I Ate 5 Reese's Cups While Writing This
Nov 14, 2016 22:06:12 GMT -5
Nathan Saniti and The Anarchist like this
Post by Dollface on Nov 14, 2016 22:06:12 GMT -5
Brisk steps on long, powerful legs bring the hulking head of security for the erstwhile Nova Pharmaceutical company square with the door to his employer's private quarters. A crisp knock on the door is met with silence, the large man standing patiently. Sure enough, the door was flung open from within as its occupant flounced away.
“You could just say ‘come in’, you know.”
“Except I’m puerile and we both know I’d giggle halfway through that.” Her tone about as close to sugar as aspartame is, she keeps her back to Harris, tension clear in her shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Something going on with the plant?”
Kelli remains silent, muscles rigid.
“...Kelli?” Harris takes a half step forward, arm outstretched, pulling back just before touching her.
“They’re doing it on purpose.”
“Who?”
She whirls a crumpled paper in her hand. Eyes bright with unshed tears, she throws it to the floor. “PCW ‘brass’, whatever the fuck that means. They’re trying to KILL ME.”
Harris eyes her. “That seems kind of dramatic, even for you… what makes you think they’re trying to kill you?”
Dropping herself back first onto her bed in an emphatic FLUMP, she waves a dismissive hand in the general direction of the floor. Picking up the crumpled ball, he smoothes it out to read it.
“This is the card for Trauma 202… what’s your issue with… Oh. Oh I see. Well, you know, at least High Tide won’t be -”
“Trying to kill the fuck out of me? Awesome. He’s ONE OF THREE. How about Seromine? For all his sorcerous fuckery, he hasn’t pretended to like my state-of-aliveness. Alexa Black… I want to say I don’t care.”
Harris looks at her, his brow furrowing in concern. “Oh?”
She turns her head to look at him, all the disdain of a bratty preteen on her face. “Well yeah. That’s what you do when someone is a flaming assbag - you pretend not to care. Or you actually don’t care, but I do.”
“Why do you care what she thinks? You don’t believe the crazy shit she says, do you?”
Kelli sits bolt upright, both fists punching down into the fluffy blankets. “All the crazy shit I’ve seen, done, and had done TO me… still doesn’t scare me as much as she does. It doesn’t matter if you, I, or anyone else believes the crazy shit she says. It’s the crazy shit she DOES that I believe in.”
“Why do you think she scares you so much?”
“Other than the hulking-beast-of-wants-to-kill-me, I can’t imagine.”
Mark chuckles in spite of himself, Kelli’s uniquely expressive speech tweaking on his sense of humor.
“It’s not a sure thing, you know.”
Kelli’s large green eyes turn to his. “What, dying?”
“No… no, that one’s pretty much a definite.”
She shrugs. “Okay, sure. I can go with that. But Alexa Black wants me dead, Seromine probably wants to vivisect me or some shit, and Nathan…” her voice breaks, eyes welling up with sudden, unexpected tears. She turns her head to keep Harris from seeing, but it was too late for that.
“Is he okay?” Mark shakes his head. “Stupid question, I saw the shows. Is he GOING to be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“He turned into -”
“No. They’re - I don’t know what they are. They aren’t the same person like before. I don’t know what they are, neither of them are talking about it, and I really don’t know what I should do.”
“Well, just work with him. Doesn’t matter which version, right?”
The dam finally breaks, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You don’t understand - I don’t know which one of them I’m supposed to love!”
Quiet sobs shake her shoulders as she sinks to the floor, arms wrapped around her knees. “I met him as a whole person, I grew to love him as a whole person, we - well - he seemed all in one then, too. Until after... “
Mark looks at her, a long gaze. “Should I go get Dr. Halliwell?”
Kelli freezes, raising her head, eyes all but burning with jade flames. “No.” The flat negation takes Harris by surprise.
“I just meant - well, he’s always all one person. That’s how people are.”
Tilting her head, she stares at him. “This conversation can go nowhere.”
“I’m really worried, the plant begins production in a week and we’re still short some 4,000 workers.”
“Put it on Craigslist. Put it on job sites. Put it in methadone clinics for all I care. This is just shy of Appalachian hillfolk, pretty sure they can be taught to do this.”
Mark edges back towards the door, shaking his head. “You’re not quite yourself right now, Kelli, I think -”
“That what?” she snaps. “Want me to eat a Snickers and see if it helps?”
“I’m going to go for now. You… try to relax. It’ll be okay.” he steps through the door, neatly pulling it closed behind him.
She slumps further, forehead nestled against her neon purple pvc clad knees. “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. How the FUCK is it ever going to be okay? Will I ever NOT feel like I’m being disloyal to Nathan when I - well if we - it would be like cheating on him! Or IS it!?”
A massive sigh gusts from her as she rises in a sudden shift of mood. Face set in lines of determination, she marches to the three way mirror.
“SHOW THEM TO ME.”
The mirror’s panes continue to reflect the colorful reflection.
Seething, she grits her teeth. “SHOW. THEM.” Hands against the frame begin to crackle with visible energy, rippling over the first surface, the second, the third - and cracks spiderweb the panes! Three faint, haunting screams whisper through the air as each pane struggles to show Kelli images of Nathan and N.
