Entry 5;
Well, I'm still here. Spring's just started, and we've been doing okay... so far. I've honestly grown attached to the new friends I've made, and I think I may be meeting more, at least soon. I've told Jack, Jill, and Jane about some of the fillers and kept this a secret, while only showing Jeff and Toby the first entry of this to explain what happened.
Oh, also! I found out why Toby and Lyra's names were so familiar. It's because they were in my own timeline, and had been Mark and I's best friends for a long time. Or, they were.
I'm hoping soon that Toby and Jeff get to meet the other three. I think they'd get along—at least decently, if not well.
We also haven't seen anything of the other three silhouettes from the fire/my nightmares. At least they haven't been following us.
Jack has also been doing quite a bit better. He's not as jumpy as he was that week; I honestly think none of us are as jumpy as we were that week.
I still have Toby's jacket, since he told me to keep it. I've seen a corner store I need to stop by and grab something for him in to repay, but I haven't exactly had the time, with the constant rain and whatnot.
But I think today's the day I get to do that.
At least, I hope.
Sincerely,
You
I was on my own and was making my way towards the corner store mentioned in my diary entry when I signed off and sat it in my bag, looking around as I pulled it a little tighter around my shoulders. I pushed through the door, hearing a bell chime softy as I looked around.
"What can I help ya' with, lass?" A man asked, his voice thick with a Scottish accent. I gave a kind smile, stepping over. "I'm looking for something to repay a friend with." I replied, giving a gentle nod. The man nodded, putting his own smile on his face.
He was maybe in his late sixties, and his hair was thinning and graying in places. His eyes had a bright green, while his smile was contagious. He seemed like a nice man.
"Aye, Nichols!" He called, and within seconds, a young boy stumbled into the room. "Yeah, Boss?" The boy asked. His hair was thin and brown, while his skin was a slight tan. His eyes were chocolate brown, and he was well muscled for a kid his age—which happened to be around eighteen or nineteen.
"Why don't you help this lassie?" The older man suggested, and the boy turned to me before nodding. "Sure." He smiled, stepping over before quickly handing me his hand. I shook it quickly. "I'm Jack Nichols." He introduced, and I nodded. "I'm Synnova. An old friend of mine and I bumped into each other earlier this year, and he lent me a jacket to keep. So, I'm looking for something to repay him with." I shrugged, and Jack chuckled as he nodded. He led me over to a used item section, holding his hand out. "I'm sure you might be able to find something he might like here. If not, let me know. I'll be right here—and mostly because some of the shelves like to fall, so be careful." He warned, earning a laugh from me as I nodded and walked towards the shelves.
My eyes caught a pair of orange steampunk goggles, as well as a black mouthguard with a painted smile. I turned to them, glancing around the shelves before gingerly reaching over and picking them up. "I think this will be alright." I said, turning to Jack as he nodded. He led me back to the counter before stepping behind it, ringing up the goggles and mouthguard.
"Five nineteen." He smiled brightly at me, and I fished a ten dollar bill from my pocket, handing it over. "Keep the change, seems like you might could use it." I chuckled, and Jack nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate it." I waved the formality off. "It's nothing."
While Jack bagged my purchase, my phone buzzed in my pocket, so I reached into it and pulled the small flip-phone out to see a text from Toby.
T.E; i see you made a new friend
You; Well, nice to know your stalking me.
T.E; meh
T.E; its fun
You; 'Fun?' What's that supposed to mean?
T.E; no idea
I rolled my eyes, and turned back to Jack before smiling as I took the bag as he handed it over. "Thank you. I might be seeing you around." I said, and Jack gave a curt nod before waving as I left. And I could have sworn I heard him say 'that might be a little sooner then you think.'
I looked around, crossing my arms. "Alright, Toby, come on out. I already know you're near." I rolled my eyes, and felt arms wrap around my shoulders. "Hi." Toby said sarcastically, earning a laugh from me as I squirmed out of his grip and looked at him. "What was that for?" I asked, and he shrugged. "I wanted a h-hug."
A smile grew on my face. I'd heard that line so many times before. I reached into the bag, pulling out the goggles and mouthguard before handing them to him. "I thought I'd get you something since you let me have your jacket. So... here." I smiled, and he took them before exchanging his scarf for the mouthguard and resting the goggles on his forehead. "Thank you!" He said excitedly, giving a childish smile.
I already knew about his bipolar actions, so this wasn't exactly unusual. Not only that, but we had even grown a little closer over the last of the winter.
"No problem, T. So, how's Jeff been doing? Have you found Liu? And how are you holding up?" I asked, and Toby laughed as he began walking with me back to the 'base.'
"We're doing g-good. We found L-Liu, yeah, but he and J-Jeff got into a little b-bit of an argument." He explained, giving a slight twitch and a ticking noise hit my ears as he did. I looked towards the forest and nearly lost my balance, but quickly regained it as I walked beside Toby.
