Chapter 1: Wake Me Up Before You Go
Sound came in tidbits, as did moments of consciousness. Julianna would catch a door open here, a muffled voice there…nothing she could put together in coherent pieces.
It wasn't until she was able to keep her mind focused for more than a few seconds that she really felt the fog she had been stuck in slowly start to lift. Energy began to creep back into her body along with a vague awareness.
She was in a bed, her bed maybe. There was a wet towel over her face and her eyes. She could feel the cold air from the ceiling fan blow on her dry skin. A dream…maybe everything had just been a dream.
Thoughts of home and sleep induced illusions quickly faded when she felt caked dirt in her hair and remembered lying face down in the jungle. She slowly moved her hand up and pulled the cold compress away from her eyes, bringing in rays of twilight and more feelings of nausea.
She could feel her stomach turn but before she could get up a man ran into the room with another cold towel and a trashcan. There wasn't any time to protest his presence or even think; before she knew it she was leaning over the side of the bed heaving with her head in a trash can and her hair in this mysterious man's hands.
"It's okay; get it all out of your system" he chanted as his hand moved in soft circles around her back and sent shivers up her neck. She sat still for a moment, her breathing labored, before she finally turned to look at the man who had just seen been witness to her purging first impression.
He was of taller stature and extremely dark features. His shadowy eyes stared at her with a fearful intensity. She couldn't decide if he was worried for her or afraid of her.
"Where am I?"
"You're safe" he said dabbing a cold towel on her forehead and around the sides of her mouth.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Richard" he said, placing his hand softly on his chest. "I promise I am not going to hurt you."
Julianna sat up and moved back on the bed out of Richard's reach. "How did I get here?"
"I carried you here. I found you passed out in the middle of the jungle."
"How did I get there?"
Richard stared at Julianna for another moment as if he was trying to figure out what she knew from the lines in her face and the uneasiness in her eyes.
"There are some clothes over there on the dresser and a bathroom right on the other side of that door. Why don't you get cleaned up and meet me in the living room."
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed the back of her neck unsure of what to do. It didn't appear she really had a choice. She could dart past him and run, but where would she run to? She didn't even know where she was or how to get home from here.
"Okay." Julianna nodded to Richards's satisfaction. She watched as Richard walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror before making it to the bathroom, she quickly came to the conclusion that she looked like absolute shit. Mud was caked in her long blonde hair and in all of her clothes. Her blue eyes stood out in contrast to her exceptionally filthy skin. Getting clean sounded pretty good in that moment. If she was about to die, at least she would enjoy the luxury of a hot shower first.
Wiping off steam from the mirror, Julianna grabbed the pair of jeans Richard set out which surprisingly fit her almost perfectly. She grabbed the black shirt off the bottom of the stack and slipped it over her head.
"Miami Central University Medical Research Center" she read from the front of the t-shirt. For some reason, she doubted she was anywhere near Miami. She wondered whose clothes she had on.
Julianna pulled her hair out the towel she had it wrapped in and combed her fingers through her hair before heading back into the bedroom. She cracked the bedroom door and caught Richard staring out the front window, lost in whatever it was he was contemplating. His focus was broken when he noticed her standing in the doorway.
"Feeling better?" Richard asked with genuine concern.
"Physically" she said with a half smile. "Mentally, I will be better once I know what the hell is going on." She walked over to couch and sat down, ready to plead for some answers.
She didn't have to though; it was Richard who quickly started talking. "I don't even know where to start" he said rubbing his eyes. "Do you remember anything before you woke up in the jungle?" he asked, staring at her once again.
"Absolutely nothing" she said, upset that she was clearly at a disadvantage in the information department.
She watched as Richard walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up what looked like a necklace. He walked over and held his hand in front of her before letting it fall through his fingers.
"You don't recognize this do you?"
Julianna took it her hands as the chain fell and examined it for a moment. Her eyes followed the silver chain all the way up to what appeared to a compass. Across the front of the casing was a small inscription.
"J –So you can always find your way home" Julianna read before looking up at Richard who was obviously hoping it was spark some sort of memory….it didn't.
She pushed the small dial on the side and the silver casing popped open to reveal an intricate compass sitting next to a picture of Julianna with her arms around a beautiful blonde woman. She looked happy and healthy, greatly contrasted to her current state. The woman with her looked happy as well. She had this woman's eyes.
"That's me, but who is this?" she asked, turning the compass so Richard could see it. Her initial feelings had moved from worry to absolute terror within a matter of moments. She didn't know why she was so scared, but her heart felt as if it was going to jump through her throat.
"That's your mother" Richard said.
She searched her mind from one side to other trying, in any way, to hunt down some sort of memory of this woman but she couldn't find it. There it was in picture proof and she couldn't remember. Tears threatened to fall, but she refused to let them.
She threw the locket back at Richard in an effort to distract him from seeing her red-rimmed eyes. "That's not my mother, I would recognize my mother."
"She hasn't given birth to you yet."
