It only took a few seconds.
A few scarce seconds.
A few scarce seconds, and a blinding screech for Ann to find her life rushing to a sudden stop--
To say she was lost would be a lie, for Ann had been wandering for a long time before she reached the outskirts of the city, to a place where dirt gave way to cobble, and then further, where the sidewalks began to be paved with large concrete slabs- where strange stalks sprouted from the ground instead of trees, with bulbs atop them that seemed always an inch from bloom. She'd never been to a city before- having always been a stranger even in the little farming village she had been born near.
At some point, recently, it had rained, and she marveled at the way the cobblestones shone in the dying light of day, scattering the sun's vestiges like stars upon the uneven stones. Cold seeped into her fingertips. Not many other people seemed about. Due to the weather, she surmised. That made sense... but it was easier for her, thankfully. People were still terrifying, mostly because they tended to be terrified of her in return.
She wasn't paying attention, though, when she decided to cross the street- mostly to avoid someone coming down the way that she was- but... why would she? Horses could be heard from a while away, and those were what roads were for, of course. Horses, carts, things like that...
What came instead was much quicker than she'd anticipated.
A monstrous noise, lights brighter than bonfires- a screeching yellow abomination that couldn't brake fast enough, sliding along the slick cobblestones-
Ann didn't even have time to scream, only to throw up her arms in a weak sort of defense, before everything stopped.
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