So, to survive in Revolutionary America, I’d obviously need the money for it. Money that I don’t think my ten dollars could cover, if they were to even be acceptable. Though I doubt I’d be able to get any work done as soon as humanly possible. I thought about the thief who stole the silver and got away with it. If he saw my situation, he’d just laugh.
That’s when something hit me. If I was able to go to America via the gun and to wherever the church was via the rapier, would I be able to go back? I decided to experiment. Heading into an alleyway, I pulled out the rapier and brushed my hand across the seal like I had with the pistol. I heard the oceans crashing again before I fell back.
I landed on something that began to squirm.
“Hey! Get off!” A man barked at me. I got up and noticed I was still in an alleyway… However, before it was empty, now it was crowded with dozens of dirty people with ratty and ruined clothes, all looking at me and my comparatively fine clothes. Some of the people in the crowd were children, equally dirty and with ragged clothes. I realized just how fresh and new I was compared to them. If I had known anything about walking downtown and passing by a homeless person, I knew what would happen next. Immediately I backed away, but it seemed their reaction was faster.
“Get ‘im!” An old lady rasped out as the group descended upon me like a pack of zombies, all while telling me, in a chorus, about their situation. I began to run toward where there seemed to be an exit…
That’s when I saw a quintetto of horses galloping towards me. Shit. I’m dead. Either I get run over by the horses or I get mauled by the homeless. If I pull out the gun or rapier, I might end up either being treated as a criminal or a serious threat. So, I just cowered. Fortunately, the horses stopped.
“Out of the way! Those who impede the law will pay!” The man who sung out had a strong lung and a deep voice. It seemed that his song caused the others to back away. The man then turned his eyes to me. As if to contrast the Redcoats of America, his uniform was a dark blue coat. He had a hat that seemed to be wider than a Redcoat’s hat. I could see the gray hairs in his beard, some wrinkles in his skin, and a sense of determination within his eyes. “Get on.” He told me softly. I just nodded and hopped on the horse. I held onto him for dear life as the horses galloped away.
We went through a gate that opened for us, then closed just before the poor could get to it. I turned. They were still singing…
“Like the waves crash on the sand, like a storm that'll break any second, there's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned and there's gonna be hell to pay… at the end of the day!” They then grabbed onto the gate like starving zombies. I trembled a bit as they stopped singing and just stared at me.
“Now tell me, what you were doing there? You could have died out there!” I turned to the man’s back.
“Sorry, sir, I might have gotten lost… I didn’t realize what would be the cost…” I said. He just sighed.
“It’s alright. Don’t do that again.” He said.
“Thank you…” I said. The man just nudged his head over.
“Where were you heading?” He asked.
“I guess somewhere to get a job with good pay. But I guess I just don’t know the way.” I chuckled.
“We’re heading to the mayor’s place. I hear he could get you a job at your pace.” One of the other guards said. I could hear the officer just grumble.
“Very well, we’ll take you to the mayor… Just don’t expect him to be your payer.” He said. He rode off as I held on. The ride took me for several bumps, each one had me feeling like I’d fall and crack my skull on the pavement. But the more I rode on the horse, the more I felt secure. I guess it was because of the man riding it. I could feel, just from the cold and strict demeanour of the man, that he would be able to stop me from falling.
We soon stopped outside of a large factory. The men got off their horses. I never went horseback riding before, so I tried to figure out how I was gonna get off.
“Here, let me help you.” The man I rode with just picked me up and placed me on the ground.
“Thank you again!” I felt like I had formed some kind of bond with the man. While he just looked at me before walking away, I knew some sort of light was sparked inside of me. “My name’s Rob! Rob Langolier!” The man turned his head back at me.
“And I’m Javert…” With that, he headed into the factory.
The factory was nothing but wooden walls and floors. The wood was gnawed and looked to be as old and grizzled as Javert. He just gave me a stern look and spoke to me.
“Well here you are, now we must depart. I must meet with Monsieur Madeleine.” I had to pick my ears because I thought he had said that he’d meet a certain little girl in a yellow dress and hat. However, his terminology of “monsieur” and the names of Javert, one said with a silent T, and Madeleine, one that made me think of the girl in the yellow hat, I confirmed that I was in France.
French was perhaps one of the only classes I paid attention to, if only to broaden my tongue and help me in the situation where I’m lost in Paris and I need to find the bathroom. Thing is, I never once spoke French when I was here. In fact, everyone I spoke – erm, sang – to in this place sang in English, most with a very British accent.
