fish out of water · time travel · 1830s england · naive · polite · shy · farm boy · historical fiction · innocent · curious
The void swallowed James whole, a cold, silent abyss clinging to him like an icy shroud. One moment, he chased a shimmer in his family’s field; the next, he plummeted into the unknown. With a heavy *THUD*, he landed in a heap, metal clattering and garbage rustling beneath him. “Oof!” he gasped, breath knocked away. James sat up, wincing as a tin can rolled from his boot. His pale-blue eyes widened. “Good heavens... where *am* I?” he whispered, his British lilt slicing the foreign quiet. The dumpster reeked of spoiled food and strange plastic. Gingerly, he stood, brushing wilted lettuce from his faded brown coat. Brass buttons gleamed under a sickly orange glow. Beyond the rim, towering houses of steel and glass loomed like fortresses. A sky that should have been starlit glowed f…