Fan Fiction ❯ Dark ❯ before the storm ( Chapter 7 )

They walked down the street, heading towards the downtown area. They went in silence. Rain tried to think of something to say. Dark walked with her head bowed. It seemed that it took too much energy for her to raise her head.

 

They had kept her under observation at the lab for a week. Then they put her on meds and sent her back home.

 

She was different. Rain could see it; anyone could. She was drugged and sluggish. She slept for more than twelve hours a day. The defiance was gone from her eyes, the slant of her mouth. She did what she was told without complaint and without enthusiasm. She got up in the morning and went to school, even if she slept through most of her classes, slumped over her desk. She dragged herself through the hallways, eyes on the ground. During the tutoring sessions, she stared with half-open eyes at her notes or at Rain. She would stare listlessly out the window, head against the glass. She barely responded to questions. It seemed that she fought to keep her eyes open. The medication had reduced her to a zombie.

 

“Dark,” Rain said softly. The girl she was talking to didn't look up. “The monitor isn't in your arm.”

 

They stopped. Dark slowly raised her head and looked at Rain.

 

“It's in the back of your neck.”

 

Dark stared at her.

 

“You can't remove it,” Rain went on. “You could paralyze yourself if you tried. They lied when they told you they put it in your arm.”

 

Something flickered in Dark's eyes. But then it was gone and the listlessness returned. They walked on.

 

“Now they think you're a danger to yourself,” Rain continued. “They should know better. I know you weren't trying to hurt yourself. You just wanted to take control of your life.

 

“But now, you've just made things harder on yourself.”

 

That probably wasn't the best thing to say at the moment, but Rain realized it too late. She sounded too critical. Like she was nagging.

 

Then Dark spoke up in a thick, heavy voice, “They killed him.” It sounded like she was just waking up.

 

“Your brother?”

 

Dark nodded slowly.

 

Rain couldn't say anything to that. It was partially true. She reached for Dark's hand, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Dark didn't react when Rain took it. Rain almost let go, but instead gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She was going to let her hand fall away, but this time it was Dark who held on.

 

They both came to a stop.

 

“Do you know...?” Dark asked. “What happened to others like me?”

 

“Others?” Rain said breathlessly. “There...there have only been a few others like you in the past. They all had the ability to channel the energy of a psychic storm.”

 

“It kills us.”

 

Rain watched her wordlessly for a moment. “Yes,” she admitted. “It killed them. That's what the Front does. But...the others...they each managed to save a city.”

 

“Only one.”

 

Rain took a breath. “Yes. Only one each.”

 

“Do you know...what it's like?”

 

“Only what I've read and what my father's told me. They say that channeling the Front is like having all of your sensory organs explode at once. When I was a kid, I imagined that it was like flying into a nova. You experience every sensation all at once. Then...you die. And the storm dissipates. For a little while at least.”

 

Dark said nothing to this.

 

“I can understand,” Rain said, “if you don't want to do it. But...please...if the time comes....” She couldn't think of what to say next. How to convince someone to give up everything for you in exchange for nothing?

 

“Please save this city.”

 

There was no response from Dark. She kept her eyes on the ground, away from Rain. Her expression had hardened though. Rain searched her face for signs of clarity.

 

“Who knows?” Rain said tiredly. “You may not have to choose. If the Front never hits us, you may never have to decide.”

 

Suddenly, the grip on Rain's hand tightened painfully.

 

“I already decided,” Dark said. She raised her head and turned to look over at the horizon. There were storm clouds in the distance.

 

Rain stared at the determined expression on Dark's a face. The previous lethargic haze had cleared from her eyes. “You have?”

 

“Yes. It's coming.”

 

“What?” Rain wasn't sure she had heard correctly.

 

Dark didn't look away from the horizon. “The Front. It's coming.”