71 Queen Victoria Street

[Deleted]

Walking around London at lunchtime was like being jammed into a can of sardines in transit. No one stopped, everyone was moving at the same pace and as much as Marko hated it, he didn’t have much of a choice but to deal with it – after all, given the amount of cars on the road, it was probably for the best that he hadn’t driven in. His destination was the bank – not for work, but for a domestic reason. He’d been living for the past week with a boarded-up front window at home (following which, a couple of rowdy youths had learnt how to essentially say ‘You little pieces of shit, I will fuck you up’ in Bulgarian, and probably wouldn’t be throwing anything else at Marko’s house any time soon), and upon deciding he might as well replace all of them and then finding out there wasn’t enough money in his account to do so, he needed a small loan. He didn’t think it would be much of a problem, though considering he was on his lunchbreak and due back in the lab in two hours (having switched his white coat for a warmer winter one to venture out in a little earlier on), he just hoped there wouldn’t be any delays.

He weaved uncomfortably in and out of several disgruntled suits and managing to catch his leg on someone’s briefcase, hobbling a couple of steps whilst doing his best to regain his balance and calling a ‘sorry’ over his shoulder and then mentally slapping himself for it because – Oh God, he’d been in Britain too damn long, now that he was apologising like that. Finally, though, his destination came into sight. So it was in and out, right? He’d hopefully have his loan sorted out by the end of the hour…

…Well, of course that wasn’t going to happen…

He wasn’t too far from the edge of the road when he’d tried to slip through the crowd again when above everything else – above the endless city noises of people’s voices and footsteps and vehicles and the wind tunnelling past the buildings – there was a screech of tyres, and a deafening horn, and then a split second of silence. He ground to a halt, mid-step.

TAGGING: Katyusha

MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі Katyusha's heels made clicking sound with the sidewalks, mixed together with hundreds other shoes producing the same sound. Click-click-click. She stopped in front of a shop, looking on a mannequin with over-priced coat adorned its cold body. That coat didn't steal her attention, she stopped merely to give her feet a brief rest after spending the last two hours strolling. It was a day when she didn't have a shift in the hospital. Her next shift will be tomorrow morning. There was nothing she could do at home; no laundry to do, no new recipes to try, no birds to tend and she have to wait until the coming of spring before her flowers started to bloom again. This street was crowded, very. Katyusha smiled a bit, thinking how nice if everyone didn't have to rush and go so quickly--but moving in a slower pace, maybe stop once or twice to chat with someone new. She did tried that on the way here, but only two people so far who answered her politeness with more than a grunt. One of them turned out to be a more avid chatter than her, so Katyusha spent good fifteen minutes listening to a story of a cat who has won many contests both in England and Europe. Taking one last glance to the mannequin and its coat, Katyusha walked again, her long coat fluttering slowly around her. Her blue eyes rarely met a face that wasn't tired, looks sour or glued to a phone screen. The woman hoped when spring finally came, it will help lifting these people's mood. Suddenly, she heard voices arose above the noise level. People shouting. People running. A vehicle on the street stopped with a loud screech, followed by many horns coming from others. Katyusha quickly moved through the crowd before stopping near the source of all those ruckus.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Joselle]

MOD - NPCS

A brunette girl was unconscious. Her body sustained all sorts of injuries from bruises to scratches. Yet the most harrowing sight was the blood that seeped from her head and the trail that ran from her nose. Her eyes were tightly shut as the people around her panicked.

Appalled, the driver stepped out, his face saturated with anxiety. All that was on his mind was the legality of this situation. Not like he could run away now.

[Deleted]

His blood ran cold. He didn’t have to do much more than pivot on his heels to know what had happened. In the split second of silence there was uproar – there were gasps and startled cries and several people had come to a standstill. His feet were moving before he was even thinking about it; before the realisation that he was needed – that he had to be there – had sunk in.

