Timeless love

Chapter 3

¨ugh....¨ My hoarse voice surprised me as my mind slowly shifted back to consciousness. The memory quickly shifted out of my grasp, seeming to be a consequence of hitting my head.

Wait.

My eyes flew open as I remembered what had happened.

The portal. The rock. The storm. My leg.

No no no no no!

I struggled to sit up, but eventually, I managed to. What I realized, though, was that I wasn't sitting on the rocky terrain where I had fallen. I was sitting on a bed.

Looking around, my eyes adjusted to the darkness that blanketed the room.

I had a splitting headache, and as I reached my hand to touch my head I felt bandages. Looking down at my leg, I realized my leg was also covered in bandages, all colored red or grey.

Slowly unwrapping it, I realized my leg was stitched up with a thin black wire.

Don't look. Don't look. Don't look.

The thought of stitches made me want to puke, my hands already working on sloppily wrapping my leg again.

I moved my legs one by one, pulling them around the bed and causing them to touch the ground. As I did, my feet touched the cold floor.

Wait. Where are my shoes? Where is my outfit?!

I patted myself down, realizing I was only wearing an old gown.

My eyes squinted in the dark, spotting my clothes neatly folded on a desk.

I let out a sigh of relief, my heart slowing down from the momentarily panic.

Grabbing the outfit, I decided to just put on the green sweater and black workout pants, putting the brown vest, goggles, and journal into my small backpack. As I reached around, I felt the familiar carvings of a tree on my watch. Wrapping my hand around the cold metal, I pulled it up towards my face.

A crack went through the glass, the equipment that allowed me to time travel destroyed.

Dang it!

There would be no way home. Even if I did get it working, there was a chance I may just be sent to a different time.

For now, I had to just explore my new area.

My legs throbbed with the familiar ache, but I continued to just walk it off until I reached the wooden door in the far corner of the room. My eyes squinted at the slight light coming from underneath the door, my mind racing.

Light shuffling came from the other side, shadows moving outside the door.

The handle wiggled for a little bit, then suddenly the door opened.

I took a few steps back in fear, trying to think back to any information about people in 2022.

¨Oh! You're up!¨ a kind voice dragged me out of my thoughts, the familiarity of the motherly sound making me calm down.

The room suddenly lit up, the soft light coming from a lamp in the person's hand.

As I studied them, they ushered me back towards the bed.

It was a girl a little older than me, about 22-24. She had long orange hair, but her bangs were colored an ocean blue. Some of her hair was pulled up in a bun while the rest was down. She wore a light red eyepatch on her left eye, freckles littering her tan skin. A light brown beanie sat on her head, matching the color of her turtleneck. She wore light blue jean shorts, her legs littered with scars. Her eyes were filled with kindness, and her smile reassured me that I was safe for now.

It took me a moment to realize I was sitting on the bed once more while she checked my bandages.

¨ you there?¨ she asked, looking up at me.

¨ẅ-what? Could you repeat that please¨ I stuttered slightly in embarrassment, my face heating up slightly.

¨ I asked what your name is. I'm Alice, by the way!¨ she chuckled slightly, her voice filled with amusement as she grabbed more bandages and re-wrapped my leg.

¨ oh! Im Colley.¨ I answered as she finished up my leg, my eyes wandering around again.

¨ that's a strange name¨ Alice chuckled, standing up and grabbing my arm, bringing me back to the door she came from.

I blushed slightly, realizing that my name sounded strange compared to hers.

I focused on her hands instead of my flustered state, my mind still thinking she seemed familiar.

" do I know you from somewhere?" I asked, the words not registering until I realized that we come from years apart. Of course I don't know her, but might as well make small talk.

" I don't know, you may. With that watch of yours, I'm sure I've appeared somewhere during your time" those words stopped me cold, ice racing into my veins. The way she casually said it made me know she wasnt joking like I hoped she was.

Alice giggled, taking my arm once more and taking me to a couch in the middle of a room. I sat down, my eyes looking at hers in question.

" you're probably wondering how I know you're a time traveler, huh?" I nodded, my ears fully alert to what she was saying.

" Well, I've encountered time travelers before, in about... 1840? 1860? I don't remember the exact time." Alice shrugged, smirking at my surprised face.

"Wait.... That means your an-"

"Immortal. I know, surprising,huh?" She laughed, standing up and handing me a piece of caramel candy. Thanking her, my mind raced to try and figure out what to do.

" so, what are you do-"

A loud bang from outside cut her off, the light atmosphere suddenly turning tense as Alice grabbed my arm once more.

¨ It started back up again! Come on, we have to head into the shelter!¨

I almost asked what she was talking about, but then I remember what year it was.

It was the storm.

( I had to extend the original short story I worte, but I still couldnt make it super long, sorry guys! the original story was about 500-1000 words long, and I extended it to about 4389 words soooo.)