WARNING A BIT OF COARSE LANGUAGE—I OWN NUTHIN' BUT OCs

"You're going to have to get up."

Get up? Why on earth would I want to do that? Not when it's oh so comfortable on this freezing floor. I groan and open my eyes. The lady bent over me has her hand on my shoulder and shakes me as I come to. Gray wisps of hair that float like a halo around a dark brown face is my unhappy alarm. Her blue glasses come closer and I realize she's saying something that's getting drowned out by my sleepiness.

"-going to have to get out of here, girl. The library is for people to read, not sleep." The snort that follows doesn't seem to fit with her sweet grandmotherly appearance. I'm wiping the sleep from my eyes and standing, apologies tumbling out of my mouth as I move to leave.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't have a place to sleep. I'll just get out of your hair."

"That's a half of the people in this city!"

"Right, right, I'm just leaving." She's got this sort of gruffness that gives her the air of a grumpy bear and I've never been one to fight when I can just as easily flee. Maybe that's why mom always said I must be more like my dad. Setting useless thoughts and comparisons aside, I take stock of my situation. I've lost most of the limp from last night, but I have only a ten dollar bill and some lint in my pockets. I need to figure out what happened to me. I start down the sidewalk and think back to yesterday.

I'd woken up early to start my morning jog. Waking up at please-kill-me-o'clock isn't my favorite thing to do, but I refuse to lose such a good habit. Then, after breakfast and aimless internet browsing, I headed to the diner down the street to start my shift.

After a surprisingly good day, I had picked up some treats at Walmart and went home for movie night. Maiko had bought the entire Nolan-verse batman trilogy. She insisted we have a fangirl's night together. Since she's my best friend, this whole thing 'somehow' ended up happening at my flat and we didn't finish until one a.m. In retrospect, allowing Maiko to eat so much sugar was a terrible idea. She was excitable enough without a sugar rush in the middle of the night.

"Hey, Jacquie! I pretty sure I can fly, if you just let me up to the roof I'll show youuu! I can glide with my coat… Wait, am I batman? OMG I'm BATMAN, Awesome!" Did I mention the drinks? The little fruity shots she had brought were drunk by one person and it definitely wasn't me.

"How about you show me in the morning? Come on, I'll walk you home." Grabbing my backpack, I steadied her. I'm pretty sure I was carrying her, but if she were here she'd insist she only leaned on me twice, at the most! I struggled to unlock her door and hold Maiko but thankfully she chose that moment to try sleeping on the wall.

I guided her through her messy living room to her even messier bedroom and helped her lay down in bed. (It was hard to leave, she kept grabbing me and saying "Come back teddykins!") Certain that I had a little blackmail for the next time she tried to throw a mini party at my house, I jogged home.

I was just entering the building when I felt the ground shake. It was sudden but intense and I could barely stand. I held onto the door with widened eyes and a fearful mind. Slick rain beat my cheeks and drenched my clothes. The sky had been clear moments ago, but now a thunderstorm made it impossible to see.

I began to yell, hoping that someone would hear and come pull me inside. My calls for help were snatched away by the wind. The storm was so strong, I could feel my feet leaving the ground and I stopped holding in my full blown screams. It would lift me only to drop me to the ground, again and again.

Thankfully, adrenaline barely kept my hold secure. Gradually, the shockwaves came with less force, with longer breaks in between. The rain slowed to a halt soon after and I was left thinking that perhaps I had lost my mind. But my clothes dripped, a reassurance of my own sanity.

Holding onto the door with a strength I never knew I had, I quickly looked about. I was terrified that the quake had managed to destabilize the building and a piece would fall and crush me. I scanned the area and pushed my short hair from my forehead.

Just a few feet away, a swirling mass glowed just above the ground. Eerie green and violet light curled around the edges. Was that a.. portal? Honestly, I hadn't known what else to call it. Curiosity encouraged me to explore the phenomenon, but fear had me rooted where I stood. A piece of paper floated past me. I blinked and followed its lazy trail into the light.

A bike was so very slowly being drawn towards the light. It fell to the side and the metal screeched along the concrete as the portal swallowed it whole. This thing was acting like a black hole and even I could feel its' pull. I turned to run away, but the force was gaining traction and growing stronger. Every step away took immense force, and before long it had me crawling. I fought against this unnatural force to the point that my hands bled from my desperate attempts to hold onto concrete sidewalk. In the end, all I could do was scream as the light filled my vision.

I'd woken up in that alley with a gash along my cheek and another on the side of my thigh. I stepped to the side of the walkway and put a hand to my head. How could this have happened? My family would be so worried about me once they found out I was missing. Maiko would think I had disappeared. I didn't even have my phone to try and call anyone! The darn thing was is my backpack.

Wait, I'd had my backpack when I was dragged into the.. the portal? How could I have forgotten about a goddamn portal! What if it was still out there? What if it sucked up more people? I'm not made to deal with this! I like things structured, simple, and clear. If that thing was a wormhole, I could have been dropped off anywhere in the universe! Now that I think about it, what were the chances I would land on earth? And in a city at that! Shaking my head, I tried to focus on solving what problems I could.

Hmm. If I had landed out here, shouldn't my bag have survived the journey too? I hadn't seen it anywhere near me when I woke up last night. That settles it. I need to make my way back and at least try to find my pack. After that, I'll find out where I am and try to find a way home. Maybe I could get dad to pay for my ride back to NYC.

With determination and a plan of action I started walking back towards the library. The woman who had woken me earlier wasn't visible from the outside, and yet I rushed past with a blush coloring my cheeks. I've never had to sleep in a library before. There'd been that one night with too much whiskey and stress found me passed out in a bar. The owner had forced me to leave when they closed and I'd been so embarrassed I still haven't told a soul about it. This was different, though. I'm still not sure where I am or how hard it'll be to get home.

…

I didn't know half of the battle back then.

A/N

*SLAP* Wha-what? Muse! You're back! I've missed you, you fickle-ahem. Sorry about the wait.I've got a waaay better idea of how this is all going to go. My other story has taught me that I like to stay a few chapters ahead of schedule. Maybe one of these times I'll be smart enough to write the entire thing before posting it.

Oh, and I want YOUR input! Remember the librarian? (The one that you introduced in this chapter and they obviously know?) Yeah, that one! I would like suggestions on what to name her. Something traditional but still pretty. Nothing like Mildred *blech* (Aww, but it's such a pretty name.) Eh, to each their own. She's not going to be named Mildred, so help is very much appreciated! (But, but.. Mildred! ;-;)

Anyhoo, criticism is well loved here at the crazy house! (Wait, I thought we were hiding that part.) Darn it, you're right. Welp, too late now. Post it! (What do you mean? This is still in word, we coul-) POST IT! (FINE, sheesh. Why do I have to do all the work around here…)

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED! (You make two slightly different personalities very happy!)