sinking down, down

[facultwist]

Death is a drop into a blackness that swallows you. You feel the movement of not air but shadow across your face as you plummet, and there is no bottom. No crash.

If there is another side, you do not reach it.

It is neither the light of heaven or the fires of hell that greets you when you wake. And wake you do, to the buzz and flicker of old fluorescent lights.

You are laid out beside a full-size competitive swimming pool, half-filled with stagnant water. The doors out are blocked off by locked doors covered in caution tape. The locker rooms are long since emptied, paint peeling from the humidity. The only signs of habitation are a few pieces of scattered graffiti.

Welcome to your new home. There's no sunlight, no indication of time passing. Just you and each other and your thoughts. the stagnant water bubbles a little occasionally, but there's nothing in it.

Before long you'll realize that you no longer need to eat or drink. You might notice your hand go through something if you don't focus. You're a ghost now. What's that they say about unfinished business?

Comments

[sweetsynergy]

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm here for.

[She looks away. This is what she wanted, after all.]

[trustheart]

…

[ Chris lets out a heavy sigh. ]

Hawke didn’t do this. She’s not the type of person who would, okay?

[sweetsynergy]

I wasn't worried about that.

[Boy does that response come a little too quick.]

[trustheart]

The hell you weren’t! You keep glancing at her, you dipshit!

[sweetsynergy]

Don't waste your concern on me, Chris.

[That gets her to look back in Chris' direction.]

I don't need it, especially not from you.

[trustheart]

…This is officially fucking sad. I can show a willingness to talk to Misty “Dismemberment For Fun And Games” Quigley, I can show you a modicum of pity, you fucking asshole.

All we have here is each other, Vanity. Are we going to keep making each other miserable, or are we going to do something to at least make this tolerable? Or do you want us to treat you like a sad fucking wet cat until the end of time?

[sweetsynergy]

You should! What the hell is wrong with you, trying to pity me after all this?

[You're supposed to hate her, everyone's supposed to hate her, SHE would hate herself in your position-]

You want everyone else to hate you too, or do you think this will score you points or something?

[trustheart]

This has nothing to do with that, it has everything to do with making this hell we're trapped in a fraction less miserable! Now are you going to stop making things worse for yourself, or are you going to finally woman up and start trying to be decent for once in your miserable life?!

[ Chris gestures to everything around her. ]

Look around, Vanity! We're fucking dead! There are no more plans! No more schemes! No more points to earn! Rinne is in shock because the girl she loves is dead, and yet she's here bravely watching to see who killed her! Everyone here is trying to face our afterlife head-on! Everyone but you! I fucking hate you more than anyone, but there's still a part of me that loves you and hates to see you torture yourself and set yourself up to be roasted like this, over and over...you're a fencing master and you STILL let me, a fucking archer who's never gotten in a close up fight in her life, beat the fuck out of you!

[ She walks forward and attempts to shake Vanity by the shoulders. ]

You're Vanity vonAegis! You're the cruelest, most vindictive bitch I know! And I knew both Mariko and Dorothy! GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELF!

[sweetsynergy]

Get your HANDS OFF ME YOU-

[She's grabbing at Chris' collar, trying to push her off or pull her into some kind of attack-]

[But, uh, whatever this turns into is happening. Vanity's head turns to watch, distracted.]

[Not. Not letting go just yet, there's actually no deeper subtext to this she's just distracted by the maybe break in the case.]

[protomartyr]

[ Quietly: ]

I think we shouldn't call Misty names.

[ It's bad for your health. ]

[thatsplato]

It wasn’t fun and games—-