He could still hear his dad's voice ringing in his ears. No matter how long or fast Stanley drove away from what used to be his home, the words still haunted him.

You're a disgrace to this family.

The words of his dad didn't necessarily bother him to a point of it being torturous. What really cut deep was his own brother refusing to look him in the eye.

Stanford. . . high-six? Stanley remembered calling up to his brother's window. But he had received no response. No goodbyes. Nothing.

Stanley blinked hard and drew in a sharp breath. When he opened his eyes, he was staring at the road ahead, gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

The endless highway seemed to be taunting him. No matter how far he drove, he wouldn't reach an end. He was an outcast, and Stanley knew deep down in his gut that he was doomed to never finding another place to call home. Doomed to a life on an endless road.

"Hey, Hal," Mabel spoke up from the back seat, interrupting his thoughts.

Stanley sat up, suddenly alert to his surroundings. He nearly veered out of his lane, narrowly dodging the mini van next to him.

"What is it? Am I going the right way?"

"I'm not really sure." Mabel peered out of the window and tucked her legs under her chin. She sank down into the neck of her blue and pink striped sweater.

"What do you mean you're not sure? We've been driving for hours!"

Stanley held his breath in order to keep himself from yelling, causing his face to turn bright pink, bordering on purple. He carefully pulled over on the side of the road. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes with his fists, then slamming them down on the dash. Mabel jumped from the sudden noise.

"Look, I really want to help you, but I can't let you hitch-hike with me. This is practically kidnapping!"

"No it's not!" Mabel said defensively. "You're not a total stranger, you bought me pancakes."

"You don't know me," Stanley repeated. "You're just some weird kid who doesn't know how to take care of yourself."

"I don't know how to take care of myself? Have you seen the back of your car?!" Mabel shifted in her seat and squinted at the mounds of garbage and dirty clothes piled below her feet on the floor.

"I see some old candy wrappers, soda cans, and. . . ew, are those your underpants?"

"FINE! You got your point across, alright?" Stanley shouted. He stared down at the steering wheel for a moment or two.

"I want to help you. . . but if you can't find your parents, I'll find someone who can."

Mabel crossed her arms over the seat in front of her so that she was closer to Stanley.

"Really? Who're you gonna go to?"

"The police."

Mabel's eyes widened in horror. "The police?! That's a horrible idea!"

Stanley knew this. He couldn't just waltz into a station with the reputation he had gained rather quickly over the past few months. . . He planned to simply drop Mabel off a few blocks away from a station. She'd most likely track him down again, but he didn't have any other options.

"It's the best I can do," Stanley said. He switched the gears to reverse and drove back onto the road. "It's what's best for you."

"But you don't know what I've been through! Going to the cops will ruin everything!"

"What's your deal? Are you some sort of a fugitive or something?" Stanley chuckled.

"Kind of. . ." Mabel muttered before falling back into her seat like she had just lost a battle.

"Kind of? What kind of trouble have you been getting into? Did you run away from home or something?" Stan peered into the rear-view mirror in an attempt to read her face. Mabel's face had twisted into an expression of worry and panic. The expression only lasted for a second before she noticed his stare.

"It's more like home ran away from me."

Stan laughed but cut himself off when it dawned on him that she was being serious, something that he hadn't believed she was capable of being up until that very moment.

"Would you care to explain that phrase?" he pressed.

"You wouldn't understand. Haven't we been over this a gazillion times already?"

"Just tell me. What's the worst that could happen?"

Mabel sucked in a deep breath, sunk down into the neck of her sweater and curled up in a ball.

"I'm from fifty years in the future. I was trying to get my pig back when suddenly me and my brother were fighting over this time machine thingie. It took me here, then broke, so I'm kinda stuck."

When Stan didn't say anything, Mabel looked up at him with a confused expression locked on her face.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?"

Stan kept his eyes glued to the steering wheel and his mouth set in a straight line, which wavered from his attempt at concealing his laughter.

"Hal?"

Stan pretended to cough and covered his mouth with his hand.

"What? I'm not laughing. I just have something stuck in my throat-"

"-I knew you wouldn't believe me! You just think I'm crazy!"

"I'm not saying that I don't believe you, but you have to admit that it sounds crazy!"

"If you're not gonna believe me, I'll find someone who will."

Stan stopped her before she could place a hand on the door.

"You can't leave. We're in the middle of nowhere. At least let me drive you to the nearest town!"

"No!" Mabel shouted stubbornly.

"If you put one hand on that door-"

"-what're you gonna do? What could you possibly do? I'm already fifty years away from home!"

"Mabel!"

"Oh no, I put my hand on the door! What ever will you do to stop me?"

"GET DOWN NOW!"

Stan slammed his foot on the gas, causing Mabel to fall on her side. She sat back up and grabbed hold of the seat in front of her to steady herself.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!" she exclaimed, brushing her hair out of her face.

"DO YOU NOT SEE THE GIANT SPACE SHIP BEHIND US?!"

Mabel spun around in her seat to find a giant, green, glowing orb trailing closely behind them. She let out a scream when the orb began firing lasers.

"GO FASTER!" she screamed.

"I'M TRYING!"

Stan began zig-zagging down the road in order to avoid the lasers. The other vehicles had quickly caught on to the current situation so every inch of the pavement was covered with cars.

Stan scanned the surrounding area when he spotted a clearing in the woods.

"Mabel, hold onto something!"

"Why?"

"I'm going off the road!"

"WHAT?!"

They both screamed as Stan made a sharp left turn, taking the car off the smooth road and onto a much bumpier terrain. Twigs and branches bounced off the windshield, making it harder for him to see what he was doing. The woods grew darker and darker the farther he drove. Stan finally hit the break and the car came to a sudden holt.

Stan was only able to udder one phrase after a solid minute of heavy breathing.

"So tell me about that time traveling thing again?"