Re: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 7:09 am
The only word Julia could choke from her in exasperation was Why.
Why was Salem doing this? Why is this happening to them? Why her?
She had massively underestimated Salem, his chilling words and exterior almost as equally threatening as the gun he had firmly pointed at the two of them. What felt even worse was his clear lack of remorse. Salem appeared completely unfazed, if anything a little excited about the whole situation as if he as getting a twisted kick from it. Revelling in the fear and upset he was causing as each breath Timothy or Julia took increased the probability that it would be their last.
To make things worse, Julia had never wronged Salem. Sure, they were not friends by any stretch, but they had drunk beers together. Probably even done a shooter or two. They had invited him in to their home and he had come to enjoy the party. And yet now none of that meant anything now. He completely ignored her past hospitality to make sure he had a good time, ignored the smiles or waves from across the hallway if she passed him and even ignored the fact they were classmates. Less than a week ago they were sat on a bus all together so excited about the school trip, planning the parties and how to make the most of the trip.
Yet five days later here she was. Standing tall up against the wall of a sleepy, cold room with a metallic gun pointed in her face. This felt very different to her previous encounter with a gun-wielding maniac but it was definitely the most severe. It was clear she was the actual target of this one. Karin wanted Victor and risked the lives of the three of them there with her distressed shooting but now there was no distress. This man wanted to harm her. To kill her.
However in juxtaposition to the frozen reaction she had last time, of helplessness and weakness, this time she knew if she didn’t do something drastic that it would all be over.
No more chances of becoming a doctor. Of making something of her life. No more music concerts or karaoke sessions with her sister singing full albums of the Jonas Brothers. No more life.
Julia couldn’t let that happen. She cast her eyes around the room, being careful not to appear distracted to her assailant. She remained compliant to his demands, backing up where needed, keeping quiet. Timothy wasn’t doing so well at being submissive in this power dynamic but it gave her good time to scan the room.
Her tub of melted ice cream with no lid on was perched on the bed just out of her reach. The saving grace of the ridicule Timothy gave her when she pulled her weapon from her bag.
She still had that canister of tear gas in her coat pocket. Her only fear being the unknowns around using this, would it take long for it to go off? Enough time for Salem to gently plant three bullets in to her head?
Salem has also left the door wide open, the creeping cold ironically offering a veil of safety.
Most importantly, she had options.
The cold metal in Salem’s hand grew heavier by the second on both Timothy & Julia. The prospect of the striking bullets cutting the tension in the room, slaying both teenagers in the process, felt more and more insurmountable. If she was going to do something then it was going to have to be quick.
Salem had, perhaps foolishly, given her an opening here. You could probably put it down to his ego as he remained cool as a cucumber, but a smart person would’ve just gotten it over with now. If that was your intention, go on, finish the job, put the bullet in their bodies. Turn their warmth to cold corpses and move on with your life. He had after all chosen this path, yet he either lacked the conviction to follow through or was getting too much sick pleasure from taunting the pair. Fortunately, Timothy being Timothy and Salem’s clear as day disregard for him was making her life a little bit easier in the moment. Salem was unrelenting in his taunting, getting that remorseless stimulation from sneering at the shaggy boy. As soon as he has stopped being distracted by being even more of a psychopath, it would probably be over quickly so she knew she had to move fast.
Vivere il momento.
She thanked her parents for insisting on keeping up with the swimming over the years as it was the only way she really kept active nowadays. It gave her strong legs which she was going to have to rely on now to save her life.
With Salem too busy trying to agitate Timothy even further she knew what had to be done. With more conviction than she had ever shown in her entire life, Julia launched forward one step to grab the opened tub of ice cream slush on the edge of the bed. She grabbed it and swung her body with all her might. She wasn’t great at playing baseball but loved to watch it. In this moment her body was positioned akin to a Yankee’s batter, expecting, no… knowing, that the bullets would be flying within the second.
The frozen slush released from the tub and flew across the sky in what could only be described as slow motion. It was her very own Matrix moment. It was hard to describe what Julia was seeing but time really did slow down. As expected, as soon as Julia lunged out of the way Salem turned and instinctively pulled the trigger at her. The bullets flayed through the intercepting ice cream on its way to coat Salem in the sticky substance as Julia released the tub, crashing hastily to the ground as soon as she could to get out of his line of sight. She had hoped it would be comparable to the ice bucket challenge. Those few seconds would be paramount in hopefully desensitising Salem and keeping him preoccupied for enough time for her to flee.
“RUN!!”
Julia screamed to her ally Timothy as the ice cream splattered against Salem’s face, gripping his left hand tightly with hers as she pulled him in her direction, scooping up her backpack with her other hand. She pushed down hard on her right leg to catapult her back up to a standing position, as if she was on the starting line of a very important 100m race. She felt like Sha’Carri Richardson, minus the sharp nails, sprinting upright and towards the door, Timothy’s entire body weight in tow.
As Salem recovered from his big freeze, the gunfire resumed like lightning pulsating around the room with his thunderous spray. The only noise she could focus on was the ricocheting of the bullets around the tiled floor. It was nothing short of a laser crawl, luck on her side.
She scrambled to the exit, being met with the hostility of the outside which still seemed like a welcome relief to the hostility inside the infirmary. She didn’t dare to turn around until she was somewhere safe, as she raced to what resembled the entrance to a storm bunker around the side of the building.
It was as she ripped the door open and clambered in that she noticed the grip on her left had loosened entirely and Timothy was no longer being towed along.
