What did I do to deserve this?
That was Estelle's first thought when her tired eyes landed on the horrifying sight of her apartment door standing wide open –no, bashed open, if the splinters of wood were any indication. Chips of garish, 1970's style pea-green paint were crushed to powder under her shoes as she cautiously approached. It was probably foolish, she realized, to investigate without calling the police immediately. After all, her unwelcome, uninvited guest might still be lingering about inside.
She slipped her hand into her purse and dialed the number of her local police station. She stepped back from the ruined entrance and slumped down on the steps. Her eyes were drooping with exhaustion and she shivered from the cold. Of course, this had to happen on the day that she'd worked a full 24 hours straight. She couldn't help feeling a bit resentful toward her three co-workers for calling in sick on the same day. Overtime was 'optional', but that hadn't stopped her boss from pushing her to do it. She blinked slowly, owlishly, and found that she didn't care about the break-in as much as she should have. Why should I? She reasoned as she curled her arms to her chest. It wasn't like she had anything much worth stealing. She lived in a poor neighborhood because she was poor; not because she was secretly hoarding mounds of jewelry or a massive home entertainment system.
Her TV was a tiny, 24 inch Sony that was a decade outdated, and her console was an ancient Xbox 360. Beyond those worthless pieces of tech, she had only a burner phone and a junky, low-cost Asus laptop she'd bought five years ago before moving to a suburban college town. The only jewelry she had were a few costume pieces. The majority of her clothing pieces were thrift-store finds that she'd customized to fit her tastes. There was literally nothing to take, but she still dreaded the damages.
Red and blue lights, accompanied by the characteristic Whoop-whoop, indicated that a squad car had just pulled in to the apartment parking lot. Her monster neighbor, Simon, poked his head out of the door. "Eh, that your ride?" He gestured with one paw in the direction of the police. "Sugar, I thought you were as straight-laced as a military boot."
"Hi, Simon." She forced a smile his way. He was a sweet, considerate person and a recent immigrant from the Underground. "Can't believe you didn't hear my apartment being assaulted earlier, but then again, I'm surprised you can hear anything over your music." It was just a gentle dig at a friend, he knew she didn't really mind the fact that he often rocked out next door.
"Mon Dieu!" He exclaimed and let out a surprised whistle when he finally noticed the destroyed shards of her apartment door. "You weren't home when this happened, I should hope?" His words were colored by concern.
She shook her head. "Triple shift at work." She explained.
He nodded sympathetically. His eyes shifted over her shoulder and he grinned widely. "Well, at least you're in good hands." Confused by his statement, she followed his gaze to pay witness to an unfamiliar monster cop striding across the lot. "I know her, she's good people. Trust me, she'll take care of your troubles. Good luck!"
Estelle stood up as she started to feel the vibrations of heavy footfalls coming up the stairs. "Hiya." The cop greeted her as she rounded the corner at the landing below. "The name's Undyne!"
"Hello," Estelle leaned against the side of the stairwell for support. "I'm Estelle Lomberra." She sighed and gestured back at her apartment. "I'm afraid my humble abode has become just a bit more humble recently."
Undyne grinned down at her. "Don't worry 'bout that. Stay out here while I search the place. Perp's probably ditched it by now, but it's not worth risking." The muscular monsteress stealthily slipped into the apartment, while Estelle wondered how it was possible to be so quiet in boots that looked like they belonged in the mosh pit at a KISS concert. After several minutes, she heard Undyne call out to her that it was safe.
Stepping inside, she let out a breath of relief to find that the door had been the main casualty of the break-in. Wood pieces crackled under her feet as she took in the mess that surrounded her. Her cupboards had been ransacked, but thank goodness she'd opted for plastic dishware because all of the contents had been strewn haphazardly over the floor of her modest kitchen. The fridge door was open. "Really?" The burglar had stolen an expensive indulgence; her bottle of chardonnay. She didn't have alcohol often because of her medication, as well as her meager budget, and this loss was a blow directly to her morale.
The television and Xbox were gone, too, unfortunately. She hugged her arms to her body glumly as she blinked back tears. Those weren't worth stealing, but whoever had done this had taken them anyway. Hoping against hope, she felt under her bed for her laptop and breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers brushed the worn, plastic body of the computer. She pulled it out and stared at it like it was the greatest treasure in the world. "A-at least, there's this." She mumbled to herself. Somehow, the thief had missed it.
"You're gonna have to stay somewhere else for a night." Undyne told her bluntly. "That door's busted all to hell. There's no way it is going to keep in any heat and it's supposed to get down below zero tonight."
Estelle ignored her advice; she didn't have anyone to take her in and she didn't have the money for a motel. "I can't. I'll just push the tv stand in front of the door and bundle up. My landlord is a good guy; he'll take care of the door as soon as he can."
Undyne frowned sternly. "Is there anything else that might have been stolen?"
Estelle paled at that question and her eyes darted in the direction of the bathroom. "M-my meds…" She stammered out. She typically only brought her daily dosages with her to work, out of fear of being seen with pills and ending up mugged, so she kept the bottles at home. She ran to the bathroom and threw open the door of the medicine cabinet. It was just as she'd feared. "They s-stole my lamotrigine." She told Undyne in a defeated voice.
"Lamotrigine?"
Estelle fidgeted. "I'm epileptic. I can provide the scripts for it, I promise. I always keep the papers that come with my refills…" She rummaged under the sink and produced the papers."
Undyne's face hardened as she barely glanced over the papers. "Okay, so I'm going to run this by you, just in case I'm misunderstanding this situation." She handed the papers back to Estelle. "You want me to leave an epileptic in an unsecured apartment at night in -2 degree weather?"
