Brighid had no real concept of time in the swirling mass of colors that became her reality as she leapt into the portal. The change happened so many times that she lost count of how many times it happened. She was tired and sore and to top it off confused. Catching snatches of the outside world didn't help. Finally the madness seemed to end. Or so she thought.
The colors seemed to tear apart and Brighid was thrown onto the ground as the spell collapsed. Lying on the ground in human form she groaned and weakly tried to push herself up. Her arms shook with the effort of doing anything but lying on the ground. Shaking she collapsed back on the ground.
Fine. I'll just lay here for a bit.Her eyes were still a bit blurry and laying on the cool grass seemed like heaven for now. The others could find her later. She'd been through Hell and didn't want to move till her healing kicked in.
As she lay there the sounds and scents of her surroundings came to her. They were unfamiliar to her. A deep seated panic started in the pit of her stomach. She turned her head slowly and opened her eyes.
She recognized nothing. Literally nothing.
There was a black still river that was a few meters away with stone lining it's banks and lanterns hung on a pole casting a strange yellow un-flickering light to the surface. Looking up nearly made her sick but she managed to choke it back down. Bright colors she'd never seen before flashed and pulsed. And that was just the sights.
The sounds. It never stopped. A veritable cacophony of noise. Totally unfamiliar and some frightening at best.
“Jennings, waits,” Kathryn stopped short, raised a palm in the universal ‘stop’ sign, and slowly surveyed the surroundings, seeming to search for something.
“There’s a commotion somewhere…there. Not too far from the river. Near the central park, maybe,” she murmured. Darrin’s previously puzzled expression smoothed into urgency, and they dashed, Kat keeping apace of her human co-worker. Within minutes, they were at one of the main paved paths leading into the park. As they ran further in, taking turns toward the path diverting closer to the river-side, it became apparent that a group of people were indeed gathering around something – or rather someone.
A redhead woman was lying on the ground – and she was naked. Also, she was injured, filthy, and covered in blood, though there were suspicious chunks of meat here and there – snagged into her hair, stuck beneath her fingernails, and trails of it around her mouth – but the weirdest thing about this all was the scent. The woman was permeated in a scent so rotten and dark – and utterly unappealing. Underneath all that grime, Kathryn could see that the woman was bruised all over, and especially her chest, sides, and head seemed to be afflicted.
That bump could mean a concussion, she thought. She wasn’t comfortable trying to move her, but at the very least she could cover her.
“Hey, has anyone called an ambulance yet?” she called out to the dozen or so others, who were currently being corralled – and questioned – by Jennings. The only answer was a few stunned shakes of heads in the negative, so with a muted sigh, Kathryn first stripped of her police vest, shirt and undershirt (removing any delicate items from it and stuffing them in her trouser pockets), and used the paltry clothing pieces to at least provide the female with some basic decency.
“Miss?” Kathryn questioned, crouching at the female’s side. Honestly, she thought it most likely that she was dealing with a werewolf gone loose – though if that were the case, there certainly would have been reports of victims already. On the other hand, if the woman was a victim herself, this was a strange case indeed. Some of Kat’s confusion was allayed when, after dispersing everyone but the key three witnesses, Jennings stepped to her side and informed her of the evidence gathered so far.
“What that trio over there seemed to agree on was that this female, whoever and whatever she is, seemed to appear out of thin air. Literally. Supposedly, space was ripped open in some sort of a portal or a wormhole or something, and she got thrown out. The rest of the crowd’s babbling was just wild speculation, as you can imagine,” Jennings grumbled.
Kathryn nodded with a frown, and with extreme care and gentleness lay a palm on the back of the woman’s hand, trying to get a feel for her head injury.
“If she doesn’t regain consciousness soon, we’re calling an ambulance. And even then, hospitalizing may be the best. We’ll definitely have to question her, though,” she said. Now, she was just waiting to see if the woman would respond or not.
Brighid wished that she wasn't a spectacle for these people. The all sounded odd and were split between being afraid of her and not. Mostly they were giving her a headache. She'd had to fight her healing and keep up appearances that she was still unconscious.
