Death and A Consequence
She looked to the door. She had been careful. No one should know she was here. She stayed silent."HG!" again it rung out. The sound of footsteps sounded louder. It was approaching." HG! are you in there?" The door creaked slowly open. She froze.
In the dimmed lighting of the room she could see a shadow of a person standing at the entrance. She could hear an audible gasp in utter shock as the figure made out the body lying on the table and ran towards it and began trying to undo the chains that bonded Bart. HG sprinted across the room, blade in hand. She grabbed the figure from behind as she pressed the blade to it's neck. For a second she considered not running the blade across it's neck, but she had finally gotten this far, nothing and no one would stop her and so with quick fluid motion she slid the blade along the jugular, her face sprinkled with the warm drops, the smell of iron present in her nostrils. She felt the body pressed against her front relax and slip from her, hitting the ground with a thud as she heard it's throat gurgling.
Helena had no remorse at that moment as she watched with rage filled eyes as the body that laid on the floor squirm and fought, trying it's best to clutch it's throat and crawl to the door. Helena picked up her blade and began cleaning it against the cuff of her shirt.
"Wolly!" she heard a voice bouncing off the walls. She ran to the table and picked up her Tesla. The Tesla a standard issue hand gun for warehouse Agents designed by Nikolai Tesla himself and redesigned by her for Warehouse use. The Tesla emitted an electric charge that when fired, induces a charge that knocks the target immobile along with contributing to some memory loss. She never left home without it. "Wolly damnnit man are you in there?" She hears again above the gurgling. Helena lodges herself behind an over turned crate and watches as another figure enters the room only to run to its fallen friend. "Dear god! Wolly!" the voice clearly shaken.
From behind the crate Helena could see the figure fumbling in the dim light to save the person who was profusely bleeding, but she knew there was nothing that could be done to save his life. She began to count the seconds down before life would slip away leaving the body empty and void. One…. his friend struggled to apply pressure. 2….. ramblings of hanging on. 3…. pleas to keep his eyes open. 4… the sound of crying. 5….. the gurgling stops. "HG! HG!" she heard her name being yelled, the voice so vaguely familiar . "HG! where are you!" it was at that moment she hit the ground after being suspended in her cloud of rage, the voice revealing the veil over her eyes and it dawned on her. Wolly.
…..
Helena laid in her bed as she stared into darkness. It had been weeks since Christina's funeral and she had been finding it difficult, but not impossible to locate the men responsible for killing her daughter. How hard could it be for a warehouse agent/Scotland yard agent to track down murderers. She was smart, looking into every lead, knowing that even the slightest bit of information could lead her to her targets. All that consumed her was her hunt. She stared into darkness, finding it very welcoming. Sleep would not, could not come. She laid there building a mental image of what had taken place that day in the house. Everything she brought to life in her mind, were all from Sophie the nanny, and the police reports. She squirmed in bed, feeling the heat emanating from her body under the blankets. She had long since stopped crying, feeling like there were no more tears left within her to come pouring out. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to stop it, to have her darling daughter back in her arms. She allowed her mind to wander, over things, random things, anything from finding
herself thinking of Christina. Her mind began to wander to the Warehouse as she rolled her eyes. Her job had lost it's spark, along with so many things. This great vast being that held within it many endless wonder. So many artifacts, so many lifetimes spent collecting, all to keep it locked up in a "storage room" of some sort.
Helena suddenly shot up out of bed, flinging her blankets off her as she put her hand to her forehead. "I'm a bloody idiot" she said as she pushed herself up out of the bed. She went quickly to her desk in the corner of her room and searched for a match to light her candle. The tiny flame that came from such a small candle cast a glow to her room making it seem all eerie, the light of the flame, barely reaching the corners of the room. HG stood at the middle, just a few feet from her bed as she began pacing her room, almost wearing a path on the rug. " The Bloody Warehouse!" she said aloud to no one in particular, but herself. She moved over to her desk as she sat down, her mind was moving so fast she felt she could feel her body going with it. " I need an artifact, There must be one to help me."
she said as she fumbled with a piece of paper and her quill and ink well, as she got to work listing every artifact she knew that could possibly help her with her new plan. Time travel.