Marko forced his way through the crowd, many of whom had just stopped to see what had happened, but were otherwise standing there dazed; useless – so much so that even though he was prepared to declare ‘I’m a doctor, let me through’, he didn’t have to. After having shoved sideways past a startled woman and finding his way to the front, he instantly dropped to his knees next to the girl. He wasn’t a paramedic – he didn’t usually witness the injured first-hand like this, and so gritting his teeth, he fought to quickly remember what to do first…

“You!” He said aloud, raising his arm at whatever bystander was on his immediate left; he didn’t look to see exactly who they were. “Call for an ambulance!” His eyes skimmed over the girl quickly – was she breathing? He leant over her, examining the sources of the blood as best he could without moving her… Oh hell, it was coming from her nose and the back of her head; her skull was probably fractured. What could he do, without moving her? He clenched his eyes shut for a second, trying to think, but there was nothing but noise filling his ears; nothing but the panicked voices of the people around and the horns that no doubt belonged to the cars stacked up behind the halted bus. He hissed a breath out through his closed teeth, before snapping another order at the crowd, “And if the rest of you want to make yourselves useful, try to divert the Goddamn traffic!”

TAGGING: Katyusha

MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі The sight that first greeted Katyusha was the redness that seeped from beneath dark strands belonged to a girl lying on the street. Her eyes shut, unconscious. Then a man, kneeled beside her, examining the injuries. "You!" suddenly he shouted and raised his arm to the Ukrainian. "Call for an ambulance!" She startled a bit, but quickly responded to his request. Katyusha took her phone out, her thumb pushed the 9 button thrice. Once someone picked up the other line, she requested an ambulance to be send here. "Ambulance and p-police, please," the paramedics' job will be easier if the traffic didn't clogged like this and the police sure can take care of that. "There's an incident at... 71 Queen Victoria Street." Without waiting for the operator's respond, Katyusha cut the line off and moved to the unconscious girl. There was nothing she can do for her without the proper equipments. Blood coming out from head and nose clearly indicates an open fracture, which means a simple nudge will make the scene more... gruesome. Katyusha gulped. She's been nursing injured people for years yet her stomach still churned a bit upon the smell of fresh blood. And the girl looked so young... so frail... so... A single tear ran on Katyusha's pale cheek. She reached the girl's bruised wrist and held it softly. Her fingers didn't feel any heartbeat--or they were too faint to be detected by her slightly trembling hand. Katyusha muttered silently, as if her words could reach the girl telephatically--stay with me stay alive stay strong don't go over there yet-- "And if the rest of you want to make yourselves useful, try to divert the Goddamn traffic!" Katyusha's head snapped up. The man kneeled in front of her looked almost as panic as others. People, instead of making room for the ambulance and police to come through, kept flocking around them. Dazzled, hypnotized. She saw few people moved to the street, apparently trying to do what the man had said. "C-calm down, please," she told him. "We can't do anything for her. It's best to wait until the ambulance comes." Her eyes glanced to the girl's face. "I hope she'll survive." But her own mental voice betrayed her--it's hard to tell whether she's still alive or already crossed the line separating the living and the dead.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Joselle]

Jeffrey Lannister

She had a pulse, albeit it was a very gentle one. The girl made no sign of movement. Her face was absolutely pallid from the blood lost.

Meanwhile, the driver looked rather irritated with the crowd and movement. He paced around as he rubbed his temple. Great, that man over there was trying to play hero. "Of course she'll be bloody fine for God's fucking sake!"

[Deleted]

There was nothing that could be done. Nothing. The crowd was dispersing, but that didn’t mean the level of panic had eased off. He was used to pressure, he just had to grit his teeth and bear with it, as usual… But his head was starting to spin, now; he shook it briskly in an attempt to clear his mind. During all of this, his attention had been so fixed on the girl that he’d barely noticed the woman that had knelt by the other side of her.

"C-calm down, please," He glanced up at her when she spoke. "We can't do anything for her. It's best to wait until the ambulance comes."

He knew that. There was nothing that could be done – he knew that, and thinking it over and over frustrated him all the more. He drew in a breath through his nose, casting his gaze back down to the girl.

“I hope she’ll survive.” The woman spoke again. In his peripheral vision, he could see her hand, that held the girl’s wrist, was shaking.

He began to unfasten his coat. “She needs to be kept—" He began to say, but he found himself interrupted suddenly by a man, pacing nearby.

"Of course she'll be bloody fine for God's fucking sake!"

Marko eyed him for a moment, frowning. Was he the driver of the bus? It sure looked as though he was. “…She needs to be kept warm.” He continued, shrugging his coat off before laying it gently over the girl’s body. “Stay by her; don’t let anyone move her until the ambulance is here.” He told the woman, pulling himself back to his feet and shuddering a little at the cold he felt, now. His focus then returned to the bus driver… He needed to talk to him, whether this whole situation was accidental, or not.

