And Now We Run.
And it was all over a cup of coffee (3)
Ashley Paulsen sat outside the coffee shop just looking over the River Thames. It felt isolated from the heavy noise of traffic and bustling crowds, just right on the edge from a quiet area of cosy suburban houses. There was a steaming takeaway coffee cup cradled in her pale cold hands and her hood was up concealing most of her face. She didn't like to wait in a public place out in the open like this, it was too risky. But she needed a rest and a quick drink to quench her thirst and the exhaustion she was dragging around with her. She was getting tired of running but she couldn't stop. They were constantly monitoring the place. They were constantly looking for her. And if they found her... Well, she didn't like to think of what would happen if they found her.
Ashley looked at the device on her wrist. She had another four days to go before she could jump again, before she could find somewhere else to hide for a while. She didn't know why no one else seemed to notice the device on her wrist. It must have looked odd, a big chunky thing as it was, with a series of complicated buttons and flashing lights. But no one would ever give her an odd look or even confront her about it. Even people she had befriended for a short amount of time wouldn't ask her about the device. It was just there. But at the same time it wasn't.
There was a slight chance that maybe they wouldn't look for her here. It was empty and silent, visible to all and she was a sitting target. They would expect her to be more intelligent and go for crowded streets or stay inside buildings. They wouldn't expect her to be as stupid as this. Besides, she liked quiet places like this, they gave her time to think.
Ashley brought the coffee cup to her lips, immediately inhaling the soothing waft of the sweet smell and feeling the heat on her chilled lips. She took a few sips before setting it back down, feeling the warm liquid run down her throat. It was a chilly day. She picked up the book she had balanced on her lap, flicking through the pages before occasionally glancing around the place to see if there were any newcomers or any signs that she was being watched. She was safe. Her attention focused back on the book.
The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking, she was fascinated by it. Of course she had read much better books on the theories of the universe that she had collected from the far future, but this still fascinated her of how humanity viewed the universe around these times. She had seen so much herself already, hopping from one time to another and being able to gather up the knowledge of different scientists in different ages. She was completely engrossed in knowledge, wanting to find out more all the time. But she was only young, she had so much more to learn and experience it excited her- She suddenly heard the chair on the adjacent table squeak as it was drawn back.
Ashley froze. She stopped reading but didn't move or pull her eyes away from the book. She just stopped thinking altogether, and her attention fully concentrated on the table behind her. She didn't turn round to see the person who had sat down, she kept her back to him and her hands still gripping the book so tight her fingers were turning white.
It could have been anyone. It could have just been another customer. But she could feel them staring at her, the hairs on the back of her neck prickles slightly as she felt their transfixed eyes bore into the back of her head. Ashley quietly closed her book shut, slipping it into her rucksack before picking up the coffee cup, still not turning around to see who was staring at her, it would only set them off. She was being cautious with her every move. Trying to make it look like she hadn't noticed them.
She sipped from her coffee cup quietly, not noticing her hands were shaking until she realised she wasn't actually drinking anything because the black liquid was splashing about in the cup. Ashley set the coffee cup down, clasping her trembling hands together and looking off towards the distance, pretending to gaze at a house and a cat.
"That's a nice watch you have there Miss Paulsen," The voice suddenly came from behind her.
Those words were like flicking a switch. Suddenly Ashley leapt from her seat, springing into life and grabbing her rucksack before she jumped over the table, scrambling away from the coffee shop.
They had found her. They had actually found her and it was all because of her stupidity. She had managed to survive for 3 weeks without being spotted, travelling all the way to London from Northampton so she could see the sights of London in 2010. But she had blew it all by one stupid mistake. And this was all over a cup of coffee.
Ashley darted off into the next street, running for her life and gasping as more and more "agents" started stepping out from driveways and from behind bushes. They all wore the same suits and shades, their hair scraped backwards and each of them wore an earpiece in which they were taking orders from. Ashley dodged away from the oncoming agents, skidding to the side and taking another turn. She was barely faster than them, but she was sure smarter than them, she tended to take the bends that were harder to turn at when you were running this fast and also choosing alleyways whenever they were possible.
Ashley soon found herself in the middle of a busy town center, bustling with heavy crowds and scurrying shoppers. Ashley kept her head down, she was short for her age, easily being swallowed up into the crowd and disappearing completely. She thought she had outrun them, that they had lost her, until she attempted to look back to see if they were still following, resulting in her walking into a woman holding a briefcase which then went flying into the air, sending papers discarding everywhere. Ashley muttered an apology, quickly looking around and meeting eyes with an agent who had looked in that direction as his attention was caught by the distraction. Ashley and the agent looked at each other, a few moments paused before Ashley backed off into the crowd and started running again, shortly followed by shouts and barking of orders.
She began pushing past shoppers and business men, people scowled at her and muttered insults as she shoved by but she was too panicked to care, running for her life. But the time she reached the corner, she was completely out of breath, her throat raspy as the cold made it saw and her ears prickle red. It was an alleyway just behind a chinese shop, the cobblestone floor was swimming with dirt and puddles and there was a small black cat crouched by the dustbins. But none of this struck as anything odd to Ashley. None of it was as odd as what she was looking at.
Ashley pulled down her hood, her eyebrows knitting together as she approached it, walking around it a few times before placing her hand on a wooden panel. A police box. A police public call box. She knew what one was, they were used years back for police officers to call the station while using the actual interiour as their own mini station to put criminals in. But this was impossible. From the looks of it, this one was a model from the sixties and looked to be in fairly good shape. How the hell had this survived? These hadn't been used in years and what was it doing at the back of a chinese store?
