’t talk to Jake about it though, I’ll just have to keep an eye on her.

We walk slowly and quietly. If the preacher doesn’t know we are here, we don’t want to make it easy for him to find us. I hear my own thoughts rattling in my brain and the silence only makes them louder. Soon I’m not sure I can take it any longer. I want to scream but I bite my lip instead. After what seems like hours, I can hear Lisa turning the knob of a door. As she opens it I hear the hinges creak. I think I hear another sound at the same time but I can’t be sure that it’s not my mind playing tricks on me. Once we get through the door, Lisa closes it behind me.

We go down some stairs and through another door. Lisa seems to know her way around pretty well. After going through a few more doors we end up in a room. Lisa feels for a lever and pulls it. Nothing happens. I can hear her fiddling with something but I can’t see what see is doing. I hear Lisa pull the lever again and the lights come on.

The room we are in is a little bigger than our family room back home. There are controls on the walls. I don’t see any lights or anything so I don’t think any of it is working. When I turn around I see the preacher. Lisa and Jake just stare at him.

“You ruined everything!” The preacher says, “Nia, I told you if Jake succeeded that he would destroy everything. Now everything is gone and I’m stuck here just like you are. I can’t move through time anymore. I hope you’re happy with yourself Jake.” The preacher sounds really desperate.

“For someone who doesn’t have any emotions, you sure do a good job of simulating them” Jake comments.

“Don’t you get it Jake, everyone is dead. You are the last three people on the entire Earth.” the Preacher says dramatically, “I tried to protect everyone. I tried to keep everyone safe and I failed.” The preacher’s voice is strained. I am afraid the preacher is going to start crying any minute but he doesn’t.

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself,” Jake says trying to console the preacher, “It’s the computer’s fault. You’re not going to outsmart a computer like that. I was just doing what I thought was right like you were trying to do what you thought was right. Does the computer still work?”

“Not without power.” The preacher answers coldly.

“Lisa, do you think you can get power to the computer so we can find out what happened?” Jake asks Lisa.

“I don’t know. We can try.” Lisa answers.

“Well, let’s get moving then” Jake says.

PREFACE

It’s taken me a lot longer than I wanted to finish my sequel. I can’t believe it’s been 11 months since I posted the last chapter of my first book. It’s been awhile since I have really felt like writing. My first book was written from Jake’s perspective. This book is written from Nia’s perspective. My goal is to make each character’s personality consistent throughout the book. So I’m going to give that a shot.

I am also shooting for 25,000 words to make this a novella like the first book. I also wanted to pretty much have the first draft done before I posted any chapters so for better or worse I’ll have a complete story to tell. I don’t want to start something and then just leave everybody hanging halfway through.

I want to thank each person in advance who is going to take the time to read all or part of my story. I hope I can keep everyone’s attention and that most people who read it will enjoy it. I’ll be posting 1 chapter per week for about 26 weeks. I know that sounds like a long time but unfortunately it will go by fast.

So here we go ......

LOST IN THE WOODS

The sun is starting to set. I am unsure of what to do. I feel like I am going to have a breakdown. The village isn’t here. My parents aren’t here. Katy isn’t here. Lidia isn’t here. Why isn’t anyone here?

“I think this is the assembly hall.” Jake says.

“Why do you think that?” I answer. It’s starting to dawn on me that something is terribly wrong and it frightens me.

“Because the AI was in that building which means that building would have been there before the village was built. So if the village had never been built, that building would be in the middle of the woods, which it is.” Jake reasons.

“The village doesn’t exist!?” I ask, starting to panic. “Nothing that I remember exists anymore? My parents, Katy, they are all dead?” The realization that my whole life and everything I know is gone hit me like a ton of bricks.

“No, they’re not dead.” Jake answers, “I don’t think they ever existed in the first place.”

“What about me? Do I exist?” I shoot back.

“Of course you exist.” Jake assures me, “But that’s only because you went back in time. If you had stayed in the future you wouldn’t exist now either.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. How is that supposed to make sense?” I start to hyperventilate. I went back in time to fix something and now everything I know is gone!

“They never existed” Jake says solemnly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“How do we fix this? We aren’t time travelers anymore. We’re stuck, here, with nothing!” I exclaim.

“We have to figure out a way to get into this building.” Jake says.

“How are we going to do that, the door is locked!” I engage in full panic mode. Jake keeps a safe distance.

