Post by Fiona McFly on Mar 23, 2019 3:19:48 GMT
Chapter III
“FAR BEYOND THE STARS”
23 March 1994 ~ 2355 GMT
Seven months earlier…
Under a full moon, with a warm spring breeze blowing from the south, Fiona McFly sat on the front porch of Regina Kimble’s ranch, putting pen to paper as she rocked back and forth. It was another sleepless night for the Northern Irishwoman, who had traveled from twenty-five years into the future in order to make sense of what has happened to her life since last we saw her. Yet even as she took the stage name of “Lara Croft”and went undercover as a local bar signer, she realised that the shell she had created for herself had been showing signs of cracking since her arrival in January.
Regina, who in this time period is a local auto racer in her 30s, stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.
REGINA KIMBLE:
What is troubling you, Lara…?
Fiona closed her eyes at the mention of her cover name. Eventually, the truth was going to come out, and she feared that the result would leave her shunned for the rest of her life. It didn’t help matters that she had been suffering from depression for an entire year ever since her husband, Jack Gaither, died in 2017.
”You’ve gone through so much loss in your life…”
The mysterious female voice, which had been probing her thoughts for some time, was right on the money. The fallout of Jack’s untimely death, coupled with Steve Awesome’s drunken stunt during her last wrestling match, were the least of her problems. There was something far more sinister at play, indicated by the cold, remorseless vibe that coursed through her body.
It was a sensation she had felt several times within the span of a full calendar year.
One of pain, one of regret, one of longing.
”You’ve been searching for a mechanism to express lost love for so long, your own life has fallen out of balance…”
Fiona could no longer take it anymore.
All she wanted to do was start over from scratch, perhaps search for a way to help her express the love and affection she had been given throughout her lifetime. All McFly got instead...was more problems. On this night, she could no longer hide what had been troubling her, what had kept her awake and crying these past several months.
It was something she had never told anyone--not even her close friend and fellow wrestling colleague James Gilmore.
Yet she couldn't keep it a secret for much longer--not even from Regina, a soft-spoken exiled kindergarten teacher that would, within the course of time, be responsible for bringing her and Jack together.
FIONA MCFLY:
Me parents are dead. They died six months ago, and I...I couldn't bear to tell anyone about it...
Her body language changed, and her face went pale. Regina’s eyes widened in shock, not knowing what to say.
FIONA:
Me father was in the IRA, and when mum found out, she....and when she realised what she did to him, she….
What could anyone possibly say to someone whose parents died via murder-suicide?!
Regina shook her head, for she was at a loss for words. It was, at that moment in time, when Fiona understood that her half-brother Luke Kimble, who took to a life in a quieter part of Fredericksburg as an auto mechanic under the name “Tommy Vercetti,” was right, that everything she knew about her family was wrong. It tore her apart in so many different directions
The murder-suicide of her parents was the thing Luke was going to discuss with Fiona prior to her departure from the present day.
It had become the final straw.
FIONA:
I’ve got no one else…
It had become the reason why she left wrestling without telling a fucking soul.
Mentally, she could no longer keep focused. Everything had come crashing down around her, and she had been searching for anything that could help take her mind off the anguish. Even if she did become a success in her new “life,” what was to say that she couldn’t flourish in the one she had?!
Fiona was alone.
And she was scared, for she didn't know what to do about it.
”You will have friends who will pick you up and bring you the joy you once had…”
The female voice raced through Fiona’s brain as Regina, who had not known about her true identity, hugged her tightly. She said nothing more after that, allowing for Fiona’s mind to process everything.
”They will come to you from far beyond the stars...”
Perhaps...the voice was telling McFly something, that maybe she did have friends who were willing to come to her aid. At the stroke of midnight, as Wednesday the 23rd became Thursday the 24th, the cold, dark vibes had been replaced by a more gentle, loving aura. Without warning, the ground around her shook as a blast of vivid ball lightning flashed, followed by a loud crack of thunder.
Regina gasped at the sight of an aircraft flying low, flying over the ranch house to the north-northeast--towards Ridley Airfield.
MISS KIMBLE:
What in God’s holy name!?! Now I’ve seen THAT once before…!?!
Fiona said nothing at first, but Regina had seen that visual several months ago--when the former arrived in 1994 on an experimental time machined dubbed the Epoch. The Northern Irishwoman was careful to not accidentally give everything away and blow her cover.
FIONA:
It’s heading towards Ridley Airfield…
MISS KIMBLE:
That place hasn’t been utilised in fifteen years! Now I’ve seen two of those planes heading towards it!
FIONA:
I wonder if somebody purchased the land...
Regina could only nod, and Fiona breathed a sigh of relief that her cover wasn’t blown. In the interim, she had no time to investigate the strange occurance; she had to assume her stage role and rehearse for Friday’s show at Duke’s Saloon in downtown Fredericksburg.
Yet deep down, as she clutched onto the piece of paper that would eventually morph itself into a letter...the appearance of a second time machine was the sign Fiona had been looking for.
