Seeing Double

prologue

I shivered. My head hurt. Where am I? I was vaguely aware of snow, of the cold. Shifting myself, I looked around me, trying to ignore my pounding head. It's so dark. Why am I sitting in an alley way?
My hands brushed the ground as I stood.  Cobblestones? There were no cobblestone streets where I lived. Was I kidnapped? But who would kidnap me?
I walked a few shaky steps, wiping my dirty palms on my jeans. It doesn't matter how you got here or why, just that you are. I told myself as I peeked around the corner of the left brick building. The snow covered streets were empty. I looked behind me. Noone was in sight; in fact, the alley I woke up in was a dead end. Besides myself, there was only trash.
I looked both ways as I stepped out into the deserted street, wrapping my arms around myself. Wish I had my coat.
There were several shops lining the streets, but all were dark and lifeless.
  "Lady like you could get inta all sorts of trouble, dressed like that an' wonderin' around the streets." I whirled around to face the speaker. My brows knit. I was wearing a simple black shirt and jeans. "Walkin' around in boy's clothes, I mean."
  Boy's clothes? I pinpointed the location of the speaker, somewhere near the... I squinted as I tried to read the shop's name... "The Undertaker's?"
A wide grin flashed in the lamp light from the doorway. "Exactly." He said, for now I could make out the silhouette of a man about 6ft tall leaning against the wall. I can't place his accent, but I've heard of it before.
I stepped closer. "Can you help me? I...uh...have no clue where i am at the moment."
  He tilted his head as if weighing my words. I don't want to trust a complete stranger, but I'm out of options. Im obviously no longer in Dalespring and I don't have my phone.
  "Please? I--" Suddenly the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Hugging myself tighter, I looked back. Someone grabbed my wrist and violently pulled me forward. "Whoa-!"
  I broke the hold of the man who I had been talking to. "Hey! Why did--" He cut me off by pressing a slender fingertip to my lips as he looked outside the window.
   "You're bein' watched. You felt it too." He stated. I scooted to the left, and although it separated us, it brought me  further into the funeral parlor. I studied the dim interior, interested despite everything.
Multiple coffins lined the walls, as well as shelves filled with various jars. There were some spider webs in the corners. I then studied the man who, in turn, studied me. He had long grey hair, with bangs that covered his eyes. I could barely make out the part of a scar running down his right cheek, up over his nose, and disappearing behind his bangs. He wore a long black coat that reminded me of a cross between a trench coat and a lab coat, with a grey shawl of sorts across his chest. Atop his head sat a top hat, also black, with a long train of sorts. To complete the outfit were what I assumed to be boots, that were also black.
  His nails were painted black and were quite long, sitting atop his slender fingers. I realized i was staring and looked away, embarrassed.
    "Do you know who would be chasin you?" He asked. "No. I don't even know where I am." "You're in my shop." I looked at him pointedly, but allowed a small smirk to form."Which would be where?" I probed. "London." London? That means I'm not even in America anymore!
I sank down to the floor. "Holy matrimony....muffins...this can't be happening!"
  I rubbed my face. "Wot's your name?" He asked. "Um...Alice. Alice..." I hesitated. My last name just brings trouble. Now that i think of it, maybe that is why I'm in this mess. If that's true, maybe i shouldn't tell him my last name.
"Um.. Alice Brudenelle. What's yours?" He frowned a bit, and though I couldn't see his eyes, I felt his gaze on me. But he suddenly spread his hands out and said, "you already know who I am." I worried my lip between my teeth. "The only thing I know about you is that you are the Undertaker."
"Then you have your answer. It is wot I am, after all." I sighed, "That can't be your real name." "It is. For now." My eyes felt heavy and i wiped them with the back of my hand. "Do you have a long distance cell phone?" "A wot?" I groaned. "Am I even in the twenty first century anymore?"
  Silence. I studied the coffin that rested against the wall beside me. "Twenty first century? My dear, it is only the late part of the 19th century." My head jerked toward the Undertaker. I stared at him. He isn't lying. Oh god. How did this happen? It made sense as I looked around. Somehow, in some bazaar manner, I had went back in time.