The Girl From the Destroyed Future

Chapter two

"Hey mom, hey dad," I called as I hoped down the stairs towards the kitchen. "Good morning!"

"Morning, Cassie," my father greeted. "Your mother already left for work, remember? Today is the board's big presentation on their new meta-tech."

"Oh, ya," I said, "I forgot about that." My mood dropped a bit, thinking about the meta-tech, but I tried to keep in high spirits. "Today is Saturday, and I already have all my homework done!"

"Really?" my dad asked, an alarmed look on his face. His eyes darted to my arm, as if checking to make sure that the meta-dampener was still there.

"Dad, I didn't use my powers," I reassured him. "Although, it would be cool to have speed-thinking, and speed-reading, and just speed in general. I could finish everything ten times faster!"

"And you could be caught ten times faster," he said casually. I rolled my eyes.

"Any luck on finding that villain who escaped last month?" I asked, changing the subject to a matter I knew nothing about. "That speedster-guy?"

"No," my father said. "Which is what worries me. No one has spotted him, and nothing related to him has shown up on the CCPD's radar. Thawne has vanished."

"Interesting," I said, barely listening. "I'm thinking of heading over to Francine's house, in Starling City, just to visit for a bit."

"Nice," my father said. "Can you say hello to Iris for me, I haven't seen her in a while."

"Of course, and I'll make sure to tell Eddie that you miss him the most," I said, dissolving into giggles. My dad's confused face made me laugh even harder.

"Can you explain the joke, please?" he asked. I tried to say something, but I was laughing too hard to talk.

The conversation ended, and the room was filled with silence. The only noises were my crunching on cereal, and my dad shifting on the couch.

Then the screaming started.

At first it was faint, probably from a few blocks away, but soon it was closer and closer. My dad and I both ran to the window to see outside, and what I saw made me regret waking up.

As far back as I could see, houses, humans, dogs, and plants were disintegrating into blue light. The path of disintegration was coming straight for us.

"Not again," my father whispered. I glanced at him, my eyes wide, but he was already hurrying to the door.

"Grab your shoes, Cassie," I nodded in compliance and grabbed my footwear.

My dad took my arm and started to remove my dampener. He pulled it off, and I gasped as I felt a surge of electricity running through my veins. My mind started moving a mile-a-minute, wondering if this was what my dad had experienced most of his life, and questioning how he had given up such an amazing feeling. But then my dad took my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"Cassie, listen carefully. I need you to run as fast as you can. Think about 2025, and imagine that you are traveling there. Can you do that? "

"I don't understand," I mumbled. "What about you?"

"I have to find Cait," he whispered, fear in his eyes. He turned back to me and smiled. "I know you can do this, I trust you, Cassie."

"But what am I doing?" I asked.

"Take this watch," my dad said, hastily shoving an object into my hands. "Do not loose it, it will tell you how much time you have left."

"Till what?" I asked.

"We need to go, now," he shouted. He pulled me into a hug, and then he vanished in a flash of lightning. I gaped at the disintegration that was coming closer and closer, trying to wrap my mind around what was happening, but, even with my brain moving so fast, I was clueless.

With no clue what I was doing, I turned and started running away from whatever was behind me.

At first, I was running at the same pace as I usually did, but then the lightning sparked around me and everything became so much blurrier. Cars and buildings blurred in the sidelines, and all I saw was the road ahead of me.

Suddenly, I slammed into something, and I was thrown to the ground. My entire body screamed in pain, and it took me two minutes to be able to get up. I clutched the object my father had given me as I stared at the taxi car with a human-sized dent in it right in front of me.

Tears were starting to cloud my eyes as I stepped around the car and stumbled forward. Only when I remembered my instructions did I start running again.

Soon I was racing through the streets again at impossible speeds. I pushed myself harder and harder to gain a faster speed. My dad wanted me to imagine a year, but I couldn't remember which.

My mind picked a random year immediately.

A blue portal opened a few yards ahead of me. With no other options, I ran into it.