The Traitors

Prologue - Logan

Dear Logan,

I know you're mad at me, but you're the only one who will hear me out. I know you told me not to push myself anymore, but you should know by now that I wasn't going to listen. And I'm glad I didn't because I actually found her. I found the bird!!!

But there's a bit of an issue and that's where you come in. You need to be near the Steam Rail hiking trail on April 11th at 3:17a.m. I understand that's MONTHS from now, but I trust you will follow through on this. It's life or death. I mean it this time. Gabe will try and talk you out of it, but I know the type of person you are. You will do the right thing.

Please find it in your heart to forgive me for everything I've done. I wasn't the greatest to you, but please know this was always real to me; you were always real to me. I couldn't have asked for someone better to love me. I'm sorry I didn't treat you the way you deserved, but I know someone who can.

All my love,
Anna

I swore as I chucked the letter into the passenger's seat beside me as I puffed away on another useless cigarette. The clock on my dashboard illuminated the interior of my car as it mocked me with its numbers.

3:14a.m.

It had been a while since I had read over the contents of her letter, and I forgot how much it pissed me off. I used to treasure the sheet since it was the last thing I had left of her, but as months flew by, I felt my attachment diminish. The more I thought about Anna, the angrier I got. The words she had written to me once felt true, but now, they felt empty and meaningless.

Yet here I sat in my car parked next to the rickety sign reflecting the words Steam Rail back at me in bold, white lettering. I felt like a fool as I watched the time with anticipation putting faith back into the girl I had once loved, hoping maybe this time was real. Maybe this time she was telling the truth.

I scoffed.

How was I supposed to trust someone who never told me the truth when they were alive? Was I supposed to believe her now that she was dead?

I glanced at the paper once more, staring directly at the smudges of blood dried along the paper, no doubt from her nose. The bleeding increased the more she used her Trait. Anna had a special ability which allowed her to see glimpses of the future. She would "vision walk" every once and a while to adjust or prevent something from happening.

Even with the constantly changing future, she heard two words which were consistently present anytime she used her Trait: the bird. These two words plagued her mind and was the foundation of her futuristic journeys. She always said the bird would have all the answers, but we didn't even have the questions yet. She claimed something was different about the bird; something special yet dangerous. It was the puzzle she could never solve which eventually locked her into insanity.

Anna's addiction to her Trait was becoming severe and what once started as every-so-often turned into every day. Her Trait was taking a toll on her body, but she couldn't focus on anything else. At first, she was fainting or becoming lightheaded. Then, it escalated to nose bleeds and seizures. I had warned her to cut back on her vision walking, but she never listened to me.

At least she was able to admit that truthfully in that godforsaken letter.

I wanted to believe she had good intentions leaving this letter behind, giving me some hope for a future without her. A final message written with her true feelings and not some bullshit lie she spun. I wanted to believe she loved me the way I had loved her.

The only person Anna ever loved was herself.

God, I wanted to drive away and leave her in the past, but the inkling in my gut forbade me from giving up.

The sound of a roaring engine echoed out into the still air of the night. The suddenness of the noise startled me from my arguing thoughts as I jerked upward. It gradually grew louder as the car it belonged to darted passed with enough force to jostle my car and then disappeared immediately down the dark road.

I twisted my key in the ignition starting my car back up again. Deep down, I've always known the truth about Anna, so why had I really come here? Was it to see if she had pulled another one over on me or did a part of me still yearn to trust in her? I would be the only one who did. Hunter, Kayla, and Breton decided to be done with her and advised me to follow suit.

But here I was.

No, I'm done.

I had to be. 

I couldn't let the ghost of this woman haunt me for my entire life, and as if I was possessed, I began to drive away from the trail in the same direction as the speeding vehicle. I had to move on and driving away from that spot felt liberating. It felt like I had taken some sort of control back in my life; An aspect I strived for daily. I allowed Anna to torment me for far too long and this was my metaphorical release of her. And goddammit, it felt good.

At least until my phone rang.

The number flashed across my dash as the ringing sang out into my silent car.

Emma? Why was she calling?

"Hello?" I answered with curiosity.

"Oh, thank God!" Emma screamed through the speakers of my car. "We were in an accident. I spun us off the road. I got out, but I can't get my friend."

"Call 911, Em!" I yelled back.

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"She's a Traitor, like us."

I cursed under my breath, but Emma didn't react as I drove down the twisty hill away from the trail.

"Christ!" Emma shrieked into the phone. "Someone's coming! What do I do?"

I sucked in a breath as my high beams showed the scene in front of me. Glass shards were sporadically scattered along the pavement, Emma's Honda was lodged in the trunk of the pine along the side of the road. Emma tried her best not to be seen, but the accident was hard to miss. I crawled to a full stop as I pulled over near the wreck.

"It's me," I responded turning off my car, but left the headlights on.

"Already? I thought you'd be at least fifteen minutes. Were you already out this way?" She spoke into the phone but was running toward my car.

Something in my gut told me this wasn't a coincidence. My heart fell into my stomach as a weird spell of dizziness washed over me. I had a strong sense of déjà vu, but this was something I had never seen nor experienced. I swallowed hard as my heart pounded wildly within my chest. Everything within me pleaded not to look at the clock, but I had to know.

"Son of a bitch," I hissed, punching the steering wheel.

3:17a.m.