SWNOVELS Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Karla furrowed her brows in confusion. It was one thing to have Rowan in her dreams – that she could rationalize. But this Burk character? Where did he pop up from?
She rubbed her chin, completely baffled. She had no clue what was going on. It all felt disjointed.
Much like her first trip abroad, everything was unfamiliar. Like now, it was as if she didn’t
belong.
“Karla, look at the camera, will ya?”
In the midst of her confusion, Karla suddenly heard Rowan’s voice. She looked up to see Burk holding the camera, aiming it at them.
She realized she was standing behind Rowan without knowing how she got there. Glancing down at her clothes, it suddenly clicked. She let out a small gasp.
“What’s up?” Rowan immediately turned, concern in his voice.
Karla, somewhat agitated, blurted out, “This, this photo! I’ve seen it before!”
“Huh?” Rowan looked puzzled.
“I mean the photo of you and me. Right here, this is how I stood.” Karla quickly posed as she remembered from the photo, arms crossed, lips curled into a sly, triumphant smile.
With a click, Burk, camera at the ready, captured the moment. The flash was blinding, and Karla instinctively shut her eyes against the bright light. When she opened them again, she was flabbergasted. She was back in the car.
Her expression one of outright shock, Karla realized she was sitting in the car, hands no longer on the wheel. With a car looming ahead, she jerked in fright, grabbed the steering wheel, and swerved sharply to avoid a collision.
At that moment, she turned to see a car beside her roll down its window. The man with sunglasses gestured a mock gunshot at her and signaled for her to pull over.
Bewildered, Karla thought, wasn’t this what happened right before my accident? Why was it happening again?
As before, when she didn’t stop, the other car rammed into hers. Though Karla had no idea what was happening, she knew he was provoking her a second time, and she didn’t like that at all.
She floored the accelerator, speeding ahead. As she reached the intersection, she spun the wheel with all her might..
Her tires screeched against the pavement, a sharp, ear–piercing sound that seemed to scream in agony. In a high–speed maneuver, she swerved sharply, narrowly missing the car that shot out from the crossroads.
Chapter
Clutching the steering wheel, Karla steadied herself. Without pausing, she merged into traffic and finally shook off the pursuing vehicle.
She raced all the way to the police station. Only when she arrived did the tension leave her. Closing her eyes, Karla took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, she glanced at her purse on the passenger seat, rummaged through it, but didn’t find the old photograph:
Karla froze. The photo had disappeared?
She searched again, to no avail. The baffling events of the day came rushing back.
Karla, feeling a headache coming on, habitually pinched her brow. As she raised her hand, she felt something heavy on her wrist. She focused and was stunned to see that she was wearing the watch that the man named Rowan had given her.
She pinched herself silently, feeling the sting. Thinking back to the surreal moments she just experienced, Karla felt on the verge of a meltdown.
Resting her forehead heavily on the steering wheel, her mind in a fog, she muttered, “Johnson… Rowan… What in the world is going on?”
MINECU