Flipped

1.17

We were about to split up when Taylor saw my face. She grabbed my arm to spin me around. "Hey! Chris, you've gotta cool it. We made it and we're fine."

It was still pretty dark and I could barely see Taylor's face.

I couldn't help it and blurted out. "My dad was watching the whole thing in his car!" I felt her arm fall back as she just stared and Ana turned around in shock.

"I know it was him," I continued, "I know his car. It's a Camry I think, like 1996. Blue, with a dent on the left side."

I replayed seeing it again in my mind. I couldn't make out my father's face clearly, but I knew it was him.

Ava shook her head defiantly. "You must be mistaken, Chris." She started to shake. "Nope, no, no, no..." She started walking away, then turned and started pacing.

"Stop it Ava." Taylor shot a sharp glance at her, but had an understanding tone to her voice. "I know you're tired, we all are, and this is stressful, but we are not allowed to panic."

"But he saw us," Her voice was trembling. "Nothing that happened back there that was normal. I mean, did he see the shadowy figures? Did he see us flash-banging around the empty field? Does it matter? Either way, that is not normal."

"Either way," I said, "We have a problem ... he was recording a video."

"Fuck," Taylor whispered.

"Yeah."

We stood in the dark for several long minutes.  But it was Taylor of course, who broke the silence. "Chris, where does your dad live?" I just shook my head, I hadn't known where he lived for years. She gave a heavy sigh and with a new determination said, "We need to find him."

"Agreed." I paused for a minute, thinking of what could help us do that.

"Okay, well, that's a start at least," Taylor said.

"Not a great one though, I'm sorry I don't have more information. I'm pretty certain my mom doesn't know where he lives anymore, either."

We stood there for a few minutes more, but nothing was coming to us. As sick to my stomach as it made me, it looked like we'd have to forget about it for now.

But a couldn't shake the thoughts in my head. Especially wondering what my father was planning on doing with those pictures.

-----

"So, what I don't understand is why, when I'm fast asleep. You decided to phone me." Mike said.  The two us and Ava were sitting in the high school cafeteria at a side table we found that was a little isolated, but not enough. There were still people everywhere But today he just didn't seem to care.

"I was dreaming, you realize that? Dreaming about the fact that now I can tell when women like me. Do you realize how that's going to change my entire life? No, of course you haven't. You're too busy running around fields and developing your inner insomniac."

Ava, beside him, gave a groan. "Mike, if you do ever want to date, don't ever say that again."

"What?"

He turned to me, trying to find support, I guess, but I ignored him. I could tell he was as freaked out as the rest of us, but that knock-back he deserved. Instead I said, "Can you explain this?" I slid my phone over the table. "Those are the messages that we exchanged yesterday. Remember? Planning to meet up at the park because of the latest strange text we got. Why didn't you show?"

He looked at my phone with some confusion and pushed it back to me. "Dude, I never sent those messages."

"What?"

"Seriously man, it didn't happen." He pulled out his phone and showed me his texts to me. There was only our conversation from earlier in the day there. "See, Never sent."

I laughed somewhat out of desperation. "Well, I guess nothing works, then. Back to the 90's. Damn."

"Yeah, I guess."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. "So we're constantly getting messages from someone or something, and that thing can and does also pretend to be us at times? Why? Why would it help us get these powers and then, afterwards, work against us?"

"Unless it's actually more than one person, or thing, or whatever," Mike said.

"Right." We sat in silence for a few moments contemplating the implications of that.

I then relayed everything that had happened yesterday to Mike, including seeing my dad's car, and the shadow of a large, bulky camera.

"And now, we need to find the camera before he gets it developed and thrown onto digital, if he hasn't already." Mike said. "But he also can't trace it back to us, so we can't really just take the camera or take the film."

"Oh. Right. Of course." I nodded, thinking it over.

He gave a small smirk. He knew I hadn't thought of that, but he wasn't going to say anything.

"So did anyone come up with a plan to see where he lives?"

"No," I said. "I'm certain my mom doesn't know, and obviously we don't want to tip her off, either."

"Right," Mike said. He thought for a second. "What about breaking into the hospital?"