"Hey, Toby? Uhh... Out of curiosity, do you see a really, really tall man in the forest? Wearing a suit...?" I asked slowly, and Toby paused, turning to look at what I'd described.
"Oh. That's my b-boss. He told me t-to keep an eye on y-you." Toby said, shrugging. I raised an eyebrow, giving a ginger wave to the figure. "Wasn't he there in the fire? When you, ya'know, sort of saved my life?" I asked, letting out a light-hearted laugh as Toby seemed to chuckle. "Mhm!"
The figure waved before disappearing, causing me to raise both eyebrows. "He's a mysterious man, isn't he?" I asked, turning to look at Toby again, who nodded. "Yeah, sort of. H-He has two others w-who work for him, though, s-so he gets a-a lot done." Toby said, shrugging. "Two others?" I asked curiously. Toby nodded. "Yeah. They keep an e-eye on you when I c-can't." He explained.
"So it's not just you and Jeff?" I asked, and Toby shook his head. "Nope! It's Jeff, M-Masky, Hoodie, and I-I." He corrected. Masky and Hoodie? Where had I heard those names before?
"Wait, hold up. In my timeline, there's a series called Marble Hornets, where two of the characters were nicknamed Masky and Hoodie. Is that a real thing here?" I asked, and Toby nodded. "Mhm. T-Tim and Brian don't t-talk about it, though." I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can kind of understand. I'll be sure to wave if I see them, then." I chuckled, and Toby shrugged.
"Sooo..." I started, trailing off. "Sooo-o..." Toby mimicked, causing me to laugh as I lightly punched his arm. He pouted, his shoulders slumping.
I paused, my eyes going wide as I quickly grabbed Toby's arm and yanked him out of the street. A car flew past, and my breathing hitched as I noticed it just barely hit us both. Toby watched in confusion and horror as it slammed into a tree. My eyes went even wider as I recognized the car.
"Oh my God, that's the car that wrecked my brother!" I breathed out, and rushed towards the driver's side. The driver inside was passed out, leaning against the steering wheel. And it was the same guy as in my timeline.
Even though I had a grudge against him for killing my brother, I pulled the door open and heaved him out, quickly checking for a pulse. He had one, at least. "Uhh, shiiiit!" I squeaked, completely unaware of what to do. Toby pointed at my pocket, and I pulled my phone out, dialing 911. He disappeared, but I knew he was still nearby.
"Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?" The operator asked, and I took short breath. "A man passed out in his car and drove into a tree. He still has a pulse, but it's very slow, and I don't know if he has a concussion or anything—" I hurriedly explained, only to hear the operator say, "Alright, ma'am, I'm sending an ambulance your way, please remain calm."
Within minutes, an ambulance pulled up with blaring sirens. They quickly loaded the man in and hurried away to the hospital, while a policeman who tagged along made his way over to me.
"Ma'am, could I get your name?" He asked, and I nodded. "Synnova Young." I told him, and he wrote that down. "You seem very young. Do you have anywhere to go?" He asked, and I nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah, I was on my way home when he drove past." I explained, and he wrote my words down again.
"Say, do you happen to have an older brother?" The officer asked, and my stomach clenched as I nodded slowly. "Was his name Mark?" I nodded again.
The man's face became one of sympathy, which told me something had happened. "I'm very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but we received a call earlier this week for a car crash, and we identified one of the bodies as Mark Young."
My eyes went wide, my gaze fixed on the officer. I had completely locked up, and I was most likely about to fall at some point and that would be when I shattered. I knew it would.
The officer dismissed himself for a call, clambering into his car as he pulled away. I was frozen still for another moment before my legs went out from under me, and I fell to my knees as the tears began to surface. I may have gone through it once before, but it still hurt.
The truth was, I'd been in the car with Mark when it happened the first time. I remembered it like it was yesterday. Lyra had come to pick us up from school so we could hang out at their place, and Toby had come along so we could be goofy during the car ride. But...
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
"Oh, come on, T! Stop tying with me!" I giggled, watching said brunette glare at my hands as we hit our palms and gave a gesture—luckily not being the same. I chose scissors, and Toby chose rock.
"Yes, I w-win!" Toby said triumphantly, throwing his hands in the air. I pouted, shoulders slumping as I looked at him up through my eyelashes, hearing Mark chuckling in the passenger seat while he and Lyra discussed school.
"Aww, cheer up, S-Synnova!" Toby said, pulling me into a hug, despite the seatbelts. I sniffled quietly, making it seem like I was crying, before I wrapped my arms around Toby. And then startled tickling him.