“Maybe there is something on the preacher’s body we can use.” Jake reasons. Jake starts walking back toward where we left the preacher leaving me standing there by myself. After a few minutes I realize he’s gone and I run after him to catch up. I don’t want to be left in the woods by myself. As much as I am starting to resent Jake, I need him. We walk for what seems like forever. Jake stops and looks around. We don’t see the preacher’s body anywhere.

“Why are you stopping?” I ask.

“Because this is where we left the preacher’s body” He answers.

“It can’t be. The body isn’t here.” I say.

“No, I’m sure this is where we left the body.” Jake counters.

“Then why isn’t the body here?” I ask.

“Maybe some animal took his body.” Jake says, “Or maybe the preacher got up and walked away on his own.”

“You mean the preacher could be looking for us!?” I ask as a shiver goes down my spine.

“That’s one possibility.” Jake says very calmly. How does he stay calm in a situation like this?

“What are we going to do now?” I ask. I start to cry frantically and Jake isn’t sure what to do about it. He starts looking at the area closely as if he is looking for something. The sun is not visible anymore and I start to hear noises. Jake kneels down and picks something up off of the ground.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“It might be the key to the Assembly Hall. It must have fallen off of the preacher’s body by whatever took him.” Jake says, “Let’s get back to the Assembly Hall and get inside.” Jake starts off towards the Assembly Hall and I follow him. Once we get there Jake inserts the key into the lock and tries to turn the handle but it won’t budge. I start to hear more noises in the woods.

“Hmm ... That didn’t work out quite as well as I planned.” Jake says to himself.

“Plan?! Plan?!” I finally go off on Jake, “You don’t have a plan. You’ve never had a plan. You just make stuff up as you go along. You got me into this mess. Without you I would still have my family and friends. Life wasn’t so bad in the village and you took it all away from me! I hate you! For all we know we are the last two people on Earth!”

“This isn’t my fault!” Jake says defending himself, “I didn’t ask to be dragged into this any more than you did! If you want answers to why there’s nothing here, we need to get into that building!”

Jake looks around for something. He finds a large rock and picks it up. He starts hitting the door handle with it. The door doesn’t open.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” I finally shout when I can’t take it any longer.

“I’m trying to get inside the building.” Jake answers harshly.

“And you think hitting the door handle with a rock is the way to do it!” I yell back at him.

“You have a better idea!?” Jake shoots back.

Something rustles in the woods. We both hear it and become silent instantly. The rustling gets louder and we both duck around the side of the building for cover. The noise gets closer. I feel a sense of doom wash over me. At any moment whatever is out there is going to come around the corner and kill us both. After a few minutes the rustling stops and we can hear something jiggling the door handle. After another moment we hear the door open and a moment after that we hear the door close.

Someone or something went inside the Assembly Hall. Jake goes up to the door to test it and it’s still locked.

“It had to be the preacher.” Jake whispers to me, “He knows we are around here somewhere and he doesn’t want us following him into the Assembly Hall.”

Tom was sitting in the fifth row. The teacher was talking but he hardly heard a word the teacher said. His attention was being taken up by a cute brunette in the third row. He had become completely smitten by her. His roommate had told him it was the kiss of death. If he let himself be distracted he wouldn't get the grades his parents had demanded of him.

Tom came from a wealthy family. His father was a lawyer and his mother involved herslef in charity work. He had always excelled at school. With that and his father calling in a few favors, he was able to get into MIT. Everything was going according to plan until she showed up. She just appeared seemingly out of nowhere. What impressed him the most about her was her intellegence. She was really smart. Sometimes the instructor would try and trip her up with a trick question but she never fell for it. She always knew just what to say.

He had flings with girls before but he never met one that he could really have a deep discussion with. He never met a girl that could challenge him intellectually. He got bored with most girls pretty quickly but this girl was different. Up until now he hadn't the guts to approach her but he had to find out whether she would give him a chance or not. He wasn't really sure why he hesitated. He never had a problem approaching girls before but that might be because he knew they all wanted the status of being attached to his wealth. After class he decides to take a chance and walks up to her.

"Hi there." He says trying to sound cool and failing miserably.

"Oh hi" She responds warmly, "A group of us are going to the student center to study, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, that would be great." He replies.

"Cool." She answers as she leaves to walk toward the student center. Tom follows her.

"My name is Tom by the way." Tom adds.

"Yeah, I know." She says, "You've been the topic of discussion on more than a few occasions." She continues.

"Oh really" Tom observes, "Nothing bad I hope."

"I guess that depends on your definition of bad." the young girl teases.

"I didn't get your name." Tom presses.

"Oh, my name is Katy." The young girl answers.

"Katy" Tom repeats, "I like that. So what are you majoring in?"

