Young Writers Society

"Who the hell knows," Queenie said bitterly in answer to Alex's question. Her gaze kept flicking to Julian, that stupid curiosity. Never before had she ever been this out of control. Never had she ever shown this much unneeded emotion. Never had her mask been this unstable.

"I agree with that guy," Julian gestured at Bo, "I don't even know who knows who or...how."

Queenie found herself flinching at his voice. It practically burned her skin, every little word like acid.

"Oh, fuck this," Mary said, growing both impatient at the back and forth, confused as to what exactly was going on, and overwhelmed by the scent of sugar cookies. "Don't be such pussies."

She walked over to the nearest bookshelf and opened the first book she touched.

*

It was cold. Not quite cold enough to see her breath, but cold enough that being outside was uncomfortable. Wait, how had they gotten outside? Mary stood up. Her clothes was different. God, she was in a dress, wasn't she? He hair was curled and she wore a woolen beret. She supposed a hat wasn't....

The cars. The cars were from the twenties or thirties. Her skirt was a dark maroon color and went past her knees. Her coat, wool. Olive green. And she was in black lace up- boots that were suffocating her feet.

The others were dressed similarly, and that was when Mary heard jazz coming from somewhere. She turned and saw a light. They were in the alleyway of a diner. Just then, a man about Mary's age came back. He had dark hair, a thin frame and blue eyes. He was dressed in what looked to be a uniform and a name tag. "You folks all right?" He asked. "I'm Louis."

"Where are we, Louis?" Mary asked, trying not to be suspicious.

"Milton's diner, of course," he said.

"But, where?"

"Idaho Falls," he replied.

Mary blushed, trying to think of something to say. "We thought the heat would be a good place to sleep," Mary said, thinking if they were in the 1930s, that wouldn't have been uncommon.

"Oh," he said. "You folks hungry? We're about to close up, and I'm going to have to throw away this food if no one eats it. Seems silly to me."

"We're very hungry."

Mary took a deep breath and looked back towards the group she was with.

Queenie examined Louis's face, trying to place him. He seemed oddly familiar, in a warped kind of way. Like looking at a reflection of someone she knew in a funhouse mirror.

She gave him a friendly smile and nodded along with Mary's statement. She was in no mood to take the lead this time around. Besides, she could see Julian beginning to panic. It was subtle, the slight quickening of his breath, his fidgeting with the hem of his new shirt. Though that last one was probably just the shock of being plopped into a new set of clothing without warning.

Queenie stepped over to his side and nudged his arm. "Play along with it," she said quietly enough for only him to hear, "It's easier that way."

He didn't look like he wanted to follow her instructions, but he did anyway.

Queenie moved a pace forward, putting some distance between herself and him. He didn't want her company, not right now.

Bo took in a shuddered breath as the scene changed. It felt wrong and unnatural, but something in his head said this was normal now. This was his new normal, and for however long that this would last, he would just have to get used to it. Being thrown through time, being ripped out of one time and world and plopped into another.

He looked down at himself. Oh. And in different clothes too.

He looked like he was in the '20s or something. He was a little fuzzier on this era. The depression was around this time, wasn't it? Bo wished he'd retained more from school. Then again, high school was forever ago.

He watched as Mary took the lead, which he appreciated since she grabbed the book first anyway. He knew they'd have to do it eventually, but it might've been helpful to talk about things before they jumped into time again. If not to become more informed, at least to calm everyone's nerves.

Oh well. It was past that now.

Bo put on a small smile. "Food would be greatly appreciated," he said warmly, stepping up beside Mary and patting her shoulder in a supportive gesture. It was more just to show that he was going to try his best to keep the whole act up while they figured out while they were brought to this moment in time.

He did have a gut feeling it had to do with the guy they just met though.

"I'm -" there was a split second lag in his mind. Was Bo a normal name in the 1920's? Probably not. It was barely a name. "Andrei," he said. "And this is Mary. These are our friends. Thank you for your generosity, Louis."


