Warnings: alcohol and substance abuse, major character death, suicide

Episode 16: Breakaway

Eagle Valley, Indiana, 2004 Elsa is 42 and 24, Anna is 21

Elsa appeared once more in her childhood home's laundry room in a flash of blue lightning. Wasting no time, she grabbed some of Iduna's dirty clothes and got dressed, then walked out into the living room where Agnar and Iduna were watching an episode of Lost in the living room. Both jumped in surprise.

Agnar clutched his chest, catching his breath. "Elsa! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Anna right now."

"I'm supposed- Papa, it's me. The older me, not your Elsa. Put your glasses on," she chided, then added with alarm, "Where is Anna?"

Iduna nervously looked at Agnar. "Anna… you- well, the two of you went to up to the city for that concert."

Elsa felt panic creeping up on her. "What city? What concert?"

Agnar stood up and walked to the kitchen cabinet, opening one of the doors. A calendar swung into view, and he peered at it carefully. "Ah, it's some indie band I've never heard of … Panic at the Disco? Up in Indianapolis."

Panic went from creeping to clawing at her soul. She was too late to save Anna; Anna was already at the concert and would be killed on the way home. "Papa! I told you not to let her get into a car on her birthday! What time is the concert?"

He squinted again. "You said not to let her drive! You- Elsa's driving. Anyway, it's… 8 PM? I think that's what's written on here."

Elsa looked at the clock. It was 9 PM now. She did some quick math in her head. It was a 90 minute drive from Eagle Valley to Indianapolis, but if she floored it, she could make it there. "Papa, there's no time to explain. I need to borrow your car right now."

"Elsa, what- what do you mean? I don't understand?" he sputtered before he noticed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

Iduna stood just behind him, looking at Elsa in dread. The look on Elsa's face was exactly the same as the one she had when Anna had gotten hit with a softball in the head at 8 years old. It was the look of a parent, a caretaker who was panicking that they had failed or were about to fail in their only duty: to protect their loved ones.

"It's tonight, isn't it Elsa?" she asked softly.

Elsa nodded. "Anna will die tonight if I don't save her. Papa, the car, please," she insisted.

"But- but-" Agnar continued to stammer. Iduna walked past him, grabbed the car keys off the tray on the center of the dining room table, and pressed them into Elsa's hands.

"Go, Elsa. Go save Anna."


"As I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor, And I can't help but to hear, No, I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words," Elsa sang loudly as she drove Anna's Kia Forte south on Interstate 69.

Anna belted out the next verse of the song. "What a beautiful wedding", says a bridesmaid to a waiter, And, yes, but what a shame, what a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore". She cackled with laughter at the lyrics as Elsa turned off the interstate onto Highway 144 towards Eagle Valley.

Both sisters were elated after a fun evening out at the indie band's tiny concert at the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis. They were celebrating Anna's 21st birthday and legal drinking age, with Elsa as the designated driver so Anna could have her first drinks ever.

Years ago, Elsa - Big Elsa, she called her to keep her separate from her sister - had warned her not to get in a car and drive on her 21st birthday, because she would be killed in a car accident. Over the years, she'd discussed that ominous prophecy with her sister, and they made a pact that at no point on her 21st birthday would she get behind the wheel. With Elsa driving, everything would be safe and she'd avoid that fateful accident that caused her big sister to break the laws of time and space just to apologize to her.


The drunk 22 year old pulled out of the Thirsty Turtle unsteadily. He'd had a few beers and a shot or two, and when the bartender had suggested maybe he wait a little while before driving home, he'd shrugged off the advice. He was fine, and besides, his trusty F-150 had never let him down.

A few beers was nothing to worry about anyway. He felt warm and only a little fuzzy; a good night at the bar always made him feel like time was slowing down, like he could finally relax and be himself. He dug around in the glove compartment for the little white tablets he knew were in there, finally finding one and popping it in his mouth. The upper would counteract the alcohol and he'd be in great shape to drive in no time.

