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The cold autumn wind beat persitantly against her face as Jill ran, her feet pumping in a familiar rythm perfected day after day. Running was one of those activites that you could do without thinking, you just did it, through the years it had become such a natural habit that she couldn't miss a day without feeling as though she'd forgotten something important.
It was a chill November day in a small town just outside of London and Jill was running down through the local park, her usual route, her mind on nothing just wandering from thought to thought relaxing herself from the stress of everyday life.
Jill MacArthur was a sixteen year old, just your average teenager. She had a family, a home, and a dog. She'd finished primary school a year before and lived at home with her parents. Her life was in a time of uncertainity, waiting for a bend in the road to take her someplace new. All these things were experiences that any other girl went through, all that she did had been done before a million times before. That all changed one fateful day, the day she died.
There had been a car accident, her parents were informed, a terrible accident that left three out of the four people involved dead. Jill should have been dead. She'd been running on the walk next to the busy intersection, two cars had collided and the second vehicle had swerved into her. She should have broken nearly every bone in her body, her heart should have burst with the impact of the collision, she was alive. Alive and with barely a scratch to show. That was when her path took a turn, a twisting turn that left behind all and everything familiar.
At first everything was the same, she came home and just kept on living. There was an odd sense of combined relief and shock that she was alive. For awhile all she could think of was... she was alive, a body that should have been a corpse. There was talk from neighbors and she caught her Mother and Father flashing her looks, wonder, fear, relief, confusion. There was no reasonable explanation for why they had not lost their only daughter, there could be none. She was alive when she should have died.
It was not until that cold November day, in Bolingsbroke Park, that life changed and it changed with a cruel twisting jolt that left no time for any transition. It was the day Jill MacArthur met another immortal.
Puffs of steamy breaths enveloped Jill as she ran through the far end of Bolingsbroke Park. The day was bitter, a cold drizzle appearing here and there throughout the day and a cutting wind swept through the area. The large park was almost entirely deserted, what few people left in it hurrying homewards, only a few brave souls would have summoned up the courage to be out on a day like this one. One of those souls was Jill MacArthur. She rarely ever missed a day running, and a little bad weather was no excuse. Besides, she'd always liked bad weather. Even when she was small she'd stayed up for storms, just to watch them. Something about the challenge of it had never ceased to excite her, that hadn't changed when she grew older.
She had just entered the wooded area of the park, faded leaves crunching under foot, when a searing pain struck her. It was like a maximized awareness of... something. A humming throbbing sort of pulsation that ran through her head, erasing any and all other sensations. Gasping, falling to the ground in a sort of crouch, she clasped both hands to her head. She could have sworn the feeling went on for hours but only a short time later the throb faded leaving only a small sense of... something.
Breathing heavily, eyes wide with fear, Jill began to wonder if she were having some sort of stroke. She didn't know what to do, it was several miles back to her home. The weather was horrible and she had no money for a cab, besides the park itself was a good half-mile long before it reached any roads. Trying to calm the nervous palpatations in her heart she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Forcing herself to breath normal for several counts she opened her eyes... and yelled with the combined shock of surprise and fright. A man, a stranger stood only several yards away.
Jill had no idea what to do, her first impulse was to jump up and run but she was in no condition for that, her head was still searing and her legs felt weak. The only option left to her was to wait, try to figure out her circumstances which Jill didn't like the looks of. Opening her mouth, hands leaving her head, she stared up at the tall figure in front of her.
"W- Who... are you?" She managed to get out, her voice shaking. The numbness of the initial shock was beginning to wear off and raw terror was beginning to set in, she couldn't keep her eyes off the metal of the outstretched blade.
The man was looking at her, rather oddly she thought through a haze of fear. His weathered face searching. The humming in her head surged up again and this time Jill couldn't help it and let out an agonised cry. Clutching her head once more she rocked herself, trying to be rid of the alien feeling that invaded her mind.
A serious questioning look covered the man's face as he watched her apprehensively. Moving forward he held out one hand. Stumbling to her feet Jill tried to back away from the approaching figure, quite beside herself with panic now.
"Here, let me help you." Were the calm, no-nonesense words uttered by the man that somehow lent a small feeling of security to Jill who was still holding her head. "Who are you?" Was the question, asked in a soft gentle tone by the stranger. Blinking several time Jill keeled over, instantly losing consciouness.
Heaving a sigh the man stared down at the prone form in front of him. Heaving a slow sigh he reached down and hoisting the body over one shoulder headed for the nearest exit.