The Memory Machine 2

Chapter 24 - Running Out of Time

Now her eyes averted to the other one. He stood there, alone, his eyes closed tight. She could feel his fear and his struggle to stay strong. And his thoughts about her. She was close, he could feel it. And he wished for her to come. She watched with a smile as they drew towards each other. Like magnets.

It wasn't long before Ingrid's determination began to waver and the panic started to surface. The longer she searched, the more lost she seemed to get. And she was becoming acutely aware of the tingling that was now starting to spread up her forearm. Luckily it was gradual, but in a place with no indication of time, an hour can easily go by in a heartbeat. She wanted nothing more than to find Connor, and to be rid of all of this. It had gone on far too long and it needed to be over.

As this thought entered her mind her eyes locked onto something else in the distance. Once more it was a human shape, but she didn't approach with as much haste this time. If this person was like Jacob, there was no guarantee that they would know her, and she had a feeling that they wouldn't be as pleased to see her. They might even mistake her for Carrie in a fit of revenge and attack her. Nothing was certain.

So she took short, cautious steps, trying not to seem so intimidating if they did turn around. She was still a good distance away when she decided to speak.

"Hello?"

Almost instantly they heard her and turned. Their face was pale, but thankfully not grey. Their mouth fell open in shock, and a second later curved into a wide grin.

"Ingrid! Is that you?"

Connor made a beeline for her, the paleness in his cheeks turning to pink as he ran. Before Ingrid could say anything she was lifted up from the ground as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I thought I'd lost you."

When he finally put her down, his eyes glistened with tears. He hastily wiped them away, giving her a loving smile. She returned it and took his hand in hers.

"I'm fine. I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to find you."

For a moment they stood in silence, staring at each other. Ingrid felt herself begin to get lost in his gaze, feeling like she hadn't seen it in years.

"Have you seen Jodie or Andrew?" asked Connor, breaking her from her trance.

"No. But, I-"

She stopped herself just in time; she didn't want to tell Connor about Jacob. Not yet.

"What? Did you see Carrie?"

"No."

"Then, what? Did something happen?"

"Not right now, Connor. I need time to... process. I'll tell you when we're out of here."

Connor once again embraced her, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Whenever you're ready, baby."

Ingrid couldn't help but laugh.

"Baby? You've never called me that before!"

"I know. I just don't tell you how much you mean to me very often," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"So you decided to call me your 'baby'?"

Now it was Connor that laughed.

"Oh, shut up! I'm new to this, and that's the first thing that came to mind. I can stop if you want."

"Maybe think of something a bit less... creepy?"

"How cute. Proclaiming your love and laughing together. While all this time, your dear friends are running in circles. And with every second you waste, their time is running out. As is yours, my wonderful red-head. Do not forget about those hands of yours."

Ingrid gripped hard onto Connor's shirt. The sudden pain in her head took her breath away and she felt her legs begin to give way.

Connor must have felt her falling, because his grip also tightened around her. He held her against his chest, allowing her to lean heavily on him as she recovered her balance. Even when she could stand by herself again he didn't let go of her. His brown eyes watched her anxiously. He clearly hadn't heard the voice.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Carrie was in my head again. We need to find Jodie and Andrew, and quickly. We're running out of time," Ingrid replied, glancing awkwardly down at her hands which were now stuffed into her pockets.

Connor nodded, believing her without question.

"How do we find them? I've been walking around here for hours, and I've found nothing. How did you find me?"

"I just did what you've been doing. Walking."

They both fell silent; if they really were running out of time, walking aimlessly in hope of finding them wasn't going to work. They needed to figure out how this place worked first.

"I was thinking about you when you found me," muttered Connor suddenly, staring thoughtfully into the distance.

"I was thinking about you too," replied Ingrid.

As she said this, Connor's eyes widened with realisation and he turned to look at her, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a strange smile. It had an edge of excitement to it, and when he spoke, Ingrid knew why.

"Remember what you said before we came in here? You said that this place felt like... like a place in your mind. Well, what if it is?" he said, beginning to pace.

"So, you mean that we're imagining all of this?" Ingrid ventured.

"No, not exactly. I think this place is real. But, what if it's controlled by our minds? All of Carrie's inventions and schemes are linked in some way to minds, so it would make sense. And if I'm right, then we can find Jodie and Andrew!"

Now Connor's expression was lively and full of vigour, becoming more so with every new dot he connected. He paced back and forth, his arms folded in deep thought. Ingrid watched with fascination. She could hardly believe that only a few days ago, the person she saw in front of her had been scared out of his mind and on the verge of giving up. Now, here he was, the glint of courage prevalent in his eyes. It made her smile, seeing him like this.

Suddenly he stopped, looking her in the eye. He smiled, taking both her hands in his.

"It's almost over, Ingrid. I can feel it. We're going to get out of here, and we're going to leave all this behind us. Everything that's happened. We'll start anew, all of us. And we'll do it together. Now, let's go and find Jodie and Andrew, and then we'll destroy Carrie once and for all."