"Happy birthday!" Fred and Sam cheer.

Joe beams at his two best friends and blows out the lone candle on his slice of cake. He can't remember a time in his life when they weren't by his side. Most kids his age would want to have an over-the-top party with hundreds of guests. But Joe's perfectly content to sit around his house with his long-time friends. Currently, they are sitting around his bedroom, torn wrapping paper is scattered around the room. Each boy is holding a plate with a piece of vanilla cake on top of it. The daily news drones on in the background.

"For those just tuning in, we are reporting live from the American Museum of Natural History. This morning, the museum discovered some of their oldest items on exhibit had vanished. Officials are still investigating the scene for signs of a break-in, but no evidence has yet been found. This robbery follows a string of recent events at several museums throughout the country. Museums have not been the only victims. Private collectors have also-"

The TV screen flicks to black.

Fred tosses the remote back onto Joe's bed. "How can you listen to that stuff?" Fred groans. "It's so boring."

Joe shrugs. "My dad's been really concerned lately. He doesn't want any of his relics from his trips getting stolen. He has a lot of valuable things downstairs. Masks, shields, a sarcophagus, all one-of-a-kind stuff."

"Fred, you should be concerned. A lot of historically priceless items are going missing." Sam sighs and shakes his head. "They're culturally and scientifically important."

"It's not like they're gone forever. Someone just stole them. The police will find them and bring them back. Things don't just vanish out of thin air." Fred swallows a large bite of birthday cake, and continues to speak with a full mouth. "You worry too much."

Sam rolls his eyes, knowing he isn't going to get through to Fred. He turns his attention to his other friend. "Aren't you concerned, Joe?"

"About my dad's artifacts? Sure, but he installed a new security system, and very few people know what he has."

"No." Sam looks out the door to make sure no one is listening in. He wants to argue that whatever security system his dad had bought was probably not better than what the museums use, but he has another point to make. "About The Book. It's basically a historical artifact. That thing is likely to be thousands of years old, if not millions."

Joe glances at the locked box on top of his dresser. Two years ago, he had received a mysterious blue book as a birthday gift from his uncle. He, Sam, and Fred had quickly discovered that it was more than just a book. It was a time machine, but even that doesn't sum up everything it's capable of. Not that Joe was aware of the amount of power it holds.

He hasn't messed with The Book in a while. Four months ago, he warped to Scotland with his younger sister and great-granddaughter, Jodie. His uncle had shown up as well, but on the return warp home, he had oddly vanished, leaving only a note and a pocket watch behind. Joe had been promoted to a Time Page, whatever that meant. He has so many questions for his uncle, but no way to ask them. Joe's beginning to worry. He had hoped his uncle would show up today to wish him a happy birthday, but there's been no sight of him so far.

Joe glances at his doorway, hoping to see a familiar face appear. Maybe he just got caught in traffic. He has to show up today. He wouldn't forget his favourite nephew's birthday.

Sam notices his staring, a small frown forming. "Still no word from your Uncle Joe, huh?"

"What?" Joe snaps out of his thoughts and turns to Sam. Reluctantly, he answers, "No. It's been months and as I far as I know, he hasn't come back. I'm sure he's fine. He can handle himself."

Both Fred and Sam hear the doubt in his voice. A quick smile lights up Fred's face. "I have an idea. This will definitely get your mind off of things." He gets to his feet and walks over to the lock box. He flips the lid open with ease and pulls out a small blue book with silver designs on the cover. "How about we take a little trip? Wherever the birthday boy wants to go. What do you say?"

"I say no!" Sam jumps up and away from The Book. He looks at Fred like he's holding a gun to his head. "When has using that ever gone well for us?"

"Oh, come on, Sam. Joe's a Time Page now. He's like a super warper! Besides, we've been doing this for two years." Fred waves The Book back and forth, teasing his friends. Not realizing how dangerous his actions are. "It'll be more fun than laying around here all day."

Joe eyes The Book. Truthfully, he's more worried Fred's going to send them back to the dinosaurs. He hops off his bed and grabs it out of Fred's hands before anything bad happens. "I don't know, Fred. I haven't used it in a while. I'm sort of out of practice."

