AN: Okay.this is the most important author note I'll ever write.
Never ever ever ever let me do a casting call ever again.
That was the craziest, most hectic thing I've ever done on this site. I have to say I got about thirty characters, and I'm going to be using about twenty. I was sitting in Music Theory class trying to concentrate on chord structure and which CC characters go where at the same time, and I'll tell you right now, don't try it. It's impossible.
I guess I don't even need to say how pleased I am with the reaction. I got so many good characters I can't see straight- and in fact, I won't be able to use all of them, I got so many! Ack!
The two CC characters in this chapter, Roxanne and Andrew, are thanks to Chicago. Thanks to everyone for giving me characters- you will be thanked personally in the chapter in which I use your character. I may tweak a little, but I'm trying my hardest not to change much about them.
Oh, and Chicago? Never mind about that issue I e-mailed you about. It's all worked itself out, and that aspect of your character won't be changed.
Sorry about how long this has taken. Things have taken a turn for the worst here.and I'm so depressed, it's making me sick. But I want to have this done before Nov. 1st, cause I'm taking part in the nanowrimo month. If you LOVE writing and you want more information about an amazingly crazy worldwide writing activity, got to nanowrimo.org and take a look. Enough babbling. On with the chapter, and CC is officially closed!!!
Blink
All I saw was a flash. A bright flash of light, a flash of blinding pain, and then I was standing in the middle of a road.
And there was a small bright yellow thing flying at me at an unreal speed.
I heard a loud, blaring noise and a screeching sound, and I dove out of the road only to find myself in another nightmare. I was run into by three people in a row, one wearing a suit, the next a little kid, and then the third.she had to be a prostitute. Had to be. Skirts that short are never worn in public, or in daylight, unless the girl wearing it is a whore.
"Hey, watch it!"
I was knocked aside again, this time into the side of a building. And as I took a few deep breaths and looked around, I thought I had to be dreaming.
Huge, shiny buildings touched the sky on all sides, looking as if they might fall inward on me any moment. People were everywhere, swarming the sidewalks and parts of the streets. And the streets.that was a whole different story.
What looked like dozens of carriages without horses were flying down the street, and I couldn't even begin to fathom how that was working.
I looked down and suddenly realized that I was wearing the same rough, blue pants that many others were wearing, and a plain black short sleeved shirt. No suspenders, no button up shirt. My hands flew to my face, and I was relieved to find that my patch was still in its place, the same burlap material that was somewhat comforting. But.where was I? Where did these clothes come from? Who the hell were these people? Where was I? I was going crazy. I was insane. I had to be. This wasn't right.
"Hey, kid? Are you okay?"
I looked up and locked eyes with a guy in a suit, his tone concerned but looking less than interested. And after a few moments, he just turned and started walking again. And that's when my legs gave out, and everything went black again.
I wasn't out for long, maybe a minute, at most. I heard someone talking, and I felt a hand on my wrist.
"He's alive.I think. Call the police, Marie.here, use my cell phone."
Cell phone? What was a cell phone? Did it even matter?
"What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure. He just dropped. My wife is calling an ambulance."
Ambulance? That didn't sound good. No, I didn't know what it was, but it still didn't sound good. I needed to at least try to move. My head was spinning, a dull thud of constant pain plaguing me, but I needed to figure this out.
God, what I would give for Mush to be here.
I opened my eye slowly, trying to slow my own breathing before I hyperventilated. I tried to get a clear view of the people around me, but it was too bright. Then, a shadow fell over me.
"He's awake!" the woman said, and then she reached down and smoothed the hair away from my face. "Just hold on. An ambulance is coming."
I finally couldn't take it anymore. "What.in da hell.is an ambulance?"
Her face twisted into confusion and then concern, and she looked up at the other people standing around and said, "He's delirious. They'd better hurry.he may have heatstroke or something."
What? Delirious? Heatstroke?
There was another commotion as I closed my eyes again, and someone saying, "Let me through, I'm his sister. Let me through!"
I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position, and looked closely at the girl who claimed to be my 'sister'. But looking at her only confused me further.
Her hair was blue. On top of that, it was cut to her chin. Her blue eyes held only slight concern, but mostly she looked patronizing.
