“Well, that was boring.” A voice said from the emptiness of space. There was nothing except the stars around but the voice remained. Cold and distant but still alive. Like a spectre of inconsistencies with a purpose.

“I wonder how I should change things this time around?” the spectre-like being said as it gazed upon a human.

“Well, I guess this guy is the lucky bastard who gets to use my power in this universe.” the voice said again before taking a human-like form.

“Really? This is how he subconsciously thinks We look? Well, it’s not so bad I guess. Lou Barret, I wonder if you’ll be the one to finally end our boredom?” It said with a sinister smile.

* * *

I awoke to mist permeating around me and the sun shining directly in my eyes. Since I wasn’t really all there I just rolled over only to see a rat staring at me.

“What the hell!” I exclaimed as I shot up and scooted away from the rat. It ran away the moment I freaked out, thank God. then I realized my real dilemma. I was in an alley, not my apartment.

The alley was lined with cobblestone and the buildings on either side were made of red bricks. Some wooden crates were stacked up inside and hanging a story up were some drying clothes. Nothing was all that strange about it except that I had no idea how I got here. Maybe I got drunk after work and can’t remember it? Yeah, that’s what happened. Wait, then why don’t I have a hangover? Damn it!

“What’s going on?” I asked myself as I stood up. Looking around I could see people moving at the far end of the alley so I went over to take a look. Maybe someone can tell me why I am in that alley or at least I can find my way back to my apartment. While I walked I felt around and realized my phone was gone. If I had it maybe I could have called my roommate but I guess not.

When I emerged from the alley I was in even more shock than before. All the cars had been replaced by horses and carts. The people were dressed like it was the late Victorian era and there was dirt everywhere. Where the hell am I? The bustling crowd didn’t seem to care that a man dressed completely different from them walked out of an alley. My clothes were just a black collared shirt and some black dress pants. It wasn’t my style per se but I had to wear it for my job. To be honest I thought it looked a little too edgy. I wandered around the area taking in everything I could. There were vendors all around so I assumed I was in some sort of marketplace and everyone seemed to speak English, or at least some broken form of it.

“Excuse me, sir, where am I?” I finally ended up asking one of the vendors.

“What? Are you lost or an idiot?” the vendor asked. He was a shorter Indian-looking man with muscles to make his size irrelevant. On top of that, he had the facial expression of someone who was ready to kill.

“I’m lost. I think I got drunk and now I have no idea where I am.” I asked as I looked around at my surroundings.

“You’re in Whitechapel, London kid. You probably didn’t realize it because this is the only part of Whitechapel that isn’t littered with whores and beggars.”

“Wait, London? This doesn’t look anything like London.”

“Now I actually do think you’re stupid. This is London, kid. If you don’t like it then you can leave.”

“Well, what year is it?”

“Okay, you are stupid. It’s 1888, now get out of here before I hurt you. You’re wasting my time.” I was shocked. I froze momentarily but I didn’t want the vendor to hurt me so I walked back to the alley I came from. Once I was there I slumped against the side of one of the buildings and sulked.

What was I going to do? I don’t have any money. No one is going to believe I am from the year 2020 so what can I do? I know that no matter where you go you need money so my first priority is that. Another thing is that I need shelter. My other priority is getting some clothes that don’t stand out. I can’t exactly change but I did see that several of the men in the market were wearing long coats.

I looked up at the drying clothes hanging above me and sure enough, there was one. It was a worn gray coat with several holes in it but it would work. I pushed some of the crates in the alley underneath the clothesline and used them to climb up to grab the coat. Once I had it I climbed down and threw it on. Damn it, now I look even edgier than before.

It was probably best for me if I got some money first and I didn’t have any clue what currency was being used at the time. I swear if I got sent to this time period by some outside force they should have at least given me some kind of ability, damn it. This was hopeless. I had no clue how I was going to get any money. I could try begging on the corner? Wait, that vendor said that there were tons of them here so I don’t think that this is a charitable area.

I continued walking around before walking by some shops with almost reflective glass windows. I looked at my reflection and noticed that my body had changed. My hair was no longer a dirty blonde but instead a darkened shade of grey. I looked even edgier. Was this timeline trying to make me an edge lord or something? My face was still clean-shaven and I still had a mole under the right side of my chin. The pupils I had were dilated and my eye color was blueish green with a yellow ring around the pupil

No matter what timeline it was though the bags under my eyes were still there from so many night shifts. My chin which I wish was more chiseled was rather rough and my hair was still cut to be no longer than six centimeters. Although that wasn’t my choice either. I had wanted to grow my hair out but my job required it. The more I thought about it the more I realized I hated my job, so much that I don’t even want to talk about what it was.