HG had spent almost two weeks going over the list of possible artifacts and still there was no where close to even the brink of researching all of them. She had scoured the archives at the Warehouse and mainly came up with artifacts that involved Teletransportation , but nothing that came close to time travel. She felt like there could be no end to her search, between this and her hunting for the targets, she had no time for anything else, which was good in the way that she hardly had time to let grief overwhelm her, but it had been eating away at her slowly, consuming her with obsession. She walked through aisle after aisle of paperwork sifting through many writings of artifacts and began to feel frustrated. She let her finger tips trail over boxes as she rounded the corner leading to the next
aisle, when she saw Caturanga, his head bent over a file, his brow creased in concentration as his finger moved over line after line as he read. Caturanga, was the reason why HG worked at the Warehouse. He had recruited her through Scotland yard and had been proven that H. was beyond her years in the area of science and science fiction. He was one of the smartest men she had known, she had seen him more as a mentor than her "boss". He was a man light brown of colour, his hair short and streaked with sliver. He wore a well tailored pin striped brown suit, with matching waist coat. She cleared her throat to get his attention. His concentration broke as he looked at her, a smile forming around his lips.
"H. , what brings you to the catacombs of dusty paperwork?" he said as he shut his file and tucked it under his arm.
" I'd like to believe that not all endless wonder lay out on the floor of the Warehouse." She said as she laughed, running her hand down her midnight hair.
"If you believe such, why not let me bring you over to archiving and you shall have access to such endless wonder." Caturanga chuckled as he said it.
"Oh Caturanga, we both know that poor Wooley wouldn't be able to tell the difference between his head and his arse without me there." Helena said earning her a round of laughter from her mentor.
" Miss Wells i would agree on that." He said as he gestured to turn."It's so nice to see your sense of humor is there, would you care to take a walk with me?" He said as he held forth his hand, in a movement suggesting she follow. She hadn't planned on finding anyone in the archiving sector, but this was Caturanga and she had loved being in his presence. He was a warm and gentle man, always the fatherly type towards her and so she took her place at his side as they began to walk through the aisle. They walked on for a while in awkward silence, she could see his brows creased, he was yet in deep thought, before she could break the silence he spoke," Miss Wells, how have you been?"
"I...I.." she started to say. She should have known. Everyone was constantly asking her how she was doing. How could she possibly respond to that? How do you say you're fine, when you're not? " I'm as well as one can be, given the circumstances." She said as she came to a halt.
" I understand." Caturanga said as he took hold of her hand, causing Helena to with draw taking a step back. Caturanga's face bore the hurt he must have felt at Helena's withdrawal.
" You don't." She said, " no one understands." Helena folded her arms across her chest, as she tried to fight back the tears welling in her eyes and the pain in her heart.
" I'm sorry you're right." he said as he took a step toward her, in an act of comfort, but Helena withdrew even more. Caturanga let his hands fall to his side as he bent his head and shook it." I..." he sighed.
Helena felt herself trapped in a box, the grief as if water, slowly filling, there was no where to go, no escape. Her heart screamed, she tried to fight it, tried not to let the tears flow so freely, but she could not stop it. It had been a while since she had allowed the grief to come in. She'd kept busy always
trying to avoid the pain within." I... I've been trying so hard not to feel anything... trying so hard..." her words were cut by her sobbing.
"Oh dear child. No, you must not push the grief aside, you must face it head on if you are to over come it." He said as he once again reached out his hand, only to rest it gently on HG's shoulder. This time she did not pull away, but stood there, welcoming the comfort.
"I don't want to over come it. I want to stop it." Helena said as she blinked tears away from her vision, as she looked into his eyes." I want my Christina back and i will find a way." her voice echoing with defiance.
"that's why you are here." Caturanga said as he looked around the aisle, before bringing his gaze back toward Helena." Miss Wells, listen to me. The Warehouse does posses endless wonder, even I am not fully aware of the vast wonders that lurk here, but whatever you are planning, whatever you are looking for, you need to stop. It can cost you far greater than what you may be willingly to pay. It is dangerous."
"I have to try..I ha..." Helena began to say. Caturanga, place both his hands on both Helena's shoulders and looked her deep in her eyes.
"Miss Wells promise me. Promise me you wouldn't."
"I.."
"No Helena!" Caturanga's voice grew loud. It was the first time he had referred to her as Helena and it had surprised her. It was always formally Miss Wells or simply H.G. ."Promise me!"
"I promise." was all she said, as Caturanga took her into a hug. Helena, should have known better than to let slip part of what she had planned. She knew as she answered him, that she was not making such a promise, that she would go on ahead with her plans. If Caturanga had worries over her using anything from within the Warehouse, then she will simply have to find another way, cause she knew if anything had come up missing, she will be the first to be questioned.
