Unsteady

Chapter Four: Laura Fitzgerald

The return home was quiet. No one bothered to utter a word, letting the silence win. Raven's mind drifted off to having to separate herself from her family once again. It pains her to think that she'll have to go away for eight months. It's almost as if someone had seen how content she's getting, it is being stripped away from her once again.

After returning from City Hall, the three siblings entered their once bright home, and it suddenly turned into something gloomy. Raven glanced her attention toward the couch where they were just watching movies together, cracking a few jokes. The brunette couldn't bear but let her mind run wild of how good she felt just an hour ago, now she's stuck with nothing but disdain.

Octavia and Tobias slumped back against the couch, watching their younger sister's every move. Raven gently took a seat across from them, in deep thought of the dramatic turn of events.

"Let's see here.." Octavia broke the silence, picking up the folder filled with documents. "It says here that, you, Raven Amelia Woods will be sent back to the ground a month from now with Subject 8, Laura Fitzgerald. You two are given eight months to complete the job and if you fail to attain the stone with the given amount of time, your memories and powers are to be stripped and you will be kept in the Void for the rest of eternity. . ." She trailed off, realizing the repercussions that her younger sister has to face if she fails to do the job.

"The Void? What the hell is that?" Tobias asked, a little disgruntled by the terms and condition of the mission.

"The Void is like a prison solely focused on uncontrollable test subjects. It paralyzes your mental game and will have you relive your worst fears over and over again. It's a one way entrance. Once you're in there, you can't leave. It won't let you." Octavia explains.

Raven listened but her attention was elsewhere. She didn't care about how mentally draining the Void could be. All she could think about was leaving her siblings yet again.

"Raven, did you hear what Tobias said?" Octavia's voice sounded muffled to Raven. She couldn't comprehend what her older sister was trying to say.

The brunette shook her head, in an attempt to pull herself together. "I'm sorry, what was it?"

"I said, if you want, I can take you to Cerebral tomorrow before I go to work." Tobias repeated himself, giving his younger sister a concerned look.

Raven nodded, still a little bit out of it, "Yeah, let's do that. Listen, I'm really tired, I think I'll just go to bed."

Tobias and Octavia didn't try to make her stay.  They knew that their younger sister needed space. Raven locked herself in her room, her thoughts getting the best of her. The brunette slowly lowered herself to the ground, closing her eyes shut as tight as she could hoping that her thoughts would just go away. Her chest started to heave uncontrollably as she was on the verge of having a panic attack. She couldn't take a breath without it stinging from her chest and all she could do is let it happen. Tears began to spill out of her eyes as she fell victim of her own powerful emotions.

Stinging flashes came for her. No images were shown but she could vividly hear the oddly familiar voice inside of her head. Somehow, hearing the mysterious voice is giving her the comfort she needs. She could feel her heart slowly starting to calm down as she listened to the following words being spoken to her.

"When I look at you, I can feel it. I look at you.. I'm home." The voice echoed inside of her head.

Raven pulled her hands away from her ears as she let the words repeat over and over again to take the solace that she needed.

Raven breathes loudly, trying to gain control of her breathing pattern, "please, tell me who you are.." The brunette pleads, looking around her room as if the person she is hoping for would appear out of nowhere.