"Even nothing cannot last forever." -Neil Gaiman


Tuesday Afternoon, Universe A

"Yes ma'am. You can pay the balance of your fine online now... right." Savannah rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Just click on the link that says 'Your Library Card.' Then you can log in to your account...Okay. Okay, good bye."

She ended the call and gratefully pulled the headset off her head. Savannah sighed and checked the small digital clock she had clipped to the top of her cubicle wall. Only 2:45. Fuck. This day was dragging by. It didn't help that she just didn't give a shit enough to be here today.

Everyone and everything was an annoyance to her. She didn't want to deal with bitchy employees, she didn't want to deal with half deaf patrons asking her the same inane questions over and over again. She couldn't concentrate. Her mind felt fuzzy. If she could, she'd go home right now and climb back in bed. She hoped like hell she could force herself to endure the rest of this day.

The call room was empty except for Savannah and a strange older woman named Madeline Ingram who sat at a desk against the opposite wall. Madeline had worked for Sugar Creek Public Library for 25 years and seemed perfectly satisfied to remain in her low paid position. She was a dependable worker, just eccentric and she always smelled a little odd. Since the library had made cutbacks, Madeline was the only full time call center rep on days through the week. Savannah also had two temporary part time techs who helped out but they were currently out shelving books.

She stood and glanced over the top of the cubicles at Madeline who appeared to be playing a game on her phone. If Savannah was going to keep herself from climbing under her desk for a nap, she was going to need to go smoke a cigarette and fast.

Savannah cleared her throat. "Hey...Madeline. I'm going to go take a quick fifteen. You okay here?"

Madeline's eyes never left her phone. "Sure. I'm good." she replied flatly.

Savannah raised her eyebrows. Weird fuckin broad. She dug her purse out of her bottom desk drawer and headed over to the elevator. She was going to try to sneak out through the lower level to avoid the branch manager Joanne Dunkley. She knew Joanne was pissed at her for being so late this morning. She didn't tolerate tardiness in anyone, let alone her supervisors. Savannah thought it best to stay out of her way for the rest of the day if she could at all help it.

Before she stepped into the elevator, Savannah called back, "If you need help, I have Craig working the information desk and he can grab a line for you." When Madeline didn't answer, Savannah threw her hands up helplessly and got on the elevator. She pressed the button for the lower level hoping Madeline wouldn't need to bother Craig. He was her only weekday customer service staff member and if he disappeared from the info desk for too long, Joanne would throw a fit.

The elevator doors closed and nothing happened for a moment. Savannah glanced around nervously. This damn elevator was old as hell and got stuck between floors a couple times a month. She breathed a sigh of relief as it slowly started to descend. As the elevator made its way from the second floor down to the lower level, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She nearly had a heart attack when she heard that same creepy ass old woman in her head again. As before, the voice was crystal clear, as if the speaker were standing right beside her.

There's no doubt it was she. It was foretold. The human with the power of the Sisterhood.

Okay. Now she was definitely wide awake. Savannah's eyes darted all over the elevator as it suddenly ground to a stop. Her heart hammered in her chest as nothing happened.

"Hello?" She asked out loud just as the bell dinged and the doors swept open. She was relieved but also slightly embarrassed when she realized the elevator hadn't stopped between floors. It had simply stopped on one.

Silas Overman stood on the other side of the doors looking at her curiously for a moment before stepping on. "Hey Savannah... you alright there?" He looked slightly amused rather than concerned. She could only imagine the look on her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Fuck this day.

"I'm good, Silas. Just heading down for a smoke." When the doors slid closed again, she busied herself with her phone, hoping he'd take the hint that she wasn't in a socializing mood. She saw out of the corner of her eye that she needn't have worried as he seemed to be doing the same thing.

Silas had been at the library longer than Savannah had but she'd not been around him much until she'd been promoted back in November. He'd tried talking to her a few times over the past few months since she'd switched to the department right next to his. He wasn't ever creepy or overly flirtatious- he hardly seemed the type- but he did seem to have a bit of a crush. Savannah tended to avoid him. It's not that she had anything against him. He seemed pretty cool and he was obviously an extremely good looking guy.

Trouble was, she'd also heard he'd been in some trouble and ended up in rehab back in the fall. She wasn't interested in getting tangled up in anything like that. She'd spent most of her life dealing with her mom's drug issues until she'd gotten clean six years ago. She had no desire to deal with any more of that bullshit.

