Kyler's mind raced.
"Do you have a bathroom?" he asked.
The man nodded.
"In the back. Here are the keys."
Kyler took them and hurried down the hallway.
Once inside the bathroom, he locked the door and leaned against the sink.
"This isn't happening," he whispered to himself.
"How is this possible?"
He stared into the mirror.
Everything looked normal.
But nothing made sense.
A few minutes later, the bell above the gas station door rang.
The man looked up.
"Hi, Sheriff."
The sheriff walked inside.
"Hi, Mikey."
"What brings you here?"
The sheriff sighed.
"I'm looking for two boys. Someone took my daughter's bike. I need to find them."
Mikey shook his head.
"Haven't seen two boys. Just one."
The sheriff raised an eyebrow.
"One?"
"Yeah. He's in the bathroom. Seems a little off."
"How so?"
"He claims he's from Nate's Vill."
The sheriff froze.
"Nate's Vill?"
"That's what he said."
The sheriff stared at the floor.
"That's impossible. Any child from Nate's Vill would be around thirty years old by now."
Before Mikey could respond, the bell above the door rang again.
Allen stepped inside with Mimi beside him.
"Hi, Sheriff," Allen said.
"Allen," the sheriff replied. "What brings you down here?"
"I was coming to get some snacks. While riding my bike, I found two girls' bikes on the trail."
The sheriff's expression changed.
"Did you see two boys?"
Allen shook his head.
"No. But I found her."
He pointed to Mimi.
The sheriff turned toward the little girl.
The color drained from her face.
"No…"
Mimi stared back nervously.
The sheriff took a step forward.
"That's impossible."
"What?" Allen asked.
The sheriff looked at him.
"Her name is Mimi Katina."
Allen nodded.
"Yeah."
The sheriff swallowed.
"She disappeared in 1967."
The room fell silent.
"She's supposed to be a grown woman."
At that moment, the bathroom door opened.
Kyler walked back into the store.
Mikey immediately pointed toward him.
"Sheriff, that's the boy I was telling you about."
The sheriff turned.
Her eyes widened.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then her police radio crackled to life.
"Sheriff Smith, you need to see this."