Chapter I
A Day In The Life
The lines of the office were filled with smoke, ash and the smell of desperation from the fifty writers, errand runners and editors that thumped through the halls. A woman, tall and unseen, walked the dark hallways, her body lurched forward. Her eyes glued to a destination only she knew. How long had it been since she had come here, her own body running through these halls? The window did not break – and she did not fall – as she walked through it, only the images shifted. From a coffee and smoke-filled office to a bright seashore. The ocean stretching out for miles, glittering like diamonds on the sea.
"Sawyer?"
The woman turned, her smile easy and calm as if she knew he would be here.
Her fiancée, Oscar - someone who was easy to love.
His eyes were bright and friendly, his hair soft and black. He gave her a small kiss, at the center of her forehead.
"Are you alright?"
She closed her eyes, content to stay in his arms. How long had it been since she had allowed herself to see this memory. The one moment in her life where she had been without pain or anger. His body was warm and sweet around her. She had no reason to be afraid.
"I am fine"
Suddenly the light behind her eyes grew dark and she opened them to reveal a city impaired by smoke, no matter what happened, or where her memories led she always returned to New York.
"Sawyer we have to run!"
The sky grew dark as buildings crashed and she screamed as a car flew past her ear – the side mirror brushing the side of her head. Another crash of fire spun through the streets and Sawyer wanted to scream again. Oscar grabbed her face, his hands like claws around her cheeks.
"Sawyer!" he screamed "We have to run!"
The fire pulsed around her and she nodded frantically, dizzy.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the crowds and rubble. The creatures hovered like flies around them, buzzing frantically. The dived into an alleyway filled with rubble and trash.
"I am sitting on a piece of wet trash," she thought numb.
Strangely though even that was a comfort. The smell of rotting trash and the snores of a homeless man were comforting – because she knew what was going to happen next. Even if she tried to stop it.
"Sawyer we have to keep going!"
"We don't!" she yelled "We can stay here"
Her hands were frantically pushing and pulling him.
Stay, she begged, stay
Her sobs choked her even as her feet moved of their own accord - this future already set in stone.
"Run!"
They ran again down the sidewalk and she continued to cry.
There!
The thing grabbed her from her arms – his mouth open, teeth bared.
And he was gone.
The woman's body slammed against the ground, real tears running down her cheeks. Her body continued to shake as she sobbed.
"Sawyer?"
A pale hand laid, the fingers gentle and yet strong, on her forehead.
"Why do you continue to do this?"
The woman clutched the pale hand around her head – fear etched in her face.