He put on his blinker and merged onto Highway 144 northbound. Okay, maybe the shot he did wasn't the best idea, but he didn't feel like it was all that bad. Things just felt like they were moving a little more slowly than usual. Moments later, the first head rush from the upper hit him. He clumsily stepped on the gas pedal and smiled to himself. Now things were moving.


Elsa tore up the pavement in her father's Honda Civic, racing up Interstate 69 as quickly as she could. She groaned in frustration forty minutes later as road construction forced her off the highway at the Martinsville exit, putting her onto State Highway 144.

She knew the roads of Indiana like the back of her hand. She'd need to stay on Highway 44 for a few miles until it joined with State Highway 144. Once she got on 144, she'd be able to take it back to Interstate 69 and avoid the rest of the road construction.

Dread filled her stomach. She'd just passed a sign for Creekside and Hopewell, only 10 miles away. She knew that name, too.

Hopewell, ironically named, was the town where Anna died. She had to get to Anna before Anna reached the town.


Elsa and Anna drove down Highway 144, singing along to Kelly Clarkson's latest hit as they headed home. Anna was sobering up after her couple of beers and a single shot, belting at the top of her lungs with the radio.

"I'll spread my wings, and I'll learn how to fly, I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky, And I'll make a wish, Take a chance, Make a change, And breakawaaaaaaaaay!" she sang before turning to look at her sister.

"Hey Elsa?"

"Yeah, sweetie?" Elsa smiled, briefly looking at her sister and lover. They'd gone far beyond sisters a couple of years ago, and Elsa had never been happier in her entire life. She had it all in Anna - friend, lover, sister, confidante. Warmth and joy bubbled up inside her as she regarded Anna.

"What do you suppose this song is really about?"

Elsa reached out a hand and patted Anna's thigh. "Growing up and moving on in life, leaving behind the small town mindset, I think. Kind of like what we're doing. You just graduated from IU, I'm moving into a big role in my lab in Cambridge. We grow up - but we don't forget the friends we make along the way."

Anna grinned. "Friends and lovers, you mean," she awkwardly winked before bursting into laughter at her own silliness. After a few moments, she looked out the front window and scrunched her brow. "Hey Elsa… that car up ahead… isn't it on the wrong side of the road?"

Both sisters looked forward to see a wildly weaving truck in the distance.


Elsa tore down Highway 44. She tapped the steering wheel with nervous tension as she saw the interchange with Highway 144 in the distance. Filled with nervous tension, she turned on the radio to distract herself and hoped there were no police on patrol. She was going far, far above the 45 mile per hour speed limit.

The speakers in the Civic burst to life. "Out of the darkness and into the sun, I won't forget all the ones that I love, I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, And breakaway". She grinned softly to herself. Anna had hated this song. Then again, her Anna had hated almost all pop music; when she was sober, she'd accuse pop music of being mind-numbing dreck that perverted what real music was all about.

Elsa saw the pickup truck weaving up Highway 144 a few moments later. The driver was clearly unable to control the vehicle and was driving at least 60 miles an hour, possibly faster. Elsa turned her head to the left and saw a Kia headed southbound towards the weaving pickup truck.

Anna.

This was how it happened. This was how Anna died. The hit and run, the unknown driver. Anna would be flung from the car in the collision, her body broken.

She did some fast math in her head. They'd collide in less than 30 seconds, and Anna would die.

Unless.

She finished the calculation in her head and turned up the radio.

"I'll spread my wings, and I'll learn how to fly Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change And breakaway."

In that moment, Elsa felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. Guilt withered away, and her heart overflowed with happiness. Her lips moved of their own volition as she sang along.

Elsa broke into a joyful smile and floored the gas.


Anna screamed. "Elsa! Oh my god, there's another car coming!"

Elsa jerked the wheel hard to the right as a Honda Civic tore through the intersection ahead and t-boned the weaving pickup truck just feet from their car. She skidded past the two cars, narrowly missing the Civic, as the shriek of metal colliding with metal echoed behind them.

