In 1685.

Will could hear the words, but he didn't understand their meaning. What did Onyx mean? The year 1685? But — how was that possible?

A horse came right at him and Will felt the panic surge through his body. He wanted to jump back, but Onyx held him tight and before he knew it, he was screaming.

"Ssh." The older boy pulled him closer. The wild horse was only a few feet away from them — he would be crushed under its hooves! Right before he expected the inevitable pain, he turned his head to the side and buried his face against Onyx's chest, which was slightly vibrating because the boy was chuckling.

"These are just images, Will. Imprints of the past." Onyx's fingers stroked his hair in a soothing way.

Confused, Will pulled himself away from the boy. He looked over his shoulder and saw the pitch-black horse gallop away from him. It had run right through him. Baffled, he looked up to Onyx. "What — What is this?"

"This is what they call magic." The boy winked at him.

Slack-jawed, he kept staring at the black-haired boy. Magic? Sure, he wasn't unfamiliar with the supernatural, but this...?

"Is this a hallucination? Or did we really... travel through time?"

"The latter. Kinda cool, huh?" Onyx let go of him and shoved his hands in his pockets. He showed him a crooked smile. "When I was a child, I figured that my surroundings sometimes changed when I was playing an instrument. Usually, I don't take anyone with me, but I thought you would like it since you like history so much."

Now Will was convinced that no harm could come to him, his enthusiasm returned. Yet, there was a pit in his stomach. Smoke still filled his nostrils and everywhere around them were pools of blood, groaning people and mutilated horses. During the missions he came up with, he easily talked about fights and battles but seeing one with his own eyes... It was very different and he found it hard to deal with all the suffering.

"Can we help them?"

Onyx shook his head. "No. Like I said — we can only see the past. We have no influence on it." Onyx started to walk towards the buildings. "But at least you'll get a glimpse of what a real Western village looked like."

Quickly Will walked with him, afraid of what would happen when he lost sight of Onyx.

"So... we're only here mentally? Or did we disappear from the place where we were?" It was all too hard to comprehend.

"Until we return, we'll be sleeping in the real world."

"And can you also transport us to other places? For example — to the old Egyptians?"

"Only when we're in Egypt. My gift is location-based. But we could have gone back thousand years as well."

"Wow, that's so amazing." In awe, he looked up to Onyx.

This guy became cooler and cooler and it still felt surreal that he chose Will of all people to show this to. For years, he had been invisible, and thereafter he had become the freak of the school. But Onyx... Onyx gave him the feeling that he was a normal kid and that Onyx himself was the extraordinary one — but this time in a positive way!

Will was relieved when they left the battlefield behind and visited the village, even though there was a grim atmosphere as well. The hatches were closed and the streets were empty. Now and then someone peeked outside and Will had to remind himself time and again that nobody could see them. He asked Onyx what other places he had visited and he discovered it became easier and easier to talk to him. He was still mysterious and thrilling, but Will did feel comfortable around him and although he'd been contemplating every word earlier today, he felt freer now. Although he didn't feel completely comfortable; Onyx could look at him in a very peculiar way that made his heart do flip-flops and turned his cheeks red. Sometimes, he briefly touched Will to draw his attention to something, whereafter it felt like his whole arm or shoulder was on fire.

Onyx didn't give him the feeling that he was super young and although he had wrapped a protective arm around him, he wasn't patronizing him the whole time. Something his mother and even his brother did do since his escape from the Upside Down. Sometimes their overprotective behavior drove him crazy, constantly reminding him of his trauma. Apparently, Onyx knew what happened to him too, but he didn't show it and let Will make his own decisions. He felt free at Onyx's side and every time the older boy smiled at him, it felt like he was growing. Did Onyx enjoy spending time with him? Would he want to hang out more often? His stomach tickled at that prospect.

