Chapter 7
a Narrow line, pt. 2
The world went black, and Jane could feel control slipping away. The capsules in her hand dug into her skin, inside a crescent-shaped line of nails. She used the pain to connect herself to reality, as much as was possible.
She heard a deep, steady voice from a million miles away. To her horror, she realized that she had no idea who this person was. It seemed familiar; what was his name? How did she know him…? It was a man, she knew; he was drawing her into the dream, out of her own life. Panic seized her; it tried to drown her. It was the weapon used by the monster that was gaining on her every second…
Where is his face?
Where is his face…!
Jane gasped. Back in the real world – she fervently hoped – she was suddenly cold, uncomfortable. She tried to bring her hands up to shield herself from the bright light; they were immobile. Looking down, she saw with hazy, half-blind eyes thick straps across both wrists. The restraints were so tight they were beginning to cut off her circulation; the harsh metal of her chair dug into her arms and legs, chilling her to the bone. She was starting to reconsider her hopes that this wasn't a dream.
"Jane, are you back with us?" that unrecognized voice said.
Dr. Crane, of course. It felt silly in retrospect.
Jane blinked, squinting against the painful light. "Y-yes", she croaked. How is one expected to respond to treatment like this?
Gradually, the light faded, leaving her with useful eyes once again. Dr. Crane hovered above her, unsettlingly close to her seat.
"Jane, I found your pills."
She was starting to wish he'd stop saying her name; it had some bad, unclean feeling about it. At first she didn't know what he was talking about; her empty hands, she soon realized. She looked down at her palm; empty, indeed. Only a curve of moon-shaped cuts, and a clear sticky residue. Bad news.
Jane forced herself to look up at him. Surprisingly, he seemed no colder than usual. Of course, she thought, maybe it just doesn't get colder than Crane on a good day. He was sub-zero, the most chilling wind ever to pass through her. In the face of his nuclear winter, Jane remained silent.
"Nothing to say?" he inquired. He was smug, sickeningly so, as he reached down to tighten one of her restraints. She winced at the pain. Now there was a temperature change; Jane swore she saw a glint inside him, like a fire had been lit at her expense. She stifled a gasp; even his growing heat was a deep freeze.
"Well, now. As your medication is imperative-" he produced a handy syringe at this – "I will have to ensure you take it." He leaned into her space conspiratorially, though she was sure they were alone in the room. "You know, this isn't even the last of it. I have to prepare you for the final dose."
She supposed that was good news; better than jumping right to the end-stage, in any event. She tried to calm her racing heart; anything to buy her time, how could she save herself from this? Momentarily, her mind shut down, leaving her with visions of her mother, her cat, her home; she quickly regained control, to a limited extent. There were no words in her brain, none that made sense.
Do it! Do it again! Save yourself!
Dr. Crane moved closer to her, intentionally, she was sure. He tried to appear preoccupied, but she was quite aware of his proximity, the way he forced himself into her most intimate presence. It was an affront, a deliberate recollection of the attack; laying a hand on her wrist, he turned to face her, fierce blue irises inches away from Jane's own. Jane forced herself to stay awake, widening her dark gray eyes to encompass all the consciousness the room had to offer. Her breath laboured – no, the park was coming back, the man had his hands around her throat –
"Jane", he hissed with complete confidence. The human face of Jonathan Crane flickered in and out, replaced intermittently with something infinitely more horrible. This beast, whoever he was, positively panted with excitement or exertion. Or both.
His icy hands moved up her arms, a lascivious gesture. He pressed even closer, he was sucking the air right out of her lungs –
"Did you miss me?"
A solitary, nightmarish breath later, she was on her back in the cold, wet grass. There was a man on top of her; her windpipe was collapsing under his weight. From somewhere inside, a little voice whispered that this was all a dream, a bad bad dream. And once you realize you're in a dream, Jane, you can control the whole world.
She'd settle for controlling herself at this point. The man crushing her continued to choke her senselessly, occasionally showing his face. Lucid now, Jane saw that the horror was a mask, albeit a very effective one. Her dreamy hands reached up, clawed in slow motion. Amazingly, something clicked; her fingers passed through a rough fabric, proving this imaginary. Away came the burlap, the heavy twine-stitched mouth. Underneath it all was the face of an ordinary man.
He tensed, grimaced; he didn't appear to notice the change. His efforts to ruin her went on, and Jane feared that this time, he wouldn't be stopped.
Do it! Do it again!
Jane lunged upward, feverishly, for some reason unable to use her hands now. She utilized the only weapon she had left, and from somewhere very far away, she heard a grown man scream.
There was another deep, startling sound; like the crack of thunder. Jane's eyes were still open wide; reality suddenly poured in, the dingy olive walls, the fluorescent lights buzzing in the ceiling. There was no longer any man invading her personal space; the only other person in the room stood startled against the far wall, holding his neck. His bright blue eyes were locked on her, and he was gasping now not from gratification, but from shock.
Slowly he took his hand away, seeming reluctant to look. He soon calmed; turning back to her, he showed her his relatively clean palm.
"Only saliva", Crane said, triumphant. "No blood for you this time, Jane."
Welcome back to the land of the living.
What Jane hadn't taken from him in blood, Crane would take from her in freedom, she was sure. Reality wasn't such a relief, after all.
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So that's the conclusion of Jane's most recent session. Hope you enjoyed! I love getting all the reviews you send, thanks so much for taking the time. Be assured that I intend to keep Crane in character; it's just the way I see him, myself. Thanks for all the feedback!
-nH