Bereft
She is stuck, trapped. Not in a box or by chains. Frozen. Her legs straight and stiff, back the same, arms hanging limply at her sides. Her eyes are the only part of her outer body that moves. They glare around franticly for an escape. The throbbing that had punctured her head for almost two hours is now all around her in the darkness. She can feel the intensity but not see it.
She can feel a presence enter what ever void she is in. It is behind her, coming closer. The next thing she knows the throbbing is gone, but it was replaced with something worst. What walks towards her is the source of her dull pain, but now it burning and mixing with feelings of immediate and unrelenting trepidation. Within seconds it is right behind her, no heat comes off the shape, as if is not even real. The form soon wraps its arms around her; both at the torso. Its head rests at her cheek, almost touching. She gags and gives all her strength into her extremities, but nothing works. She is stuck, trapped.
The portentous figure dips its head to the crook in her neck, tightening its grip, and inhales deeply. A 'mmm' noise roars in it's chest and larynx. It lifts it's heavy head and put it's mouth to her ear, kissing it twice before whispering in a low, honeyed voice, "Killer."
Ororo was broken out of her nightmare as she crashed onto the floor, gasping for air. She was drenched with sweat, her eyes were pricked with tears and she felt as if she stifled a scream. Outside the winds were howling with the attachment to its mistress. What…what was…that? Were the only words she could formulate in her mind. Ororo looked at the crescent moon, she assumed it was around three thirty.
There was no way she could go back to sleep after that and she was too tired to do work, so there was only one logical option: ride. The wind rider rode the winds for what felt like an eternity. The joy and freedom she felt at not having to worry about anything was exhilarating and calming, simultaneously. As the sun broke the horizon, Ororo felt as if it was time to return but as she neared her open balcony doors she couldn't bring herself to enter, as if the memory of the dream was physically stopping her. She flew down to the front door, entered her code and walked to the kitchen. As she retrieved the Phish Food from the freezer, she knew she would have to resolve the issue of Logan, and the best way to do that was to see him.
Before Ororo pulled off the lid she decided to go down to the med-lab. So she put the ice cream back and strolled down the stairs, taking her time, trying to think what to do. But she reached her destination sooner than expected and before her, under a soft white quilt was Logan.
Taken by instinct, Ororo walked slowly over to her fallen comrade. She didn't register that they were alone in the room; her eyes transfixed on Logan. His skin was almost perfectly healed. The majority of it was back to its normal colour, but she knew there would be a foreboding wound hidden beneath a layer of bandages.
Ororo was beside Logan now, she reached out her hand to his arm, flinching away ever so slightly, but continued until she gripped his forearm.
"Logan." She whispered, her hand travelling down to his. "Logan, I am sorry, so sorry." She started carefully, raising her voice just above a whisper. Ororo slid down into a chair by his bed and pulled it closer. She caressed the back of his hand with her thumb and spoke again. "I thought you w-. There is no excuse for what I did, how can there be. You needed help, someone to get you out of Red. But I did not do that, I used force and I almost got you killed. You…" she choked, again tears stung her swirling blue eyes. "You almost died and it was my fault. My fault. It always seems to be. I will not ask for your forgiveness, I do not deserve it." The tears cascaded down her face, river upon river falling onto Logan arm. She had enough restraint to keep the heavens form opening and pouring her pain onto the entirety of New York. "I only came to say I am sorry Logan." As if that sentence took the last of her energy, Ororo leaned forward and fell asleep, her head rested on Logan's arm. In her sleep she tightened her grip of his hand and murmured, "I'm so sorry, Logan."
When he heard the deep slow breathes of the woman by his side, his eyes surged open and looked at her. He pushed back her hair with his free hand and stroked her cheek. He heard every word.
"…dy, I'm fine." Growled a voice.
"If that were true your wound would be entirely heal and as I'm sure you can see it's not." Said a voice higher in pitch.
"You know what, I don't care, I'm getting' outta this place." There was a shuffling noise as the growling man removed something.
"Logan if I have…" Ororo blinked her eyes open and stared at the scene in front of her. Logan was getting out the bed; a pair of boxers was his only coverings and Jean was trying her hardest to keep him in. She shuffled in her upright position making the two people turn to face her.
"Morning, Ororo." Jean greeted as she dropped her hands by her sides.
"Good morning, Jean. Good morning, Logan, I hope your health returns to you." And with that she glided out, pushing up her calm façade.
"Sorry Logan." The redhead pushed out solemnly.
"Hnh?" he looked at her confused.
"Ororo." She said, not meeting his gaze.
"What about her?" he asked gruffly.
"I didn't think you'd want her in here." It was hard for her to admit, but she was angry at Ororo. Not enraged to a dangerous point, more like annoyed that she couldn't have done something else to restrain Wolverine.
"What?" he was still confused.
"After what happened yesterday, I thought you'd be angry at her." She explained.