"Ee!! Stop, stop, st-stop!" He called, squirming slightly as I kept my arms around him, giggling. "Never!" I called out sarcastically, and he laughed as I continued to tickle his sides before pulling away and crossing my arms as his laughter slowly died down. "That's what you get for bragging." I teased him.
"Aww..." He pouted, putting a frown on his face. I giggled.
"Oh sh—LOOK OUT, LYRA!" Mark suddenly screeched, and Toby and I quickly looked forwards to see a silver car heading our way. Lyra tried to swerve out of the way, but the car hit Mark's door and sent us flying.
Screams ripped from Lyra, Toby, and I's throats, but eventually Lyra's quieted down. Toby quickly wrapped his arms around me, making me duck, as I heard the shattering of glass.
Within minutes, we had stopped moving, and had landed on the side of the car. I pulled myself from Toby's 'shelter' and looked at him to see he...
The glass had punctured his skin in multiple places, and had even caught part of his neck, which had resulted in him being killed. When I realized this, I broke down as I reached out the best I could, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Toby! Toby, wake up!" I wailed, my voice broken from the tears. "T, please!" I squeaked, and tears ran from my eyes all the way down my cheeks.
He was gone, and so were Lyra and Mark.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
My breathing had become shallow as I recalled the memory. It had always been in the back of my head, using any chance it could to shatter me and cause a depressing mood, or just to add to one.
I had been the sole survivor. This had always been one of my biggest regrets. Since that day, I've often wished it was me that had died in the crash, and not Toby, Lyra, and Mark. But we can't all have a perfect world, can't we?
"Synnova? Are you o-okay?" Toby asked me, having come to my side moments ago. I was still on my knees, shaking slightly from the news. I had known it was soon to come, but it still shocked me. And with the memory of the first crash having surfaced, that didn't help. At all.
"I..." I started, but I cut myself off, my mouth hanging slightly open while tears stung the back of my eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. Toby pulled me into a hug, sitting me slightly on his lap, holding me to him silently.
My phone gave a small buzz then, and I slowly reached in and pulled it out, still shaking. It was a text from an anonymous number, but when I read into it, I noticed it was actually from Jeff.
Unknown; What's going on? Synnova, is everything okay?
I took a soft breath as I shakily typed my reply.
You; Not exactly, Jeff. A car nearly hit Toby and me, and it was the one who killed Mark in my timeline. But... Mark was killed recently, as well.
Unknown; I'm really sorry about that
You; Its okay. I appreciate the thought. Toby's with me though, so I think I'll be okay. I just need a few minutes.
Unknown; I'm on my way
Toby had been watching over my shoulder, and I sat the phone back in my pocket before curling into his chest. My breathing had quieted, and had also become a little ragged. Tears had slowly started running down my cheeks, with me still having been in shock.
"How's she holding up?" Jeff's voice asked after a few minutes, and I saw him crouch down on Toby's right. "She's holding up." Toby replied, almost numbly. "She hasn't said a-a word since you t-texted her, though." He rephrased, and Jeff nodded gently before reaching over and moving my hair out of my eyes. "Hey, you okay?" He asked me, and I gave a numb nod.
"...I just remember the first crash so vividly... and hearing he died in another is just... heartbreaking and hits right at home." I mumbled finally, earning a nod from Jeff while Toby hugged me a little closer.
"What happened the first time?" Jeff asked. I lifted my head slightly, and the next thing I heard in my right ear was a steady thumping noise.
Th-Thump! Th-Thump!
"I knew Toby in my timeline. He was almost the same. A little quieter, less enthusiastic, but... Mark and I had just finished school, and we were waiting at my elementary. Lyra had called our parents and asked if we could have a sleepover or whatnot, which they agreed to, so she was coming to pick us up.
"They pulled up and we got in, and it was just so... cliché, I guess. We had no idea what would happen. We went on our way, and after a few moments, Toby and I started playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. We kept tying, and eventually, he won with a rock." I chuckled softly at the memory, a small smile tugged at my lips. "I called him out, and then Mark... He just screamed 'look out Lyra' and...
"The driver slammed into Mark's door, which had caved in and instantly killed him. Lyra, Toby, and I started screaming, but hers was the next to die down. The car was tumbling. I remember Toby leaning over and shielding me from the glass when it shattered, and then we came to a stop on the car's side... I looked over and Toby was dead. A piece of glass had slit his throat, unfortunately catching the artery, and it killed him when he bled out...
"I was the only survivor. Thanks to Toby."
I felt Jeff and Toby's eyes on me, while tears had spilled over even more, rushing down my cheeks almost like small waves. I wasn't crying, no, but tears fell anyway.
"I'm... really sorry about that..." Jeff said after a moment, breaking the silence. I glanced up at him, letting off a slightly choked chuckle. "It's... It's not your fault. I guess it was just fate."
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.
But I knew fate was against me.