Waking into a cruel world.

[DuskRaven]

Sleep came the most difficult that night to the young mother of two who had just had a wonderful evening with her husband while her children were away at a camp for the summer. It was like the sleep knew what was about to happen and wanted to give her a little bit of extra time with everyone she loved the most. But her wish did not last for long for eventually she fell asleep.

Groggily Clarisse opened her eyes and looked around her. It was no longer her room. She was surrounded machines and she couldn't remember how she had gotten there. Sitting up, she felt something pull out of her arm and she looked over to see a piece of tape hold a needle that had slipped out to her skin. Reaching up, she pulled the various cords off her body, setting off different alarms on different machines. This didn't make any sense to the young woman that just wanted to go back to her family.

She weakly pulled her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself off the bed. Only the feet that had treated her so nicely up to this point in her life decided to give out at that moment from lack of use. She went tumbling into the curtain that cut her part of the room from the rest of it. She grabbed it to try and keep from falling but her hand only grasped around it. She let out a cry as she went tumbling to the ground. None of her body seemed to feel right either.

Clarisse looked around in hopes of getting someone to help her up. "Is anyone else in here?" She called--or at least tried to. her throat felt as if it hadn't been used in ages and the words came out in barely over a whisper. No one would hear her over the buzzing of the machines. What is going on?!

((Hope this is okay with you Pilot :) If you need me to add anything just tell me~))

 

[Pilot]

It felt hopeless, visiting a coma patient.

For all he knew, it could be pointless. He had heard all kinds of stories about what it was like to be in a coma. Some people said that they could hear it when people spoke to them. Some people said it was like some weird, cruel dream. Some people said it was almost literally choosing between life and death.

Gabriel always thought it was harder for him; for anyone who is friend or family to the victim. At least the comatose patient looked peaceful as they were. Families were often put on hold to deal with the damage done, everyone just hanging on, trying to preserve the same old environment for when, or if, their loved one would awaken, in a sad hope that everything would just be the same.

He knew it never would be the same. It was never that easy. He looked down at his twin brother who lay on the bed in front of him. Gabriel was almost always there, now, even as his family slowly gave up on the idea of his twin waking up any time soon. Every day, for hours on end, he sat by the bed, just hoping that something would change. The pair were like any set of twins, between them, a connection unlike any normal pair of siblings. Ever since the accident, Gabriel had felt like half of him was missing, that such a huge part of him was gone that he just couldn't function anymore.

He dropped out of school the day after the accident. He said that he needed to spend all the time that he could with his brother, he said that it would be insane for his parents to expect him to just be alright after what happened, he said that it did not matter, anyways. It was all a very poor excuse. But at least it was an excuse. It seemed his entire life was an excuse, now.

From behind the curtain that barely provided separation between the beds, he heard a feminine yelp, and a bunch of machines making noises that they normally would not. After a moment of hesitation, he peeked around the curtain to find the formerly comatose girl in a heap on the ground. Not entirely aware of himself, a few quick strides led Gabriel to the girl, and he knelt down next to her, speaking softly, gently, "Are you alright? Would you like me to help you up before I go get help?"

 

[DuskRaven]

Clarisse jerked when she noticed that a young man was kneeling next to her. Who was he? It didn't make sense. But he was asking her if she wanted help, and she did. The dream was still so fresh in her mind that she could hardly remember anything else. But she remembered kindness and she nodded. "Please," she whispered.

All she knew was that her body wasn't working right; that her body wasn't what she remembered. She turned green eyes up to him as reddish-brown hair fell around her face. All these questions ran through her mind as the sounds of the machines began to become louder to her. She couldn't get any of it to stop.

"Where am I? What's going on?" she asked, fear weaving in and out of her words as she looked around. About the only thing she felt like she could control properly was her head and even that hurt if she turned it too far around or looked at overly bright areas of the room that had been revealed when the young man had entered her side of the room. Why was she alone in a room with another man on the other side of this curtain? She was starting to get a headache from all the questions and all Clarisse wanted to do was curl up and wish it would stop.

 

[Pilot]

He felt bad for the poor girl, crumpled and not understanding what was going on around her. Gabriel lifted her as gently as he knew how, placing her back on the bed from which she fell. Her voice was faded, fearful, and he was not entirely sure what he could do for her; what he should do for her, more like.

