Eternal Malediction (RE)

Kaelen broke the silence and fully initiated the meeting. "We need direction. We’ve spent almost a whole day reacting to circumstances instead of controlling them."

Straight to the point, as expected as a member of the Celestial Watch.

Nobody interrupted her.

Her voice remained calm but firm enough that everyone in the cabin, even including the children, naturally listened. "We still don’t know why we were brought here."

She continued. "We don’t know if returning is possible."

Several expressions darkened slightly.

"And we don’t know if this is truly the past or simply something resembling it."

Roy leaned lightly against the wall while listening carefully with Rin’s arm curling around his leg.

That part mattered, because if this really was the genuine past... then their existence here alone could become dangerous.

"So, for now, our priority is information."

Orion folded his arms. "We split into groups."

Victor frowned slightly. "To do what exactly?"

"Investigate."

Kaelen pointed toward the rough map laid across the table. "We search libraries, archives, public records, local rumours, anything involving unusual events."

Sophia sighed quietly. "You think there’ll just conveniently be information about time travel lying around?"

"No."

Kaelen’s expression didn’t change. "But unusual events leave traces."

Reasonable.

Daniel rubbed his eyes tiredly. "...And if we find nothing?"

"Then we keep looking."

Unfortunately, probably the only correct one.

Eventually Ethan spoke up from near Lily. "What about asking for help?"

The room quieted slightly again.

Orion immediately shook his head. "No."

"We don’t know who we can trust," Kaelen added.

Roy noticed Graham’s facial expression, his face dark, as if he had done something wrong already.

Bro, it has been a single day, what has this guy done?

"We don’t know who we can trust," Kaelen added.

"And before anyone says anything stupid..." Orion glanced around the room flatly. "...stop thinking of telling people we’re from the future."

Several people awkwardly avoided eye contact.

Apparently, somebody already considered it.

Graham coughs, and that gets everyone’s attention, then he cuts in and starts talking. "We asked the woman from yesterday for help; her name was Maddy Valentine." Graham continued calmly, "because she already knows something is wrong."

Kaelen and Orion, now surprised, very confused and slightly angry that they were not informed of this information, now stared at Graham as he said, "We." Now Graham was trying very hard not to look at their faces, as he didn’t want to admit that he asked for help without their acknowledgement.

Everyone else just looked at each other but didn’t say anything. Roy’s eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of her.

It seems that Graham asked for her name, as she was the first person outside of the group to be seen.

Graham continues. "But even she, of course, doesn’t know our actual circumstances."

Kaelen still confused and angry tries to make best of the moment and she says, "And unless absolutely necessary, it stays that way."

That settled the room quickly.

Kaelen reached into a small cloth bag before placing stacks of money onto the table; it had old pound notes, 1985 currency.

She then mentions, "We will be giving you pocket money as we don’t really have anything else for the rest of you to do, as of right now atleast."

Several people immediately looked relieved.

It wasn’t much, but because of inflation differences between their time and this one, the valuables they sold yesterday had earned them far more than expected.

Not rich but survivable. For now, at least.

One by one, people stepped forward to collect their share. Roy eventually approached the table too.

Kaelen handed him several folded notes calmly. "Spend carefully."

Roy stared briefly at the money as he stood back at his spot that he was standing initially in.

Then suddenly, the cabin door opened.

Cold air drifted inside immediately alongside the sharp smell of cigarette smoke.

The woman from yesterday, Maddy, stepped into the room. The atmosphere subtly shifted. Not out of fear exactly but awareness of an outsider.

She wore the same long dark coat from yesterday while casually lighting another cigarette with one hand, the only difference was she was wearing a bright pink shirt with blackish grey jeans as if she was just going out. Her expression remained unreadable as smoke curled softly around her face.

Roy happened to be standing closest to the doorway, and the moment she entered... her eyes landed directly on him.

Not casually either. She studied him. Quietly and carefully.

Roy stared back without reacting. He notices that she had a beauty spot under her eye with a faint scar running from her eye to her cheek.

Then Maddy walked past him toward the centre of the room. Her shoulder brushed lightly against his on the way by.

Deliberate.

Does this mean she is interested in me? Does this mean I have game? Roy thought for a second, then brushed it off.

He still doesn’t like her, though.

Graham stood up smoothly from his seat. "For the time being," he said politely, "Miss Maddy Valentine has agreed to assist us."

