The Time Turner Society { Undergoing Edits! }

Chapter 14:

"Well... I..." Eryl's face suddenly darkens. "I don't know. I can't remember." and he walks faster, until he's between the other boys and me. I sigh, looking down at my feet as we shuffle along.

Does that mean they're alive? Or just that Eryl never got news of their passing back in 2089? Maybe he truly doesn't remember, though I find it hard to believe. I'd known them less than he had, and there isn't a day or a turn that ever makes me forget they're gone. Or, could be gone. Are most likely gone.

Over time, the forest gives way to grass, and the grass gives way to the raked dirt of a crop field.

"The port is just on the other side of the town," Quentin calls back. I frown slightly. I don't see a town anywhere. I see a half-circle of crop fields surrounding a couple of run-down buildings, all of which are boarded up, some with broken windows. One of the buildings looks to be a gas station, and those haven't been around since the mid-2040's. As we draw closer, I can see that one of the other buildings has a cracked sign with a pint of frothing beer on it. No matter what disaster the world is in, there always seems to be a pub left standing. The wooden structure next to the bar has a neon sign on the door reading OPEN, with all but the E burnt out. On the ground next to the door is a large banner, covered in dirt and water stains and muddy boot prints. This one reads; Kids Under 12 Eat Free on Thursdays! A restaurant of some kind, then. Attached to the gas station on the right side is a dilapidated grocery store, every sign crammed between the glass and the boards of the windows proclaiming BARGAINS! Best prices in all of Knapsack! Three shack dwellings are scattered around the four businesses, and I get the eeriest feeling as we walk past them.

Suddenly, the bell on the gas station door chimes. I whirl around, my heart hammering away in my chest. A man steps out onto the uneven concrete. He wears a tattered white button-down shirt; a denim vest that matches his dusty jeans; and a pair of brown cowboy boots that look like they've seen better days. He's bald on top, but has a mile long beard of white tangles.

"'lo, boys." he calls, tipping an invisible hat to us. "Oops. And ladies," he amends. "What brings y'all back to Knapsack?" Knapsack? Is that really the name of this town? That sounds like a place you're stuck in, not a place you visit for holiday vacations.

"Just passing through, Oren." Quentin replies, smiling at the man. "Heading back to the Eastlands," Oren's eyebrows shoot up his forehead - they would have surely disappeared into his hairline, had he had one.

"This her, then?" the man regards me, his chocolate eyes kinder than I had expected.

Quentin nods. "Evaline," he says. Oren steps out from beneath the rotting awning of the gas station and reaches his calloused hand out to me.

"It's a pleasure, Miss Evaline. E'rybody in the Borderland from here to the mountains have been searchin' for you everywhere," I shake Oren's hand, but can't help but feel confused.

"Me? Why would they be looking for me?"

"We're not the only people Blayke has asked to find you, Evaline. The minute he can trust anyone, he asks them to keep an eye out for you. After he escaped the Structure, he lived in Knapsack for almost a year. He has hundreds of friends out in the Borderlands," Eros says. Oren nods, returning his gaze to me.

"Sure, sure. Blayke's a hero 'round these parts; e'ryone here was brought out of the Structure and the cities 'cause a him. We all figure, someone's that important to him, she should be that important to us, too." he pauses, as if a great idea has suddenly struck him. "Could y'all stay for dinner? No one'll ever believe me that Evaline Kai came through these streets without proof," I don't say a word, because I can feel the sob sticking in my throat and I'm afraid to open my mouth. Blayke really is what Eryl said he was. He's a hero here, and instead of focusing on all that, he used his resources to try and find me. To keep me safe and help me back to him.