This story was co-developed by Titan127 and beta read by ShonnaRose.
[1-1] Yesterday
"I wish it was yesterday," said Kris.
Yesterday was a beautiful instant. Kris escaped it as quickly as she entered, wishing it the same tepid goodbye she had offered thousands of its ancestors. Her infant self, facing her first farewell, might have struggled, but she had honed herself since then. Knowing that her memory stood defiant of the passage of time, it was useless to wish back a day that had never truly left. But this was the first time she remembered wanting the reality, not the memory, to replay.
The morning fog finally cleared over the water. Damp grains nestled themselves beneath her toes as she swirled her bare feet absentmindedly through the beach sands.
Her hand had grown numb in the grip of her brother's as they sat together by the sea. When they stepped up to the waves an indefinite time ago, they agreed in their silence not to glance behind them at the villa wrapped in yellow tape and painted with emergency lights.
Neither of them twitched. Neither of them coughed. Neither of them did anything. She wondered if he heard her speak, or if his senses had lost their grasp of reality. She felt it slipping herself.
"I don't," he said. When she looked over at him, Saber tilted his head to the sand. "I wish it was tomorrow."
Yesterday was a beautiful instant, but today was a horrible eternity. Neither of them asked for today, but they would suffer its grip. She wouldn't wish it goodbye when the time came.
"When tomorrow comes, I'm going to find who murdered them, one-hundred percent. Even if I have to walk to the ends of Kibra."
A sickness bloomed in her stomach. She didn't know if she could join him. She wanted justice. She wanted peace. But the truest feeling in her body wanted her to rest.
Welcome to Minutes to Midnight. This story has been a long-time coming for me, as I first started planning it roughly five or six years ago now. Let's hope my waiting pays off.
This story is a sequel to two previous stories, but I tried to write as if this could be a jumping-on point for new readers. In fact, most if not all the works in this series were planned primarily around this story, and I wrote the protagonists with "soft reboots" in mind (both as a better introduction and to address some self-criticisms). This story does reference a number of past events, but I don't think a reader would be confused on a lot of the main plotlines.
Behind the scenes, I write a pretty decent buffer ahead of my posting. This is not so I can post quickly, but rather to give myself a buffer to fine-tune plot points along the way. So, I'll be posting as I complete chapters beyond the buffer. Also, my Beta for my previous story, ShonnaRose, is still on board and helping point me in the right direction. Another beta She was a huge help getting the first five chapters lined up.
Minor note: The characters used in the prologue chapter may not display properly on certain browsers.
As always, I appreciate comments for critique, for reactions, or even just to talk and speculate.
Next time is Part 2: Then Behind Me. See you someday!