Can't Find My Way Home, but It's Through You
It Begins
Zach sat in his chair, his back hunched over the computer as he typed out the final slide of his PowerPoint. He looked back at the textbook to see what left of the section he needed to add. His crystal blue eyes skimmed the page, reading over the remaining paragraph. He sighed in relief; the rest of the section only mentioned what came up in the next section. Zach closed the book and saved the PowerPoint.
He closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair, running his hand through his short hazel hair. Zach Halson was a Life Science teacher for junior high. He was twenty seven and lived with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Neasel, twenty five, in Newark, New Jersey. She had dark brown hair, with matching eyes. He graduated at the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in science in education. She graduated at the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
He had met her after she graduated, at a clinic she was interning for. She later stopped her internship, saying that she lost her passion to become a nurse and instead wanted to become a writer. Elizabeth was dating another man, Daniel, at the time. She broke up with him after she quit interning.
Daniel Rayd was a well built man of 26 with black choppy hair and brown-green eyes. He had no job and was an alcoholic. He had a thing about hanging around the wrong crowds, which he promised Elizabeth he’d stop doing but continued hanging out with them anyway. He was arrested five times along with the group of people he’d hang out with: twice for robbery and three times for harassment. He had a short temper and would threat people to get what he wanted.
Daniel had never forgiven Elizabeth for leaving him and had repeatedly threatened them, which immediately ended up in them moving far away from their native California to Newark where they began their lives again. The two haven’t heard from or of him since then; they assumed he finally let the incident go.
Zach got up from his seat and packed his messenger bag. He looked at the time: 5:23 PM. It was getting late and he knew that it would be dangerous at night for him. He walked to and from school each day, since their home was within two miles. As he brought the strap of his bag over his head, his cell phone rang.
“Hello?” He said, his head pressing the phone against his shoulder as he dug around in his bag for the room keys.
“Hey Zachy,” Elizabeth said cheerfully. “Where are you?”
“I’m still at the school. I’m heading home now.” He now held the phone as he walked out the door and turned to lock it.
“Could you actually pick something up for me?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Just a book. Next by Michael Crichton.” He smiled. Elizabeth always occupied herself at home with a book and Michael Crichton was her favorite author. She swore to one day be able to write like him.
“Sure sweetie. Anything else?”
“Nope. Thanks Zach,” she said sweetly.
“Of course. I’ll see you later.” He flipped down the screen of his phone and continued walking down the hallway.
_____
Zach exited the book store, placing the book into his messenger bag. He continued his way home, admiring the setting sun that was before him as he walked. Golden rays peaked above the small buildings and homes. He checked his watch again. It was 5:49. An aroma of coffee caught his attention from the sidewalk, causing him to trip slightly. He noticed the café on the other side of the road.
I don’t think Liz would mind me taking a quick coffee break, Zach thought, already walking towards the crosswalk. The light changed to ‘Walk’ and he had started sprinting to get to the crosswalk in time. He reached the solid white lines once the light started flashing ‘Don’t Walk’. He caught his breath and continued to walk, eventually getting to the café where people sat around tables outside with their drinks. He walked inside, jazz music playing softly in the background, making him yearn for his saxophone which he left back in California with a friend. He makes his order and takes his coffee to a table inside. He eyes his watch again. 5:57.
He takes off his bag and seats himself, putting down his coffee and placing the bag next to him. The cover flap slipped off and revealed the book he bought. He pulls it out, inspecting the cover. Bold, shining red letters read ‘Michael Crichton’ across the top. Below it was a barcode with a shining red primate silhouette camouflaging the black lines. The word ‘Next’ sits on a white spot on the barcode and among the line of numbers below the barcode reads ‘A Novel’.
“Looks interesting,” Zach thought aloud. He flips open the cover and reads the summary, the bolded red lines catching his attention.
Welcome to our genetic world.
Fast, furious, and out of control.
This is not the world of the future–
It’s the world right now.
He skips the rest of the summary and begins the prologue. His eyes skip across the page, stopping only to find his drink and take a sip. He loses track of time and continues reading, his mind set on the book.
_____
“You sure that’s him?” the voice said, watching Zach from a car parked in the front of the café.
“Pretty sure. That’s how he described him.” The other man stared at him, his eyes focused on every characteristic of the man in the café. The first man pulls out a cell phone and dials a number outside the area.
“You find him?” the voice on the other line says.
“Yeah,” the man said darkly. “He’s in New Jersey.”
_____
“Good.” He shuts the phone and places it in his shirt pocket. He sighs and laughs, breaking the silence of the dark room.
