Melissa Barker-Simpson

It’s collaboration time again. I recently began co-authoring Foresight with a new member of Writing Room 101 – Rachel-Elaine Peterson.

I’ve had a blast working with Rachel-Elaine and the fun isn’t over yet! As we both enjoy the Science Fiction Genre, that’s what we settled on. You’ll find the first part below. Find out more from Rachel-Elaine here.

Foresight

Part 1 

Theodore ran down the alley like the hounds of hell were on his tail, not that he believed in such things. Even if he did, he couldn’t run any faster without making it easier for them and falling on his face. His legs pumped in time with his heartbeat and the crazy thought occurred to him that if his legs stopped, so would his heart. He wasn’t taking any chances.

He’d tried to reason with them, even knowing they were mindless machines without the luxury of independent thought. To them he was a renegade, an insurgent, and he had to be stopped at all costs. It didn’t matter they would be better off on his side of the war, hence the mindless part. They were drones; stripped of all personality. It was a sad fact, and one which described most of the human race. Not that he was bitter or anything.

He slowed down enough to look back.  The moment he did he was sorry.  The drones were gaining speed and catching up to him.  There were about five or six of them and they weren’t going to stop until they’d caught him.  He picked up speed, the fastest he had ever run. He didn’t notice his shoelace had worked its way loose.  As he glanced back a second time, he tripped over his laces and fell flat on his face.

I’m dead, he thought, aware they were getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, a young girl with a black hoodie over her head, ripped up jeans, and a pair of converse, appeared out of nowhere.  The girl, who didn’t look older than 16, grabbed Theodore’s hand and took him into the darkest part of the ally.  She looked around before opening a rusted metal door. The next thing he knew she was shoving him inside and slamming the door shut.

He stepped into a room no bigger than a broom closet. The walls were a mass of exposed brick and ruined plaster. A smell permeated from the ground, a rancid unholy smell that had nausea clawing at his stomach. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, he was afraid he might vomit at the girl’s feet.

A shadow passed in front of the door, making his tense. Light seeped in from a large gap in the frame, and he imagined his pursuers opening the metal door and reaching in to grab him. It wouldn’t take much effort, there was barely enough room to house the two of them.

He frowned down at the girl as she began to move, turning towards the back wall and placing her palm on the exposed plaster. She barely made a sound, but it still sounded like a gunshot going off inside his head.

Perspiration beaded along his lip when he felt the blast of air and he waited to face the drones. That was when he realised the draught was coming from behind, not in front of him.

Feeling a little foolish he spun to discover the wall had fallen away. The light beyond was coming from a room so large his brain was having difficulty processing the new information.

“Close your mouth, it’s embarrassing,” the girl said beside him. “And fasten those laces. We wouldn’t want another accident.”

“Who are you?”  Theodore asked nervously.  He knew the mystery girl could hear his voice tremble.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said, disappearing into the other room.  He stood as though frozen, unable to feel his legs.

“You coming?”  He heard from inside the room.

After a few moments Theodore pushed forward. He walked into what seemed to be a vast library; one with no end.  There was a spiral staircase in the centre of the room, and that too appeared to go on forever. Books covered the floor, though it appeared none were missing from the shelves.

The young girl was looking at a collection of old books.  “So who are you again?”  he asked, this time with more authority.

“Hannah.  You’re Theodore right?” When she looked up at him she was smiling. “How…did…you…” He started to say when Hannah interrupted him.  “I know all about you.  I’ve been following you for years.”

“Well, this isn’t creepy at all,” he mumbled and glanced away, taking in the vastness of the room.

When he looked back Hannah was studying an old book, eyebrows bunched in deep concentration. He took a step closer to see what had caught her attention, but the pages were blank.

As if sensing his confusion she looked up and grinned. “Sight is not your gift, it’s mine,” she said cryptically. “I receive the information and you…” she shook her head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Would you like to meet the team?”

***

Thanks for reading.

Mel