"I can't believe you, Josh! Leaving the house without your medication.what were you thinking?"
I stuttered for a moment, and she rolled her eyes and yanked me to my feet, where a boy who looked a whole lot like her (except his hair was blond) grabbed my other arm and they began leading me away from the baffled crowd.
I was still in a state of shock. So many noises, so many lights, so many strange people.I couldn't seem to catch my breath, and I could feel my legs weakening again. As my weight fell onto the two people holding me up, they pulled me into an empty building.
"Sit down, Blink." The girl said, helping me to the floor.
"How do ya know my name?" I asked, and she smiled.
"We know a whole lot about you. But that doesn't matter right now. We're here to make sure you know the ground rules."
The boy stepped forward, crossing his arms. "Talk about brutal honesty.come on, Roxanne, he's confused as hell. Give him a break."
"Fine! If you think you can do any better, go ahead!" Roxanne snapped.
The boy sat down beside me, not affected by Roxanna's obvious temper problem. "I'm Andrew. That's my twin, Roxanne. You're in the future, Blink. The year 2003."
I had to laugh at that. "You's kidding me, right?"
"Told you he wouldn't believe us." Roxanne said, pulling back an old, torn curtain to look out the window.
"You knew Kloppman, didn't you?" Andrew asked, undeterred.
"Yeah, I know him."
"He's our great-great-great-great grandfather. He passed down the word that you were going to be here. And that you would need our help."
"Dat's crazy."
"But it's true."
Roxanne sighed and walked over to us, shifting her weight nervously. "Look, Blink, here's the score. You and your friends were sent into the future by Pulitzer. All your friends are living normal future lives, but they messed up in your case, and you remember. You're the only one that does. You have four weeks to find your friends and send them back, or the strike fails. On top of that, there are people whose sole purpose in life for the next three weeks is going to be to find you and kill you."
"Whoa, slow down...hold on a second. Ya lost me." I said, sitting up and trying to gather all that information.
Somebody was out to kill me for the sole fact that I remembered all this insanity. I had a four week time limit to find the newsies, or the strike would fail. And none of them even remembered me.
Mush didn't remember me.
Oh, God. I couldn't take that.
"Blink? Are you okay?" Andrew asked, and I nodded.
"I just.dis is." I stuttered, but I couldn't even manage to finish a coherent thought, let alone speak one.
"We don't have time for this. They're going to find us." Roxanne said. "We'll just have to tell him on the way."
That caught my attention. "Who's gonna find us?"
Andrew pulled me to my feet, concerned but determined. "They know you're here. We have to get you to Philadelphia."
"Philadelphia? Why Philadelphia?"
"Because that's where the first newsie is."
They pulled me out the back door of the building, and there sat one of the machines that had been flying down the street at me, a small red one. He pushed me toward it, but I hesitated.
"It's a car. A carriage without horses. Get in."
He opened the back door of the car and I stepped in, sitting down and waiting as he closed the door and got in the front with Roxanne.
"Put on your seatbelt." Roxanne said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Roxanne." Andrew started cautiously.
She sighed and turned around in her seat, reaching back towards me and grabbing a strap which she pulled out of the seat and handed to me.
"Snap it in the buckle. Right there." She said, and I followed her directions. Then Andrew started the car, and I heard a low growling sound and felt a jolt as the car lurched forward. I grabbed onto the edge of my seat, but I couldn't help but notice that it was a whole lot smoother of a ride than a carriage with horses would be.
He pulled out of the alley, using the wheel to turn the car out onto the main road, where we merged with the other cars. I watched out the windows with amazement, finally convinced that I had to be in the future.
All kinds of people walked the streets, wearing all kinds of clothes. Suits, all different colors and patterns, skirts.nothing like what the newsies wore. The buildings seemed miles tall, and all of them were covered in what looked like glass. The roads were wider, and smoother, and they had yellow and white lines painted all over them. There was chaos everywhere, noise, yelling, colored lights hanging above the streets, signs all over the place.
Suddenly the sound of gunshots broke the silence of the car, and I felt glass hit the back of my head and neck as the back window of the car shattered. Roxanne yelled something at me and I ducked my head as I tried to get the seatbelt off. I hit the buckle a few times and it finally snapped off, and I threw it aside as I dived for the floor, more gunshots and screams filling the air.