Joyce didn't care whether people would think she was crazy. She had practically pulled her boyfriend from his workstation, demanding him to come with her to that exposition. With a grim face, Jim had agreed. First, he'd made sure there really was an exposition and then he'd investigated the mysterious boy. Joyce didn't know his surname, but his search for the names 'Onyx' and 'Ivory' didn't lead to any results. Checking it with his colleagues didn't help them further either. It didn't have to mean anything, Jim had tried to convince her. But to Joyce, it meant a lot. Something was wrong.

Right now, they walked around at the exposition. Just like she had feared, her son was nowhere to be seen. The woman behind the counter however told her there had been two young men who'd bought tickets; the oldest one had pitch-black hair. It didn't put her at ease now she wasn't seeing her son. Going outside again, she looked around at the parking lot until she saw the motorcycle. She sighed in relief; they were still here. Somewhere.

"This is his bike. Maybe you can run the plate," she said to Jim when he came to stand next to her.

In silence, he watched her before sighing. "Let's wait first, Joyce. Up to now, there is no reason to assume that something is wrong."

There absolutely was. Her mother instinct told her enough.

She rushed back to the building, this time she walked around it. There was no one to be seen. Where could they've gone to? Anxiously, she buried her nails in the palms of her hands. It wouldn't happen again, right? She couldn't lose her son again! Her breathing sped up and she shook off the soothing hand that Jim placed on her shoulder while starting to walk in a random direction. Further ahead was a forest. They'd probably gone there. What would that creep do to her son? Maybe Will had escaped the boy and was he running between the trees now. Her heart clenched at the thought of how scared her son must feel.

Suddenly, she saw two legs from behind a tree. Terrified, she stared at them. Was someone lying on the ground? She started to run to the body. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she recognized her son's jeans. What had they done to him? Images of a pale face and bleeding limbs flashed before her eyes.

Panting, she stopped next to the tree. He wasn't alone; the black-haired boy was lying next to him, his fingers clenched around Will's. Both were lying motionlessly in the grass. A harmonica lay beside the stranger.

Dazed, Joyce stared at the two. Their chests were going up and down in a steady rhythm — they were clearly alive. They were sleeping. What teenagers went to sleep in broad daylight? Things became stranger and stranger.

"See? Everything's fine," Jim said.

She glared at him. "Everything's fine? You think it's normal that they're asleep?"

Jim shrugged, rubbing his neck while muttering something about Will having weird hobbies anyway.

Joyce crouched down next to her son, shaking his shoulder. He didn't respond. Her stomach contracted. What if that strange guy had given him drugs?

"Will?" Her voice sounded shrill and she shook him. Fear squeezed her throat when he didn't answer. "Will!" she yelled.

Jim knelt beside the other boy, checking his pulse. "His heart rate isn't elevated."

In vain, Joyce tried to wake up her child. He was completely unresponsive. Should she call for an ambulance? Was he in a coma? Her glance fell upon their laced hands. In a fit of rage, she yanked their hands apart. She didn't want that creep to ever touch her boy again!

This time, her son did respond. His eyes flew open and he let out a soft moan.

"Mom?" he muttered in confusion.

"My poor baby!" With tears in her eyes, she took her son in her arms and cradled him. "You scared me."

"What are you doing here?" Will pushed her away. His glance shot to the strange boy, who sat up straight too and looked from Joyce to Jim, his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

"Let's go." She tried to pull her son on his feet. "I don't know what's going on, but that boy is up to no good. We're going home."

Will tore his arm away. "What? What are you talking about? What are you doing here?"

"I had a bad feeling about this meeting. Come with me, Will."

She didn't want to discuss this, not here.

"Since when is having an afternoon nap a crime?" the boy asked. He leaned back on his hands, taking her in with a mocking face. Something dark stirred in his icy blue eyes.

"From now on, you will stay away from my son!" she snapped.

"Mom!"

Joyce pulled him on his feet. "No, Will. We're going home. Now."

Will glanced indignantly at Jim, who nodded to the parking lot. Growling, Will tore himself away and stormed towards the car.

Joyce cast another glance at the strange company of her son. He looked her right in the eye and she felt a chill go down her spine.

She hadn't imagined it. Something was very wrong about this boy and his motives to spend time with her boy, could impossibly be pure.