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Don't Call It A Comeback

 
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:39 pm    Post subject: Don't Call It A Comeback Reply with quote

[Some remember only the feeling of rumbling. Some remember the flash of light that could be seen for miles. Some even remember the sound of glass shattering, or granite cracking.

They all remembered the explosion.

The administration building of the Hymn of One Boarding School detonated. The flower urns igniting first, then the garland around each pillar. The foundation exploded, and granite flew through the campus.

Most were left deafened for several moments, some cowered with fear. Others cried openly.

But nobody cried for the principal, who seemingly died in the arms of his murderous daughter.]
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grace2_89
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[The infirmary office was empty.

The events of the previous night flooded Grace's brain and a wave of despair filled her heart. Looking around, she saw the Doctor had gone; left, as usual, for the others to pick up the pieces. Grace wasn't surprised, not really. His appearance the night before he been miraculous in timing. If not for his help, she would be dead.

Dead...

Grace scrambled up from the leather couch and wrenched open the door. While the office may have been quiet as a tomb, the main infirmary was a beehive of activity.

A voice called sharply to her. "Miss Ashbey!" The always no-nonsense nurse's voice rose above the chaos, but then it softened. "Help. Please. If you can."

Grace looked around, trying to gauge the time. By the looks of things, it couldn't be more than four a.m., the sun still not risen.

Students were everywhere. Sitting on the waiting room chairs, leaning against the wall; some were even sprawled on the floor, attempting to sleep. Grace supposed this was the safest place, not knowing what danger still lay in store, but it was a chaotic mess.

She tried to scan the room for signs of other faculty. Dr. Pavelli? Where was Mr. Henshaw? His absence was odd and uncharacteristic. Usually he would've been in the throng, barking orders and inserting himself in all decisions. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him since the shooting broke out. The principal had missed many things over the course of the year, but to miss this spectacle was certainly odd.

Grace spotted the science and English teachers floating around, trying to comfort students in various areas of the infirmary.

Everywhere she looked were injured students. The floor was bloodied, and rain and mud had combined to make the whole thing emit a soggy, messy stench that filled Grace's nostrils until she choked. She glanced helplessly at the nurse and ran for the doors. Once outside, the flowers served her well as waves of nausea engulfed her.

After what felt like ages, there was nothing left. Grace caught her breath, but still kneeling, looked up to the sky. "Why, God? Why did this have to happen?" she pleaded, while looking around. The administration building was a smoldering ruin, but the chaos seemed contained within the infirmary. Whatever danger had disrupted their perfect night seemed to have faded, leaving a charred mess as its legacy.]


Last edited by grace2_89 on Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:24 pm; edited 1 time in total
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[Eight years had passed.

The world had changed, but somehow remained the same.

The rain dripped down the window and the lights were dim in the West Town apartment. Candles flickered ominously…peacefully. A glass of red wine sat on a coaster on the end table. It was unseasonably cool for this June day in the midwest, but then again, nothing was really usual for this town, at least, weather-wise.

It was odd to be thinking of the weather, she thought, at a time like this.

A laptop sat on the dining room table across the room, halfway between awake and sleep modes. A familiar face mysteriously — inexplicably — filled the screen.

Grace stared at the frozen image in wonder.

Her stare became vacant as her mind began to wander.

Eight years.]
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[Tears mingled with rain on her cheeks as she clasped her hands together against her chest in wordless prayer. All these students injured-and what had become of the others? Rob-dead-and how many others? Did any of her friends survive?

Where was Riley?

As if receiving an immediate answer to her prayer, Riley came jogging up, a broken heel in one hand and the remnants of her skirt held up so she wouldn't trip. Her blond hair was dirty and matted from the rain and she was a mess, but Grace jumped up and grasped her best friend tightly. "Thank God!" she exclaimed.

"Are you sure about that?" Riley said, wearily but with a small smile. She paused and realized that her friend was still holding on for dear life. "Hi, Grace..."

As Riley pulled away, Grace said, embarrassed, "We'll discuss philosophy later. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in hours!"

Riley blinked, as if trying to gather her thoughts. "Marcus...dead...alive...dead? No, alive..." she trailed off, looking back over her shoulder.

