The Long Run (Prequel to Time Loop)

Chapter Nineteen

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Erik asked as we walked into the Bodleian library of Oxford University. Before I could answer, he was interrupted with a brief, "Sh!" by the librarian at the front desk.

I gave him a quick nod and led him through the back stairs into the basement. The room was dead silent and we were wafted by the smell of thick dust and old books. Erik was a bit taken a back, but I smiled. This place was home to me.

In the far back corner of this basement sat one familiar woman, curled up under a book. I knew her curly black hair from anywhere. "Isabelle," she smiled as she looked up from her book.

"Amelia, " I smiled back and waited for her to stand so I can pull her into a hug.

"How do you two know each other?" Erik asked, standing awkwardly to the side.

I sent Amelia a warning look, hoping she'd understand that I left certain things unsaid. "Oh she used to be a student here along with me. We just kind of met down here," Amelia explained, "And you must be Erik."

The second part may have partially been a lie but the first one wasn't. Back when I was still attending Oxford, Charles discovered that there was another telepath in the school, one of his classmates in fact. She was always in the library, keeping to herself and one day we decided to go confront her about it. She had a keen sense of judgement, so did Charles, and welcomed us with open arms.

"How do you know my name?" His eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"She's a telepath," I told him. "She can help us find Shaw."

"Well sort of. I have to touch an object first to be connected to a person's thoughts if they're really far away. Now do you have a picture of him or something connected to him that I can use?" She asked, holding out her hand.

I sighed, "No we don't-"

"I think I have something," he pulled out a small coin from his jacket pocket, one I'd never seen before. "Will this work?"

"Yes that's perfect," Amelia took the coin in her hands and closed her eyes. I glanced at Erik, and witnessed a sight I never thought I would see. He was vulnerable.

"He's not too far from here. Over at a pub in Liverpool. But he's planning on leaving soon so you'll have to hurry. He knows you're looking for him," Amelia stroked the coin more. "Just be careful. I'm not exactly sure what he's up to but it's big. Something worldwide."

"Okay then I guess it's time to head off to Liverpool," Erik said simply. "Let's go."

"Okay. Thanks for the help Amelia," I waved and turned to go when suddenly I felt a tug at my arm. Erik veered off upstairs, not noticing I wasn't still behind him. I turned back to Amelia with furrowed brows, "What's wrong?"

"Charles has been worried sick about you and now you're running off with some vengeful murderer you just met?" she whispered hoarsely.

"It's not what you think-"

"It's exactly what I think, remember? I can read your thoughts. And I know you don't love Erik. Not like you love Charles. This new guy--he's changed you Isabelle. You're different than you were before. It's like you don't care who you harm anymore. And you think that by helping Erik, you'll finally be doing good for once and saving lives. But you're not, you're taking them."

"I'm nothing like that. Maybe I am different, but for the better," I yanked my arm out of her grasp. She was wrong about him. "You just don't understand it. You don't know Erik like I do."

"Are you sure you even know who he really is?" She asked with crossed arms.

I couldn't hear any more of it. Looking back at the moment, maybe my stubbornness led to my ignorance. But I shrugged it off and left before she could say anymore. The overall question looming over me the rest of the ride to Liverpool was: Am I really fighting for peace or am I fighting for revenge?

~Time Skip~

"Is something bothering you?" Erik asked as we approached the last pub. We checked every pub in Liverpool, only to find out people had no clue who Shaw was. That or they were lying, but we were running out of time. 

"No. I'm fine. Let's just get this done," I told him as I swung open the door. The pub was small and almost empty, with only the bartender there to serve. "Great, a dead end."

"Not exactly," the bartender said aloud, raising his hand up. I could see bright static emit from his finger tips. "Klaus sends a message."

"Look out!" Erik yelled, pulling me to his side as the bartender shot lightning in my direction. The bolt crashed into the door, causing chips of wood to fly out.

I rolled my eyes, already tired of this whole walking into traps thing. It seemed like we were always arriving just a bit too late. "Yeah I think we missed Klaus."

"You think?!?" Erik sassed then grabbed my hand as we ran out the pub.

"He's going to come after us," I warned, looking back at the door. The door swung open, revealing a rather angry bartender. "Too late, run!"

We broke into a full on sprint, trying to get to a populated place so we could lose him. If he was anything like us other mutants, he would know not to show his powers in public.