Just realized that for whatever reason my chapter breaks aren't posting so it might be slightly confusing when I suddenly change location or pov. Been trying to fix but it's being difficult, sorry for any mix-ups.
Again thank you to everyone who reads and comments; honestly I feel it helps me make a better story. Thank you for keeping with the story.
Also quick warning for anyone who needs it:
**This chapter contains a brief description of a panic attack and possible ptsd episode. It's not long but still felt it needed a warning. (Also, mind you, episodes like that don't go away as quickly and easily as I have them in the story. If you need info on how to deal or how to help there's lots of helpful websites or you should seek a health care specialist. I'm just a writer; don't use this chapter as a basis for how to handle a situation where an attack happens.)
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Chapter 11
Level 10: Hidden Fears
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As soon as they entered the loading area of 'Fix It Felix, Jr.', Ralph again just as gently placed Layla down on the stairs.
She was hovering over her arm, which she still clutched tightly to her body.
Ralph didn't know what to do next. He started to feel that panic rise within him again but before it could take ahole he closed his eyes and let out a calming breath.
"Layla…" he said in almost a whisper, "Layla, can I look at your arm?"
He reached out and placed his large hand softly on her shoulder. Layla slapped his hand away sharply and looked up at him; the fear still sprawled across her face.
She began to push herself back from him without breaking her petrified gaze, scooting as quickly and manically as he'd ever seen until she was pressing against the small wall that separated the middle steps from the trolley tacks.
The panic in the pit of his chest shot up again. The look on her face was something he'd never seen before.
"Layla?" he whispered trying his best not to move too quickly toward her, "Layla, it's me, Ralph…you're okay now. It's okay."
Layla's eyes remained wide for a few seconds when her breathing began to slow, turning into long drawn out gasps. She began to look around the terminal then back to Ralph, the fear in her eyes now subsiding but still very much there.
She closed her eyes and placed her hand on her face so it covered the both of them before again leaning forward and hovering over her hurt arm.
"Layla…Layla are you okay?" he asked.
She didn't say a thing, but began to nod just enough so he could see.
Just then a flash of blue light shined from the entrance to the terminal.
Ralph gave Layla another worried glance before walking over to where the surge protector stood.
"You better have something new to tell me." Ralph almost growled.
"I'm…sorry for what happened. I…I don't…this is bad here, Ralph. Things have never been this bad and I don't know what to do!"
"Well you can start by growin' a spine!" a voice ordered from around the corner.
"Now's not a good time, Calhoun." Ralph said.
"Then you two sit here and keep complainin', I've come to check on the girl."
Ralph stepped to the side, blocking her entrance into the terminal.
Calhoun was about to lay into him for blocking her path when she noticed the worry on his face.
"Layla's…I don't know what's wrong…she wasn't acting like herself." he managed to get out.
Calhoun's demeanor softened and she placed a hand on Ralph's shoulder.
"I understand. Let me talk to her." she replied, her stern voice now calm.
Ralph moved out of her way and turned back to the Surge Protector.
"I'm sorry…" the blue man said again.
"They could have deleted her…" Ralph said, the anger in his eyes still there even though his voice was now returning to normal.
"I know…I know…" was all the surge protector could say.
Layla was calmer, but she was having a hard time getting her heartbeat to slow down. She wanted to do nothing more than find a place to hide. She wanted to run, to be alone, she wanted to find someplace where she could get the voices out of her head. The accusing, hateful cries and chants from the crowd as they clawed at her clothes and skin. The looks of disgust and loathing were etched in her thoughts, bringing floods of memories she'd buried deep within. Every time she fought to get away, every time she ached with wounds from attacks, every time she feared for her life.
She began to shake, and she could feel the sweat dripping from the sides of her forehead.
'Calm down…' she thought to herself, trying her hardest to regain even the slightest composure, 'calm down…calm down.'
"Whatever you're thinking of you need to stop…" she heard a voice say in what sounded like a far distance away.
"The thoughts that keep pushing through your memory, you fight them away. Whatever you're seeing, whatever you're hearing, know that it's not happening right now. Know that it's far away and you're someplace safe, with people that care about you. Let them go."
Layla focused on what the voice was telling her. She heard them echo through her mind almost as loud as the screaming voices until they echoed over them. She began to feel her breath begin to calm and the pounding of her heart began to slow. A few moments later her shaking began to stop and the images that had only a second ago bombarded her every thought began to disappear.