Ashley approached the blue doors of the thing, she felt like it was staring right back at her. She placed her hands on the handles, gripping the metal tightly before a voice came from behind her.
"Oi, leave that alone you."
Ashley looked at the device on her wrist. She had another four days to go before she could jump again, before she could find somewhere else to hide for a while. She didn't know why no one else seemed to notice the device on her wrist. It must have looked odd, a big chunky thing as it was, with a series of complicated buttons and flashing lights. But no one would ever give her an odd look or even confront her about it. Even people she had befriended for a short amount of time wouldn't ask her about the device. It was just there. But at the same time it wasn't.
There was a slight chance that maybe they wouldn't look for her here. It was empty and silent, visible to all and she was a sitting target. They would expect her to be more intelligent and go for crowded streets or stay inside buildings. They wouldn't expect her to be as stupid as this. Besides, she liked quiet places like this, they gave her time to think.
Ashley brought the coffee cup to her lips, immediately inhaling the soothing waft of the sweet smell and feeling the heat on her chilled lips. She took a few sips before setting it back down, feeling the warm liquid run down her throat. It was a chilly day. She picked up the book she had balanced on her lap, flicking through the pages before occasionally glancing around the place to see if there were any newcomers or any signs that she was being watched. She was safe. Her attention focused back on the book.
The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking, she was fascinated by it. Of course she had read much better books on the theories of the universe that she had collected from the far future, but this still fascinated her of how humanity viewed the universe around these times. She had seen so much herself already, hopping from one time to another and being able to gather up the knowledge of different scientists in different ages. She was completely engrossed in knowledge, wanting to find out more all the time. But she was only young, she had so much more to learn and experience it excited her- She suddenly heard the chair on the adjacent table squeak as it was drawn back.
Ashley froze. She stopped reading but didn't move or pull her eyes away from the book. She just stopped thinking altogether, and her attention fully concentrated on the table behind her. She didn't turn round to see the person who had sat down, she kept her back to him and her hands still gripping the book so tight her fingers were turning white.
It could have been anyone. It could have just been another customer. But she could feel them staring at her, the hairs on the back of her neck prickles slightly as she felt their transfixed eyes bore into the back of her head. Ashley quietly closed her book shut, slipping it into her rucksack before picking up the coffee cup, still not turning around to see who was staring at her, it would only set them off. She was being cautious with her every move. Trying to make it look like she hadn't noticed them.
She sipped from her coffee cup quietly, not noticing her hands were shaking until she realised she wasn't actually drinking anything because the black liquid was splashing about in the cup. Ashley set the coffee cup down, clasping her trembling hands together and looking off towards the distance, pretending to gaze at a house and a cat.
"That's a nice watch you have there Miss Paulsen," The voice suddenly came from behind her.
Those words were like flicking a switch. Suddenly Ashley leapt from her seat, springing into life and grabbing her rucksack before she jumped over the table, scrambling away from the coffee shop.
They had found her. They had actually found her and it was all because of her stupidity. She had managed to survive for 3 weeks without being spotted, travelling all the way to London from Northampton so she could see the sights of London in 2010. But she had blew it all by one stupid mistake. And this was all over a cup of coffee.
Ashley darted off into the next street, running for her life and gasping as more and more "agents" started stepping out from driveways and from behind bushes. They all wore the same suits and shades, their hair scraped backwards and each of them wore an earpiece in which they were taking orders from. Ashley dodged away from the oncoming agents, skidding to the side and taking another turn. She was barely faster than them, but she was sure smarter than them, she tended to take the bends that were harder to turn at when you were running this fast and also choosing alleyways whenever they were possible.
Ashley soon found herself in the middle of a busy town center, bustling with heavy crowds and scurrying shoppers. Ashley kept her head down, she was short for her age, easily being swallowed up into the crowd and disappearing completely. She thought she had outrun them, that they had lost her, until she attempted to look back to see if they were still following, resulting in her walking into a woman holding a briefcase which then went flying into the air, sending papers discarding everywhere. Ashley muttered an apology, quickly looking around and meeting eyes with an agent who had looked in that direction as his attention was caught by the distraction. Ashley and the agent looked at each other, a few moments paused before Ashley backed off into the crowd and started running again, shortly followed by shouts and barking of orders.
She began pushing past shoppers and business men, people scowled at her and muttered insults as she shoved by but she was too panicked to care, running for her life. But the time she reached the corner, she was completely out of breath, her throat raspy as the cold made it saw and her ears prickle red. It was an alleyway just behind a chinese shop, the cobblestone floor was swimming with dirt and puddles and there was a small black cat crouched by the dustbins. But none of this struck as anything odd to Ashley. None of it was as odd as what she was looking at.
Ashley pulled down her hood, her eyebrows knitting together as she approached it, walking around it a few times before placing her hand on a wooden panel. A police box. A police public call box. She knew what one was, they were used years back for police officers to call the station while using the actual interiour as their own mini station to put criminals in. But this was impossible. From the looks of it, this one was a model from the sixties and looked to be in fairly good shape. How the hell had this survived? These hadn't been used in years and what was it doing at the back of a chinese store?
Ashley approached the blue doors of the thing, she felt like it was staring right back at her. She placed her hands on the handles, gripping the metal tightly before a voice came from behind her.
"Oi, leave that alone you."