Generation Freaks✔️

Chapter 21

The world blurred, distorted above her but her head rose. It felt heavy upon her neck, wobbling as if too big for her body. Words were being spoken, but it was just noise in her ears. She couldn't understand what was being said, like she was underwater and being called for. Her feet slid beneath her, but a slam of her heel held her down, rooted to the ground. Bright red flashed in her eyes, wavering in her vision. They shook, moving to the garbled noise of drowned words. Her body tingled, numb, and pulled back towards the ground. Her legs couldn't hold her up, shaking in effort.

"Oh Paisley," the brisk voice broke the lodge of the water wall. "You don't seem to understand. You can't leave. Your powers are locked, you are nothing without them. Don't you see that?"

She stumbled back, her footing no longer gripping at the ground. The small of her back crashed into an unseen object, something that belonged to the clutter that kept escaping to be an impossible feat. With difficult effort, her face scrunching in concentration, she pulled her arm back. She felt the brush of the object, tingling her fingers as if they had fallen asleep. Her head fell to the side, bobbling on her neck. Everything felt too heavy to move, but pulling her foot up, Paisley didn't let that stop her. No one approached, no one tried to stop her this time. They didn't think she could make it out. Self-doubt twisted through her insides, entangling her lungs. It stopped her, halting her attempts to leave Cold laughter rumbled through her, prodding other joints that wouldn't cooperate. No, they couldn't. The serum racing through her blood stream prevented all movement of itself.

She was practically nothing but a puppet now.

Frustration brought on tears that pricked the corners of her eyes, tightening her chest in an effort to not let them out. If she let it happen, she would become what they wanted; weak. Paisley refused to let them have that satisfaction in any manner. She couldn't let them have it. She was not weak, but she sure did feel like it in the given moment.

"You're nothing without your powers, Paisley." Priscilla repeated, glee evident in her words. "Absolutely nothing."

Her head snapped up, eyes blinking rapidly as she tried so hard to focus. The blurred vision wobbled, pixelating around the edges and then snapped back to that blurred outcome of before. She shook her head, more so just jerking it from side to side. It still felt heavy upon her neck. A zap of pain, almost like a shock of electricity, shot from the tips of her fingers to her wrist. Movement and feeling were coming back in her hand, making the only available limb to move. The pain stayed though, throbbing through her fingers and palm. The door sharpened into focus, becoming the only object she could actually see and her destination on pinpoint. Her feet were like blocks of brick this time and unable to support herself, her knees locked and threw her body forward. Her hands flew forward, fingers locking onto an unknown object, keeping her upright, and bent over.

"I told you, you're nothing without your powers. Why won't you listen, Paisley? All you have to do is listen we'll get along just fine." Priscilla scolded, any sign of living emotion gone from her tone.

A small tingle of pain pressed down on her abdomen, making Paisley flinch. Slowly it trickled outwards, spreading until she was forced to press her legs tightly together. How long had she been holding her bladder? Where was a bathroom when you needed one?

"I. Have. To. Pee." She said slowly, her lips only moving inches as she spoke in clips. "Please." She added in slight reluctance, the word forced from her mouth.

Low laughter filled the heavy silence. "Are you going to listen then?" Priscilla mused, a slight purr in her words.

Paisley's eyes rose back up, zeroing in on the door she so desperately wanted to escape out of. But her body was beginning to fail her again, the little parts of feeling she's had acquired were starting to evaporate back into nothingness. Desperate, Paisley's head bobbled up and down in agreeance. That's what she had to do, was just agree. It was her only way out or at least, that's how Paisley saw it. Trying to escape would just end in distaste. Another sob or maybe it was a phantom scream that wanted to escape clawed at the inside of her chest.