Reading this note, I went to leave the room. Suddenly, there was a burst of light. A woman, whom I vaguely remembered, stood near the window of the apartment. “Don’t question, and don’t wonder. At one point in time, you saved my life. I’m returning the favor now. If this time line continues, and you do as you have considered, letting the time pass, and hope that Tracy comes back, here is what will happen.” The room became very bright, and I looked around. “This is a week into the future, when Tracy comes to your house. . .”
The scene faded into a picture of the outside of my house. A car drove up with Tracy exiting it. She went and rang the doorbell for which Karin came to the door. There was no sound, but Tracy shot Karin, then, going into the house, I saw me. Tracy aimed a gun at me. She shot, and I dodged. The scene continued with her chasing me, until I was finally cornered and killed.
“What does all this mean?” I asked.
“In one week, the kidnappers will reprogram Tracy’s mind. They are attempting to kill you by using the person you love most dear.”
“What must I do? Couldn’t you tell me where she is?”
“No, but I can tell you this much, if you look, you will find her. Your very life now says that you do find her, or that you escaped her safely.”
“I’ll find her.” I stated. I awoke on Tracy’s bed, dazed. Another dream? I wondered. Whether it was a dream of not, I was determined to find Tracy if it was the last thing I’d do. The only problem was that I only had one week, and it was a big city. I phoned all the remaining friends of mine, and had them come to the house. In attendance were Noah, Laura, Andy, Marie, Karin, David, and I.
“Okay, gang. Remember that Capture the Flag game we had, and how I said that it would eventually be important?”
“Yeah, so?” Noah responded.
“Well, here’s where all that hard work comes in handy. We need to find Tracy, and in a hurry. Noah, you and I will sneak into the apartment complex and get Nancy to my office. Marie, I want you to get a job down at the B&O. See if you can’t find out what’s going on. Andy, go in and check on the money flow coming in and out of the B&O. Karin, call a psychiatrist and see if you can get him to come to my office. David, hold down the fort.”
“Check.” All of us said. Noah and I went upstairs and planned our attack on Nancy. Andy and Marie headed for the B&O and Karin called a shrink.
Night came, and Noah and I went to the apartment building, Noah was dressed in black. Putting a hook inside a gun, we shot a hook onto the roof. Noah climbed it and peered in the window. I went inside and knocked on Nancy’s door. She came to it, and I was let in. Pretending I was a vacuum cleaner salesman, I shut the door to vacuum the rug underneath it. Noah dashed in the door and I covered Nancy’s mouth with a knock-out drug. We took her outside, via the rope. I put a timer on the light, and exited through the front door. We went to the office where the shrink was waiting. “Aaron, why didn’t you tell me you were a psychiatrist?”
“I thought you knew.”
