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In 1986, the Landers family of three was returning from a church service. Claudette tromped up the stairs to her room and rummaged through her underwear drawer for the zip-lock bag of pre-rolled joints. Church (something she'd later appreciate) always took all the energy out of her.
Lighting the joint, the dark skinned girl undid the top buttons of her floral dress and reached for a Tina Turner cassette. She slid it into the player, dancing slowly around her room listening to "One Of The Living".
Outside the Landers' townhouse, Zacharias Kruspe had some pebbles in his hand, readying his throwing arm. His only goal? To make sure Noah couldn't get to Claudette.
Throwing a small grey rock at the girl's window, however, was proving to be quite a challenge for Zacharias.
"God damn it." He muttered after missing the fogging-up window with the small rock
Inside, Claudette was noticing that the smoke from the weed was congregating in her room. A scent her parents would definitely pick up on.
Leaning over to open the window, Zacharias finally had a stroke of luck with his throwing arm.
Unfortunately, Claudette opened the window at the same exact moment that he threw it.
"You dipshit!" Claudette shouted as the rock pelted her in the chest "What are you doing out there, Zacharias?"
Sheepishly, the Kruspe boy shrugged his shoulders "Trying to get your attention.
"Well it worked. Talk."
I'm trying to save you from a crazy murderous time travel cult. "Do you want to come down here? Walk with me? I wanted to apologize for the other day."
Claudette sighed "You get an hour. Let me change out of my church clothes."
Claudette whisked her window closed, pulling the curtains tight to prevent Zacharias from seeing her undress. Usually she wouldn't have cared, but she happened to be particularly upset with the boy today.
Fully dressed in long denim overalls and her signature Rasta cap, the girl jaunted outside, ready to face her somewhat ex-boyfriend.
"Talk."
"Let's walk." Zacharias suggested, eager to keep the girl safe and in his sight. In a totally not creepy way
"Fine. But stay clear of the caves. I never want to go back there. I want out of this town." Claudete huffed, leading the way
Baffled, Zacharias tried to keep up with his former (were they broken up?) girlfriend, head swimming with thoughts.
"So uh, you just got back from church, huh?"
"Yeah. so what?"
Zacharias fell in step with the slightly taller girl. "Has that priest been acting, I don't know, kind of suspicious?"
"Pastor Noah? No. He seems like a bit of a quack, but not a pervert."
"But has he been suspicious?"
Claudette stopped, the wind blowing stray strands from her ponytail "What are you playing at?"
"I just think it's very suspicious that he shows up a few months after Ulrich's brother disappears and a few days before we find a body with a striking resemblance to me, with my ID in his pocket."
"You're overreacting." Claudette shook her head and continued, walking quicker this time.
Zacharias sped up to try and match the Landers girl's pace, desperately clawing away at the confines of his mind for something that would make Claudette stay and listen, finally settling on the elephant in the room. The one line of conversation he was hoping to avoid.
"What about us, Claudette? Are we a thing anymore or is this it?"
Claudette Landers stopped in her tracks. "I don't know anymore, Zacharias."
"Is it because Beck and Ulrich dragged me back into that cave?" Z pleaded
She shook her head. "No, Zacharias Kruspe. I think we were over before that."
______
Back in 2019, all us 2019 kids were standing around what we were now calling the 'time travel cave'. We were waiting on the Ulrich's, and doubt was starting to set in.
"He's not gonna show. He's probably gotten younger him thrown in a psych ward or something." Franziska sighed
We were on edge, knowing that if we messed up that Claudette was going to die and Bartosz was going to a super max prison. I stood nervously next to Magnus, our fingers intertwined. He gently kissed my knuckles, running his hand up and down my back.
"Hey, it's going to work itself out." Magnus said quietly
I sighed, burying my face deeper into his hoodie. "What if they don't pull through? We're going to lose Bartosz, and Heidi'll never get justice."
Magnus put his hands on either side of my face. "Stop worrying. Claudette Gabor isn't dead in this timeline, so we nee to have faith that Noah doesn't get to her in 1986. I do have some faith in your uncle."
"I don't !" Jonas shouted
"Can it, Kahnwald!" Beck shouted back "That's my brother you're talking about."
I tried to tune the arguing out, burying myself in Magnus' chest and pulling my green leather jacket tighter across my body. Today was basically endgame. It needed to work out for us. My head was spinning with thoughts and none of them foretold a positive outcome. Noah was dangerous, and we didn't know exactly how dangerous yet.
"Guys, I think they're here!" Martha shouted, kicking Beck in the shin to get him to stop chucking a filthy tennis ball at the cave wall.
Sure enough, cresting the hill was the Ulrich's, the younger one leading the charge in his leather army jacket.
"Come on, slow pokes!" I called "We've gotta go save my Uncle's ex- girlfriend form sudden inescapable death!"
"Well when you put it like that." Older Ulrich chuckled, making his was down the small hill.
"Ulrich, is that you?" Beck laughed "Man, you got old!"
"Wait until you see yourself in thirty three years, Beck." The older man snapped back
"Alrighty." Jonas said "Who wants to brief Detective Nielsen on the plan?"
"I think Bartosz should do it." Martha suggested with a smile