TAGGING: Katyusha

MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі “Of course she’ll be bloody fine for God’s fucking sake!” Katyusha winced inwardly. She glanced to her back, to a man who looked agitated--the driver who had hit the girl. She really didn’t like attitude so ungentlemanly like that; especially if they were working for public service. No one would feel safe or comfortable riding a bus whose driver’s mouth was so foul like him. The Ukrainian held an urge to scold the driver. Even some criminals had more manners and knew how to act like a gentleman in a lady’s presence. ”...She needs to be kept warm.”The black-haired man laid his own coat to cover the girl’s body. Katyusha felt grateful for his kindness. She would be a tad confused and have no idea on how to control the crowd had the man didn’t reach the scene first. ”Stay by her; don’t let anyone move her until the ambulance is here.” ”Yes,” Katyusha’s gaze moved upward, seeing the man stood to his full height and moved his attention to the foul-mouthed driver. The blonde noted he shivered a bit without his coat. “T-thank you for your help...” her thanks came out barely audible. To be honest, she was still shocked from the scene; victims of accident usually had been cleaned and tidied up a bit before being presented to her eyes. Katyusha rarely seen criminals with wound more fatal than bullet to a limb--people she associated with didn’t keep the heavily injured ones for far too long. Then again, it’s a lawless life; injury was no more than a slice of life. Turning her focus back to the girl, Katyusha adjusted the coat so it completely covered her frail body. The crowd had seemed dispersed; either they continued their delayed activity or them simply losing interest. Her ears stay alert for siren sound--either from police car or ambulance; while her eyes fixed to the two men, lest a fight broke between them.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Joselle]

Jeffrey Lannister

The man sweating under the heat of the situation. His palms were glossed with perspiration as he curled them into a fist to calm himself. Yet that effort went to loss. The sight of that frown was enough to threaten his system. Lannister returned the look to the man with double the intensity.

"Whadya want eh? I've got people in 'ere to take and a job to do."

[Deleted]

"Whadya want eh? I've got people in 'ere to take and a job to do."

Marko didn't soften his expression or his tone of voice. Great – this guy really wasn't going to make things easy at all. He really hoped he wasn't going to have to drop his professional mannerisms at any point because of it – he just didn't think he was nearly as trustworthy of a person otherwise. He'd practised and practised his 'bedside manner' over and over, but when push came to shove, he was still the same foul-mouthed, unpredictable man underneath. “Well... No doubt when you saw the girl crossing the street you hit the breaks as quickly as you could. I'm a doctor, sir; I'm concerned as to whether you or your passengers are injured at all.” He cast his eyes to the bus... Depending on how hard the driver had indeed hit the breaks, there could have been several cases of whiplash on board... Or worse. “I don't mind going aboard and checking.” He then moved his eyes back across to the girl, and to the woman he'd left next to her, and then finally back to the driver once again. “Besides, it's not like the bus is gonna be going anywhere any time soon. As soon as I'm done, you might as well tell them to get out and walk.”

Without waiting for an answer from the man, Marko walked towards the bus itself, towards the open doors, starting to wince inwardly at the sheer thought of the money that guy would have to dish out, should anyone end up suing him for this incident. He hadn't seen it first-hand; he hadn't known if it was the driver's fault or not, but nor was it really his concern – he had his job to do; he had other people to look at now, regardless of whether the man wanted that or not.

TAGGING: Katyusha

MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі Between her concentrating to hold the girl’s hand, the hustle and bustle at sidewalk and noise from the street, Katyusha can barely heard the two men’s conversation. She could only tell that the driver looked angry, but she couldn’t see the dark haired man’s face since his back was facing her. Still, her keen ears did pick up few lines from their talk. ”...I’m a doctor, sir; I’m concerned as to whether you or your passengers are injured at all.” Something clicked in Katyusha’s mind. That was why she felt okay with the man controlling the situation; he was a doctor and he might be used to tight situation like this during a patient’s surgery. Her hand stopped trembling, which she moved to check the unconscious girl’s pulse via veins in her neck--ignoring the small stream of blood that flowed there. There were pulses, but felt weak and faint. Don’t lose, the nurse’s other hand tightening her grip on the girl’s wrist. When the Ukrainian’s gaze back to the two men, her eyes immediately met the doctor’s. He then talked to the driver a bit before moving to the bus. Its passengers might be injured and frightened. Katyusha wanted to follow him, but she couldn’t left the brunette girl alone and the doctor told her not to do so. She considered asking the driver to sit beside her, but he looked panic. People in agitated state tend to not thinking clearly before taking action and might resort to violence if they feel threatened. So without moving an inch from her place, she addressed the driver softly. “Sir, did you get any injuries?” she already knew the driver looked fine physically; Katyusha asked it merely to open conversation. ”You looked a bit pale. Maybe you should sit for a while.” Of course he paled; this whole accident might be blamed to him, he might lose his job or worse, have to be prisoned by the police. And speaking of the police... Katyusha heard faint siren. Many sirens. Finally.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Joselle]

