It glowed with a golden light, the small sphere sitting on the palm of her hand. Now and then, it pulsed as if alive though Helen couldn't tell what it was, fully entranced with its beauty.

"Helen!"

Hearing the voice, off in the distance, Helen felt herself being yanked back. Tumbling onto her back, feeling the cold stone dug into the material of the suit. Wincing, she imagined her back being scraped if not for what she was wearing.

Catharina's eyes could be seen through the small openings of the gas mask, glaring at her angrily, "What the hell is the matter with you?! You could have been killed!"

Not paying attention to the urgency in Catharina's voice, Helen stared at her clenched hand, worried she had crushed the sphere of light. Looking at her opened hand, panic filled her as she saw nothing but her gloved hand. Frantically looking around, it was nowhere to be seen.

Pushed aside, gunfire was heard above her, turning her head, Helen saw Catharina firing her weapon repeatedly at one of the creatures at point-blank. The thing reared back, numerous bullets releasing streams of viscous inky blood.

The four arms of the monster clutched at its chest as if hoping to contain the life-giving fluids. It's long tail thrashing about before it collapsed.

Wiping away some of the slimy fluids from her suit, Catharina groaned, "I doubt this place has a bathroom I can use to spray myself down..." Looking down at Helen. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Get down!"

Using her training, Catharina flew prone on the ground. A tail whipping over her mask. A loud whistling heard from the force of the tail cutting through the air.

Helen dumbly stared at the thick scaled trunk of a tail slam against her helmet. A crunching sound was heard, none of it registering in her mind as she felt herself blackout.

Pain flooded her body, as she felt herself bounce off of a solid object. The world was dark as she flew in the air. Rough sandpaper grinding against her face lasted for a moment before her body began tumbling in the dark. What felt like a wall halted her momentum, her head bumping against the rough bricks.

Hacking up what felt like a lung, Helen struggled the breathe. Breathing in, sharp pains traveled throughout her chest. "Fuc...," A fit of coughing interrupted her cursing.

The only light she could see was from the flashes, making her remember what happened. "The stupid tail threw me against the wall. I must have blacked out before rebounding off the wall." Helen thought to herself, not wanting to talk in fear of the pain and coughing.

"My body feels broken. How the fuck did I get into this situation. It feels like I'm forgetting something and my thoughts getting muddled." Helen tried to remember, but even her mind betrayed such actions.

Wincing from the searing pain, "Guess... I'm not going to try remembering that..."

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her body down. "Let's try not to think about my body being completely shattered, meaning I'll be facing my death soon, regardless of what Bella and the others do for me." Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Abigail. I couldn't do anything for you."

She felt the overwhelming rage build-up towards the world they left. "If it never changed... I..."

"You poor child."

Helen's eye's snapped open, hearing the familiar voice. Trying to look at the source, her heart stopped when realizing she wasn't able to move. Panic welled up inside of her.

"Calm yourself. There is no need to be afraid." Footsteps on the stone slowly came closer, the sound of rubble being kicked aside in addition to the grinding of sand.

Stolen story; please report.

"A-Abigail?" Helen hoarsely whispered, eyes trying to pierce through the darkness.

A giggle, "Not quite."

"Wh-Who?" The idea of talking to a stranger and unable to defend herself wasn't something she could mentally handle, desperately trying to think of a way out. "Maybe if I scre..." Helen thought.

"Cute. Even now... You are fighting. A shattered body but unbreakable will." The voice sounded amused.

"..." Helen tried to speak but found herself unable to talk. "Am I completely paralyzed?" She couldn't help but think, imagining her spine splintered.

"They may soon begin to suspect." It talked to itself. "Find yourself lucky for this chance encounter." It sounded annoyed. "I was attracted to this quaint dimension, only seeing something catch my eye." Returning to a comforting voice.

Helen felt a cool touch on her forehead, slowly outlining her face before it paused at her lips.

"You may be useful for something..." Sounding delighted. "Hope you enjoy... Do not concern yourself with..." It paused. Giggling, "I am sure you will learn soon."

Helen felt her eyelids become heavy. She felt her mind drift to sleep, dreaming of the voice belonging to Abigail. The way her finger touched her lips.

-----------------

A smell of food woke her. Opening her eyes, she saw everyone sitting nearby. They had some kind of bag with steam escaping from it, likely the source of the smell.

"Helen! You're awake!"

Helen jerked up at hearing the voice, her body trembling. Looking at the voice, she rushed to her feet and ran to the voice. Her arms outstretched.

"Abigail?!" Helen grasped her friend tightly in her arms. Happy to feel the familiar warmth of her friend.

Laughing, "Okay! Okay! I see you're happy to see me!" Abigail returned the emotional hug, her voice equally choked with feelings.

Releasing her formerly comatose friend, "How? When?"

Footsteps were heard behind her. Helen looked to see Bella and Catharina walking up and interrupting their reunion. She pressed the thought aside, hoping to gain answers to what happened before she woke up.

"Helen... I'm... Glad to see you're... Fine." Bella stared at Helen as if unsure what to think.

Recognizing the look of confusion, "What happened?" Helen wanted to know but felt fearful of the answer.

Catharina coughed into her hand, "As you can see." She motioned to the corridor, "We were able to suppress the assault against us. With only minor injuries..." Her head turned to look at several empty bags.

"Ammo..." Helen thought to herself as she recognized the ammunition bags.

"We can talk about that later." Bella motioned with a hand, silencing Catharina. Looking directly at Helen, "What do you remember?"

Helen looked strangely at Bella. "Remember? We were inside of the room getting ready to go through the portal." Finishing her words, the feeling of a smooth finger outlining her face popped into her mind. The touch of the fingers on her...

"That's concerning," Bella furrowed her eyebrows. As if thinking of something, she was silent. Eyes searching all over Helen. Face softening, Bella smiled, "I'm glad you were able to wake up safely. It appears the trip through the portal hadn't injured you."

The way Bella looked at Catharina, it felt as though a hidden message was passed along. A thought crashed into her mind. "Why isn't anyone wearing their masks?" Helen said in surprise. It was only a half-step until she placed a hand on her cheek. "Where's my mask?"