She opened her eyes and looked down at her feet and legs on the stairs leading to the trolley. She lifted her hand off of her face and looked up at the person who helped to talk her back to reality.
"It's okay, Layla. You're with friends now." Calhoun reassured.
Layla let out a gasp of air she was hoping would be a 'thank you'. She choked back the lump in her throat and fought to keep the tears she could feel forming in her eyes from flooding out.
"It's okay, soldier. I've got some demons I have a hard time keeping away too."
"Thank…you…" Layla finally managed to whisper.
Calhoun smiled down at her.
"That arm's looking like it's giving you some trouble from where I'm standing. Have you had anyone take a look at it?"
Layla shook her head.
"How's it feeling?" Calhoun asked.
"It hurts..."
"You think it might be broken?"
Layla shook her head again.
"I can still move my fingers."
"Better to take a quick look." Calhoun said, kneeling down and gently taking Layla's hand, "Let's get this device of yours off."
Layla reached down and unclicked her scanner. Calhoun took off the wrist cuff Layla was wearing and ripped through the sleeve that went all the way around her hand, causing Layla to flinch once they saw what damage had been done.
Her wrist had begun to swell, taking on a mix of blotchy purples, reds, and blues. The life-gage had gone down four squares, now shining a bright yellow rather than the two shades of green they had before.
"Well, good news is I don't think it's broken, but judging by the mess of colors you're sporting you've got one heck of a sprain." Calhoun said, her coarse tone of voice returning.
Layla brought the wrist close to her again.
"Maybe Felix can help. Let's get you back into the game."
She helped Layla stand and began to head toward the trolley, before walking back over to Ralph and the surge protector.
"Hey, Wreck-it! Layla's not doing too well, we need to see if Felix can help. You comin'?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there." Ralph called back to her then returned to the surge protector, "So let me get this straight, you have no idea what caused the earthquake or that noise, and you're no closer to figuring out…anything?"
The surge protector took his glasses off and began to clean them, shaking his head in the process. The worry plastered onto his face.
"I know it's not what you want to hear, but maybe it's better for everyone if you and your friend over there stay in your game."
"Are we under in-game lockdown?" Ralph asked.
"No, not at all…it's just we don't want another panic induced riot to happen and Miss Layla is likely to be attacked again if she's with the other game characters. I just want you all to be safe."
"Wreck-it! We're going without you." Calhoun called again.
"Here I come!" he called back to Calhoun before looking at the surge protector again, "If you think it's for the best…"
"I…I'm not sure what to think. Just keep an eye on each other, okay?" the surge protector said, not waiting for Ralph to answer before disappearing in a blue flash.
Ralph didn't like what was going on at all. He turned and ran to the trolley, keeping a worried eye on Layla. He didn't want to scare her again, so he stayed quiet as the three of them rode into Fix-it Felix Jr.
"Stay here, I'll go get Felix." Calhoun said once they'd gotten Layla situated on one of the two benches on the loading deck.
Layla sat staring down at the ground, still holding her arm close to her and her scanner in her other hand.
Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, now flowing down in a mess around her face. Her clothes were ripped all over and her jacket now had a deep tear on one of her shoulders so it hung further down her arm only connected by a couple threads.
She had some scratches on her exposed skin, some of which had been bleeding slightly at one point but now just showed a deep red.
The mob had really gotten to her, and even though Ralph had managed to get there before any further damage had been done he couldn't help but feel like he was too late to actually consider it any type of rescue.
He looked away from her. He could feel the guilt welling up inside of him, but even now he didn't know what to say to help, which was all he wanted to do.
How could he have let this happen? How stupid was he to lead her into the lion's den. He should have known better than to venture into a crowd like that.
Just then Felix and Calhoun returned to the deck.
"My stars, Miss Layla! Tamara told me what happened, are you all right?"
Layla nodded listlessly.
Felix took a moment to look up at the other two, giving them a sign that he was feeling just as worried as they were.
"Might it be all right if I take a look at your wrist?" he asked.
She brought her arm out toward him. Felix let out a soft gasp when he saw how bad her sprain was but quickly returned to his sunny demeanor, if for nothing else then to not worry her any more than she must have been.
"That isn't a scratch that's for sure, but this looks like nothing my golden hammer can't handle." He said, pulling out his trusty tool from his work belt.
