True or False.

Chapter 12

"Hello, can you help me please? I think I am lost." A voice startles me from my...well just startles me I guess considering again I have no recollection of what I was doing.

"Of course." I reply before even turning. Thank goodness for that though. Because as soon as I turn, my breath hitches. No way. No freaking way. There she is. Cloe. My Cloe. But there is no look of recognition on her face, meaning she does not remember me this time. Is this good or bad though?

"Thank you so much. I am Cloe. Cloe Gardens." She extends her hand for me, which I graciously accept.

"Hi. I am Alison Iglesias. Nice to meet you." Cloe's eyes sparkle making me think she remembers me but then her warm, confused smile tells me otherwise. I continue to hold my polite smile in place not letting it falter. Hopefully.

"Your name sounds familiar to me. Have we met before?" Cloe asks making me widen my eyes before I can gather myself and shake my head.

"No. I definitely would have remembered meeting such a beautiful girl, trust me." I flirt with her. Now this makes me frown a little. Why did I just flirt with Cloe? Also, finally Cloe is in this timeline. She took her time this time around. And met me in college instead. Woah! Sound of Cloe's giggle fill the air making me smile at her stupidly as well. Great! If only she doesn't die this time around. Can't have that happening a third time.

"Lead the way, Alison Iglesias." Cloe responds making me look at her strangely for a second. But then I shake my head. Cloe does not remember me, and because I flirted with her, it made us connect instantly. I am saying as if we were not supposed to connect instantly. Like that has not been the case. I mean come on she is my ex-dead-now-alive-new-timeline-best friend. Geez! That's a super long title.

Days pass. Cloe and I grow closer and closer. We have some classes together, we do our assignments together in the library or at our dorms respectively, switching between hers and mine. We have study dates, coffee dates, and just hang out times. Never in all these times, have Cloe behaved like she wants to hunt me down for 'murdering' her in a different timeline. Probably cause she doesn't remember. Thanks, brain, for the unnecessary input. I roll my eyes at my own thoughts.

My research has not started. Well, it has as I have started writing the thesis for it as I was asked to. But nothing practical has yet started. So, I have not yet been to RULE since the last day I was asked to go. And if I am remembering correctly that was sometime in October my junior year of high school. Wow. It's been long. Yet I have no recollection of that much time actually passing. Isn't it amazing when your life is fast forwarded like this, and you have no idea by whom? Just mind-blowing. Fun-fudge-sticks-tasing! Now that's an odd combination of words I am never ever uttering again.

Weirdly Cloe and I have started bonding over my research. She is helping me with articles, finding them, researching with me. She has somehow become my assistant. Of course, I have already informed Markus about this, and he is happy that I have my friend helping. Cloe, on the other hand does not want any recognition but when she learned this means she has a job at RULE, she just hugged me to death. Guess she is ecstatic to be working at RULE!

More time passes. Cannot say how much though as I have no idea. But one thing is for sure, I am older now. So, maybe years. Who even knows at this point? Cloe and I now work together at RULE on my research which has now turned into my project. Now I should be excited for this, but I am feeling a dreadful feeling. Like I can somehow feel something huge is coming our way, yet I am unaware. I mean it could be her potential death slash coming back to life, but I might be wrong. Or maybe I am just looking into things that will not happen in this timeline. Here is hoping for that. Fingers Crossed!

Guess I spoke too soon. As now I am kneeling on the ground staring at a very familiar scene. Cloe on the ground, bleeding to death, yet smiling at me. I am holding her head close to me, as if that will save her. And she is trying to make me go away. Her reasoning being that I should not literally watch her die. Wow. Great! Third time. And same thing. Why does Cloe always die? So, if that is happening, I should be expecting Cloe at dinner tomorrow evening at my parents' house, right? With that reasoning, I bend down to kiss Cloe's forehead and wipe away her tears. As if that will help. Slowly, I lift Cloe's head from my lap as she somehow, manages to slowly put her head on the ground herself, straining herself, and coughing up blood in the process. Wow! Yet, I still stand and nod. Then after one last glance, with Cloe almost shooing me away, I walk away from the scene. This time. I do not run. I am not panicked. Okay well, I am. But for a different reason. This time I know for sure Cloe is coming back tomorrow to accuse me of trying to murder her, of leaving her tonight. Yet, I walk away. No random force pushes me this time. Nothing weird happens, no vortex, nothing. Although I did not witness what actually killed Cloe, I have a pretty good idea that it was me. Directly or indirectly that's a different question.

Just like I predicted. Cloe's voice along with my parents' float to my ears in my teenage bedroom, where I am standing on the destruction or the havoc, I wrecked on it. Again, no idea how it looks exactly the same as my original timeline. But hey, at this point it is a given. I follow the steps, I know, meaning, going downstairs, looking at three of them eating something. Hopefully not those red noodles, anything but that. And to my relief it is tacos. Weird very, very weird but I will take it. I also notice the clock above Cloe's head showing 3.30. But I know it is not 3.30 in the afternoon or at night now. So why is the clock showing that time. Also, in red. Well, my alarm clock shows the time in red too, so I guess that is normal. What is not normal is that the tacos are red. What is with this color red? Why do I keep seeing it? Does it mean something? Well other than danger, I guess. Because that part I am clear on. What I am confused about is what is the danger? Or rather where is it? Considering I keep on fainting, losing my memory and wake up in different timelines and repeat things all over again. It is slowly getting really frustrating.

Like clockwork, the next thing happens. Things are moving faster than last time. Then again, this whole timeline, I felt was fast forwarded so there is that. Cloe and I are now standing in my bedroom, in my house, rather Cloe and my house in this timeline. Cloe is laughing, not menacingly though. Just a bit sadly. But maybe I am wrong. Suddenly Cloe straightens her back and I notice the clock above her head now reads 3.45. Huh? Before I could process what is happening. Cloe holds my right arm in a death grip while her eyes widen. Swiftly we are lifted off the ground and swallowed into some black mist. I cannot see anything. But I know for sure Cloe is still holding my hand and I am hers. We are then thrown away harshly onto a cold floor in a lighted room. But before I could recover from that fall or the mist. I start to cough as I glance around us. We are in a place I know very well. But a blast sends me back flying. Several feet back leaving Cloe somewhere where we landed first, hurt, possibly unconscious. How am I still awake? Now that is an interesting question. Before I could ponder on, I see myself banging a sledgehammer on the Thing, destroying it. Turning it into pieces, unrecognizable pieces. Yet, I am acutely aware that I am not doing that right now. Yet a me from possibly another timeline is doing it and I am somehow able to witness that. Is this supposed to happen? I do not remember finding anything in my research of this nature. Yet now I think it is a very real possibility. Suddenly, I start to cough again. That's odd. I am still awake this time, but I might just faint soon. The coughing made me lose my balance, making me stumble on the ground and land right beside an unconscious Cloe. The clock above her head reads 4.00.

It is not a clock at all!

Soon everything turns to black. This time I already know I am going to wake up to another new timeline as 15-year-old me. 

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Word Count - 20646.