The darkness lifts and for a moment, I wrongfully believe I'm free of the
evil grasp holding so tightly to me. Its cold fingers tighten around my
throat, cutting off my air. Yet, I am still breathing. Sharp claws scratch
at my body as if trying to pull me deeper into this nightmarish place. The
black cloud descends again and I'm suspended in its nadir, frantically
searching for a way out.
"Who are you?" I scream desperately, feeling every ounce of myself tingling with an odd sensation I've never felt before - and never wish to feel again.
Yellow eyes flash before me and I begin to weaken. I cry out and try to force my gaze away from them, but I'm riveted to their hypnotic glare.
"Why, Tin-Tin, how terrible of you not to remember," the eyes say to me. The voice surrounds me, holding me in. A cynical laugh follows and I force myself not to cringe. It's like fingernails on a blackboard, piercing through my mind and aggravating the far corners of my brain.
When I don't respond, the eyes narrow, shining even brighter in anger. "You foolish girl!"
"I am not foolish," I murmur, calling forth all resolve I can. Steely determination floods through my veins and I manage to blink, loosening his hold on me.
It's only seconds before he's gripping me tighter. So tight, I yell in pain, feeling as though my head is going to cave in at any minute.
"What do you want with me?" I ask, despite the fact that I already know. There's only one thing he could want. . .
"I want the secrets of International Rescue!" The words snap through the shadows and I can almost hear the wicked wheels in his head turning behind the eyes.
"Then why do you need me?"
"Your stupid father won't help me."
The way the eyes blaze will be forever fixed in my memory as I try to pull myself out of this nightmare. "Why not?" With every question I speak against him, I feel myself becoming stronger. All I have to do is keep him talking.
"Shut up!" He howls, reminding me of a pack of wolves serenading the night. His voice is not nearly as tranquil a sound.
I shrink back, my muscles refusing to stay tense and alert. He's got me right where he wants me, and I know it.
"Where is International Rescue's base?" He asks, eyes holding me as all sense of control deserts me.
"I'm not. . .telling you," I gasp, emitting a loud groan of pain.
The eyes draw closer, boring into me. "Speak, Tin-Tin! Tell me!"
"No!" I cry, pulling air into my lungs. He'll never get answers out of me, no matter what he does.
His eyes spark furiously against the obscure backdrop. It's easy to tell I've angered him, and for a moment I feel pleased. Until I hear his next threat.
"Once I get what I want from you, I will kill you. You, and all your stupid little friends!"
"You would never. . .succeed," I manage to whisper, my head throbbing at the intensity of his stare.
"Just watch me."
Then I'm slipping. . .slipping out of the trance, falling away from the eyes. They fade out and I come to, looking up at an off-white ceiling that surprises me.
Why am I in the sick bay? I can't remember a thing. The only reminder of my time unconscious is the aching of my head. Words are a jumble in my brain and I fight to keep my heart rate down so Brains won't fuss over me. I can hear him tapping away on the computer at the other side of the room.
I groan tiredly, the fog lifting off my thoughts as I turn on my side to look out the window. The scene outside doesn't help to ease the pain - the night is just as black as the world of nothingness I've just awakened from.
"Brains?" I mutter, turning my head to look at him as I rest my head on one arm.
He's by my side in an instant, the computer forgotten. "Tin-Tin, are you uh, all r-right?"
I shake my head and immediately stop at the excruciating headache it brings to the surface. "Do you have some aspirin or something?"
Brains nods and brings me some pills and a glass of water. Thankfully, I take them and gulp down the water, my parched throat sighing in relief. Almost straight away I feel better and the pain subsides a great deal. "Thanks, Brains."
He smiles in what seems to be relief as the color returns to my face. "You're w-welcome."
"What happened to me?" I wonder, watching the expression on his face as he realizes I have no idea what occurred.
"You d-don't remember?"
I shake my head once again, thankful not to feel like there's an earthquake taking place inside it.
"I'm not quite uh, s-s-sure what happened, Tin-Tin. I've b-been running some tests while y-you were sleeping and er, everything appears to be n- normal."
"But people don't black out if everything's normal." I wrinkle my forehead in confusion.
He sighs quietly, perplexed. "I d-don't understand it. B-But you're in uh, perfect physical h-health."
I lean back against the pillows tiredly. "How long was I out?"
Brains checks his watch. "About t-two hours."
"Two hours?" I exclaim. It felt like mere minutes, seconds even. Two hours? Impossible!
He nods and goes back to his computer, looking through my medical records to see if there's any explanation for the sudden attack.
Attack. Something clicks in my head at the word and I remember my father. His symptoms are so similar to mine it begins to frighten me. Could I have inherited some type of fainting disease?
No, I decide. If there was any such thing, my father had only begun to exhibit these signs in the last few years. Surely it'd be years before I followed in his footsteps - that is, if he had passed some kind of virus down to me at all. It was a slim to none chance, but at least it was an explanation. By this time, I was ready to believe someone had hit me over the head with a frying pan. Anything to clarify what had happened.
I watch Brains for a while, knowing exactly what he's doing. We update all the Tracy's records every time something happens to them, International Rescue related or not. That way, we can refer to the notes if a relapse occurs or we need to know who was the last one with a broken bone. Surprisingly, the boys love trying to top their brothers in absolutely everything - including the amount of times they've broken their wrists.
