Title: And So It Is, Prologue
Rating: PG
Warnings: adult themes/situations
Characters/Pairings: Sheridan, references to others
Summary: prompt: dim; Sheridan moans as she comes to, fights against the drugging darkness of oblivion that grasps and wrenches at her with its greedy hands.

Thud.

Thud.

Scrape.

Sheridan moans as she comes to, fights against the drugging darkness of oblivion that grasps and wrenches at her with its greedy hands. Her head feels too large, her mouth dry and cottony, her limbs disconnected from her brain.

Thud.

The noise this time is accompanied by a tickling sensation across her face, light and barely there, similar to that of an insect's crawl. Or that of a spider. The thought makes Sheridan's breath quicken, makes her sluggish heart beat accelerate. The steady, nauseating throb at Sheridan's temple becomes a constant, overpowering thing that makes opening her eyes difficult if not impossible to accomplish, and she becomes aware of her own harsh, panicked panting as the noise is repeated.

Thud. Thud. Scrape.

The tickling sensation returns, more insistent than before, and a damp, earthy smell fills Sheridan's senses, sharpens her fear-muddled brain, forces open her eyes. A scream crawls forth from her lungs, lodges in her throat, robs her of precious oxygen.

Thud.

Thud.

The wood is rough against her palms, splinter-ridden. Thin, pale shafts of twilight creep through its cracks, only to slowly disappear with each metallic scrape. A sob wells against Sheridan's lips when she recognizes the metallic scrape for what it is, catalogues the pungent smell when more earth showers down on her face, rains on her tongue. Tears slither into her hair, sting the bloody wound hidden just beneath its veil as the past minutes, hours, days come back to her. The voices bleed together, play in a constant loop of regret in her aching head.

("You'll never be her. You'll never replace my mom."; "We don't have a future, Sheridan. Surely you can see that. We're from two completely different worlds."; "Are you sure you're okay doing this alone?"; "I told you to stay out of this, Sheridan. It doesn't concern you. But you never learn.")

Thud, thud, thud.

Sheridan screams as the light grows dim, and finally, disappears.

Apparently, the only way I know to combat writer's block is to start a new story.

;)

This fic will have multiple pairings and involves most of the Passions cast, with a little heavier focus on my faves, Sheridan and Luis. It won't be the Passions you know, but hopefully, you will easily recognize the characters and they will stay true to their cores.

And, as I can't seem to write a linearly plotted storyline lately (ugh!), this fic will jump around a bit, a la Pieces of My Heart and Once Upon Another Time. If that's not something you're into, you might want to bail now. I'll try to keep the confusion to a minimum; that said, don't hesitate to contact me with your questions. Feedback is a very valuable resource, one that I absolutely treasure.

I'm still working on my other stories. Haunted is really digging its heels in and Marty won't cooperate with his POV. I'm experiencing similar problems with the rest of my stories, but please know I'm not giving up on them. It doesn't help that my focus has been divided by real-life concerns lately.

I digress...

I'm simply putting this out there in the hopes that it will get those creative juices flowing again.

Feedback would be lovely.

Please, let me know if you're interested in reading more of this.

If you are, I'm going to try to gift you with weekly(weekend) updates, and see if a schedule benefits me. Hopefully, it will, and my words won't feel so stilted and wrong for my other stories, and I'll start marking them off as completed one by one.

A girl can hope, right?

Thanks so much for reading!

I promise...future author's notes won't be quite as long.

LOL!