XX.XX.XXXX?
"We should tell the others, now," Theo got up in a fast movement, but the concrete under his feet crumbled and made him slip off the building.
"Theo!" Ethan called out, nervously looking down. The stress fell off him when he saw Theo hanging on some tube firmly, like five floors lower.
"Open the window Ethan," Theo's grip seemed to loosen each second. Ethan nodded and rushed downstairs. The window, though, didn't have a handle for the option to be opened.
"Shit," A wave of panic washed Ethan over, as he looked for a sharp object to break the window. He found a rock big enough to break it.
"Close your eyes," he warned Theo, already throwing the rock, shattering the window into pieces of glass shards that spread in and out.
When the window stopped shattering, Ethan extended a hand to Theo. He helped him in through the window, Theo kneeled down, the sharp shards stinging his knees. Theo felt strong pain, discomfort, and a foreign body sensation in his left eye. That's when he realized he had a shard stuck in the corner of his eye. His eyes teared uncontrollably and small blood vessels filled the eye's surface layers. Ethan kneeled next to him and shifted his gaze to the spreading fire outside for a brief, before turning his attention to Theo.
"The fire…," Ethan murmured to himself. "Theo, don't rub the eye. You need to wash it out," he added, his voice serious.
"Do you know how much that hurts?" Theo whined, keeping on rubbing it. Meanwhile, the sound of the others footsteps increasing on volume as they got closer echoed through the building.
"What happened? I heard-" Elodie began, but pausing mid-sentence at the sight of spreading fire getting closer.
"What's going on?" Velvette looked at Ethan.
"I'll explain later. Elodie, go get our car," Ethan instructed. "Theo, can you see? You have to wash it out later, we gotta go," he added. Theo nodded and got up. His vision was blurry—both of his eyes were tearing uncontrollably. Except for Theo and Ethan, the others rushed downstairs.
"I can't see a shit," Theo complained, holding onto the star rail as he almost lost his balance.
"Give me your hand," Ethan extended a hand to help Theo up, which he took. Still holding, they ran downstairs.
When they got there, the others were already waiting for them in a dark red pick up truck. The car had broken windows, dirty wheels but otherwise seemed functioning.
Ethan guided Theo up the pickup's bed and closed the tailgate behind them. At that moment, the engine started and Elodie, who sat behind the wheel drove away, slowly gaining on speed. The firelight decreased the further they got, soon, only a small source of the flames reflected in the rear view mirrors, before disappearing completely as they met the vast forest's sprawl.
The ones who sat in the back held onto the truck's bed tightly, the wind slapping hard against their body. Luckily, Elodie slowed down on speed when the flames disappeared from her view.
"You got a flashlight?" Ethan shouted at Elodie, hoping she'd hear him against the wind that muted his calling.
"Yeah, hold no," Elodie shouted back. "Carmen, can you drive now?" she asked Carmen, who sat on the passenger's seat. He nodded and leaned closer to the wheel, trying to focus on the darkened path, only a faint red hue painted, since the headlights were broken. They were about to crash into a fallen tree blocking half of the path, which Carmen didn't seem to notice, while Elodie picked up the flashlight from the floor, lifting her head up. She immediately took the wheel from Carmen and spun the car into a sudden skid that brought it to a stop right next to the tree, that'd make them crash otherwise. This caused the others in the back to jump a bit and hold on even tighter, panting as they realized that they haven't met their end yet.
"Fuck, Carmen. Are you blind?" Elodie exploded, though fear filled her up.
"I can't see in the distance. I'm supposed to wear glasses but I don't," Carmen explained quickly.
"There's no way you haven't noticed that!" Elodie yelled, still not letting go of the wheel.
"Stop yelling at him!" Theo stood up for him.
"He almost got us all killed," Elodie finally let go of the wheel, answering as she looked back at Theo through the window above the seats—the only window that remained undamaged. "Ethan. Do you have a cigarette?" She added. She could see him nodding in the back and got out of the car. Ethan exchanged a pack of cigarettes for the flashlight he had asked for.
