Room 507, Saturday before noon

[nadiathesaint]

As far as Nadia knew, Fandom did not have a subway. Thus it would not have subway tunnels.

Yet she was, at that moment, running through a subway tunnel, desperately trying to catch up with a train pulling away from her. Sydney leaned out the back, her hand reaching out and Nadia tried to grab it. . . .

Behind her, the monsters were closing in.

(We were drawn from the weeds
We were brave like soldiers
Falling down under the pale moonlight)

She took a sharp left. The red sun lit the tunnels through a grate in the ceiling, casting strange, red and black shadows over everything around her. Her steps were faltering, like she couldn't keep going fast enough. If she could just keep the rhythm--left, left, left right left--she could get away, but the ground of the tunnel was uneven and she stumbled--

(You were holding to me
Like a someone broken
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now)

And someone caught her. It was Walter.

Of course it was Walter. Who else would it be?

(Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down)

"They're coming," she told him. "We have to get out of their way."

"Who's coming?"

"The monsters!" She tried to run again, but Walter just gripped her hand and held her in place. "Please, they're coming!"

"They aren't real monsters," Walter said. He was facing away from her, peering into the red and black light of the tunnel.

(Fall on me
Tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you forever in me
Ever the same)


He turned to face her with a smile. He was wearing a monacle.

"We are."

(We would stand in the wind
We were free like water
Flowing down
Under the warmth of the sun)

She shook her head, tugging at her arm again, trying to break his grip. She thought of the two of them, sitting on the park bench, patches of sunlight shining through the rainy afternoon and tried to bring them back there, but Walter just kept holding on, holding her here in the tunnel.

His eyes were red.

Hers were, too.

"No,"

(Now it's cold and we're scared
And we've both been shaken
Hey, look at us
Man, this doesn't need to be the end)

Walter shrugged easily. "Okay, but maybe that is?" He looked off down the tunnel behind her. Dread closed around her heart and she spun.

(Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down--

The music stopped with a screech of needle on vinyl.)

Yeah, Nadia thought. Okay, that might be the monster.

Belthazor, resplendent in red and black skin, was grappling with Nadia's mother.

How did she know that the hard-faced woman kicking Bel in the chest was her mother?

No idea. She just did.

Both were fighting like feral creatures, using knives, fireballs, nails, teeth, whatever was handy. Both were obviously intent on killing the other.

Nadia stood completely still. She wanted to run. She didn't know if she wanted to run away from the fight, or towards it.

If she ran towards it, she didn't know which one she should be helping.

Didn't matter anyway, because Walter was not letting go of her hand.

One of Belthazor's fireballs hit it's mark, and Nadia's mother vanished in a white hot blaze with a bloodcurdling scream of pain and anger. Bel gasped for breath, his expression frighteningly blank, then turned to face her.

And Nadia landed with a heavy thump and opened her eyes.

She'd just fallen out of bed.

The light coming through her window was dim, casting odd patterns of shadows across her skin as it refracted through the rain on the glass.

She lay there, just watching the patterns, for a very long time. Eventually, she noticed that she was softly humming to herself.

"Ever the same,"

She stayed on the floor and stared into space.

She was going insane.

Comments

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

After hearing back from Nadia, Walter stopped by her room, knocking at the door.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia was still on the floor, but at least she'd grabbed her pillow and the phone. She glanced up at the knock.

"Who is it?"

There were very few people she was going to invite in, right now.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Walter."

[nadiathesaint]

Of course it was Walter. Who else would it be?

"Yeah, c'mon in."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter stepped inside and closed the door, taking in Nadia's spot on the floor. "Bed too small?"

[nadiathesaint]

"I fell off. It's too squishy."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"That happens." He hitched his trousers and sat down on the floor next to her. "Did you get a chance to go to the clinic?"

[nadiathesaint]

She nodded. "They were still out. I need to go to the jail at some point."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"What's going on down at the jail?" He really should listen to the radio more, but he's been distracted.

[nadiathesaint]

"Belthazor is there. I heard it on the radio. I have to talk to him."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Do you know why he's there?" So much for school beautification team, it seemed. "Will you be alright? I didn't think you and authority were a good mix."

[nadiathesaint]

She shook her head. "Don't know. Radio didn't say. I'm not doing anything bad, they can't arrest me."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"No, they can't." He pulled a blanket off her bed and settled it over her without really thinking about it.

"How was your sleep?" No casual question that.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia closed her eyes and shuddered slightly. "Bad."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Is it getting any better at all?" He shifted closer and put an arm around her. This was getting to be a habit.

[nadiathesaint]

It was a habit Nadia was in no position to argue with, just now. She gave a slight, shaky smile. "It had a soundtrack, this time,"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Is a soundtrack an improvement?"

[nadiathesaint]

She sighed. "No." She hesitated for a moment. "We're not monsters."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter shook his head and looked at his knees. "I know monsters. You aren't a monster, Nadia."

[nadiathesaint]

She turned to look at him, leaning forward so she could check his eyes. Same, normal, Walter-eyes. "You're not, either."

Not yet.

And, she suddenly decided, she'd figure out a way to make sure he never was.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Would it help you if someone woke you when you started dreaming? You do get fairly restless. It's easy to tell."

He had no desire to argue the matter of monsters. He wasn't a monster yet, he just had the potential.

[nadiathesaint]

That would require someone staying in the room with her. That someone probably being Walter, because he was so damned stubborn. . . .

But if the dreams would stop. . . .

"I don't know."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Do you want to try?" He vaguely considered pointing out that if he was spending the night in her room, he wasn't spending the night in Victor's - wasn't that what she'd wanted a million years ago?

[nadiathesaint]

If she said yes, she'd be asking him to put his nights on hold.

If she said no . . . they might never stop.

"I don't want to see bad things happen, anymore."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter tightened his hold on her. "It's worth trying. I don't want you to have to see it, either. I can stay a few nights, unless you have someone else you'd rather do it."