Artie grabbed Claudia's arm and dragged her to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pete do the same to Leena. The four of them stayed on the ground, blinded by the bright light, deaf by the roaring winds, until what felt like an eternity later, when everything ended as quickly as it came. Even then, even with the light and the wind gone, no one moved. Not until the last piece of debris hit the ground did Artie finally stir.
"Stay here," he voice was gruff, as he slowly rose to his feet. Pete followed him, just as slowly and even though she couldn't see, Claudia could imagine the looks exchanged between the two: Artie's annoyance rebuffed by Pete's almost desperate plea to be helpful.
Hesitantly, the two of them looked around. They took in the mess the wind had made. Books and papers in every crevice of the room. The lamps from the end tables lay broken on the floor. All the odds and ends the B&B had collected in the past few years lay in shambles among the rest of the debris.
Artie made eye contact with Pete. "Be careful."
Pete nodded and the two left the safety of the couch to search in opposite directions. Once the two exited the living room, Claudia poked her head up and assessed the damage.
"What the hell was that?" Claudia asked to no one in particular.
Leena merely shook her head. But then cringed and put her hand up to her head.
Claudia noticed and moved to crouch next to the older woman, "Are you okay? Did anything hit you?"
"No, I'm fine. But something…" Leena glanced up and looked about the room, "Claudia, something is wrong."
"Artie!" Pete's voice rang out from the dining room, startling Leena and Claudia. Artie shuffled from his inspection of the foyer toward the dining room and the two girls also followed his frantic call.
The girls entered the dining room behind Artie. Artie stopped right inside the doorway, looking around the empty room. "Pete?" he asked.
Not a second later, Pete answered, "Artie, over here," his head popped above the other side of the table, "over here."
The three of them raced to the other side of the table to see why Pete was on the floor.
"Pete, what's-" Artie cut off at the sight before him.
Pete was on his knees, bent over a young woman sprawled out on the floor. A young unconscious woman. She was lying on her side with one arm lying awkwardly behind her back and the other reaching out in front of her. She was wearing black chucks, jeans, and a white hooded shirt that had black sleeves – like a baseball shirt. The shirt had an odd pattern of red spots and lines on it and it wasn't until Pete said she still had a pulse that Claudia realized the red spots weren't originally part of the fabric.
Pete was clutching onto the girl's outstretched hand and everyone could tell he was near panicking underneath his cool demeanor. Leena sprang into action, checking the girl's forehead and grazing over the open wounds on her arms and torso with her hand, gauging the seriousness.
"Claudia, get me the first aid kit. Now," Leena ordered Claudia, who ran out of the room in search of the much used kit.
Pete brushed some of the girl's brown hair out of her face and nearly laughed in relief when her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, hey, you're going to be alright," Pete said in a soft voice. He lowered his head until he was nearly level with the girl. He noted her hazel eyes but his heart ached when he realized they were glassy with pain. "Hey, can you tell me your name? Do you remember?"
Above him, he registered Claudia's return with the kit and Leena grab some antiseptic solution and bandages to clean the girl's wounds and slow the bleeding.
His attention turned back to the girl as she moved her lips trying to make words. After a few tries and tears later, the girl finally uttered two words that Pete barely caught over the movement of his friends. She breathed, "You're out." And then her eyes closed.
Avoiding the abrasions on her face, Pete carefully slapped the girl's cheeks, trying to wake her again but to no avail. He finally backed away so Leena could administer the right medical aid with Claudia's help.
Standing, Pete glanced around and found Artie missing. "I'll be right back," Pete mumbled to the busy women and left the room.
It wasn't long until he found the older man, pacing in the living room, muttering to himself.
Pete entered the room and after a second, he opened his mouth, "Artie, what the hell are- how did she – why are you –" Pete stumbled over his words, too many questions running in his head and his boss's pacing wasn't helping. Artie's continual stroking of his beard and movement told Pete he hadn't heard a thing. So Pete took a breath and stepped into Artie's path, "Artie!"
Artie didn't flinch and nearly ran into Pete when he turned around but once he finally met the younger man's eyes, Pete continued, "What the hell just happened?"