"I'll get the shard out of your eye," Ethan informed Theo.
"Why doesn't have a shard in his eye?" Velvette interjected.
"I already said I'll explain later," Ethan answered, clearly annoyed.
"I can explain myself, you know?" Theo said softly.
"Yeah, whatever".
Ethan was shining into Theo's eyes, which made Theo tilt his head away.
"Can't you stop moving?" Ethan was frustrated.
"What are you so mad about?" Theo questioned.
"I need a cigarette, sorry," Ethan was about to leave when Velvette grabbed his arm tightly.
"You don't. You're just addicted".
"Don't touch me. I can do whatever I want," Ethan pulled out of her grip.
"And you're gonna prefer such stupidity over your best friend? Or what the two of you are". Ethan left anyway, leaving the flashlight in the truck's bed.
"I'll help you. If you let me," Velvette suggested.
"Sure," Theo agreed. Velvette lightened her view more carefully, so it would irritate Theo, slowly removing the shard from Theo's eye. It was stuck in deeply, making Theo flinch in pain as it was pulled out. A small flow of blood mixed with tears came out of his eye.
"Thanks," Theo blinked repeatedly, his eyes trying to get rid of the liquid.
"No problem," Velvette smiled.
"I'll go after Ethan," Theo stated, his eyes still tearing.
"Be careful," Velvette warned. Theo stepped out of the truck and walked to the roadside where the forest stretched out, finding Ethan sitting there gazing into the nothingness with a cigarette held up to his mouth.
He sat next to him. "You okay?" Theo's voice was full of concern. Ethan exhaled, releasing the smoke into the air.
"I should be the one asking," Ethan pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head in between.
He lifted his head, "Velvette is right, I'm just an addict. I preferred such shit over the person I care so much about," he let out a sob "Over you who I cried for multiple times, over you who I—" he stopped himself from talking. Tears welled up in his eyes and his voice quivered.
"You're so much more than just an addict to me, Ethan," Theo reassured him, gazing up to the sky.
"Is your eye okay?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, it stings a lot, but yeah," Theo admitted, pulling on a weak smile. "Let's go back," he added, rising up from the solid ground. Ethan nodded and they climbed up the truck's bed, instead of going through the tailgate. Everyone was already seated, waiting to depart.
Elodie stuck her head out the window, that still had remaining pieces of glass around the edges, "Can we go?".
"Yeah," Velvette answered for them all. Elodie turned the key and the engine started, creating a cranking sound. She made her way around the fallen tree and then proceeded straight ahead, at a speed that didn't feel like riding a rollercoaster. The woodland kept spreading at both sides as if it had no end.
Ten minutes into the ride Velvette shouted, "We should tell someone about the fire".
"Yeah. Ask Carmen for the transmitter," Elodie agreed.
"But he's sitting next to you?" Velvette got confused. Elodie stopped the car the way it rattled before fully stationing. "I thought he was in the back because he got mad?".
"Well, he's not," Velvette answered.
"Fuck, he could be dead by now," Victor assumed.
"Victor!" Velvette, grabbed her forehead, shaking her head.
"Or he has burned to death," Ethan thought.
"Or we just forgot about him and he's alright, waiting for us to return?" Theo suggested the most optimistic option. Elodie sped off back, two times faster now. Luckily, they found Carmen walking along the roadside towards them, his hands clasped behind his back and he was stepping over his legs while proceeding further. The way he walked was unusual, he appeared as if he had gone crazy. The car stopped beside him and Theo leaned over the truck's bed calling out, relieved, "Carmen!".
"Why did you leave me here," Carmen wondered, quite upset.
"You didn't leave because you got mad?" Velvette asked, now leaning over too.
"No, of course not. I went for a piss in the woods and when I got back, you guys were already away," Carmen explained.
"You should've told someone," Velvette clarified.
"I thought I wasn't invisible and that someone would notice," Carmen reasoned, emphasizing the word 'someone'.
