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Time in Fugue - Chapter 19

Have you seen her?

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013.

Earlier that night, in another part of town, sat the Bean Hip Cafe. It bordered the sea front nearby the road branching to the forest where they established the new sawmill. A lot of traffic ran by that avenue, but not so much at night when the establishments were closed.

Nobody would hear a sound coming from the loft above. Not even a scream or a gunshot. Rachel knew it, she had woken up here before. Once again, she would need to claw her way out of this situation on her own. That was the hand she was dealt, such was her lot in life. She could only count on herself. 

Rachel took a sharp inhale and opened her eyes. Nathan must have died or her plan must have failed because this wasn’t her room. How sweet it would have been to lay safe in her bed, sleeping in Max’s arms when there was still hope for a better tomorrow. Sadly, the apartment was painfully familiar, same as the glass of alcohol in her hand. The ice cubes shifted inside as her grip tightened around the drink. This was Mark Jefferson’s place. It reeked of him. His presence felt, from the imposing bookcase in front of which she stood to the Scandinavian minimalism of the furniture. All shades of grey, concrete, metal and leather painted the room like a slick black and white photograph. The only splash of color inside this pristine interior was herself.

Time in Fugue - Chapter 13

Time In Fugue - Chapter 17

The Black Lodge

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Without wasting time for an answer to drop, Rachel led Max to the secretary’s desk. Taking the lead came naturally to Rachel, Max didn’t mind at all. On the contrary, she welcomed the respite.  

Rachel waited for the middle aged woman to turn to her and lower her glasses down her nose. 

“Oh it’s you, Rachel dear. What can I do for you?” On her desk sat a box with the confiscated phones and various illicit items of the day. Besides the phones, there was a worn out notebook, a comb, a spray bottle of deodorant and an eraser with chicken scratches on it, probably quiz answers by the looks of it.

“Hi,” smiled Rachel, with that honeyed tone of hers, “Mr Keaton sent me to see if he could kindly ask for a new print of the VIP donors who already RSVPed for the fundraiser.”

“Again?” asked the secretary.

Rachel gave her a knowing nod, “Yes, he wants to make sure there wasn’t any change since. He’s still deciding on the play we’re going to perform. He wants it to be perfectly tailored to the audience, you see.”

The woman scoffed, “Oh him and his vision!” She turned to the computer screen to open the file and print it back. 

As she did, Rachel spirited Max’s phone from the box, with the dexterity of an escape artist. She was so swift about it that she even got the time to make a comedic face at Max with a cheeky wink and her tongue sticking out. The device was buried in her back pocket and her face back to a neutral expression before the woman’s attention switched back to her. 

Time in Fugue - Chapter 18

Liminal Space

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The night draped her surroundings in deep shades of blue. Waves black as ink lapped the shores with lazy rolls, providing a calming lull to the environment. This was so peaceful compared to the storm she was thrown off of mere minutes ago. The street lamps far above made the horizon glow. The sand underneath her knees was in this state between cold and damp. It contrasted with how reassuring Nathan’s body warmth was. She held onto the boy for a long moment of silence. Both breathing heavily, waiting for their minds to realign with reality.

Nathan was the one who broke the quietude of the scene. “I’m not hurt and a strand of your hair turned white…”

“I can hear your heartbeat,” answered Max, eyes closed, focusing on the sound, her ear pressed against his chest. 

“I can feel yours. It needs to slow down,” Nathan said, holding her close as if she would slip away from his grasp.

Max forced a deep breath in and out before speaking again. “I’m doing my best… I think… I nearly died of fright. Shit! What was that thing? It was angry. I could feel its hatred.”

“One thing I know, it wasn’t the Tobanga.”

Max propped herself up to look at his face. “How do you know?”

“I can’t explain it but… There’s this feeling in my gut like… it was familiar somehow, like an old acquaintance or a great-grand uncle or something… Ugh! Words are stupid! It wasn’t the Tobanga. If… I read the signs right. Fuck… I don’t know. This supernatural shit is fucked up!” Nathan raked his fingers through his hair, messing them up completely. “All I know is, I don’t feel any pain which helps with the hang over. It’s like I’m back in the first loop. It’s been a while.” 

“What do you mean? You haven’t always woken up covered in bruises?”

“No…” Nathan sighed.

Time in Fugue - Chapter 15

Time in Fugue - Chapter 16

Someone I Can Hold Onto

Sneak preview... Nathan lifted up his gaze from over Max’s shoulder and locked eyes with Rachel, still standing on the landing at the top of the stairs. She was looking sullen. Dark clouds of resentment were obscuring her beautiful hazel eyes. Even in the poor lighting of the top floor, she couldn’t hide the jealousy painted on her face. Nathan didn’t feel like gloating, on the contrary, he was puzzled by the display. Was she jealous of Max or him? He wasn’t much of a gambler but he would have put his money on the latter. Max seemed to be trusting him more than Rachel at the moment, what an unsuspected twist.

Nathan shifted his attention back to Max. “You are not going to sleep in that room anymore! That’s two times you’ve gotten murdered there.”

“I agree,” said Rachel, climbing down to reach their level. She placed a comforting hand on Max’s back to get her attention. “You can sleep in my room tonight. It’ll be safe.”

It felt like a choice of unpredictable proportions. Not that Nathan asked for her to share his own room but his very comment suggested it plainly. The air was pregnant with undisclosed tension. Now that they were both standing next to each other, Max could feel it as if it was the fourth person there. Her awkward presence in the way of whatever was going on between them. Simultaneously, Max knew that the only reason they were breathing the same air was thanks to her very presence. It was hard to stand. Too much was left unspoken, locked behind their respective walls. Sadly, Max didn’t currently have the mental fortitude of a metaphorical sledgehammer to break that silence. And so, the only solution she saw was to separate them. If only temporarily. 

Time in Fugue.