Chapter 60
2,288 words
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: What's one skill that people are usually born with that you wish you had?
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-Thaleia Blair-
My head was hurting, like- really bad. It felt like a bunch of elephants were bowling inside of it.
I couldn't feel my body, unlike my head; was I sitting on the floor? On a chair? Was I laying somewhere soft? Hard? No idea.
Messing up the last shot of the winning bowling team, I rolled my head to the side. And I must have made those elephants angry, because they started banging their huge ass feet everywhere. Were those even called feet? Paws? Legs? –
"Hey" someone interrupted the thoughts -and elephants- running through my head "Are you awake?" they whispered.
I managed to open my eyes. It was pretty dark, the only light coming from a few skylights above, all on the same side of the room. They were pretty small, the length of my forearm, maybe. I highly doubt they could be opened.
"Hey" the person spoke again. I turned in their direction: it was a girl. She was probably around her 20's, brown hair that reached just below her ears and bright blue eyes: the Unsub's type.
What the hell happened?
I pushed her away from me with the little force I had -it really wasn't much anyway- and tried standing up. Tried. My head started spinning, making me dizzy and lose balance. I didn't have anything to hold on to, but as I was falling, the girl wrapped her arms around me, preventing me from hitting the floor.
"Take it easy" she set me down on a sitting position "What's your name?"
"Fuck off" the girl flinched at my tone "You're invading my personal space, step back" and she did, looking at me with weary eyes.
"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay..."
I lifted my eyes from the floor, looking around to see if I recognised anything: we were definitely in a basement -typical-, but it wasn't the usual basement you'd find in a house surrounded by white picket fences. This one seemed to belong to some sort of rustic house, like the kind you see in a cabin lost in the woods.
I had a fair knowledge of basements... unfortunately all from experience.
There weren't many things around: a few blankets and a couple of pillows, chains attached to wooden posts that worked as pillars, a first aid kit almost empty and three posters on the wall. They were those type of posters with a cat on a tree and the words 'Hang in there'. What a cruel joke, made to torture the victims he kept here psychologically.
Based on the words that left the girl's mouth, she probably thought I was looking for a way out "I've looked everywhere... The only exit is a trap door on the floor over there" she pointed behind me. Huh... I had not seen that "That's how he comes in and out" the Unsub...
"How long have I been here?" I asked her.
"He brought you in last night" last night... where was I yesterday?
"Okay..." I spoke to myself "Yesterday... I spent the night at the station, Morgan and Emily complained about the coffee, Hotch told Spencer to talk with me because I was angry, then Rossi..." I tried going over all of the steps "Rossi and I went to speak with people in that neighbourhood... What next?"
The girl just sat there, looking at me as if she were expecting something.
"What's your name?" I asked the same thing she had a few minutes ago.
"Helena" Helena... was there any victim named Helena? "O'Hare" she added "Are you a cop?"
Yes, she was reported missing a couple of days ago- well, three now. Rossi and I had gone to her neighbourhood to speak with the people there. Where was Rossi?
"Did the man bring anyone else?"
"No" she shook her head "Just you" Fuck...
Did Rossi and I get separated at some point? Shit... I can't remember anything!
I was about to ask the girl something else but got interrupted by the trap door opening behind me. Helena tore her eyes away from where the noise had come from, casting them on the floor.
"I see you're awake" the man approached us. Once I felt him close, I looked up to him, trying to get a look at his face. But I wasn't able to. The moment he saw my intentions, he slapped me across the face, whipping my head to the side "Don't you dare look at your master without permission" he hissed at me.
"Ouch..." I turned my head to its original position. I didn't even have time to register the first hit when the second one came through.
"You are not allowed to talk" Oh, fuck him "You'll learn the rules... eventually. Get up" he spoke the last part to both of us.
Helena stood up almost instantly and, even though I was struggling to do so myself, she made no move to try and help me. That was probably one of the rules: do not help each other.
Once I was on my feet -still slightly dizzy- the man walked around us, as if he were examining every inch of our body. He stopped right behind me, his original position and lifted his hand, pushing my hair out of the way so the side of my face, my neck and ear were exposed. His face inched closer, and I knew better than to push him away or make a snarky remark.
I felt his breath on my neck, and then he breathed in really deep, as if he were trying to decipher every component of my scent. I probably smelled of sweat at the moment.
I was slightly distracted at that certain action, that I was unable to see the movement of his leg: one second I was standing, the next one he had swept his foot to tackle mine and I fell on my back with a groan.
"Look at me" he ordered in a calm voice. And I did "Welcome home"
[...]
-Quantico, Virginia-
<<The man who visited me when I was at the hospital came back. He wants to talk about dad. But I don't... He brought someone, a special type of Agent- his name is Jason. He just stands in the room, asks me a question and waits for me to answer, which I never do. I hope he leaves me alone soon...>>
<<Jason has been coming more and more lately. He always brings something in hopes it catches my interest enough to talk to him. So far I only listen to what he has to say. He has a wonderful mind- I think you'd like him. He has a way of perceiving things and interpreting them that I rarely see anymore....>>
<<We played chess. I didn't win, but I was somewhat entertained- his game is really different from my dad's. He said he would teach me some moves, and I can't wait for him to do so...>>
<<They went through my things. I thought Jason would ask me if he ever needed to look through them, but he didn't. I know I shouldn't have hoped for him to be a friend- he's just here with me to do his job. He doesn't care. His kindness is merely superficial. I should have trusted my instincts...>>
<<He brought my diary to our meet-up. It's not like I write anything important in there, I just draw. It's a good thing that I keep this notebook with me twenty-four-seven, he would have found it otherwise. He started analysing the sketches and drawings, reading into them and spoke things about me. He thinks he's really smart, but he knows nothing. Spencer, do you think I'm stupid enough to actually represent what I'm feeling? I only draw what I want them to see. I wouldn't show my mind to anyone, not even to you. I'm sorry...>>
<<They're moving me somewhere else. Apparently my skills can help a lot of people and being busy will help with my 'condition', as Jason had called my current state. I don't really care what they do anymore...>>
Spencer hadn't left the girl's house since Garcia convinced him that something had happened to her. He did go to work, but his mind was nowhere near it.