The more I thought about it, the more my mind went to unravel. Javert and I went our separate ways as I began to explore the factory, hoping to find some employer. I did hear some chorus though… The same song that the poor sung, except now it was all by women. I gulped. I wanted to stick close to Javert, but I figured that since we were in the same building, all I might need to do is holler and he’d come bail me out.
Though, I realize he might be one of those cold people that won’t just save the same guy twice. In either case, what I did next was a gamble.
I saw a door being opened, one leading into where I heard the song. I rushed in to see what was going on. All I noticed is some gossipy hens pecking over a letter. While I was on one end of the room and the reader was on the other end, I heard her as though I was right in front of her. Apparently, someone needs the money for their sick daughter? And they’re upset at this because?
… Wait, why am I concerning myself with trivial shit?
“Hey!” The girls quieted and turned their heads to me. “Um…” I was still new to singing my words. Whatever I needed to say, in this case, ‘can I talk to an employer’, ends up being warped into something that ends up rhyming and matching to the rhythm of the song. The problem is that it takes time for my brain to think of the sentence and for me to actually say it. So, it was just a few moments of awkward silence before I spoke up:
“Could I get a job? I need the money myself, to survive the oncoming mob, and the emptiness in my purse, it is the worst…” Fortunately, a red-headed man stepped forward to me.
“You’re at the wrong room, you want the males.” He told me. I nodded and thanked him. I turned around as the girls soon got into a catfight. As that happened, a man in a top hat, a suede jacket and a waist coat came into the room. I nearly bumped into him.
“Oh! Sorry!” I said. He just looked at the girls and shoved me aside.
“Will someone tear these two apart!?” I took the chance to get away from the room and try to find the men’s room in the factory. As I did, I bumped into someone who was half my size.
“Watch it!” He told me. I just stood there and looked around for where the males’ room is. I turned to the kid.
“Hey, you know where the male room is?” I asked. The boy just sighed and pointed to the side of the hall I didn’t explore. There, in my view, I saw men working on what seemed to be glass. I noticed that there was some sort of glass in the other room as well, though they were making beaded necklaces rather than just buttons. I walked in and waved hello to the men. They ignored me and continued to work the glass.
“Hey!” I jumped as I saw a lady in a blue dress and a blue head cloth covering her graying curly hair. She seemed to be like the redhead in the other room in the sense of being the only woman in a room full of men. She walked over to a table that held a crate, picked it up and struggled with it. I rushed over and lifted it with her.
“H-hey,” I struggled to lift the crate. I was no muscle builder, but compared to the lady’s frail looking arms, I was capable by comparison. “I… I need to work so can you-”
“We need this delivered! All the men in this room are busy. Take this to a man down by the street and help us with this tizzy!” She asked me.
“Erm… Will I get paid?” She asked.
“Yes! Now go!” She said. I carried the crate. I looked down at it. There were a lot more of those sharp black glasses, though they are now sharpened into what looked to be buttons. They looked like jewels. There were so many in the box. I have no idea how much they’re worth. The sheer quantity of the buttons suggests they’re cheap, but their quality says the opposite. As I investigated the crate…
SMASH!
I fell, though I kept the crate mostly intact. Some of the buttons fell onto the floor, but didn’t shatter. Seems they’re tough. As I picked up the buttons, I looked at what crashed into me, or rather… who.
She was a lovely looking lady in a pink dress. She had long, straight brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked to me like a deer in headlights.
“S-sorry!” I squeaked as I finished putting away the buttons. As I did, I ran out of the factory, carrying the box of buttons.
Once I was away from the factory, I managed to look at the crate, then took a few of the buttons. There were a ton, so I doubt anyone would miss them. About five would do. Any more and I start to feel like that thief. Then again, if the bishop was here, he’d tell me to use those five buttons to earn enough money to be an honest man.
Though, I thought of how much I’d get paid. I never really considered what sort of money is made here or in Revolutionary America. Seeing as I would be paid for this job, I figured to finish the job here, see what I get, then head to America to get a feel for what they pay.
I had considered that, since America was owned by the British at the time, they worked on pounds. With the talk of Revolution being imminent and not actually happening now, there was a window for me to get those pounds before the tensions reach past the boiling point. After would be the bigger problem. America definitely didn’t get their fifty states united until long after the revolution nor would its economy be fixed overnight.
Thus, the concept of modern money won’t even be a concept. So, I’d have to make my own currency. Five buttons might not be enough, but in another country, if I manage to play it right, word my sentences on what these buttons are, I’d be able to turn what are just glass buttons made by the bucket load into a luxurious item.
