Gregg

Chapter 8

I'm not even a little surprised about the last part. I'm still wondering what happened to Charlie. I need to get back to her and see if she's okay. From the future or not, she's still human. Who are the people she came back with though? How many people did she bring with her? I need to get home. It's been a couple hours since Pete and Eliza left. I've got nothing to do but look around the house for answers. I have so far found nothing except the fact that it is the exact day I left except forty years from then. Why was my house so dirty and destroyed? What happened to my family? Or me? Where is fifty-six year old me? What have I done that's so bad that they had to bring me here? Why here and now? So many questions. I have to wait until Peter comes back later. How do I know he won't just lie to me like the twins did? Charlie is the only one I feel like I can really trust. I need to get back to my own time. I begin to search for that brown wristband looking thing that brought me here. I look everywhere. Under the couch, between the cushions, in drawers, in the kitchen, in the twins' room. I mean everywhere. I did find underwear, some money, which looks quite different from the money back home, and a fridge that is completely lacking edible food. I mean, it's a bunch of vegetarian stuff. Pete is a vegetarian? Really? Whatever, his life his choices. I need to lay down, my head hurts, probably from lack of food. I lay on the couch and hope no one wakes me up any time soon.

I wake up to the door opening and closing but I don't open my eyes in fear of who's in the room. I don't want it to be anyone but Charlie. I need to get back to Charlie. I need answers. "Gregg! Wake up! I'm here to answer those questions you have buddy. Wakey wakey." I hear a deep somewhat familiar voice. I think it's Peter. I open my eyes slowly as if he's the one that woke me. I look directly into his blue eyes. They're dark but clear as if I can see right through them and all I see is darkness. He's hard to read but seems like there's nothing good inside to find. He's dark. That's what scares me. I shiver at Peter's stare. We haven't spoken since I opened my eyes. I don't know how much time has passed. I need this to stop, "Peter. I'm awake." I say to break the silence. "I know. I'm trying to make you uncomfortable." He said that so innocently I almost thought he was sincere. He's up to something and I need to figure out what it is. "Are you ready to answer my questions now, Peter? You said you'd answer all my questions." He looks smug. He's planning something and I don't think I'll like what it is. "Sure. I bet you have thousands of questions and I will answer every, single, one." He paused between his last few words for some kind of emphasis.

"Okay. Well, first thing's first. What happened to Charlie?" He looks as if he doesn't know. He needs to know because I have to know what happened to Charlie. I have just met her yet I feel like she's my best friend, like I've known her my whole life. I need her to be okay and I need her to be my best friend. I need Charlie. Why? Peter breaks my thoughts and says "Charlie is fine. I don't know what happened to her but I know she's okay." I feel weight lifted off my chest. I need to figure out why she feels so important to me. "Alright, why did the twins bring me here?""You needed to come here so you can see what your choices in life did to the world your children live in." That doesn't explain much but I understand a little more. "What did I do in my life? What did those choices do? How did I of all people mess up the world?" He smiles at my questions. Are they funny to him? Are they stupid questions? "I can't tell you details boy. I know that you went down path B instead of path A. You picked one person over the other. You did something that affected everything." I'm scared of that answer but I'm more scared of the answer to my next question.

"Where am I now? My 56 year old me. Where is he?" Peter looks away to hide his face. "We don't know. He vanished years ago. We tried to track him down but we just couldn't seem to find him anywhere or anytime for that matter." I just disappeared? Why? I'm sure I had my reasons but I can't think of any right now. "When did I disappear?" Maybe I'm a different age and blended in better. "Twenty four years ago. You would've been 32." Middle age. I could blend in anywhere. "I could be any age by now. I could be hiding in the future. I need to find myself." Peter looks at me with great seriousness and says "Absolutely not. You can't be in a time with yourself. It destroys things. Paradox crap that I don't know much about." He could be lying Gregg, you still need to find you. Then he could get you out of this crap. "I'm serious Gregg. We brought you to this time because we knew you couldn't possibly run into yourself on the street. You can't even think about trying to find yourself here. Besides, we looked everywhere." Peter looked as if he'd kill me if I brought it up ever again. "Okay. I mean, I have no way of even looking for me anyways. How would I travel through time without one of those thingies that I got brought here with?" How would I find him? Great question Gregg. Put that on a sticky note and save it for later.

Peter walks to the kitchen, grabs something out of the fridge and throws it in the microwave. Probably some vegetarian snack or something."Are you a vegetarian, Peter?" I ask to change the subject and break the tension. "Yes. Why?" Why do you care, Gregg? "Um, I just noticed that there's no meat in the fridge. I'm kinda hungry." I'm not against vegetarian food but I'm a bit reserved on the thought of not eating meat. "Well, Gregg, in this time no one eats meat. The vegetarians and vegans won over everyone and we now only eat faux meat. So I can't really get you anything but this. So what sounds good? I'll make a better tasting faux version." Peter opens the freezer and pulls out a bunch of different boxes. I get a better look at him now and I can see the details of his face better. He has the same facial structure as Pete. There's no way they're different people.

So I've met future Pete but what about Eliza? Where is she? I'm assuming I'll meet her eventually. "Anything is okay. Hey, Peter, where's future Eliza? Since you're future Pete, and future me is missing, what about Eliza?" Peter picks up one of the boxed and puts its contents into the microwave. "Elizabeth is dead. Eliza doesn't know yet and I'm hoping while she's here we can change that. I'll tell you all about it while we eat." The microwave beeps. "Wait a second. Peter, how come you and Pete can be in the same time but future Gregg and I can't?" Peter stops what he's doing. "Pete doesn't actually know that I'm him. He thinks I'm a future relative but Eliza is keeping him in your time unless absolutely necessary just in case. We're taking a big risk bringing him here at all." He still doesn't make complete sense. I understand more or less what he's saying but I feel that something is just a little off about his explanation.

I keep thinking of why it's only me that destroys things. Pete can be in the same room as Peter but I can't be in the same room as future me. I look at Peter who is making some kind of meatless hamburger. "Why me, Peter?" I ask. I need to know why I'm the one that ruined the world. "Well Gregg, I don't know why but I guess it's time to show you what and how." He brings me a plate of faux hamburger and I take a bite. It's the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. Oh my goodness. I feel a warm burn in my mouth from the spices. It tastes like a pizza but it's in hamburger form and there is absolutely no meat. What even is this? It's the best thing ever. I need more but now is not the time. "I see that you like it. It's all over your face, don't even try to deny it." Peter says to me with a smile on his face. I can't even say anything due to the amount of food I have shoved into my mouth. I nod with an enthusiastic smile upon my face. This is so good. I keep eating my food expecting Peter to keep talking; which he does. "First I need to tell you about Elizabeth. Then I can explain a little more about you and your faults."