The clicking of the keys turns into a drone as I let my eyes fall shut, allowing the sound to lull me into a dreamless sleep.
"Who are you?" I scream desperately, feeling every ounce of myself tingling with an odd sensation I've never felt before - and never wish to feel again.
Yellow eyes flash before me and I begin to weaken. I cry out and try to force my gaze away from them, but I'm riveted to their hypnotic glare.
"Why, Tin-Tin, how terrible of you not to remember," the eyes say to me. The voice surrounds me, holding me in. A cynical laugh follows and I force myself not to cringe. It's like fingernails on a blackboard, piercing through my mind and aggravating the far corners of my brain.
When I don't respond, the eyes narrow, shining even brighter in anger. "You foolish girl!"
"I am not foolish," I murmur, calling forth all resolve I can. Steely determination floods through my veins and I manage to blink, loosening his hold on me.
It's only seconds before he's gripping me tighter. So tight, I yell in pain, feeling as though my head is going to cave in at any minute.
"What do you want with me?" I ask, despite the fact that I already know. There's only one thing he could want. . .
"I want the secrets of International Rescue!" The words snap through the shadows and I can almost hear the wicked wheels in his head turning behind the eyes.
"Then why do you need me?"
"Your stupid father won't help me."
The way the eyes blaze will be forever fixed in my memory as I try to pull myself out of this nightmare. "Why not?" With every question I speak against him, I feel myself becoming stronger. All I have to do is keep him talking.
"Shut up!" He howls, reminding me of a pack of wolves serenading the night. His voice is not nearly as tranquil a sound.
I shrink back, my muscles refusing to stay tense and alert. He's got me right where he wants me, and I know it.
"Where is International Rescue's base?" He asks, eyes holding me as all sense of control deserts me.
"I'm not. . .telling you," I gasp, emitting a loud groan of pain.
The eyes draw closer, boring into me. "Speak, Tin-Tin! Tell me!"
"No!" I cry, pulling air into my lungs. He'll never get answers out of me, no matter what he does.
His eyes spark furiously against the obscure backdrop. It's easy to tell I've angered him, and for a moment I feel pleased. Until I hear his next threat.
"Once I get what I want from you, I will kill you. You, and all your stupid little friends!"
"You would never. . .succeed," I manage to whisper, my head throbbing at the intensity of his stare.
"Just watch me."
Then I'm slipping. . .slipping out of the trance, falling away from the eyes. They fade out and I come to, looking up at an off-white ceiling that surprises me.
Why am I in the sick bay? I can't remember a thing. The only reminder of my time unconscious is the aching of my head. Words are a jumble in my brain and I fight to keep my heart rate down so Brains won't fuss over me. I can hear him tapping away on the computer at the other side of the room.
I groan tiredly, the fog lifting off my thoughts as I turn on my side to look out the window. The scene outside doesn't help to ease the pain - the night is just as black as the world of nothingness I've just awakened from.
"Brains?" I mutter, turning my head to look at him as I rest my head on one arm.
He's by my side in an instant, the computer forgotten. "Tin-Tin, are you uh, all r-right?"
I shake my head and immediately stop at the excruciating headache it brings to the surface. "Do you have some aspirin or something?"
Brains nods and brings me some pills and a glass of water. Thankfully, I take them and gulp down the water, my parched throat sighing in relief. Almost straight away I feel better and the pain subsides a great deal. "Thanks, Brains."
He smiles in what seems to be relief as the color returns to my face. "You're w-welcome."
"What happened to me?" I wonder, watching the expression on his face as he realizes I have no idea what occurred.
"You d-don't remember?"
I shake my head once again, thankful not to feel like there's an earthquake taking place inside it.
"I'm not quite uh, s-s-sure what happened, Tin-Tin. I've b-been running some tests while y-you were sleeping and er, everything appears to be n- normal."
"But people don't black out if everything's normal." I wrinkle my forehead in confusion.
He sighs quietly, perplexed. "I d-don't understand it. B-But you're in uh, perfect physical h-health."
I lean back against the pillows tiredly. "How long was I out?"
Brains checks his watch. "About t-two hours."
"Two hours?" I exclaim. It felt like mere minutes, seconds even. Two hours? Impossible!
He nods and goes back to his computer, looking through my medical records to see if there's any explanation for the sudden attack.
Attack. Something clicks in my head at the word and I remember my father. His symptoms are so similar to mine it begins to frighten me. Could I have inherited some type of fainting disease?
No, I decide. If there was any such thing, my father had only begun to exhibit these signs in the last few years. Surely it'd be years before I followed in his footsteps - that is, if he had passed some kind of virus down to me at all. It was a slim to none chance, but at least it was an explanation. By this time, I was ready to believe someone had hit me over the head with a frying pan. Anything to clarify what had happened.
I watch Brains for a while, knowing exactly what he's doing. We update all the Tracy's records every time something happens to them, International Rescue related or not. That way, we can refer to the notes if a relapse occurs or we need to know who was the last one with a broken bone. Surprisingly, the boys love trying to top their brothers in absolutely everything - including the amount of times they've broken their wrists.
The clicking of the keys turns into a drone as I let my eyes fall shut, allowing the sound to lull me into a dreamless sleep.