Free. 93

River and Quinn stood underneath the moon, before it blinded them with sunlight. River had assumed the glasses he was wearing were the wrong prescription. Quinn was having a hard time standing still, she felt nauseous. This was odd, she never felt sick in her stomach, even when doing the wrong thing. She could recalled, River used to hurl anytime on her grandfather's fishing boat, regardless of how much Dimetapp he consumed. She remembered him being a chunky boy, who constantly blew chunks anytime she caught a fish. She was concerned by how still River was as the night swiftly turned into day. River shrugged his shoulders, as he rolled his eyes looking at a house not so distance from them. Quinn recognized it, it was her grandparents' house in persistent shape. She felt a spark of Joy seeing her grandparents, much younger they were chit chatting away as her grandfather planted his tomatoes.

"Quinn, you can't go near them," River said, with gray eyes stern. "Why not?" Quinn asked. "We don't exist here and we have to find your sister." River explained. "It's not fair! They're right there and I have to pretend I don't know them?" Quinn whined pointing at them. "Know what would be really not fair?" River asked, tapping his foot angrily as he pushed his glasses up. Her glasses did not fit his face, despite having being oversized frames. "If you had your eyes back?" she grimaced.

"Let's go find your sister." he sighed, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from a life she desperately wanted to remember.

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"Let me ask a question?" Eliza asked, sitting in a rocking chair with a bottle of scotch. Riley was still asleep, resting his head on August's shoulders. "Sure, I'm going to die anyway." August said, resting her head against a jagged wall. "Why were you here, you appeared to be an adult, usually its teenagers working for the summer." Eliza

asked. That made August's blood boiled, she could feel her face turning red. "Have I hit a nerve, for someone your age, you should be well endowed, are you not capable of anything else?" Eliza questioned. "Life, it's not fair, I have a college degree but they mean nothing. So I went were there was money, even if it was temporary money. “August responded.

"A college degree isn't worthless." Eliza laughed. "Here, but in the 2010's, their like having a high school diploma." August answered. "Wait, no you're lying!" Eliza shouted, standing up and throwing her bottle to the floor, green glass shattered on the persistent white rug.

"Hey Eliza, do you think if there was work, at home, any of us be here?" she asked. Eliza threw herself to the floor and crawled her way towards August, she pulled her hair. August did not feel like giving her the satisfaction of screaming. "Tell me does the future get better for people like us?" Eliza whispered with their eyes in a heated of battle of not one winced. "What does that mean people like us?" August asked. Riley began to cough as he attempted to stretch forgetting he was restricted with rope. "People like us," Eliza repeated. "Oh," Riley laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny." Eliza said, slapping him. "I'm still here and this isn't a dream." he answered. "The future does not get better, it's perceived as being better." August answered. "I've been a matchmaker for years and you two don't make sense." Eliza said, stumbling towards her mini fridge, grabbing a bottle of gin and taking a swig. "He's a whiny know it-all and you, well honey there's no hope." she said, pulling a cigarette tin from her blazer's pocket and lighter. "Are you an idiot!" August shouted. "Relax, I'm not going to smoke in here," she said as the doorbell rang. "What now?" she groaned slamming the door shut.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked. "Riley do we make sense?" she asked, looking at the trailed of broken bright green glass on the carpet. "No," he answered without hesitation. "Why not?" she asked. "Why not? Are you serious?" he replied. "Yeah, I am." she answered. "You are the weirdest bi person I've ever met. You don't look it," he answered. "And you’re not?" she asked. "It's different for me Aug, people look at me expect me to be gay, they look at you and don't pass judgement." he sighed. "Riley, I do love you but we have bigger problems.," she said. "Yeah, I know the ghost." he said as he blew hot air from his lips as he rested his head back on August's shoulders. Her shoulder was stiffed but she rather not say a word.

"Riley, Eliza said the longer we stay here, the less likely we are to exist in our time." August said, feeling tears crawled down her bloody face. "What can she possibly want with us?" he asked.

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"You don't have a plan do you?" River asked as Quinn smiled as she pressed the bell. "Quinn!" River repeated. "Relax, I have a plan," she said with a smile. "Hello can I help you?" a chic woman of the times asked, as she lite a cigarette, the woman attempted to offered one to them, Quinn weary accept and gave a polite thank you.

"Have you accepted Jesus Christ into your life?" Quinn asked, River's jaw dropped as he pushed up his glasses. "I have not and why should I?" the woman asked. "You see Elizabeth; we are all children of God." Quinn said, recalling a time she made the mistake of picking up a pamphlet from someone in the mall once.

"Margaret what's going on?" Eliza asked, rolling her eyes. "Margaret?" River asked. "Yes Margaret a giant pain in my ass about everything, funny you said you never have work done. If I recall it was too experimental after giving me grief." Eliza paused and pointed at Riley waving her hand. "What is this your cousin, brother, special friend whatever because he's not Joe." Eliza said. "Can I come in to discuss the town's fundraiser?" Quinn said, trying not to grin her teeth. "No, you may not because Christmas July is stupid." Eliza said. "Sorry for bothering you," River said, pulling on Quinn's arm.

"Wait, before you go. Who is the doctor because they did a great job. You look almost twenty years younger." Eliza said, Quinn blew a cloud of smoke from her filtered cigarette. "It's genetics," Quinn lied. Her family had amazing genetics, practically no one really aged in her family passed thirty. Everyone looked ten-fifteen years younger than their age.

"Yeah and I don't have prisoners' in my basement." Eliza laughed as she slammed her door shut. River and Quinn stopped in their tracks at the front gate of Elizabeth's house. "She has them," they both said in unison. "Do you think me looking like my grandma is going to cause problems?" Quinn asked as a man walked by. "Oh Hello Margaret, is she home?" a man asked, stopping at the front gate. "Um yes," Quinn answered. "My wife between me and you, she can be a real witch." the man said going about his way.

"Yes, we're going to have a problem." River said, shaking his head, attempting to keep the glasses still. "This isn't fair!" Quinn shouted. "Three idiots decided to play with a ghost and I was dragged into this mess, that's not fair." River said. Quinn couldn't disagreed, she had seen the best in everyone, even a woman who clearly hated her grandmother. "You have to lay low." River said as they began walking along the road. "Margaret, do you need a ride?" a woman asked, pulling her car along the road. "No, I'm good. thank you." Quinn said. "I forgot your grandma is a town celebrity." River said. "Great," they both said.