What Was Missing

One: -Madeline-

Note: Madeline uses italics to signify a dream in the beginning, her mother's telepathic connection when within quotation marks, and memories when her memory 'flash' occurs. It is unknown why she does this, but we will stay true to Madeline's chosen method of communication. Her story begins now.

    I'm in a large field of grass, and a gentle wind whistles in my ear. It's a... pleasant feeling. I look up to see a light, blue, cloudless sky. A perfect day. Not too warm, not too cold. I hold my arms out, and laugh. Oh, it's such a nice feeling, I wish I could describe it. So beautiful... Unannounced, however, the wind's whistle begins to increase. My laughter dies off, and I begin to feel unreasonably irritated. Who would want to ruin this lovely day with an uncanny wind? The gusts continue to increase, until the crescendo becomes unbearable. Clouds begin to form in the sky way too fast, unnaturally quick, and the day darkens. I blow some hair away from my eyes, and look up at the swirling cloud. It's becoming pitch-black, and whirls to form uneven eyes and a grimacing mouth. Faster and faster it fluxes, in and out, in and out, until it begins to descend upon me. I try to scream, to move my helpless body, but my voice comes out as a whisper no matter how hard I try. Tendrils begin to reach out at me, dark, writhing, tendrils, and again I fail to scream. My body is paralyzed, my voice silent. The mouth opens impossibly wide, and gaping, it shrieks!

    I awaken with a jolt, my eyes flashing open and a gasp escaping my mouth. A cold sweat covers my body, and I shiver. "Where am I?" I whisper to myself. Searching my memory, I find nothing. Well, that's not strictly true. It's... well, it's odd. I can remember words and meanings, but not... people. Places. I shake my head. Bad idea. A piercing pain bolts down my spine, and groaning, I collapse to my bed. My hand grasps some of the blanket, scrunches it up, and lets it go. Stay calm, Madeline. Stay calm. At least... at least you can remember your name.

    Turning my head ever so slowly to my right, I see another bed. Am I in a hospital? Sure looks like one. For the first time, I take in my surroundings. Pristine white walls, white-tiled floor. White ceiling, white door. White bed. White sheets... White everything. I slam my head back on my pillow, ignoring the pain it induces. Suddenly, I hear a raspy whisper in my head.

    "...Madeline..."

            I turn over quickly. How could I miss another person's presence in the room? Ah, there. A woman in the bed. A memory flashes through my head. My... Mother?

    "...Madeline, I don't know how much longer I have..."

            That's when I freak out. The woman's- my mother's lips didn't move an inch. I must be insane. I try to scream, but something stops me. Like a wind from another world, it feels as if a cold hand has clamped over my mouth.

            "...don't do that. Come over here, it's really hard to sustain this."
       
    Scared out of my mind, I painfully push myself to a sitting position, roll over to the side of my bed, and plant my feet on the unnaturally cold floor. Shuffling over to ease the ache in my spine, I finally get a good look at her face. Her graying hair, usually in a bun, (somehow I remember this) is splayed out around her head. New wrinkles adorn her face, and worry lines show more than ever. Finally, her eyes flicker open.

    "I'm glad you're awake." whispers my mother. "But... Madeline, I..." She stops for a second, coughing roughly into the air. I try to prevent myself from moving back a bit, but fail. Finally, she slows down. "One moment," she wheezes. Soon enough, the raspy whisper returns to my head. "Much better. Mind-speak is so much easier in close range." Her eyes close. "Madeline, we were so wrong. So, so wrong. It's much worse than we could have ever expected." Her idle face frowns a bit. "We didn't stand a chance from the beginning."