There you go, a little action !

Féline hissed when the sharp ringing disturbed her beauty sleep. Mind hazy, Eleanor grumbled something about her blasted landline before her brain caught up with her. Switching on the side lamp, she caught a glimpse of the time on her watch.

3.14 am.

Who the heck calls me at this hour ?

The phone stopped ringing before her feet found her nice fluffy slippers. Eleanor yawned, put out. Living in the middle of nowhere had its uses, but it could sometimes be a pain. No mobile phones. Not that she would handle its radiations anyway. Miffed, she was about to pull the comforter over her head to return to her dreams when the phone started ringing again.

Eleanor dropped out of bed with a groan, and dragged herself to the living room. The wind had howled all day, but the storm had died somewhere during the night. Still, she had not been able to fall asleep before way past midnight.

And that blasted ringtone killed her ears, even at the minimum. Reaching for the headset, she closed her eyes against the light and groaned.

"Yeah ?"

"Oh, Ella, thank god ! You need to come down, quick before tomorrow morning."

Myriam's voice was hushed and frantic. But it was still 3 am.

"What the hell Myriam ?"

"People came, dark suits and all. I think they were from the government. They asked him questions, he responded some in his own language."

This time, the nurse held all her attention; there was no use to name 'him' as they both knew who she was talking about.

"What ?" Eleanor breathed.

"We received the order. They are transferring… to an unknown facility."

The young woman frowned, her heart flip flopping in worry. The government wanted Laurëfindelë ? Had they figured out where he came from ? She had thought about it, long and hard. The most obvious would be a closed-knit community with an invented language of their own, somewhere in Australia or Brazil, where genetics liked to play tricks.

Another possibility had been that she'd been transported into the X-Files TV show. Eleanor had laughed at her own idiocy… but now, to know the government wanted him caused her suspicions to flare. Perhaps they would just ship him back home ?

Or perhaps they would experiment on him. Laurëfindelë was… different. And even his blood tests were weird, according to Myriam. His ears, too, and his flawless features, and the age in his eyes... Well, everything about him was strange.

He might very well disappear from the surface of earth.

"Ella ? You're still here ?"

Eleanor blinked her thoughts away, playing with the cord of the old phone.

"Yeah."

"I don't trust them, those guys. And neither did he. I've seen him sad and desperate, but this time he looked… different."

A rusty eyebrow climbed upon her forehead.

"Different how ?"

There was a pause on the other side of the line, as if Myriam couldn't quite reconcile with the idea. And then, she breathed, barely loud enough for Eleanor to hear:

"Dangerous."

Dangerous.

The physiotherapist's words came back full force as she considered the situation. Laurëfindelë, for all his gentleness and good disposition, had probably been a soldier. Yet, despite the trauma that had left him broken, he'd shown an even and welcoming temper. Sadness, sometimes, and despair crept into his eyes when he believed she wasn't looking. But she'd never witness any violence about to be hurled at anyone. In pain, or harassed by the nurses, Laurëfindelë was the epitome of control.

This meant he felt in danger.

Why me ? This seemed like a bad scenario out of a science fiction movie, and she worried her lower lip.

"What do you want me to do ?"

"Take him somewhere," Myriam whispered. "I don't know. We must sneak him off…"

The nurse always had a rebellious streak in the first place, but Eleanor was as meek as they came. She wouldn't even steal a pencil at the post office. To go against the government… And what if Laurëfindelë had a mental illness, hidden below layers of graciousness ?

Sometimes, she even wondered if he wasn't from another planet altogether, but rationality always crushed those doubts ruthlessly.

"Myriam… how much risk ?"

"I don't know. But for the moment, there's no warrant, nothing. If he leaves on his own, it's not illegal, right?"

Her lack of hesitation gave Eleanor a little courage. Here, in her remote cottage, she was out of sight, out of mind. No camera would ever catch sight of a strange man, no spying drone or network of the sort. This was the safest place of England to hide someone until the ripples settled.

But was she ready to …

"Ella, hurry up."