…
Helena slipped out from her hiding spot across the room. Her hand still clutching her Tesla.
"HG!" the voice yelled as his face was revealed by the light as he took a step towards her. Her words caught in her throat as she recognized this man. He was soaked in blood, his eyes red from the crying he had done over the body. His brow glistened with blood and sweat. "H..G" he whispered
"Macshane." Helena replied barely a whisper.
Macshane looked at her as his gaze drifted around the room, to the body lying behind her in a broken beaten mess. She heard from him a sharp intake of breath as he saw Al and she saw the look in his eyes change from grief to fright as he drew his Tesla and took aim at her.
"Bloody hell HG" he said as he took stance to fire if he had to. " What have you done?" he asked, but HG just stood there with a look on her face of someone who wasn't entirely there, someone who looked utterly lost.
"I.." Helena began to say
"Shoot the whore! shoot her!" Bart yelled breaking his silence cutting off HG. "She tried to kill me!"
"Dear god!" Macshane exclaimed as he took a few steps back as he found himself a little too close to Helena. He had known Helena for a while and had trusted her, but now he was not so sure.
Wolly had come to him earlier stating that ever since the death of Christina, HG had changed. That he had picked up on her strange routine changes, her late outings and late arrivals to artifact hunts and whenever he had asked her about it, she just blew it off as simply nothing and insisted that he knew it wasn't just that. There would be change, they both had knew that. HG had lost the most important person in her life, but HG had gone beyond the simple grieving mother and today poor Wolly had certainly picked up on it. Wolly told him that they had scheduled in to interview witnesses that morning on an artifact that was making it's presence known and she was was not herself. Her mind was else where and she had seemed in a rush. It was when she had abruptly left him at the end of the interviews, that Wolly had come to both him and Caturanga telling them of Helena's strange behaviour and they were given the go ahead to follow her . It wasn't until they had seen her snap and fought using kenpo that they had somewhat figured out what she was up to.
" Wolly…. Dear god Wolly!" Helena exclaimed as she looked to the corner that Wolly had managed to drag himself before he succumbed to his injury. She ran to is body laying in a pool of blood and threw herself on the ground, raking her hands over his cold lifeless face.
"HG, step away from him." Macshane order as he held fast to his Tesla, his knuckles going white.
"Macshane you don't understand!" She said as she shook her head, unable to comprehend what she had done.
"HG, you need to step away! How can you look upon his face now?" he asked his frame trembling. " You're the reason he is how he is… He is dead!" he spat out with disgust.
"I.." HG said as she stood up and began walking towards Macshane.
"HG stop! Don't come any closer." Macshane ordered
"Macshane, please listen.."
"Helena! Don't move!" he shouted as his finger slowly began to squeeze the trigger. " HG! One step closer and I will shoot!" he yelled, but she did not listen, or she did not quiet believe that he would pull the trigger…...that he would hurt her. He had known her, but did not think her capable of this and it is with that thought that he looked down at the cold, pale body of his friend that he knew he was wrong. He did not know her, not anymore and it was at that step she took, that he fired.
…..
Helena awoke to a throbbing pain in her head and ringing sound in her ear. She felt the soft cushions against her back and smelt an old familiar scent of pipe tobacco. She slowly opened her eyes for it to be met with the glow of a torch against the wall as she slowly blinked her eyes and cast her eyes around the room. She knew this place, she knew it quiet well. Why was she in Caturanga's office?
Helena tried to move her arms in an attempt to sit, but found her hands had been cuffed. Why was she cuffed? This made no sense to her. She managed to get herself to sit and leaned her throbbing head against the back of the sofa that she had found herself on. She closed her eyes and tried her best to think of why one, she was cuffed and two, why she cuffed and in Caturanga's office.
Helena had known a lot of time had gone by, fir the ache in her legs and back told her so. She had been sitting for a while and as much as she tried to move or stand she felt herself unbalanced and nauseous, so she stayed as still as possible to avoid any appearance of what was in her stomach. She wanted to know what was going on and tried calling out from where she sat, but she heard no one and trying again to get up and make it to the door only caused her more grief. It was then that she heard loud voices and the sound of footsteps coming towards the door. She looked towards the door and saw Caturanga as he opened the door followed by Macshane. She sat up as much as she could and was about to ask what was going on, but was interrupted by Caturanga. "HG… wh.." he began to say as he paused, " do you...do yo.." he started to say yet again, but paused, taking his spectacles off and giving his face a wipe with his handkerchief.