When the girl asked where she was, a sharp pang of pain shot through Gabriel's body. What would happen if his twin were to wake up? How could he possibly handle that situation? What would Gabriel do, hearing that kind of fear from the other half of his mind? He did not want to think about it. He could barely fathom the situation. That just was not something he could deal with. Who the hell was this girl to give him these thoughts, that he never had before? It just was not fair.

But again, he found himself speaking gently to her. It was not her fault that she had awoken before his twin, as far as he knew, and the poor girl was already spooked. He was too soft-hearted to do anything more than to comfort her. "You are in a hospital," he said, then paused. "I...do not think that it is my place to explain why, but you are safe. Everything will be alright."

He took a few steps away, and then turned to face her again, "I will go find someone to give you the medical attention you need, I will not be long, alright?" He decided to wait for her reply, knowing that he would not want to be left alone in such fear, if he was in her shoes. He mentally cursed himself for being so nice.

 

[DuskRaven]

Hospital? What had happened to put her into a hospital? She stared after the young man as he turned to walk away before stopping. Clarisse's hand rested in her lap, clutching each other so hard that her knuckles were white. She lowered her gaze. The kindness was too much for her befuddled mind. She could feel tears of confusion and fear start to form. She reached clumsily up and wiped the tears away with the back of an angry fist. In this same movement she nodded up and down to show that she understood and that it would be okay.

He seemed nice enough, though she had no idea who he was, or why he was on the other side of the curtain. In truth she couldn't care less about having medical attention. She just wanted to get away from the noises and be told what was going on. She was fighting not to openly bawl. Even if she was confused about where she was, she would not let herself cry openly.

 

[Pilot]

After he noticed the girl nod consent for him to go, he began walking off, at a brisk pace, until he passed the curtain, where his twin came into view once more. He stopped in his tracks, feeling a weird kind of pain, feeling like nothing would change his poor twin's situation, as if he would never awaken. Gabriel looked to the floor as he passed by the bed, only looking forward again upon reaching the door into the hall.

"Need some help in here!" he shouted. It was a bit like there was no life in the hospital before his voice rang out, and then, once people comprehended what had been said, sound came, again, as if the place was being taken off mute. Gabriel stepped aside to allow the two nurses and a doctor into the room, then shyly followed them as they made their way over to the bed where the girl lay. He stood very close the the curtain, hoping he would just blend in with the wall.

Gabriel had no reason to be concerned about the girl. He stood there, anyways.

 

[DuskRaven]

The silence the girl craved didn't come. In fact the noises only got worse as people gathered around her and did different things to her--checked her pulse, pushed her head back to look in her still teary eyes. She felt helpless though and searched for a friendly face that wasn't just focused on checking out 'the girl'. Her teary gaze finally landed on the young man. He seemed so uncomfortable there.

She turned her gaze away and let the others control her actions. When there was a lull in the instructions, she spoke up.

"Why am I here? What happened?"

The doctor seemed to pause and the nurses looked at the young man near the wall and then back at the girl that had asked the question.

"You were in an accident Miss Carstairs. You have been in a coma since the incident two months ago." the doctor said in the end.

The words held no compassion, just a clinical diagnostic tone. Clarisse stared at him and then looked around at the others before forcing a laugh, "You, you have to be kidding. I-I don't believe you. I have two kids, a husband! I can't possibly--" Her voice cracked as she stopped and looked down at her lap. She was starting to forget stuff about her life--or what had been her life.

"I'm sorry miss, but you are only eighteen and you've been in a coma. You have no children and no husband. That must have been a dream during your coma."

One of the nurses was about to touch the young woman but got slapped away in a sudden show of aggression from the young girl that had just awoken. "Get away, I don't believe you!" she cried though it came out as a horse scratching noise instead of a scream like she had intended. Her green eyes sought for the briefest of moments for a kind face before closing and she seemed to curl into herself.

"We'll call your parents to tell them you are awake. They should be here in about an hour or so." one of the nurses said in hopes of cheering the girl up more.

 

[Pilot]

The noise around him began to disappear as he delved into his own thoughts. No matter how much he did not want to admit it, Gabriel was scared. Downright terrified. He felt as if there was no way out of this mess. He had given up his life for his twin, he had given up everything, for, he realized now, a life of nothing but fear and pain. He never asked for this, not really.

