If you are confused about the title, just know that I entered the contest a little late! As mentioned earlier, your opinions are very much appreciated!

Tonight made me feel so free. I had graduated high school just hours before, and my parents let me hang out with my friends all night. We all had decided to meet at an old house, probably from the '20's, and we were currently playing "Truth or Dare" on the front porch.

"Brady, truth or dare?" I asked.

"Oh...um, truth!" He replied, getting a small chuckle from his girlfriend, Lisa.

" Is it true that you spray painted the Batman Logo on the side of Walmart?" I questioned, a small gasp erupting from our circle of friends.

Brady smiled nervously, " How else would I scare off villains?" and a spurt of laughter filled my ears.

Lisa quickly changed the topic, as it was her turn to ask me. " Alissa, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" I said, making myself look confident.

"Hmm..." She hesitated, probably thinking of something truly sinister. " I dare you to go into the house and explore every room, alone."

I smirked annoyingly as she handed me a flashlight. As I opened the door, a cloud of dust escaped into the night air. I turned to my friends, each of them either excited or worried, then slowly entered the building.

The rotting wooden floors creaked with each step, sometimes causing small bugs to flee to another hole elsewhere. All of the furniture was removed, and only dusty, cob webby utilities remained. One by one I entered rooms as promised, and within half an hour, I was pretty much done with the quirky dare. The only room to remain however, the one room that would seal my fate yet scared me the most,  was the basement.

I shakily held my flashlight as the door swung open, revealing a set of unstable wood stairs. Why was  I even going down here? Couldn't you just claim you went down here? No! That would make you a liar! But come on... this is how the hidden serial killer gets such a victim count.

Fortunately, I made it into the basement alive. It seemed like a bunker almost, jars of expired food scattered about, various old timey tools, all kinds of things. As I ventured deeper into this place, I discovered a small light hidden under a sheet. I curiously snatched the cover away, revealing a futuristic contraption. The light from my flashlight reflected off the top, revealing the words "Time Exploration Machine" in bold letters.

Without hesitation, I went inside. Unfamiliar controls randomly blinked, illuminating the interior quite nicely. Using a keypad, I typed a random futuristic date , and was immediately isolated. A door slid over the entrance, air locking me inside. The small room became very dark, and a cloud of smoke filled the inside. Within seconds, I was completely unconscious.

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"Do you think she's dead?"

"She's obviously breathing you idjit!"

" Well why is she out here of all places?? She could get killed by...them."

" I don't know, should we leave her?"

"No, let's wake her."

I jolted awake as a splash of water was poured on my head. A group of people stared at me nervously as I sat up, each of them looking rather worn. An older lady stepped forward, questioning me as she helped me up.

"Are you alright? It's very dangerous to be out in the open you know." She said, giving me some water to drink.

"I'm okay." I replied, feeling rather confused. "Where am I?"

A man behind her sighed. "It's 2040, about Spring time I believe. The world seemed to end a couple months ago, when the government decided to go crazy on us. They bombed buildings, shot people in the streets, and took our family never to be seen again. The remaining survivors like us are trying to collect what's left, but we have to be careful of agents and lunatics, you never know what they will do."

"We're on our way back to camp, care to join us?" The woman continued, happy to know I wasn't dangerous probably.

"Umm... alright." I said, following them down the remains of a freeway.

I looked around as we ventured into a city, observing the ruins that still remained. Many buildings were toppled or disintegrated, and blood or graffiti decorated the few that still existed. Lines of burned, broken, and wrecked cars littered the streets, few still puffing smoke and flames.

The group and I entered a bunker under what was left of a grocery store, soon visited by other groups of people. The woman introduced me to everyone, and they seemed happy to find someone new.

An old woman walked up to me, grabbing the sleeve of my shirt. "My, you looked like me when I was your age!"

I smiled. "I've always been the vintage type." She and the others are unaware that I ended up here on accident.

They set aside an area for me to live. It had a sleeping bag, some clothes (from this time, not mine), and a backpack containing food and supplies. I used this time to change into a set of their clothes, which was a little more slimming than I expected.

From the windows on the bunker doors, I noticed it was almost sunset. Everyone gathered in the center to receive dinner before returning to their camps to eat. As it was my turn to get food, the woman from before asked to find her after I ate. Taking my plate gratefully, I returned to my camp to eat.

The ration of food was served on a strange looking paper plate. My main course consisted of a rather lean meat, probably deer, and my sides consisted of mashed potatoes and slightly undercooked carrots. It took me a while to finish, and I was definitely full afterwards.

As promised, I met up with the woman still at the food serving area. She led me down to a hall separated from the main camps, and we entered a room that looked like her personal quarters. I watched as she pulled out two lawn chairs and instructed me to sit.

"Is there something I did wrong?" I asked, hoping I wasn't in trouble.

"Oh no!" She replied casually. "I took you here because you are new, and it would be good for the both of us if we got to know each other. Just some questions, no biggie."

"Okay." I said, feeling relieved. "So, tell me about yourself."

She smiled. "My name is Alissa, I am 43 years old, and I am stuck saving people in the apocalypse."