Artie stared at Pete for a few moments, seeing the uneasiness shine through, before he broke the gaze and walked around the man, muttering, "I don't know."
Pete turned to continue his stare at Artie, "What do you mean? It's has to be an artifact."
Artie laughed mirthlessly, "Of course it's an artifact. What else could it possibly be?... I just don't know which one. Nor do I know where she came from, why she's here, or who she is. Okay? I just don't know, Pete." Artie sat heavily on an armchair, clasping his hands together in front of him.
Pete had never seen Artie so helpless. He turned back to the direction of the hurt girl, picturing her prone figure lying on the floor. He closed his eyes tightly and turned back towards Artie, "That doesn't matter right now. We have to get her to the hospital." He opened his eyes when Artie scoffed.
"And how do you expect us to get through that!" Artie pointed at the window, referencing the white mass blocking everything out and in.
"Well, don't you – I don't know, don't you have some sort of snow melting artifact in your Mary Poppins bag?" Pete gestured to the black bag sitting at Artie's feet.
Artie stared at the bag, and sighed, "No, Pete, I don't."
Pete sat heavily on the couch, "We have to do something."
Pete and Artie heard soft steps enter the room, "Pete, Artie," it was Claudia. They both turned and Pete almost winced when he saw the blood on Claudia's clasped hands. "Leena thinks she is okay to move."
Pete nodded at Claudia's unasked question and without looking at Artie, he stood. Pete followed Claudia back into the dining room and heard Artie moving behind him.
Leena was now crouching near the girl's head, caressing her hair. Leena and Claudia had moved her to lie on her back. Some of her cuts, what Pete assumed were the more serious ones, were wrapped in white cloth, but the blood was already seeping through. Her left arm – the one that was awkwardly underneath her back at first – was wrapped in a makeshift sling.
Seeing Pete's eye line, Leena answered, "I'm pretty sure it's broken. Didn't break the skin or anything but near enough."
Swallowing, Pete carefully picked the girl up, Leena supporting her head into the crook of Pete's arm, "Where should we put her?" he asked.
"I was thinking my room," Claudia offered, "it's closest to the stairs. And a bed's more comfortable than the couch."
"I'll get her some medicine and some water," Leena said as she left for the kitchen. Artie offered to help. Pete nodded and headed up the stairs. Claudia ran up first and opened the door before clearing off her bed of her computer and random pieces of clothing. Then she pulled back the covers.
Pete laid the girl down on Claudia's purple sheets. He put the sheets over her, careful of her arm, and backed away to stand next to Claudia. Neither knew what to do now so they just stood in silence. The girl's breathing was labored and she was starting to sweat.
Pete couldn't help but feel useless. When he started looking for the source of the wind and light, finding a broken woman who was probably only Claudia's age was the last thing on his mind. A small moan was what drew his attention to the kitchen and he wanted to smack himself for wasting the time he did in just staring. As a warehouse agent he has seen crazy things so he shouldn't have been so freaked out, but he was. His wasted time probably wouldn't have changed anything but the knowledge did anything but calm him. He called to Artie before he even reached the girl. His heart skipped a beat when he realized how hurt she was, with a barely recognizable pulse. As helpless as he was and felt, he never would have thought Artie would be the one to leave the room first. Even now, he was downstairs supposedly helping Leena when Pete knew he was probably only getting in the way, if he wasn't back pacing in the living room.
At least he is trying to figure out how to get us out of here, a voice somewhere in the depths of Pete's mind reminded him.
"I wish we knew her name," Claudia said quietly.
Pete turned his head to look at the young girl. Claudia was still staring at the unconscious form in front of her, her arms wrapped around herself. She was obviously worried. He merely nodded and turned back to the girl.
"I wish we knew what happened," he said equally as quiet.
A few minutes later, soft but hurried footsteps on the carpet announced the arrival of Leena and Artie, who was holding a small glass of water and a bottle of pills, Pete noticed.
"Any change?" Leena asked even though she already knew the answer. Pete and Claudia shook their heads and separated to let Leena get closer to the girl.
Leena pulled out a needle, "morphine," she said simply, as if sensing Pete and Claudia's confusion. Leena found a vein in the girl's right arm and injected the liquid painkiller.