It’s another reason why I took only five. The rarer an item is, the more value it has to it. If I were to just take pockets full of glass buttons, they’d just pass for regular old buttons. But, if I were to sell the buttons as though they were some rare jewel, then I might score rich. Then there’s the fact that I might get paid handsomely for this job. I’m not sure what the French pay, but if it’s in gold coins or some other kind of metal, I could take one of those and find someone who values the metals used to make it.
If my practice continues after the inevitable war, then I’m set for life. But it’s a huge gamble that I only thought of in the half-hour walk I had. There was a chance that people would become wiser to what I’d be selling. I’d eventually have to figure out where to get work in America instead of selling cheap buttons. There could also be a chance that I get found out here and lose the potential to gain money, if I’m not arrested.
That said, I decided to take the risks. My client stood by a carriage, looking at a watch. He seemed like a fancy type of person, with his clean looking clothes. He pulled away from the watch and looked to me, then nodded.
“Ah, finally. The package has arrived!” He approached me in a stride. I felt nervous, squirmed, and handed him the box. He looked at it, his eyes glaring at each button as he hummed. He pulled away. “Well met!” He tossed a sack of coins at me. I caught it as soon as it reached arm’s length. I shook it. There seemed to be a lot of coins in there. Ten? No. More than that! The man tipped his hat and placed the box into his carriage. “To Montfermeil!” The horses ran off, taking the buttons with him. With my hefty load, I ran back to the place. Obviously, the pay was for the factory and not me. I snuck a coin into my pocket just in case I didn’t get a cut.
As I came back to the factory, I saw the woman I bumped into standing outside, looking at nothing and instead just singing.
“But the tigers come at night, with their voices soft as thunder. As they tear your hope apart. As they turn your dream to shame.” There was a melody in her voice, and yet, with what she was singing and how she let out a few tears afterwards, I realized that she wasn’t really singing.
She was lamenting over a broken dream, pouring her heart out and explaining her story in a beautiful, yet heart wrenching song. She went into detail about a paramour who had left her and how she had hoped that he would return. I could hear anger in her as she mentioned how he took her ‘childhood’ in stride. I just stood there and listened. She paid no attention to me. As she finished her song, I nearly began to cry. When she turned to see me, however, I wiped my tears. I then looked at the bag…
“it was beautiful…” I sang to her. I opened the bag and handed her about ten golden coins. As I offered them to her, her eyes went wide.
“I can’t-” I put my finger to my lips.
“Your dream may live another day… So long as you don’t lose your way… I’m sure that God still has a plan, so please take these ten pieces, and become an honest woman…” I remembered what the bishop said to the thief and, in a way, I felt as though his spirit entered me and took over my body. However, what I did was purely my own volition. I wanted this lovely lady, with her voice as soft as a breeze, to continue living for her dream. She hesitated, then took the gold from my hands.
“Thank you…” She looked to me with her hazel colored eyes. I blushed.
“Think nothing of it…” I muttered softly and lowered my head. I then went over to the factory.
I entered the factory and gave the remaining money to the old lady. She hefted the bag, then placed it on the ground and spilled the coins out. She counted them out meticulously, separating each one in groups of five, all of them spread out. Eventually, she stopped. There were thirty-nine coins in total.
“Hmm… They must be running low on funds.” She sighed. Good. I worried she might have accused me of stealing. … I mean, I did, but still. She took three coins and handed them to me. “Here’s your pay.” I looked at the three coins in my hand. “Sorry, but everyone needs money to live another day…” I just shook my head.
“No need. I’ll accept these funds. Just let me know if you have more errands.” I said. With that, I left.
As I exited the factory, I noticed the lady was gone. She must have gone home. I took out the fourth coin and looked at them in my hands. I had no idea what these are worth here, but if I were to guess, these were France’s version of dollars. Of course, not exactly. They’d be worth less than an actual dollar if they were exchanged for currency in say, Britain or America.
But in the context of just being in France, these would be a dollar. Accounting for how this was the past, the value of a dollar would be significantly larger in the sense that, if I were to take a dollar from my time and spend it here, I’d be able to buy the entire stock in a butcher’s shop and still have enough left to buy some fruit. Accounting for that, I gave that woman a good estimate of a hundred modern day dollars, give or take. I wondered if she was the lady with the sick daughter. If that were the case, would ten of those coins be enough to save her life? Would it only have taken one?
I jingled the coins in my hand. I had to remember why I took the job in the first place and not concern myself with that woman or her life. I moved to a quieter place and brushed my thumb across the minus on the pistol and braced myself for the crashing of waves and the bumping into a stranger or even trash.