Nobody listened to him. Oh joy.

Carter's head was spinning. Snow? Snow. Was he home? No, that would be too godsdamned nice of the librarian, and he knew she wasn't kind. She was scheming, conniving, all the things he was but tried not to make obvious - but now it was all out in the open or something. What exactly had she said about him again? She was just trying to turn people against him, wasn't she? All of this was to make him look like the bad guy?

Carter crossed his arms and stood at the edge of the crowd, practically hidden in Bo's shadow. He knew nothing about this Bo or Andrei fellow, but he already hated him. The things was, he knew in another situation if fingers hadn't been pointed at him and he hadn't been called a murderer (which he wasn't! He didn't pull the trigger!) then he would've easily had Bo wrapped around his finger. But this? This? Gods, everyone hated him now, and he was still sweating buckets even though it was in the middle of the winter. He'd probably look feverish to anyone who cared to notice.

He pulled his wool hat a little lower on his face and tucked his chin into the wool coat he'd been dressed up in. He couldn't wait for this to be over.

He peeked out from Bo's side for just a moment to see who the hell they were talking to. He was surprised to see Jay staring back at him, with a bullet in his head. Carter shivered before the small, still-sane and self-aware part of him told him no, that wasn't real. It couldn't be.

He tried to blink the hallucination away, but it didn't work. Ugh.

...I hadn't known Mary that long, but I was staring to like her. Grabbing a book had been what I was about to do, right before she beat me to it - I didn't want to stand around any longer. I didn't have the slightest urge to do anything that librarian wanted, but I knew this was my one shot at getting Esther back right now. I'd play her game if I had to.

I'd just do it my way.

Of course, going to the past was just as terrible as it had been the last time around. I was wearing a suit. I couldn't see it right away with the coat I was wearing, but I could feel it. Kirux looked like he was wearing something similar - he was surprisingly amused and not confused by the outfit change, though he did glance around wildly after Mary opened the book.

"Thanks - I'm starving," I said, suddenly realizing that I was pretty hungry - I hadn't exactly gotten to dig into that picnic before Queenie and Carter killed Jay. Seeing that Kirux was currently alone with Bo up near Mary, I joined Kirux.

"I'm..." Bo had given another name. I knew I'd have to do the same thing to. I wasn't going to go by Van again; I was sick of that name. And while I had been against it earlier...

"I'm Nathaniel," I said, giving a strained smile. I glanced over at Kirux. I knew that wasn't a name - it was even less of a regular name than mine was. "And this is...Anthony. He's mute."

Kirux, who had been glancing around for the mysterious Anthony I had just mentioned, gave me a very confused and surprised look when he realized he was Anthony. Then he frowned, crossed his arms, and almost looked mad - in the kind of way a kid looks when you take their favorite toy away from them.

The diner was comforting.

Alex was confused as to why they had travelled back in time to the 1930s and why Louis looked vaguely familiar. The calendar on the wall said it was March 14th, 1933, and she had no idea if that date was supposed to be significant or not.

Wait. She watched him as he went back behind the counter and started to prepare their food. She put it together now. Louis looked too much like the man in the vision the Librarian had shown them.

Jay.

The man who, in an alternate universe, had been Alex's lover and the father of her daughter. The man the others who had supposedly killed as a child and set them off on this misadventure.

Louis looked too much like him for it to be a coincidence. If Alex had met Jay when he was in his thirties and he was still in high school, that meant....

Okay. She knew what they were there to do. The problem was, she had no idea who Jay's mother was. And no idea how to play matchmaker. And she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something the Librarian wasn't telling her.

Just then, Louis served her a burger. "What's your name?" He asked with a wink.

"Alexandra," she said. As much as she hated her full name, she wasn't sure if Alex was a nickname in the 1930s.

"Louis," he said.

"You introduced yourself outside," Alex replied.

"I know." He lingered for a moment, and she could swear his cheeks were turning red.

"I think my friends are hungry too," Alex said.

