The Day Trippers

Chapter 3

I looked back to see two people, a man and woman, watching us through dark glasses.
When I turned my head, the man raised a finger to say something into his ear piece. Aris quickly pulled my gray hood over my head and pulled on hers.
"Keep your head down and don't let them see your face." She grabbed my arm and pulled me quickly through the crowd of people.
We weaved through the cobbled streets, dodging people and cars. I jumped back as a car came to a screeching halt. The car honked as we took off down the street. We rushed through alleys and roads.
"Keep going and don't look back!" Aris yelled. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins.
"Who are those people?" I yelled as I leaped over a puddle on the ground.
"Enzo and Ada, they work for ATTA. They're here for you," she replied as we rounded a corner.
"Why do they want me?" I asked through ragged breaths.
"They want to run tests on you, on your ability to time travel."
"Did they do that to you?"
"No, but nobody ever makes it out of their labs, they either die or go insane."
"How did they not find out about you? And why don't the people just time travel out of the lab?" Questions were filling my brain, why hadn't Aris been tested? And who were these people?
"They lock you in a cell, made of silent stone. It draws away your abilities until you can barely move. It suffocates you, so you're weak. You can't time travel out."
I had always wanted to see Paris, but this wasn't the thing I had in mind. Running through the streets from people who were trying to kidnap me. Trying to find someone named Sam Evans who would protect me. I, apparently, being able to time travel, a day tripper. This whole thing just sounded like a nightmare. But something seemed so real to me, so I didn't stop.
The pavement blurred beneath me, the steady thuds of my feet on the streets and my rhythmic breaths echoed in my ears. We rushed down the concrete steps, almost losing my balance as I jumped the last couple steps.
As we rounded the corner, the Gare Du Nord station came into view. The large windows glowed with warm light, and the flag of France rippled in the gentle breeze. Brown, crusty leaves circled in a tornado at the entrance. The tracks glistened in the moonlight like black diamonds, going straight to safety, to Sam Evans.
I ran passed her towards the station but came to a stop as she looked back. Aris quickly unzipped her red hoodie and handed it and her backpack to me, "Quickly, switch our jackets and take my backpack," she rushed as I pulled my jacket over my head, "Use the ticket and address in the backpack to find Sam," she pulled the hood on her head and I did the same, "I'll distract them while you get onto the train. I'll meet you later at Sam's, okay?" I nodded slowly. She reached over and grabbed the other ticket from the bag and shoved it in her pocket.
"Aris," she looked up to meet my eyes, "What about you?"
"I'll be fine," Aris looked behind her, "Now let's go."
We rushed across the busy street, dodging honking cars and people yelling at us in French. It's probably a good thing I couldn't understand them.
I turned my head to see the two people, Enzo and Ada, across the street, pointing at us. I quickly turned my head down and kept scurrying to the station.
We rushed through the large doors, and into the crowd of people. The station was full of people scurrying around. We pushed through the shuffle of coats and suitcases, and occasional elbows to the face.
Police were at the front, by the train, trying to pacify the crowd. I glimpsed behind me to see the man and woman, entering the station. They were searching the crowd as Aris grabbed my arm, and pulled me down.
"Keep your head down," she whispered as we tried to shuffle through the mob.
Aris quickly grasped my arm and pulled me around a corner. She peeked around the wall and took a deep breath.
Aris put her hands on my shoulders, "Remember what I told you. I'll distract them while you run to the train. There is a ticket in the backpack along with Sam's address," she breathed, "Find him, he'll keep you safe!"
"What about you?" I called.
"Don't worry about me, now go," Aris warned. I reached forward to pull her into a hug.
"No, we'll make it together, and then we'll figure out what to do," I pleaded.
"Olivia, go," I pulled away, to meet her eyes filled with panic. Aris Barlow, Weirdo, was different then I would've thought. Now, I thought of her as my friend.
"Go," she warned again,
"No, both of us," I ordered. I took her arm and pulled her along as we made our way to the train.
I saw the Enzo, pointing in the crowd at us. Snapping my head to the ground, I nearly ran into Aris as we started to sprint through the crowd.
We dodged people and suitcases, ignoring the shouts of the police officers. I jumped out of the way as I nearly knocked over a woman picking up her luggage. "Sorry!" I yelled over my shoulder as we kept bolting to the train. I looked over my shoulder to see Enzo and Ada pushing people out of the way as they got closer and closer to us.
"Aris," I warned worriedly. She glanced behind her, keeping her head down.
"Keep going! Don't stop no matter what," I pushed my legs to go harder. Across the way, I saw the sparks as the dark train came to a screeching halt. I turned my head to see Enzo and Ada were nowhere to be seen.
"I think we lost them," I called to Aris, she only nodded beside me.