"Oh, just hop in already," Elodie concluded.
"In front?" Carmen asked.
"Yeah. I'm sorry," Elodie apologized.
"Don't worry," Carmen hopped in and Elodie drove away. The fire was still spreading, its destroying power already had absorbed the whole city and its past with it.
"We should tell someone about the fire," Elodie turned to Carmen.
"I already did. I expected that y'all would want to tell someone," Carmen answered. Elodie turned back, the road rolled as far as an eye could see. She drove for a period of time that couldn't be recognised. However, it was long enough for Ethan to eventually fall asleep on Theo's shoulder.
"You should tell him that you like him, Theo," Victor said calmly. He sat across from Theo, his blonde sister next to him.
"I don't," Theo refuted "And he wouldn't like me back anyways," he added, more soberly this time.
"Come on. I saw the way you look at each other," Victor teased.
"Yeah. He's right for once," Velvette agreed. Theo went silent, but his mind lingered with thoughts filled with the worst options. He watched the stars dance in the night sky, how they twinkled; a beauty that couldn't be often seen in the other world, due to rapidly increasing light pollution.
"Hey, I can see buildings!" Elodie shouted as she drove over a tall bridge built over a wide river, curling underneath. This once blue, now red bridge evoked a memory from the back of Theo's mind. Not only that this was the city he used to live in, but this bridge, as mentioned once used to be blue, yet was painted over with red in 1968. The notion that this world was meant to be frozen in 1946 left him feeling disoriented in a mental haze.
"This world is stuck in 1946 right?" Theo make sure.
Velvette nodded in response, "Yeah. Why?".
"This thing about the bridge we just had passed… is off. It's supposed to be blue," Theo looked back, as they were getting further and the enormous bridge now appeared smaller from the distance.
"How do you know that?" Victor wondered.
"I used to live here," Theo paused. "I remember how it was painted over with blue in 1968".
"Maybe it was painted over twice," Velvette was convinced.
"No. My mom has a picture from the year 1946 standing on that bridge," Theo began.
"You can't know the color. Colorful pictures weren't often back then," Victor interjected.
"Let me finish. When she lived with parents, they had a lot of money to afford it. Plus my mom was like six when the picture was taken, and would color over the light color with the same color," Theo explained.
"Are you trying to say that the year…," Velvette realized.
"Is different in different parts of this world," Theo finished for her.
"Someone must have noticed before. There's no way Mrs. Agnes hasn't noticed before," Victor admitted. Ethan lifted his head, "Maybe the world's broken," he said wearily.
"You aren't asleep?" Theo asked.
"I was listening this whole time," Ethan answered.
"Wait. You weren't asleep?" Theo got nervous.
"No. I woke up when we got to this bridge," Ethan denied. Nervosity left Theo and he smiled.
"Elodie! Could you stop here?" Theo shouted. She stopped next to a park in the middle of a street surrounded by cubed apartment buildings, painted in shades of gray, creating a sad atmosphere.
"What is it?" Elodie asked, stucking her head out the window.
"I used to live just across the park. I want to get this photo there," Theo explained and Elodie nodded. "Explain the year thing to her and Carmen, Velvette," Theo stepped out of the truck's bed.
"Sure," Velvette agreed.
"Can I come?" Ethan questioned. Theo answered with a weak nod and entered the park.
The park was once a complex of various trees, but now, unfortunately, covered in dark matter. The park wasn't a large one, even though it managed to give a comfortable feel. It also had a small playground that used to be tinged with children's laughter and the sound of rocks crumbling under their feet as they ran around.
When Ethan and Theo were about to reach the middle they encountered a weeping willow tree, growing there. One strange thing about it was that it wasn't fully covered in dark matter, as if it was desperately breathing—still fighting to remain alive. The disgusting thick liquid—dark matter, was dripping from its long leaves, hanging down gracefully from the branches.
"That's weird," Ethan gazed.
"For some reason… It's living," Theo gazed at the tree on its verge of death. "We should go," he in the end added.
