The Storm Before the Storm: A Novel of Preparedness and Survival (American Sundown Series Book 1) by Joe Russell

Author:Joe Russell [Russell, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-28T22:00:00+00:00

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Dave awoke in a strange place for the second time that day. This time, on a beach. He was barefoot, wearing nothing but a swimsuit and sitting in a beach chair with his toes half buried in the sand in front of him. He regarded the scene before him and recognized all of it. It was definitely his swimsuit, and as a matter of fact, his chair. Actually, the whole thing seemed awfully familiar, unlike the hallway full of lighthouse portraits. No, this was real life for sure. At least, a memory of it.

He turned to see Sandra on the chair to his right, a book in her lap. She was wearing a sun hat and sunglasses, and didn’t seem to notice him looking at her. He reached over and put his hand gently on her leg, and she put her hand on his without looking away from her book.

“Let’s take a walk,” he said. She didn’t respond for a minute and although there was no way for her not to have heard him, it made him wonder if she didn’t hear him. After a moment, she folded the paperback shut and dropped it flat in her lap.

“Where to?” she asked, turning to him.

He spoke without thinking about it, as if his actions were already programmed and he was just there to watch from a first-person perspective.

“To the lighthouse.”

The two got up and walked down the beach, hand in hand. Sandra’s parents were nearby, so they didn’t worry about their stuff. Dave knew where they were. Every year, Sandra’s family took a trip to the Outer Banks and this was the trip of 2012, almost exactly six years ago. He recognized the beach, the houses on the other side of the dunes, and the black and white Cape Hatteras lighthouse in the distance. He remembered this walk well enough to know it was a mirror copy of the real thing, as if he had been transported back in time to live it again, only with the knowledge and experience of having already been there. He concluded that this was a vision of some kind and not the real thing all over again, and tried his best to go along with the ride, weird as the whole thing might be.

They walked along the sand just talking and to Dave’s amazement, he recalled most of the conversation as it was happening. He and Sandra were engaged and were to be married that September. She was younger, having just finished college and presumably he was too, although he obviously couldn’t see his own face. It was strange; he was thinking his own thoughts, but his body was acting out all the events that had taken place six years earlier. He focused intently on Sandra every time his gaze turned to her and wondered how differently he felt now than when his eyes had first fallen on her when this memory had actually been in the present. He had loved her then, but more in the romantic way that young people loved each other.

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