Sarah's eyes pried themselves open slowly. She blinked twice, bleary in the glare of soft light coming in through the window. She turned over in the small bed, smiling at Kira. Except…Kira wasn't there anymore. Sarah immediately woken up, thrashing around in the sheets and blankets crying out her daughter's name in the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Kira!" Oh dammit, this can't be happening. "Kira!" She stared with wide eyes at the spot where her child's sleeping form had once been. Oh no, not this. Anything but this, she could NOT lose Kira again.
Mrs. Hudson slammed open the door, her eyes wide as saucers with fear and shock. "Sarah, Sarah it's alright! Calm DOWN, Sarah! Kira is fine!"
Sarah fell relief washing over the hot flames of adrenaline like cool water. As her breathing slowed she panted, "She-she is?"
Mrs. Hudson smiled at her. "Yes…she's fine. She woke up about an hour ago, and I gave her a bite to eat. I even got her into the tub and changed for the day. I can't imagine what you three have been through, but trust me. It's all right now. You're in good hands."
Sarah wasn't so sure, as Mrs. S had lied straight to her face about project LEEDA, and Mrs. Hudson was one of her old contacts. The last of her old contacts had tried to sell her and Kira off to the Prolethians. She would be wary always of these people. As she slumped out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen, passing her brother drooling on the couch cushions. She petted his head as she moved past, and he murmured, "Mm…Sherlock." sleepily. She smirked at him, rolling her eyes and sat down at Mrs. Hudson's small kitchen table.
The elderly lady was bustling around, fetching her a cuppa and biscuits, as well as making her some toast. Sarah thanked her gratefully; she was too exhausted from their midnight journey to do anything herself. After she had eaten, quickly, she showered. Her brown hair tumbled down her back in wet waves, droplets dripping off like rain. She swallowed a lump in her throat. The last shower she was in was located in the bathroom of Rachel Duncan's posh apartment complex, and she had been zip-tied and tortured before being saved by Helena, coved in a bloody wedding dress with the ever familiar gleam of insanity in her eyes. She murdered Rachel's boy-toy monitor to save her "seestra", seeming to have forgiven Sarah for attempting to kill her. Sarah thought she had succeeded. She moved, clutching the threadbare brown towel around her torso, to wipe steam away from the mirror. Her heart wrenched, stopping as she was hit with a wave of sudden fear. The face glaring back at her was not her own…it was Helena's.
Sarah screeched into her pinched lips, falling backwards into the tub.
"Dear, are you okay?" came Mrs. Hudson's anxious response to the crashing noise of her limbs flailing wildly against the porcelain.
"I-um…yea." Sarah dared to gaze back again. Realizing it was just her imagination. She had escaped Helena once again. The bathroom was empty, and she was alone. She pressed a hand to her racing heart, cursing her stupidity. She reached across to unlock the doorknob with a Click! and gingerly stood on her leg, which were already bruising at the shins. Mrs. Hudson bustled in, nervously looking the clone up and down.
"My my…what's happened to you?" She said nervously.
"I-nothing. Gave myself a fright, that's all." Sarah amended, but the woman was not to be satisfied. She allowed her to pull out clothes and help her get dressed. Hudson brushed her hair and applied her makeup, even relenting and smudging the eyeliner. For all this, Sarah was grateful, no matter how unnecessary it was. As her feet were expertly laced into her boots, she stood, giving the landlady a hug before going to find Kira.
