8.
She sees that dark room, more than that she can feel it. She can feel the darkness, the loneliness, the pain, and she can feel the fear. Twofold, she knew that would not be his forever life. She knew for she sees his escape, his run through the woods. She felt his relief, she felt his confusion then she felt just how weak he got.
She saw that old man who freely offered up his own life. The boy did not want that and when the boy saw the likes of what ended one life, she felt his fear, she felt it as if it were her own fear. She felt sure he would die just as she also felt he would live. He thought his life might end, she knew it wouldn't, not yet at least. She saw his rescue.
Then she saw the second of that twofold. A church. She was there, in that church. Except she was older than she is at this point, by at least ten years, perhaps many more. He was there too, so death definitely would definitely not come in those woods but there is something else ... fire. What is it with fire? She cannot quite tell ... she cannot quite work it out.
Sally wakes with these images in her mind. They are fresh. They ought to be for these images have been with her for a while and they have run through yet again. The boy. His name is Leon or at least will be. She has already met his soon to be parents, or the father at least. Should she have warned of all the boy will go through? No, she can't for if she does this, or had done this, then it may not happen ... there would be no darkness, no escape, no woods, and no church. It could also mean no fire too so who knows what is right and what is wrong?
What is wrong is the fact that she has not woke in her own bed. She had not foreseen this moment in any way but then she only ever sees what relates to herself if it relates to whomever she dreams of. She only dreamt herself within a church more than a decade from now because Leon will be there, and he has been the subject of many of her dreams.
She has seen him more than ten years old, perhaps at twelve or thirteen but never any older. Perhaps these dreams come so she can warn his parents but then Leon will never meet the twins, he will not meet the priest, he will not meet Brad and he will not meet Sally either. Besides, would Leon's parents believe her, especially after her interaction with Steve, Leon's to-be father?
Yeah, the young Miss Gibson has woke in a bed which is not her own and there are a number of things of note other than the fact it is not her bed and that she has the recollection of her most recent dream. She is strapped to a bed, tied down for reasons she can't yet contemplate. There is also soreness to her person, bruising on her bare arms is clear to see, and pain in other regions are felt one opportunity for calm comes.
Calm, now there is a thing. How can calm come in a moment such as this?
Lucidity and a lack of ... this is what is explained to her. The restraints are for her own protection. And now that she does appear to be lucid, they can be removed. Lucid? Apparently, she had not been at all lucid not so long prior to her waking. A call out to her home had been made by worried family members and they done this out of love and worry.
Sally had been acting as if she were under some sort of attack when there had been nothing around other than her herself. What she had been doing was acting out Leon's future experiences as if she were living through them herself.
She screamed and roared and had become not only a danger to herself but to anyone who may come close. She had spoken of members of the dead coming for her, rather she spoke of herself as male, wanting aid to repel decerped dead who have come for her. It will be some time yet before the reanimated will roam the earth so to anyone who could have seen her actions as being crazy.
So, institutionalized she has become at the request of her closest relatives, and here she is to stay until she is deemed fit to return to society. This to her is what is crazy. No one understands her, so how can she explain herself? She does not need treatment; she needs to be understood. How can she explain her dreams to the point where she may be believed?
She cannot stay here, she will have things to do, things of importance. The fire she sees for instance. She knows it will be important. How, where and when it will come is what she will need to find out. For the moment, she has time. The boy she will be within a church with, has yet to be born so indeed, there is time.
The more she fought or tried to explain herself and tell of her need to be out in the real world, the worse her treatment would get, and the more sedation or medication would be administered. This was and is abuse. Lack of understanding should not lead to this. So, she learned to sit quietly and stare out into oblivion through windows.
In her dreams, she saw what would come of those who held her captive. Quite a few of these people were only doing their jobs and were acting under instruction so there would be many a time she would feel guilt for not warning them of what was to come. Indeed, any warning she could offer would only lead to more hardship coming her way, there was no choice other than to accept guilt and go on to live with that the best she could.
Taken into a mental health facility young and healthy ... she would leave it having gained bitterness and pain ... without a doubt more disturbed than what she would have been otherwise.
