Rosalina Lynn

I woke up to a blurry vision with the back of my head throbbing badly. At first, I was going in and out of consciousness for only God knows how long.

Finally, I was no longer blacking out, so I lifted my head a little bit and began to look around. I was lying with my stomach on the cold tile floor. When my blue eyes landed on the toilet, I realized that I was in a bathroom.

But I did not recognize anything in the bathroom. I was trying to grab something - ah, it was the sink. I used it to carefully get up, and I looked at the mirror. Dark brown hair hasn’t been combed as if I recently had gotten out of bed. Tired blue eyes and dark stubble on the half bottom of face cheeks and chin.

Who am I?

I heard a ping sound coming from below. I looked all over the floor until I spotted a white towel with a small bump. I lifted it and found a smartphone with a cracked screen underneath. As soon as I picked it up, it automatically lit up with a clock and date staring back at me.

Wednesday, November 3

6:23 PM

I pressed a button below the screen, and it brought me to the home screen with just a few applications. There was one bright red circle with number 1 sitting at the corner of the messaging application. I opened it, and it only had one number on the contact list. At least, it was supposed to be a phone number, but instead, it was labeled as “Unknown”.

I pressed on the Unknown, and it opened up with one message:

“Your mission is to kill Rosalina Lynn.”

Rosalina Lynn? Who the hell is that?

I closed the text messaging app and then moved on to the email inbox app. This time it asked for the password.

I didn’t know nor remember the password.

~*~

I ended up going to one of the bars, hoping that someone would recognize me. It was just a few blocks away from an apartment complex where I woke up. I had searched everywhere in the room but it was fully furnished as if it was for the apartment display. No food in the refrigerator, no silverwares, nothing at all.

Here I was, at the liquor counter, taking a sip of an IPA beer. I was staring at my smartphone. I had already tried to enter the password but after a third attempt, it locked me out for 24 hours.

I got up from the counter when I finished my beer. I started asking people - mostly young adults - about Rosalina Lynn, but none of them knew her. I was about to give up after about 30 minutes just when a woman in a red tight dress with long, straight brown hair responded, “Yeah, I’ve heard about her. Why?”

“I am a cop,” I decided to go with a lie, especially when I had no idea who I truly was.

“Ah, undercover?” She purred and then giggled. She pulled my hand to one of the empty tables, and both of us sat down. She leaned forward a little bit. “Well, old man, I’ll just play along with you… What do you want to know about her?”

“I just want to know who she is…”

“Is that all?” She moved back away from me a little bit and crossed her arms on her chest. She had a look of suspicion on her light tan face. “Are you going to do anything to her?”

I took a quick look at my phone and started explaining, “Well… I woke up in the apartment, and found my phone. It said that my mission was to --”

“Here you are!”

We both jumped at a loud voice. A tall man with blonde hair suddenly sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“How much have you been drinking? Are you trying to scare her off?” He burst out into loud laughter. He glanced at the woman who had an annoyed look, “Don’t worry about him, hon. I’ll watch over him.”

She rolled her eyes at the ‘hon’ nickname and then left without saying another word. The blonde-haired man moved around and took her place.

“I’m Dylan Sutton,” He said cheerfully. He reached out his hand for me to shake. “I’ve been watching you for a little while, and you look lost.”

I briefly shook his hand. At that moment, Dylan’s grinning face suddenly faded away from my vision and was replaced by a different man.

“Good luck, sir,” He said as he let go of my hand.

Then, I was suddenly in an empty room with a large glass across from me. There were a few men in green uniforms… Soldiers, perhaps? They were slating but their hands stayed at their forehead as if they were waiting for something to happen.

I looked down at my hands. They were literally disappearing into the air.

I jumped startled when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Dylan was back in my vision… I was back in the bar once again.

“Are you alright, man?” He asked concernedly. “You spaced out for one or two minutes there.”

“Y-yeah, I… I had a crazy day,” I rubbed my forehead. I was having a headache, but it was not as bad as the one earlier today when I woke up.

“Wow! Are you twins?” Another man asked drunkenly, swinging his glass of beer in the air as he interrupted us.

