i See the Future
Chapter 9: The Tragic Event
A/N: The long-awaited chapter is here! Sorry it took so long! Blame all my teachers! GRR! But next year one of my classes will be creative writing, so yay! Maybe working on Fanfiction stories will be HW! Probably not, but dreams can come true…Thanks for my 2469 hits right now! I don't own iCarly, or Pizza Hut. :) That sounds random…but since it is in the story, I have to mention it. This is my second longest chapter! I'll stop blabbering and let you read now…this is mostly in Freddie's POV.
For Freddie…
As Spencer drove them to the smoothie place Freddie trembled with dread. He was about to lose his life. And, almost just as important…He was about to lose Sam.
Freddie felt Sam shaking from his trembling because their shoulders were touching. Freddie was all set to go along with "The Plan". He thought he knew what was going to happen exactly, for he had read one of Sam's many diaries. He was wrong.
He had forgotten that everyone's future can always be changed in an instant…
For the future Sam…
The smoke spewed out once more. It blocked the future Spencer's view and stopped the future Sam's ability to breathe for just one moment. Then she was enwrapped in darkness, traveling from a dark existence to a lighter possibility. The smoke thinned and she realized she was now in the past.
The future Spencer stood in the attic, staring at the thinning smoke. It would be the last time the machine made any smoke…
Freddie opened the left car door. Spencer had parked the car in the parking lot used by both the smoothie place and the Pizza Hut on the other side of the parking lot. As everyone else got out of the car, Freddie looked around…there was the smoothie place, over there was the road, and on the other side of the road was the field.
"Freddie, were you listening?" Freddie stopped spacing out and looked at Spencer.
"I said that while I go inside and get the smoothies, that you guys could "hang out" by the tables out front." Freddie just nodded and followed.
Once Carly, Sam and Freddie were at one of the tables out in front, outside, and Spencer went inside, making the front door's bells ring, Carly brought up the topic of the future.
"Freddie, what happened that was so bad? It couldn't really be that bad, could it? Come on, now- we're your friends!"
"Carly, he doesn't want to talk about it! Maybe if you left him alone a little bit, then he would tell us. It might be something not entirely bad, but he hasn't gotten over the shock and he needs time alone."
Freddie was extremely grateful towards Sam. That was exactly how he was feeling, except the "something" he witnessed was very bad.
"Yeah…uh, I need to be alone, to think." Carly and Sam got up and went to another table. Freddie saw Carly kept nodding her head while Sam was shaking hers "no". They were probably arguing if Sam had a crush on him…
He was having second thoughts about his whole ordeal. Maybe he should just tell Sam he loved her right before he died…NO, he COULD NOT change the plan.
Freddie looked over his shoulder to see Carly walking from the front of the store to the sidewalk right beside the road.
"Hey Sam!" Carly shouted, "Look at that field! It has tons of marigolds! They're so pretty! Come on, let's go across and get some!" Carly motioned for Sam to follow. She looked both ways; there were no cars coming on either side of the road. Carly ran across to the field. She bent down and began plucking bright yellow-orange marigolds.
Freddie looked at Sam; she was rolling her eyes at Carly. Sam looked over at Freddie, saw him looking at her, and blushed. She looked away for just a second, as eyes often do when they meet another pair (especially if it is someone they like), but then maintained her gaze at Freddie.
"Freddie, I would really like to know what happens…"
"Sam, I already told you- I can't tell you."
"Can you tell me why you can't tell me?"
"I thought I already said- bad things happened."
"What bad things?"
"I can't tell you!"
"Sorry, Freddie, it's just that…think of our situation. We want to know, out of natural curiosity, what happens in the future that was so horrible and made you so upset. I don't want to make you relive any awful experience, but could you please tell me something other than "I can't tell you."?"
