Time Is on Our Side

He sat in the passenger seat of the classic Chevy, a classic rock tape blasting out of the speakers and a smile on his face. He had never been more happy than he had at that moment. He turned his head to look at the driver. His father. He felt a sense of pride when his father strolled into the room and tossed him a shotgun. It was time, his father told him, time to come hunting with him. Before that, he and his younger brother were always shipped off to some family friend. But not this time. This time it was him who would say goodbye to his brother. He felt like a man. For once, his father was proud of him.

They were a few miles outside of Broken Bow Oklahoma, on some back stretch of county road, when they saw something strange. A pair of lights was shining in the darkness and it took a minute for them to come up on the scene. A Jeep was flipped up on its side several feet from the highway, lying on its top at the bottom of a ravine.

***********

He sat up in the bed and looked down at the his hand. Discharge papers that he was supposed to sign. But, he had been starting at the part where you sign your name, trying to grasp it. It was right there, on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't reach for it.

"Need some help?"

He turned his head at the familiar sound of her voice. It had been echoing in his head since he had woken up from a strange dream. He could only remember bits and pieces of it: A face contoured into pain, dark chestnut hair stained dark with blood. "Hey..." He sighed and looked down at the documents. "Discharge papers." When he looked up, he noticed the look of shock on her face. He smiled at her, the right side of his mouth slid up. "What can I say, I'm a fast healer."

Savannah knew her face showed her shock just by the way he was looking at her. She quickly shut the door on her emotions. She reached out her hand. "Can I see?"

"Yeah." He slid the papers into her hand, feeling her fingers lightly brush his.

She slowly sat down in the chair, her focus on the blurry words before her. Dammit. She blinked back the tears and looked up. "Says here that you suffered some minor head trauma."

"Ahh..so that would explain why my head hurt like a son of a bitch." His husky voiced huffed in a short, sarcastic laugh.

"Comedian now are you?" She shook her head and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "What are your plans? Do you have family coming to get you." She tossed the papers next to him where they touched his blank covered thigh.

"I..." His forehead creased in confusion. "I don't know."

"Hmm..." Savannah bit her lower lip and looked at the man sitting up in that bed, looking at her with those beautiful eyes of his. What she said next, took her by complete surprise. "I have an apartment, above my garage. You can stay with me until your memory comes back."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"Why don't we cross that bridge when we get to it." She leaned over to the night stand and took the pen and wrote something down on the pad. She then reached into the pocket of her scrubs and took out her keys. She slid one silver key out from the ring and placed it on top of the pad. "My shift doesn't end till midnight and I know you're itching to get out of here."

He looked over at the pad and then at Savannah, shocked out how trusting she was. "How do you know I won't take off with all your stuff?"

Savannah shrugged. "I don't." She smiled through her lie. She didn't want to tell this man that she could sense the good inside of him and something else a little darker. He was struggling to keep something under control, something that was pure evil. She warned her self not to look any further, but it was calling to her, wanting her to reach just a little further. She tried to close her mind around it, but she could sense him blocking her from going any further.

She shook off the thoughts and noticed he was staring at her. His eyes were wide and his strong mouth was slack as if he was in the middle of speaking. She quickly got up from the chair. "I..I have to get back to work."

On the way out of the room, Savannah quickly slid the curtain along the rod, shutting that man away from her view. She leaned her back up against the wall and put a hand on her chest. She could feel her heart banging against her palm. Her stomach churned and she fought against the feeling of the nausea that suddenly formed.

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the woman in the white nightgown that was standing across from her. The woman's voice echoed in her head and she tried to push it out, but she was just too exhausted. He needs you.

Her eyes fluttered open to see the woman was still standing there, her blonde hair and her nightgown blowing in an unseen breeze. The woman was beautiful, but her eyes held such sadness.

"Who are you?"

The woman looked past her to where the man lay in the room, smiled at Savannah and then disappeared with a warm breeze that was hinted with a tinge of smoke.

*********

"Thanks."

