HEARTS IN DARKNESS: EPILOGUE

[yourkeepers]

When dawn finally comes, you find them.

They're hanging in the grand hall, bound - almost cocooned - in inky black thread. The bodies of the victims, the ones without their hearts, are now miraculously whole. Cold and untouched, as if those terrible wounds had never been carved into their flesh.

They hang in various positions of rest, some limbs tangled and suspended, others simply hanging limply. Their eyes all all closed. The searchlight's body is still dull silver. The singer's hair dangles long and dark. The oracle's robes pristine.

It's like they've been left here for you, within your reach. The rest is in your hands.

Comments

[chromaticscale]

The heart fades into her chest, leaving a glittering trail on her skins that fades, and once it dissipates completely, her body jerks as synapses fire to her nerves again. She opens her mouth to scream, but thankfully her empty lungs don't allow for it, and she gasps in uneven breaths of air. As her senses come back to her, she reaches for her throat, and backs away from... whatever, or whoever it is near her. She scrambles, but her vision is still coming back into focus, and she can't get a good grip.

"Don't--" Her unfocused eyes are wide with fear, looking just past him.

[grotesqueobserver]

He quickly lets go, holding his hands up to show her that he's unarmed. "It's okay it's okay! You're fine. Everything's going to be fine." And it really, truly is. She's alive. Vigil grins like an idiot, though the gritty tears are still flowing freely from his eyes. "Nobody's going to hurt you." And the second she lets him, she is getting such a hug.

[chromaticscale]

It may be a while yet before she lets anyone touch her, still trying to scramble away, but not finding any more luck at it, except to get her balance a little better. She's still staring past his head, as if at some unknown shape. In her eyes, it's still dark (mostly) and she hasn't taken full stock of the location or the surroundings or who else is there. At least she has enough of herself back not to shout at him, but she shakes her head emphatically.

[heirred]

Cool Kid is watching from a short distance, still afraid to approach, but wanting to make sure she was okay, even if she wouldn't want to see him. He'd tried to protect her and failed.

[chromaticscale]

She doesn't have anything to say for the moment, too distracted and fearful and ashamed herself, but she does want to talk to him...

[grotesqueobserver]

Vigil backs away quickly, holding up his hands to show he's unarmed. "Okay, okay," he says, keeping his voice low and soothing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You're okay. It's over now." He continues saying words to that effect, staying with her until she calms.

[chromaticscale]

Her vision starts to come back into better focus, and she looks around at the room with a sense of bewilderment. Her chest is still heaving, and she's still trembling, but she's beginning to look a little less wild herself.

"Where am I...?"

[grotesqueobserver]

"You're in the Grand Hall," Vigil says, still keeping his voice quiet. The next part is going to be harder to tell her, and there's a long pause before he speaks again. "The um...you were...um." Dammit, this is hard. "The killer, he...um...he got you. You were um...killed. I'm sorry. But you're alive! We were able to...reverse it somehow. So you're okay!"

[chromaticscale]

"Oh."

She's quiet for a few moments, looking around at the room, and the other people in it. Some of them are familiar, and there's a small pang that wants to reach out to them, but an even strong desire to just sort of be alone for a little bit. She's still shaken, and she knows she'll want company at some point, but for just a moment, she wants to gather her thoughts. She died, and it hurt, and she felt betrayed that anyone else here would do that to her, but she's also confused and... well, alive.

"I think I want to go back to my pond, please."

[grotesqueobserver]

"All right." He looks a little bit hurt, but the fact that she wants to be alone is more than understandable. He nods and offers a hand to help her up. "Did you want me to take you there?"

[chromaticscale]

She accepts it, then shrugs. She doesn't know how to feel right now, but she doesn't have any particular reason to say no. "Sure."

[grotesqueobserver]

"Okay." He offers an arm should she need to lean on him, but won't push if she'd rather walk on her own. It doesn't take long to get to their destination.

"Well uh...here we are," he says, a bit awkward. "Is there anything else I can do? Did you want to talk or anything? Or um...if you need some time alone that's okay too."

[chromaticscale]

She does feel bad because he is being kind, and trying so hard, but she just has an overwhelming need to detach for the moment. It's been a long and trying stretch, and she just wants to collect herself. She tries to smile as brightly as she can.

"I just need some time alone. I'll come see you later, okay?"

[grotesqueobserver]

Fortunately he seems to understand, though it does little to ease his worry. "That's fine. You've been through a lot. If you change your mind...just talk to my statue."

...that sounds so weird when he says it out loud. "I'll hear you," he adds, by way of explanation. He pats her shoulder gently and stands. "Get some rest, okay?" He leaves her to her thoughts, quickly swallowed up by the foliage.