London was a mix of modern and history, with buildings that dated back to the 8th century next to skyscrapers. There were coffee shops and fast food restaurants in buildings that were probably built in the 1800s and there were the towers and bridges that seemed timeless. In London, you can find the Gothic design of the cathedrals and churches, the historical sights and the dirty water of the River Thames, the rain that seemed to come down so often – even in the summer. The cloudy skies and windy weather – London was truly amazing.

It was Victoria's favourite place in the whole world.

She hated the sun, for the sun hated her, giving her burns every time she tried to tan. But rain loved her like the moon loved the stars, and London was full of it. That was why she wasn't going to take university in Vancouver like most of the kids in her grade. Most of her friends were going to the University of British Columbia. But Victoria didn't mind. If UBC was what they chose, then Victoria would settle for it.

She was going to school in England and her best friend, Oliver, was coming along with her.

Victoria breathed in the scent of the stuffy airplane, sighing contently. She sat down in her seat – 7B. Not even the kid behind her, kicking her seat could ruin her mood. The beefy man with oil stains and a horrible stench next to her could not upset her. Even if Oliver had taken the coveted window seat, she was all right, because she was going to her favourite place in the world.

Originally, Victoria had only loved London because of a series she had read. Though she had never been in London personally, she could already imagine Blackfriars Bridge, Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey…

And she realized how wrong she was when she finally got there. She couldn't even find William Shakespeare's place in Poets' Corner, though she knew it was there. Blackfriars Bridge wasn't a bridge wrought in iron and stone. To Victoria, the colour was rather ugly. But still, she loved it because of the series she had read.

The Infernal Devices, her favourite book series. That was probably the only thing she had in common with Oliver. They loved that series. Oliver was probably a polar opposite to Victoria, but that was how they blended in so smoothly.

Oliver was occasionally vain, but it was only when his ego went out of control that Victoria laughed. Oliver had a right to be though – he was beautiful. With his blond hair, his green eyes, his full lips and his straight nose – he was one of the most wanted boys in their school. But miraculously, Victoria had snagged him as her best friend after an disaster in kindergarten.

Bryce Kennington had stolen Victoria's crayons. She had ended up crying of course, but Oliver, who had sat next to her in class, had taken them back, pummeling Bryce with his fat, tiny fists. The teacher never noticed a thing. He was too busy reading his car magazine. In the end, Victoria and Oliver were inseparable.

It was easy to talk to Oliver – as easy as breathing. There were no awkward moments and there was no need to question the other person.

Victoria settled into her uncomfortable seat, a big smile on her face as Oliver grumbled next to her. "They wouldn't let me take my moisturizer with me, Vicky," he frowned. "It was expensive too."

"So you've said," Victoria sighed as she took out her phone from her large bag. She turned it on, opening her eBooks app. Oliver peered over her shoulder.

"Clockwork Angel? Again?" Oliver smirked.

Victoria shrugged. "Seventh time."

"I swear, your obsession with Will Herondale and James Carstairs," Oliver shuddered.

"Then there's you and Magnus, who you would definitely turn gay for," Victoria nudged.

"Anyone would turn for Magnus Bane, Vicky," Oliver said, almost offended. "Anyone."

The kid behind Victoria had given up annoying her after no reaction and had taken to kicking Oliver's seat. "I swear…" Oliver said, gritting his teeth. "One more time and I'll…" The boy kicked Oliver's seat again and Oliver rose angrily to his formidable height.

"Look kid," Oliver growled. "It's not polite so stop kicking my chair," he said. The words in itself were not frightening, but the menacing tone and narrowing of Oliver's olive eyes made it much scarier. The boy stopped immediately and Oliver faced the front again. Victoria always thought Oliver's eyes were an irony in itself. Oliver didn't see it, though.

"Geez, Ollie," Victoria smirked, rolling her eyes. "No need to threaten the kid."

"I didn't threaten him. I simply told him what his parents should have," Oliver said curtly.