[S119 - Julia Guercio - continued in Downwards Spiral]
Why was Salem doing this? Why is this happening to them? Why her?
She had massively underestimated Salem, his chilling words and exterior almost as equally threatening as the gun he had firmly pointed at the two of them. What felt even worse was his clear lack of remorse. Salem appeared completely unfazed, if anything a little excited about the whole situation as if he as getting a twisted kick from it. Revelling in the fear and upset he was causing as each breath Timothy or Julia took increased the probability that it would be their last.
To make things worse, Julia had never wronged Salem. Sure, they were not friends by any stretch, but they had drunk beers together. Probably even done a shooter or two. They had invited him in to their home and he had come to enjoy the party. And yet now none of that meant anything now. He completely ignored her past hospitality to make sure he had a good time, ignored the smiles or waves from across the hallway if she passed him and even ignored the fact they were classmates. Less than a week ago they were sat on a bus all together so excited about the school trip, planning the parties and how to make the most of the trip.
Yet five days later here she was. Standing tall up against the wall of a sleepy, cold room with a metallic gun pointed in her face. This felt very different to her previous encounter with a gun-wielding maniac but it was definitely the most severe. It was clear she was the actual target of this one. Karin wanted Victor and risked the lives of the three of them there with her distressed shooting but now there was no distress. This man wanted to harm her. To kill her.
However in juxtaposition to the frozen reaction she had last time, of helplessness and weakness, this time she knew if she didn’t do something drastic that it would all be over.
No more chances of becoming a doctor. Of making something of her life. No more music concerts or karaoke sessions with her sister singing full albums of the Jonas Brothers. No more life.
Julia couldn’t let that happen. She cast her eyes around the room, being careful not to appear distracted to her assailant. She remained compliant to his demands, backing up where needed, keeping quiet. Timothy wasn’t doing so well at being submissive in this power dynamic but it gave her good time to scan the room.
Her tub of melted ice cream with no lid on was perched on the bed just out of her reach. The saving grace of the ridicule Timothy gave her when she pulled her weapon from her bag.
She still had that canister of tear gas in her coat pocket. Her only fear being the unknowns around using this, would it take long for it to go off? Enough time for Salem to gently plant three bullets in to her head?
Salem has also left the door wide open, the creeping cold ironically offering a veil of safety.
Most importantly, she had options.
The cold metal in Salem’s hand grew heavier by the second on both Timothy & Julia. The prospect of the striking bullets cutting the tension in the room, slaying both teenagers in the process, felt more and more insurmountable. If she was going to do something then it was going to have to be quick.
Salem had, perhaps foolishly, given her an opening here. You could probably put it down to his ego as he remained cool as a cucumber, but a smart person would’ve just gotten it over with now. If that was your intention, go on, finish the job, put the bullet in their bodies. Turn their warmth to cold corpses and move on with your life. He had after all chosen this path, yet he either lacked the conviction to follow through or was getting too much sick pleasure from taunting the pair. Fortunately, Timothy being Timothy and Salem’s clear as day disregard for him was making her life a little bit easier in the moment. Salem was unrelenting in his taunting, getting that remorseless stimulation from sneering at the shaggy boy. As soon as he has stopped being distracted by being even more of a psychopath, it would probably be over quickly so she knew she had to move fast.
Vivere il momento.
She thanked her parents for insisting on keeping up with the swimming over the years as it was the only way she really kept active nowadays. It gave her strong legs which she was going to have to rely on now to save her life.
With Salem too busy trying to agitate Timothy even further she knew what had to be done. With more conviction than she had ever shown in her entire life, Julia launched forward one step to grab the opened tub of ice cream slush on the edge of the bed. She grabbed it and swung her body with all her might. She wasn’t great at playing baseball but loved to watch it. In this moment her body was positioned akin to a Yankee’s batter, expecting, no… knowing, that the bullets would be flying within the second.
The frozen slush released from the tub and flew across the sky in what could only be described as slow motion. It was her very own Matrix moment. It was hard to describe what Julia was seeing but time really did slow down. As expected, as soon as Julia lunged out of the way Salem turned and instinctively pulled the trigger at her. The bullets flayed through the intercepting ice cream on its way to coat Salem in the sticky substance as Julia released the tub, crashing hastily to the ground as soon as she could to get out of his line of sight. She had hoped it would be comparable to the ice bucket challenge. Those few seconds would be paramount in hopefully desensitising Salem and keeping him preoccupied for enough time for her to flee.
“RUN!!”
Julia screamed to her ally Timothy as the ice cream splattered against Salem’s face, gripping his left hand tightly with hers as she pulled him in her direction, scooping up her backpack with her other hand. She pushed down hard on her right leg to catapult her back up to a standing position, as if she was on the starting line of a very important 100m race. She felt like Sha’Carri Richardson, minus the sharp nails, sprinting upright and towards the door, Timothy’s entire body weight in tow.
As Salem recovered from his big freeze, the gunfire resumed like lightning pulsating around the room with his thunderous spray. The only noise she could focus on was the ricocheting of the bullets around the tiled floor. It was nothing short of a laser crawl, luck on her side.
She scrambled to the exit, being met with the hostility of the outside which still seemed like a welcome relief to the hostility inside the infirmary. She didn’t dare to turn around until she was somewhere safe, as she raced to what resembled the entrance to a storm bunker around the side of the building.
It was as she ripped the door open and clambered in that she noticed the grip on her left had loosened entirely and Timothy was no longer being towed along.
[S119 - Julia Guercio - continued in Downwards Spiral]