She'd been underground. She'd had a torch in hand. Raite, Howl, Boreas; they had all been with her.
Maybe she had died? The world had gone dark, and there had been nothing.
Nothing until she heard the sound of strings. Strings? That was... Brahms? Her eyes were so heavy though, and she stayed there, listening to it. Her limbs were heavy; she had a pain n her arm reminiscent of the IV she'd had to wear when she was in the hospital. And her ear ached; that was the source of the noise. The sound of beeping broke in over the sound of the noise in her ear; A soft, small hand touched her own, moving it, and her bed shifted as someone got in the bed with her. The air smelled like sanitizer and astringent; there was no denying it. She was back in the hospital.
Calling, doctors? Her thoughts were fragmented. She moaned, twitched; her ears hurt. And then the music was gone, the sound of panicked orders from the bed next to her filling her ears until another voice pierced the veil. “Jayj?” Zora's voice was small, frightened. “Jayj, are you there?”
She opened her mouth to speak; her mouth was filled with cotton. Still, it was a force of will that pried her eyes open to stare into a matching pair of bright purple. “Zora.” It was mouthed, her voice failing her.
“One moment.” Zora glanced at the next bed, then tugged a bottle of water off of the small table between hospital beds, opening the bottle. Jada was laying in the bed; she wouldn't be able to push her up, so the teenager poured a cap full of the Fiji liquid and held it to the other young woman's open mouth. Jada tried to be careful, but it was difficult when you seemed to have... little control over your own body. “You missed your birthday.” Zora told her sister conversationally. “You're 18. Congratulations.” She'd missed her birthday? What about her presents? And the party? And graduation- not that that part was important. What about prom, and her beautiful dress she'd planned?
What about...
What had happened while she'd been...?
“A bunch of people all got knocked out at once. The entire city has been shut down. No one had prom.” Leave it to dear little Zora. “People all just started waking up or dying though... a couple days ago.” After the first had died. Zora hadn't been here when it happened. And after... it had been terrible. The last days had been terrifying for the redhead; would Jada wake up? Or would she just stop, like so many of these others? Would some of her last memories of her sister alive be the memories of that terrible night, when Zora had committed the sin, and Jada had suffered for it? “That woman who gave birth to us didn't care to try and call.” After the first week, Szelem had become unreachable. “Kayley called a few times. Lucas and Daddy will want to know you are awake.” The child started to pull out her I-Phone and then froze, glancing at the next bed.
The beeping stopped, and a sobbing cry rose up from the mouth of the woman who had been Zora's occasional lunch partner as her husband was one who slipped away. And then a nurse was bending over Jada, beaming. It was a plastic smile. It was brittle. The teenager in the bed didn't smile back. “Well, good morning.”
“Morning.” The word came out with effort; Jada didn't say anything else.
“Lets help you sit up, shall we?” Silently, with a familiarity that told Jada this particular gesture had been done before, the woman shooed Zora away and the girl slipped over her body. Pillows were stuffed under her back; Zora was lifting her? Like a child, and it was disconcerting until Jada was able to look down at herself. Weight lost. The plump curves of her healthy body had given way to skin that was almost translucent covering almost skeletally thin arms. Perhaps the way she saw herself was overly dramatic in nature; every person had their own way of viewing themselves. She'd been skinnier than normal after her last hospital release, but this was...
Something in her eyes must have given away the thoughts that were not able to spill from her lips. “You lost a little weight, Jada, but that's okay.” the woman reassured her. “You're still healthy. It is just a little strange, I'm sure.”
“Thirsty.” She said it finally; Zora handed her the open bottle of water. Jada reached out for it, finding it oddly queer that her arm wasn't gloved in sand-covered white; However long she'd been in that... place... it had felt like forever to her. Her skin was unburned, she was not dehydrated. Slowly, the hand trembling, she lifted the bottle to her mouth and drank.
The water was delicious, and it was cold; the cold was a shock of clarity to her bewildered mind. “When may I leave?” It took a few hours; they checked her vitals and her responses. They did... well, whatever it was that doctors did, before decreeing they wanted to keep her overnight but no longer.
Zora pushed her through the ward in a wheelchair after the nurses conceded. “Just stay out of the way of people who are trying to work.” Such common sense; many beds were emptying, but none had been fully cleaned up. Names she recognized. People she recognized. Audrey's mother and father were lying still in a bed. Jada pointed them out to Zora, had her push the chair close enough for Jada's warming hand to be pressed to their bland, still ones. She stayed at their side for a few minuted before continuing on.
Classmates.
Friends.
Strangers.
Young people, old people. Children. Parents.
Marlo? Jada blinked at the boy lying still in the bed. There was a woman near him, so she didn't approach. But she clenched her hands even more tightly as they continued.
Teachers. Students. “One of my friends from school died, Jayj.” Zora's voice was small.
“Lets go outside.” Together the girls made it out to the courtyard; Jada turned to her sister. Zora knelt down next to the wheelchair, resting her head against Jada's leg.
