Re-Runners First Life: A Time Travel Suspense Series (12 page)

25 Years Earlier-1982

Kate – 17yrs

First Day

9.32 pm

“Sometimes you have die inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself to become a new person.”
―
Gerard Way

Kate lifted her head from the small study desk in her room and blinked at the bedside clock. 9.32pm.
I must have dozed off
, was her first thought before her brain clicked into gear and the memories started to re-surface. She looked around her childhood room. Her bed, the Koala toy she’d loved since a baby, her clothes scattered about and her high school study books. This is a dream she’d had often over the years. Remembering a time when she had felt safe, a time before Eric.

But it can’t be a dream
. The rain, her baby Mia and the bridge. It all came back.
I’m dead
, Kate rubbed her eyes and looked again.
Is this heaven?

She rubbed her skin and then ran her hand over the text books in front of her. Subjects she’d studied in her final year of high school. She stood and picked up the Koala from her pillow, then sat and bounced on the bed. The familiar squeak of the inner-springs echoed in the quiet room.

Cuddling her toy, she stood and moved in front of the full-length mirror. A young, lithe and healthy seventeen-year-old stared back at her. Her tanned skin glowed, dewy and without the bruises she was accustomed to seeing. Her hair fell in soft and shining waves down her back; no lackluster brittleness evident.

If this is a dream, it’s a good one ... and if it’s heaven?
She raised her eyes to the ceiling,
Thank you.

Kate climbed into bed, turned out the light and hugging her Koala, closed her eyes with a contented sigh.

Chapter 30

First Day

9.32pm

“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.”
―
Jonathan Safran Foer
, ‘
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
’

The lights of the nightclub were moving in waves and the noise was explosive. Dylan held a joint in his hand and he could feel the long forgotten effects of the weed coursing through his system.

‘Come on, man,’ someone pushed his shoulder. ‘Share it around.’

Dylan passed the joint to the owner of the voice to his right. He shook his head and took a gulp of the beer that had miraculously appeared in his left hand.

The last thing he remembered was the pain. A shattering pain coupled with a feeling like a truck was sitting on his chest.

He shook his head again, but it only made the spinning worse. Where was he? He was drunk, really drunk and the last time he’d smoked weed was at university. He’d worked out very early on, that mixing drugs and alcohol was a bad combination for him, not that it stopped him. He continued to indulge until the beginning of his final year, when ambition outweighed his partying.

‘Come on Dylan, loosen up,’ the voice again to his right. ‘We’re on a break. You know you’ll romp in the exams, so take some time out. I’ve really gotta teach you how to relax, mate.’

That voice itched at a corner of Dylan’s memory. It was familiar. He blinked again and peered through the alternating light and dark pulse of the strobe lights, to focus on the man’s face.
Glen Davis
, Dylan registered in shock. Glen Davis had been one of the guys he’d hung out with at university, but had lost touch with over the years. If memory served, he had joined the army and gone to fight in the Gulf War. Last he heard Glen was a big-wig commander. But right now, Glen was as he remembered him. Long, straggly hair and a penchant for weed.

Dylan staggered to his feet and pushed himself away from the group. ‘The dunny is that way, mate.’ Glen pointed in the opposite direction. ‘Strewth, you
are
wasted.’

Dylan elbowed his way through the crowd of bodies dancing to the 80’s music that throbbed in the club and in his head, until he found the men’s bathroom. He stumbled to the sink, bent low under the faucet and turned the full force of the water onto his head, the thought briefly crossing his mind at how easy it was to bend that far. After a good soaking he turned off the water, wiped his eyes and looked upside down at his legs in the tight jeans. As he straightened up, he wondered where his round stomach had gone and standing fully erect he finally looked at the mirror and into the eyes of his twenty-year-old self.

‘Shit.’ He did a double take. ‘I am drunk.’

The blackness started closing in as he felt himself passing out. He gripped the sink and tried to slide his body down the tiled wall before he lost consciousness completely.

Chapter 31

First Day

“All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.”
―
Chuck Palahniuk
, ‘
Invisible Monsters
’

Christian turned over and silenced the alarm that had woken him at 6am, before rolling onto his back and wondering why he had set the alarm in the first place. He hadn’t done that for years.

Suddenly the memory of gunfire and quick pain assaulted his thoughts. He propelled himself from the bed and grabbed for his chest, lifting the t-shirt and examining his body for wounds. Nothing.

His pale, blue eyes roamed about the room he recognized immediately. This was the apartment he had rented in Venice Beach when he was in his early twenties. The memory of the 6am alarms also came to him then. His next victim was a pretty young woman with long, dark hair. She would skate past his beachside apartment on her way to her job at a local cafe, at precisely 6.15am each morning.

He lifted his arms above his head and stretched. Christian had always looked after himself with good eating and exercise, but age brings with it some niggling pains and creaking joints. As Christian reached upwards, the familiar cracking of his spine was absent. He walked to the mirror, stripped and stood naked, turning this way and that.