Myriam hung up on her with a click, and Eleanor stared at the headset.

Action now, thinking later.

Grabbing the bag of clothes she'd prepared for him, she added her mother's ski jacket and threw it on her back.

Her mind rolled in circles.

What the hell are you doing, Ella ?

Silencing the voice of reason, she left her cottage and jumped in the car.

Saving a friend. Come on, stop being a coward.

As she drove down to Oxford, a sense of urgency settled in her bones. The more she thought about it, the fishier the situation seemed. She could not leave him in the clutches of an unknown organisation; it would rip away the only contacts he'd established since his awakening.

Eleanor Laurëfindelë-va meldië danced in her mind.

I am his friend in this strange place, I owe him protection until he can handle himself.

That blasted motorway seemed to unfurl endlessly as Eleanor struggled against principles, logic and the deep, unsettling feeling that nothing would ever be the same. It she'd been true to her heart, she should have admitted that her world titled the moment she saw Laurëfindelë on his bed. But until now, the false freedom of being able to turn away, to leave that hospital room and never return felt like a possibility.

With a huff, she turned on the Beethoven pastoral symphony and started humming to calm her nerves.

That's it, Ella. In and out.

The familiar, disagreeable buzz of magnetic interferences in her brain increased gradually as she reached civilisation and penetrated in the city. Eventually, she came about the hospital and marked a pregnant pause. If the government was involved, perhaps it would be better to lay low in a side street rather than in the main, videotaped visitor parking.

You are paranoid, my girl.

Paranoid or not, she steered away from the main, illuminated entrance and parked on a delivery spot in a lane that dove under the cover of trees.

'I'm here," she typed on her mobile to Myriam. 'In red cross lane.'

'I'll be down in 5 min, take the haematology entrance, at the back.'

Eleanor took the diminutive duffle bag and sneaked her way into the night, feeling like the oddest spy. For a moment, she mused about the most famous agent of all England, a man that told every single enemy his name – Bond, James bond. Way to be inconspicuous. She giggled; it was so ridiculous.

But dread permeated her heart as she crossed the street behind the hospital. If Sean Connery wasn't a man to be easily overlooked, Laurëfindelë beat him a hundred times over. Who could possibly forget such a pretty face, such an overwhelming presence ?

Now, the hoodie she'd bought on sale felt like the best idea ever. Eleanor razed walls, staying in the shadows as she crossed the deserted parking and looked for the haematology service. She found it soon enough, its harsh, new halogens assaulting her irises after so long spent in the quiet night. Hot, stuffed air greeted her nose as she penetrated inside and slid against the wall to wait for Myriam.

Not two minutes later, her friend appeared at the end of the corridor in scrubs.

"Come," she only said, her jaw tense.

Eleanor followed, and the two women wandered through endless corridors, passing services and quiet elevators as they progressed. Their exchanged were quick and hushed; she showed her the clothes she'd found, and Myriam nodded. Eventually, they made it to a staircase plunged in darkness. The nurse did not switch the lamps on purpose.

"Mind your step."

"Don't worry, I see well in the dark," she responded, unfazed by the lack of light.

Over sensitivity of all senses was a family plight, one they believed had pushed her mother to being internalised in the psychiatric ward. The very reason how she'd met Myriam, and befriended her. At the time, the nurse had pulled a few ropes to obtain a place in a good, nice institute further away from the city for her mother; the effect had been instantaneous on her health. Even though she was still prone to delirious moments, Eryn fared much better in this peaceful environment than she had in the city.

As they reached the third floor, Myriam turned to Eleanor.

"I'll get back to my post to avoid suspicions, and say I've covered his room already. Do you think you can head out on your own ?"

The young woman nodded; yes, even though she was a linguist, she had been blessed with a good sense of direction.

"Wait for three minutes, then go. I'll see you at your place."

Eleanor nodded and Myriam disappeared behind the heavy door. Silence suddenly settled around her like a heavy blanket, only impaired by the distant noise of machinery and the faint buzzing in her ears.

It's not too late to turn around.