And slowly, Sailor Scylla woke back up to the world.
Maybe she had died? The world had gone dark, and there had been nothing.
Nothing until she heard the sound of strings. Strings? That was... Brahms? Her eyes were so heavy though, and she stayed there, listening to it. Her limbs were heavy; she had a pain n her arm reminiscent of the IV she'd had to wear when she was in the hospital. And her ear ached; that was the source of the noise. The sound of beeping broke in over the sound of the noise in her ear; A soft, small hand touched her own, moving it, and her bed shifted as someone got in the bed with her. The air smelled like sanitizer and astringent; there was no denying it. She was back in the hospital.
Calling, doctors? Her thoughts were fragmented. She moaned, twitched; her ears hurt. And then the music was gone, the sound of panicked orders from the bed next to her filling her ears until another voice pierced the veil. “Jayj?” Zora's voice was small, frightened. “Jayj, are you there?”
She opened her mouth to speak; her mouth was filled with cotton. Still, it was a force of will that pried her eyes open to stare into a matching pair of bright purple. “Zora.” It was mouthed, her voice failing her.
“One moment.” Zora glanced at the next bed, then tugged a bottle of water off of the small table between hospital beds, opening the bottle. Jada was laying in the bed; she wouldn't be able to push her up, so the teenager poured a cap full of the Fiji liquid and held it to the other young woman's open mouth. Jada tried to be careful, but it was difficult when you seemed to have... little control over your own body. “You missed your birthday.” Zora told her sister conversationally. “You're 18. Congratulations.” She'd missed her birthday? What about her presents? And the party? And graduation- not that that part was important. What about prom, and her beautiful dress she'd planned?
What about...
What had happened while she'd been...?
“A bunch of people all got knocked out at once. The entire city has been shut down. No one had prom.” Leave it to dear little Zora. “People all just started waking up or dying though... a couple days ago.” After the first had died. Zora hadn't been here when it happened. And after... it had been terrible. The last days had been terrifying for the redhead; would Jada wake up? Or would she just stop, like so many of these others? Would some of her last memories of her sister alive be the memories of that terrible night, when Zora had committed the sin, and Jada had suffered for it? “That woman who gave birth to us didn't care to try and call.” After the first week, Szelem had become unreachable. “Kayley called a few times. Lucas and Daddy will want to know you are awake.” The child started to pull out her I-Phone and then froze, glancing at the next bed.
The beeping stopped, and a sobbing cry rose up from the mouth of the woman who had been Zora's occasional lunch partner as her husband was one who slipped away. And then a nurse was bending over Jada, beaming. It was a plastic smile. It was brittle. The teenager in the bed didn't smile back. “Well, good morning.”
“Morning.” The word came out with effort; Jada didn't say anything else.
“Lets help you sit up, shall we?” Silently, with a familiarity that told Jada this particular gesture had been done before, the woman shooed Zora away and the girl slipped over her body. Pillows were stuffed under her back; Zora was lifting her? Like a child, and it was disconcerting until Jada was able to look down at herself. Weight lost. The plump curves of her healthy body had given way to skin that was almost translucent covering almost skeletally thin arms. Perhaps the way she saw herself was overly dramatic in nature; every person had their own way of viewing themselves. She'd been skinnier than normal after her last hospital release, but this was...
Something in her eyes must have given away the thoughts that were not able to spill from her lips. “You lost a little weight, Jada, but that's okay.” the woman reassured her. “You're still healthy. It is just a little strange, I'm sure.”
“Thirsty.” She said it finally; Zora handed her the open bottle of water. Jada reached out for it, finding it oddly queer that her arm wasn't gloved in sand-covered white; However long she'd been in that... place... it had felt like forever to her. Her skin was unburned, she was not dehydrated. Slowly, the hand trembling, she lifted the bottle to her mouth and drank.
The water was delicious, and it was cold; the cold was a shock of clarity to her bewildered mind. “When may I leave?” It took a few hours; they checked her vitals and her responses. They did... well, whatever it was that doctors did, before decreeing they wanted to keep her overnight but no longer.
Zora pushed her through the ward in a wheelchair after the nurses conceded. “Just stay out of the way of people who are trying to work.” Such common sense; many beds were emptying, but none had been fully cleaned up. Names she recognized. People she recognized. Audrey's mother and father were lying still in a bed. Jada pointed them out to Zora, had her push the chair close enough for Jada's warming hand to be pressed to their bland, still ones. She stayed at their side for a few minuted before continuing on.
Classmates.
Friends.
Strangers.
Young people, old people. Children. Parents.
Marlo? Jada blinked at the boy lying still in the bed. There was a woman near him, so she didn't approach. But she clenched her hands even more tightly as they continued.
Teachers. Students. “One of my friends from school died, Jayj.” Zora's voice was small.
“Lets go outside.” Together the girls made it out to the courtyard; Jada turned to her sister. Zora knelt down next to the wheelchair, resting her head against Jada's leg.
And slowly, Sailor Scylla woke back up to the world.
