White light, like a flood of clouds, and a ringing noise that faded into the background.
Dean hit the ground with a thud, his vision blurred. Pain radiated through his body. Everyone moved in slow-motion.
The people frantically climbing out of their car, bystanders running over. The police and the ambulance arriving.
Dean slowly closed his eyes.
....
It smelled like vanilla. He heard flashes of his mother's voice, his sister's, his friends from back home. Then he heard Cami, though it was muffled, he couldn't remember exactly how she sounded. The harder he strained to hear it the quieter it got.
Then a voice, almost like those programmed by a computer asked him.
"You've been given a second chance, do you want to take it?"
Dean wanted to sit up but him limbs were constrained, he couldn't move.
"A second chance?"
"A simple yes or no will suffice... Do you want to take this chance?"
Dean hesitated and then said, "Yes."
The voice responded, "Okay.... Now I must warn you, things will not be as they see... You must show the perseverance you've had buried deep within you if you want to make things right this time."
Dean was confused.
"Wait? What do you mean!?"
But then he was launched into darkness, and when he awoke he was staring at the roof of a car.
Dean woke up frantically.
~Where the hell am I?~
He recognized the car to be his car, and as he took in his surroundings he realized he was back home in New Jersey. Sitting in front of the part time store he used to work at before going to Yale.
And that's when it hit him and he froze. The trees... The trees were bare. The air smelled wet, the ground was covered in patches of white, and it was foggy
It was Winter... Impossible, it was just Spring.
Dean found his phone in his back pocket. He was even more freaked out when he realized the clothes he had on were not what he was wearing the night before.
March 11th 2023 8:00 am
Dean turned his phone off and on multiple times, almost sure now that he was out of his mind.
He started his car and raced down the street towards his home.
He hopped out of his car and slammed the door before whipping open his front door.
Dean saw his mom sweeping the floor, his sister sitting at the table working on assignments with her headphones in. He hadn't seen Daniella in months.
His mom looked up, a question forming on her mouth.
But before she could speak he spoke first.
"Mom... What year is it?"
"2023... Why are you asking me that?"
He stared off into space.
" What month is it?"
"March... Dean it's the 11th... What's the matter with you honey, did you forget you had something to do?" His mother smiled in amusement.
Dean sat down gripping his hair.
There's no way it's not possible. This is 10 months before. It's March. It was just May, the trees were just budding green, the sun was shining. How is there snow on the ground, how is it so cold... How is it two months before Cami died?
He felt the words nearly bubble up out of his throat, and he got up asking quickly.
"Where's Cami?"
His mother looked at him confused. "Dean did you slip and fall on the ice and bump your head, why are you asking me all these strange questions?"
Dean's eyebrows furrowed.
"What do you mean? I'm asking you where is Cami, where's Camille?"
His mother looked at him for a few seconds. "Dean we don't know a Camille..."
He nearly fell back into his seat.
"Camille James... You don't know who that is?"
His mother shook her head no.
Dean laughed out loud. "You're joking with me right, bc none of this is possible, Cami isn't even here, I'm not even here, there's no way you don't know who she is, you said she was like a daughter to you..."
His mother sighed and continued sweeping, "Dean I'm not sure what you are talking about or if you're feeling well, but honey I wouldn't lie to you about knowing or not knowing someone."
Without responding Dean got up quickly and ran outside slamming the door shut behind him.
"Hey!" Samantha yelled, but she knew whether he heard her or not he wasn't coming back.
She sighed, " I don't know what has gotten into that boy."
Daniella still sat at the table completely oblivious to the situation.
....
Dean knew of one place that would tell him whether or not he was crazy or if somehow he was back living 10 months ago.
So he drove across town to the one place he feared going back to.