sixthiterationlogs | life without end [open]

WHO: Dr. Helen Magnus
WHERE: The Fountain; the town
WHEN: 1 August
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: N/A
STATUS: Open

Helen had lived for an extraordinarily long time but there were still moments in which this life took her by surprise. This was one of those; her lungs burned and she twisted and pulled and clawed her way upward toward pale light in a vain hope that this was the way out. From what she could tell, it was some sort of narrow waterway. Stone, possibly, a cistern? A cave? Regardless, she wanted out and as quickly as possible. After narrowly missing the lip of the stone with her skull, she used the last of her strength to push herself out onto the ground and coughed loudly, trying her damndest to catch her breath again.

After all she'd seen and done, she didn't want so ignoble a death as a drowning and she glared back at the fountain with particular vitriol before hugging her knees to her chest and looking up at the sky. This wasn't her Sanctuary. This wasn't the old, rambling house she'd come to love over the last century in Old City and it certainly wasn't her new, state of the art facility beneath the ground. This was somewhere else entirely and she wasn't certain that she trusted it. Had she been teleported here? So far as she knew, John was dead, but it wouldn't be beyond him to teleport her some place where she had no frame of reference and leave her at his mercy.

She looked down at her waterlogged clothes and found that instead of the smart suit she'd been wearing earlier that day in the office, she was in dark blue scrubs instead. She had no surgeries on her schedule for the day but, again, those things weren't always planned. Neither was this jaunt, though it seemed she'd been pulled along on it anyway. Reaching for the edge of the fountain, she pushed herself upright and stood on shaky legs. She leaned over and peered into the fountain, trying to see where she'd come up from, but there was nothing but flat, clear water and her own bedraggled reflection that peered back at her. Oh.

"Bloody hell, I look dreadful," she said, quickly combing her fingers through her hair to try and repair the worst of the tangles. It could be dealt with later, yes, but it had been a long time since she'd looked quite this pathetic in public. Still, there were other, more important things than her appearance to be dealt with and she decided to simply pick a direction and start walking, start trying to make sense of the place she'd just wound up in.

"Well, Helen, now you've gone and managed to get yourself into a bind, haven't you? Nothing but the clothes on your back and...well, what's this?" There was a pack beside her, as well, and opening it revealed a few additional articles of clothing but no clues as to the origin of it or the identity of the place she found herself in. "You could have at least included a map," she muttered. "That would have been helpful."

She would persevere. She always had.

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She caught Helen's look back towards the fountain and gave a sympathetic smile. Helen's expression was shared by everyone in this place. A level of disappointment and frustration that rose to the surface whenever they looked at the fountain.

"I wish it were that simple." It would mean there would hardly be anyone here. Some, perhaps, like Margaery, had nothing to go back to. "Whatever brings us here, it doesn't seem interested in returning us to our world."

She pointed towards the inn a bit further along. "There are rooms there, if you are interested. There are a number of people staying at the inn. Others claim one of the empty houses a bit further down the road. There doesn't seem to be anyone else here, save for those of us that came out of the fountain."

"I don't know how much I trust a village that's been abandoned and left for dead," Helen said, scoffing a bit. Not at Margaery, of course, who had been nothing but helpful but at the situation as a whole. It was a mystery and one that she intended to puzzle out sooner rather than later.

"Then again, I suppose I do need a base of operations if I intend to try and deduce what, exactly, is going on here. I should look at one of these houses."

"It's strange, but the quiet is somewhat appealing." If only for herself. She had no desire to be surrounded by others. However, the silence might be grating and unsettling for others. At night, questions appeared, many of them frightening and worrisome.

"If you discover anything, please tell the rest of us. This place is a mystery." She lead Helen towards the houses, pointing to a soft yellow bungalow. "I live here. There are others nearby as well."

"It's a lovely house," Helen said, complimenting the woman's choice. It was the kind of soft color that she'd always favored, as well, so hopefully when she went to pick out her own house she would get one in a similar scheme. If not, hopefully there was paint that they could use to remodel it. Still, that was a distant concern. For now, she wanted to know the hows and whys of the place.

"So, Margaery. What can I do to repay you for your kindness today? You need but ask."

"Thank you," it had been chosen in what felt like a rush. After being pulled from the fountain, she hadn't been eager to shop around or hold out for something better. When she had spotted the house, it immediately appealed to her and she didn't bother looking further. She wanted a place to change and rest, anything that needed to be changed or fixed could be done later.

Margaery shook her head, surprised by the offer. "There is no repayment necessary. I'm merely offering the same help that was given to me when I first arrived. I know how disturbing this is. It helps to have someone accustom you to the area."

"It is a bit disorienting," Helen agreed. "So I do thank you for your kindness and hospitality. I hope that someday I'm able to do the same for someone else and repay it in that way."

She believed greatly in the concept of paying things forward, when necessary, and this seemed necessary.

"I truly appreciate all the help you've given me today, Margaery."

"You will have the opportunity, I imagine. This place seems to draw in a number of individuals. Though it only just recently started a few months ago, apparently." She's not certain of the exact number, only that it was a short span of time that appearances began.

"Of course. You need only ask me if you need anything else. I am happy to help."

"I'll be certain to find you," Helen said warmly. With that, she tipped her head a bit in a farewell and made her way to explore the houses and buildings of this village for herself. It would only begin to become tangible to her with some exploration and verification of her own, no matter what anyone else told her.

She was, above all, a scientist.

life without end [open]

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