(Savannah's POV)

     It's morning, unfortunately. The birds are chirping and the sun is shining. I must have left my window open, because they are loud. I open my eyes. I'm in the woods? I sit up. "What the hell?" I say a loud. A voice behind me, says, "That's what I thought." I twist my body around to face the man. "Who are you?" I ask. He clears his through and says, "I'm Julian. Who are you?"

  I furrow my brow. "I'm Savannah. Where the hell are we?" He shrugs, "I have no clue. I'm mean probably some where in Oregon. I doubt we moved states." Oregon? "What are you talking about? I'm from South Carolina, not Oregon," I say. He looks confused, "Then how are we 3 feet away from each other?" I stand up, "I don't know, but I don't think we are in Oregon or South Carolina."

  He stands up too, "Where are you going?" I turn around, "To figure out where we are. Don't you want to know where we are and how we got here?" He chuckles, "Well obviously. I wanted to wait for the others. You're the second one awake." I look around. Another girl and a boy lie on the ground, asleep. "Oh. Do you know who they are?" I ask.

  He shakes his head, "I have no clue who they are. Look, Savannah. We are obviously not anywhere near where we yesterday. Do you have a phone? Mine has no service." I reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone. 'No Service' it says. Julian reads it over my shoulder. "We must be in like Iceland or something. I should have service everywhere," I say.

  The girl stirs in her sleep and sits up, "Huh? What?" She turns around. "What happened?" She asks. I shrug, "I have no idea. We woke up here. There's another guy too." She rubs her eyes, "What are your names?" "I'm Savannah, this is Julian," I say. "I'm Belle. How old are you and where are you from?" She says. "I'm 16 and from Charleston, South Carolina," I reply. "I'm 18 and from Salem, Oregon," Julian says. Belle steps forward, "I'm 13 and from Washington, DC." She's young, really young.

   The boy sits up, "Woah, where am I?" I sigh, "That's what we said." We talk about ourselves. His name is Elliot, he's 19 and is from Albany, New York.

   The four of us walk through the woods, attempting to find civilization. I see a cloud of smoke rising in the distance. "Look! Smoke!" I shout. The four of us run towards the rising cloud.

We arrive at the scene to find a Native American tribe. "Are we on a reservation?" Belle asks. "I guess? How did we get here?" Elliot says. I walk up to an Indian man. "Excuse me, sir. Can you give me directions to the nearest city?" I ask. He screams and pulls out of a bow and arrow. I run back to the group. "That didn't work. Do any of you speak Native American?" I ask. They shake their heads. The Native American man keeps his bow and arrow pointed at me.

I notice a Caucasian man tied up to a tree, wearing strange clothing. Another Native American hauls us towards the line of trees. I end up next to the stranger and Julian. "Hello." Says the man, in a British accent. "Hi. Do you know where we are?" I say. He thinks, "Well, we're in the new land. That's all I know." New land? "Sir, I don't know what you are talking about. What's the new land?" He laughs, "They say it's going to be called America. The true Americans are revolting, against the British. These people are getting in the way." Is he talking about the American Revolution? Julian leans towards the man, "What year is it?" It's 2017, obviously. This guy is just nutso. The man laughs again, "It's January 1776! How long have been in those woods?" Julian bites his lips. "Apparently negative 241 years..." I mutter. Julian cracks a giggle. He's crazy, unless George Washington runs through this camp, the guy's insane. He rambles on about the revolutionary war. Julian passes along the message about "being in 1776."

Everyone laughs, except Belle. I lean forward, to look at her, "Are you okay? We are going to get out of here." She nods, "What if we're are really in 1776? I knew the guy looked familiar, I'm pretty sure he's Benedict Arnold. We just learned about him in history class. The resemblance is uncanny." I raise my eyebrows, "No way. Time travel isn't real." I turn to the British guy. He did look like Benedict Arnold, we were talking about him in AP History. "What's your name?"

He wasn't paying attention to Belle and I's conversation because our words were whispered along the line like telephone, so he wouldn't hear. He smiles, "General Benedict Arnold, please to meet you Mad'm. May I ask why you are wearing pants? I great woman like you should be wear a dress." No freakin' way. "Long story, your the Benedict Arnold or named after the real one?" I ask. "Well, I know
several Benedicts it's a common name, however I believe I'm the only General Benedict Arnold." he says. "Are you sure, it's 1776?" I ask. He nods, "I believe so, I suppose it could be 1775, I might have my days off. I'm pretty positive it's January 4, 1776."

