Clough - The Girl Who Lived Twice: a Romantic Thriller About Mia Who Slipped Through A Crack In Time

ISBN: 9781483505930

She jerked awake, terrified, her heart pumping and every nerve jangling. She lay in complete darkness surrounded by a loud rumbling, grinding noise. Little blue sparks started flickering in the black void and it was getting hotter.

Her whole body was vibrating and it was hard to breathe. Disorientated and frightened she felt as though she was being ground against a rough surface. Her skin felt scalded now, the air she laboured to pull into her lungs was like hot steam. Her mind snatched for explanations and found only confusion. Her hands reached for something to grab hold of, but there was nothing. Abruptly all noise and movement stopped, there was a moment of startling silence - and then one last violent jerk followed by stillness.

Mia lay still, rigid and terrified. She was panting and trying to fight off panic. What on earth was that, some strange kind of earthquake? Her heart was still racing and her face was covered in cold sweat. The room was blurrily visible now in the usual indirect glow from the city lights. Cautiously she half sat up half expecting something to give way or fall. She turned on the light, expecting cracks in the ceiling or a wall about to topple into empty space. But everything looked normal. There were no sirens, no screams. After a minute she got gingerly out of bed and stumbled to the window on legs that felt numb and disconnected.

The view was perfectly normal and the fear of a big earthquake faded. She was surprised to see that the rain had completely stopped - the top of the Sky Tower, floodlit in icy blue, was outlined against a clear night sky. After a minute she went back to bed, her legs slightly steadier now. It must have been a nightmare. I must have dreamt that I was awake and heard those noises and felt that awful pressure. Ill never go back to sleep now, my whole body is saturated with adrenaline.

She left the bedside light on and lay down feeing weak with shock. She woke to the sound of the clock radio announcing the 7 oclock news, bewildered and surprised that it was already morning, amazed that she had managed to sleep after all.

Phoenix Air has confirmed that four New Zealanders were among those killed in yesterdays crash just outside Manchester. No names have been released, but it is believed they were all members of one family.

Mia sat straight up in bed, instantly awake, her mind swirling with confused questions. Were they playing a recording of an old news reading? Or had a second air crash happened, identical to the one that killed a New Zealander family shortly after Gregs death last year?

She switched to the local commercial station and caught the tail end of the same news item. Confused and frightened now she got up, pulled on track pants and a T-shirt and went to the study and turned on the computer. She clicked on the bookmark to the BBC news site and soon found the headline about the plane crash. Her eyes raced down the lines, her sense of disbelief was growing by the second every single detail was as she remembered it. Had that not happened a year ago, was she experiencing a particularly detailed event of dj-vu?

And then she noticed the date under the BBC banner Updated Thursday 10 August 2006. Goose bumps formed all over her body and her mind lurched around trying to make sense of things. Today was Friday 17 August and yesterday had been Thursday 16 August but 2007! Her hands were trembling and her heart was pounding. Trying to control her panic she opened the NZ Herald website and stared at the date Friday 11 August 2006.

She leant her head in her hands. She was sweating now and breathing fast, on the brink of panic again. Have I had a stroke? Or am I in some kind of realistic-seeming psychological state where my mind has snapped back to the past? Did I imagine a whole year? But this must be true, the websites agree. God, whats happened to me?

She was on the verge of crying, but a sense of self-preservation made her battle the tears. I cant cry, I mustnt cry! If I start I might not be able to stop. I must use my mind, check things, find out whats happened and calm down. Who could help me?

But her mind shied away from the idea of asking for help. Would anyone believe her? Would it be dangerous to expose her whatever it was state of mind, delusion to others? It was probably better to struggle through to some sort of calmness and try to work it out alone, at least for now. Mia checked her emails; nothing was dated later than Wednesday 9 August 2006.

Half an hour later she was pacing round the living area frustrated and confused. She had reached no conclusion and had several times stood with her hand on the phone to call her sister Sarah, but had pulled back each time. She could not bear the thought of telling anyone at all. What if Sarah decided that she had had a complete breakdown and lost her mind? Perhaps she had had a breakdown, but she was not ready to consider it yet. She would rather struggle on alone.

Her heart was still beating too fast and suddenly she knew she was going to be sick and ran to the bathroom. She came out gulping for breath, drank a glass of water and wiped her clammy forehead with a damp tissue. She must stay where she was and try to figure it out, without asking for help. Going to work was out of the question. At half past eight, showered and dressed and with a cup of coffee in her hand, she rang the office. She cleared her throat and rehearsed her words; the most important thing was to sound normal. Alice in reception listened to Mias excuse of a tummy bug.

You poor thing, as if you havent had enough to cope with already. Were all thinking you should have taken a decent break, not just soldiered on like this it cant be good for you. Its only been two months and you never took more than a few days off at the time. Look after yourself, Mia! Ill tell Alan youre home sick.

Mia mumbled a vague reply and said goodbye. Two months since the accident, that confirms it I am back in August 2006! My God, Im not mad, but somehow times rewound a whole year. No, I cant believe it! Thats nonsense - but theres no other explanation. Whatever this is, temporary or permanent, its real and not a delusion. Did it only happen to me? That awful graunching movement in the night must have had something to do with it, though goodness knows it seems insane. That sort of thing happens in sci-fi movies, not in real life but it did!

An hour later she felt calm enough to ring Sarah at work. She repeated the story of the tummy bug and Sarah was immediately concerned. Thats not like you, Mia. Wonder if you ate something bad? Would you like me to pop over at lunchtime with something from the pharmacy?

Goodness no, dont worry! Ive got cans of chicken soup and crackers. Ill eat something harmless when I feel a bit better. Its probably one of those 24 hour things.

I dont suppose youll feel like coming over for dinner tonight, then? What a pity! But if you feel better later on and change your mind, do come! You dont have to eat or drink anything. The others will be there about seven. Barbs coming, though she only got back yesterday. And Lorna is bringing her wedding album; they just got it back from the photographer this week. Try to come if you can Im cooking something nice and Ive hired The Kid Next-door to do the dishes.

Mia struggled for a natural reaction. OK - if I improve during the day Ill come along tonight. Id like to see the wedding photos and it would be lovely to see Barb. She put the phone down with a thoughtful frown on her face.

The previous day she had arrived home late. It was August and darkness was already wrapping itself round the city. The bus had been full of people in damp coats with blank faces staring unfocussed into middle space.