As much as I hate putting a date on things because then that means it will become outdated, I recognize that that is quite literally a fundamental part of this story haha. And I don't know. Maybe it won't bug me. We'll see.
Anyways it's 2024 because I am writing this in 2024, considered writing in 2025 but a couple years ago I realized it actually doesn't work to write even just a few months ahead if you want to be contemporarily accurate, so I'm going with January 2024 because as of right now we're closer to that than 2025.
I can honestly say I've never written from this character's perspective before, so I'm excited.
Alright I've held y'all up long enough!
Enjoy! :)
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Boots opens his eyes to find a sky full of fireworks in a New York he doesn't recognize.
What happened? Just a moment ago he was in the lodging house, ready to bring in the new year.
But this is not the lodging house. He's outside. Something in his gut tells him it's still New York. But ... it's not his New York.
He doesn't even know how to describe it. It's so loud, so many sounds going off at once, bright lights, and extremely tall buildings. Not a carriage in sight, but a lot of moving things moving fast on the streets--black, made of something that is not cobblestone--making it impossible to walk across the street without being hit.
Nothing is familiar.
He feels his heart beat faster and his breath quicken. If nothing familiar shows up soon or goes back to the way it was, his panic might grow worse. But still, he tries not to let his guard down. He has no idea how dangerous this new situation will be.
Please, if there's anybody up there in the heavens, gimme somethin' familiar-
"Hey! HEY!"
Boots recognizes that voice. No matter where he is or when he is, he would always know that voice.
It's Crutchy.
He feels his eyes well up with tears.
"CRUTCHY!" he runs toward him as fast as he can.
"Hey! Careful!" Crutchy exclaims as Boots barrels into him, nearly knocking him over.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Nah, it's alright. I'm glad to see a familiar face."
They embrace tighter. Boots has never been more grateful for Crutchy in his life.
Finally when his heart rate is slower, Boots looks up at Crutchy. "What happened, Crutchy?"
Crutchy bites his lip, subdued. "I...don't know. I've been here for 'bout t'ree hours now-"
"Six hours?! I just got here!"
"Yeah, I don't know why it happened an' how it happened neither. From what I figure, it ain't even safe to cross the street. Them horseless carriages take up all the space now."
Boots gulps. "So how do people get anywhere?"
"I don't know. From what I've seen, the thin narrow sidewalks are the only safe way to get anywhere. And on occasion, ya can cross the street where there's horizontal white stripes, but only when a green man appears."
"That don't make no sense."
"Yeah, I know."
Suddenly, huge fireworks go off. They look up.
KAMU SEDANG MEMBACA
Until We Find Each Other Again
Fiksi PenggemarIt's December 31, 1899. It's been an interesting year. What they didn't expect is that at midnight, they would be scattered across time. Some stayed in January 1, 1900, and will never see these people again. Boots and Crutchy end up in January 1, 20...