Anna had turned around in her seat and was inconsolably crying. Elsa pulled the Kia over to the side of the road and got out. Not 500 feet away, two mangled cars were crumpled, barely recognizable as vehicles, a small fire starting underneath the hood of the truck. Both were overturned, and moments later, the acrid smell of gasoline drifted on the wind to her.

The vehicles had collided and slammed into a service station.

She shouted for Anna to get down inside the car as she dove for the ground.

The damaged vehicles and the service station exploded in a massive fireball. Anna's Kia was far enough away that only the paint melted a little; the blast hadn't damaged the vehicle otherwise. She ran to the passenger side and pulled Anna out, then dug her Motorola RAZR from her purse and dialed 911.


After giving their statement to the police, the sisters finally arrived home an hour after they'd told their parents they'd be back. Agnar and Iduna were pacing frantically inside the house and practically tackled them the moment they walked in the door.

"Anna! Thank God you're all right," her mother tearfully hugged her. "I… I thought I'd lost you," she sobbed. Anna squeezed her mother tightly, finally allowing herself to break down in her mother's arms.

"It's all right, Papa. There was a terrible accident, but we weren't hurt," Elsa said, hugging her father. "We're safe, we're home safe. Anna's safe. Anna didn't die today."

Agnar looked out the window. "What about Elsa?"

Time stood still for a moment.

"Elsa?" Anna turned, shocked. "Wait, Elsa was here? Where is she?"

Heaving sobs wracked Iduna's body. "Elsa… Elsa came to try and save you," she wailed. "I- I- I condemned my baby girl to die! I- I- I gave her the keys."

"Elsa… Elsa was here…" Her eyes met her sister's as they both realized the implications of what had happened. Anna collapsed to the floor, shattered at the realization of what her sister had done for her.

"The other car… I knew it looked familiar." Elsa whispered, stunned. "That… was me. From the future." She numbly walked into the living room and turned on the local TV news to see a grainy video of the car crash scene. Firefighters were still battling the blaze at the gas station as the reporter glanced over her shoulder while talking to the camera.

"*Authorities in Franklin tonight are investigating a deadly car crash just south of Hopewell in Johnson County. Two cars collided with each other and then a gas station just off State Road 44. One driver has been established to have been 22-year old Kristoff Calavicci of Grissom, Indiana. The other driver and vehicle have not been identified yet."

Elsa turned back to her sister, sinking to the floor and holding Anna in her arms. "I… the other me… saved you. Saved us. She must have known that was the car that would have killed you and…" she choked back a sob of her own, "And she sacrificed herself so we would be okay."

Anna burrowed her face into her sister's shoulder, sobbing. "She- she loved me so much that she gave everything to save me."


The police arrived the next day, enough of the Honda Civic salvageable to identify the vehicle and its owner. Agnar did a credible job convincing them that the car had been stolen from the garage by mostly telling the truth. A mysterious stranger had shown up at their house, scared them, then taken the keys and driven off. The only truth-bending on his part was that the stranger wore a ski mask, so no one got a look at the intruder's face.

Elsa was shaken most of all. Every time she looked in the mirror, she wondered if the person in the reflection was her, or her mirror image from the future. Would she suffer the same fate? Would she have done the same thing? She desperately longed for a few more minutes with her other self to ask these questions.

Anna, on the other hand, found fearlessness. Knowing that her sister - in any timeline - loved her so much that she would willingly give her life to save Anna conferred on her a deep sense of purpose. She had to be worthy of the new lease on life given to her by her sister, to do something with her life that honored Elsa's sacrifice.


Author's Notes

Elsa did it. She saved Anna's life at the expense of her own and Kristoff's. Kudos to those of you who figured out from very early on that Kristoff killed Anna in the original timeline; I teased that with the empty beer cans in his F-150 way back in Chapter 1.

What happens to Elsa and Anna with their new lease on life?


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