Rachel lowered her head as she walked down the sidewalk. She threw her hood over her head, eyes fixated on the ground. Her feet throbbed from walking several miles, and her mouth was dry as a desert. Strands of her black hair fluttered in the wind as cars drove by. Her mind fixed on the hum buzzing in her head, competing with the noise of midday traffic.
"Can you stop the fucking noise!?" she yelled in her mind which only caused the hum to get louder.
"What!? " she screamed out loud while standing at an intersection. Rachel's face formed a thin, lipped smile as she saw people staring at her.
She rubbed the back of her neck, and her eyes narrowed at the flickering street lights above. Rachel turned her head as they went out, and then she noticed the next set of street lights began to flicker. The hum in her head grew louder as she walked towards the next intersection.
"Is this you?" Rachel whispered to herself as the streetlights went out.
No Response.
Rachel shook her head and bit her nail. Her eyes narrowed as the next set of street lights started to flicker, before the lights at the nearby shopping plaza began to flicker. The neon lights at one electronics store were all out except for the letters E and M.
"Emily?" Rachel mumbled to herself as she stared at the flickering letters. "Is she there?" she whispered as she quickly walked towards the shopping plaza.
The scent of chemicals, plastic, and nostalgia hit Rachel's nostrils as she entered the electronics store. Televisions, radios, and boomboxes lined the windows and walls, and home appliances and gaming systems cluttered the aisles with giant markdown stickers. Her eyes narrowed as she walked cautiously down an aisle.
"Rache!?" Sarah yelled as she ran into Rachel, who was turning down another aisle.
Rachel tensed up with wide eyes. "Sarah? I thought...have you seen Emily?" She mumbled as she tucked her hair into her hood.
Sarah raised an eyebrow as she cocked her head to the side. "Not since your fight at school. Girl, you got the whole town talking about that fight! Your like a fucking celebrity right now," she smiled and then blew her bubblegum.
Rachel formed a thin, lipped smile and nodded. "Yeah, that's great. I totally want more attention."
"Fuck my life."
Sarah chuckled, then frowned as she tilted her head. "What the fuck are you wearing? Wait...don't tell me?" she muttered as she flipped Rachel's hood off. "No, you didn't!"
"Keep it down. It's not a big deal," Rachel grumbled as she threw her hood back on.
"First the eyes, then the fight, now the clothes and hair. Rachel, are you having an identity crisis!?"
"I'm no—" Rachel said, then stopped as Sarah's statement pierced her mind. Okay... sort of, long story."
Rachel jumped as the television behind her suddenly turned on. The channels switched rapidly, like the remote was lodged under a rock. Her eyes narrowed as the other television flickered on, and a store employee rushed over to check the equipment.
"Well, I was browsing for a new television, but I guess this tells me I should look elsewhere," Sarah said as she watched the employees check the power outlets. "Wanna come join?" Sarah asked.
Rachel shook her head, eyes fixated on the TVs. "Not right now, maybe another time?"
The first television stuttered and switched to a science channel. A scientist wearing a lab coat held a vial of ether. "So the issue," the scientist said before the television abruptly shut off.
The second television flickered and turned to a science fiction cartoon. A futuristic superhero inside a mechanized suit of armor flew through the sky. Red screens flashed in front of the pilot interface, indicating damage.
As the cartoon turned off, the third television turned on. An '80s soap opera about college kids started to play. A female student opened the door to her dorm room, collapsing on her bed as her roommate shook her head at her. "I take it you broke up with him, Emily?"
Rachel's eyes blinked heavily as the televisions turned off.
"Issue, damage...Emily?" she whispered to herself as she bit her nail. "There is an issue; Emily is doing damage?" she mumbled out loud before she left the store.
"Where is Emily then?" She said out loud as her eyes darted side to side, checking for anything that might point her in the right direction. Her eyes narrowed as a car started pulling into the parking lot, its speakers tuned into a radio talk show.