The car lurched forward again, this time more violently, and I slammed into the back of the front seats. I heard the same screeching sound from earlier and the car made a sharp turn, throwing me headfirst into the door. I yelped in pain, and the car skidded around another corner before slamming to a stop.
For a moment, all was silent. Then Andrew's voice broke the silence.
"We lost them. They didn't see us."
Roxanne turned in her seat to look at me. "Blink.are you okay?"
God, I was sick of people asking me if I was okay. Other than a headache made worse by a slam to the head, I was fine.
"I'm okay." I said, pushing myself back up onto the seat. Andrew sighed heavily, laying his forehead on the wheel and breathing deeply. "What happened?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well what had happened.
"Just like Roxanne told you.they want you dead. Before you find the others."
I buried my face in my hands, wondering what I did to deserve this. Why couldn't it have been Jack? Or Spot? Someone who was actually strong, a leader who could handle this.
"Blink.if you don't do this.no one else will. And you'll never see Mush again."
My head snapped up. "How'd you know about Mush?"
"Just another thing that we just know." Andrew said with a smile.
I thought about it, but only for a moment. If I didn't do this, the strike would fail, I would be killed, and I'd never see Mush again. I had to try.
"Okay. I'll try."
"On to Philly." Andrew said with a nod, starting the car again and slowly pulling out the other side.
Roxanne dug into her bag and pulled out a book, but when she opened it, it turned out to be a box that only looked like a book. She pulled out pocket watch on a strap and then held out her hand. "Here. Give me your hand."
I hesitated, and then I reached out to her. She grabbed onto my hand and then strapped the watch to my wrist.
"This is what you'll use to check your deadline and send the boys back. See, right now you've got 27 days, 23 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds."
I looked at the watch, which was sure enough counting down from that exact time. Roxanne gestured to two buttons on either side of the watch. "You have to send the newsies back in pairs. Two at a time only. When you want to send them back, have them each place a finger on one of the two buttons, and then you press the button on the top. They'll go back, and you go on to the next city."
"But.what if dey don't believe me?"
Andrew took over on this one. "They have to believe you. In order to be sent back, they must have some memory of being a newsie. They have to know they were a newsie. Bringing the memories back will be harder with some than others."
Oh. That worried me a bit, when I thought about trying to convince someone like Spot of something he didn't believe.
Roxanne pulled a paper out of her 'box', unfolded it, and handed it to me. "This is a list of the newsies' new names, and the cities they live in. That's all we've got to give you, though. Once you find the city, you'll have to find your friend on your own. Maybe ask around the town, see who knows him."
"You mean.you're not gonna help me?"
Andrew laughed. "No. However, we have taken the liberty to call people in certain cities and tell them that you'll be there; they can help you. Their addresses are on that list as well."
"But.how am I supposed ta get to these places?"
Roxanne looked at Andrew and shrugged. "Hitchhike?"
"Huh?"
"Hitchhike. You stand by the side of the road, stick your thumb out, and hope that whoever picks you up is going where you're going."
I cringed. "Ya mean.get inta one of these things? With a total stranger?"
"Hey, either that or walk." Roxanne said. "But hopefully you won't have to hitchhike often. Like I said, those people we've listed should be able to help you, and the newsies that you pick up will be able to drive you to the next newsie."
Andrew interrupted her once again. "Which brings me to our next warning. Your friends may be different than how you remember them. Some of them very different."
"Dis is a whole lot to remember." I muttered, rubbing my temples and trying to somewhat relieve the pounding pain in my head.
"No pressure, Blink. Just a month long cross country trip to save the past."
AN: And the next chapter.Blink meets and tries his luck with the first newsie.
Again, sorry for the gap in updates. I'll update quicker from now on. That's a promise.
Skitts!Muse: Yeah, or I'll beat her over the head with that stick I always dance with.
Dakota: Shut up. I hold your fate in my hands here. And your lover-boy's, too.
Skitts!Muse: I hate you.
Dakota: Yeah, well, too bad.
Review! Be sure to tell me I'm an idiot for letting my depressed mood get in the way of my updating!