"Uh…well, when you put it that way…it doesn't sound…" She rubbed her arms ruefully.
"I'm not supposed to get involved with civilian's personal lives, but there's no way I am letting you stay here." She pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. She growled into the receiver for a few minutes, but Estelle wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. "Well, I don't know! Why does that matter?" Undyne paused for a moment and groaned. "Fine, I'll ask her! I said I'm askin' her, alright!" She covered the phone with her hand. "You got any allergies to, like, tomatoes or gluten or anything like that?"
"Um…no…"
"She said 'no'. Now, put your brother on." Undyne pinched her nose. "Hey, are you cool with havin' a guest tonight? I got called to some human babe's house for a break-in. She's epileptic and her meds were stolen. Her apartment is trashed. Man, you know I can't just leave that alone. I'm gonna ask Alphys to check in every once in a while, she'd know if something's wrong." Undyne listened intently to whoever was on the other side. "No, I'm not allowed to have passengers. I'm already bending some rules, dude. You'll have to take a shortcut." There was a long break where Undyne said nothing, but her expression was beginning to lighten up. "Right! I owe you one. We'll meet at the bus stop over on Garden Street. Cool. See ya." She clapped Estelle on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I got you. Pack a bag and whatever else you might need; you've got a place to stay now!"
"W-what? Thank you, but I…I'd be imposing on a complete stranger."
"You won't be strangers for long. I totally vouch for these guys. They're not creeps and they're friends of mine. They'll let you stay until you can get a refill on your meds and your door is fixed."
Obviously, this cop wasn't about to budge on her decision. Also, she'd already made the arrangements. Estelle didn't know how to feel about this situation. So, she stuffed a ragged suitcase with enough clothing for three days, a blanket and pillow, toiletries, and her computer. Undyne secured the door shut by nailing a tack into the door frame, which would keep the broken door from opening all the way. "It'll keep out the animals, at least."
"I really appreciate all of this, but you didn't need to go out of your way to-"
"Helpin' people's my job, dude." Undyne waved away her concerns as they walked to the bus stop. "But, between you an' me, I would have done it anyway." She squinted in the dark as a figure came into view. "Well, there's your ride, pal. I'll take your statement up to the station and we'll figure things out from there. I hope we can find your stuff, but, honestly, that's a long shot."
"Yeah, I know. I just have to hope that renter's insurance will cover some of it." Estelle grimaced into her scarf. "Thank you so much, ma'am. I do appreciate this."
"Aw, shuddup." Undyne cackled.
"Is this my impromptu house guest?" Two eye lights flared up in the darkness ahead. "Hey there, doll." A hand was held out to her, but it was completely devoid of flesh and muscle; another monster, but this one was a skeleton. She'd never met or seen this type of monster before, however she kept her curiosity to herself and politely grasped the proffered hand. "Name's Sans."
"I…I'm Stella."
He chuckled to himself. "Heh, stellar to meet ya." He glanced over to Undyne. "I got it from here, Undyne. Alphys's on speed dial if somethin' happens." He grinned in a reassuring manner at Stella. "Alphys is a doctor friend of ours."
"She won't charge you, either." Undyne added.
Tears prickled her eyes, she'd never had people treat her so kindly. "This means so much to me."
"There she goes again, getting all sappy." Undyne rolled her eyes, but she was grinning widely. "Anyway, I gotta get goin'. Ciao, you guys." She took off running back up the road to her car.
Sans turned back to Stella. "You got any sensitivities, like flashing lights or somethin'?"
She shook her head. "They can happen randomly, but when I'm tired…" She suddenly made a sound like a hiccup and jerked forward, nearly catching herself off balance. She recovered quickly. "They happen in clusters when I'm tired or…or nervous…or basically most extreme emotions can trigger them, too. It's kind of hard to explain." She made that little noise again and her entire upper body flinched. "F*uck." She jerked again in the middle of cussing. "Sorry, sorry!" She was supposed to have taken her next dose over an hour ago.
"Ya can't help it." He replied nonchalantly. "C'mon, we're gonna take a shortcut back to my place. Didn't think I'd have to call Alphys so soon."
She wanted to ask him what he meant by a shortcut, but she also didn't want to risk biting her tongue with her next jerk. She'd never experienced a Grand Mal in her life, which she was thankful for, but living with myoclonic seizures was an inconvenience. She mostly suffered these tiny, yet annoying, involuntary body jerks and spasms. Still, she tried hard to avoid skipping doses because the seizures could still be dangerous.
"Get ready." He warned her as he lightly gripped her arm. The world blinked out. For what seemed like both a second and an eternity, her breath was knocked from her lungs, her heart ceased to beat, and she was deaf, mute, and blind. It was as if someone had paused time at the very moment of her death and she was forced to endure that torturous limbo between life and death. And then, her feet hit a hardwood floor and she stumbled backward with a gasp. She fell back on Sans, who was subsequently knocked into the wall. She coughed and coughed, sucking air in like she'd been saved from drowning. When she was finally able to speak, she shakily wiped the sweat from her forehead. "A little more warning, please, if we ever have to do that again." She gulped and glanced at Sans. "On second thought, can we just take the bus next time?"
"Whassamatter, darlin', don't like shortcuts?" Sans teased as he rubbed his shoulder where he'd banged it on the wall. He waved off her apologies. "Don't worry 'bout it, I'm fine." He showed her where she could hang up her jacket. "Hey, Pap! I'm back with the human!"