A World of Another Kind

Chapter 30 The Mystery Man

Narrated by Aubrey

     It was a few days later. News had spread fast around town about the time aberration and how we had time traveled. Everybody was talking about it, and everywhere we went, we would have a person come up to us to ask us questions. But some people didn't believe we had time traveled, so those people would make fun of us. But all Kaylee and I focused on was trying to avoid Zelena, and we couldn't go anywhere without feeling constant fear and paranoia that she'd be there ready to prey on us. And we couldn't expect Mr. Gold to always come to our rescue either. At least we knew Regina was better than her sister since she didn't want us killed, and we hoped she would help defend us too, especially because we had defended her when the angry mob came knocking at her door.

     Later that day, Kaylee and I went to Regina's house to give her cookies we had baked, but this time with the intentions of showing her kindness so that her cold heart could be warmed a bit. We wanted to show love and our care for her because this could only change her heart. Once we approached her door, suddenly, we saw that the door was slightly cracked open, and we thought that was strange. "Regina must had forgotten to close her door all the way," I said, feeling a little perplexed. "But this must indicate she's home. But because we can't just invite ourselves in, we will still have to knock."

     After knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell multiple times, strangely, she didn't answer. "I guess she isn't home," Kaylee concluded. "We can just drop these cookies off at her doorstep or come back later."

     "I don't know why, but I keep having this bad feeling," I said, feeling apprehensive. "What if someone broke in? I just feel like we should go inside and see if she's there."

     "Alright," Kaylee replied. "But let's be quick in case she isn't there because if she's not, she might come home any moment and catch us in her house, thinking we are stealing again."

     I agreed then we slowly creaked the door open and walked into the large house. "Hello?" I hollered, my voice echoing. "Regina, are you here? We made you cookies."

     But there was no answer. Then suddenly, as we walked further into the house, we began to smell something burning, like something being overbaked in the oven. The smell was coming from the direction of the kitchen, so we wandered over to it. And there was really something burning in the oven, and when I opened it, smoke came out, causing us to cough. As I was turning the oven off, the smoke detector went off and startled us. "How could Regina leave the oven untended that long," Kaylee coughed, yelling over the piercing noise of the smoke detector, "and forget to set a timer! I wonder where she is."

     "Uh... Kaylee, come quick!" I exclaimed at the other side of the large, kitchen counter, then Kaylee rushed over. There Regna lay on the floor, unconscious, and Kaylee gasped. But fortunately, she was breathing, but her pulse was extremely faint. "We need to call 911!" I picked up a phone that was on the counter and dialed.

     "I wonder how she fell," Kaylee said, concerned, as she sat on the floor next to Regina.

     I felt the floor for any water, but the whole kitchen floor was completely dry. "I have no idea," I replied, puzzled. "How strange...."

     Very soon, an ambulance arrived. The paramedics rushed in and placed Regina onto a stretcher then rushed her to the hospital, and we came along. Soon, Snow and Charming met us there once they heard the news. "Thank goodness you found her when you did," said Snow. "How did you get into her house?"

     "It was unlocked and slightly open," I explained. "I have no idea why, but good thing it was."

     "Yes, certainly," Snow replied, nodding. "I hope she is okay," she added with concern. "I wonder how she fell."