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-Awakenings-

-Chapter 6-

By now it was dark. The darkness wasn't a bad thing, it just brought with it bad memories; things that haunt me when I try to sleep at night.

My name is Terra. I have done very bad things. I have killed. I have maimed. I have hurt. I destroyed my family and my home. All because I lack control.

I once had a loving family. Two parents; unafraid to take their daughter to the zoo. Two parents; unafraid to take their daughter to the park to play. But one day, there was one parent, and he was confused and lost. The brother I had was gone, the mother I had was gone, and I took my anger out on everything. I lost control.

And now they're gone.

Everywhere I go, darkness follows, haunting memories of the lives I've taken or the people that I have hurt. I bottle it up, and swallow the bitter pill and smile when the sun rises every day.

And now more darkness follows me, it is the pain of Slade. The hurt I caused because I let him control me. He said he could help me, but instead, I helped him. And now I must live with this pain. I had control, but he controlled me. He controlled me totally; he used me, and abused me. I was his pawn in his sick game. I thought I beat him, thought I destroyed him, but that is not true.

His anger still follows me. His pain still haunts me. The torment of the nights spent in his lair, forced into doing things I did not want to do. This all haunts me. It follows me until daylight comes.

Then I can awaken. Then I can smile.

But the nights are always the same.

'You will do as I say, Terra.' Slade said his voice slick with plans to make me pay. 'Otherwise, you will be punished.'

I said nothing, I did not look at him, and I just nursed the bruise that was forming gently. He walked over, reached down and pulled my chin up. I still did not look him in the eyes. He leaned close and pressed his lips against mine.

'It is not bad, my sweet Terra.'

I shuddered hard as the memories came back. Sitting upright on the couch at Static's house, I looked around in the darkness. The TV was nearby, the windows open and a cool breeze coming in. I got up and moved towards the window, the breeze felt good. I was wearing a camisole and a pair of pajama pants I borrowed from Sharon. They were hopelessly large. I wrapped my arms around myself and shut my eyes tight against the thoughts of how Slade had used my body.

There was the slight noise of something outside. I looked, but saw nothing. Shrugging it off, I went back to the couch and tried to sleep.

Sleep, a novel idea.

The morning came bright and crisp. Static tried to be quiet coming down the stairs but failed at it, waking me suddenly. I got maybe a few hours of sleep between being tormented by dreams. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and smiled.

"Morning Virgil." I smiled, burying the pain of last night deep in my soul.

He yawned widely, "Morning Terra. Sleep well?"

"Oh yes," I lied, "Thank you very much."

"You up for pancakes?" He asked, making his way to the kitchen. He pulled out the eggs, milk and Bisquick.

"Sure!" I followed him and helped him out by frying up some bacon and sausage. The smell of breakfast brought his sister downstairs. This morning was spent, surprisingly, without argument. Obviously, it started when it came time to get ready for the day. As they bickered, I slipped back into my clothes and then outside and went back to the place that Gear and Static called their headquarters. Gear was already there.

"You couldn't sleep last night?" He asked, "How come?"

"Things in my past," I looked down. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it."

"That's alright," He smiled, "If you need to talk, I'm here. But other than that, everything else okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. I really want to get back." I sat down on the floor and looked up at him.

"So you can find answers?" He smiled soothingly.

"Yeah, I just need to get some answers. Like why I have awakened." I smiled, pulling my knees close to my body.

"You look really tired. Why don't you try taking a nap?" Gear smiled. "Static shouldn't be by for at least another half and hour."

"I might." I stretched out on the floor; it was rather cool, but felt good. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind of anything.

Nothing happened but calm sleep.

Gear woke me up about an hour later when Static got in. My communicator was sitting next to me.

"You know, I think I'm going to make it back to the city by myself." I smiled, sitting up. "I've been running on my own for a while."

"Really? You sure you're gonna be okay?" Static asked.

"Yeah, I think I have enough money to get by. The trip shouldn't be too far." I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Here." Gear reached into his pocket and handed me some cash. "Just in case."

"Thanks." I said. "Could you just point me in the right direction?"

"Sure, follow us." Static and Gear left.