Changed by Time ✔

ten.

It was decided without a word that Wendy would change for the day in the bathroom while Nolan got the rest of the hotel room to change. They hadn't spoken about it beforehand, but by the time the both of them were awake, they just went to their own changing positions.

Wendy changed into the final dark red t-shirt she brought on the trip with a pair of black leggings. She pulled on the gray zip-up hoodie she brought along and zipped it up partially. She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, leaving out a few stray tendrils, before she pulled out a baseball cap and threw it on to nearly complete the look.

She stepped outside the bathroom, just in time to see Nolan pull on the black jacket he wore yesterday over a gray long-sleeved Henley shirt. He wore a pair of cargo pants and sat on the bed to pull on a pair of lace-up boots.

Wendy sat on the bed across from him, slipping on her own pair of black boots. She pulled through the last knot in her laces and looked up at him. She contemplated whether she should tell him about what she saw the night before. She knew it was in the middle of the night, but she wasn't sure what time it was or even what was really even happening. Would it even be worth mentioning?

"I was thinking since it's not too far outside of the town, we could just walk up to Poplin Library," he said as he finished his laces, looking up at her. "Besides, we don't really seem to have any other choice. I haven't really seen any taxis around here, let alone another car or even a person."

"Yeah, that sounds good." She nodded, grabbing her bag and going through it. She pulled out a small black sling bag from her backpack and unfolded it. She put in items like her phone and whatever other notes she had.

"Do you have the book?"

Wendy looked up from her bag with furrowed brows. "What book?"

Nolan's calm expression changed as he widened his eyes and his mouth parted ever so slightly. Wendy pressed her lips tightly together as she let out a snicker.

She pulled the book out of her bag and held it up. "You mean this book."

"You think you're so funny," Nolan said as relief clearly washed over his face.

"Yeah," she placed the book in her bag and zipped it up, slinging across her torso, "because I am."

--

Nolan led the way down the street with Wendy close in tow behind him. He kept a tight grip on the strap of his bag, occasionally checking his phone.

Wendy looked into the windows of the shops, watching as a scarce amount of people wandered inside. She let out a sigh as she turned her bag around from her back, reaching in and pulling out the book.

She flipped through the pages until she reached The Gods Among Men. She read through the lines much more carefully, hanging on every period, question mark, and exclamation point there was throughout it. There had to be something she missed – a clue as to what they were supposed to be looking for in the library itself.

Wendy came to an abrupt stop as she felt a hand grab her jacket, jerking her and nearly dropping the book in the process. She whipped her head around, finding Abigail sitting at one of the outdoor café tables with a pair of oversized sunglasses on and her hair in big pigtails. She had a cup of tea in front of her along with a closed, yet very filled, notebook.

"I was hoping I'd see you around here," she said with a smile. "I didn't expect to be so soon though." She looked down at her watch. "Or so early."

"Well, my cousin and I were hoping to get an early start to the day." Wendy closed the book, holding the front cover to her chest.

"Oh! Well," she pulled off her sunglasses, "where is this cousin you speak of?"

"He's..." Her voice trailed off as she looked towards the direction they were walking in. Nolan had managed to get about a store ahead without noticing Wendy's disappearance.

"Let me go get—" She tried to walk after him, quickly noticing that Abigail hadn't let go of her jacket yet. She cleared her throat as she called out to him, "Nolan!" He turned back around. "Can you come over here, please?"

He looked at her with his mouth parted, his brows furrowed as he stared at her with pure confusion. Wendy slightly gestured towards Abigail with her head, his eyes falling on her and her grip on Wendy's jacket.

He quickly closed his mouth with a slight nod and made his way back over. A false smile came over his face as he arrived at the table.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, looking between the two women.

"Nolan, this is Abigail." Wendy gestured to her. "We met in the lobby of the hotel yesterday."

Abigail used her free hand to reach over and shake Nolan's. "A pleasure."

"Indeed. Uh, Wendy," Nolan looked back at her, "we should get going. That café we were talking about last night should be opening soon. We wouldn't want to get caught in the rush."

"Of course." Wendy looked back at Abigail. "We really should be—"

"What's that book you have?" Abigail questioned, pointing to the one Wendy had against her chest. "It looks oddly familiar."

"There's a lot of copies of it," Wendy said, opening her bag and placing it back inside. "You've probably seen it before."

"Hm." Abigail bit her lip, eventually letting go of Wendy's jacket as she said, "I guess I'll let you go then! Enjoy your early morning coffee or whatever you get."

"Thanks." Nolan placed a hand on Wendy's back, leading her away from Abigail as they got back on course. She leaned to him and whispered, "That was weird."

"You're telling me. That girl did not seem to know when a conversation was ending."

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"I don't think she was going to let go until the lie I told her was 'confirmed.'" Wendy resisted the urge to look back. "If it wasn't, I don't know that it would've ended that well."

"What makes you say that?"

"She had a gun tucked away in her jacket."