Voyage of the Unknown: Part One

I'm beginning to think perhaps I would have been wise to hide 4T in an area where I could find it easier... or at least, I should have written down where I hid it.

-Trevor's Journal


"Come on, Trevor, we're about to board!" Marin urged me.
I snapped my journal shut and stretched, looking around the harbor for the first time. It was a beautiful sunny day. Everywhere we looked there were people. Women cried as the hugged their friends goodbye, Men shook hands, children jumped up in down, excited for the voyage, and sailors tied down cargo in preparation for storms and other sea-faring disasters.
"Wow," I breathed. "I remember this all like it was yesterday."
Dominik, who had remained silent until now, gave me a look. "Haven't you been here before?" he asked in his thick, Czech/Russian accent.
I should just call him a Slavic, seeing how it takes way too long to call him a Czechoslovakian Russian. 
I squared my shoulders and nodded. "Aye, I've been here before. But not in a long, long time."
"We're not going to sail on the ship, are we?" Marin glanced at the semi-large cargo ship, the words Mayflower etched on the side. She twisted a strand of her blond hair. "I don't want to sail on the ship. It frightens me."
"We're just getting on, finding the watch, then teleporting out of her," I assured her. "We'll probably be done way before the ship even begins its voyage."
"I take it that means you remember where you put your watch, Mr. Trekker?"
I eyed Dominik thoughtfully, unsure if his previous statement was a challenge or a snarky question.
I still couldn't decide if I liked him or not-- after all, not a day earlier he'd helped Mykola take us hostage. Then there was the matter that he was, in fact, Marin's brother. I didn't like the prospect of him deciding Marin belonged back in 1944 with him. I couldn't imagine my life without my adopted daughter.
"I remember," I huffed. "Somewhat..."
Marin stared at me. "I know that voice," she mumbled. "That's your "I'm not sure where it is but I'm going to pretend anyways because I want to look like I know everything" voice. You don't remember where it is, do you?"
"Relax! Past Trevor is here, and he's the one who hid the watch in the first place! He can show us where it is." I paused. "That is, as long as we find him before he gets knocked out by Myles Standish."
"What!" Marin exclaimed.
I didn't have time to answer her. The line had begun to move forward and we were six passengers away from boarding. There was no time to explain. We had to find 4T!

~oOo~

Forty-five minutes later, we'd neither located 4T or Past Trevor. I couldn't remember for the life of me where my Past self had spent time on this day, which was bad, considering my Past self was myself and myself could not remember where myself was.

We had to find him. We needed to find him before he annoyed Mr. Standish to the point he landed a nice punch in the face. Unfortunately neither Past Trevor or myself were very good at withstanding fights. One punch and I was out of it.

"Well Mr. Trekker." Dominik glanced in my direction, a frown on his face. He crossed his arms. "Why don't you try to remember were your Past self was staying. Maybe he's there."

We'd searched the tiller room, the upper and the half deck, along with the large hold and even Captain Christopher Jonese's quarters. Hopefully he didn't realize three of his passengers had snooped around there. That would not be good. 

"Well, we haven't checked the main deck..."

"Well, let's go there!" Marin exclaimed, taking my hand and pulling me along. "I want to be off this ship long before it sails. I have such a bad time with getting sea-sick."

At this, Dominik smiled. "I see you fear the ocean as much as I do, little sister."

"I could never be a sailor." she shook her head. "I am terrified of water and drowning... and I don't like getting sea sick."

"I think we're more alike than I realized."

I frowned, following the brother and sister up to the main deck from the large hold. They were starting to bond. Not good, Trevor. Not good!

What if-- what if Marin wanted to leave the island? Dominik was more flesh and blood than I was. I just brought her under my wing when her mother was killed. Dominik was her brother, what if she felt a responsibility to go back to their time period with him?

What was holding her back? I was just Trevor. A time traveler, true, but Marin wasn't interested in getting in danger or high adventure in other places. She liked quiet, calm and laid back things. What could I do that would want her to stay with me?

Ilene.

The thought popped into my head from nowhere. I tried to shove it out of my head, but now it was stuck. No, no, no! Not Ilene! I-- I couldn't! I'd never garnered up the courage to even talk to her, let alone get to know her better. Ilene didn't even know me, why on earth would she want to marry me?

But if Marin had a mother... perhaps she'd want to stay with her adopted father.

"Trevor, you okay?"

I snapped out of my train of thought. "Huh, what?"

"I asked if you remembered where Past self stayed," she said. Marin bit her lower lip and frowned. "You don't look that great. Are you getting sick?"

"Naw, I'm fine!" I waved it off. "Sooner we find Past self, sooner we'll find 4T,  and he sooner we get out of here. Future self told me we needed to hurry. Mykola could show up any time, and that would be disastrous." I pointed to the far back end of the main deck. "This way. This is where Past self should be!"

We didn't get more than five steps before we became aware of shouts and a scuffle above us on the upper deck. Someone shouted. Another person yelped.

"Uh oh," Marin breathed.

Dominik raised an eyebrow. "That sounded like you, Mr. Trekker."

I sucked in a deep breath. "That's... because it was. We need to get up there before Past Trevor gets knocked out. Once he gets knocked out... he'll forget where he hid 4T!"