A sign that she would never, ever be alone again.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
“FAR BEYOND THE STARS”
23 March 1994 ~ 2355 GMT
Seven months earlier…
Under a full moon, with a warm spring breeze blowing from the south, Fiona McFly sat on the front porch of Regina Kimble’s ranch, putting pen to paper as she rocked back and forth. It was another sleepless night for the Northern Irishwoman, who had traveled from twenty-five years into the future in order to make sense of what has happened to her life since last we saw her. Yet even as she took the stage name of “Lara Croft”and went undercover as a local bar signer, she realised that the shell she had created for herself had been showing signs of cracking since her arrival in January.
Regina, who in this time period is a local auto racer in her 30s, stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.
REGINA KIMBLE:
What is troubling you, Lara…?
Fiona closed her eyes at the mention of her cover name. Eventually, the truth was going to come out, and she feared that the result would leave her shunned for the rest of her life. It didn’t help matters that she had been suffering from depression for an entire year ever since her husband, Jack Gaither, died in 2017.
”You’ve gone through so much loss in your life…”
The mysterious female voice, which had been probing her thoughts for some time, was right on the money. The fallout of Jack’s untimely death, coupled with Steve Awesome’s drunken stunt during her last wrestling match, were the least of her problems. There was something far more sinister at play, indicated by the cold, remorseless vibe that coursed through her body.
It was a sensation she had felt several times within the span of a full calendar year.
One of pain, one of regret, one of longing.
”You’ve been searching for a mechanism to express lost love for so long, your own life has fallen out of balance…”
Fiona could no longer take it anymore.
All she wanted to do was start over from scratch, perhaps search for a way to help her express the love and affection she had been given throughout her lifetime. All McFly got instead...was more problems. On this night, she could no longer hide what had been troubling her, what had kept her awake and crying these past several months.
It was something she had never told anyone--not even her close friend and fellow wrestling colleague James Gilmore.
Yet she couldn't keep it a secret for much longer--not even from Regina, a soft-spoken exiled kindergarten teacher that would, within the course of time, be responsible for bringing her and Jack together.
FIONA MCFLY:
Me parents are dead. They died six months ago, and I...I couldn't bear to tell anyone about it...
Her body language changed, and her face went pale. Regina’s eyes widened in shock, not knowing what to say.
FIONA:
Me father was in the IRA, and when mum found out, she....and when she realised what she did to him, she….
What could anyone possibly say to someone whose parents died via murder-suicide?!
Regina shook her head, for she was at a loss for words. It was, at that moment in time, when Fiona understood that her half-brother Luke Kimble, who took to a life in a quieter part of Fredericksburg as an auto mechanic under the name “Tommy Vercetti,” was right, that everything she knew about her family was wrong. It tore her apart in so many different directions
The murder-suicide of her parents was the thing Luke was going to discuss with Fiona prior to her departure from the present day.
It had become the final straw.
FIONA:
I’ve got no one else…
It had become the reason why she left wrestling without telling a fucking soul.
Mentally, she could no longer keep focused. Everything had come crashing down around her, and she had been searching for anything that could help take her mind off the anguish. Even if she did become a success in her new “life,” what was to say that she couldn’t flourish in the one she had?!
Fiona was alone.
And she was scared, for she didn't know what to do about it.
”You will have friends who will pick you up and bring you the joy you once had…”
The female voice raced through Fiona’s brain as Regina, who had not known about her true identity, hugged her tightly. She said nothing more after that, allowing for Fiona’s mind to process everything.
”They will come to you from far beyond the stars...”
Perhaps...the voice was telling McFly something, that maybe she did have friends who were willing to come to her aid. At the stroke of midnight, as Wednesday the 23rd became Thursday the 24th, the cold, dark vibes had been replaced by a more gentle, loving aura. Without warning, the ground around her shook as a blast of vivid ball lightning flashed, followed by a loud crack of thunder.
Regina gasped at the sight of an aircraft flying low, flying over the ranch house to the north-northeast--towards Ridley Airfield.
MISS KIMBLE:
What in God’s holy name!?! Now I’ve seen THAT once before…!?!
Fiona said nothing at first, but Regina had seen that visual several months ago--when the former arrived in 1994 on an experimental time machined dubbed the Epoch. The Northern Irishwoman was careful to not accidentally give everything away and blow her cover.
FIONA:
It’s heading towards Ridley Airfield…
MISS KIMBLE:
That place hasn’t been utilised in fifteen years! Now I’ve seen two of those planes heading towards it!
FIONA:
I wonder if somebody purchased the land...
Regina could only nod, and Fiona breathed a sigh of relief that her cover wasn’t blown. In the interim, she had no time to investigate the strange occurance; she had to assume her stage role and rehearse for Friday’s show at Duke’s Saloon in downtown Fredericksburg.
Yet deep down, as she clutched onto the piece of paper that would eventually morph itself into a letter...the appearance of a second time machine was the sign Fiona had been looking for.
A sign that she would never, ever be alone again.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
Well howdy there pardner.