Ch.3 Sequence of Events

"Don't accept the matchbox. The secret it contains can kill you. Run. For God's sake, run."

These words were neither written for Quinn (she already had the matchbox) nor were they encoded. Whoever felt the need to pen these words on a gum wrapper did not come from the agency.

Quinn looked up at the man she was dancing with. He winked playfully at her. But Quinn was in no mood to wink back.

"Why did you write this?" She asked in hushed, urgent tones.

He faltered. His gray eyes flicked to the back of the dance hall. His confidence was shattered and he began to stammer.

"I...I...was given...instructions. You...you have auburn hair. I was so...sure he meant you."

Time is a funny thing. Once wasted, time can never be recycled or reused. It's gone forever. If, for instance, you were in a race and you had to get from point A to point C in one hour, but you spent a half hour at point B, you can never get that half hour back. It's gone. It's been sucked into a black hole for eternity and time just keeps going. Time was something Quinn was running out of.

Risking a glance at her pursuer, Quinn saw her scanning the crowd. Her piercing eye searching for the fastest, simplest and most convenient way to get to Quinn.

At this moment, three things happened in quick succession. The sequence of events are as follows: First, the dance ended. Second, a stranger stumbled backwards into Quinn's pursuer. Third, Quinn ran.

The city of Melba is an isolated, wealthy city. It's residences refused to believe the outside world existed. Thus, this was the perfect city to hold the world's most important, and apparently most dangerous, secret. They ignored what they did not understand. Thus, Quinn was very much ignored as she ran through the unknown streets of Melba. She didn't know where to go. She didn't know what she would do.

"Don't take the matchbox. The secret it contains can kill you."

Quinn began to wonder what secret this matchbox contained...

(Authors Note: Although the city mention here is real (it exists in Idaho) I would like to mention that it's description is fictional and in no way reflects in any way on it's actual residences)