Wisteria

Incentive

Last night had been a horrible ordeal for Martha.

After Kurt left her quarters the night before, she had been irrationally restless. Multiple times she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep; she even opened the windows hoping that the cool breeze and the gentle cricking of cicadas would lull her to sleep.

It didn't help at all.

Emma's scream kept playing in her mind like a broken record. Make it stop. How can she make it stop?  Mind still fuzzy from painkillers, she tried to occupy herself by counting every tick of her clock, but Naib's face kept appearing in her thoughts like a mirage.

A bit around 4am, she must have finally passed out, only to be plagued by vivid nightmares about their recent mishap.

Blood. Screaming. Blood pooling on her chest. Screaming. A man on top of her with a knife protruding from his back. Screaming. It sounded eerily like her.

She woke up with a choked sob. Her dream didn't make sense to her and she's already forgetting what it's even about; yet tears still threatened to spill out of her eyes.

Her waking hours aren't any better either. It felt as if she just transitioned from one nightmare to another; a reality she still refuse to fully accept.

Downing the rest of the painkillers that Emily gave her, she finally decided to do something to ease her mind. She wanted to know if they're fine- no, she needed to. Their time together may have been brief, but she had already grown to care for them. Besides, she couldn't stand the feeling of her guilt eating her alive. That's why as painful as it is to move in her current state, she resolved herself to do what she needed to do.

She nearly fell over the moment she got out of bed, her legs still too weak from the lack of movement. To catch herself, she grabbed the side of her nightstand in a panic, causing metal trays to fall over.

"This... Might've been a bad idea." She grumbled to herself as she stumbled around her room. It would've been bad if Emily heard that. Knowing her, she'd just scold her for hours and probably just tie her to her bed to avoid future escape attempts.

Reaching towards the door, she opened it. Yet she was surprised to find that someone else was already waiting on the other side.

...

"This is a horrible idea."

She raised her pointer finger at him,  as if to prove a point. "Actually, I beg to differ."

When she opened her door earlier, she was surprised to see Kurt on the other side, fist raised as if to knock. On his other hand was a tray filled with food, much like the one he brought her the night before. She managed to convince him to help her sneak out and see the others. He tried to refuse of course, yet here they are.

"Why does it always have to be me." He grumbled in complaint, leading her through the hallways. "Still, you're lucky she sent me instead. It would've been bad if Emily saw you, you know how she gets. Besides, she has a point. You're certainly in no condition to be walking around right now."

"Oh, stop complaining. You agreed to help me did you not?"

"Help?" He exclaimed, turning towards her. "You threatened me! You said if I didn't help you, you would-"

"Hit you on the head with the baked potato you brought." Martha couldn't help but laugh, her chest hurt but she couldn't seem to stop. "Seriously, who gets threatened by a baked potato?"

"Stop laughing. I panicked, I don't know why." He muttered, face dusted pink from embarrassment. This only caused her to laugh harder. "Seriously, stop laughing or I won't be your human crutch anymore! Besides, potato chunks would be a nightmare to get out of your hair, it's a known fact!"