He realized that if his brother ever did awaken, that Gabriel would have to watch him relearn how to live. There were no guarantees that his memory was intact, or that he would be the same person that Gabriel remembered. And then, he realized that perhaps maybe he was the one that may have changed too much to return to the same relationship he used to have with his twin.

He did not know what to do. There really was not a good option here. He did not want to look at his brother, and have to remember the harsh reality of the situation, and between where he stood, and the exit, he would have to pass by. Gabriel resigned to standing there, stupidly, but since he was not being a disturbance, he was allowed to stand by and watch.

"I don't believe you!" was the phrase that shot him back to the real world. That girl had awoken to no one by her side, to face doctors and nurses who could offer no compassion, only facts. What would his twin do, if he woke up with nobody there? Gabriel did not want to try to fathom such a thing.

As the doctors and nurses trailed out of the room, Gabriel found himself walking from the curtain of where he found sanctuary, over to the girl. "Sorry," he said. "I did not realize that I would be subjecting you to such assholes." And he looked anywhere but at the girl. The bed, the machines, the wall, the ceiling, anything but her. He could handle looking at anything but her.

 

[DuskRaven]

Clarisse was quiet fro several moments, her shoulders shaking with sobs that she refused to vocalize. After several quiet moments she lifted her head a nd gasped for some cool, clean air. It should have been so simple: go to bed, wake up the next morning, go pick up -- She was starting to forget their names. she winced away from the dream as if she was getting stung by a bee.

"Sorry," she repeated, as if not knowing the meaning of the worry. She looked up at the young man and frowned. Why was he saying sorry? "You can't control what the doctors do, nor what they say, so why are you sorry?" She wasn't sure why she was asking that. she wasn't sure why she was talking to this man that she didn't even know--or at least didn't think that she knew. "Why-Why were you there? On the other side of the curtain? Do-Did I know you? I'm sorry I don't remember if I do or not."

Her mind hurt--pictures of memories that she hardly remembered at all were trying to fight their way back into her mind, but she wanted to hold onto the dream so she grasped it tighter to herself. But the more she held on, the more seemed to slip away and the more she forgot.

 

[Pilot]

It was hard. He wanted to turn and run away, but it was too late now. He had opened that contact with her, and now it was too late to go back. She was assigned to this room, and he knew that he would no longer be able to visit his brother now, without her being there, at least, until her rehabilitation was over. Gabriel was cursing his niceness, or perhaps his self-destructive tendencies. It was almost as if he wanted to reduce himself to the same state as his twin, and his body was making that subconscious effort to do so.

She repeated his words as if she could not fathom what it meant. It was stupid for him to say. He did not know why he had said such a thing. He was trying to be funny. Making jokes at a newly awakened coma patient, what was he thinking? It was nothig less than cruel, it seemed. He shook his head, offhandedly, not bothering to answer why he had said his sorry.

"No, you do not know me," he said, pausing, thinking very hard about what he was to say next. It felt like a lifetime before he went on, "I am Gabriel. My identical twin brother, Derek, is over there, comatose. You two...were in the same accident." He did the best he could not to sound resentful, but he was not sure if he was effective. Gabriel hoped that her newly awakened state would result in her overlooking his mannerisms, and escaping emotions.

 

[DuskRaven]

Clarisse listened and looked away from him. Accident? Who had caused it? What was it? She wasn't sure. Had she been the cause of the accident or was she simply another victim like this young man's brother? It hurt o think about and so she turned to look at her hands and her rather useless legs.

"Then I hope Derek awakens soon. It doesn't seem fair for me to wake and you to not be reunited with your twin," she said before sighing. Why had she been left alone to awake alone? Did her 'parents' care about her at all? Two months wasn't that long of a time in the grand scheme of things. "It's nice of you, I think, to be there with your twin. I have to say that I'm thankful that you were there too." The words, while mean to be heartfelt, seemed dull and sad even to Clarisse's ears.

As she spoke, she had reached down and were poking her legs. She could feel them, but they wouldn't do the proper things. At the moment she was telling them to bend. But they only quivered up for a moment before laying back down. She frowned at them and kept trying, slowly growing furious with herself. She had been an ice skating instructor--No her mind reminded her, that was the 'dream'. She had just been a regular high school student that had been getting ready to graduate.