Chapter 1

Sweat runs down her face as she uses the closet tree as cover. Carlene's breathing is now erratic and if she doesn't calm it down now, she will be found. Damn the law that forced Carlene to join the army. She thought the government would leave the women alone, but she was wrong. 

Carlene takes a deep breath, almost holding onto it, as she sprints toward the trenches. She can hear the bullets brush past her and hit the ground near her feet. Not long now, before she reaches the trenches, ten metres at least. Carlene closes her eyes and makes the most of her last bit of strength. But it's not enough. The bullet pierces through her back and Carlene collapses to the ground. The cries of her lover can be heard in the distance.

Carlene wakes up in a sweat, like she does most nights. The dreams are getting worse. Thea has noticed the bags under Carlene's eyes, but she doesn't say anything. It's not that Thea doesn't believe her girlfriend but the dreams and deja vu have just become ridiculous. Dreaming about the last war, predicting their fights and even when Thea will be at places. Almost freaks out the poor girl.

Carlene shakes the bad dream from her messy bed hair, just as the alarm blasts through the room. She tries to wave her hands in front of the alarm to try and turn it off. But to no avail. Groaning, she rolls out of bed. As soon as her feet touch the cool tiled floor, the alarm stops its death music. 

"Blinds opening."

Carlene closes her eyes just as the blinds start too slowly open. Rubbing her tired eyes, she makes her way over to the only window in the small apartment. The traffic outside the window is hectic. Even though Thea and Carlene had bought an apartment outside of city limits, the traffic gets worse every day. Thea blames it on the youth for wanting to drive instead of getting driven.

Carlene turns to face the bed and the empty side. Thea had left hours ago. She says that she needs to study more but she knows that her wife is trying to keep her distance. Carlene doesn't blame her. The dreams and the deja vu have gotten to Thea the most. She wants it to stop, she can hardly get any sleep without the fear of seeing something she wished she couldn't see.

The truth is Thea is studying for them both. Even though Thea's exam is right around the corner, she wants to know more about what Carlene is suffering through. Nothing had come through but that hasn't stopped Thea from looking everywhere she can possibly look.

Carlene yawns and moves towards the shower. The sweet rinse of hot water cleanses her mind of the hectic night and prepares her for the day shift she has today. She changes into her uniform, grabs her bag and keys and heads down to the train station. She waves to her neighbour on the way down and gets the same old glare in return. Carlene hasn't quite worked out why her neighbour is always glaring at her. Is it because she is gay? Or married? Or childless? Or way too young for the first two? It's always bugged her but not as much as the amount of mail that old lady seems to always get. 

The commute to the tiny coffee shop Carlene works at will take about an hour to get there. Humans have advanced amazingly over the last three hundred years, but so has the population. If you thought traffic was bad in the twenty-first century, you're in for a real treat now. Traffic jams happen on seven levels, while they all try to merge into two.

Carlene scans her train card, just as Thea texts. She doesn't open it, knowing full well what it's going to say. The deja vu can't even be claimed as deja vu anymore. She can see into the future almost every day now. She doesn't even think she can even call it deja vu anymore. Studies show that deja vu is meant to be forgotten straight away, that most people don't even know the reason why they are having deja vu. 

Of course, it all started out at deja vu. Carlene, like many humans, will experience a sense of familiarity to a certain event, even though that person had never been or experienced that even before. Despite the advancement in the medical field, it still can't be explained why so many people have deja vu. Carlene's were small to begin with. When she was a child, the sense of deja vu happened very rarely. When she reached adulthood and met her now wife, Thea, everything seemed to change. 

From small conversations, to shows they watched together, to even some arguments they shared. Carlene loved the feeling of deja vu when she and Thea started to date. It was a sign to her, a sign from the universe that she is with the one she is meant to be with, almost like her soul mate. But when Carlene predicted everything, Thea would say in her vows, things got weird after that. Then the dreams came around their first wedding anniversary. She didn't believe that it was her soulmate talking to her anymore. She didn't know what to believe anymore. 

Carlene looks up from her book when she hears her stop being announced. Closing the book quickly, she rushes off the station. A quick brisk five minutes' walk from the station, she reaches the small cafe. She unlocks the front door and readies the cafe for set up. She accepts the bread and pastry delivering and flicks the open sign.

Three years ago, Carlene stepped into this cafe for a simple job, but when Carlene could make orders before the customer came in, the owner left everything to Carlene. It used to be a small unknown coffee shop, but once the word got around of the seer barista, the cafe grew in popularity in several hours. So, when the doorbell rings, bringing another customer in, they leave with a coffee and a weird smile. Around one thirty, the coffee traffic has died, and Carlene closes up shop. She makes herself and Thea a coffee and waits for her wife to arrive.

"I found another book."

No hello there rarely is. Thea plops a fat book on the coffee table, places a sloppy kiss on Carlene's forehead and gulps down her coffee.

"What's this one about?"

Carlene moves to tap the front of the book, to bring up the index. She frowns when it does nothing. She moves the hardcover and gasps at the paper book staring back at her.

"Where did you find this? You know paper is almost illegal now. You shouldn't have this."

"I met someone in the library today. He is ancient, almost from the twenty second century. I know, I know, it seems impossible but the stories he was telling me."

"And you believed him?"

"I'm not stupid Carli."

"I didn't say you were. Will this help?"

Thea fingered the edge of the book and slowly nodded. She wasn't entirely sure if it was going to help Carlene but it's the best lead they have gotten in months. Plus, the way Carlene is predicting the future even more now, is starting to freak her out. The earlier they can help Carlene with her predicament, the earlier Thea can hide any evidence of it ever happening. She doesn't want the FBI on her doorstep anytime soon. 

Carlene leans in and kisses Thea on the forehead.

"I appreciate you looking out for me. But we need to be careful. If someone from the government finds out that we still have a paper book, things could get messy."

Thea raised an eyebrow at this. She had forgotten about the laws when she took the book from the dirty man. Thea nods in agreement, her concern evident in her eyes.