Play@YSDC

The two make their way to the library through the war-torn streets of London, asking directions from the locals as they go in order to bring themselves back onto the right track. The morning air is warm and smells of ash, charred concrete and smoking houses. There is also a vague chemical stink to the air.
The library hulks midway down one road, encompassing much of the street, its entrance shrouded in deep shadow. Birds flutter about the nearby trees, singing prettily despite the local devastation. The library itself appears to be so far untouched by the war, the only signs that war was occurring, being the white masking table criss crossing the glass windows and the sand bags flanking the doors.

"Well, here we are," says Lionel. He looks around. "It's possible that our friends are already inside waiting for us. I don't see them out here. Shall we go in and see if they've arrived, or left a message for us?"

-I don't know if they are already here, but let's enter. By the way, what justification, we will give about Ronald and Brianna? We simply cannot tell that they transform themselves in bubbles...

"We could tell Daniel and Annie precisely that," says Lionel. "They witnessed the same things we did at the hospital, and they already know how we got here. I wouldn't repeat it to anyone but the two of them, however, so we'll only tell them this in private. If there's anyone else around, we can just explain that we believe Ronald and Brianna have returned home." He sighs. "I miss them already. It's like losing my daughter all over again. Still, I have confidence that I'll see all of them again, but before I can we have much work to do." He opens the library door and holds it for Agnes.

The library door is unlocked. Unfamiliar voices can be heard speaking in hushed tones in one of the alcoves further within the library.

Lionel waits for Agnes to enter before following her inside. He knows it's not unusual for people to be whispering in a library, but out of curiosity he tries to hear what the voices are saying - without success. "If we don't see our friends over there, we should find and ask the librarian," whispers Lionel.

Agnes entered the opened door, thanked Lionel and then tried to see if she could heard the voices of Daniel and Anna, with no sucess.
-It is indeed better that we asks if they have already arrived.

The two individuals, huddled deep in conversation, are not familiar to either of them. They stand in an alcove, lowering their voice to a bare whisper as they notice there are now others within the library.

Lionel takes a good look at the two people and remembers what they look like. He can't hear a word they're saying, but their behavior strikes him as a bit odd. Then he walks with Agnes to the front desk to seek the librarian.

The front desk is empty. It doesn't appear that there is anyone here to serve them. In fact, the front desk is pushed off to one side, almost as though it were not regularly staffed. This whole private library strikes him as a bit odd.

"How very odd," says Lionel quietly to Agnes. "There really ought to be someone here, but the only people we've seen are those two in the alcove. Shall we go ask them if they've seen our friends, or would you rather walk through the library first and see who else is here?"

-Hum, I will try to ask first. If there were here, those two should have seen them.
Agnes goes in the direction of the 2 persons, and ask:
-I'm very sorry to interrupt you, but have you seen by chance a young couple here? He is about 18 years old, she is a bit older.

"The young fellow is an A.R.P. warden," adds Lionel.

"No, I'm sorry," says one of the two men. "We haven't seen anyone recently matching this discussion. Do tell me? Are you a member?"

"No, this is my first time here," says Lionel.

"I see," says one of the men.

They stand there silently, looking at Agnes and Lionel.

"Shall we have a look round, then?" says Lionel to Agnes. "Perhaps our friends are here elsewhere, or they simply haven't arrived yet."

-Right, let's look what kind of books they have here.

"And we can see who else is here," says Lionel. He walks with Agnes through the library.

Agnes starts to search for any occult books, but she doesn't find anything.
-Well, it seems an ordinary library, nothing of special.

"We've hardly seen any of it yet," says Lionel as he walks along with her. "I'm sure there are some interesting books here." He scans the shelves, getting a good feel for how the library is organized as he looks around for other people. He searches for books that have anything to do with time travel and the phenomena they witnessed when Ronald and Brianna disappeared.

"It is... And it is you who are out of place," says a loud male voice a row of shelves behind them.

Agnes look to the voice and says:
-I beg your pardon?

