girlwithout | (no subject)

It’s just little nightmares at first. Tiny flashes of horror whenever she manages to drift off to sleep for even a few minutes. Memories, to start.

(the stench is never coming out of her nostrils god Sophie Sophie what did that monster do to you how long have you been rotting here alone)

(her breaths little puffs expelling all the warmth she has left, god it’s just so hard to breathe – all that’s left of Rikki Barnes, a nuclear shadow in a refrigerator)

(too late too late there’s a body on the pavement and so much blood, why is there so much – the face amorphous and shifting, John Anya Benito)

The ground cracks under her feet. There’s something she has to see, something important. It’s hard to make out her surroundings, too dark and confused. They shift whenever she looks away, going from rock to forest, mountain to ruins.

It’s cold. She wishes she’d thought to bring a jacket before coming here, wherever here is. Instead, she has to rub her arms to try to keep them warm. It’s not doing much, but she keeps going anyway because what else is there? Just a step. Another step. One more.

There’s someone lying on the ground. Rikki can’t rush forward, the ground sucking at her feet and slowing her down, but she tries. “Hey? You okay?”

The person – girl? – doesn’t respond. Her fingers are clumsy and numb, but she still manages to turn the girl over.

Rikki Barnes’ dead eyes stare up at her.

Rebecca

A claw punctures her chest from behind, ripping through her heart. She can’t breathe. Her blood is dripping out onto the other Rikki (God, why is there so much…?)

It’s time to come home