Chapter 108
Skylar
A scream rips from my lips when I’m thrown into the abyss. I close my eyes on instinct but open them when my butt lands on something hard-concrete.
“What is this place?” Lask, lifting my head to see Haven City, but it looks different.
There are no cars. Instead, I see wagons dragged by demon-like horses. Their eyes are red and glowing, and I’m forced to move out of the way when one comes marching down the street. It huffs at me, and I grimace before looking up at the skies in silent wonder.
Everything is dark, too dark. There are no stars in the sky, and the streetlights are so dim that I can hardly see.
“Someone managed to summon the eternal darkness back to canh in this version of the future, Jinx mumbles.
So you think this is the future?’
Yes, I would assume so.
I’m not given enough time to answer her before something huge flies down from the sky.
It lands on the old asphalt road, and my eyes widen at the demotic creature. It’s standing on two legs, but its arms are too long for it to be human. Its size is also incredible, and with its long claws, it easily breaks the windows of a bakery. An alarm goes off, but the demon doesn’t care. Neither does it move when the owner yells at it.
“F*cking demons!” the owner yells. “Stop raiding my bakery, you monsters!”
The owner of the bakery hits the demon with a broom, but the demon doesn’t care and keeps eating the cakes in the display windows. Huh. So, people here are used to demons and supernatural creatures roarning around?
“It seems that way. Jinx says before she goes quiet for one whole minute before interruting my thoughts again. “I wonder what that line is for looking for an assistant? A job?”
I spin around, my eyes landing on a line into a basement. There is a sign that says, “Looking for an assistant, drop-in interviews today.”
I walk closer to the line but stop when I notice a wall where people have left old jackets.
“We should grab one, Jinx advises. “Showing up at an interview dressed in your pajamas isn’t a good idea.
“Who said I was headed for the interview? I ask inside my head.
She snickers. “Did you look at the name of the one hiring people
I cast a glance at thesign again, freezing in my tracks when I read it out loud “Reeves detective bureau,”
‘Mhm, Jinx sounds smug. That means Xavier, Daisy, or Lucas could be inside.”
“But how? Lucas is the Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack-he wouldn’t work as a detective!”
“What if this is the future where Alpha Max beat him? It sure looks like Lucian is in charge here, considering the eternal darkness…”
1/3
11:26 Fri, May 17
Chapter 108
49%
Jinx is most likely right: I don’t see how there could be another eternal night if not for Lucian. But I guess the only way to find out is to walk down those stairs and get an interview. I wonder who I will meet: Lucas’ parents or Lucas himself when he is older?
With a sigh. I move towards the hanging coats. I select a tattered but relatively clean leather jacket and slip it on over my sheep pajamas. It’s too large, but it offers some protection from the wind.
“You ready?” Jinx asks.
‘As ready as I can be. I respond, steeling myself for the unknown and stepping into the line, trying to blend in with the crowd.
Minutes tick by agonizingly slowly as I inch closer and closer to the basement door. The dark wooden frame creaks each time someone enters or exits, sending chills down my spine.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I find myself standing before the basement door. Bracing myself for what lay ahead, 1 descend into the dimly lit space. It smells musty, and a faint aroma of stale coffee wafts through the air.
At a desk near the far end sits a man, his back towards me as he is hunched over some files. The sight of him makes my heart skip a beat – tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair…it could very well be Lucas himself.
“Name,” he asks in a deep voice that is different yet so familiar that I can’t help the gasp that leaves my lips.
It’s Lucas!
Instinctively. I close my eyes as if that could somehow hinder his recognition of me. Taking a deep breath, I whisper. “It’s une.. Skylar
There is a moment of silence so thick it almost feels tangible. The creaking of the chair announces his movement. He turns around slowly, disbelievingly. And then there are those hauntingly familiar blue and red eyes staring intently at me.
“Skylar?” His voice cracks a little, and his soft gaze sends shivers down my spine.
Lucas is older than me now and oh my god, he is a looker for sure. His black hair is longer, falling into his eyes in a way that didn’t happen when he was younger. His face is harder, more angular than I remember, etched with lines of hardship and stress that tell their own tales. There is even the beginning of a beard.
“Lucas,” I breathe again, unable to take my eyes off him. For a moment, the world seems to stop, and it’s just me and him in this musty basement.
He stands suddenly, knocking the chair back. “Skylar…” he murmurs, disbelief lacing his tone. His gaze flickers over me like he’s trying to memorize my face all over again. His eyes finally land on the sheep printed on my pajamas under the ragged leather jacket.
A chuckle bubbles out of him, and I grimace. “I sort of traveled through time wearing my pajamas.”
“I can see the,” he seems amused. “And seeing you here today…well… it makes sense,”
akes sense?” I echo.
eah, because you mysteriously disappeared seven years ago, and now, I know the reason why.”
“I disappeared seven years ago?” I whisper, and then my eyes widen in realization. “Holy moon goddess… So that’s what happens when I time travel! And that means…” I swallow thickly as I eye Lucas. He is smiling faintly at me and I release the air in my lungs. “You’re my Lucas, just older and in the future, aren’t you?”
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11:27 Fri, May