It's the end of the school day and I can barely drag myself through the hallways. My body feels like it is becoming paralyzed and yet it still follows every command. After Jean left me, I was too exhausted to travel through time to somewhere else. Now, I just feel like fast forwarding to a time when I don't feel this bad. I feel stoned and teachers standing in their doorways look at me like they think I am, but are afraid to turn me in and ruin my high school career.
I shuffle clumsily down about half the stone steps in front of the school before I plop down and just sit, trying to regain some strength. I rest my head on my knees, then peek up briefly to see Jean and Scott waiting, as promised, in a bright red convertible. They're pretending not to notice me as they converse, killing time to see what I do.
"Hey, Kiera, are you coming?" Pietro calls as he jogs past with Lance and Tabitha.
"Uh, yeah," I answer, shoving myself unsteadily to my feet. They continue on ahead without so much as a pause to wait for me. I think I'll just let them bring the jeep around. Slowly, I descend another step and swallow hard as another wave of nausea floods over me. I crash to my knees, which hurts like hell since I'm on concrete stairs, and attempt to brace my fall with my hands. I can tell I'm about to hurl and I heave once trying to keep it down.
Oh, god. - anything to get away from here. I can see out the corner of my eye that Jean and Scott have opened the doors of the car and are now standing, trying to see if I'm alright. I shift my weight to my left hand and fumble with my right, struggling vainly to form a now familiar marble of light, but to no avail. Only the transparent outline of an amethyst sphere flickers a moment and then dies before it can become solid. I can't force myself to concentrate; my head keeps swirling. I heave again, choking.
"Kiera!"
My eyes roll back in my head for an instant and then refocus as I discern two strong hands lifting me from the ground and steadying me with the help of two more. Absently, I wonder where Lance is with the jeep and why they don't come get me and take me home as I am helped into the backseat of the convertible.
"No..." I moan quietly, curling up. I wince as a sharp pain fleetingly stabs between my eyes.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jean asks worriedly.
"I don't know. We've got to get her to the professor – fast!"
"I wish Kurt were here. He could save us the extra ten minutes of driving."
"Don't worry. Professor X will know what to do and – What's wrong with her!" He whirls around briefly in time to see me convulse, then has to redirect his attention to the road. I hiss in a breath – my skull feels like it's on fire and my body isn't getting enough oxygen. Every vein in my body is screaming for air and constricting as if they can force me to breath deeper instead of shallower.
"Oww..." Jean can clearly see unmasked fear in my eyes as I lock them with hers. She shifts so that she's leaning over the back rest and brushes my forehead lightly with her fingertips. She winces.
"We're almost there. Everything will be alright. We have medical equipment to help you. Hang on..." Her words meld together and become indiscernible as I shriek once in agony and throw out a violent orb of deep violet light. Why it is no longer white, I cannot say, but a second later, all I see is a bright flash and then nothing.
The darkness engulfs me. I should be afraid still. But I'm not. After all, I no longer feel that blinding, searing pain in my head. Instead I feel... content. Peaceful. And, in some strange way, happy. It's almost as though I'm experiencing a past feeling – a memory. I relax into it, surprised when the ebony fog begins to lift.
A bright, fluid whiteness surrounds me – or my ethereal self anyway – and replaces the black. The sensation is not unlike floating up from the depths of murky waters. Shortly, the dark is simply part of the past, not a trace left.
I stand – although it feels like floating – alone in the vastness. There are no walls, no floor, no ceiling, no door. Not even a corner to huddle in, creating the false pretense of safety. I feel exposed, as though standing naked for all the world to see. And yet, I am utterly alone. Isolated. The concept does nothing for my once calmed nerves. I begin to panic and so, I start to walk.
I have no idea where I'm going. I just have the need to do something, to move about – anything – to keep my mind off of what is happening. I have no idea why I am here. In fact, most of my memories seem to be vanishing. One by one. As soon as I think of something, the notion is swiftly whisked away to the darkened abyss I previously exited. My sanity is on the brink of destruction as I wonder if they will be lost forever, leaving me to wander mindlessly here in empyreal form for all eternity.
Then, I run into a barrier. Not visible, of course, but still there in all its camouflaged whiteness. I can tell by the way my face is smashed against it. So there are limits here. Does that not also mean there would be a way out? There must be! Even the Château d'If had an escape route. Encouraged, I begin to explore the wall with my fingertips.
"Hello?"
"Eep!" I shriek, whirling and pressing my back against the wall, startled.
PLOOP! A tiny purple sphere falls to the ground, jettisoned from my palm as I bring my hand up to survey from where the word came. It hits the ground and lingers for an instant before being absorbed in the milky light.
"Ma chère, are you alright? What brings you to this humble abode?"