"Is there anyone who speaks English here?" Julian asks him. "Yes, the chief and the chief's son," Benedict responds. "Hey!" I yell. One of the Indians turns around and says some gibberish. "English! I speak English!" I yell. A little boy runs out, "What do you want?" English, finally. "Can you tell me the year?" I ask. "1776. Why? Shouldn't you know that?" he replies. I begin to hyperventilate. "What's wrong?" Asks Benedict. I look at him, "It should be 2017, not 1776." He laughs, "2017? That's crazy!" 

    I turn the rest of the group, "It is 1776. How the hell did we get here??" Belle is crying. "We're going to get out of here, I swear." Julian says. Benedict is very confused.

    Julian turns to the majority of us, "Look, I became a police officer three months ago. My badge is in my jacket pocket. If I can manage to get free, I can get us out." A cop, good. "I'm really good at picking locks and breaking free, I'm a CIA agent." says Elliot. And a CIA agent, nice. "Well, that's impressive. I've got nothing interesting, other than my dad's the Cheif of Staff for the United States, but that's pretty boring," Belle says. Elliot turns to me, "That's not boring! So far, everyone is too secret or in politics or both. Savannah, what about you?" I bite my lip, "Elliot, 12783." His mouth drops open. "You are one of 4 the in the ENTIRE WORLD??" I blush, "Yeah..." The rest of the group stares at us. "What are you two talking about?" Julian asks. "Spy stuff," Elliot and I say in unison.

     "Okay. Can we just get out of here?" Belle says. "Right. Belle, would you get the knife in my pocket?" Elliot asks. Belle reaches into his pocket with her arms still tied. "Got it." She says. Elliot takes it from her and maneuvers it to cut his rope. "We can't let them know we are free," Belle says. Elliot passes the knife down the line and we all pretend to be tied up. "Let's go on the count of 3," I say, once everyone is untied. "One, two, three...." we all whisper and stand up, making a run for it.

As the four of us run through the woods as a Native American screams in his native language. We run for miles, until we happen upon the coast and town. A man wearing a white wig approaches us.

     "How can I help you?" He asks. I walk towards him, "We are lost, way lost. Can you tell me the city and the date?" He smiles, "Welcome to Charleston. It's definitely the best city in the new land. It's been around for 106 years, a very long time. Today's date is January 4, 1776." My throats feels like it's going to close up. "Thank you," Julian says. The man turns back the way he came.

      "How do we get back?" Julian asks. "Okay. I order to figure out how to get back, we have to figure out how we got here," Elliot says. I sit down, "So, we all have something to do with the government." Elliot and Belle sit down, too. "Right, we are all from different places though," Julian says, pacing. "What is the last thing you remember doing last night?" I say. "I was watching a movie with my little sister," Belle says. "I was watching the news, but close enough," Julian says. "I was watching a movie and studying," I say, "Elliot? Were you watching a movie?" He nods, "I was watching The Patriot. That's set in the 1770s..." Julian sits down next to me, "I watched Hamilton on Broadway, then I went home and watched the news. Hamilton is set in the 1770s too."  I think about the movie I was watching. "I was watching The Hunger Games, but I was studying for my revolutionary war test," I say. Belle turns to us, "I was watching Felicity: An American Girl Doll Movie with my little sister. It's about a girl living in the 1770s." I nod, "That's what we have in common. It's our key, but what door do we unlock?"

     "It's not like we can watch a movie about 2017 in 1776," Elliot says. "Or a musical..." Julian adds. "I bet there's a book," I say. Elliot stands up, "You are a genius, Savannah." I stand up, "Who ready to go to the book store?"

     In the book store, there's a nice old lady at the counter. "What can I help you four with?" she says. A young man walks in, "Perhaps a style book? What are you wearing?" Elliot crosses his arms. "Why are you wearing pants? Those are for men," the man says. I take three steps forward, "Pants are for the strong. Try me in a dual, then we can talk about pants." I spin on my heels. "I think we'll try the library. This place is too dusty anyways," I say, not facing the man. The rest of the group follows me out the door.

    "God damn! You sure told him," Elliot says. I laugh, "I'm a feminist. That's what I do." Julian puts his hands in the air, "I never would have guessed." I roll my eyes, "So, the library. It's just across the street."

       Across the street, we find a book called "To The Future." I ask the librarian about it, "I've never seen that book before. I check all the books before they come here! It mustn't be mine. You can keep it." The four of us sit on the steps and open the book. A small note falls out and Belle picks it up.

