At first she thought she'd just been caught up in a new room change. Atlantis did that sort of thing a lot, and her stuff was in the room with her. Even the giant teddy bear that she'd asked for during one of Atlantis' generous moments. Ever since Laura had remembered who she really was over the last couple of days, she'd tried looking for them only to come up empty. It didn't mean anything, right? They still might not know who she was. The longer she checked places trying to find them, though, the more Laura could feel the pit in her stomach grow.
Now back in Atlantis, she'd woken up to new sounds and smells and saw the official message showing the people who had left while everyone was off being someone else. A long list of names of people who had left including several she recognized. Lorna. Erik. Charles.
Cat Chandler. Dyson Thornwood.
Laura refreshed the page five times to make sure it was real. When the names didn't change, she shook her head adamantly, and eventually threw the device across the room with a loud bang. She heard voices outside her door and quickly made short work of closed window and slipped out just as she had the first day she'd arrived in Atlantis. Dyson had easily jumped out after her, and Cat had bribed her with homemade potstickers in order to come back inside.
This time she didn't wait to see if someone was going to come after her. She kept running and left the new housing area behind. Tears fell down her face as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She wasn't running in any particular direction, but she wasn't surprised when she ended up at the familiar zoo. She paused briefly at the entrance then began running towards her favorite spot in the park. It was early, so visitors were sparse and workers were busy with day-to-day tasks.
The first time she'd jumped the glass wall to the lion enclosure months ago, she'd been seen and caught fairly quickly. Months of helping out and knowing the zoo better than even some of the caretakers, Laura knew where she wouldn't be seen immediately. She jumped and landed on her feet in a crouch then jogged over to the cave where the lion liked to sleep and waited for her furry friend to show his face. She didn't know for sure what day it was or how long they'd been away from Atlantis, but she was thankful that Augustus seemed to remember her. He rolled over on his back and let out a yawn of greeting.
Hunkering down in the back of the small cave, Laura couldn't seem to catch her breath. Her plan of how she could have a family for the rest of her life had vanished. Dyson was really old and was going to live forever or something just like she would. She'd been thinking about ways to negotiate with the Atlantis powers that be to turn Cat into something to make her live forever too. Between Logan and Jean leaving, Cat and Dyson had always been there and had become her family. Now they were gone, and she felt so alone despite the number of other people in Atlantis she called friend. This was different.
Finally, her breathing began to return to normal, and she laid down on her side behind the big, protective lion and fell asleep. Maybe when she woke up, this would all be another dream.