Running From Time

Chapter 1

I watched as the raindrops splattered on to the windshield of my car. With a sigh, I sped up and thought about my destination. The pharmacy. All I needed was to take my pills and hop out of there. The antidepressants were the only thing keeping me alive right now. Being a celebrity sure was difficult at times, especially with the omnipresent paparazzi. They were always making up such fake stories and I was tired of it. Through the film of rain on my windscreen, I saw the familiar green cross of the pharmacy come into view. I parked the car and hopped out, not even caring as I became drenched in water. Just as I was about to open the door to the pharmacy, I heard a familiar sound. The snap of a camera as it took a side profile of me. I entered the building, ignoring the camera and went up to the main desk.

"Hi." I said to the woman working there. She looked up suddenly and grinned. Her eyes were bright blue and they sparkled slightly in the fluorescent lighting. Her blonde hair hung in ringlets past her shoulders. She was obviously new here. I smiled at her.

"You're Chris Brown, right?" She asked nicely and I nodded.

"Yeah. I need to pick up my prescription." She nodded and walked into the back of the shop. I started to look down the aisles, realising just how big the place was. As I turned a corner, I nearly jumped out of my skin. A girl about my height was standing at the end of the aisle with most of her face obscured by a hoodie. But I had the unnerving feeling that she was watching me. As quickly as I could, I backed up out of view and almost laughed. Well, that was weird.

"Chris?" The voice suddenly cut through the silence and I jumped again. At this rate I was gonna have a heart attack. She laughed softly and I walked back to the desk, pouting.

"Yeah?"

"Your pills are ready." She said with a smile, handing them to me. I took them and was about to turn away when I remembered something.

"What's your name?" I asked and she looked slightly surprised.

"Oh, I'm Lydia." She said nervously and I smiled.

"Pretty name. I was just wondering if you maybe wanna meet up sometime? I'm free tonight." I said with a shrug and she nodded, smiling.

"Sure. What time?"

"Any time. I'm free all day." I gave her my address and started to walk away from the counter. As I got outside, I decided to take the antidepressant, even though I was practically glowing with joy. Oh well. A little extra couldn't hurt. The paparazzi were completely gone now and the car park was deserted. I swallowed the pill dry and started to walk back to the car. As I reached for the door handle, a strange sensation came over me. My vision doubled momentarily and I stumbled backward a couple of paces. Damn, I thought to myself. What was that? My ears started to ring and I shuddered. Had I suddenly caught some kind of fever? Shaking my head, I was just about to get in the car when, for no apparent reason, my vision went completely. I fell to the floor and my body started to convulse. To my own horror, I realised that I had no control over any of my limbs. The last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness were the sounds of rushing footsteps coming towards me.

I woke up, looking around me dizzily. Someone above me gasped when they saw me stir and they started to back away. A group of people a little further away looked at me in horror and I realised that they were paramedics. Somehow I had ended up on the other side of the parking lot, just to add to the confusion. Why was everyone so scared?

One of the paramedics started to approach me slowly with a needle (probably a sedative) and I held out my hand in defence. With a yelp, I realised that my hand wasn't there. There was just a stump. But as I watched, small skin coloured particles started to swirl around where my hand should've been and it slowly began to reform itself. The hell? It was as if my hand had dissolved! The crowd watched, awestruck, as I examined my now completely normal hand. I got up slowly and the paramedic continued to walk towards me. I looked at him and felt a weird kind of power within me. Suddenly, he stopped walking and looked at the space in front of him in confusion. He walked forward again but seemed to bump into some kind of invisible wall. Was I doing this? I started to feel tired and I lowered my hand. As I suspected, the barrier had been caused by me and the paramedic started to walk forward again. Looking down at my hands in horror, I did the only thing that I could possibly think to do. I ran. Footsteps pursued me and I nearly tripped from grogginess. I reached the door of my car and yanked it open, jumping inside. Slamming my foot on the gas, the car roared to life and leaped forward. I swerved sharply and sped out of the car park, leaving the crowd in my dust. But I didn't miss catching a glimpse of a girl standing nearby with a black hoodie on.