Out of place? thinks Lionel. More like out of time. Perhaps this man is from my time as well if he reacts that way to Agnes's dress. Surely Ronald, Brianna, and I weren't the only ones who were sent back. "Please lower your voice, young man," says Lionel softly, walking around the row of shelves to get a look at him. "This is a library, you know. I'm Dr. Lionel Carpenter. Who might you be, sir?"

There is no one behind the row of shelves.

-Where did they go?

"Dr. Carpenter? It's me Louie....the janitor. Is Sara here? Is she ok? What's going on? What are you doing here."

-You know him? Your from the future too? Where are you?

"So the past..." says another man's voice. A man who is not Louie. "All we needed. "And I'm really past caring this being a library. I'll make whatever goddamn noise I want to." he says loudly, but then trails off mumbling "This madness has to end."

"Louie works at Mercy Cross," Lionel explains to Agnes, looking around for the source of the voices. "Louie." His voice is a mix of conflicting emotions. "We're here to meet a couple of friends of ours. Sarah isn't here, though I wish she were. She is okay, as much as anyone can be okay considering the state of the world. She was evacuated from the hospital along with a child named Dahlia and a child welfare worker named Aidan and taken to a military base of some sort. I only hope the soldiers can keep her safe while she keeps them healthy. I understand that I have you to thank for saving her life, but Brianna and Ronald also told me what you did to them. It's hard to believe that the same person could have been responsible for both. And there is a need for silence beyond this being a library. There's a war on right now, and the classified matters we need to discuss must not be overheard by those without the clearance to know about them. Best not to call attention to oneself, and to choose one's words carefully in case they are heard. I can hear your voices, but I don't see you. Where are you?"

Agnes describes the shelf where they are.
-Please speak in a low tone to avoid any attention. If anyone hear 3 male voices and only see one man, he may suspect of something...

Ronald and Brianna they are ok? Oh heavens say it is so. Louie pauses choosing his words wisely. It is a long story Lionel...one that I will gladly tell, but now is not the time. Let me tell you this though. If I hadn't done what I did, they would have both been killed. The people that I turned on were not a forgiving type, and Brianna killed one of them. I don't expect them to understand, but I love them both, and I did what I had to do. The important thing is we are both on the same side, and I think we are both here for the same book. The people I used to associate with knew about this book and I've come for answers.

"There hasn't been a war 'outside' for over half a century. Not a real one anyway." the other man sighs "In normal circumstances, I'd tell you that you're a raving lunatic, but given what's happened... My best guess is that you're in another time, space, universe, dimension, brainfart, whatever."

"I have a feeling we all are," says Lionel, moving toward the sound of the voices in the hopes of finding Louie and the other man. "Ronald and Brianna were okay the last time I saw them, Louie, but they almost weren't. If it hadn't been for some quick thinking and action on my part, and a healthy dose of luck, it might have turned out differently. They've left recently, and I'm not sure where they went, but I believe they've gone back to where we came from. I don't yet understand why you've done what you have, but you did rescue Sarah. I know there's good within you, and I owe you a debt I can never repay. I haven't come here looking for any particular book, but to look for two new friends who told us to meet them at the library. I presume they meant this one. We have a golden opportunity now to stop this group you used to belong to once and for all, before it can cause many deaths it otherwise would. We've been fumbling about in the dark, but you have knowledge about its inner workings and base of operations that we couldn't get anywhere else. This book sounds like it's important too. I've never been to this library before, but I do know my way around a set of stacks. Perhaps I can help locate it."

-If you are talking of the war against the germans, you are correct, we are in war against them- says Agnes to the other voice.
-This is 1941. What's the name of the book? The book may have be stolen in your time, but in mine he should be probably be still here.

"I thought they must have come back too, like I did," says Lionel. "The transition was seamless. I was in the cinema lobby, and I heard the German bombers flying overhead. I told Jennifer, the young lady who worked there, to douse the lights, and the next second I was in the middle of an air raid. That's when I met Daniel Scott, a young A.R.P. warden, who dug me out from under the rubble where I was pinned. I also met his friend Annie, a volunteer who was helping him. It's the two of them that we are hoping to meet here."