Never ever ever ever let me do a casting call ever again.
That was the craziest, most hectic thing I've ever done on this site. I have to say I got about thirty characters, and I'm going to be using about twenty. I was sitting in Music Theory class trying to concentrate on chord structure and which CC characters go where at the same time, and I'll tell you right now, don't try it. It's impossible.
I guess I don't even need to say how pleased I am with the reaction. I got so many good characters I can't see straight- and in fact, I won't be able to use all of them, I got so many! Ack!
The two CC characters in this chapter, Roxanne and Andrew, are thanks to Chicago. Thanks to everyone for giving me characters- you will be thanked personally in the chapter in which I use your character. I may tweak a little, but I'm trying my hardest not to change much about them.
Oh, and Chicago? Never mind about that issue I e-mailed you about. It's all worked itself out, and that aspect of your character won't be changed.
Sorry about how long this has taken. Things have taken a turn for the worst here.and I'm so depressed, it's making me sick. But I want to have this done before Nov. 1st, cause I'm taking part in the nanowrimo month. If you LOVE writing and you want more information about an amazingly crazy worldwide writing activity, got to nanowrimo.org and take a look. Enough babbling. On with the chapter, and CC is officially closed!!!
Blink
All I saw was a flash. A bright flash of light, a flash of blinding pain, and then I was standing in the middle of a road.
And there was a small bright yellow thing flying at me at an unreal speed.
I heard a loud, blaring noise and a screeching sound, and I dove out of the road only to find myself in another nightmare. I was run into by three people in a row, one wearing a suit, the next a little kid, and then the third.she had to be a prostitute. Had to be. Skirts that short are never worn in public, or in daylight, unless the girl wearing it is a whore.
"Hey, watch it!"
I was knocked aside again, this time into the side of a building. And as I took a few deep breaths and looked around, I thought I had to be dreaming.
Huge, shiny buildings touched the sky on all sides, looking as if they might fall inward on me any moment. People were everywhere, swarming the sidewalks and parts of the streets. And the streets.that was a whole different story.
What looked like dozens of carriages without horses were flying down the street, and I couldn't even begin to fathom how that was working.
I looked down and suddenly realized that I was wearing the same rough, blue pants that many others were wearing, and a plain black short sleeved shirt. No suspenders, no button up shirt. My hands flew to my face, and I was relieved to find that my patch was still in its place, the same burlap material that was somewhat comforting. But.where was I? Where did these clothes come from? Who the hell were these people? Where was I? I was going crazy. I was insane. I had to be. This wasn't right.
"Hey, kid? Are you okay?"
I looked up and locked eyes with a guy in a suit, his tone concerned but looking less than interested. And after a few moments, he just turned and started walking again. And that's when my legs gave out, and everything went black again.
I wasn't out for long, maybe a minute, at most. I heard someone talking, and I felt a hand on my wrist.
"He's alive.I think. Call the police, Marie.here, use my cell phone."
Cell phone? What was a cell phone? Did it even matter?
"What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure. He just dropped. My wife is calling an ambulance."
Ambulance? That didn't sound good. No, I didn't know what it was, but it still didn't sound good. I needed to at least try to move. My head was spinning, a dull thud of constant pain plaguing me, but I needed to figure this out.
God, what I would give for Mush to be here.
I opened my eye slowly, trying to slow my own breathing before I hyperventilated. I tried to get a clear view of the people around me, but it was too bright. Then, a shadow fell over me.
"He's awake!" the woman said, and then she reached down and smoothed the hair away from my face. "Just hold on. An ambulance is coming."
I finally couldn't take it anymore. "What.in da hell.is an ambulance?"
Her face twisted into confusion and then concern, and she looked up at the other people standing around and said, "He's delirious. They'd better hurry.he may have heatstroke or something."
What? Delirious? Heatstroke?
There was another commotion as I closed my eyes again, and someone saying, "Let me through, I'm his sister. Let me through!"
I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position, and looked closely at the girl who claimed to be my 'sister'. But looking at her only confused me further.
Her hair was blue. On top of that, it was cut to her chin. Her blue eyes held only slight concern, but mostly she looked patronizing.
