Me and Tara’s Trip Through Time

We spent the day just chilling and relaxing, and then the night came. We were hanging out by the campfire and talking. I figured that this would be a good time to tell Genevieve and Stephon about me and Tara's trip back to Willow Creek and to the world of the far past.

"Alright, you two," I said to Genevieve and Stephon. "It's time to share the details about what happened to me and Tara."

"I'm listening," Genevieve replied.

"Spill the beans, brother," Stephon responded.

Me and Tara began to explain to Genevieve and Stephon about what happened to us. We told them about how the portal brought us to the world of the far past and that we were teenagers in some alternative reality built upon me and Tara's past.

"Dude, this is all just getting so messed up," Stephon said. "Before we came to this world and time, I would've never thought any of this could ever be possible."

"Yeah," Genevieve replied. "Who would've ever thought that traveling through time and ending up in a different reality would ever be possible."

"I know," Tara responded to Genevieve. "It's a lot to take in."

"Well, there's still more to the story!" I said to Genevieve and Stephon.

I began to explain to Genevieve and Stephon about how I somehow managed to bring me and Tara back to Willow Creek 1994. I told them about how they didn't exist while we were there.

"That's scary," Genevieve said.

"Wow!" Stephon responded. "So, we really didn't exist?"

"No," Tara replied to Stephon. "We even called the Blue Velvet to ask about Genevieve, but the manager said that their records didn't show anyone by that name ever working there."

"Yeah, it was pretty harrowing," I said to Genevieve and Stephon. "It was as if there was some kind of corruption in time that left you two in the world of the future and erased your existence in the past."

"As soon as we found out that you two didn't exist, we went straight for the portal in Glimmerbrook," Tara responded.

"However, when we went through the portal, it didn't bring us to the world of the future as it did before," I said. "It brought us back to the world of the far past."

"When me and Ricky returned to the world of the far past, also known as British Columbia, it changed."

"What do you mean it changed?" Genevieve asked.

Tara explained to Genevieve about the changes and differences between the two times we were in the world of the far past including how the second time we were there that there were ruins scattered across the lands.

"Yeah, it was like another alternative reality of the already alternative reality of me and Tara's past," I said to Genevieve.

"So, what are your and Tara's real pasts then, brother?" Stephon asked.

"I don't know," I said. "And neither does Tara."

"We don't remember," Tara responded. "It's all a blank except for a few experiences that me and Ricky experienced during our stay in British Columbia that showed some memories of us together when we were young."

"Based on the memories that we saw, Me and Tara knew each other before Willow Creek," I said to Stephon. "And British Columbia, the world of the far past, is where we met at some point in time."

"Besides the experiences we had, the only memories me and Ricky have are those of Willow Creek 1992 and up until now."

"Yeah, pretty much," I said "Well, I have some memory fragments of certain points in my life, but even those are covered with fog around them."

"What do you mean by memory fragments?" Genevieve asked.

"For example, I can remember certain specific moments of my past, but I can't remember where or exactly when that moment happened," I replied to Genevieve. "And it's also isolated to those specific moments in where I can't remember what happened before or after that moment."

Me, Tara, Genevieve, and Stephon were silent for a few minutes while we were thinking about this whole situation, and then Genevieve mentioned something important.

"What about Brian?" Genevieve asked me and Tara. "Was he in Willow Creek when you two returned?"

"Sorry, I forgot to mention him," I replied. "I did call him, but there was no answer."

I can't believe that I had forgotten about my good friend Brian, and we still haven't even found him here in the world of the future yet.

"My poor Brian," Genevieve responded. "He's still lost out there somewhere."

"We have to make finding him our next priority," I said.

"I agree, Ricky," Tara replied. "It's been quite a while now, and now that the rest of us are together, we know that he's alone out there."

"Yeah, that ain't good," Stephon responded.

It was a nice day of relaxing and chilling. Tomorrow, we have some important planning to do, especially since Brian is out there alone in this brutal world. I still can't believe I forgot about him. I could only imagine how bad I would feel if I found a way to bring us all back to Willow Creek 1994 but accidentally left him here because I forgot about him. Okay, that's enough thinking for one day. I'm going to get some sleep now.

I'm looking up at the stars right now. I'm thinking of us, me and Tara.

I close my eyes. I see Tara. She's standing by a river in the early morning. She looks so beautiful.

"What are you doing lying on the ground out here so early in the morning, Ricky?" Tara asks.

"I was trying to get some sleep in the good ole outdoors, but I couldn't help but get distracted by the stars," I reply. "When I was finally able to close my eyes, I was beginning to experience another vision. I saw you standing by a river in the early morning."

​

"Please, do tell me more," Tara says.

​

"Well, when you asked me what I was doing lying on the ground, it broke the vision I was experiencing," I respond. "You standing by the river was the last thing I saw."

​

"I wonder what the vision was trying to show you," Tara says. "Speaking of a river, and since we're both awake, why don't we go down to the shore and enjoy the scenery together."

​

"Sure, I'd love that," I reply.

"I'll race you there!" Tara yells.

​

"No fair! You got a head start again!" I shout.

"Nope! You're just too slow, Ricky!" Tara yells.

Me and Tara are running towards the shore. As I'm running, I'm looking up at the stars again...

The stars, I'm beginning to drift towards the stars...

I hear Tara's voice. She's calling my name...

I pull myself back, and I'm no longer drifting towards the stars. Me and Tara are standing by the shore together.

Me and Tara are talking, but we are interrupted. There's something falling from the sky...

A dark star is falling from the sky...

The dark star crashes into the world...

The explosion from the dark star knocked me to the ground. I'm lying in a puddle of my own blood. I'm having flashbacks of me in some other time. I see myself being tormented with pain and horror...

I free myself from the horrible visions. I'm drifting through the cosmos. I see a figure in the distance...

It's Tara. We drift towards each other.

"Ricky, I just saw everything you saw," Tara says.

"It was horrible," I reply. "It's so hard to imagine that I would ever become so low in life."

"I love you, Ricky," Tara responds. "No matter what world or time we're in, I will not let you die, especially by self-inflicted harm."

I remain quiet.

"Do you hear me?!" Tara shouts.

The cosmos begins to fade. I open my eyes and see a bright sky.

"It looks like we're back. How are you feeling?" Tara asks. "When the dark star hit the ground and exploded, you were struck by several pieces of sharp rock. You lost quite a bit of blood." ​ "Yeah, I remember I was bleeding pretty heavy before I passed out and drifted into that experience," I reply. "I'm feeling fine though, but I do find it quite interesting that we're now having these experiences together." ​ "I know, and I wish I knew why it's happening," Tara says. "I was tending to your wounds, and after I got the bleeding to stop, I fainted. I was then seeing the same horrible visions that you were seeing, and then we drifted towards each other in the cosmos."

​

"Tara, I want to thank you for what you said to me when we were in the cosmos," I respond. "I know that you'll always be there for me, and despite what the visions were showing us, I would never do anything to harm myself."

"Those visions scared me, Ricky," Tara replies. "I don't think you would harm yourself either, but even if you tried, I would never let you."

I kiss Tara, and then I look towards the sky. The irreversible damage that has been done, I've been tarnished... Time has definitely not been my friend...