A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 28 - Tia, Serana

Rushing people. Kind woman. Strange bed in white enclosed chariot. Large building made of mortar and brick. Quiet room. Questions.

“Do you consent to have your friend be informed of your situation?”

Friend. Friendship. So many friendships, don’t know where to begin. She consented.

“Do you consent to an examination for trauma and-“

No! No tests, no need, no consent.

“Do you remember anything at all that happened to you before you were found in the alley in the Power and Light District?”

Snippets, fragments of voices talking, searing pain like fire in her veins, then nothing. Absolute nothingness.

“What is your name?”

Tried so hard; it was on the tip of her tongue. One fragment spoke to her in earnest. TIAAA!

She remembered that voice. Someone very dear to her, but still someone she couldn’t quite remember. She was the ‘Tia’ the voice referred to she supposed. At long last, she spoke, “My name is Tia.”

---

Serana had been in the hospital’s waiting room for almost an hour. It was nearing on one in the morning. Sitting there for a woman she did not even know was not how she had anticipated the evening as turning out. Still, she could tell when she had found that woman that she was overwhelmed beyond her breaking point. Even if she didn’t know her, it was definitely the right thing to do, so there she stayed. In time, the nurses called her in, and she was able to see her. As she was escorted into the small but simple grey room, she saw that the woman had been given a nondescript outfit of a purple t-shirt and pajama pants.

She couldn’t even begin to think of where to start; should she try to avoid talking about it completely, or would she say nothing at all? The woman slowly looked up at her, and Serana internally kicked herself; her time was up, and she had no idea what to say.

“Hey,” she said lamely as she tried to smile as best as she could.

“Hello,” the woman replied back with a surprisingly calm demeanor.

“Are you okay?” Serana sighed to herself when she realized what had slipped out, and she covered her face with her right hand “No, of course you’re not okay. I just-“

The silence between the two of them was short but awkward.

“Your name is Serana, right?” the woman asked.

“Yeah.”

“My name is Tia.”

Serana slowly came over next to Tia and sat in a chair that was close to her. She had worried that Tia would still be very sensitive to human touch and presence, but the dark brown haired woman didn’t flinch at all. “You remembered! Can you think of anything else?” Serana asked with quiet concern.

“Nothing completely, just little fragments.”

The two of them sat in their soft chairs in another awkward silence.

“What happens now?” Tia asked.

Serana looked back over her shoulder to the door of the small room, “Since you didn’t consent for testing, I don’t know. You don’t remember anything except your name, so I expect you’ll have to stay here while they help you recover.”

“Where will you go?” Tia asked worriedly.

“Back to my flat downtown, where I’ll keep trying to find a job,” Serana grimaced, “With the economy like it is, though, I don’t expect I’ll find one before my rent money runs out.”

Tia desperately scooped Serana’s left hand in her own and squeezed slightly, “No, please! You’re the only person I know. Please don’t leave me here!”

It hurt Serana to see this woman in the state she was, but she had to take her own hand from hers, “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me. We don’t really know each other at all, and I’ve barely got enough to keep myself going, much less for two people.”

Tia’s hands slowly slumped back into her lap. A stray strand of hair fell in front of her face as her head fell towards her lap.

“I promise that I’ll visit you while the doctors try to help you, ok?” Serana tried to offer, but it seemed like the woman hadn’t even heard her. Her violet eyes had no spark in them as they looked to her knees; she looked much as she felt, and that was of hopelessness and loss.

Serana got up from her seat beside Tia, and made her way to the door. She was about to say ‘goodbye’, unsure of whether it would be her last to the woman she had only just met, when a thought occurred to her. If she had been found naked, abandoned, and in need, would she want her rescuer to turn her back on her when the hardest part of her healing was only beginning? If she couldn’t remember who she was, would any face, no matter how insignificantly familiar it seemed, be some small comfort to her? Her hand was still on the door latch, turned and waiting to fall open. She could leave right now, knowing she had done all that was necessary for this stranger; doing all that could be done given the situation. Even if her set of scales was balanced and right in regards to being a good Samaritan, wasn’t this woman’s scales still in need of adjustment though? She could do it. Even if it cost her in the end, she could still give a little more.

