[color=bc8dbf]“Pumpkin,”[/color] the woman answered Anni with a sleepy smile, [color=bc8dbf]“I’m Stormy Jeans. In the flesh.  If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit a little longer,”[/color] she finished, nearly asleep in her seat.

Anni may have mentioned that she did mind, just a little, because of a rapidly approaching deadline.  But the chance to say it departed before she could choose.  A police officer, Officer Keahi he said, stepped forward to put a stop to the, well, the dying.  Anni would think that to be all well and good--officers were supposed to save people!--but a small voice at the back of her mind was... resenting? Yes--resenting the man's attempt to prevent her--them, all of them--from taking part in this.

That stream of thought dried up when he spoke several choice words directly at Anni, accompanied by the flash of a handgun.  Her mind fumbled and dropped the words as soon as the pistol caught her eye, but whatever he had said she knew he wasn't happy.  Time slowed as her eyes remained fixed on that small piece of metal.  It wasn't aimed right at her, but she certainly felt it projecting her way.

Then someone--Kate?--ran in front of her, breaking her line of sight and the enchantment the appearance of a weapon had had.

[center][color=bc8dbf][i]“‘Bullseyes and Targets,’ say the Bells of St. Margaret's”[/i][/color][/center]

Stormy's words floated into Anni's thoughts like a dream.  Everything about the moment was surreal.

The crack of gunfire cut through her thoughts like a blade.  Reality--or what was left of it--turned to a nightmare.

Anni jumped out of her seat and watched, wide-eyed, as the officer tumbled off the platform and onto the tracks.  She took two steps before whirling around to face Stormy.  [color=ff4500]"There's no time!  If you're going to come, it has to be now!"[/color] Anni cried.  She reached for the woman's hand to tug her to her feet, but she couldn't stop and wait for her.  Sitting or standing, Anni left Stormy and sprinted to the platform's edge.  She didn't even notice the other body, the person who had attacked the officer.  She didn't notice any of the other people anymore.  Her gaze was fixed on the place she had seen Officer Keahi fall from.

In a moment she was at the edge; there she only slowed enough to plant one hand on the ledge and push off from the wall.  Landing with a soft thud nearby the officer, Anni dropped to her knees and stared at the blood on the man's chest.  Her hands began searching her person for anything she could use to stop the bleeding:  a bandage, a jacket, even a handkerchief.  All they could find were the loose folds of her skirt.  Without even waiting to think on it, Anni pulled herself right up against the officer's side and draped as much of her red skirt over his torso as she could, then pressed it down over the gash.

As crimson blood soaked into the fabric, Anni felt small vibrations through her knees.  She looked at the officer, panic evident on her face.  [color=ff4500]"You have to get up!"[/color] Anni told him.  [color=ff4500]"The train is almost here!"[/color]