The elevator had reached the basement and she scrambled off into the concrete corridor, headed around to the service entrance. She could exit the library there and go smoke in the courtyard. She speed-walked to avoid awkwardly winding up alongside Silas in case he was headed in the same direction. As she turned the corner in the corridor, she realized that the entire length of hallway leading to the service entrance was pitch black. The damn lights were out. She froze and felt a jolt of anxiety. She quickly pulled her smart phone back out and tried to turn on the flashlight. She couldn't believe this shit. It wasn't working.

Savannah smacked her phone uselessly and groaned. Why a grown ass woman had to be afraid of the dark was anyone's guess. It was incredibly stupid. She looked back and saw Silas was headed this way. No way was she going to play the victim and wait for him. She took a deep breath. The hallway wasn't that long. She could do this. She started forward with one hand on the wall.

It wasn't long before she found herself enveloped by blackness. It was surreal how perfect the dark was. Like her eyes were closed and someone had painted the inside of her lids with black paint. Her heart was thundering and she began to feel strange. She thought it might just be from anxiety until she started to hear a staticky sound. Like white noise. And then she heard the whispers.

Goosebumps moved up her arms. Oh what now? She couldn't quite make out the whispered words. This was different than in the elevator. This wasn't HD audio. This was like she'd picked up a weak radio signal on a walkie talkie and was overhearing bits of someone's conversation. Savannah froze as the whispers became more defined.

It's not so stupid Sienna. You aren't afraid of the dark. Not really. You are afraid of what the dark hides from you. You can't see clearly and you could possibly get hurt. Seems a perfectly rational fear to me.

Savannah's eyes widened. The voice was familiar. That posh English accent. The Doctor guy from her dreams?

"What is happening to me?" she asked out loud, her voice shaky.

She felt her legs go weak and her breathing become erratic. She leaned heavily against the wall. She didn't know how far down the hallway she'd gotten but she had a feeling she wasn't making it much further.

It was about then that a flashlight beam shined all around her. She looked up and squinted, saw someone walking toward her down the hall.

"Savannah? What's wrong with you?" Silas. He approached her quickly, now sounding very concerned.

He was probably right to be concerned, Savannah thought before she lost consciousness and slid down the wall.


Tuesday Night, Universe B

"Silas, if I tell you something, will you promise not to think I'm crazy?" Sienna asked suddenly.

Silas raised his eyebrows and a familiar smirk appeared on his face. "Too late for that." he quipped.

Sienna threw a cushion at his head. They were currently sitting around in her small studio apartment on the sofa watching some episodes of Supernatural. She didn't have cable, but she did have an Xbox and a Netflix account.

It was Sienna's very first place of her own. She never realized how privileged she'd been growing up until she had moved into this place and was supporting herself for once. She lived in a tiny studio loft over the sub shop on Main street. Her furniture and dishes were all mismatching. Her couch folded out into a bed and she tried to bum dinner at Dayle's whenever she could. Or...at least when Jesse was cooking.

She leaned forward and gazed at her best friend solemnly. "I'm serious. This shit is really getting to me and even though Dayle knows about it, I know the subject bothers her. I need to talk to you."

Silas leaned forward as well, finally taking her seriously. "Alright See. What's happenin?"

She scratched her forehead. Where to start? She decided she'd start small. "Okay. You know my ex Chris? The one we saw at the hardware store yesterday?"

Silas nodded, his eyes growing hard "Sure, the douchebag. What did he do?"

Sienna sighed. And out comes the testosterone. "That's just it. I haven't heard anything from him since October. Not a peep. And this guy was a stalker extraordinaire every other time I've tried breaking up with him."

Silas was looking at her oddly. "Sooo... it bothers you that you haven't heard from him? This total meth head dick who broke your nose and slept with your friends while dating you? Seriously?"

Sienna made a sound of frustration. "No! I'm glad I haven't heard from him. The thing is, I ran into him back in February and he didn't remember me. He has no idea who I am now." She watched Silas to see if he'd believe her.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is it the drugs?" he wondered.

Sienna shook her head. "It isn't the drugs. It was this man. A dude I met the day I left rehab. That night. I told you that I ran into Chris at the gas station. What I didn't tell you is that someone else was there."

Silas raised his eyebrows. "You aren't making any sense babe. Why did Chris forget you because of some guy?"