    Hello, you four. This note has been waiting for you. You choose the "book" path. There's like 80 other notes lying around, so don't feel too special. Welcome to 1776. Want to go back to your lives in 2017? Ha! You'll get there, you just have to fix a few things for me. You four have been secretly recruited for this. We knew you wouldn't agree and neither would your friends/family/bosses... So, we had to teleport you here in your sleep. We choose you each for a reason. As you complete your missions you may figure out why. Fix what we want you to fix in the year you're in and you'll jump forward in time, when it's completed. As you go, a few years at a time you'll get closer and closer until you finally make it back to 2017. Just don't die in the process. Good luck. ~John Lienhard (Director of the CIA)

     I stare at the rest of the group, "Well, that explains how we got here." Elliot sighs, "What does he want us to do?" I turn the letter around, to the back. It it's filled with tiny print. There is a list organized by year. Starting in 1776, ending in 2016. Each year is a decade or more apart. There's a note at the bottom, it reads "P.S. You won't age, but the world will. If this takes you 10 years to complete, you'll come back to 2027. Even if it's 2145 when you come back, you'll still be the same age as you were in 2017. Also, the people will, so don't forget that anyone waiting for you will think you're missing. And if you back too late, they might much older than you remember. Don't forget, you won't die of old age, but you might of a gun shot wound or yellow fever, so stay safe."

     I stand up and leave the paper in someone else's hands. "No! No! I am not doing this! I never agreed to do this! I have a life! Things were just getting better too!" I yell. I fall to my knees, sobbing. Someone's arms wrap around me. After a moment, I look up to see who's shoulder I was crying on. It was Elliot, how sweet. I stand up and wipe my tears. "Thank you. I needed a minute. I've been all bad-ass all day and I just couldn't take it." After that, I promised myself I would be that spy who doesn't cry. The one who leads the group and stays strong. That was my moment, the time I would be sad.

    "Okay, back to reality. Whatever reality is. How do we fix 1776?" I ask. Belle picks up the paper, "Hold hands and sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?'....WHAT?" Julian grabs the paper, "It says it's a test run, so we just have to do it." I extend my arms and Elliot and Belle grab them. Once we're all linked, I count off, "One, Two, Three.." The four of us sing a song that we probably haven't since third or fourth grade. On the line, "How I wonder what you are" the world started spinning.

     I sit up, feeling nauseated. The paper lies in front of me. I look at it, "May 3, 1789" is written neatly. I look up at the group, "Welcome to May, 1789. We have to kill some guy named, James DeWolf?" Julian scoots closer to me, "Who is that?" Elliot shrugs, "I guess we'll find out in town." Belle stands up, "Let's get moving, the sooner I can go back, the better." I follow her.

   We approach the small town ahead of us. In the town square, I find a merchant. "Sir? Would you tell me who James DeWolf is?" I ask. The merchant turns towards me, "Mr. DeWolf? Why would such a pretty lady, like you be looking for him?" I smile, "Well, I've heard all about him. I just wanted to meet him." The merchant nods, "Ahh, well, if you want a slave, he's the man to find. I can help you, however I'll need your father or husband's permission." Slaves? My husband's permission? Ugh. Why was the world like this?

    Elliot taps on my shoulder, "Did you find someone who'll help us, dear?" Thank you, Elliot. "Yes, he said he can help us. He just wanted your permission, so that I could find a slave. You know how the world works," I say, dropping subtle hints. The merchant smiles, "Are you her husband?" Elliot nods, "Yes. She has my permission, in fact I encourage that she picks out a nice slave." Slave....That word kills me. If this is really 1789, then I'm going to have to get used to it.

      Elliot and I follow the merchant down towards the dock. He points out a stout man and leaves. Belle and Julian stayed close behind. "What do we do now?" Julian asks. I take a step forward. "We go talk to him. But first, Belle and I need skirts. We can't be walking around in pants," I say. I march towards the boutique and open the door. "Hello. I need a skirt. So does she." I say. The men behind the counter run to grab several fabrics. Soon enough, Belle and I had skirts and it only costed a few gold coins. I handed the cashier a couple dollar coins, and they were satisfied. They had no idea.

"Okay, so you two got skirts, but I'm wearing blue jeans...from American Eagle. I don't think we exactly fit in," Julian says. I shrug, "As long you won't get arrested no one cares. However, Belle and I could have been arrested for nudity." The four of us approach the slave counter. "What can I help you with?" A man asks. "We're looking for a James DeWolf," Julian says. "Well, you've found him. I'm James DeWolf. What can I help you with?" He asks. "Oh, we were just think about purchasing something. What are the prices? I'll have to go down to my house and grab some money, but I'd love to buy one," Julian says. DeWolf nods, "I see. Well here's a list of prices and slave types. Come back when you are interested."

We all sit down near the coast. "So how do we kill him?" I ask. Belle looks at us, "I say we poison him." I nod, "Than no one will know it was us. Genius." She smiles. "Where do we get poison in 1792?" Elliot asks. I bend down, "The rats." They all look at me confused, "We put rat poison in his drink. It should kill him." I spin around, "I'll be right back." I march towards the general store.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo, grace <3