"…and so a nitrate ion is a major chemical component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, whereas the Magnesium ion has the important responsibility of…"
'Urrrggghhh…' Lexi thought, absentmindedly scribbling down the professor's boring drawl as notes in her binder. She'd stopped caring about whatever was being said a half hour ago, but her grades at the end of the semester had to be good enough to keep her scholarship, so write she must.
"Are there any questions?" Professor Hauser inquired slowly. Everything about the man reminded her of a tortoise: slow moving, slow talking, and no sense of hurry in the world. Lexi kept glancing at the clock, seeing that there was only two minutes left of lecture, two minutes until 6:30. Come on!
'I'm freakin' starving!'
No one raised their hand or voice, and so the professor turned back to the whiteboard behind him, wiping away the diagrams he'd drawn. "Be prepared for the exam on Friday. We'll be having a review on Thursday, so if you still don't feel prepared-"
Lexi was already out the door and didn't hear the last part of his sentence.
"Geez, Lex, you were out of there like the building was on fire or something." Brittany said, falling in step beside her friend. Lexi rolled her eyes, shrugging her bag onto her shoulders a little higher. The darkening sky outside, along with the dark clouds rolling in to the north, made it a lot darker than usual at 8:00 at night.
"We covered this stuff yesterday, so you'd think we could move a little bit faster to the next section. I already know this stuff! I don't understand why I can't just take the exam now." The brunette sighed heavily, digging her keys out of her hoodie pocket, jamming them into the lock of her beat-up Chevy. Brittany stood by, watching.
"You seriously need a new ride, Lex. How long have you had this thing?" She poked at the peeling paint by the side mirrors. Finally, after a few jimmies, Lexi unlocked the door and opened it, not without the customary squeak of course.
"If I could get a new one, I think I would've already done so. Besides, the two of us have been through so much." She mocked, patting the top on the truck's hood, and Brittany poked her in the side.
"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, babe." She wiggled her fingers and headed towards her much nicer Subaru. Lexi watched her black hair sway back and forth as she walked, envious that Brittany had such soft and thick hair. Her own was quite thin.
Tossing her bags into the passenger seat, she sat down in the driver side and slammed the door. With a sigh, she realized that the storm to the north was going to be pretty severe. A roll of thunder sounded, and as distant as it was, it still sent a chill down her spine. She loved the rain, and everything to do with it, but something about it was so…intimidating.
Starting her little truck, she backed out of the parking spot and drove towards the main road. She glanced back at Peters Hall, before turning onto the road.
It kinda sucked that she lived so far away from the University of Advanced Health, but if she was gonna go anywhere in life, it had to be done. Her grandmother helped her pay for gas and tuition, as well as gave her a roof to live under and food to eat. Things could be worse, she supposed, but it didn't mean she had to love the way she was living.
Deciding that driving in silence was boring, she grabbed a random CD from the holder on the visor and popped it into the player. There was a pause before the starting chords of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' came on."
Lexi hummed the first few lines, rocking her head back and forth to the beat. The chorus came on and she sang as loud as she wanted, no one within earshot to hear her.
"My loneliness is killing me, and I, I must confess, I still believe, still believe!
"When I'm not with you I lose my mind, give me a siiiiiigggnnn, hit me baby one more time!"
The clouds had rolled in pretty quick, and large drops of rain started out sprinkling on her windshield, but before long it had turned into a full-out downpour, and she had to crank up the speed of her wipers. Lightning and thunder flashed and boomed, and Lexi struggled to see the road in front of her, despite her lights being turned on.
"Oh baby baby, the reason I breathe is you. Boy you've got me blinded.
"Oh pretty baby there's nothing that I wouldn't do, It's not the way I planned it.
A particularly loud burst of thunder sounded to the left of her, and she jumped, surprised by how strong the storm was. Leaves and other small debris were blowing across the road and passed her windshield. Not wanting to get into a wreck, she slowed down from 50 mph to 40. There wasn't anyone on the road that late at night anyway, so she didn't have to worry about angry drivers behind her.
"Show me how you want it to be, tell me baby 'cause I need to know now, oh because,
"My loneliness is killing me, and I, I must confess, I still believe, still believe!
"When I'm not with you I lose my mind, give me a siiiggggnnn, hit me baby-OH MY GOD!" Seeing the figures in the road, she swerved out of the way, applying pressure to her horn, and slammed on her brakes, her tires hydroplaning into the shallow ditch that lined the road. She came to a sliding stop in the middle of it, breathing heavily. Letting go of the horn, the awful noise stopped, leaving nothing but the raging storm outside. Her arms were shaking, the adrenaline surging through her veins by the bucketful.
'I could have died.' She thought, slowly taking out the key from the ignition. Then, the image of the figures in the road flashed through her mind and she immediately took off her seatbelt. 'They could have died!'
Throwing open the door, she was assaulted by the fully developed thunder and lightning storm outside, and her clothes were immediately soaked. The darkness made it hard to see, and a part of her brain thought it was crazy to be wandering out into the road at that moment, but she had to make sure whoever was out there was safe.
