Future Fires

Odd Beginnings

Trigger warning: this story contains scenes of violence and kidnapping may not be suitable for everyone.

I always knew there was something odd about my dreams. It was only when I got to 14 I understood that it felt like deja vu. At 16 I realised my dreams prophesied the future. This was when it became an issue. I could only see into my future and I couldn't change it when it got there, but it always happened just as I didn't want it to. It started simple, someone moving next to me in class or me dropping something and seeing a specific picture as I stand up.

It happened once whilst in a lesson I sat and started some work and the teacher told another student to sit next to me so she could see the board and I had dreamt it the night before. I know this doesn't seem all that exciting but this was only the beginning.

I don't like being able to prophesy the future, but I must admit it comes in helpful sometimes. I had a dream I would bump into one of my old teachers once, this meant that I dressed nicely and they said I looked like I was doing well for myself. This would not have been the outcome if I had worn my trackie bottoms and a t-shirt I'd been wearing all week already. Sometimes it does not work in my favour. Like when I was doing my philosophy a level mock and I thought what I had dreamed was the exam question. It turns out it was the question for my mock resit after I failed the exam that was not the question I had revised for. This taught me not to assume what the dreams where about.

The issue with my prophecies came when I met her.

She wasn't just any girl next door. I had dreamt about her, but in the dream, she was surrounded by darkness and whispering voices. I thought I was one of my normal dreams just one that was to be brushed away. But here she was stood in front of me. It wasn't even like she stood out from the usual customer I just felt like I knew her.

She was of small stature and she was a petite woman in general. Her eyes a sharp lime colour. Contrasting her mousy brown hair that lightly hung above her shoulders. She stood with a smirk like a smile and looked at me with a glisten in her eyes as I offered her a seat.

"Welcome to willows web how can I help you today." I said with a smile even though I was getting sick of saying that every time some mark Zuckerberg walked in, wanting to create a website that would 'change the world'. But she was different. She hasn't even spoken and I knew she didn't want a website she had this look in her eyes.
"You're Max right," she said her voice soft yet firm.
"Who's asking?"
"Someone important you're going to need to come with me."
"No."
"What do you mean no?"
"I'm not going with you anywhere."
"Why not?"
"You have just walked up to me, in my place of work and told me you need me to go with you. And you expect me to go willingly. I don't even know who you are"
"People don't usually say no,"
"I'm not people."
"Well, I wasn't trained on what to do if someone says no."
"Well, I'm not going, so either make a website or leave my shop."
It was at this moment she put a card down and walked out of the shop. As the door closed behind her I picked up the card it was a plain red business card with a number on it but no more. At first, I thought it was a mobile number but it was 2 numbers too short. I tucked it away in my pocket and decided to lock up the shop and go for lunch. I wouldn't usually do this but it was mid-morning on a Tuesday and I figured half an hour would be good after such a weird encounter.
It turns out I was wrong.