The Long Run (Prequel to Time Loop)

Chapter Fourteen

~(Bold is in English)~
January 1961
"Приходите сюда!" yelled a police man in Russian. It had been a almost a year since I'd left Charles and gone into hiding. Somehow, in the train on my way to Moscow, I had been caught by police after sneaking into the train.(Come back here, you!)

As I ran through the hallway, I turned back to see if the officer was gaining up on me. Suddenly, I was hit by a hard surface, and fell into warm arms.

"I'm so sorry," I realized I bumped into a person and looked up at the tall guy to apologize. He had blue eyes and a kind smile.

"Well hello," the man spoke in English. I was surprised to finally meet someone who spoke my language there. My face turned a bright red.

"I uh...gotta go," I quickly responded, rushing past him.

"Huh?" The guy seemed confused and turned around, trying to understand why I was running. I quickly found a nearby bathroom on my left and ran inside, keeping quiet.

Footsteps approached the room and I inhaled nervously. "Вы видели эту женщину?" asked what sounded like the policeman chasing me. (Have you seen this woman?)

"Да, я думаю, что она пошла последний вагон," someone responded. It sounded like the guy I bumped into. Why was he helping me? (Yes I think she went over to the last train car.)

Suddenly, the door knob twisted open. I curled my hands into fists, ready to fight whoever was about to come in. My hands dropped slowly as the door opened.

"How'd you do that? You didn't even touch the door," I arched my brow, staring down at the same man if bumped into earlier.

"It's hard to explain. So apparently you snuck on here?" He asked.

"Look I've got to go before they find me," I looked out to the window, ready to jump out.

"Wait, let me come with," he flicked his hand, causing the entire wall of the bathroom to rip apart.

"Woah," I gasped. So he had powers too.

He smiled and grabbed my hand. "So we're really doing this?"

"Don't worry. I've got us covered," I grinned and we both took a leap. At that moment, I focused my energy on slowing down time. Milliseconds turn to seconds, seconds turn to minutes. Each time our fall slows down, slower and slower until...Time flowed back to normal as we hit the ground lightly with a thud.

We quickly both stood up, wiping off the dust from our clothes. "How'd you do that?" The guy asked, breathing heavily.

"It's complicated," I smiled, "The name's Isabelle by the way. Isabelle Sandreas."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Erik. Erik Lehnsherr," he responded, returning a smile.

~Hours Later~

The wonderful(not so wonderful) thing about being chased off a train is that once you find a way out and run as far away as you can from the authorities, you start to realize you have no clue where you are.

Erik and I walked aimlessly for hours until we found an abandoned, rustic cabin. Wooden planks on the roof were chipped off and the windows were practically shattered but it was better than nothing.

Erik managed to gather some firewood and built up a small fire for us while we tried to gain warmth during this life-threatening blizzard we were caught in the middle of. I sat in front of the kindling fire, buried under my hefty coat.

"I found a few extra blankets in the back. They're tattered but it's better than nothing," Erik walked in holding a pile of knitted blankets and wrapped them over me.

"You're not taking any?" I asked, looking at him shiver in just his coat.

"I will be alright," he waved off and sat beside me.

"Come on, you're not fooling anyone," I opened up the blanket for him, "I don't bite."

He chuckled in response and complied, slipping into the cave of blankets I created. I didn't remember the last time I had been that close to anyone other than Charles. Although it had already been a year, the thought of him still roamed my mind. And apparently I still roamed his mind, since he was still looking for me.

"That thing you did on the train earlier- what was that?" I asked.

"I can control metal. Ever since I was a child," he explained, his eyes never leaving the fire, "And you?"

"Time manipulation. I can slow it down, speed it up, etc. Still working on it though," I chuckled slightly, "Why'd you help me by the way? You could've just looked the other way and went on with your day."

"I could tell you were in need of aid. When I first laid eyes on you in the train, I knew you were no different than myself," Erik turned to face me. His features were practically altered beside the light gleaming from the small flame. "You see, I've been running my entire life, same as you, from what I can tell. I run away from my past in hopes to mold myself a better future. Though I'm still unsure what that better future is. So when I saw you running away from those officers, my first thought was that maybe we can figure that out together."

"You know, I've been running this marathon my whole life. And I've ran so much, it's like I've forgotten how to stop. Sometimes I wish I could just take a break and breathe for once." I turned back to face the fire, avoiding his gaze. Maybe here and now was where I was meant to be. Maybe it was time to stop running off alone with nothing to hold on to and see where the future takes me. And that was the beginning of a whole new world for me.