Disturbed Lincoln

4

     After school, I spent an hour at home doing nothing. Boredom pushed me to the brink of a mental breakdown, leaving me with just my darkest and most erratic thoughts. Helmgrove Street isn't very far from where I live, so I decided to get some exercise. Upon arrival, I took immediate notice of Clyde and Rusty chatting out front. Stella opened the front door and walked out with a metal baking tray. "Cookies are done. Oh, Lincoln! You're here! Okay, everyone come inside with what you brought!" she said before they all three went inside. What did she mean by 'with what you brought?' Was I supposed to bring something? Stella waited, holding the door open for me. "It's getting dark out! Get inside!" Her words broke my brief hesitation and I finally waltzed in as well.

     Traversing through her house like it was a labyrinth, we turned several times and ventured through a few halls before coming to a room at the end of one, where a large horoscope banner was displayed in a themed room. Fully entered, I spun around, scrutinizing the walls in their overwhelming entirety. The room was illuminated by artificial blue light, which emanated from a fake rock functioning as some sort of lamp. There were lit candles, yoga mats, and hung dreamcatchers. This holistic scene was a lot to take in, to the point where I nearly walked out. Stella closed the door behind us, though, so escape was no longer an option. I was now being falsely imprisoned in a blue pagan dungeon.

     "This is my bedroom," she said. "I know, I've been here plenty of times," says Rusty. She punched him in the stomach and he fell to his knees, whining. She didn't let his interruption stop her though and went on speaking. "As I was saying, I decorated the place myself, not to toot my own horn, but I think the aesthetic really works. What do you think, Lincoln? You like it?" I held back my complaining and cut straight to the point. "Why am I here, exactly?" Everyone looked at each other and smiled, then they all pulled a thing out of their pockets. Everyone's "thing" was different. "We want you to help us see... ahead of time," said Clyde. Great, so they invited me here only to have me read their fortunes or some bullcrap.

     Rusty brought his thing to me first, and he limped over in pain to give it to me. "Damn it, did you have to hit me so hard?" he said to Stella. She said nothing, replying with a scornful stare. He handed me a photo of an elderly woman. He added context, commenting "That's my grandmother. She's getting older and older and... I'd just like to know how long I have left with her." I slammed my palm to my forehead. "Rusty—everybody—I can't do this. This is ridiculous! I can't tell the future, I'm not a visionary, I'm just an ordinary kid who's constantly tired and stressed, and would just like to be home right now." Rusty locked his hands together to plead. "Please, Lincoln? Just this once! Please please please!" His eyes were sorrowful and I could tell he cared. So, humoring him, I stared at the photo for a minute. A good, solid sixty seconds or however long, and expected to see nothing special. To my surprise, my expectation was wrong.

     On the photograph shined a series of red patterns looping in a circle. It was visually satanic, but not inherently. It was ridden with symbology and Latin characters I didn't understand. What I did understand, however, was the large number three that glowed in the center of the ring. My face didn't hide my surprise and Rusty noticed my eyes widen. "Well?" he asked. I slowly turned my head to him, slightly frightened by the revelation I was coming to. I really might have... precognition. Sight of the future; A foreteller; A prophet. I wanted to look down at my hands and ask "What am I?"

"Three years, Rusty. Or... three days. All I saw was a three." He was shaken by this. He looked like he was going to faint. "What? You mean like it could be three hours even? Three seconds?!" I started to zone out. How could I focus on anything when I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack? My heart started racing, my fingers started trembling, every breath was short and strained... I felt like I was going to die. I ran back the way we came, soon coming to the front door and ripping it open to leave. I fell into the grass and tried to focus on the earth beneath me, but I felt everything tilting around me over and over, dizzying me and instilling nausea in my throat. I lied for a few minutes until the three came out and found me virtually insensible, verging on unconscious.

"Should we call an ambulance?!" Clyde yelled. "Nah, my mom gets these all the time. He'll be fine in like ten minutes." What a pitiful scene, where I lay on the floor in distress, while the others talk and look down at me. I wanted everyone to give me some space, but I couldn't catch my breath long enough to say anything. "We... could rain check for Saturday?" Stella said with hesitation. "Yeah... raincheck," Clyde repeated with a sense of sadness for me dwelling on his words. Rusty shrugged, and with that, they all sat around me and conversed about school, until what felt like hours later, when I regained my composure and was able to stand. We went home that night, and Clyde walked home with me. "Sorry we pushed you like that," he said. "If you weren't comfortable, I wouldn't have-"

"It's fine, Clyde. Right now, I don't want to talk. I just want to go home, alright?" He nodded and his eyes went downcast. The rest of the walk was silent, and I didn't hear a thing for the rest of the way.