(no subject)
The pain had been white hot and blinding, dragging up her spine all the way to the muscles in her neck like a poker dipped in molten metal, but it wasn't enough to distract her away from the gut-wrenching terror that coiled in the pit of her stomach. The murky haze that blanketed itself over her vision wasn't enough to keep her from making out the sounds of bones cracking and snapping, sliding together like nails on a chalkboard, as the person she'd just run over with a 4,000 pound car got back on their feet like it was nothing.
And it definitely wasn't enough to keep her from seeing that same person ( should have been dead should have been dead why can't things stay dead ) advance toward her, and Elena was paralyzed, suspended upside down in her car, as her fingers scrabbled over her seatbelt, searching for the release. Her breath was caught somewhere between her lungs and her throat, heart squeezing hard beneath her ribcage, and every step they took toward her echoed out into the cold, night air.
And then, just as her fingers found the button for the belt and pushed --
It was over. Just like that. Like flipping a switch or something, and she blinked, and everything around her went black.
Elena would swear up and down that she hadn't been out for longer than a minute, maybe two at the most. There had been black, and then a flash of bright colors, a swirl of something misty and untouchable right above her face, and she woke up with her head buried in a soft pillow, in a room she didn't recognize with her jacket folded neatly on the chair next to her.
Confusing didn't really cut it.
Elena winced against the bright stream of light pouring in through the window, rolling over on the bed and not bothering to catch herself as she dropped to the floor, landing solidly against the wood paneling. And for a moment, she didn't move, her back pressed against the side of the bed, and she drew her legs close to her chest, arms wrapping around her knees as her fingers dug into the material of her jeans.
"Stefan?"
Her voice sounded frighteningly loud in the small, barren room, and Elena almost winced again. She really had no reason for saying his name -- it was like an instinct, like a reflex, like searching for something familiar while stuck in a place and a situation so incredibly unfamiliar. Elena didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to say or do, didn't know whether she should stay where she was or get up and move.
Minutes passed, and she sat there trying not to think because the more she thought the more her stomach sank, and eventually, she pushed herself into an unsteady stand and stumbled over to the window, roughly tugging the curtains aside.
What she saw just beyond the windowpane wasn't comforting at all, and her stomach finally dropped now, all the way down to the floor, past her feet, so goddamn far she wasn't sure she'd ever get it back.
The glittering city draped in snow made her feel sick, but the bird ( black like charcoal ) that flew past her window, narrowly avoiding a collision with the glass, made her feel even sicker.
And it definitely wasn't enough to keep her from seeing that same person ( should have been dead should have been dead why can't things stay dead ) advance toward her, and Elena was paralyzed, suspended upside down in her car, as her fingers scrabbled over her seatbelt, searching for the release. Her breath was caught somewhere between her lungs and her throat, heart squeezing hard beneath her ribcage, and every step they took toward her echoed out into the cold, night air.
And then, just as her fingers found the button for the belt and pushed --
It was over. Just like that. Like flipping a switch or something, and she blinked, and everything around her went black.
Elena would swear up and down that she hadn't been out for longer than a minute, maybe two at the most. There had been black, and then a flash of bright colors, a swirl of something misty and untouchable right above her face, and she woke up with her head buried in a soft pillow, in a room she didn't recognize with her jacket folded neatly on the chair next to her.
Confusing didn't really cut it.
Elena winced against the bright stream of light pouring in through the window, rolling over on the bed and not bothering to catch herself as she dropped to the floor, landing solidly against the wood paneling. And for a moment, she didn't move, her back pressed against the side of the bed, and she drew her legs close to her chest, arms wrapping around her knees as her fingers dug into the material of her jeans.
"Stefan?"
Her voice sounded frighteningly loud in the small, barren room, and Elena almost winced again. She really had no reason for saying his name -- it was like an instinct, like a reflex, like searching for something familiar while stuck in a place and a situation so incredibly unfamiliar. Elena didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to say or do, didn't know whether she should stay where she was or get up and move.
Minutes passed, and she sat there trying not to think because the more she thought the more her stomach sank, and eventually, she pushed herself into an unsteady stand and stumbled over to the window, roughly tugging the curtains aside.
What she saw just beyond the windowpane wasn't comforting at all, and her stomach finally dropped now, all the way down to the floor, past her feet, so goddamn far she wasn't sure she'd ever get it back.
The glittering city draped in snow made her feel sick, but the bird ( black like charcoal ) that flew past her window, narrowly avoiding a collision with the glass, made her feel even sicker.