Confused, Grace asked, "Marcus?" Marcus had did at the Ceremony in May. Riley knew that. Worry wrinkled Grace's face and she tapped Riley on the shoulder. "Hey, we need you."

Riley blinked again, staring, and her eyes seemed to finally focus. "Huh? Who needs me?"

"We all do. Students are injured, and everyone's in the infirmary. Even our unflappable Nurse Gladys seems overwhelmed." Grace paused., then said quietly, "The Doctor is gone."

Riley sighed. "No surprise there. Yeah, okay, let's go. I guess I can help as well as the next person."

Grace and Riley entered and found the chaos unchanged. If anything, the decibel level had increased, and it seemed ever so slightly less somber. Grace looked around.

A few students were genuinely giggling—a joke, perhaps? Grace was relieved. A small flicker in so much darkness.

To her credit, Riley handled the situation much better than Grace had. Normally extremely squeamish, she looked at Grace, shrugged, and said, "I guess I got better."

With basic instructions from the nurse, the two girls began patching students up. They passed out pain mediation—tylenol and the like—but left the stitches to Gladys. Some students looked at them gratefully, but most looked dazed and stared off into space.

As the bandaging became routine, Grace felt her mind begin to slip back to the memory of the simple ceremony (with a lower-case "c") she, Alex, and the Doctor had performed for Rob. Over his dead body, Grace had said a simple prayer while Alex and the Doctor looked on. Tears ran down Alex's cheeks as he spoke quietly about the impact Rob had already made on him. The Doctor simply looked on stoically. When they were through, the Doctor had ordered her and Alex to the infirmary, while Grace presumed he took Rob's body for safekeeping. Would the school have a morgue? she wondered darkly. No matter. The Doctor was gone. Hopefully he'd told Gladys of his intentions for Rob. A fitting ceremony would need to be planned, but the mourning would come, in time.

Tears ran down Grace's cheeks and she handed another student some pills. She was oblivious as they tried to thank her. Just as they'd made up...a new future...he loved her. We could have been so happy, she thought, but like the ceremony, the mourning would have to wait. The living needed help now.]
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[And on through the night it went, until night turned to morning and the hopeful rays of sun began to burst through the windows. Riley and Grace passed each other often, speaking words of comfort as they went. Grace found her spirits begin to lift as she came across more and more of her friends. Alice was fine and Nero simply had a broken leg. Mariella was asleep next to Mike; both were unharmed.

Sadie and Stacey were okay too, but waiting for stitches. Somehow Sadie's loud comments about everything—"WHY IS IT SO HOT IN HERE?? NURSE!! Can we have some AIR?!"—made Grace giggle in spite of herself.

Soon the sun began to rise over the east in earnest, casting its rays tentatively on the disastrous scene. Gladys had patched as many students as she could, which was to say, all of them. Many had been sent back to the dorms after Frank and his security assistant had checked them thoroughly (three times, a Grace's insistence). Both sets of dorms were secured now by tenured faculty, for which Grace was thankful.

After letting Riley know where she would be, Grace crossed the sidewalk to her own cozy apartment where Elyse somehow slept quietly on the couch. Grace had tried to avert her eyes as she crossed the courtyard, but the still-smoking remains behind her would follow her into the peaceful sleep for which she so desperately longed.

Stepping into her bathroom, so beautifully decorated for her by Matilda Pavelli (Grace refused, now, to think of her as Matilda Henshaw). Gripping the edge of the free-standing porcelain sink, Grace felt a searing pain shoot through her shoulder. She winced and caught a glimpse of herself in the oval mirror. Her bright pink hair had faded, matted and dirty. The sleeve of her dress had torn; the rest of it was soaked in her own blood. Smudges sullied her face and mascara clouded the corners of her eyes.

What struck her most, and from what she couldn't look away, was the deadness in her own eyes. She stared blankly at herself, trying to feel anything at all. Perhaps, out of self-preservation, her emotional cortex was shutting down. After hours of pain and loss and devastation, it could no longer function. It was shutting down to preserve itself.

