18 October 1983 — St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies & Injuries
Enid Glynn

There they were again. Giant looming shadows that seemed to never cease that caused panic to reach down into Irene’s throat and seize hold of her heart. It kept happening over and over again; once she started running away from them, the ground suddenly felt like molasses and her legs couldn’t move fast enough. The beasts sure could though. Their roars rattled the air, seeping into her skin as she clapped her hands over her ears to try and deafen the noise. That never worked either.

So instead of running, Irene always took refuge in the alleyway. It never changed its appearance: sheltered, secluded and reeking of the sour tang of days old food.

“Please, oh please, someone help.” Irene never spoke too loud; the last few times she’d tried it only resulted in the large dragons hearing her. She would get corned, then she would watch as the beast inhaled, its chest glowing hot as an ember before the fire wooshed towards her in a deafening roar. And then she would get dropped somewhere else - usually a body of water.

She didn’t want to go into the water again. It was petrifyingly cold and brackish water got into her mouth that only made her nauseous again. The mere thought of it caused her to clap a hand over her mouth as she knew what was coming. But instead of the dragon rounding the corner, there was someone else this time. She was talking to someone out of Irene’s sight. “Hello?!” She called desperately, scrambling up but of course her feet wouldn’t move. She was stuck there.

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Enid had been talking to one of her colleagues as she walked through the hall; she quieted as she turned into Miss Crawley's room. Miss Crawley had been in St. Mungo's for over a month, recovering from her injuries from the dragon attack — as well as her injuries from the intensive collapse of the ship she had been on. She had not awakened in that time, but had started appearing in Enid's dreams lately — Enid found this disquieting.

Enid stepped away from her colleague and over to the bed. "Your burns are looking better," she said softly to the woman. "I think we may avoid most scarring. And I feel good about your bruises, too." Miss Crawley could not hear her, Enid assumed — but it was good to talk to comatose patients. Sometimes, they just woke up.

"It would be helpful if you stopped sleeping," Enid added. She sat down next to Miss Crawley and uncorked the bottle of salve in her hand so she could reapply it. "We're not really sure what's going on in your head."

  

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set by Lady

The voice came as half an echo. Irene hadn’t even realized what a partial echo was until she heard the other woman’s voice. It was soft and soothing, not magnified at all and yet she heard it clear as day inside her head despite the calamity of noise that thundered around her. “Can you hear me?” She whispered towards the figure, knowing it was unlikely she would be able to decipher anything Irene said. “I’m stuck. I’m - I’m caught here.”

Still as she spoke, begging her feet to lead her forward, Irene remained right where she was. Trying to shift only caused her knees to feel as if they would bend the wrong way. “Hello can you help?” She felt a sob break through her words as she searched around desperately for something that might make more noise. She could still hear the soft echo of the voice, and the shadow of the figure ahead only seemed to ripple with an unnatural movement.

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Enid began applying the salve carefully to Miss Crawley's wounds. "I think you're going to come out of this just as you always were," Enid said. "One of your friends said you were an artist? We'll have to start you on painting when you wake back up." There was a little knotted muscle between Miss Crawley's eyebrows, as if she was concerned. Enid finished applying the salve, re-corked the bottle, and made notes on Miss Crawley's vital signs. When she was done, she reached up to that spot and smoothed it out with her thumb, like she was soothing a concerned and sleeping child.

"I'd appreciate it if you weren't in my dreams tonight, though," Enid said. She hadn't enjoyed the dragon dreams; she knew it had to be persistent stress from the incident. "So I'll see you tomorrow."

  

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set by Lady

No, she was leaving. She couldn’t leave, not another person. Something cool brushed across her forehead; it felt tender and caring; a gesture that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. Her eyes stung again as tears collected at the corners, and her throat seemed to close up. The shadowed figure moved further away, and Irene finally burst from her position in the alley to run after her. “Please don’t leave me here!” She pleaded, reaching out to seize — something.

Her hand closed around a soft object, something that felt like crumpled cloth in her hand. It was the only thing she’d been able to get, so she held on tight. She wanted to pull back, to resist, but she could only hold on.

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When Enid walked out, Miss Crawley's hands were balled in her bedsheets.

When the dream started, Enid knew she was dreaming — but then she was right in front of Miss Crawley, and Miss Crawley was holding onto her shirtsleeves, and the world was on fire around them. "I'm not going to leave you!" Enid blurted, insistent, "We have to get out of here."

She had a vague sense that she had been here before, but that was impossible — surely she would remember the woman in front of her, and the world ending.

  

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set by Lady

She didn’t know how long she had shut her eyes, or when she had but it seemed like a lifetime. The cloth shifted under her hands as if it had a life of its own. Opening her eyes, Irene saw a familiar face in front of her. Only right now the girl had a determined set to her brow, as if she’d been here all this time. Irene could only nod wordlessly, swallowing whatever protests she had. She didn’t want to move. She wanted to be taken out of here now. “Okay. Okay.” She breathed, her voice hoarse as if she’d been screaming too much for far too long.

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Okay. The woman would let Enid get her out of here, and Enid nodded at her, as if making a determined expression would help the other woman become determined, too. There was only one problem.

"How'd we get here?"

  

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set by Lady

How’d we get here?

It was a question that should have been simple to answer, and yet Irene couldn’t have pulled it from anywhere even if she was faced down with the Killing Curse. She swallowed as the panic slowly started to seep back in. “I - I don’t know.” She stammered, her eyes wide. She felt as if she’d been her for as long as she could remember. It felt as if the edges of her mind were disappearing, threatening to push her over the edge. “I don’t know! How - how did you get here? What’s your name? Do I know you?” Because the more questions she asked, the more likely the girl would know an answer.

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   Enid Glynn

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Neither of them remembered how they had gotten here. Enid swallowed; her mouth felt dry. "I'm Enid," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She didn't know how she had gotten here; she did not know if she knew this brown-haired woman, even though there was something familiar about her.

  

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set by Lady

Enid. Yes, ok that was new information. New information that might lead to…something. “I’m Irene.” She breathed, as colors swirled in the peripherals of her vision, as if the beasts were hovering just out of view for the right time to strike down on both of them. “I - there are dragons attacking the city, and I don’t know how to get out.” Desperation cracked her voice at the end as she thought again of getting dropped into the cold, bottomless ocean.

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Dragons attacking the city. Enid went cold, and then. "W-wait," she said, "You're sure it was dragons?" It was like she had a sense of déjà vu, but she could not quite manage to place it. Had she met this woman before?

  

“Yes,” Irene nodded quickly, as if she would lose two minutes for every second that she hesitated. “Dragons, they’re everywhere and they won’t leave.” She wanted to reach forward, seize the girl by the shoulders and shake her. “Dragons!”

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Enid blinked. Something about this felt unreal, like it was a caricature of London, rather than the real thing. And the dragons struck her as a false note. She was still full of fear, but immediate adrenaline was lessening — something was weird.

"Who are you?" Enid asked, as if that was the most relevant question.

  

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set by Lady