Her eyes narrow as she sees their locations, far apart from each other. Satisfied, she removes her hands, the mirror’s panes snapping to their original, flawless state.
“Time to tell the truth, boys.”
Eyes glowing eerily, Kelli enters the mirror, chin raised as she glares ahead.
“You could just say ‘come in’, you know.”
“Except I’m puerile and we both know I’d giggle halfway through that.” Her tone about as close to sugar as aspartame is, she keeps her back to Harris, tension clear in her shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Something going on with the plant?”
Kelli remains silent, muscles rigid.
“...Kelli?” Harris takes a half step forward, arm outstretched, pulling back just before touching her.
“They’re doing it on purpose.”
“Who?”
She whirls a crumpled paper in her hand. Eyes bright with unshed tears, she throws it to the floor. “PCW ‘brass’, whatever the fuck that means. They’re trying to KILL ME.”
Harris eyes her. “That seems kind of dramatic, even for you… what makes you think they’re trying to kill you?”
Dropping herself back first onto her bed in an emphatic FLUMP, she waves a dismissive hand in the general direction of the floor. Picking up the crumpled ball, he smoothes it out to read it.
“This is the card for Trauma 202… what’s your issue with… Oh. Oh I see. Well, you know, at least High Tide won’t be -”
“Trying to kill the fuck out of me? Awesome. He’s ONE OF THREE. How about Seromine? For all his sorcerous fuckery, he hasn’t pretended to like my state-of-aliveness. Alexa Black… I want to say I don’t care.”
Harris looks at her, his brow furrowing in concern. “Oh?”
She turns her head to look at him, all the disdain of a bratty preteen on her face. “Well yeah. That’s what you do when someone is a flaming assbag - you pretend not to care. Or you actually don’t care, but I do.”
“Why do you care what she thinks? You don’t believe the crazy shit she says, do you?”
Kelli sits bolt upright, both fists punching down into the fluffy blankets. “All the crazy shit I’ve seen, done, and had done TO me… still doesn’t scare me as much as she does. It doesn’t matter if you, I, or anyone else believes the crazy shit she says. It’s the crazy shit she DOES that I believe in.”
“Why do you think she scares you so much?”
“Other than the hulking-beast-of-wants-to-kill-me, I can’t imagine.”
Mark chuckles in spite of himself, Kelli’s uniquely expressive speech tweaking on his sense of humor.
“It’s not a sure thing, you know.”
Kelli’s large green eyes turn to his. “What, dying?”
“No… no, that one’s pretty much a definite.”
She shrugs. “Okay, sure. I can go with that. But Alexa Black wants me dead, Seromine probably wants to vivisect me or some shit, and Nathan…” her voice breaks, eyes welling up with sudden, unexpected tears. She turns her head to keep Harris from seeing, but it was too late for that.
“Is he okay?” Mark shakes his head. “Stupid question, I saw the shows. Is he GOING to be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“He turned into -”
“No. They’re - I don’t know what they are. They aren’t the same person like before. I don’t know what they are, neither of them are talking about it, and I really don’t know what I should do.”
“Well, just work with him. Doesn’t matter which version, right?”
The dam finally breaks, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You don’t understand - I don’t know which one of them I’m supposed to love!”
Quiet sobs shake her shoulders as she sinks to the floor, arms wrapped around her knees. “I met him as a whole person, I grew to love him as a whole person, we - well - he seemed all in one then, too. Until after... “
Mark looks at her, a long gaze. “Should I go get Dr. Halliwell?”
Kelli freezes, raising her head, eyes all but burning with jade flames. “No.” The flat negation takes Harris by surprise.
“I just meant - well, he’s always all one person. That’s how people are.”
Tilting her head, she stares at him. “This conversation can go nowhere.”
“I’m really worried, the plant begins production in a week and we’re still short some 4,000 workers.”
“Put it on Craigslist. Put it on job sites. Put it in methadone clinics for all I care. This is just shy of Appalachian hillfolk, pretty sure they can be taught to do this.”
Mark edges back towards the door, shaking his head. “You’re not quite yourself right now, Kelli, I think -”
“That what?” she snaps. “Want me to eat a Snickers and see if it helps?”
“I’m going to go for now. You… try to relax. It’ll be okay.” he steps through the door, neatly pulling it closed behind him.
She slumps further, forehead nestled against her neon purple pvc clad knees. “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. How the FUCK is it ever going to be okay? Will I ever NOT feel like I’m being disloyal to Nathan when I - well if we - it would be like cheating on him! Or IS it!?”
A massive sigh gusts from her as she rises in a sudden shift of mood. Face set in lines of determination, she marches to the three way mirror.
“SHOW THEM TO ME.”
The mirror’s panes continue to reflect the colorful reflection.
Seething, she grits her teeth. “SHOW. THEM.” Hands against the frame begin to crackle with visible energy, rippling over the first surface, the second, the third - and cracks spiderweb the panes! Three faint, haunting screams whisper through the air as each pane struggles to show Kelli images of Nathan and N.
Her eyes narrow as she sees their locations, far apart from each other. Satisfied, she removes her hands, the mirror’s panes snapping to their original, flawless state.
“Time to tell the truth, boys.”
Eyes glowing eerily, Kelli enters the mirror, chin raised as she glares ahead.
