3

When I came into her room with the blankets, later that night, she wasn’t there. Panicking I dropped the blankets and searched the halls. Then, she was screaming. I could hear her. I ran toward her voice, hoping I could find her before it was too late. The halls seemed to be too long now, too far.

Then, finally the room came into sight. It glowed and I could feel her writher in pain. Walking in I saw my love, strapped to a table being electrocuted. It stopped and she lay limp on the table, her long hair covering her eyes. I ran across the room. I touched her face tenderly as I looked into her eyes. Her eyes seemed to not comprehend me and she was in a numb state of emotions. Quickly I reached for the straps and undid the buckles.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you.”

I looked up to the old man standing in front of me. His eyes were dark, he seemed to become less human each time I saw him. My Alice groaned to the side of me but I didn’t move me eyes.

He smiled wickedly, provoking me to attack. Trying to stay as calm as possible I grumbled, “Why?”

He smiled, enjoying my frustration. “Because, she’s a monster.”

I tried to hide the disgusted look on my face.

“Look at her.” He said, leeringly. “She can tell the future...that's not human, she’s not human. A Monster. After all, monsters should be treated like ones… Don’t you agree?”

“No.” I hissed. “Her family will come back and—“

I was silenced by his snicker. “Don’t you get it boy? Her family disowned her. Her father has just reported her dead. He never wants to see her again. Her family won’t be visiting, we may aswell get the best out of her. Monsters deserve to be punished.”

I felt his stubborn emotions fade, as his eyes stared out into the oblivion. I felt a lingering pain twist in his stomach. I kept silent, turning to my Alice lying on the table limp.

After a moment the old man grumbled. “She’s done for today. Take her back to the cell.”

I didn’t look at him as I picked Alice up and walked out the door not turning to look at him in the eye.

I heard him mumble to low for a human to hear. “I may have gotten to him after all.”

I couldn’t help smiling just a little as I made my way back to her cell. You have no idea, you have no idea.   

I walked into her cell, looking around the dark room and thinking about what that man had said. I knew she wasn’t a monster, I knew what a real monster was. But, I knew this man wasn’t going to get talked out of his theories. And then, I couldn’t kill him, no matter how much I wanted to. That was another thing I hated about time travel. The fact I could alter the present by doing something stupid here, well, it really sucked. So, the last option I had for helping her: staying.

I didn’t look forward to this. That man was horrible, and I hated having to bend down to him. I hated being able to do anything. I hated having to watch Alice in this state. I hated to watch her suffer silently.

Alice’s eyes squinted, stirring slightly. I watched her intently as her eyes fluttered open, taking in my face solemnly. I smiled as much as possible at her large eyes. She forced a smile, her eyes downcast.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

She grimaced while her eyes filled with tears and spilled over. “I hurt all over.” She whispered, closing her eyes. She opened them again after a moment saying, “I’ve never seen the future this hopeless before.”

Feeling her depression was one of the most difficult things to feel. Putting my hand on the side of her face like I usually did, I whispered. “Some good things are too far to be seen, darling.”

Her eyes widened for a moment, when I slipped and called her by one of her usual pet names but, went back to normal when she shrugged it off.

After a moment, she looked at me questionably. “What’s your name?” She asked.

I smiled. “Jasper.”

She looked at me, her emotions running wild. I couldn’t tell if she was happy, mad, annoyed, thankful, depressed or confused. But I stayed there patiently, starting to play with her long hair. I wondered absent-mindedly why she is going to cut it.
  
I didn’t have to make her relax, she calmed to my gentle fingers touching her hair and in return dosed off into welcomed sleep. As I stared at her, I relized that even though I couldn’t do much, my presence was enough for her.