Tick, tock.
Another second.
She didn't run yet. Why didn't she run?
Leah wanted to curl up like a little child and close her eyes, but she forced herself to stare at Mateo like she stared at Giselle.
The world swirled as her blood pressure spiked.
Chest pain.
Anxiety.
Shortness of breath.
Everything was sliding away as she acted like nothing happened and stared down.
Everything seemed so beautiful. She wanted to weep.
How many increments of time has it been since Mateo hit the ground?
Since they first met?
She wanted to kill him at first. Funny how little things changed. Relief flooded into her brain- chemicals and electric signals that made her feel so, so alive. What was it again? That name?
She laughed because she didn't have any words left in her brain. Loud and bright and clear. Knees hit the ground again.
Somehow, this was the funniest thing in the world to her.
What We Built To Keep The Waters Clean
Day 2, 12:30 PM | Open
-
MethodicalSlacker
- Posts: 250
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm
- Location: Hanging Onto A Buoy For Dear Life
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
- Contact:
Betty reels wide eyed as on cue another inscrutable Leviathan emerges from the darkness and stumbles hands first into Pippi from behind. Her palms flatten against the wall behind her as Pippi spins and takes him down, screaming with fury louder and louder until it got Jodi had to take her hands off of the wall and pull her hat down over her ears sorts of loud. Leah flattens motionless on the ground and sinks into the floor her mouth dribbling spit and sorry pleas to an already made corpse, already bloated and decayed invisible on the floor by the corner in the sunless dark. Another voice called out something she thought was a name.
Jodi was silent.¹⁰⁴
Then she was moving, hands still on her ears on her hat, towards Leah, cackling on the floor. Moving in the opposite direction of Pippi, still screaming her sibilant shock into echoes down the serpentine byway—and like Pippi, Betty was sprinting, as fast as she could go.
It wasn't a very long distance to close. Jodi was never good at throwing things, and she couldn't have hit Leah if she was any further than ten feet away. So it took only one two three four five six (plant and skid on left foot) seven and (bring the toe point of) eight steps for Betty to get to curled up fetal-positioned Leah and while Betty was still running sprinting jumping and tornado spinning bringing her booted heel crackling down to strike Leah square in the back.¹⁰⁵
And now it was Betty's turn to laugh as she stumbled and almost tripped over herself on the downturn of her kick as the momentum carried her down the hallway and away from all of this stupid horseshit. She'd find Pippi and Luanne soon enough. It wouldn't be too difficult to make a few left turns through the catacombs and locate them after putting some distance between herself and the Leviathans.
[All she needed to do was follow the screaming.]
Jodi was silent.¹⁰⁴
Then she was moving, hands still on her ears on her hat, towards Leah, cackling on the floor. Moving in the opposite direction of Pippi, still screaming her sibilant shock into echoes down the serpentine byway—and like Pippi, Betty was sprinting, as fast as she could go.
It wasn't a very long distance to close. Jodi was never good at throwing things, and she couldn't have hit Leah if she was any further than ten feet away. So it took only one two three four five six (plant and skid on left foot) seven and (bring the toe point of) eight steps for Betty to get to curled up fetal-positioned Leah and while Betty was still running sprinting jumping and tornado spinning bringing her booted heel crackling down to strike Leah square in the back.¹⁰⁵
And now it was Betty's turn to laugh as she stumbled and almost tripped over herself on the downturn of her kick as the momentum carried her down the hallway and away from all of this stupid horseshit. She'd find Pippi and Luanne soon enough. It wouldn't be too difficult to make a few left turns through the catacombs and locate them after putting some distance between herself and the Leviathans.
[All she needed to do was follow the screaming.]
- 
- 
It might be a trap, Betty said. And then just like that, there was a sound like a golf club, and something spattered onto Luanne's face, and Pippi screamed. Then Luanne screamed Pippi's name, and then something collided with her, and then for a few seconds she wasn't really sure what or where she was anymore, and she especially had no idea what was going on. But now she was chasing after Pippi, because without Pippi there was no plan, and without a plan she would have nothing, and she would give up, and she would die scared and alone and in pain, and also she had an obligation to help Pippi. She also had an obligation to stay and make sure everyone was okay, but she had a bigger obligation to Pippi. So she was running. Her feet were raw and they hurt worse than when she'd visited the Louvre. But she kept running after Pippi's screams, and eventually she couldn't hear any screams, but she kept running because she hadn't found Pippi yet and she needed Pippi alive. And then the sunlight hit her, and she kept running.
((Somewhere along the way she had made a wrong turn without noticing.))
((Somewhere along the way she had made a wrong turn without noticing.))
She kept on laughing there.
Footsteps rushed around her. She was kicked by someone- she didn’t know who and she almost couldn’t tell- and then it’s just her alone, laying on the ground, heaving. Her eyes were facing the same level as Mateo and she couldn’t help but stare.
Leah laughed so hard that it physically hurt- like a hand grabbing around, or into her stomach, and then twisting. She sputtered when the first sign of something bitter tasting rose up, and swallowed it back in.
Feebly, her own hand grabbed at Mateo’s.
Her pale thumb pad touched his wrist.
She felt a single throb underneath her skin.
A pulse.
Her eyes widened. Fingers reached, again, at his neck, and the same rushing of blood signaled life.
Shit.
