Here's my bright idea, I'll just disappear. I'll just fly away from here.
Which is exactly what I did. Lets start at the beginning. It's always the best place to start I find.
I met Arthur and Dom at college. I was rooming across the hall from them and we had some pretty wild parties. Frequently attended by the boys. Arthur was always the smug one with that sly grin, Dom the cute one. However Dom was dating my cousin Mal, so my raging hormones pointed me in the direction of the sly fox, his manners and well groomed appearance made him a major hit with the ladies whilst his quick thinking mind and ability to retain and gain information took him into the highest ranks in the classroom and as I was soon to find out the bedroom too.
It was no strings attached. Just something to keep the hormones at bay. Nobody's feelings got hurt and no ones toes trodden on, it was win win. The situation remained that way until we left college and went our separate ways. For a while I dithered, unsure of what to do with myself. Until one day on a train ride too London I stumbled into the world of extraction, almost literally.
It was late evening and the nights had started getting colder, I pulled my coat a little tighter, hoping to ward off the cold night air. The train was practically empty, myself and only one other residing in this particular carriage. I glanced up and down the carriage, checking to make sure the guard wasn't coming too check tickets, you see, I didn't exactly have one. Gradually I began to doze, dreaming of better days and of my childhood. A sharp bang awoke me from my slumber, that sound signified someone entering the carriage, a quick glance told me I needed to get out of their and fast! I grabbed my bag and walked swiftly in the opposite direction of the guard, hoping to escape unseen. A shout from behind me told me I was unsuccessful and I began to sprint through the next few carriages, looking for somewhere to hide out till London. The guard was closing in behind me, calling me to stop if I could just get through this last carriage I could jump off the end of the train. The door was locked. But there are people inside I thought frantically as I shoved against the door, trying desperately to open it, the guard had just reached the carriage I was in as I slammed my body into the final door, the force of it causing the door to fly open and me to be propelled forward with a great force, landing on the ground hard, knocking the breath from my body in the process. I was so stunned that for a moment I didn't move until I saw the gun pointed in my face. My brain refused to function, all I could do was gawp at the gun and breath heavily, wheezing painfully as I did so. The guard was stood stock still, hands in the air in surrender. I squeaked as a gunshot rang out and someone fell to the floor behind me. I was never one for religion but I prayed to god then for my life to be spared. "Up." a masculine voice commanded. So opening my eyes for the first time since the gun went off I hastily stood up and then stared at the floor. Wishing it would swallow me up whole. A laugh broke out, soon joined by another and so I gingerly looked up. There were three gentleman sat in business suits, all ordinary looking apart from the fact that at least two of them carried a gun. On the table in front if them was a silver briefcase with a combination lock on the front. I recognised the design from college, it was what they used to hook themselves up into dreams. A transporter to your own personal reality as Dom and Arthur had always said.
"Now young lady you give us quite a predicament, we could shoot you and throw your body out with the guards or seeing as you are familiar with our equipment you can help us out and then when we don't need you we will kill you"
"Is there an option where I don't die? I mean I know every dies sometime and this isn't a dream so I won't wake up if I die, I wont even go into limbo-"
"-Just how exactly do you know about limbo?"
I then went on too explain about college and the boys although never by name, not knowing who these people were exactly. After my explanation the gentleman talked amongst themselves quietly then told me to sit down, keep my mouth shut or else, and besides I might learn something along the way.
The gentlemen were a crude team of extractors, getting paid millions to steal information from people's minds, often unsuccessfully. And if things didn't go well, we skipped town and laid low for a while. We all carried our fair share of scars from when jobs went wrong and angry millionaires sent hit men after us. My main job in the extraction was point man, basically the master planner the one with all the info and also to help with the main extraction along with one of the gentlemen. The other two were the architect and the forger. Together we made a heck of a lot of money to which they always squandered on booze and cheap women.
We were together for four years until one night when a job went horribly wrong, we attempted three levels deep, the boss wanted an idea planted not extracted. It was called Inception. Right from the word go I was opposed to the idea but they needed the money and wouldn't be able to pull it off. W had our mark our perfect setting but when we returned to the real world our mark didn't. Something had gone wrong. He was still alive just not responding to anything. It was time to split so we grabbed our equipment and ran. Two of the gentlemen were killed on the escape from our location, the other lasted a week before they took him out. I knew my days were numbered but I had to get out of there or die trying. By some miracle I made it out of England alive. A gunshot wound to the shoulder, four broken ribs and multiple gashes later. Whilst I dreamt one night of happier times, I saw Dom and Mal and Arthur. Last I heard Dom and Mal were married and expecting a child. When I awoke the memory of the us all together was still so fresh that I set myself off in their direction.
It took near on two weeks to barter my way there but I managed it somehow, by then many of the gashes had healed and the gunshot wound was scabbed over though by the temperature I was running I guessed it was infected. The ribs were still troublesome but the worst was over. I don't know what I was expecting when I turned up at their house but I certainly wasn't expecting to have the door slammed in my face. I banged on the door repeatedly until an elderly man answered the door, he seemed kind enough and so I explained about being Mals cousin and spending my college years with Dom. He questioned as to why he hadn't seen me before, snappily I asked him the same question, commenting that I must have the right house because otherwise I would have been turned away by now and ranted at the lack of hospitality when the men stopped me in my tracks with two words I would never forget. They were spoken softly, with real compassion. Something that I heard not heard in a long while. Those two words echo now in my skull as I sit here and write this.
"She's dead"
Unforgettable. No matter how hard I try. Resonating like slinky on a never-ending staircase. Forever moving. And if it stops? What happens then?
