After an Inception goes tragically wrong, Ariadne's mind is lost.
I was first inspired to write this based on the idea of what would have happened if Ariadne had fallen into Limbo and lost her mind. The details are added because I work with a great deal of Altimeters patients. Most of them are very pleasant to myself and others around them. They are confused but still very happy to be around people who are nice to them.
But I've often wondered how it hurts those who love them, particularly the husbands and wives. This story is based on one couple. Married for God only knows how long. While she lost almost all he memories, he came to see her every day at the nursing home. Brought her dinner and ate with her. Watched T.V. With her, pushed her wheelchair around and she had no idea who this man was.
Before her condition became so bad, he took care of her at home.
It's not easy to take care of someone like this and imagine how hard it would be to take care of someone who doesn't remember you.
On the other side of the coin, imagine how hard it is to lose you memories and everyone around you is a total strange and some man is saying he's your husband.
Loving Ariadne
1.
~ A train cut effortlessly though the still country side. Inside a privet car, its shades all draw so no other passengers could see in, five people slept. A teenage boy was putting headphones on the ears of one of the sleeping men. Pressing the pay button as the PASIV timed down to zero.
Arthur opened his eyes slowly. Nothing made him jump awake. Not a terrible fall or being shot in the head. His breathing was slow and steady as he heard the loud, distinctive wake up music.
"How did it go?" The kid asked him.
Arthur was on his feet.
"Not good." He said moving to Ariadne. The last he had seen of her in the dream, she was shot and dieing. They had once more used Yuseff's clever compound to venture deeply into a Mark's mind. Only this time, it didn't work.
The Point Man pulled Ariadne and Cobb out first. He had been worried that in the time it would take for her to wake up , she would die and fall into Limbo.
Cobb opened his eyes as Arthur disconnected Eames. Unlike Arthur, everyone else woke with a start. Cobb was breathing hard and Eames was coughing.
"Everyone alright?" Arthur barked handing the kid some money and telling him to get lost.
"Well, that was not pleasant." Eames said checking the pulse of their sleeping Mark.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Cobb said trying to calm down. The normally composed Extractor looking like he had just seen a ghost.
"Ariadne?" Arthur said in his crisp professional tone. He looked back at her when she didn't answer.
Their pretty Architect was sitting where she had slept. Her big eyes open, but looking around her, frightened and unfocused.
"Ariadne?" Arthur said. His voice becoming more gentle as he moved close to her. Trying to look at here eyes. Something was defiantly wrong.
"What's happened?" Eames asked securing the sleeping Mark.
"She was shot. In the dream." Cobb said worriedly as Ariadne started to cry. A frightened cry like a child might make. "We... she fell." Cobb finally said as Arthur tried to take hold of Ariadne's hands. The Architect slapping his away.
"Cobb, what happened?" Arthur barked as Ariadne tried to look away from the Point Man. Afraid of him suddenly when she was never afraid of anything.
"Shh. It's alright." Arthur turned back to her as he was horrified to see tears running down her face. She folded her arms over her head.
"She fell into Limbo." Cobb said.
"Cobb." Eames gasped. "Yuseff said with this compound, Limbo could be infinite."
"I know." Cobb said as Arthur was trying to calm Ariadne down. "One of the projections shot her. She died in the dream." Cobb said.
"It's alright. Ariadne, no one's mad." Arthur said soothingly as she was covering her ears with her hands.
"We have to get out of here." Eames said. "Our Mark will wake up soon. Not to mention three men with a crying woman on a train together?"
"Eames is right." Cobb said standing and shouldering his bag.
"What about Ariadne?" Arthur growled standing up and glaring at Cobb.
"We take her with us." Cobb said simply.
"How are we going to get through the train station with her like this? People take one look at her, and then us? They will think she's a victim of something. Police will be on us in no time." Eames said.
"He's right." Cobb said thinking hard.
"We have to get her to a hospital." Arthur said as Ariadne was moaning softly. Covering her face with her hair and pulling her legs up to meet her chest. Curling into a protective ball.
"Eames is right. We can't help her if were in prison." Cobb said.
"I'm not leaving her." Arthur said.
"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." Eames said fleeing the privet train car where they had attempted to do the Inception.
