Chapter 2
Ward had seen the candle when Simmons had shoved him into the structure, so he had quickly lit it before she closed the door and cut off the light. Glancing around he found there were basic chairs and books scattered around. It was clear that people had been spending quite some time in here. He moved further into the room and took a seat. He needed to find out what was going on and he might as well be comfortable.
"What’s going on Simmons? What do you know?"
"That noise was a warning. I believe that it is an air raid warning. I think we are at some point within the Second World War. It makes sense along with this shelter and the housing that we were beside."
"Yeah well, Sheffield is a quite a key target." Ward muttered absently.
"Did you just say Sheffield?"
"What? Oh yeah. I guess that is an original memory. I think that is where we are. Do you know it?"
"Yes. I grew up here. It explains why I thought it was familiar."
"Know anything else about the area during this time?"
"Yeah, we studied it at school. The area was targeted due to the steel works. It used to be just cutlery but I think it branched out during the war.”
“You know a lot about this.” Ward commented with some surprise.
“I do pay attention to other things than science you know. Plus it was interesting because it was areas we knew and it could’ve happened to people we are related to.”
“We’ll let’s hope we don’t meet any of your ancestors. That could cause some problems.”
Simmons nodded in agreement.
“Do you know how long this will last? I think that I can locate where we live in this time period. Hopefully we’ll find the rest of the team.”
“It could be a few minutes to hours.”
“Well then we’d better make ourselves comfortable.”
*************************************
They’d stayed hidden for a while, with May making Fitz stay low to the ground. She had gotten a better look at the planes but hadn’t recognised them. All she could tell were they weren’t modern planes. While lying there she had thought about what she knew about the area they were in when memories had come into her mind. She knew they weren’t hers as she had never seen the house in them before, clearly this was what Ward and Skye had talked about before. To be fair, it would come in handy: this way she knew where she would find the others. They would all head that way once it was safe to move. They knew that it would be a safe place to stay and the others would head there, so it was the perfect meeting place.
A wail pierced the air again some time later. May had gone into a meditative state, trying to access other memories of the person who she had taken control of. Nothing significant had been revealed, only that times had been difficult and there had been rationing and fear. From what she could tell they had been in the field as it was a short cut, both her and Fitz had been walking back from where they worked. She lived with Fitz and others in a small house that barely fit them all in but it saved money and they could pool their rations together.
Sighing May moved over to Fitz. He had fallen asleep while they were waiting for it to be safe to move. This was going to be a difficult time period no matter where they were.
“Come on Fitz. It’s safe. Let’s move.”
They headed quickly towards where May thought the house was located. There was evidence everywhere of explosions, big craters in the floor, walls with pieces missing. Upon notice this Fitz moved closer to her, she knew he was nervous. So was she. They both knew that if they were killed in the machine they would die in reality too. Whatever was causing these explosions appeared to be random; there was no way to defend against it. They could be killed so easily. She would be happier once she had the rest of the team with them. Then she would know they were all safe for now.
The house she came to a stop outside looked just the same as all the others on the street but some how this one seemed right. Without really thinking about it she strode down the path and entered the house. It felt familiar as soon as she entered.
“Hello.” She called, hearing movement from somewhere nearby.
She heard steps towards them before she saw a blur of dark hair streak past her towards Fitz. There was a thud as he was forced backwards against the door when Simmons flung herself at him. Following behind her came Ward.
“Skye and Coulson?” He asked, concern all over his face.
“Haven’t seen them.”
“Any idea where we are?”
“Yes, thanks to Simmons. We’re in Sheffield during World War 2.”
“The UK? That explains why everything is so different.”
*************************************************
They were all sat in the kitchen exchanging stories and listening to Simmons tell them about what to expect in this time period. Apparently she was quite an expert on it. She had also insisted on them having a cup of tea, as it was a good way to relieve stress.
The door burst open revealing Coulson and Skye. May looked over both of them quickly, noting that neither had been harmed. Coulson was wearing some ridiculous outfit but otherwise looked perfectly well. Skye gave a squeak before flinging herself at Ward. It was lucky he had good reflexes as he managed to catch her with very little warning. May watched with surprise as Skye wrapped her arms and legs around his waist and buried her head in his shoulder. What shocked her even more was that Ward wrapped his arms around her just as tightly and began murmuring in her ear. Clearly she had missed a change in their relationship.
As she turned she caught the shock on the rest of the team’s faces, with Coulson showing some disapproval. Catching his eye she shook her head slightly. It was nice to see them like that, plus they clearly both needed the comfort. Ward had practically pacing while they were waiting for them both to return until Simmons had made him sit down. She let them stay like that for a few minutes before giving Ward a pointed look. He quickly spoke quietly to Skye causing her to remove her death grip on him. Once untangled from around Ward she quickly hugged both Fitz and Simmons.
Sitting around the table they quickly caught up the latecomers with what they had found out. Fitz, who apparently couldn’t sit still, rooting through draws, made this a lot harder.
“So, what’s next?” Skye wondered.
Before anyone else could answer Fitz spoke:
“We go to a dance.”
Everyone looked at him in puzzlement. In answer he placed a flier down on the table. On it was an invitation to a swing party, with the RSVP addressing being the house they were currently sitting in. They all were holding a dance party.
“I can’t dance.” Blurted out Skye.
“I can teach you.” Promised Ward.
“It isn’t too hard.” May assured her. “We’d better start on that tomorrow. I’ll go and check what outfits we have. We may need to adapt some clothing.”
“May knows dressmaking?” Jemma whispered to Skye.
“I’ve just found out.”
“I guess the machine makes you find out also sorts of new things.”
“You have no idea.”
***********************