THE DIVE
part one
SAM PICKED AT her grey long sleeve. She had yet to ask for her bracelets back. Somehow, they felt less than important at the moment. She still needed her bracelets. It made her feel connected to Lucas, to Hopper. It felt like she was without him, almost. Keeping the hair tie around her wrist made her feel like she was still with him, in a way. Her wrist felt exposed, her tattoo staring up at her.
She wanted Lucas. She knew that the part of her that wanted to have a hug from the boy was the selfish side of her talking. He was better off without her. Maybe even better off if he hadn't met her at all. But, there was nothing she could do to change that now. Nothing except hope that he was safe and wish that she could muster up the courage to get over her fears of facing her past.
"Do you know what happens when someone has a stroke?" Brenner inquired, glancing between the two girls. Sam blankly stared at him. He matched her expression with emotions that Sam refused to believe was real. Emotions so strong she knew they were fake.
He was pretending. He was good at that, she'd lived to learn. Well, she decided she could pretend too. Pretend like she wasn't gritting her teeth every time he spoke because she was still here. Pretend like she wasn't hoping someone would burst down the doors and save them. A certain someone with a hairy mustache, a protruding belly, and a love for waffle/pancake extravaganzas.
Being there with Brenner made Sam crazy, it seemed.
She felt as though she was playing a game of some sort; where he made all the moves and she watched. He even played her side, somehow getting her to react to the loss she'd get in the end with a smile and an agreement to play again. She felt like a fool.
Brenner continued, turning around to face the sisters. "The blood supply to the brain is cut off. It scrambles the signals in the brain to the point where the mind can forget how to do things. To eat. To speak. To walk." Brenner's eyes met Sam's cold ones. His frown deepened but his eyes softened. "When you two were attacked last year, I believe that your signals were scrambled in much the same way."
El glanced at Sam, noticing her stiff posture, tense shoulders but neither ended the shake in her right leg or the tampering with her sleeve, where El recognized were where her brackets would be. Used to be. El pressed her lips in a thin line, and her hand switched.
"But just as a stroke victims can learn to walk again, I believe you two can return to full power." Brenner leaned closer to them. He placed his right and left hands on the their faces, ignoring the discomfort they were showing in the familiarity of the touch. He made sure to stare into their eyes, switching constantly from El's chestnut browns and Sam's pools of black. "Your abilities are still in here. You both just need to remember."
Brenner poked El's nose and went to do the same to Sam but she slapped his hand down. He backed away, while she glared daggers into his soul. El caved and leaned over to take Sam's hand in her own. Sam's cold hands clashed with El's warm ones and she relished in the comfort.
Brenner soon led them to a room, not too far from the office they'd been in moments ago. The room unlocked with a certain code typed in, the light turned green and the door opened; revealing darkness. Still, they followed him into the room, as he quickly flipped the light switch on. There were many, too many, tapes lined up. The white part showing along three or four shelves.
"Everything that took place in my lab was captured on videotape." Brenner informed, closing the door behind them. Sam glanced behind her warily, watching him closely.
Brenner glanced down at Sam briefly, before continuing to talk. "Every success and every failure. It's important for you girls to not just see your past, but to fully re-experience it. In doing so, I believe we can repair your broken signals. As we saw tonight, that process has already begun."