That only made Brighid more aware of the fact that she needed a bath and clothes. Someone came close enough to touch her. Laying something over her and speaking to her. She opened her eyes and turned her head toward the speaker. Her silver gray eyes filled with concern.
"Thank you. Where am I?"Her voice had a strange accent. Not quite British or Scottish or Irish but a combination of the three. It wasn't strange to her though. She'd always sounded that way but to someone hearing her voice that's the closest approximation of a description that one could make of her accent. The tone was soft and warm contralto.
Brighid looked around and slowly let her healing powers work on her body. She'd be better in an hour or so. The … person next to her was a vampire. The one who was hovering over her. She couldn't tell if they were male or female. Colin had long hair and Eliza had short hair at one point. But it was very hard not to notice that the person attempting to help her was a vampire.
Brighid saw nothing inherently wrong with that and thanked her lucky stars that Colin wasn't anywhere around. He'd have gone off the deep end.
"Excuse my state of undress and quite apparently the gore on my person. If you could point me to the nearest source of water I would be eternally grateful."“You are in Duncaster’s largest park,” Kathryn answered. The woman was obviously confused, and her accent was that of a foreigner’s, though from where, Kathryn wasn’t certain. It was similar to how some of the old vampire she’d met sounded, though not quite the same, and she was fairly certain this female was not a vampire. That she did not know where she was proved that she’d somehow been transported – or had transported herself – from elsewhere.
Was someone, presumably outside of Duncaster, casting some strange teleportation magic? Was it a statement? An attack on their city? A failed experiment? A pesky whim or wicked prank? Regardless of the case, they needed to ascertain what this woman knew of it. Her mind seemed to be sound, and it was actually strange that she did not act shocked or confused – apart from the fact that she did not recognize Duncaster, that was. If she had never been here before, however, that in and of itself was not so odd. Her suspicious appearance on the other hand…
“There should be a public bathroom close enough, we can escort you there. Then it would be best if you agreed to come with us to the station. You can have a proper warm shower there, and we’ll even find you a temporary change of clothing. I am afraid that we will have to ask how you came to be in the state that we found you in, and anything you know that caused you to…appear here. I do not believe you to be a criminal, but we have to be cautious nonetheless, you understand?” Kathryn explained politely.
Jennings, meanwhile, had written down all the information the three witnesses could provide as well as their names and contact information in case they would require future details from them, then dismissed them. So, the only ones left in the vicinity were the two police officers, one a female vampire and the other a male human, and the unknown woman. Kathryn blinked twice in quick succession as she considered the fact that, really, getting a name from her should have been the first priority. Perhaps not unexpectedly, she had been distracted by what was a bizarre occurrence even by the standards of this world full of the supernatural.
“Oh, excuse me for my lack of manners. I am Kathryn Moreno, and this here is Darrin Jennings,” she introduced herself and her coworker with a small and perfunctory, but civil smile.
“We are both with the Duncaster PD, as you may have already guessed. If you are as unwell as you appear, we can take you to the hospital after you clean up a bit,” the vampire offered.
Brighid blinked and sat up pulling her filthy hair to cover her nakedness. She inclined her head slightly.
“Ah yes introductions. My name is Brighid O’Shay. I have never heard of Duncaster before now. I am sorry that was housepital that you just said? Is that where your healers are? How odd. Never mind, I shall not require a healer. Do you carry a blanket or something of the sort so that I can wear it to, what did you call it, yes the station?”Did that really just come out of my mouth? I mean seriously? I sound way more put together than I feel. All these sensations. The smells, sights, sounds. This place even feels different. If Kathryn was not a vampire I would think I stepped out into Fey Lands. It would just be Oberon’s style to open a doorway and have me walk willingly through it. But the change came and went numerous times. Something is odd here and I intend to find out what as well as find the others.Brighid looked at the shirt that Kathryn had lain on her. She smirked and noticed that the shirt would probably make her look more indecent. Her hair had been waist length but it fell past her knees now as if she had spent years in the spell. She wiggled her toes and sighed with relief mentally.