Sienna sighed and closed her eyes. She spoke quickly, running her words together so he wouldn't interrupt her. "The guy wasn't human see he's a species called a Time Lord from another planet and his name's the Doctor and he was there to help me that night and he punched Chris when he tried to hurt me and then he did some thing to Chris's mind by touching his temples." Sienna finally took a breath. "He wiped Chris's mind. And... I think he wiped mine too. Before that."

To say that Silas looked skeptical was the understatement of the year. Sienna grimaced at him. She knew just how he felt. She'd felt the same way at lunch when Dayle had filled her in.

After a long awkward silence in which Silas was clearly hoping his friend would say she'd only been kidding, he exhaled heavily. "Okay. So you think this is true?" He studied her, now looking quite worried.

She got up and moved closer to him. She grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye imploringly. "Silas I'm telling you this is true. This guy... he knows Dayle quite well. She knows more about him than I do. He is real. And he was there in that parking lot in October. And he s-s-said." Sienna stammered, as she remembered the Doctor's kind hazel eyes. "He said we'd met before even if I didn't remember."

She felt a weird sensation inside her head and she put her face in her hands. Silas put his arm around her. "Sienna, you're freaking me out here. What is going on with you?"

"Something happened." She whispered, her hands still hiding her face. "Something happened to me involving this guy the Doctor. Something big. And for some reason nobody wants me to remember it." She finally sat up straight and looked at him. "Silas I know it. I can't explain why. But I know it." She searched his face willing him to believe her.

He fiddled with his lower lip, watching her intently. He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. "Okay Sienna. I believe you."

Her relief was palpable. She squeezed his hand. She had known she could count on him.

He tilted his head. "So. This thing that happened. Are we assuming it's bad?"

His question surprised her. Because of course she'd assumed it must be something terrible. But as soon as he asked it, she felt that strange sensation in her mind again and she found herself shaking her head. "No. It wasn't all bad." The words she spoke seemed to come from somewhere else. That was extremely odd. She paused a moment, her eyes shifting left and right, waiting to see if more would come. Nothing did.

"So what do you intend to do about it?" he asked, his brow furrowed. "Is there something to be done about it?"

She chewed at her lip. "So... here's the thing. Dayle has his phone number. She told me she did. So what if I find a way to get it from her and just call him... or text him? What if I just hit him up?"

Silas thought for a moment. "Sounds good... but what makes you think he'll tell you anything now if he wouldn't then?"

"I get the feeling it may have something to do with my sobriety. Like, you know how the first couple weeks out of rehab, everyone kind of tiptoes around you? Like, they are afraid to even say the word "drugs" for fear you'll fall completely apart."

Silas smirked again and nodded. He could certainly relate.

"Maybe now that I'm on my feet... well maybe I can be trusted with the information." Something suddenly occurred to Sienna.

Her brown eyes went wide. "I wonder if this has anything to do with..." she was talking to herself, practically forgetting Silas was present.

"Hey! Earth to Sienna." Silas waved his hand in front of her face. She shook herself and looked at him. Sighed heavily.

"Alright. Since you seem to be taking all this in stride, I suppose there's no harm in telling you..." She swiped her hand down her face. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She'd never even told Dayle. "There's something about me that I've never told you. That I never tell anyone. Because, well, I prefer folks not to think I'm batshit."

"Jesus! There's more?" Silas looked like he'd about had enough.

Sienna rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Let me see that finger you sliced with the box cutter yesterday."

He narrowed his eyes, looked down at his hand, then proffered it suspiciously. Sienna took hold of his hand and studied his index finger. There was a band aid wrapped around it. She tore it off and set it on the crate that doubled as a coffee table.

"What the fuck are you up to? Sienna you are seriously-"

"Shut up!" She commanded. He complied. She examined the cut. It was definitely a nasty one. Just one slip away from stitches. It wasn't actively bleeding but it gaped open and looked painful.

She looked Silas in the eyes. Then closed hers. She hadn't done this in a long while. Not since before rehab. But it came right back to her naturally.

She held her friend's hand with her right hand and placed the first two fingers of her left hand gently against the wound. She felt the familiar tickle. The current of energy that started somewhere deep inside. She breathed in the pain. And exhaled it away.

When she opened her eyes, the cut was gone.

Silas's green eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open. He snatched his hand back and turned it over to examine the finger from all angles.

Finally he stammered "You... you h-h-healed me!"

She shrugged, feeling a little lightheaded but pleased with herself. "Yeah. I do that sometimes."