"AI" Katy answers.

"That's a pretty huge field, There should be a lot of job opportunities when you graduate." Tom observes.

"Yeah and I know just where I'm going to work." Katy offers.

"Yeah and where's that?" Tom asks.

"Oh, you haven't heard of them yet, but you will" Katy says.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Tom finally asks the question that's been on his mind.

"What stuff?" Katy asks.

"You seem to know all the class material before it's even taught." Tom explains.

"Oh that." Katy says dismissively, "I was born with a photographic memory, All I have to do is see something and I remember it instantly."

"That must make learning really easy." Tom says.

"Well, it makes remembering easy, I still have to understand what it all means." Katy explains.

"My family throws this huge bash over the holidays, you can come if you want?" Tom offers.

"I'll think about it" Katy answers.

"Okay," Tom says, "Just let me know when you've decided." Tom wanted to be more direct but that kind of thing can be a little off putting and he didn't know how this girl would take it if he pressed too much.

As Tom and Katy walk to the student center, Tom wonders if this amazing girl will be part of his bright future.

Links to previous posts

https://theprose.com/post/306321/sequel-announcement

https://theprose.com/post/307678/a-flash-of-light

https://theprose.com/post/310424/board-room

https://theprose.com/post/313074/this-mortal-coil

https://theprose.com/post/318080/going-going-gone

Lisa stares at the ceiling. She is exhausted but she can’t sleep. After six months in their new location they have made huge advancements toward completing their project. She is hoping that in another 6 months she will be able to return to civilization.

“Hey” a voice calls to her. It is the voice of a young girl. She looks in the direction of the voice and it is a young girl. She normally would have been startled except this kind of thing has happened to her before. The young girl has brown hair and blue eyes. She looks to be in her early twenties.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Lisa asks.

“You’re not surprised to see me are you?” The young girl replies.

“Are you here to mess with the past?” Lisa asks ignoring the young girl’s reply.

“Yes, but I’m also here to save you.” The young girl confesses.

“Save me from what?” Lisa demands.

“If you don’t come with me, you are going to die.” The young girl answers.

“How do you know that.” Lisa presses.

“I just know. From your prespective the future is full of possibilities. From my perspective, there are only three. I’m going to pick the one I want. Now you can stay here and die or you can come with me.” The young girl is holding a cube with tiny holes in it like the one Lisa saw Jake holding.

“Where did you get that?” Lisa asks refering to the cube.

“Oh so you know what this is then?” The young girl states holding up the cube.

“My brother Jake has one.” Lisa offers.

“Oh yeah that’s right. Jake does have one of these.” The young girl agrees.

“Do you know my brother Jake?” Lisa asks.

“Yeah I know him. Would you like to see him?” The young girl offers.

“You can take me to him?” Lisa asks.

“Of course I can. Just grab my hand and we’ll be gone.” The young girl says.

“I don’t know. How will my project team get along without me?” Lisa questions.

“Your project team is going to be dead so that won’t be a problem.” The young girl states matter of factly.

“What do you mean dead? How can you talk about death like that?” Lisa says alarmed.

“From my point of view, your project team had been dead for hundreds of years.” The young girl explains, “So it’s not something I’m going to get all choked up over. There’s nothing you can do to stop it but I will save you if the thought of being dead disturbs you.”

“I don’t want to just leave my project team to die!” Lisa exclaims.

“Well, you can stay and die with them or you can come with me. It’s not that hard of a choice, in fact it’s pretty much a no-brainer.” The young girl says.

Lisa is horrified at how casual the young girl speaks of death. What kind of person is this and should she really be going to who knows where with her? She has the same time traveling cube that Jake has so there’s a good chance she is telling the truth. Still there is something about this girl that Lisa doesn’t trust. Something in her eyes that Lisa can’t quite put her finger on. Still the thought of dying doesn’t appeal to her.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Lisa asks.

“You don’t but it’s your funeral, or it could be your funeral. I’ll give you a couple more seconds to decide and then I’m out of here.” The young girl says. Lisa lunges at the girl and startles her. She is startled just enough for Lisa to grab the cube with the tiny holes in it.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Lisa tells her. Lisa looks into one of the tiny holes but nothing happens.

“It won’t work for you.” The young girl says, “It only works for me. So you want us both to die then?” The young girl asks.

“I want you to tell me the truth. Who are you and what are you doing here?” Lisa demands.

“I told you the truth, you and your whole project team are going to die and I’m going to decided which future gets to happen.” The young girl answers. She seems completely unfazed by the turn of events.

