Empowered

Chapter 14:.....Epoch

I know this story has been pretty fucked up so far, but a least there have been humorous moments throughout. So, anyway, this chapter will be – well – even more screwed up, and unfortunately, it only contains a couple funny moments. When I say "screwed up," I just mean sad. I know what you're thinking: "Some of this story has already been pretty sad," like the fact that the main character is a friendless, depressed freak who can't even manage to hang on to one healthy relationship of any kind in her life. But unlike what you might expect from a friendless, depressed freak, she wasn't grown in a diseased garden or brought to life by a sick wish; she was once the happy little baby of an ecstatic mother.

Everyone on Earth has a mother – wait, that's accurate information, right? I think humans all have mothers. I forget sometimes. Anyway, whether that person is in your life or not, whether the woman in question gave birth to you or simply donated her mitochondrial DNA to create the test tube baby that you are, whether she meant to make you or not, she is your mother. It's a privilege to have a mother in your life who raised you, doted on you, and who ultimately cares about you beyond anyone else in the world. However, some of us aren't so lucky. Some of us are stuck with mothers who act more like the child than the parent; others are abused or neglected by their mothers; still, others simply don't get along with their mothers and stay away or vice versa; and then there are the other few of us who never knew our mothers in the first place. Ember J. Crimson doesn't fall into any of those latter categories. Still, as you have noticed, Mona Crimson hasn't been very present in this story so far. In this chapter, you will learn the reason for her absence. So, let's start this story off in a very confusing way because why not?

Ember opened her eyes and realized that things were off again. She smelled waffles and found herself sitting in a bed similar to the one in her little yellow house atop Edenic Point's point, but it was different. It was at least familiar, though – eerily familiar – as were the objects in her room. She soon realized that she was back in her childhood bedroom approximately from around the time when she was eleven.

"Shit! I'm in The Bastille again! How did this happen?! If it was that piece of Nazi trash Larry again, I'm gonna – hold on a second," she said aloud as she hopped out of bed and realized she was out of sorts. For one, her voice sounded a little softer and smaller, and she was much shorter than she remembered and less, shall we say, voluptuous. She walked over to the mirror near the closet and peered in to look. She was incredibly confused to see her eleven-year-old self staring back at her. "Great. So, this time, my dream is going to try and trap me in a childhood fantasy. Well, bring it on! I'll take your cookies and milk and SpongeBob SquarePants and raise you –" she said as she opened her bedroom door and stepped out.

"– a fuck in the face?" She questioned, suddenly sitting beside Dr. Wells, who was driving the blue minivan.

"No thanks. I had a big breakfast this morning." Dr. Wells smiled at Ember. "So, you didn't answer my question, sweetie."

"Sorry, Doc," Ember said, feeling super disoriented. "What was the question again?"

"Are you excited!? To see your mother again today?!" Dr. Wells beamed.

"I, well –" Ember began to say, but once again, she was pushed out of the minivan and rushed back to the hallway of her childhood home. "What the fuck is going on?!" She shouted, clutching her eleven-year-old head.