The tall, stone buildings loomed over Joe, Sam, and Fred. The streets were empty and except for a stray gunshot in the distance, Paris was completely silent. The citizens had mostly vanished into their homes. Only a few brave souls remained out on the streets, eager to volunteer in the revolution.
The boys were trying to avoid the battle. Using their knowledge from past experiences, they assumed The Book would be with some famous historical figure. The problem was, every person they could think of was currently being shot at.
"Look, I get that we can't exactly be out in the middle of the battle right now, but why are we wondering around alleys like some creepy homeless guy?" Fred kicks a stray pebble down the passageway. It bounces off a wall, creating an echoing tick. "At least out there we have a chance of finding The Book."
"Because we need a place to hide out until they run out of bullets." Joe continues to lead the trio down the tunnel-like path. His eyes keep darting to the sky. The buildings are practically collapsing, and he doesn't want to end up like a crepe on the sidewalk.
"You're lost, aren't you?" Sam crosses his arms and shakes his head.
"No." Joe immediately answers, refusing to admit the obvious. His stubbornness only makes him walk faster.
"We've been stuck in these back streets forever. It's like we're trapped in a maze."
"And that's my fault?" Joe rolls his eyes. "You two followed me in here."
They turn a corner and see another endless stretch of alley. The buildings prevent most of the sunlight from lighting the way. They push forward on their trek through the shadows.
"Well, it is your fault that we're in Paris to begin with," Fred says pointedly.
Joe stops and turns on Fred. "My fault? You were the one egging me on. You wanted to warp somewhere fun, remember?"
"Why would you listen to me? It's your book. Besides, I wouldn't call the French Revolution fun. I wanted to go to Hawaii or Tahiti. That would be fun. We never do anything wild for your birthday, except time travel to the past and nearly get shot. That is not fun."
"Admit it, Joe. You wanted to warp to find your uncle Joe," Sam accuses. "Don't blame Fred for this."
Joe clenches his fists, marching down the narrowing alley. "Sorry for caring about my family. My uncle has been missing for three months, and no one is doing anything about it. And yeah, maybe I thought that since I'm a Time Page now, that this would be easy. But it isn't. Once again, I have colossally messed up using the most powerful object in the universe. Thanks for the reminder of how much I suck."
"Just read it!" Sam yells, throwing his hands in the air. "The Book practically came with an easy-to-read instruction manual. Learn how to use it. Why haven't you done that already?"
"Seriously, dude," Fred joins in. "You've had this thing for two years. You should be a master time traveler by now. What was it Freddi called it? A Warp Wizard?"
Joe's jaw is so tense, it hurts. He keeps his mouth shut and focuses on getting out of the alleys. Picking up his pace, he turns another corner. Once again, a seemingly endless alleyway is before them. He grumbles under his breath.
How are we still trapped here? He thinks to himself. Who designed this city? We should have found a way out by now. Some birthday this turned out to be.
"Great. I always dreamed I'd die of starvation before I was even born," Sam says sarcastically. "At least I got to visit Paris."
"You have weird dreams." Fred tilts his head.
Joe sighs, not even bothering to join in, but still annoyed with Sam and Fred. He doesn't have time to deal with their bickering. As much as the two argued with each other, they would never actually start fighting. The three of them were best friends after all. Having a secret time-traveling book did that to people.
Fred walks up next to Joe. "Can we take a break or something. My feet are killing me."
"I thought you wanted to get out of here." Joe glances at Fred out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, yeah, but I also want to rest for a bit."
"Which is it then?" Joe snaps. "Do you want to go home or take a break? You can't have it both ways, Fred."
"Jeez, Joe. Calm down." Fred holds his hand up defensively. "What is with you?"
"What is with me? Do you have any idea what I've been through these past few months?" Joe raises his voice. A familiar tingling sensation begins to build up in his hands. "My uncle has gone missing, the one person in my life who could help me understand The Book and these insane magic abilities I apparently have! On top of that, my own great-granddaughter tells me I'm destined for some sort of apocalyptic showdown with my other uncle that's going to determine the fate of the universe!"
Fred and Sam exchange glances. Sam wrings his hands. "Showdown? Joe, are you okay?"
"No!" The buzzing in Joe's hands intensifies, spreading up his arms and into his head. "I'm stressed, and maybe I am a little scared. I should know how to use The Book by now, but I don't. I can barely pull off a basic card trick, let alone control the most powerful magic object in the universe. We should just let those girls steal it. They'd probably handle it better than me!"
"You really need to calm down, man." Fred and Sam stare at Joe's hands, backing away slowly. Joe won't back down. "It's not your fault."
"It isn't? Because one minute ago, it was. I'm sorry I got I us into this mess. I'm sorry I'm a terrible excuse for a magician. And I'm sorry that I can't get us out of this stupid alley!" Joe yells in frustration, slamming his glowing fist into the wall. A bright flash of green bursts out and blinds the boys.
It takes several seconds for the black spots to fade from their visions. When the trio can finally see again, they find themselves standing in front Tessa, Juniper, and Arwen. The girls stare at them through a gaping hole in the wall. The edges are still glowing a soft green.
Joe takes in a shaky breath and cradles his hand. His knuckles are bleeding, but the tingling feeling has faded.
Tessa lifts the corner of her mouth. "You're definitely the one."
"The one?" Joe raises his eyebrow at her, panting, his face still flushed. "What are you talking about?"
"Is this your book?" Tessa again ignores Joe's question and holds up a large blue book with silver markings on the cover. "We found it in our friend Lafayette's library. Which you just broke into…" She trails off, assessing the damage around her. The interior of the room appears fine, but the wall is completely destroyed.
"Yes!" Sam snatches The Book out of her hands. "Let's get out of here."
"What happened?" Juniper carefully traces the rough edges of the newly formed hole. The green light has faded but the stone is still warm to the touch. She turns to Joe. "Did you do this?"
Joe looks down at his hands, flipping them over and studying them. "It was an accident. Like I said, stuff like that just happens sometimes."
A dark shadow passes over Tessa's face. "You need to learn to control yourself. You'll hurt someone, or worse. You can't be the only one of your kind. Find a teacher."
"I can't." Joe bites his lip. An awkward silence follows.
Fred looks at The Book in Sam's hands. "I think it's time we head home. This has been fun and all, but I miss the safety of my bedroom. There are a lot less gunshots there."
"Right." Joe walks over to grab The Book from Sam, opening it to the Transporter Page.
The girls look between Joe, Sam, and Fred, noticing the large gaps between them. "Is something wrong? You three were way friendlier with each other before."
"We're fine." The three answer simultaneously, not bothering to look at each other.
Joe clears his throat, forces a smile, and types in the information into The Book. Green mist slowly swirls around the trio. "Um, thanks for your help. It was nice meeting you. Sorry we couldn't hang out longer. Good luck with your revolution."
Tessa chuckles and pulls out a green glowing pocket watch. "Don't worry. We'll be seeing each other again real soon. I promise."
"What-" The green mist envelops the boys, cutting Joe off abruptly. There's a flash of green light, and the trio is whisked away to a different time.