Victoria smiled again before returning to her book.

Will Herondale was in the Dark House, talking with Tessa as they escaped together. They bantered about Dante's works and Victoria smiled. She always loved Tessa with Will. They fit together like a puzzle piece. She simply could not see Tessa and Jem together – but she'll always love James Carstairs. Perhaps even more than William Herondale.

Even in the book it said that William Herondale was the brighter star, who burned so brightly. But Jem was the constant flame… And Victoria always liked constants.

"Victoria," Oliver said, interrupting nearly an hour later. Victoria had just finished the book and was reading the notes on Tessa's England.

"Yes?" she asked impatiently, her brown eyes narrowing at Oliver. He knew how much she hated to be interrupted while reading.

"Why are we dropping?" Oliver asked, looking out the window.

Peering out the airplane window, she saw that Oliver was right. As the sun rose, the plane began to fall. Screams came from other compartments on the plain. The rude boy behind her was crying loudly. Even the beefy man with the loud snores had his eyes wide with fright.

Victoria fumbled with her phone, eying the time. It was 7:07 in the morning. The sun was up, the skies a gorgeous blue and it was July 7th, a beautiful day – but Victoria was about to die. She lunged for the parachute that was under her seat, grabbing Oliver's as well. But it was impossible to move. The airplane's nose had tipped forward and Victoria was smashed against the seat in front of her.

The plane was a falling star into the Atlantic Ocean, but all Victoria could do was stare into Oliver's crying green eyes and scream.

Please help me, Victoria pleaded inside her head and she embraced Oliver as she tumbled, along with the rest of the airplane, into the water.

…

Victoria woke with a start, gasping loudly. Was she dead? Was she in heaven, hell or purgatory?

It looked a lot more like hell than the other two choices though.

Around her was broken glass and red paint that looked disturbingly like blood on the brick walls. She breathed in the air and smelled the scent of a dirty river. Was she in London? Near the River Thames? But the Thames was not the only dirty river in the world. She shivered in her T-shirt and shorts. She cursed herself for not deciding to wear sweatpants. The wind was strong wherever she was.

Where was Oliver though?

Worry flooded Victoria as she squinted through the darkness for her best friend. The moon was hidden by the clouds and the stars were invisible in the night sky. The only light that she had was the flickering lamppost that stood several metres away.

"Oliver?" she asked loudly. No one responded to her. But if she was alive, then somebody else had to… right? And where was the wreckage of the plane? Why was so she unscathed? Questions flooded her brain like a tsunami on the coast of Japan – and she felt more and more hopeless as they stayed unanswered.

She should have landed in the ocean though, not land. Unless she was on an island in the Atlantic, but that was doubtful since there were buildings around her. She was definitely in an European city though. The brick building next to her looked pretty old – as if it could have been built in the 1800's.

Victoria decided to search for the plane. Perhaps she could save some one… or find Oliver – hopefully still alive… And if he wasn't… Victoria gulped. He was. He had to be. She was, wasn't she? And her stuff was on that plane.

Victoria was in an alley, so she decided to get out of there quickly. Nothing good happened in alleys. Every movie she watched, someone dies in alleys. She headed for the direction with most light, hurrying along and glad she wore runners. Her flip flops would not have made it through the glass.

Her heart was beating loudly and there was only one word in her mind: Oliver, Oliver, Oliver. And what about the other people on the plane? The beefy man next to her? The boy that kicked her seat? He was rude, but he didn't deserve to die. Victoria was afraid and although she was seventeen already, she longed for her overprotective Chinese parents. Her short and rather plump mother would wrap her arms around Victoria and her father would stand tall and proud, scanning for any danger around. They would have protected her. But now Victoria was alone, without her parents, without her best friend and without a decent jacket.

"Who are you?" came a voice. Victoria exited the alley, only to find a woman, dressed very strangely.

