Time's Mirror: A CHRONOS Files Novella (The CHRONOS Files) by Walker Rysa

Author:Walker, Rysa [Walker, Rysa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-30T07:00:00+00:00

5

EDISON AND FORD WINTER ESTATE

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA

June 16, 2024 6:01 a.m.

I feel the change in the air on my skin before my eyes open. Everything smells real here—earthy and alive. A soft buzz surrounds me. Crickets, maybe.

When I open my eyes, I’m near the back of the banyan tree. The aerial roots hanging down around me make it look more like dozens of trees instead of just one. Closer to the building, I see the guy on the bench, still looking down at whatever is in his hand.

Farther away, Saul—if it even is Saul—moves at a rapid clip toward the gate. The burqa fans out behind him as he rushes past the information booth, unmanned at this early hour.

I slip the key into my back pocket and take off toward the gate, dodging banyan roots as I go.

But someone calls my name before I even clear the tree. It’s the guy from the bench.

How in hell does he know my name?

I ignore him and keep moving. Saul is about to turn onto the sidewalk that runs along the white picket fence bordering the estate. If I don’t hurry, I’ll lose him.

A hand grabs my upper arm just as I reach the outer edge of the banyan. “You need to wait, Pru.”

I give one confused look back at the sidewalk, but I can’t even see Saul now due to the tall shrubs. At that moment, a wave of dizziness hits me and I lean against one of the tree’s twisted prop roots for support.

I can feel the bark of the tree against my back. I can feel this idiot’s fingers digging into my upper arm. I know these things are real.

But I also remember when he didn’t stop me. I didn’t hear him yell my name, and I didn’t get socked in the stomach with this…whatever this dizzy sensation is. I picked up my pace and caught up to Saul less than half a block outside the gate.

My mind insists both of these things happened. But that’s impossible. Right?

“Prudence? You need to listen, okay? Following Saul is a bad idea. You did that once, and yeah, it eventually works out, sort of, but this way will be much faster.”

He’s talking like I’m a child. Not a very bright one, either.

“Who are you?” I take several quick steps backward, away from him, nearly tripping over my feet in the process. “How do you know me?”

After heaving an overly dramatic sigh, he smiles. The expression reminds me of the tiger from that Jungle Book movie Deb dragged me to the theater to see last summer. I don’t trust that smile, not one little bit.

“It’s complicated,” he says, stretching the smile even wider. “The name is Simon. Saul—and you, actually—sent me here to make your adjustment go more smoothly…”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to reconcile another memory as it floods in. Or is it a memory? It’s like it’s happening now, at the same time this guy is talking.

I catch up with Saul. I grab his sleeve and he shoves me backward, into the fence and takes off running.

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