Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Cryptic Knives ❯ Slipping Away ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

 

Slipping Away

 

I'm slipping away

 

In every way

 

I can't stay awake

 

And I don't know why

 

 

----

 

 

Delphi opened her eyes and she felt restraints on her wrists and ankles once again. Although, there was something different, the usually hard metal table had transformed into a soft mushy white bed. In fact the entire room was white and mushy and well lit with electrical lighting.

 

A door opened to her right and Delphi strained her eyes to see a man in a white lab coat flipping through some papers on his clipboard. His eyes looked at her through round spectacles, while he was still facing down at his board. He stopped sifting through the papers when he saw that she was awake.

 

`Ah, Delphi, among the living again?' His voice seemed sweet but under the coating it was vicious.

 

The man looked like he was in his mid forties or so, where his hair was starting to recede and go gray, wrinkles and so forth.

 

`What?' she said distantly.

 

`You've were out for quite a few days this time.' He said nonchalantly.

 

`What do you mean this time? Where am I?'

 

`Delphi, you're making this a habit. I thought I told you last time where you were. Pine…'

 

`Pine? What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?' She spat angrily. He moved his clipboard so that the small rectangular piece of metal was visible. Delphi strained her eyes to read the embossed printing on the gold plate.

 

`Dr. Vincent Reed' She read it as though she read it a million times and was bored with it.

 

`Delphi,' he started and then sitting down in the opposite her bed he finished his sentence. `You're in Pine Crest Mental Institution.'

 

`Mental? I am not mental. What the hell is this about you freaks.' She shouted.

 

`Four years, almost five.' He reminded her, not listening to one word she was saying. `You father, not dead, mother, not dead,' Vincent was spitting out the words as if he had them memorized. `This,' he looked down at his sheet, `Chesta character, doesn't exist.'

 

`Shut up! Shut up! You're fucking mental!' She turned the whole conversation around and blamed Victor.

 

`Oh!' he pretended like he was hurt. `You see, one night you tried to kill your mother for well, killing your mother. Your father restrained you, if you will, and well, he and your mother took you here.'

 

`My mother is dead, she died a long time ago and Dilandau killed my father.'

 

`Right, this Dilandau, you seem to speak of him often; usually about how much you loathe him.'

 

`What happened four years ago Delphi, can you tell me what happened?' He seemed to be interrogating her and she didn't like it. She knew this had to be one of Dilandau's tricks. She turned her head away from him.

 

`Delphi.' He said sternly. She barely knew him and already she wanted to claw his face off. `What happened four years ago?' he urged.

 

`I… don't remember.'

 

`Yes, you do.'

 

`Remember the dragon?' He said `dragon' so sardonically it reminded her of Dilandau and her temper flared once again.

 

`It sliced him in two' she said silently. `My mother saved me; her pendant protected me out in the field. I didn't know it then but I know it now.'

 

`Delphi, I hate to remind you but you live in a city, in the middle of the city at an apartment with you parents, parents that love you. Parents who pray everyday for their little girl to get better so she can go home. Over the past four years, Delphi, strawhouse-ville didn't just turn into a big city.'

`Delphi, Delphi, DELPHI! STOP SAYING MY NAME WITH SUCH CONTEMPT.' She shouted and struggled against her bonds.

 

`Calm down Delphi, you'll get through this. I don't want to give you the needle.' He said calmly.

 

`Now can we continue?' He asked, and Delphi let out an elongated, audible sigh. There really wasn't much she could do but go along with it.

 

`Now I'm just going to start from the beginning.' Victor's voice was calm but it seemed to calm for the way he was acting earlier.

 

`Okay.'

 

`For about a year now, you have been coming and going. You are living in your mind; Delphi, your mother and father are still alive. Every time you come back into the real world you slip away back into your dream. You can never remember what we tell you. There are incidents that make your mind stronger and keep you in there. You have these conversations with yourself or with us, but you think we're someone else.'

