Glory Glory Rebels

“Hey! Hey, wake up… Rudy!” Rudy could hear the voices calling him, but they were muffled and distant as if he was in some kind of haze. He tried to open his eyes, but he felt so weak that he couldn't manage it, he felt like he was floating in and out of consciousness. “Come on! Please wake up. Rudy?!” This time the voice sounded a little clearer, Rudy wondered who was calling him, he just wanted a little bit more sleep. The voice continued… Rudy started to feel angry, he had finished work at midnight and he had to go back again tonight, Jesus couldn’t they just let a guy sleep? What was so urgent that it couldn’t wait until later? When he found out who it was, he was going to punch them in the face. But still Rudy found himself unable to move or make a sound, he was awake enough to understand that he was being carried like a dead pig, between four men. Rudy must have passed out again for some time, the next thing he knew he was lying on a soft surface. He wasn’t sure if it was a bed or a sofa, he felt confused and unsure of where he was exactly. “Here Andy, try some water!” A voice called out. Rudy thought that maybe they were going to try and get him to have a drink but suddenly found himself doused in icy cold water. Rudy’s eyelids began to flutter, he felt his sense returning. “Look, I think it worked, his eyes are moving!” Another disconnected voice said. Seconds later, Rudy was again splashed with icy water and began to feel a bit more revived. He slowly opened his heavy eye lids and immediately saw two faces very close to him. “Hey Rudy, can you hear me?” One of the faces asked in a loud voice. Rudy began to suspect that something was very wrong, could this be a bad dream? He didn’t think it was a dream, he had never had a dream that was so…real? Rudy’s eyes slowly began to focus, he tried to recognize the two faces in front of him but he was blank, he had no idea who they were. They seemed to be concerned for his welfare though so they didn’t appear to be a threat. “Who…who are you?” Rudy asked in a rough voice, his throat was sore and dry. He tried to lift his hand, he found he still didn’t have the strength to move very much. When Rudy spoke, they visibly relaxed with relief. “Oh Rudy! Thank god you are awake! You had us scared half to death.” Wolf sat on the chair by the bed and let out a huge sigh then flashed Rudy a huge grin. Rudy looked at each of them in turn, he had no idea what had happened or where he was. He took in his surroundings, he was in an apartment made of red brick. The decorations in the room were sparse, the bare wooden beams on the ceiling added to the starkness of the place. Rudy felt very strange, how was there still a house that looked like this? Rudy stared at the strange man sitting in the chair, there was no doubt that he was very real and he cared for Rudy, but who the hell was this guy? And where the hell had they brought him? Rudy tried to remember something but found that the memories offered did not belong to him. Suddenly he knew that the man in the chair was James Wolf, the other man who had helped was John Griffin, both had heavy accents. Rudy felt very cold all of a sudden; “Am in Manchester, UK?” Rudy shuddered. Rudy knew a fair bit about this place, this was where the premiership Manchester United was based. What he also knew is that there was a lesser known club called Manchester City. The two were fierce opponents and faced off every year at what was known as the Manchester Derby. “Why am I here?’ Rudy muttered. The answer soon came to mind. Rudy’s grandfather had immigrated to the UK many years ago, they had lived on Faulkner Street which had been one of the better known streets in Manchester. Later, Rudy’s father had married an American woman and they set up their family on Faulkner Street as well. Rudy was born and his father set up a small corner store supermarket, business was good and life was getting better and better for them. However, a year ago Rudy’s parents were involved in a horrific car accident and both lost their lives. Rudy was left with the corner store and a large inheritance, but he had also become an orphan. “Are you alright?” Wolf placed his hand on Rudy’s shoulder gently. Rudy was frozen, just staring at the wall and Wolf was getting more and more concerned. Rudy shook his head slowly, he was struggling to understand what was going on. He looked at the calendar on the wall and shook his head again. How was this possible? He was twenty three years old, it was the third of June, 1998. Rudy had gone back in time.