"I want to talk to you for a bit longer," he continued. Oh no. This couldn't be happening. Alex looked away, unsure of what to say. Whoever Jay's mother was, it most certainly was not her.

Kirux still looked upset with me for the alias I had picked - maybe he didn't like the name Anthony, either - but his attention was quickly taken by the conversation Alex was having with Louis. I had only gotten snippets of it, but I got the implications. The uncomfortable look that Alex on her face after the conversation paused was the little confirmation I still needed.

Kirux suddenly pulled away from me, a frown on his face as he went up to Alex and Louis and grabbed onto Alex's arm. I opened my mouth to step in, but didn't get a chance to before Kirux gave Louis a very stern look of disapproval.

Julian glanced between Alex and Louis. He didn't know much about what was going on, and frankly, he still wanted to properly confront Queenie about what he did know, but he could tell that Alex was uncomfortable with him flirting with her. And he agreed with the mute kid. Louis had to stop.

He cleared his throat, "I'm Julian, and this is Elizabeth," he gestured at himself, then Queenie, who smiled and gave a little wave. "Where are you from?"

A filler question that Queenie was currently judging him for, even if she was doing a very good job of looking like she wasn't.

Carter was brooding at the end of the table, keeping his face as neutral as he could manage even though he still felt feverish and his heart was beating as if it might burst from his chest. He wished he could lie down, or be anywhere other than here, where Jay's adultified corpse was walking around, serving them food. Curse his vivid imagination, conjuring such an image in the first place.

He didn't care to pay attention as Jay hit on Alex. Seemed he'd fall for her in any timeline. Maybe it was always meant to happen.



Bo was glad that Kirux and Julian stepped in - Julian taking a more polite route by striking up a conversation. Had they not jumped in, he might've done the same, but it looked like, for now, Julian had it under control. He hoped Kirux wouldn't do anything too drastic, but that felt like a silly thought. The most he could see Kirux do was he might hug Alex, but he nothing too extreme.

The more he looked at Louis though, the more Louis looked like Jay. Not in an identical way, but in the way a father might.

He tried to remember things about Jay's life - things he never would've come in handy like this when he'd gone to look up Alex and the cult after the whole cruise ship fiasco (not that he'd call it a "fiasco" but, alas). He was pretty sure Jay's mom had had him young... and if this was Jay's dad...

Was this before Jay was born? Were they supposed to - oh god.

Bo stared down at the table.

If they weren't here to change history, were they here to make sure it happened? To make sure that baby Jay happened?

A shot of anxiety coursed through him but he just kept a weak, customer-service type smile on. He had no idea when Jay's mom was going to come into the picture, but he was not looking forward to what was to come at all. He wasn't sure if he'd even be able to... what, play cupid? The thought made his skin crawl. This was so messed up.

Why? Why him?

Luckily, Louis got the hint. At least, Alex thought he did. He moved back towards the counter and fixed the plates.

The mute was sweet. Alex smiled at him and eyed the clock. It was almost eight o'clock at night, but it was pitch black and it was cold and the group had nowhere to sleep.

She prayed Louis would ask since he had discovered them behind the dumpster, but she didn't want to be the one to ask him. Just looking at him gave Alex an intense feeling of deja vu. She didn't like it.

As he served the others, she scarfed down the rest of her burger.

*

Mary was hungrier then she thought. The bun on the burger was a little bit dry, the meat a little too tough, but she imagined they were probably lucky to have a hot meal. Considering they had no money.

"Louis," she said. "Could we trouble you for a pot of tea?"

She also had an intense feeling of deja vu looking at him. The men in his family passed down their looks to one another...

Adam's face had been fuzzy in her memory, but he and Louis were related. She knew it. Louis had to be her parallel universe husband's grandfather. She took a deep breath, and she too understood why they were here.

The problem was, she didn't know who Jay's mother was, and how to find her. But if the Librarian had brought them here, she had to be close.

"Listen, you folks doing anything later? There's going to be a dance in the park down by the river. It's not much, and I know it's kind of cold, but looks like you folks are dressed for the weather." He laughed nervously. "There'll be live music and fire to keep you warm... it's good fun."