"So, get back in practice!" Fred throws his arm over Joe's shoulder. "Hey, we can even try to find your Uncle Joe."

Joe pauses at that. He does want to find his uncle to make sure he's okay, and he does miss warping. "Well…"

"No, no, no." Sam crosses his arms. "We're having plenty of fun here. We don't need to warp anywhere. With our luck, we'll end up in the middle of the Revolutionary War!"

"But I'm a Time Page now." Joe lifts his chin high. "I can take us anywhere, no problem." Joe starts to like the idea of warping to find his uncle more and more. Sam isn't wrong. They had had some crazy mishaps before, but that was in the past. Besides, everything always turned out all right in the end for them.

"Joe," Sam warns. He continues to inch away from the book in Joe's hands. He's really the only one of the three who fully understands the power The Book contains. He's rightfully afraid of it.

Joe grins, his mind made. "Guys, we're going on a trip."

"You are out of your mind," Sam groans. He holds up his hands, as if that would stop him from being sucked away into the green mist.

"Calm down, Sam." Joe flips open The Book and scans for a page that would help him find his Uncle Joe. He has no idea where to start. He should have read it a long time ago. Summer break is about to end, but there are still a few weeks left. Maybe he can read a few chapters before he goes back to school.

"So where do you want to go?" Fred's grin is so wide it practically falls off his face. "Borneo? Maui? Oh! How about Jamaica?"

"Maybe…" In truth, Joe doesn't want to go to any of those places. Sure, they're nice, but they aren't going to help him find his uncle. He could try going back to Scotland. He doesn't really want to relive getting shot from a trebuchet though. And Uncle Joe left on the warp home. He probably isn't there.

"Nowhere. He wants to go nowhere," Sam pleads. He stares at Joe with wide eyes. "I really don't want to die today."

"We won't die, Sam." Joe chuckles. "We'll have a few near-death experiences, but we won't die. If anything happens, I'll use my amazing Time Page skills to take us home."

"How is that any better?" Sam's voice rises in pitch.

Joe continues to flip through the pages of his magical book. He finds a picture of his family tree. It traces all the way back to the first owner of The Book, some girl named Shanti. He traces his finger down the trunk until he finds his Uncle Joe. He tries tapping on the photo, but nothing happens. No mist, nothing. Maybe there's another way to find his lost uncle. What are some of the ways they had triggered a warp in the past? Palindromes, magic squares, wishes…

"You want to travel? That's fine. Let's do it like normal people. We'll book a flight somewhere." Sam stands behind Joe's bed. He glares at Fred, as if this was all his fault. "I'll even pay for it."

"You can afford to take all of us on a tropical vacation?" Fred crosses his arms, his eyebrow raises. "Why have you been holding back on us, man?"

Joe closes his eyes, blocking out his friends' bickering. I wish I could find my Uncle Joe, he thinks. It seems childish, but it worked in the past. The first time they had ever warped, it was because Fred had wished they could find buried treasure and sail the seventeen seas. Next thing they knew, they were stuck in a tree staring down at Blackbeard.

Joe waits, but nothing happens with The Book. Maybe he isn't wishing for the right thing, or maybe he has to say it out loud? Joe speaks with a sigh, "I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do."

On cue, green mist pours out of The Book, swirling around the boys. It slides up their legs, eager to take them somewhere and sometime new.

"What did you do?" Sam jumps onto the bed, trying and failing to avoid the magical fog. It wraps around his waist, like a person reuniting with an old friend.

Fred laughs. "I hope it takes us somewhere fun. No Antarctica, no African desert. Please, take us somewhere tropical."

Joe grins at the time travel machine with sparkling eyes. He honestly didn't expect that to work. Unlike Fred, he doesn't care if The Book takes them someplace fun or exciting. As long as it gets him on the right track to find his Uncle Joe, he'll be more than happy.

In the blink of an eye, the mist pulls them away.

Reviews and critiques always welcome. Thanks for reading!