"Okay, well, something tragic happens…and we- you, me and Carly- are all changed forever…"
"Who's worse off?" Freddie stopped to think as a customer exited the store with her smoothie. He would be dead. But being dead isn't as bad as not saying goodbye to someone before they die…So maybe Sam? Or what about Carly? She seemed to live the "good life", but when there was so much remorse and she chose to ignore it, didn't that put her in a bad situation too? Sam seemed so much unhappier in the future, but Carly and Sam couldn't be compared in the future.
"Grief and ignorance cannot be compared."
"Freddie, I don't understand."
"You don't need to. Why don't you join Carly and pick some marigolds?"
"You're trying to change the subject!" Freddie turned away from Sam.
"Sam, you're acting like Carly!"
"No I'm not! What do you mean by that?"
"Just leave me alone."
"I know that something bad is gonna happens soon and that's why you're upset."
"And?"
"Freddie, please, we are friends…" The way Sam said "friends" sounded like she wanted to be more than friends, but Freddie had to ignore that. He couldn't let her know. Otherwise he wouldn't do it- go through with the plan. It was unfair and it made him angry. Unfortunately, he directed his anger at the only person nearby, Sam! He turned to face her once more.
"Now you really sound like Carly. Remember "Come on, now- we're your friends."?" Sam had a hurt look on her face.
"Well I guess that's a good thing!"
"What?"
"It's a good thing I'm like Carly, then!"
"What?...Why?"
"All you ever care about is Carly! Carly this and Carly that! Why don't you just go chase after her! That's all you ever do! Chase something that can never happen and leave me alone!"
Freddie was surprised and hurt. He knew she was embarrassed; her face was pink, because she had basically revealed her feelings for him. He wanted to comfort her. Everything was wrong. They shouldn't be fighting. Their last moments together should be spent…well, not fighting!
"Sam…" Freddie spoke lovingly, trying to comfort her.
Carly, hands full of marigolds, and bulging pockets yelled for Freddie from across the street. What great timing! Sam gave him a sarcastic "go ahead, and chase after her…as you always do" look. As Freddie looked at Carly, he realized, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that this was the very dialogue Sam had written in her diary.
"Freddie! Come over here! You won't believe this!" He looked from Carly to Sam. It was one of those moments where he had to choose between the two. And although he knew what Carly's response would be, had had to yell "Carly, come over here!"
From across the road, he could see her shaking her head no and motioning for him to come. She was annoying him. He used to find things like this cute before, but know he knew better. Sam was better.
He ran over to her in a hurry. He tried to make it seem like he wasn't glad to leave Sam, just that he wanted Carly to shut up or come over to them. He wondered if Sam would think that he was just running away from her and chasing Carly again. He remembered the next part from the diary and knew she wouldn't. (A/N: If you haven't already, you can look back at Chapter 6: Sam's Diaries. You can see Sam's account of what happened compared with Freddie's.)
As he ran across the road, he realized that Carly could wait. He needed to stop chasing after what couldn't (and wouldn't) happen. He was halfway there when he turned around. He focused on Sam. Carly called his name in confusion. She called his name many times. But he only saw Sam's blue eyes…Sam…then he realized Sam was shouting at him too, frantically.
Freddie remembered Sam's diary. His eyes were wide with horror as he realized what was about to happen. He turned to face the speeding car not even five feet away. He closed his eyes...and thought of Sam…
(A/N: Don't worry- it's not over for Freddie…yet anyways…Now it's the future Sam's POV. This is 10 minutes before the "Tragic event" occurs.
The future Sam stood in her old attic, or rather Carly's attic. It was weird to see it in tip-top shape, but she didn't have time to look around. She had to rush to the smoothie place. She had forgotten that the time machine would let her out in the past time machine. She thought she would end up at the smoothie place. Now she had no time to spare.
She went to open the door of the attic out into the hallway, but her hand went right through the doorknob. She was, to say the least, surprised. If she couldn't touch anything, how did Freddie write to her?
She now raced out the front door of the apartment. The lobby looked so new. The wood was bright and the paint wasn't peeling. There wasn't a navy tote bag hanging from the pegs by the building's front door.
