Belle was at first confused when she saw the woman running down the street, pausing as she went to unlock the library door. From afar, it looked like she was simply out for a morning jog. A few minutes later, when she had come closer, it looked as if she was limping, in a hurry to get somewhere.
Now, as she struggled to run past, she realized the woman was running for dear life. Belle nearly dropped the key as the woman charged past her, staring at Granny's Diner that rested across the street. Belle could see Ruby outside serving a few contraction workers, so she had to have noticed, right?
Unfortunately, the young waitress was focused on serving beer instead, and Belle quickly unlocked the library and slide through the door, flipping the sign that hung in the frame so it said "Open." Going to the window, she pulled down the blinds.
The woman was halfway down the block, looking frantically this way and that. A car zooming past made her jump, and Belle felt her heart flutter as she watched her jump out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit. Sighing, she went outside again, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked briskly down the block.
"Hey, Belle!" Belle stopped in her tracks, turning to see Ruby waving at her from across the street. She was wearing her usual waitressing getup: incredibly small red shorts with a white button dan shirt, tied at the bottom to showcase a flat stomach along with a pair of long legs. Belle hesitated as she returned the sentiment, instantly regretting having come outside as a wind chilled the air.
"Hiya…. Ruby!" she said awkwardly, trying to watch the woman out of the corner of her eye. She had stopped, turning in circles as she tried assessing her surroundings. Her arms were behind her back, as if she had her hands clasped behind her. Nodding towards Ruby, Belle slowly approached the woman, and as she got closer, she could see a lavender sweatshirt falling down her arms to reveal tanned shoulders, the front zipped haphazardly up halfway. She wore a matching tank top underneath that was stained with dirt, and her blue jeans had red spatters on them. Belle eyed them curiously, unable to tell if it was blood or not.
"Excuse me," she called out, and she jumped as the woman nearly lurched in her direction. Her black hair was falling out of her ponytail, bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat. The librarian could make out a cut on her lower lip, and her brown eyes were glazed over with fear.
Overall the woman looked like a deer in headlights, looking death in the face.
"Miss, are you alright?" Belle asked gently, holding a hand out to her. The woman simply flitted her gaze from Belle's hand to her face, chest heaving as she panted like a dog. Licking her lips, Belle tree again, "Miss, is something wrong? Are you okay?"
There was the slightest shake of her head as the woman backed away, tripping over her own feet. There was a loud thud as she crashed to the pavement, using her feet to scuttle backwards as Belle reached down to help her.
"Wait-!" Belle ordered, and the womb froze, letting her head fall back onto the blacktop of the street. Looking around, Belle felt her heart pounding so hard it may as well have jumped out of her ribcage. Her temples were pounding. No one was outside, and she saw Ruby had gone back into the diner, leaving the group she was serving to eat their meals. Inching closer, she got down on her knees, the gravel digging into her skin, leaving little dents and scratches. "Miss, please," she pleaded, "Let me help you."
The wind blew by as they stared at one another, and Belle did all she could to repress a gasp as the woman's hair was blown away from her face, revealing a large gash that began at her hairline and ended at her temple, crimson trickling in rivers down her cheek.
"Oh my god…." Belle trailed off, "Who did this to you…?"
The woman shook her head vigorously, "Ianto…" Belle raised an eyebrow in confusion, scooting closer. The woman tensed up, but made no move to flee. Good, Belle thought, she's probably calmed somewhat.
"Ianto?" she echoed, the name sounding foreign on her tongue, "Did this… Ianto person do this to you?" The woman shook her head, swallowing, her throat bobbing.
"N-No!" she suddenly yelled, her eyes tearing at the corners, making small rivers in the muck on her face, "Ianto is my friend! Where's Ianto?!" Belle felt herself freeze, unsure of what to do as the woman hung her head in her lap, shoulders wracked with sobs as she repaid her friend's name, crying out hysterically, "Where is he?! Please, where is he?!"
Belle sputtered, feeling her hands begin to tremble, "I-I'm sorry- I don't know!" Apparently this was not the answer the woman was poking for, as she forced herself to her knees, slowly getting up to her feet. "What are you doing?!"
The woman's glare threw daggers at the librarian, her eyes cold and desperate as she sent a trail of ed to the ground. Blood, Belle realized, and she recoiled slightly, the gravel biting into the skin of her legs and thighs sitting on the blacktop. She squinted as she looked up at the woman, the sun creating a halo around her disarray of black hair.
"I'm going….." the woman panted, chest heaving, "… to look for my….. friends…." Belle gasped and sputtered out a reply as best she could as she watched the woman hobble and lurch down the street, the fact that she was in no position to do either of those things quite obvious. Gritting her teeth, belle pushed herself up, ankles aching as she ran after her, heels clicking on the blacktop, "Wait!"
The woman eyed her curiously as she caught up, Belle saying, "If you're rue you want to, I'll help you find them." The woman considered the offer before nodding gravely.
"Alright then," she said, her voice lilting with a faint British accent, "if you insist." Belle nodded, raising a hand.
"I do insist," Belle nodded, "but first, we need to get you cleaned up."