"Hey!" She yelled, trying to see with her hair being whipped every which way. "Are you ok?"
The silhouettes were barely visible in the rain and gloom, but she could barely make them out-several the size of an average person, but one was much bigger. She made her way towards them, holding a hand in front of her face to shield her eyes.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" She yelled, finally getting their attention. One of them, a man with a hat that said 'PENGUIN' looked confused.
"Where are we?" She didn't recognize him, or his friends who she could now see a little better.
"The middle of the road!" The wind was making it hard to hear, and she tried getting in the middle of the group. They all looked pretty strnge, but she couldn't think about that now. The storms could be pretty dangerous, and this one was only getting worse. "We gotta get out of the storm, find shelter!"
One man stepped up, a bright yellow hoodie making him blatantly visible only a few feet away. "Can you take us to safety?" He asked, hand holding his spotted hat in place.
"Get in my truck and I'll drive you to my house! We can wait out the storm there!"
"Truck?" He asked in confusion, but she pointed down the way.
"I parked in the ditch on the side of the road! It's just over there!" The man seemed to think about this, but then he nodded and gestured for the others to follow. She led the way, thoroughly drenched from the rain, and cold from the wind.
They approached the car and she climbed in, they seemed to hesitate, which she didn't blame them. She would be pretty unsure about being helped by a complete and utter stranger who shows up in the middle of a raging storm with a solution to your problem. How convenient.
She opened the door and climbed in, slamming it after her. The other opened the doors and got in as well, and she noticed the man in the yellow hoodie sat up front with her. He seemed to be the leader, as she saw the worried glances from the others all directed at him. Suddenly, a large thump hit the back of her truck, which startled her, but she assumed it was some sort of debris from the storm. The damage could be inspected later.
"Ok, let's get out of here." She shoved the keys in the ignition and it roared to life. Shifting into drive, somehow her tires weren't stuck in mud and she easily got out of the side ditch. They sped towards Lexi's home.
They certainly didn't talk much, just looked really confused as she drove away from the worst of the storm. A tiny part of her worried what her grandmother would say, bringing three strangers into her house. She was paranoid as it was.
She noticed that none of them had put their seatbelt on, despite her reminder to. They had only looked at her funny, which she shrugged off. Maybe they were country folk, not used to using 'technology.'
She noticed her truck wasn't going very fast, at least as fast as usual, it was difficult just to get up to 45, and before she was soaring at 50. And there must have been something orange blocking her back windshield too, because she couldn't see anything. Maybe a piece of tarp was stuck. She would fix it once the storm blew over.
Staying in the completely silent cab was really awkward, and Lexi was tired of sitting there feeling like she was silently being judged. Clearing her throat, she gathered their attention.
"So, uh, what'er your names?" The one with the Penguin hat spoke first.
"Penguin." She blinked.
"Oh, I see." She hoped this wasn't some group of male strippers, seeing as the two in back had on the same uniform type outfit. That would be wierd. His friend beside him, a redhead with sunglasses and a green beret-type hat, raised his hand.
"Shachi." She had noticed before that they liked to…stare. Specifically at her, and she worried that she'd picked up a bunch of rapists. They didn't look dangerous, but you just never knew in this day and age. Turning her green eyes onto the hoodie-wearing one, he only glanced at her.
"Trafalgar Law."
"Well, I'm Lexi." Nobody said anything, and she sighed. "What were you doing out in the middle of nowhere, right in the middle of a massive storm?" Immediately, the one named Shachi punched Penguin's arm.
"It's his fault! If he hadn't of wandered into that cave we would still be looking for treasure!"
"No way! You were the one who wanted to see a mermaid, or a siren! You kept going deeper in!" They started a tiny brawl in the back, and Lexi wasn't sure what to do. Things had certainly escalated quickly. Luckily, Law put it to rest quickly.
"Enough." He said, and they stopped immediately.
"Sorry, Captain." The two in back muttered, which piqued her interest.
"Captain? Are you in the military?" He turned an incredulous look to her, and she frowned in confusion.
"I am not in the marines, if that is what you're asking, Lexi-ya."
"Yeah right, Captain would never be a marine. He hates them! We all do." Penguin said, and Shachi nodded his agreement.
Lexi didn't ask anything else the whole ride there, convinced that they were all delusional. She sighed internally.
'Why am I surrounded by crazy people?'
It took another 15 minutes to get to her house, or her grandmother's house to be more specific. They weren't exactly isolated, having a handful of neighbors on ranches around them. The closest city was about a five minutes drive away, but it wasn't where the university was.
Pulling into the long gravel driveway up to the ranch, she parked in front, and turned off the car. It was still raining, though nowhere near as hard as before.
"Come on." She said, exiting the car. The others followed suit.
Lexi made sure to grab her stuff from the floor, where Law had uncaringly thrown it to sit in the seat, before running up the steps to the front door. Unlocking it with her keys, she stepped inside, hoping that Nana had gone to bed early.