To see the lobby in its present state brought back memories…Memories from the past that she wanted to forget, but needed to remember. As she ran along a track-less sidewalk towards the smoothie place, the details of Freddie's death became clearer in her mind. Soon she would be witnessing the tragedy again…
The future Sam sprinted as fast as she was able, invisible to passerby. The two-minute car ride would probably take five to seven minutes jogging. Her steps became more sluggish though the only thought on her mind was to hurry. She was totally spent, exhausted, fatigued.
Why was she this tired? She hadn't run very far, and she was in shape…then, just all of a sudden, she felt better. She must be emotionally tense. She was just nervous. The tired feeling was her imagination.
Within four more minutes she could see the smoothie place. She could make out the shapes of the past Carly, herself and Freddie. She was at the Pizza Hut, almost there. Carly ran across the street to the marigolds after looking both ways. The future Sam was not too late!
The future Sam was within hearing distance of her past self and Freddie.
"Okay, well, something tragic happens…and we- you, me and Carly- are all changed forever…" She heard Freddie say the sad truth.
She spaced out for a moment. She couldn't focus and was dizzy. She went to sit in a chair and was surprised that she didn't sink through it. She was materializing. Perhaps this had happened to Freddie? At the end, she would be fully in the past, just like Freddie had been fully in the future, and able to write.
That was good. She had originally thought she would be able to interact with the past from the time of her arrival onward. (She had set the time machine for only ten minutes in another dimension of time so she was materializing much quicker than Freddie had.) She needed to be fully materialized to go through with the new "Plan".
Now that she knew she could, she was scared to complete her planned actions. She was a living individual with a remarkable, functioning brain. Every organ worked to keep her alive. Why should she stop the number of heartbeats short of what her heart would naturally beat? Was it really better to live alone without Freddie, or to…no, she couldn't think about it…just yet.
And she wouldn't really…, right? No, she wouldn't. It was all planned out…by her mass of nervous tissue, her brain. Why should she limit the amount of thoughts her brain would think? Why was she so nervous when she knew it should all turn out right? Because things don't always go according to plan…
But her plan would! The future Sam was sure of it. Then why was she so scared? She told herself that she had to be brave, not only for her future sake, but for Freddie's.
The future Sam was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard Freddie yell, "Carly, come over here!" It was almost time. This was her moment. It all played out like the future Sam remembered them, seemingly in slow motion.
Freddie ran across the road without looking. If only he had, then maybe he would have seen the car at a distance, speeding towards him. Nevertheless, he ran until he got into the middle of the road.
And then, for some reason still unbeknownst to the future Sam, Freddie would turn around. He would look into her eyes…she would shout his name…he would turn to face the car with horror…his body would crumple…the idiot driver would speed away…she would rush over to his bleeding body…he would inhale his last breathe, not able to speak…she would be alone…with Carly, but alone…
Seeing the events play out in her mind almost made her miss her chance. Her trip here would have been for nothing. But she did notice, and started running after Freddie as he ran into the road.
She felt increasingly tired with each step. She would not let the tiredness get in the way of the urgency. She was fully materialized now and would be able to save Freddie. Freddie stopped in the middle of the road. He turned around to look at Sam and, to his astonishment, his eyes met, not the blue eyes of the present Sam, but the saddened blue eyes of the future Sam.
His face contorted in puzzlement and, in only two seconds, realized what the future Sam was about to do…what was about to happen…
Freddie shouted "No!" as the future Sam pushed him out of the way of the car's path. The future Sam knew what was about to happen…but she had did it; Freddie was alive. The future would be different now. She hoped dying wasn't as painful as it looked.
She closed her eyes…and thought of Freddie…
A/N: AHH! One last cliffhanger! So what happens? What did the future Sam mean by the future will be changed? If so, how will it change? What was Sam's reaction to seeing her future self? What was Carly's reaction to seeing a future Sam? All of these questions and more will be answered in the very last :( chapter entitled: A Vanished Future and a New Past. My very first story is almost over. Wah!
With all my purple fuzzleness,
the-purple-fuzzle
