Another Timeline Without You

Chapter 8

8

It was Saturday night, 11:12 P.M. and quite chilly. She was in the car. It would take her exactly 23 minutes and 13 seconds from her garage to Golden Gates' parking lot. How does she know this? Well, she set a timer when she went there the first time, of course! But now, as she sits in the driver's seat of her car, she questioned whether they wanted her there at exactly 11:30 P.M., or if she should be there before that, for good measure.

This is it, the day I find out what happened. Well, it might be the day, though it is uncertain whether she would learn everything, or, anything at all. But she had to try, didn't she?

23 minutes and 46 seconds of driving until she reached her destination. It turned out she forgot to add traffic as a factor. The parking lot was quiet, as no one would dare go in there anymore. As far as 'outsiders' are concerned, it was just an abandoned 'park', or for those who have dead relatives, an abandoned graveyard.

Hello? My name is Penny..! I-I received a letter saying to meet..someone here..? She wasn't sure who, of course. If there was a 'someone' in the first place.

It was 11:30 at night.No response.

After failing five times to get someone to answer, Penny sighed and read the letter again. But just as she was about to read it, she heard a rustling in the darkness of the forest nearby. Did she want to go in? Absolutely not. But she probably had to, no?

As she stepped closer and closer to the edge of the park, she got nearer and nearer to the edge of the forest that surrounds this place full of horrible memories. She almost tripped on a small dent in the ground, one that was present even in the past. How it stayed will never be known.

She was now staring into the darkness that holds the forest captive. The darkness that could possibly hold the answer she seeks. The one that answers her question: Where is Von?

For a moment, she thought she saw a pair of human eyes blink at her, but it turns out it was just a deer. This is where the main character in a horror movie turns around and it's a false alarm, right? She did end up turning around, and she was right. Nothing was there.

Now, in her mind, there was probably something behind her, but to her surprise, life did not follow the rules of horror movies. Nothing.

She had 'what ifs' ready in her mind. What if she were to go into the thick of the forest? What if Von were in there? What if she finally gets what she wants, for once?

But in contrast to the positive questions, there lay the negative ones. What if she got kidnapped? What if Von wasn't there? What if he never comes back? What if she died?

She took a step back–not willing to risk her life yet. A lot of people depended on her this time, and she's not willing to lose twenty more years of her life, just to wake up in another timeline. One where she would have to go through making friends, meeting family, and looking for Von again.

But just as she was about to leave, a deep voice echoed through the park. There wasn't supposed to be an echo. Because, though abandoned, the park was still covered in trees. Was this voice simply in her head?

Hello...Penny, the voice called out. Chills ran down Penny's back, and she just wanted to run. To run into the arms of her best friend, or the arms of her bed-ridden mother.

Who's there..? A slight stutter evident in her voice. It was quite obvious that she was scared out of her mind, but she had to be brave.

How she wished Lyn knew what she was going through, since she wanted to rant on and on about how scared she was and how she'll probably never come back here.

Bravery. Hm. I wish I had that.