A young man looked back at him. He glanced over his shoulder at the alarm clock. It was 6.14am. He moved to the window overlooking the beach and there she was. Young, beautiful and his for the taking. Just as he remembered.

Christian didn’t need to understand why he had been given a second chance, he only knew he had. He understood he was and had always had been superior to the masses of this world and this second opportunity at life was proof of that. He didn’t question it, he didn’t wonder why. He just accepted it.

He would re-live the ecstasies of his previous life, but this time he would discover how they had found him and he would change history.

No, Christian didn’t know how this had happened, but he received this gift as his due.

His chest filled with anticipation as he dressed to walk to the cafe of his Lovely and order his morning coffee.

Life was good ... again.

Chapter 32

New Beginnings

Kate woke to the sound of her father’s morning ritual as he walked down the hallway from his room, hitting the wall and calling, ‘Rise and shine, Katie.’

She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so soundly. She looked around the room. She was still here. ‘In Heaven,’ she sighed.

Throwing back the bedcovers, Kate crossed to the mirrored wardrobe and admired her youthful body once more before sliding open the door and gazing at the familiar dresses, tops, jeans and underwear. Everything was an exact replica of her old bedroom. She’d forgotten how much gear she had as a teenager. Her mother would try to interest her in dressing up, but she was a tomboy at heart and just wasn’t interested.

Kate quickly pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, eager to discover what else Heaven had to offer. She’d read somewhere that Heaven would be whatever you wanted it to be.
Does it mean I can think about something and it will magically turn up?
Kate closed her eyes and thought about her favorite ice-cream treat. Nothing appeared in her outstretched hands.
Hmmm ... Looks like Heaven has a learning curve I have to work out.

She shrugged and left her room, impatient to see what else was in store. She may have had the mind and memories of a forty-two year old woman, but her body and her enthusiasm for what lay ahead was definitely that of a teenager.

Kate strolled slowly down the hall, reacquainting herself with the long ago family gallery of photographs that lined the walls. It had been many years since she had been in her parents’ home; her home. It felt good.

As she entered the kitchen, her mother looked up from her sandwich making and frowned at Kate. ‘Why aren’t you wearing your uniform? It’s still a school day, as much as you might be wishing for the weekend.’

Kate laughed and gave her mother a huge hug. ‘It’s so good to see you, Mom.’ She turned to her father and did the same. ‘You too, Dad.’

She went to throw her arms around Cynthia, who stopped her with a confused look. ‘What’s with you?’

Kate halted midstride and looked back to her parents. They had all stopped what they were doing and were looking at her strangely. Kate acknowledged she hadn’t been a gushy child when she was young, but she’d learned the hard way through a life of pain, that affection was a necessary part of being a person. She’d rejected the love and support her family had offered then, but this was Heaven, right? Wasn’t she entitled to make it just the way she wanted it? Shouldn’t her ‘dream’ family just go along with it?

‘Come on Kate,’ Cynthia was the first to speak. ‘Stop playing around.’ Kate frowned. Cyn sounded annoyed. ‘I’ve got an early class and I can drop you at school, but you have to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes or you can catch the bus.’

Well, that was certainly familiar. Cynthia was so bossy when she first started driving, although Kate usually shut up and did as she was told. She hated catching the bus where she was teased by Sarah Bigelow, school bully and self-proclaimed leader of the cool set. But Kate wouldn’t have to worry about that. This was her Heaven, after all.

Still, after a swift look of puzzlement, she raced to her room and quickly dressed in her high school uniform, grabbing the bag of text-books on her way out. She’d make sense of this later.

ooooo

In her final year of high school her best friend Melanie’s father had been offered a new contract interstate and the family moved away for twelve months. Kate became friendly with a new student at the school, Tiffany. ‘A cheerleader name from a family of nerds. What were my parents thinking?’ Tiff would say. Her father was a Math professor at Queensland University and her mother a medical doctor.

On this bright and beautiful morning of her first day in Heaven, there was Tiff, waiting on the steps leading to their homeroom, as she did most days throughout their time at high school. Kate sighed with contentment and put Cynthia’s sour mood on the drive in, out of her mind.

‘Why so happy on this dour day?’ Tiff asked Kate. ‘Did you forget we have athletic trials this afternoon?’

‘Really?’ Kate brightened even more. ‘I think it sounds like fun.’ With her young and healthy body she relished the chance to move and work it, even though it was her least favorite thing at high school.

Tiff threw her a disbelieving look as they entered the building.

‘Well if it isn’t the bobbsie geeks,’ the sneering voice of Sarah Bigalow struck a remembered chord of fear; before Kate reminded herself Sarah couldn’t hurt her. This was
her
Heaven.

Kate turned and smiled. ‘Hello Sarah, that heavy makeup and slutty hairdo make you look even more tragic than usual.’

A gasp from Tiff, a cough from one of Sarah’s hangers-on and a splutter from Sarah herself, made Kate laugh out loud. Wow, she’d never stood up for herself before. It felt wonderful.

‘You
bitch
,’ screeched Sarah as she lunged for Kate and slammed her against the lockers. A vision of Eric’s fist and his beatings flashed through Kate’s mind in a nanosecond and anger exploded in her.

