Chill Your Brain

Chapter 4: Michael Time-travels (along with Jeremy, and apparently, Christine)

The three of them tumbled through time and swirled through space, until they landed face-first on the front steps of a high school. The sign in front read "Westerburg High School". Michael heard Jeremy groaning from underneath him, and quickly got up after un-handcuffing himself from Jeremy.

"Sorry about that," apologized Michael. Christine gave a small cough, and Jeremy whirled his head around.

"Wha-Christine?" Jeremy squeaked.

Christine scratched her head in confusion. "What...what happened? Jeremy? Where are we? And, uh, what's your name again?" The last question was directed at Michael, who was taking in the scene around him.

"Michael. Welcome to 1989...I think." he answered.

"Wait, but why is Christine here?" asked Jeremy.

"I'm not entirely sure where we are though, because it doesn't look like New Jersey to me." continued Michael.

"Yeah, I can tell, but that still doesn't answer the question of why the heck Christine is here!" hissed Jeremy.

"I'd look up Westerburg...if I had my phone..." added Michael.

"MICHAEL! What the heck is Christine doing here? I thought we were just going to get some Mountain Dew Red, and go back! What does Christine have to do with any of this?" Jeremy interrupted.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," confessed Michael. He turned to Christine and asked her, "Do you remember what you were doing before all the swirly stuff?" as he made motions with his hands.

"Uh, I remember tripping on a coat hanger on the ground, seeing you guys with handcuffs, falling, and then BAM! Everything was swirling around me and I was getting dizzy, and my vision kinda blurred until it was like I was half asleep, then less and less asleep until I found myself here. Also, there was this pain like someone punched me in the stomach, except it's mostly gone now. I think that's about it," Christine told them.

Dave's voice said in Michael's head, "But no more than two people can use it at a time, God only knows what would happen if there were too many."

"That's it! Christine fell on top of the time machine, and time traveled with us! Which, I guess is why we aren't in New Jersey anymore." remarked Michael.

"Okay then," said Jeremy and Christine simultaneously, which caused Jeremy to turn redder than a stop sign.

Jeremy shuffled his feet awkwardly, panicking internally, until Christine broke his thoughts by asking why they needed Mountain Dew Red anyway.

"Well, uh, remember that pill I told you about earlier? The computer one?" asked Jeremy.

"Yeah," she answered.

"It's called a SQUIP, and the only way to turn it off is, uh, Mountain Dew Red. Which was discontinued in the 90's, so...here we are." Jeremy said, giving her a boiled down explanation.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go find us some Mountain Dew Red!" exclaimed Christine.

"You think there's a 7-11 near here? Jeremy could need another slurpee soon, before the SQUIP thaws." commented Michael.

"Wait, what? Thaws?" Christine questioned.

Jeremy looked to Michael to answer this one. "So, we kinda froze the SQUIP by having Jeremy drink a slurpee, but I have no idea how long it'll last. Before the SQUIP warms up again, we should have him drink another slurpee. I've got..." Michael began counting the money in his wallet, "10 dollars."

"Well, let's ask around around to see who knows where the nearest 7-11 is," suggested Christine.

Jeremy scanned the area around them, and spotted a teenage boy wearing a trenchcoat. Jeremy pointed him out to Michael, while mumbling, "Maybe he could help us."

Christine, who apparently overheard them, agreed, and walked up to the person in the trenchcoat. "Excuse me, but do you know where the nearest 7-11 is?"

"As a matter of fact, I was on my way there right now," he responded.

"Oh! That's fantastic, do you think my friends and I could follow you over there? Or, could you point us in the right direction? Or, you know, like give us a map? Or-" Christine was cut off.

"You guys can just follow me over there. Nothing wrong with a little company, right?" he said.

"Well, great! C'mon, guys!" called Christine.

The three of them, plus Trenchcoat Dude, as Michael had started calling him in his head, walked down the sidewalk.

Christine decided to try making small talk with the stranger. "So what's your name? I'm Christine, this is Jeremy, and this is Michael," Christine said, motioning to each member of the group.

"Me? I'm Jason Dean, but you can call me J.D."