Here is a novel which I’ve written back in 2015 (when I was still in Dumpling City). I think I’ve written it AFTER the hacking of my computer (and my stuff got stolen and might or might not have been used by other people), and after I’ve switched to using Linux, but anyway, here’s a screenshot of the properties (data) of the odt file (for some reason, the creation date of the file is “unknown”, though).
I’ve decided to post the novel here. I’ve changed a couple of things from the original story. I wrote it in 2015, it was set to happen in 2022 (the date that is mentioned at the beginning). I’ve changed it to happen in 2027 (the date that is mentioned at the beginning).
All characters and events in this novel are fictional (obviously). This is a piece of FICTION and should be interpreted as such. Any resemblance with real people or situations would be pure coincidence.
I haven’t really split the story in chapters, as it’s a rather short novel. I’ll post it by parts.
“What… is going on ?”, she wondered
It was dark already. She wasn’t sure what time it was, nor what date. She had no idea what she was doing here.
She was in the woods at night, with no cell phone, no belongings. It was so dark, she could barely see anything. She tried to walk along a small dirt road and see where it would lead. She walked for 20 minutes before arriving to a car.
“Is this my car ?”, she wondered.
The door wasn’t locked. As she opened the door, she was blinded by the inside light of the car. The keys were on the ignition.
What she saw horrified her : she was wearing a white dress, which was covered in blood. She looked at all this blood in shock. She wasn’t hurt, it wasn’t hers.
“What happened ?”, she wondered, starting to freak out.
“I need to get the hell out of here”
The clock indicated it was 4:15 am. The car was funny, beeping at any chance it got : “close the door”, “put your seatbelt on”.
She had no idea where she was or how to go home. She wasn’t even sure where she lived. She was trying to remember, but no matter how hard she was trying, nothing came to her mind, except for a sensation of dizziness.
She eventually drove out of the woods and into a main road. It was deserted, which made her realise she was in the middle of nowhere. She suddenly hit the brakes at the sight of a road sign. “Seattle – 31 miles”. She just froze. She didn’t understand what was happening. She didn’t understand why she was there.
“How am I in Seattle ?”, she wondered in shock
“How am I in the USA ?!”
She decided to stop at a rest area, praying she wouldn’t encounter anyone. She felt relieved as it was empty. She checked the back seats of the car and found a bag, inside of which she found her papers, a bit of makeup, cigarettes and a lighter.
“So, it is my car”, she thought. “Why ? I hate this type of car…”
She then proceeded to check the trunk of the car. She found 2 bags, filled with her clothes and other belongings. She searched for a gun, but there wasn’t any.
She went to the tiny bathroom of the rest area. It wasn’t very clean and was poorly lighted. The tap water was freezing cold, she had no choice but to use it to clean herself from all the blood.
“What I am supposed to do with this dress ?”, she suddenly wondered, panicking.
“I don’t even know whose blood it is. Maybe it’s not human blood ? Maybe I hit a deer and buried it ? Why would I even do that, though ?”, she thought, hoping that it wasn’t what it looked like.
“I’m going to go to the airport and take the first flight to Paris. Or do I need to go to another country, where there is no international agreement and they can’t arrest me for whatever I did ? Which country would that be ? North Korea ?” The more she was thinking, the more she was panicking.
She decided to burn the dress. Fortunately, there was a metallic trash can. She lit the dress on fire. Luckily, it was made of synthetic fibers, which made it easy to completely burn.
After making sure she had completely cleaned every single trace of blood off of her, she went back to the car and drove in direction to the airport.
“I’ll just leave the car there, I guess. Wouldn’t that be an easy track for the police to follow ? Do they know ? What happened ? What if they wait for me in Charles De Gaulle airport ? Would they take me back here ? Can they ? Jail time in France would be shorter, especially if it’s shortened for good conduct. Maybe nobody knows. I can’t risk to stay here and find out”. She was lost in her thoughts, not really sure she was taking the right decision, as she had no idea of what had actually happened.
