The Eternal Return

Collecting the Past

Growing up, she heard the stories.
About famine and war, about people who grew old and died. In the same breath she was warned: they're silly stories from the past.
But she knows better now.
Clutching the notepad to her chest, she slinks through the shadows. She startles at a noise, but realizes it's nothing. This isn't her thing, all this sneaking around. Usually others went out and collected the information. She just compiled it. But the call came in, the man sounded desperate. Everyone else was away.
"You can do this," she murmurs and pushes away from the wall, continuing to the meeting spot.
The bistro was boarded up months ago, but tonight the front door is cracked. Without letting her worry bother her, she slips in and squints at the darkness. The room's empty. She turns the face of her glowing watch up. Early.
She doesn't have to wait long before a sound in the street draws her to the window. A man is running her way, chased. The moon strikes his face and she gasps – he's the oldest man she's ever seen. An officer tackles him and the old man looks straight her way.
"You will age and become me. Then they'll take you!"
The officer slams his head against the ground with a sickening crack. She gasps and stumbles away.