Where to Next?

Chapter 1

“Hurry up, Robert,” Abigail sighed and smacked her brother hard on the back. He didn't flinch as he continued to ascend the steep attic stairs in a slow pace, hands tucked into his pockets. Abigail’s muscles aching with every step, her eyes soon filled with the excitement of fantasising about her brother’s friend. When the twins finished what they had to do, she could go back to doing just that. Abigail knew she could spend hours on end dreaming about him. I didn't say that out loud did I, but as Robert carried on, she knew she had nothing to worry about - for the moment.

Robert moved to the top of the stairs and opened the door. His fear of the dark hit him.
He rushed forwards to flick the light switch, sweat pouring from his forehead. A slight buzzing sound, along with a dim shade of light, indicated Robert could relax at last.

"Honestly, I can't believe you're still afraid of the dark! I mean, what's gonna happen, exactly? Is a monster gonna jump out at you?" Abigail’s eyes widened, thinking, I know how you feel, though she never dared tell Robert that.

Abigail could never forget those sleepless nights since her dad had disappeared, where her hands would shake, her eyes would sting, her cheeks burning from the salty tears as they streaked down her face.

Robert wiping the sweat from his forehead, and Abigail wiping the tears from her eyes, the two began searching for the many boxes they had been sent up to get, each full to the brim of different items. Some contained random Christmas tree ornaments, others only with fairies and stars to place upon the tree, and the large ones had piles of books, mostly cooking books telling you how long to cook a turkey for, and what type of alcohol to pour upon your pudding. But as Abigail picked up a smaller box - that was already breaking in half - it tore open like paper, allowing several books to crash to the floor - just missing Abigail’s foot.

“What’s going on up there?” Their mother’s voice echoed throughout the attic.

“Nothing Mother,” Robert replied, just before noticing Abigail pick up a roll of parchment. The paper seemed superglued together, though Abigail managed to open the roll with ease. Five bullet points scratched in black ink - perhaps with a fountain pen - contained instructions.

"Robert, what's this?" Abigail asked, “Why was this stuffed away with Christmas cookbooks?”

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one who put it there," he said, then grabbed the paper to read its contents.

Robert Andrew Thompson and Abigail Amelia Thompson are to be shown this when they turn 16. It is vital that they are given these instructions before reading the contents of this book, as carelessly absorbing bits and bobs of each sentence can and very likely will have severe consequences.

1. So, for the first instruction, make sure when you do start reading the book that you carefully read each entire chapter one by one, in the order you need.

2. Do not ever read ahead of the present, as this could cause a paradox. Trust me my dears, you do not want that.

3. Only ever read a chapter if it is vital to your survival. I may have written instructions to help you along the way, but only follow if it is necessary to do so.

4. If you ever visit a time and place more than once, be careful not to run into yourselves, as yet again, that would cause a paradox.

5. Finally, make sure that these rules are written, as you may run into a version of me before these instructions. It is very important that they are written for you, otherwise...another paradox. Also, when the two of you grow up and have children of your own, make them the same instructions. They could rely on them someday.

Good luck, kids. Have fun and stay safe.

"What is this? Why do these instructions have our names on them?" Abigail asks as she reads.

"I dunno. But, 'this book'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, doofus, obviously it came from inside a book. It must have fallen out or something."

At that, the twins glanced at each other before scrambling through the book pile, eager to find the book that the instructions belonged to.

They picked up cookery books, notepads with present lists written in tables. A stack of thank you cards, letters, and a funny-looking blue book lay at the bottom of the pile.

“This is probably it!” Abigail exclaimed. A look of excitement formed on her face as her hands trembled slightly, thumbing through the book. "It is!"

"Really? Great! Now let's read the book, already!" Robert replied to his sister.

“Wait a minute, we have to take these boxes down first.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Robert replied, looking slightly ashamed at having forgotten - yet again, “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry, let’s just take these down to Mum, and then we can take a look,” Abigail reassured her brother.

Even though Robert was three minutes older than her, Abigail found herself having to look after him more than he looked after her - since she seemed the more mature of the two. Maybe it was due to the amount of reading she did in her spare time, or the selection of films and TV shows she watched, but whatever it might be, she knew that now she needed her maturity the most, since these twins were about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime, and where they’re headed, survival of the fittest comes to mind.