“No way. We just met,” Dylan laughed. “We even have different hair colors.”

“Right, if you had the same hair, you could’ve been twins!” The drunk guy took a large sip of his beer and then walked off to meet others, probably his own friends.

“I’m looking for Rosalina Lynn. Do you know her?” I asked.

“Rosalina, huh?” He mumbled. “Ah, yes. She is a student at University of Alabama in Huntsville. So that’s who you’ve been looking for.”

“Can I meet her?”

“Actually, she doesn’t know me,” He chuckled lightly. “She is the president of the student government. Everyone knows her. She studies a double major - medical and engineering. Everyone who had met her always said that she is very kind, friendly, and very caring.”

“Shit,” I cursed at myself. I just needed to talk to her and find out why I got the message asking me to kill her. Was she doing something illegal? Was she a murderer? Or was she dealing in a black market?

“What?” He chuckled nervously.

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, so anyway… You still haven’t told me your name yet,” He leaned back into his chair.

“I don’t know my name.”

~*~

I ended up staying at Dylan’s dorm for the night. He told me that his roommate was out of town for the weekend, so I could sleep in his bed.

I had a dream that night. There were so many flying vehicles in the night sky, passing tall buildings. I was on a balcony with a woman… She felt very familiar. I thought we were cuddling. I could only remember her red hair and could almost smell her flowery perfume. She was trying… She was asking me something. What was it again?

“Be careful, okay? I’m very concerned about your job,” She said softly to me as she was playing with my dark brown hair. “But I’ll miss you so much.”

When I woke up, Dylan was already gone but he had left me a note saying that he had a class to attend. I saw nice folded clothes on his bed with another note saying that I could borrow them once I showered.

After I took a shower and got dressed up, I decided to go out for a walk on the campus. After half an hour of walking, I found a large oak tree and took a seat under it. I took out my phone and opened the email app. I did not input the password right away but I was thinking so hard. If I didn’t know who I was, then how was I supposed to remember the password?

“I see you took my place,” came a giggle.

I looked up from my phone. It was a woman standing in front of me. She had a fist on her side while she was holding a light blue backpack with a strap over her shoulder. She had wavy, black hair with blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple white T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I’m about to leave anyway,” I was about to get up but she stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder and pushing me back down.

She took a seat next to me and gave me a smile. “That’s no problem! My name is Rosalina.”

Rosalina.

“Rosalina Lynn?” I had to ask.

“Yes, that’s me.”

What do I do now? Should I… do what my phone told me? Kill her? No… Not yet… I don’t have any weapons… And, we are on the campus where someone can see us.

“...Me…?”

“Excuse me?” I asked after I snapped out of my thoughts.

“What is your name?” She repeated her question.

“D-Dylan,” I didn’t know why, but I guessed it was the first name that came to me. I scratched the back of my neck nervously, hoping that she did not catch on.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dylan,” She smiled as we shook hands. “Ever since I became the student government president, a lot of people I have met have always been nervous around me. I promise I won’t bite!”

“It’s not you,” I gave a light chuckle. “I don’t have a lot of friends…” Which is sort of the truth.

“I don’t mind if we can be friends!” She exclaimed in excitement. “So, what are you studying? What is your career dream?”

“Um, criminal justice,” I shrugged my shoulders as I went with a few white lies. “I hope to become a federal agent someday.”

“Wow, that’s so cool! But wouldn’t it be difficult to become one?”

“Either that or a police officer,” I half-grinned as I flexed my arm. “I still get some action either way!”

She laughed. “Well, being a police officer is a great way to help people. I’m studying both microbiology and engineering as my double majors. Eventually, I hope to pursue a degree in bioengineering so that I can help people who are missing organs or limbs. I’d love to set up my own practice where I can mentor the interns, employ some doctors or researchers, and help out everyone!”

“That’s a big dream,” I said, really impressed. What the hell? Why did I get the text message telling me to kill her?

“Ah, there you are! I’ve been looking all over the campus for you!” Dylan was walking up the hill towards us. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Rosalina sitting next to me. He narrowed his blue eyes in a small annoyance. “Oh, I’m sorry, Rosalina. I didn’t see you at first. Was I interrupting…?”

