"I-I have a what now…?" James stuttered, trying to make sense of what this man was saying. The man leaned down and forced something down Theo's throat.
"No' a what, but three whats. In tha future, ya go' three boys. One of 'em is 'Orace, me crazy boss and tha others are…Well one if named James and now what's tha other ones…" The man rubbed his chin and Theo coughed and then blinked.
"What did you give me?" he asked, "My legs are coming back!" James pushed the weirdo aside and went to check on Theo. It was true. Theo's legs had disappeared up to his knees, but now they were returning.
"How did-What did you give-Uh…" James struggled to find the words and the man laughed.
"These pills, see? Pop 'em in and it'll fix tha damaged souls," the man said, handing one to Alex. Alex scowled, but then he put it into his mouth and swallowed. He grimaced because his stomach had faded before his legs.
James shook his head and turned to the man. However, the man spoke before James could.
"Now listen 'ere, 'Orace 'as no right ta do what he is, these boys 'n you is his kin, see. Tha' one is…Great-nephew? I dunno, but this one is either his gran'son or 'is great-gran'son," the man said, gesturing to Alex. Alex froze where he was, not believing what he just heard.
"Wait…They're…descendants of mine?" James asked in disbelief.
"Why else would 'e take 'em?" the man asked before he looked around, "Gotta go boys." He took off running into the woods and disappeared.
"…I'm not sure he was trustworthy," Alex said. Theo shakily got up and leaned against the tree he had been propped up on.
"Then why would he bother to fix us instead of calling his boss?" Theo asked, bringing up a good point. James sighed; he didn't like this whole situation at all.
"We should find something, anything…Maybe London will have some answers," James said, grabbing Theo's arm and pulling him up. Alex had pushed himself up and was standing away from James. James shook his head, frustrated, and began walking away. Alex fell behind them and Theo slowed to join him.
"So…What's your favorite sport?" Theo asked, trying to break the icy silence. He realized they had never had good, normal chats while they were trapped together, so he was trying now.
"Overall? Football, though in America you call it soccer," Alex said, clearing up any confusion. Theo nodded and continued on.
"Favorite team?"
"The Chelsea team, but I grew up near there, so it's not that surprising," Alex answered, relaxing as they walked. James continued on, listening in to their conversations.
"I bike a lot," Theo said, "But most kids in my neighborhood do. I'm a fan of the Minnesota Twins baseball team, because I felt they needed to be represented in my home since it seemed everyone else was."
"I haven't seen much baseball," Alex said, "But it wasn't big back in London. Tennis, football—soccer, and basketball? Sure, baseball? Not so much."
"They have basketball in Great Britain?" Theo asked his friend. Alex laughed at Theo's oblivion and the funny face he pulled.
"Yes, they do and have had it for a long time," Alex laughed, all worry gone from his face. Theo was red, but he decided to keep the conversation going.
"Favorite drink?" Theo asked.
"Coca-Cola over all, but if I'm in France I like to get a sirop de grenadine," Alex said, waiting for the inevitable question.
"And what is the grenade drink?" Theo asked, mishearing what Alex said.
Called it, Alex thought as he smiled and shook his head.
"Not grenade but grenadine," Alex replied, "It's French. Basically, it's a sugary, pomegranate drink."
"Oh, I guess that sounds good," Theo answered, shrugging. Alex opened his mouth to ask his own questions, but then he bumped into James.
"Hey," Alex started, but James put his finger to his lips. Alex immediately fell silent and looked around James to see what was wrong. Two men were around a small machine, and one of them was clearly the boss of the other man.
"It's another portal," Theo whispered as he saw the blue coming out of the small machine. The machine resembled something akin to a small box.
"…What now, boss?" Alex asked James, his good mood gone and him mocking James for taking the leadership role.
"…We storm them?" James suggested and they all fell silent.
"Okay," Theo agreed first.
"Alex?"
"Fine…"
"Good, then on three…two…"
"One!" Theo shouted, running out of the forest and towards the two men.
Horace looked up as the three charged, taken aback when the smallest and youngest head-butted him in the gut.
"Oof!" Horace shouted as he doubled on top of Theo. Theo knocked him off and the other man reached for him, but James and Alex both tackled the man, easily bringing him down.
"Hold it up boys!" Horace shouted as he recovered. He pinned Theo to the ground and pulled a pistol out of his waistband, "We don't want your little-AH!" Theo punched Horace in the face and the pistol was shot. There was a scream and Theo pushed Horace back…Back into the blue portal. Theo pushed himself up and turned to see what had happened. The other man had been shot and James was under him.
"James! Alex!" Theo shouted, relieved they were okay. He ran over and helped Alex roll the bigger man off of James.
"My…That man…He looked…Looked like my uncle Ian…He…He is my-my…," Alex couldn't finish the thought.
"Alex…It might not be true," James tried to reassure, putting his hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex shrugged it off.
"We have to stop him…," Alex said before he jumped into the blue portal. Theo turned to James.
"Come on, he can't take this alone," James said as he followed after Alex. Theo sighed before he too followed after them.
They were all soon hurtling, hurtling after Horace, who may be Alex's grandfather, and hurtling to the year it all began…
The year The Project was first made.
A/N: And I'll leave it at that. I wrote this up quickly so grammar wise it's probably not great, but I decided to give y'all an extra chapter because of how long it takes me to update. (Blame the phone company who won't come to my house and fix the problem -_-) But now questions will be answered and total chaos will reign, muwhahaha!
