Author Games Compilation [Cycle 1]

Task 6 - Hush Now (NN)

Songs compiled into this because I'm an overachiever that used them for plot: Sweater Weather, Let It Go, Afraid, Alleyways, Flawless, Float, and Wires
(each sequence of the dream was based on one of these and brought out something Naomi has been suppressing c: )

 ~

Water: the equivalent of despondency. Sure, it may look all pretty glistening and shimmering in the afternoon sun, may be relieving to sore muscles and sweaty skin, but what happens when the sun goes down, or when the water isn't even outside? What happens when the water is made up of muck and grime, dripping from ceilings, collecting in puddles that give off some putrid stench? What happens when someone looks at their reflection, all crisp and clean, smooth, and they suddenly breathe too hard, and their reflection ripples into some twisted being? They see themselves as a monster and decide that's all they'll ever be - a skeletal mess of jagged teeth and deformed skin.

And once someone believes they're a monster, well, that's when they truly become one.

A puddle of blood sat at Naomi's feet, and all she could do was stare down at it and feel like a complete monster. Her reflection was clear in the crimson - it shouldn't have been. It shouldn't have been there to begin with. She could've prevented this encounter with her own bloodied face, had she only been in the right place at the right time. Slap 'em upside the head with a used tampon - bam, get whoever the blood belonged to out of there before any of it could've been spilled.

But Naomi was no time traveler, she couldn't just hope to stumble across the TARDIS in hopes it'd take her back to fend for her students. She had to stand there and deal with the consequences of hiding away for her own life. She had to tell herself the person wasn't dead, only injured, and that they were hiding out in the school somewhere, safe from further damage.

She had to tell herself it wasn't her fault, but that only became harder to accept the longer she stared down at herself in the vermillion coating the gym floors.

It was so painful to look away that when she finally did she was forced to gasp; her chest ached horribly, and she wanted it to end more than ever. Since the fight with Andrew, she hadn't seen Radley. Worry was a rope, and her concern for his well-being only yanked it tighter around her chest. Hopefully he'd stumble across the gym where only hours ago students ran around, played basketball, volleyball, whatever physical education students did.

Instead of sweat, she smelled copper in the air.

Her aim was to lug one of the mats out and sandwich herself under the bleachers where she'd then try to get a little bit of shut-eye. The Psychopaths did mention a little let-up in the hunting over the intercom a while ago, and she was beyond exhausted from all the running and fighting and just overall being awake. Ew. Consciousness.

The windows reaching from the ceiling to the floor supplied enough light for her to find the mats, which she firmly took hold of. They scratched the ground as she backed towards the bleachers; scratched like the nails of a desperate innocent against the ground. They'd scream "No, no! Don't take me away!" and the captor wouldn't care, only smile at the pleads. Then, a plunge, knife digging into flesh, scooping muscle out in chunks that he'd plop into his mouth. A savory taste, fresh blood running over someone's tongue.

The imagery infested Naomi's thoughts and she gagged, nearly dropping the mat in the process. Oh god, these people are sick. They're so sick and I want nothing to do with it. I wanna go home. I wanna pet Leyrad. I want all those cats to make me trip over myself so I spill my coffee all over myself. Her eyes burned, along with her sore arms. I want the wind to steal away my papers and make me chase after them. I want my car to not start so I can walk through town. She ducked under the bleachers, lugging the heavy mat along with her. It was dark and musty, but she didn't care. She just wanted sleep.