She gave Sarah a flinty stare. ‘No one will ever hurt me again,’ she growled in a low voice, as she grabbed a fistful of Sarah’s bleached blond hair and yanked back her head. With her other hand she swung wide and slapped the girl so hard it spun her around and she fell to the floor.

The silence in the hallway was deafening. Several students had stopped to witness the humiliation of Sarah Bigalow and all took pleasure in it. Most saw it as justice for the pain she had caused them. What they couldn’t believe was the one to finally deliver the lesson to the school bully was quiet, studious Kate Majors.

Kate stood over Sarah as she sobbed on the floor holding the side of her face. ‘I don’t like hurting people Sarah, but I’ve had enough of you, we all have. I’m warning you now; I have a lot of nasty moves up my sleeve. I’ve had an excellent teacher. Keep away from me and my friends and I’ll leave you alone.’

‘I’ll report you,’ Sarah mumbled, keeping a wary eye on Kate.

Kate sneered and looked around at her audience. ‘Do you honestly think anyone will back you? You pushed me, remember.’

Kate gave her one last glare and strode off towards their next class, with Tiff jogging to keep up.

‘Oh my God,’ Tiff finally found her voice. ‘Did aliens steal you in the night and give you super powers?’

‘I can’t tell you how good that felt,’ Kate giggled.

‘I can’t tell you how amazed and in awe of you I am right now,’ Tiff answered.

Kate shrugged. ‘It’s my dream. I can do what I want.’

‘Huh?’

‘Nothing.’ Kate pulled her along. ‘Come on. We’re late for class.’

During the rest of the morning, classes moved along at their remembered pace. Most of Kate’s time was spent recalling the faces and mannerisms of long ago classmates and teachers. The lessons were so elementary for her. Because of her university and work experience, her academic knowledge was far in advance of what they were teaching. In some ways the day felt more than just familiar, it felt repetitious, but she put it down to her own creation of it.

At lunch the girls sat together with a couple of other friends from their science club. They were nerds and proud of it. The conversation was centered on the degradation of Sarah Bigelow, but Kate waved away the compliments and just enjoyed their company. It had been many years since she’d sat like this with girlfriends. That fateful night when she met Eric was probably the last time.

The assembly bell sounded over the school and the students began to make their way to the track field.

Kate put her hand up for every running event she could. High jump and hurdles were beyond her skill set, but she enjoyed the feeling of striding out and feeling the wind in her hair. Her friends were mystified at this change in her.

As they sat in a group observing the different trials being conducted around them, the loud speaker sounded. ‘All students please gather in the high jump area. Our state champion Jason Peters is attempting to break his personal record. The state athletics titles are coming up next month and we want to help Jason be prepared for the crowds ... and his triumph.’

There was a sudden buzzing in Kate’s head. This wasn’t just familiar, it was identical. She remembered that exact announcement and what happened next. ‘No ... no,’ she mumbled, as she rose with the rest of the crowd moving to the high jump area. Her heart began to pound hard in her chest as she looked around her and started to think and to remember.

The events of today were commonplace in her old daily life, except standing up to Sarah Bigelow. She’d changed that, but something else wasn’t right. She stopped walking and looked about her with a renewed intensity. The school tennis court at the end of the field displayed a large sign. ‘Closed for Resurfacing.’ She’d been so disappointed when they had done that, because tennis was one of the few sports she enjoyed. Then she looked across at Sarah Bigelow and her crowd. They were taunting some of the young boys about their lack of sporting prowess. She remembered that same scene with guilt, because the last time it happened, she’d just been grateful it wasn’t her being humiliated by Sarah.

The last time it happened ... the last time,
the thought repeated in her head. Suddenly she knew the truth, as crazy as it seemed. This wasn’t a fantasy world of her making, this was real. This was her world or at least the world of her seventeen-year-old self.
But that’s impossible.
Although no more weird than thinking this is Heaven, right?’

The blaring of the loudspeaker interrupted her thoughts, ‘Jason’s first attempt at his current record height.’

Kate focused,
If this is a repeat of my life
, she looked towards the crowd of students and started running,
then I know what’s about to happen
.

‘Stop,’ she yelled. ‘Don’t let him jump.’ But her voice was drowned in the noise of the crowd. She used her elbows, trying to force her way through the packed body of spectators. ‘Stop. Stop the jump.’

The sudden collective gasp, a sickening scream and then stunned silence told her what she already knew. One of the high jump support towers had crashed down on top of Jason, breaking his leg so badly he would never jump again. His dreams of representing his country one day were dashed in one horrifying moment. No-one knew all that yet, but Kate knew. She knew the outcome of today’s accident and she knew Jason’s future.

She looked around at her fellow schoolmates and realized she knew many of their futures too ... and she knew her own.
This isn’t Heaven and it isn’t a dream.
What it is
, thought Kate in wonder,
is a second chance
.

A second chance to reinvent herself and to create a good and happy life.

And to work out what went wrong the first time
.