“Damn it,” she breathed to herself.

Turning back to face Tia, she closed the gap between the two of them, and put her hand onto the woman’s shoulder. Tia looked up from her lap, and her eyes locked onto the woman beside her.

“Come on,” Serana said with a calm firmness, “We’re both walking out of here, just follow my lead.”

Tia’s eyes began to grow teary as Serana lead the both of them out of the small room, “Thank you.”

“Excuse me,” Serana got the attention of the doctor who had been standing just a few paces away outside.

She somberly approached them and asked with practiced compassion, “Has the patient’s family been contacted?”

Serana gestured to herself, “I’m a friend of Tia’s. I’ll help get her home.”

“I’m afraid that only a blood relative to the patient or an appointed representative can officially say whether or not she wishes to stay in our care or leave,” the doctor declared as she adjusted her glasses, “Unless either of these comes to claim her-”

The doctor’s body stiffened for a second or two, before she put her hand to her chin contemplatively, “Now that I think about it, in your case we may make an exception. If you’ll excuse me for a minute or two, I’ll be writing up a release form, and then you’ll be free to go.”

As the doctor walked briskly away, Serana eyed her strangely, before turning to Tia, “Did that seem..”

“What?” Tia asked.

“You know, weird? For a second, I thought she was going to force you to stay here, and now she’s pulling a one-eighty and is rushing us out of here.” Serana breathed out a quick sigh, “You know what, whatever. I don’t even care why it happened, but whatever gets us out of here, the better.”

In a few minutes, the release forms were brought, and Tia signed without reading or even thinking about what she was doing. The doctor accepted the documentation, and Serana and Tia left the hospital in a cab that Serana had haled while Tia had been signing herself out. Though she strangely felt unused to the enclosed nature of the chariot she was riding in, Tia fell asleep almost a minute into the ride. Serana struggled to stay awake the whole time to keep an eye on the driver and to make sure he wouldn’t adjust his price in any way. Finally, around two in the morning, the two women made it back to Serana’s apartment in the River Market district. The loft she lived in had a nice outlook north to the cityscape of the glowing skyscrapers of Kansas City, and the Missouri River was only about two and half blocks away; it was a beautiful view at least. The two of them drowsily got out of the cab, which promptly drove away once paid for by what little money was left in Serana’s purse, and the two of them made their way into the secured parking lot just outside the complex. As they trudged up to Serana’s room, the music playing in another person’s apartment switched to a particularly loud, grating track. The both of them grumbled semi-coherently about the loudness of the noise, before Serana was finally able to get her door open.

“At least this place has a guest bedroom,” she sarcastically murmured, “The last place I lived in was more like a half bathroom, quarter bedroom apartment.”

The living room, which also doubled as the kitchen and dining room, was decorated with photos of family and friends, a small potted fern in the far left corner next to the window slats looking out on the river, and a small digital clock that hung on a loose bolt protruding from a steel column that helped hold up the room. Just off the main room was a small bathroom and two bedrooms, each on opposite sides of that bathroom. Unfortunately, the guest bedroom was not designed with window access to the sky outside, so it was a pitch black hole in comparison to Serana’s room.

“If you’d like, I’ll give you my room so you can wake up with the sun,” Serana offered.

Tia yawned deeply, “Thank you, but I’ll take the guest room.” With that she opened the door, walked straight into the darkened room, unceremoniously collapsed onto the bed without pulling back the sheets, and was sound asleep before her head even made it to the pillow. Serana did almost the exact same set of actions, but managed to pull the covers over her before she was out like a light.

Back at the hospital, the doctor who had been in charge of Tia’s care was going through her last checks on her paperwork when she noticed an odd set of papers. A Jane Doe, assault victim, had supposedly been brought into her care around midnight and had been evaluated and released. The doctor was alarmed because she didn’t recall ever seeing an assault victim that night. Strangest off all, the woman had signed herself out, and on the line where she had signed, this was what was written: Princess Celestia, Guardian of all Equinity, co-ruler of Equestria.

Comments

[Alan Smithee]

MLP/ER Crossover?

[Luckyfanisaac]

Missouri River was only about two and a half blocks away;