Two-way streets, no malls or skyscrapers. One post office, a general store and lots of little independent shops for clothes, books and other essentials. Stepping from the truck, Cherry looked around, breathing in the crisp pollution-free air. It didn't seem that anything had changed here. The cars looked newer ... a few anyway, the people still seemed to be friendly and casually dressed, and it felt like home.

The bell tinkled over the doorway of the general store. It was a food market since there was a hardware store two doors down. The clerk behind the counter looked up, smiling.

Was that recognition in the woman's expression?

Cherry picked up a basket as though she had done it a thousand times before and wandered the aisles picking supplies she may need at the cabin. She didn't know what she might find, so she chose a little of everything, hoping it would cover any issue that may arise.

A different woman was behind the counter when she went to pay. Accepting her cash as though there was never anything like a credit card. Cherry watched for anything that may alert her to being known by this woman, but she couldn't see anything.

"There was someone else behind the counter when I came in," Cherry murmured, "does she live around here?"

The younger woman glanced at Cherry smiling, "Yes, we all live around here," a chuckle came with the words, "you mean Mavis ... she was born in this town years ago."

"Mavis," Cherry tried the name; it felt familiar but didn't spark any memories, "I was sure I'd seen her somewhere else."

"Mavis? Don't think you would," the woman said, "she never leaves town ... it could be her sister. She moved away years ago."

"That's probably it," Cherry smiled, "thanks so much."

Leaving the store, Cherry wandered toward the hardware store. Two men smiled a greeting. The older's eyes widened before tugging the sleeve of the younger man indicating a place across the road where they clearly needed to be right away.

What was going on?

In the hardware store, Cherry bought many supplies for the in-case scenario she may not know about at the cabin. It could have been a carbon copy event of the market. An older person is behind the counter upon entering and attended to by a younger person when leaving. The same information was supplied to the same questions. Apparently, this could be a town of twins or triplets. Putting the parcels in the back of the truck, Cherry drove toward a memory. The dirt road to the cabin was overgrown and unattended. Was that a good or bad thing? She couldn't tell. The road became rougher, drawing a giggle from Cherry.

"This is almost the same as doing the four-by-four tour," she smiled. Bracing as the truck went over another rough patch, the tall grass in the middle of the track brushed the undercarriage. Suddenly she was in a clearing, and a neglected wooden structure stood ahead of her. One side was charred as though hit by lightning. Was that why they had never come back here?

"How much of you can be lived in?" Cherry wondered, "time to find out."

Stepping from the truck, Cherry looked around the surprisingly large clearing. On the left of the stairs rising toward a wrap-around porch lay a neglected garden; from where she stood, it could have been flowers or vegetables, but there was no way of knowing. Hauling the bags from the back of the truck, she headed into the cabin.

The top stair creaked as she came to a stop noting the front door standing ajar. The dust on the floor and surrounding the area was thick and undisturbed.

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Why had her parents left this haven in what seemed to be a hurry?

Pushing the door open, Cherry looked around the ample space that should be housing a living and kitchen/dining area. Chairs lay overturned, and the stuffing of the sofas lay exposed from jagged, rough slashes in the material. Pots and pans still stood on the gas stove, and the table still laid with three settings. Everything lay deep in dust and grime. Untouched all these years.

"What happened here?" Cherry whispered, horrified at what she found, "why don't I remember something ... anything ... even something bad happening here?"

Placing the parcels on the coffee table, she walked toward what should be two bedrooms and perhaps a bathroom. Although the doors were closed, they were in the same state as the general area. At the entrance of the room she presumed was her own, Cherry paused before entering and looking around at the broken dolls ruthlessly pulled apart. The cupboard door hung drunkenly on its hinges, the contents thick in dust and spilling onto the floor.

"What were they looking for?" she whispered, taking in the carnage of the life she didn't remember.

Freezing at the tiny sound of an electronic device coming to life. Turning around, she froze as she looked at a simulated version of her mother.

"Welcome home, Cherry," the simulation said, "are you logging in or staying off-grid today?"

"Off-grid," Cherry whispered, "nothing that can locate me at all ... not even this interaction."

"As you wish," the simulation said, "remember to follow the basement steps in you don't have the code for backups."

The simulation disappeared, and Cherry frowned as she allowed the last words to sink in, "What backups?"

Moving to the room that would have been her parents Cherry shook her head at the almost complete destruction.

"Why was whoever was searching so destructive?" she sighed. "Clearly, whatever they were looking for was not found," she mused, taking in the splintered base of the wooden bed and the holes inside the built-in wooden cupboard. Clothing hung in tatters, ripped unceremoniously to rags. Turning, she moved to the doorway, staring into the shambles of the general cabin area. Cherry nodded.

"I wanted peace and quiet; then I shall have to repair what is required and learn to live off-grid. First things first..." new determination blossoming, Cherry moved toward the kitchen, "clean everything and get started cooking a meal."

"What do you mean she has disappeared?" the voice boomed over the phone, "you were tasked with keeping her in line as the team attached to her parents were to do the same. We still have her parent, but where is Cherry?"

"Before the apartment self-destructed, we checked in remotely," the nervous guard said. "We have been here all night and never saw her leave the building. Her assigned and tagged mobile phone, satellite phone, and laptop were all in her apartment. Their location beacons put them there," he cleared his throat. "She didn't take any of her assigned and tagged clothes with her. We know she bought clothes for herself, which we could not tag with trackers but as far as we can see, everything was still there. Where do you think she would have gone?"

"Security cameras?" the anger in the voice rose.

"Nothing came up," the security guard said. "We checked the lobby, the outside camera, the elevator. Only the ordinary tenants we placed in the building who "won" an apartment were seen."

"The surrounding area?" the clipped question dripped with impatience.

"Nothing," the security guard said, clearing his throat, "even checked possible taxi fares ... didn't come up with anything that we could track or trace her."

"Then she used cash," the voice said, "we may need to go old school."

"How old school?" the security guard asked, "into the dark ages or cold war era?"

"Let's start with something a little closer to our time," the voice hissed, "look for any random cash transactions in the area at the time of her disappearance."

"Yes, Sir," the security guard muttered, "how urgent is this matter?"

"If either party find out the truth, what we are working on is in jeopardy," the voice ground out, "which means you're out of a job."

The security guard sighed as he looked at the ceiling, "I understand, Sir."

"Now ..." the voice continued, "what do we know about the coffee shop incident?"