With those words burned into my mind my body and strength gave out and passed out on the front porch of my dead cousins house.
I awoke three days later to the smell of hot chicken soup. Something that reminded me of home. Home. Not my home. Not my bed. Panicked I shot up, my breath coming in gasps as my ribs set a flame. Gasping for air, my eyes close to tears from pain and clutching my side I rolled out of the bed and onto the floor where I lay trying to calm myself, trying to make sense of it all. Footsteps pounded in my ear as I lay on the carpet waiting for the pain to subside. A pair of slippered feet came into view followed by another and two pairs of hands lifted me up and back onto the bed. The couple helped straighten me out on where I was and what was going on, offering me the use of the room until I was well enough, as apparently I was family. They were Doms parents; they were looking after the kids until further notice.
Over the following days I recovered sufficiently to be able to move around and so set about planning a route to find Dom. It wasn't right, the story they had told, Dom would never have killed Mal, he wouldn't hurt a fly. I had to know the truth. I wasn't always that close with Mal but during college we really came together and I began to think of her as more of a sister.
With the help of Doms mother I managed to find a rough location for him, he had contacted his father just that morning, looking for someone to help with a job. So with my bags packed and after swearing to the kids that I'd come back again soon, I set off to find them.
As soon as I reached my destination I set off in search of Doms father. He wasn't too hard a man to find but he didn't necessarily want to give me too much information. It took a lot of persuading but after a good hour he finally gave me a rendezvous point and the chase began again.
It led me to an old warehouse, dank and neglected. Perfect place for a meeting. Voices were coming from the floor above me so cautiously I made my way, up careful not to make any noise, just in case I had stumbled upon a gang meeting or something of a similar irk. It was them all right, Dom sat in a chair to the right, talking with the other occupants of the room, he looked old and tired, nothing like the boy I remembered. I moved myself to the left slightly and caught a glimpse of another familiar face. My heart caught in my mouth, my blood froze and the whole world shook beneath my feet. Arthur. He looked more handsome then I had ever dreamed, his hair slicked back, suit and tie. Fresh faced and clean, ever the gentleman. Just seeing him there like that made me feel weak at the knees, my stomach turn and my mouth to ash. I wanted to go in, reach out to them both but I couldn't reality held me back and so I turned and walked out the door. I hated myself so much for my cowardice that I was sick. My ribs pained more then ever now. There was only one thing for it. Alcohol. I found the nearest bar, sat myself in a corner and readied myself to drink the night away. A few men tried their chances but they werent getting anywhere and quickly lost interest after a while. One gentleman however, who had a truly gorgeous accent would not take no for an answer, he was after all very charming and quite handsome too, although the amount of alcohol in my system at the time I would have thought anyone handsome. But he seemed decent enough and in the end we headed back to his hotel room. In the state I was I found his manners laughable and clearly expressed that opinion. Soon enough, despite the pain, which was now becoming quite apparent I was giggling like a schoolgirl.
Angry neighbours banged on the wall a few times but it only made us laugh harder. Finally things began to get heated and just as we were both down to our underwear an annoyed young man stormed in through the door that young man was Arthur.
Hurriedly we separated and I went fumbling for my clothes trying to cover myself up, keep my face hidden, praying he wouldn't recognise me. Arthur and the man I came back with, whose name was apparently Eames, which is strange because I'm sure he said he was called Steven or something... Anyway I dressed as quickly as I could with my back to the guys, they were arguing properly now "this is our hotel room, you cant expect to bring some whore -no offence- back without at least warning me!" shouted Arthur to which Eames tried to reply but he just carried on "I bet you don't even know her name! Or even anything about her." his rant was coming to an end now, the edge of his tone had began to soften and no doubt the small crease in the middle of his forehead would begin to show as his resolve softened, then he would take a deep breath, roll his shoulders and be back to himself again. Now was the time to exit, in that moment just before he regained sight of himself. So stealing my nerve I slipped past Eames, eyes averted to the floor and holding my breath walked past my former lover and towards the door. As I stretched out my hand and made to grab the handle his voice called out to me "where did you get that tattoo?" oh pants I thought. I had a tattoo of the word Lucky with a large star attached to the tail of the Y. It was a nickname given to me during college and one night after a heavy party they all somehow persuaded me to get it done. My voice was caught in my throat, frozen in that position, trying to reach for the door handle; I had no plausible excuse for it. A few tears threatened to fall as he repeated his question, a little firmer this time. I still couldn't bring myself to answer and shook my head as a few tears fell. "Eliana?" he said no anger in his voice; it was spoken quietly with a small hint of hope. More tears fell and I dropped my hand from the door. Taking a deep breath I turned to face them, eyes on the floor, tears and no doubt make up running down my face. Arthur stepped forward, searching me with his eyes. I couldn't think of anything to say my mind was blank so I said the first thing that came into my head "hi" I whispered, feeling so ashamed that he was seeing me like this, this mess. "Why are you crying you silly thing?" he questioned pulling me into a hug, that moment was like a light bulb being switched on in the dark of night, everything became clear, everything I had gone through in the 6 years we had been apart had lead up to this one perfect moment. Only it wasn't perfect, I was getting mascara on his jacket, my ribs were screaming at me and he was such a good guy, I didn't deserve to be like this, in his arms this way. So I pushed him away. Claiming I was making his suit dirty, smiled at him through my tears and headed for the door again, he questioned my actions and I told him, it was late, I was drunk and had to get back before I got locked out of my hotel room. He insisted on walking me there, he always was stubborn when he wanted something.