Walls

05

Abbie had a weird feeling that she was probably dreaming.

The email was dated five years into the future!

It had to be a mistake. It just had to be.

But, no.

The driver's license and the insurance to the car were all five years ahead. She checked and double-checked. Everything in the car said that it was not 2016.

It was 2021.

Even the freaking coke bottle was manufactured in 2021. Heck!

Abbie couldn't feel her heart anymore. She assumed that it had had enough.

Her breath hitched somewhere in the middle of her windpipe and a thudding pain spread across her chest. A maniac laugh escaped her lips. The rearview mirror caught her reflection.

She could see it now. Her hair was shorter and had highlights that she never had in college. Her fingers were manicured, and she had a tattoo of a heart at the crook of her neck. It had the letter J inside it. She couldn't remember how she had a tattoo in the first place. For as long as she could remember, she feared needles.

She had a snowflake-shaped pendant hanging just below the tattoo. And there was a ring on her finger that she did not remember. Was she married? Engaged?

Tears gushed out of her eyes fast. Her shoulders rocked with each sob that escaped her lips. Where was she? And why couldn't she remember five years of her life? Just like that?

And why was someone trying to kill her? What did she do?

The identification card dug into her palm as she squashed it in her fist. It was the only thing that tied her to the man in the car - Elias. Apparently, Elias was someone she worked with - a coworker. She hoped so.

Maybe he could tell her what happened to her. And why a man was trying to kill her.

She bit her lip. Said man was still trying to kill her. And now, she couldn't entirely be sure that Elias was still alive. He could be dead for all she knew. The gunman could have killed him.

She let the next wave of sobs rake through her, tearing her insides apart. She just wanted to go home. But where was home? Did she even live in Angelora anymore?

Her heart screamed, and the pounding in her head was returning. She watched her tear-stained face in the rearview mirror. All that she could think was that Elias probably had all the answers. He was her only hope. He could tell her what the heck she had gotten herself into.

But going back to get him meant diving headfirst into a gunman's arms. A gunman who wanted her dead.

She threw her head onto the wheel, thumping it against the surface and letting out an involuntary honk. She cursed, grinding her teeth together.

Her eyes fell on the card she had squashed against her fist. She knew what she had to do.

"Fuck!" she cursed into the morning air.

Wiping her face and setting her head straight, Abbie gripped the wheel with all her might. She had to find Elias. It was her only chance. Maybe Elias could explain to the gunman that this was all a misunderstanding.

Her heart was beating faster than ever, but she set her teeth and powered the car. She pulled it onto the road and spun the wheel in a complete one-eighty.

With lazy streaks of sun trailing behind her through a cloudy sky, she sped in the direction of the wrecked car.

The situation that she was in made her laugh out loud like a maniac.

She drove back all the way. The gas station that she stole the car from had a police car outside with its sirens blazing. She considered stopping by and telling the police officers what had happened.

But no, she had to save Elias. She had to try and save him from the crazy gunman. The rational part in her brain screamed that he was probably dead already, but the desperate part was adamant that everything was going according to plan.

She guessed that the wrecked car ran out somewhere down the road that she was driving along. She calculated the directions in her head and was positive that it was the same road.

Before driving any longer from the gas station, the broken fence came into view. Abbie pulled the car onto the side a bit further down the road and climbed out like a spy on a mission to take down a nation. She felt ridiculous.

Her heart leaped with joy as she peered over the fence. Elias was still beside the car, but his position seemed to have moved. He was leaning against a tree in the distance.

He was awake.

From the higher ground that she was standing on, she could see that the clearing wasn't large, and the land raised further to the right than the left. If only she had run in the opposite direction previously, she would have made it to the main road sooner.

She navigated to a spot to the right of the broken part of the fence. There the ground elevated to the same level as the road.

She looked around once - there was no one to be seen for miles. She had done it once, and she can do it once more.

How hard can climbing a fence be, anyway?

The answer was: very.

She could feel the familiar surge of adrenaline, But it wasn't pumping fast enough into her system. Limbs aching, she hooked her legs in the mesh and pulled herself up. Her teeth ground together as she hauled herself to the top.

Looking down from the top was the wrong move. It gave her whiplash that was sudden and unexpected. She steadied herself on the top, pressing a finger to her forehead. When the spinning stopped, she jumped off the mesh, landing on her butt this time.

"Damn it!" she cried out loud.

She prayed that there was no one around to hear her. Hopefully not the man with the gun. She plunged into the trees, making her way towards the car wreck. The ground slipped and was still wet in certain areas. But she managed to make it to the clearing without falling flat on her face.

Elias was tending to a cut in his chest. He looked dangerously unstable with his arms, shivering and cursing out loud.

Abbie hoped that he didn't curse so loudly. What was he thinking? All that noise could bring the gunman back!

She scanned the area. The gunman's bike was still idling near the wrecked car, but the man was nowhere in sight. It was now or never.

Abbie cleared her throat and stepped forward, walking towards Elias. He eyed her, a range of emotions passing between his eyes, from shock to happiness. But not recognition.

"Hi, Miss, can you help me? I was in this accident," he panted, trying to get to his feet.

Abbie helped him to his feet, her heart sinking at the realization. A gleam of sweat trickled down her spine. She mentally whacked herself for making the wrong call.

He did not know who she was.