He brought it down onto her wrist, which made its usual melodious 'ding'. Layla winced and instinctively brought her arm back to her.
"Did it work?" Ralph asked.
Layla brought the arm back out again, the bruise still remained and her gage continued to glow yellow.
"Wh-what…" Felix stammered, "Um…mind if I try one more time, please?"
Layla brought her arm up again to let Felix try once more. Again the hammer made its usual sound and again, she winced. Her arm remained the same, which made the worry on Felix's face deepen.
"I…I've never been unable to fix anything with my hammer." He said, the worry now sounding in his voice.
"Could the thing be broken?" Calhoun asked.
Felix looked around for something that may be broken, noticing the torn state of Layla's jacket. He reached over and softly brought the hammer down against it.
Instantly the jacket flashed and returned to being good as new.
"No, it's still working just fine…but for whatever reason it doesn't work on Miss Layla's injuries."
The three stood staring at each other for a few moments. Felix's hammer had never failed before. They'd all seen it fix anything, from a broken window to a broken leg.
"I suppose the best thing to do would be to wrap it up and put some ice on it." Calhoun suggested, not knowing what else to say.
"Wait…Layla, remember when you restored your health the other day? Try putting the scanner on your other hand." Ralph said.
Layla tried to put the scanner on without using her injured arm before Felix reached over and helped her clasp it on. As soon as they had the bruise began to glow the bright yellow her gauge had been before the color turned from light green to dark again before it stopped glowing. When the light faded the bruise on her arm had disappeared and the gage was at full life and no longer flashing.
She brought the arm up and opened and shut her palm.
"Good thinking, Ralph!" Felix said, "Is it better, Miss Layla?"
She nodded, but returned to staring down at the ground.
"Um, Felix…can I talk to you for a second?" Ralph asked, motioning for him to walk with him off to the side of the loading deck.
When the two left Calhoun walked over and sat next to Layla, neither saying a word for a moment when Calhoun pulled out a small, black orb from her pocket and handed it toward the other woman.
"What's that?" Layla whispered without moving her position.
"Something to help get back to Game Central without using the Trollies." Calhoun said.
Layla looked up at Calhoun.
"Just in case you need it." She said, again motioning for Layla to take it.
Layla hesitated for a moment but eventually took it from Calhoun.
"Just push that red button on the side of it then toss it in front of you. You should be able to figure the rest out from there."
Layla didn't know what to make of the gift. Why would she ever need something like that? Why in the hell would she ever want to go back to Game Central Station?
"Listen, I know you're probably still not feeling your best, but I'm gonna need you to come to Hero's Duty, tonight. It's important."
"I...I don't think…Ralph won't…"
"Come alone…leave Wreck-it here."
Layla could feel the color leaving her face.
"Um…we're overlooked…how am I going to…"
"Well…" Calhoun said, interrupting her just as Ralph and Felix were coming back to them, "That's something you'll have to figure out, soldier. Isn't it?"
She walked away leaving Layla with the orb. Did Calhoun know that she could override the overlook ring's code? How could she have known?
Layla could feel her heartbeat begin to race again. She closed her eyes and let out a few calming breaths, which helped but not by much.
Calhoun and Felix retreated back into the building. Ralph had explained what the Surge Protector had told him so they thought it might be smart to warn the Nicelanders and make sure they stayed together.
Ralph stood off to the side of the deck. He still didn't know what to say to her. He was worried that if he talked to her again she may fall back into a panic.
He looked up at her. She was no longer covered in scratches and she looked much better than before but it was obvious it would take a while for her to be one hundred percent again.
"Um…Layla?" Ralph said as quietly as he could, "I think we should get you some rest. Come on…let's go."
Layla stood up and the two of them began to make their way back toward Ralph's small house when Layla stopped behind him.
Ralph turned to see what was wrong when Layla turned toward the pile of bricks behind his home.
Ralph paused for a moment watching her slowly make her way up the side of the large pile. He followed a few steps behind not sure what she was doing when he saw her reach the top and climb into his stump.
He stood motionless for a while when he heard her begin to softly sob from inside of it.
Ralph closed his eyes and looked away for a moment, his guilt now almost too much for him to bear.
He walked up to the top of the pile and sat down beside his stump, doing the only thing he could think to do at the moment. Give her a chance to be alone.
She had been through a lot, and he would let her have all the time she needed to feel better. He wouldn't be far.
