Outside the Dorms, Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate Monday Night/Early Tuesday Morning
Karla fled towards the dorms, running as if there were Hell-hounds flat on her heels. Just a little bit further, she thought. Just a little bit faster… She was flagging, and quickly, but she reached down deep in her reserves and dredged up enough energy for one last little burst of speed.
Too bad it was impossible to outrun one’s own fragmenting mind.
The last two days with Janelle had been wonderful. Freed of her nightmares, Jaenelle had begun eating again, putting on enough weight to make it possible to go downstairs again and see the family before Karla’s portal arrived to bring her back to Fandom. But as nice as it had been to spend time with Jaenelle, as good as it was to see her laughing and eating again, Karla had been keenly aware of how quickly the insulating cocoon she’d spun around Jaenelle’s memories had been unraveling. The last few hours in Dhemlan had been nerve-wracking, as the more she tried to buttress the threads, the faster it had seemed to unspool.
But the threads had held until she’d left Dhemlan behind. And now she was struggling to get back to the dorms and the safety of her room-or possibly the locked room on the sixth floor-before the safety net collapsed completely. Damn the portal for dropping her so far away! But there! She could see the lights from the windows, feel the outer edges of thoughts and emotions from the students therein, laughing, studying, watching the teevee…enjoying the blessed normalcy of everyday life. Sooo cloooose…
And the final thread snapped just as the dorm itself came into view.
Karla fell as the memories took hold. First came the gut-wrenching horror as she saw once again what happened to Marjane and Dannie and Rose. Then the fear as she was brought down to the ‘playpen’ and dosed with safframate, and dressed in a skimpy lace nighty by rough and uncaring hands. And then came the pain, the searing, tearing pain that had her biting her hands to keep from crying aloud. Except-she couldn’t bite her hands, could she? They were bound….
What was different this time, however, was the rage that followed. Perhaps a defense mechanism from her own mind, the icy, freezing cold fury allowed her to remember who and what she was. A wave of physical cold washed over and through her and her tears fell as ice chips to the ground.
It was a very different Karla who regarded the dorms. A predatory whirlwind of murderous fury. She stood up, took a step forward, and stopped. No. Not here. The part of her that still cared, could still feel wouldn’t let her continue on. She had friends there. Innocents. She would go elsewhere to hunt tonight. Somewhere where her youthful looks would be a beacon for bastards like the Briarwood uncles.
She wouldn’t spill blood in Fandom. But anywhere else was open game. She spun on her heel and was gone.
[ So starts the plot of Crazy! Open for reactions from anyone inside. Psychics, empaths, telepaths, people prone to odd dreams, random people up at stupid o’clock in the morning-anyone can react to the waves of emotion. Karla herself is not available for interaction. Further posts can be found here and then here. These posts are NFI, save for Plot-slaves Team Rescue! WARNING: MORE DARK THEMES AND CREEPINESS AHEAD. POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING. AFTERMATH OF VIOLENCE, PARTICULARLY SEXUAL AND AGAINST CHILDREN. I WARN BECAUSE I CARE.
Yes, my canon is MADE OF WRONG.]
Too bad it was impossible to outrun one’s own fragmenting mind.
The last two days with Janelle had been wonderful. Freed of her nightmares, Jaenelle had begun eating again, putting on enough weight to make it possible to go downstairs again and see the family before Karla’s portal arrived to bring her back to Fandom. But as nice as it had been to spend time with Jaenelle, as good as it was to see her laughing and eating again, Karla had been keenly aware of how quickly the insulating cocoon she’d spun around Jaenelle’s memories had been unraveling. The last few hours in Dhemlan had been nerve-wracking, as the more she tried to buttress the threads, the faster it had seemed to unspool.
But the threads had held until she’d left Dhemlan behind. And now she was struggling to get back to the dorms and the safety of her room-or possibly the locked room on the sixth floor-before the safety net collapsed completely. Damn the portal for dropping her so far away! But there! She could see the lights from the windows, feel the outer edges of thoughts and emotions from the students therein, laughing, studying, watching the teevee…enjoying the blessed normalcy of everyday life. Sooo cloooose…
And the final thread snapped just as the dorm itself came into view.
Karla fell as the memories took hold. First came the gut-wrenching horror as she saw once again what happened to Marjane and Dannie and Rose. Then the fear as she was brought down to the ‘playpen’ and dosed with safframate, and dressed in a skimpy lace nighty by rough and uncaring hands. And then came the pain, the searing, tearing pain that had her biting her hands to keep from crying aloud. Except-she couldn’t bite her hands, could she? They were bound….
What was different this time, however, was the rage that followed. Perhaps a defense mechanism from her own mind, the icy, freezing cold fury allowed her to remember who and what she was. A wave of physical cold washed over and through her and her tears fell as ice chips to the ground.
It was a very different Karla who regarded the dorms. A predatory whirlwind of murderous fury. She stood up, took a step forward, and stopped. No. Not here. The part of her that still cared, could still feel wouldn’t let her continue on. She had friends there. Innocents. She would go elsewhere to hunt tonight. Somewhere where her youthful looks would be a beacon for bastards like the Briarwood uncles.
She wouldn’t spill blood in Fandom. But anywhere else was open game. She spun on her heel and was gone.
[ So starts the plot of Crazy! Open for reactions from anyone inside. Psychics, empaths, telepaths, people prone to odd dreams, random people up at stupid o’clock in the morning-anyone can react to the waves of emotion. Karla herself is not available for interaction. Further posts can be found here and then here. These posts are NFI, save for Plot-slaves Team Rescue! WARNING: MORE DARK THEMES AND CREEPINESS AHEAD. POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING. AFTERMATH OF VIOLENCE, PARTICULARLY SEXUAL AND AGAINST CHILDREN. I WARN BECAUSE I CARE.
Yes, my canon is MADE OF WRONG.]