As if it had been an unspoken pact between the two, neither he nor the technical analyst said anything to anyone- not without having any further proof. They both knew that the team wouldn't be able to investigate without evidence that Thaleia was actually in danger.
Hotch noticed that the genius wasn't one-hundred per-cent focused on his work, but he attributed it to the last conversation the boy had with Thaleia before she left. He also guessed that Reid wouldn't want to talk about it, deciding to bottle it all up and try to forget.
Little did he know that the Doctor wasn't going to forget her, or that he spent every single second of his free time searching his love's apartment trying to find something that would let him know where she was.
Spencer also took that time as a time to get to know the girl better... just like he had read on her notebook, she only shows whatever part of her she wants people to see. Being there, in her relatively safe space, brought a completely new perspective to him about who the girl he was in love with was, the little things she was obsessed with, the activities she'd do in her spare time, ongoing paintings and works she had never displayed before, which he could only guess it was because they were personal, just for her and whoever she decided to share them with.
One of those nights in which he was feeling specially blue because of the lack of her presence, Reid laid on her bed for the first time. With the room completely dark, he was able to see the stars painted on the ceiling with most likely phosphorescent paint. He observed them for a second, soon finding that they weren't placed randomly, but were a representation of a certain section of the star-filled night sky.
It only took him a few seconds to recognise Vega, the fifth brightest star in our night sky. He was transported almost instantly to the night he and Thaleia sat on the rooftop of his building, during the few weeks that she had taken care of his shot-wound.
"Vega will be Polaris' substitute" she had said as they looked up at the sky "Funny how such a young star will have such an important role"
"They're stars, Thaleia, not people"
"But just imagine if they actually had feelings" Spencer remembered the look in her eyes, full of sentiment. He could, at that moment, swear that he saw the imagination flowing out of her. And it was beautiful "It's a sad story"
"Which one?"
"Lyra, the constellation Vega is part of... do you know it?" the boy smiled. He did, but had refused to tell her so she would keep talking "Lyra is the celestial harp invented by Hermes, and given to Orpheus by Apollo" Reid swore that he could hear her voice, right next to him like that night.
"It is said that when Orpheus played on his harp, usually love songs to his bride Eurydice, people and animals would stop what they were doing just to listen... Some stories relate how even the trees would cease movement when he played" she had explained with a small smile.
"One day, Eurydice died suddenly which broke Orpheus' heart" her tone saddened "In his loneliness, he attempted to win her back from Hades. So he began his descent into the underworld playing his lyre. As he approached Hades, he was pleased to see that Hades greatly enjoyed his music. After a while, he stopped playing his music. Hades asked him to resume playing the beautiful love songs on his lyre, and Orpheus agreed on one condition: that when he had finished, Hades would release his beloved Eurydice to him...
"Hades agreed, and Orpheus again began to play. At the conclusion of his music, Orpheus asked Hades for his wife, and Hades replied that she would indeed be released on one condition: that Orpheus would trust Hades to keep his word and would return to the upper world playing his music, not ever looking back to see if she were following. If Orpheus doubted or did not trust Hades and looked back, Eurydice would be taken back into the underworld...
"So Orpheus began his return trip playing his music. Behind him he could hear the footsteps of Eurydice, which thrilled him greatly. However, to test Orpheus' trust, the return route Hades insisted on lead through a pine grove. As Orpheus approached the upper world he passed through this pine grove, but he could not hear the footsteps of his beloved Eurydice. Unable to endure the quiet any longer, Orpheus glanced over his shoulder to witness Eurydice fade before his gaze, taken by Hades...
"Upon Orpheus' death, Zeus placed the constellation Lyra into the heavens in honour of his beautiful music and also to honour the great love Orpheus had for Eurydice"
Spencer fell asleep as the memory played back and forth in his head. Oh, how he had thought that Thaleia had a beautiful voice for storytelling; how he had thought that he could listen to her forever; how such love story sounded so great and romantic coming from her.
He could only hope that he would be smart enough to find her soon... because his heart ached at the mere thought of his love being away from him, just like Orpheus'.
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I keep dreaming about this boy I went to high school with- (we will call him Percival) he was quite annoying, to be honest... So someone please tell me why I keep on dreaming that he likes me and that I kinda like him but neither of us really accepts it? it's kinda like... he comes up to me and wraps an arm around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck or holds my hand and we smile shyly at each other.
What the hell brain?
One of the worse things is that there's this other guy (we'll call him... Kurtis?) -who was a friend of my brother but he had to re-take one of the grades and ended up in my class- and he either looks at Percival angrily or is sad because I'm with Percival instead of him (Kurtis). Which I don't really understand because I thought he was so fucking annoying- he pissed me off so much, especially after we got kicked out of English class because he was bothering me.
Anyway...
I have so much fun researching stuff for this story. I love it!