THE LUCKY ONES: Chapter Two

I needed to get to Washington, and I needed to get there fast. It was the only safe spot in the entire world now, as it all was about to end. The cops where chasing me down the freeway, creating utter chaos in their midst. I drove ruthlessly fast, still managing to add a certain control over the madness that unfolded on these roads. The cops were maybe a mile behind me, but they were gaining fast; all the cars on the freeway are determined to let the police through. Good for them, bad for me. I shift the gear on the car, going faster than ever now, thinking that the car might not hold together much longer, as I pass an old piece-of-shit car and disappears, just as I'd seen in my glimpse.

CALIFORNIA - 2 Weeks earlier
I reached California two days after seeing the man that some time in the future would hold a gun to my face. Why, I had no idea, but I was currently under the assumption that he would be the end of me. A little scared that I would have more flashes like this, I started to drive at night and sleep at day. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense; at night, there were fewer out driving, so I wouldn't suddenly glimpse all my futures with other people in the middle of the road, perhaps losing control of the car and killing myself, along with a bunch of innocent people. I kept out of the freeways, keeping to the dirty side-roads. It would probably take a little longer that way, but if everybody made it out alive I was pleased. I ate in the car, tried to keep away from people and make my way to California, the wonderful place that offered a whole new beginning, which was just what I needed now.

I drove into the State of California at about 3 in the morning. By then I had been on the road about four days, and I was thirsty for a beer. Actually, I would go for anything with alcohol in it. Feeling awake and clear-minded, I parked my car and walked in to the nearest bar. I didn't meet anyone when I walked over there; perhaps that was the reason why I completely forgot that I could glimpse my futures with all the people I met. I had never wondered how this ability of mine would in a group of people, but let me tell you - it was not pleasant. The moment I walked through the door and into the bar I was bombarded with a million glimpses of what felt like a billion roads. I didn't even get them sorted out - they all came at me at the same time, fighting for a place in my head. It felt like my mind was about to explode; I fell to the floor, unable to stand up. No one cared - I don't even think anyone had noticed me at this point. After a while the glimpses passed, and with what felt like the worst headache I'd had all my life, I walked over to the bar; my thirst for something alcohol-y had reached a place where it never had been before. I ordered a Scotch, showed my ID and downed the drink at once. Then I ordered another one, paid for both and left the bar, not speaking to anyone. I needed to think, and the crappy hip-hop/rap-music they played so loud that the entire East coast vibrated didn't really help my headache.
  I found a bench outside, thinking of my ability, taking regular sips of my drink, coming to conclusions that later would prove me wrong. After about three minutes of worthless, drunk thinking, someone sat down next to me. I didn't pay any notice to him at first, thinking he was tired of the crappy music they always played loud at those places, just like I was. He had a beer in his hand. "Hello there." I took another sip of the Whisky, then turned, preparing myself for a whole new bunch of glimpses, hopefully in chronological order now. After three seconds of looking weirdly at him, I opened my mouth. "Hi." He smiled, taking another sip of his beer. "You one of those "instant headache"-people?" he said, staring straight ahead. "Excuse me?" I was shocked; baffled even. Who the hell was this guy, why hadn't I had my glimpses yet and what the fuck was he talking about? "When you entered the bar. You looked like you had a stroke or something." Of course. This guy was in the bar - that certainly explained a few things. What he was talking about, for instance. I smiled, laughing a wee bit of what I presumed had been a joke. "No, man. No instant-headache here. It was just..." I stopped dead. How the fuck was I going to explain this? "It's alright mate." I suddenly noticed a British-like accent; one that had been partly destroyed after many years in America. I sipped my drink, just as he sipped his beer. Then he said the most chilling words I had ever heard thus far on my journey; "I know who you are." In retrospect, what he followed up with might have been more intimidating. "I know what you can do. And I know why you are here." I was puzzled now. "Who are you?" He smiled and finished his beer. I didn't drink more; my mind was doped enough as it is. When the beer bottle was empty, he threw it, as hard as he could, toward a wall. But just before it was about to break, he lifted his hand, focused on the bottle. He spread his fingers, and the bottle stopped, floating in the air. He looked at me, grinning now. He snapped his fingers, and the bottle imploded, sending a million pieces of glass everywhere but our direction. He then looked at me, seriously, and began speaking. "We are The Lucky Ones. For years, we've felt attracted to this place. We have waited for "the one who sees multiple roads." And when we find him..." The man smiled, a big wide smile that went all the way up to his eyes. "we'll save the world."

TO BE CONTINUED

Comments

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For some reason I am totally imagining this bar-guy being played by Kim Coates.
The description of all that mental noise knocking the protagonist down is great, because we hadn't seen him in this type of situation before so it was really cool to discover the drawbacks to being able to pick out possible roads to the future.
I did think that the "one who sees multiple roads" was a teeeeeensy bit cheezy and I was hoping that he would say it in kind of a faux-sarcastic way because it sort of reminded me a bit of "Save the cheerleader, save the world" and it felt a little out of place to have the kind of stereotypical "prophecy" type speech with everything else that was pretty normal. I liked this chapter, though, and I can't wait to find out how they are going to save the world. Internet high five!