Later that night, Jace laid there with his head resting atop Lori's lap. Where her warmth and the faint sound of her heartbeat caused him to drift off to sleep. It was the first time, since his first encounter, just days earlier, with the dream, that he truly felt safe. But even that didn't stop the recurring nightmare.
Every time Lori saw him twitch, she knew exactly what was going on in his head. She'd simply start stroking the top of his head which only temporarily soothe him, only until he'd start twitching again. But she knew well he couldn't help it.
She went earlier to his apartment to let his mother know of his stay, but there wasn't an answer at the door when she knocked. She did find it odd, however, she just dismissed it as she was just asleep. She just wrote a note and slipped it under the door before returning to Jace.
Afterward, she returned to the couch where Jace was still twitching slightly. She eased her way into a sitting position and Jace returned his head to her lap. She still felt bad for him; The pain he was going through. She just continuously stroked his head until she fell asleep herself.
A couple hours later, Jace was woken up in a jolt after Lori started to go into a spaz. She just started to shake and twitch randomly. It frightened him. Her struggle was apparent in her eyes, which made it easy to tell she was suffering. Her expression was emotionless and her eyes were blank as saliva dripped into her. It was almost as if she was
"Lori?!" She didn't respond. "Lori!" Her mother came rushing out of her room to the commotion. She had the same level of fear as Jace on her face as she stared at her daughter. She knelt down and put her arms on Lori's shoulders, who continued to spaz, started to shake her in hopes it would stop the madness.
"Lori! What's gotten into you, dear!?" She continued to shake her. "Please come back to your senses!" She glanced over at Jace, helplessly staring at the horror. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know! I woke up to her doing this!"
Then, suddenly, all of her motion ceased and she went limp, slumping forward, her head resting on her mother's shoulder. That caused her to start crying. Jace could tell this wasn't a normal thing for her from her reaction. He could see Lori's shoulders moving slightly, a sign that she was still alive.
They carefully pulled her to lay on the floor where her mother caressed Lori's face, trying desperately to get her to wake up from this coma-like state. But all Jace could do is squeeze Lori's still warm hand.
Her mother continued to cry as she picked up Lori's upper half in an embrace, slowly stroking the back of her head. Between the sobs, she pleaded to some being to give Lori back. She quieted herself went Lori slightly twitched and wrapped her arms around her mother. She began to slowly put more and more pressure in her embrace.
"Submit..." She whispered as she applied more pressure at the ribs of her mother.
"Lori! What're you doing!" She felt like she was suffocating. "Stop, Lori!"
Jace tried to help pry Lori from her mother, but every time he'd get her grip to slip she hit him in the face causing him to pull back.
"That's enough Lori!" He shouted at her. That's the first time that he'd ever yelled at her.
"Submit." She responded, this time, louder than before putting more pressure in her embrace, causing her mother to wince in a choked whine. "Submit!" She yelled it that time. Jace could hear the cracking of bone from where he was standing, but he couldn't do anything. Lori would just keep striking him if he got any closer.
Jace looked into Lori's gaze. It was blank but there was an ounce of life in them. Her entire expression told him she knew what she was doing.
"Stop it, Lori, you're gonna kill her!" And with a final addition to the pressure, Jace heard one more cracking noise, causing her mother went limp with blood trickling out of her mouth.
There was a slight smile on Lori's face as she tossed the motionless body to the side before standing up. She got up slowly, and when she was standing, she still twitched and spazzed. Jace backed away when she turned her attention to him. She moved towards him causing him to move toward the front door of her apartment.
"What're you doing, Lori?" He put his hands up. He needed to be ready for anything. Slowly he went to open the front door, rushing to the other side and closing the door behind him.
From the hallway, he heard banging on some doors including the one he stood in front of. But also in the hallway was a few people who turned their attention to Jace. They all seemed to wear a crazed looked on their faces as they lurched towards him. Jace noticed they all were saying something, and his realization told him to run. They all repeated just one word; submit.
He ran down the corridor, trying, desperately, to ignore the screams he heard on the other side of the doors. He just kept running.
He ran outside to a scene far worse than that inside. Cars rushed by as some of them veered off and run into a building, railing, or another car that had already crashed or stalled. There were cars on fire and bodies littered the street. It was obvious they were hit by the cars whizzing by.