They got to the very end of the park, facing a gray building, with rough texture. The windows were a grid-like pattern, aligned vertically and horizontally to create a sense of order and uniformity. The door was levered out, so they could easily get in.
Theo led all the way up to the sixth floor. Apartment 143—the one where Theo used to live. Scary how the shoes placed in a small wooden shoe cabinet in front of the apartment still remained untouched.
Theo shakingly grabbed the door handle, considering whether to enter or not. Ethan placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You don't have to. I think they believed you".
"It's not that. I won't ever get a chance to go there again," Theo hesitantly opened the door.
The place wasn't welcoming, not because this world destroyed it, but because it had an eerie atmosphere before that will never disappear no matter how far time moves.
In the corner stood the same sad artificial Christmas tree Theo met in his dreams.
"I guess it's Christmas," Ethan tittered.
"It's not, we just never removed it. It haunts me," Theo chuckled, though uncomfortableness filled him. The place had broken bottles of alcohol all around the rug that covered the floor, some were even on the couch.
"Please don't laugh," Theo wept softly.
"Why would I?" Ethan reassured him.
"Thanks," Theo said with pure gratitude.
Theo picked up a box from a shelf above the television, opening it. It was filled with older and more recent pictures taken by his mother. Each photograph captured a special moment that would bring out a memory in someone's heart. He sat in the rung and browsed through them,
"Can I look around the house?" Ethan asked.
"Sure," Theo agreed.
Ethan entered a room that belonged to Theo. It was plain, only consisting of a small bed, a closet and a desk with a chair, both slowly falling apart. The widow had these dirty curtains that over-casted it. It had no decorations, no toys, no sense of joy. Though, there was a black Labrador plush fallen on the cold wooden floor, which Ethan picked up, tucking it under the thin blanket on the bed. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"I got the photo," Theo said, displaying the photo he had mentioned earlier.
"So we'll go now?" Ethan guessed.
"Yeah. I just want one more thing," Theo began. "We have some wine in the kitchen. We could take it".
"Yeah," Ethan agreed,
They took two bottles of wine and returned back, their eyes capturing the tree for the last time on their way back. When they got to the truck, everyone was seated in its bed, Elodie holding up the transmitter to her mouth. "I know. I've been here for over a year now".
"We'll do some research," A woman's voice that belonged to Mrs. Agnes spoke.
"What's going on?" Ethan stepped up on the truck's bed.
"Is that Ethan? I want to greet him," Mrs. Agnes insisted. Elodie handed the transmitter to Ethan.
"Hello, sweetheart," Mrs. Agnes said in the flirty tone that nauseated Ethan.
"You disgust me. Fuck you," Ethan immediately handed the transmitter back to Elodie. The others couldn't hear their short conservation, and Ethan wasn't going to explain either.
"Elodie, wait, please. I'll be right back," Mrs. Agnes said, her voice trailing off as she disconnected from the transmitter.
The faint hum of machinery filled the air, blending with the distant clatter of glassware and the soft beeping of monitors. Dr. Sallow approached her with a sense of urgency, his lab coat rustling with each step.
"Mrs. Agnes, we've got the blood test results," he said, his voice low but insistent. He led her to the newest piece of equipment in the lab, a sleek apparatus that emitted a soft, blue glow. Its connected display flickered with lines of data and complex graphs.The laboratory was a blend of old and new. Antique wooden cabinets lined the walls, filled with dusty tomes and archaic instruments, contrasting sharply with the cutting-edge technology that now dominated the space. Holographic projections of molecular structures floated in the air, casting an ethereal light that mingled with the shadows. Mrs. Agnes peered at the results on the screen, her eyes widening in astonishment. The data was unlike anything she had seen before
"This is extraordinary," she murmured, a mix of awe and determination in her voice. The overhead lights flickered momentarily, casting eerie shadows across the room. The scent of antiseptic and ozone hung heavy in the air, adding to the tense atmosphere."Start phase two," Mrs. Agnes instructed, her tone firm and decisive.