She arrived at the airport’s ticket selling desk, feeling extremely nervous. “What if the police arrive as soon as the airport crew checks my passport ?”, she wondered.
“Hi, I’d like to purchase a ticket to Paris, please.”, she said to the hostess.
“Sure. ID, please.”
“When would you like to leave ?”, asked the hostess after the usual ID checking.
“As soon as possible… I have an urgent meeting in Paris to attend.”
“I’ve checked our database, do you wish to travel in first class, window seat, as usual ?”, asked the hostess.
“Sure”, she answered, not really sure if she could afford it. “The PIN… What’s my credit card PIN ?, she suddenly asked herself. “Oh wait, I know that… I guess the mind can always get hold of certain things… Hmm…”
“Here you go, Miss Gauthier. The plane will take off at 10:55 am. Please go through the security screening and boarding procedures 2 hours prior to boarding time.”
“Thank you”, she said as she was grabbing the ticket.
She looked at it and just froze. “23 May 2027” was the date indicated on it.
“I need to sit down for a while”, she thought, in shock.
She looked at the time, it was 6:20. She had to wait there for while, alone with her thoughts.
The time seemed to pass at a very slow pace. All she wanted was to get out of there.
“What am I going to do now ? First get in Paris, then take the tgv to Lyon, stay at my parent’s for a while. What if they ask questions ? Maybe they’ve got answers. Or maybe I should stay in an hotel in Paris for a few days ? Maybe I should go to Nice ? Looks like I can afford all that ? How ? What happened ? Why can’t I just remember ? What if it was really just a deer ? What is going to happen to me now ?”
She couldn’t stop thinking about it over and over again. She was panicking, but trying to stay calm enough to not look suspicious. The wait seemed the longest ever. The time for check-in eventually arrived.
She was now aboard the plane. Her heart was racing. She wouldn’t be able to calm down until the doors would be closed and the plane took off. She was expecting the police to come and arrest her at any time.
After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, the plane finally took off. She had managed to run away, she was free.
She slept for a while, as she felt physically and mentally exhausted. She was woken up later by the hostess, as it was lunch time.
“Read this”, said a nearby passenger with a strong French accent to her husband, pointing her tablet.
“Here you go, reading gossips again”, he answered, sighing.
“This one is juicy. Listen : the owner of Moonlight corporation, Mr Harrison, was found dead in the woods 35 miles away from Seattle. According to the police, he was beaten to death with a spade, and then buried. They still found him because of his smart watch, which was linked to an app, which would call his lawyers so that they proceed with his will paperworks as soon as his heart beat stops”.
“Oh God”, said her husband.
“They don’t have a suspect yet. He was rumoured to have a fling with some actress, but it was never confirmed. When the girl was asked about this rumour, she seemed annoyed and scared. Perhaps he was just trying to have her and control her ? You know, rich people, they think they own everything and that the whole world owe them anything. Pffft.”, she said, rolling her eyes.
Upon hearing this, she felt sick. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She had killed someone. It was not a deer.
“May I have some whisky, please ?”, she asked the hostess.
“Sure, here you go”, answered the hostess while handing her a glass of whisky.
“Can I get away with a murder ? Will I be ok in France ? I can never go back to the USA ? Unless they close the case ? Why would I even want to go back there ? Will they suspect me at all ? Will they find some sort of evidence ? There was no blood in the car. I don’t even know who he is. I don’t remember anything from the past 3 years.”
She was lost in her thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about all that.
She eventually fell asleep.
She opened her eyes slowly. She was blinded by the intense daylight. She just closed back her eyes and enjoyed the softness of the bed for a few seconds before it stroke her. She smiled with relief as she figured it was all just a nasty nightmare.
“How could I ever kill someone ?”, she thought, laughing at herself.
“Miss Gauthier ! It’s time for breakfast !”, said a lady with a strong accent.
She first kept her eyes closed while she was trying to remember. Was someone supposed to be here ? Where was “here” ?
She opened her eyes and saw a maid in her room.
