4124 Rebekah Ave., Villeville, Ohio--Saturday, May 3, 1986
7:00 am
"Ooof," C.J. woke with a jerk. "Was that just a dream?" He climbed out of an odd-looking bed and turned towards the bathroom,--"Ow!"--and ran into an unfamiliar wall. He checked for a door, but the wall stubbornly remained solid.
"Hey, this isn't my house! Where on earth am I?" He found the home's facilities to splash his face, but he saw the mirror first.
"What the-?!" Staring back at him was a 13-year-old, pale, acne- ridden, big-nosed face much unlike his own smooth, normal-nosed, pasty white-boy face. Just then, C.J. heard an automatic door slide open; he turned around and saw someone stepping through a rectangle of light. The unknown person pressed a button on the handheld device he carried and the brilliant door closed. It was Al Hayfever.
"Congrats, Ceej, you just became the first time traveler ever! Throw a party when you get home," said Al. C.J. realized he'd just leaped, but, wait a second...
"AL?! What are you doing here? I thought Admiral Calavicci was the observer."
"Well, he was, but they decided to go with a different Al. Specifically, they said my neurons would lock onto yours better."
"What?"
"That's what I said. Basically, it means I would make a better mental link with you, since we're buddies. Anyway, now we have to figure out how to get you back to the future."
"Why doesn't Ziggy just run the retrieval program?" asked C.J.
"Well, um, he kinda did. It, um, kinda doesn't work," came the hesitant reply.
"Oh."
"But Ziggy is 90% sure what you need to do to leap. It's May 3, 1986. Today, at 10:03 am, a local teen is murdered, and the perp is never found. You have about 3 hours to stop the killer."
"You realize that a murderer probably won't hesitate to kill me too, right?"
"Well, that's why you need to be careful."
"Thanks a load, Hayfever," C.J. shot back. "Who'd I bump out anyway?"
"Well, the kid in the waiting room says he's Scott Bakula from Dallas, but we know this is Villeville, Ohio, so I don't know what's up with the name." Al pressed a couple buttons. "Okay, Ziggy has an analysis from Dr. Beaks, the shrink. Lessee, here...ah, the kid's real name is Steven Bouas, and he's a compulsive li." Al hit the hand link, "-ar. A compulsive liar. Well, that explains a lot."
"Well, if I call the police, they should be able to protect the target." C.J. picked the phone and dialed 911. "I mean, hey, it's their job--Hello?...Hi, I need the police department... Thank you.--Al, what's the victim's name?"
"It's William Miller," answered Al.
"Thanks, man. Hello, Villeville Police? This is Steven Bouas; I'd like to ask that you send someone to protect William Miller. I have reason to believe he will be murdered at 10:00 this morn-...Oh. yeah?...Well, same to you, buddy!" C.J. slammed down the receiver. "This kid must be Ohio's most famous fibber or something."
"Well, no one ever said this would be easy." said Al.
"Yippee, skippy. Come on, we've got to go stop a cold-blooded killer. Isn't my life just so happy?"
"Hey, you're the one who got a GameCube for Christmas, so I wouldn't complain too much."
"Oh, boy."
(Proceed to next chapter.)
"Ooof," C.J. woke with a jerk. "Was that just a dream?" He climbed out of an odd-looking bed and turned towards the bathroom,--"Ow!"--and ran into an unfamiliar wall. He checked for a door, but the wall stubbornly remained solid.
"Hey, this isn't my house! Where on earth am I?" He found the home's facilities to splash his face, but he saw the mirror first.
"What the-?!" Staring back at him was a 13-year-old, pale, acne- ridden, big-nosed face much unlike his own smooth, normal-nosed, pasty white-boy face. Just then, C.J. heard an automatic door slide open; he turned around and saw someone stepping through a rectangle of light. The unknown person pressed a button on the handheld device he carried and the brilliant door closed. It was Al Hayfever.
"Congrats, Ceej, you just became the first time traveler ever! Throw a party when you get home," said Al. C.J. realized he'd just leaped, but, wait a second...
"AL?! What are you doing here? I thought Admiral Calavicci was the observer."
"Well, he was, but they decided to go with a different Al. Specifically, they said my neurons would lock onto yours better."
"What?"
"That's what I said. Basically, it means I would make a better mental link with you, since we're buddies. Anyway, now we have to figure out how to get you back to the future."
"Why doesn't Ziggy just run the retrieval program?" asked C.J.
"Well, um, he kinda did. It, um, kinda doesn't work," came the hesitant reply.
"Oh."
"But Ziggy is 90% sure what you need to do to leap. It's May 3, 1986. Today, at 10:03 am, a local teen is murdered, and the perp is never found. You have about 3 hours to stop the killer."
"You realize that a murderer probably won't hesitate to kill me too, right?"
"Well, that's why you need to be careful."
"Thanks a load, Hayfever," C.J. shot back. "Who'd I bump out anyway?"
"Well, the kid in the waiting room says he's Scott Bakula from Dallas, but we know this is Villeville, Ohio, so I don't know what's up with the name." Al pressed a couple buttons. "Okay, Ziggy has an analysis from Dr. Beaks, the shrink. Lessee, here...ah, the kid's real name is Steven Bouas, and he's a compulsive li." Al hit the hand link, "-ar. A compulsive liar. Well, that explains a lot."
"Well, if I call the police, they should be able to protect the target." C.J. picked the phone and dialed 911. "I mean, hey, it's their job--Hello?...Hi, I need the police department... Thank you.--Al, what's the victim's name?"
"It's William Miller," answered Al.
"Thanks, man. Hello, Villeville Police? This is Steven Bouas; I'd like to ask that you send someone to protect William Miller. I have reason to believe he will be murdered at 10:00 this morn-...Oh. yeah?...Well, same to you, buddy!" C.J. slammed down the receiver. "This kid must be Ohio's most famous fibber or something."
"Well, no one ever said this would be easy." said Al.
"Yippee, skippy. Come on, we've got to go stop a cold-blooded killer. Isn't my life just so happy?"
"Hey, you're the one who got a GameCube for Christmas, so I wouldn't complain too much."
"Oh, boy."
(Proceed to next chapter.)