[Accidental Video]

[forever_captain]

[The face of a fourteen-year-old fills the screen as he inspects the network device.]

...This is archaic....

[He pulls it away from him to reveal the boy is in the beach house....though, not for long, as he makes his way out the door. Clearly this new place needs exploring. The video shuts off for a while but, when it turns back on, it's clear

Comments

[coyote_walking]

"Oh boy."

Mercy saw the video and shook her head, laughing. She'd be willing to bet teenage Jack was quite a handful. Still, the opportunity to discover more about him was one she couldn't ignore, so she headed outside where she could see the roof.

"Jack?"

[sometimes_boe]

At first, the boy didn't respond. He thought the woman was talking to someone else but, after a moment, he looked down to her with a look of mixed confusion and interest.

"Are...you talking to me?"

[coyote_walking]

"Yes. I - let me guess... Your name isn't really Jack." She shook her head, then smiled at him. "Sorry. Hi. I'm Mercy. This is my - our - house."

[sometimes_boe]

"Don't know any 'Jacks." He grinned, a little apologetically.

"Our house, huh? Sorry, Mercy, I mean, I'm sure you're great and all, but I need to find out where I can get back to Boeshane. I'm sure I just got transported here on accident."

[coyote_walking]

"I'm afraid that's not possible right now," Mercy said quietly. "But I can assure you that either tonight or tomorrow night at midnight you'll find yourself back where you came from."

She looked up at him and found herself smiling at this young version of her Jack. "You might take the time to do some exploring. I doubt you've ever run into a place quite like this before. Your older self hadn't."

[sometimes_boe]

"Yeah? Maybe I will." He smiled down at her and headed for the 'exit' or however he'd gotten up there to begin with. Shortly, the boy walked up to her with a smile.

"My name's Hayes, by the way. Where do you recommend I start?"

[coyote_walking]

"Hayes," she said with a smile, holding out her hand. "I'm Mercy. It's nice to meet you. There are lots of interesting places in town, including a Library which likes to play jokes from what I've heard. And even this house, in the basements... lots of unique things."

[sometimes_boe]

He takes her hand, shaking it "Mercy. That's a nice name. What sort of things are in the basement? More antiques?" His face lit up as if this might be some fantastic discovery.

[coyote_walking]

She laughed. "They don't seem like antiques to me, but yes, you'd probably think they were."