Prompt 11 -
Word Limit: 2000 words.
Word Count: 1202 words.

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★★★

Futuristic Caution

"Hello?"

Her honey voice flowed through the phone speaker, curious to see who it was. She looked down at her iphone, noticing that it simply said 'No Caller ID'.

"Listen to me very carefully, Anita."

The voice sounded eerily like hers but only a little older and more mature. They spoke softly but with a sense of urgency.

"Sorry, who is this?" Anita asked with panic laced in her own voice.

"That isn't important right now. I have called with a warning," the female voice responded in a hushed murmur.

"But who are you?" Anita asked once more as curiosity piqued inside of her.

"We don't have much time. Someone is watching, Anita. I have called to warn you."

"What who? Is it you?" Anita questioned as she bit her bottom lip nervously.

The twenty-one year old woman knew she should just hang up but something inside of her kept her listening.

"No," the voice sighed before realising only the truth would convey the urgency needed.

"I am you, Anita. From the year 2033. I have called in hopes of stopping what's to come," the voice revealed reluctantly.

"How can that be possible? What is coming?" Anita fired off her questions as fear welled up inside of her.

"A killer is looming and if you don't stop them, our brother will not see tomorrow's sunrise." She responded ominously over the phone in a hushed tone.

"But how can you be calling me right now? This isn't possible. This must be a prank. Jared is fine," Anita commented anxiously, attempting to reason with the voice.

"He will not make it home from school today. You must go to him now," the woman replied back softly.

"Prove that you are indeed me or I'm going to hang up right now," Anita threatened.

The voice sighed once more, "Our room is filled with silly boyband posters and you have a crush on your coworker, Ahmed. Even though he's already with Janie from accounting."

Anita's eyes widened, "B-But nobody knows that. I've never told a single soul."

"Yeah except yourself. Now go to Jared. You must prevent what I couldn't see coming ten years ago."

The woman, seemingly her future self, continued in urgency.

"Who would want to hurt Jared though?" Anita asked as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Someone from Pa's past. You must stop them. Go now!" Her future self eerily demanded before hanging up.

Anita frowned as she stared down at the phone, noticing that the call was mysteriously missing from her call logs.

A bad feeling erupted inside of her chest and against her better judgement, she stood up and began packing a bag.

If her brother's life was really at stake here, she had no time to lose. It was better to be safe than sorry later on.

Within ten minutes, she had flown out the door and driven off in her red Honda civic.

Jared was attending his last year of highschool at River High and today was supposed to be his last day.

It would be the perfect day to snatch a student if one knew that the school let them out early on this day, not caring how the teenagers returned home.

Anita stared at the beaten up clock in her old car, noticing that it was five minutes until twelve. Her brother should be making his descent from the grounds as he walked to the bus stop.

It had never been the plan to pick him up today. He had told her in the morning that he had plans with his friends for the night.

At the time, she hadn't cared and had simply waved him off in the morning, too engrossed with work to look up.

But now, she willed her feet to drive faster just so she could glimpse his safety.

The moment the school came into view, her brown eyes had begun scanning for his spiky black hair.

"Jared, where are you?" She mumbled to herself as she parked on the street.

Anita ripped out her phone in a hurry and began dialling his number.

"Pick up, pick up," she murmured with urgency laced in her worried voice.

But the number only went to voicemail which terrified her more. He always picked up her calls. He knew she only called when it was important and he knew to do the same.

Today was starting to look bleak to her.

Anita rushed out of the car, walking fast to the school gates as students begun flooding out of the grounds.

There were so many of them, she found it impossible to spot the one person she was looking for.

"Jared?" She yelled, looking around at all the faces but his was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Anita," one of the students called with a grin on their face.

She recognised the boy as her brother's best friend, Lachlan.

"I thought you weren't picking him up today?"

"Plans changed. Where is he?" She asked as her face bore a look of concern.

"He should be here somewhere," Lachlan murmured back as he looked around before shrugging.

"He's probably still inside grabbing his things. Did you call him?" He asked as he looked back at her with mild confusion.

"Yes," she answered back, "But he didn't pick up."

Lachlan's light eyebrows furrowed before he fished his phone out of his pocket and began dialling his friend.

But it went to voicemail as well.

Anita's small flicker of hope had vanished as soon as it had come.

And then there he was standing in the far distance being hauled into a black SUV.

"No!" Anita screamed as she took off in a sprint.

Her future self had warned her this would happen and yet, she was still seemingly too late to prevent the worst tragedy of her life from occurring.

It felt like a weight was pressing on her chest as she remembered being just that little bit too late to save her parents as well.

Their grief still fresh in their minds, like a wedge between the siblings.

She refused to lose Jared the same way.

Anita was no longer the meek twenty year old she had been only a year ago.

Now she was prepared to do whatever it took to save her brother.

Her dark skinned hand pulled out her father's old shotgun from the backpack she was carrying. She refused to let the world take more from her, no matter the cost.

Screams erupted around her as the students took off in a mass panic in the other direction.

Her brown eyes narrowed as she fired off two rounds to the SUV's back tyres just as they began to drive off, halting them.

This time, she promised herself, she was going to win.

As a suited man stepped out of the car, barely time to fire his own gun, Anita had shot him square in the temple.

She smirked as she shot the next man straight through the back window promptly killing the driver instantly.

Anita Cruz would rather face the consequences of her actions than watch innocent Jared meet the same fate as her parents.

"Mess with me, I'll paint the town red."

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©️ E. C. Xalfa ♡