He slid the money towards the opening of the slat and handed the cabbie the wad. He opened the back door and stepped out onto the pavement, his boots quiet on the cement. As he looked back behind him to see the tail lights of the cab disappear around the corner, he stuffed his hands into the pocket of the denim jacket he was wearing and took out the white piece of paper. He had found a truck unlocked and when he opened it, he found a blue bag sitting on the front inside. Tucked in side were several changes of clothes and a wallet.

He took the change of clothes and took out the money, which totaled $300. He threw the empty wallet back into the back and left the truck.

He stepped onto the curb and began to follow the sidewalk through the winding apartment buildings that consisted of town homes. Every couple of steps he would look down at the stationary pad with the neat hand writing, to see what the address was.

He came to the condo that was tucked between two others just identical to it. He took out the key from the denim jacket and slid it into the lock and swung open the door. He was instantly hit with a waft of lavender and it made the skin on the back of his neck start to prickle.

He shut the door with his boot and slid the lock into place and took in the surroundings of his environment. A single lamp was on next to the black leather couch and he noticed a set of stairs in the back of the living room. He assumed this was where the bedrooms were located.

It was sparsely furnished, different odds and ends tucked around on shelves or tables. A four seat dinning room was crammed in next to the stairs and it was evident she lived alone. The surface of the table was littered with old magazines and newspapers.

The few pictures that were on plain view, seemed to be of just her and her family. No friends anywhere. He walked up to one picture that was placed on the mantle of the brick fireplace. It was a picture of a man with dark hair that was slicked back and non existent smile on his face.

He placed the picture back on the mantel and decided to see what was upstairs. He felt a little odd about doing so, but he had to know more about this woman.

The first bedroom he encountered just off the landing, he guessed to be hers. He pushed the door open and stepped into the room, his boots creaked along the floor.

A king size bed was crammed into the room, covered in a purple comforter. He had to smile as he noticed the pink paint on the walls and the purple lamp and dresser tucked into the corner. It seemed to him, she was hiding the woman that she truly was.

He walked over to the dresser and noticed a music box with a ballerina on top. He lifted the lid and jumped back when it began to chime a song, the dancer slowly spun on top as he slid open the ceramic lid. All he could see was jewelry, ear rings and a sliver cross necklace. Well, she's not much for jewelry. He smiled as he sat the box back on the dresser, but misjudged the distance.

He turned as he heard the crash and looked down to see that the box had tumbled to the hardwood floor, which caused it to crack at the bottom. He slowly picked up the box and noticed the hinges.

He took the box over to the bed and slowly sat down on the comforter. He turned the box over onto his lap and a piece of paper tumbled out onto his jeans. It was folded in half and as he opened the crinkled page, he noticed it was a clipping from a newspaper. The head line made the hair on the back of his neck begin to prickle.

Mystery Man and his son save local teenager

Authorities credited a man and his son with saving a local teenager's life after she was ejected from the car she was riding in flipped just outside of Broken Bow Oklahoma.

Two people were killed after the SUV they were riding in, rolled several times, coming to rest at the bottom of a ravine.

The wreck happened at about 9:30 p.m. after Dan Jensen, 30, of Tulsa was driving southbound when he crossed the center line and for unknown reasons, flipped the Wagoneer.

Jensen's vehicle overturned several times, ejecting the teenager who was asleep in the back seat, the highway patrol said. He was and his wife, Katherine, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The man and his son administered first aide to the teenager, called 911 and by the time paramedics arrived, had left the scene. The Jensen family are urging the community with any information on who the two rescuers were. Any information regarding this, please contact your local police station.

He jumped out of his skin when he heard the grandfather clock chime its hour and he swore to himself. He quickly stuffed the newspaper clipping back into the hidden hatch. He made sure that the jewelry box was placed in the same position he found it and closed the bedroom door.

The mystery around who he he was, was starting to get a little deeper. As he walked out of the back door, he noticed the garage and used the key to open the door and walked up to the stairs to the apartment that waited him.