Hello! This is the final AJ Song story, at least until I get another flash of inspiration! Please review X
Amelia Joy Song was running faster than she ever had before. Which, for someone who got into much trouble as she did on a regular basis, was quite a feat.
In the dead of night, she sprinted through the streets of some little town on earth- she hadn't paid much attention when she'd landed, too intent on following the strange signal her computer had picked up. Legs pumping, she flew down a side street and past a row of pretty little cottages, no doubt full of innocent people sleeping soundly. Which kind of left screaming out. Vaguely, she registered the sound of crashing waves, and skidded to a stop inches away from the edge of a cliff.
"Oops. Not that way then." She mumbled, taking off parallel to the steep drop. She found herself running back through the centre of the seaside town, past little souvenir shops and fish and chip shops and ice cream parlours, all closed and empty for hours. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of an incoming statue and swerved, cursing her own curiosity once again. She slowed to a jog as she entered a disused alley, gasping for air as she looked around behind her. Scanning visually the way she'd just come, she used the wall beside her as a guide as she strained to see through the inky blackness. She swung back around quickly, crying out as she caught sight of the two angels that had appeared from nowhere.
"Don't. Blink." She whispered to herself. Overhead, the dim street lamps began to flicker.
"Good evening, Miss Song." A snide voice came from behind her, so AJ turned just enough to see its source out of the corner of her eye.
"Kovarian." She acknowledged bitterly. The members of the silence surrounding her hissed, and stepped forward, so with trembling fingers she slipped the marker from her pocket and marked the skin of her hand, all without letting either foe out of her sight.
"You seem to be in a bit of a pickle." The older woman sneered. AJ smiled innocently.
"A little, yes. You don't fancy calling off your pets and helping me out a little, do you?" Her mind ran thought the ways she could get out of this, all the while holding the marker tightly and wishing she had a vortex manipulator on her.
"Hm. I think not. There's no way out, Amelia." AJ began to smile at this as an idea formed in her head.
"Oh Madame Kovarian. There's one thing my mother taught me over all these years." She saw, out of her peripheral vision, Kovarian raise a questioning eyebrow.
"There is always a way out." AJ smiled sweetly. And blinked.
AJ gasped as she opened her eyes again. Open mouthed, she stared around her at the horse and carriages, the bustling people and narrow streets.
"Oh..." She murmured, turning on the spot. She'd obviously been sent back a little further than she was expecting, judging by the long, modest dresses of the woman and top hats of the men.
"Right then..." Rubbing her sore arm absently, she picked a direction, and began to walk, hoping she could figure out where and when she was by the things she saw. However, her tight-fitting jeans and belted shirt were drawing too much attention, especially without her jacket to hide the holster she wore as well.
"First stop, clothes." She said aloud, ignoring the strange looks she was getting at talking to herself. She hurried down the cobbled road, finally spying a shop that looked like it sold what she needed. She slipped inside and grabbed what she needed from the shelf.
"Er... Can I help you, Madame?" A man asked, running a disgusted eye over her clothes.
"I need to buy this please." AJ said, before remembering she hadn't got any money. Well, none that would work here anyway.
"That will be three guinea, please." The man's voice had barely disguised repulsion in it. She quickly slipped her hand to her ears and took off her earrings with a practiced twist of her fingers.
"Will these do? Real gold- more than enough, hmm? Thank you!" She dropped the earrings into his hand and ran out the shop before her could argue, hot footing it down a side street before slowing to a more sedate walk. Quickly, she swung the long cloak over her shoulders so that it covered her futuristic attire, wincing as it aggravated her painful arm and continued walking, desperately searching for a solution to her problem.
"Excuse me!" AJ spotted a woman dressed as a maid walking in front of her, carrying a bag of... Something. She turned at AJ's call, smiling at her.
"Yes ma'am, wha' can I do for you?" She had a cockney accent, and AJ quickly realised that the quality of the cloak she wore had led her to assume she was a higher status than her. Rather than go through the trouble of being branded a thief, AJ played along.
"I was wondering if you could tell me the date please?" She asked. The maid smiled.
"It's the second o' February, ma'am." She told her.
"The year?" The maids smile dropped slightly, and she took a half step away, although her voice didn't waver.
"1894, ma'am." AJ felt a tremor run though her. She was over 40 centuries away from home!
"I see... Could you tell me where I am, please?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"You're in London, ma'am. Are you alright?" The maid seemed genuinely concerned.
"I... I'm fine, thank you." AJ told her, swaying a little before walking away. After a few steps, she collapsed onto some nearby boxes, pressing her hands to her face. She was trapped in Victorian London, with no money and no help, with no way of contacting home since her phone was currently locked in her Aunts' draw.
"Ma'am? 'Scuse my speakin' out o' turn, but you look like you could use a bi' o' elp." The maid knelt down beside her, looking straight into her eyes.
"Jus 'ow old are you?" She asked AJ.
"Right now, not old enough." The teenager whispered, before giving a humourless laugh. "Never had to say that before."
"Ma'am... Are you a time traveller?" The maid asked calmly. AJ choked slightly, staring at her in shock.
"Excuse me!?" She blinked rapidly as the woman swum in and out of focus.
"Your clothes, ma'am. They ain't exactly from around 'ere- stick out a bit." The maid told her, gesturing to where the cloak had fallen away to reveal her clothes underneath. When AJ didn't answer, she slipped her hand over hers comfortingly. For some reason, AJ liked this woman, and immediately trusted her.
"S'ok. I've done it too, a bit. Not much min', not like the doctor. I prefer London- I know 'ow it all works 'ere, you see. Much easier." In the back of her mind, AJ knew the woman was talking to try to gain her trust but she was having trouble concentrating on what the nice lady was saying.
"I'm Jenny, by the way." The maid said.
"AJ." AJ heard her own voice say with some surprise.
"Right then. Are you ok?" The maid-Jenny- asked again. AJ struggled to think of an answer.
"I... I don't..." She touched a hand to her head, then looked down at her throbbing arm, where through her blurry vision she could just make out a needle mark.
"Uh oh..." She mumbled. That explained why it had hurt, anyway. Jenny had followed her gaze, and her eyes widened.
"I'll say!" She exclaimed. AJ pressed a hand to her head woozily.
"Jenny? I don't feel very well..." She whispered, before blackness swept over her vision and she succumbed to it in a wave of dizziness.