“Oh, they thought they could get away from me.” He runs his hand through his hair and sits on a nearby desk. “They can run, but no one can hide,” he says, an evil grin slowly growing on his face.
He closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair, running his hand through his short hazel hair. Zach Halson was a Life Science teacher for junior high. He was twenty seven and lived with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Neasel, twenty five, in Newark, New Jersey. She had dark brown hair, with matching eyes. He graduated at the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in science in education. She graduated at the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
He had met her after she graduated, at a clinic she was interning for. She later stopped her internship, saying that she lost her passion to become a nurse and instead wanted to become a writer. Elizabeth was dating another man, Daniel, at the time. She broke up with him after she quit interning.
Daniel Rayd was a well built man of 26 with black choppy hair and brown-green eyes. He had no job and was an alcoholic. He had a thing about hanging around the wrong crowds, which he promised Elizabeth he’d stop doing but continued hanging out with them anyway. He was arrested five times along with the group of people he’d hang out with: twice for robbery and three times for harassment. He had a short temper and would threat people to get what he wanted.
Daniel had never forgiven Elizabeth for leaving him and had repeatedly threatened them, which immediately ended up in them moving far away from their native California to Newark where they began their lives again. The two haven’t heard from or of him since then; they assumed he finally let the incident go.
Zach got up from his seat and packed his messenger bag. He looked at the time: 5:23 PM. It was getting late and he knew that it would be dangerous at night for him. He walked to and from school each day, since their home was within two miles. As he brought the strap of his bag over his head, his cell phone rang.
“Hello?” He said, his head pressing the phone against his shoulder as he dug around in his bag for the room keys.
“Hey Zachy,” Elizabeth said cheerfully. “Where are you?”
“I’m still at the school. I’m heading home now.” He now held the phone as he walked out the door and turned to lock it.
“Could you actually pick something up for me?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Just a book. Next by Michael Crichton.” He smiled. Elizabeth always occupied herself at home with a book and Michael Crichton was her favorite author. She swore to one day be able to write like him.
“Sure sweetie. Anything else?”
“Nope. Thanks Zach,” she said sweetly.
“Of course. I’ll see you later.” He flipped down the screen of his phone and continued walking down the hallway.
_____
Zach exited the book store, placing the book into his messenger bag. He continued his way home, admiring the setting sun that was before him as he walked. Golden rays peaked above the small buildings and homes. He checked his watch again. It was 5:49. An aroma of coffee caught his attention from the sidewalk, causing him to trip slightly. He noticed the café on the other side of the road.
I don’t think Liz would mind me taking a quick coffee break, Zach thought, already walking towards the crosswalk. The light changed to ‘Walk’ and he had started sprinting to get to the crosswalk in time. He reached the solid white lines once the light started flashing ‘Don’t Walk’. He caught his breath and continued to walk, eventually getting to the café where people sat around tables outside with their drinks. He walked inside, jazz music playing softly in the background, making him yearn for his saxophone which he left back in California with a friend. He makes his order and takes his coffee to a table inside. He eyes his watch again. 5:57.
He takes off his bag and seats himself, putting down his coffee and placing the bag next to him. The cover flap slipped off and revealed the book he bought. He pulls it out, inspecting the cover. Bold, shining red letters read ‘Michael Crichton’ across the top. Below it was a barcode with a shining red primate silhouette camouflaging the black lines. The word ‘Next’ sits on a white spot on the barcode and among the line of numbers below the barcode reads ‘A Novel’.
“Looks interesting,” Zach thought aloud. He flips open the cover and reads the summary, the bolded red lines catching his attention.
Welcome to our genetic world.
Fast, furious, and out of control.
This is not the world of the future–
It’s the world right now.
He skips the rest of the summary and begins the prologue. His eyes skip across the page, stopping only to find his drink and take a sip. He loses track of time and continues reading, his mind set on the book.
_____
“You sure that’s him?” the voice said, watching Zach from a car parked in the front of the café.
“Pretty sure. That’s how he described him.” The other man stared at him, his eyes focused on every characteristic of the man in the café. The first man pulls out a cell phone and dials a number outside the area.
“You find him?” the voice on the other line says.
“Yeah,” the man said darkly. “He’s in New Jersey.”
_____
“Good.” He shuts the phone and places it in his shirt pocket. He sighs and laughs, breaking the silence of the dark room.
“Oh, they thought they could get away from me.” He runs his hand through his hair and sits on a nearby desk. “They can run, but no one can hide,” he says, an evil grin slowly growing on his face.