“Hi !”, she said to the maid, not knowing what to say and not understanding what was going on.
“Breakfast is ready !”, happily said the maid.
“Ok.”, she said, staring at the maid in confusion.
She paused for a few seconds, awaiting and looking around.
“What is it, Miss Gauthier ?”
“Nothing… There’s nothing”, she answered, quite saddened.
She went downstairs into the living room, where a mouthwatering breakfast was awaiting for her. There was bread, waffles and homemade marmalade, eggs, bacon, salmon and lettuce salad.
After she was done eating her breakfast, she went to the garden. The weather was quite warm and sunny.
“I need answers. I need to ask the maid.”
She went back inside and found the maid in the kitchen.
“Do you need some help ?”, she asked the maid, to start the conversation.
The maid stared at her confused.
“Well, I mean, I don’t have any plans for today, I could just…”, she didn’t finish her sentence, feeling a bit awkward.
“I see”, said the maid, “Mr Harrison is very busy for now, you must be very bored”.
Her blood just froze.
“Mr Harrison ?”, she thought, “the guy I killed with a spade ?”
“Is there something wrong, Miss Gauthier ?”
“No. I mean, that’s ok, he’s probably busy with his wife and kids”, she said
The maid looked at her dumbfounded.
“Ha, I see, you want him to be with you and start a family. Rich people won’t put their family first.”, gravely said the maid.
“Yeah… I don’t know…”, she said.
“Honestly, think about it before the wedding”, said the maid.
“Thank you for your advice, I definitely will”, she replied, confused.
“I think I’m just going to do some shopping now. Do you want to come with me…please ?”, she asked the maid.
The maid understood what she meant and got ready to go out with her.
“I’m a bit tired, you drive.”, she said to the maid.
“Sure. Where do you want to go ?”
“Just bring me to your favourite place, it’ll do”, she answered.
“I know of a nice park, I’ll just bring you there”.
“Let’s go”, she said while nodding and smiling.
“What ? We’re in Los Angeles ?”, she thought, after reading the road signs. “What is going on ? What date is it today ?”
“Let’s listen to the radio”, she said to the maid while turning the radio on.
“There will be some news flash, at some point”, she thought.
“What am I even doing here ? He is alive ? But he was dead. How is it possible ? Why can’t I remember anything ? Am I kept here against my will and drugged up ? What is going on ?”, she kept thinking.
“It’s 9 am, time for a news flash with our favourite news reporter Sam Lawrence”, blasted the radio. “Today is friday, january the 28th, and here’s today’s news…”
“January the 28th ?!?”, she thought. “2027, I guess ? What is going on ? It’s just a dream. That’s it, it’s a nightmare. I’m going to wake up any time soon. Am I being drugged up ? That’s not possible.”
“Is everything alright, Miss Gauthier ?”, asked the maid.
“Yes, I’m just a bit tired. Nevermind”, she replied, trying to smile so that the maid doesn’t get suspicious.
They arrived at a beautiful park. They decided to go for a walk through it, admiring the flowers and trees while chatting.
“You look worried. Is everything ok, Miss Gauthier ?”
“Yeah, it’s nothing”, she replied
“You can tell me, I will not tell, I have been a maid for 15 years, I am very good with secrets and listening when people need to talk”
“Well, what do you think about all this ? Me and Mr Harrison ? Please, be honest.”, she asked
“I see. Are you having second thoughts ? I’ve noticed how you tried to tell him, but he won’t listen. It is very obvious. My advice is to work on this issue before the wedding. Otherwise, it will end in a divorce very quickly.”, said the maid
“I know…”, she replied. “Can we talk about something else ? Tell me about your family.”
They went on walking and chatting until lunch time. They then went to a little brasserie for a light and delicious meal.
After lunch, they decided to go to the beach, to enjoy themselves and relax.
They went home around 5pm.
“I’m going to take a nap. If you’re too tired to cook, just have a rest, we’ll order something.”, she said to the maid.
She lied on her bed. She was so tired she fell asleep in an heart beat.