Chapter Four
Charlie
I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Alex!” but only the sound of my voice echoed through the empty street.
The scent of saltwater permeated the foggy evening air. My knees met with the dampened cobblestone pavers as I looked around, taking in the unfamiliar area that surrounded me.
Shit, we’d traveled further back in time than I’d dared to go.
“What have I done?” I bellowed, catching the watchful eye of the constable walking down the street. Down boy don’t draw unwanted attention. Lay low, find Alex and get the hell out of here. This was the time when people were locked up in sanitariums for something as simple as talking to themselves.
I stood, brushed off the knees of my jeans, and tried to get my bearings.
Thankfully, I didn’t vomit like I’d done the first couple of times I’d time traveled.
The constable eyed me curiously, before we exchanged nods and he continued along his patrol route.
Realizing I was still in Seattle, historic Seattle at that, I hightailed it toward the waterfront.
I assumed Alex had been dropped into the same era and location as I was, but never having traveled with anyone else, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Technically, he should have landed right beside me, yet he wasn’t here.
A newspaper fluttered by in the wind and I snagged it. The headline read:
“Seattle wins the Stanley Cup!”
My eyes froze as they read and re-read the year at the top.
“Holy shit! Nineteen-seventeen!” We’d traveled a hundred and nine years back in time.
I pulled the watch from my pocket and saw that during our struggle we’d somehow managed to spin the dial a full turn and landed on four seventeen—nineteen-seventeen in military time.
I tossed the paper down and groaned, we were seriously fucked. How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so careless? Alex had no clue how special the watch was. He’s probably freaking out right now. I had to find him, and soon before he wound up in jail.
I searched and searched for several painstaking hours but found no trace of him. Beyond exhausted, both mentally and physically, I laid down beneath a pier for a nap.
The sounds of steamship horns blaring as they entered the Sound startled me awake.
Shit, sunrise. So much for a quick nap. Seeing the water of the Sound so clearly without multi-story buildings blocking the view took my breath away.
Sometimes, progress made us forget what we once had, took it away, so to speak.
Shaking off melancholy emotions for times past and things I couldn’t fix, finding Alex is the only thing that mattered now.
I stretched and caught a glimpse of my clothing.
That explained the strange looks I’d received.
Period clothing was a must if I expected to fly under the local radar.
I walked along an alley way and found clothes drying on an outside line.
No human in sight, I snagged what I hoped would fit, then headed into a nearby grove of trees and changed.
Sad to know that the groves within the city I now saw were removed in the future to allow for development.
Granted, outside of Seattle there were still plenty of wooded areas, but within the city it’s pretty much all buildings now.
Through the thick of the trees, I spotted a building.
The closer I got I noticed it was an abandoned warehouse.
Lucky for me, there was no one around, so I crawled inside through a broken lower-level window.
It had definitely seen better days and even in the light of day, it was difficult to see it all.
With the train tracks close by, I thought I’d run into vagrants camping out, but for now it appeared to be devoid of human life.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for the rats scampering by.
The smell of urine and feces was powerful.
Disgusting as it was, this would be the best spot to lay low in. After stashing my clothes, I set off in search of food and Alex. My stomach immediately growled when the scent of baking bread hit me.
The bell overhead jingled as I entered the store. “Excuse me, sir?” I asked the baker behind the counter.
“What can I do for you, son?” He glanced up from the cake he was decorating.
“I’m new in town and in need of work and food. Do you have any use for me?” I inquired.
He sized me up, hopefully my disheveled appearance didn’t cause him to say no and tell me to move on. “I can’t imagine you can lift heavy sacks of flour, but if you’ll sweep the floors and put the trash to the curb, I can pay you in baked goods until you find a suitable job in town.”
“Thank you, sir.” He pointed at me in the direction of the back room before tossing me an apron and broom. “Name’s Thomas,” he said, extending his hand and I shook it.
“I’m Charlie. Nice to meet you, sir.”
The bakery was on the east corner of what appeared to be the main thoroughfare in town.
The glass front made it an ideal location for people watching, hoping to spot Alex.