"General Patton, sir! We need another supply drop for bandages and morphine! The casualties are increasing everyday, and we are struggling to keep up with the demand!" She could hear her grandmother's voice shouting in the kitchen. Sighing heavily, she turned to the men.
"Wait here." Law narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but she rolled her eyes. "Please, it's my grandmother. If she sees you, she'll probably think you're part of the war. Just…stay here for a second." Raising an eyebrow, he nodded, and she went to the kitchen.
"Nana! I'm home!" She called, and the older woman, dressed in nothing but her nightgown that reached halfway down her calves, looked up from shouting into the phone on the wall. A smile lit up her face.
"Oh, Lexi my dear! How were your classes?"
"They were fine, but I'm just tired is all." Nana's face quickly became one of concern, shuffling over to her and patting her face.
"Oh dear, why don't you let me treat you. Oh! I've got just the thing! A nice dose of Oxycodon should wake you right up!" She went to rummage in her drug cabinet, but Lexi calmed her down.
"Oh, no Nana, you don't have to do that. I'll just head to bed and get some sleep."
A loud burst of thunder rumbled the house, and unfortunately set off her grandmother again. She tried to duck down beside the counter, eyes wild and unfocused.
"Those damn Nazis are sending down another firestorm! Lexi, it's not safe here! Get to the bunker and wait out the attack. I have to report to the medical camp and tend to wounded." She started pushing Lexi out of the kitchen, but Lexi guided her to the main bedroom.
"Nana, the soldiers will be fine. You need some rest too, otherwise you'll fall asleep in the middle of sewing an arm back on! Mr. Patton wouldn't be too happy if that happened, right?" The therapist kept saying that encouraging her grandmother's delusions wouldn't help her recover at all, but sometimes it was just easier to go along with it than to have the 'this is reality' fight. Besides, Lexi didn't see the possibility of recovery, especially since she was well into her 90's.
This seemed to throw Nana through a loop, and she stopped with a surprised look. "I suppose you're right, but wake me up at 0400 hours! Sleeping in during wartime is a coward's habit!" She ranted, shaking her fist at invisible soldiers. With a gentle pat on the arm, Lexi guided her to the bed and helped her get into bed.
"Goodnight, Nana." Sighing with exhaustion, her grandmother smiled.
"Sleep well, my sweet Lexi."
With that, Lexi turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. Sighing heavily, she saw the men had wandered into the living room, and Law was wearing a very irritating smirk.
"You're grandmother has PTSD?" He asked, and she nodded. There was nothing to deny, as her episodes were becoming more intense and extravagant each time.
"Yeah, she still thinks she's in World War Two." She replied with a shrug, not noticing the confused look in Law's eyes. At that moment, a…polar bear? walked into the room from behind the men. It was wearing…something orange, which probably explained the orange thing blocking her back windshield. It had hopped a ride with them. Lexi stopped short. It was holding a…sword? What was all this? She slowly raised her pointer finger at it, struggling to swallow.
"Um…" Law seemed to understand her sudden confusion and fear, and quickly shook his head.
"He's with us. He won't harm you."
"He's your pet?" She asked in disbelief, and the bear turned to face her.
"I'm the first mate!" He said proudly, and she stopped.
"He…talks." She said slowly, blinking rapidly to try to understand what was happening. "The polar bear…talks?" And Law nodded. She turned to look at the animal, who lowered his head in sorrow.
"Gomenasai…" It muttered, and Lexi about freaked out. "And this is normal?" She reiterated, to which Law frowned.
"Surely you've seen a supposedly inanimate object or animal talk before, Lexi-ya? Our world is rather strange after all, and devil fruits seem to be most common on the Grand Line. Bepo is a part of my crew."
"Oh yeah, how long does it take a log pose to set on this island?" Shachi asked, sitting on the couch with a sigh of relief. Penguin followed suit, and the bear decided to lay down on the ground…still in his orange jumpsuit.
Grand Line? Log Pose? Crew? "…what?" She asked eventually, not understanding a word of what they were saying. She was starting to get a headache, and she sat down on the furthest end of the couch, placing a hand on her forehead. They said the PTSD wasn't genetic, but maybe she really was going crazy…
"We are still on Mariner Island, yes?" Law questioned, and Lexi shook her head, closing her eyes.
"I have no idea what you guys are even talking about. What the hell is a log pose? What island? We're in West Virginia."
"West Virginia? Is that in the Grand Line?" Shachi asked. She spread out her arms in exasperation.
"What the hell is a Grand Line?" Law narrowed his eyes again, pondering everything that he knew.
"Perhaps…" Law started, trailing off in his own thoughts.
"What is it, Captain?" Shachi asked, and Law glanced to his friend.
"That cave might have put us in an entirely different world, or universe, or dimension. Who knows really? It's quite obvious this isn't the world we know." He walked over to the TV set, standing on the table. It seemed to intrigue him, as he touched it in different places, trying to figure out how it worked.
"What cave? I'm so confused…" Law eventually turned back to her.
"I don't believe we're from the same world." Lexi about passed out.
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