those hands pulled me from the earth || ethan winters x donna beneviento

ix: visits.

february 14th, 2021.
8:21am.
bsaa facility, usa.
———

"donna? is that really you?" the alluring, silky voice immediately pulled donna from whatever state she had been in.

the woman blinked and rubbed her eyes as if she had just been waking up, adjusting herself to the bright light that had flashed before her. it took a few moments to recognize that she was in a garden of sorts, the sun shining brightly onto the greenery.

"donna..?" the voice had asked again, this time from behind her.

donna had spun around in surprise, her shock only growing when she saw who owned the voice. it was her dearest adopted sister, alcina. she stood there as clear as day, looking down to the woman with an equally shocked expression.

"alcina?" donna's voice was hushed, an odd, nervous feeling settling into her stomach.

without warning, donna was pulled into a tight hug, a warm hug that donna definitely needed.

"oh, sister!" donna exclaimed, squeezing the woman tightly and fighting the urge to cry. "i've missed you so dearly! i thought you were gone,"

before she could say more, donna was pulled away and held by her shoulders. her sister was now crouched down to eye level, a concerned look on her face. donna still tightly held onto her sisters elbows.

"donna, i need your help. that outsider— mother has b—,"

before donna's eyes, the woman's hands started to form into a black smoke, creeping its way up her elbows until donnas bunched fingertips found their own palms instead of her sisters arms.

"alcina?" donna asked with wide eyes as her sister started to let out a cry of pain.

"alcina?" donna wailed. "alcina!" within a few seconds, the tall woman was completely gone.

the black shadow whirled around the girl as she stumbled backwards, desperately trying to get away. hot tears had been streaming down her face as she continued to fall backwards— it felt like she was falling down an endless rabbit hole, the light from the hole she had fallen through getting smaller and smaller. alcina's voice echoed through her ears as she fell, soon fading to the voice of miranda at a deafening volume. the doll maker desperately gripped at the air for anything to stop her. her attempts were futile.

before she could make sense of anything, donna found herself submerged underwater. she was out of breath and inhaled, immediately flooding her lungs with the liquid. she thrashed and threw herself about, feeling her body fill with water and her hair wrap around her neck as she struggled.

"ms. beneviento?"

the voice shot donna awake in her bed and she gasped for air, coughing and throwing her arms to slap away whoever had awoken her. everything was so bright— she still couldn't breathe.

the man yelled something that donna couldn't hear over her own thoughts and gasps. before she knew it, there was an odd mask being forced on her face while chris redfield forced her to lay down, grasping at her shoulders and keeping her still.

she thrashed under his grip, trying to shake her head away from the doctor. she sailed miserably and the mysterious device was clasped to her face.

there was an odd expression on redfield's face as he stared down at her. her face has probably been blue at this point from lack of air.

within a few seconds, donna was able to breathe again. the first rush of ice gun from the mask into her lungs felt like she had reached nirvana. her eyelids fluttered and her vision blurred as her head fell back against the pillow. it didn't take long for her to get her breathing back on track.

chris still had a firm grip on one of donnas arms, speaking to the doctor as her hearing faded back. "— could be anything." was what she heard him say.

donna used her free hand and the fact that chris wasn't staring her down at this exact moment to pull the mask from her face and speak. "where's ethan?" she asked, still a little breathless.

she had no idea what had happened in her dream, but she sure as hell didn't want chris redfield to be the first person to hear about it— or some doctor she didn't know from adam.

chris looked down to her, letting go, his dark brows furrowed. "he's— i don't fucking know. he said he came by earlier but you didn't wake up for breakfast. i haven't seen him since."

donna sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and laying her head on her knees, fighting the urge to sob. so much had happened recently— she had no idea how to cope with it. she lost everything she knew and loved— now she was here. wherever 'here' was.

"redfield, can i... speak to you outside?" the nervous doctor asked, to which chris nodded and the two disappeared out of the room.

donna could hear their conversation from the other side of the wall, her brows furrowing as she listened.

"— i just don't think that she's ready." the doctors muffled voice had said.

"neither do i." she could practically hear the frown on chris' face.

"i don't know what to do. she seems to be... at least a hundred years behind us. she didn't even know what a television was," the doctor sighed.

donna pulled her knees tighter to her chest, her ears ringing again as she quickly lost herself in thought. she was going to be here forever— which was a hell of a long time. she'd be poked and prodded, experimented on and forbid from ever going outside for the rest of her long, miserable life.

she was going to die here.

alone.