desperate research

This wasn't right. She shouldn't be here. A little figure, amorphous underneath a dirty, once vintage blue sweatshirt from the Summer 2028 Olympics, stood motionless before a desktop screen. This morning, instead of waking in her bed, Brianne's day began with her falling a few feet onto an undeveloped plot of land just outside a town. Rosebury, by the look of the older buildings. And she was... where her house should've been. Her wary questioning in town brought few answers, and several looks of pity, like they knew something she didn't. They'd directed her to the school. It too was almost correct, a little smaller, fewer buildings and cleaner bricks, but it was the academy nonetheless.

'I've got to be dreaming. Nothing makes sense.' With each glimpse of someone down the hall, she hid behind the a corner quicker than she could even think. Why was she hiding? Why did it feel like she did something wrong? A pair of teachers appeared. They saw her. She had to play it cool, like she was supposed to be here. She gave them a silent nod before ducking into the double doors beside her, hoping they thought nothing of a teenage girl in the library. 'Books and screens don't work in dreams. Books and screens don't work in dreams.' She plucked a random book off the return cart and opened it.

She could read it.

"No, that can't be right. Ok, maybe books do work. Computers shouldn't." Her voice bounced softly against the screenless walls of the soundless, old library. She poked and prodded the screens without much response. Maybe they weren't touchscreen? "You'd think they'd replace the things over the past... forty... years..." Her gut grew ice cold. That wasn't possible. She shook the computer mice - with cords! - in an attempt to find one that didn't need her login. Hell if she knew what it was. When she finally found one, her heart sunk. That date couldn't be right. 2020? That was more than thirty years ago. It had to be a prank. She "clicked" on a program with a large blue E, and went to the first suggested "website". It didn't work according to plan, but it did redirect to a page with the information she was looking for, and afraid to see. She froze.

DATE: 07/28/2020
TIME: 2:27 PM

"What the fuck?"

The leaders of both River's Po--No. Rosebury. The old name. Them and the headmaster of Beata--a nice lady who insisted he called her Lolo. They had told him to make his rounds around the school to see if any of the students there would recognize him in order to seek out the students who were confused from the world hop. Since, of course, this world's version of himself had died in a car accident before he truly went to Beata. So, anyone who would know him would be from the other world. Or, at least that was the plan. Shepard found it hard to believe that they wouldn't be able to identify the new students.

As such, he wondered the old looking halls with a mixture of confusion and exhaustion. He had already been able to help out a few kids. Reaching the next door, Shepard walked into the seemingly empty computer lab. He blinked, realizing it was empty and went to turn before he heard a student cuss. "What, haven't you ever seen someone walk into a room by accident?" He asked the room, unable to see the owner of the voice.

Brianne nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of the door and a boy's voice. Her first instinct was to run, scared out of her wits like a rat whose hiding place had been uncovered. She held her breath. If she ran, she might be chased. Stomach turning, she crept towards a bookshelf and peered through an empty space, towards the voice. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Was he different? Was he like everything else? 'Shepard?' With a vice-like grip on the bottom hem of her sweatshirt, she peered around to where he could see her.

She had to remain formal and guarded. In case he wasn't the Shepard she knew. Tired, wary eyes scanned his face for any sign of recognition. He didn't appear any different at least. "You're Shepard Herman, right?" How should she phrase this? "I'm... new."

'Be vague be vague be vague be vague.'

Shepard blinked, recognizing Bri out of sheer luck. The two of them had barely talked before. Yet, she knew him, so she was from his world. ”Fall out of bed this morning, Bri?” He joked, placing both hands on his hips. Though the joking look quickly dropped as he continued.”No, seriously. Your house wasn’t there, right? Same thing happened to me.” He glanced down at the hoodie. ”Oh, 2028. Good year, not that I would know. May dad was maybe...9 at the time?”