"If I'm in the future, then why no one remembers me?" was the question that kept on lingering in Andrea Walker's mind as she walked past several familiar places.

What kind of paradox am I trapped in? She thought. She walked past town and saw a neighbor of hers. Andrea tried approaching the neighbor.

"Excuse me, Mr Darcy," said Andrea.

"How do you know my name?" asked the man who was known as Mr Darcy.

"Mr Darcy," said Andrea, "I'm Andrea Walker. How could you not know me?"

"Andrea Walker who?"

Andrea was really annoyed with Mr Darcy's words.

"Come on Mr Darcy," said Andrea.

"Sorry girl, you're wasting my time," said Mr Darcy as he walked away.

That same phrase was thrown at Andrea as she met another two people. "You're probably from outta town," said a lady when Andrea asked her, "Have you seen me before?"

"How on earth could you not know me!" yelled Andrea to a lady who repeated that same phrase.

Andrea gave up just fifteen minutes later. What am I going to do? She thought. No one knows who I am and no one will ever know.

Andrea stared at the phone. It erased my future. How could it even be possible? She unlocked the phone and tried to find that same application that brought her here. If I can relaunch it, I can probably go back to the past.

But alas! The application was no longer existent. Andrea became even more and more baffled. I guess I'll just have to get used to the city I'm in, she thought.

***********************

Andrea walked aimlessly around the city. She was expecting some phenomenal change in the city in two weeks. But the city looked exactly the same, and Andrea felt as if she wasn't in the future. The clock tower right in the center of Usrington City was there, just like it always was.

Usrington, the metropolis that Andrea lived in, when she still existed. Andrea still couldn't understand how the entire thing was occurring.

"Why am I still here if I don't exist?" asked Andrea to herself, "None of this crap makes sense."

I think I should go to my parents' house. They're only an hour from here. Perhaps if I tell mom and dad face-to-face, they'll understand me. She hailed a cab and told the driver, "Romney Hills, please."

*****************

The cab stopped right in front of Andrea's house. As she stepped out of the house, she was in for a shock. Instead of the palatial bungalow, she was expecting, she was greeted to a modest row of semi-detached houses lined up neatly against one another.

Andrea rang the bell. Her own mother answered the call.

"Hi there. My name is Andrea Walker. I called you earlier," remarked Andrea.

"I told you that you're not my daughter!" yelled Andrea's mother.

"I'm just here to apologize for the altercation earlier," said Andrea.

"Could I come in?" asked Andrea again.

"What's going on outside wifey?" asked a voice behind Andrea's mother.

Instead of the jovial man whom she called father back when she existed, a tall, brown-skin man who had a serious expression on his face came out on the house and joined Andrea's mother.

"Can I help you?" asked the man in a deep and threatening voice.

"Where's Simon Walker? Who are you and what have you done with my father?" yelled Andrea.

Andrea tried to force her way in, but the man was too strong for her. He was about to whack her, but Andrea's mother stopped him. "Come on Jim, let's just go in. I'll shut the door." The man named Jim silently walked inside.

Andrea's mother suddenly whispered, "Who are you and how do you know so much about my life?"

"Mom, I'm your daughter Andrea. You have to believe me. The only reason you don't recognize me is because I don't exist."

"Samantha, what's the holdup?" yelled a deep voice from inside.

"I don't know who you are, and how you know all this, but leave me alone. The man whom you called Simon died 24 years ago, in the Gulf War."

Andrea was shocked. The entire timeline was screwed up.

"If you don't leave my porch in 5 minutes, I'm calling the cops and getting you arrested."

Andrea walked away with the substantial strength she had.

******************

"You know Andrea," said her father, "You're a life-saver." He pat his 14-year old daughter on her back.

"Why daddy?" asked Andrea, "Why am I a life-saver?"

"Well, I think it's time I am honest with you," said her father, "I was fighting in a war in Kuwait long before you were born. Thankfully I managed to get out of there when your mum was pregnant. If not, I would have died in Kuwait."

"Oh my gosh, dad, I had no idea that this happened," said Andrea, "I must be a hero." She proceeded to laugh with her dad.

*******************************

Andrea woke up drenched in cold sweat. She was in a hotel room. She remembered how tired she was after the meeting with her "mother", who did not even know who she was. And then the memories came back. Died in the Gulf War 24 years ago...

"Oh dad," cried Andrea, "I miss you and the normal universe. Who's done all of this to me? I can't even return home now."

"This is not what I wanted when I traveled to the future. I thought the future was going to be great like in Back To The Future 2. 2015 is not as great as I thought it would. Especially here!" she sobbed.

************************

"Bill," said a voice, "Where's that girl? I can't seem to find her."

The man known as Ryan was addressing his fellow android subordinate, who had just returned from a journey to the past.

"You've been keeping track of her all week," said the android named Bill, "How could she have just vanished like that?"

"She vanished right after going back to the apartment," said Ryan, "I followed her from the party home but I couldn't find her."

"Well I guess we have to try harder," said Bill.

Ryan eyed Bill suspiciously. Bill had never been so encouraging whenever they had been on their assignments. Somehow, Bill's tone sounded weird. But he had no time to think about Bill's tone. In less than 48 hours, their assignment time was up and if they didn't kill the girl, they would be dead.

***************

"Oh, what am I doing!" she exclaimed, "Wallowing here isn't going to help me with anything. I better do some research."

And true to her word, Andrea did leave the room, going to one place where she could get help- the internet cafe on the top floor of the hotel. She had no idea what was in store for her.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4