The Old Findings of a New Beginning

Chapter 2

"What the hell are you doing in my house you street-rats?!" He hollered at them, surprise taking over his features.
"W-well, you see we were kinda lost so me and my bro-" Al started, but was cut off.
"Its my brother and I. Not that stupid slang, you slum-people use! If your gonna talk to-" he in turn was cut off by none-other than the soft-spoken Matthew.
"Its 'going to', not 'gonna'..." he trailed off, realizing that he had cut off the man they were crouching in front of, trespassing (not really) his property, and pretending they were homeless. He was in no position to correct the man, they literally had nothing to lose.
"What did you just say to me?"

Matthew looked to Alfred for help, not knowing what to say, while Alfred just sat there, with his mouth hanging open, not quite believing that his timid brother just corrected someone. To Al, it seemed like he had did it out of revenge, for their rude demeanor, but honestly Matthew had just done it out of politeness. He meant well, not asking for any trouble, just thought the man would appreciate it since he was all hung up on grammar.
"Hey! You, garbage-eater! You got some spite, don't you?" Matthew sputtered, trying to say that his brother was the spiteful one, but was interrupted by the man again.
"And you! You're kind of timid? Am I right? All you've been doing is stuttering." Matthew again tried saying it was all a mix up, it was the other way around, and he was just trying to be polite. He didn't want to call the man 'The Man' because that would be rude and imply that he didn't care about his name, right?
"Excuse me, sir, but would you mind telling us your name?" Matthew got out, surprisingly not stuttering. Again, the man laughed, complementing Matthew on his nerve, then proceeded to tell them his name.
"My name is Charles, but you can call me Charlie." he said, adding a wink. "Now why don't you trespassers tell me yours?" Just as Alfred was opening his mouth to tell him his 'heroic' name, someone called Charlie from downstairs.

"Charlie? What's takin' so long? Did ya find another one of those damn rats again?" Charlie visibly winced from the poor grammar, then proceeded to yell back down.
"No, honey! I found something even better!" Glancing at the two boys, he added "And make some more of your legendary flapjacks! We have guests!" He turned back to the brothers, and ushered them out of the attic and down the ladder. It was odd, though. Being taken care of by someone who was practically their age, maybe a year older, give or take. Getting into a clear light, Charlie turned back to them, asking their names again, since he wasn't able to catch them earlier. Somewhat suspicious of the sudden mood change, from intimidating to inviting, Alfred instinctively stepped in front of his brother, even though his brother was three days older than him.
"The name's Alfred F. Jones, and that's my brother, Matthew Williams." As usual, Charlie asked why they had different last names if they were brothers, so Al gave the spiel about how their parents remarried and all that jazz.

"What does the 'F' in your name stand for anyways?" Charlie asked. Alfred turned to him and gave a shrug.
"That's for me to know and you to find out!" he said, adding on his loud (if not obnoxious) laugh. At that moment, the girl who had hollered up at Charlie earlier walked out, looking for him. She stopped short and stared at the boys, and they stared right back at her. She had blonde hair, done up in curls, wearing a green apron, about medium height, which meant a little shorter than Charlie, with the deepest blue eyes either boy had ever seen. Eyes widening in surprise, she looked at Charlie for an explanation.
"These are the guests I was talking about, Ann!" He said, gesturing to the brothers. She looked hesitant for a minute, before breaking into a wide smile.
"Well, why didn't ya say so? Come on," she said, grabbing each of the boys' arms "Let's go eat ourselves some flapjacks!"

Heaven. That is exactly what Matthew and Alfred were experiencing right now. Charlie hadn't been exaggerating, these pancakes were worthy of legendary status. As both were practically inhaling the pancakes, they failed to notice Ann looking at them with sympathy. However, Charlie, caught it and decided he would do something to wipe that frown off of his girls face, because that frown looked out of place like a baseball player on a football field. He stood up, clapped his hands together, causing Matt and Al to look at him.
"We've got to get you boys cleaned up and presentable to the cold world out there." He gave them another one of his signature winks, and hauled them to the washroom. Alfred and Matthew gave each other a look of worry. The dirt and dust they had rubbed all over themselves, concealed their faces, and features. If they were to wash it off, they would look almost identical to Charlie, given their close proximity in age and that he was their great-grandpa...
Wait...the diary...where did it go after we time-travelled? Did it disappear after we went back, since it didn't exist until-

"World War II..." Matthew mumbled out loud. The 1940's...when the war was happening...wait. "Charlie?" Matthew asked.
"Hm?" Was the reply. "What year is it?" It was a simple enough question, but it took Charlie by surprise. "...1941." Was all he said. "And the date?" Matthew's voice got higher pitched, stained with anxiety. "January 16th, 1941 is today's date. Do I want to why you want to know?" Matthew was surprised at this question, but was thankful he asked. He shook his head, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Al visibly relax. They finally arrived at the washroom and Charlie said he'd leave them there to clean up, while he joined Ann back in the kitchen. The brothers walked into the bathroom shut the door, and both sank to the floor, all previous happiness drained from their faces.
"You know what this means, right?" Matthew asked. Alfred solemnly nodded.
"We've been transported to the middle of World War II."

They had washed up, clean faces and new clothes, that Charlie had so graciously provided for them and walked out into the kitchen, not sure what to when explaining why they looked like twins to him. They had played rock-paper-scissors earlier to see who would be the one to tell Charlie and Ann the impossible thing that had happened, and Matthew drew the lot, having rotten luck as always. They entered the kitchen and the couple ceased conversation, looking at them. They didn't say anything at first, just stared. Matthew opened his mouth to start explaining everything that had happened, but was interrupted. By laughing. Coming from Charlie.
"Oh my lord! You guys look-" he was laughing so much, he couldn't even talk. "You guys look just like me!" More laughter followed, making the brothers start to nervously join in. Matthew was thankful he didn't have to explain their more-than-awkward situation to him, and Alfred was thankful that he wouldn't have to see his brother struggle through explaining. They later learned that Charlie was a strong believer in fate, so he pretty much accepted anything that happened to him as one of God's great plan for him. Everything went smoothly after that and they learned to enjoy each others company. As the sun was setting, Alfred realized that they couldn't stay at Charlie's and Ann's house forever, and quickly informed Matt, who agreed. Alfred walked up to Charlie and Ann, who were playing a rather intense game of cards, and cleared his throat. Both stopped and looked at him.

"My brother and I," he said, giving a pointed look directed towards Charlie, who gave him a nod of appreciation. "have decided that you guys have given us more than we could ever thank you for, but we would hate to overstay our visit. On behalf of both of us, we thank you for your hospitality, but we best be going now." As he was turning away, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized that Charlie had stood up.
"How about you stay until morning? Its dangerous walking the streets at night, and in the morning, you'll be more awake. Then, you can leave, deal?" As Alfred was trying to protest, Ann walked up.
"Now listen here, hon. That wasn't no request. So you and your brother go get a good night's sleep, a nice breakfast, then you and your brother can continue your little escapade. I know we're about the same age, but trust me, I know what I'm doin'." After Matthew and Alfred agreed and assured them that they wouldn't try to sneak away in the middle of the night, they stayed in the guest room, and waited for morning to come.