"I can't believe you, Josh! Leaving the house without your medication.what were you thinking?"
I stuttered for a moment, and she rolled her eyes and yanked me to my feet, where a boy who looked a whole lot like her (except his hair was blond) grabbed my other arm and they began leading me away from the baffled crowd.
I was still in a state of shock. So many noises, so many lights, so many strange people.I couldn't seem to catch my breath, and I could feel my legs weakening again. As my weight fell onto the two people holding me up, they pulled me into an empty building.
"Sit down, Blink." The girl said, helping me to the floor.
"How do ya know my name?" I asked, and she smiled.
"We know a whole lot about you. But that doesn't matter right now. We're here to make sure you know the ground rules."
The boy stepped forward, crossing his arms. "Talk about brutal honesty.come on, Roxanne, he's confused as hell. Give him a break."
"Fine! If you think you can do any better, go ahead!" Roxanne snapped.
The boy sat down beside me, not affected by Roxanna's obvious temper problem. "I'm Andrew. That's my twin, Roxanne. You're in the future, Blink. The year 2003."
I had to laugh at that. "You's kidding me, right?"
"Told you he wouldn't believe us." Roxanne said, pulling back an old, torn curtain to look out the window.
"You knew Kloppman, didn't you?" Andrew asked, undeterred.
"Yeah, I know him."
"He's our great-great-great-great grandfather. He passed down the word that you were going to be here. And that you would need our help."
"Dat's crazy."
"But it's true."
Roxanne sighed and walked over to us, shifting her weight nervously. "Look, Blink, here's the score. You and your friends were sent into the future by Pulitzer. All your friends are living normal future lives, but they messed up in your case, and you remember. You're the only one that does. You have four weeks to find your friends and send them back, or the strike fails. On top of that, there are people whose sole purpose in life for the next three weeks is going to be to find you and kill you."
"Whoa, slow down...hold on a second. Ya lost me." I said, sitting up and trying to gather all that information.
Somebody was out to kill me for the sole fact that I remembered all this insanity. I had a four week time limit to find the newsies, or the strike would fail. And none of them even remembered me.
Mush didn't remember me.
Oh, God. I couldn't take that.
"Blink? Are you okay?" Andrew asked, and I nodded.
"I just.dis is." I stuttered, but I couldn't even manage to finish a coherent thought, let alone speak one.
"We don't have time for this. They're going to find us." Roxanne said. "We'll just have to tell him on the way."
That caught my attention. "Who's gonna find us?"
Andrew pulled me to my feet, concerned but determined. "They know you're here. We have to get you to Philadelphia."
"Philadelphia? Why Philadelphia?"
"Because that's where the first newsie is."
They pulled me out the back door of the building, and there sat one of the machines that had been flying down the street at me, a small red one. He pushed me toward it, but I hesitated.
"It's a car. A carriage without horses. Get in."
He opened the back door of the car and I stepped in, sitting down and waiting as he closed the door and got in the front with Roxanne.
"Put on your seatbelt." Roxanne said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Roxanne." Andrew started cautiously.
She sighed and turned around in her seat, reaching back towards me and grabbing a strap which she pulled out of the seat and handed to me.
"Snap it in the buckle. Right there." She said, and I followed her directions. Then Andrew started the car, and I heard a low growling sound and felt a jolt as the car lurched forward. I grabbed onto the edge of my seat, but I couldn't help but notice that it was a whole lot smoother of a ride than a carriage with horses would be.
He pulled out of the alley, using the wheel to turn the car out onto the main road, where we merged with the other cars. I watched out the windows with amazement, finally convinced that I had to be in the future.
All kinds of people walked the streets, wearing all kinds of clothes. Suits, all different colors and patterns, skirts.nothing like what the newsies wore. The buildings seemed miles tall, and all of them were covered in what looked like glass. The roads were wider, and smoother, and they had yellow and white lines painted all over them. There was chaos everywhere, noise, yelling, colored lights hanging above the streets, signs all over the place.
Suddenly the sound of gunshots broke the silence of the car, and I felt glass hit the back of my head and neck as the back window of the car shattered. Roxanne yelled something at me and I ducked my head as I tried to get the seatbelt off. I hit the buckle a few times and it finally snapped off, and I threw it aside as I dived for the floor, more gunshots and screams filling the air.
