—𝘼𝙎𝙎𝘼𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙎!
❛❛ 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝙒, 𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝙎𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝙇𝙐𝘾𝙆 𝙄𝙎 𝙏𝙊 𝘿𝙄𝙀 𝘼𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙍𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀. ❜❜
~ ☂︎︎ ~
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."
"So much can change in a matter of seconds. One could overthrow an empire. One could fall in love. An acorn doesn't become an oak overnight," Dad stated. "I was really hoping you had more than that," Five said. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help."
"I'm sorry, too. I gave you such a hard time as a kid," Five spoke. "I didn't know any better." Dad looked down. "Hmm. No skin off my teeth, old man." He raised his glass at him and took a drink. Five sighed and finished his.
"Well, we should get going," Five said, standing up. "Actually," I held him back, "I was hoping to talk to you," I said, looking at Dad. "Do you want me to-"
"Just wait outside," I waved Five off. He gave me one last glance before heading out. "So. What was it you wanted to discuss?" Dad asked. "It's about my powers." He nodded at me to continue. "I'm sure you don't know much about them yet, but I've just been struggling, recently."
"With which one?" He asked. "The mediumship."
"Well, don't you have someone who can help you with that?" He said. "Klaus?" Dad nodded. "Don't get me wrong, he is much farther along than I am with these powers, but I guess he wouldn't be the best-"
"Teacher."
"Yeah," I confirmed. "What can I do to help?" He asked. "Do you have any advice for summoning the dead? I'm only really able to summon one person."
"Well, summoning the dead is not a matter of science, so I don't believe I'll be able to provide much. However, I see something very powerful in you. You're stronger than your siblings. I hope you use it for good," he said, and turned back to his drink. I stood up, leaving my cup on the table.
"Thank you."
And with that, I walked away.
~ ☂︎︎ ~
"𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘼𝘽𝙎𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙏𝙀𝙇𝙔 sure you want to do this?" I asked Five as we approached room 217. After our chat with Dad, Five told me this was our best option. "It's the only thing we can do to save us and our family." I nodded and knocked on the door.
The Handler opened the door, looking quite happy to see us. "Ah! Just in time for a nightcap," she said, walking back into the room. We followed, and I watched her make a drink and light a cigar. Five closed the doors behind us. "To be clear, we take out the board," he sighed. "You get us and our family home," I completed. "No more doomsday, no more apocalypse. Is that correct?"
She lay down on the bed. "That's the deal." Five nodded and looked at me.
"Then we're in."
The Handler pulled out a piece of paper, holding it out to us. I grabbed it and read the address.
The Lonely Lodger Inn.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1982.
Five looked over my shoulder and read with me. Here we go.
~ ☂︎︎ ~
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙃𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙇𝙀𝙍 provided us with the equipment necessary for getting to 1982. The lodge itself was small and cozy. The upbeat polka music and constant chatter added a nice touch to the atmosphere. I walked up to a lady who looked like she worked here. "Excuse me."
"Uff da! You snuck up on me there. If you two are looking for the cookies, we don't put 'em out till 3:00," she smiled at us. "I can hardly wait," Five said. "Uh, do you happen to know where the Midwest Soybean Society is meeting?" I asked. "Sure do. Muskellunge Banquet Room. You looking for your moms? They in for the convention?"
Five and I brushed off the question and looked into the hallway, seeing a vending machine. "Hey, could I get some change?" Five asked, pulling out a dollar bill. "Oh, sure, I'll just look in my purse," the woman replied, looking through the fanny pack sitting at her hips. "Only a nickel and a couple of dimes."
She dug around a little longer. "Oh! You are in luck, mister," she stated, giving him a handful of coins.
"You know, some say the best luck is to die at the right time."
She looked at him weirdly. "Ok, I think it's time to go," I said, tapping him on the shoulder. Thank you, I mouthed to the lady.
We walked down the hallway. Five approached the vending machine. "Fudge Nutter?" He asked me. "Sure."
He put a couples coins in the slot as a stood to the side. He typed in the code and watched the things turn. However, the candy did not come out. Five sighed and tried typing in the code again, hitting the machine a couple times. He grew more frustrated with the machine and hit it angrily. "Come on!" He shouted. He rammed his shoulder into the machine. "Stupid mother Fudge Nutter!"
Should I intervene?
Nah, this is too funny.
He grunted and shook the machine again. "Fuckin' Fudge Nutter!" Five ended up kicking the machine, breaking the glass. I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "I think that's enough, sweetie. Here." I used my powers to pull the Fudge Nutter out, handing it to Five. He quickly readjusted his blazer and shoved the snack into his pocket. "I'll save this for later."
We walked down the hall towards the conference room. Five swiped his finger through a cake, licking the frosting off his finger. He walked towards the wall and picked up an axe. "Need a weapon?" I shook my head and held my hands out.
"I am the weapon."
He rolled his shoulders and licked his finger again.
"Let's move on to article 17, please." A man with a fishbowl for a head was speaking when Five and I walked in. "You!" He shouted, presumably looking at Five. "Call security!" Someone stood up in their chair but Five was ready. He swung his axe and chopped off her arm before she could do anything.
Fishbowl hid under the table. "I'll take the left?" He nodded at me. In mere seconds, the entire group was dead, either bloody or shriveled up and rotting. One man was even hanging from the ceiling. Five and I landed on top of the table, standing over Fishbowl.
"She sent you, didn't she?" He asked. "Does it really matter now?" Five questioned. "Whatever she offered you two, I will double it, triple it," Fishbowl tried. "We're not doing this for the money," I said, ready to kill him.
Before we could do anything, the lady from before tackled the both of us. I rolled away and checked for Fishbowl, but he was already gone. "Get off me!" Five shouted. "You're gonna pay for that vending machine, little mister," she said, struggling to hold him down. He elbowed her and sat up. "I don't wanna hurt you, all right?" Five said. She punched him and stared him straight in the eye. "Hurt me? Oh, I ain't afraid of you, you little pus ball."
I rolled my eyes and knocked her out. Five stood up. "Thank you."
"Oh yeah, Fishbowl got away." Five looked around. "Shit." He walked over the dead bodies and grabbed a paddle off the wall. I grabbed his hand and teleported us out into the hallway, stopping Fishbowl, who was attempting to run away.
"Surely we can come to some form of agreement that benefits both parties," he pleaded. "Quid pro quo? What do you say?" He begged. "Why not? Here's your quid," Five began, whacking him in the gut.
"Here's your pro," I continued, hitting him in the leg. He cried out in pain. "No! No! Please don't!"
"Here's your quo!" Five hit him on the head, breaking the glass of his tank. Water splashed everywhere as the fish flew to the ground. I sighed and stood over it.
Two women walked in, saw our appearances, and walked out.
"We should probably go now."
—𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍'𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀!
So you're telling me Halloween
is on a Saturday this year,
there's gonna be a full moon,
AND WE GET AN EXTRA
HOUR FOR DAYLIGHT
SAVINGS??? AND I DON'T
HAVE SCHOOL ON THE
30TH!! And we can't even
go outside. I hate it here.
-AJ
QOTD: For anyone who updated to IOS14, what does your home screen look like?
AOTD: This took me like an hour
P.S.
Don't lie, we all thought
the murder scene was kinda
hot. Here are some gifs :)
Most of the fun killing
ones were too big :(