I looked at her puzzled. Surely this couldn't be me, I would never be able to survive the apocalypse! Is this what will happen to be in 20 years? Learn to survive and protect others from the government? If so, I am awesome.

"Well, I'm Alissa too, I am 18, and I'm not exactly from here."

She laughed. "Well of course not! We found you on the freeway!"

"I mean I'm not from this time." I replied sternly. "I haven't been here for the apocalypse... well not yet."

Her cheerful mood quickly became concerned. "What are you trying to say?"

I froze in anxiety. Will she think I'm crazy? She has weapons, what if she will shoot me as if I was a lunatic on the street? I have to be honest, I'm too far in to back out now.

"I...I am you from the year 2015. It was the night I graduated, and I found a time machine in some old basement. I typed in a random date, and here I am."

Her concern faded away. It looked as if she believed me. Does she remember that night? Did she avoid the basement and lie about completing the dare?

"Do you have a way back?" She managed to say. The room felt a lot quieter.

I shook my head. "I guess I'm stuck here."

She frowned, and brought me closer as if she was telling me a secret. " I'm sorry, but if there is no machine to take you back, you could only return if I killed you."

I leaned away in shock." I don't want to die!! What if it messes up the timeline?"

" It won't." She said. "I will even let you have all day tomorrow to think about it."

I sighed. "Alright, but we need to do it at 10:30 pm, that's when I entered the machine."

Without even waiting for a reply, I left the room and immediately went to sleep.

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I woke up at 3:00 am, early enough that I was able to leave the bunker without being noticed. The still night mist hit me like a wall, but it felt good while I explored the city.

Shards of glass twinkled as they reflected the moon, leaving small amounts light on the mangled streets. The silence emitting from the wreckage made the place feel creepy, yet oddly beautiful. The city has been abandoned long enough for nature to start consuming it, vines and weeds slowly growing as if to hide the reality us humans had created. I suppose things have a bigger meaning when you know you will be leaving it.

I started to explore a run down skyscraper, the only true damage seemed to be the lack of a roof. It was strange to see a place like this in such a condition, light sources exempt as well as the presence of tense human beings.

The building became increasingly eerie as I travelled higher up. It was quite disturbing to see the debris from many office cubicles,  and even the occasional dead body. All of these innocent people could have been saved, but no one was really worth the amount of trust to help them.

I eventually left the building after a while, returning to the wreckage below. It was then I felt like looking through the abandoned cars, soon finding a bag as well as various trinkets to fill it with. Perhaps I will look through these later on.

People were starting to wake up as I returned to the bunker, probably curious of my discoveries. Instead I left them in wonder as I set it by my camp. 

I skipped breakfast, alternatively talking to my future self. I felt like there was more to be said about this place, and maybe she would have personal experiences to share.

"Were you there when the government attacked?"

"In the middle of it actually. I was at a clothes store working when a small bomb hit the other side . I immediately ran out into the streets and found out what was happening. I was alone, and ran to the woods in hopes of hiding."

"Have you had any encounters with dangerous people?"

"Too many to count unfortunately. My first was with a member of the swat team, and I dropped a large branch on them from a tree. It was quite humorous actually."

" Do you think you would allow anyone to go explore the city?"

" If they have a death wish! Only my team and I should enter the city, people get killed in there you know."

I thanked her before wandering to the other camps. Luckily I didn't tell her about this morning.

I spent the majority of the day at my camp, once again looking at all the stuff they gave me. It was strange to look at these things, these advancements in goods were completely normal to them. But why? Surely this futuristic society is fairly recent, so how are they considering these goods a regular part of their lives?

I looked at the contents in the foods, the materials in the clothes, even the types of wood used to hold up the bunker itself. It was all mutated, it was all... improved. This environment is probably considered low quality, but the bunker is built better than some houses in my neighborhood.

I managed to entertain myself enough for the time to fly rather quickly. It was 10 pm before I knew I skipped lunch. My nerves began to feel tense. I was so close to ending my stay, and potentially my future.

I reached for the bag of collected trinkets. It would be nice to know what I found before I left. As I loosened the drawstring, the smells of the city filled my nose. The majority of the items were the same, such as keys or small notes. I tossed many meaningless things under my sleeping bag, leaving me with items that looked important.

"Alissa!" My future self called. "It's 10:15, we may as well go outside."

I tied the bag up, and brought it with me as we left the bunker. My heart felt like it would break, and I was tempted to just melt down before her. But I can't, I need to at least stay strong until the end.

We stood before each other in the oh so familiar road. I gave her a long hug, and we prepared ourselves for what was to come.

" I collected some stuff from the city." I said, holding out the bag. " Maybe these could serve some use to you."

She thanked me and set the bag beside her. I truly hope the items will assist her, or at least be a memento in her camp.

" Do you have any regrets, just in case?" She asked, attempting to stay strong too.

" I wish there was more I could do." I replied.

" There is." She whispered, bringing me close. "Move out of America before you get stuck in this."

" Tha-" Is all I managed to say before my vision became blurred. A severe pain flowed through my head, and the silhouette of her smoking gun was implanted in my mind. I was soon surrounded by blackness,  the sound of her weapon finally echoing within me.