The street lights whipped past Evangeline in a blur. She sprinted down the street, the two strangers in pursuit. Foolishly, she risked a glance behind her, nearly falling over in alarm when she saw the first of the two spring forward, landing on his hands. He darted towards her on all fours before lunging and tripping her with his arm, sending them tumbling over each other and skidding to a stop.

Winded but still high on adrenaline, Evangeline manages to scramble away and kick him in the throat, causing him to constrict in pain. She stumbled to her feet and caught a glimpse of the other man, who advanced towards her. She squeaked, backing up until she bumped into a street light. Expecting him to attack, she braced herself, her eyes shut and face protected by her arms.

Nothing happened.

Confused, she opened an eye to look at him. He was just standing there, flexing his hand, which was weaponized with sharp claws at his fingertips. He stares at her coat pocket; the same one she had concealed her crystal in. Evangeline raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, his head jerked back up, and his red eyes locked with hers. He emitted a low, rumbling growl, before he shot a clawed hand towards her.

Instinctively, Evangeline screamed, and time seemed to slow as she panicked, her vision turning blurry, then whiting out completely.

...

“Send her through.”

“Are you sure this is safe, sir?”

...

A flashback?

Evangeline jerked back to attention when the sounds of a blade being drawn and flesh ripping apart reached her ears. Her vision cleared gradually, and she beheld the scene before her.

A new stranger had arrived. He stood over the man, whose hand had been cut clean off. He sat on his knees, clutching at his neck with his other hand before collapsing on the ground with a thump.

Evangeline looked at the stranger as he slowly turned, holding a shining black sword in his hand. His hair was a soft white, and he wore a dusty-blue cloak over his black raincoat. His face was obstructed by an army green bandana over his mouth a nose, and a pair of red goggles shielded his eyes from view. A second pair of goggles, these ones green, rested directly above the others.

He approached Evangeline nonchalantly, as though he’d done so a million times, and his hands grabbed her shoulders firmly to hold her there. Stunned, Evangeline made no attempts to move.

The stranger seemed to look her over for injury before releasing her, satisfied, and walking to the first man she’d met.

He was still sitting in the street where he and she had fallen earlier. He looked up at the stranger nervously, his eyes wide. In one swift, violent movement, the stranger grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head back and holding his sword under his chin.

He stiffened, squirming as the stranger whispered something in his ear. The blade sliced under his jaw, and he let out a gasp, spasming slightly before going limp with a weak groan.

The stranger dropped him unceremoniously on the ground. He looked back at Evangeline briefly, glancing behind her. As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone.

“Hey, you!” There you are!”

Evangeline turned towards the source of the sound. Two men and a woman walked towards her hastily.

The younger of the two men gave her a friendly wave. “Hey, I’m Kai. You probably don’t remember me, but um...” he looked at the woman as if to ask for help.

“I’m Liz.” The woman said softly. “Kai and Greg found you lying unconscious, and they brought you back to the Sanatorium. But I suppose nobody was around to greet you when you woke up...”

“Well... It’s n-nice to meet you, I guess.” Evangeline stuttered, still shaken. “I, uh, take it you’re not...” she motioned to the prone man lying on the ground.

“Hm? Oh, no, we’re not. That’s just an Inzomniac.” Kai quickly assured her.

“A... what?”

“Oh, um... do you know where you are?” Kai asked, mildly confused.

“Well...” she looked to the ‘Inzomniac’ again, expecting him to spring up at any moment. He didn’t. “He told me I was in Stormfall Hills, I think.”

“That’s right. Stormfall Hills, 2053.” Kai asserted.

“2053??? Isn’t it... 1584...?”

“Um...” Kai looked at Liz, helpless. “No...”

“Look.” Liz interjected. “Why don’t we all go back to the Sanatorium and then sort this all out? It’s gonna get dark soon, and Inzomniacs always come out at night.”

Although she was skeptical, Evangeline nodded slowly.

“Okay. What’s your name?”

“Evangeline.”

“Nice name.” Kai said. “But can I call you Eve then? Cause I’m not calling you Evangeline every time... Hey, Greg, this one’s still alive.” He exclaimed when he investigated the conscious but defenceless Inzomniac on the ground. ”Looks like Xero did it again. You wanna help me drag this one back?”

“Sure.”