Sarah Lesley

Past and Present I ducked my head as Jacob's padded fist came flying towards my face. I straightened back up, and threw a hook punch aimed for his left cheek. He grabbed my fist, twisted it, and tripped me forward. I landed in a push-up position. I rolled over, and twisted my body around to trip him. He landed hard on his back, but got back up to face me. We circled each other for a minute, then I jumped up and front kicked. He blocked me with his hand, and threw another punch. I dodged it and came up with an uppercut to the gut. His leaned forward, and I kicked his stomach again. He put a gloved hand up in surrender. "Okay Sarah. You win. You win." He fell to his knees. "Sorry Jacob." I said, pulling him up. He pulled off his head gear, and playfully punched my shoulder. "Jacob! Wrong. One." I said through gritted teeth, grabbing the shoulder. "Oh! Sarah! I'm so sorry!" He said. I rolled my shoulder, and winced slightly. "I'm good. Two minutes and we're back on the mat. Better get a drink while your at it." I said, scooping up a water bottle, and squirt some in my mouth. He did the same, and we sat down, taking a short break. I ripped off my head gear, my head feeling ten degrees cooler. I leaned back against the stone wall, and thought back. I do that a lot. It'd been four days since the dracaenae/Manticore attack, and my shoulder was still sensitive. My head rested on the wall, and for some reason my mind wandered to my life at the orphanage. It was one particular day. But before I could think more, a thought stuck me. I stood up. "What? What is it Sarah?" Jacob asked. "That's it! Not the future, the past. You can learn more from the past than the future. Jacob." I turned to him. "I can't see the future anymore, but I can try and see the past. I have to go back. Back to that day. Watch my body." He look so confused, but I didn't have time. It was now, or never. I sat down, closed my eyes, and my mind left and I was transported to the past. I was sitting in the back of a car. A familiar car. I saw my younger self standing on the doorstep watching longingly as the car drove away. I peeled my eyes away and focused on the people in front of me. I teared up a little when I looked into the mirror and saw their faces. "It's for the best. You know that. We can't take care of her, and some family will adopt her and she can have a proper home. Maybe they can find help for her." That was my dad. "I hope so hon. I hope so. I just don't want to leave her Dan. I don't! I want my baby back. I want to feel her body hugging mine, I want to feel her little lips touch mine. I want to see her grow up." My mom broke down. "Stacey, I know. I know. Me too." My dad put and arm around her, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. She rested her head on his arm and let the tears flow. I was yanked back to me. Younger me was sitting on the step outside. "Who are you?" She asked. I looked around. I didn't remember saying that. Then I realized this was me. Not some normal person. "I'm you. I'm Sarah from the future. I came to the past to figure something out." I said. This was really weird. I'm talking to myself, but I'm younger than myself? It's hard to explain. “What are you trying to figure out? Maybe I can help.” Younger me said. “That's the thing. I'm not completely sure what I'm looking for.” “Oh.” she said softly, looking at the ground. “I guess you know then. Why I'm here.” I knelt down next to her. “I wish I could tell you. But I think it would be best to let you figure it out on your own. Here's some hope. You make great friends when you're older. The kind that don't run away when your vision acts up. I promise.” She gave me a hug, and I thought to myself, wow. I'm really here. I shooed her with my hands, and watched as she knocked on the door. A minute passes, and the Mrs opens the door. I walk away, not wanting to actually relive that moment again. I sat down on a nearby bench, and put my head in my hands, right as I felt hand on my arm. I looked over and saw Jacob. “Jacob? How, how are you here?” He shook his head. “One minutes I'm grabbing your arm, and the next, I'm sitting next to you in, uh, where are we?” he asked. “My past. So you touched me, and you're here with me?” He shrugged. “I guess so.” I looked around. “I'm too early. I need to go further.” I mumbled. “Huh?” Jacob said, still touching my arm. I waved him off and closed my eyes. I felt a tugging in my gut, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the hall. I saw myself being attacked by the dracaenae, and cringed when I saw the blade rip through my shoulder. I willed the memory to pause. Jacob's blade had passed through the dracaenaes stomach and her yellow dust was frozen in the air. Jen was sliding on her knees towards me, and the javelin was still in my shoulder. I bent over myself, losing my grip on Jacob. There was something else on the javelin point. It was a silvery blue color, and barely noticeable. If time wasn't frozen, I wouldn't have noticed it. I rewound the memory again, and stopped when the javelin head is right over my chest. I knelt down and inspected it. The blue stuff was right on the point, so even if she hadn't pierced me, she could have scratched me and it would have made it in my blood stream. Smart, but the draceanae wouldn't have thought of it. It would have had to have been someone else. I sat back on my feet, pondering it when Jacob reappeared. “So, I guess I have to keep touching you to stay here. It took me a minute to figure out that one.” “Jacob, I know you just wanna help, but can you go back? I need to do something and I don't want you to be here when I do.” “Uh, I guess so.” He gave me a quizzical look, before releasing his grip on my hand. I took a deep breath again, and the next thing I knew, I was standing underneath the draceanae, who at this time, was standing in a tree. I walked backwards, time going back with me. This whole manipulating the past and time thing was pretty fun. I followed the draceanae as she awkwardly ran backwards. She ran into a cave, and I slowly followed, slightly afraid of what I might see. I rewound quickly to where she was walking in for the first time. “Masster. You summoned me?” she asked in her slithering voice. “Yes. I did. I need you to kill someone for me. A special someone, who requires an able bodied warrior to kill. The girl had two guards. One male and one female, both demigods. You may feed on them after the girl is dead. In order to kill her, you will need this javelin. It is coated in a special poison, so if you indeed do fail to kill her, you can cut her with this, and she will be dead within minutes.” a dark shadowed figure held out the javelin. The draceanae reached out to grab it. The wooden shaft was smooth and polished, like on a table. But on the end was the steel and bronze tip. It was stained red, and had the poisons on it, making it look menacing and evil. She had a devilish gleam in her eyes, that made me glad she was dead. “When do you want her dead lord?” she asked, looking eager. A little too eager. “Now.” the man seemed almost eager to get rid of her. I think the whole reason he sent her to kill me was 1, to frighten me. 2, to possibly injure me. 3, to kill off the draceanae. I had decided that was enough and tried to go back to the present. I concentrated but no matter how hard, I couldn't get out. I was stuck. I started freaking out. I leaned against a tree, and closed my eyes, focusing on making everything black. After opening my eyes for the fifth time, I slid down the tree, the bark scratching my back, but not caring. My body was in the present, but my mind was stuck in the past. Something wouldn't let me let go of the past. I couldn't get out of its grasp, and I was stuck. Alone, and in the past.

Notes

Sorry this ones short! I needed the cliff hanger. (just pretend I have a sly grin on my face.) The next one should be better if I can find the time this week. I promise I'm trying. I'm SOOOO sorry for not updating as often as I should. I've been so incredibly busy. (hint hint. ECHO. That's supposed to be a subtle hint to update.) ;)