Sunday, April 16th, Afternoon

I hung up.

“What happened?”

“Velora got away,” I said. “She noticed Rigel and Antares tailing her and disappeared into the crowd.”

Mintaka bit her lip. “She definitely knows she’s being followed, then. Lyra, last time, did she think she was being followed?”

I shook my head.

“That means… She might change her behavior. It might only be 3PM… but Sirius and Anna are in danger, now. “ Her eyes locked onto mine. “Lyra—”

“I know!”

I ran my fingers through my hair. Sweat building on my brow, I was pacing. My balance, unsteady. Slow your breathing, Lyra.

Calm down. You’re making a scene. “S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to shout,” I whispered.

I need a plan.

“Lyra… what are we gonna do?”

My chest was still heaving as I stared at Mintaka. Furrowed brow. The corner of her eye twitched. She looked like she was about to start biting her lip.

I nodded. She relaxed, a little, as I dialed.

“Sirius,” I said. “Go to the clubroom. Right now.”

“Huh? But I thought—”

“Change of plans. Go to the clubroom, do not stop for anyone,” I said. My whole body was shaking.

Sirius said, “Just tell me—”

“I would if we had the time. Go to the clubroom, lock the door, close the blinds. Do you understand?”

I could hear him breathing. The pause couldn’t have been longer than a split-second, but I needed his response, now.

“Do you understand? Yes, or no?”

“Yes.”

“Go.” I threw my phone into my bag and turned to Mint. “We’re going shopping for clothes.”

“Now? Are you crazy?”

“Let’s move, Mint.”

Sunday, April 16th, Late Afternoon

I stationed Mintaka directly outside the clubroom door, had Antares patrol the main hallways, and set Rigel to watch over the main entrance of the Physics building.

Sirius and Anna stood before me.

“We’re going to swap outfits,” I said. “Anna, you stick with Mint and Rigel and stay here. I’ll go with Sirius. Antares will bodyguard us in the background.” Mint and Rigel didn’t get along, but it couldn’t be helped right now. Both teams needed at least one person who could fight Velora off.

I handed Anna a shopping bag and took out one of the scarves. Pointing to the mole on my chin, I said, “In the last loop, Velora said something about this. She can tell us apart.”

Anna jumped.

“Use one of these scarves to cover your chin, and I’ll do the same.” I slipped off my blazer. “I’ll leave the building first to draw her attention away. Then, you, Mint, and Rigel will head to Astronomy Building. By the way. I need you to carry a monitor for me.” I pointed to the one that Antares had lugged back here after the performance. “And an aux cord, if you don’t mind.”

“You’re gonna blast music?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “Set it up on the corridor to the roof. You’ll stay there after that.”

“T-The roof?”

I nodded. “You can stay in the top floor until 7PM. If you need anything, have Rigel get it for you. Keep Mint on you at all times.” I turned to the door. “You heard that, right, Mint?”

“You’ll have to tell that blockhead in person, though,” Mintaka called. “He definitely can’t hear you, and he won’t believe me if I tell him.”

Right. I’ll have to take care of that. “You’ll be safe there,” I said. “Okay?”

Anna nodded, then, pulled off her sweater and handed it over. When I could see her face again, her eyes wouldn’t reach mine. This wouldn’t normally mean much, but something struck me as different about her.

“Sirius, you and I will lead Velora around campus. We need to stick to where there’s people. The only opportunity we’ll give her is at the Astronomy Building. That’ll be our trap.”

Both of them looked very uneasy.

“I’ll station Antares on the ground floor, in case she tries to run. I’ll have him call the police. Everyone else will be up on the roof with you guys, in case anything happens.”

“What about you?”

I gritted my teeth. “I’ll be in the stairwell.”

“Lyra—”

“I’m going to talk down Velora.”

Sirius and Anna were quiet.

“I know that sounds crazy, but… I’ve noticed more than a few things in common between the two of us since I started looping,” I said. For starters… ‘Never doubt I love.’ And, you know, the fact that I too, had almost been driven to murder in the last loop.

But I was talked out of it. And… just maybe, I would be able to talk her out of it, too.

Maybe.

“If anything goes wrong, I have this, too.” I set my bag down on the table and pulled out the—

“Is that a gun?”

“It’s not real,” I said. “Mint and I borrowed it from the Field Sports Club. But if anything goes wrong, I’ll at least be able to hold her off.” And… I’ll have the high ground, Anakin.

They exchanged a glance. I thought I could hear Mintaka, on the other side of the door, shift uncomfortably.

“We hold her off long enough, and whatever happens, the police come after her for attempted murder. And you’re all my witnesses. Sound like a plan?”

Sirius said, “Did you try calling the police in a past loop?”

I shook my head no.

“Why not?”

“I call in and tell them that I know someone’s going to be murdered because I’m a time traveler. I have no witnesses, don’t know where she is, and know almost nothing about her,” I said. “I didn’t think I’d be believed. But now… if I catch her doing something, and you’re all my witnesses, that changes things substantially.”

“True… but I don’t like it. It’s dangerous.”

“I’m a time traveler. I can handle a little danger.”

“Can you reset time if you get hurt? Or you…” his voice trailed off. “If something really bad happens?”

I set the blazer on the folding chair next to Anna’s sweater. “You don’t need to dance around the term. The Redshift sends me back in time, even if I die. I’d rather not resort to that, since it burns up two of my uses instead of one, and it kinda sorta hurts, but… it’s an acceptable risk.”

“How do you know?” Sirius asked. He stared. His eyes widened. “Oh my god. Lyra, you can’t just—”

“She killed you both before she killed me. So I’m not gonna let you tell me what I can’t do, okay?”

Anna bit her lip. Though the blinds were closed, one of the windows had been opened. The blinds rattled; it felt drafty all at once.

“If we’re done here,” I said, “Can you go wait outside with Mint? Anna and I are going to change.”

Sirius nodded, and backed up to the door. “Don’t change, Lyra. Stay the way you are.” A sheepish grin.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Not because the joke was funny, but because the timing was so comically poor.

I can’t say I don’t like that about him. I waved him away. “Shoo. Get outta here. Let us change.”

The door shut behind him. I waited a minute, half expecting Velora Navis to show up now, and kill everyone. But it didn’t happen. So I unbuttoned my shirt and handed it to Anna.

“Unni…”

“Yes, Anna?”

“You... You’re always protecting me…” Her voice was a loud whisper. I slipped into her shirt as she buttoned on mine. “Always, always, a-always…”

I handed over my hair tie. She pulled back her hair into a ponytail with surprising ease. That struck me as odd. I’d never seen her do anything with her hair before.

“I… I don’t want…”

Her voice trailed off. Anna slipped on my blazer, and clasped my choker, and adjusted my wristbands. Her hand reached for her phone, and drew it from her bag. But before she could get past the home screen, she placed it on the coffee table, with an audible clack.

Anna stood. Her lip quivering, her fingertips twitching, her legs shaking. “You… I want…”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes,” she whispered, “I-I… want to…” Anna said something else, but I couldn’t hear her.

“Anna?” I pulled her sweater over my face. My phone buzzed.

[Anna] neverind!!!!