I raced to the train's open door. I grabbed the ticket out of my pocket and handed it to the conductor. He only nodded and I stepped into the comforting safety of the train.
I hunched over my knees, taking deep breaths through my nose. My hood fell off my head, cascading my brown hair over my shoulders. I heard the close of the door and squeaking of the wheels.
"Good job Aris," I said through deep breaths, I stood up and looked around. My heart dropped.
"Aris?" I called. I rushed over to the window where Aris stood, brown eyes wide with shock. Aris mouthed my name, "Olivia."
I shrieked as Aris dropped to her knees, and tipped over onto the ground. People were scurrying in all different directions. Enzo's arm still raised with the gun in hand, pointed at Aris' back.
My fists pounded the window, "Aris!" I screamed. I watched as Ada pulled her hood down, only to find Aris' curly blonde hair. Frustrated, Ada pulled out a small dart in Aris' back and threw it to the floor. I sighed of relief that it was only a dart and not a bullet.
I saw Enzo yelling at Ada and frantically looking around the station for me.
I felt the slight jerk as the train left the station, and Ada's eyes met mine. I should have looked away, but I could only stare at Aris, who was now slung over Enzo's shoulder. My mouth quivered, as a tear escaped from my eye, landing on the cool leather seat.
Ada's stare was cold and haunting and her eyes were filled with hate. Keeping my eyes on Aris' limp body, the train gradually pulled out of the station. I watched as the only person I could trust slowly disappeared.
The darkness of the train swallowed me. The only light came from the large moon and twinkling stars. I could have turned on the light in the small car, but I didn't.
I curled up in the seat, pulling the sweater over my knees. Something hard dug into my shin. As I reached in the pocket of the sweatshirt, I felt something smooth and cool in my hand. I lifted it up to the window to examine it.
It was a long, silver locket. I popped open the dainty hatch revealing a small black and white picture of Aris. The picture was dark and faded, but I still recognized the long blonde curls and large brown eyes. She was with other people, I'm assuming her family. Her two brothers had the same light hair, and her mother was beautiful, with large brown eyes and dark hair. Aris sat on her father's lap, her father looked stern and powerful.
Carefully closing the latch, I slipped the locket over my head. I ran the smooth silver over my fingers.
Watching rain drip down the windows, I shivered in my seat replaying moments over and over in my head.
Aris' brown eyes, piercing me as she dropped to the floor. The haunting stare of Ada, Aris' body slung over Enzo as if she was a lamb. But I couldn't picture her as a lamb.
She was too strong, too brave, and too selfless. She sacrificed herself for me. She switched the hoods for me. She knew that she would get caught, but she told me to keep running. To get on the train and find Sam Evans.
I needed to find Sam. He might be the only person to help me find Aris. If she trusted him, so would I.
I took the black backpack in my lap. Unzipping the bag, a metal water bottle crashed to the floor, making a loud noise. I sheepishly picked it up and put it on the seat next to me. Pulling out everything in the bag, I examined the inventory laid out on the seats.
A couple of granola bars and dried food, a set of extra clothes, a Toronto maple leaf baseball cap, a notebook and pen, and a wallet with euros.
As I pulled out the euros, a photograph fluttered to the ground.
I grabbed the picture from the floor, examining it. It was an old picture of two kids, a boy, and a girl. I recognized the girl, it was Aris. The boy had dark hair and wild green eyes. I flipped it over to see names written on the back, Aris Barlow, and Sam Evans. And in small print an address,
30 Rue Bergére, 75009, Paris, France
The conductor came on the speakers. He talked quickly in french, I didn't understand him. I put all of the things back into the backpack. I zipped up the sweatshirt, tied my hair into a ponytail, and slipped the ponytail through the hat.
"Attention all passengers riding for the Rue Montmartre station, please get ready to exit the train. We will be arriving in 8 minutes. Thank you for choosing Eurostar." The conductor's french accent cut off and I had been left in silence again. My heart pounded in my chest. What if I couldn't find Aris? What if I couldn't find Sam?
The train screeched to a halt. I slung the backpack over my shoulder and pulled the red hood over my head. I tipped my hat to the conductor as I stepped off the train.
I was once again overwhelmed by the chaotic bustling of a station. Keeping my head to the ground, I shuffled to the doors. I tried hard to think back to my french lessons.
Bonjour, Au Revoir, Merci, S'il vous plaît.
I should have paid better attention in language. I rubbed the back of my neck. I pulled out my phone to see that I had no reception. Sighing as I put it back into my pocket, I jumped out of the way of a lady, "Excuesz-moi!" I called over my shoulder.