Kathryn stared at Brighid blankly for several seconds. The female had professed to have never heard of Duncaster before, she apparently didn’t know what a hospital or police station were, and she’d mentioned healers.
“…Just cover yourself with those for now as best you can,” she gestured to the dark blue padded vest, blue collared shirt, and black undershirt she’d covered the female with previously. While she had been striving for nonchalance, hints of confusion had unmistakably seeped into her tone. She briefly gazed at her co-worker.
“Jennings, you run to the car and fetch the foil blanket from the first aid kit.” The vampire turned back towards Brighid, offering her a hand up.
“There’s a public restroom a few minutes’ walk from here. There are sure to be more people as we go on, but that really can’t be helped,” Kathryn huffed wryly, but proceeded leading the redhead along the smoothly paved road towards the park’s main entrance. There was a sharp contrast between the dull thuds of her black boots and the soft padding of Brighid’s uncovered feet, but they now shared the trait of being half-naked, though in Kathryn’s case it just meant that her upper half was only covered by a sports bra. The redhead next to her was certainly the worse off, and the vampire walked slightly in front of the mystery woman, using her own body to help cover her from casual observation. Having her back to this possibly dangerous stranger did not do her nerves any good though; her neck was prickling, her shoulders were tense, and she couldn’t help but grimace slightly.
Soon enough, the pair had transitioned from one of the relatively narrow side paths, designed for walking and cycling and jogging, to a wide avenue inlaid with stones – while cars certainly fit, only service vehicles had access to this part, though several feet further, the busy main streets could be seen already. The greenery of the park transitioned into the drab gray of concrete, and here, tucked in between some other buildings, was a public restroom, still part of the park property, though built somewhat on the edge of it. It was a small, low building, painted white, though several graffiti defaced it – but at least its windows weren’t broken. Kathryn led Brighid into one half, where several closed stalls and sinks could be seen. Thankfully, it seemed the building was currently occupied, perhaps not so strange given the late hour and the fact that Jennings had shooed away all those onlookers. The vampire gestured to a sink, presenting the best currently available option for the redhead to wash herself.
“Use my clothes to dry off when you’re done,” she suggested with a small, mildly reluctant sigh. Kathryn then leaned her back on the door-frame, keeping a watch on both the female and the outside.
Brighid looked at the basins with the pump and knobs attached.
Where is the pump? Brighid looked around and under the basins. With a puzzled look she touched the knobs then looked up into a mirror. This mirror was much smoother and reflected better than any that were not enchanted that she could recall. Staring back at her reflection she grimaced and muttering. She reached out and touched the knobs.
The knobs twisted under her hands and she jumped back as water gushed out of the pump into the basin.
With an entirely puzzled expression on her face, Kathryn approached the possibly-lycan-female, and adjusted the handles so the spout’s spray wasn’t quite violent.
“We really do need to talk exactly how and where you were raised that even the most basic of modern of technology is so shocking to you,” the vampire commented with a shake of her head, tone slightly snarky, though her own confusion was obvious enough. Ever since O’Shay had regained consciousness, she’d been intently observing her surroundings, but not just with the purpose to orient herself, Kathryn thought. It was as if even the most mundane things, for example the lights littering the city, were something new and worth of inspection to her. Kathryn had suspected amnesia or simple concussive shock at one point, but…Now she was fairly certain it was more than that.
The woman knew her own name, after all, and communicated clearly, walked without too much of a problem, and didn’t seem on the brink of imminent collapse due to poor health or mental instability.
I just hope that giving in to her insistence on not needing a hospital won’t come back to bite me in the ass, later on. It was still possible that Brighid was suffering in some physical and/or mental manner, after all. However, perhaps she had simply been raised in an incredibly restrictive, outdated, techno-phobic environment.
Could just be some weird magic going haywire...she did pop through some kind of a portal, didn’t she? Only with information from O’Shay herself, however, could Kathryn hope to come anywhere close to making a firm conclusion.
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