The cold hard bed of the London police station left me groaning with displeasure as I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. However, it was better than the cold and damp alleyway. Of course, this whole scenario was stupid. After getting arrested I was questioned for several hours without rest. I ended up telling them everything that happened short of how I thought I was from the future and my pickpocketing adventure.

They of course assumed I was insane and I was locked up. Although there was no proof, I had been discovered with the unconscious woman and was assumed to be her attacker. Mainly because my story was too insane for them to think it was true. It’s not like I blame them. They’re just being rational.

I stretched once more in order to get comfortable but to no avail. The officers did believe one thing about my story but at the mere mention of it, they groaned. The man with the ponytail and flask. They refused to tell me anything about him but they wouldn’t deny that I saw him. The possibility of them believing the rest of my story wouldn’t rise even if that man gave testimony to my claim, he just wasn’t a reliable source as they put it.

I wasn’t even sure if what I saw was real either and I sure as hell wouldn’t believe me had I been hearing the same story. I killed a man by punching him with coins and having him accidentally swallow one. What made even less sense was the fact that he faded into dust directly after. It was definitely something that you wouldn’t consider normal.

The same thing happened to the other man who faced Mr.Ponytail. How? I don’t know. Maybe the coins and the guy's gloves were magical and shit. All I knew was that they died and I was now under arrest and suspected of attacking and robbing a woman. I had too many questions but the more I thought about it the more depressed I became. This was not fun at all.

It was now about three in the morning and I couldn’t get any sleep because of what happened. The police were kinda weirded out by my watch as it was digital and digital watches weren’t created for a long time but they confiscated it. It might be the only thing I have from the future that could be considered useful.

It was then that I noticed the obvious noise of footsteps coming toward my cell. I rolled over and sat up in time for Mr.Ponytail to stop at the door of my cell followed by one of the officers that interrogated me earlier. “You’re free to go.” the officer said as he reached the door and unlocked the cell. 

“Really? And what about all that about me being insane?” I asked sarcastically.

“The woman we thought you attacked woke up briefly and said she was attacked by three men that matched the description you gave us in the letter. She also said she never saw a man matching your description.” the officer said with an apologetic tone.

“I told you I wasn’t lying.” I said with a tired but prideful smirk.

“Well, we still think you’re insane but this man here…” he groaned out as he gestured at Mr.Ponytail. “Said he requires your assistance with a matter of importance that goes beyond our paygrade as he put it.”

“I’m standing right here ya twat.” Mr.Ponytail said, giving the officer the stink eye before pulling out his flask and taking a swig. 

“Alright, as long as it gets me off the street I don’t care what you need me for. My name is Lou Berrett.” I said with confidence before standing up and outstretching my hand for a handshake. He eyed me for a moment before finally accepting the handshake with a grip that made me want to writhe in pain. He kept holding it until the pain started showing on my face.

“Scott Langston, and don’t be so cheery.” he said as he released my hand from his gorilla-like grip. I had plenty of questions about what happened earlier that night but something told me asking him in the police station wasn’t the best idea. The police gave me my watch back and apologized for the inconvenience before I left.

After we left the police station Scott Langston heaved out a heavy sigh before walking down the foggy London street with me in tow. Then he began to speak. It caught me completely off guard as I wasn’t ready, mainly due to my lack of sleep.

“Ya want to know what happened tonight? I know that you’re curious.” Scott said confidently.

“...” I couldn’t say anything, not because I had nothing to say but because I was surprised that he knew what I wanted to ask about. 

“Cat got your tongue or did you forget everything that happened?” Scott asked with a sarcastic tone.

“No, I just am not sure where to start. Someone turned to dust after swallowing a coin, then you came in and turned the other one into dust as well, and before I could get a word out you ran off after the third dude.” I spurted out.

“I was wondering how you did that as well, most people wouldn’t have been able to kill a changeling especially armed with only the silver coins you had in your hand. Also, the one I gave chase did in fact look like he had terrible taste in clothes now that I think about it.” Scott said as he placed his hand on his chin and looked up in thought.

“Did you say, changeling?” I asked with a surprised tone while ignoring that last part.

“Yes, what you fought were not one but three changelings. They are capable of taking any form of a living being. Their weakness, as with all monsters, is silver but a few are sensitive to iron. This is precisely why they reacted to some of your coins. The monarchy is slowly reducing the amount of silver in coins. You’re lucky you had some.” he blurted out as if he was an English professor that was making a point. I was muted by what was just explained to me. How should I respond? It’s not like I didn’t just show up in this time period with no warning. Noticing my obvious silence, Scott continued.

“Monsters and other supernatural phenomena are in fact real for the most part. I work for the Table, a group created to keep the peace between beings of supernatural origins. We also hunt down and exterminate supernatural beings that want to destroy the peace. I had been hunting those three that you encountered for several days and one is still on the loose as I could not keep up with the last one.” Scott explained further.

“...” I still didn’t know what to say. Either he’s insane or everything he’s saying is true and I can’t tell which.

“That’s where you come in, you were able to kill a changeling. A feat that would require at least some training to pull off with just your fist and a few coins.” He explained before grabbing his flask and taking another swig, only to realize there was nothing left for him to drink. 

“Funny, I could have sworn I filled this earlier? Well, want to get a drink?” I was surprised he still wanted to drink. The closer I got to him the more I realized he stunk of rum. He must be one of those lost causes with an iron liver. Knowing I couldn’t really say no I agreed and followed. Plus I wanted to learn more about this Table. It seemed rather interesting.