"This is Star FM, bringing only the number one hits," the radio host said as the car parked beside Rachel. Before we get back to the music, we have a guest. She is an actress in the upcoming movie "I Get Reincarnated as God's Successor."
Rachel blinked slowly, her mouth gaping as the driver turned off his car. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow as he exited the vehicle and entered the electronics store. She rubbed her neck as she dropped her hood. Her mulberry eyes looked towards the shimmering strings that painted the cloudy sky. A thin smile etched on her face before it faded to a frown.
"So that's what you are?" She muttered flatly as her head tilted towards the sky. "But which one of us is the successor?"
The street lights started to flicker once more, shifting Rachel's attention. She walked towards the intersection, waiting for the next set of lights to flicker. The day slowly withered towards dusk as Rachel walked miles, following the flickering lights like a moth. Purple, red, and golden hues painted the afternoon sky as Rachel gulped down a bottle of water she purchased. Her clothes clung to her skin, as sweat drizzled down her forehead.
A street light flickered near a dirt road leading to an abandoned warehouse. Rachel sighed as she glanced up at the brick-and-mortar warehouse. Dread crept up her spine, and her feet burned as she walked up the gravel and dirt road. Glass crunched underneath her shoes as she squeezed through the steel fence. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the cracked brick, debris, and the large hole in the side of the warehouse.
"What the fuck?" Rachel said as her eyebrows furrowed, as she cautiously approached the hole.
"Are these bullets?" She asked as she kneeled and picked one up. Her eyes widened as she noticed the bent remains of a patrol car bumper and steel pipes. "Emily did this?"
Her eyes jolted up as she heard the hum of the light flickering above. She looked around her frantically before noticing Dezerea's pistol in the dirt. Rachel's arm shook as she reached down and grabbed it. Glass, wood, and debris crunched under her shoes as she walked further into the warehouse. Rachel moved towards the corner when her eyes caught sight of a P.I.A. badge. Her eyes narrowed as she picked it up.
"Eli was here, too," she muttered as she stared at the name engraved into it. Did he lose it? No, she wouldn't," Rachel said as she bit her nail. A small piece of paper fell to the ground as she fiddled with the badge.
Rachel took a deep breath before picking up the note. Her eyes narrowed as she began to read.
"Yo kid, Dezerea is dead. Your buddy has lost her mind, and she can unexist stuff with just a touch. I don't know what you need to do, but you need to think of something fast before she kills us all."
Rachel's heart skipped a beat as her fingers twitched as she clutched the note. She leaned on the wall, slumping down into the dirt as she continued to read.
"You were right about there being multiple Emilys. This other Emily wants me to send you a message, which I planned to deliver to you when I could get away from Emily. I don't have time to write it; Emily is looking."
"Shit...Shit...Shit!" Rachel yelled as she rubbed her hair. She growled, then kicked her feet in the dirt as she bounced her head off the wall slowly. "I am going to have to rewind...to fix this."
Rachel shook her head. "No, there gotta be a way to fix this without rewinding," she muttered as she bit her lip. "Think, Rachel, Think!"
She gazed around at the warehouse once more, fixated on the strings. One corner stood out, and strings dangled as if severed from something or cut. Her eyes narrowed as she approached the outlier strings. Rachel glanced at the shoe imprints in the dirt and the collection of bullets scattered, mixed with glass and bricks.
"This is where Dezerea died?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she examined the strings and ground. She noticed no sign of a body being moved, as if she had just vanished. Her mind raced as she tried to imagine the echoes of what transpired here.
"If Dezerea is dead...then Emily escaped her destined death."
"ɎɆ₴, ₳₦Đ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ Ⱨ₳₱₱Ɇ₦₴ ₩ⱧɆ₦ ₴Ø₥ɆØ₦Ɇ ₵ⱧɆ₳₮₴ ₳ ĐɆ₴₮ł₦ɆĐ ĐɆ₳₮Ⱨ?"
"A paradox?"