“No, that’s fine,” I hastily got up. I waved my hand at her with a smile, “It was a pleasure to meet you. I had a nice chat.”

“Thank you,” Rosalina said. “You helped me realize my goal.”

I nodded my head once.

Dylan wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we were walking away from Rosalina and the large tree. He asked slyly, “So you finally found her, after all! Are you both…?”

I rolled my blue eyes at his suggestive question as I shrugged Dylan’s arm off my shoulders. “No, I’m not interested in her like that. I think… She isn’t what I expected.”

“What the hell, man?” He turned around so he was in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders to stop me from walking. “You had been looking for her, and now you no longer care?”

“I have something to tell you… but we need to be somewhere private,” I said quietly as I walked past him.

~*~

We returned to his dorm right away. I explained to Dylan about the beginning when I woke up in the bathroom… having no memories… seeing the text message telling me to kill Rosalina… the password that I was trying to crack into the email inbox on my smartphone.

“You said you had headaches when you woke up, right?” He pondered. He continued after I nodded my head yes, “Maybe someone hit you? Maybe they tried to stop you from doing something you may regret later?”

As cued, the headache came back suddenly. I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “Wouldn’t I be bleeding if I was hit that hard… Enough for me to lose my memories?”

“Hey, man, don’t get too obsessed over your memories,” Dylan patted his hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to get dinner and some Advil pills for you. Get some rest, and I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, sure,” I carelessly shrugged my shoulders.

When Dylan left, I laid back on the bed with one of my hands under my own head. I was holding a smartphone above me, trying to think of different ways to write a password.

I yawned sleepily. After a few minutes, my eyes were closing.

“Ember, no!” I shouted as I was running from the front door into the kitchen. The same red-haired woman from my previous vision was lying on the floor; in a pond of her own blood. I slipped my arm under her neck only to realize that there was a long and deep cut on her throat.

“Ember…” I whispered as I took her hand. I felt something crinkle, so I took a look at her hand to find a piece of paper. On it, two words were: Bee Corporation.

“Shit!” I cried in pain when my smartphone hit my face after falling from my hand above. I sighed in annoyance as I picked it back up and mumbled to myself, “Ok, what was that dream just now? Why does it feel… so real…?”

I was staring at the smartphone once again. Realization began to dwell on me. “Wait…”

I started typing the password: Ember.

Ping sound came into my ear as the email inbox finally opened. I sat up so fast out of excitement. “Yes!”

I started with the newest email with the subject “IMPORTANT!!” There was no name in the sender. It was encrypted but it still opened without any additional required assistance from me. This email was only meant for my eyes.

The message said: “DO NOT TRUST DYLAN. RUN.”

I left without hesitation.

~*~

I was panting heavily and breathlessly. I had been running for half an hour and ended up in one of the alleys between two tall office buildings. I had no idea where I was, but it was getting a little dark.

I looked at my smartphone and then opened the second new email, also from Unknown, with the subject: “Mission Details”.

“By the time you are reading this email, you are in 2021 by now - 100 years in the past. You will receive a text message with the order from me to kill Rosalina Lynn.

“In case you have forgotten, she was the founder of Bee Corporation, which has been dominating not only the healthcare industry, but also energy and agriculture industries for the past 80 years.

“The reason why you were sent to 2021 was because it would be a few years before she came up with a successful way of regenerating the loss of limbs. However, you know what happened in our time - in 2121, the government no longer has any control over those industries - and hasn't for the last decade.

“Because of them, the rate of employment has been falling in recent years. We are at the verge of civil wars breaking out. That’s what you were trained for. To be an assassin. That is why we need you to kill Rosalina Lynn to prevent those events from ever happening.”

“I… I’m from the future?” I said softly, both of my hands trembling in shock. I was trying to process the information in that email, but there was no way that I could be a time traveler…

The dreams or visions I had earlier… Were they from my memories? Ember… Was she killed by someone from the Bee Corporation? Because of Rosalina?

Wasn’t Rosalina’s intention to help people? Was that her goal? Or was it a lie, after all? Or did she change or was she influenced in the future?