The car lurched forward again, this time more violently, and I slammed into the back of the front seats. I heard the same screeching sound from earlier and the car made a sharp turn, throwing me headfirst into the door. I yelped in pain, and the car skidded around another corner before slamming to a stop.
For a moment, all was silent. Then Andrew's voice broke the silence.
"We lost them. They didn't see us."
Roxanne turned in her seat to look at me. "Blink.are you okay?"
God, I was sick of people asking me if I was okay. Other than a headache made worse by a slam to the head, I was fine.
"I'm okay." I said, pushing myself back up onto the seat. Andrew sighed heavily, laying his forehead on the wheel and breathing deeply. "What happened?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well what had happened.
"Just like Roxanne told you.they want you dead. Before you find the others."
I buried my face in my hands, wondering what I did to deserve this. Why couldn't it have been Jack? Or Spot? Someone who was actually strong, a leader who could handle this.
"Blink.if you don't do this.no one else will. And you'll never see Mush again."
My head snapped up. "How'd you know about Mush?"
"Just another thing that we just know." Andrew said with a smile.
I thought about it, but only for a moment. If I didn't do this, the strike would fail, I would be killed, and I'd never see Mush again. I had to try.
"Okay. I'll try."
"On to Philly." Andrew said with a nod, starting the car again and slowly pulling out the other side.
Roxanne dug into her bag and pulled out a book, but when she opened it, it turned out to be a box that only looked like a book. She pulled out pocket watch on a strap and then held out her hand. "Here. Give me your hand."
I hesitated, and then I reached out to her. She grabbed onto my hand and then strapped the watch to my wrist.
"This is what you'll use to check your deadline and send the boys back. See, right now you've got 27 days, 23 hours, 33 minutes and 54 seconds."
I looked at the watch, which was sure enough counting down from that exact time. Roxanne gestured to two buttons on either side of the watch. "You have to send the newsies back in pairs. Two at a time only. When you want to send them back, have them each place a finger on one of the two buttons, and then you press the button on the top. They'll go back, and you go on to the next city."
"But.what if dey don't believe me?"
Andrew took over on this one. "They have to believe you. In order to be sent back, they must have some memory of being a newsie. They have to know they were a newsie. Bringing the memories back will be harder with some than others."
Oh. That worried me a bit, when I thought about trying to convince someone like Spot of something he didn't believe.
Roxanne pulled a paper out of her 'box', unfolded it, and handed it to me. "This is a list of the newsies' new names, and the cities they live in. That's all we've got to give you, though. Once you find the city, you'll have to find your friend on your own. Maybe ask around the town, see who knows him."
"You mean.you're not gonna help me?"
Andrew laughed. "No. However, we have taken the liberty to call people in certain cities and tell them that you'll be there; they can help you. Their addresses are on that list as well."
"But.how am I supposed ta get to these places?"
Roxanne looked at Andrew and shrugged. "Hitchhike?"
"Huh?"
"Hitchhike. You stand by the side of the road, stick your thumb out, and hope that whoever picks you up is going where you're going."
I cringed. "Ya mean.get inta one of these things? With a total stranger?"
"Hey, either that or walk." Roxanne said. "But hopefully you won't have to hitchhike often. Like I said, those people we've listed should be able to help you, and the newsies that you pick up will be able to drive you to the next newsie."
Andrew interrupted her once again. "Which brings me to our next warning. Your friends may be different than how you remember them. Some of them very different."
"Dis is a whole lot to remember." I muttered, rubbing my temples and trying to somewhat relieve the pounding pain in my head.
"No pressure, Blink. Just a month long cross country trip to save the past."
AN: And the next chapter.Blink meets and tries his luck with the first newsie.
Again, sorry for the gap in updates. I'll update quicker from now on. That's a promise.
Skitts!Muse: Yeah, or I'll beat her over the head with that stick I always dance with.
Dakota: Shut up. I hold your fate in my hands here. And your lover-boy's, too.
Skitts!Muse: I hate you.
Dakota: Yeah, well, too bad.
Review! Be sure to tell me I'm an idiot for letting my depressed mood get in the way of my updating!