05-03-2014, 10:44 AM
She got Kat back to her seat, which pierced a tiny bit of relief in her concern, and Thalia promptly sat back next to her,shuffled close shoulder to shoulder. Worry pinched her brow. She didn't know what to do beyond what she had already, and her desperation for the train to get moving again was mounting. The chaos that continued around them went unnoticed, and she never wondered why everyone was pressed up against the windows. Even Dane seemed to take note eventually. If I close my eyes it'll all be gone. At Kat's croaky words her gaze wandered to the fried Wallet laying in pieces on the floor, and she suddenly remembered that she didn't even have hers with her. She was utterly adrift in this nightmare.
She pressed her head against Kat's, felt the blazing and sticky heat from her skin. It never occurred to her how overly familiar the gesture was with a stranger, or that it might be unwelcome. "My sister works at the Guardian. Not the hospital part. She helped me when." The whispered words cut clean off, and pain vibrated in her skull. "I think she can help you." Doubt tinged the hope; she wasn't sure if she was trying to give something tangible for Katya to hold onto, or if she was only trying to distract herself.
Someone started yelling, louder than all the rest; not fear, not confusion, not panic. Anger. She had a moment to feel a tremble of apprehension before the world began dissolving at its edges. Dane jerked unnaturally in her peripheral, and it felt like everything shuddered when he suddenly slammed into the side of the train. Thalia's eyes widened, but she wasn't afraid until her gaze swivelled to the man - the good samaritan man - who came charging down the isle.
Finally, unequivocally, she saw his face.
She fractured; in the maelstrom every sense lay broken, panicked, and she knew she needed to block it all out. Shut your eyes, shut it out. Her legs drew up tight, and she grabbed Kat's hand hard, shrinking back into the seat. But she couldn't look away. Horror hollowed out her gaze. That face, that face, that face. She wanted to escape, she wanted to run, but trapped in a corner the worst possible thing happened instead. It felt like warmth blooming out from her chest, filling her, buoying her - and it should have felt wonderful, but she only felt sick and afraid and lost in the brightness of the light.
She pressed her head against Kat's, felt the blazing and sticky heat from her skin. It never occurred to her how overly familiar the gesture was with a stranger, or that it might be unwelcome. "My sister works at the Guardian. Not the hospital part. She helped me when." The whispered words cut clean off, and pain vibrated in her skull. "I think she can help you." Doubt tinged the hope; she wasn't sure if she was trying to give something tangible for Katya to hold onto, or if she was only trying to distract herself.
Someone started yelling, louder than all the rest; not fear, not confusion, not panic. Anger. She had a moment to feel a tremble of apprehension before the world began dissolving at its edges. Dane jerked unnaturally in her peripheral, and it felt like everything shuddered when he suddenly slammed into the side of the train. Thalia's eyes widened, but she wasn't afraid until her gaze swivelled to the man - the good samaritan man - who came charging down the isle.
Finally, unequivocally, she saw his face.
She fractured; in the maelstrom every sense lay broken, panicked, and she knew she needed to block it all out. Shut your eyes, shut it out. Her legs drew up tight, and she grabbed Kat's hand hard, shrinking back into the seat. But she couldn't look away. Horror hollowed out her gaze. That face, that face, that face. She wanted to escape, she wanted to run, but trapped in a corner the worst possible thing happened instead. It felt like warmth blooming out from her chest, filling her, buoying her - and it should have felt wonderful, but she only felt sick and afraid and lost in the brightness of the light.
![[Image: thal-banner-scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thal-banner-scaled.jpg)