Welcome, Friends, to the prison of the mind. Can you tell the difference between fantasy and reality?
What Lies Are Told?
By Eleven-oh-One
*Begin Awakening*
"G'bye, Jenni! See ya tonight!"
"Bye, Raye!"
I raced down the sidewalk towards the mall. The girls and I were going shopping today; a blissfully normal activity. I stepped into the artificially chilled air of the mall and started towards the food court, where I could see Lita, Serena, and Amy sitting at a table, laughing. I raised my hand to wave, and opened my mouth to call out when something happened that made me and the other hundred and fifty people milling around me scream and hit the floor.
At first, I wasn't sure what had happened, but I saw a man standing in the middle of the shaken crowd waving a gun and telling us all to "shut up and stay still or I'll shoot you!". A single shot into the air was all he had needed to cause the panicked reaction. I sat, eyes wide, with my back against a planter. I was so scared I couldn't move, despite the fact that I had faced worse things in my time as Sailor Mars.
Lita caught my eye underneath the maze of tables and motioned slightly with her transformation pen. I shook my head. There was no way we could transform in front of all these people, much less a guy with a gun.
Somebody near the guy shifted, and he swung around to point the gun at them. Lita, who was closer than I was, looked suddenly petrified. I could see both her and Amy stiffen. The gun had to be pointed at either Mina or Serena.
I'm not sure what came over the guy in front of me. Maybe he was trying to be macho; maybe he was trying to scare the gunman into leaving. Whatever the reason, he picked up a ball of tinfoil and threw it at the shooter. The shooter must have been nervous, because he jerked violently when the ball hit him in the leg. And that jerk was enough to set the gun off.
Amidst the frightened screams, I could hear a girl - Ami - screaming an almost inhuman scream. The shooter dropped his gun and fled in panic. I jumped up and ran towards where the gunman had been standing, finally seeing Mina, quivering near a tray of spilt food. I stopped. Serena lay next to Mina, a hole through her forehead. For a moment, I was silent, unable to react. Then, I began laughing. Uncontrollably. Lita came, grabbed my shoulders, slapped me, told me to get ahold of myself while tears streamed unheeded down her cheeks.
And I laughed.
I was still laughing when the paramedics arrived.
I only stopped when they sedated me.
*Awakening Complete*
What Lies Are Told?
By Eleven-oh-One
*Begin Awakening*
"G'bye, Jenni! See ya tonight!"
"Bye, Raye!"
I raced down the sidewalk towards the mall. The girls and I were going shopping today; a blissfully normal activity. I stepped into the artificially chilled air of the mall and started towards the food court, where I could see Lita, Serena, and Amy sitting at a table, laughing. I raised my hand to wave, and opened my mouth to call out when something happened that made me and the other hundred and fifty people milling around me scream and hit the floor.
At first, I wasn't sure what had happened, but I saw a man standing in the middle of the shaken crowd waving a gun and telling us all to "shut up and stay still or I'll shoot you!". A single shot into the air was all he had needed to cause the panicked reaction. I sat, eyes wide, with my back against a planter. I was so scared I couldn't move, despite the fact that I had faced worse things in my time as Sailor Mars.
Lita caught my eye underneath the maze of tables and motioned slightly with her transformation pen. I shook my head. There was no way we could transform in front of all these people, much less a guy with a gun.
Somebody near the guy shifted, and he swung around to point the gun at them. Lita, who was closer than I was, looked suddenly petrified. I could see both her and Amy stiffen. The gun had to be pointed at either Mina or Serena.
I'm not sure what came over the guy in front of me. Maybe he was trying to be macho; maybe he was trying to scare the gunman into leaving. Whatever the reason, he picked up a ball of tinfoil and threw it at the shooter. The shooter must have been nervous, because he jerked violently when the ball hit him in the leg. And that jerk was enough to set the gun off.
Amidst the frightened screams, I could hear a girl - Ami - screaming an almost inhuman scream. The shooter dropped his gun and fled in panic. I jumped up and ran towards where the gunman had been standing, finally seeing Mina, quivering near a tray of spilt food. I stopped. Serena lay next to Mina, a hole through her forehead. For a moment, I was silent, unable to react. Then, I began laughing. Uncontrollably. Lita came, grabbed my shoulders, slapped me, told me to get ahold of myself while tears streamed unheeded down her cheeks.
And I laughed.
I was still laughing when the paramedics arrived.
I only stopped when they sedated me.
*Awakening Complete*