As I stepped out the door, I was relieved to be out of the chaotic station. I pushed through the crowd, to the curb, and waved my arm, hoping a taxi would see me. As a Volkswagon cab came to a screeching halt at the curb, I pulled out the picture with the address. I took a breath and pulled open the door.
"Bonjour Madame," the taxi driver spoke as I scooted across the seat.
"Um, do you speak english?" I asked a little shaky.
"Oui, a little," he responded as he readjusted his rear view mirror. I handed him the picture as the taxi lurched forward.
I gazed out the window as the taxi ran through the roads.
"What brings you to Paris?" The man asked in a thick french accent.
"Family," I replied shortly, he said nothing else.
55643, second floor, apartment 6. I repeated in my head.
55643, second floor, apartment 6.
The car came to a screeching halt in front of the four-story apartment.
"That's 28 euros, Madame," he stated, turning around. I fiddled with the wallet and pulled out a 10 and 20.
"Keep the change," I responded as I took the picture from the man and pulled the backpack over my shoulder.
The crisp night air met my face as I stepped into the street. Taking a deep breath, I stepped towards the electronic door access box.
55643, I typed in as the light flashed green.
I kept my head down as I quietly slipped over to the door labeled with a stairs symbol. Climbing up the steps, cautious not to trip, I tried to think of something to say to him.
Hey, Sam! You don't know me, but I'm being chased by people who want to kidnap me. But it's okay because they took your friend Aris instead, and I need to get back home because I time traveled. Now, I need you to help me get Aris back and help me get home.
Pulling open the door at the top of the stairs, I stepped into the empty hallway. It was silent except for the slight buzzing of the lights. As I approached door 6, my nervousness about ate me alive. Attempting to shove down the fear, I extended my hand to knock at the door.
"Emilie, je vous ai dit de ne pas revenir ici!" I heard a man yell as the door swung open. I stood there in shock as the man looked down at me in the doorway.
"Qui es-tu?" He asked in french.
"Um," I stammered dumbly. I couldn't lie, he was handsome. He couldn't have been much older than me, a year or two maybe. His square jawline could chisel granite and his green eyes reminded me of the pine forests back home. But I couldn't be distracted by Sam, Aris was still being held hostage.
"Mademoiselle?" I snapped out of the daze as he was watching me.
"Um, are you Sam Evans?" I asked carefully. He stared for a moment then his eyes glanced around the hall.
He replied quickly in french, something I couldn't understand, not taking his eyes off me, "Bonne Nuit," he began to shut the door, but I extended my arm out to stop it from closing.
"Wait!" I yelled, flinching from the pinch of the door, "My name is Olivia Grey," I stammered quickly, "I'm a friend of Aris Barlow," I handed him the picture from my pocket. Sam examined it in his hands, and looked back up at my wild eyes, "Please help me," I begged, desperation filled my face.
"Come inside," he mumbled under his breath, stepping aside.
Passing through the door, I smelt the slight aroma of musk and pine. I guessed he wasn't here very often. By the couch was a stack of books that looked as if they hadn't been touched in years and the counters were scattered with cups and spilled boxes of cereal.
Sam glanced around the hallway before he shut the door and locked it.
"Do you have a reason to come knocking at my door in the middle of the night, Olivia Grey?"
"I need your help," I answered crossing my arms, Sam only looked at me, "Your friend Aris was taken."
"By who?" he questioned. He turned around to grab an apple from the counter.
"She said the ATTA," I tried. He froze, turning his head over his shoulder.
"Are you sure she said the ATTA?" He asked as he circled around to face me.
"She said to come to you and you would protect me."
"Protect you? From what?" he questioned, almost annoyed.
"From them, they wanted to take me, but they took Aris instead, she told me I could time travel."
"Wait, you're a day tripper?" Sam asked raising his tone.
"Yes," I responded shortly. He ran his fingers through his wavy dark hair, only making it messier, "Why, does that matter?"
"Nevermind," he leaned against the counter, "Okay, we'll get some sleep and leave first thing in the morning. We have to find Aris, the ATTA headquarters is near Berlin." He took a bite of the apple, "We need to get some things first. You can sleep on the couch, get some rest," he spoke with a full mouth. I only slightly nodded, as he walked down the hall.
I brushed off crumbs and papers off the couch as I set down the backpack on the floor.
I pulled my ponytail out of my hair as Sam came back with a stack of blankets and pillows in his arms. I couldn't help but notice through the reflection of the t.v., that Sam was studying me. As I turned my head, he cleared his throat.
"Here, bathroom is first door on the right," he returned, setting the blankets on the couch, "You can help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen, though it's not much," he answered turning away to the hallway.
"Sam," I called, he stopped, "Thank you," I replied sincerely. He only flashed a quick grin as he disappeared into the dark doorway and I was left alone in the dark apartment.