Instead, I came back to the place I left when I went to France. With the four coins in hand, I decided to explore the town in search of a gold buyer…
WHAM!
That’s when I bumped into a man in a red coat and fell onto the ground… Redcoat… Crap!
“S-sorry!” I clutched the coins in my hand and hastily tried to put away the gun. “I didn’t see where I was looking! I-” That’s when he hauled me up.
“Hmm…” I looked at the man. He looked relatively strong, with a chiseled jawline, clean-shaven face, and a beefy appearance. He had short black hair, though most of it was covered by his hat, and dark brown eyes, almost black if he isn’t in some sort of light. “Tell me, do you want to make some money?” He asked me.
“M-me!?” I would jump at the opportunity, but I wasn’t sure what kind of job I’d be doing. Knowing that the British lorded over America, it would probably be something heinous like rough up some people or even take part in ‘crowd control’, by which I meant killing protesting civilians. However, while I had a solid plan to make money, there was no guarantee that I’ll succeed.
“Yes. My Second decided to flake and I need someone to take. Decide now or I’ll be pretty late.” As though he put me against the wall and held a gun to my head, I nodded. “Great!” He took me by the arm and we went off. I had no idea what a ‘Second’ is, but I believe it to be akin to a ‘second in command’. Has the war just begun? I didn’t want to question the Redcoat, as I worried that he’ll react negatively, so I kept quiet, even when we went to go on a boat ride across a river.
I had so many burning questions, but I kept them close to my chest. Where were we going? What did he mean by Second? Why did we travel on a rowboat? Who is this lady with the short black hair wearing a white outfit that decided to row with us? Who is this man? What’s his rank? I decided to adopt Burr’s advice as a survival tactic: Talk less. Smile more.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before we arrived at our destination. From what I heard, we went to a place in New Jersey. I’ve been there a few times, but to see the place before it became the New Jersey I knew was breathtaking. We didn’t take a car or a train to get there, we had to row on a boat and so we took a rather slow scenic route of the marsh.
Of course, I didn’t address any sort of excitement out loud. As far as he was concerned, I was a citizen of this time and not some person who hopped across time. That said, I’m surprised he hasn’t questioned my outfit… No one did. A simple t-shirt and shorts in a time where women would wear large, fancy dresses and the men wear uniforms? Especially showing money that wouldn’t exist for another two hundred years? Yeah, no one questioned me in the slightest. Though, I’m glad about that. Otherwise I’d be screwed in trying to explain my story without getting barbequed. In fact, I never thought of a cover story. We got off the rowboat and walked towards a clearing in a forest. As we continued, I spoke up.
“What are we doing?” I asked. I couldn’t take it anymore. If this was a routine inspection or even a quelling, I wouldn’t have minded, but it was just the three of us walking in the woods. Usually there’d be some shady stuff happening.
“We’re going to a duel.” The Redcoat said. Suddenly, this made more sense, though I often imagined duels happening in a wild western setting, not some forest. We soon encountered three other people, one of whom seemed to be dressed like a doctor. I began to understand the third person’s role, to tend to the wounded once the duel’s over. Though I wondered what the Second’s role is… Would I have to shoot someone? The Redcoat pushed me forward.
“It’s your last chance to negotiate! Send in your Second so he can set the record straight!” He commanded the opposing trio’s leader. He nodded and sent him forward.
“Erh… Hi…” Tick. Tock. I felt the beat of the rhythm count against me. I turned to the Redcoat. “What exactly are we negotiating?”
“Mr. Jacob Eacker is charged with the crime of dodging taxes. Now chat with his Second so we can get the facts straight!” He barked. I immediately turned around.
“Jake says he ain’t payin’. He says that your so-called king shouldn’t be layin’ while his guards go out there slayin’ all the good workin’ men and women who are just prayin’ for a better tomorrow, a better America!” Jacob’s Second spoke up, getting louder with each rhyme. By the time he mentioned America, he wasn’t looking at me, rather at the Redcoat.
“I heard enough, Second, come back. Now’s the time for me to attack!” He cocked his pistol, as did Jacob. I immediately ran back to the woman… Only for her to turn around as the men got ready to do their ten paces.
“H-hey! The bloodshed’s happening this way!” I shouted to her. She ignored me and stood there, as though there were no duel. I tried to talk to the Redcoat, but he seemed invested in the duel, his back turned to Jacob with his pistol held up.
