I opened up the door Aerolith had said was the library. There was a single bookshelf that was about waist high. It had three books on it, all super dusty and old looking. So much for library. I picked up the thinnest one I could find and started to read it. It was like a demented version of Pinochio.
There was this really handsome guy who got the girl of his dreams. He found out she was cheating on him and said he would cut off her nose if she lied to him again. She left again but didn't come back. So the guy started cutting off every body's noses off until another woman begged him to spare her. He didn't listen to her blinded by anger, and she turned him into a tree.
After that I started getting a headache. I put down the book and closed my eyes. A few tears streamed down my face but I didn't try to stop them. I figured I would be crying a lot or toughen up and the first one seemed more likely. The headache got worse until I couldn't stand it anymore. I stood up and started walking in circles while banging on my head like it just needed to be punched into feeling better. I yelled but it only made it worse.
"Hannah?" There was a muffled voice coming from outside the door. The headache! Of course how could I have forgotten? Instead of trying to get rid of it I tried to figure out where it was. It was currently in the back of my head but when I turned around it was in my forehead. It acted weirdly like a compass. I ran to the door.
"I'm in here!" I yelled. Had Felicity come back already? I started to pound on the door. "There's no handle!"
"There's isn't one out here either." I couldn't recognize the voice very well, but I didn't care. "How did you get in?" I assumed I didn't have time to explain so I gave her the short version.
"There's a hatch on the roof, but you won't be able to get up there." I said desperately. No reply. I put my ear to the door. Still nothing. "Hello?" You called.
"How far is the drop?" I heard the voice above me. I jumped back and looked up. She wasn't there, but I could hear her. How did she get up there?
"Uh… Far." I responded. I could've sworn I heard her huff up there.
"Is there anything soft to land on?" She questioned. I thought of the bed, but how heavy was it?
"Maybe, just hold on!" I ran over to it and started pushing. The bed creaked and groaned, but finally budged. It made a horrible scraping sound as it slid across the floor, leaving scuff marks all over it. I eventually got it aimed under the hatch and called for whoever was above the hatch to come down. It's a trap! I thought too late. I was wrong. Falling through the hatch, came Emma Swan. Her blonde hair was in soggy tangles and her clothes were torn and soaked. She stood up, balanced herself on the bed, then jumped off. She was covered in sand.
"Are you ok?" She asked breathing heavily. Really universe? You could've sent anyone else here, but you had to choose Emma.
"Emma!" There was another voice from outside. "What happened?" It was definitely Graham. That's a little better, Universe.
"I'm fine! What's the plan now?" She called.
"Uh we have rope!" He answered.
"Then why didn't we use that in the first place?" Emma scolded.
"Well sorry I thought we lost it at sea!" Lost it at sea? Was that some kind of weird expression I've never heard of? Emma walked up to me and bent down.
"Hannah, I need you to you to grab the rope. Graham is out there, and he's going to pull you up." I balled my fists and nodded. It was weird that I felt like this around her. All she's done since she met me is help. The rope landed roughly on the bed. There was a big rock tied to the end of it. She picked it up, and untied it. She started wrapping it around my waist, but stopped suddenly.
"What is it?" I asked alarmed.
"I need to wrap this around you where you're not hurt." She said. It was probably just me but I thought I saw her look at my neck and I instinctively gulped.
"It's fine." I said. "It's actually better now." I lifted up my shirt to show her. She ran her hand across the scar.
"Oh my... That's freaky." She whispered. She continued wrapping the rope around me. When she had secured it with a strong knot she made me stand on the bed. "Pull Hannah up, Graham!" I felt a tug on the rope, and I started rising toward the ceiling.
"What about you?" I asked Emma. I decided to push aside that feeling and maybe try to be friends? I was almost to the hatch.
"Graham knows what to do." she said.
"Ow." I said calmly but loud enough for Graham to hear. I put my fingers in the small space the rope was making and pulled the door down towards me. I held it down with my feet until Graham pulled me out fully. I was on the top of the domed roof struggling for a foot hold.
"Hannah, let go, and I'll catch you!" Graham said. I considered it but the drop was making me dizzy. I've tried to convince myself I wasn't scared of heights, but it never seemed to work. Now I was on this 2-story tall half-circle with someone telling me to plunge to my death! I was terrified.
"Hannah!" He repeated. I wanted to look at him, determine where he was, or even tell him to just leave me there.
"We've got to get off this island!" He called urgently. Island? I stupidly looked over the dome to see what he was talking about. My stomach did a flip and my grip tightened around the small bump next to the hatch. In my worry about falling, I managed to completely ignore the fact that it was light outside. Had I read that disgusting book all night? Unexpectedly the rope yanked me away from my little spot from the roof. I screamed until I felt myself hit something.
"Don't scream." He said while putting his grimy hand over my mouth. I nodded and he set me down. I looked around in shock. Graham wasn't lying about it being an island. We were standing on a beach right next to the ocean. The sand was orange and had rocks strewn across it in every direction. Graham was about to tie another rock to the rope but Emma came around the corner. We both jumped back in surprise.
"How'd you get out?" I asked. I actually felt relieved to see her which was a double-surprise.
"The door handle." She replied. What kind of joke was that?
"Yeah right, there wasn't one." She shrugged.
"It just appeared." She claimed. "It probably shifts like this twisted place." She trudged over in her wet clothes. I looked over and realized Graham was drenched too. It looked like they had swum all the way here then rolled in the sand.
"Let's go." Graham decided. We nodded and loaded up on a small boat that was tied around a rock. When we had the boat in the water Graham and Emma started explaining what had happened.
"Felicity forgot to give you your medicine so Graham volunteered to take it to you." Emma said. I looked at Graham.
"Who is the sheriff while you were gone?" I asked.
"Me." Emma said almost a little too happily. I looked from Emma to Graham and back again.
"But you're here now. Who's sheriff in Storybrooke?" Graham shrugged.
"Archie Hopper." He said. I stared at him. Doctor Archie Hopper was a psychiatrist in Storybrooke. I didn't think he would be a good choice unless Archie could set a criminal down and make them cry and wail for their mommies.
"That's just…Wrong!" I yelled. "It only takes one of you to give me medicine! Why are you both here? You could've waited until the next day!" Emma was giving me an are-you-done-pointing-out-all-we-could've-done look.
"No, we couldn't have waited any longer, Hannah." Graham said. "We didn't know what would happen to you." Even though that place was creepy and will probably haunt me for the rest of my days, it seemed really stupid that anybody would worry about me being in an orphanage. I looked at the island that was fading away.
"How did the orphanage get there?" I asked. Emma's eyes lit up.
"Apparently that's just what happens after a while. That particular orphanage moves." She explained.
"How long is a while?" I asked.
"You don't know how long you were in there?" Graham questioned. I shrugged.
"I guess a few hours?" Emma and Graham exchanged a glance. Graham somehow leaned closer.
"Hannah." He said cautiously. "You've been gone for two weeks."