Ted chained his bike to the bike post outside the mall and began to wander. He was not there for any particular reason, he just did not want to get home yet. His father had regressed into his former awkward silences, whether because he didnt know how to comfort Ted with the loss of Alice, or because he did not want to bother Ted with the choice of where to live, Ted was not sure. More than that, the house next door was always unusually quiet. It was odd and lonely not having Alice around, and possibly never coming back. As if the universe was reading his thoughts, Ted saw mister and missus McCurdy across the mall. Ted did not want to talk to them. Despite the fact that they had decided not to press charges, Ted still felt like they somehow blamed him for Alice's disappearance. At least, Mr McCurdy did. If Mrs McCurdy did she hid it very well behind a mask of tears and sympathy. She seemed to recognize that Ted was just as impacted by the loss as anyone. Mr McCurdy, however, would probably want to end the friendship even if Alice did show up and Ted turned out to be innocent.
Ted ducked in to a store, which happened to be the video game store, before the couple noticed him. He was immeadiately distracted by the poster for the new game Black Ops II. He did not notice when Mister McCurdy walked into the shop, without Mrs McCurdy, wherever she had gone. Neither noticed each other until Ted, who reluctantly decided that the game was far too expensive for him to get right now, turned around and walked right into the older man. Mr McCurdy had long red hair, which was beginning to thin in the front, but clever brushing disguised this from anyone who did not see him on a daily basis. He was both tall and strong, stronger than Ted's dad at least, and strong enough that he could easilly take Ted down if he wanted to, though it would probably throw out his back.
Ted tried not to think about whether or not Alice's father could or would try to take him down as he said, "Oh! Hello, Mr McCurdy! I didn't see you there!"
Mr McCurdy did not beleive Ted, even though it was perfectly true and there was no reason for Ted to lie about this, but instead of mentioning it said, "Oh, hello, Ted. What are you doing here?"
Ted decided not to give the honest answer, which was, "Well I was loitering around the mall because I was bored, and then ducked in here hoping you wouldn't see me." and instead went for the thing that had attracted his notice after the fact, "Oh you know, looking at the new Call of Duty game."
"Really? I never could much get into those first person shooters myself. They always give me motion sickness. If they had a game like that where it wasn't first person I might be able to get into it..."
Ted hesitated, and pointed out, "They do have those."
"Oh do they now?" Neither party was enjoying this conversation. "Are they any good?"
"Well, some of them are... Some aren't as good as others."
"Well I'll try some of them sometime. Listen, I've- uh, -Ive got to go, I'll see you later, Ted." Mister McCurdy turned to leave, but Ted, acting without forethought called, "Wait, have you heard anything? About Alice I mean. The police haven't told me anything since I was found innocent."
Mr McCurdy paused a moment, as if dilleberating whether to tell Ted or not. He turned back towards Ted and announced, "No. We haven't heard anything either." He began to turn around again, but then added, "I'm sorry." Then he left. Ted stood a moment, feeling like he shouldn't have asked, but he couldn't help it now. He turned around, intending to stay in the Game Store until he could be perfectly sure that the McCurdys were no longer outside, where he'd have to talk to them some more. He didn't want to talk to anyone. If he wanted that he'd go home and talk to his father, or the Twins, whose flight left in the morning.
He found himself face to face with someone again, this time someone he did not recognize. He began to push past the man, but the man seemed to recognize Ted, and said his name. Then something in Ted's mind clicked, and he realized he had seen the man before. He'd been at his birthday party. Merlin.
"You!" Ted said, facing the older man.
"Me!" Merlin said, with a smile. He was no longer wearing those rediculous sunglasses, and Ted saw that his eyes were glazed over, and seemed unable to focus on anything, as if he were blind, yet he seemed perfectly aware of everything that was going on around him. "I understand that you are angry with me."
"Angry?! Angry doesn't begin to describe how I feel about you!"
"Yes. I understand. I said that. You have to understand that I am incredibly sorry."
"sorry?! I should turn you in to the authorities for what you've done! You kid-"
"Kidnapped?!" Merlin cried defensively, before Ted finished speaking. "I did no such thing. It was, after all, her idea to go time traveling. You would never have beleived me otherwise. You have to understand that. I did not intend to leave her in the twenty-ninth century. I can see nearly all of Time, but you must understand that I do not in any way controll it. I am just one man." He sounded incredibly sincere, though at the same time like he was attempting to convince himself as well as Ted.
"But I still don't beleive you! I think you're a psychopath who kidnaps teenaged girls and does who-knows-what with them!"
"I know. But I cannot control that. All I know is that you are the only one that can save her. I cannot. If I return to the Twenty-ninth century without you, then all will be lost. All might already be lost, but I have hope. Please. Come with me. It is the only way you will ever see her again."
It was likely the most rash thing Ted had ever done, but he reached out and grabbed the older man's outstretched hand, and the next moment, all eternity was flashing through his mind. He saw knights dueling, a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the vastness of space, and technology that made the iPod look mediocre. He saw a temple, made entirely of glass, and he saw a music video, starring what looked like the Asian Justin Beiber of the future, and lastly, he saw a fleet of spaceships, crewed by men; no, not men, something else, something worse. All this in an instant, and afterwords he could remember none of it, just that it had happened. Then, he was standing in a room with four walls, a window to his left exposing an astaroid feild, and before him a closed door. Then he feinted.