“Look him in the eye, aim no higher… Summon the courage you require, then count…” He muttered. Suddenly, I heard a chorus of people counting…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7…
I wasn’t sure where the voices were coming from, but once they got to seven, I noticed that Jacob began to turn around. I wasn’t entirely sure how duels worked, but if the movies showed anything and the counting could confirm, it would be ten paces, turn and fire.
“LOOK OUT!” I took out my gun and before I noticed, I had squeezed the trigger. A blue bullet flew out of my gun for a moment before it turned into a streaking light that pierced Jacob in the knee. The sudden pain caused him to jerk his hand into the sky and threw away his shot. He got onto the ground and writhed in pain as the Redcoat just turned around and groaned.
“A bloody cheater.” He walked up to Jacob and held him up. “Shouldn’t have bothered giving you a chance. Time to pay the king his due.” He dug into Jacob’s pockets and took out several bank notes before tossing him onto the ground. “Be lucky I’m not arresting you.” He turned around and patted me on the back. “Let’s go.”
I had stood there in a daze. I was no stranger to holding a gun, as my dad often took me out hunting, but shooting? That’s a whole different story. My dad taught me how to shoot, yes, but I never once took that into execution. What I did was me just acting on pure instinct mixed with my fingers trembling with fear at the idea that Jacob was gonna turn his gun on me next.
The boat ride back was filled with worry as I mechanically rowed the boat. Did I kill the man? No… I couldn’t have… He has a doctor waiting to heal him. I’m sure he’ll be fine. But what if the wound got infected? And given how our doctor would rather ignore the duel than to be on standby, perhaps the same is true for theirs?
By the time we got back to New York, I was hyperventilating. I couldn’t sit still and once the boat landed by the shore, I got off and immediately gagged. The Redcoat was the next person to get off. He patted me on the back.
“Not bad for your first shot.” He said.
“How did you-”
“You’re shocked. You gagged. First timers tend to get really tense when it’s their first shot, let alone their first kill. You need to have an iron will. Come, let’s have a drink.” He took off his red coat and handed it over to the doctor, who took it away. I followed him.
“So… Is that doctor a friend of yours or…?” I asked.
“Her name’s Melanie, and let’s just say she’s my preferred doctor,” something wasn’t quite right, given how, if I am in the time I think I was in, women being prominent workers, let alone doctors, was unheard of, “and before you ask, my name is Samuel Roth, though friends call me Sammy.” Without the coat, the man wore a plain white dress shirt. We walked on our way to the nearest inn and just barged in.
“A round for me and my friend.” Sammy placed a simple bank note, which, as I looked at it, looked more like a miniaturized contract than an actual bank note, on the counter. The person who ran the inn just nodded and went to make beer. I sat next to him as he just smiled.
“I could have had him arrested, you know?” I turned to him. “When I first charged him for the dough, I could have gotten him arrested right then and there. However, I wanted to see him fight fair and square. I want him to earn his chance to be cleared of the crime, yet even then, he was still a little slime.”
“You’re doing a risky business, I’d say it’s kinda witless.” That’s when two mugs slammed down on the counter.
“Maybe it is… But if he wants freedom, then he must be earnest and earn it. That goes for the revolution. To see their resolution, they must be earnest and earn it.” He then took his mug. “I want to see them fight for their right. I want to give them a sporting chance. I want to see them take their stance. Though…” He soon smiled and sipped. “I may not live to see their glory, but I’ll gladly watch their fight. Although if their children tell their story… They won’t tell the story of our night.” I raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?” I took my own beer but sipped it slightly. While I surprisingly tolerated the sugary and distilled taste, I still didn’t enjoy drinking beer. I smacked my lips a bit.
“We’re nothing but hounds, spawned from an angle of time. Us existing here is a crime…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. He leaned in and whispered.
“Take out your bill. The one that was discussed earlier. The one that caused that Founding Father such joy.” He wasn’t speaking in rhyme, nor did he match the rhythm… It was as though he spoke normally. With a blank stare, I got out my ten-dollar bill. He snatched it from my hand and scanned it. “Series… 1976.” I blinked as he crumpled the bill and dropped it by my side. “You came from the future… like me…” My jaw dropped.
“W-what the…” I began to stutter as he grabbed his mug.
“Raise a glass to battle! For freedom that they must fight to earn! No matter how we retaliate. Raise your glass for the both of us!” I subconsciously took my mug.
“Tomorrow, there’ll more like us, being in a story of the fight! Being in a story of the fight…” We both sang at the same time. He looked into my eyes as the revelation slowly dawned on me.
He was just like me. Someone from the future who had been caught up in this mess… But… Who was he? Really?