"Was it worth it Cobb? Was a four million dollar payday worth it?" Arthur challenged. Feeling like he could punch his oldest friend right about now.
"We were careful this time." Cobb said defensively. "Things just went wrong."
"I don't know why I came on this mission with you." Arthur grumbled looking over their helpless, broken Architect.
"You know why." Cobb said slyly. "You wanted to see her again."
Arthur turned and gave Cobb and cold look. The Extractor shrugged.
"You never did this for the money. God knows you have enough of it." Cobb told him as Arthur moved Ariadne's hair away from her face. She let out a small, frightened cry and tensed like a rabbit.
"You did it because you wanted to see Ariadne again." Cobb said. "Even though she had a fiancé now, and it's not you." Cobb said bitterly.
"Shut up, Cobb." Arthur said warningly. "Just shut the-"
"I'm back, Ladies." Eames said interrupting a would be fight. The Forger made sure the blinds were closed before pulling free from his pocket a small syringe.
"What's that?" Arthur asked as Eames expertly readied it.
"Xanax. I noticed a very lovely church group in car next to us. Pretended to be a little drunk and fell in. Picked the purse of the most nervous looking old lady there, and got lucky." Eames said.
"Wait, what's it for? What will it do?" Arthur said as Eames looked like he was prepared to inject Ariadne.
"It's just going to calm her down." Eames explained. "This is a 1mg dose and that should be more then enough for someone as small as she is. It will calm her down enough for us to get her out of here."
"Do it." Cobb said as Arthur reluctantly held Ariadne's hands down as Eames injected her on the exposed skin of her hip.
"Ow!" Ariadne cried as she tried to fight Arthur.
"It's alright." Arthur said holding her and praying she would not start yelling. The once bright, confident woman seemed totally gone and was replaced by this confused, frightened girl.
~ As the train reached it's final stop, Arthur was relived the drugs had worked. Ariadne was much calmer and more trusting. Although she looked ready to fall asleep at any moment.
"We just have to get her to a cab." Cobb said as Arthur helped her to stand. "Then we can take her to our hotel."
"Cobb, she has to go to a hospital." Arthur said shouldering his bag and hers.
"We take her to a hospital, and they start asking questions about why she's like this." Cobb warned. "We can help her best by not going to prison." The Extractor reminded them.
~ Mercifully, no one paid much attention to the four of them as the walked quickly to the cabs waiting for them. Eames was quick to secure one for them and they were out of the airport just before Ariadne fell asleep.
"Hey, is she okay?" The cab driver asked.
"My wife had too much to drink." Arthur explained trying to sound casual.
"She had too much fun being away from the kids." Eames joked from the passenger seat as the cab driver rolled out on to the freeway traffic.
Ariadne woke up suddenly and started to have a panic attack. Screaming and crying again.
"Honey, honey!" Arthur said as Cobb rolled down a window so she could breath. "It's okay, were going to the hotel now."
"Hey, she don't look right." The driver said. "What are you guys doing with this girl anyway?"
"Bloody hell." Eames grumbled quickly removing a side arm as Ariadne started hitting Arthur.
~ "I'm really sorry about this." Eames said as Arthur was striping the radio and lo-jack from the cab. The Forger holding the cab driver at gun point on the side of an empty road.
"Hey man, I don't care if you take the cab, but leave that girl alone. Leave her with me." The driver said. Ariadne was now screaming in the back seat and trying to hit Cobb. The Architect's attempts to flee the cab in her confusion making it impossible to not go unnoticed.
"Don't look at them or me." Eames said calmly to the driver. "Now, go down that embankment and keep walking. I'm sure the Quickie Mart there has a phone."
"You leave that girl alone!" The cab driver said again looking worriedly at Ariadne.
Eames fired a round near the driver's feet as Ariadne was crying. Cobb trying to sooth her.
"Go!" The Forger said as Arthur took the driver's seat and started the car. The cab's driver turned and walked slowly away.
"There's a special place in hell for people like you!" The driver shouted. "Don't think I won't be first in line to testify at your trial!"
"Whatever happened to minding your own business?" Eames grumbled. "I swear three men can't go anywhere with a drugged and frighted woman these days."
He climbed into the back with Ariadne and Cobb. Preventing her from pulling on the door handles.
Arthur sped off. Leaving the city behind in a trail of dust.