 

`You're lying' she seethed.

 

`We have it on tape, some where it's you just talking with yourself at three in the morning.'

 

`It all really started when your father was `killed' and your horse,'

 

`Kylie.' She said as if almost in a trance. `My father bought me a new horse for my birthday, Damien, it died too.'

 

`You never had horses, but that was when your brain waves started to increase. When these soldiers came and raided your house.'

 

`Soldiers? Dilandau and his men, they want my pendant.'

 

`There isn't a pedant Delphi. Your mother gave you a pretend one, when you were little as a gift. She said that you used to play with all the time, saying that you were its protector. You ended up losing it.'

 

`No that's not right, these pendant was my mothers. I remember it clearly. I don't know how you got it off my neck, but its dangerous, just give it back to me so I can destroy it. If Dilandau gets a hold of it, he'll kill everything.' She was starting to get frantic. She could tell that the pendant was gone.

 

`Delphi all your fights that you've been having, were fights with the doctors and nurses trying to help you. You weren't using a sword or fighting other slayers. I remember one night you were trying to polish bed poles, saying they were swords.'

 

`Why are you doing this to me?' she felt tears in her eyes, but they stayed dry. `This happened. This all happened, you're a doppelganger or something.'

 

`In your mind, you are brave, but your losing it. You have already lost it in reality, but in your mind people are after you. Folken.'

 

Her heart raced. She knew it. He was behind this. `All those times, I fought…'

 

`With us.' He finished for her. `What is so strange about your mind Delphi is you try so hard for it to be reality. You have dreams about your father's death. Your brainwave patters are really remarkable. They really shot up when you started talking about your pendant changing colors, I do believe its black now?'

 

`Do you think I would make this up?' Delphi said furiously.

 

`No, you are not well, what you make up is entirely because you are ill.' He assured her.

 

`I'm not ill. This is some trick; you are playing with me.'

 

`One thing that really sticks in my mind is when you were `attacked' by dog-like creatures. Do you recall that situation Delphi?'

 

`It hurt me, a lot. That was real.'

 

`Somewhat. Your parents thought that you might want to see your dog, because you loved him so much but something made him mad and he attacked you. Bit you right on the shoulder he did. You needed eight stitches.'

 

`Chesta saved me again' she thought about when she was on the table and he was looking over her. He tried so hard to wake her up and he succeeded.

 

Vincent shook his head. `In your mind you were dying, we didn't know why. Your father shouted to you telling you to wake up, for a second, only for a second. You said his name we all heard you. And then you were gone.'

 

`You don't convince me' although she was starting to go mad just talking to this man.

 

`Then the paranoia started. This Folken guy really scared you. You attacked nurses with pillows, spoons, and anything you could get your hands on. That is why you are restrained. You think that we're trying to kill you Delphi, we're just trying to help you.' A beeping sound echoed through the room. `Time for you medication Delphi, now this time be strong.'

 

From his jacket he pulled out a needle and took the cap off. He pushed the bottom and squeezed out some of the liquid so that there were no air bubbles. He walked towards her. That's when she knew, knew that he was planning to kill her.

 

`Get away!' She screamed and started to struggle against her bonds. `Help me'

 

`I'm going to need some help restraining her nurse.' A nurse and another young doctor came in. Vincent and the young man held her down while the nurse stuck the needle in her vein. Delphi started to cry and struggle some more even though the damage was done.

`Chesta' was the only word she could mumble out.

 

`No, there is not Chesta.' Vincent said, `there is. No. Chesta, Delphi.'

 

`Chesta' She cried out again, this time louder. Vincent's voice became faint and her voice became faint. She continued shouting Chesta's name but was unaware of it.

 

`Your slipping away' was the last word that she heard before her eyes opened.

 

Her face was covered in tears and so was Chesta's shirt. She had her face pressed against his chest and her arms tight around his waist, his around her. Delphi's eyes were wide and searching the room. She kept repeating Chesta's name.