𝙒𝙀 𝙎𝘼𝙏 𝘼𝙏 the empty bar with Dad, tropical music playing over the speakers. "You two seem to be the sensible ones of the bunch," he commented. "That's because I'm the oldest," Five replied. "You know, technically, I'm older than you right now."
"And you?" Dad asked, looking at me. "I'm supposed to be the same age as the rest of those idiots, but I was put into a coma at the age of 13, and, for some odd reason, I did not age. I guess I just am sensible." He nodded. The bartender brought out a bottle. "Cognac?" Dad questioned. "No thank you. I don't drink." He looked over at Five. "Just a smidge."
"The other night you quoted Homer at me," Dad said while pouring the drinks. "Why?"
"You forced us all to learn it as kids," Five responded. "And in the original Greek, no less," I noted. He nodded and slid a glass over to Five, a water over to me. We all took a sip of our drinks.
"This world ends in five days if we don't get out of the timeline," Five began. "Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on," Dad replied. I shook my head. "But there's a way to prevent this one from ending," I said. "Man's greatest flaw: the illusion of control."
"We need your help. All right? You're our last sane option. Otherwise, we gotta make a deal that I really don't wanna make," he emphasized. Dad looked at him questioningly. "What do you know about time travel?" Five asked.
"In theory?"
"In practice."
"I know it's akin to descending blindly into the depths of freezing waters and reappearing-"
"As an acorn. Yeah," Five and I completed in unison. "What transpired when you tried traveling before?" Dad asked. Five shook his head. "I botched it," he answered. "How?"
"I jumped too far forward, got stuck in the future for 45 years in an apocalypse. Then I jumped too far backwards, except this time I brought my entire family with me," Five explained. "Maybe your appetite is disproportionate to the size of your abilities," Dad began. "Start small. Seconds, not decades."
"Seconds?"
"Mmm." Five sighed. "Look, no offense, but I need a bit more time for what I'm trying to accomplish."