She was wearing an old Victorian dress, with rips at the hem. The neckline was very indecent, which made Victoria blush and look away, adjusting her shirt so that less of her skin was exposed. The woman had powder on her face – so much that it looked white and her lips were a bloody red.

"Just passing through," Victoria evaded and walked past the woman. She could feel the woman's eyes on her back and refrained from shivering. The wind was blowing hard, making Victoria's dark hair whip around her face. She brushed it out of her face, tying it up with the hair tie that had been on her wrist when the plane had crashed. Miraculously, she found her phone in her pocket as well, though it was no use to her. There was no signal.

"What's that?" someone asked. Victoria turned to find a man, shivering on the cold, stone ground. He was sitting against a brick building, his face grimy with dirt. His clothes were ragged and his eyes were pitch black.

Victoria looked the device in her hand. "A cell phone," she replied. Surely the man had heard of phones. Perhaps he was outdated then.

The man looked extremely confused still, so Victoria moved on, still searching. She saw more of the scantily dressed woman along with shivering beggars along the street. Obviously, she was not in the good part of the neighbourhood.

Men passed by and they stared at her. They were all wearing suits and vests. Their hair were trimmed short and most of them wore hats. All of them stared at her with hungry eyes and Victoria got extremely uncomfortable. Finally, she decided to slip back into one of the alleyways, preferring the menacing darkness than the horrifying stares.

Hopelessness filled her with each step. Was Oliver truly gone?

Victoria didn't want to talk to any of the people she had met so she didn't ask for directions or where she was. It was a stupid move.

She was lost in the alleys, absolutely alone. "I'm so going to die here," she whispered to herself. She shivered as the night air blew through her.

Then she heard it. The low sound of a growl. Victoria shuddered involuntarily.

Carefully, she turned around. She stifled a scream. Three, glowing red eyes stared at her. Out of the shadows, the beast came – taller than her by several feet. Victoria could see the sharp claws that could easily cleave her in two. Saliva dripped down from the beast's maw, and blood. Blood was everywhere. On its face, on its fur and on its muzzle. Finally, Victoria screamed and she began to run away. But the beast was faster and swiped at her, causing a deep scratch to appear on Victoria's back.

She sprinted as hard as she could, finally grateful for the voluntary P.E. classes she had taken Oliver had forced her into. But the beast was right on her heels. It made a sound like a scoff. It was just playing with Victoria, enjoying the chase. Victoria ran faster, her lungs straining for air and legs feeling as if they were about to collapse.

But she kept running. Victoria was not about to die in a dirty alley, mauled by a monster.

Finally, she turned onto a street. The sound of her shoes slapping against the stone was the only

Sound though. More and more buildings passed by her. The growling of the monster was still behind her and she didn't dare stop running.

There were more lampposts and more light but there were no people to rescue her. She didn't have the air to scream. Finally, she arrived at a building that was probably an enormous church or cathedral – which furthered her suspicions about being in Europe. The gate was closed, but Victoria couldn't run any farther.

She pushed at the heavy gates and surprisingly, the doors gave way, allowing Victoria access. She entered and turned around as the gates closed automatically. Victoria could still see the glowing red eyes, but they seemed to be angry at the loss of its prey. She stumbled her way to the stone steps of the building, pleading for someone's aid.

Just as she was about to knock, the door opened and Victoria fell into someone.

She looked up. Her vision was becoming blurry, but she could see a worried face. It was the face of a beautiful man, with blue eyes and black hair that fell into his eyes. His mouth was opened, as if he was saying something, but Victoria could no longer hear him.

She sank into peaceful slumber, not knowing that shouting and yelling were around her in the conscious world.

Yes, I ended with the cliche, dramatic faint. HEY GUYS! I'M BACK WITH AN INFERNAL DEVICES STORY! Miss me? ;)

And by the way, I have become a beta. Woo! If you guys want any editing for your stories, look for me! Review, follow and favourite! I'm super duper excited for this one.