Warden's Fantasy Shorts

Time Shenanigans Pt1

This is another one from the backlog.  The prompt is still bolded.

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"You can't rob your own grave!"

Ella whipped around, first narrowing her eyes, then smirking. I didn't like that look. "You're right. I can't."

"Then why are you doing it?" Ella paused, straightening up, removing the shovel from the dirt.

"You're not understanding me. I literally can't rob my own grave. Think about it. Everything in it belongs to me. I can't rob myself."

"And you're not understanding me. You can't rob your grave, look at it. There's flowers on it, people still care about you. Imagine what digging up the grave will do to them. We can't tell them you robbed your own grave, much less why. Think about someone other than yourself for once, please!" I couldn't understand her logic. Ella had shown up at my house saying she needed me to take her to her future. I had complied, not questioning the shovel she held. I regretted it now. She had just given me a year to go to.

Ella seemed to consider this. "Alright," she said, softer now. "I see your point. But I need to do this." Her eyes held mine, a determined scowl on her face. "Take me further forward. I need to do this. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't." She gestured to the gravestone. "I mean it. Look."

I glanced at the gravestone, not sure what to look for. "The dates," Ella said. I looked, and the penny dropped.

"Suicide?" It had to be either that, or some sort of accident or illness. I couldn't think of another reason for someone so young to die so soon. But her wording almost guaranteed suicide. I looked at Ella, and she nodded, looking away. "Why?"

Ella looked at me, then moved aside, letting me see the gravestone next to hers. Jackie Sandberg. Me. It was dated a little less than a year before Ella's. I stared at it, trying to comprehend, then looked at Ella, to ask her how. I couldn't get the words out. Ella opened her mouth, closed it, swallowed. "I- I'm not sure how, the dream- the dream didn't show it. All I know is that I got that- that damned book-" she spat the word hatefully "-too late. I found it again- too damn late, and I didn't have time- I can't let that happen. I- I can't let you die. Look." She stabbed her hand at her grave, and continued, "Look, I couldn't- I can't. I won't survive if you-" I cut her off and hugged her.

"Shh, it'll be okay, I promise. I'll take us there, I just need you to be calm first. Let it out, we'll be fine," I soothed. I gently rocked us back and forth as I stroked Ella's hair, trying to calm her shaking. Ella had wrapped her arms around me, and now she was practically crushing me in her hold. I couldn't bring myself to care that I couldn't breathe well.

"I just-" Ella started.

"Shhh, breathe for me, El. I've got you, I'm safe, you're safe." I rubbed Ella's back as she tried to breathe deeply.

"I'm okay now, Jackie."

"Alright." I let go of Ella, somewhat reluctantly. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

I grabbed Ella's hands and looked at her. "I'll go about a hundred years forward, that should be enough."

Ella nodded. "Should be."

I nodded, then closed my eyes and concentrated. Found the flow of time, and raced with the current. The seconds, then minutes, hours, years flicked past, too fast to see. I kept my eyes closed so I wouldn't get dizzy, concentrated on the feeling, waiting for that click that indicated the area I was shooting for. When I opened my eyes, the graves still stood, but more weathered. The grass was still neat, but the flowers on the graves around us were gone. Probably none had been left for years. Ella took a shaky breath.

"I don't know if it'd be better or worse if you mastered it enough to slow and watch," she said.

"I'm not sure I'd want to see everything going on, to be honest."

"Me either." Ella looked around, grabbed the shovel out of her belt loop. "Better start digging, I guess."

A couple hours and many blisters later, we stared at the coffin. "Wait, El- what book are you looking for? Cause you didn't seem to like it too much." I had a few ideas as to what book it might be, but I wanted to be sure.

"The dream journal. I never wanted to see that fucking thing again when I threw it away," she said.

"I never understood why you threw it away." We had often looked through it together, laughing at Ella's bizarre dreams, making wild speculations about what the hell caused them. Then one day, she had thrown it away. She'd refused to talk about it, and seemed nervous whenever the journal had been brought up.

"I woke up one day, opened it, and saw an entry I didn't remember making. It was dated the night before, and I only remembered the dream as I read it. The dream- it was horrible. It showed multiple versions of the same event, all ending in your death. I couldn't keep it, knowing that entry was in there. I had to throw it away, but now I need it, so I can look at all those versions of your death, find out how to stop it. I managed it in the dream I had last night, but not in time. And I don't remember how."

"Oh." It was all I could say. "Well, to get it, we need to get the coffin open. Help me out here, will ya?"

We pried it open and tried to ignore the skeleton inside.

"Jackie, it's not here," Ella whispered. "I was sure it'd be here." She was deadly still, staring at the contents of the coffin blankly. I wrenched my eyes away, unable to bear looking at Ella now. "I thought..." her voice shook. "I was so sure." She looked at me, tears in her eyes. "It's not here. I have- I have to find it again. I have to. I refuse-"

"Ella-" I tried to cut her off.

"I was so sure..." the tears were falling now, and I sat down next to her, trying to soothe her as best I could.

"El, we'll find it, I swear. Even if it's the last thing we do."

"It might as well be," Ella said, voice steady, numb. "We won't find it in time."