Non-art book

Speech #2 - The World has Gone Insane

Guess who's back in her Jekyll and Hyde hyperfixation

Anyway I was listening to the song up there in the title and I needed a new speech for speech club (Conquer ended up being like 15 minutes long and I could not cut it anymore lol). So here we are, I have created a Jekyll and Hyde based story with multiple song references (not as many as I'd wanted but there's a few). It's set in modern day though, not Victorian era Britain lol

I decided to keep my acting notes in there because it doesn't make much sense without them. So enjoy :3

-

    The flickering light above sent a dagger of pain through my retinas as I found myself waking. My mind was fuzzy, the world around me an echo of what was really there. The surface below me was hard, solid - I was on the ground. It did explain the state of my mind, the hammering throb of my head.

    With a groan I brought myself to my feet, using the counter above me as a prop. I stood with my hand there for a moment, unsure if my unsteadiness was physical or psychological in any way. But soon my eyes readjusted.

    The room around me was dark, for all but the light above me that strobed in a struggle to remain alight. Each pulse of it above me washed pale, fluorescent reflections on every surface around me. And there were many - I could barely see the floor through the insanity of what I guessed must have been orderly some time ago. The table my hand rested upon was the only standing object in the room.

    I realized my hand was against something wet. I looked at the countertop, following my fingers which protruded into a puddle of crimson red. Some of it remained on my skin as I lifted my palm, a contour of dark, glittering ruby outlining my hand. Curious now, I observed the setup of the table. It was scattered with broken glass, what I guessed to be some sort of powder, and clear liquid that I presumed to be water (though I wouldn't wish to be the one to test that).

    Water. My throat was parched, dry as sand. There's a sink in here, was there not? Yes, there it is - in the counter against the wall. Unsteadily I picked my way across the disheveled room, through the glaring darkness and to the sink. I took a plastic cup from the cabinet above, filled it with clear water, and took a sip to refresh myself with a shaking hand. It did nothing to clear my mind, but at least I was hydrated.

    Eyes. I looked up and saw them, staring back at me. Dark brown, near to black eyes almost quivering with a silent madness, obscured by a wreck of long, black hair. It made me selfconscious about the state of my own hair, which I could tell from the corners of my vision was not in its greatest condition. As I attempted to flatten mine back down, the stranger did the same. I smiled at them, they smiled back. A stream of red lined their chin, dripped onto the ground in front of them.

    I told them hello. They did the same back. I asked them what they were doing here, in this dark room. They didn't know. Neither did I. I asked for their name. They didn't know. I didn't know my own, either, so I didn't push.
    Outside, they told me. I should get out of this dark room. I agreed with them. Unfortunately my new friend didn't follow me out, they only disappeared back into the shadows as I entered the light.

    It was not much brighter than it had been in the room, but I could see clearer. A faint buzzing sound pierced my eardrums, barely noticeable but very much there. The fluorescent lights strobed above me, lining the halls with dying light. There was an odd aroma to the air, a mix of something metallic and something rotting.

    Someone lay against the wall, not far down the corridor. A man in a white coat. No, it wasn't white. There was white on it. Most of it was a crimson color not unlike the substance that still covered my hand. I approached the man, trying to seem somewhat friendly as I knelt down and looked into his eyes. They were dim, but searched and found me after a moment.