Those seven words hit her like a blow to the chest. "What do you mean she hasn't given birth to me yet? How the hell am I sitting here if I'm not even alive yet?"
"The island brought you here" Richard said stepping back in anticipation of a fierce reaction.
Julianna couldn't do anything but laugh. She stood up from the couch, crossed her arms and paced back and forth trying to make sense of the unimaginable.
"So let me get this straight…I am standing here in your living room in God knows where…"
"Island, you're on an island"
If look could kill Julianna's piercing glare would have cut Richard in half "I am standing here in your living room, on an island, but I am not really alive because I haven't even been born yet. I have this locket, which my mother gave to me, but it doesn't matter because I can't remember her and I can't remember her because the island brought me here from the future. Did I get all of that correct?"
"I know this whole thing sounds crazy but you were brought here for a purpose. It wasn't just circumstance.""
"What purpose?"
"Can you please sit down, you're making me nervous" Richard said, gesturing towards the couch. Julianna rolled her eyes and sat back down dropping her head in her hands. "Go ahead.'
"You're here because you have to save your mother"
Her eyes shot up to meet his. "Save her from what?"
"I don't know" Richard replied. He could see the hesitance and confusion in her face, so he walked over and sat down on the coffee table mere inches away from her. "I don't know all of the details Julianna, I wish I did but I don't. All I know is that you are here because the island's keeper, Jacob, believes in you and what you can do. If your mother dies, she can't ever give birth to you and that would keep you from fulfilling your purpose."
"Why do I have to be the one that saves her?"
"I wish I could tell you" he replied genuinely.
Julianna jumped up from her seat and walked towards the door cracking it open. "Well let's go talk to this Jacob and we can ask him his opinion on the whole situation."
Richard moved from the coffee table to the door in a matter of seconds. His body slammed the door shut and prevented Julianna from taking another step. "You can't speak to Jacob and you can't go out there. Nobody but me knows you're here and if they see you they will kill you."
"Who is they?"
Richard stared at the ceiling and then back down to the floor as if her incessant questioning was exhausting him.
"They are the people within this community. We control this island and if they knew you were here, they wouldn't understand. They would take you captive or worse kill you."
Julianna turned around and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. This was too much for one person to take. Her tears were no longer a threat… she couldn't hold them back any longer.
They streamed down her face leaving tracks of unanswered questions and her voice lost its earlier intensity. "Where is my mother?"
"A few months ago a plane crashed on the other side of the island. There is a group of survivors who set up camp there. Your mother was one of us but she fled with one of the survivors of the crash."
"What about my dad?" If her mother was on the island, surely her father would be too.
"All Jacob gave me was the locket. There wasn't any indication on it or from Jacob who your father was."
"Any they won't kill me?" she asked wiping tears from under her eyes.
"Not if you can convince them of who you are."
Realization sunk in. "My mother doesn't know me yet does she?"
"No, she doesn't" Richard replied, placing his hand on Julianna's shoulder as a gesture of support.
"Why didn't you kill me when you found me?" she asked walking away from him and taking a seat at the breakfast bar before she lost her footing.
"Because Jacob asked me to protect you."
"Do you have any idea how insane this whole scenario sounds? I don't know you but I have to trust what you're saying because I have no memory to go on though all of this sounds completely ridiculous."
Richard walked up to the bar and put his hand under Julianna's chin, lifting her eyes to his. "I know I can't tell you much, but I promise you I won't let anything happen to you" and Richard meant that. Jacob had given him strict instructions to keep her safe and he planned to see this through whether he had any idea about what was going on or not.
Julianna moved her face and Richard consequently let go of her chin. She didn't know why she let him touch her in the first place but for some strange reason she trusted him."What do we do now?"
"You'll have to wait here while I run to the main barracks. It's almost sun down and when it gets dark I will take you to the beach where your mother is. You'll be safer there than you will here. I grabbed a bag of her stuff from her house that you can take with you. You'll need clothes."
"Is this her shirt?" Julianna asked, smoothing out the wrinkles on the bottom of it.
"Yes. That's the research company she worked for. Your mother is an incredibly intelligent woman. We were lucky to have her."
"Why did she leave?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions" Richard said snatching up a satchel from the floor.
"It should be expected from a chick with no memory."
"Touche" Richard replied smiling before checking the window near the door.
"There is food in the kitchen. You can't eat whatever you want just don't go outside" he warned with a life threatening sincerity. "Stay away from the windows as well. I will be back in an hour, be ready to go."
"One last question, I promise."
Richard nodded in exhausted approval.
"What her name, my mother's name?"
"Juliet…Juliet Burke."
Julianna nodded at Richard before he hurried out the door and locked it behind him.
A/N: Thank you so much to EvilEmi and eyeon for you kind reviews and to everyone else who took the time to read the Prologue. I know there wasn't much action in this first chapter, but I had to set the foundation for the rest of the story. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. Keep on reviewing sending me your thoughts on things; I love hearing it! Special thinks to eyeon for your comment! I hadn't thought about Miles role in the story but I created a role for him I think your going to like.