Part One: N

I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly in the harsh sunlight gleaming off the snow surrounding me. I jumped at a noise, and spun around to see Mr. Corey behind me, sneezing. Why was this man following me? Was it just because I was the one the Master had chosen? Or did he have another reason? I had no idea, but I was sure I could make use of him.

“C’mon,” I said roughly, pulling him to his feet. “Do you know where we are?”

He shook his head.

“Well then, let’s go,” I said. “No use standing around.”

We walked for a while before we found any other signs of life. We came across a small, rundown town. The only place that seemed to be in any decent condition was the McDonald’s near the center. I pushed open the greasy door, Corey still trailing me.

The cashier looked at us lazily. There were only two other people in the restaurant: a thickly bearded man in the corner, and a woman with close-cropped, spiky gray hair against the far wall. I strode to the counter, looking around warily. I quietly said to the cashier,

“What day is it?”

“Thursday,” he replied.

“Date?”

“The twenty-first,” he said, raising his eyebrows. I waited. “November,” he said, looking at me suspiciously.

“Year?” came a high-pitched voice from behind me. I sighed inwardly - I would have preferred to find that out somewhere else, where we wouldn’t look so suspicious. But what was done was done.

“You joking?” the cashier replied hysterically, his voice cracking. “Where’ve you been?”

I waited patiently. He wouldn’t find that out anytime soon.

“It’s 2006...” he said slowly, looking at me as if he were quite creeped out. I stared at him for a moment, before spinning around and stalking out the door, Corey on my heels.

I could see a highway in the distance, so I walked towards it, hoping it could give me some clue of where I was. By the time we reached it, trekking through the deep snow, the sun was on the horizon. Through the snow covering the huge sign on the side, I could barely make out the words “New York City: 7 miles.”

“C’mon,” I muttered to Corey. “New York, here I come.”