"Catu..." she began to say only to be swiftly cut off again.
" HG….. Helena. Do you know what you have done?" he finally let out.
" I would suppose the reasons why my hands are cuffed would suggest that yes I have done something but, I am not entirely sure what it is." she said . Macshane sighed heavily as he looked at Caturanga, his eyes betraying him, he was hiding something and Macshane was the type of person who was most brutally honest in his opinions and was never one to hold back. " Well out with it man." she said to Macshane. " I would be speaking from experience and I'd say that I was Tesla'd" Macshane's body language utterly betrayed him now. He bowed his head and would not look her in the eye. " Fuck. I must have really done something horrible to be Tesla'd and I'd say by the looks of the way you are acting Macshane, you were the one to do it. So what did I do?"
Macshane looked at Caturanga and Helena knew that they were sharing some sort of secret conversation. "Do you remember anything?" Caturanga asked.
"Nothing, other than waking up here"
"We did anticipate the memory loss." Caturanga said, "seeing as you were Tesla'd ,What date is it HG?"
" Wednesday 7th September, the year 1891." She said, " I'm suppose to meet Wolly, we have some investigating to do, concerning an artifact in connection to Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, you know the guy that solve the whole Great Stink problem, the whole of London thanks him, as I do." she said as she smirked.
"you're speaking of yesterday morning." Caturanga said. The look in his eyes reflected a great sadness. HG knew whatever she had done had been detrimental. " HG, what I am about to tell you will be difficult to hear, but…."
"Why are you going easy on her?" Macshane said breaking his silence, anger apparent in his eyes.
"Macsh….."
"NO! Caturanga! She has always been given the better treatment! How can you bear to go easy on her after what she has done!" Macshane blurted out as he rushed to Caturanga's side.
"Macshane, this is different, you need to.."
"Wha...What did I do.?" Helena asked her eyes pleading. They turned to face her.
"Wolly." Caturanga said, face distorting in grief.
"Wolly is dead!" Macshane shouted. "Wolly is dead and so is Alistair!" Macshane paused, taking an evident deep breath, " Two dead. HG, two dead, one…... one maimed for the rest of his life." tears broke free from Macshane. The bravado he had always put on, now crumbling before her. "by….by your hand. You did this." He said as he turned from her. He could no longer bear to look at her.
"Alistair?" she let out, barely a whisper. They knew. She did something and now they knew. She had been so careful, at least she thought she was. "Wolly!?" she said as her heart broke. She could never hurt Wolly. Sure he was a pain in her arse, but she cared about him, he was her partner, her friend.
"Wolly came to us yesterday morning after you ran off at the end of your investigation." Caturanga said as he approached her, kneeling and taking hold of her hand. "He…. He had been noticing your strange behaviour and wanted nothing more than to help you." he sighed "We are still not sure what happened after he followed you into the sewer canal, to the makeshift lab you had set up, but what we did find were two men, one dead and the other badly injured." HG broke, sobs racking her entire body as her tears streamed down her face.
She had done it then. She had successfully gotten her "justice",but at what price. How could she have killed Wolly. "Dear …. G...God… Wolly." She sobbed out.
" We need to talk HG." Caturanga said as he made his way to his desk, "The regents… the..they…." he could not finish his sentence.
Helena was sure that she had been prepared to deal with the consequences of what she had planned. She knew that once she went through with it that there would be no coming back, but Wolly had not been part of her plan. Wolly had become a casualty of her own grief and lust for vengeance. It was at that moment with the thoughts of Wolly, dead by her hands fully sunk in. Had she been so blinded by rage that she killed her friend. She had allowed rage, hate, grief and bitterness to consume her so much that she would do something like that. The grief she had held back for so long, intertwined with the hurt of the events that had been told to her from last night wove it's way into every nerve ending as she felt her body racking with sobs, so hard her chest felt like it would be split apart. Her apparent actions had opened a flood gate of pain that consumed her. She sat there crying, her breathing became hard and shallow, she cried and cried, while her mind constantly itched, thinking of every event, every word, every sound, every feeling that has lead her here. She had finally broke. Whatever there was to be done, she accepted it, how could she go on living knowing that her grief had lead her hand to the death of her friend. She was beyond the cause of being helped. She allowed herself to be consumed, allowed herself to change and never once allowed herself to face the grief, to face the pain, to heal. She then looked up to Caturanga with red eyes and tear stained cheeks and asked " What is to become of me?"