BADLANDS

haunting

"i've done some things that i can't speak."

5 MONTHS BEFORE

[flashback]
-

her vision had pulsed in and out of focus, hearing each heartbeat thrum against her idle chest.

all that she was aware of was the searing heat that had pressed into her.

and the girl that hovered above her.

"finally, you're up," the girl sighs, pressing a damp cloth to her feverishly dry lips. "wait, don't move."

through half lidded eyes, she watches this girl with the pink hair and lulls her head back into the sheets. she doesn't know where she is or who she is, but she's too tired to think. the world is blindingly bright, sunlight lapping across her face.

"here," the girl pressed the bottle to her mouth, the water slowly stirring her senses to life. "i didn't know if i was supposed to make you drink while you were out or if you would drown or whatever. i haven't done this many times before." she grins. "fuck, i'm rambling."

the girl finally comes into focus. her hair was a light pink, a sharp edged cut that framed her tan face. her brown eyes darted across her face, lopsided smile splashed across dimpled cheeks.

"where am i?" she croaked out, throat burning from the dryness. she had no memories in her mind, only a vague aching of where they should be.

"you're in the city now. zack found you on the side of the road, almost dead. you've been passed out for days from the heat." as if remembering, the girl put the cloth back on her forehead. "anyways, he's gone of course, so now you're mine." the girls words just spilled out of her mouth, jaw bobbing as she bolsters on.

she had no idea what the girl was talking about, or who she even was.

she vaguely remembered waking in the soft sand, speaking to a shawled woman and making her way to the expanse of the city.

after that, nothing.

the girl walked back over to her beside, placing a icy hand against her neck. "fuck, you're warm. i don't know what else i can do though."

"who are you?" she forced out finally through cracked lips.

"elysium, or elys. whichever one," she had told her. "you?"

"sounds more like a drug than a name," she laughed, but flinched when pain had shot through her chest. "and.... i don't know. i can't remember anything."

"oh," elys averted her eyes. they were in a hotel room somewhere, with rich black walls and white sheets. "well...welcome to the badlands, then."

she didn't have the energy to ask what that was. she only sunk further into the bed, spots of light flickering across her eyes.

"i'll let you sleep," the pink-haired girl said after a while, slipping away.

"elysium," she whispered hoarsely. "why the name?"

she hesitated against the door frame, turning to look at her. "its interesting. it stands out. sink into the crowd and you'll just be another one of them, left dead with no one to remember you."