“Where is Jake?” Lisa asks.

“He’s in the future having a wonderful time.” The young girl answers, “and you could join him instead of dying if you want.”

“I don’t believe you. There’s something you’re not telling me.” Lisa says.

“Of course there’s something I’m not telling you. There’s a lot of things I’m not telling you and just so you know, I’m not going to tell you but I will tell you this, the clock is ticking. tick. tock. tick. tock.” Lisa isn’t sure what to do with this young girl. The young girl knows what is going to happen and seems completely unfazed by it.

Lisa hears a muffled explosion.

“There it is.” The young girl says as if the explosion is something she is expecting, “You’re going to have to decide quickly now.” She adds. Lisa hears the rapid fire of gunshots and fear grips her. The young girl grabs Lisa’s hand and the cube at the same time and looks into one of the tiny holes. There is a bright light and when Lisa’s sight returns to her . . .

If you haven't read any of the previous posts, you can find them below

https://theprose.com/post/313074/this-mortal-coil

https://theprose.com/post/310424/board-room

https://theprose.com/post/307678/a-flash-of-light

https://theprose.com/post/306321/sequel-announcement

Lisa sits at the dinner table picking at her food. The silence hangs in the air so thick you can cut it with a knife. She wants to leave the city but she doesn’t want to leave her mother. It was hard on her mother when Jake disappeared. The police kept an eye out for him but they never devoted the resources necessary to actually find him. Of course Lisa knew they never would. Jake was in a different time, living a different life. Lisa wondered what amazing things exist in the future. She is happy that she is going to play a huge part in that future coming to life.

Her mother sank into a deep depression when Jake left. Lisa tried to assure her that Jake was alive and well but all her efforts fell flat. Her mother went through the stages of grief that all people who have experienced that kind of loss suffer. There’s the denial and the guilt. There’s the bargaining with a higher power. There’s the listlessness that comes from giving up hope. For the people that move on with their lives there is finally acceptance. However, Lisa’s mother never got to that stage and her life became stagnant. It broke Lisa’s heart. She tried not to resent her brother for leaving. For years she moved between understanding and hatred for what he had done.

“Mom, you know I don’t want to leave but it’s my job.” She pleads with her mother for understanding. Her mother doesn’t say anything. Her mother just looks down at her half eaten meal.

“Mom, I’m doing really important work. It’s going to change the future.” She says solemnly.

“I don’t care about the future.” her mom replies, “If you leave I’ll have nothing.”

“I’m not going away forever, just until I get my project done. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of years.” She tries to reassure her mother they will see each other again but is unsuccessful.

“You know that’s not true.” her mother counters, “Your project has been going on for as long as I can remember.”

“We’re almost at the end. I know we are. We have to be. The board won’t tolerate the project not being completed within the next couple of years.” Lisa says matter-of-factly.

“I just know I’ll never see you again.” Her mother states, resigned to the fact that she has lost both her children.

“Of course you will see me again. I’m not going to disappear like Jake did.” Lisa and her mother finish their meal in silence. Lisa gives her mother a hug and leaves her for the last time before being sent into exile.

Lisa sits in the moving van with her project team. They are being taken to the secluded location where they will continue their work, uninterrupted. They will get a shipment of supplies once a week and have no contact with the outside world. The drive takes hours. Two of the project members pass the time by playing a game of chess but without a board or playing pieces. They recall the position of the pieces from memory and get into a heated debate when one of their memories falters. All Lisa can think about is her mother and how sad she is.

The building they are to stay in is huge. Each team member has an office, a laboratory and living quarters. There is a common kitchen and living area where the team members can eat and relax. There is also a huge multi-purpose room which can be used for large gatherings. It doesn’t take long for the project team to get into a regular routine and as Lisa had predicted, they quickly make advances toward the completion of their work.

Lisa’s mother falls into deep despair. The fate of both her children has had a dramatic impact on her personality and habits. Once Lisa leaves to go into isolation. Her mother scans the internet daily for any news she can find that could give her a glimmer of hope.

One day she gets the call she has been in fear of. A spokesman for the company Lisa works for has the unpleasant job of informing the family members that the research team has become the victims of sabotage. The facility that they were all staying in to complete their work exploded and the bodies were never recovered. She is to receive a huge sum of money from the company in return for her daughter’s life. At hearing the news of her daughter’s death, she suffers a heart attack and is pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Here is a link to my previous Chapters

https://theprose.com/post/310424/board-room

https://theprose.com/post/307678/a-flash-of-light

Here is a link to my First Book

https://theprose.com/book/2163/nia