It was dark in the Tennyson living room, the only light coming from the muted action movie on the TV. The only sound was the ticking of a clock, and the deep, even breathing of the four people crashed out in front of the TV. Ben was stretched out on the couch; Julie curled into his side, his arm over her waist. Gwen was curled up on the floor against the couch, her head in Kevin's lap. All four were asleep.
The TV picture started shaking and flashing, causing the light to shudder and flicker. The clock stopped ticking. The whole room started to shake. Ben woke with a start, pulling Julie closer into his side.
"Guys, wake up. Something's wrong." He sat up, nudging Julie awake. Gwen opened her eyes and stretched, sitting up and shook Kevin awake.
"Huh? What, Gwen? I was dreamin'," he muttered, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"Don't you feel that?" Gwen questioned.
"Feel what?" He mumbled, trying to fully wake up.
The shaking escalated into a violent intensity. Pictures crashed to the floor, the TV toppled over, and a window shattered.
"That." Gwen shook her head and tried to stand, only to lose her balance and fall into Ben and Julie on the couch. "Sorry."
"It's ok. But it would probably be best not to stand until this earthquake is over." Julie stated.
"I don't think this is an earthquake." Ben muttered looking around for some unknown danger.
"Nonsense, what else could it be?" Julie questioned.
"I'm not sure," he answered, wearily looking around. "But I don't like it one bit."
There was a sudden flash, a bright green flash. A sharp crack split the silence. The shaking stopped. The green light faded. They were in a heap on a floor, but it wasn't the carpet of the Tennyson living room. It was hardwood, cold, hard and slippery.
"Where are we?" Gwen wondered aloud, jerking her arm out from under Ben. "Ok, who is on my foot?"
"I think I am." Julie said, rolling over. "Yup it was me."
Kevin looked around, trying to see in the dimness of the room. "I think we are in a living room."
"What makes you say that?" Ben asked.
"Well, that blob looks like a couch. And that one a coffee table."
"I suppose so." Ben looked around, and everyone jumped as a man materialized into existence, and lights flicked on, revealing a spacious two toned living room, green and black everywhere.
"Oh, thank goodness you are home. Your children are being terrors, absolute terrors. You do not even want to know what I caught Gen doing. I know she is an adult but still, you must set some boundaries." The man walked toward them, looking down. "What are you all doing on the floor?"
He crouched down, looking at them all, his eyes squinting. "Oh. My. You aren't—well clearly you are—but you aren't at the same time—What on earth is going… The children." He jerked upright.
"YOU ARE ALL IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. GET YOUR ASSES DOWN TO THE MAIN LIVING ROOM. NOW!" It came over a PA system, but it was the man's voice. He turned down to look at them again. "I am so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. Please know they will be punished, immediately"
Ben, Julie, Gwen and Kevin watched in fascinated shock as nine people ran into the room; the oldest looked about twenty-two maybe twenty three, the youngest no older than seven. The older one spoke first. He was tall, towering over every one, with long shaggy black hair.
"What seems to be the trouble, Macs?" He didn't seem to notice them, still sprawled on the floor.
Another boy stepped forward, "I think that's the trouble, Dev." He gestured towards them.
"Dev" looked down, finally seeing them. "Huh. Well what do you know? GENEVIEVE!"
"What?" A red headed girl came forward. She looked down at them. "Uh un. I did not do that."
The man pointed at them, and Gwen realized he was partially see-through. "Well one of you did. So who was it?"
There was a chorus of "I didn'ts."
The man sighed. "Great." He looked down at them. "Well my name is H-Macs. Holographic Manager Apartment Computer System, but everyone calls me Macs." He looked over at the children. "Line up please. Really, I think proper introductions are in order. Devlin, Kenneth, help them up before you get in line." Devlin and Kenneth came forward and offered hands. Once they were upright and steady, they moved to the heads of two lines.
"Right. So introduce yourselves. Devlin you go first. Please."
The Tall black haired kid stepped forward. "I'm Devlin. I'm twenty-two." His eyes looked black, but after closer examination they were a deep forest green. He was well over six feet and toned. He was wearing ripped jeans and a grimy black t-shirt, a tattoo peeking out under his left sleeve.
The red head next to him was next. "I'm Genevieve, but you can call me Gen. I'm twenty." Her red hair was long, and tumbled down to her hips. She was around five seven at the most. She was wearing a v-necked shirt that showed a bit too much cleavage, skin tight pants and boots that went up to her knees. Her emerald green eyes stared back at them.
Next were two girls, almost identical twins. The one next to Genevieve spoke first. "I'm Lillianna."
"And I'm Luciana"
"And we are fifteen." They spoke at the same time. "You can call us Lil and Lu." Lillianna had her black hair cut short, just barely brushing her shoulders. Luciana kept her black hair longer, falling just past her shoulder blades. Both had on jeans and t-shirts. They were shorter then Genevieve, but not by much. Their black eyes blinked in unison. Ben found them a bit creepy
Lastly in their line was a young girl. "I'm Seraphine. I'm seven, but I will be eight in four months." Her red hair was short, and layered, floating out around her head. She had on a dress, and had a doll's arm clutched tightly in hit left fist.
The man nodded and gestured to Kenneth. "I'm Ken. I'm twenty one." His green eyes stared out, and his brown hair was cut close to his head. He was around six feet, and had on a pair of track pants and a shirt without the sleeves. While he wasn't as muscular as Devlin, he still had the tone.
"I'm Johnny. I'm nineteen," The boy next to Ken yawned out. With black hair and brown eyes, he was wearing pajama pants and no shirt. His black hair was shaved along the sides, and he had a short mohawk, cut close to his head. Taller than Ken, he was just as muscled as Devlin. He had chain hanging around his neck.
The boy next to him spoke up, "I'm Andy. I'm seventeen." He had brown hair and brown eyes, with glasses perched on his nose. He had on khaki's and a button down shirt. He pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose and opened a book he had tucked under his arm.
"Guess I'm last. I'm Megan. I'm sixteen. Call me Meggie." She fluffed her black hair and rolled her green eyes. She had on a skirt and a tank top.
"Well, it is nice to meet you all." Gwen muttered. "But where are we?"
Genevieve stepped forward, and the lines broke up. "It is more of when are you then where. See, here's the deal. We are your kids."
The four blank stares were followed by a loud "what" from Kevin and Ben.
"Yeah. " Ken looked down, sheepishly. "It's 2035. You are twenty five years in the future. Sorry."