Slowly she sunk to the cold tile floor, tears dripping down her cheeks. The cold felt good in a way; comforting, it was something real. From this, she took strength and after a time—hours, maybe—she willed herself to sit up.

Students needed her. In the absence of their keeper, someone needed to fill the void. Unsure of Matilda's condition or location (Grace suddenly remembered the weird pregnancy and realized Matilda would be in no condition to lead, anyway), or of any possible evacuation plans, Grace knew a meeting of the teachers would be in order.

For now, however, she would sleep, knowing the students were safe in their beds, qualified teachers looking after them. But for how long would they be safe? It was anybody's guess.]
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[Before sleep overwhelmed her, thoughts swirled in Grace's mind. Why had the building exploded? Was it an accident? A gas leak, perhaps? But even as these thoughts entered her mind, Grace knew they were ridiculous. Something much more sinister had happened. Who was—or were, or even are—the targets? Had they been killed, or was a mark still on one of their heads? If they had survived, Grace surmised, none were safe, teachers, faculty, and students included. A thorough search of the administration building was an absolute necessity. Given the hours of silence since the original blast, though, she guessed they were all safe for the moment.

Perhaps the enemy was regrouping.

She pushed herself up off the cold floor and took in a sharp breath at the pain that seared through her shoulder. Gladys would help, Grace knew, just as she herself would continue to lead the children.

Standing, Grace looked in the mirror once more and took the lavender-scented soap in her hand. Turning on the water, she ran the bar under it, creating a wonderfully-comforting lather. Carefully and slowly, she wiped her face clear of the dirt and leftover mascara. The elaborate makeup she'd worn for the dance gone, Grace felt younger and unqualified. Looking at herself, she felt more vulnerable than she had in weeks. She ran the back of her hand over her forehead and a terrifying thought crossed her mind.

With no sign of the headmaster, her protector had most likely fled—or was dead. Terror gripped her sudenly. What had he said? "As long as you are here, as long as you are under my protection, you have nothing to fear." As was her custom—and though she had had no good reason to—she had believed him. And in her gut, she knew he wasn't responsible for the explosive end to the prom.

Everyone would tell her differently, though. How many students had died under his watch? How many terrible things had happened?

Maybe, she told herself, as she began to tremble, she knew he wouldn't have done it because his farm of trait-positive girls would disappear. He would have known the school would be shut down and students sent home. Parents wouldn't stand for it. And as far as they knew, their daughters went to a place to influence the Elders after a Ceremony and they didn't know the true experience; the deaths that had so far occurred were an honor, or a tragic accident.

That, and they didn't know that their daughters were actually dead.

And with that, she knew that a meeting of the deacons would be inevitable. They would be able to harvest elsewhere. This school, which had become a blight on the Hymn, needed to be shut down.

Grace came back to herself. They—the trait positives, and anyone who protected them—wouldn't be safe outside the walls. Or would they? Each would have to be hunted separately...

Her mind spinning, Grace turned from the mirror. Her thoughts to were too erratic, too jumbled to make sense. She left the bathroom and turned into her bedroom.

Her comfortable bed welcomed her and merciful sleep came instantly.]
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grace2_89
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Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[Two weeks later, the single tiny light flickered in the middle of the night. Quietly, quickly, Grace gathered her things, frantically trying to remember the instructions. Most everything had been packed prior to this evening, and she would be so sad to leave behind the beautiful home her friend had made for her.

But there was nothing left here…for her, or for anyone.

A mere two weeks after smoldering ashes rained down, the school was disbanded. The meeting had happened, the students would be sent home. Half were already gone; concerned parents had pulled thumbtack home immediately. Teachers were dismissed, and Grace, who had no real history with the Hymn of One, was out of work. There was no severance package for those who didn’t believe in their Eternal Song.

The fact remained that she herself was trait positive. A shock she had certainly received a few weeks before the prom when she and Riley were “researching.” The headmaster’s records were certainly complete, and he wouldn’t have forged them, would he? On the other hand, why, with all the work she had done—her parents had done—had she never known this about herself?

A sliver of doubt wedged its way into Grace's mind, but she shook her head to herself. Her cousin Colin, had sent a sample to their lab at the Mission. It was true. She was indeed trait positive.]

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