The Time Theif

I am walking through a forest, holding a leather capsule full of random notes and toys, and other things I want someone to find. I'm looking around, scanning my surroundings, looking for someone. She spots me before I spot her.

"Hello, Isadora, my gorgeous girlfriend." She comes up behind me, tickling me.

I giggle. "Hello, Averly." Averly Downham. That’s my wonderful girlfriend.

She gives me a kiss. "Let's bury that time capsule. I have the things I want to put in." She holds out a little plastic baggie. "That's all?"

"That's all." She nods.

"Alright," I say, unzipping the time capsule. "Go ahead."

She puts her stuff in. "Now we have the memories of when we were  sixteen together. Let's plant this time capsule!" She looks kind of nervous as she says this. She must've put something important to her into the capsule.

She grabs a shovel, and we scout the area for a spot to bury it. I'm walking back to our meeting place when I hear a scream.

I've only heard that scream once before. I had flashbacks of that moment- the car. The loud crash! of the cars colliding. The scream ringing in my ears.

I knew that scream. Avery was in trouble.

               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ONE YEAR LATER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked at my tearstained face in the mirror. Today was the day. I was going to do it. I would go...  to... her grave. It has been exactly one year since That Day. That Day my girlfrie, the love of my life, died. We had been in the woods, searching for a spot for our time capsule. It was my sixth date with her. We'd been together for three months. It had been a five minute difference between life and death.

But none of that mattered. When I finally got to where the scream came from... It was too late. The murderer was gone. All that was left was the mangled body of Avery. it was a human, too, that killed her. Not a bear. Not some weird hybrid panther.

But a human was heartless enough to do that.

One of the most disturbing things was that the murderer was never caught.

I still remember the echoed voices of Avery's brother, Jacob, screaming and sobbing. Avery's family blamed me because I asked her to come somewhere. Avery hadn't even come out yet. Her parents and family would never even know she was lesbian unless I told them. 

Today I was going to the graveyard. She was buried with a headstone of a cat wearing a tiara, because of a joke she always told about being the queen of fur babies, for she had four cats and a dog.

I put on a light blue sundress with white pants. She loved it when I dressed like the sky. A warm sky and a fluffy cloud.

I brushed my pure white hair, putting it up in a loose bun. I grabbed the necklace she gave me on our fourth date; a little owl locket that no one could ever get open. It had her fingerprint melted into the back.

I walked out to my car, starting it and groaning when I realized I was pretty much out of gas.

Great. Just great. So far, my day was going splendidly. 

I drive into a nearby gas station. When I get out of the car, I hear a small, creepy voice in my ear. What a pretty little child, so sad you’ve gone to waste.... Wouldn’t you love to step into the road for me, dear? 

I scream. The voice vanishes. And that’s when I realize; I’m in the middle of the road

I have no idea how I got there. When. Or why, for that matter. But I do know it had something to do with the voice… 

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud shreeechhhhh! Of tires. A car, desperately trying to avoid me, is speeding towards me as I’m trying to stand up.

The next second is a blur. The car swerves right; missing me by just a few inches and hitting a large electrical pole. 

The pole plummets toward me. Good, you’ve done well, dear… the creepy voice is back.

Then the pole lands and everything is dark.

When I wake up I’m in a white, sterile room. The door opens. A nurse comes in. 

I’m in a hospital. The nurse’s eyebrows raise, before she runs out the door and yells, “She’s AWAKE!” This hurts my head. I hear a man’s voice, “Well, no need to give everyone within a ten-mile radius a headache, Ava.”

The nurse, Ava, says, “Right… Sorry Rory.” 

Rory enters, wearing a doctor’s coat and a name tag that says, Dr. Rory.

He looks at me and smiles. “I’m very glad you’re awake. I’m Dr. Rory, your doctor. You’ve been in St. Anne’s Hospital for four months. You… were in a coma. And I believe you have some visitors.” He glances to the door. A muffled voice on the other side says, “Can we come in now?” I knew that voice. It was my mother! And she said we… I’m an only child… She opens the door. She steps in, followed by two people I never thought would want to see me again.

I must’ve looked shocked, because Averly’s mother said, in a quiet voice, “I’m sorry.” 

I didn’t know about what she was sorry about. But I just nodded. I was surprised at how much energy the small movement took. I noticed there was someone behind her. He was thirteen, with black hair and green eyes. I would know those eyes anywhere; they had been set into the face of all Averly’s family. I almost didn’t recognize Jacob, because all . But I still hear his screams ringing in my ears from That Day. Then my head filled with a new voice. 

Alright, dear, you when this one… Unfortunately Averly wasn’t so lucky. The games will continue and you will live… for now. 

This time I wasn’t going to let Creepy Voice In My Head get away that easy. 

WHO ARE YOU?! 

I thought. 

Oh my, very straight forward I see. I am the Shadow Master. Nightmare Man. Casual neighborhood killer and taker of all secrets. I am the Time Thief, taker of Lives Who Need To Be Taken. And you have something I’ve been needing to get my hands on. 

The owl locket rattled and twisted, the shadows in the room growing longer and the lights flickering on in off. I went pale, shuddering in a cold sweat. I shut my eyes. When I opened them, everyone was gone and a dark mass was rising from the cracks in the floors and walls. 

The Shadow Master rises. 

I didn’t want this to be my last sight. The sight of death himself. The sight of… of… a bright white light filled the room. The light took shape… a oval face. Long, flowing hair. Eyes, wide and powerful. Her body tall and thin. She was wearing a dress with long sleeves that went down to her knees. Her skin and hair was made out of pure gold, her clothes of pure light. A fire danced in her eyes. 

I had seen those eyes before.

Averly!