"It's the only one we have," Artie said from behind everyone. "After that, she needs to wake up to take the pills." He shook the bottle halfheartedly.
Leena sat back up and stood near everyone else. Artie moved forward and placed the water and pills on a bedside table. With an inaudible sigh, he turned and left. Pete followed him out. Claudia glanced at Leena and both of them left the room, leaving the door open to allow easier access should the girl awake.
Down in the living room, Artie was pacing again; Pete looked like he wanted to join him but stuck with crossing his arms and standing stock still, watching Artie with his eyes.
Neither gave notice to the two girls' entrance. Claudia went to sit on the armchair Artie used earlier while Leena stayed between Pete and the dining room, as if shielding him from the bad memories associated there.
A few minutes passed in silence and then Claudia spoke up, "So. Ideas?" She looked around at each of them, Leena being the only one who made eye contact.
No one answered right away either. Leena finally spoke, "Well, it had to be an artifact, right?"
"Yeah," Claudia agreed, encouraged by someone else talking. "I mean, white, blinding light and tornado-like winds inside a house isn't exactly normal. So it has to be an artifact." She ended, hoping someone else would carry on where she left off. But when neither Pete nor Artie changed in the slightest, she stood up, "Look. Just so you know collective brainstorming doesn't work if you don't say what's on your minds. Give ideas, out loud. And then maybe, I don't know, someone else can build off of it and before we know it, hey, we have the answer why there is a random girl lying in my bed, half-dead." Claudia would have smiled in pride when Pete glanced her way and moved his hands to his pockets and Artie stopped moving if she weren't so annoyed at the moment.
"How about you start?" Artie said to the wall. Claudia, Pete, and Leena all moved their confused gazes to Artie's back. Artie turned around and looked straight at Claudia, "give us some ideas."
Claudia narrowed her eyes at Artie's attitude but shook it off. "Alright, um, it snowed. A lot. Are you sure that isn't somehow connected to the mysterious girl showing up?"
"No." Artie said simply.
"No?" Claudia asked when her mentor refused to elaborate.
"No, Claudia. I don't know. I don't have the warehouse computers at my disposal. I can't check anything. I'm pretty sure there aren't any weather artifacts that cut up a girl and drop her in a random house in a white light but I can't be sure. Nor can we go out and look because there's a four foot tall wall of snow in our way."
Claudia pursed her lips, reigning in her frustration with Artie's condescending tone. Usually, she could take it, but right now it was ebbing at her. She ran her hands through her red hair for a few moments and then a light bulb went off. "Wait," she looked at Leena, "you said something felt off, something was wrong, before we even found the girl."
All sets of eyes darted to Leena as her brow furrowed in concentration while she tried to recall the strange feeling. "It was weird. I've never felt it before. Even now, it's not as strong, but when she first came here, it was as if…"
"As if what?" Pete prompted.
Leena sighed and looked at Artie, "as if she doesn't belong here. I mean, she's not supposed to be here. Now."
"What do you mean 'now'?" Claudia asked, "what, like, time-wise?"
"What? Like she time-traveled or something?" Pete said with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Leena shrugged, "it's the best way I can explain it. I can't really tell you what her aura looks like but all I know is she… she looks like she is about twenty years old right?"
Pete and Claudia nodded.
"Well, I'm almost one hundred percent sure is she wasn't born twenty years ago," Leena finished.
Everyone was silent while the news sunk in. Pete and Claudia both sat down.
"Well, maybe she is seventeen," Pete said to no one in particular.
"Pete…" Leena started.
"She from the future or the past, you think?" Claudia asked, ignoring Pete's comment.
"Future, by the looks of her clothing and hairstyle," answered Artie before he started pacing once again.
Silence fell over the group again. Everyone thinking of the last time they dealt with someone from the wrong time.
H.G. Wells. But she was from the past, not the future, Claudia's mind argued. And had been bronzed so no one could say she was perfectly right in the head.
Nevertheless she manipulated her way into the warehouse team's hearts and Myka left because of it. No one would ever forgive H.G.