After my shift was over, I’d planned to hit the local tavern’s first. Not for a drink but for any leads.
It wasn’t likely he’d be there, having never been one for the bar scene, but I had to start somewhere, and those types of establishments were notorious rumor mills.
Before I could cut out, Thomas called me up to the front. “Where are you staying, Charlie?”
“Um, not sure.” I didn’t want to admit that the place I’d found to sleep in was the rat-infested warehouse I’d broken into.
“There’s a cot in the loft upstairs you’re welcome to use.” He handed me a skeleton key.
“Thank you, Thomas, I appreciate that.”
He led me up the exterior stairs to a room that literally had a cot and a wash basin sitting on top of a makeshift kitchen cabinet with a wooden countertop. Nothing else, but it beat the hell out of the warehouse.
“There better not be any funny business up here, boy,” he warned.
“No, sir, no funny business. Thank you for your hospitality.”
He stared at me, finally relented and nodded before handing me a bag of leftover baked goods.
He must have sensed the sincerity in my response, or he felt bad for a homeless waif.
Sad part was that I had a home. Just had to find my partner and our way back to the life I’d taken advantage of.
There was a whole lot of apologizing in my future.
“When you hear me downstairs in the morning, come down and start your day,” he added before he left, closing the door behind him. I inhaled the blueberry muffin in the bag in three huge bites and headed out.
The city of Seattle I saw now was so vastly different from the Seattle where I was born and raised.
No amount of history lessons could have prepared me for this.
Up until now, I’d only traveled to the locations my dad had specific times noted for though I was still unable to figure out why he’d gone to them in the first place.
Walking through town, I was enthralled with the interactions between the residents—helping one another, trading goods for services, acknowledging each other’s presence.
It saddened me to think of how these courtesies were no longer extended during our daily commutes.
Eye contact was avoided out of fear of retribution for upsetting our fellow man.
The Seattle freeze, some had labeled it.
In some respects, we’ve grown as a society while in others we’ve clearly digressed.
Day turned into night and still no sign of Alex.
Sidewalks cleared of commuters as I stepped into what the first of what I assumed would be, packed taverns.
The smoke-laden air filled my lungs, stung my eyes and caused them to tear up.
I tried to scan the patrons as nonchalantly as possible so I wouldn’t draw attention, but as the outsider that was easier said than done.
In the end, not a word was uttered about Alex or even someone fitting his description.
After countless hours of walking, I’d covered as much ground as I could before my body tapped out, and I headed toward the warehouse to grab my clothes and call it a night.
Thomas must have come in while I was gone because the wash basin was filled with fresh water, and a pillow and blanket sat atop the cot.
I washed up as best I could, stripped down and curled up under the blankets.
My heart sank, and the tears fell as I cried myself to sleep. What happens if I never find Alex?
The sound of clanging pots and pans woke me. I dressed and headed downstairs.
“Mornin’.” Thomas greeted me as I stepped inside the bakery.
“Good morning.” I tied the same apron on that I’d worn the day before. “Where would you like for me to get started?”
“Delivery truck is pulling up in the back alley, so help unload it. Stack things as you see them in the backroom.”
“Okay.” Either Thomas thought he was gonna make his version of a man out of me, or this was a test. Nerves set aside, I stepped outside and met the delivery driver.
I watched as the driver backed up into the alleyway behind the bakers. The exhaust fumes from his truck nearly choked me. No wonder emissions testing becomes such a big deal. Of course, Thomas emerged as I choked on fumes and fanned my face like a pansy ass.
“Mornin’, Joe. How’s the family?” Thomas asked, rolling his eyes at me.
“Mornin’, Thomas. All’s well, got a little one coming in the fall. New guy?” Joe’s thumb pointed at me.
“Congrats, what’s that make – number three or four?” Thomas asked before turning his attention back to me. “Yup, this here’s Charlie. He’s gonna help you unload while I get to baking.” Thomas smirked.
Joe eyed me up and down, clearly unimpressed. “It’s gonna be number four. Hoping for another boy to help with the business. Okay, Charlie, let’s get to it,” he said, walking around to the back of the truck and swinging the doors open.