Rewriting Time

Chapter 10

After two right turns and three left turns (Sebastian had been paying close attention), the tunnel's end still yet in sight, Alfred stopped at a set of metal stairs. He seemed quite familiar with it, trudging up its steps with ease and confidence. At the top landing was an aged wooden door, its red paint peeling and revealing the dark wood underneath. Sebastian stood a few steps down, wondering if this was another trap. He ran several possible scenarios in his brain, none of them comforting. He could run back the way he came, but that was like putting a gun to his own head. Nacht did say, without even batting an eye, that he could have him executed. He'd probably be better off staying away from that man. Alfred was already standing in front of the door when he glanced down at Sebastian and smiled.

"Come on up. You have nothing to worry about," Alfred said, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. He chose a silver one and inserted it into the keyhole.

Sebastian braced himself for whatever evil might greet them once the door was opened. Nothing happened except for the clicking of a light when Alfred walked inside. After a few beats, Alfred came back, motioning at Sebastian to follow him. Sebastian hesitated, but being a curious cat by nature, he trudged up the remaining steps without a word. Alfred was nowhere in sight by the time he walked inside a brightly lit cellar. It was filled up to its low ceiling with brown boxes of different shapes and sizes, leaving only a narrow pathway that led to an open door.

"Alfred?" he called out as he slowly made his way through the wall of boxes.

"In here," was Alfred's reply.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sebastian hastened towards the door only to be stopped short when he saw the woman standing beside Alfred.

"Lizzie?" he breathed.

"Hello, Sebastian," Lizzie replied, smiling shyly at him.

Sebastian crossed the space between them in two strides and pulled the woman who had been haunting his dreams these past couple of months into his arms. All the pain, all the sorrow he had been tamping down when she disappeared from his life came back with a vengeance, tearing up his heart and soul. "They said you were dead. The police said that your car went over the cliff and was swallowed up by the ocean current."

"That's what I wanted them to think," Lizzie said, her voice breaking.

Seeing Lizzie alive would've been enough for Sebastian, if not for his analytical mind. All at once, the happiness that had started to bubble inside him faded away. Pushing Lizzie gently away from him, he asked the one question that he should've asked moments ago.

"What are you doing here, Lizzie?"

Before Lizzie could reply, Solomon ran into the room and headed straight for Sebastian, hugging him the way he did before - like a long-lost son.

"Thank heavens you're here. I was afraid you wouldn't make it. Come, come. We don't have much time to waste," Solomon said, grabbing Sebastian's arm.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on here. Why is Lizzie here and why aren't you surprised by her presence?" Sebastian said, shrugging off Solomon's hand.

"Maybe Lizzie should do the explaining," a voice drawled from the doorway. It was Tobias, looking exceptionally pissed at Lizzie. 

Lizzie took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, Tobias. I should do the explaining. After all, I'm the one who created all this mess."

"Do we really have time for this?" Alfred said, shaking his head. "We might lose the wormhole."

Solomon looked at his watch and grimaced. "Just make it quick, please."