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H o l l o w s I n
T I M E
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DD/MM/YY
23/08/16
Twelve months and two weeks ago

I sat in the dark for a while. I felt like I had been kidnapped; unaware of what was happening to me as I sat here on my own in the unknown.

I knew that Jameson was playing his part; he had took the rucksack containing a few forged belongings and my most expensive belongings and ran. This made it look as if my 'kidnapper' had taken me, then stripped me of all the belongings that could be sold, earning the 'kidnapper' a good fortune. Jameson had my phone.

But it was okay, according to our plans, Jameson would drop the bag off somewhere, in a lake or a ditch—make it look like it happened during the run from the police. I'd get my belongings back eventually. Now, I'd just have to wait for our witness to spot Jameson suspiciously sprinting off into the distance, away from the shed I was sitting in.

And it didn't take long before I heard shouts. A man cursed and then I heard heavy boots thud against the ground as he made his way over to the shed. I bit the insides of my cheek. I heard jingling, and I suspected that our witness was trying to unlock the heavy iron lock, securing me into the shed.

I started making noises, shuffling around and trying to cry out for help. This is what a kidnapped person would do.

Eventually, I heard the lock fall to the floor and the door creak open. I waited with great anxiety as I sensed a shadow lurk in front of me.

"Jesus.." The man cursed but I couldn't hear his string of profanities as he trailed off. I heard him kneel in front of me. I heard the creak in the floorboards as he leaned in. I flinched. He pulled the cloth over my head, and then, I could see.

We stared at each other; his eyes widened as he stared into my eyes. He was middle aged, maybe going on fifty, and had a tuff of grey hair for a beard.

"My dear," He exclaimed in a whisper, untying the cloth from my mouth, and then shifting around me to untie my hands. I pulled my hands into my lap, running my fingers gently over my rope burns.

"I recognise you." The man's squinted his eyes as they traced my face for any recognisable features. I wasn't surprised that he would probably guess who I was; I knew for a fact that I had been on the news.

"It's you—the missing girl—isn't it?" The man sounded as bewildered as he looked. I nodded timidly.

"Sky Forest." I told him in a nervous whisper. The man cursed under his breath and held his palm to his forehead.

"I told the bloody cops that this place was suspicious, and I was damn right." The man vented as I sat there and watched.

"Well," The man looked over me, "You're not hurt, are you?" He asked me and I frowned.

"Only slightly." I told him, trying to be as vaguely honest as I could.

"Let's call the old bill then, 'ey?" The man patted his jean pockets for a moment before pulling out a pretty basic mobile—nothing compared to my lost iPhone.

"Can you stand?" He asked me as he placed the phone to his ear. I nodded and we stood up together, and he beckoned me over to the shed doors as he started talking to the police.

"Police, please." I heard the man request as I trailed behind him out of the shed. I left, knowing that I just left behind the last place that I could have ever been in love with Jameson in. I walked outside—the sun was setting, and the sky was filled with bursts of pinks, oranges and yellows; it was maybe seven or eight at night. If I hadn't been so bitter I would have appreciated it.

The worst feeling is having memories connected to a place you don't know. That's what I felt as I walked out of the shed. It was a massive field of nothing, despite the small cottage in the distance, but it held all the memories I needed to slowly poison my heart. Flashes of Jameson and I making our way to our end whilst taking about the events leading up to Carter's death crossed my minds eye. It felt like a mile away from me now. I don't have that life anymore.

The man guided me to what I supposed was his cottage, the cottage in the middle of the field, whilst conversing with the police on the phone. At one point, the police even had me confirm who I was and that I was there at that precise moment in time.

As the man was giving over our area and address, he unlocked his front door and granted me access to his home. I stood awkwardly dwindling in the hallway as the man scrambled around, looking for a piece of paper. He shoved the phone into my hands and I almost dropped it. I pressed the phone to my ear as the man began to scribble down words. I looked over his shoulder, he was writing about me. More importantly, how I was when he found me.

"Hello?" The voice startled me and I cringed; I had only had to state my name when I was passed the phone earlier.

"Hello." I responded meekly, ducking into the corner of the room so that the man could have his peace.

"Sky?" The woman questioned and I swallowed rising bile.

"Yes." I confirmed and there were a few distant shuffling and tapping noises before I was spoken to again.

"How are you?" She asked me and I thought through my answer. This phone call could easily be being recorded right now; I needed my story to sound real.

"Confused," I told her—I lied. "Scared," I added, "I'm not too sure where I am." Truth rang out as the words slipped from my lips and I found myself to sound on the edge of tears. At least it was believable.

"We've sent officers out already, they should reach you in about ten minutes. If you're not comfortable where you are then you can alert us right away." The woman told me and I found myself grimacing at the voice; she couldn't help me—I don't need her.

"I'm fine, thank you." I responded, a little more flippant than before. Then police sirens rang out.

Soon, after I had shoved the man his phone back into his hands in annoyance, a few knocks at the door told me that it was time to move out of this damned cottage. I opened the door, ignoring the man's incoherent mutters to himself about rope knots, and faced the police. They all blinked at me.

"Are we leaving now?" I sounded more bored than I wanted to be. It had been eight–fifteen when I had checked a few moments ago, and I desperately wanted to get to my bed before the days end. My bed. That sounded weird in my head.

The police wasted no time and escorted me to the car, but I didn't get in before peering over at the other police car across the mile long field.

"What's happening over there?" I asked as if I didn't know.

The two police officers that had remained with me exchanged glances. Then the woman spoke up, "We have a witness statement that a suspect ran over that riverbank, the man dropped evidence along the way." She told me before slipping into the car. The other officer and I followed in suit, and left the other police car outside as we sped off; the last two police officers were inside questioning our witness, and I could imagine him listing off everything he noticed when he saw me, according to his scrawls on the piece of paper.

So now I was heading towards the police station for questioning, where I'd also be checked up on by a nurse, who'd do multiple tests on me to assess the damage done. The only damage done to me was the damage on my heart, and I was sure that there was no amount of antiseptic or bandages that could fix that break.

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Before editing:

"We've sent officers out already, they should teach you in about ten minutes."

#whenyouchangeprofession

So second chapter

If y'all are confused:

Unless you decided not to read the date, you would have read at the beginning of the chapter that it is the 23rd of August of 2016

Ring a bell?

It should.

This is Sky's birthday, aka the day shit went down, aka the day she left the academy.

So I flung you to the future and you came right back to the end of the last book like a boomerang

Me nice

-really?

CHAPTER THREE SPOILER (did you miss these ha):

This next chapter is fortunate for our protagonist but maybe not for you.

Our car stays on the road of the past, which is a much smoother path than the future.

But, of course, is less thrilling 😈