"Pretty girls too," Mary replied.

Louis blushed, dodging her comment. "What do you say?"

"We would love to go," Mary said. "It's not like we have anything else to do." She figured if they want to the dance, that could buy them more time to finding a place to stay fo the night.

Just then, Louis poured Mary her mug of tea. The silence unnerved her, but she had gotten them in the diner. And something told her now the dance was key.

Bo nodded beside Mary with nerve-fueled 'enthusiasm.'

"Oh, sure!" Bo echoed in agreement. "That sounds like a fun time."

For some reason, he found himself a little too hyper-aware of the way he was saying things. He was afraid he might slip in modern vernacular and slang that might get lost or misunderstood. If this was what it was like to be a time traveler, then popular media definitely romanticized the idea of it. This was not fun at all.

Meanwhile, Carter looked like he was hanging by a thread. The short, mustachioed man's eyes were half-shut, and he started muttering something unintelligible under his breath that Bo didn't want to try to decipher.

Before long, Louis had to close up the diner. He didn't charge Mary for the tea, and she couldn't help but wonder what he thought of them. He was trusting of a random assortment of people he'd just met, but then again, it was a different time.

They all went outside to wait. Louis kept looking over at Alex but didn't say anything, and Alex wondered if he really had gotten the hint in the diner.

A car pulled up, and Louis waved to its driver. An odd looking van pulled up that had the logo for some kind of grocery delivery company. The driver rolled down the window and waved to Louis.

"Hey Max!" Louis said.

"Who are your friends?" He asked.

"They're going to come. That cool?"

"Of course." Just then, Max got out and opened the doors. Mary got in the van, followed by Alex. And then the other boys got in the backseat. Just then, Mary saw Carter and Queenie awkwardly standing outside.

There were no open seats for them. "Oh," Louis said. "Sorry. It's not that far if you want to walk." He gestured to the main road ahead. "Walk on this all the way until you reach Apple Street. Then turn left. You're going to walk three blocks, sharp right to Peach Street. You should hear the music then. Follow it to the park." He smiled and got in the van.

As Max drove, Mary felt a little weird about leaving Carter and Queenie to walk just like that, but hopefully they would join them soon.

When they got there, it was lively. People were dancing. A fire was roaring. That was when Mary saw the tents. She didn't know why it hadn't clicked before. They were in a Hooverville. The reason they were having a dance in this weather was that they lived in tents anyway. This was one thing they could do have a good time and forget their troubles.

Still, Mary loved a good party and immediately began to dance. She fit in with the crowd more easily than she thought.

Queenie shrugged at Julian's apologetic look through the van doors and gave Louis a little smile before he left. It's fine, the look said, and she waved them off.

The moment they were out of sight, she glared at Carter. She pulled the trigger, sure, but he was just as guilty as she was. Just like her father was just as responsible for every death he ordered as the one who carried out that order. And still, Carter was trying to paint himself as this near-blameless bystander. He was too pathetic to even take responsibility.

"You still high?" she asked. This was ridiculous. She wasn't going to deal with this pathetic little man as he dealt with being high for what she guessed was the first time, based on how badly he was handling it.

She was anticipating a long walk.



Julian wasn't comfortable leaving Queenie behind, but before he could speak up, the doors closed and he was driven off in a van full of strangers. He spent the drive tense and fidgeting, alternating between twisting the material of his pants between his fingers and bouncing his leg. He didn't think that Queenie could be such a comfort even after all that had been said about her, but now that she wasn't here, he found that he much preferred it when he had her to stay beside.

With Queenie there, he wasn't forced to focus on the people around him, and he really was in a strange crowd. Going through one at a time was a good way to get really quickly intimidated. No matter how friendly these people acted, most of them still looked like they could beat someone up. Most of the guys, anyway. Even the mute guy looked like he was at the gym every afternoon.

