Her feet frantically hit the ground beneath at a quickened rhythmic pace, making her legs hurt terribly. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as if it was going to jump out of her body any second as she forced herself to run faster. She kept looking over her shoulder as she hurried through the trees and rocks as fast as her body humanly could. The small tears of fears and exhaustion in her eyes merely masked the strength and determination hidden in those dark eyes of hers.

January 2001

Isabel felt a drop of salty sweat roll down the back of her neck as she quickened the pace of her running. She crossed the street carefully, as she spotted the sign of the Crashdown from afar. The Crashdown. Everyone probably already were there, either waiting for her or worrying about her. She rather decided to concentrate on her breathing as she kept on jogging.

January 2020

The young woman’s dark cargo pants slightly brushed against her skin as she ran as fast as she could in the sand. She’d always been a great runner. It must have run in her family. A few drops of rain fell from the cloudy sky. She could ear the cars behind her. Following her. Chasing her.

“Get her!” A man shouted at the group of other men following him. “Don’t let her get away. She’s the last one of them…I want this one alive!” he yelled at the top of his lungs as they ran through the woods.

January 2001

Isabel could see herself approaching the Crashdown more and more. Her black sports pants and tight white t-shirt did not exactly reflect the fashionable Isabel everyone believed her to be. But she didn’t care. Somehow, she simply did not care at all. She barely noticed the people walking her by. She was too focused on pushing herself physically, as if it would erase any concrete thought from her mind. Exhaustion was one of the ways Isabel had discovered to cope with her fears and confusion. Exhaustion. But it only worked for so little time.

“Vilandra…Vilandra…” she kept hearing in her head. Max’s voice. Nicholas’ voice. Whitaker’s voice…they all called her the same thing. “Vilandra.”

A couple more drops of sweat covered her forehead as she sprinted her way passed the Crashdown altogether, choosing to go for another laps around the block.

January 2020

Her long dark hair hit her face and she fell on her knees into the cold sand. Quickly pulling herself up, she managed to reach the cave she’d been eying from a distance. Out of breath, she made her way inside. This was her last chance. Her last chance to save her family’s destiny. Her last chance to save what was left of herself.

She rushed farther inside the cave before throwing herself on the ground. She knelt on the slightly cold ground, and grabbed a backpack that had been hidden behind a rock. She glanced towards the entrance as fears sparkled from her eyes in the darkness. Unable to catch her breath, she started running yet again, and only stopped when she came face to face with a wall.

“It has to work…It has to…” she whispered to herself, kneeling in front of it.

She closed her eyes and opened her hand, facing upward and desperately tried to concentrate. She’d done this before and she could do it again. She’d been taught to do it right. A bright light suddenly emanated from her hand and the young woman opened her eyes, keeping all her energy on her forearm. The light reflected on the wall in front of her and soon a map of constellations appeared on the rocks. The more she concentrated, the clearer the constellations got. After a few seconds, the wall opened and revealed one of the most precious things she’d ever heard about: The granolith. She looked up and reached one hand over to the granolith to touch it, then closed her eyes.

When the troupes of men arrived to the cave, the young woman had already disappeared into thin air. They stepped into the cave just in time to see the granolith explode in front of them, sending them all falling backwards.

--

2001

Max, Michael, Liz and Maria and Tess were talking in the Crashdown during a rather hot afternoon. As they did almost every day at this time of year, Liz and Maria were working a double shift.

“Where’s Isabel?” Maria asked, bringing Max and Michael their breakfast.

“Running…” Michael answered as vaguely as only Michael could.

“For some reason, I never saw Isabel as the sports enthusiastic type, so what’s up? What’s going on with her?” She enquired with an intrigued frown.

“She’s just…She’s got a lot on her mind.” Max answered looking slightly worried for his sister.

“The Vilandra thing, right?” Liz asked as she joined them.

“I’m just afraid of what this is going to do to her.” Max said almost to himself.

“What do you mean?” Maria asked him as Liz sat down beside them.

“Ever since this Vilandra thing has come up, she’s been acting different.” Max confessed as both Liz and Maria nodded. “She’s more vulnerable, if that is even remotely possible for Isabel. I never thought it would, but…she’s very isolated emotionally and I don’t know what this is going to do to her. She’s acting differently.”

“She’s rarely going out anymore.” Maria agreed as everyone shared a short pause.

“What if she just likes running?” Michael added, taking a bite in his toast.

At this very moment, the door opened, revealing a young woman in dark cargos and a tight green t-shirt. She scanned the room quickly and sat down at the counter, grabbing a menu. She seemed slightly uncomfortable…nervous. Maria walked behind the counter, grabbed her pen and paper and walked towards the stranger.

“Good morning. Can I get you anything from the kitchen?” Maria asked with a smile. “Hello?” she added when the young woman did not respond. “Hello?! Earth calling…” Maria said when the stranger simply stared blankly at her.

She seemed partly stunned by the sight of Maria. She hadn’t truly been prepared for this.

“Funny…” she thought out loud.

“Can I get you anything? This morning we have the special which is…” Maria started but did not get to finish that sentence.

“No thanks…I’m…I’m not hungry.” She hurriedly said with a twinkle of worry in her eyes.

“Oh…Okay…” Maria replied, shooting a strange look at Liz from across the room.

“Do you know where I can find Isabel Evans?” she immediately asked a stunned Maria.

“Who’s looking for Isabel?” Alex asked with a smile as he walked to them from behind.

He sat at the counter beside the young woman and a silence fell between the three of them as the stranger stared at Alex. Her face almost dropped and Maria almost could have sworn she saw a tear in the girl’s eyes.

“Alex…” she spoke almost instinctively.

“Do I know you?” Alex asked suddenly feeling a strange vibe in the room.

“Who are you?” Maria asked jumping into her protective mode.

Before the young girl could answer, the door opened and Isabel walked in, catching her breath. Both Alex and Maria rushed towards Isabel to warn her about the strange person asking for her. The stranger looked over at Isabel and suddenly felt extremely insecure. She hadn’t been entirely prepared to come face to face with Maria and Alex, much less Isabel. Isabel Evans. She was exactly like she remembered her. They all were.

“Isabel…” Alex said in a warning voice as he and Maria intercepted her at the door.

“There’s someone looking for you….something weird about her. She’s sitting at the…” Maria said turning around to show Isabel, but she only found an empty seat. “Where did she go??”

Isabel walked to the counter, looking around the restaurant. She picked up the menu that was now lying on the floor and at the second she touched it, she got a flash of a young brunette jumping through a glass window. The fear, the hurt, and the pain – it felt all so real that Isabel had to lean against the counter to maintain her balance.

Alex, Maria and Max rushed to her instantly. The others followed seconds after. Isabel grabbed Alex’s arm and opened her eyes. She looked at the menu she was holding and gasped at the sight of it.

Alex pointed that the girl must have left when Isabel walked in. Isabel, against Max’s protest, walked right through the group and rushed outside, frantically looking around herself. No one. The street was almost empty. Max came out holding the menu that Isabel had previously dropped to the ground. He, Isabel, Michael and Tess shared a fearful, concerned look. Isabel took a few steps forward after taking the menu from Max’s hands.