Jeffrey Lannister

His eyebrow twitched at the nerve this doctor had. So a stranger was just going to waltz up and do whatever the hell he wanted. Lannister grunted. "I'm fucking fine." He snapped at the man. "Go check the passengers then, doctor. Seeing how that's the only thing you're useful for as of now."

A breathy sigh. The police were coming soon. The sirens drawing nearer with every second and his fate was going to be sealed with a lawsuit. When the woman addressed him, his hardened expression did not soften. His voice, however, was a little more steady and less coarse. He diverted his attention elsewhere.

"I am fine. I will be standing here and I won't run if that's what you're worried about."

[Deleted]

When the man snapped at him, he had to take a pause. He was halfway to the bus, his back to the driver and the girl and the woman at her side... There was a little voice inside his head that told him to drop the matter; that he needed to check the people inside the bus first... This little voice was the same part of his subconscious mind that had allowed him control of the situation in the first place. Unfortunately, said part of his mind was often rather limited – frustration tended to overpower it, rather than work alongside it.

Marko clenched his fists together, taking a glance over his shoulder back at the man. “I don't think you can talk about 'usefulness', after you've stood idle this entire time.” He inhaled a deep breath through his nose... Any more back chat from the driver and he was convinced he'd lose his temper entirely, but for now, at least, he did as he intended to do. “If you want to piss me off, at least wait until I've done.”

He headed onwards to the bus and hopped up onto it and through the open doors. As luck had it, the passengers were all fine. Not a single one complained of injury when he asked; it was probably because they'd all been tightly packed together on the bus. He could have checked them one by one, but that would have taken a long time – just asking around was good enough... And, well, if any of them were aching later in the day from whiplash or the like, they'd have to go to their own doctor about it.

By the time he was done and back off the bus, the sirens were clearly in earshot... He hoped enough traffic had been diverted to let them through; the girl didn't need to wait any longer for medical assistance.

TAGGING: Katyusha

MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[Katyusha Chernenko]

велике спасибі “I see...” Katyusha could feel a weight in her heart being lifted as the bus driver replied to her question. Although he and the doctor looked like almost to hit each other in the eye, he was surprisingly able to respond calmly to her. Well, at least he was willing to cooperate. In her peripheral vision, she saw the doctor’s back disappeared into the bus. Katyusha turned her attention back to the driver, ready to say something, but she heard quick movements followed by shadows fallen over her head. The paramedics had surrounded her and the girl, so the Ukrainian quickly stood and moved to give them room for their work. Just in a matter of seconds, the girl had been carried into the ambulance, leaving dried trails of blood on the road. One of the paramedic handed her the coat that was used to cover the girl’s body before he jumped into the vehicle and closed its door. Once the ambulance had disappeared with loud siren, Katyusha approached the doctor who had just exited the bus. “How’s the passengers inside? Did any of them hurt?” she asked, glancing to the bus for a while; the people inside it have been very quiet and the nurse was glad it’s not otherwise. No good comes with panicking. Katyusha then cleaned some dust on the coat before handing it to him. “Here’s your coat,” she told him, smiling widely, “thank you for lending it for her. The paramedics had took her to hospital.” She saw a police car had stopped nearby and one of the officers was walking to the bus driver. Another one had his sight set to both her and the doctor. “I don’t think we can leave immediately. The police sure will want to ask us few questions. I hope it’ll be quick.”

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Joselle]

Jeffrey Lannister

Lannister raised a brow in irritation and gave him a smirk as he adjusted his cap. "For a second there, I thought I already accomplished that." He sneered.

With his hands dug in his pockets, he glanced at the police officers that were drawing nearer with every second. Shit. This wasn't good.

"Heh... well. I bid you adieu miss," Lannister gave the woman a small smile before he stole a glance at the unconscious girl. "My time is short."

With that, he darted past the crowd and bulleted through the nearest alleyway.