The Disconnect (Part One)

She stared at him blankly as she tried to process what just happened. One moment she was walking across the road, the next, she was face down on the road. As she stirred to find out what happened, she saw the young man. He looked down on her with great concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No...I'm ok I think..." She replied slowly, still confused as to how she ended up on the ground instead of her ideal destination.

He smiled at her as he held out his hand. She took it and he helped her up.

"What happened?" She asked sharply.

"You didn't check the road. You just walked out. God knows but, thankfully, I got to you in time".

She looked around to find the road clear, with only a few concerned people looking on as the situation came to an end. She looked at the young man who saved her once again and smiled.

"Well, thank you then, I guess! I'll be more careful next time".

"I sincerely hope there won't be a next time. Didn't you ever watch the Green Cross Code man? Or the ads on telly with those hedgehogs when you were younger?"

"Green Cross Road man? Hedgehogs? What are you on about?"

He shook his head for a moment and shrugged off the question before smiling once again.

"Just, please be careful next time? I'm sure there'd be people who missed you if you died..."

She turned away and chuckled.

"Ha. If only...but thank you...what was your na-"

She turned back to the young man to find he had vanished. She looked around frantically to try and find him again but he'd completely gone. Not even a trace. None of the people around him seemed to know who he even was, let alone where he'd gone. She started to go through everything in her head once again just to check she hadn't imagined him or anything. But there he was. The young man.

As she was about to leave, an elderly woman came up to her.

"Are you ok?"

She nodded.

"I'm fine..."

****

"Juliet! What's this I hear about you nearly getting hit by a car!?"

Juliet held the phone as her concerned Dad continued to ask her questions.

"Dad, it was just a little mistake. I'm fine!"

"A LITTLE MISTAKE!? YOU NEARLY DIED! Did you have your headphones on again!?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because you can't concentrate with them on!"

"Dad, this isn't about the headphones. I was fine. This guy saved me"

"Yeah, well, there won't always be a "guy" around to save you. You need to be more careful!"

"Dad, I'm 23 now, I can look after myself!"

"Evidently not on roads!"

After that comment, Juliet hung up. She let out an angry scream, which summoned her housemate, Charlotte.

"Your dad again?" Charlotte asked with trepidation.

"Yes! I have one little accident and suddenly I'm incapable of looking after myself!"

"Well, you were nearly hit by a car!"

She shot a look at Charlotte.

"I'm not taking his side but he has got a point! I mean, you're normally so careful, what happened today? I can't help but be concerned!"

Juliet sighed.

"If you must know, my headphones went weird all of a sudden. They just went very strange, I went to fix them and just carried on walking. Don't worry, I'm not suicidal or anything. It was literally just the headphones".

"Weird how?"

"They just suddenly started crackling. I was listening to KC & The Sunshine Band and then, suddenly, crackling. They started picking up radio signals too which I thought was weird!"

"Well, they are wireless headphones, maybe the chip's on the blink?"

Juliet sighed.

"I don't know. They're fine now so that's something I guess".

Charlotte walked up to her and hugged her.

"Well, screw the headphones. I'm glad YOU'RE ok!"

Juliet smiled.

"Thanks..."

****

"Just shut up...shut up and I won't have to hurt you..."

Juliet looked terrified as she was tied to the chair. She was gagged but still tried to scream, unsuccessfully. The man next to her hit her in the abdomen with his gun.

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Starting to cry, she did so. Terrified of what's going to happen next, she looked around in the vague hope someone would come to get her. But no such luck. The room was empty, damp and cold with only four men with guns for company. The man who hit her before crouched down in front of her, a huge smile beamed across his face.

"Now...Juliet...I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me honestly. If you don't...well...this isn't going to end well for you. Do I make myself clear?"

Juliet tried to cower away but she couldn't. 

"I know that bastard you live with has the Infinity device...so I'm going to ask you...what did he do with it?"

Juliet remained quiet, crying still.

"Come on, Juliet...where has Romeo put the Infinity device?"

The man removes the gag so Juliet can talk. She is initially shy but she plucks up the courage to answer.

"Look, I don't know what he's done with it! I assumed it was destroyed when you destroyed the lab!"

"That's not the right answer..."

"You told me to answer honestly, so I am! I don't know where the device is!"

"Are you really willing to die for a piece of machinery?"

"No! Look, as far as I knew, you guys destroyed it in the lab. He hasn't said anything to me about it and I trust him completely. If he did still have it he'd tell me!"

The man got up and walked around a bit.

"So, you mean to say, that you have no idea where the Infinity device is? You thought it was destroyed in the lab and that he would've told you if he still had it?"

Juliet nodded furiously.

"Ok, here's the thing, Juliet, either YOU'RE lying to me, or HE'S lying to you. Because I know for a fact he still has it! So which one is it?"

"I PROMISE YOU I DON'T KNOW! I SWEAR! I SWEAR ON MY LIFE, ON HIS LIFE, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE INFINITY DEVICE IS!"

After a few moments pause, the man returns the gag to Juliet's mouth and steps away.

"Well, he still has 3 hours to meet the deadline. If he doesn't meet it...well...he'll be picking up your body with an added bullet to the left temple..."

Juliet woke up with a start, sweating and hyper-ventilating. She looked around and saw her bedroom as she left it.

"It was just a nightmare" she reassured herself. It was a nightmare. But it felt so real. Despite this, she settles down and falls back to sleep fairly quickly into the next dream.

"Juliet..." A whispered voice said. Out of the darkness walks the man who saved her during the day. He smiles at her and feels like he's looking directly at her. "Come back to me, Juliet..."

She awakes once more...