I continued reading the email:

“Once you’ve completed your mission, return to the same place where you first showed up in 2021 and enter the date in your microchip.”

“Microchip? What?” I asked in confusion. My hand was going to my head as if I had done this many times before. I started rubbing the side of my head only to feel a small bump - That explained why I had been getting the headaches but I did not recall ever getting hit. I moved my fingers around the area and then decided to press a little bit --

A screen suddenly appeared in my vision. It was asking me for the date. I… I could go anywhere and anytime I want to? Maybe --

“Hey! Are you OK?”

I flinched at the sudden voice as I whipped my head towards a dark-skinned stranger who was standing right outside the alley.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” I waved my hand dismissively. After he shrugged his shoulders and then walked away, I let out a relieved sigh. I wiped my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. I took a look at the screen that, I realized, was only displaying in my eyeballs. Nobody else could see what I was seeing. I opened the menu sidebar at the left side and then selected my profile.

When I saw who I was, I was in total disbelief. I had to read my name again.

Dylan Sutton. 33 years old. Federal agent.

My heart was beating faster. If I’m Dylan Sutton, then who the hell was that guy?

I was looking at the menu again and noticed that there was a red bar with the name, Central Intelligence Agency. TOP SECRET, on the top of the screen.

“Shit,” I mumbled to myself as I ran my hand through my dark brown hair. Everything was slowly coming back to me.

Ember was my wife, and she was murdered by the Bee Corporation. Anger was starting to swell inside me.

Then realization started to dwell on me. Someone was trying to stop me from killing Rosalina Lynn. But why? Was I hit so that the future would not change? No… I should have been killed if they did not want to change the future.

I had to go back. Back to the time before I got hit.

~*~

I eventually found my way back into the apartment. Nothing had changed at all. Every room except the bathroom was still clean.

I was standing in the middle of the living room and pressed the right side of my head right above my ear. The screen appeared once again. Not speaking at all, I managed to input the date and time:

Wednesday, November 3

4:00 PM

Almost 2 hours should be sufficient. If not, I could always go back any further.

I was looking at my hands. Soon, they were fading away into thin air. It felt too familiar, almost like deja vu.

I looked up and noticed that the entire room was also disappearing only to reappear within a few seconds. I heard water running in the bathroom. Is that me taking shower? No, the other… Eh, never mind.

I was typing an email on my smartphone as fast as I could and then sent it to my past self. I was about to make a step just when the front door suddenly opened in the corner of my vision. I turned my head towards the door.

The other Dylan. With blonde hair.

He was pointing a pistol at me.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked bitterly.

“I’m you,” He answered. “The alternate you, that is.”

I was staring at him speechlessly.

“We know everything about you,” He continued. “You and your future. Who you worked for. Who your family was. Ember’s death was what started your revenge. If you successfully assassinated Rosalina, then there would be no Bee Corporation. Then, Ember would be alive, right?”

I decided to wait instead of answering.

“Wrong,” He said. “Ember was also murdered in my future. The stranger who she never met in her life killed her just so he could steal food. Without the Bee Corporation, we are dying. No food for us to eat, no electricity to keep us warm, and no doctors to treat us.”

“No! Bee Corporation has been stealing from us long enough!” I snapped. “They have been controlling us for our entire lives! Instead of being greedy, they should have helped us!”

“Shhh…” He shushed but in an amusing way. He shifted his eyes towards the bathroom door but not letting me out of his sight at the same time. “If you want your mission to continue, you wouldn’t want your past yourself to hear us, right?”

“I should’ve killed Rosalina the first time she told me her name!” I was about to lunge at him only to feel a sudden, sharp pain on my chest.

The pistol had fired but no sound came at all. In the future they managed to find a way to silence the weapon. I collapsed to the floor.

“For now, I’m going to let you… the other you live a little longer. I’m going to make sure that you lose your memories so that we will be befriended… I will lead you to the right place so you will be able to talk to Rosalina. It’s only one way that the Bee Corporation will exist in the future.”

I could not form words out of my mouth anymore as I was watching my own blood creating a pond around my body. I was clenching my jaw in anger. You son of a bitch!

“Goodbye, Dylan Sutton.”

THE END