A Companion -- A Forever FanFic

Eleven

Kathryn woke up on the floor, a book under her head. She quickly stood up and got changed into jogging-appropriate clothing.

When she was properly decent, Kathryn marched up the stairs.

"Good morning!" Henry and Abe greeted in unison.

"If you say so..." she mumbled.

"Where are you going?" Abe asked.

"Running." she replied.

"In the middle of winter!? You'll freeze!" Abe exclaimed.

"And if I do, I'll end up back in the East River. It's a never-ending cycle of madness." she snapped.

"I think she needs her coffee." Henry whispered a little too loudly.

"No I do not 'need my coffee'" she spat. "I don't even drink coffee! I just need to go on a run without any distractions. And so I say, good day to you, sirs!"
Henry and Abe watched, dumbfounded (and a little scared), as Kathryn burst through the doors of the shop and disappeared into the crowd.

"What did you do to her!?" Abe asked.

"I didn't do anything! What did you do!?

Both men shrugged and then went back to what they were doing.

Meanwhile, Kathryn jogged around the city, lost in thought.

Rather than thinking about her quite extensive past, she thought about Henry's case.

How could a body end up in a tree? More importantly, how could there be no evidence? The killer must have made a mistake. She just had to find it...

As much as she denied herself the opportunity, and as much as she didn't want to, the more she ran, the deeper she burrowed into her own thoughts.

Thoughts of the past...

*~*~*~*

She sat in a tree, journal in one hand, pen in the other. The setting sun shine perfectly through the leaves, like something you would see in a painting. It was just to perfect to ignore.

Kathryn smiled a little to herself as she flipped to a blank page. Her pen moved flew the page, almost as if it was being jerked around by a strong wind.

By the time she had finished her sketch of the perfect scene in the woods, night had almost fallen.

"Kate! Kate, are you there?" An excited whisper pierced the air.

"Yes. I'm up here!" The girl called back.

At the bottom of the tree, stood a tall figure with blonde hair and a perfect smile. "You never cease to amaze me. How can you stand being up that high?" He chuckled softly.

"After a while, you grow used to it." she chuckled back.

"Kate, do you think you could come down now? I would be nice not having to whisper-shout up a tree." he said.

"Fine." Kathryn replied, pretending to be annoyed.

She took her time in coming down the tree, never once losing her footing. As she hit the ground, she looked up at the tall boy. He was tapping his foot on the leaf-covered ground, feigning impatience.

"Took you long enough! Kate, I-"

*~*~*~*

Kathryn was jolted back to reality when a cold, wet feeling crawled up her skin.

At first, she thought she had died and was now in the river, but soon came to her senses.

She had been sprayed with salty slush as a snow plow drove by. The slush had almost immediately seeped through her clothes and chilled her to the bone.

It was an all too familiar feeling, being cold and wet.

Shivering and sneezing, an unhappy Kathryn trudged back to the Antique shop that she now called home. One of many in her unnaturally long life time.