So Julian was quiet throughout the ride, and when they reached the party, he got awkwardly out of the van and shuffled along with the group until they dispersed a little, some going to dance, others looking like they had other things to be doing.

He looked nervously at the makeshift dancefloor.

Despite being a dancer, he really wasn't good at this kind of dancing. Ballet was completely different, organized, precise, practiced. This was...none of those things. Still, there was that debate, just like when he went to that party at the end of the school year last year. Should he stand restlessly off to the side, or dance off some of that nervous energy.

Last time the 'stand restlessly' option had won out, and he'd met Queenie. He didn't even know why she was there. At first he'd assumed he was someone's girlfriend or something, he would definately have noticed someone like her at his school. All that hair, that grace with which she carried herself, the gentle sway of that waterfall of curls when she tilted her head in that way, her eyes flicking up and down as a playful smile crept onto her lips. Like life was a game and she'd invented it.

Gods, when they first met, he'd been crushing hard.

The smile he hadn't noticed on his face faded as he remembered the present day. Did she really do it? Could she? Sure, Queenie was a little...harsh, at times, but she wasn't a killer, and she definately wouldn't kill a kid, would she?

He shook his head. Distraction. He needed a distraction.

He looked around for someone to talk to. He couldn't dance right now, he decided, it allowed too much room to think. A good conversation would work better, if he could find someone to share it with.

Carter was slowly starting to feel normal. After the meal and getting some food in his stomach, the haunting picture of Jay faded, and Carter realized Louis wasn't Jay, but probably his father. They bore a very striking resemblance to one another.

He knew it wasn't the purpose of them being sent here, but he did briefly entertain the idea that the librarian had sent them here to end Jay's lineage even further up the family tree. Go straight to the root. Then Louis and Jay wouldn't even be an idea in the world.

Of course, that was proven to not be the true intent behind the librarian's actions when she got mad at them for murder. Her fault, really, for telling him to do something as a ticket out and expecting him to read between the lines.

Carter listened carefully at the directions and repeated them in his mind several times before turning to Queenie, his expression tired.

"No," he said, even though he still felt physically a little off, his head was clearing. He didn't have to explain that to her. He started to walk down the road in the direction the car left. Apple Street was their first turn.

"You still ashamed of pulling the trigger? Or was that just because your friend was here?"


Bo knew he wasn't that old, but he felt a little old to be dancing around in a crowd. A little too old, a little too tall, a little too nervous.

He watched as Mary joined the dancing with Louis, and Alex went to the fire, sitting by herself as she stared into it. Bo was just relieved that Louis was leaving Alex alone now. He hoped no one else would bother Alex. They weren't here for... flirting, or whatever.

Gosh, Bo felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want to tell the others what his gut was telling him they were here to do.

Bo inched towards the fire, still scanning the crowds. Keeping an eye on Louis. Jay's mom had to be here, but Bo didn't exactly know what to look for.

A flash of red hot rage shot through her, but she bit back the words that shot up and clattered against the back of her teeth. Bullets stopping dead in the barrel of the gun.

She only stopped them because threats always had to be followed by actions, and right now, any action she made could very well keep her away from home for good. The Librarian was certainly cruel enough.

So, instead, she considered her words. He'd revealed very little about himself, and yet, he'd been the first to learn her name. A stupid mistake, but one she was just a little tempted to make again. Let him know what she did for a living, just to shut him up.

"You're awful, you know that?" she said instead, "Maybe try to ask a question or two before going and burning bridges with everyone you make eye contact with."



Julian shifted awkwardly as he scanned the crowd for someone who wasn't already occupied. He didn't want to interrupt anyone who was having fun right now.

As he thought he spotted someone standing alone just outside the glow of the fire, a girl tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face the blushing, giggling face of a girl at least a few years younger than him.

"My friend thinks you're cute," she said, inclining her head toward a second girl who hung back and gave an awkward little wave.

Julian didn't even have a chance to think up a response before both of them lost their nerve and ran off, giggling.

He looked away from them quickly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.