Maddy inhaled from her cigarette before speaking. "For money."

Straightforward. "You people decided you’d pay me and I wouldn’t ask questions."

Smoke drifted upward slowly as she glanced around the room. "And I agreed."

Orion looked mildly annoyed already.

"But here’s the problem." Maddy leaned lightly against the table. "I don’t know how to help you if I don’t know your circumstances."

Silence.

Her eyes slowly moved across the room. "You all act strange."

Nobody responded.

"You speak strangely."

Still silence. "You look at ordinary things like tourists seeing civilisation for the first time."

"And half of you flinch whenever someone mentions the year."

Roy watched her carefully from near the doorway.

Sharp. Far sharper than most people gave her credit for yesterday. Maddy tapped ash from her cigarette onto the floor. "So, tell me something."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "How exactly do you want me to help?"

The room became tense immediately.

Then Roy stepped forward calmly, he had to repeat what he said back on the mountain again so that everyone in the cabin knows what she was told there. "As I said before on the mountain, we’re from the north of here."

Maddy stared at him. "North?"

He continued smoothly. "We were watching a fight in a stadium when everything happened."

"And then we got teleported here and now our places is nowhere on the map anymore," As Roy pointed to a place between two cities that was unnamed.

Maddy’s expression didn’t change at all. She simply stared at him silently for several seconds. Then her eyes shifted briefly on the other people within the cabin.

And again, she landed on Roy again.

Roy noticed it immediately. She knows not everything but enough to discern that it was partially a lie.

Maddy exhaled smoke slowly before speaking again. "...That’s a terrible lie."

Several people visibly tensed. But surprisingly... she didn’t push further. Instead, she shrugged lightly. "Fortunately for you, I don’t care enough to interrogate it."

Relief quietly spread through the room. Mostly.

Roy still watched her carefully because her reaction wasn’t normal.

Most people either fully believed lies or immediately challenged them. Maddy did neither. She simply acknowledged the deception and allowed it to exist.

Dangerous type of person.

Then she pointed toward the table map. "If you want information, London’s your best option."

Kaelen nodded once. "That was already our assumption."

Before anyone could respond, Maddy suddenly changed the subject entirely. "You should also learn how to blend in better."

She gestured vaguely toward the group. "You dress strangely."

Maddy continued calmly. "You talk too weirdly."

Sophia frowned. "...Too weirdly?"

"Your accents are inconsistent."

That immediately caught everyone’s attention.

"If you keep attracting attention, eventually someone will start asking questions you can’t answer."

The room grew quieter after that because they knew she was right.

They’d been so focused on surviving that nobody truly considered how unnatural they might appear to people from this era.

Modern speech. Modern habits. Modern behaviour.

Even body language changed across generations.

Kaelen folded his arms thoughtfully. "So, your advice?"

Maddy shrugged lightly. "Adapt."

Then Maddy suddenly pushed herself away from the table. "Well."

She glanced toward the door. "If that’s everything, I’ll start asking around."

Orion frowned slightly. "You’re helping us that easily?"

Maddy smirked faintly. "You’re paying me."

Then her eyes briefly settled on Roy one last time. "And frankly..."

A pause. "...you people are interesting."

Roy immediately disliked hearing that word again, coming from her. Without another explanation, Maddy turned and walked back toward the door casually while smoke trailed behind her.

The room remained silent until the cabin door closed behind her completely.

Then Daniel finally spoke. "...She definitely knows we’re hiding something."

"Yeah," Kaelen answered sighingly.

Victor frowned. "Then why didn’t she push?"

Roy spoke before anyone else could. "Because she benefits more from watching."

Several people looked toward him. Roy remained leaning against the wall facing the people. "She’s probably the type of person who waits for information to reveal itself naturally."

Graham smiled faintly nearby, and Roy pretended not to notice.

Kaelen eventually straightened slightly before addressing everyone once more. "Regardless."

Her voice regained focus. "We move forward."

People slowly nodded.

Groups began organising. Plans formed and responsibilities divided.

And while the room filled with movement and discussion once again... Roy’s thoughts lingered elsewhere.

On Maddy’s expression. On Graham’s words this morning. On the strange feeling growing heavier inside his chest lately.

Because despite everything...

For the first time in a very long while... Life actually felt like it was moving somewhere.

It just feels like something might happen, and this kind of excites him even though he has no clue what the future holds for him.