"Leave it out, Red. 'Ro did what she had to do, if she hadn't, I probably woulda killed ya all. You guys should be thankin' her, not shunnin' her if that's what you're thinking of doin'."
Jean was stunned that Logan was defending Ororo, the feral man was actual showing another emotion besides anger. He had come to them almost five years ago and in that time, though he had a few more emotions that just anger, it was usually to a diminutive degree, but just now he was eliciting deep concern.
"OK, Logan." After a moment she said, "But you've still on bed rest, in here, until I deem otherwise. Understood?"
"Yeah whatever, Red." He grumbled as he lay back down on the bed, but did not cover himself again. Jean sighed to herself and walk out of the med-lab towards the elevator. She stood in front of it, pressed the button once, than twice for good measure and looked down at her notes of Logan's chart; he would be out by midday tomorrow if not sooner. Jean was tired, but when the lift didn't arrive she frustratingly decided to take the stairs.
Travelling up Jean saw the figure of Ororo curled up in a ball, leaning against the wall, she immediately ran to her friend to ask her friend what was wrong, but Ororo answered the unasked question first.
"I am alright Jean, I just do not think the students would appreciate me walked up to my room in just a nightdress. I am going to wait until lessons start again." Ororo had lifted her head and was smiling at her best friend as she spoke, but if the smile had been fake, she couldn't tell.
"Oh honey, I can go up to your room and get some of your clothes for you if you like." Jean said in a kind voice, kneeling next to the sitting form.
"Do not worry yourself on my account Jean, go and do want you need to." She replied.
"Only if your sure 'Ro, it would only take a minute."
"No, go. I will be fine." She replied clutching the younger woman's shoulder.
"Alright." Jean returned the smile and kissed her sister's cheek. Standing up Jean moved onto the ground floor, looking back once. She sighed as she passed through the door, Ororo needed to talk about what happened, but she would choose who she confide in as well as the place and time. And if this wasn't it, it wasn't it.
Liar, Ororo chided herself as Jean left. She hadn't been lying, parse, more like not telling the whole truth. She hadn't wanted the children to see her in her nightdress, but she also needed some time alone, think everything through. What was that dream about and why had it had such an affect on her? How would she get through this? These questions and more posed in her mind.
You'll get though it how you always do, Ororo. She stood up and straightened herself, sensing that lunch was nearly over and the students would be returning to their classrooms. She waited until she was sure that none of them would be in the halls then crept out onto the ground floor, then floated up to her room, not seeing a soul.
Ororo stayed in her room the rest of the day, first laying down and reading a book cover to cover, she had read it before so it only took a few hours. Then she rushed down to the kitchen and picked up a salad and orange juice before the students arrived there. The next thing she decided to do was take a nice long bath. She had put up some dark linen at her windows to create a night time effect, even though it was practically dusk, and lay a dozen lit candle around the bathroom and closed the door.
I hope no one will interrupt me. She thought as she climbed into her vanilla scented bubble bath. Normally she didn't use the bath, preferring either to have a shower or bathe in the river, but today she felt as if the bath was comforting. Ororo thought of all the fond memories she had with the grumbling feral know as Logan, smiling to herself as she breathed in the heavenly scents. Gradually Ororo drifted off into a dreamless sleep, but that was to change, rather abruptly.
This dream is almost exactly like the one before; she is bound in a void, bound by spectral adhesives. And again, a strong foreboding presence comes up behind her, but this time it is more intense. The pain and burly emotions that lance through her is almost enough to make her move. Almost. But the gangly arms again encase her. The heavy head again sits next to her cheek, almost touching. But it is not the end like it had the night before.
The hands caress her stomach as a lover would, but all she wants to do was recoil away from the contact. The hands move around more and more until they start travelling up her body. She gags and thinks she might vomit, but something stops her. The left hand goes back down to encompass her stomach again while the right hand continues to ascend. It stops in the middle of her chest, but for unknown reasons, it continues to rise, she is exultant now but it will not last.
It opens its sordid orifice and grips her lobe in it's fangs. The sickening tongue lashes at her earlobe, sending more sizzling pain running through her. The tongue then somehow wraps around the part of her body it was just licking and starts to suck the life out of it, lathering it in slimy saliva. She feels herself scream, but there is no sound, only the feeling that she cannot breath and is about to die. An oily digit falls under her jaw, the fangs hold her lobe but the tongue stills.
"Mine." It says before the finger pushes up until a click resounds in the void and a searing agony erupts throughout her body.
Ororo woke in torture, something was being stuffed into her mouth, she couldn't breathe. Only moments before unconsciousness and certain death took her, she realized she was still in the bath so she pushed herself out and onto the stone floor with all her strength. She gasped for breath and chocked up a hefty amount of water. Cough after cough came her way and though she tried to fight it, the realm of unconsciousness took her. But not again to see the figure in her recent nightmares.