But other than showing up hurt and becoming a burden emotionally and mentally to the team, this girl had done nothing to them. Nothing other than using an artifact, to make them suspect her sanity.
Claudia looked up, "so what do we do now?"
"Help her," Pete answered almost immediately, staring at the floor.
Artie stopped pacing and looked at the team, "Pete's right. We do what we can to help her. Leena?" He looked at her; she nodded and went up the stairs to Claudia's room. "I'll call Mrs. Frederic and see about the snow. Claudia, try and get into the warehouse from your laptop to search for something to help. And Pete…" he trailed off as he looked between Pete and Claudia.
"Yeah," Pete said before he stood up. Claudia stood too and with one last look at Pete, went to her room to get her computer. Artie left as Pete started picking up the pieces of paper and books that were thrown around the room earlier.
Artie let everyone know a few minutes after they split that Mrs. Frederic was 'working on the transportation and snow' thing and Claudia glumly informed them that the storm must have damaged the internet source so her computer was practically useless. With a defeated sigh, Claudia began helping Pete clean up.
A few hours later, the Bed and Breakfast was beginning to look how it did at the start of the day, minus a few lamps and other small, fragile, things. Pete went up to switch places with Leena, saying he wanted to give her a break, and Leena went downstairs to clean up the dining room – the last room to be cleared.
Claudia was sitting at the foot of the stairs in thought when a groan caught her attention. Not knowing what else to do, she made her way towards her room. When she entered, she realized the girl's breathing was shallower and more labored than before. Pete was wiping sweat from her brow with one hand and holding her hand in his other.
Claudia got closer to help Pete in any way she could and saw Pete wincing.
"Pete, what's wrong?" Claudia asked. But soon realized the girl's hold on Pete's hand was practically a death grip. The girl's eyes were shut tight and her whole body was tense.
"I guess the morphine wore off, huh?" Pete smiled through clenched teeth.
Claudia couldn't help but return a small smile, "Do you want me to…?" She glanced at their tight grips, not sure exactly what she could do but figured she would ask anyway.
Pete shook his head, "If you could just," he gave her the cloth so he could use his other hand to loosen the girl's grip slightly. Pete exhaled deeply as his hand began to regain feeling.
Claudia folded the cloth and continued to dab at the girl's face. Suddenly the girl gasped and relaxed considerably. A few moments later her eyes opened but Claudia could tell she wasn't quite aware of her surroundings.
Claudia glanced at Pete but he wasn't paying any other attention than to massaging his hand. She looked back down to the girl and found her eyes staring at Claudia, no, through Claudia.
"Hi, can you tell me your name?" Claudia asked anyway. Pete looked at Claudia like she was crazy before he realized who she was talking to. "I'm Claudia."
The girl's eyes narrowed slightly, trying to focus. Claudia pointed to Pete and tried again, "This is Pete. What's your name?"
Claudia reached over to the side table and grabbed the glass of water. It wasn't until the glass was at the girl's lips did her gaze change. She swallowed a few gulps and Pete coaxed her into taking two pills also. Once the glass was empty, the girl finally spoke, her voice raspy and barely audible but the other two heard it.
"Bailey."
Pete and Claudia shared a small smile and Pete asked the next question, "Bailey, hey," Pete grinned again when she glanced at him, "any chance you can tell us what happened?"
The girl didn't answer and instead closed her eyes. Claudia, desperate, clutched Bailey's hand and she slowly opened her eyes again.
"Please," Claudia pleaded.
Bailey looked at Claudia for a few seconds before wincing in pain. "Hurts…" she mumbled.
Claudia squeezed Bailey's hand ever so slightly, "I know, I'm sorry. We are trying to figure this out but we need your help. Please, tell us how you got here," but Bailey had already lost consciousness.
Claudia bowed her head in frustration and Pete put his hand on her shoulder to console her. She sighed and then frowned as she felt heat come from Bailey's wrist. She raised her head slightly and noticed a tattoo that was slowly fading from white to skin color – only off a bit, almost like a scar. The design had tendrils branching off of a main stem that went all the way around her wrist.
"Okay, that's new," Pete said, seeing the same thing. "We should tell Artie."