Oh shit. Fuck. No. No. She can’t- she has a moral obligation to stay with him, doesn’t she? She needed to-
Oh god.
She tapped at his temple, the other side where he wasn’t struck. No response. Her fingernail pressed at his arm as hard as she could muster. No response.
Nothing. He might not ever wake up again- but he was alive. His heart was still beating. She put her finger right in front of his nose and mouth and felt disgusting warm air- he was breathing, too.
Like a slumber, but he didn’t wake up and he wouldn’t wake up, even when she dug her hands into his side and lifted him up with all of her strength, putting him in a sitting position.
Leah didn’t know anything about brain injury- should the head get more blood or less?
It doesn’t matter.
She just sat and waited.
Leah laughed so hard that it physically hurt- like a hand grabbing around, or into her stomach, and then twisting. She sputtered when the first sign of something bitter tasting rose up, and swallowed it back in.
Feebly, her own hand grabbed at Mateo’s.
Her pale thumb pad touched his wrist.
She felt a single throb underneath her skin.
A pulse.
Her eyes widened. Fingers reached, again, at his neck, and the same rushing of blood signaled life.
Shit.
Oh shit. Fuck. No. No. She can’t- she has a moral obligation to stay with him, doesn’t she? She needed to-
Oh god.
She tapped at his temple, the other side where he wasn’t struck. No response. Her fingernail pressed at his arm as hard as she could muster. No response.
Nothing. He might not ever wake up again- but he was alive. His heart was still beating. She put her finger right in front of his nose and mouth and felt disgusting warm air- he was breathing, too.
Like a slumber, but he didn’t wake up and he wouldn’t wake up, even when she dug her hands into his side and lifted him up with all of her strength, putting him in a sitting position.
Leah didn’t know anything about brain injury- should the head get more blood or less?
It doesn’t matter.
She just sat and waited.
[[After what seemed to be an eternity later...]]
...
*BEEP*
...
*BEEP*
He stared blankly towards the entrance of the hall
He could still felt himself breathing. His heart beating. Blood still flowing down from the side of his head.
*BEEP*
How long did he stay unconscious...?
*BEEP*
He could somewhat recall everything. Everything that happened before he blacked out.
The hall, once filled with the presence of people, was now empty. Leaving nothing except the severely wounded boy.
*BEEP*
It's a shame, to be honest, that he never got the opportunity to recognize the culprit. The one who led him into this situation.
He wondered if the perpetrator ever felt any remorse for attacking him, intentional or not.
*BEEP* *BEEP*
...
Maybe it's time to get out of here.
The exit was only a few meters away from here. Surely it won't be hard for someone like him to make it out alive, right...?
*BEEP* *BEEP*
But of course, he couldn't.
He lost all senses on his limbs and was too exhausted to move. He tried but the best he could do is some twitching on his fingers.
*BEEP* *BEEP*
At this point, he wasn't sure if he was dead or alive.
He continued to stare at the entrance. So close, yet so far.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
He really did not want to die here.
He felt as if he could have done more.
Hell, he even assured someone that everything would be okay, goddamnit.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
But that's the harsh reality. The ugly truth.
No matter how much denial he was in, he knew he had to face it at some point.
He was always at risk of dying coming into this game.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
...So this was the end of him...
He gently closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
He was
So close
Yet so far
*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP*
...
And everything around him went silent.
Was he safe? Did God finally decided to spare him after all the shit that he had to go through?
Mateo tried to move again. His fingers, his limbs, anything that could help him to leave this shithole.
PleaseINeedToGetOuttaHerePleaseImBeggingYou
PLE-
BOOM
...
*BEEP*
...
*BEEP*
He stared blankly towards the entrance of the hall
He could still felt himself breathing. His heart beating. Blood still flowing down from the side of his head.
*BEEP*
How long did he stay unconscious...?
*BEEP*
He could somewhat recall everything. Everything that happened before he blacked out.
The hall, once filled with the presence of people, was now empty. Leaving nothing except the severely wounded boy.
*BEEP*
It's a shame, to be honest, that he never got the opportunity to recognize the culprit. The one who led him into this situation.
He wondered if the perpetrator ever felt any remorse for attacking him, intentional or not.
*BEEP* *BEEP*
...
Maybe it's time to get out of here.
The exit was only a few meters away from here. Surely it won't be hard for someone like him to make it out alive, right...?
*BEEP* *BEEP*
But of course, he couldn't.
He lost all senses on his limbs and was too exhausted to move. He tried but the best he could do is some twitching on his fingers.
*BEEP* *BEEP*
At this point, he wasn't sure if he was dead or alive.
He continued to stare at the entrance. So close, yet so far.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
He really did not want to die here.
He felt as if he could have done more.
Hell, he even assured someone that everything would be okay, goddamnit.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
But that's the harsh reality. The ugly truth.
No matter how much denial he was in, he knew he had to face it at some point.
He was always at risk of dying coming into this game.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
...So this was the end of him...
He gently closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
He was
So close
Yet so far
*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP*
...
And everything around him went silent.
Was he safe? Did God finally decided to spare him after all the shit that he had to go through?
Mateo tried to move again. His fingers, his limbs, anything that could help him to leave this shithole.
PleaseINeedToGetOuttaHerePleaseImBeggingYou
PLE-
BOOM
(If you look closer, you could still see the tear stains on his shirt. Not that you should be there to look, mind you.)